The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Everyone clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

"Bo'an has single-handedly quelled the rebellion of Prince Ning, a great achievement. The Emperor should promote you, right?"

Tang Bohu looked at Wang Yangming. He had no chance of becoming an official in this life, but he still had some obsession with entering officialdom.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have sought refuge with Prince Ning back then.

Whether it was Li Bai or him, literary giants throughout history all dreamed of becoming high-ranking officials and bringing glory to their families.

Of course, the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties are excluded.

As the saying goes, "Having mastered both literary and martial arts, one can sell them to the emperor."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yangming let out a barely perceptible sigh.

"No, and from what I've observed, His Majesty seems quite unhappy, and the civil officials don't seem particularly happy either."

"But no matter what, I did what I was supposed to do, what I wanted to do, and that's enough."

Wang Yangming smiled.

"This imperial court is utterly rotten."

Tang Bohu instantly recalled the imperial examination cheating case from years ago; he was nothing more than a victim of the power struggles among those powerful figures.

To put it nicely, he was the romantic and talented Tang Bohu, admired by everyone.

But in reality, those important figures didn't really take him seriously.

I just like his calligraphy and paintings.

These are two different things and have nothing to do with each other.

“I have been submitting memorials recently, trying to persuade His Majesty to be more diligent, but His Majesty seems very unhappy.”

Yan Song also sighed.

"To be honest, you guys are all too caught up in the situation to see the true nature of things."

Zhou Chu smiled.

"Oh? What do you mean by this?"

Wang Yangming asked.

"Since the reigns of Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, it has become common for governors to lead troops in various regions, and the imperial court's control over local areas has become increasingly weak."

"The officials in the court are banding together for warmth, undermining the emperor's power. Liu Wentai, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, was the one who killed both the late emperor and the Xianzong emperor. How absurd is it that a single imperial physician could kill two emperors in a row?"

"But that Judge Liu is completely unharmed now. Isn't that something worth pondering?"

After saying this, Zhou Chu took a sip of tea and glanced at the reactions of the others.

Tang Bohu, lacking political acumen, appeared quite shocked upon hearing this.

"Is this serious?"

Wang Yangming, on the other hand, seemed to know something and wasn't surprised at all.

Yan Song was also shocked. He had only been an official for a short time and knew very little about such secrets.

"The civil and military officials of today are indeed corrupt and incorruptible, and the Ming Dynasty is too deeply entrenched to be saved."

Wang Yangming said with a worried expression.

He has many things he wants to do, but no one will let him do them.

"Although the current emperor does some absurd things, he has always been doing things. His previous personal expedition may have seemed absurd, but it was actually to consolidate military power."

"Why was Liu Jin trusted by two emperors? It's because there were many things that the emperor couldn't do himself, but someone else had to do them. Liu Jin could suppress these people for the emperor. With him around, there was a buffer between the emperor and the officials. And you two were the victims in this."

Zhou Chu spoke eloquently.

Of the three people present, two had offended Liu Jin; one was exiled, and the other was forced to resign from his post.

When Wang Yangming was exiled, Liu Jin even sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to hunt him down.

Wang Yangming was alright, but Yan Song felt very uncomfortable upon hearing such remarks.

“Hengqi is right. Back then, Liu Jin seized power and arrested more than 20 people, including Dai Xi, the censor of Nanjing. At that time, I couldn’t see through these things and felt that many of these people were innocent, so I submitted a memorial to try to save them. As a result, I offended Liu Jin to death.”

Wang Yangming said calmly and casually.

It seems that he wasn't the one being hunted down by the Embroidered Uniform Guard back then.

"Master Yangming's magnanimity is truly admirable."

Zhou Chu sighed.

Yan Song was taken aback when he heard this, and the discomfort he had felt earlier dissipated considerably.

"The Prince of Ning's rebellion is nothing more than a rabble and is not a threat. As far as the Emperor is concerned, he has just consolidated his military power and can take advantage of the opportunity to quell the rebellion to govern Jiangxi and other places. As far as the officials are concerned, the Prince of Ning's rebellion gives them a lot to do."

"In short, as long as the Prince of Ning's rebellion breaks out, apart from the common people, the Emperor and all the officials will be very happy. It's just that who will have the last laugh is anyone's guess."