The emperor was already in a state of rage, but he seemed to have maintained a certain degree of reason despite his rage, that is, he only agreed to the resignation of Sun Jiao and Wang Jun, and did not spread the momentum of forcing the ministers to retreat to others, otherwise it would be Jiang Mian. Taking up official positions will not solve the problem. Perhaps more than half of the top civil servants, such as senior ministers and ministers, will have to retire.
Zhu Sidao: "I regard the letter from Nanjing's Minister of War as Minister of Rites. What do you think?"
The problem was once again thrown back to the ministers present.
If the ministers do not agree with the emperor's proposal, then the monarch and his ministers will soon be in a stalemate on the issue of the Great Ceremony. The emperor may forcefully implement the concept of "succession without heirs". Zhu Youhang will be the emperor. At that time, the ministers can only He resigned one after another, and the court fell into complete chaos.
But if it is agreed that Xi Shu from the Yili faction should be the Minister of Rites, a few months will be given to make adjustments.
Although Xi Shu was destined to be on the side of the emperor and supported "succession without heirs", when Xi Shu came to the capital from Nanjing to take office, and then the Ministry of Rites discussed the ceremonial matters, it would have to be postponed until the end of the year, that is, Jiajing Three years.
Whether to break up on the spot, or to give the monarch and his ministers a buffer period of two or three months, this question was placed in front of all the ministers.
Seeing that no one came out to express his position, Zhu Si asked: "Do you have anyone else to choose?"
Since it was a court recommendation, Huang Zan proposed Xi Shu as the candidate for the new Minister of Rites. If others have opinions, they should propose new candidates for selection. But the problem is that the emperor has already made his attitude clear to Jiang Mian. If he continues, If you recommend a minister who is traditionally opposed to discussing rites to be the Minister of Rites, the monarch and his ministers will still fall into a deadlock of back and forth.
If the emperor insists on appointing a minister from the rites faction as the minister of rites, the difference in who should be the minister is not that big.
On the contrary, it is sometimes easier to control foreign officials like Xi Shu who are far away from the officialdom of the capital. Because they have no roots in the capital, it is relatively easy to restrict them. At worst, after Xi Shu comes to the capital to become the Minister of Rites, all the traditional ministers will impose restrictions on him. Suppression, since Xi Shu was alone and had never been an errand of the Ministry of Rites, he might have been suppressed.
Sun Jiao said: "Old minister, I second the proposal." The ministers looked at him with strange eyes. Haven't you, old man Sun, already retired?
Even if you were appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and retired, you are still considered to be the Minister of the Ministry of Etiquette. Is there any direct connection between whether you second the proposal and whether Xi Shu will be the Minister of the Ministry of Rites?
Zhu Sidao said: "If there is no objection, then the matter will be settled as it is. As for the candidate of the Minister of Household Affairs, it will be decided at the court meeting in the next two days, so that's it!"
A court meeting that had been stalemate all morning ended like this. Although the ministers were still frightened, judging from the result, it seemed that everyone could feel more relaxed.
Although the tension between the monarch and his ministers continued to escalate, it once again did not reach the point where remonstrance was needed. Wang Jun's withdrawal from the court seemed to be a serious problem, but Wang Jun's influence in the capital was quite limited, and he did not take office before Luo Qinshun. When Wang Jun was the Minister of Rites, he was brought in temporarily to make up for the situation. In addition, when Wang Jun was the Minister of Rites, the emperor successively made progress in the great ritual discussions.
In this way, not many people felt it was a pity for Wang Jun to retire. Moreover, in exchange, Sun Jiao, who was very close to the emperor, was given over to him. In this way, it seemed that the traditional civil servant faction took advantage. .
It's just that Xi Shu succeeded the Minister of Rites... It gave the core civil servants of the traditional school a headache. But for ordinary civil servants, it didn't matter whoever became the Minister of Rites. The Great Rites Conference would continue anyway. After all, not everyone is a staunch defender of Taoism.
After the court meeting, Sun Jiao officially resigned from the court. Many people went over to say some respectful words to Sun Jiao. Sun Jiao seemed to be in a good mood. He was not depressed at all because he left the court. When he talked to everyone, his face showed a natural expression. cheerful smile.
None of the core officials such as Jiang Mian went to talk to him. It can be seen that in this great ceremony, the civil servants had formed relatively clear factional disputes, and because Sun Jiao himself did not firmly stand on the side of the traditional civil servants, he early Alienated from the civilian mainstream.
After the court meeting, Huang Zan was called by the emperor to the Qianqing Palace alone to speak. This kind of treatment appeared one after another to Huang Zan, making many people jealous.
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Si only left Zhang Zuo to accompany him to meet Huang Zan. At the beginning, Zhu Si said in a cheerful mood: "Xueshi Huang, is this a little unexpected? I only changed the two ministers of the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Rites, and left the others untouched. 「
Huang Zan lowered his head, not knowing how to respond.
He really didn't expect that, because from the news he learned in advance, the emperor was going to complete the purge of the court at once, so he would be allowed to join the cabinet and become the "third person" in the cabinet, second only to Fei Hong and Liu Chun.
And now the emperor has not kicked Jiang Mian and Mao Ji out of the court, which means that Huang Zan still has no chance to be promoted, because Jiang Mian and Mao Ji are firmly opposed to his joining the cabinet.
"I want to do it step by step."
Zhu Si called Huang Zan here, mostly to appease him, "On the key issue of discussing etiquette, I asked the two ministers of the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Rites to serve at the same time. It is a kind of statement that I must go further in etiquette and law, but it is also Don’t be too hasty.”
Huang Zan said in his heart, "Isn't this too hasty? You are almost in a hurry."
Zhu Sidao: "As for Mr. Jiang Ge, Mr. Mao Ge, and Qiao Shangshu, I am going to take it step by step. Next, they will definitely resign. As long as they resign, I will agree to it and will do so within the next one or two months." , Complete the change of the main ministers in the DPRK."
When Huang Zan heard this, he couldn't help but secretly take a breath. He felt the brilliance of this move.
He used very radical methods to make all the ministers think that the emperor was going to cause chaos. When the emperor initially asked Sun Jiao and Wang Jun to become officials, he followed the path that the civil servants were most worried about. However, when Jiang Mian proposed to beg his old age and return to his fields, the emperor suddenly changed his tune. , to maintain the stability of the court...
This means that the emperor's goal this time is not to change the court, but just to replace the Minister of Rites from the rites faction.
The emperor's initial purpose was clear, and the results were satisfactory. The ministers felt the pressure...
It seems that Huang Zan is the only one who is secretly frustrated, because Huang Zan is still waiting for Jiang Mian and Mao Ji to take office, so that he can fill the vacancy in the cabinet.
Zhu Sidao: "Because Xi Shu is coming to the capital soon to be the Minister of Rites. It is estimated that he will arrive in about ten days. Next, you must work together. When there is progress in discussing etiquette, I will propose that Huang Xueshi be admitted. Pavilion."
Still have to wait!
Huang Zan had a headache. Although becoming a Hanlin bachelor was his own choice, he just wanted to use the Hanlin bachelor's degree as a springboard. His real purpose was to become a cabinet minister.
However, after being in the capital for so long, he contributed a lot to the discussion of etiquette, but he did not get back the real power, and the matter of joining the cabinet was suppressed. Huang Zan felt extremely aggrieved. He said that if Jiang Mian and Mao Ji resigned again, they would
It was approved, but who knows when they will resign next? Will the emperor use other excuses to delay the matter further?
"Send Academician Huang out of the palace. I'm tired. I haven't even used lunch. I'm really... so tired."
After Zhu Si finished speaking, he asked Zhang Zuo to escort Huang Zan out of the palace. Maybe there was something inconvenient to say in person, so he asked Zhang Zuo to talk to Huang Zan alone, while Zhu Si went to eat.
Huang Zan was in a depressed mood and walked with Zhang Zuo on the way out of the palace. Zhang Zuo said with a smile: "Master Huang, don't take it to heart. Your Majesty has always wanted to help you join the cabinet. It's just a big turmoil in the court. I'm afraid it will lead to chaos."
In the face of some disasters, we still have to walk step by step to be safe."
"yes."
Huang Zan said yes, but he was thinking in his heart, isn't this playing tricks on me? Zhang Zuodao: "Do you have any concerns, Academician Huang?"
Huang Zan finally couldn't help but asked: "Is this your Majesty's idea, or..."
He wanted to ask if this matter was planned by Zhu Hao. If so, then Zhu Hao was saying that he had never told him the truth from the beginning, but seemed to be just using him, and he was not sure about Zhu Hao now.
What role did Hao play in the new emperor's forces?
Zhang Zuo suppressed his smile and said seriously: "This is Mr. Zhu's intention." Huang Zan said: "Since Mr. Zhu is advising His Majesty, why is it that he is a Hanlin bachelor and someone who has joined the cabinet, and it's not him?"
Zhang Zuo shook his head: "Actually, His Majesty has long wanted him to join the cabinet as a senior minister, but Mr. Zhu has no intention of doing so. He would rather hide in the dark. As for his specific thoughts, we don't know.
"Mr. Zhu has repeatedly proposed that Huang Xueshi be appointed to the cabinet, but
You also know that among the civil servants now, they still look up to Mr. Jiang Ge. When Mr. Liu Ge entered the cabinet, he encountered great resistance... There are many things that even His Majesty cannot decide."
Zhang Zuo is trying to excuse Zhu Hao and Zhu Si. Now the emperor says whoever joins the cabinet can join the cabinet? If the emperor's words are good, why should a matter of discussing etiquette get so out of hand?
The point?
"After three years of meetings, and still no agreement, all the civil servants will threaten to resign. If they resign one by one, Your Majesty is not worried, but if they all leave at once, the court will fall into great chaos.
Will the remaining ministers assist His Majesty in running the court?
"Your Majesty is also in a difficult situation. Mr. Zhu can help your Majesty step by step to get to where you are today, which is very valuable. Everything depends on human effort. I hope Xuexian Huang can understand it more."
Zhang Zuo continued to complain.
Huang Zan felt better. It was not that the emperor and Zhu Hao were cheating him, but that sometimes they had to worry about being swallowed up by the torrent of court officials.
It is already very good for this pair of young monarchs and ministers to be able to fight for their current position.
Huang Zan said: "I understand that if Mr. Jiang Ge and others all retire at once, I'm afraid it will be difficult for outsiders to maintain stability in the DPRK. I can wait, or even..."
"There are some things that Mr. Huang doesn't need to say more."
Zhang Zuo smiled and said, "Your Majesty will remember your contribution, and Mr. Zhu will remember it even more... You and Prince Xing's Mansion have known each other since Wei Mo, how could His Majesty not remember your merits? We are all on our own, we understand each other, let's take over the power of the court together."
Bring it here so that Your Majesty can keep your word in court and work hard for this goal!"