I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 264: There has never been such a loyal and wise king in history

"The treacherous king built railways at great expense, claiming to benefit the country and the people, but in fact he was stealing the dragon energy of the Ming Dynasty."

"Destroying the salt law may seem to benefit the common people, but in reality it is the treacherous king's move to win over the people's hearts and alienate your majesty from the gentry of the world. The gentry of the world are chilled to the bone."

The voice of Censor Shen Hao resounded in the Fengtian Hall. The courtiers in the hall had different expressions, and it was impossible to tell what they were thinking.
The morning court in the Ming Dynasty was very formulaic, and there was no eunuch shouting "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court." like in TV dramas.

After the cabinet system gradually matured, it was first stipulated that only eight matters could be discussed at each court meeting, and later it was changed to five matters. In addition, the matters to be discussed had to be handled by the cabinet ministers one day in advance, and the emperor could just read out the script when he attended court.

what does this mean?
It means that the morning court session is just a formality.

It was the same today. Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon throne yawning and listening to things that had been handled by the cabinet yesterday.

He even had a script in front of him, with all the lines he was going to say prepared on it.

Just when everyone thought it was an ordinary morning court session, Imperial Censor Shen Hao rushed out and shouted in front of the Minister of War Wang Qiong who had just stepped out of the line, "I have something important to report!"

Then he read aloud the memorial he had written last night.
Originally, five issues were to be discussed in the morning court, so only five people had to stand out. The other irrelevant people seemed to be attending the court, but in fact, they were all daydreaming. Anyway, the things they discussed were already decided.

Even the Han generals on duty were no exception. There had been no accidents in the court meetings for many years. As a result, Shen Hao had been reciting for a long time, but the Han generals on duty did not react.
They also didn't know what the cabinet had decided yesterday, and thought Shen Hao's move was part of the normal discussion process at the court meeting.
But what Shen Hao shouted was still too explosive, and one could tell something was wrong after just a quick listen.
Several big generals rushed up to restrain Shen Hao. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation in their careers. Moreover, the most powerful person in the palace had not spoken yet, so they didn't know what to do next.
However, the Han generals decided to drag Shen Hao out first, but they forgot to cover Shen Hao's mouth while dragging him, and Shen Hao continued to shout his memorial.
In fact, many court officials reacted immediately, but after hearing what Shen Hao said, they all decided to wait and see.
Because Zhu Houzhao's thoughts have become somewhat unpredictable recently, this incident is a good opportunity to take a peek into his thoughts.
"The treacherous king has evil ambitions. He wants to have a vassal king succeed to the throne and replace the big clan with a smaller clan. Your Majesty has been deceived by him for a long time," Shen Hao continued to shout.

The words he shouted made everyone feel uneasy. "Swoosh!" A black shadow was thrown down from the imperial platform, aiming at Shen Hao, but it didn't hit Shen Hao, but fell directly to the ground and broke into several pieces.
Everyone looked closely and found that it was actually an inkstone.
Zhu Houzhao's face was as dark as it could be at this moment. He roared, "Bring that criminal back here!"

The Han generals quickly pulled Shen Hao back. At this time, Shen Hao's official hat was gone, revealing his messy hair. His clothes were torn into several large holes during the struggle just now. He looked very miserable.
Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath, calmed down his anger, and said loudly: "The King of Jing can really help me to rule the world. It is said that a saintly king and a wise minister only meet once in thousands of years, and now I have found one among my own imperial descendants. My brother, the King of Jing, is extremely talented and has extraordinary wisdom. For example, in rituals, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics, once he has learned them, he can master them and is unmatched by others. Since ancient times, there has been no such loyal and patriotic king. The king's virtuous deeds are never shown to others, and no one can know them."

Zhu Houzhao's words made everyone present look horrified. No one had ever seen Zhu Houzhao so angry. Everyone knew that Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Houxun had a good relationship, but no one thought that Zhu Houzhao's evaluation of Zhu Houxun was so high, directly pushing Zhu Houxun to a level rarely seen in ancient and modern times.
"You are the only one who wants to alienate the royal family. You deserve to be punished!" Zhu Houzhao said with lingering anger.

"I am loyal to my heart. I am doing this all for the Ming Dynasty! If Your Majesty is deceived by the treacherous king again, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger." Shen Hao had already given up and continued to shout.

"You are so loyal, and you are doing this for the Ming Dynasty. If I hadn't known about the Shen family in Shunde Prefecture, I would have almost thought that you were an important minister who was loyal to the country!" Zhu Houzhao's expression and voice suddenly became calm.

"You say you are working for the country and the people, but you are actually harming the country and the people for your own selfish interests! Don't think I don't know why you are attacking my brother, the King of Jing. Isn't it because the King of Jing changed the salt law? Isn't it because you can't get the benefits of sea salt? That's why you are desperate and your ugly behavior is exposed."

Shen Hao stared at Zhu Houzhao blankly. He didn't expect Zhu Houzhao to react like this. He actually trusted the King of Jing so much. His provocative words didn't work at all.
"Since we are talking about the Salt Law, let's talk about it today. In the past two months, I have received many memorials from ministers regarding the Salt Law, but I have kept them all and not sent them out. Today is a good time to settle them all!" Zhu Houzhao looked around at the ministers present.

The ministers present did not dare to look at Zhu Houzhao, and many of them felt guilty.
"It is said that the King of Jing destroyed the Kaizhong Salt Law, but how much is left in Kaizhong now? You all know that if Kaizhong really had an effect, then the Minister Ye (Ye Qi) during the reign of the late Emperor would not have implemented the Yunsi silver system!"

All the ministers were silent. Everyone knew that there was something wrong with the salt law, but no one dared to do anything.
"Although Minister Ye's reform of the salt law led to the complete corruption of the Kaizhong system, Minister Ye also had the courage to reform the salt law. The new salt law paid millions of silver to the court for a period of time. And you all turned a blind eye to this, pretending that you didn't see the problem, didn't you?"

silence
Everyone present fell into deathly silence.
Zhu Houzhao's voice echoed in the Fengtian Hall
No one expected that such a big change would happen in the court meeting that was just a formality. Everyone was listening to Zhu Houzhao's words, even the officials outside the palace were listening attentively.
This was also the first time that Zhu Houzhao expressed his thoughts so directly on such an occasion. He felt extremely happy.
If he hadn't been so angry today, he wouldn't have expressed his thoughts so directly. As an emperor, he still has the shrewdness he should have.
"Since the Spring and Autumn Period, when Guan Zhong reformed the State of Qi, the salt law has been in place for more than 2,000 years. Throughout the dynasties, the salt law has reached its peak in this dynasty!" Zhu Houzhao had a sarcastic smile on his face.
(End of this chapter)