Huangming

Chapter 44 Zheng Chen wanted to cry, Duke Chun Chen

Good trick!
Your Majesty truly has remarkable skills!
By using a tactic of retreating to advance, Yang Lian was left all alone.

If the emperor had directly drafted an edict to promote Xiong Tingbi, the court officials would certainly have opposed it.

Once the imperial edict was issued, the officials focused their rebuttals on it, not on the decree regarding the promotion of Xiong Tingbi. When the emperor withdrew the edict, the officials, seeing that the emperor had backed down, naturally dared not refute the decree issued through proper procedures.

Your Majesty, are you really just a fifteen-year-old boy?
Yang Lian was somewhat confused.

At that very moment, hurried footsteps sounded again outside the military affairs office.

Tap tap tap~
Yang Lian looked up and saw that it was Zhou Chaorui, who had returned.

His eyes lit up, and he thought: Could it be that Zhou Chaorui has figured things out and wants to stick with him to the end?
“Siyong, I knew you were a man of integrity who dared to speak out and was not afraid of death. Now that you have returned, it is not too late. We will rebut your criticisms and let the world know that among our six departments, there are ministers who dare to speak out and are willing to die for their cause.”

Zhou Chaorui had come in with a smile, but as he listened, the smile gradually disappeared from his face.

However, after a moment, he forced an awkward smile and said, "Wenru, you misunderstand. I came here not to refute the cabinet's draft proposal with you, but to tell you some good news."

good news?
Yang Lian was stunned for a moment.

"Could it be that His Majesty has realized his mistake and agreed to Xiong Tingbi's resignation?"

Zhou Chaorui's forced smile gradually disappeared.

cough cough.

He coughed awkwardly and shook his head, saying, "No, it's because His Majesty knows that you, Wenru, are a minister who dares to speak out, and admires your courage to be loyal to the country. Therefore, he promoted you to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. Isn't this a good thing?"

Promotion?

Yang Lian was not happy.

"Does Your Majesty think that by promoting me, you can shut me up? I, Yang Lian, am devoted to the country. Do you think I am only after promotion?"

Tears welled up in Yang Lian's eyes, and she cried pitifully, "Your Majesty has humiliated me!"

Zhou Chaorui was numb.

Even his own wife isn't this hard to please.

If a promotion is an insult, then he hopes for more of that insult; he can bear it.

Zhou Chaorui sighed and said, "Wenru is devoted to the country, which is known to everyone in the world, including us. However, governing a large country is like cooking a small fish; it cannot be accomplished quickly. There is a principle that goes too far and is as bad as not going far enough. Does Wenru not know this?"

In fact, Zhou Chaorui still had some complaints about Yang Lian.

After all, it was Yang Lian's words during the previous lectures that gave the new emperor a pretext to thoroughly investigate corruption.

You, Yang Lian, are incorruptible, however...
Among those in the same clique, very few can truly claim to have a clean record.

You'd rather die than let your fellow Daoist die, what should we do?
Now it seems that Yang Lian is unwilling to let this matter rest and intends to escalate it.

Zhou Chaorui always had a feeling of unease.

Who knows what His Majesty intends to do with this?
"If a new emperor has not even set a good example, it will be difficult to correct his mistakes later."

Good habits are hard to form, but bad habits are hard to change once they're formed.

Zhou Chaorui rolled his eyes and said, "The most important thing right now is not to correct His Majesty's actions, but to dismiss Fang Congzhe."

Zhou Chaorui patiently persuaded him, saying, "If the current Grand Secretary of the Cabinet were a person of integrity who dared to speak out and offend the Emperor, how could His Majesty's decrees pass through the Cabinet? Fang Congzhe is a mere figurehead in the Cabinet, which allows His Majesty to act recklessly. Only by bringing down Fang Congzhe can our Great Ming Dynasty recover."

"This"

Seeing that Yang Lian seemed interested, Zhou Chaorui pressed his advantage, saying, "His Majesty has only recently ascended the throne and desires to wield power and manage state affairs, which is only natural. If we anger him too much at this moment, we will only incur his wrath. It would be better to let him know the difficulties of state affairs and that if any mistakes are made, the Ming Dynasty will naturally rely on us in the future."

For example, even though His Majesty strongly supports Xiong Tingbi, the situation in Liaodong remains unchanged and instead deteriorates further.

Your Majesty is mistaken. From now on, you will have to listen to us.

"This is nothing more than a appeasement strategy."

The affairs of state are of paramount importance; how can we allow a new ruler to act recklessly?
This is making a joke at the expense of the people of the Ming Dynasty!

"I urge Wenru to be patient for a while. After the Fang family is overthrown, we can replace the Grand Secretary with a capable person and then proceed with the right path. Wouldn't that be twice as effective with half the effort?"

If the sky falls, a tall man will hold it up.

How can these insignificant figures bear the wrath of His Majesty?
"That's all."

Yang Lian shook his head with a somewhat dejected air and sighed, "I am ultimately not Hai Gangfeng!"

In the following days, apart from an increasing number of memorials impeaching Fang Congzhe, nothing else happened in the Forbidden City. September 15th, the first year of the Taichang reign.

1:15 AM (卯时一刻).

Outside the Forbidden City, it was still pitch black, and stars and a full moon could even be seen hanging in the sky.

There are still seven days until Zhu Changluo's remains are moved.

In the main hall of Cining Palace, Zhu Youxiao received Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Cheng.

Zhu Chunchen was a descendant of Zhu Neng, a meritorious official in the Jingnan Campaign of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Neng distinguished himself in the Jingnan Campaign and was enfeoffed as Duke of Cheng in the fourth year of the Yongle reign, a title that has been hereditary ever since.

Among the noble families, apart from the lineage of the Duke of Yingguo, the lineage of the Duke of Chengguo still has some influence.

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."

Zhu Chunchen, dressed in the robes of a duke, was not there to perform in a play, but to lead the way for Zhu Youxiao to offer sacrifices to the gods of heaven.

This is a ceremony held seven days before the transfer of the body. On the day before the funeral procession, Zhu Youxiao would lead all the officials in performing the "sending off the deceased" ceremony, offering sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the State of the Land and Grain.

In other words, Zhu Chunchen went out ahead of time to scout ahead.

"I am well."

Zhu Youxiao pretended to wipe his eyes, but there wasn't a single tear on them.

"I will trouble you, Duke, to go and offer this sacrifice."

Zhu Chunchen quickly replied, "It is my duty to share Your Majesty's burdens; how can it be considered a great burden?"

Zhang Weixian, the Duke of England, gained the emperor's favor and his power grew daily.

Zhu Chunchen saw this and was anxious.

The saying goes, "I don't want my brother to suffer, but I'm also afraid he'll drive a Land Rover."

Compared to the Duke of England's mansion, the Duke of Cheng's mansion looked rather desolate.

"Now that the country is in dire need of rebuilding, it is the time when we need talented people. The Duke is a person I trust, and I will certainly give him an important position."

The emperor's words put Zhu Chunchen's mind at ease.

If only I could take command of the Beijing Garrison and seize Zhang Weixian's post.

Then, they would drive away the soldiers, falsely report the number of soldiers, and fraudulently claim military pay. They could easily collect hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year without actually receiving their pay.

The Duke of Cheng's mansion now has enough for several years' expenses!
Zhu Youxiao, of course, did not know what this guy was thinking, but he did have some understanding of Zhu Chunchen's character.

This person is a fence-sitter; he'll side with whoever is stronger.

As for loyalty?

Whose loyal minister would open the gates to welcome the treacherous rebel?

So much so that after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, a children's rhyme circulated in the capital: "The Zhu family flag, planted upside down; the Duke of Cheng, not even as good as a tile."

Zhu Youxiao would definitely use Zhu Chunchen.

And it's being used to the extreme!

As for opening one's heart
Forget it then.

After exchanging a few more perfunctory words with Zhu Chunchen, Zhu Youxiao sent him out of the city to offer sacrifices.

It was not yet fully light.

As Zhu Youxiao was preparing to review the secret reports submitted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard that day, Wei Chao said from outside the hall, "Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Fang requests an audience."

Zhu Youxiao was taken aback.

But they soon found out why Fang Congzhe had come today.

After all, once Sun Ruyou and Li Ruhua joined the cabinet, Zhu Youxiao was fully aware of all the major and minor affairs of the cabinet.

The cabinet's dispute over the posthumous title and temple name of the late emperor has finally come to the emperor's intervention.

Zhu Youxiao's eyes flickered, and he slowly began to make moves in the grand scheme of things in his mind.

Fang Congzhe, the time has come for you to charge into battle for me!

(End of this chapter)