Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 230 The Civil Officials Are Out

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Hang Huai did not respond and just remained silent.

Hang Huai thought that whether Xue Fengming and Dai Guan were executed or shown leniency by His Majesty it had nothing to do with him. The only thing he hoped to see now was that His Majesty would panic because of the collective resignation of the censors, so panicked that he, the Left Censor-in-Chief, would make the decision. Only then would he be able to persuade His Majesty to make concessions and withdraw the East Factory Inspectorate from the Censorate.

However, what disappointed Hang Huai now was that the Emperor in front of him obviously did not show any signs of panic.

Zhu Houzhao took the initiative to look at Hang Huai and asked, "Hang Zongxian, tell me the truth, are you really afraid to act on your own, or are you deliberately threatening me with the collective resignation of the censors under you, threatening me to withdraw the Dongchang Supervisory Office from your Metropolitan Procuratorate?"

"I dare not!"

Hang Huai hurriedly replied, but Zhu Houzhao did not panic. He was the first to panic in his heart, wondering if His Majesty could see through his thoughts. But even if His Majesty had people from the Western Factory secretly spying on him, he would not be able to tell anything wrong from what he said in the Censorate.

"Are you afraid to approve the resignation of these censors, or are you afraid to openly oppose my establishment of the East Factory Inspectorate in your Metropolitan Procuratorate?"

Zhu Houzhao continued to ask.

"I dare not approve the resignation of these censors. Your Majesty has set up the East Factory Inspectorate in the Metropolitan Censorate. I have no complaints. I only know to obey your orders, Your Majesty!"

Hang Huai explained anxiously.

"In that case, it is the censors' right to resign. Why are you afraid to approve it? Is it possible that there are no officials in the world who are willing to be censors?"

Seeing that Hang Huai refused to tell the truth and express his dissatisfaction with the establishment of the East Factory Inspectorate in the Censorate, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but curse him in his heart, "old fox!" Then, he took the opportunity to express that he, the emperor, was not panicked by the censor's resignation.

Hang Huai's heart skipped a beat, and he stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say: "But Your Majesty, the censors have resigned, what should we do with this case?"

"Aren't you still here, the head of the Censorate?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled as he spoke, without a trace of seriousness, and asked Hang Huai: "General Hang, do you also want to resign?"

"Your Majesty, I obey you!"

Hang Huai bowed hurriedly, his heart beating faster. He was really afraid that if he said he wanted to resign, the Emperor would then ask him to resign as well. But he couldn't say he didn't want to resign, because then the Emperor would think he was a power-clinging person. So, he just replied, "I listen to your Majesty. Emperor, if you ask me to resign, I will. Otherwise, I won't resign. Of course, I still hope you don't ask me to resign."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and shook his head without saying anything.

At this time, Hang Huai became more and more flustered, and his breathing was so rapid that the brim of his black hat shook up and down. He was really afraid that His Majesty would ask him to retire.

"Hang Huai, I remember that you were a Jinshi in the 12th year of Hongzhi. You are fifty-four years old this year and quite talented in literature. Xu Zhenqing of Wuxian and Wang Shouren of Shaoxing both have a good relationship with you. You have been promoted step by step from a chief clerk, and you are in charge of the Censorate in less than 20 years. You should know the reason."

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Hang Huai naturally understood what the emperor meant. He was able to be where he is today only because those ministers before him who were once experienced and prestigious had wanted to go against His Majesty and were dealt with by His Majesty. He should not think that he could play tricks on the emperor just because he became the Left Censor-in-Chief.

"I understand that I am where I am today because Your Majesty values ​​me. I will obey Your Majesty's order and approve the resignation of the censors. I will handle the cases of Xue Fengming and Dai Guan personally," said Hang Huai.

"Very good, you don't have to come to the palace in person for such trivial matters in the future. You are not young anymore, and you should take care of your health." Although Zhu Houzhao obviously cared about Hang Huai's health, he also told Hang Huai not to perform such trivial tricks in front of him again.

Hang Huai also understood what Zhu Houzhao meant, and was about to thank him and leave. But at this moment, a eunuch came to report that the Chief Minister of the Cabinet Wang Hua, the Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai, and the Minister of Justice Gu Lin wanted to see him.

"What day is it today? The Cabinet, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel and your Censorate are all here."

Zhu Houzhao stood up and stretched his waist: "Let them all come in."

After a while, the Chief Minister of the Cabinet Wang Hua, the Minister of Justice Gu Lin, and the Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai all walked in, saluted Zhu Houzhao together, and each of them held a large stack of memorials in their hands.

When Zhu Houzhao saw so many memorials, his expression froze and he asked, "Why did you come to see me?"

"Your Majesty, five of the Cabinet's secretaries want to resign!
Twenty-six people in the Ministry of Revenue want to resign!

Nineteen people in the Ministry of War want to resign!
Twelve people from the Ministry of Works want to resign!
Thirty-five people from the Ministry of Rites want to resign!

Twelve people from the Hanlin Academy want to resign!

Seven people in the department are going to resign!

This matter is very serious, and I have come to ask Your Majesty for instructions! The behavior of the East Factory Inspectorate has caused great dissatisfaction among the court officials! "

The cabinet chief, Wang Hua, stated the reason very directly, unlike Hang Huai who pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth.

"Your Majesty, thirteen officials from the Ministry of Personnel have also resigned, including Lu Zhaoji, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel!
I also think that the establishment of the Supervisory Office of the East Factory in the Censorate has indeed frightened all officials, so I have come to report this to Your Majesty, and ask Your Majesty to think twice!"

The Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai also responded bluntly.

"Your Majesty, there are also eight people from the Ministry of Justice!"

Before the Minister of Justice Gu Lin finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao interrupted him and asked, "Are you also going to resign?"

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. I am indeed going to resign. Besides, I will also resign!"

Gu Lin replied and lowered his head. He did not dare to look into Zhu Houzhao's eyes, but he knew that doing so might make Zhu Houzhao furious and kill him. However, he was mentally prepared and still hoped in his heart that His Majesty the Emperor would not kill him. In that case, even if he went home to farm, it would be better than seeing the people from the East Factory superior to the civil servants in the court.

Zhu Houzhao indeed looked at the Minister of Justice Gu Lin with a sharp gaze, but when he thought that he just didn't want to do it anymore, he really had no reason to punish him. However, Zhu Houzhao was not willing to compromise, so he just sat back and ordered:
"Liu Jin, announce to the whole nation that tomorrow we will call for a general resignation. Anyone who wishes to resign can report this to the court!"

"According to the order!"

Liu Jin replied. He could tell that this was the entire civil service group putting pressure on his emperor. Not to mention the emperor himself, even he, who was standing aside and watching the excitement, was a little scared. After all, there were more than a hundred court officials! I'm afraid there will be more than that number. Today's incident will definitely spread out. By then, there will definitely be more officials who will resign under the instigation of others. By then, the entire court will be empty!
Cabinet Chief Minister Wang Hua and Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai also looked at Zhu Houzhao with mixed feelings. They knew that the current emperor was a shrewd and capable man who would not allow eunuchs to monopolize power, and naturally would not allow civil servants to monopolize power. The East Factory Inspectorate might just be responsible for supervising the Censorate, but the civil servants who were used to their freedom would definitely not want to be controlled by the East Factory, so naturally they would have such a big reaction.

Wang Hua and Zhang Cai didn't know how His Majesty should respond, and they knew they couldn't help, so they could only watch the emperor's lonely back.

Hang Huai glanced at Gu Lin with some secret joy. He admired Gu Lin's courage and was also grateful that Gu Lin dared to resign in front of His Majesty as the Minister of Punishment. He believed that Gu Lin's act of risking his life would definitely increase the deterrent effect on His Majesty the Emperor. In addition, more than a hundred officials resigned together, including high-ranking officials such as the Minister of the Secretariat. He thought that His Majesty might really compromise. What else could he do?

Gu Lin breathed a sigh of relief and felt his back was wet. He also looked at Zhu Houzhao. He knew that his behavior today might have really angered His Majesty, but he was also very happy. He was happy that His Majesty did not kill him for this, and he was inexplicably grateful to His Majesty.

Wang Hua and Zhang Cai also looked at Gu Lin. They wanted to say that Gu Lin was irrational and did not consider the overall situation. Resigning from his position as the Minister of Justice at this time would increase the possibility of forcing the emperor to break with the civil officials.
Gu Lin himself felt a little regretful, but he knew that things had come to this point, and the only thing he could do was to be thankful that he did not become the first soul to die under His Majesty's sword.

Ma Yongcheng, the governor of the Eastern Depot, looked at Gu Lin angrily. He was even angrier than Zhu Houzhao because he was worried that Zhu Houzhao would be frightened by Gu Lin's fearless behavior and would have to make compromises, causing his Eastern Depot to lose the opportunity to supervise the Censorate and all officials.

The air around was very peaceful. Everyone was in a different mood at the moment, but no one said it out loud. They were all waiting for tomorrow's results.

Civil servants such as Wang Hua were actually afraid that the emperor would use this opportunity to start a massacre.

Therefore, after leaving the palace, they sent people to the Guards to inquire about the news.

Ma Yongcheng wished that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would use the imperial guards, but he did not dare to disturb Zhu Houzhao at this time. He went to the East Factory overnight to gather people and said, "Everyone, cheer up. As long as His Majesty gives the order, we in the East Factory will arrest people immediately!"

Hang Huai also returned to the Censorate. Left Vice-Chief Censor Yan Hong could not help but ask Hang Huai: "Mr. Hang, what does His Majesty say?"

"Originally I wanted to agree to your resignation directly, but," Hang Huai said as he looked at the censors with wide eyes. He couldn't help but laugh in his heart, thinking that they were all reluctant to give up their official positions, yet they had to pretend to be so upright.

"But what? Lord Hang, you can't just watch the entire Censorate become the East Factory!" Left Vice-Chief Censor Yan Hong became emotional.

"However, many officials from other ministries and agencies also want to resign, and there are no less than a hundred of them! Even the Minister of Justice, Mr. Gu, wants to resign. Your Majesty seems to be moved as well. He has ordered a general meeting tomorrow, and those who wish to resign must report to the emperor in the main hall tomorrow."

After Hang Huai said this, Yan Hong turned his worry into joy and said with a smile: "This is really great. I hope Your Majesty can realize that it is difficult to go against the will of the subjects of the world. Tomorrow, Yan will definitely resign!"

"Yes, Xu too!"

"Chen will also resign!"

……

After learning that hundreds of civil servants from other departments had also submitted their resignations, the censors of the Censorate became more confident.

Thanks to my book friend Nine Fat Orange Cats for the 1000 Qidian coins reward



(End of this chapter)