It has to be said that the Chief Minister of the Cabinet personally took charge of cleaning up the Imperial Mansion and Imperial Store. At least the sorting out work before the final plan was finalized was much faster than before or expected.
Why did the ministers and relatives resist and make trouble in the past? The emperor was worried that the ministers would gain power, so he wanted to protect his "loyal" relatives and even more care about the emperor's own internal funds.
Are civil servants now more powerful? No, after the establishment of the National Policy Council, subtle changes have become increasingly apparent.
The Chang Dynasty has gradually become more ritualistic. Matters that were often discussed in the Chang Dynasty are now increasingly transferred to national policy meetings. And those small matters have been changed with the new rules that "in principle, everything must be done" within the six ministries.
There is no need to alarm the emperor.
In a national policy meeting with more than a dozen people arguing, the emperor can already sit on the throne and control the decisions.
On the contrary, who enters the royal study, who attends as a representative of the honorable ministers and generals, who is promoted to cabinet ministers, and the rank of the nine ministers all depend on the Holy Will.
On the top floor of the imperial court, because there were more gates and more active water, it was more difficult for civil servants to stay together than in the past.
Since the imperial power is temporarily stable, why should the ministers and relatives of the country still make trouble?
Besides, most of them are already useless.
"I heard that the envoy of Beizhen has entered the palace." British Duke Zhang Lun asked Cui Yuan worriedly, "Counselor Cui, after Wang Zuo returned to Beijing, he visited us all and asked about our relationship with businessmen from Guangdong and Guangxi. Can you tell us more about it?
Damn it! Today, your Majesty has summoned all our distinguished ministers and relatives to see you, and everyone is very uneasy."
In the past, they would all be called Prince Consort.
Now, they call them Cui Shence, which is a name that has only recently become popular for the other three ministers who participate in the national policy meeting except the cabinet minister Jiu Qing.
Cui Yuan was helpless: "My lord, many of the machines cannot leave the imperial study, please don't embarrass me."
"Then why are we waiting in Wuying Hall first?" Xu Guangzuo looked at the other honorable ministers and relatives inside and outside Wuying Hall, "It's not that I'm too worried, Cui Zhengzheng, you left the capital during the great court meeting on the first day of May...
"
On that thunderstorm night, on the eve of the Great Court Meeting, a fire in the Rijing Gate made the ministers and relatives who attended the Great Court Meeting the next day tremble.
At that time, the princes and uncles were taken to the Qianqing Palace, while other relatives and generals were waiting in the Wuying Palace to "give the court food". Xu Guangzuo later heard that many people changed their clothes as soon as they returned home: naturally it was not because of the heavy rain that day.
wet.
Whether it was a cold sweat or something else, I don't know, but it was a frightening and unbearable memory.
Cui Yuan continued to look at them helplessly: "With so many honorable ministers and relatives, the Qianqing Palace naturally had to set up a table before telling me to wait there."
"We are just family stewards who have some dealings with businessmen from Guangdong and Guangxi. When Wang Zuo came to ask, he told us everything." Wu'an Marquis Zheng Ying also came over and said, "Counselor Cui, at least you have made us a little prepared. It's time to meet with His Majesty."
What should I do? There must be a reason why Wu Dinghou went to camp, right?"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Cai Zhen.
"I don't know anything!"
Cai Zhen felt that if he continued like this, his clan would be killed.
His clan order was also very difficult, as he only cared about the royal family. Cui Yuan was now in charge of the Zuo Army Governor's Mansion, and these ministers still came to him to clean up the Huangzhuang Huangdian.
Isn’t Cui Yuan back already?
But there was nothing I could do about it. In the past, Cui Yuan was too low-key and was an outlier among his relatives. Most of the people he interacted with were literati.
Guo Xun has been demoted, and Zhu Qi has even been expelled from the world certificate, but this news is only known to the ministers of national policy. Each copy of the certificate is divided into two parts, one copy is kept by Xun Chen, and the other is kept in the palace.
Inner government.
The two of them still had to perform meritorious service, and Zhu Houcong did not make any publicity to make them lose face.
Cui Yuan also changed little by little, and he said: "No need to worry, Your Majesty is merciful, today is another time for the wife to meet the Queen Mother and the Princess. It is a happy day, what are you afraid of? Your Majesty has been busy with many things in the past few months, and now he is hosting a banquet
If you call upon all the honorable men and relatives to come together, how can you start a war?"
"But why was Wang Zuo called into the palace at this time?" Zhang Lun was frightened.
Cui Yuan looked at him: "How do I know? Mr. Britain, why are you so worried about Wang Zuo entering the palace?"
Zhang Lun said nonchalantly: "You can't help but overthink it. After all, Wang Zuo visited all his relatives before."
There is a huge threat in Wuying Hall, and no one can figure out His Majesty's intentions.
The two brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were conspicuous because they had no friends around them to talk with.
After keeping a low profile for several months, he supervised the construction of Emperor Zhengde's Kangling Mausoleum. Now Emperor Ruizhonglie has also been buried. His Majesty has appointed ministers to work with the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works to oversee the construction of Kangling Mausoleum.
If there are no problems, then it is a success.
But thinking of Wang Zuo's smiling face and some of the questions he asked when he visited before, the two brothers now don't seek merit, but nothing.
…
In the East Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Wang Zuo met the emperor for the first time.
Luo An also came.
"You compared me to Huguang's powerful medicine, and you also wrote it down for me?" Zhu Houcong asked with a half-smile.
Wang Zuo, half of his buttocks resting on the stool given to him by the emperor, replied respectfully: "I only know how to report truthfully."
He is making fun of you, and I have no control over whether you reprimand him or not. If I hide it for him, isn't that asking for death?
"You are all good." Zhu Houcong laughed, "He asked for forgiveness, and you also submitted a report. Why were the two other things I assigned you to report to me recently during this trip south?"
Wang Zuo bent down and said: "Your Majesty, the guilty minister of Guangdong and Guangdong, wants to leave Zhang Futai to interrogate and establish his power. It is inconvenient for me to send someone to interrogate myself. Naturally, I still need to check the confession Zhang Futai gave me, so there was a delay.
Time."
"Go to Xun Qi's house and confront him face to face?" Zhu Houcong looked at him, "Some people have no business dealings with Guangdong and Guangxi."
"They are all the pillars of the country. I simply walked through them all. Of course it is not a confrontation. Since your majesty has approved my request, I am here to help Ninghou and bring a message. If you have business dealings, we will discuss how to deal with it. If you don't have business dealings, we will discuss how to deal with them.
Firstly, Marquis Funing wants to ask his disciples to go to Guangdong and Guangxi to work in Guangdong and Guangxi. Firstly, this will deceive others, and secondly, it will make them restrain themselves and not cause worries to His Majesty at this time."
Zhu Houcong had a smile on his face: "Where's Shi Bao?"
"Although arrangements have been made, if we still receive a secret report from Commander Shi, this matter will not be considered as a reversal. With the help of Liang Gong, Commander Shi's people now have proper identities and have spread to Nanyang. It's just at sea.
The wind and waves were unpredictable, but seven people were killed."
Zhu Houcong put away his smile and nodded: "You make all the arrangements for your family."
"I know. The adults are serving in the capital and have been assigned stable posts. The younger ones are being raised and sent to health schools."
"Speaking of Jinyiwei's hygiene, how are Lu Bing and Yan Shifan doing?"
The emperor asked again in person, and Wang Zuo replied solemnly: "General Lu Xiaoqian has a very good foundation in martial arts. Originally, it was just his academics that gave him a headache. After Chief Yan's son left, the two became good friends. Mr. Yan's family background is related to his studies.
His intelligence and energy are extraordinary, and now Mr. Lu Xiaoqian is listening to his advice to study hard. Mr. Yan said that he had been defeated before, so he asked Mr. Lu Xiaoqian for advice."
"... Let's see what the future holds for these two living treasures." Zhu Houcong thought of Lu Bing and Yan Shifan holding hands and found it interesting. Then he said to Wang Zuo, "You have worked hard this time going south. But the matter between Guangdong and Guangxi is still there.
I won't reward you until you have achieved full success. I have another question for you: Has the leader of the group of pirates who went to Dongguan to meet the defeated bandits found any clues?"
Wang Zuo left his stool and knelt down: "I was unable to go to sea to pursue the enemy that day. After that, Guangdong also had to concentrate on preparing for the Tuen Mun war, so I allowed the thieves to escape a little. I went all the way back to Beijing and verified the confession Zhang Futai gave me, so I arrived in Beijing.
We later learned about the killing of officials in the southeast. Probably only Wang Ziyan knew who the leader of that group of pirates was. Unfortunately, Zhang Futai was too decisive at that time... to strike with the sword."
"No clues were found from Wang Ziyan's cronies, housekeepers, and money transactions?"
"My incompetence has not been found out yet." Wang Zuo knelt down firmly.
"Get up." Zhu Houcong said after thinking for a while, "Go to the southeast again and check from the three lines."
"My lord, listen!"
"First, what is the connection between Master Fang, the staff member of the Shouning Hou family you mentioned, and the volume "Wild Notes" that has suddenly been circulated in the south of the Yangtze River in the past six months."
Zhu Houcong's first sentence surprised Wang Zuo, but he was a professional and asked: "But what is the discussion about the ten tribes of Emperor Taizong Yifang Xiaoru in "Wild Notes" written by Zhu Zhishan?"
"Secret investigation." Zhu Houcong nodded, "Secondly, the cooperation between the large Southeast merchants and Guangdong and Guangxi maritime merchants, the focus is on the changes in Guangdong and Guangxi. Which wealthy trading houses used to rely on Guangdong and Guangxi Maritime merchants to sell silk and porcelain overseas.
, tea and other channels are cut off."
"yes!"
"Third, Zhang Zilin sent a secret report after arriving in southern Zhili. It was found that the three officials who were killed were all involved in private affairs. The official reputation was mixed, and they were all greedy and extravagant." Zhu Houcong said with a chill in his eyes, "This
The person who planned the case of killing officials in the southeast may have another plan that will use this as a trigger to spread the fire in the southeast. Even if he is not a good official, he should be punished by the imperial court! The Beijing camp and the elite troops of Guangdong and Guangxi still need to be prepared, and they will not be able to go to the southeast until next year.
, you go first and help Zhang Zilin add another layer of shock!"
Wang Zuo said loudly and solemnly: "I obey the decree!"
As the governor of Beizhen, he already knew something about this matter.
Zhang Zilin probably didn't say this to close the case. It could only be that the officials who were killed were really worth killing, or that most officials in the southeast were guilty of similar crimes.
So right now, the Southeast should be like a restless powder pile. How many people are afraid of being affected?
Wang Zuoxian took the order and left. Zhu Houcong then looked at Luo An: "Is it difficult to control such a smart and capable subordinate?"
Luo An looked ashamed and said, "Without His Majesty's support, I would not be able to control myself."
"This sentence is absolutely correct!" Zhu Houcong said, "Since I ordered you to be the commander of the Imperial Guard, you have my backing. I spent several months focusing only on the important ministers in the court. Now, it is
We need to intimidate the ministers and the place! Zhao Jun and Shi Bao are serving their lives in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the good news has come. You and Zhang Boring must work hard to take care of the Jinyiwei and the inner factory.
Yes, you must use your fingers like an arm!"
"I will definitely do it!"
Zhao Jun, who was already a member of the Qianhu family, made meritorious service in the battle to defend Dongguan in Guangdong. After being promoted to the rank of general, he made meritorious service in the second naval battle of Tuen Mun.
At present, relying on his status as an old minister of Qiandi, he was directly promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong capital, the commander-in-chief of the capital, and the deputy commander-in-chief of the capital of Guangdong, and was temporarily assigned as the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong capital through the second rank.
Guangdong, on the other hand, did not send a new capital commander or chief military officer, which meant that Zhao Jun became the de facto boss in the military attache sequence in Guangdong.
As for Wang Hong, his merits will be described later by the Ministry of War together with Zhang Fuking.
Zhang Bor, the commander, went to Guangdong and Guangxi for some training and came back, and was transferred to Dongchang.
Originally, there was only one Dongchang for punishing thousands of households and one for punishing hundreds of households under the supervising eunuchs. Now the changes are being made.
First of all, the name was changed from Dong Jishi Factory to Internal Inspector Factory. Secondly, in addition to the admiral eunuch, the inner factory also has a commander, who is the third rank. Zhang Boring was promoted from the commander of the third rank to the temporary commander.
.
Luo An didn't know how the national policy meeting passed this reform, but from what the emperor just said to Wang Zuo and his instructions to him, he knew that the next step was for your Majesty to overwhelm the ministers and the place, and secure the throne.
One step.
After being ordered to leave, Luo An saw the eunuchs who were going to Wuying Hall to summon their relatives on the way out of the palace.
His Majesty, who has just turned 16, has really shown his magnanimity and strategy after entering the capital far beyond what he did when he went to the palace.
He could see that Wang Zuo, that shrewd guy, sincerely respected Wei Wei and worked tirelessly.
What are the things about the Guangdong, Guangxi and the People's Republic of China that convinced Wang Zuo?
…
Today, when the woman enters the palace, the warmth and coldness are too obvious.
First of all, of course, we have to go to Renshou Palace, which has a more respected status on the surface, to pay a visit to the "Empress Dowager Zhaosheng Cishou", but this is just a formality.
Afterwards, the still-living eldest princesses, the wives of their relatives, and the wives of important officials of the imperial court went to the Qingning Palace in the east to pay homage to Empress Dowager Shao and Empress Dowager Jiang, as well as the two eldest princesses who were waiting for their titles.
Princess.
In the Renshou Palace, Queen Mother Zhang was not in the mood to express anything, but suppressed her shock and anger but was helpless.
Because this morning when the emperor came to say hello as usual, he stayed a little longer.
He used a lot of euphemistic words and gave a lot of respectful guarantees, but he only had one purpose: there were people killing officials in the southeast, wars were going on in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the northwest was about to enter the period of high incidence of northern barbarian raids at the beginning of winter, so food and wages were worrying.
Can the shares of the three imperial estates and several official stores belonging to Renshou Palace be handed over first?
It sounds like Yang Ting and Ku Ku are fighting each other, but how can Empress Dowager Zhang say no? Concubine Shao has become the Empress Dowager. In terms of status in the palace, she is already the second child!
What's more, the emperor also said: Kangling Superintendent is in the process of settling the accounts, and after the completion, he can pay tribute to Shouning Marquis and Jianchang Marquis, and compensate for this "relieving the country's worries" in other forms.
"...Mother." Empress Xia of Zhuang Su looked at Empress Dowager Zhang worriedly.
Thinking of the Zhang brothers who were about to "attend a banquet" at Qianqing Palace, Queen Mother Zhang calmed down and said with a forced smile: "What's wrong?"
Mr. Xia was about to speak but stopped.
Have you forgotten the fire of the Rijing Gate? Now that the matter has come to this, why not give a warning to the Marquis of Shouning and the Marquis of Jianchang?
Your Majesty said that the country is in dire straits and food and wages are worrying. Donating a small amount or two will definitely make Longyan happy, and he will enjoy wealth and honor in peace from now on!
She always felt that Queen Mother Zhang was getting more and more worried, and she still seemed unwilling to give in.
But all this... Wasn't it because of the case of Zheng Wang's monstrous words back then, or because the Zhang brothers were too domineering, that the friendship between Emperor Zhengde and Empress Dowager Zhang gradually weakened, so that they rarely entered the palace to favor the concubine?
As a result, not a single heir was left behind, which brings the two of them to this end.
Xia only remembered that after Emperor Zhengde came to visit the south and became seriously ill, Empress Dowager Zhang never visited him once.
Even she couldn't help but doubt something now.
So she forced a smile and said, "Shall I help you walk around the imperial garden?"
The palace of Qingning Palace was abuzz with make-up and makeup, and the ladies were smiling and flattering respectfully, making daily routines, waiting for the banquet to be served.
In the Qianqing Palace, all the honorable relatives had arrived, and the tables and chairs were even placed on the cloud platform outside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Houcong looked at this large group of people supported by the state, thinking that eighty-nine percent of them were already useless, but he still said with a smile: "Sit down."
Although it's not too cold at noon in October, it's still a bit windy today.
Many people who were anxious and uneasy felt the sweat on their foreheads being blown by the wind, and became extremely awake.
If it is not a joyous occasion, how can there be a good feast?