Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 94: King Xian and King Yan stabbed each other in the back? Kill them, kill them, kill them all!
The political situation in the early Ming Dynasty was very different from that in later generations.

Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang killed Hu Weiyong and abolished the prime minister system, the Secretariat no longer existed.

Old Zhu holds all the power.

It felt pretty good at the beginning, but soon, Old Zhu, who was more capable than the donkey in the production team, was overwhelmed by the mountains of memorials and the endless official documents and state affairs that he had to deal with all day and all night.

Even though Lao Zhu worked desperately, in order to prevent himself from forgetting anything, he even posted notes all over his bedroom and study. He was often so busy that he didn't even have time to eat and only slept three or four hours a day, but he still couldn't finish his work!
There's no way it can be done!
Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang had to admit that "a ruler who rules the world alone cannot do without ministers to assist him."

Therefore, they began to appoint Grand Secretaries as advisors to help handle state affairs.

At the same time, the Tongzhengsi Yamen was also established.

During the Hongwu period, the Tongzhengsi was not a decoration as it is in later generations, but instead had an extremely high status.

The Tongzhengsi had the right to break down and organize various memorials and then present them to the emperor.

When Yang Shiqi and Zhu Gaoxu led a group of Jinyiwei and rushed to the Tongzhengsi, it was bustling with activity.

A large number of memorials are being sorted into many categories, each of which is piling up like a mountain.

Someone shouted, "Everyone, hurry up. All the memorials must be processed today."

"All of them must be presented to His Royal Highness the King of Wu by tomorrow morning at the latest."

Yang Shiqi walked in with a group of Jinyiwei.

The official obviously didn't recognize him, and immediately rebuked him, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Tongzhengsi Yamen? You should know that this is an important place of the court, and trespassers will be punished by death!"

Yang Shiqi was not wearing his official uniform, but only casual clothes. He gently pulled his collar with his hand, adjusted it a little, and said in a serious voice: "Lecturer of the Hanlin Academy, Yang Shiqi!"

This statement came out.

All the officials in the Ministry of Public Administration changed color.

Yang Shiqi went from being a commoner to being highly regarded by the King of Wu, who recommended him for an official position. He was then personally appointed by Your Majesty as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, thus rising to a high position overnight.

This has become a legendary story in the Ming Dynasty officialdom.

There is not a single official in the capital who has not heard of it.

Some people are jealous, some are envious... Some people lament the unfairness of fate, wondering why they have never encountered such a good thing...

However, since then, Yang Shiqi has been working in the Prince of Wu's palace and has not had any dealings with officials in the court.

Everyone has only heard of him but has never seen him in person.

When they suddenly heard his name, the officials of the Ministry of Public Administration were briefly surprised, then immediately greeted him with smiles.

"So it's Minister Yang who's here. My apologies! My apologies!"

All the officials of the Ministry of Public Administration saluted with their fists clasped.

"I wonder what Yang Shijiang is here for?"

An official stepped forward and asked, "Could it be that His Royal Highness the King of Wu is in good health and can handle government affairs?"

He bent down and said with a smile: "Submitting memorials is the duty of the Tongzhengsi."

"How dare I trouble Minister Yang to make this trip in person?"

Yang Shiqi said calmly: "Who told you that I came here to get a memorial?"

The words may sound light and casual, but when they fall, they sound like thunder.

The official was stunned and said hurriedly, "Then I wonder what Yang Shijiang is here for?"

He was actually also a fifth-rank official.

In terms of rank, he is no lower than Yang Shiqi.

But everyone knows that the lecturer of the Hanlin Academy cannot be calculated according to the general rank.

It is normal to call someone "your humble servant" when trying to curry favor with someone.

Although this official worked in the Tongzhengsi, he also followed the advice of a group of civil servants in the court and did not submit a memorial to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu.

However, in front of Yang Shiqi, he did not dare to be disrespectful in the slightest, but instead tried his best to please him.

"If Minister Yang has anything you want me to do, just tell me. I will do it as long as I am able."

"Okay, we're here to chop off your heads!"

A crisp and slightly childish voice suddenly interrupted.

Zhu Gaoxu held the precious sword in his arms and looked at everyone in the room majestically.

The officials of the Ministry of Public Administration all looked pale.

An official rebuked him, "Where did you come from, little brat? The Tongzhengsi is an important place in the imperial court, how can we allow you to run wild as you please?"

Although this child, who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, came with Yang Shiqi.

But since the other party said that, he was not afraid of falling out.

Yang Shiqi smiled slightly and said, "He is the second son of His Royal Highness Prince of Yan and the grandson of His Majesty."

The official's expression suddenly changed and he was so frightened that he could no longer speak.

He originally thought that this child was a younger generation of Yang Shiqi, but unexpectedly he was the emperor's grandson of the dragon seed, and he was immediately frightened.

Another official stepped forward and said, "I don't know why we have violated any law, why Yang Shijiang wants to kill us?"

"Besides, the Tongzhengsi is not a subordinate department of the Hanlin Academy."

"It is not the turn of the Hanlin Academy to intervene in the affairs of the Tongzhengsi. I am afraid that Yang Shijiang does not have the power to kill us, right?"

Yang Shiqi said coldly: "It's not me who wants to kill you, but the laws of the Ming Dynasty that want to kill you!"

"Today, His Royal Highness Prince Xian came to the Prince of Wu's residence to inform the Prince of Wu that there have been quite a few memorials submitted by officials during this period of time."

"But the Tongzhengsi acted on its own and suppressed all the memorials."

"But I don't know if this is true?"

As he spoke, his eyes fell on the pile of memorials beside him that were piled up like a mountain.

His Royal Highness Prince Xian complained to His Royal Highness Prince Wu?
How is this going?

The officials in the Ministry of Public Administration were so shocked that they could not close their mouths and could hardly believe their ears.

Your Highness Prince Xian, don’t you support them?
Isn't it said that the memorial was suppressed and not reported because King Xian was instigating it behind the scenes?

Why did His Royal Highness Prince Xian go to complain to His Royal Highness Prince Wu?
What is this?
Backstab?
"Absolutely not!" The official immediately denied it, saying, "How the Tongzhengsi handles memorials is a matter of established law in the imperial court."

"If it was really a major event, how could it not be reported?" "But now the world is peaceful and the officials are reporting only trivial matters."

"His Royal Highness the King of Wu is seriously ill. We dare not disturb him at will. The Ministry of Public Administration is responsible for handling it. It is a trivial matter and can be handed over to the various ministries to handle it without any delay."

Yang Shiqi pointed to the pile of memorials and asked, "What are these memorials about?"

"These... these are memorials submitted today, and the Ministry of Public Security is handling them urgently." The official's voice sounded a little flustered, but he still refused to change his words and plead guilty.

You are so stubborn!

The preparations are quite thorough.

Just as Yang Shiqi was about to speak, Zhu Gaoxu next to him spoke again, saying, "So, Prince Xian deliberately lied to Prince Wu?"

The official's expression suddenly changed again, and he stammered and was unable to speak.

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "It is a serious crime to falsely accuse His Royal Highness Prince Xian."

"Do you want me to ask Brother Xian Wang to come over so you can confront him face to face?"

None of the officials dared to say anything. They all stood with their heads down and eyes cast aside. Privately, they looked at each other and no one responded.

After a while, an official said, "That's not necessary."

"There were indeed some memorials here a few days ago, but not a lot."

"We have not reported this as we are concerned that the King of Wu is still seriously injured."

"I thought we'd report it together after His Royal Highness the King of Wu gets better."

"In fact, it's not just me and others, even the officials in the court have a tacit understanding and dare not disturb His Royal Highness the King of Wu from recuperating."

"Today, we heard that the King of Wu had recovered and could get up to attend to state affairs, so we hurriedly wrote memorials and submitted them."

"The Ministry of Public Administration is processing the petition urgently. According to preliminary statistics, there are a total of 1,562 petitions, which will be submitted to His Majesty the King of Wu tomorrow."

Good guy!
More than 1,500 memorials were submitted at one time. Was this an attempt to overwhelm the King of Wu with the memorials?
Yang Shiqi's tone suddenly changed, and he shouted coldly: "So, Your Highness Prince Xian did not lie. There were indeed a lot of memorials piled up here before, and they were not reported in time?"

"Without the imperial edict of His Majesty and the order of His Royal Highness the King of Wu, you dare to act on your own and suppress the memorials of the officials? Do you know what crime you are committing?"

Zhu Gaoxu shouted excitedly, "Death penalty! Death penalty! Kill them! Kill them all!"

The officials of the Ministry of Public Administration were terrified when they heard this.

But I don’t know what happened today.

First, Prince Xian went to report himself and others to Prince Wu, and then Prince Yan's son followed Yang Shiqi to the Tongzhengsi to question them.

Shouldn't King Xian and King Yan be against King Wu?
Why are you still standing with Yang Shiqi and helping to deal with them?

The officials of the Ministry of Public Administration had no idea what was going on and were all completely puzzled.

But after hearing these words, I dared not not argue.

"I am waiting with good intentions."

One official shouted angrily: "Even if this is a crime, it is excusable."

"Besides, the Tongzhengsi is an important office in the court. You, Yang Shiqi, are just a lecturer. What right do you have to interfere in the affairs of the Tongzhengsi? And you still want to kill us?"

He didn't dare to scold Zhu Gaoxu, after all, he was the emperor's grandson.

They could only direct their spearheads at Yang Shiqi.

Yang Shiqi smiled faintly and glanced at Zhu Gaoxu sideways.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately stepped forward, raised the precious sword in his hand, and shouted loudly: "This is the precious sword given by the emperor grandfather."

"The Emperor has ordered that this sword can be used to command all officials, dispatch troops, and act as you see fit."

"Those below the third rank shall be executed first and reported later."

"Those above the third rank can also be arrested first and then convicted."

"Are you going to disobey my order?"

Along the way, Yang Shiqi had already explained everything to Zhu Gaoxu.

After coming to the Tongzhengsi, he can perform well and stand out.

At this moment, the naughty kid was holding the sword and was extremely excited.

Looking at these things, I was trembling with fear, and I just felt so proud of myself for being so powerful.

As for whether it is a scam or not? How can a naughty child who is in high spirits care about these things?
Yang Shiqi said calmly: "Come here, arrest all the officials of the Tongzhengsi."

All officials of the Tongzhengsi, except for the Tongzhengshi who was of the third rank, were actually below the third rank.

However, the Minister of Public Administration is not here today as he has been on leave for many days due to illness.

A group of Jinyiwei immediately stepped forward and arrested all the officials of the Ministry of Public Administration, both big and small.

By now, these officials have become much quieter.

In their view, the Tongzhengsi cannot be without an official in charge.

If they were all arrested, they wouldn't be convicted of a serious crime.

What's more, this matter was decided after consultation among many high-ranking officials in the court, and they were just following orders.

As long as those people get the news, they will come to rescue them, and things will turn around.

Thinking of this, my heart suddenly felt a lot calmer.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Yang Shiqi said in a loud voice: "The officials of the Tongzhengsi violated the court regulations, disregarded the laws and regulations, and withheld the memorials without reason, causing the court affairs to be unable to be handled in time. They deceived the emperor and betrayed the emperor's grace. According to the law, they should be executed."

He paused for a moment, then turned to the Jinyiwei and said, "Push them all out and kill them all!"

When the voice came out, the officials of the Ministry of Public Administration were all horrified.

Someone shouted, "Yang Shiqi, do you dare?"

"We are officials appointed by the imperial court. Even if we are guilty, we must be handed over to the Dali Temple for trial. Only after the three courts have verified that there is nothing wrong can we be convicted."

"How dare you...you take the initiative to kill us?"

Zhu Gaoxu blinked his bright eyes, raised the precious sword in his hand, and said, "Don't you see the precious sword in my hand? Grandfather Emperor said that if you hold this precious sword, anyone below the third rank will be killed first and then reported to the emperor!"

The naughty kid yelled, "Hurry up and push them all out... Kill them, kill them, kill them all!"

……

(End of this chapter)