With the sound of the three-way drum in the palace, first the two palace doors were opened, and hundreds of Forbidden Army guards poured out, standing on both sides, with heavy swords and dazzling people. If this is the first time, you must be frightened. You can't jump, but everyone present is used to going to court, so they don't have the slightest fear.
Shortly after the drumming ended, a dull bell sounded from the Forbidden Palace, echoing throughout the vast city of Nanjing.
As if as a signal, facing the rising sun, countless palace doors opened layer by layer, revealing the magnificent palace they guarded.
The ministers had already formed a team. Duke Yue and Chen Guogong were naturally at the forefront. Yan Keng was even slightly ahead than Yan Ya. Under the leadership of the palace servants, they walked steadily towards the palace. The supreme leader On the throne, Zhu Di was already sitting upright, waiting for them.
The ministers stood according to their usual positions. When many people saw that there was no King of Han in the seat in front of them, they couldn't help but smile in victory.
With the eunuch's sharp voice, the morning court officially began.
An official cleared his throat and was about to start today's report. However, at this moment, a figure slowly walked through the crowd and came from behind. Wherever he passed, all the ministers who saw his face clearly lowered their voices and looked shocked.
It is the King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu!
He walked swaggeringly among the crowd, enjoying the baptism of the gazes of many courtiers.
It turned out that he arrived late on purpose, as if to highlight his special status.
Seeing Yan Keng's surprised look, he gave his friend a "reassuring" look.
When the King of Han reached the front of the team and stood still, Zhu Di waved his sleeves and said:
"Everyone, do you have anything to report?"
Immediately, a censor stood up.
"Your Majesty, the King of Han is already quite old. Your Majesty, you had already gone to the vassal land to join the vassal state when you were his age (in the 13th year of Hongwu, when Zhu Di was 20 years old, he joined Peiping). The vassal king is still in the court at such an old age. , this is not a blessing for the imperial court, please order the King of Han to quickly conquer Yunnan."
he said loudly.
This censor was a princeling, and he had been the one to write the impeachment letter before. If the King of Han gained power, he would not be able to reap the benefits, so it was particularly urgent at this time.
Obviously, he did not manage his information network well. He did not know about the King of Han's entry into the palace yesterday. But it's normal. Zhu Di's internal affairs are run like an iron barrel. Except for a few civil servants who stand at the top of power, it is indeed difficult for the other ministers to get news about the political affairs of the DPRK and China in the first time.
This also led to him standing up like a moth to the flame today.
There was a trace of sarcasm on the corner of Zhu Gaoxu's mouth. He did not speak, but looked at the censor with pity.
The censor was still looking at the gaze of the King of Han with confusion, and secretly thought in his heart that you will be expelled from the center of power soon. What are you proud of? Zhu Di above had already recalled what Zhu Gaoxu said to him yesterday.
Is this an attack by a princeling? Oh, my dear son, you do have many loyal dogs. A sneer crossed the corner of his mouth.
Once people have a bad impression of someone, their past actions will be magnified infinitely, and with the addition of filters, Zhu Gaochi, who was once a courteous and virtuous corporal, has now turned into a man who seeks to win over his subordinates and has evil intentions.
However, since the crown prince has been named, what the censor said does not have much of a problem, so Zhu Di did not have an attack and just said lightly:
"The matter of vassalship is postponed for now. I have other considerations. It just so happens that the Northern Tour is coming soon, so the King of Han will follow me on the Northern Tour and accompany me!"
After the words fell, the subordinate officials looked at each other in confusion, while the King of Han showed a proud look on his face.
The princeling officials were already clenching their fists. Of course they knew what Zhu Di meant.
Today you can leave the King of Han in the capital and take him to the north to patrol, and tomorrow you can depose the prince! (cross out)
Zhu Di's northern tour was actually a test in disguise.
Test whether his son has the qualifications to become a prince.
He still didn't give up the idea after all.
Yan Ya and Yan Keng exchanged looks.
The two of them knew very well that if Yongle took the King of Han away, the prince would be in real danger.
The civil servants also knew very well that if they really wanted the two men to go shopping in the north together, while the prince was eating sand alone in Beijing, in the past few months, unless the king of Han lost his mind and went crazy, Yongle's heart would definitely be biased towards Zhu Gaoxu's side.
If you do this, let alone a vassal, some things that have been established will inevitably change.
Jie Jin stood in the ranks of civil servants, with fire in his eyes.
He is a member of the cabinet and is only in the seventh rank. Although his cabinet is the emperor's adviser and is filled by people the emperor values, he has no real power after all, and a low rank means a low rank. This must be done according to the rules. Xie Jin's position is quite far behind, and he can hardly see Zhu Di clearly. face.
Despite this, Xie Jin never felt that he was just a little person.
Since the last time he confirmed the position of the prince, he has gained a very high reputation among civil servants.
Because he was the deputy editor-in-chief of Yongle Dadian and had a profound knowledge, Zhu Di was still very polite to him. However, Xie Jin felt that because he had made great contributions, Zhu Di also wanted to give him a little less favor.
He believed that Zhu Di was just deceived by Zhu Gaoxu's rhetoric, and now he would stand up and reveal Zhu Gaoxu's face to show his true nature as a loyal minister.
Anyway, he had already been labeled as a princeling because of his "good saint grandson". Zhu Gaoxu had been offended to death by him, and he would not let him go no matter what. He might as well fight to the death with a bayonet here. !
It is natural for others to remain silent, but I, who even Yongle has to give some face to, how can I remain silent?
Therefore, just when the civil servants were silent and Zhu Gaoxu was arrogant, a loud shout came:
"I object!"
Xie Jin strode forward and walked out of the ranks of his ministers:
"Since the end of the battle for the 'right throne', the King of Han has been proud of himself and has done many illegal things in the capital."
"I have often heard that the King of Han galloped his horses wantonly in the long street, causing harm to the body. I have also often heard that the King of Han made countless money, and that the palace of the King of Han was extremely luxurious. Some people said that it was 'better than the East Palace'. I also heard that the King of Han often drank and had fun with his subordinates. , behaved wildly and lived wildly."
"What's more, the prince is out of date, unruly, disrespectful of etiquette, and often makes contemptuous remarks. This is extremely disrespectful."
"This is not what a prince should do."
"Furthermore, Your Majesty has established the Han Dynasty and enfeoffed the kingdom in Yunnan, but the Han Dynasty has stayed in the capital and has not moved. Isn't this contempt of the holy will?"
"If it were before, it can be explained that Your Majesty is not yet determined, and the King of Han stayed in the capital as a choice."
"Now that the crown prince has been established, the kings have granted titles, and even the vassal territory has been established, but the King of Han is still lingering in the capital. Is this how a vassal king should behave?"
“I don’t know what the King of Han means by being like this!”
Xie Jin's words were loud and clear, and with his eloquent words, the entire court fell silent.
(End of chapter)
