Although the backbone of the Yong Party such as King Yong, Gao Taiji, and Dai Yuanzhi have been imprisoned, the Yong Party is still very numerous and accounts for more than half of the officials in the court. For the sake of political stability, all of them must not be kicked out.
Although Gao Taiji on the rooftop of the memorial ceremony was aggressive, the loss of the jade seal was not confirmed. If he went too far, it would appear that Zhu Sheng had a guilty conscience.
Therefore, Zhu Sheng did not kill all the Yong party.
At the impromptu court meeting, Zhu Sheng gave the leaderless Yong Party a combination of kindness and power, and naturally asked them to give up some key positions that held actual power, and then backhandedly distributed these vacated positions to Bao Bao as rewards.
Dragon lineage.
Although Qin Feng, Cai Jian and other rumour-mongers of the Metropolitan Procuratorate did not receive any actual benefits, judging from Zhu Sheng's change of attitude towards them, the days when the Metropolitan Procuratorate will be proud and proud are just around the corner, and the days when they will be oppressed by the Yong Party and dare not speak out are just around the corner.
Once gone there is no return.
It was already midnight when the court meeting ended. Zhu Sheng, who had been busy for a whole day, did not look tired at all. He was full of energy and walked quickly towards the imperial study room with high spirits.
With the collapse of the Yong Party, the original structure of the court was broken, and a new balance must be established as soon as possible.
The rise of the Baolong line headed by the old chief minister Liu Chuanfang is inevitable, but other forces must check and balance it, otherwise it is difficult to guarantee that it will not become the second Yongdang in the future.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate has been looking for the most suitable candidates, but although they have strong fighting spirit, they still seem to be a little weak. If the Yong Dang, who is still lingering, is added, it should be almost the same.
The Yong party was left to check and balance the Baolong line, which was why Zhu Sheng did not kill them all.
There is no so-called good or evil, right or wrong, loyalty or evil in the eyes of the emperor. He only cares about whether the ministers below him have the value of their existence.
Maintaining the balance of forces in the imperial court was a very delicate task. Time did not wait, and Zhu Sheng had already begun to formulate specific operating methods in his mind on the way to the imperial study.
The imperial study room was looming in the distance, and Zhu Sheng couldn't help but quicken his pace. At this moment, a sudden change occurred.
In the blink of an eye, the night sky turned into day.
Zhu Sheng raised his head and looked around, and soon discovered a golden pillar of light rising into the sky not far from the south of the palace.
Seeing that the beam of light was rising higher and higher, it was beginning to break through the sky, but it suddenly disappeared instantly for unknown reasons.
The surrounding light receded and darkness returned. The bright moon and stars in the night were not affected in any way, and they still emitted a faint brilliance through their tireless efforts.
"That direction...is the Ji Xian Division."
Zhu Sheng looked in the distance where the light beam appeared and disappeared, and murmured in his mouth.
"Your Majesty, I just received the news from outside the palace. In the afternoon, Murong Qiushui, the saint of Qiankun Temple, smashed the signboard of Jixian Division. She happened to be caught by Xiao Rong, who slapped Murong Qiushui in the face and sent her to prison.
Taoist Qingyang entered the Jixian Division to ask for someone, but he didn't know what happened inside. When they left, Taoist Qingyang and Murong Qiu Shui looked quite panicked. It is said that Murong Qiu Shui even cried loudly in the street."
Wei Lin whispered the report in Zhu Sheng's ear.
"Rong Fei captured Murong Qiushui? Do you suspect that the beam of light just now was created by Rong Fei? Rong Fei is also a monk?"
Zhu Sheng asked with a frown.
"I don't know exactly what happened in the afternoon, but Rong Fei is an ordinary person and has never practiced cultivation. This I can confirm."
Wei Lin affirmed firmly.
"If it's not Rong Fei, then it must be Mr. Yu. Such a huge anomaly probably means that Mr. Yu's cultivation has improved further. It's gratifying."
Zhu Sheng whispered with flickering eyes.
When Zhu Sheng returned to the imperial study, the first thing he did was to ask Wei Lin to polish his ink.
I spread the rice paper on the imperial desk, held the langhao soaked in ink in my hand, meditated for a moment and splashed the ink, and the three powerful characters of "Jixiansi" were written in one fell swoop.
After drying the ink, Zhu Sheng handed the rice paper to Wei Lin and said.
"Take it and order someone to make a plaque overnight. I want the best wood and gold paint. I will send it to Jixian Division with gongs and drums early tomorrow morning. You can hang it up on my behalf."
Shortly after Wei Lin took the order and left, a chamberlain stood outside the door to report.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and His Highness Prince Qi would like to see you."
"Let them both get in."
Zhu Sheng hummed with a cold face.
Not long after, two small figures appeared in front of the imperial study room. Zhu Sheng frowned and looked, but was stunned by the appearance of the two little figures.
Only two little figures, Zhu Yun and Zhu Yan, were seen with their upper bodies naked, and two thorn sticks tied with thin ropes to their backs.
After crossing the threshold of the Imperial Study Room, the two little ones knelt down on one knee and roared at the top of their lungs.
"My son is young and ignorant, and almost made a big mistake. Please punish me, father."
"My brother is young and ignorant, and almost made a big mistake. Please punish me, brother."
"What does this mean?"
Zhu Sheng pointed at the vitex tree and asked in confusion.
"This is an allusion, which is called carrying a thorn to apologize."
Zhu Yun bit her finger and replied in a sweet voice. Seeing that Zhu Sheng was still full of doubts, Zhu Yan told the story of the general's harmony.
"This is the story Rong Fei told yesterday. This story tells us that we must have the courage to admit our mistakes and do not try to hide or escape. Otherwise, we will only add mistakes to each other and make bigger mistakes."
When he first heard that the jade seal was actually lost by two little ones while playing with it, which led to a series of almost earth-shaking changes, Zhu Sheng was naturally extremely angry. He even had the idea of deposing the prince and deposing the king of Qi.
.
But now that I think about it, it was the ignorance and stubbornness of the two little ones that became the opportunity to successfully get rid of the stubborn problem of Yong Dang. The two of them could barely balance their merits and demerits.
One was his legitimate son, and the other was his beloved younger brother. Seeing the two little ones' naked upper bodies trembling slightly, Zhu Sheng, who wanted to punish them heavily, felt a little soft-hearted.
He pondered for a moment with a tiger's face and asked.
"Do you two know that you are wrong?"
"My son/my brother knows my mistake!"
"Be banned for seven days and copy the teachings of the Holy Ancestor ten to fifty times. If there is a typo or irregular handwriting, you will be fined one more time. Is there any objection?"
"My dear father, I thank you for your kindness."
"Brother, I accept the order."
"Hmph, get out of here. Remember to put on some clothes to avoid catching a cold."
The two little ones' pretentiousness made Zhu Sheng feel both angry and funny. He tried not to laugh out loud and waved the two of them to leave.
As soon as they walked out of the royal study, palace maids and chamberlains came around to help the two little ones get dressed.
Zhu Yun and Zhu Yan looked at each other silently and grinned at the same time.
Rong Fei's method really works.
The anxious Queen Tang Youer, who was guarding outside the garden, finally felt relieved after seeing the expressions on the faces of the two little ones.
Not long after Tang You'er, Zhu Yun, and Zhu Yan left, a group of Imperial Guards carrying lanterns came towards us. In the middle of the group was a stooped chamberlain wearing a python robe.
"Your Majesty, Qiao Hui, the chamberlain of Cining Palace, would like to see you."
Soon there was a young chamberlain standing outside the imperial study room reporting the news.
Zhu Sheng, who was holding a brush in his hand and thinking about it, was startled when he heard this. He thought to himself: Why is he here? Is the old witch trying to do something else?
Soon, Qiao Hui was escorted outside the imperial study room by two imperial soldiers.
"This slave is here to meet His Majesty."
Qiao Hui knelt down and kowtowed outside the threshold of the royal study.
Although Dayan governed the country by etiquette, most of the time he only needed to bow. Only on some important occasions such as worshiping ancestors and worshiping heaven, kneeling was occasionally used.
Qiao Hui was the chief chamberlain of the Cining Palace, and his kneeling down was a sign of submission to the Queen Mother.
It's just that the old witch is too naive to think that she can just let go and put the blame behind her.
Zhu Sheng had a mocking smile on his lips and said nothing, staring coldly at Qiao Hui who was kneeling at the door.
After a while of burning incense, Zhu Sheng asked in a deep voice.
"Manager Qiao, what's going on?"
"This servant is sending a message to Your Majesty for the Queen Mother. Recently, the Queen Mother has frequently dreamed of scenes from her childhood, so her homesickness has become more and more urgent. She wants to go back to her hometown to live for a while before the snow falls. I hope Your Majesty will agree."
When Zhu Sheng heard this, his palms clenched tightly together uncontrollably, and his body became a little stiff and trembling slightly. This was not because of anger, but because of excitement.
Since Zhu Sheng ascended the throne, there have been two cancers that have made it difficult for him to sleep and eat well. One is King Yong Zhu Cheng who is stranded in Kyoto and has not returned to his fiefdom, and the other is the old witch in Cining Palace.
Now that Zhu Cheng has been imprisoned, it only depends on Zhu Sheng's thoughts whether he will be demoted to ordinary people or killed directly.
At this time, the old witch took the initiative to leave Kyoto and stay away from the center of power. This was undoubtedly a double blessing for Zhu Sheng.
Although the old witch ordered the rebellious Feiyu Guards to blockade the palace during the day in order to cooperate with her son, this act alone constituted the crime of conspiracy. But after all, the old witch had a high status and was Zhu Sheng's nominal mother.
Zhu Sheng was also very scratching his head as to how to deal with it.
But at this time, the old witch gave the answer herself, an answer that made Zhu Sheng ecstatic.
However, Zhu Sheng smelled a deal from it.
After pondering for a moment, he asked.
"What can you ask for, Queen Mother?"
"The Queen Mother is old and hopes to have people close to her to take care of her. It happens that King Yong's fiefdom is not far from the Queen Mother's hometown, so the Queen Mother hopes to go on the road with King Yong."
Qiao Hui raised his eyes and secretly glanced at Zhu Sheng's expression before replying.
When Zhu Sheng heard this, he suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the old witch was willing to leave the capital on her own initiative. It turned out that she was doing this in exchange for saving the life of her own son and the prince.
Moreover, the old witch is sure that she will agree to her condition.
But...the old witch still misjudged the situation at this time.
"Zhu Cheng's crime is so heinous that just expelling him from the capital is not enough. But since the Queen Mother only has one heir, he will strip off the title of King Yong and demote him to Prince Xiude. He will leave the capital with the Queen Mother tomorrow.
.”
Zhu Sheng's decision was obviously expected by the Queen Mother, so Qiao Hui didn't even need to go back to Cining Palace to ask for instructions and directly agreed.
Ha Ching Haiyan can truly be called Ha Ching Haiyan from today on.
Looking at Qiao Hui's leaving figure, Zhu Shengzhi thought proudly.
The pillar of light that suddenly appeared and disappeared in an instant illuminated almost half of Kyoto as bright as day, naturally arousing the curiosity of many people.
But the vast majority of people are just curious and that's it. After that, it's time to sleep and drink. After all, the residents of Kyoto are well-informed, and there are very few things that can make them fuss.
To the west of the city, there is a house arranged by the Ministry of Rites for visitors from the Four Holy Lands.
Taoist Qingyang, Changkong Wuji, Shaman'er, and Zhao Ge, each leading the accompanying disciples, stood on the roof and looked in the direction of Jixian Division.
Everyone's expressions were uncertain, and they looked worried.
What happened to that massive light pillar phenomenon?
Could it be that Yu Qingzhi really made a breakthrough?