Chapter 188 Questioning Civil Officials
"My dear, please get up!"
Zhu Houzhao personally helped Xu Jin up, and at the same time looked at the bloody official uniform placed in the hands of the officials.
Mao Cheng, Minister of Rites.
Zhu Houzhao was not deeply impressed by this person. There were many officials in the Ming Dynasty, and he could not understand everyone.
He only knew that Mao Cheng, the Minister of Rites, was promoted by the court after Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, was executed.
Zhu Houzhao didn't know whether Mao Cheng was qualified as the Minister of Rites.
But he knew that in the eyes of the six ministers and nine ministers, he, Mao Cheng, must be qualified, otherwise he would not be recommended as the Minister of Rites.
The Quanxu system of the Ming Dynasty seemed democratic, but it was not democratic.
The emperor decides on the promotion or demotion of an official.
However, in accordance with the requirements of the so-called holy king, in order to select suitable officials, especially high officials of the imperial court, they must be recommended by the court.
But the participants in Tingla were all civil servants, and they were civil servants with great power.
So to speak.
The imperial court's high-ranking officials of the third rank and above, as well as the fourth-rank and above governors, are all democratically selected within the civil service group.
This is also the reason why the civil service group can become bigger. The officials elected by the civil service group are naturally those who are in line with their own interests.
Naturally, this is also the reason why civil servants, especially high-ranking civil servants, often fight for power with the emperor. Because they are selected by the civil servant group, they represent the interests of the civil servant group.
Zhu Houzhao could guess why Mao Cheng, the Minister of Rites, was killed by Xu Jin. I'm afraid it was very simple. It was simply that Mao Cheng wanted to be the leader of the civil service group and lead the entire civil service group to do a great thing that would turn the world around!
Zhu Houzhao ignored the civil servants who were still kneeling in front of him and trembling with fear because Li Tiancai and He Tai were beheaded. He only took Xu Jin into the city.
Zhu Houzhao believed that the deaths of Li Tiancai and He Tai would let these civil servants know the consequences of asking him to kill Xu Jin at this time!
This will also allow these people to restrain themselves.
Now.
Zhu Houzhao just wanted to go to the city and return to the palace!
First, he also misses his family members in this era, Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Xia, and is worried about whether they have been affected by the political turmoil. After all, even Xu Jin has killed the Minister of Rites on the spot. Zhu Houzhao can guess the situation in the capital. The political turmoil in China is not small.
The second is that he must return to the center of the empire immediately and take control of everything, because he is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! All those with ulterior motives must stop from now on!
Xu Jin followed Zhu Houzhao, still not wearing the crown of a first-rank official, because he knew that the emperor's decision not to kill him now did not mean that he would be forgiven by the civil servants.
But Xu Jin was obviously much more at ease at this time. He knew that Emperor Zhengde was back, which meant that he could shock all the little ones, and the future of Ming Dynasty would not change!
The Guards entered the inner city and the imperial city one after another, strengthened the defense of the capital, and officially announced to the capital and the loyalty of the empire that the Ming Emperor was still the master of the world!
The capital city was very quiet at this time. The spring sunshine shone on the blue bricks and tiles, as well as on the people's bodies, reflecting only the swaying figures.
Nothing seemed to have happened.
The city gate suddenly opened wide, and the officials in brocade robes gracefully saluted their king Zhengde: "Congratulations to my emperor on his victory and return to court!"
Zhu Houzhao didn't speak, nor did he show any proud look. He just walked hurriedly onto the Jinshui River Bridge.
The blue Jinshui River reflected the blue sky and white clouds, and also reflected the surprised faces of the officials. What surprised them was not that Zhu Houzhao came back, but that Xu Jin was still following Zhu Houzhao.
The Minister of Rites is one of the Nine Ministers, and his status among the civil servants in the court is second only to the great minister of the Cabinet and the Minister of Personnel.
Xu Jin, who was not an emperor, killed him with his own hands. In the eyes of the civil servants, this was already a capital crime worthy of execution!
They can't tolerate the existence of such powerful ministers, just like they can't tolerate the emperor who kills courtiers, and they kill important ministers who represent the will of their civil servant group!
But.
The officials who could wait for Zhu Houzhao outside the Meridian Gate were much older and less courageous. Naturally, they did not dare to ask the civil servants outside the city gate why Zhu Houzhao did not kill Xu Jin.
Zhu Houzhao took Xu Jin into the palace.
The palace door closed.
Because the cabinet scholar Wang Hua was supervising grain in Tongzhou, he was in charge of Taicang.
Therefore, in the entire capital, Xu Jin was the only civil servant who could meet Zhu Houzhao within the confines of the palace.
The officials were very jealous of Xu Jin.
Even the Prince Consort Cai Zhen couldn't bear to see this. He was an imperial concubine, but he loved reading sages' books and was worried about the world. He didn't want civil servants like Xu Jin to appear in the Ming Dynasty. To suppress civil servants like him.
"The death of the prince cannot be forgotten like this! He Xu Jin is just a minister of the emperor, so what qualifications do he have to kill important officials of the imperial court! If he kills the Minister of Rites this time and is not punished, then what will happen to all the princes in the world in the future? Do we all want to frighten the power of the cabinet? Where will this lead me? From now on, we civil servants will be controlled by the cabinet, and I am afraid that our relatives, military generals, etc. will also be controlled by the cabinet!”
Liang Chu, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, saw what Cai Zhen was thinking, so he took the opportunity to raise the matter first, and made it clear directly that this would make civil servants like himself subject to the powerful ministers of the cabinet, and would also subject Xun Qi and military generals to the cabinet. . The Prince Consort Cai Zhen naturally resonated with him. He was really worried about the cabinet becoming bigger, especially if people like Xu Jin controlled the cabinet. In that case, the world would only continue to reform according to the emperor's wishes, and the little prince would be destroyed today. Cha Yanzheng purges pirates, and a powerful person like himself who relies on his status as a royal relative to do business will suffer great losses.
Cai Zhen, the Prince-in-law, was not afraid of civilians being in power. He even liked Qingliu civilians being in power, because Qingliu civil servants would only criticize the emperor harshly. Being a holy king would only follow the laws of the ancestors, only emphasize etiquette and ethical order, and would not reform or touch themselves. interests.
But he was afraid that powerful ministers like Xu Jin would control the cabinet and act as His Majesty's hawks, making the subsequent New Deal reforms more and more violent and even affecting the interests of his relatives.
"The emperor was young, he was overjoyed with great achievements, and was eager for success. As a result, the cruel officials used their so-called harshness to win the emperor's trust and became powerful ministers for a while. First, Ma Wen was promoted. Now Jiao Xu is in power, Tai'a has moved down, and the Ming Dynasty is still dim and lackluster!"
Commander-in-law Cai Zhen couldn't help but sigh.
Other civil servants also sighed, and they were naturally even more resentful when they thought that only Xu Jin could see the emperor, but people like themselves could not even enter the palace.
At this time, Zhan Shijiang Mian came over: "Everyone! Jiang and several colleagues decided to go outside the city to admonish Your Majesty, admonishing Your Majesty to kill Xu Jin, but Xu Jin and his like pretended to plead guilty, but in fact they suffered miserably, and Jin slandered Your Majesty , His Majesty believed his words and directly ordered the execution of Mr. Li Tiantian and He Tai!”
"What! Your Majesty actually protects Xu Jin like this!"
Jiang Mian's words shocked all the officials present, even though they had seen before that Zhu Houzhao still favored Xu Jin.
But now these officials can only feel resentful in their hearts. Naturally, there is nothing they can do against Zhu Houzhao, and there is nothing they can do against Xu Jin for the time being.
……
At this time, Zhu Houzhao had just finished listening to Xu Jin's report on what had happened in the capital in the past few days.
Zhu Houzhao nodded after hearing this. He had to admit that Jiao Fang was indeed a scheming veteran, and he actually guessed the changes that might happen in the capital based on temporary rumors.
But what makes Zhu Houzhao even more gratified is Xu Jin's behavior, because if Xu Jin had not dared to kill the Minister of Rites at the critical moment and if it had been a timid person who was afraid of getting into trouble and compromised, then not only one Minister of Rites would have died in the capital.
"Gather the ministers together and ask my uncle to go to court as well. I didn't expect that a relative of his would come out to criticize the government. What does the Imperial Procuratorate do? Even the Prince Consort doesn't dare to participate? ”
The uncle Zhu Houzhao mentioned was naturally Cai Zhen, the Prince Consort.
The Prince Consort Cai Zhen did not expect that he would be called upon in the first imperial meeting held by His Majesty the Emperor after his return to Beijing, but he was not worried that Zhu Houzhao would deal with him because he was, after all, a relative of the emperor.
The Prince Consort Cai Zhen and a group of civil and military officials walked into the palace and saluted Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao asked straight to the point: "Do you really want me to be captured alive, or do you want me to die early?"
The officials were silent.
Zhu Houzhao smiled coldly when he saw this. Sometimes he really wanted to kill all these people!
But he found it very interesting to see these officials disappointed and helpless.
but.
Those who deserve to be punished still need to be punished. Since some people jump out, they have to pay the price.
"Liang Chu, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites!"
"Captain Consort Cai Zhen!"
"Zhan Shi Jiang Mian!"
……
Based on Xu Jin's dictation, Zhu Houzhao called out one by one these civilian officials and relatives who made trouble after he left Beijing.
Liang Chu, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Cai Zhen, the consort commander, all stood up. They glanced at Xu Jin with hatred in their eyes. They knew that this failure was all because of Xu Jin's stubbornness!
"Tell me, why are you so anxious to establish a new emperor?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
Liang Chuxian, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, replied: "Report to your Majesty! It is because we misunderstood the rumor that your Majesty's personal administration was defeated outside the Great Wall and you did not return from hunting in the north. We have to do this for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Rumors? One or two rumors will make you, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, restless! You can't wait to establish a new king! How much do you hate me!"
Zhu Houzhao suddenly slapped the back of the chair, stood up, pointed at Liang Chu and scolded.
Liang Chu then prostrated on the ground and trembled: "I don't dare, I don't dare!"
"Why don't you dare to force the cabinet to abolish or establish something, and you still say you don't dare!"
Zhu Houzhao said and pointed to Cai Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the Prince Consort:
"And you! As a royal family member of the imperial court, you should be content and keep your peace. Who gave you the power to speak nonsense at the court meeting! You are the prince-in-law, not the six ministers and nine ministers! You also want me not to be the emperor? It's a pity that I can't. Like you My wish, my biological uncle! I am the eldest son of Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty, and I have been appointed by fate. Do you think you and these civil servants can make me fail to become the emperor? "
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(End of chapter)