"Mr. Cheng Guo, I left my newborn princess to see you. Don't try to coax me with some innocuous words."
Duke Cheng Guo's beard has turned gray, but he is the queen of the generals after all. He is still tall and has a broad and horizontal face. He is actually a bit fierce, but he has to put on a smile in front of the emperor, which makes it a bit funny.
"Old minister, I would like to first congratulate your Majesty. Your Majesty respects heaven and loves the people. God also sees it. The continuous happy events in the palace are proof."
"Only you can speak." Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hand, and You Zhi handed over a memorandum with understanding. When he opened it, there was a thin piece of paper with two words written on it: Feng'an.
The names of his two sons are actually Feng and Lin.
"It just came here last night and I haven't had time to hand it to you yet. Are you relieved?"
Duke Cheng Guo lifted up his official robe and knelt down, "I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"
"The year before last, I dealt with Duke Ying and demoted Duke Bao to the title of Marquis of Funing. You were all behind me, right?"
"No!" Duke Cheng Guo was convinced and denied it flat out, "I would never do such a treasonous and unethical act! The veteran's family is very loyal to His Majesty, and we can learn from it every day!"
Zhu Houzhao slowed down his tone and said with a smile, "Zhu Feng is pretty good. You can tell from the battle at Zijingguan that he is a good man. Cheng Guogong, please wait a moment. Although the border land is difficult, the sword is sharp." It will take a few years to get out of hard work. You can also get up, without being too polite, and tell me why you are meeting me today."
"Your Majesty!" Duke Cheng Guo looked extremely serious, probably because he had received a few words of kindness. "What I have reported is indeed an important matter. I know who attacked Li Mengyang, the official envoy of Huang Tongzheng!"
"Oh?" Zhu Houzhao's eyelids twitched slightly, "By whom?"
"They were Lieutenant Zhu Kebin and other four people from the royal family of the Han Dynasty."
This is interesting.
"Prince Han's Mansion? Is it the Prince Han's Mansion in Gansu? The members of the clan are not staying in the fiefdom and have come to the capital without purpose. What are they going to do?"
Duke Cheng Guo spoke emphatically, "Yes! This matter is of great importance, and I dare not speak falsely, and because it involves the clan, once trouble breaks out... I am afraid that Your Majesty will be in trouble, so I cannot stay for a moment, and immediately enter the palace to come first." Report this to the emperor."
"Well, I understand your sentiments. But Duke Cheng, how did you know? Were you present?"
"I'm not here. In fact, Quanzi told me about this."
"Zhu Lin?"
"yes."
Zhu Houzhao is embarrassed to say, your second son is okay, but your eldest son...
"Tell me exactly what happened."
"Yes, in fact, the cause of the matter is quite simple. Zhu Lin first had some personal grudges with the four people. Seeing that they had foreign accents and seemed to have extraordinary status, he sent people to follow them. It was for revenge. He didn't want to run into someone like this. It was nothing at first, but in the past few days, he saw that the matter was getting bigger and bigger, and he couldn't hide it in his heart, so he came to tell the old minister. After hearing this, the old minister felt that the matter was very important, and after confirming it with him several times, he finally Dare to come and report to His Majesty."
"The young master of Chengguo Palace wants to take revenge. Instead of avenging him on the spot, he also needs to send someone to follow him?"
Duke Cheng Guo's face was a little fiery, "His Majesty has warned that the son of an honorable noble should not be too dandy, and the old minister also taught him a lesson according to the decree. Now he is a little restrained, a little restrained."
Zhu Houzhao still doesn't understand what that means. Why are you restraining yourself? Why don't you go out and make trouble with others? Otherwise, what kind of hatred will you have?
"What's the reason for the enmity?"
"Shake... roll the dice and gamble money."
"Is this called a slight restraint?" Zhu Houzhao rolled his eyes, but he was too lazy to waste time on this kind of waste, "Dong Cheng, I have ordered the Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Punishment to report that Li Mengyang was beaten in the street. Judicial Judge, after you said this today, Zhu Lin will be asked to testify in court. Everyone in the court is concerned about this matter, and you must not let it go here. It will be embarrassing if it cannot be settled by then."
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I know the importance of this. Not only Zhu Lin, but also the servants he sent to the palace, I have also asked them one by one. I have indeed witnessed the beatings of people in the royal family of Prince Han!"
"That's fine."
Duke Cheng Guo flashed a special look, "Your Majesty, please clarify, what do you mean by 'that's okay'? This matter involves the royal family of the Han Palace, Your Majesty... what kind of confession do you want?"
Zhu Houzhao's eyes widened, "What are you talking about? The facts are what they are. As the emperor, do I still want to deceive all officials and people in the world? Let your people say whatever they see. Besides, With their brains, can they think about the east and talk about the west?"
"Yes! With His Majesty's words, I will understand!"
"The young master of the Chengguo Palace can testify, and it is also an act of speaking out for justice and hating evil as much as hatred."
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!"
Duke Cheng Guo was very happy after hearing this. One of his two sons failed to succeed. His father was always unhappy. He wanted to be among the best, but at least he was not too bad. Besides, Zhu Lin was still his eldest son.
"The old minister resigns."
"Wait a minute." Zhu Houzhao walked down from above, "Since the clan members of Prince Han's palace are feuding because of rolling dice, do they come to the capital to gamble?"
Duke Cheng Guo didn't understand what the emperor meant, so he just nodded, "It should be."
"Thousands of miles away, violating the imperial ban and going to the capital to gamble?" Zhu Houzhao shook his head and chuckled.
"Hiss," Duke Cheng's eyes widened, "Your Majesty, do you want me to go..."
"Yes. Find out together and let the world know the truth."
"Your Majesty is wise, I will go now!"
After they left, You Zhi came over and handed the emperor a big cloak to keep him warm, and said, "Mr. Cheng Guo is much more sensible than before."
"You're right. People in high positions are most likely to lose their rules and don't know how to advance or retreat." Zhu Houzhao glanced at You Zhi with a thoughtful look, which made the guy's heart skip a beat.
"His Majesty……"
"Inside and outside the palace, I prefer a peaceful political environment. If you can't spare others today, how will others spare you in the future? Liu Jin asked him to go to Zhongdu to guard the mausoleum. You only need to remember the words loyalty and sincerity. , what are you afraid of him doing?"
You Zhi knelt on the ground with a plop, "Your Majesty, slave, I have evil intentions for a moment, please punish me."
Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hand and lifted him up, "There is no punishment. You are loyal and sincere enough. I will not punish such people. I can understand that I can't let go of Liu Jin. If it were me, I might be the same as you."
"Your Majesty is clearly benevolent and mighty, and he is a benevolent monarch in ancient times."
Zhu Houzhao approached him with a smile, "Tell me, what is a benevolent gentleman?"
"A benevolent king... A benevolent king does not kill people, he only kills the heart. The emperor is a benevolent king."
"You are an uneducated old eunuch, so don't imitate those civil servants outside who hang their school bags. I tell you, a benevolent king can kill people as well as their hearts!"
The emperor left after saying this.
And You Zhi touched the palm of his hand again and found that it was soaked in cold sweat! !
It's rare that I laughed a little at the end.
…
…
After Duke Cheng Guo returned to his residence, he called his son Zhu Lin over.
"My father has already reported the matter to the emperor."
Zhu Lin couldn't bear his temper and asked anxiously: "What did the emperor say?"
"The Emperor said..." The old Duke paused deliberately to whet his appetite, "The Emperor said that speaking out for justice and hating evil as much as hatred should be done!"
"Okay! It just so happens that my son can avenge that punch!"
Duke Cheng Guo hated that iron could not become steel, "This is a big deal, can you stop worrying about your personal grudges?!"
"Dad! I finally got a reward, so please stop being a spoiler."
"Get out! Why are you talking to your father!"
Zhu Lin still didn't take it seriously, "Anyway, His Majesty agreed. As long as you agree, I will go to Dali Temple to sue those people tomorrow. Now that there is such a movement, those scholars are crying and begging Your Majesty to take care of them." A meal!”
"Okay, don't be so complacent. My father asked you, do you know why these clans from Prince Han's Palace came to the capital to gamble?"
Zhu Lin had no idea after hearing this, but after thinking about it carefully, "They... they seemed to have just received the money, but it was not enough, so they thought they would win back their money and then return to their hometown."
"The money they just received? Who in the capital owes them a debt?"
"I do not know then."
"Okay, okay, you go first."
The next day, Zhu Lin seemed like a playboy who had finally found something that could make him stand out. He got up early early in the morning with great energy, just shy of being on duty earlier than the officials of Dali Temple.
Because of his special status, he also said that he had clues about Li Mengyang's case.
Wu Jiao, the minister of Dali Temple, no longer relied on him and came out to see him in person, and then immediately discussed with Zhao Shen and Zhang Mao.
They discussed here, and Zhu Lin, who thought he had gained merit, went out and publicized what he knew.
By the afternoon, the emperor was still immersed in the joy of having a daughter. Officials throughout the capital began to hear about the incident one after another. The main reason was that Li Mengyang had offended the clan with his mouth, and the clan would turn around and teach him a lesson. This logic is self-consistent. As soon as I heard it, I thought it was reasonable and no problem.
As a result, public opinion in the court seemed to explode.
Li Mengyang's friends Bian Gong and He Jingyang were so excited that they jointly went to Dali Temple to express their feelings. Even if they were not Li Mengyang's friends, other officials could not bear to see the clan beating the imperial officials. Today they can beat Li Mengyang, but they can beat them tomorrow. , is this okay?
Zhu Houzhao also felt the restraint of the civil service system on the emperor. When the six ministries, five temples, and even local officials heard about this, they began to submit memorials to the emperor, demanding that the emperor uphold justice and severely punish the perpetrators!
Four members of the cabinet, Yang Yiqing, Wang Hao, Wang Bing and Yang Tinghe, also expressed the same idea to him face to face. Other officials were desperate and said that although the emperor often summoned officials, morning court meetings could not be dispensed with at will, and they even scolded the emperor for nothing.
In fact, the elders are also under a lot of pressure. As the heads of officials, they have to play their role at critical times. In this matter, if they still follow the emperor's "willful behavior", those bold officials will probably catch them.
Wang Bing even put a high hat on Wang Hao. When he entered the palace to see his majesty, he said on the road: "Ji Zhigong is the emperor's teacher. At this time, I should explain the truth to your majesty. This matter needs to be done with caution." Deal with it, otherwise the resentment will be difficult to quell!"
Wang Bing didn't like him either. The main reason was that Wang Bing was always dishonest, which really made him unhappy. "Listening to your words, your Majesty seems to be an unreasonable king?"
After saying that, his expression did not change and he headed towards Qianqing Palace.
