Chapter 1,010: The Emperor’s Heart Is as Deep as the Abyss
Looking at Wang Wen's leaving figure, Wang Ao couldn't help but frown. In contrast, Yu Shiyue's expression was thoughtful.
After carefully chewing what Wang Wen just said, Yu Shiyue had a complicated look on his face. He couldn't help but turn to the palace where he had just come out. Through the door, he seemed to see the young figure of His Majesty the Emperor again, but deep down in his heart, he
A strong sense of fear could not help but arise.
The emperor's mind is so terrifying!
Again, it is much easier to work backwards from the results. Now that he was out of the game, Yu Shiyue looked at the match just now and it became much clearer.
He had been guessing before, and was almost certain that Wang Wen's proposal to replace the two ministers of the Ministry of War was due to the emperor. The reason was that Yu Qian had now offended the emperor, and to be honest, he had too much power in the Ministry of War.
It has to be dismantled.
However, he ignored one point, that is, if the Emperor's heart was really determined, then why would he ask them to come over?
With the emperor's tacit consent, Wang Wen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, issued an imperial edict directly, so what could he do? Could it be said that the cabinet dared not obey the edict?
Not to mention, there is Wang Ao in the cabinet, and he has made it clear that he is coveting the Ministry of War. Under such circumstances, what does it matter whether he, Yu Shiyue, a junior assistant, agrees or disagrees with this matter? Why do he have to come to him?
To be honest, from the day when Emperor Taizu withdrew from the Zhongshu Province, abolished the system of prime ministers, and divided the power into six ministries, the Ming Dynasty was destined to have the absolute status of the emperor in the court. Without the prime minister, unless he was executing
Except for state policies that rely heavily on the bureaucracy, as long as the emperor makes a decision, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.
A person of Yu Qian's status can be imprisoned with just one decree, not to mention replacing two ministers of the Ministry of War. Although it cannot be said to be as simple as drinking water, it is really not necessary. Consider the idea of a minor minister in the cabinet.
.
If that's the case, why call him here?
Two possibilities.
Either the Sacred Heart is undecided, still hesitating, and needs the cabinet to assist in the decision, or it has other purposes.
The former cannot be said to be impossible, but if that is the case, then it is not possible to call only the two of them. Although there are few people in the cabinet now, they are not the only two. Although Mr. Zhang Ge has a low sense of presence, he will not be ignored by the emperor.
Forgotten to this extent.
What's more, the cabinet is not the only organization that can be consulted. In addition to the cabinet, the current Lord Yi Ming of the Hanlin Academy is an old minister of Prince Tan's palace. It is completely normal to ask his opinion on such matters.
But none of them happened. The emperor only summoned the two of them. At that time, Yu Shiyue was in front of the emperor and had no time to think about it. But now he calmed down and combined Wang Wen's actions in front of the emperor and just now, he roughly understood something.
If nothing unexpected happens, the emperor has already made up his mind on how to deal with the Ministry of War. He has summoned them for only one purpose, and that is to test!
The emperor's heart is as deep as the abyss and cannot be arbitrarily predicted. This sentence is very appropriate in the context of the recent court situation.
During this period of time, many of the inherent impressions of the Emperor in the court were shattered one after another, to the point that no one could truly understand the Emperor's thoughts.
Before that, all the ministers felt that the emperor listened to advice and accepted advice, and had the appearance of a virtuous king. Therefore, later with the reform of science and education, the power of speaking officials was greatly restricted...
The ministers also felt that the emperor cherished feathers and valued reputation, but as a result, Song Wenyi invaded the fields and Shu Liang offended the court officials, but the old man remained indifferent...
Even Yu Qian... All the officials felt that Yu Shaobao, who was most favored by the emperor and whose position could not be more stable, was imprisoned and imprisoned, and was in constant fear.
Not to mention, the emperor's ambiguous attitude toward the East Palace in recent times, as well as his excessive preferential treatment and protection of the vassal king...
Everything made everyone realize a completely different emperor. Therefore, no one dared to guess the emperor's heart.
This is true for others, and it is also true for Yu Shiyue.
But if you are in the cabinet, if you don't understand the emperor's temperament, how can you be stable?
The emperor's many recent actions have refreshed so many perceptions that many times, Yu Shiyue can't tell what kind of temperament the emperor has.
Because of this, he was so hesitant and hesitant when he presented his speech today.
But it was also under the huge pressure just before the emperor that he thought clearly about one thing, that is, what was his initial impression of the emperor.
Young, but not reckless, he behaves steadily like a monarch who has been on the throne for decades.
He is smart and does not stick to etiquette. He often has ingenious ideas when it comes to court and state affairs. Although it seems incredible, he can solve them satisfactorily every time.
Reserved, but never losing his outspoken temperament, what the ministers in the outer court can often see is the restrained side of the emperor. However, Yu Shiyue has been in the cabinet for a long time and has seen the emperor being overjoyed for the smooth implementation of state affairs. He has also seen him
Yu Qian's face turned red due to anger, and he could even remember vividly how he was occasionally teased by the emperor when they were playing against each other.
Yu Shiyue has been an official for so many years. Apart from other things, he still has some ability to observe people. Although it is a bit disrespectful, Yu Shiyue still has to say that in his heart, he has always been sure of one thing.
That is, the emperor is one of the few kings who can control his own heart. This kind of restraint is not the so-called benevolent king in the past who simply acts according to etiquette, but goes beyond it, because he has great aspirations and illuminates the way forward.
restraint.
Everything the emperor does is for the purpose of protecting the country, protecting the people, and stabilizing the country of the Ming Dynasty. This is the level of Tao, the way of the emperor.
In fact, in Yu Shiyue's view, this is where the emperor is different from everyone else. People in the world are bustling and bustling for profit, but they have different desires. Some people seek power, some seek pleasure, some seek officialdom, and some seek officialdom.
Seeking good reputation.
In this regard, even Yu Qian is no exception. In a sense, Yu Qian has a good ambition to protect the country and the people, but he only hopes to leave his name in history by doing so.
However, the emperor is different. Yu Shiyue has a strange feeling. He always feels that the emperor serves the country purely for the country and is not mixed with any other selfish motives.
In other words, it is good for everyone in this court, including Yu Qian, to serve the country and the people, but that is the way and means for them to achieve their own aspirations. In the end, they will gain fame and wealth, peace of mind, or eternal life.
In the name of, there is always something you want.
But the emperor seems to have nothing he wants. In other words, what he wants is prosperity for the country and stability for the people.
This feeling is very strange. Because of this, Yu Shiyue has never told anyone about this idea, and the recent events seem to have been impacting his idea. The incident in Huangzhuang can be regarded as competing for interests with the people.
What Shu Liang did was not the right way, and even his attitude towards the emperor's legitimate son and Dong Gong was not normal either.
These signs all seemed to tell Yu Shiyue that the emperor also had desires and selfish motives...
However, just as he was playing the prelude, his idea wavered.
If the emperor really wants something, then what happened today should have only one purpose, and that is to see how he and Wang Ao will behave when faced with something that is obviously detrimental to the court and the country.
Choose to obey the music and cater to the emperor's heart, or stick to the principles and give impartial advice.
And among him and Wang Ao, he, in particular, faced the most severe test.
For no other reason than because the emperor's test of them had something to do with Yu Qian, and the relationship between Yu Shiyue and Yu Qian had long been no secret.
The test that Wang Ao faced was whether he could keep his heart in the face of the opportunity to go further and gain the emperor's trust and favor.
The reason why it is said to be simple is that it is not difficult for people at their level to restrain their temper. Of course, this also varies from person to person. For example, a certain chief minister cannot restrain his temper...
The test faced by Yu Shiyue is said to be more severe because Wang Ao's test is an opportunity, while his test is a crisis.
During this period of time, he has not interceded for Yu Qian. To put it bluntly, he was just avoiding suspicion because their relationship was good, so at this time, he could not say anything good about Yu Qian in front of the emperor.
Otherwise, at least the emperor will question him for not distinguishing between public and private matters, being trapped by old feelings, which is unjust, or at worst, it will be regarded as a clique, which will offend the emperor.
Today's matter, to put it bluntly, is to see whether he dares to risk being misunderstood by the emperor under the premise that "the emperor's heart has been determined", and still be fair and impartial, expressing his views from a position that is beneficial to the court.
In addition, there are deeper risks.
You know, there are people who dare to disobey the emperor. There is one who is currently in prison.
Recalling the emperor's attitude just now, it was clear that he was putting pressure on him. Under such circumstances, it was actually extremely difficult for Yu Shiyue to do so.
Retreating is a prudent way to protect yourself and submit to the holy will, which seems appropriate, but Quemu will undoubtedly be like Wang Ao and fail to pass this test. However, if you advance, insist on your own opinion and refuse to bow, you will easily become another Yu Qian.
Although Yu Shiyue had always suspected that the emperor had other arrangements regarding Yu Qian's matter this time, he could also see clearly that the emperor was not completely dissatisfied.
If he really did this, then maybe there would be nothing wrong with him now, but he would definitely be laying the foundation for trouble in the future.
So in fact, he was facing almost a dead end.
At this thought, Yu Shiyue couldn't help but feel scared. This performance seemed calm, but in fact, it was probably the most dangerous one in his life.
So, how to break the deadlock?
In the past, Yu Shiyue could not answer this question, but today, standing outside the hall and thinking about the performance just now, he suddenly had an answer in his heart.
In fact, it is what I said just now, the emperor's heart is like an abyss and cannot be arbitrarily measured. Since it cannot be arbitrarily measured, then simply don't speculate on the emperor's heart.
This performance was a test, but when it came to the imperial performance, especially under the deliberate pressure from the emperor just now, how could he have so much time to think about so many things, how the emperor wanted him to answer, and why he had to ask such a question.
, by the time I think it through, the day lilies are cold.
Therefore, what he said at that time was actually to uphold a principle and be upright!
He didn't think about the consequences of doing so, he just adhered to his inner principles, said what he should say, and performed his duties, even if...it would offend the emperor.
It can be said that if any other emperor had been in power, his words today would have pushed himself into an extremely dangerous situation.
However, after all, the person on the throne now is none other than His Majesty.
Yu Shiyue's feeling is not wrong. No matter how different the emperor's actions are recently, his original intention has never changed. He acts impartially and speaks out. Even if he has made mistakes, he will not be guilty.
Of course, this can easily become Yu Qian, but this is not difficult for Yu Shiyue, because he is not Yu Qian, and does not have such a rigid character as Yu Shiyue, so he can be gentle with the emperor and adhere to principles.
Between them, find a suitable balance point to successfully break the situation.
However, these are easy to say, but if you make the right move today, you may lead to an abyss if you take one wrong step. Of course, on the contrary, after this incident, Yu Shiyue can finally see clearly what his future path should be.
How to go.
but……
"Sir Cifu is so eloquent today. In the past, I didn't realize that Sir Cifu had such a clever tongue."
Wang Ao's voice from the side interrupted Yu Shiyue's thoughts.
Turning around, he saw that the Chief Assistant was staring at him with an obviously unkind look.
However, Yu Shiyue was very calm. The two of them had already broken up in front of the palace today. Although there was no real conflict, it was indeed impossible to return to the seemingly harmonious relationship before.
Already.
Of course, this has nothing to do with Yu Shiyue. There is nothing that cannot be offended in court.
The first and second assistants of the cabinet should not be too harmonious in the first place. He now holds the two official positions of the second assistant of the cabinet and the chief minister of the East Palace. If he really wants to fight, he will not be afraid of Wang Ao at all.
Just because he's usually low-key doesn't mean he's easy to bully.
Smiling and cupping his hands, Yu Shiyue replied calmly.
"It seems that Yu has had too little contact with Mr. Chief Assistant in daily life. However, what Mr. Chief Assistant did today is quite different from what Yu remembered."
"Of course, it doesn't matter. You and I are both officials in the court. There will be a long time to come. There is plenty of time to understand each other."
Having said that, Yu Shiyue was not in the mood to exchange too many greetings. He bowed slightly as a courtesy, then turned around and left.
He gained a lot from today's incident, but he was not in the mood to tell Wang Ao more. This old guy had made it clear that he had bad intentions today.
Taking advantage of the emperor's desire to dismantle the power of the Ministry of War, he wanted to get involved in the Ministry of War, and he also deliberately came to trick him.
If this old man hadn't come to him in advance to mention the whereabouts of Xiang Wenyao and Li Shi, Yu Shiyue wouldn't have been so difficult to judge what he should do when he was in front of the emperor.
Yu Cifu restrained his mood even if he didn't spit at him. What's more, although this performance was of great benefit to Yu Shiyue, after thinking about everything, it also made him aware of a hint of danger.