"Are you leaving now?" He Zhong was a little reluctant, "Why don't you wait any longer? After working for so long, the Marquis should take a good rest."
Li Qing shook his head: "No need, I also like to rest in Daming."
Seeing this, Hezhong stopped trying to persuade him and asked, "When are you leaving?"
Li Qing said, "Go and do some statistics to see if anyone is willing to return to the Hetao. The sooner the better."
"All right."
…
~
Capital.
The ministers could not sit still, and the emperor appointed too many officials. There were candidates for various departments, although the official positions were not big.
Especially the Yushi and Zhongshu Sheren, these two seemingly inconspicuous bureaucracies really stimulated their nerves;
The former controls public opinion, while the latter is humble but powerful. He has the power to write imperial edicts and documents, which should not be underestimated.
They realized that the emperor was serious about this time and was making preparations for their collective resignation. Obviously, the emperor was training people to replace them.
Now, they were really anxious.
Resigning is their last resort. If this trick doesn't work, then they really have no leverage to check and balance the emperor.
The six ministries, the cabinet, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other big figures immediately made countermeasures.
First of all, as long as they are appointed or dismissed by the emperor, they do not recognize them as formal officials. Regardless of the size of the official position or their position, they are all called "jianfeng officials".
Second, they once again put pressure on the emperor to stop appointing and dismissing officials.
Of course, in the process of the game, if you want the other party to compromise, you have to pay something.
So, they took the initiative to propose that they could clear out redundant staff and clutter, but they had to be cautious. In order not to affect the government order, only 10% would be cleared.
Zhu Jianshen ignored these people and continued to go his own way.
The big guys had no choice but to continue to increase their bets, adding another half.
Zhu Jianshen still ignored it and continued to appoint and remove officials. He used Zhongzhi, and the officials were helpless.
In fact, the emperor was already breaking the rules, so how could he follow the emperor's orders in everything?
However, this time I really don’t blame Zhu Jianshen for being careless. Who asked them to resign collectively first?
They were the first to break the rules, so we can't blame Zhu Jianshen for being unethical.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the ministers gritted their teeth and added half a percent more, and put forward additional conditions that they could not clean up the officials in the capital.
Zhu Jianshen also knew that he had reached his limit and felt uncomfortable if he really made others anxious.
After all, the officials he appointed were lacking in ability and knowledge. Zhu Jianshen himself would not be worried if he replaced them.
Twenty percent was enough, but any more would probably offend the local officials. If it was too aggressive all at once, it would inevitably arouse strong local resistance, and he had to weigh the consequences.
Zhu Jianshen gave up when he saw the opportunity, and stopped directly appointing officials bypassing the six ministries and the cabinet, but he did not remove the officials who had already been appointed.
After this incident, the ministers completely lost their temper. They knew that if they broke the rules again, the emperor would use another move against them.
So, with their acquiescence, an operation to clean up redundant bureaucracy began...
After achieving his goal, Zhu Jianshen's attitude towards the ministers also softened. As long as the requests and suggestions were not too excessive, he was basically satisfied;
At the same time, he paid attention to newcomers who came from the orthodox imperial examination.
This year's top pick, second pick, and top pick all held relatively good official positions in the Hanlin Academy. Xie Qian, the top pick, was directly promoted to Hanlin Editor;
It can also be regarded as a gesture of goodwill to civil servants.
After experiencing the bitter consequences of breaking the rules, the ministers were no longer domineering, gave positive feedback to the emperor's overtures, and became more diligent in handling government affairs.
Zhu Jian breathed a deep sigh of relief. After being busy for a long time, he finally felt at ease.
This battle between king and minister has finally come to an end.
…
In the hot summer, Zhu Jianshen leaned on the ivory mat and ate the iced fruit that Zhen'er fed to his mouth. It was a pleasure.
"Your Majesty is not busy now. Is it time to work hard for the expansion of the royal family?" Zhen'er fed another peeled iced grape and said, "And the two girls from Anletang, what are your plans? Is it time to pick him up?"
Zhu Jianshen stretched lazily and said, "Everything must be done one by one. Others are not in a hurry. Why are you so anxious?"
Zhen'er glanced at him and said angrily: "I'm just treating you like a donkey with good intentions. I'm not thinking about you. I really...don't care about you."
Seeing that he was offended, Zhu Jianchen quickly coaxed: "I just said it, why are you still angry?"
"My concubine is not angry." Zhen'er stood up, took the fruit plate aside, and started eating by herself.
Zhu Jian smacked his lips deeply and smiled helplessly: "I am already favoring the harem, but... I haven't had any results yet..."
As he said that, he frowned and said worriedly: "Zhen'er, in the past year, I have often stayed with Concubine Chen and Concubine De, but there has been no movement. Could it be that... something is wrong with me?"
"How can it be possible?" Zhen'er said hurriedly, "It's definitely not the emperor's problem, it might just be bad luck."
Zhu Jianshen scratched his head, then sighed again, and couldn't help but think of the little guy from Anletang.
There are direct descendants, but there are no direct descendants... Zhu Jian thought deeply about his ancestral family law, and then thought about Zhen'er's words just now, and couldn't help but have more thoughts.
"Zhen'er, do you think it would be better to bring mother and son back?"
Zhen'er nodded and asked puzzledly: "What does the emperor have to worry about?"
Zhu Jianshen sighed deeply and said, "Establish the crown prince."
"But the prince will be established sooner or later. There is no direct successor, but no direct successor." Zhen'er smiled and said, "Besides, don't you like him very much, Your Majesty?"
"I like it, it's just..."
"Because of his mother's background?"
"Well, a little bit." Zhu Jianshen nodded, "There are also shortcomings that have not been cultivated since childhood."
Zhen'er didn't take it seriously, "I'll tell you something taboo, since Emperor Xuanzong, who is the direct descendant?"
Zhu Jianshen: "..."
He is also a commoner.
Zhen'er added: "He is only six years old, so he has plenty of time to train him. As for his background... I think it will be more beneficial to the Ming Dynasty if he is the crown prince."
"How do you say this?" Zhu Jianshen sat up, "Did you know that his mother is not Han?"
Zhen'er nodded and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are impressed. Not to mention that the blood lineage has been inherited from the father's line since ancient times. Although his mother is not Han, she has been from the Ming Dynasty from beginning to end;
Even before the Ming Dynasty... Ahem, people have been living in the land of the Ming Dynasty, and they are not considered foreigners at all;
Also, Your Majesty, you are gradually implementing the reform of the native land and returning it to the local people, fundamentally solving the problem of chieftains. If you have this prince who is related to the chieftains... wouldn't it be more "a close family"? "
Zhen'er thought to herself, "Anyway, I feel that if he serves as the successor, he can continue and stabilize the emperor's national policy of returning to his native land to a great extent."
At the end, she added: "The words of a concubine and a woman are just that, the emperor decides for himself how to arrange things."
Zhu Jianshen chuckled: "But you said a lot of things that affected my decision."
"I know that I am guilty, please punish me!"
"...Forget it." Zhu Jianshen smiled bitterly, "I asked you to finish your words because I also have such thoughts..."
After a pause, he muttered: "That guy Li Qing is coming back soon, let's hear his opinion."
Zhen'er said in surprise: "He's coming back?" gòйЪ.ōΓg
"Well, I received a letter at the beginning of the spring, saying that he would come back after finishing the finishing work. I guess it's almost done." Zhu Jianshen said regretfully, "It's a pity that he has completely gone out of power when he comes back this time."
Zhen'er said tentatively: "The emperor is a king and he is a minister. If you don't let him go, will he be able to change the world?"
Zhu Jianshen rolled his eyes and said angrily: "You think of him as one of those ministers. This guy has no desires. Even if you make him a king, you may not be able to keep him."
After taking a breath, Zhu Jianshen continued: "Besides, it's not easy for him. Now that I'm actually in power, it doesn't mean much for him to stay. Let's give him a chance to enjoy his old age."
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Zhen'er stopped persuading him. In fact, she didn't like Li Qing very much either, but it was just for the sake of her little ancestor.
"Does the Emperor want to go to Anle Hall?"
After what she said, Zhu Jianshen remembered that he hadn't been there in almost two months, and he wasn't busy anymore, but he should go and have a look.
"Well, let's go."
"Now?" Zhen'er looked at the scorching sun outside and was reluctant to leave the 'air-conditioned room', "How about waiting until the morning comes tomorrow..."
"Then I will take you there tomorrow."
Zhen'er said hurriedly: "Farewell, my concubine is also going."
…
Anle Hall, backyard.
The door was ajar, the child was endorsing the book, and the eunuch was checking it.
As the child grows up and becomes more sensible day by day, and as they get along with each other for a long time, Miss Li gradually loses her guard against the slaves and no longer locks the door all day long.
Zhu Jianshen's catchphrase: "Xiao Ji opens the door, it's me!" was no longer useful.
When the couple came in, the child was reciting aloud. Since his back was turned to them, he didn't notice anything unusual.
However, two eunuchs from the inner study hall saw it, but before they could salute, they were stopped by Zhu Jianshen with stern eyes.
Zhu Jianshen was reluctant to interrupt, so he stood at the door and listened. Listening to the catchy thousand-character essay, a smile appeared on his lips.
He suddenly felt that this son seemed to be much better than he expected...
A quarter of an hour later, the child finished reciting it, and the two eunuchs in the inner study hall knelt down and saluted: "I have seen my emperor, long live the emperor, and my concubine."
"Ping Shen!" Zhu Jianshen stepped forward slowly with a smile on his face.
The child turned around and said, "Dad, aunt."
In fact, he now knows what the emperor is and also knows his identity. However, his mother does not allow him to call him emperor.
He didn't understand why, he felt somewhat aggrieved, but still chose to listen to his mother.
At this time, Miss Li, who heard the commotion, also came out and saluted: "I have met the emperor and the imperial concubine."
"No gifts, no gifts." Zhu Jianshen walked forward with a smile and took his son's hand, "Come on, let's go into the house and talk."
Zhen'er looked at this scene and suddenly felt sorry for herself. This family... what a perfect match, but she seemed like an outsider.
Sigh...how wonderful it would be if my child was still alive!
