Zhu Hao appeared in front of Yang Shen again, but it was at Yang Shen's residence, and he visited late at night.
When Yang Shen learned from his servants that Zhu Hao, the new right minister of the Ministry of Rites, appeared in front of his house, he was a little surprised, but he immediately organized his thoughts and met Zhu Hao, the man who asked him to do so, in the study that originally belonged to Yang Tinghe.
A person who has never been able to figure out where he stands.
"Brother Yongxiu, long time no see." Zhu Hao smiled and cupped his hands.
Yang Shen nodded and motioned for Zhu Hao to sit down, but Zhu Hao smiled and shook his head: "I'll just say a few words and then go."
Yang Shen immediately asked rudely: "Where have you been recently?" It was Zhu Hao who should have come to talk about the matter, but Yang Shen has always been a strong person and wanted to control everything, even the elders, ministers, Hanlin bachelors and so on.
He didn't take anyone seriously at all, let alone Zhu Hao?
You, Zhu Hao, still want to take the initiative in front of me? Zhu Hao replied: "I went to Xishan." "Why go to Xishan?" Yang Shen frowned.
If Zhu Hao is working for the emperor, then what is the purpose of Zhu Hao's trip to Xishan? Isn't that a place for coal mining? What does it matter to a civil servant who was born as a champion?
Could it be that he was secretly sent to do hard labor?
Zhu Hao said helplessly: "Sometimes I can't choose some things. Now I feel more like a chess piece. I was previously held hostage by Sun Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue, and now I am a Hanlin scholar. I can't help myself!"
"Yeah." Yang Shen nodded.
He agreed with this point. Zhu Hao was probably not the leader of the consolidation incident, but more like an errand boy, and there was another culprit behind it.
Otherwise, Yang Shen really couldn't accept that he had been kept in the dark by Zhu Hao, like a fool.
Yang Shen said: "So, your promotion to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites was a choice made for you?"
Zhu Hao smiled: "Brother Yongxiu seems to care about who I am working for."
"snort."
Yang Shen was now very suspicious of Zhu Hao. In front of Zhu Hao, he tried his best to maintain a high and dignified attitude, as if everything was under his control.
Zhu Haodao: "Now I don't know what position I should maintain... Logically speaking, I should work with my colleagues in the Hanlin Academy to advance and retreat together in everything. This is indeed what I did when I entered the Hanlin Academy, but the result... was...
Not ideal."
It means that when I first entered the Hanlin Academy, it was just whatever you said?
When he remonstrated with the emperor, he co-signed, and even served as the chief initiator, and ended up in the tragic situation of being sent to the mine for two months of labor reform. These past experiences are still vivid in his mind.
You can’t say that I didn’t take care of the feelings of your colleagues in the Hanlin Academy, right?
"No matter what, you shouldn't change your original intention." Yang Shen said in a lecturing tone.
Zhu Hao nodded: "Later, you also saw that many things happened to me in the court. First I was driven to Nanjing, and then to Yongping Mansion. After several trips, I thought everything would be calm, but there were people from the Ministry of Punishment.
Errands were waiting for me, and I finally went round and round back to the Hanlin Academy. I was really tired! At this time, Mr. Tang told me to be a villain and leave a little room between the emperor and his ministers in the court, so I did it.
"
Yang Shen said: "Are you trying to say that Tang Yin had agreed with you in advance about the proposal to make Emperor Xingxian the emperor?"
Zhu Hao spread his hands and didn't answer directly, but his meaning was very obvious - who could it be if it wasn't him?
"Then Mr. Tang asked me to act as a lobbyist to make a deal with you. Although I succeeded, I was exhausted mentally and physically... Why do you think I didn't show up at the Hanlin Academy? Do you think that under such circumstances, the Hanlin Academy's errands would be of any use to me?
What's the point?" Zhu Hao looked sad.
Yang Shen said coldly: "Then who are you working for now?" Zhu Hao said: "Of course you are working for the imperial court... Now I can be considered a competent chess piece! I will try my best to help anyone who asks me to do something.
Just to balance the relationship between the court and the court, the result was that everyone betrayed their relatives...
"But it's pretty good now. Suddenly I was appointed by the imperial court as the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. I do what I can to help the imperial court discuss etiquette. Can you say that I am irresponsible?"
Yang Shen didn't say anything this time.
"I just want to tell you that Mr. Tang came to see me before and told me that in two days,
A debate in the court about the Great Ceremony will enter its final stage. I risk telling you this news. What do you think of my position?"
Zhu Hao seemed to be very upright, but he avoided answering questions involving his position. In other words, he wanted to play the role of a neutral and continue to make Yang Shen confused about his motives and intentions.
"Two days later?" Yang Shen asked for confirmation.
Zhu Hao shook his head: "I'm not sure about the specific day, but it's probably these two days. As far as I know, His Majesty has sent Jin Yiwei and people from Dongchang to set up obstacles around the palace gate to prevent
Civil servants gathered to make trouble... I can only remind you so much."
Yang Shen suddenly slapped the desk, looking very angry.
Because what Zhu Hao said happened to correspond to his discussion with the Yushi Yanguan.
But this does not mean that it can be prevented. No matter whether there are royal guards or imperial guards blocking the entrance of the palace, it will not prevent them from kneeling to beg and cry for the door. However, this will cause many officials who just go to kneel and beg for the door to cry out of blood.
Due to concerns, many timid people will hesitate on whether to go or not, which is a disguised form of alienation for the originally monolithic civil service camp.
Yang Shen said: "If civil servants gathered together to make speeches and memorials to His Majesty, you wouldn't go, would you?"
"Um."
Zhu Hao nodded without hesitation, "At this point, if you insist on asking this question, I can only answer this way. Yes, I won't go!"
"hehe."
Yang Shen's eyes were full of contempt for Zhu Hao.
Zhu Haodao: "Actually, I'm also very surprised. Why are you so concerned about my position? I was originally from Anlu. I have already said that I have known His Majesty for a long time. Although I passed the examination before Your Majesty ascended the throne,
But as a Jinshi from Anlu, am I not qualified to serve the imperial court? "
Zhu Hao asked Yang Shen.
Why do you think that I must be on the opposite side of the emperor? Shouldn't you think that the emperor and I wear the same pants?
Yang Shen said coldly: "Jingdao, how much do you know about your Zhu family's affairs? Do you understand that the death of Emperor Xingxian's eldest son was related to your Zhu family?"
Zhu Haodao: "I really know something about this matter. It is said that King Xing's family was repeatedly persecuted by the court, but I really can't figure it out. Even if Emperor Xingxian died, or his eldest son died too, and the entire family was wiped out, would it be possible for Daxingxian to do so?
Can’t one of Emperor Zong’s princes give birth to a son? What’s the point of murdering the vassal king? Couldn’t it be that someone deliberately said this in order to claim credit from the imperial court?”
"You..." Yang Shen was asked.
The Zhu family's involvement in the murder of Zhu Youhang's eldest son sounded reasonable at first, but after Zhu Hao's explanation, it seemed very unusual.
Zhu Hao sighed: "At least I was treated well in Prince Xing's palace and had the opportunity to study. Later, with the support of Emperor Xingxian, who was then Prince Xing, I obtained a meritorious service. However, when I went to the provincial examination, Emperor Xingxian passed away.
, I feel very sad. From the beginning to the end, my relationship with Mr. Tang, Uncle Yutian and others has been very good, and there has never been any rift."
The more Yang Shen listened, the stranger he became.
Zhu Hao is clearly saying that you regard me as a thorn in the side of Prince Xing's Mansion, but I actually get along very well in Prince Xing's Mansion.
If this is the case, then why can Tang Yin be a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, but I can't be a bachelor of attendance and the right minister of the Ministry of Rites?
"Brother Yongxiu, do you blame me for not telling you this in advance? In fact, since the first day I entered the court and met you, I have never hidden anything from you, right?"
Zhu Hao looked innocent. Yang Shen thought about it carefully. It seemed that this was really the case.
From the very beginning, it was Yang Tinghe who told him that Zhu Hao could be reused. He also felt that it was impossible for Zhu Hao to gain the trust of the current emperor as he was from the Zhu family of the Imperial Guard. Then he wooed Zhu Hao and asked Zhu Hao to work for him.
.
"I have always been conscientious in my work. On the issue of the Grand Ceremony, I initially believed that His Majesty should not be too persistent, as it was clearly to suppress dissidents in this way. I did not want chaos in the court, so I took the lead in opposing it.
"However, Emperor Xingxian has always been kind to me. Now that your father, Mr. Jiang Ge and others are no longer in court, your majesty has no intention of discussing the ceremony."
I am still very persistent about the matter. Although I understand the insistence of Brother Yongxiu and all my colleagues on resisting the etiquette, I cannot be ungrateful. I cannot stand on your side when it comes to the matter of etiquette!"
Zhu Hao told a tortuous story, putting himself on the opposite side of Yang Shen.
Moreover, Zhu Hao's story sounded very "reasonable", and even made Yang Shen feel that Zhu Hao's actions made some sense.
"Brother Yongxiu, I have told you all I can to remind you. Please think about what you are going to do in advance. The outcome is up to you to fight for it!" Zhu Hao said, "I have declined your Majesty's appointment.
Yes, but you have seen that His Majesty wants to use me as the right minister of the Ministry of Rites to participate in the ceremony, and Mr. Tang fully supports him behind the scenes. As the saying goes, once a teacher is always a father, I have lost my father since I was a child. Regarding Mr. Tang’s instructions
There is no way to disobey!
"As for the matter of discussing etiquette, please forgive Mr. Zhu for not being able to help. I can only say sorry in advance! I wish you good luck!"
At this point, Zhu Hao cupped his hands and was about to leave. "Stop!" Yang Shen called Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao turned around and asked, "It's your turn to teach me a lesson and scold me for not abiding by my duty as a minister, isn't it?"
Yang Shen was very angry.
It felt like Zhu Hao could accurately calculate what he was thinking at every moment. He really wanted to scold Zhu Hao just now, but since Zhu Hao said so... then he couldn't let Zhu Hao "calculate accurately" and had to change his approach.
Let’s talk.
"Jingdao, what you did is very unprincipled, do you understand?"
Yang Shen scolded Zhu Hao in a very polite tone. Zhu Hao smiled bitterly: "I have no principles? Tell me first, what are principles to me? With my background in Prince Xing's Palace, if I do what you said
If I don't follow principles, I won't let Zhang Bingyong's status rise rapidly, let alone be manipulated and discarded as a chess piece!
"The experience of the past few years has made me understand a truth. I just need to be a good minister with peace of mind. As for the principles... they are all illusory things. I also want to ask you here, what are you doing with Eunuch Zhang?
When trading, have you ever thought about what principles you adhere to? "