The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 387
The emperor directly ordered Zuodu Yushi to be imprisoned... It was still a decision made without external factors, just because of the courtiers' infighting.

None of the ministers at the scene came out to intercede in the emperor's anger, not that they thought it was appropriate, but that the situation in front of them was very dangerous.

A hail disaster... No one really thinks that Zhang Zhou can be killed, but at least it can make Zhang Zhou notorious and alienate the emperor from Zhang Zhou... But just because this hail disaster was calculated by Zhang Zhou in advance , and went through a "different process", which made the minister completely passive.

After Min Gui was taken down, Zhu Youtang still stood there, his face undiminished, and said: "I used to read history books, and the sea of ​​history was sinking. Whenever there was a dispute between the ministers of the past generations, I always looked very sad. , a case of Wutai poems, just a few plausible poems, but it almost caused a generation of famous Confucianists to lose their lives, but it also ruined their official careers."

"But I'm also glad that this will not happen in Ming Dynasty, it will appear under my rule. But I never thought that in the party disputes recorded in the history books, it is not for right or wrong reasons, but for the party's position, they will fight each other to the point of life and death , will appear in front of my eyes. They are all courtiers loyal to the court, how can they be incompatible? I am very sad."

After hearing this, the ministers present were thinking in their hearts.

Can this be compared with the Song Dynasty?Zhang Bingkuan in front of him still wants to compare himself to Su Dongpo?An alchemist is an alchemist...

Everyone has thoughts in their hearts, but because the emperor is still angry, he can't speak his excuses.

But interested people can also hear some "clues".

The emperor said that "they are all courtiers loyal to the court", as if to say that in my eyes, both Min Gui and Zhang Zhou are loyal ministers... This at least shows that in the eyes of the emperor, there is still room for change in this matter.

Zhu Youtang suddenly looked at Liu Jian and said, "Mr. Liu Ge, how do you think I will deal with this matter so that you will no longer be aggressive?"

Seeing this scene, Liu Jian actually wanted to give up a long time ago.

The quarrel with the emperor was incompatible, but it was really licking blood on the edge of a knife, and now a Min Gui was folded in... Min Gui is recognized as the person who succeeded Bai Ang as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. After being released from prison, it is estimated that the official career is basically over. For traditional factions, even the sphere of influence may need to be re-divided.

Liu Jian said: "The old minister has no good plan."

Zhu Youtang said: "I have already approved Bingkuan's request to go back to his hometown to see his relatives. He will go back to his hometown for three months. In the capital, if there is another disaster near the capital, it has nothing to do with him?"

Before throwing the question to everyone present, there will always be someone like Min Gui who wants to come out and trample Zhang Zhou to death.

This time Zhu Youtang also changed his strategy and only asked Liu Jian alone.

As the chief assistant, no matter how determined his attitude is, Liu Jian understands the principle of retreat in the face of major events. Only by making concessions can he maintain the harmony of face.

And what the emperor gave Liu Jian was not a problem.

Liu Jian said: "If the Duke of Lai leaves the capital and returns to his hometown, the calamity of the capital should not be involved in him anymore."

"That's good. I will allow him to leave, so that he can return to his hometown in glory. I will return the farmhouse I prepared for him in Nanjing. By the way, I also want him to go to the south of the Yangtze River to experience the people's feelings."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youtang's face became very serious, "My dear family, I have something to say first, if there are still disasters in the capital in the future, no matter whether it is in the past or in the future, no disasters will happen to Bingkuan Involvement, because it has nothing to do with whether I use him or not. Instead, because of his presence, he can predict future disasters in advance, so I and the people can take precautions."

"Even if some of the skills he uses are beyond the reach of manpower, they are alchemy in your mouth, but those that can serve the country and the people are good deeds."

Liu Jian cupped his hands and retreated to the class of ministers.

The emperor's words also mean that today's affairs are considered qualitative.

Losing a Min Gui seems to be the emperor's win, but in return, the emperor will also send Zhang Zhou back to Nanjing for three months...and make an agreement similar to a bet. If within the next three months, Zhang Zhou When Zhou was not in the capital, there were still major disasters in the capital. After that, Zhang Zhou should not be attacked by disasters.

Of course, if Zhang Zhou made mistakes in the military or as an official in the future, you should attack if you should, because you are afraid that you will not even take the usual path to impeach Zhang Zhou.

The emperor seemed to know very well that it was actually very difficult for the ministers to find Zhang Zhou's faults in being an official or leading troops, because Zhang Zhou's official status was almost impeccable, except for those who could not explain clearly. This matter is the emperor's most troublesome thing, and it is also the most troublesome thing.

……

……

The court council was disbanded in bizarre circumstances.

Zhu Youtang left Fengtian Hall angrily, and all the ministers present breathed a sigh of relief...

Many people are also rejoicing that the fire didn't burn themselves.

"Mr. Liu Ge, what should we do? Mr. Min is also speaking out for us. Now that he is taken into prison, I'm afraid he will suffer a lot of flesh and blood." Coming out of Fengtian Hall, a group of people gathered Go to Liu Jian to intercede.

It seemed that she was also blaming, Liu Jin was almost obeying the emperor's wishes before, and she didn't even intercede for Min Gui.

Liu Jian didn't want to answer this kind of question.

Li Dongyang said: "It is His Majesty's will to issue an edict to prison. You have seen His Majesty's previous attitude. What does this have to do with us? If you want to blame it, blame Zhang Bingkuan for doing deceitful things. He clearly counted the hailstorm, but he didn't report it himself. And tell Yu Wu Hao, and use it to get people to impeach him... What does Your Majesty think?"

"That's right." Zhou Jing said empathetically, "Calculate the hail disaster by yourself and let others say it. It should be called saying that you don't want to fight with the officials in the court and want to return home earlier. Such weird remarks are deceiving the Holy Majesty. It's heartbreaking."

Xie Qian narrowed his eyes and said with a weird smile, "Zhou Butang, be careful with your words."

The emperor also said earlier, don't talk about right and wrong and just talk about positions to engage in party disputes, now you Zhou Jing is violating the ban.

Bai Ang said angrily: "You are young, and you are still the number one scholar, so you can't do things with your heart? Even if you have gunpowder, new artillery, and the ability to manage the army, you can do it at every step. You are so eager for quick success, but you are just a swindler. .”

Liu Jian didn't take it seriously when he saw everyone's criticism of Zhang Zhou.

It's obvious.

Those who attacked Zhang Zhou more fiercely were those old ministers who were about to retire, and there was another... Min Gui who had always disliked Zhang Zhou since Zhang Zhou entered the court. Get rid of Zhang Zhou, the political enemy...

From this point of view, the emperor's cognition was not deviated.

Or partisanship for the sake of partisanship.

The Tongzheng envoy Yuan Shouzhi said: "Then what should we do? Zhang Bingkuan has returned to his hometown for three months. If something really happens during the period, wouldn't it mean that today's success fell short?"

Xie Qian said: "I'm afraid it's not as simple as falling short!"

The implication is that Min Gui will be involved, and even Zhang Zhou will not be able to attack Zhang Zhou with disasters in the future, and Zhang Zhou will stand firm in the court in the future, and more and more people will be attached to Zhang Zhou.

Yuan Shouzhi got angry and shouted: "The hail disaster he calculated is not a hail disaster? Why do you have no idea why the heavens send hail disasters?"

Xu Qiong said: "You can't say that. If this hail disaster is really a warning from the sky, why can't you say that it's because everyone in the court wants to participate in the impeachment of Zhang Bingkuan, and the sky can't see it?"

Shen Lu also chimed in and said, "That's right, for the common people, although the hailstorm has suffered some losses, it is still because the imperial court made an announcement in advance, so that the common people's suffering from the disaster has been greatly reduced, which has never happened before. Dare to ask you, if you are ordinary people and rely on the sky, should you thank Duke Lai, or hate him?"

"What do you mean?" Yuan Shouzhi and others glared at Shen Lu.

Both of them are envoys in charge of the administration, and Yuan Shouzhi is a senior official, so he is also questioning why his subordinates are against him.

But Shen Lu was not afraid of these, he said: "Whoever wins the hearts of the people can also win the hearts of His Majesty, don't you understand this truth?"

Bai Ang said: "How can Zhang Bingkuan win the hearts of the people by relying on demonic words to confuse the high-ranking people?"

At this time Xie Qian couldn't listen anymore, he sighed: "Everyone, stop talking nonsense here, go to the people and listen to what the people have to say, don't be self-righteous."

"Old Xie Ge, what do you mean?" Bai Ang stared at Xie Qian.

Xie Qian thought of what he had seen and heard in the market yesterday, and saw the people sincerely thanking the court for their kindness, especially when the hail disaster occurred, and the orderly scene of the market, he couldn't help feeling: "The people's hearts are not relying on me to wait." The common people only look at what they get, not what their position is, and there are many superstitious people in the market, otherwise, who will listen to this calamity?"

The ministers present were silent.

It is precisely because ordinary people are superstitious that there is a market for so-called rumors about disasters and miracles. If they don't believe it, or if there are many people who don't believe it, who will talk about the number of days and God's will?

Xie Qian said again: "But it is also because people in the market believe that they will see that Zhang Bingkuan hits God's will repeatedly, and use it to bring some benefits to Daming and the people. They will naturally stand by Zhang Bingkuan."

Yuan Shouzhi was annoyed: "Could it be Zhang Bingkuan who governed the country and the people?"

Xie Qian couldn't listen anymore.

He felt that these officials all felt that the people's living and working in peace and contentment were brought about by them, not by the people's own efforts.

Civil officials govern the country, but they always regard themselves as "parents and officials", and even feel that they are kind to the people, without considering what the people really need, or who will support whom.

After all, Xie Qian is a relatively enlightened Confucian official. He said: "Zhang Bingkuan used things in the border area to drive away the barbarians. Isn't it considered Anmin? If you change everyone, I hope to be the same as in the past few years, and I have to fight for those border situations every day." Annoyance, or like today?"

"do not talk."

Li Dongyang gave Xie Qian a hand.

Li Dongyang could see that the words Xie Qian said had no market among those civil servants who were filled with righteous indignation.

to be honest.

Now is the time to talk about positions rather than right and wrong, and they are all angry, thinking that Zhang Zhou is a traitor and traitor, can they listen to reasoning with these civil servants?
There is no right or wrong in the matter of party and government.

"Mr. Yingying, tell me a few words." Xie Qian suddenly aimed at Zhang Mao who was watching the excitement.

"Me?" Zhang Mao laughed, "I'm old and frail, and I've been a little forgetful recently, but I don't know what you're talking about."

Yuan Shou said straightly: "Why is the British public pretending to be so confused? You didn't do it by participating in the concert? You were the one who participated in the impeachment of Zhang Bingkuan for the hailstorm before? How dare you say that you didn't know in advance?"

Zhang Maodao: "The conscience of heaven and earth, I just learned this news from Qin Tianjian, and I wanted to help you all, so I took the risk to report it. If you want to blame, you should blame Qin Tianjian."

"Where is Qin Tianjian?"

It was only then that everyone remembered that there was another "culprit" Wu Hao.

But after searching around, he found that Wu Hao was nowhere to be seen.

Wu Hao is not a fool. It was Zhang Zhou who told him about the hail disaster in the court earlier. He was used as a spy by the emperor and Zhang Zhou, and because of this, he trapped the entire courtiers. It also shows that he is very innocent. The ability... At that time, he wanted to find a hole in the ground, but now that the court proceedings are over, why doesn't he just run away?
"All right!"

Liu Jian saw that Tu Yu still wanted to come out to preside over the overall situation, and he realized that he couldn't let the matter in front of him develop.

Liu Jian yelled loudly, and he was very powerful. He said sharply: "Everyone, His Majesty has also gone through a disaster and asked Zhang Bingkuan to go back to his hometown to visit his relatives. He also said that there will be no disaster in the capital within three months, so he will not use Zhang Bingkuan for the time being. What kind of result do you want?"

The scene also fell silent.

"I still think about it now, how to prevent human disasters in the capital in the next three months." Liu Jian added.

"What about natural disasters?" Shen Lu asked.

Tu Yu finally opened his mouth and said, "Natural disasters, one rain and one snow or one wind and one hail, is that considered a natural disaster?"

This is said... very level.

Even you, Tu Yu, don't think that drastic changes in the weather are disasters, so why did you use so much force when you participated in the impeachment of Zhang Zhou?What about double standards?

Xu Qiong couldn't listen anymore, she threw up her sleeves and wanted to leave, and said in a mocking tone: "When it comes to dealing with political opponents, a rain and hail will be a disaster, and I am afraid that when it is my turn, even if it is rain and hail, the capital will be flattened." No, don’t take it seriously! Hehe! Learned!”

They are all people who are going to retire, and their words are so choking.

The ministers present also seemed to feel that in the past few years, even in the entire Hongzhi Dynasty, the ministers had never discussed matters in private more intensely than today.

Today is also a precedent.

Everyone spoke as if they had taken gunpowder, and those with guns and sticks wished to use their mouths to speak to each other until they spurted blood to death.

"Natural disasters." Tu Yu added, "As long as it doesn't involve major disasters or the safety of people's livelihood, try to avoid it. Big wind and heavy rain, don't you have any sense of disaster prevention?"

Others also understand.

Before Xu Qiong left, she was right. In fact, it was a principle... We don’t consider him to be a natural disaster, but he is not.

Shen Lu said with a smile: "I'm afraid that just like the fire in Qingning Palace two years ago, the sky will send down a thunderbolt for you. No matter how well you prevent it, it will be futile."

"you!"

Everyone stared at Shen Lu.

Shen Lu also laughed and left with the others.

"Mr. Liu Ge, these people don't understand the rules anymore." A speaker came out and said, "I want to participate in impeachment!"

Liu Jian said: "Take care of your own business and avoid those wacky disputes. Your Majesty hates this the most now! Even if there is a disaster...we'll talk about it at that time! Who knows why this disaster happened?"

Everyone was surprised.

That's not what Liu Jian said in the court earlier.

Liu Jian told Zhu Youtang that as long as Zhang Zhou left, even if there was a disaster in the capital, Zhang Zhou could not be blamed.

It was also approved by the emperor at that time.

That's why Tu Yu analyzed after the fact that as long as in the next three months, there are no natural disasters in the capital, Zhang Zhou's problem can be suppressed.

But now Liu Jian said, even if there is a disaster, we can still push Zhang Zhou through some weird angles... In short, we are in an invincible position.

……

……

Zhu Youtang also felt physically and mentally exhausted by the arguing in the palace.

Obviously he wanted to make some achievements, and Ming's national strength was growing day by day, Zhang Zhou alone drove the production of nearly half of Daming's coal and pig iron... that's right.

Zhu Youtang suddenly thought of this. When Zhang Zhou reported the coal and steel production to him earlier, he was excited for a while, and he planned to mention it to the minister to show off Zhang Zhou’s contribution. Forgot?

But then I thought... Zhang Zhou has made such great contributions in the Northwest and Liaodong battlefields, isn't he still being ignored?
If it is mentioned to the ministers that Zhang Zhou led the output of a large amount of coal and pig iron, it is estimated that those ministers will also participate in the impeachment of Zhang Zhou for "competing with the people for profit", saying that Zhang Zhou's public implements are used for private use, and maybe they want to participate in the impeachment of Zhang Zhou for destroying cultivated land ...

There are too many reasons to attack a person.

"Your Majesty." Xiao Jing appeared in front of Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang asked, "Have those people left?"

Xiao Jingdao: "All the officials have returned to their respective offices."

Zhu Youtang snorted softly: "I don't think about doing more for the court and the people, but only think about how to fight against the political opponents, but Bingkuan... I have been lazy since I entered the court, and I didn't go to the court for a few days. In this way, he has become a thorn in the eyes of others, I really don't know who I should rely on."

After hearing this, Xiao Jing was still a little relieved.

This also shows that the emperor saw that Zhang Zhou alone could not govern the country, so he reserved a certain amount of leeway for the ministers.

Then another person came in behind Xiao Jing, Yang Peng, the admiral of the East Factory.

Just when Xiao Jing thought that the emperor wanted to ask Yang Peng about Min Gui, Yang Peng took the initiative to report: "Your Majesty, Duke Lai has packed everything and is going to leave for Nanjing this afternoon."

Zhu Youtang said: "Yes, he has to leave early, otherwise the disaster will come soon, and people will say that it has something to do with him if he leaves later."

"Your Majesty, I don't know...what is the disaster?" Xiao Jing panicked.

I just thought I would breathe a sigh of relief, and sacrificed a Min Gui to fulfill the big guy.

Only now did I know that the emperor had already made a move.

Zhu Youtang said: "When it is about to happen, I will tell you! Now I don't know who to trust!"

(End of this chapter)