Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 43 Zhu Houcong PUAs Cabinet Ministers
"Dad, I can't get into the cabinet!"

Snapped!
In the end, Yang Shen did not dare to break into the palace again, but returned home in disgrace.

But just as he came back and stood outside his father's bedroom, he was saying this loudly with a frustrated and angry look on his face when he heard the sound of a teacup breaking inside the house.

Yang Shen couldn't help but tremble, and walked in carefully.

then.

He saw a maid squatting in front of the couch where Yang Tinghe was lying, picking up the broken porcelain pieces on the floor.

The former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mao Rui, was kneeling on the ground with tea hanging on his beard.

"How is this going?"

Yang Shen asked about Mao Rui directly.

Mao Rui told Yang Shen that he had been replaced by Liang Chu with a secret letter and demoted three levels to Guizhou, and he cried:
"Sir, I don't want to go to Guizhou!"

"Guizhou is a place with poor mountains and bad water. It also has many stubborn and unruly people. I'm afraid I won't be able to come back if I go there! Can you help me and tell the Ministry of War to transfer me back?"

"It's true that you can always find a pretext to accuse someone of something. Liang Shunde really thinks he is the Prime Minister."

Yang Shen took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and began to speak. Thinking of how he had been humiliated by General Luo An at Donghua Gate not long ago, he became even more angry. At this time, he looked at Yang Tinghe:

"Dad, we should send someone to sympathize with them!"

"Don't think that just because he is clearing the fields for Your Majesty, he really thinks he is the head of all officials!"

Yang Tinghe then waved his hand calmly and said with a smile:

"If Liang Shunde wants to clear the fields to repay the emperor's grace and bring peace to the people, then let him clear the fields to repay the emperor's grace. Even if he has to replace the Jinyiwei at Donghua Gate with old people from the palace, it's fine, as long as he can be upright in future discussions on etiquette."

Yang Tinghe then instructed Yang Shen, "Tell those people from Beizhi here that Liang Shunde wants to clear the land. Tell them to be honest and don't try to hinder him. They should cooperate seriously and not annoy Liang Shunde."

"Right now, the discussion of etiquette is the key!"

"They have occupied so much land, so what does it mean to give up some barren land or hidden land?"

"Besides, once the grand gift is agreed upon, the imperial stores in Tongzhou, Linqing, and Luzhou in the north will naturally be sold off. Won't they get the upper hand then?"

"They can't just take advantage of it and not suffer any loss at all."

"People can't be too greedy. They should always think about the court and the people of the country!"

Yang Tinghe still emphasized the importance of discussing rituals in his words and deeds, and for this reason, he would rather temporarily compromise and let some local officials in Shuntian Prefecture support Liang Chuqingtian and not be too greedy.

Yang Shen thought about it and then agreed, "Dad is right. The key right now is to discuss the ceremony. But the cabinet must urge them to discuss the ceremony as soon as possible."

"This matter cannot be delayed."

"If Liang Chu wants to clear his land smoothly and retire peacefully, he should also pay attention to the discussion of etiquette and stop thinking that he can avoid offending anyone."

"But you can't get in now, so let the Grand Master of the Imperial Household and the other ministers go to the cabinet to discuss this."

After Yang Tinghe said this, Yang Shen nodded and said, "But Luo And must be reported to the emperor. Even though he is an old friend of your majesty's, he must be made aware of the pros and cons. We can't let the world think that our Yang family dare not mess with a dog that guards the royal family!"

"Yes!"

"Whether the discussion of rituals can be successful or not depends entirely on the situation."

"If even a feudal lord cannot be offended, who would dare to be polite?"

Yang Tinghe nodded.

Then, Yang Tinghe pointed at Mao Rui, who was kneeling on the ground and looking at them eagerly, and said, "Take him down and have a good talk with him."

Yang Shen bowed and said yes, then took Mao Rui to his study.

Mao Rui still knelt down: "Please give me some advice, sir."

"You can only go to Guizhou to take up your post first. When my father returns to the cabinet, I will ask the Ministry of War to transfer you back."

Yang Shen replied.

Mao Rui asked hurriedly: "Then may I ask when the Grand Tutor can return to the cabinet?"

"Once the matter of clearing the fields is over and the 200,000 refugees are resettled, I will return to the cabinet!"

Yang Shen glared at Mao Rui, but still answered Mao Rui's question impatiently.

Mao Rui felt much more relieved and left Yang's house after bowing.

The next day.

The Minister of Rites Mao Chengze really came to the cabinet again and said to Liang Chu and others: "My fellow cabinet members, how should this grand ceremony be decided? You must have a say to avoid conflicts among the cabinet members."

"Don't worry!"

"Your Ministry of Rites can discuss it first and draft a proposal. If we think it's not suitable, we can just ask you to draft a new one."

"Right now, the matter of clearing the fields has not been finalized yet. There is also the matter of eliminating the traitors. Wei Bin and Wang Qiong have been imprisoned, and their accomplices are still waiting to be dealt with." Liang Chu said with a smile in a soft voice.

Mao Cheng had to return to the Ministry of Rites temporarily.

"Prime Minister, is our cabinet really just going to drag its feet on this matter of discussing the ceremony and not make a statement?"

After Mao Cheng left, Jiang Mian also asked about Liang Chu.

"Yes, don't let the Ministry of Rites not discuss it with our cabinet and just submit it directly."

Mao Ji followed up.

Liang Chu couldn't help but glance at the two of them: "Why are you so anxious?!"

talking.

Liang Chu once again emphasized to the two cabinet ministers: "Now our cabinet must escort the smooth progress of the land clearing!"

"And if we want to complete the land clearing well, we must not express our position on the discussion of the ceremony at this time, and drag it out first, so as to force Yang Tinghe to have the support of our cabinet and even His Majesty for the grand ceremony, and force the nobles who own land in Shuntian Prefecture to actively cooperate in the land clearing!"

After Liang Chu said this, Jiang Mian and Mao Ji both pursed their lips and said nothing more.

At this time.

Gu Dayong, the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department, came running over with a handwritten note saying, "Your Majesty wants to summon the three ministers to the platform."

The three cabinet ministers were all greatly surprised.

They didn't expect that Zhu Houcong would want to meet with them, the cabinet ministers, again.

Liang Chu was the first to react, took the imperial edict, and sighed: "Your Majesty is really a diligent ruler!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is amazing how diligent you are in governing!"

Jiang Mian also echoed.

He couldn't help but admire him. After all, Emperor Xiaozong didn't meet with ministers of the outer court so frequently back then. In just a few days, he summoned the Prime Minister twice and summoned him twice to Qingning Palace. Now he summoned three cabinet ministers again. If this were to get out, a large group of retired cabinet ministers would surely be envious.

Because many cabinet ministers and officials had only seen the emperor a few times, even during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, let alone during the reign of Emperor Zhengde.

Mao Ji also had the same feeling, and couldn't help but become more interested in the position of Prime Minister. So when he followed Liang Chu and Jiang Mian to the platform, he saw that only Liang Chu could sit in the middle, and the two of them just stood on the side like followers, he felt more and more uncomfortable.

Ever since Zhu Houcong learned that Zhengde had left behind a sum of money, he dreamed of using this money as soon as possible to achieve a truly strong country and prosperous people.

After all, he couldn't take the money left by Zhengde for nothing. If he didn't use it to make the Ming Dynasty strong and the people rich, wouldn't that be so unfair to Zhengde?

In Zhu Houcong's eyes, a strong country and a prosperous people naturally meant that he had a powerful and loyal central army, but at the same time, the world was not starving and cold, but was rich and developed.

It would be meaningless if a powerful central army was established but was not used to suppress the rebels but instead was used to suppress the rebellious people.

In order to achieve a strong country and prosperous people, it is natural to let the cabinet make money for itself and keep the people safe.

The most urgent thing here is to clear the fields and ensure the safety of the people.

For Zhu Houcong, as long as the more than 200,000 refugees in the suburbs of Beijing were successfully resettled as self-cultivating farmers in the capital and then registered as households, they would be the best source of tax revenue and the best source of soldiers.

Because these refugees followed the emperor into the capital, they had the most direct feelings about the emperor's grace, so it was naturally easier to cultivate their loyalty.

More importantly, since these refugees followed the emperor into exile in Beijing, they had actively severed their clan ties. If they were organized by Zhu Houcong in the future, they could only be farmers directly under the emperor who combined farming and warfare.

So, Zhu Houcong was anxious!

He was anxious for the cabinet to complete the field clearing as soon as possible.

Especially after knowing that Yang Shen intended to break into the palace.

Although Zhu Houcong knew that he had just ascended the throne and his foundation was not stable, Yang Tinghe was still a respected national hero and a wise assistant who saved the country, and his son Yang Shen was also a talented scholar with a great reputation in the world. He could not touch these two people for the time being. Even if Yang Shen was arrogant enough to break into the palace, he had to temporarily show leniency and generosity in the name of respecting the elders. But Zhu Houcong knew very well that Yang Shen was in a hurry to break into the palace because he wanted to discuss the grand ceremony as soon as possible and force the cabinet to focus on the grand ceremony instead of on practical policies such as clearing the farmland to pacify the people.

For this reason, Zhu Houcong summoned the three cabinet ministers again. He had to force them to shift their focus to what he really wanted to do instead of listening to the manipulation of Yang Tinghe and his side.

After the three ministers arrived, Zhu Houcong instructed the eunuch Wei Bin who was also standing there: "Wei Bin, when you were in the suburbs of Beijing and working with the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, the Censorate, and Shuntian Prefecture to help the refugees who followed me to Beijing, please tell the ministers all the gossip you heard."

Wei Bin agreed and replied:
"Your Majesty, they said that the emperor doesn't care about the lives of his subjects! So until now, no one has found a way to resettle them."

"They also said that the emperor had no intention of caring about the lives of his subjects. He was just pretending to be so, to gain a reputation for benevolence before becoming emperor. Then he would just sit back and watch them sell their children and become slaves of the rich."

"They even said that the emperor had originally intended to round them up and kill them, so that there would be fewer refugees in the world."

After Wei Bin said this, Liang Chu, Jiang Mian and Mao Ji were all shocked and angry.

Zhu Houcong, who was wearing a headband and leaning sideways, was sitting on the throne when he suddenly pouted and started to cry:
"My people are beginning to resent me! They are about to rebel and become bandits!"

talking.

Zhu Houcong then stared at Liang Chu and others with red tears in his eyes, looking aggrieved:

"Ministers, are you really going to watch me being blamed by my own people and being labeled as a man without moral integrity?!"

(End of this chapter)