Fu Shanhe

Chapter 138 Emperor Gongren Kangdingjing

"Brother Yin, let's go to Beijing!"

As soon as Zuo Hongjiang stepped into the gate, he used his ultimate move.

Changes in imperial power are usually accompanied by political reshuffles.

Because of their political views, they were suppressed during the Tianyuan period, and now is the best time to turn the tables.

Once the power reshuffle is over and the situation in the court becomes stable again, there will be no place for them to fight back.

“Brother Zuo, I’m afraid this is a little inappropriate.

Your Majesty, there has been no decree yet!"

Yin Zhiming objected immediately.

As leaders of the clean stream, they also have to save face.

When he was driven back home by Emperor Tianyuan, the scene was very embarrassing.

The officialdom is the most realistic place, where flattering the powerful and bullying the weak is the norm.

If the two of them had not been good at packaging and management, and had not constantly been building up their reputation among the scholars, they would have been forgotten long ago.

No matter how high their reputation is, their influence is limited to the literati.

The students were fooled by them, but people always grow up. After entering the officialdom, the situation will change quickly.

The leaders of the Qingliu in the court were Pang and Xu. Although they were not as famous as them in the literati circle, they held great power and held the key to official career.

On one side is the spiritual leader who is a big liar, and on the other side is the faction leader who can make everyone progress. It is self-evident who to follow.

“Brother Yin, if we don’t have eight ministers, we can naturally wait for His Majesty’s edict.

But the situation is different now. Those eight guys have joined forces to control the government, and Your Majesty has no real power at all.

The quota of officials in the court is full. Even if Your Majesty wants to summon us to the capital, there is no room for us.

People are in panic now, and the eight regents have not yet completed the division of power. This is the best time for us to intervene.

As long as we help His Majesty regain power, the situation will be very different!"

Zuo Hongjiang shook his head and said.

He also wants face, but the substance is more important.

Living in a small house in Jiangnan, the two of them seemed to be enjoying unlimited glory. In fact, everyone came to become their disciple, and also came for the reputation, and to take advantage of the popularity.

The aristocratic families are not fools. Although the ideas they promote are in the interests of everyone, they also have to consider their feasibility.

He implemented benevolent policies, treated the gentry with favor, abolished the factory guards, and exempted business taxes...

A series of political slogans either took money out of the court's pocket or weakened the imperial power.

The problem is that Dayu itself is financially deficient.

Except for the fooled middle school boys, no one else thinks that their political ideas are feasible.

Including Yin and Zuo themselves, after years of silence, they also realized how outrageous their political slogans were.

However, as a leader of the Qingliu group, he cannot slap himself in the face.

The boasting I made in my youth cannot be taken back now, so I have no choice but to continue bragging.

Human nature is complex. Even though people know that their political ideas are not feasible, many people still like to listen to them.

When the gentry sponsored funds, they did not expect all of their political ideas to be realized. As long as any one of them was realized, they could recoup their investment.

As the parties involved, Yin and Zuo had no way out.

Either he abandons his previous ideals and becomes a laughing stock in the literati circle; or he sticks to his own path and continues to act as a leader of the clean stream.

As long as you can hold the power, all problems will not be a problem.

"Brother Zuo means castration?"

Yin Zhiming said thoughtfully.

In addition to promoting political ideas, the Qingliu Group's substantive political action is to overthrow eunuchs.

From the court to the local areas, everyone was very interested in overthrowing the eunuch party.

It seems that as long as the eunuch party is eliminated, the world will be in peace and will enter the Confucian society of great harmony.

For Yin and Zuo, the most appropriate choice if they wanted to intervene in the affairs of the court was to overthrow the eunuch party.

Not only is the eunuch party politically correct within the Qingliu faction, but it is also the biggest soft persimmon as it has lost the support of the imperial power.

Of the eight ministers in the court, Zuo Guangen had the most problems. He had taken on countless blames for Emperor Tianyuan, and had long been a notorious figure among the gentry.

They just accuse people of whatever crimes they want, and no one cares whether they are true or false. After all, it is certain that all the bad things are done by the eunuch party.

“Brother Yin, why do you have to ask when you already know the answer?

Do we have any better excuse to go north besides being castrated?"

As soon as Zuo Hongjiang finished speaking, both of them smiled.

If they come to Beijing under the banner of overthrowing eunuchs, they will have no shortage of supporters from the local level to the imperial court.

……

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Sitting high on the dragon throne, watching the ministers quarreling endlessly, Ji Zhaoshun felt a headache.

During the Dayu Dynasty, the late emperor was a controversial figure.

He pulled Dayu back from the brink of collapse, but the measures he took were not so glorious.

When the late emperor was alive, he held great power and was decisive in killing people, and no one dared to act rashly.

Now that the person is dead, when it comes to making the final judgment, controversies break out.

Although the ministers had different opinions, they still gave face to the late emperor and all of them spoke highly of him.

It’s different with officials, there are all kinds of people.

Literati love to play with sarcasm and deliberately come up with some temple names and posthumous titles that sound good but are actually full of irony.

For example: "Emperor Gaozong Wu", "Emperor Wuzong Wen"...

(Note: Temple names are unique in the same dynasty, but posthumous names can be repeated, and usually a character in the middle will be modified)
It has nothing to do with it at all, the main point is just irony.

It can be seen that the reforms promoted by the late emperor have offended many people.

"enough!"

"We've been arguing for three days straight and there's still no conclusion. How long are you going to drag it out?
Since you can't choose, I will choose.

His temple name was Emperor Xiaozong, his posthumous title was "Jing", and his full name was "Gongren Kangding Jing Emperor"!

Ji Zhaoshun got furious on the spot.

In order to prevent his ministers from finding fault with him, he carefully reviewed the merits and demerits of his brother during his reign.

Fortunately, Emperor Tianyuan was quite capable and did a lot of practical things during his reign, so there was no need to force gild the lily.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Zuo Guangen was the first to speak in agreement.

In order to gain the emperor's favor, he was the first among the ministers to turn to the new emperor.

Unfortunately, Ji Zhaoshun really couldn't like this eunuch who took the initiative to surrender to him.

At first glance, he is a toady and does not have the bearing of a wise minister.

For Ji Zhaoshun, who aspires to become a famous monarch, what he has to do is to be close to wise ministers and stay away from villains.

Compared with Zuo Guangen who had no stance, the other seven ministers who were lukewarm were more respected by him.

"Since no one objects, then it's settled!"

Seeing that some ministers agreed, Ji Zhaoshun decisively chose to cut the Gordian knot. This was the experience he learned after he succeeded to the throne.

It is impossible to expect to gain the support of all ministers.

Since he ascended the throne, the officials in the court have never had a unified stance, no matter big or small.

Generally speaking, as long as you get more than half of the support, it is considered to be the popular choice.

Usually, as long as five regents reach a consensus, it is passed.

The opinions of the emperor and his ministers can only play a key role when the number of regents is four to four.

As an emperor, Ji Zhaoshun would certainly not be willing to accept this situation.

So on some small issues, he keeps trying to make his voice heard.

Today was the first time he made a decision on an important matter.

In order to pass it smoothly, he compromised the plans of the inner court and the outer court in order to gain more supporters.

Everything went as he expected. The regent ministers still gave him face and did not say anything to refute him.

With a good start, Ji Zhaoshun became more confident in ruling the country.

According to convention, he will officially ascend the throne after the mourning period is over.

After this year, we can change the era name and enter a new era.

Then came the wedding, the enthronement of the queen, and then it was time for her to rule the country.

If all goes well, he will be able to take charge of the government by this time next year.

He could still accept having the regents assist in governing the country for just one year as a transition.

……

Nanjing City.

When the news of the emperor's death came, the whole country entered a period of mourning and many entertainment venues closed down.

The bustling streets became deserted.

The worst thing was that those who were getting married changed their wedding dresses into mourning clothes after receiving the news.

The higher the status of a family, the more importance they attach to mourning.

Under the auspices of the six ministries in Nanjing, many officials gathered together and offered sacrifices in the direction of the capital.

Mingling with the crowd, Li Mu found that his popularity had improved a lot.

The civil officials who used to look down on the military generals also greeted him warmly after seeing him.

If it weren't for the wrong timing, the invitations he received would probably fill up an entire room.

The charm of power is so mysterious.

The distinction between civil and military officials was broken after he became a regent.

Although Emperor Tianyuan divided the duties of his ministers before his death, that was only an instruction to the new monarch.

In the eyes of outsiders, Dayu has now entered the era of the Eight Great Ministers.

As the second of the eight ministers, Li Mu's label of being a relative became increasingly obvious.

The most direct impact is that the transfer orders issued by the Ministry of War are executed much more efficiently.

The shipbuilding project is progressing much more smoothly.

In order to improve efficiency, the Nanjing Ministry of Industry also transferred skilled craftsmen from other shipyards.

The consumables needed by the shipyard were also given priority supply.

For the first time ever, the military pay promised by the Southern Zhili Governor's Office did not disappear.

Li Mu accepted all the kindness shown by everyone.

In less than half a month, his network of contacts spread directly to all the government offices in Nanjing.

"Madam, we can't stay in Nanjing any longer. Let's set off back to Yangzhou!"

Hearing what Li Mu said, Jing Yaqing rolled her eyes.

It’s a lie to say that I couldn’t stay, the main thing is that I got the job done and my network expanded.

If I continue to stay here, someone will come to me and ask me for help.

It is definitely not okay to be on good terms with someone one moment and then turn against them the next.

But helping others with things is not easy.

The situation in the capital is unclear, and it would be unwise to make any promises at this time.

The best option is to leave quickly and go back to Yangzhou to avoid the limelight.

If you are a smart person, you will naturally understand what he means and will not come to your house at this time.

“Don’t worry, husband.

Everything has been packed long ago, and the boat has been waiting at the dock for a long time, ready to depart at any time.

Under the current circumstances, there is nothing much to see in Nanjing, so it is better to go back early.

I haven't received any letters from home for ten days, and I don't know what the situation is like in Beijing."

After hearing his wife's complaints, Li Mu didn't know what to say.

It was more than 2,000 miles from Nanjing to the capital, and ten days was not enough to deliver the letter.

An express letter over five hundred miles is a means of communication that is only used when a major incident occurs.

In normal times, family letters were still delivered slowly by boat in accordance with the characteristics of the times.

"Don't worry, the new king has ascended the throne.

Even if there are some disturbances, it won't cause any major problems.

Even if there are risks, they are other people's risks.

As long as we, the noble families, do not get involved in the political disputes in the court, there will be no major problems."

Li Mu spoke to comfort her.

Judging from the current situation, the status of the Jing and Li families in the court is still very stable.

Being able to obtain the position of regent proves that the two families are still standing at the center of power in this round of political reshuffle.

When a new king ascends the throne, what he needs most is stability.

If the emperor wanted to make some changes, he had to wait until his position was consolidated.

As regents, the political risks faced by the Jing and Li families mainly focused on the time when the emperor was in power.

Li Mu was not very worried about these.

His father-in-law and uncle are both veterans in the court and are much more adept at political tactics than he is.

If you really realize the risk, just back off.

Political purge will basically not happen.

When a civil servant falls, there is a high probability that he will purge his faction and make room for newcomers.

Military generals are hereditary, and those in the army are either from noble families or from generals' families.

Pull one hair and move the whole body.

It’s okay for the emperor to kill a few civil officials, but if he kills a few military generals for no reason, it will be a big deal.

This was achieved at the cost of using civil power to control military power. After suppressing the military generals politically, they naturally had to be appeased in other areas.

The rise of the retainer system provided the best guarantee for the personal safety of military generals.

(End of this chapter)