Chapter 62: Peace of Mind and Laziness, Past Events Repeat

A group of people walked out of Ciqing Palace, and Zhang Hong followed the emperor carefully.

After this incident, he was already in a very uneasy mood. He raised his head quietly and glanced at the emperor who had a grim expression on his face. He didn't even dare to breathe heavily.

I followed closely in small steps, thinking over and over in my mind how to remedy the situation.

"Zhang Hong, as the Chief of the Imperial Household Department, was your rise to the position too smooth?"

A voice suddenly came into his ears, and the cold tone made Zhang Hong's heart skip a beat.

He immediately knelt down and pleaded guilty: "I am guilty! Your Majesty, I will investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Zhu Yijun looked down at Zhang Hong and sneered, "Investigate? The fire is already burning, what are you still investigating?"

If it was so easy to investigate, King Sejong wouldn't have caught fire so many times.

Zhang Hong kowtowed repeatedly, his kowtows making loud noises.

Zhu Yijun watched coldly without saying a word.

Just as he was about to continue hitting Zhang Hong, he suddenly saw Li Jin jogging towards him from a distance, looking extremely embarrassed.

Zhu Yijun's eyelids twitched, and the bad premonition resurfaced.

As expected, as soon as Li Jin arrived, he immediately fell to his knees and said in panic, "Your Majesty, the late emperor's youngest daughter, Yao Jiang, has passed away!"

The late emperor’s youngest daughter, Zhu Yaojiang, was the seventh child of his father and concubine Qin.

He was born last July and is now only one year and four months old.

He was fine before, but died overnight! ?
Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and put away all expressions on his face.

He looked at Li Jin calmly and asked, "How did he die?"

Li Jin took a breath and said very quickly: "What happened this morning!"

"At that time, he kept crying and his limbs were twitching, so we called in the imperial physician, but he couldn't save him even after giving him acupuncture."

"The court verdict was that he died of convulsions."

Zhu Yijun slowly closed his eyes.

The voice was a little deep: "Which imperial physician? Which court judge?"

Li Jin quickly replied, "The judge is Wang Wenli, and the imperial physician is Song Zhaohe!"

Zhu Yijun just nodded quietly and didn't ask any more questions.

He walked out without saying a word, leaving the two eunuchs kneeling on the ground.

After walking a long distance, Zhu Yijun seemed to have just remembered and turned back, saying, "Wait for me to come back."

After saying this, he turned around and left with the Jinyiwei, leaving the two eunuchs to kneel and see him off.

The two eunuchs knelt on the ground, not daring to stand up. They watched the emperor's departing back and kowtowed repeatedly.

……

Wenhua Hall.

Today's court meeting has not yet ended.

The palace has its own affairs, and the outer court has its own affairs. I sent the Secretary of the Central Secretariat to express my condolences and get the news that she is fine. That is enough.

The court discussion continued in an orderly manner.

Imperial Censor Hu Qi was speaking passionately: "On the third day of the tenth month, on the night of Bingchen, a guest star was seen in the northeast, as big as a bullet. Along the road leading out of the pavilion, the Bi constellation gradually became fainter and brighter. After nineteen days, on the night of Renshen, the star was red-yellow, as big as a lamp, and radiated light in all directions. The divination said: This is a Betelgeux."

"Now, the fire has spread to the rooms of Ciqing Palace, which is where the concubines live. This is a disaster!"

"The star yin is like fire, which is born from the accumulation of yin. Once the evil star enters the angle, fire will appear in the palace. Is this a trivial matter?"

Everyone was watching Hu Qi jumping up and down.

I don't know who spread the news of the fire in Ciqing Palace, but as soon as the court meeting started today, everyone knew about it.

After comforting Empress Dowager Chen and receiving a positive response, Hu Qi began to perform with all his might.

They used the evil star on the third day of October as an excuse, and then linked it to the fire in Ciqing Palace, and made a big fuss about it.

The Imperial Astronomical Observatory previously said it was a good sign, but recently changed its tune, saying that if it does not dissipate for several days, it must be an evil star.

Everyone understood what was going on.

Those who are not involved in the matter just stand by and watch.

If you have any guesses, examine them carefully.

Those who are plotting in secret, look around.

Hu Qi continued his impassioned speech: "The Donghai killed the filial woman, and there was no rain for three years. A filial woman could bring peace to the heavens, let alone the concubines of the two dynasties who were shut away from the harem?"

"The old are unknown, the young are full of resentment, the widows and orphans are filled with sorrow!"

"From my perspective, this fire was most likely caused by a palace maid who harbored resentment!"

These words were a blatant accusation against the Holy Lord.

Not only is it blatant, it is also a repeat of the same old trick.

This view... was pretty much the same view when Sejong was nearly strangled to death by a palace maid.

Hu Qi became more and more excited as he spoke: "Tang Gaozu was not a good ruler, and Empress Wu Zetian was cruel, almost endangering the country. This is not something you can tell Your Majesty, but you should learn from the mistakes of the past!"

Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty was incompetent and Empress Wu Zetian was cruel, and they almost endangered the country and the people. Although these do not need to be stated to Your Majesty, the emperor should also learn from the lessons of history!

Finally, I finally saw it.

This clearly shows that the emperor is not virtuous, which is why he has brought about such retaliation.

Unfortunately, the emperor was not alone at this time.

Li, the chief censor of the Ministry of Personnel, was in the court and was about to step out and rebuke them.

Just as he was about to move, he saw a figure coming out from the side hall above the throne.

Zhu Yijun raised his hand and asked Li Zaiting to return to the court, and the latter retreated obediently.

When the emperor arrived, the ministers naturally saluted: "Your Majesty."

Hu Qi's voice also stopped abruptly. He looked up at the emperor with a look of fear and embarrassment on his face: "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun nodded, with no expression on his face, and simply uttered two words: "Continue."

Then, without closing the screen, he just looked at Hu Qi quietly, waiting for his next words.

Hu Qi's body stiffened for a moment.

But he gritted his teeth, straightened his body, and continued, "The cause of disasters and anomalies is on the emperor, how can you show justice? The cause is on the treacherous, how can you repel them? As for suppressing abuses, please follow the ancestral system, save money to improve people's livelihood, and order lectures to expand the way of governance, all of which are to call for harmony between heaven and earth and usher in endless governance for hundreds of millions of years!"

If the disaster befell the emperor, should he reflect on himself? If it befell a treacherous minister, should he stay away from him?

This is of course a cliché, the key point is the solution.

Hu Qi’s prescription was very simple: do not compete with the people for profit, obey the ancestral rules, and study the classics, only then can there be “harmony between heaven and earth.”

If you don't listen, don't blame me for hurting the harmony.

These words were still too implicit, and Zhu Yijun didn't seem to understand them.

He hummed casually, "What do Censor Hu mean by 'improving people's livelihood', 'following the ancestral system', and 'pardoning lectures'?"

The emperor did not call him "Qing" as usual, but called him "Yushi Hu".

Some court officials began to feel fear when they saw the emperor's expressionless face.

This scene... is so similar to the time when King Sejong was in power!
Hu Qi could not be more straightforward at this point, so he could only stammer, "I am a humble person, so I can only say this much."

Zhu Yijun nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Suddenly remembering something, he almost muttered to himself: "Is Censor Hu from Nanzhili?"

Hu Qi said with a stiff upper lip: "I am from Wuxi, South Zhili, and I was a Jinshi in the Yichou year of the 44th year of the Jiajing reign."

Zhu Yijun will not be discussed here.

He then looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked, "Mr. Zhang, what did you discuss at the regular court today?"

Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment. Knowing that the emperor was angry, he wanted to appease him.

He slowly said, "Your Majesty, we discussed several matters today."

"Matters concerning the record of the repair of the Mu Temple."

"According to the proposal of Governor General Wang Zongmu, the troops in the east and west of Huai'an will be exempted from duty and sent to Beijing for annual training. They will also be assigned to patrol the sea to prevent sea transport."

"The Ministry of War impeached the Governor of the Beijing Camp, Gu Huan..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yijun turned around and looked at Yang Bo.

The look in his eyes was ambiguous, as if he was only asking the Prime Minister, or as if he was speaking to Yang Bo: "What did Lord Yang impeach Governor Gu for?"

Zhang Juzheng said, "Impeaching Gu Huan and submitting it to Your Majesty without going through the Ministry of War is against established practice."

Yang Bo's expression changed slightly.

Zhu Yijun nodded: "I understand, Zhang Qing, please continue."

Zhang Juzheng continued as if reading from a script: "We also discussed the issues of Xuanda and the southeastern border defense."

"And Jia Daiwen, the chief censor of the Ministry of Revenue, impeached Hai Rui, the deputy censor-in-chief, for living in the Northern Pacification Office as a censor, and suspected him of colluding with the insiders and the outsiders."

"And then there is the report made by Censor Hu just now."

After saying that, he looked up at the emperor.

The emperor had a blank expression on his face and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

He had anticipated the current situation since the emperor showed his intention to change the Lianghuai salt administration.

His political views differed greatly from Hai Rui's. It can be said that he totally disapproved of this matter.

But the emperor insisted on doing so, so he could only acquiesce.

Acquiescence is the limit, and it is naturally unlikely to get his full support.

Except for a lone minister like Hai Rui, anyone who has reached this level of official rank is no longer on his own, but is pushed forward by a large group of people behind him.

In addition to your own ideas, you should also consider the ideas of your peers.

Asking Zhang Juzheng to raise the banner and openly say that he wanted to change the Lianghuai salt administration would mean abandoning the support of all the people in Southern Zhili behind him.

The difficulty of this is no different from operating a knife on yourself.

It is most difficult when the blade is facing inwards.

The only support he could offer was to suppress his own dissatisfaction and, on the surface, be impartial and treat the case as an ordinary case. However, although he could suppress his own side, the Nanzhili villagers were not only behind him.

Just the Ministry of Revenue's Chief Secretary Jia Daiwen and the Ministry of Justice's Right Vice Minister Bi Qiang were surrounded by a large number of people from Southern Zhili.

There were Zhang Daoming, the Imperial Censor of Engineering, and Shen Yikuan, the reviewer. The middle-level officials in the Hanlin Academy and the six ministries accounted for almost half.

The North-South List case has its own reasons, and it is not as simple as the initial signs.

Not to mention that the Jin Party has been dissatisfied with Gu Huan's affairs for a long time and might add fuel to the fire.

Zhang Juzheng had long anticipated that something would most likely happen.

As soon as he heard that Ciqing Palace was on fire this morning, he knew that something bad was going to happen.

At this moment, the emperor's expression was like the sea, calm but with waves gathering. No one dared to be distracted, for fear that the emperor would suffer a setback in his first act and would be beaten with a cane in the court.

But after hearing what Zhang Juzheng said, Zhu Yijun did not get angry.

Instead, she nodded slightly to Gao Yi and said, "Sir, my younger sister Yao Jiang has passed away. I want to posthumously confer the title of princess on her. Can you prepare a ceremony for me as soon as possible?"

More than just GROHE.

Everyone was startled.

Zhang Juzheng's heart skipped a beat!
No wonder the emperor was like this! He thought it was just a fire, but it turned out to be the loss of his younger sister! The emperor must be extremely angry at this moment!
He suddenly raised his head and looked at certain people, with silent questioning in his eyes.

How dare you!

He thought he could just light a fire to boost his morale, but who would have thought he would dare to go this far! ?

Zhang Siwei and Jia Daiwen's faces changed drastically. They shook their heads violently and signaled with their eyes that they wanted to distance themselves from the Prime Minister.

Gao Yi also cried out in amazement: "The seventh daughter of the late emperor, Yao Jiang, passed away!?"

"When did this happen?"

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Just now, you will know later."

Once the imperial physician knew about it, he would naturally report the details to the cabinet, and he didn't want to waste any more words.

Gao Yi quickly asked, "What's the reason?"

Zhu Yijun still had no expression on his face, and seemed very calm: "The imperial physician said that he died of convulsions."

Gao Yi and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other.

Convulsions and sudden death mean death without any disease...

Both of them felt something was wrong.

Gao Yi wanted to ask more questions, but Zhu Yijun threw down a note and asked, "Sir, please help me." Then he looked at Lu Diaoyang and said, "Mr. Lu, I have specially chosen a title for you, Princess Qixia. Do you think it's okay?"

Lu Diaoyang was silent for a moment.

Finally, he bowed and replied: "I obey your order."

This is not as simple as asking about the title.

This matter should have been referred to the Ministry of Rites, but it was asked to him, a cabinet minister.

In other words, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi and Lu Diaoyang had been forced to express their stance.

The emperor was extremely angry!

The three of them didn't know what the emperor was going to do. They looked at each other and saw that they all had anxious expressions on their faces.

Zhu Yijun looked at Yang Bo again at this time: "Lord Yang, I heard that you impeached the Governor of the Beijing Camp, Gu Huan, and submitted a memorial without going through the Ministry of War?"

Yang Bo was at a loss as to what to do and nodded reluctantly.

Zhu Yijun said kindly: "There are some reasons for this matter. The Minister of War, Wang Chonggu, has not yet taken office, and official duties are backlogged. This is really an expedient measure."

"What does Elder Yang think?"

Yang Bo was in a dilemma.

He glanced around and happened to see the expressions of his colleagues and Zhang Siwei's hints.

He suddenly realized that the emperor was deliberately suppressing him!

If he lowered his head now, there would still be room for maneuver. Otherwise, Princess Qixia's death would probably be blamed on him!
He quickly said: "Your Majesty is right, it is me who is superficial!"

Zhu Yijun nodded.

Only then did he have time to respond to Hu Qi's request.

He asked the court officials, "The moon invaded my lord, its light illuminating the earth; the palace caught fire, spreading to the rooms; my young sister had a seizure and died. Was it all caused by my lack of virtue?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zai, the chief official of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty!"

"The auspicious star is inaugurating, which means your majesty has a capable minister to assist you, and the heaven and earth are in harmony; the inner court is burning, which means the fire virtue of the country is flourishing and thriving; the matter of Princess Qixia is the fault of the imperial physician!"

"Hu Qi is stirring up trouble, barking wildly, and criticizing the Holy Lord. This is the way to death. I beg you to beat him to death!"

As soon as Li Zaiting finished speaking, Jia Daiwen, the Minister of Revenue, changed his expression.

His face was full of anger.

Pointing at Li Zaiting's nose, he shouted, "No censor has ever been convicted for his words!"

"Li Zaiting, you are a censor, but you always want to beat and kill your colleagues. You are a traitor. What is the difference between you and Yan Song?"

He had long been fed up with Li Zaiting's complicity in the evil deeds.

At this moment, he had a lot of ideas in mind and was about to continue scolding this person.

But suddenly, a cold voice was heard: "Jia Jieshizhong, are you making indirect accusations?"

He turned his head and saw that it was Gao Yi, looking at him with a cold expression.

Jia Daiwen's expression changed.

Bi Qiang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, stepped out immediately to join in the discussion: "Everyone, please discuss this matter properly..."

A voice of praise suddenly came from the imperial steps: "Let's discuss matters properly."

Zhu Yijun looked at everyone and said, "I asked if it was because of my bad behavior, why is it that only Li Qing responded to me?"

"Is it because I am so unvirtuous that you all despise me?"

Lu Diaoyang was already sweating profusely and wanted to step out to appease them immediately.

The emperor ignored him and continued, "What you said, Mr. Li, seems to be an attempt to comfort me."

"Now, the stars in the sky are showing signs, the fires in the ground are warning, and my loved ones have died young. How can I remain indifferent?"

"I have listened to Censor Hu's advice."

At this point, Zhang Juzheng's heart skipped a beat. He had already realized something and was about to interrupt.

The emperor did not give him a chance, and said in a cold voice: "I, from now on, you must carefully copy the Taoist scriptures and burn them to inform the heaven and earth."

"In addition, in three days, I will move into the West Garden to cultivate myself and improve my moral character!"

"My Lords, please continue the discussion. I will return to the palace first!"

After saying this, the emperor stood up and was about to leave without caring about the reactions of his ministers.

Almost at the same time, the court was in an uproar!

Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, and Lu Diaoyang all had their expressions changed suddenly. The three of them understood what the emperor meant at the first moment.

Even Shen Shixing, Tao Dalin and others who had been watching coldly from the sidelines showed expressions of shock and surprise.

Only the newly promoted officials who had not experienced the Jiajing Dynasty were still looking around in confusion.

There was a look of inquiry in his eyes.

"His Majesty!"

Suddenly a shout came from Lu Diaoyang, one of the ministers of the time.

Lu Diaoyang suddenly knelt down and saluted, his voice almost trembling: "Your Majesty, I request that the censor Hu Qi be demoted to a commoner!"

Hu Qi's body stiffened, and Jia Daiwen and Bi Qiang suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Zhu Yijun paused as he was leaving.

Then he continued to walk down the imperial steps and shook his head: "How can I not listen to advice? Censor Hu is my Wei Zheng. Mr. Wen, please discuss how to promote Censor Hu."

After saying this, Zhu Yijun was about to leave.

Wen Chun was a nobody in the court. This was the first time he received a task, so he had to bow down and receive the order.

Shen Shixing quickly pulled him and signaled him not to move rashly.

As the emperor walked down the imperial steps, his figure was about to disappear.

Gao Yi suddenly disobeyed etiquette and took several steps forward: "Your Majesty! I request that the censor Hu Qi be imprisoned!"

Zhu Yijun paused and looked at Gao Yi.

The voice was tired and said, "Sir, let's discuss this later. I still have to appease the two palaces and go see my younger sister."

He nodded towards Gao Yi with a look of disappointment, and surrounded by eunuchs and royal guards, he went into a side hall.

Gao Yi immediately turned around and looked at Zhang Juzheng, and suddenly said angrily: "Prime Minister! Are you still going to play deaf and dumb?"

During the court meeting, the deputy prime minister suddenly roared at the chief prime minister, and the ministers became even more frightened.

The officer said nothing, as if he had heard nothing.

Zhang Juzheng's face was gloomy and uncertain.

He looked back at Gao Yi and dodged, "This is not a nonsense."

Hu Qi had no idea at this time that he had become a bargaining chip between the cabinet and the emperor.

He looked at Jia Daiwen as if asking for help.

Jia Daiwen knew that he could not just sit there and watch, so he had to argue: "Prime Minister..."

Zhang Juzheng finally had someone to vent his anger on.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Jia Daiwen and shouted, "Shut up!"

"Corrector! Shut this guy up!"

After venting his anger, he met Gao Yi's gaze again.

Gao Yi grabbed Zhang Juzheng's arm and said something that seemed to come out from between his teeth: "Does the Prime Minister really want to watch another Emperor Shizong appear before your eyes?!"

　Note 1: Guangxi Province Imperial Censor Hu Qi reported: "Your Majesty sincerely worships the ancestral temple, is filial to the two palaces, and is benevolent to the four seas, so it is appropriate to be harmonious and auspicious. Recently, a big star suddenly entered the angle of the Big Dipper, shining brightly on the ground, and was seen before night. People at home and abroad were shocked and suspicious, and the subjects were shocked. Some people believed that it was an invasion by barbarians, some believed that famine would come, and some believed that there were concerns in all directions, that the dangers within the palace must be prevented, the borders must be feared, and the diseases in the heart must be treated. In addition, on the night of the th of this month, the fire spread to the rooms behind Ciqing Palace, which were where the palace concubines lived. The response of the disaster must be the palace concubines. The stars are yin, which is like fire, and is born from the accumulation of yin. Once the evil star entered the angle, the fire was seen in the palace. Is this a trivial matter? The East Sea killed the filial woman, and there was no rain for three years. A filial woman can still cause such a bad weather, let alone the concubines of the two dynasties. In the back garden, the old ones don’t know where they are, the young ones are full of resentment, and the widows and orphans are in great sorrow! Therefore, the most urgent task to quell the rebellion today is to release the palace ladies. I beg you to investigate those who were favored by the previous dynasty, and treat them with favor and consideration, so that everyone can have their wishes fulfilled; those who were not favored, regardless of age, should all be released. Emperor Gaozu of Tang was not a good ruler, and Empress Wu Zetian was cruel, almost endangering the country. This is not something that Your Majesty needs to talk about, but the past should also serve as a lesson. I also beg you to summon one or two cabinet ministers to discuss the causes of disasters and anomalies. If it is the emperor himself, how can he be righteous? If it is the traitors, how can he be expelled? If it is the barbarians, how can he be controlled? If it is the common people, how can he be pacified? As for suppressing abuses, please follow the ancestral system, save money to improve people’s livelihood, and order lectures to expand the way of governance, all of which are to call for harmony between heaven and earth and start a governance that will last for hundreds of millions of years. "Entering, the emperor was furious.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)