March in spring is supposed to be the time when warblers fly and grass grows, and peach blossoms bloom.

But today's weather is particularly abnormal. Last night, the north wind suddenly blew up, and everything inside and outside the capital was desolate. At noon, heavy snow started to fall from the sky.

Emperor Wanli was spending time happily playing mahjong with Sun Xian and several other eunuchs in the inner room of Qianqing Palace. Suddenly, a little eunuch dressed in white snow hurried in from outside the door.

The little eunuch knelt on the ground and said fearfully: "Your Majesty, it's snowing outside."

Although it is not common to see snow in March, it can easily become a reason for civil servants to admonish the emperor for his moral cultivation.

For a moment, the joyful atmosphere in the inner room condensed. Sun Xian quickly stood up and stood aside respectfully, waiting for Emperor Wanli's order.

Emperor Wanli looked very unhappy. If the snow fell on the first lunar month of the twelfth lunar month, it would not be surprising. It could even be called auspicious. But it happened to fall in March, and March was about to pass. The solar term was close to the beginning of summer, so Wanli had to let it go. The emperor took it seriously.

It is foreseeable that officials of all sizes in the capital will immediately go to the emperor and ask Emperor Wanli to respect heaven and practice virtue. Countless long speeches will accuse the emperor of his faults that led to this sudden snowstorm.

Zhu Changluo stood behind Emperor Wanli. He looked at the little eunuch who came in to report that it was snowing outside. He sighed inwardly, "The Little Ice Age is finally coming, and the natural disaster that crushed the Ming Dynasty is finally coming."

Emperor Wanli was not in the mood to play cards anymore. He wanted to think about how to deal with the civil and military officials of the imperial court. However, in the end Emperor Wanli still found helplessly that he seemed to have no way to deal with it.

Zhu Changluo looked at the crowd where the atmosphere was gradually getting serious. Zhu Changluo's voice was loud and loud, "My son, congratulations to my father, the auspicious snow heralds a good year! This snow is the auspiciousness given to my father by God! Snow is falling in March, and everything is covered with snow. The earth has returned to spring again, which is because my father's virtue has been recognized by God."

When Sun Xian and others heard what Zhu Changluo said, they all knelt down on the ground to congratulate Emperor Wanli for his benevolence and virtue being recognized by heaven. This March snow was auspicious.

After hearing this, Emperor Wanli became more confident and felt that the snow was auspicious.

Emperor Wanli said happily: "That's right, this is auspiciousness."

Seeing that Emperor Wanli was in a good mood, everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Zhu Changluo struck while the iron was hot and said: "Father, since this snow is auspicious, then we cannot let it be artificially destroyed and cause a disaster. Father should immediately issue an order to the cabinet. He and the Ministry of Household Affairs asked them to make arrangements and arrange manpower to help people affected by the snow inside and outside the capital. At the same time, he ordered the Shuntian Prefecture to do a good job in public security work in the capital to prevent young people from taking the opportunity to cause trouble and destroy the benevolence of the father. "

Emperor Wanli said: "Yes."

Then Emperor Wanli said to Sun Xian: "According to the emperor's eldest son's wishes, immediately prepare an edict to the Cabinet of Ministers and Shuntian Prefecture."

Emperor Wanli looked back at this small son with many ideas, and felt happy in his heart. At the same time, he couldn't help but think, "He is indeed my good son." The more he looked at him, the more he liked him.

Sun Xian immediately took the decree and set off to the cabinet to announce the decree.

Just when Sun Xian was on his way to the cabinet, the three elders and the six ministers in Wenyuan Pavilion were discussing about the heavy snow. A sudden snowstorm made the elders of the cabinet feel heavy, and the six ministers sighed. .

The officials from the Inspectorate and other yamen who had no business in the capital were gearing up and burying their heads in their desks with sorrow, writing eloquent memorials criticizing the emperor's misconduct.

Shen Shixing broke the silence. He looked around at the ministers in Wenyuan Pavilion and said, "Let's talk about it. How to deal with this snowstorm?"

Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, said: "The sudden heavy snowfall may be an ominous sign. I suggest that the cabinet ask the emperor to look after the court and put the world first."

After Shen Li's words set the tone, the remaining ministers followed Shen Li's wishes and began to put pressure on the cabinet, hoping that the cabinet would be the one to take the lead.

Shen Shixing listened to the buzzing discussion in the six departments. He didn't want to solve the problem, but always wanted to shirk responsibility. Shen Shixing felt extremely tired. However, Shen Shixing still had to cheer up. His biggest ideal was to be kind. All the officials are loyal to the emperor and make the court stable inside and outside. He just wants to be a peacemaker and let the empire operate smoothly as usual. This is Shen Shixing's biggest wish.

The reason why Shen Shixing is so Buddhist is because his predecessors were too troublesome. From Xia Yan, the chief minister in the Jiajing Dynasty, to Zhang Juzheng in the current dynasty, there were four or five chief ministers in between, and all of them ended miserably. Yan Song was killed, Yan Song's house was confiscated, Xu Jie Gaogong was dismissed, and Zhang Juzheng was liquidated after his death. The person who could take the first and second position and retire unscathed was Zhang Siwei. However, Zhang Siwei was in power for a short period of time, and in Shen Shixing's view, Zhang Siwei could not be considered a A normal first assistant.

Therefore, Shen Shixing, who had seen through everything, changed the daring style of his previous chief ministers and became a lubricant between the emperor and the ministers. He just wanted peace and safety. He believed that there was no need for peace during his reign. Big things can be said to be the greatest achievements.

However, in such a large empire, if the emperor does not go to court and the chief minister is weak and only wants to maintain the status quo, how can it be tolerated?

Just then, Sun Siam arrived.

Sun Xian directly entered Wenyuan Pavilion to announce the decree.

Sun Xian came with a copy of the imperial edict from the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Sun Xian opened the imperial edict and said: "The emperor's edict is carried by heaven: Snow falls in March, everything is covered with snow, and the earth returns to spring again. This is auspicious blessing from heaven." In the cabinet The Ministry of Household Affairs coordinated the planning and arranged manpower to rescue the people affected by the snowstorm inside and outside the capital, so that they could survive the storm safely. Shuntian Prefecture stepped up security maintenance to crack down on those who tried to destroy the auspiciousness. I appreciate this."

After Shen Shixing and other ministers listened to Emperor Wanli's imperial edict, they were all stunned. Unexpectedly, Emperor Wanli did not follow common sense this time. He actually issued an edict first, directly defining this wind and snow as auspiciousness. Doesn't he usually just wait passively?

At this time, several ministers in the cabinet reflexively wanted to refute Emperor Wanli's decree, but Shen Shixing immediately responded loudly: "I accept the decree."

Sun Xian handed the imperial edict into the hands of Shen Shixing, "Our family is going back to the emperor to reply to the edict. I would like to thank Yuan Fu and all the other gentlemen for making good arrangements and not letting the auspiciousness turn into a disaster."

After Sun Xian left, the voices in the cabinet exploded.

Shen Li, the upright Minister of Rites, was the first to jump out and question Shen Shixing, "Yuanfu, why did you accept this decree? The emperor is negligent and refuses to go to court. This snow is a warning from heaven. We could have used this as an excuse to go to court." Your Majesty puts government affairs first, why did you accept this imperial edict?"

Although Shen Shixing has a good temper, he is also the first assistant. Shen Li, who is so humble, is questioning the first assistant, and Shen Shixing immediately becomes unhappy.

Shen Shixing said: "Shen Butang has said it before. This snow in spring is just as the emperor said, it is auspicious snow. You never leave heaven to warn the emperor of neglecting government. What is your intention? Do you want to destroy the auspiciousness?"

The biggest reason why Shen Shixing recognized the snow as auspicious was that he was the chief minister. If the snow was really a disaster, in addition to the emperor having to admit his mistake to heaven, as the chief minister, he also had to take responsibility, now that it had been determined. So as the chief assistant, you should have the authority and responsibilities of the chief assistant.

Shen Shixing should use this as a basis to make good arrangements inside and outside the capital to provide relief to the affected people. If anyone jumps out to accuse the snow of being a disaster at this time, he is going against the cabinet and the court!
Chapter completed!