Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 58: The Court Dispute
In the Governor's Hall, Zhu Lang sat on the couch at the top, and below him, the civil and military officials were arranged in rows. Today's court meeting was about to begin.

After Zhu Lang ascended the throne and became regent, he attended court every day to show his diligence.
Although court meetings were held frequently, the officials were quite relaxed.
The new dynasty had just been established, and the provinces had not yet been notified. Naturally, the affairs of the provinces had not yet been passed on to the court. Therefore, the court meetings in the past few days were basically held when there was something to report and when there was nothing to report, the court was dismissed.

The civil and military officials each stood in the hall, and after a quarter of an hour or two, they dispersed and left, so everyone was quite free.
In the hall, Zhu Lang signaled to Wang Kun below, and was about to proceed as usual, reporting if there was something to report and dismissing if there was nothing to report. But before Wang Kun could say anything, Li Yongmao below came out.
"I have something to report."

Li Yongmao looked stern, bowed and spoke, looking at the young Regent above him.
The drowsy ministers suddenly became alert when they saw Li Yongmao suddenly stepping out with a cold expression.
The ministers looked at each other, with a hint of surprise on their faces. Li Yongmao jumped out so hastily, and with such an expression. This didn't seem like he was going to report something. He was going to fight.

"Please speak, Mr. Li," the young man in the dragon robe above said softly.

"Your Highness has entrusted the matter of the Imperial Lecture to me, an old minister. I have never dared to slack off. I have been impartial and have selected one person from each of the thirteen provinces in the two capitals to serve as the lecturer of the Imperial Lecture. These fifteen people are all respected by the people in each province and are great scholars in the world."

"Liu Xiangke from the Jin Province is a man of great learning, upright character, and well-respected. I have selected him to attend the imperial lectures. Why did the Imperial Household Department remove such a wise minister from the list?" Li Yongmao stared at the young man above him.

After listening to Li Yongmao's words, the ministers finally understood why Li Yongmao was so angry. It turned out that the person they recommended was rejected.

But the ministers were also quite surprised. Because Li Yongmao was under mourning, he did not hold an actual position in the new dynasty. However, the court still let him stay in the court and only let him be responsible for the noble affairs such as the imperial lecture, to show the court's attitude of respecting wise ministers.
Logically speaking, Li Yongmao is a great university scholar, and now he is only in charge of the imperial lecture in the new dynasty. No matter who he recommends, in order to show his closeness and respect, His Highness the Regent should approve this list. But now it seems that His Highness has rejected this list.

Although it only denied one person on the list, it was a slap in the face of Li Yongmao.
Zhu Lang looked at Li Yongmao, who had a cold expression on his face, and a strange look flashed in his eyes. Wang Kun really didn't let him down. It had only been a few days, and he had already caused trouble.
After all, Wang Kun and his men are veterans. Previously, he was worried that they might be too cautious, but now it seems that he still knows too little about them.

Zhu Lang's mind was turning, but his face remained expressionless. He spoke softly.

"Oh, is this happening?"

A trace of surprise flashed across the face of the young Regent, as if he had no idea about this matter. Then he looked at Wang Kun below with dissatisfaction.
"Eunuch Wang, is this true?"

Wang Kun's expression changed slightly. Looking at His Highness the Regent, who looked like he had no idea, he could not help but curse in his heart.

When he entered the palace to give Zhu Lang money that night, he had already mentioned the imperial lecture. However, His Highness the Regent now looked like he had no idea about it. It was obvious that he was going to put all the blame on him.

Wang Kun's expression changed, but Zhu Lang remained calm. He knew that Wang Kun was going to attack someone on the list, but so what?

He had already said that night that he would let Wang Kun handle the matter himself. It was up to Wang Kun to decide whether to keep or dismiss the people on the list of the imperial lecture.

If he had the ability, even if he changed all the people on the list, Zhu Lang would not say a word.
But now that he has left the list and caused trouble again, he must solve it himself.
If Zhu Lang handed over the affairs of state to Wang Kun, and Wang Kun caused trouble, Zhu Lang would have to take the blame, then who is the emperor, Zhu Lang or Wang Kun?

Wang Kun obviously understood the reason, so he gritted his teeth, stepped out of the line and saluted, and spoke respectfully to the young man above.

"Your Highness, there is something else going on here. Please allow me to report this to you..."

Wang Kun was about to explain, but Li Yongmao, who was below, heard Zhu Lang's words and a sharp light flashed in his eyes, interrupting Wang Kun directly.
"According to what Your Highness said, Your Highness was unaware of this matter. Was this all done by Wang Kun on his own?"

The ministers' expressions changed when they heard this, and they stared at Wang Kun above with unfriendly expressions.

Your Highness dismissing a lecturer from the Imperial Lecture Hall and the eunuchs privately handling the memorials of the ministers in the court are two different things.

In front of the court officials, Qu Shisi, Chen Zizhuang and others recalled the past, and their faces suddenly became serious.

The eyes of the imperial censors below flashed with a sharp light, staring at Wang Kun above, like sharks smelling blood.

Wang Kun felt the gazes of the ministers behind him, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
If Gui Jianguo directly denied knowing about this matter and said that this was a decision he made privately without telling the palace, then Wang Kun would probably have to get out of the palace immediately, and it would be hard to say whether he could save his life.
Nine thousand years old was only 20 or 30 years ago
Wang Kun thought of this and became even more terrified. He looked at the young man above with a pleading look.

I don't know how long it took, but the young man above finally spoke.

"I do know about this matter, but I am new to the government and am unfamiliar with the people in the court. I don't know whether the people in the court are wise or foolish. Eunuch Wang has been in court for a long time, so I will hand this matter over to Eunuch Wang to handle it and let him consider it."

"But according to what Li Ge Lao said, Liu Xiangke is a loyal and virtuous minister."

"Eunuch Wang, what is going on? Why do you want to dismiss this person?"

The young prince stared at Wang Kun below with dissatisfaction, and pushed all the responsibility onto the middle-aged eunuch below.

When Wang Kun heard the words of the prince above, he suddenly felt relieved. He thought to himself that His Highness Gui Jianguo really abided by the rules. He gave him money and promised to do things for him. His Highness Jianguo also covered up for him. But he couldn't think too much at this time. Although Gui Jianguo covered up the biggest crime for him, Li Yongmao might have to rely on himself to deal with it.
If he can't defeat Li Yongmao, then His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo will probably not protect him anymore.
Wang Kun glanced at Li Yongmao below, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and then he spoke loudly
"Your Highness, Lord Li said that Liu Xiangke is a wise minister, but I don't know what makes Liu Xiangke so wise."

"Liu Xiangke was born as an imperial censor. Because he had the power to report rumors, he would criticize almost everything. He would criticize the military and political affairs of the court, the private affairs of the ministers in the court, and even the private affairs of the imperial palace and the royal family."

"This man relies on his position as an imperial censor. He impeaches anything that can make him famous. He is clearly a hypocritical person who sells his integrity for fame. How can such a lunatic like him be allowed to attend the imperial lecture?" Wang Kun said loudly.

After hearing Wang Kun's words, the ministers below frowned slightly, but did not say anything. This Liu Xiangke was indeed a famous troll in the court.
Some of the ministers who had been attacked by Liu Xiangke nodded secretly in their hearts.

That group of censors are really too presumptuous. If you want to bite, just bite. You can bite the emperor, the eunuchs, the military and politics of the court. You can bite so many things. Why bother with us who are your own people in the same palace?
"Nonsense"

The ministers were thinking when a roar suddenly sounded, startling everyone.

Li Yongmao was furious, staring at Wang Kun above him, and spoke loudly:

"The duty of the censors is to report rumors and give advice. If they cannot give fair and honest advice, then what is the point of having censors in the Supervisory Office?"

"If there are any disagreements in the court's military and political affairs, why can't we advise against it? Whether to use or not is up to the court, and whether to advise or not is up to the censors. If the ministers have moral deficiencies, why can't we advise against it? If the palace's expenses are wasteful, why can't we advise against it?"

"As an imperial censor, Liu Xiangke's words and advice are all impartial. His repeated submissions show that he is loyal and upright, and he does not avoid other people's private opinions. Why can't such an upright and virtuous minister be included in the imperial lecture?"

Li Yongmao's voice was loud and clear. The imperial censors at the side nodded frequently when they heard his words. They looked at Li Yongmao with kind expressions on their faces.

If I hadn't been there to supervise you, you bastards would have made so many mistakes. You guys are still dissatisfied and ungrateful all day long. You really are not filial sons.
The ministers looked at Wang Kun above, but Wang Kun's expression did not change at all. A sneer flashed across his face, and he suddenly spoke

"Come on, Lord Li, there is no need to make such big statements in the court."

"It's fine if the officials from Guangdong Province return, but we are all from Fujian Province. Do you really think we don't know that when Lord Li was in power in Jiangxi Province, Liu Xiangke was a capable general under Lord Li. Since Lord Li wants to recommend a private person, why does he have to make such grand statements here?"

The ministers below were stunned. Some of the ministers from Guangdong Province who were unaware of this were suddenly shocked. It turned out that Liu Xiangke was a general under Li Yongmao. No wonder he was trying so hard to ensure that Liu Xiangke would enter the imperial lecture.

It turns out that Li Yongmao saw that he was temporarily unable to assist in the administration, so he planned to place one of his own people in the central government.
Others who knew about the relationship between Liu Xiangke and Li Yongmao also had strange expressions on their faces, looking at the angry Li Yongmao in the field.

"Asshole, you eunuch, do you think that just because you form a clique for personal gain, everyone in the world will be like you, a villain?"

"During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, you relied on your favor in the palace to frame the ministers at will. When you were on a tour of Huaiyang for the palace, you even persecuted the merchants and civilians, causing public outrage. The imperial censors impeached you one after another, but you still didn't know how to restrain yourself."

"Now you still dare to deceive His Highness and take over the government. You eunuch, do you think our dynasty has no laws and disciplines? Wei Ni is about to die. Do you really think the court dare not execute you, a flatterer?" Li Yongmao roared angrily.

"You old man, you exposed your selfishness, and you are so angry that you dare to roar at the court. You are really rebellious. Your actions put His Highness in..."

Wang Kun's face suddenly turned red, and he turned around and cursed at Li Yongmao below.

"enough"

Wang Kun was about to curse again, but suddenly a roar came from above, interrupting his words.

The ministers were all shocked when they heard the angry shouts from above. They saw the young Regent with a very gloomy look on his face. His eyes were scanning the ministers below, like an angry beast.
"One is an assistant minister of the imperial court, and the other is the chief minister of the inner court. Look at what you are saying. You are all speaking evil words. How can you be the ministers of the imperial court?"

"What do you think this palace is? A market? Do you want to leave? I'll let you come to the front of this palace and have a good argument."

"Let the whole world know about this quarrel, and let everyone in the world know that the ministers in my Ming Dynasty are just this kind of people."

The hall was completely silent for a moment, with only the young prince's angry roar resounding throughout the hall.

What I posted today is the saved draft. Although I didn’t write any new content today, I continued to make some outlines.
Today's chapter is connected to the next two chapters, which is a complete court meeting. After writing it, I took a look at it and thought it was okay. During the Spring Festival reunion, if you have time, you may come and take a look. It should be pretty good.

I will leave my congratulations to everyone on New Year's Eve in tomorrow's update. On the 23rd, people eat sticky sugar-coated melons. What is the custom on the 29th? Have you all arrived home yet? The weather has changed a lot recently. Please be safe on the road.



(End of this chapter)