The carriage continued to move forward unsteadily, but Zhang Xi could not help but feel a little depressed.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yi smiled bitterly and said.
"Second Master, there is no need to be so pessimistic. At least until the final battle comes, your life and mine will not be as difficult as before."
"Um?"
Hearing this, Zhang Xi raised his head, slightly confused.
So, Zhu Yi continued.
"Usually, you and I are in a difficult situation in the court. On the one hand, it is because the emperor deliberately suppresses you and me. On the other hand, it is also because on many things, you and I have no choice but to stand against the emperor.
"
"But now, since the Emperor intends to delegate power to Nangong, then naturally he will not put more pressure on me. The Supreme Emperor hopes that we can establish a firm foothold in the court, and of course he will not let you and I confront the Emperor again."
"Isn't that what happened this time?"
Zhang Xi thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Indeed, the Emperor's attitude towards Xu Youzhen's matter this time was obviously different from before. The most obvious difference was that he took out the two houses and took the initiative to protect their interests.
As Zhu Yi said, they will continue to expand their power in the court in the future. In this case, they cannot go against the emperor on many things.
Although this has been a tacit consensus between Zhang Min and Zhu Yi since the Ren Li incident, there are always times when it is difficult to explain on the part of the Supreme Emperor.
After all, that person's character was more emotional than rational.
Now, although they are being dragged onto a path of no return, after all, the difficulties in front of them have been solved.
At least in the future, if they act in agreement with the Emperor in the court, they don't have to worry about offending the Emperor.
From this point of view, this seems to be a bit like drinking poison to quench thirst. However, drinking poison is drinking poison, but in the end it quenches thirst, which is somewhat comforting. As for the future... let's talk about it later...
Zhang Xi silently looked outside the carriage and saw that the sky was dark. Although it was still early, the dark clouds above his head made him breathless. However, although the dark clouds were heavy, no rain fell.
It makes people feel upset.
…………
In the Qianqing Palace, heavy rain fell, lightning thundered and rumbled in the sky. The rainwater fell along the eaves and under the steps, and flowed out along the water channels.
Zhu Qiyu stood in the corridor, after reading Zhu Yi's secret report, he sighed softly.
It should be said that he had anticipated the current results, and it could even be said that the current results developed exactly according to his expectations.
However, what was rare was that he was not happy. On the contrary, he was even a little regretful.
In the final analysis, even if we have another hundred years of experience, even if we feel that we have let go of everything, it is still impossible to truly let go completely.
However, this is all it can do now.
Years of major disasters are coming soon, so what he needs now is for everyone in the court to put aside their past grudges and work together as one to fight the disasters.
On the civil servant's side, he has made a lot of preparations, but it is not so easy to deal with the noble family.
In the final analysis, his foundation is too weak. If he wants to make the nobles work for him, he must either promote civil servants to suppress the military ministers, just like in the previous life, allowing the Ministry of War to suppress the military government, or he can only let the top families among the nobles devote their full efforts.
to cooperate with him.
Time is still too tight. People like Fan Guang, Yang Hong, and Li Xian are either too young, or physically ill, or do not have military prestige. Although they can hold on for a while, they do not have the ability to suppress the overall situation.
Therefore, if he does not want to follow the old path of his previous life, then it is inevitable to gather the two princes for his use.
However, in this case, the problem of Nangong must be solved. With Zhu Qizhen here, it is impossible and there is no way for the British government to return to his hands. Moreover, Zhu Yi's identity cannot be exposed. In this case,
If you want to achieve your goal, there is only one way.
There are actually two purposes for releasing Xu Youzhen's line. The first is to induce Zhu Qizhen to mobilize troops. However, Zhu Qiyu also knows that this is not realistic, especially when Xu Youzhen is so eager for quick success and quick gain, Zhu Qizhen notices something unusual.
Under the circumstances, he would not act rashly.
Of course, this purpose is just a cover. The real purpose is actually to create the current situation.
Zhu Qizhen knew that Zhu Qiyu was secretly planning to make him rebel and get rid of him legitimately.
And Zhu Qiyu also knew that he knew what Zhu Qiyu was planning. The two had a tacit understanding and were building up strength in each other's court to wait for the final moment of decisive battle.
This is almost a bright card, and the advantage of doing so is that in the next few years, the two princes will temporarily become the leaders of Zhu Qiyu's reuse of nobles.
From now on, they will not deliberately restrict many major national affairs, which is crucial to Zhu Qiyu.
Of course, the matter is not over yet, but the rest is his ending...
Zhu Qiyu asked after folding the secret memorial in his hand and putting it away.
"How is Xu Youzhen doing over there?"
"Back to the emperor, Xu Xueshi was holding a golden sword, but he met Cheng Guogong and Zhang Dudu. As expected, these two people sternly rejected Xu Xueshi's proposal, and told Xu Xueshi on the spot not to mention it again in the future.
Otherwise, they will definitely expose Xu Xueshi’s wolfish ambitions in the court.”
When he said this, Shu Liang's expression was also very strange.
However, Zhu Qiyu didn't care and said.
"and after?"
Shu Liang replied: "According to the emperor's instructions, after Xu Xuesheng returned, he put away the golden sword and did not mention it again."
So, Zhu Qiyu nodded and said.
"This matter ends here. Xu Youzhen will still have use in the future. The golden sword in his hand has been kept well, and it will naturally be useful in the future."
"yes……"
After Shu Liang responded, he slowly stepped back.
There was a heavy rain in front of the steps, and Zhu Qiyu stood on the porch, letting the rain wet his hem. His face, separated by the thick rain curtain, was as complex as ever.
After Xu Youzhen's matter was dealt with, there was only one last thing left, but...
Amidst the patter of rain, a sigh sounded, but amidst the noisy rain, it was inconspicuous and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The next day, go up early in the morning.
The sky was sunny, but the atmosphere in the court hall was a bit gloomy. It was obvious that some news had spread.
As soon as he went to court, Shen Yi, the Minister of Revenue, stood up and played.
"Your Majesty, we have just received reports that there is a severe drought in Jiangxi. This year's grain harvest is less than 40% of last year's. It is expected that there will be eight affected states."
"In addition to Jiangxi, Huai'an Prefecture and Xuzhou Prefecture in the south were also seriously affected by the disaster. According to Du Wenchang, the prefect of Huai'an, the nine counties under his rule had almost no harvest. People gathered in the government offices to cause trouble and almost attacked the government offices.
"
"The situation in Xuzhou is also very different. According to the report of Dai Wei, the prefect, the sale of children and daughters has occurred in the four counties under his rule. I have moved to the two states and quickly opened Changpingcang to provide disaster relief."
"However, this disaster is serious. It may be difficult to calm the people's sentiments with the power of the state governments alone. Especially in Jiangxi provinces, disasters have occurred one after another. Each state government has no time to take care of itself, let alone support each other. Therefore, I would like to ask your majesty to select a capable person this morning.
Minister, go to Jiangxi to preside over disaster relief matters."
As soon as the words fell, several ministers came up to echo the request, and the court hall also became agitated for a while.
Logically speaking, although local disasters cannot be said to occur every year, they are not uncommon. The ministers in the court should not be so impatient.
But this time it is different. The reason is that the place affected by the disaster this time is Jiangxi!
The area of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has always been a prosperous place, especially Jiangxi's flourishing literary style. The number of Jinshi admitted each time is, if not the first, at least in the top three.
If we look at the total number, Jiangxi may even top the list. It can be said that most of the people in this court, even if they are not from Jiangxi, have some relationship with Jiangxi through family ties and marriage relationships.
Now that Jiangxi has been hit so hard by the disaster, they are naturally anxious...
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu did not hesitate and said directly.
"The disaster is urgent and there really is no time to delay. Since the Ministry of Revenue has already sent a document instructing all prefectures to open Changping warehouses, then they will issue another official document instructing the surrounding prefectures where the disaster is less severe or not affected by the disaster to also open Changping warehouses and pay.
40% of the grain is stored in the warehouse and transported to the affected state capitals first."
"In addition, the Ministry of Household Affairs will immediately calculate the amount of silver and grain that need to be allocated based on the disaster situation, and we will still focus on distributing it from the nearest location. Shen Shangshu, can you come up with the regulations within three days?"
The emperor's words were calm and measured, without any sign of panic. Naturally, the ministers in the court gradually calmed down.
As for Shen Shangshu, although this old man usually behaves like a brave man, he never holds back his hands when it comes to such important matters.
"Back to Your Majesty, after receiving the report, I have organized the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs to formulate disaster relief regulations based on the disaster situation. I will definitely submit the detailed rules to Your Majesty the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"but……"
Shen Yi seemed to want to say something more, but before he could finish speaking, the emperor interrupted him.
"In that case, thank you for your hard work, Master Shen. I'm waiting to see your report."
"I obey the decree."
Seeing this situation, Chen Yi was stunned for a moment, then he bowed his hands and backed away.
Zhu Qiyu nodded slightly, and then his eyes swept around the hall, and finally landed on the person at the front and said.
"General Constitution?"
"I'm here!"
Chen Yi was not surprised that he was called out and strode forward.
Then, the ministers saw that the emperor's expression became serious, and their eyes scanned the ministers, and then the emperor spoke, saying.
“In areas hit by disasters, corrupt officials often prey on the common people, while wealthy gentry take advantage of this opportunity to annex land and oppress the common people into slavery.”
"For this disaster relief, the Metropolitan Procuratorate must send out all thirteen censors to strictly monitor. Anyone who takes advantage of the situation to rob or oppress the people must be dealt with severely by the state government. If state officials are involved, the censors of the department must be
, report it to the court as soon as possible, and once verified, you will be severely punished."
"Kedao officials are also allowed to report each other. If a Kedao official protects the state capital and deceives the court, after verification, no matter what position he holds, he will be dismissed on the spot and escorted back to the capital for further punishment."
"I obey the decree!"
When it comes to disaster relief, apart from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has the heaviest responsibility. This is not surprising.
What Chen Yi didn't expect was that the emperor's attitude this time was so resolute. It seemed that the emperor really took this disaster seriously.
So, the emperor's eyes shifted again, to the officials beside him, and said.
"Tian Guan, this disaster response comes at a time of great planning. The evaluation of officials from various states in Jiangxi will be postponed for the time being. After the disaster has passed, the performance in disaster relief will also be included in the evaluation depending on the situation.
"
As soon as these words came out, the officials below immediately caused another wave of disturbance.
The disaster in Jiangxi was urgent, but after all, it did not involve official circles, but the overall plan was different. The emperor's move could be regarded as hitting three inches of the state capitals.
It seems that life will not be so easy for these officials in Jiangxi in the next few days.
However, the officials obviously had no objection to this. As the emperor's biggest confidant, Wang Wen immediately stepped forward and spoke after hearing this.
"I obey the decree!"
Then, the emperor's expression softened slightly and he asked.
"This disaster is serious. If you have any good suggestions, please feel free to tell me. As long as it is beneficial to the country, I will definitely adopt it."
As a result, there was a burst of discussion below, but not many people came forward.
It's not that these ministers are incompetent, but that the emperor has basically thought of everything he can think of.
First, Changpingcang, which is close to the state capital, was used to relieve the urgent needs of the disaster-stricken areas. At the same time, the Ministry of Household Affairs was ordered to step up the formulation of plans, and then the Metropolitan Procuratorate was ordered to dispatch all the censors in the court to monitor lawlessness, and local officials in Jiangxi were also ordered to
The big plan was pushed back and became a sword hanging over their heads.
Although all these are just general strategies, they are already very comprehensive. It is really not easy for them to put forward any opinions for a while.
However, there happened to be such a person in the court. After the emperor's words fell, a moment later, an old man in a crimson robe with the same pattern of embroidery on his chest came forward and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."
"explain!"
Zhu Qiyu originally asked casually, but he didn't expect that someone really stood up, and he was a difficult character to deal with.
This old man was none other than Wang Hong, who violently beat up Mao Shun and others at Zuoshunmen after the Tumu defeat.
Today, he is the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Among the officials of the Imperial Academy, he is second only to Chen Yi in terms of rank and real power.
When he stood up now, he would definitely not just say some innocuous words. Sure enough, the next moment, Wang Hong opened his mouth and shocked all the officials.
"I would like to report two things. First, the disaster situation in Jiangxi is serious now, and the imperial court should give top priority to disaster relief. Therefore, I would like to ask your Majesty to issue an edict to temporarily suspend all construction projects and fully support disaster relief. Previously, the king moved to Zhangzhou Prefecture to report
I asked the imperial court to order the construction of the palace, and although it was approved, at this time, I think that the construction of the palace should be suspended."
"Secondly, His Majesty issued an edict before, ordering the kings to build imperial mansions in the vassal territories. Now construction has started in various places. With this major disaster in Jiangxi, I am afraid that the mining tax eunuchs in various places will take this opportunity to annex land wantonly. This cannot be done carelessly.
Please also ask Your Majesty to issue an edict to suspend the implementation of Huangzhuang and recall the mining tax eunuchs from various places!"