The night is fading.
The official closed the book about Xu Liang. Just as he blew out the candles and was about to leave the study, he heard footsteps coming from the window. As he approached, the servant said, "Master, there is someone outside the door asking to see you."
Xu Liang was a little confused. Who didn't sleep at night? Why did he come to his own house?
"Can you identify yourself?"
Xu Liang asked.
The servant replied: "I asked, and I just said that he is a colleague of the master and has something important to discuss with me."
Xu Liang thought for a while but had no clue, so he had to arrange for a servant to take him to the study. He went to fetch water and washed the sweat off his face before entering the study.
Covered in black robe, he looks mysterious.
Before Xu Liang could speak, the other party turned around, smiled warmly, and called out: "Brother Zhenghao."
"Brother Xiuren!"
Xu Liang was a little surprised. The person who came was not only a colleague, but also Wan Zhong, a Jinshi in the same department and currently a member of the Ministry of Punishment.
Wan Zhong took off his black robe and explained: "When I come to visit at night, there are things that are difficult to talk about during the day. If there is any trouble, please bear with me, brother Zhenghao."
Xu Liang waved his hand, asked Wan Zhong to take a seat, poured tea himself, and said: "After the Enrong Banquet, we were busy with our own things and rarely got together. If you came early, we could have a few drinks."
Wan Zhong recalled the imperial examination in the first year of Jianwen and the impressive Enrong Banquet. At that time, it seemed that he only focused on watching the performance of the art troupe...
Shaking his head vigorously, Wan Zhong's expression became solemn and he said: "During this visit, there is indeed an important matter related to the country, and Brother Zhenghao needs to work together."
Xu Liang suppressed his smile and became a little more cautious and vigilant.
After nearly two years of court career, Xu Liang has seen too much strife and betrayal. Xu Liang is no longer a passionate young man who just entered the court. When his head is hot, he will rush forward regardless of the consequences.
Wan Zhong did not beat around the bush, but went straight to the point: "The emperor has not been in court for the past few months, has ignored government affairs, and has not even seen his ministers. If he is like this, what's the big deal? The only way now is to gather the strength of all our officials and jointly submit a letter, Please alert your Majesty that you should not let the pleasures of the harem cause you to slack off in your government affairs. You should remember Taizu’s teachings and put state affairs first!”
When Xu Liang heard about this, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Isn't this the emperor's health? You also know about the previous court meeting. The emperor came late for a long time. I heard from the imperial doctor that the emperor is tired and needs more rest."
Wanzhong shook his head solemnly and said: "It's understandable not to go to court for three days because of illness, but it's okay to ignore government affairs for seven days. But have you ever seen an emperor who didn't go to court and ignored government affairs in recent months? Taizu is ill. When I was on the bed again, I heard that the chamberlain was reading documents, and I occasionally met with ministers! Now that my emperor is slacking off, as a minister of the Ming Dynasty, I should try my best to exhort him to accept his true intentions and work for great causes for all people."
Xu Liang also felt a little strange. Logically speaking, ordinary people would recover in three to five days if they caught a cold, but it was really abnormal that the emperor did not recover for so long.
Seeing that Xu Liang was a little relaxed, Wan Zhong stood up and said: "I think back then, the emperor was diligent in politics, promoting a whip for the people, implementing new business strategies for businessmen, vigorously reforming the three major camps, and launching large projects, all kinds of The new policy is so exciting. Now the emperor is seclusion in the harem and ignores the affairs of the state. I am afraid that he is drunk on the banquet, sleeping on the beauty, and not thinking about progress. As ministers of the country, although we are in a humble position, we dare not not worry about the country! "
Xu Liang was shocked by Wan Zhong's integrity and generosity. He immediately slapped the case and said: "You are right, a humble minister is also a minister. We sincerely care about the country and should jointly submit a letter asking the emperor to come to the court. This is an act of great justice. !”
Wan Zhong bowed deeply to Xu Liang and said, "Brother Zhenghao's move will definitely make him famous for generations to come!"
Xu Liang didn't care about his reputation for future generations, but was really worried about the future of the country. It was not a big deal that the emperor had not come to court. I heard that even the emperor did not come forward to major events such as the rebellion of King Qi and the war in Qingzhou, and even No minister was summoned.
This is not okay. If things go on like this, won’t the cabinet become the real emperor?
Lord, minister and minister, the ethics cannot change!
For the sake of the beliefs in our hearts and for the future of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor must be allowed to rule!
Wan Zhong was prepared. He took out a document from his sleeve, handed it to Xu Liang, and said, "The memorial has been written. I'm just waiting for Brother Zhenghao to leave his name."
Xu Liang unfolded the document and took a deep breath. This memorial was written with sharp words and extremely sharp edges. It described the dangers of the emperor's absence from the court in a whip-like way. He pointed at the emperor's nose and cursed.
When he saw the rows of names at the bottom of the document, Xu Liang's eyes widened and he said, "Zhuo Jing, the left minister of the household department? Is this what Zhuo minister took the lead?"
Wan Zhong nodded heavily and said: "If this memorial fails to work, there will be something more powerful."
Xu Liang's expression changed. He knew exactly what Wan Zhong meant.
Zhuo Jing is the minister of household affairs, and the more powerful ones are naturally the ministers and even the cabinet ministers. This means that if the emperor still refuses to listen to the persuasion of these little people and comes to court, a larger number of officials will jointly submit a letter.
This kind of collective voice is undoubtedly a kind of demonstration, and it can even be said to be a kind of forced abortion. It is an excellent opportunity for the civil servants to show their power. If the emperor goes to court like this, it will be a collective victory for the civil servants. When needed in the future, maybe it can be used again, a second time...
If the emperor still does not go to court, then well, for the future of the Ming Dynasty, for the ideals and ambitions in his heart, and for the sake of straightening his spine, he must fight to the end no matter what.
The law does not blame the public, not to mention that the civil officials were right and the emperor was at fault. No matter how bad things were, he would not lose his head.
Xu Liang seemed to have seen a conspiracy, and at this time, he had become a pawn in the conspiracy.
"For the country!"
Wanzhong motioned to Xu Liang to sign quickly.
Xu Liang picked up the pen and finally gritted his teeth and wrote his name.
No matter who is organizing this action, they are doing it for the country and for the justice of the monarch and his ministers, with a clear conscience!
After Wan Zhong put away the memorial, he bid farewell to Xu Liang and continued to the residences of other officials.
The curfew time in the capital was very short, only at Zishi, Choushi and Yinshi, so Wan Zhong had plenty of time to visit.
Early the next morning, an impeachment memorial for twenty-seven officials was delivered to the cabinet. The memorial was titled "In the Second Ming Dynasty, my emperor should be diligent in government and serve heaven before his dynasty."
Xie Jin felt dizzy when he saw this memorial, and there were stars in his eyes. There was no problem with the name of this memorial, either in the middle or at the end. The problematic part was the four words "Da Ming II".
Damn it, who is so sinister?
Who doesn't know that the Qin and Sui states were not prosperous and the second generation perished. When they say that the Ming Dynasty is the second generation, isn't it a curse that the Ming Dynasty will soon perish? Such curses on the country come from a group of officials who uphold "justice" and "integrity"?
"Huang Ge, what does this mean?"
After Xie Jin looked at it, he asked with a cold face.
Huang Zicheng immediately became unhappy and asked: "This is what all the officials said from the bottom of their hearts. If you don't ask all the officials to explain the cabinet, why do you ask me?"
Xie Jin gritted his teeth. This memorial was written by Zhuo Jing, the Minister of Household Affairs. Everyone knew that Xia Yuanji was busy transporting food at this time. Shanxi immigrants needed food, and the dredging of the river also needed food. The northern border towns should not be short of food. , he, the Minister of Household Affairs, has become the captain of the busiest grain transportation team in the Ming Dynasty, how can he have the mind to get involved in such a thing.
Besides you, Huang Zicheng, who can directly command Zhuo Jing? You are the old minister of the Ministry of Finance!
After Yu Xin read it, he knocked on the table and said, "Although the words of this memorial are sharp, it still hits the point. The emperor has not been in court for many days and has not seen his ministers. If this is the case, the officials will be indifferent. In the future, the government will If we are slack, the people will not be able to make a living, how can we get away with it?”
Jie Jin suddenly stood up, looked at Yu Xin and Huang Zicheng, and said, "The emperor is just ill and resting for a period of time. You have jointly submitted a letter. Could it be that you want to establish your own prestige by forcing him to conceive?"
Snapped!
Huang Zicheng slapped the table and said sternly: "Jie Jin, if you continue to falsely accuse me of my intentions, don't blame me for writing a letter of impeachment against you!"
"Hmph, then try impeachment!"
Xie Jin was not afraid.
Yu Xin frowned and persuaded: "That's enough. The official letter needs to be forwarded to the emperor no matter what. There is no need to argue about this matter. However, the palace has not responded to Dai Yuanli's funeral regulations in Taiyuan Hospital. What do you think? ?”
Huang Zicheng's face was full of anger, he glanced at Jie Jin and said: "Although Dai Yuanli's official position is not high, he is in charge of Tai Hospital and Imperial College of Medicine. According to the sixth-grade official given to the president of the medical school, his funeral can be promoted to one level, and according to the fifth-grade official It will be handled according to the official standards. The Ministry of Rites has already made a plan for this matter, so there is no need to discuss it."
Jie Jin suppressed his dissatisfaction and argued: "The Ministry of Rites' standard for five-rank officials is just a rule. However, it did not consider the great achievements of Dai Yuanli's three classics of Medicine. According to the suggestion of Yang Shiqi of the Imperial Academy, it should be given a higher standard in order to To show that the Ming Dynasty valued and cherished talents, I think the document from the Ministry of Rites should be rejected and the funeral should be held from the fourth rank."
Yu Xin looked at Jie Jin and Huang Zicheng who were arguing endlessly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.
The matter the two were arguing about seemed trivial, but the difference was only half a grade. It really didn’t require such energy, but it contained a deeper political significance:
The right to speak!
The cabinet has not been around for a long time. Although it has undergone some adjustments, it has never been in order. Cabinet ministers work equally and express their opinions without saying anything or completely suppressing them.
In other words, there are no levels such as first assistant and second assistant at this time. But the six ministries all have levels, so why should the cabinet be divided into different levels?
Whoever has the right to speak is the real leader.
Whether it's a small thing or a big thing, it doesn't matter. Whoever has the final say is the real thing.
He knows that your father is his father, but he still won't let you recognize your father as his father. He insists on bringing out two fathers. This is the energy of the Ming Dynasty's first assistant.
Although Xie Jin, Yu Xin and others were far from reaching that level of cultivation at this time, regardless of the father's affairs, they had to decide who was their son.
Jie Jin felt that there was something tricky. Yu Xin and Huang Zicheng joined forces. The two were veteran forces and their energy was far beyond his own. When Zhu Yunwen was here, he could come forward to support him, but now Zhu Yunwen is probably not in the capital anymore. When the big boss speaks, he will be unable to bear it.
"There is a will."
Just when Xie Jin and Huang Zicheng were arguing, the chamberlain shouted and ended the argument.
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