It has to be said that the chief minister of the cabinet personally took charge of the cleanup of Huangzhuang and Huangdian. At least the sorting work before the final plan was released, the efficiency was much faster than before or previously expected.
Honorable ministers and relatives resisted and made trouble in the past. What was the basis for this? It was the emperor who was worried about his civil servants becoming powerful, so he had to protect his "loyal" relatives and even more care about the emperor's own internal funds.
Is the civil servant getting rich now? No, after the establishment of the National Policy Conference, subtle changes became increasingly apparent.
The Chang Dynasty has gradually become more formal. Things that were often discussed in the Chang Dynasty in the past are now increasingly transferred to national policy meetings. As for those small matters, following the new rules of "accurate reporting in principle" for affairs within the six ministries, there was no need to alarm the emperor.
There are more than a dozen people arguing about national policy meetings, and the emperor can already sit on the throne and control the decisions.
On the contrary, who enters the royal study, who attends as a representative of the honorable ministers and generals, and who is promoted to the level of cabinet minister or nine ministers all depend on the Holy Will.
On the top floor of the imperial court, because there are more gates and more active water, it is more difficult for civil servants to stay together than in the past.
Since the imperial power is temporarily stable, why should the honorable ministers and relatives make trouble?
Besides, most of them are already useless.
"I heard that the envoy of Beizhen has entered the palace." British Duke Zhang Lun asked Cui Yuan worriedly, "Counselor Cui, after Wang Zuo returned to Beijing, he visited us all and asked about our relationship with businessmen from Guangdong and Guangxi. Can you tell us more about it? Damn it! Today I have an audience with you, and Your Majesty has summoned all of our honorable ministers and relatives, and everyone is very uneasy."
In the past, they would all be called Prince Consort.
Now, they call them Cui Shence, which is a name that has only recently become popular for the other three ministers who participate in the national policy meeting besides the cabinet ministers Jiu Qing.
Cui Yuan was helpless: "My lord, many of the machine attendants cannot leave the imperial study, please don't embarrass me."
"Then why are we waiting in Wuying Hall first?" Xu Guangzuo looked at the other honorable ministers and relatives inside and outside Wuying Hall, "It's not that I'm too worried, Cui Shenzheng, you left the capital when the imperial court met on the first day of May... "
On that thunderstorm night, on the eve of the Great Court Meeting, a fire in the Rijing Sect made the ministers and relatives who attended the Great Court Meeting the next day tremble.
At that time, the princes and uncles were taken to the Qianqing Palace, while other relatives and generals were waiting in the Wuying Palace to "give the court food". Xu Guangzuo later heard that many people changed their clothes as soon as they returned home: It was naturally not because of the heavy rain that day. wet.
Whether it was a cold sweat or something else, I don't know, but it was a frightening and unbearable memory.
Cui Yuan continued to look at them helplessly: "With so many honorable ministers and relatives, the palace of Qianqing naturally had to set up a table before telling me to wait there."
"We are just family stewards who have some dealings with businessmen from Guangdong and Guangxi. When Wang Zuo came to ask, he told us everything." Wu'an Marquis Zheng Ying also came over and said, "Counselor Cui, at least let us be prepared. It's time to meet with His Majesty." What should we do? There must be a reason why Wu Dinghou went to camp, right?"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Cai Zhen.
"I don't know anything!"
Cai Zhen felt that if he continued like this, his clan would be killed.
His clan order is also very difficult. He only cares about the royal family and relatives. Cui Yuan is now in charge of the Zuojun Governor's Mansion, and these ministers still come to him to clean up the Huangzhuang Huangdian.
Isn’t Cui Yuan back already?
But there was nothing that could be done about it. Cui Yuan was too low-key in the past and was an outlier among his relatives. Most of the people who interacted with him were literati.
Guo Xun has been demoted, and Zhu Qi has even been expelled, but this news is only known to the minister of national policy. Each copy of the world certificate is divided into left and right parts, one copy is kept by the honorable minister, and the other copy is kept in the palace.
The two of them still had to perform meritorious service, and Zhu Houcong did not make any publicity to make them lose face.
Cui Yuan also changed little by little, and he said: "No need to worry, Your Majesty is merciful. Today is another day for the wife to meet the Queen Mother and the Princess. It is a happy day. What are you afraid of? Your Majesty has been busy with many things in the past few months, and now he is hosting a banquet. How can we start a war if we call upon all the honorable men and relatives to come together?"
"But why was Wang Zuo called into the palace at this time?" Zhang Lun was frightened.
Cui Yuan looked at him: "How do I know? Mr. Britain, why are you so worried about Wang Zuo entering the palace?"
Zhang Lun said coquettishly: "You can't help but overthink it. After all, Wang Zuo visited all his relatives before."
There is a huge threat in Wuying Hall, and no one can figure out His Majesty's intentions.
The two brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were conspicuous because they had no friends around them to talk with.
After keeping a low profile for several months, he supervised the construction of Emperor Zhengde's Kangling Mausoleum. Now Emperor Ruizonglie has also been buried. His Majesty has appointed ministers to work with the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works to oversee the construction of Kangling Mausoleum.
If there are no problems, then there is a merit.
But thinking of Wang Zuo's smiling face and some of the questions he asked when he visited before, the two brothers now don't seek merit, but nothing.
…
In the East Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Wang Zuo met the emperor for the first time.
Luo An also came.
"You compared me to Huguang's powerful medicine, do you also write it down and submit it?" Zhu Houcong asked with a half-smile.
Wang Zuo rested his buttocks on the stool given by the emperor and replied respectfully: "I only know how to report truthfully."
He's making fun of you, and I don't care whether you reprimand him or not. If I hide it for him, isn't that asking for death?
"You are all good." Zhu Houcong laughed, "He asked for forgiveness, and you also submitted a report. Why were the two other things I assigned you to report to me recently during this trip south?"
Wang Zuo bent down and said: "Your Majesty, the guilty minister of Guangdong and Guangdong, wants to leave Zhang Futai to interrogate and establish his authority. It is inconvenient for me to send someone to interrogate myself. Naturally, I still need to check the confession Zhang Futai gave me, so there was a delay. Time.”
"Go to Xunqi's house and confront him face to face?" Zhu Houcong looked at him, "Some people have no business dealings with Guangdong and Guangxi."
"They are all the pillars of the country. I simply go through them all. Of course it is not a confrontation. Since your majesty has approved my request, I am here to help Ninghou to bring a message. If you have business dealings, we will discuss how to deal with it. If you don't have any business dealings, we will discuss how to deal with them. The Marquis of Funing wants to first ask his disciples to go to Guangdong and Guangxi to serve in Guangdong and Guangxi. Firstly, it will deceive others, and secondly, it will make them restrain themselves and not cause worries to His Majesty at this time."
Zhu Houcong had a smile on his lips: "Where's Shi Bao?"
"Although arrangements have been made, if we still receive a secret report from Commander Shi, this matter will not be considered as a reversal. With the help of Liang Gong, Commander Shi's people now have proper identities and have spread to Nanyang. It's just a matter of sea. The wind and waves were unpredictable, but seven people were still killed.”
Zhu Houcong put away his smile and nodded: "You make all the arrangements for your family."
"I know. The adults are serving in the capital and have been assigned stable posts. The younger ones are being raised and sent to health schools."
"Speaking of Jinyiwei's health education, how are Lu Bing and Yan Shifan doing?"
The emperor asked again in person, and Wang Zuo replied solemnly: "General Lu Xiaoqian has a very good foundation in martial arts. Originally, it was just his studies that gave him a headache. After Chief Yan's son passed away, the two became good friends. Mr. Yan's family background, His intelligence and energy are extraordinary, and now Mr. Lu Xiaoqian is listening to his advice to study hard. Mr. Yan said that he had been defeated before, so he asked Mr. Lu Xiaoqian for advice."
"... Let's see what the future holds for these two living treasures." Zhu Houcong thought about the way Lu Bing and Yan Shifan were holding each other's arms, and found it interesting in his heart. Then he said to Wang Zuo, "You have worked hard this time when you went south. But the matter between Guangdong and Guangxi is still there. I won't reward you for not having achieved full success. I have another question for you: Has the leader of the group of pirates who went to Dongguan to meet the defeated bandits found any clues?"
Wang Zuo left his stool and knelt down: "I was unable to go to sea to pursue the enemy that day. After that, Guangdong also had to concentrate on preparing for the Tuenmen war, so I allowed the thieves to escape a little. I went all the way back to Beijing and verified the confession Zhang Futai gave me, so I arrived in Beijing. We later learned about the killing of officials in the southeast. Probably only Wang Ziyan knows who the leader of that group of pirates is. Unfortunately, Zhang Futai was too decisive at that time... to strike with the sword."
"No clues were found from Wang Ziyan's cronies, housekeepers, or money transactions?"
"My incompetence has not been found out yet." Wang Zuo knelt down firmly.
"Get up." Zhu Houcong said after thinking for a while, "Go to the southeast again and check from the three lines."
"My lord, listen!"
"First, what is the connection between Master Fang, the staff member of the Shouning Hou family you mentioned, and the volume "Wild Notes" that has suddenly been circulated in Jiangnan in the past six months."
Zhu Houcong's first sentence surprised Wang Zuo, but he was a professional and asked: "But what is the discussion about the ten clans of Emperor Taizong Yifang Xiaoru in "Wild Notes" written by Zhu Zhishan?"
"Secret investigation." Zhu Houcong nodded, "Secondly, the cooperation between the large Southeastern merchants and Guangdong and Guangxi maritime merchants, the focus is on the changes in Guangdong and Guangxi. Which wealthy trading houses used to rely on Guangdong and Guangxi Maritime merchants to sell silk and porcelain overseas. , tea and other channels are cut off."
"yes!"
"Third, Zhang Zilin sent a secret report after arriving in southern Zhili. It was found that the three officials who were killed were all involved in personal affairs. The official reputation was mixed, and they were all greedy for money and extravagant and hedonistic." Zhu Houcong said with a chill in his eyes, "This The person who planned the case of killing officials in the southeast may have another plan that will use this as a trigger to ignite the situation in the southeast. Even if he is not a good official, he should be punished by the imperial court! Elite troops from the Beijing camp and Guangdong and Guangxi still need to be prepared, and they will not be able to go to the southeast until next year. , you go first and help Zhang Zilin add another layer of shock!"
Wang Zuo said loudly and solemnly: "I obey the decree!"
As the governor of Beizhen, he already knew something about this matter.
Zhang Zilin probably didn't say this to close the case. It could only be that the officials who were killed were really worth killing, or that most officials in the southeast were guilty of similar crimes.
So right now, the Southeast should be like a restless powder pile. How many people are afraid of being affected?
Wang Zuoxian took the order and left. Zhu Houcong then looked at Luo An: "Is it difficult to control such a smart and capable subordinate?"
Luo An looked ashamed: "If your Majesty doesn't support me, I won't be able to suppress him."
"This sentence is absolutely correct!" Zhu Houcong said, "Since I ordered you to be the commander of the Imperial Guard, you have my support. I spent several months focusing only on the important ministers in the court. Now, it is We need to intimidate the ministers and the place! Zhao Jun and Shi Bao are serving their lives in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the good news has come. You and Zhang Bor, next you have to work hard to take care of the Jinyiwei and the inner factory. Yes, you must use your fingers like an arm!"
"I will definitely do it!"
Zhao Jun, who was already a member of the Qianhu family, made meritorious service in the battle to defend Dongguan in Guangdong. After being promoted to general, he made meritorious service in the second naval battle of Tuen Mun.
At present, relying on his status as a former minister of Qiandi, he was directly promoted to the commander of the Guangdong capital, the commander of the capital, and the commander of the capital of Guangdong, and was temporarily assigned as the commander of the Guangdong capital from the second rank through his own merits.
Guangdong, however, did not send a new capital commander or chief military officer, which meant that Zhao Jun became the de facto boss in the military attache sequence in Guangdong.
As for Wang Hong, his merits will be described later by the Ministry of War together with Zhang Fuking.
Zhang Bor, the commander, went to Guangdong and Guangxi for some experience and came back, and was transferred to Dongchang.
Originally, there was only one Dongchang for punishing thousands of households and one for punishing hundreds of households under the supervising eunuchs. Now changes are being made.
First of all, the name was changed from Dongjishi Factory to Internal Police Factory. Secondly, in addition to the admiral eunuch, the inner factory also has a commander, a third-grade officer. Zhang Boring was promoted to the third rank of Commander, and was temporarily appointed as Commander.
Luo An didn't know how the national policy meeting passed this reform, but from what the emperor just said to Wang Zuo and his instructions to him, he knew that the next step was for your Majesty to overwhelm the ministers and the local government and secure the throne. One step away.
After being ordered to leave, Luo An saw the eunuchs who were going to Wuying Hall to summon their relatives on the way out of the palace.
His Majesty, who has just turned 16, has really shown his magnanimity and strategy after entering the capital far beyond what he did when he went to the palace.
He could see that Wang Zuo, that shrewd guy, truly respected Wei Wei and worked tirelessly.
What are the things about the Guangdong, Guangxi and the People's Republic of China that convinced Wang Zuo?
…
Today, the destined woman enters the palace, and the warmth and coldness are too obvious.
First of all, it is natural to go to Renshou Palace, which is more respected on the surface, to meet the "Empress Dowager Zhaosheng Cishou", but this is just a formality.
Afterwards, the surviving eldest princesses, the wives of their relatives, and the wives of important officials of the imperial court went to the Qingning Palace in the east to pay homage to Empress Dowager Shao and Empress Dowager Jiang, as well as the two eldest princesses who were waiting for their titles. Princess.
In the Renshou Palace, Queen Mother Zhang was not in the mood to express anything, but suppressed her shock and anger but was helpless.
Because when the emperor came to say hello as usual this morning, he stayed a little longer.
He used a lot of euphemistic words and made a lot of respectful guarantees, but he only had one purpose: there were people killing officials in the southeast, there was war in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the northwest was about to enter the period of high incidence of northern bandits in the winter, so food and salary were worrying.
Can the shares of the three imperial estates and several official stores belonging to Renshou Palace be handed over first?
It sounds like Yang Ting and Kugui are fighting each other, but how can Queen Mother Zhang say no? Concubine Shao became the Empress Dowager. In terms of status in the palace, she was already the second oldest!
What's more, the emperor also said: The Kangling Superintendent is in the process of settling the accounts. After the completion, he can pay tribute to the Marquis of Shouning and the Marquis of Jianchang, and compensate for this "relieving the country's worries" in other forms.
"...Mother." Empress Xia of Zhuang Su looked at Empress Dowager Zhang worriedly.
Thinking of the Zhang brothers who were about to "attend a banquet" at Qianqing Palace, Queen Mother Zhang calmed down and said with a forced smile: "What's wrong?"
Mr. Xia was about to speak but stopped.
Have you forgotten the fire of the Sun Jing Gate? Now that the matter has come to this, why not give Shouninghou and Jianchanghou a warning?
Your Majesty said that the country is in dire straits and food and wages are at stake. Donating a small amount or two will definitely make Longyan happy, and he will enjoy wealth and honor in peace from now on!
She always felt that Queen Mother Zhang was getting more and more worried, and she still seemed unwilling to give in.
But all this... Wasn't it because of the Zheng Wang's evil talk case back then, or because the Zhang brothers were too domineering, that the friendship between Emperor Zhengde and Empress Dowager Zhang gradually weakened, so that they rarely entered the palace to favor the concubine?
As a result, not a single heir was left behind, which is how the two of them ended up.
Xia only remembered that after Emperor Zhengde came seriously ill during his southern tour, Empress Dowager Zhang never visited him once.
Even she couldn't help but doubt something now.
So she forced a smile and said, "Shall I help you walk around the imperial garden?"
The palace of Qingning Palace was full of beauty and beauty, and the ladies were smiling and flattering respectfully, making daily routines, and waiting to be seated at the banquet.
In the Qianqing Palace, all the relatives have arrived, and the tables and chairs have even been placed on the cloud platform outside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Houcong looked at this large group of people supported by the state, thinking that eighty-nine percent of them were already useless, but he still said with a smile: "Sit down."
Although it's not a cold October noon, it's still a bit windy today.
Many people who were anxious and uneasy felt their sweat on their foreheads being blown by the wind, and became extremely sober.
If it is not a joyous occasion, how can there be a good feast?
(End of chapter)
