"In ancient times, those who set up the emperor to be noble did not do it to benefit one person. They said: There is no noble person in the world." [Shenzi]
Suddenly someone shouted loudly outside the Shangshu Pavilion. In the Tai Pavilion, all the ministers, ministers and other officials were stunned, and they all put down their affairs and walked out in order. Only a few carriages were seen, and the carriages were standing guard in front of the emperor.
Surrounding the imperial driver, there were also Yulin Lang and Hu Benlang riding on horseback and holding halberds, guarding His Majesty's side. These hundreds of people relied on the power of the ceremonial guards to make everyone's breath stagnant.
Scholars Sun Rui, Yang Zan, Zhao Jian and others fell to the ground and bowed their heads. They shouted together: "I have come to see your majesty. I wish your majesty a long life and long lasting happiness."
The emperor slowly walked out of the carriage with the support of Mu Shun. Among the many guards, the emperor's frail body looked unusually tall. He nodded. Mu Shun shouted to the kneeling ministers on the emperor's behalf: "Zhi said.
'rise'!"
The ministers thanked him and stood up, consciously standing on both sides.
The emperor didn't even look at them and walked straight into the chancery. After the emperor entered, Wenzhen, the minister from Nanyang Wan, quickly grabbed Huangmen's minister and Ding Chong from Pei, who were following behind, and asked in a low voice: "Young
Yang, why did Your Majesty visit China today?"
"Your Majesty and I are not friendly, how could I know?" Ding Chong felt depressed. Ever since the emperor ordered Wang Bin to ride with him and he had treated him with a cold face, the emperor seemed to have listened to Wang Bin's advice and disliked him even more. He felt very sad.
Helpless, he warned in a low voice: "Your Majesty's temperament is just different from the past. If you get angry this time, something big will happen, so be careful when dealing with it."
After saying this, Ding Chong followed his colleagues into the Shangshu table. Wen Zhen and others had no choice but to follow behind. They saw the emperor sitting awkwardly in the middle of the seat that should belong to the Shangshu Ling. Sun Rui, the Shangshu Ling, and his servants
Shooting and Yang Zan stood on the left and right with their hands down.
Seeing the ministers walking in one after another, the emperor asked loudly: "I remember that Wang Situ recorded the affairs of the ministers and was in charge of the government affairs. Why didn't I see him here today?"
Several ministers looked at each other, and then recommended the oldest minister to come forward to answer. The minister was about fifty years old, with white hair and beard. He was from the Feng Yi family and his name was Guo Pu. "Go back to the country, Situ's body."
I'm sick, I just sent someone to deliver a memorial this morning."
"What about the memorial? Why didn't I see it?" the emperor asked.
"Your Majesty, the memorial is here. I have read it for you. It is indeed true." The emperor's incident happened suddenly and Wang Yun happened to be away. In order to prevent the emperor from having any trouble, Zhao Jian paid special attention to it and made his own decision.
, picked up the memorial from one side, took a few steps closer and presented it to Mu Shun.
Guo Pu coughed dryly, looked at Shisun Rui with furrowed eyebrows, and then withdrew knowingly.
What happened today was so unusual that even Shi Sunrui was unwilling to take the initiative to speak before he saw the situation clearly.
The emperor took the memorial from Mu Shun and held it in his hand without opening it. With a sneer on his lips, what he said surprised everyone: "It seems that I have to issue a decree to reward you.
Your Majesty does not think that I am too young to be morally virtuous and that I am not capable of handling government affairs, so you approve the memorial for me, which is really commendable for your loyalty."
There was an uproar in the Chancellery. After all, this matter was a custom that had been left long ago. After Dong Zhuo's death, although Shi Sunrui had suggested returning the government to the emperor, Wang Yun used the excuse that the emperor was young and insisted on following the past tradition.
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Therefore, it is no wonder that the memorial could not be heard in heaven immediately, and it is no wonder that the ministers below were responsible for drafting the imperial edict.
At this time, seeing the emperor blaming him, everyone started to complain about themselves.
"Why did your Majesty say this?"
"Your Majesty, I have never been slack in my duty of loyalty. There must be some villain who has made suggestions about this matter and is trying to alienate us, the king and his ministers. Please bring him to justice!"
Mu Shun couldn't stand listening anymore and felt it was his responsibility to maintain order and shouted: "Quiet! How unbecoming is it for your majesty to make such noise!"
This sound caught Zhao Jian's ears. He was still thinking about how to save the situation. If this situation was allowed to develop, Wang Yun's power would be greatly reduced, which was not what they wanted to see.
Mu Shun's step forward at this time was undoubtedly a life-saving straw for Zhao Jian.
He deliberately drew the fire to Mu Shun and made it look like the eunuch had returned to power. Several ministers had not noticed Mu Shun at first, but this time they suddenly thought that Mu Shun was causing trouble and encouraged the emperor to deal with the scholars. So they all looked at Mu Shun angrily.
They all turned their anger to Mu Shun and asked the emperor to issue an order to severely punish Mu Shun.
The instigator of the incident, Zhao Wen, stood aside quietly and watched the situation coldly. He wanted to know what the emperor should do in this situation, which determined the future stance and direction of their brothers in the court.
On the contrary, Mu Shun was frightened now, with cold sweat streaming down his face, and he involuntarily took two steps back. Although the Kansai and Kanto people were at odds, they were surprisingly consistent in their views when faced with the possible resurgence of the eunuchs.
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Just when everyone thought that the matter was over, the emperor spoke: "Who said that he was going to issue an edict just now?"
Mu Shun's face turned pale. He quickly knelt down beside the emperor and said in shock and fear, "Your Majesty..."
"What are you afraid of?" the emperor said to Mushun in a very low voice.
Mu Shun immediately felt at ease. He placed all his hopes on the emperor, hoping that the emperor's power would be strong enough to hold up the world.
Zhao Jian stepped forward and said as if he was loyal to the country: "Your Majesty, the dangers of the eunuch temple are worse than the torrent. The people's livelihood of our Han Dynasty is declining now because of the favor and trust of the eunuch temple by the previous emperors. Your Majesty, if you want
To support the country and revitalize the imperial court, one must know that 'never forget the past is the guide for the future'."
"It makes sense. It seems that you are also familiar with righteousness." Zhao Jian put all the blame for causing the chaos in the world on the eunuchs, and said the righteousness so awe-inspiring that the emperor couldn't help but look sideways. Zhao Jian was quick-witted, and the emperor was not willing to let him say that.
Going down, he wanted to take back the initiative: "Since you know the righteousness, then I have to ask, as a minister, do you know what the duties of a minister are?"
"Xunzi said, 'The master knows the people, the ministers know the affairs.'" Zhao Jian opened his mouth and said without thinking.
The meaning of this sentence is that the master's duty is to select wise men, and the minister's duty is to handle responsibilities and affairs. The two have their own division of labor and do not interfere with each other.
Here, Zhao Jian's implication is implicitly expressed, reminding the emperor that the Shangshu desk handles state affairs, and the emperor is only responsible for using talented people to handle government affairs. I hope the emperor will not interfere.
Zhao Jian had served as an eunuch and was well versed in human relations. He had a bad idea when the emperor came in and spoke his first words. Although he didn't know the emperor's intention, it was always right to stop the emperor from gesticulating about the chancellery.
"Well, since you have talked about the duties of a minister, then as the emperor, I have to talk about the duties of the emperor." The emperor nodded, and no one had any objections. They lowered their hands to express their respect, and the emperor cleared his throat.
Said: "Weaken the strong and control the chaos; stretch the weak and straighten it in vain. Only if one person rules the world, how can he serve the world with one person? The emperor wants to rule the world himself and let all living beings enjoy peace. How can he live alone?