Zhu Si asked Zhang Zuo to inform Zhang Zuo about the victory in the battle on the southeast coast, and stated that Zhu Hao was responsible for this incident.
"...The battle has been won, and things in Jinghai will continue. However, some of the fleets sent out previously got lost and never came back. How should the merits and demerits be calculated?"
Zhu Si seemed to be questioning the officials at the scene.
No one wants to answer this kind of question.
The war to exterminate pirates and Japanese pirates in the southeast was not originally planned by the imperial court. In other words, the strength of pirates and Japanese pirates in the early Jiajing years was not enough to attract the imperial court's attention.
If Zhu Hao led troops to pacify the northwest, the result would be completely different.
Jin Xianmin, Secretary of the Ministry of War, walked in the queue and said: "Your Majesty, the current southeastern sea battle should be stopped immediately, otherwise it will waste people and money."
Zhu Si frowned and scolded: "As the Minister of the Ministry of War, first of all, I don't want to quell the bandits and the people of Kou An, but I want to save money and food for the court. Are you the Minister of the Ministry of War or the Minister of the Ministry of Households?"
Jin Xianmin felt that the emperor was full of anger, as if an active volcano was about to erupt at any time, so he shrank back in fear.
Seeing that Jin Xianmin was as silent as a cicada, others would not say anything, and everything was quiet in front of Fengtian Gate.
Zhu Sidao: "Zhu Qing's family is now a Hanlin bachelor, and he is also the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. I treat him quite well. Let's balance the merits and demerits this time."
The ministers present felt very uncomfortable.
Zhu Hao launched a war to exterminate the bandits out of nowhere, and then took the initiative to admit his fault. The emperor wanted to determine his merits, and finally announced that the merits and demerits were equal... He was just looking for trouble!
Liu Chun walked in the queue and said: "Your Majesty, since the merits and demerits are equal to each other, do you want Zhu Jingdao to return to the court early?"
Zhu Sidao: "It was because of this incident that I asked him to go home and stay for a while. Then I will send someone to inform him and let him return to the court."
Zhang Zuo did not accept the order because he felt that the task was impossible to complete.
If the emperor asked him to return to the court, would Zhu Hao happily accept the order? It is clear that Zhu Hao himself does not want to come back, so now go and tell Zhu Hao this... and you cannot force him. What is the difference between saying it and not saying it?
…
…
The court meeting was over and all the ministers were talking a lot when they left the palace.
They all felt that the emperor's trust in Zhu Hao was too much, and some were talking about Zhu Hao's arrogance, and some even proposed to impeach Zhu Hao... However, the top civil servants in the court did not comment much on Zhu Hao, because they knew that,
It is not easy to unseat Zhu Hao now.
In the bustling crowd, Gui E deliberately slowed down and waited patiently for several ministers of Wenyuan Pavilion. When the two parties approached, he hurried forward to pay homage.
Liu Chun smiled and said to Gui E: "Zishi, please serve the court well. If you don't understand anything in the future, just go to Wenyuan Pavilion and ask for advice."
Shi Yun and Jia Yong looked at Liu Chun after hearing this, and said to themselves that you are really rude and directly asked Gui E to "ask for advice" from the cabinet. Does this mean that you think Gui E is not good enough?
"yes."
Gui E showed respect to Liu Chun and bowed her head to thank him.
Liu Chun, on behalf of the cabinet, chatted with Gui E for a few words, then moved on, and soon parted ways with Gui E.
After the four members of the cabinet passed Zuoshun Gate, Fei Hong asked Liu Chun: "Will Jingdao obey the order and return to the court?"
Liu Chun smiled and shook his head: "Who knows?"
Shi Yun asked again: "What is he doing recently?"
Liu Chundao: "I only know what he is doing when he stays in the Taoist temple. No one knows. Some people say he is calculating the fate of the country, while others say he is praying for today's emperor. Only he knows what he is doing specifically."
Now Lian Shi Yun and Jia Yong became curious about Zhu Hao.
There are too few people like Zhu Hao who have climbed to high positions at such a young age. The emperor has great trust, but Zhu Hao can be "unfazed" by favors and humiliations. He treats fame and wealth as if they are floating clouds. It is really difficult for people to understand Zhu Hao's thoughts.
Jia Yong said: "Isn't it just showing off, or joining forces with His Majesty to put on a show?"
Since you can't understand, you should think the worst about Zhu Hao.
In case Zhu Si and Zhu Hao, the monarchs and ministers, felt that Zhu Hao's reputation was not enough to join the cabinet, they deliberately used this method to show that Zhu Hao had noble ambitions and accumulated a good reputation for his lack of fame and fortune, and then directly blocked Zhu Hao later. Entering the cabinet...
At that time, Zhu Hao not only became their opponent, but also allowed Huangkou Xiaoer to climb to a high position and have more influence on court affairs.
Liu Chun said quickly: "Jingdao is definitely not that kind of person. He is very similar to Bohu. Let's not make any assumptions."
…
…
Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Zuo presented a memorial written by Zhu Hao to Zhu Si.
"...Does Jingdao still want to go to the southeast? No matter how hard I stay, he won't be able to do it? He doesn't want to return to his hometown as an official and become the master of Taohua Temple in Xianyun Yehe, right?"
Zhu Si knew that Zhu Hao was determined to leave, and he was so angry that he couldn't help but sarcastic words.
Zhang Zuodao: "Your Majesty, that was Mr. Tang's wish. Mr. Zhu... shouldn't be able to, right?"
Zhang Zuo didn't remember that Zhu Hao said he was going to plant some peach blossoms, and Zhu Hao didn't say he was going to resign. No matter how tense the relationship between Zhu Si and Zhu Hao was, Zhu Hao didn't seem to have any idea about resigning, just for research. He is extremely enthusiastic about construction, mining, smelting and other things.
"Then what does he want to do?" Zhu Si asked angrily.
Zhang Zuo asked tentatively: "Didn't Mr. Zhu explain it to Your Majesty? I remember that he seemed to have said that it was his duty to change the times."
"Isn't this kind of thing just talk? Would I believe such nonsense? What does it mean to change the times, and how can we change the times?"
Zhu Si and Zhu Hao grew up together.
Zhu Hao once instilled many things into Zhu Si. Even when Zhu Si was a child, Zhu Hao was his guiding light. Unfortunately, after Zhu Si became the emperor, his mentality gradually changed. When he was still the crown prince of Prince Xing, he liked I have no interest in shipbuilding, machinery, handicrafts, etc. now.
The greatest joy of being an emperor is the sense of control over the fate of others.
Zhang Zuodao: "Your Majesty, I don't understand this, so how should I respond to Mr. Zhu's memorial?"
Zhu Si took Zhu Hao's memorial requesting to be transferred to Nanjing and sat there for a long time.
"I said before that I no longer care where he goes. Recently, I really haven't used him much. Otherwise... let him go to the south for a few months. He should be tired of it when he comes back and can rest assured. Isn't it true that his Hanlin bachelor's degree has even become a cabinet minister?"
The questions raised by Zhu Si were full of uncertainties, and Zhang Zuo was unable to answer them.
For a moment, the Qianqing Palace fell silent.
…
…
After about half an hour, Zhu Si finally made up his mind and agreed to Zhu Hao's memorial to go to the south to manage the army.
Before formally issuing the edict, he asked Zhang Zuo to leave the palace to explain clearly to Zhu Hao. The most important thing was to explain the "rules" that Zhu Hao needed to abide by this time when he went south.
"... Mr. Zhu, His Majesty hopes that you will come back within half a year, and at the same time you will still be a Hanlin bachelor. However, you can let go of your position as the Right Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Your Majesty is going to promote you to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Works... Don't be anxious. His Majesty wants you to be the Minister of Industry." Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Nanjing...
"In addition, you are supervising shipbuilding and other matters in the south. You must ask the imperial court for instructions on everything, and you cannot make decisions on your own. You do not have the authority to mobilize troops, and you cannot interfere too much with the military affairs after arriving in the south.
"Also, after you go south, you should write back frequently to inform you of the situation there."
Zhu Hao listened for a while, and Zhu Si didn't seem to be too wary of him.
Especially the last request for him to write a letter was a bit of a joke.
Just submit the memorial directly. What kind of letter should I write? Do you think the correspondence between the monarch and his ministers is a means of showing friendship? If others find out, you are afraid that it will attract criticism, right?
Zhu Hao nodded: "Okay."
The conditions are not harsh. Even if he wants to be the Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, Zhu Hao doesn't think anything of it. The Nanjing Ministry of Industry... doesn't have as much power as the Nanjing Ministry of Industry. The Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry is more of a casual job.
What can be done after going south is another matter.
"I wonder when you will leave?"
Zhang Zuo asked.
Zhu Hao said: "Your Majesty hasn't issued an order yet, so don't worry."
Zhang Zuo asked tentatively: "Mr. Zhu, if you go south, haven't you ever thought that if you leave everything behind, you will be far away from the center of power of the imperial court, and even lose His Majesty's favor?"
"If you only care about the country's life and death, how can you avoid it because of misfortunes and blessings?"
Zhu Hao sighed with emotion, "I am your Majesty's minister. For the sake of the eternal peace of the Ming Dynasty, what's the point of a little grievance? This time I went to the Taoist temple to meditate, and I gained a lot. Eunuch Zhang may not believe it when I say it. By calculating the heavenly secrets, I calculated
To... there may really be a medicine for immortality in this world."
"What?"
Zhang Zuo was shocked.
Zhu Si had also talked about immortality before. At that time, he thought that the young emperor was crazy for wanting to live forever.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Hao also accompanied the little emperor crazy.
Zhu Hao said: "As for where it is, I don't know. I can only take it one step at a time. I don't know if half a year is enough."
Zhang Zuo smiled bitterly and said: "So Mr. Zhu's purpose of going south is to find... the elixir of immortality for His Majesty? This... this..."
Zhang Zuo felt that he had been fooled, but he didn't know what was wrong and felt confused.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "This kind of thing, before it comes true, is at most just a good wish. It is too difficult to find this kind of thing in the Ming Dynasty. The secret is unpredictable. Who knows where it is?"
"this……"
Zhang Zuo was still speechless.
What he didn't know was that as early as when Zhu Si was young, Zhu Hao had given Zhu Si the idea of "there is an elixir overseas."
In fact, Zhu Hao had already expected that the situation today might happen. After Zhu Si had the power, he did not want to help him fulfill his dream of changing the times, so Zhu Hao gave Zhu Si a false hope early in the morning. In this way, Zhu Si
No matter how reluctant you are, thinking about the exciting dream of immortality, you are willing to make some compromises.
Zhu Hao's purpose of entering the Taoist temple was more to make Zhu Si think of the elixir of immortality in this world through some hints without saying it out of his mouth.
actually……
It would be strange if it did.
A rational person like Zhang Zuo naturally didn't believe it, but after Zhu Si became emperor, and Zhu Hao knew very well how much this boy would admire Taoism in the future, others didn't believe it, but this emperor did.
The first step of Zhu Si's life goal, to become emperor, has been completed.
Next Zhu Si must set a new goal.
That is eternal life.
Just like the ancestors of Lao Zhu's family, they pursue some illusory things.
"Eunuch Zhang, I estimate that I will be leaving in half a month, and I won't be saying goodbye to you then." Zhu Hao said.
Zhang Zuo smiled and said, "Our family will deliver the letter in person at that time."
"I don't bother you. After I leave, you will be troubled by many things in the court." Zhu Hao smiled and said, "Regarding the matter of finding the elixir of immortality, don't tell your majesty for the time being. I'm afraid that your majesty will come back later if he has hope."
disappointment."
Zhang Zuo thought to himself, Your Majesty knows this even if you don't tell him, and he may be looking forward to it.