As if he had glimpsed God's will, everything developed as Yan Yuan expected.
After Zhu Houzhao retired from the court, things were far from over.
This time the Japanese talk incident really pissed off the already upright Liu Jian, Xie Qian and others.
After all, it is an important way for ministers to teach the emperor how to govern the country and instill Confucianism. How can we tolerate being disturbed!
Coupled with the many illegal things they had done before by inciting Zhu Houzhao, the culprit, the Eight Tigers, was eventually designated as "must kill" in the hearts of the civil servants.
The cabinet began to shake people and prepare to attack them.
But when they invited some nobles with whom they had always been friends and wanted to destroy the Eight Tigers with a thunderous blow, only the British Duke responded, and the other nobles all hesitated and refused to express their stance.
This gave Liu Jian a bad feeling, but when he thought about it, it was just a few eunuchs. Could it be that they still couldn't handle it?
So not long after, the cabinet formally submitted a letter requesting the execution of the Eight Tigers.
"I am waiting for the list of criminals. In the autumn of my young country's doubts, I look up at the elephants and observe the things. There are many people who sigh in the middle of the night and cry before eating."
…
"This generation of petty people only knows how to deceive the emperor for personal gain, but they don't know that the emperor's destiny and the great achievements of the ancestors all belong to your majesty."
"In ancient times, eunuchs misled the country, and the ten constant servants of the Han Dynasty. The change of Ganlu in the Tang Dynasty is a clear proof of this!"
"Please kill Liu Jin and others!"
A harshly worded letter was sent to the emperor, as if he was trying to force him into the palace.
After receiving the news, the Eight Tigers were immediately frightened and peed their pants. They ran around Emperor Zhengde, cried loudly around him, kowtowed repeatedly, and said while crying:
"Liu Jian and the others just want to show their power to His Majesty by killing us! We are just accompanying His Majesty to play with the birds and stroll around the garden. How can we delay the court affairs!"
Zhu Houzhao nodded as he listened to their words, and as they spoke, the hesitation on his face that had arisen from seeing the memorial dissipated, and was replaced by anger.
"These ministers bully me when I am young and have no respect for the king. They are really abominable!" he said angrily.
Zhu Houzhao immediately issued an edict, rejected the ministers' appeal, and appointed Liu Jin as the Chief of Ceremonies and the Eunuch of the Printing Department on the spot. Ma Yong became the governor of the East Factory. All the Eight Tigers were promoted and received considerable power.
The sadness on the faces of the Eight Tigers was wiped away. They immediately thanked them and then left. Now that they are in power, revenge is about to begin.
At this time, the West Factory has also reopened. With Gu Dayong as Admiral, the East and West factories are fully activated.
All of a sudden, Tiqi went out everywhere, collecting information about the ministers.
There are really not many people who have been in office for so many years without any stain at all.
Even if there is, once you enter the East and West No. 2 Factory, don’t you have to explain everything the boss inside wants you to do?
Liu Jin easily got a lot of information about officials' evil deeds and reported them to the emperor.
Seeing the "numerous" crimes committed by the ministers, Zhu Houzhao was furious!
He immediately ordered Liu Jin to continue to investigate and clear the court. This simply endorsed Liu Jin's behavior and gave him a legitimate reason to punish him.
Liu Jin himself is also a capable person. You must know that this person is not only smart, but also knowledgeable about ancient and modern times. He is the most educated one among the Eight Tigers.
It is not necessarily a good thing for eunuchs to be educated.
Liu Jin's ambition, as his power grew, grew like weeds.
Under his pressure, Liu Jian and Xie Qian were forced to submit their resignations and leave. Only Li Dongyang was spared because he was not clearly involved in the matter.
Moreover, it was not unreasonable for Liu Jin to dominate the government and the public in the future. Under his secret operation, Li Dongyang was promoted to the chief minister of the cabinet to show his support for him.
Emperor Zhengde seemed to be really addicted to having fun and turned a blind eye to the various actions of the Eight Tigers. Under this situation, Liu Jin's power became more and more terrifying, and many civil servants even took refuge in the eunuch who they usually looked down upon. , working for the tiger.
In just a few months, Liu Jin went from being an unknown person to becoming an important part of the imperial court. After that, his greed was also revealed, accepting bribes, planting cronies, and acting unscrupulously.
Many people were intimidated by him and did not dare to resist.
However, among this group of ministers, there are many passionate and fearless people.
…
In a simple room, a thin official in his early thirties was sleeping heavily.
If someone could enter his dream, they would see that the official was in a place shrouded in mist.
In front of him stood a white-robed man whose face could not be seen clearly.
"Who are you and where are you?" the officer said warily.
"You are going to die." Bai Paoke did not answer, but instead said this sentence in an indifferent tone, his tone was affirmative, as if he was stating a fact.
The official was stunned for a moment and laughed dumbly:
"The ancients said, 'Think about it every day, and dream about it at night', and it is indeed true. I thought that if I impeached Liu Jin, I would definitely suffer his revenge, but I didn't expect that I would dream about this."
After saying that, he didn't wait for a response, but he could feel a pair of eyes looking at him through the fog that covered his face.
"You're going to die."
The voice sounded again, extremely sure.
"Liu Jin will not let you go. If you dare to offend his authority when the ministers are bowing down, he will use your head to scare chickens and monkeys."
When the official heard this, he smiled in a low voice:
"It seems that deep down in my heart, I am still afraid of death..."
Then he raised his head, as if announcing something, and said loudly:
"I passed the national examination at the age of twenty, became a Jinshi at the age of twenty-eight, and entered the Ministry of Industry. I am now six years old."
"I have worked hard for ten years in a cold window, in order to establish a life for the people, stabilize the world, and express my ambitions, instead of coming to this court to obey the orders of the traitorous party, to obey the orders of the eunuchs, and to be the lackeys of the eunuchs!"
"A true man should do something and not do something!"
"If you die, your ears will die, so what is there to be afraid of!"
Every word has a ringing sound, surrounded by clouds and mist.
There was silence on the other side.
"As expected of you, as expected of you..." After a long time, the official heard a murmuring voice coming from the other side.
"After you submit the letter, Liu Jin will not tolerate you. He will not kill you openly but will only demote you, but secretly he will definitely send assassins."
"If there is a crisis, you can go to the tea shop ten miles away from the capital for help."
When the last sentence was spoken, the voice had already echoed mistyly in the clouds, and the official felt as if his body suddenly stepped on the air and fell suddenly.
"Huh!" He suddenly sat up from the bed and turned his head. The surroundings were still dark and it was not yet dawn.
"What a real dream." He murmured as he wiped his forehead.
Lighting the oil lamp, the official picked up the memorial on the desk, checked it carefully one last time, and then closed it gently.
Liu Jin, they are all afraid of you, but I am not!
On the cover of the memorial, the official's name flashed in the light of the fire.
Head of the Ministry of War.
Wang Shouren.
(End of chapter)
