Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 45: Banished to Yunnan to Eat Mushrooms

For Mao Cheng, he has to be anxious now.

Firstly, Yang Tinghe and his party were frantically urging him, the Minister of Rites, to arrange the grand ceremony as soon as possible.

Furthermore, he did not want the powerful bureaucrats in the world to think that his Ministry of Rites was not proactive in discussing the rituals, so he had to repeatedly come to the cabinet to urge it to express its position.

After all, all the powerful officials in the world were waiting for the grand ceremony to be decided. They wanted to take advantage of the property left by Zhengde, and they didn't want it to be swallowed up by Jiajing alone.

To put it bluntly, all the powerful bureaucrats in the world wanted to get a piece of fat meat from Zhengde, a family with no descendants.

But now, the cabinet, which was supposed to represent the bureaucrats in carving out a piece of the pie left by Zhengde, was as stable as a rock and was not at all concerned about eating up the entire family. It neither revealed whether it wanted to talk about it or not, and whether it wanted to have more, nor did it make it clear when to cut into it.

Therefore, Mao Cheng was speechless, so he had to ask directly: "My fellow ministers, the grand ceremony has not been decided yet, aren't you anxious?!"

"Of course we are anxious, but like Your Majesty, we are more anxious about whether the hundreds of thousands of refugees outside can be resettled as soon as possible!"

"Have you really never thought about the hungry refugees outside who are waiting to be allocated land as soon as possible so that they can settle down?"

"Do you know what situation they are in now? Every day they delay clearing the fields is one more day they will have to sell their children!"

Jiang Mian laughed at this time and questioned Mao Cheng. After he finished speaking, he waved his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and snorted, "You are also a sage. Have you really forgotten the saying that you live for the people?"

Mao Cheng was choked and looked embarrassed.

"Yes, do you know why His Majesty summoned all the ministers to the platform today?"

"That's what it's all about."

"When His Majesty heard that some of the common people who came with the emperor to the capital began to complain about the emperor, and some began to sell their children for fear that the court would not care about their lives, he burst into tears. His heart was broken."

"The ruler loves his people like his own children. As subjects, are we really going to turn a blind eye? If so, where do we put the ruler, where do we put the people, and where do we put the teachings of the saints?"

"Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler. He does not blame the people for their resentment, but instead blames himself. Shouldn't we support Your Majesty in being a benevolent ruler?"

Mao Ji also started talking to Mao Cheng.

Jiang Mian's eyes were already filled with tears as he looked at Mao Cheng.

Mao Cheng couldn't help but ask after hearing this: "Is this really true?"

"If you doubt your majesty's benevolence, there is a written order for the platform to summon you, and it will be reported to the Palace Gazette sooner or later!"

Jiang Mian replied coldly at this time.

Mao Cheng pursed his lips, revealing a look of shame, and bowed, saying: "I was confused! Thank you for your advice, the Ministry of Rites will not disturb the cabinet again before the land clearing is completed."

"Your Majesty is so kind and loving to the people, it's inspiring!"

Mao Cheng sighed.

Afterwards, Mao Cheng said goodbye and left the cabinet.

Moreover, Mao Cheng came to Yang Tinghe and told him about this.

Yang Shen, who was standing by, couldn't help but frown and said, "Is this the Emperor Wen of Han reappearing?"

"Whether it is true or not, if Your Majesty is willing to work hard and love the people, it will be a blessing for the country and the people. We can ask Your Majesty to think about the people and the country and correct yourself."

Yang Tinghe said something at this time.

Mao Cheng followed up and said, "Taifu is right. No matter what, your majesty cares more about the common people. As a gentleman, I am naturally moved."

then.

Mao Cheng added: "Therefore, the Ministry of Rites should not ask the Cabinet to decide on the grand ceremony next time."

Yang Tinghe nodded: "It would be better to finish the land clearing first! Things have to be done one by one. Anyway, it will take some time for the princess to arrive in Beijing. When the land clearing is finished, my illness will be almost cured. At that time, I will have to decide the ceremony myself and help Your Majesty become a king like Yao and Shun!"

It is now really difficult for Yang Tinghe to remain calm and continue recuperating.

Because Zhu Houcong was so diligent and caring about the people, he summoned his cabinet ministers twice not long after he claimed to be ill, and he never refused their private requests.

This is a diligence and trust in the cabinet that even Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty did not have.

Therefore, Yang Tinghe could no longer bear to let Liang Chu enjoy the honor of being relied upon by the emperor.

He also didn't want future historical records about this period of revival to include too many records of him, Yang Tinghe, assisting the emperor.

Therefore, Yang Tinghe was looking forward to the completion of the field clearing as soon as possible so that he could return to the cabinet.

"Dad is right. Your Majesty is working hard to govern the country. You should return to the cabinet earlier to help Your Majesty achieve the great cause of rejuvenation and eliminate the bad policies in the country, instead of letting Liang Shunde and other paper-made people be manipulated by a group of small people."

"To put it bluntly, the restructuring of Qingtian this time was a trick by some lucky villains. Otherwise, Wang Qiong wouldn't have come out to support them."

"These little people dare to change the system under the banner of peace for the people today. Tomorrow they will dare to change the laws of our ancestors under the banner of strengthening the country, and let Liu Jin and Jiang Bin and their ilk dominate the government again!"

Yang Shen felt very uncomfortable when he thought that he couldn't even enter the cabinet and was threatened by a military officer, and he also hoped that his father would return to the cabinet.

So, he started saying this at this time.

After Yang Shen said this, Yang Tinghe was also deeply touched.

After all, when he thought about the fact that it was Liang Chu who made speeches in front of the emperor almost every day, was trusted by the emperor, and was responsible for pacifying the people and establishing the country, he became jealous. So after Mao Cheng left, he told Yang Shen:

"Let Nanjing file a petition to impeach Yan Song from the Imperial Academy, and find a reason to demote him to a remote place and make him a lowly official!"

"Son, let's do it now!"

By the way, due to Yang Shen's arrangement, Qi Daluan also submitted a letter to impeach Luo An.

Because it involved an old friend of the palace, the secretariat did not send the first draft directly to the cabinet, but first sent it to Zhu Houcong. "He said that my old friend insulted the Confucian officials?"

"What kind of Confucian official would come to Donghua Gate to be scolded?"

Zhu Houcong asked with a sneer on his face.

The eunuch Gu Dayong replied, "As far as I know, it was Master Yang from the Taifu family who tried to force his way into the Donghua Gate, but Luo Chenshi refused to let him in and even drew his sword. Master Yang must have been so angry that he wanted to give Luo Chenshi some power."

"Whose mouth has the censor become?"

"This Qi Daluan, I thought he was a wise man who hated evil, but I didn't expect him to be just a dog, not a wise man who upholds justice for the country!"

"Although I will not protect my old friends, it does not mean that I will let them suffer any injustice or let a dog bite them!"

As Zhu Houcong said this, he threw the original copy on the table, put his hands on his hips, and his breathing became heavier.

He knew that since he had just ascended the throne, it was not appropriate for him to touch Yang Tinghe. And if he did not touch Yang Tinghe, he could not touch Yang Shen either. He had to be tolerant of Yang Shen for Yang Tinghe's sake. In name, this was to avoid upsetting Yang Tinghe, who was recuperating from illness, and to let the majority of bureaucrats in the world who still regarded Yang Tinghe as a national hero and a good assistant know that he, the emperor, was kind to the elders.

But this does not mean that Zhu Houcong will really indulge Yang Ting and his party, and will really have to watch them do whatever they want without even protecting his own people, especially when the Prime Minister of the Cabinet is the good guy Liang Chu.

Therefore, after losing the first copy, Zhu Houcong very seriously instructed Gu Dayong: "Take it to the cabinet, and also pass on my words to the cabinet!"

"Also, tell the cabinet that Qi Daluan ignored my request to investigate adultery, which is dereliction of duty. He should not stay in the capital to investigate adultery, nor is he suitable to be a censor!"

"Let him go to Yunnan to be a postmaster and get familiar with the local traffic and customs."

After Zhu Houcong finished speaking with a serious face, he continued to practice calligraphy.

There was no way he would let Yang Shen use his guards to establish his authority.

He must let Qi Daluan, who worked as a dog for Yang Shen, go to Yunnan to eat mushrooms and know how powerful Tianwei is.

After the cabinet ministers learned of Zhu Houcong's oral instructions from Gu Dayong, they also picked up Qi Daluan's first copy and circulated it among each other.

“It’s really unsettling.”

"We just persuaded Mao Kunshan to leave, and here comes another one looking for the emperor's guards to establish his authority."

"No one of them cares about the people's livelihood. No wonder Your Majesty is sad and angry!"

Jiang Mian has now transformed himself into a staunchly loyal minister. After reading Qi Daluan's first draft, he immediately started to criticize him angrily.

Liang Chu smiled and said, "This matter was caused by me, but Qi Daluan's behavior was indeed wrong. It is not right to talk about things based on hearsay."

"According to the imperial decree!"

"If you impeach Luo An today, you won't be able to target the cabinet tomorrow. As I said before, for the land clearing to proceed smoothly, who are the loyal officials and who are the treacherous officials must be determined based on the situation of the land clearing!"

Liang Chu continued speaking decisively.

Jiang Mian and Mao Ji both nodded.

then.

The next day, Qi Daluan received an imperial decree that exiled him to Yunnan to eat mushrooms.

"Well, the treacherous officials and villains are trying to harm the loyal and good people!"

Because it was an imperial decree issued by the cabinet, Qi Daluan could only blame the cabinet for persecuting him instead of speaking up for him. He then went to Yang Tinghe and Yang Shen to talk about the matter and said, "In my opinion, Liang Shunde is coming for the Grand Tutor. He wants to establish his own authority!"

"Liang Shunde is not that kind of person."

"He probably doesn't want to offend his close ministers, or even His Majesty, and only wants to achieve benevolent governance for His Majesty. Even if he gets slandered, he won't argue with them, and he will tolerate the slander and remain calm."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have given me the position of Prime Minister after I returned from mourning, and I wouldn't have chosen to claim illness and give up the throne to him this time."

Yang Tinghe rejected Qi Daluan's statement.

As a cabinet colleague who had worked with Liang Chu for many years during the Zhengde Dynasty, Yang Tinghe naturally knew Liang Chu very well and was not easily influenced by those under him.

Yang Shen said: "The emperor treats his civil officials with such courtesy and trusts them that within ten days of taking office, he summoned his cabinet ministers twice and met with the Prime Minister twice. How could he still be afraid of offending his close ministers?"

"This gentleman has this kind of personality. He doesn't want to offend anyone. Even if the person is easy to bully and offend, he will be kind and humble. What's more, the person he is facing now is the emperor and father."

Yang Tinghe said with a smile, then sighed and said, "Well, let's just leave it at that. Let's wait for Liang Shunde to finish clearing the land. When I return to the cabinet, I will remove the favored people around Your Majesty!"

Qi Daluan couldn't help but get anxious when he heard this: "But are they students?"

"You should go to Yunnan first. When I return to the cabinet, I will call you back."

Yang Tinghe replied.

Qi Daluan had no choice but to agree with tears in his eyes.

Yang Shenze felt somewhat guilty towards Qi Daluan and complained to Yang Tinghe:

"Dad, we have never been as helpless as we are now. As long as Liang Shunde is the Prime Minister, we will be unhappy! What I am more worried about is that His Majesty will get more and more used to Liang Shunde being the Prime Minister!"

When Yang Tinghe heard what Yang Shen said, his heart tightened.

"It seems that I can't claim to be sick for too long!"

Yang Tinghe looked towards the direction of the Forbidden City and said.

"That's right!"

"Dad, you have to take advantage of your reputation and the fact that His Majesty and the wise men at home and abroad still respect you. Go back to the cabinet and govern the country as soon as possible. Don't let Liang Shunde make the cabinet look like a coward!"

(End of this chapter)