As soon as the court meeting began, Prince Zhu Hedu could not wait to submit a report to Emperor Deqing, saying that all the arrangements for the southern tour, including river construction, roads, dragon boats, royal chariots, etc., were now ready. He personally
Under supervision, the amount of money used was 80,000 taels less than expected, and the progress was more than ten days ahead of schedule. During this period, not only did not waste people and money, but they took advantage of the opportunity to do a lot
The things that benefited the people increased the morale of the people and the prestige of the court, and the people even praised him.
After receiving the news, Emperor Deqing was overjoyed and praised Zhu Heyu's ability, not to mention all kinds of rewards.
The Qingliu people in the court had always been the most supportive of Crown Prince Zhu Heyu. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they even sang praises. It was like all the arrangements for the southern tour. The reason why it went so smoothly was all the fault of the Crown Prince.
Among public opinion, Prince Zhu Heyu's momentum in the court also grew stronger.
With his reputation, meritorious service and the support of Emperor Deqing, the prince's future path to power and political participation seems to be smooth.
However, the higher you hold it, the harder it falls.
Things have only just begun.
But it is said that the Nadu Procuratorate, as the mouthpiece and eyes and ears of the imperial court, has the power of supervision, impeachment and suggestions. It is not only the main implementer of the Ming Dynasty's supervisory system, but also the link between the imperial court and the people. It impeaches hundreds of officials,
It is very important to clarify the injustice and supervise the various departments, and to be responsible for the emperor's ears, eyes and conduct.
Originally, for an office as important as the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the major factions in the court would not miss the opportunity to infiltrate it, and the forces were always mixed.
However, with the various arrangements made by Emperor Deqing, the two closest confidants of Prince Zhu and Yu'
After Li Chengru and Lu Chunxiao became the left and right inspectors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate respectively, the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate gradually began to be controlled by the prince's party. Now it has become the headquarters of the prince's party. The major factions originally arranged
The chess pieces in the Metropolitan Procuratorate were either pulled out or suppressed.
It is precisely because of this that the Metropolitan Procuratorate has caused countless troubles to the major factions in the DPRK these days. The number of impeachments against Zhou Shangjing, Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao, and even Zhao Junchen is increasing day by day.
As one of the two chief officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Lu Chunxiao took the greatest credit for this situation.
On this day, after going to court, when Lu Chunxiao returned to the Yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, his face was rosy and he was in a good mood.
In fact, it was he who led and arranged the voices in the temple praising the prince at today's court meeting.
Thinking that as the prince gradually came to be valued by Emperor Deqing, the rise of the prince's party in the temple was just around the corner, Lu Chunxiao's footsteps became much more brisk.
Next to Lu Chunxiao, Li Chengru had a similar mood.
While chatting and laughing, the two came to Lu Chunxiao's office room together to discuss the next plan.
After the guests and hosts were seated, Li Chengru was the first to smile and said: "Master Lu, now His Majesty has a clear mind. Not only does he no longer suppress the Crown Prince, but he also looks for opportunities to increase the Crown Prince's reputation and merits. I think that after the southern tour, His Majesty the Crown Prince will be more responsible for the country."
With his experience, Your Majesty can rest assured that His Highness the Crown Prince will have real power and worry about the country." Lu Chunxiao also smiled and said: "That's it, the current situation is really a rare opportunity, but as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gradually assumes power in the future,
I'm afraid the confrontation with Zhou Shangjing and the others is inevitable. As a close confidant of the prince, I have to make preparations in advance."
Li Chengru snorted coldly and said: "How often do we have to compete with those corrupt officials and powerful ministers in the court? As the mouthpiece of the court, the Metropolitan Procuratorate is now under our control. With His Majesty's support, we can We are already in an invincible position. No matter how powerful those powerful ministers and corrupt officials are, how can we be afraid of them?"
Although Lu Chunxiao also felt it was reasonable, he was more prudent after all and said: "It's better to be cautious. Let's not talk about Zhou Shangjing, the old fox who is fierce and cunning. Even the little fox Zhao Junchen, we have never taken advantage of each other during the confrontation. Don’t look down upon it if it’s too cheap.”
After a pause, Lu Chunxiao frowned again and said: "Also, this time His Majesty, His Majesty, is preparing for the southern tour. Zhou Shangjing, Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao and Lou Ran have not made any difficulties from the beginning to the end. Today, I will serve as the Crown Prince." When I asked for credit, they didn't have any objection. It was so smooth, but it made me a little uneasy. I always felt that they were planning something." Li Chengru smiled and said: "Brother Lu, you are too worried. Your Majesty attaches great importance to this southern tour. , anyone can see, how dare Zhou Shangjing and the others dare to make things difficult? And the preparation for this southern tour, under the personal hands of the prince, has indeed gone smoothly. Not only did it not waste people and money, but it benefited the people and benefited them. It is a real credit. How can they object?" For some reason, after hearing what Li Chengru said, Lu Chunxiao felt a little uneasy. He always felt that something was wrong, and murmured softly: "I hope so."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, there was an urgent knock on the door outside the room.
"Is Mr. Lu here? Is Mr. Bi here? I have something urgent to report to you." Lu Chunxiao was slightly startled and heard Xiao Sheng's voice outside the door.
As the supervisory censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Xiao Sheng was a close confidant of Lu Chunxiao, and naturally he also belonged to the prince's party.
"come in."
Following Lu Chunxiao's instructions, the door was knocked open by Xiao Sheng, and then he saw Xiao Sheng stumbled in front of Lu Chunxiao with a pale face.
Seeing Xiao Sheng like this, Lu Chunxiao frowned and said, "What happened? To make you so flustered?" Xiao Sheng, however, didn't bother to explain his politeness. He didn't even see Li Chengru on the side. He just handed a copy of the booklet to Lu Chunxiao. , said: "Mr. Lu, please take a look at this impeachment document, which I just received."
Seeing how eager Xiao Sheng was, Lu Chunxiao's expression became a little more serious. He took the folder and opened it. After a while, his face gradually turned pale.
Li Chengru on the side couldn't help but be surprised and asked: "What happened to Xian? It made Mr. Lu lose his composure like this?"
Lu Chunxiao's eyes were a little dazed, as if he was thinking about something difficult. He didn't answer, but subconsciously handed the fold to Li Chengru.
When Li Chengru opened the book and took a look, he was even more unbearable. His body trembled and he almost fell down.
This is a letter from the supervisory censor of Shandong Province impeaching Zhang Shunde, the prefect of Heze, Shandong Province. He said that Zhang Shunde had spent the past two months in preparation for Emperor Deqing's southern tour, wasting people and money, and going to war just to build a house for Emperor Deqing. To temporarily suspend the palace, more than 70 houses were expropriated, leaving more than 400 people homeless. In order to make up for the money to build the palace, the tax money in Heze was more than doubled. Come, Heze is full of complaints.
This morning at the court meeting, Prince Zhu Heyu just reported to Emperor Deqing that the preparations for the southern tour were flawless and that there was no waste of money or people. His reputation and momentum were greatly increased because of this. But just after the court meeting, this impeachment letter arrived. Isn't this right?
Aren't you slapping Zhu Heyu in the face?
But in fact, the crisis this impeachment letter has brought to Prince Zhu Hechi, and even to the Prince's party, is far more than that.
The most critical question is, after receiving this letter, should the Metropolitan Procuratorate submit it to Emperor Deqing?