Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 36 Queen Mother: This child is becoming more and more like a king

Kunning Palace.

Sun Jizhong, the Marquis of Huichang, came to pay respect to the Empress Dowager. In fact, from the time of Emperor Taizu Gao to the present, only Sun Jizhong, a relative of the Ming Dynasty, has held military power.

Sun Jizhong now supervises the 12th regiment and is in charge of the defense of the capital with Yu Qian. However, he knows his position and is very low-key in his work and life.

"Brother, is there something wrong?" The Queen Mother, who was arranging flowers, raised her eyes and asked.

"Empress Dowager, the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigated the granary case and found Duke Chengguo, and also found...our younger brother Sun Xianzhong." Sun Jizhong said with his head down.

The Queen Mother's hand suddenly paused, her eyes instantly turned cold: "It seems that my guess is correct, Xianzhong is also involved in the granary case. The death of the granary assistant minister was caused by Xianzhong, right?"

Sun Jizhong nodded helplessly: "Yes, I severely reprimanded him last night, and he told the truth. The three major rice shops in the capital were all run by him and Duke Cheng behind the scenes. They stole grain from the government warehouse and sold it in the three major rice shops."

Bang!

The Queen Mother slammed the table angrily: "He is courting death!"

Sun Jizhong knelt down hurriedly, sweat breaking out on his forehead. Although he was the empress dowager's elder brother, he was still afraid of her wrath.

"How many people in the court are involved in this case?" the Queen Mother asked coldly.

"Many ministers were involved." Sun Jizhong bowed, "If we deal with it severely, there will be turmoil in the government and the country immediately."

The Queen Mother snorted coldly and sat down on the chair, her majesty looming: "It is not me who should handle this case now, but your Majesty. He has already found out about Sun Xianzhong, but he is holding back."

"Empress Dowager, how should we respond?" Sun Jizhong asked.

"Wait for your Majesty to make the first move." The Queen Mother's mouth showed a hint of coldness. "It's not easy to handle such a big case. If it goes wrong, the government and the country will be in turmoil, which means that he is still not suitable for ruling the country."

Sun Jizhong felt a tingling sensation down his spine.

The Queen Mother never asked her younger brother Sun Xianzhong a single question, which meant that she could abandon him like a chess piece at any time.

……

The next day, morning.

When the court meeting came to an end, the queen mother's cold voice came from behind the curtain: "Your Majesty, let's end the court meeting today."

Zhu Qizhen then slowly stood up from the throne and bowed respectfully towards the direction behind the curtain: "Mother, there has been some progress in the granary case that I ordered to be investigated. I would like to say a few more words."

The Queen Mother's heart tightened, but a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth. She was expecting His Majesty to act impulsively and make the granary case public. In this way, Duke Chengguo, Sun Xianzhong and other ministers would be pushed to the forefront.

She had already made up her mind. Even if she had to severely punish Duke Cheng and Sun Xianzhong in the end, she would wait until the best time to clean up the mess and let His Majesty face the overwhelming public opinion in the court first.

Let the ministers see His Majesty who still cannot handle government affairs and only acts rashly.

"Your Majesty, since you are the emperor, naturally you have the final say." The Queen Mother responded calmly.

Zhu Qizhen slowly turned around, glanced at the ministers, and sighed:

"Everyone says that the ministers of the dynasty enjoy wealth and honor, and the dukes and marquises have no worries about food and clothing for generations. However, many of you are still not satisfied."

"It is not enough to seize the people's land, but they also steal and sell the government grain! The common people say, 'The word 'official' has two mouths. If the upper mouth is not full, the lower mouth will be hungry.' I ask you, when will you be able to eat your fill?"

His voice suddenly became extremely sharp, and an invisible majesty emanated from him, enveloping the entire court.

The Queen Mother frowned behind the curtain. This boy showed more and more the aura of a king. But he was still too impulsive. He was too anxious to eat the hot porridge. He openly revealed a big case in the court. How could he end it?
Zhu Qizhen's eyes were like knives, and he continued:

"Officials and businessmen colluded to steal and sell government grain. Such a big thing, but the cabinet, the Censorate, and the six ministries didn't leak any news." "Haha, it's easy to abuse the people, but it's hard to deceive God! I tell you, I will definitely deal with this case severely. Otherwise, how can I explain it to the people of the world?"

"In my great Ming Dynasty, the people cannot be abused, and the superiors cannot be deceived. I have issued an order to arrest the profiteers. I will give you one last chance. If you are guilty, surrender yourself. Otherwise, my butcher knife will fall."

To the Queen Mother's surprise, Zhu Qizhen did not name any ministers, he just threatened them. In this way, if someone could not stand the intimidation and confessed, it would be easier to deal with them later.

Moreover, the loyal and honest ministers in the palace will be more optimistic about the current Emperor.

Who taught him such a sophisticated method? Is he forcing the ministers involved in the case to submit their own confessions?

If this continues, sooner or later the ministers will submit a petition to His Majesty asking him to take charge of the government.

……

Qianqing Palace.

After Zhu Qizhen returned from the morning court, he continued to read "The Veritable Records of Taizu". Zhu Yuanzhang was his emperor idol, and he learned from him how to be an emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Minister of Rites Hu Yi requests to see you." The eunuch came to report.

Zhu Qizhen was also stunned, and then spread his hands: "Please come in!"

Hu Yi was a Jinshi in the Jianwen period. Later historical records said that he was ordered by Emperor Yongle to look for Emperor Jianwen, and the search lasted for more than ten years.

Only Emperor Yongle and Hu Yi knew whether the treasure was found in the end. According to historical records, Hu Yi suddenly came to see Emperor Yongle late one night in the 21st year of Yongle's reign.

Emperor Yongle, who had already gone to bed, heard his name, but instead of getting angry, he summoned him immediately.

"The emperor had gone to bed, and when he heard that Yu had arrived, he quickly got up and called him in. Yu told him everything he had heard. He left at the fourth drum."

The two of them talked in secret for so long, there must be an answer.

When Zhu Qizhen saw Hu Yi coming in, he wanted to ask him, "Did you find Emperor Jianwen back then?" This is a mystery that will last forever.

"Your Majesty, I am Hu Yi, your servant." Hu Yi knelt down.

"Stand up." Zhu Qizhen raised his hand, "Come here, give Mr. Hu a seat."

He still respected such an old minister who had served for five dynasties. Besides, Hu Yi was the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, so it was proper for him to address him as "Mr." After Hu Yi sat down, he reported: "Your Majesty, I have come to report on this year's spring imperial examination."

Zhu Qizhen raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

Didn't you report this to the Queen Mother? Why did you come to me? It seems that my recent performance has been gradually recognized by some old officials.

"Mr. Hu, you have been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for more than 20 years, right?" Zhu Qizhen smiled, "Of course I trust you, you can make the decision. I only have three points to say: fairness, fairness, and damn fairness!"

Hu Yi couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "Your Majesty, you hit the nail on the head. The Spring Examination requires fairness."

Then, he talked in detail about the preparations for this spring examination.

Zhu Qizhen listened very carefully. He really needed to know this. Finally, he spread his hands and smiled: "I think it's very good. However, the final decision still depends on my mother."

He gave a bitter smile at the right moment.

Please give me a vote!

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(End of this chapter)