Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 48 The storm is coming

The chief minister of the cabinet, Liu Jian, the second minister, Li Dongyang, the third minister, Xie Qian and others left the Qianqing Gate one after another.

The three elders of the cabinet had gloomy faces the whole time.

It was obvious that Zhu Houzhao's behavior just now had given them such a huge shock that these cabinet ministers have not yet recovered.

When Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, remembered that he had been slapped by Zhu Houzhao, he still clenched his fists tightly, gnashing his teeth with resentment, "Zhu Houzhao!"

Like Liu Jian, Xie Qian, one of the three ministers in the cabinet, could neither accept nor tolerate the sudden cruelty shown by Emperor Zhu Houzhao:
"I thought that the current emperor was just naughty, but now it seems that he is not only naughty but also extremely vicious. How can such a king be a blessing to the Confucian scholars? In my opinion, since we have killed the king once, why do we need to do it again!"

"How could he be murdered? The new emperor died tragically less than a year after ascending the throne? Who should he choose as the new emperor? The previous emperor only had one son, Your Majesty. If we choose a new emperor, we can only choose from among the vassal kings. How can we do such a big thing before we understand his character?"

After saying this, Li Dongyang, the deputy minister of the cabinet, said, "Now it depends on Wang Yue. When Zhang Zhao brings soldiers into the palace, Wang Yue will have his own way to force Your Majesty to kill Liu Jin and others. If Wang Yue can't do this, he will be the one to die. As long as Wang Yue kills Liu Jin and others, or even commits treason and regicide, we will still be the ones to decide on the new king in the end!"

"I hope Zhu Houzhao can be more knowledgeable, so that Emperor Xiaozong's lineage will not be cut off in his hands!"

The chief minister of the cabinet, Liu Jian, laughed coldly, and his wound hurt because of his laugh, and he hated Zhu Houzhao even more.

After the Battle of Tumu, the power of the civil service group rose in the Ming Dynasty. In addition, Emperor Xiaozong was a generous and kind person, which made the civil servants so spoiled that they could no longer adapt to the king's overbearing rule. They even forgot that even if the emperor was a gentle lion, there would be times when he would show his fangs.

……

The Jinyiwei was actually in charge of arresting criminals at the Northern Zhenfusi, and the chief of the Northern Zhenfusi was generally a Jinyiwei commander-in-chief, in charge of Zhenfusi affairs. Starting from the Chenghua period, the head of the Northern Zhenfusi could report criminal arrests directly to the emperor without reporting to the Jinyiwei commander-in-chief, in charge of Zhenfusi affairs and the Jinyiwei governor-general. The Jinyiwei commander-in-chief, in charge of Zhenfusi affairs and the Jinyiwei governor-general were not allowed to interfere.

Therefore, Mou Bin, who was the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was in charge of the Pacification Office at the time, had great power.

At this time, Mou Bin returned to his lover's place, wearing a Confucian robe and stepping on the heater, looking like a rich man. He put the hot tea in his hand to his mouth, took a sip but was reluctant to drink it. In his mind, he kept recalling the scene in the morning when Emperor Zhu Houzhao was suddenly assassinated in front of the morning gate and the eunuch Zhang Zhao, who was in charge of the Imperial Stables, was dismissed and imprisoned.

Because the assassination of the Ming emperor was a very serious matter. If Zhu Houzhao wanted, he could also remove him from his position as the commander of the Jinyiwei and the head of the Zhenfusi.

But even a three-year-old child could see that this so-called assassination was a conspiracy with ulterior motives, because no assassin would use a wooden stick to assassinate the emperor, and would assassinate the emperor in public.

Therefore, Mou Bin, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the director of the Zhenfu Division, could guess without sending anyone to investigate that this was definitely a drama staged by His Majesty himself in order to achieve the purpose of replacing the Imperial Stables and even the Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Eastern Depot. Now, only the people of the Imperial Stables were temporarily replaced, but Mou Bin didn't know whether he, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the director of the Zhenfu Division, would also be replaced.

However, when Mou Bin, the commander of the Jinyiwei and the head of the Zhenfusi, thought that Zhu Houzhao's decision to let the Jinyiwei take Zhang Zhao away was obviously a test for him, he put down his teacup and started talking to himself:

"Your Majesty is watching my performance, but I cannot surrender to Your Majesty so easily. I have to wait and see how the situation changes and see which way the wind blows. As long as Your Majesty does not die suddenly like the last emperor, I can be a loyal minister."

Mou Bin, the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei and the head of the Pacification Office, saw his trusted servant Mou Qing coming over: "Master, Lu Qi, the godson of Lu Dugong, came to convey the emperor's oral order, saying that Zhang Zhao should be released!" Mou Bin couldn't help but smile faintly after hearing this: "This is probably not an oral order. It's the Silijian and the civil officials who want Zhang Zhao to mobilize the troops. Eunuch Wang and the cabinet elders can't afford to offend them. Give the order to obey the emperor's order and release Zhang Zhao! Even if the emperor wins, we will say that it was Lu Dugong who falsely conveyed the imperial edict. If the eunuchs Wang win, we will also be considered to have done a favor! But think about it, even if the emperor is cunning, he is only a 15-year-old boy. How can he be a match for the Prime Minister and the eunuchs Wang!"

"I understand, little one!"

Mou Bin's servant Mou Qing left after saying this.

At this time, Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, was writing large characters on rice paper in a very elegant manner, while also listening to Lu He's report on the civil officials' visit to His Majesty Zhu Houzhao.

After hearing this, Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, paused and smiled on his silvery face:

"It's really like a storm is brewing. Our emperor has caught us off guard, but the more so, the more we can't give up easily. No matter what our emperor wants, a new emperor chooses new ministers. We, servants who don't make the emperor happy, can't escape death. Fortunately, we don't have a home, so we won't end up with our entire clan being exterminated. It's nothing more than a few more cuts!"

"Grandfather, why do you have to say that? Things haven't come to that point yet. Whether Zhu Houzhao wants to take power or Liu Jin and others are colluding with Zhu Houzhao, we haven't lost everything yet. We can't even say we've lost yet. As long as Zhang Zhao leads the soldiers into the palace, Zhu Houzhao will either kill Liu Jin or die suddenly in the palace tonight. We can still live in peace! It's nothing more than repeating the death of the previous emperor."

Lu He, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander of the Eastern Depot, said.

"It hasn't come to that yet. I am only describing the worst-case scenario. The officials in the outer court are waiting for our performance. We should not disappoint them tonight, or we will have trouble meeting each other during the morning court tomorrow!"

Wang Yue then instructed Lu He, "Send someone to keep an eye on Zhu Houzhao!"

At this point, he had already decided to fight to the death, and he was too lazy to even call out "Your Majesty".

"They were sent a long time ago, but Zhu Houzhao stayed inside the house. There was a guy named Guo Rong blocking the door outside. He was quite skilled in martial arts, and he would kill anyone who approached the Cining Palace!"

Lu He said.

"Guo Rong? An unknown young man! But he is loyal to the end. I just don't know how much loyalty is worth these days. He is just an ordinary officer. Why is he so loyal to Zhu Houzhao? Do you think there is any reason behind this?"

Wang Yue couldn't help but think while smiling.

"What do the officers below know? Zhu Houzhao gave him a rank of 1,000 households, so he will naturally be loyal to him!"

Lu He said.

Wang Yue was relieved after hearing this and said, "Wait until Zhang Zhao comes and ask Guo Rong if he is willing to kill Zhu Houzhao if he is given the rank of lieutenant general."

(End of this chapter)