After the court meeting dispersed, many officials gathered together to discuss the affairs of the academy. Today, not only did they fail to achieve their goal, but they also lost a famous official.
"Hmph, Your Majesty has made it clear that he wants to separate from us and attack us gentry. Wang Xiangqian and Xu Guangqi are also disciples of saints after all. What a shame for the gentry!"
The censor who spoke earlier said angrily.
Because he was rebuffed by Wang Xiangqian, he already had a grudge against the current chief minister of the cabinet.
"Be careful, even though we are outside the palace, factory guards are everywhere, especially Wei Zhongxian, who is eager to arrest us and put us in jail. If they listen to us, it will be dangerous!"
The censor was about to say more, but when reminded, he became frightened and immediately shut up.
Then several people quickly walked into the duty room, closed the doors and windows, and whispered:
"Everyone, this matter is extremely detrimental to us. His Majesty's heart is not with ours at all. Instead, he is targeting us everywhere. This is not good news!"
Dai Peng said worriedly.
"But now we, the loyal ministers and righteous officials, speak lightly in the court, and His Majesty favors the factory guards and traitors. Instead, Xu Guangqi, Cheng Guoxiang and others hold high positions and hold great power. What can we do?"
The Emperor's Heart and the others already knew that if things continued like this, wouldn't they return to the era of the Chenghua period where three pavilions were made of paper and six ministers were made of clay?
What is the difference between the current court and the Chenghua period? Which of these ministers and ministers was not promoted unusually?
Apart from supporting the emperor unrestrictedly and kneeling on the ground and kowtow, what else would they do?
If this continues, won’t the Ming Dynasty be ushering in another period of darkness and lack of light?
The tragedy of Chenghua is right in front of us. Will Ming Dynasty have to go through it again?
"I see no other way but to implement loyal remonstrances, even to the point of death, to make it possible for Your Majesty to see the true face of those traitors!"
Dai Peng retorted:
"But how can the so-called advice be implemented after the tragic deaths of the noble righteous people in the capital and the demotions?"
"Besides, it's not like I've never heard of this advice before. Have you forgotten what happened in the end? This method won't work at all. It will only cost your life in vain!"
The censor suddenly became anxious and walked left and right:
"This won't work, that won't work either, so what should we do? Should we just sit back and watch those sycophants control the government?"
These officials are aggrieved, but Zhu Youxiao is in a very good mood now.
Because Wei Zhongxian entered the palace, it meant that he could once again wield the knife against those moths. This time, he wanted to uproot them and eliminate those civil servants and officials in the court who were against him.
In the Palace of Qianqing, a dozen memorials were placed in front of Zhu Youxiao. These were the charges brought out by Wei Zhongxian during the interrogation.
And Wei Zhongxian was kneeling below to give a report to the emperor.
"The Emperor, He Shijin, Chen Suoxue and others have all confessed. They wanted to take advantage of the Emperor's personal campaign to rebel and cause rebellion. They sent people several times to contact Lin Danhan."
"He also told the true and false status of our army and the location of the emperor to the slave who reported the message to Lin Danhan. He has also been arrested, and more than thirty officials from the DPRK and the Central Government are involved!"
"In addition to these officials, many gentry were also involved. They also contacted the direct military guards, and many commanders of the guards secretly expressed their support!"
Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly, obviously he also found it incredible. He didn't expect these people to really dare to do it. Fortunately, he had an extra hand, otherwise he might have been tricked to death by them.
Zhu Youxiao said in a deep voice:
"Then have they had contact with my brother?"
Zhu Youxiao has only one younger brother, and that is Zhu Youjian. If Zhu Youxiao is really murdered, the biggest vested interest will be his half-brother.
Since they dared to do such a thing, they must have planned it carefully. They must have reached an agreement after internal discussions to elect that royal family member as the new emperor.
It's a pity that they think too highly of themselves. Even if he really dies, it won't be Zhu Youjian's turn to inherit it. Not to mention the legacy he left behind, it's just them, low-ranking sixth- and seventh-grade officials, who will take the lead.
Support?
"Well, Chen Suoxue found excuses to enter the palace several times to get close to His Highness, but he was blocked from the palace gate. There was also one time when he was almost killed by the guards as a thief!"
"They saw that they could not enter the palace, and His Highness has been trying to leave the palace, so there was no contact!"
Zhu Youxiao immediately felt that he had a good vision after hearing this. The Tengxiang Four Guards really lived up to his expectations and really carried out his orders to the end.
"Is there any evidence of conspiracy between the commanders and them?"
Zhu Youxiao did not expect that the commander of the guard station secretly supported them. After all, the possibility of this was too small. As far as he knew, there was no intersection between them.
It seems that they were frightened by the order to enter the palace last time, and they were guarded like prisoners during the expedition. These people all have guilty consciences, and they must be very scared.
He originally planned to deal with all these commanders last time, but as the expedition was about to begin, Zhu Youxiao did not act rashly. Now it seems that they took the risk out of fear.
"Going back to the Emperor, the slave who secretly communicated intercepted a few letters, but the contents did not contain their specific charges. It seems that they discussed it in person!"
"The twenty-one guards are all in the military camp, and there are also Zhou Ping'en's Yulin Army guarding them. How did they meet?"
Seeing that the emperor had this question, Wei Zhongxian replied:
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for all the food and grass for the military guards, and Chen Suoxue is the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He remanded the food supply once and went to Xuanda!"
This makes sense. Since they can contact Lin Danhan all the way, this trivial matter is not a big deal. After all, the Yulin Army cannot monitor everyone all the time.
"Those commanders should stay put for the time being and monitor them strictly. If you continue to investigate further, if you still can't find any evidence of their secret communication, then you know what to do!"
After all, these people still have military power in their hands, and Zhu Youxiao doesn't want to make things too big. If he makes a big move rashly, Zhu Youxiao can't guarantee that these people won't fight to the death. After all, they have already chosen once.
Wei Zhongxian was secretly shocked. He did not expect His Majesty to be so ruthless. Although he did not say it explicitly, his intention was very clear, that he wanted to forge evidence against them when necessary.
However, as a minister, he naturally only obeys the emperor's orders.
Wei Zhongxian replied with a smile:
"My slave understands, Your Majesty, don't worry, in just one day, I will present their evidence of crime to Your Majesty!"
The pro-military guard has long existed in name only. Since it can no longer play its role, there is no need to exist.
These commanders have been in their posts for generations, eating imperial food and receiving Xiangyin, but now they can no longer recognize who their master is. Zhu Youxiao really feels sad for Zhu Yuanzhang at this moment.
Zhu Yuanzhang's ideal country was ultimately too ideal. Human nature is the most complex, and people's greed is endless.