Unparalleled Concubine

In the past, court meetings were mostly held by the emperor, with the purpose of discussing and deciding some uneasy matters, but this time it was initiated by Shang Shutai, and it was also the first court meeting since Yuanzhao Dynasty was changed to Yuan Dynasty.

I should have known that even a small official of the eighth or ninth rank is already the sky above the common people. These three-rank court bosses, each of whom stomped their feet, could shock a group of Li Shu to death. .

Moreover, there is a saying above the third-rank officials. Among these officials above the third rank, except for the Minister of Rites, anyone else can add a title of "Shen Zhi Zheng Shi", and they will worship the ministers, enter the center, and become Saisuke.

That's why these top officials discuss and resolve major national affairs.

Ye Lin, the newly appointed minister of the Ministry of War, was also listed here. After this Ye Shangshu rushed to the Xuanzheng Hall, he looked around and found that all the nine ministers, including Dali Siqing, had arrived. All had arrived, and Yan Sikong of Yushitai stood at the front with his hands down, eyes closed and silent.

The most surprising thing was that there was a big black-faced man standing in the Xuanzheng Hall, who was Hou Jingde, the general of the Zuoying Army of the Forbidden Army!

Ye Lin frowned slightly, holding the imperial wat in his hand, walked to Hou Jingde's side, and asked in a low voice, "Why are you here, Brother Hou?"

Although Hou Jingde is also above the third rank, but he is a serious military officer and a military officer in charge of soldiers, so it stands to reason that he should not participate in court discussions.

Ye Lin and Hou Jingde are old acquaintances. In the 17th year of Chengde, Hou Jingde served as Zuo Lang General in Habayashi Guard, and at that time Ye Lin was already Habayashi Guard Zhong Lang General and Hou Jingde's old boss.

And even though Hou Jingde is doing well now and has the real power of the imperial army in his hands, Ye Lin is not only Ye Lin alone, the current Chen Guogong Ye Shaobao, and the branches and leaves of the Ye family over the years are not a loyal and brave Hou family. government can compare.

Frankly speaking, during the Renchen Palace Change, the Ye family contributed the most. The reason why Ye Lin did not have military power was because the Ye family itself was too large.

When Hou Jingde heard Ye Lin's voice, his tall body slightly lowered his head, and said in a low voice: "Ye Shangshu, His Majesty called me to discuss the matter. I don't know exactly why."

Ye Lin nodded, then stood back to his seat and stopped talking.

Soon, Emperor Yuanzhao, surrounded by eunuchs, entered the Xuanzheng Hall. The emperor sat on the main seat of the Xuanzheng Hall, looked around, and his voice was clear and clear.

"All the gentlemen have arrived."

All ministers, salute the emperor respectfully.

"Minister, please see Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuanzhao waved his hand with ease, and said lightly: "It's not a grand court meeting, so there is no need for so many etiquettes, all the ministers sit down and talk, let's start discussing matters."

The Great Court Meeting is held in Weiyang Palace, no matter what level you are in, you have to stand honestly, but the court meeting is a small meeting, and all the people present are people with status, so they usually sit and talk about things.

The eunuchs of the inner guard moved more than 20 chairs and placed them behind the ministers. After thanking the emperor, the ministers sat down.

Emperor Yuanzhao took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "This court meeting was initiated by Shang Shutai, and it will be presided over by Shen Xiang, and I will be an observer."

With that said, he closed his eyes and stopped talking.

Shen Kuan, who was seated first on the left, stood up from his chair, bowed his hands to the crowd, and said in a deep voice, "Masters, the reason why Shangshutai summoned you to discuss today's affairs is because the capitals of the southwestern states came out. For some questions, because there are too many memorials, it is not easy to pass them on one by one, so I will relay them for you."

"A few days ago, all 31 prefectures in the Southwest wrote a letter saying that the Southwest was hit by a drought and that the court would be exempted from the tax for three years. The Southwest has not been bound by the court since the first emperor proclaimed him the king of Shu. This letter is even more ulterior motives. Shangshutai can't make a decision, it can only convene the court to discuss."

"What do you think the court should do?"

After saying this, he sat down again.

As soon as these few words were spoken, the court officials whispered to each other, and the Xuanzheng Palace was quite noisy, like a market.

Ye Lin, Minister of the Ministry of War, frowned slightly, but did not speak.

About one stick of incense passed, and Shen Kuan saw that the time was almost up, so he was about to get up to ask questions. Before he had time to speak when he stood up, the emperor sitting on the main seat had already spoken in advance.

He looked at Ye Lin, Shangshu of the Ministry of War.

"Ye Shangshu is in charge of the military department, what do you think about this matter?"

Now that the Son of Heaven asked questions, Shen Kuan could no longer ask questions, so he could only sit back in embarrassment.

Ye Lin stood up and bowed his head respectfully: "Returning to Your Majesty, the collection of taxes seems to be the responsibility of the Ministry of Accounts. Your Majesty should ask Lu Shangshu of the Ministry of Accounts. If the imperial court wants to send troops to the southwest, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of War. .”

The emperor asked calmly: "Then Ye Shangshu thinks, should the imperial court send troops to the southwest?"

Ye Lin was silent for a while, then bowed his head again: "Return to your majesty, soldiers should not act rashly on the important affairs of the country. I thought that we should find out whether the drought in the southwest is true. If it is not true, we should also order to punish the officials of the southwestern governments instead of acting rashly in the southwest. Swordsmanship, the southwest is the territory of our Great Jin Dynasty, if officials in the Southwest lie about the disaster situation, the court should issue a decree to judge the crime, instead of using swordsmen rashly."

He looked up at the emperor, bowed his head respectfully: "Your Majesty, there is no reason to beat yourself up."

Indeed, although the Southwest is not actually under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, it is still under the imperial court in name. Even if there is a mistake, there should be no shouting and killing.

Shen Kuan stood up, glanced at Ye Lin, and said in a muffled voice, "If you dare to ask Ye Shangshu, if the imperial court issues a decree to punish crimes, and the southwestern governments refuse to obey, what should we do?"

Ye Lin glanced at Shen Kuan neither humble nor overbearing, and said lightly: "Mr. Shen, it is still unknown whether the state capitals in the southwest have lied about the disaster situation. Even if they lied, it is still unknown whether they will plead guilty and be punished. What about Mr. Shen?" Just insist that Southwest will openly rebel against the imperial court?"

The six departments are under the jurisdiction of Shangshutai, that is to say, Shen Kuan is actually Ye Lin's superior, but the Ye family has a great fortune and luxuriant roots, which cannot be shaken by a prime minister. Therefore, Ye Lin is not afraid of the current ruler. Left side.

Shen Kuan sneered.

"In the autumn of the eighth year of Taikang, when Li Taifu was ordered to march north, the imperial court sent Pei Jin, who was the general of the imperial army at that time, to conquer the southwestern Haozhou. "

"At that time, Southwest openly rebelled against the imperial army and killed tens of thousands of soldiers. All the gentlemen here should understand this matter."

"What's the attitude of the Southwest? It was already clear at that time. How come Ye Shangshu still thinks that the Southwest is a land of law-abiding?"

Pei Jin was defeated in the southwest, and later the imperial court was forced to confer a king of Shu in the southwest. This was all a scandal of the Taikang Dynasty. Afterwards, no one dared to mention it, so they pretended it never happened.If Shen Kuan said this in the Taikang Dynasty, he would have to be dragged down by the embarrassing Emperor Taikang to beat him twenty court sticks.

That is to say, in the Yuan Zhao Dynasty, he dared to say it outrightly.

Emperor Yuanzhao, who was sitting on the main seat, also had an ugly expression on his face.

Openly mentioning this matter is a slap in the face of his father. As a son, he is naturally a little uncomfortable.

Shen Kuan cupped his hands towards the emperor, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, what does the Southwest look like now? Most of the princes in the Xuanzheng Palace today know that if they want to make progress, the court must show their attitude."

"What I mean is that even if you don't send troops to the southwest, you should send more troops to Hanzhong to deter the southwest!"

Chapter 892 Two Letters

Undoubtedly, the little emperor couldn't accept the mobilization of troops in the southwest. Once several ministers forced him to do so, he would stop the blind date administration, but he could still accept the increase of troops in Hanzhong.

Judging from the current situation, if the imperial court does not attack the Southwest, it is unlikely that the Southwest will take the initiative to go out of Jianmen Pass to attack the imperial court. Therefore, the imperial court's increase of troops in Hanzhong can not only stabilize the southwest gate, but also not cause too much shock.

Emperor Yuanzhao sat on the main seat, was silent for a while, and looked up at the ministers in the hall.

"What's your opinion?"

Compared with Shen Kuan, the censor at Yushitai is strict and clumsy, and his attitude is not so forceful. He took a step forward, cupped his hands at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I thought that I would send someone to the southwest to find out if there is any drought. On the one hand, and on the other hand, regardless of whether there is a drought in the southwest, none of the more than 30 memorials can be approved."

He said in a deep voice: "The imperial court will not exempt the Southwest from the tax. In a few months, it will be time for the imperial court to collect the autumn grain. If the Southwest refuses to accept the tax at that time, the imperial court will take it for granted no matter what it does."

"What I mean is that we can send more troops to Hanzhong now, so that we can be prepared. If the Southwest refuses to accept the tax after a few months, the imperial court can raise a king's army from Hanzhong to fight against the ministers."

Yan Shouzhuo's plan is relatively milder, and it also kicks the ball back to the Southwest. If the Southwest wants to force a tax strike, it will really start a fight.

Emperor Yuanzhao took a deep breath and looked around at the ministers in the hall.