Chapter 35: Can I offer a substitute?

As the screen was removed, a voice came from above.

"As soon as I ascended the throne, the censors jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor. Could it be that I am not virtuous enough?"

The attention of all officials was drawn to it.

They all looked up.

The little emperor was seen holding the Analects in his hand, supporting his desk with his wrists, standing up slightly, and speaking with a look of astonishment.

Even Feng Bao who was standing by didn't react to this action.

He hated the eunuch Zhang Jing who moved the screen away.

He then looked at the little emperor warily, not knowing what was going on.

Gao Gong also frowned.

Right now, he is the only one who has the status to take up this conversation.

He looked at the little emperor on the steps and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, it is common for the imperial censors to report on matters they have heard of."

"Perhaps the impeachment is due to the wrath of heaven and people, so this is not a joint impeachment, and it has nothing to do with your majesty's virtue."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured and listen to the government. The purpose of our court discussion is to deal with this matter."

The young emperor was ignorant of state affairs, so he rarely explained a few words.

In short, it's none of your business, just go and have fun.

Zhu Yijun knew clearly that if he showed up at the court meeting, both Gao Gong and Feng Bao would be wary of him.

Therefore, we must grasp the right degree.

It was a joke that he failed to maintain the balance in the center and was pressed down by these two people together.

He had already figured this out, so he got straight to the point: "Prime Minister, you court officials should discuss this matter carefully, and I will not interfere."

"It was these censors who wrote a letter together to impeach my great companion, and my great companion said that this was a clique. No matter what, it is too sensational. Can you explain the whole thing to me?"

I don't care how you discuss or vote.

They were just scared by this incident, and they formed a faction and jointly impeached.

Just explain to me what's going on. I'll know it sooner or later anyway.

Even after saying this, no one responded.

Suddenly, Li Zaiting stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, this is a long story."

"To put it simply, Feng Dayang's duties are against the ancestral system! This is the beginning of the disaster!"

Wow, what a keen eye.

If he had not been a Jinshi, Zhu Yijun would have wanted to give the seal of the Imperial Household Department to Li Zaiting.

Without looking at Feng Bao's expression, he asked in confusion, "How is this against the ancestral system? The position of the Imperial Household Department should not be held by an eunuch. Should it be selected from among the Jinshi candidates?"

The court officials naturally could not accept this for nothing.

Now that I have come to this, I wouldn’t mind giving the emperor some scientific knowledge.

Zhu Heng, the Minister of Works, a semi-technocrat, was fooled by the young emperor on the spot.

He laughed and explained, "Your Majesty, the position of the Imperial Household Department's seal holder is naturally held by an eunuch. However, according to the ancestral system, he can no longer concurrently hold the position of the supervisor of the East Factory."

Zhu Yijun seemed to understand.

He turned to look at Feng Bao and asked in confusion, "Oban, is that true?"

Feng Bao had no expression on his face, and answered as if reading from a script: "I am a humble servant, how can I understand the established rules of the imperial court?"

"I was appointed as the Supervisor of the East Factory by the late Emperor, and the Chief of the Imperial Household Department was promoted by Empress Dowager Li. I have never heard that they are going to dismiss me from any of my posts, so I have accepted both positions."

"If the Queen Mother nods as a result of the court discussion, we will do as she says."

No matter what, this matter cannot get around Empress Dowager Li.

You say it violates the ancestral rules, but our family is just following the orders of God.

You can just discuss it in court, I will accept any result.

Zhu Yijun secretly glanced at Feng Bao, and found that he was indeed unmoved by anything.

Given the current severity, if the dozens of censors and imperial censors fail to handle the case properly, it will become a major case in the country.

Not to mention his mother, even the resurrected emperor might not be able to stop him!

The late emperor treated Gao Gong as his adoptive father, but was sent back home by Xu Jie.

This was the case for the adult emperor and the cabinet ministers, not to mention the empress dowager and the eunuchs who served as regents.

But Feng Bao is so confident, the only possibility is that someone is planning to turn against him!
As long as some influential court officials came out and stood against Gao Gong and supported Feng Bao, Empress Dowager Li would be able to sit calmly in the referee's seat again - the referee could not be wrong.

As for what is an important court official?

That's probably one of the top six ministers...such as Yang Bo and Lu Diaoyang.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun looked at the Minister of Rites, Lu Diaoyang, the second-in-command of the New Party.

Fortunately, he was invited to attend court sessions for these few days just for this matter. He could stab Feng Bao in the back after Feng Bao had suffered enough.

With a curious look on his face, he asked, "Mr. Lu, you are the Minister of Rites. You should be most familiar with these imperial precedents. I wonder why you can't hold both positions at the same time?"

Lu Diaoyang was thinking about something when he was suddenly called and quickly came to his senses.

He bowed first and said, "I dare not claim to be the best, but I may be able to help Your Majesty. This Imperial Household Department..."

Before he could finish, Zhu Yijun raised his hand to interrupt him.

He only needs the first half of the sentence, and he should not say the rest, so as to avoid saying anything uncontrollable.

Zhu Yijun: "Secretary Lu, the court discussion is the most important matter of the country. If the Ministry of Rites has no important matters to discuss, why don't you come with me to the side hall and help me solve my doubts?"

No matter what your plan is now, just bear with it today.

Lu Diaoyang opened his mouth, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He finally evaded the question by saying, "Your Majesty, I do have something else to discuss."

You are even less allowed to discuss that!

Zhu Yijun quickly looked at Gao Gong and said, "Prime Minister, dozens of censors have submitted reports. This matter is too big. I am worried, but I don't want to disrupt the court discussion. How about lending Minister Lu to me to solve my doubts?"

"I ascended the throne at a young age and am not familiar with government affairs. My mother is the regent, and as a woman in the deep palace, I need Minister Lu to enlighten me so that I can understand the indignation of the censors."

Gao Gong found that the little emperor's words made sense.

The censors’ outcry is certainly scary, but the emperor and the empress dowager are, after all, women and children in the deep palace, and it is feared that they do not understand the seriousness of the situation.

Well, let Lu Diaoyang tell us what the current situation is.

Thinking of this, he turned to look at Lu Diaoyang and said, "Minister Lu, let's discuss the matter of the Ministry of Rites tomorrow. The emperor has summoned me, so how can I refuse?"

Lu Diaoyang touched the memorial in his arms and felt bitter.

Now is a great opportunity for the censors to bring up the ancestral laws.

It is said that Feng Bao held two positions at the same time and did not follow the ancestral rules.

This is certainly true...but isn't it the same for Gao Gong?
He is already the Prime Minister, and he is also serving as the Minister of Personnel?

This weapon was made by ancestors. Feng Bao, a mere eunuch, could not lift it, but it was universally used by civil servants.

Gao Gong only thought that all the officials in the six ministries and nine departments of the court were of the same mind as him, which was why he dared to be so presumptuous and bold.

But if any minister were to expose Gao Gong's position, he would be no different from Feng Bao.

The impeachment of Feng Bao turned into an impeachment of the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. They had to be dismissed together or employed together.

We can't selectively apply the laws established by our ancestors, right?
By then, both the New Party and Empress Dowager Li would be able to smooth things over and let both of them go under the pretext of maintaining political stability.

Not only that, in this massive impeachment, the censors only used ancestral rules to attack Feng Bao. How come they ignored Gao Gong?
The prime minister might not be aware of this, but are these censors concerned about the political situation of the country, or are they just taking advantage of the situation to make a fuss?

Once the matter is investigated, someone must be held accountable.

These censors and the chief censor Ge Shouli were the first to bear the brunt!

And the theory of forming a clique that Feng Bao just brought up could be used as a pretext for interfering in the Censorate.

To put it bluntly, what the New Party needs to do now is to get some help from Feng Bao and cut off some help from Gao Gong.

In this way, the fire would not be too strong, thus preventing political turmoil, but Gao Gong could also be suppressed until he retired with dignity.

These are the tacit understandings between me and Feng Bao.

This was also Zhang Juzheng's instruction before he left.

And today we are going to let Yang Bo turn against us and uncover this layer.

As a result, Yang Bo had a dishonest record, and as soon as the court meeting began, he was sent back to confess his crimes and request to be dismissed.

Forget it if Yang Bo fails, he joined the group halfway through. The same goes for Lu Diaoyang.

He had a memorial from the Ministry of Rites in his arms, ready to take action when the opportunity arises!
As a result, his plans were also disrupted by the emperor.

This made him wonder if today was a bad day.
Being watched by the emperor and the prime minister, he also realized that now was not the right time. Yang Bo and he were both ministers of six ministries, and they had enough weight. Other censors were not qualified to speak in front of Gao Gong.

When Cao Daye (yě), the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Revenue, impeached Gao Gong for ten crimes, he was thrown into Qianzhou to be a magistrate the next day without causing any waves.

When it comes to Gao Gong, you can't take a step-by-step approach.

Well, let’s wait until the court meeting is over tomorrow. Gao Gong can’t escape this anyway.

Thinking of this, he turned to the imperial steps and said, "Your Majesty has made such a request, how dare I not obey."

Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction, then turned from the imperial steps and entered the side hall.

Lu Diaoyang had no choice but to follow.

When passing by his colleague, he looked at Wang Guoguang and exchanged glances with him.

He shook his head slightly at Feng Bao, who had a grim look on his face.

……

Lu Diaoyang originally intended to go to the side hall, but when he arrived there, the eunuch Zhang Jing said that the emperor was waiting for him outside the Wenhua Hall.

He didn't understand what was going on and left Wenhua Hall.

Sure enough, I saw the emperor waiting outside the Wenhua Hall.

Lu Diaoyang hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun nodded and explained, "I thought about it and realized that my mother must have been kept in the dark about this matter."

"I am not very talented, so I am afraid I cannot fully understand what Lu Qing said."

"Mr. Lu, why don't you come with me to see the Queen Mother and explain the matter to me and her together."

Lu Diaoyang was stunned, and then said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, how can I set foot in the harem casually..."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Go to my Qianqing Palace. My mother is in my side hall, receiving congratulations from Duke Cheng."

After saying that, he turned and went towards the Qianqing Palace.

He also waved his hand, signaling Lu Diaoyang to follow.

Lu Diaoyang had no choice but to follow.

Zhu Yijun walked in front of him leisurely, and said slowly: "Mr. Lu, why don't you tell me first, why can't you hold these two positions at the same time?"

There must be some foreplay, you can't just go straight to the intensity with Lu Diaoyang right from the start.

Lu Diaoyang said respectfully: "Your Majesty, this is a long story."

"To put it simply, the power of the Imperial Household Department is too great. All the powers of the Imperial Household Department, such as the dispatch of eunuchs to guard the city, recording prisoners with the three judicial departments, guarding the camp, and the East Factory, are all under the control of the Imperial Household Department."

"The seal holder is in charge of the confidential affairs of the chief minister; the person who writes, holds the pen and manages the secret office is the same as the second-rank minister; his assistants and minor eunuchs are all called Nei Han; especially the eunuchs supervise the Ministry of Personnel and are in charge of promotions, appointments and dispatches."

“This is Wen.”

"The imperial commissioner in charge of the East Factory's official school eunuchs led hundreds of factory guards and thousands of servants. They had weapons and armor and could arrest, monitor, and assassinate traitors."

"This is Wu."

"If the two powers are combined in one person's hands, the power of the inner court will be in his hands, which is tantamount to holding Tai'a upside down, and it will be the beginning of disaster and chaos."

No matter how you prepare to turn against the government, you cannot abandon political correctness.

No matter what you do, what you say must make sense.

Zhu Yijun exclaimed: "So that's how it is. So the law established by our ancestors is to regulate the size of the people?"

Lu Diaoyang's eyelids jumped, and he quickly corrected himself: "Your Majesty, this is about the overlapping of powers and responsibilities, the mutual support of civil and military affairs, not the system of restraining the big and the small, or mixing different opinions."

Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly to show that he had learned his lesson.

Seeing this, Lu Diaoyang continued, "There are many such precedents in our dynasty. For example, the Chief Censor and the Minister of Public Administration both have two people on their left and right."

"It is also like this, where the military and political affairs of the local area are divided among the governor and the three officials."

"Prime Minister was impeached by Cao Daye before, and the Prime Minister should not be the Minister of Personnel. It's the same reason."

He subtly smuggled his own agenda into it, secretly influencing the little emperor's perception.

Unfortunately, they are all old-timers and all of them have a greasy look on their faces.

"Prime Minister?" Zhu Yijun took over the conversation at the right time, as if he recalled something. "So that's how it is. If Minister Lu hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered it. Now I'm surprised to find that it's exactly the same as what Lord Zhang told me."

He looked calm, as if it really happened.

Lu Diaoyang was stunned: "Did Lord Zhang tell His Majesty?"

Zhu Yijun showed a look of reminiscence: "On the second day of June, Zhang Ge Lao told me about the great evils in the world."

"He talked about taxes, land measurement, sea opening, and official administration, and gave some examples."

"When discussing the imbalance of the official system, we talked about Yuan Fu, Feng Daban, and the affairs of the Northern and Southern Zhili."

The second day of June was the day when Zhang Juzheng summoned him to an imperial court.

Zhang Juzheng naturally did not say these words, but since there were only the two of them at the time, whatever they said from then on would be decided by Zhu Yijun.

Not to mention that Zhang Juzheng was not there, even if he was there, he would have to accept it with a pinch of his nose.

If you like pretending to be ignorant even though you know the truth, then just stay ignorant forever.

But this time Lu Diaoyang couldn't do it.

What did Lord Zhang say to Your Majesty?

After all, Lu Diaoyang is an old hand, and he can't believe everything he hears, so he couldn't help but test it out: "Mr. Zhang has never told me about this matter."

Zhu Yijun looked at him strangely: "Why, does Lu Qing often spy on the emperor?"

Lu Diaoyang's face darkened, and he quickly apologized: "Your humble servant..."

Zhu Yijun was just joking to tease the old man.

He smiled and waved his hand: "Perhaps because Lu Shangshu is not a cabinet minister, he won't understand if I say too much."

"Otherwise, why do you think I would support the examination system and condescend to invite the daily lecturers to examine the subjects of the two palaces?"

This time, Lu Diaoyang hesitated.

The emperor's support for the performance evaluation system encouraged the New Party for a long time.

But there is still no explanation as to what the mentality is.

Now it seems that it is really Lord Zhang who is secretly influencing us?
Zhu Yijun gave Lu Diaoyang enough time to think and secretly observed his expression.

Seeing the obviously conflicted look on his face, he struck while the iron was hot and said, "It's not just about the performance evaluation method. I agree with everything that Zhang Ge Lao said that day."

"Land measurement, the Single Whip Law, the reform of the Beijing Army, maritime transport, official schools, etc., all of these have made me suddenly enlightened!"

"Mr. Lu, this is for the sake of the ancestral temple and the country. Learn more from Mr. Zhang."

Zhu Yijun strolled leisurely in the garden, speaking with deep emotion.

New party?

Who said it must be Zhang Juzheng’s new party? Why can’t it be my new party?

Of course, he would not accept all of Zhang Juzheng's new laws.

Among the limitations, apart from other things, were the forced and false reporting of land measurements, and the One Whip Law that ignored economic laws and oppressed the North. He could not accept any of these.

Of course, as the old rules go, there is no need to dispute the naming rights, but the content can be optimized.

There was no need for him to compete with Zhang Juzheng for the credit.

However, Lu Diaoyang didn't know what the emperor was thinking.

Even though he had mastered the art of cultivating his Qi, he couldn't help frowning and scratching his arms.

Zhang Ge Lao's consensus with the emperor actually exceeded that of his long-time deputy and confidant! ?

Zhang Juzheng never told me so comprehensively!

He only vaguely heard a few words about the Beijing Camp.

What changes need to be made to official schools and maritime transport?
He was no longer suspicious at this moment, but rather felt a little sad.

He was reserved towards his old friend of many years, but revealed everything to the ten-year-old emperor.

Sure enough, after learning the literary and martial arts, one will eventually have to serve the imperial family.

When the words came to his lips, he could only force a smile and said, "Yes, I should learn more from Lord Zhang."

Zhu Yijun suddenly turned around.

He looked at Lu Diaoyang sincerely: "But what Lu Qing said is also quite consistent with what Zhang Gelao said."

"Feng Daban and Yuan Fu are indeed somewhat inconsistent with the ancestral system."

"Then Mr. Lu, what do you think about the impeachment by the censors this time?"
-
PS: Some readers asked about the book club. I would like to say that due to force majeure, the author will not create any form of discussion group for the time being.

Also, don't criticize the chapter breaks. People love to read books. If it weren't for this kind of lead-in, the book would have died a long time ago. Moreover, it only leaves a small tail while keeping the plot of one chapter intact.

We have to consider the reality.
(End of this chapter)