The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 134 Forming the Cabinet, Hunting in Yingtian

"Princess, should we discuss this matter with Prince Qi and see what he thinks?"

Wang Yuemin shook her head.

"Don't tell my brother about this yet. He's not in a good position on the grasslands right now, so let's not make him worry about me. This matter is settled. I, the princess, will naturally find a way to extricate myself!"

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Wang Fu had no choice but to give up.

What Wang Fu didn't know was that someone had been following him after he left.

Wang Yuemin looked at Qin King Zhu Shuang's hurried and impetuous manner, her face showing a conflicted expression.

During this time together, Wang Yuemin was deeply moved by the man who had always been good to her.

Previously, I had only ever had this feeling from my father, Prince Ruyang, and my brother.

Unfortunately, their social statuses were worlds apart, and they were destined not to be together. Thinking of this, she gave a bitter smile.

Everything in the imperial court was orderly and unusually quiet.

Zhu Yunwen, standing in the crowd, was extremely curious.

Ignoring the advice of others, Zhu Xiong Ying speculated about the Central Secretariat. The original officials of the Central Secretariat had either been reassigned to other places or left idle. Among them was Hu Weiyong. However, these people were very calm during this period, as if nothing had happened.

Even the noble families of Huaixi, who had been making a fuss every day because of Tie Xuan's southward journey, became much more obedient.

These nobles from Huaixi tried every means to meet with Li Shanchang, but Li Shanchang had long since given up on these matters.

When he heard that Zhu Xiong Ying had established a cabinet and abolished the Central Secretariat, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

He knew perfectly well that he had absolutely no chance of turning the tide.

Without the position of Chancellor of the Secretariat, he was insignificant, and the Grand Secretariat had no decision-making power; it was merely the emperor's staff. The power of the Six Ministries was directly transferred to the emperor. Such a meticulous arrangement left him with no ideas.

Hu Weiyong did not meet with these Huaixi nobles, and he naturally had other thoughts in his mind.

I've been too impulsive lately, and in my quest for that position, I've made many mistakes.

Now that I think about it, those actions were really foolish.

He has already offended enough people; if he takes any further action, he will be completely removed from the court.

Hu Weiyong was unusually well-behaved during this period, which surprised Zhu Xiong Ying.

Zhu Xiong Ying quickly selected cabinet members from among the officials in the court.

The first cabinet of the Ming Dynasty: Academician Liu Sanwu, Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi, the twelfth prince Zhu Bai, Censor-in-Chief Liu Bowen, Minister of Justice Hu Zhen, former Vice Minister of the Secretariat Hu Weiyong, Duke of Wei Xu Da, and Duke of Liang Lan Yu.

No one objected to the seven officials being admitted to the cabinet.

Liu Sanwu was a representative of the upright officials in the country, and moreover, he had been handling government affairs in the Hall of Diligent Governance for a long time, so naturally no one objected.

Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi and Minister of Justice Hu Zhen are both experienced veterans who are reliable in their work and have no problem representing the Six Ministries.

Hu Weiyong, the former Vice Minister of the Secretariat, was quick-witted. Although he offended the gentry in Jiangnan, he still wielded considerable influence in the imperial court.

Liu Bowen, the Imperial Censor, represented the Censorate; Zhu Bai, the twelfth prince, represented the imperial family; and Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, and Lan Yu, the Duke of Liang, represented the two military forces.

These officials had only been in the cabinet for a short time, yet they were already familiar with handling government affairs.

Although the twelfth prince Zhu Bai was young, he had an extremely strong learning ability and quickly learned to do a good job, which pleased Liu Sanwu.

Hu Weiyong entered the Hall of Diligent Governance and looked at the seat, feeling extremely awkward. The first time he entered the Hall of Diligent Governance, it was the same environment, full of bigwigs, while he was sitting here taking notes. Although not much time had passed, he still felt a sense of things having changed.

Hu Weiyong was good at handling things, and with the help of Liu Bowen and the two ministers, many things could be handled easily.

As for Duke Xu Da of Wei and Duke Lan Yu of Liang, they only concern themselves with matters related to the military; other matters are of little concern to them.

As always, Duke Xu Da of Wei was unwilling to get involved in such matters, and would go straight back after each roll call.

On this day, Zhu Xiong Ying suddenly announced in the court that he planned to go hunting with the princes and sons of nobles.

The officials in the imperial court were extremely surprised when they heard this news.

Since Zhu Xiong Ying began to oversee the country, the entire court has been in great turmoil, but Zhu Xiong Ying has paid no attention to these things.

Now that things have finally calmed down a bit, Zhu Xiong Ying actually wants to go hunting again.

Zhu Xiong Ying even stated that those who achieve good results in this hunting expedition will be exceptionally promoted and recruited into the Five Military Commands.

Upon hearing this, these sons of noble families were all eager to achieve good results and bring glory to their ancestors.

Throughout Yingtian Prefecture, the number of people who frequented brothels, engaged in cockfighting, and walked dogs has decreased significantly.

Wang Yuemin's eyes lit up when she heard the news; this was a good opportunity.

Zhu Xiong Ying's actions effectively consolidated power in the entire court.

It is evident that Zhu Xiong Ying, despite his young age, is already an extremely formidable opponent.

If they were to truly grow stronger, the Northern Yuan would likely have one more enemy.

Therefore, Wang Yuemin decided to take advantage of this hunting opportunity to assassinate Zhu Xiong Ying.

Besides the sons of noble families and princes, attendants were also allowed to go.

If I go with the King of Qin, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Thinking of this, he immediately contacted the Prince's Mansion and transferred all the personnel from other places to Yingtian Prefecture.

This indicates that all actions are under the control of Prince Zhu Gang of Jin.

He placed many of the people who came from outside under his surveillance.

Nobles who originally had no chance of entering the imperial court were now eager to try their luck.

Those nobles were also secretly competing with each other, training their family members' sons to the bone.

Only the civil officials shook their heads at the sight, believing that Zhu Xiong Ying's actions were uncivilized, and some even spoke ill of Zhu Xiong Ying in public.

That evening, Duke Chang Mao of Zheng and Duke Lan Yu of Liang, among others, were present.

They went straight up and blocked the door of the Ming Dynasty official's house.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying arrived at the Duke of Zheng's mansion.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, six dukes were conferred titles. Unfortunately, Chang Yuchun died young, so the title was passed on to his son, Chang Mao.

Since the death of Crown Princess Chang, the three Chang brothers have kept a low profile. If the Crown Prince were to succeed to the throne, it would not be a good thing if the maternal relatives were to become too powerful. Now, most of their connections in the army have been inherited by Duke Lan Yu of Liang, while they have become more low-key.

The Zheng State Duke's Mansion, which rarely opens its doors, now has its main gate wide open, just to welcome an extremely important person.

(End of this chapter)