Fu Shanhe

Chapter 441 The Empress Dowager Passes Away
The morning assembly has ended, but its political impact continues to unfold.

Emperor Yongning's statement was undoubtedly a political signal to the civil service group, allowing them to "kick out" the generals from the meritorious aristocracy.

The Qingliu Party, the Zhejiang Party, the Sichuan Party, and the Hubei Party were all in an uproar.

The tax reforms promoted by the aristocratic faction were beneficial to the country and its people in the long run, but unfortunately, they themselves became the victims.

If the same measures were applied throughout the country, it would be fine, but these reform measures only target the southern provinces.

The previous tax system had always placed the main expenses of the imperial court on the northern provinces, but now the situation has been completely reversed.

In the early stages, everyone chose to compromise because of the threat from the rebels, and because the imperial court promised that it was a short-term policy.

The subsequent tax reform was successful, and the rebels were suppressed, but the imperial court was unwilling to fulfill its promises, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the gentry in the south.

They did try to get the court to cancel it, but unfortunately, the Great Yu Dynasty at that time could not do without this income.

Neither the emperor nor the cabinet paid any attention to their demands.

Xu Wenyue's reduced influence within the Qingliu faction is largely due to his silence on tax reform issues.

A leader who cannot represent the interests of the group naturally cannot command his subordinates.

The reason why the southern gentry did not cause any trouble was mainly because they had a sword hanging over their heads.

The four governors-general took strong command and cracked down hard on those who evaded taxes.

As the political landscape shifted, the control of the nobility over the south was steadily weakening.

Three of the four governors were dismissed, and the mountain that had been weighing on their heads was removed.

Although the lower-ranking officers and generals also wielded considerable influence, they were ultimately not as absolute as the governor-general.

If we find an opportunity to send away all those noble and powerful admirals, the local landscape will be completely changed.

After all, political confrontation is fraught with risks, and not everyone has the courage to charge into battle.

I don't expect the noble generals to defect, but if they hesitate even slightly when dealing with problems, the situation will be very different.

The reason everyone was afraid to move was that if things went too far, a remnant of the rebel army might just jump out and crash into their hometown.

Despite the use of an alias, everyone knows who did it.

In such a critical matter, without the backing of powerful figures from the aristocratic faction, those below would not dare to act on their own.

Leaving even the slightest trace is a capital offense.

The south is thousands of miles away from the capital, and by the time the orders from the two Grand Secretaries are relayed, it will be too late.

Before receiving orders, only the Jing and Li families were willing to take the lead.

Originally, it was aimed at the entire nobility faction, but now it only needs to target the Jing and Li families.

There's no need for a direct confrontation; simply transferring those who remained in the south would achieve the same goal.

Emperor Yongning set an example: if forced transfers didn't work, then promote them.

In any case, there aren't many people who can actually make the decisions.

Making room for them in exchange for political deregulation is entirely worthwhile.

The aristocratic faction was not monolithic; it also had various large and small factions with their own agendas.

When facing external challenges, the ability to unite as one is a testament to the high prestige of the top leaders.

The Marquis of Hanshui lived in seclusion in Annam, far removed from the imperial court.

Once the two old men passed away, the aristocratic faction was about to fall apart.

If unforeseen circumstances arise, this process could potentially be accelerated.

With a plan in mind, one idea after another began to take shape.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

What were the reactions from all sides after the court assembly?

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

The pressure from the noble faction was too great. The Duke of Cheng and the Marquis of Zhenyuan held military and political power, while the other three cabinet ministers were reduced to mere yes-men.

Although the two men treated him with some respect, the power they wielded far exceeded what he could accept.

In all the years since the establishment of the Great Yu Dynasty, there has never been a prime minister and a deputy prime minister with such concentrated power.

If the two had a bad relationship, it would be fine for them to check and balance each other, but unfortunately, these two are political allies.

He tried his best to sow discord, but to no avail.

This political landscape made Emperor Yongning feel extremely insecure, fearing that he might be overthrown from the throne one day.

The Great Yu Dynasty did not have the precedent of powerful ministers deposing and installing emperors, but that does not mean that other dynasties did not have such precedents.

With historical lessons to draw upon, he had to take preventative measures in advance.

"Your Majesty, all parties have been very proactive."

However, in practice, they remain conservative.

Most officials' plan was to promote the Jing and Li families, using a diversionary tactic.

On the noble side, things were equally lively, with everyone clamoring to teach the civil officials a lesson.

However, neither the Duke of Cheng nor the Marquis of Zhenyuan have expressed their opinions, and no substantive action has been taken for the time being.

Wang Yifeng reported with a solemn expression.

Secretly monitoring officials is no easy task.

Unfortunately, this was the responsibility of the Eastern Depot, and they couldn't avoid it even if they wanted to.

After the original spies were eliminated, it has become much more difficult to place people into various households.

Except for a few officials from humble backgrounds who needed to purchase servants to serve in the capital, most officials used their own sons.

The Eastern Depot relied entirely on bribing servants from various households to gather intelligence; most of these servants were peripheral figures who had no access to the core personnel.

The intelligence gathered so far is just a collection of snippets, supplemented by speculation.

"Ok!"

"Any movement is fine; the court cannot remain stagnant."

Pay close attention to the reactions of the Duke of Cheng and the Marquis of Zhenyuan. If they take any action, inform the civil officials in advance.

When it comes to political maneuvering, my bunch of useless civil officials are mostly no match for them.

Hearing Emperor Yongning's words, Wang Yifeng was extremely depressed.

How did you come to the conclusion that civil servants have poor political skills?

The losses suffered in the previous political struggles were due to the noble faction overturning the table.

Even if the political struggle abilities of the nobility were doubled within the rules of the game, they still wouldn't be a match for the civil service.

The current show of weakness is itself a tactic of political struggle.

If they don't deliberately show weakness, but instead fight to a standstill with the nobility in the court, how could the emperor possibly favor them?

"According to the order!"

Wang Yifeng readily agreed.

No matter what, the emperor's orders must always be obeyed.

As for how to implement it specifically, that depends on the actual situation.

To expect the eunuch faction to support the civil officials is to make things difficult for them.

In the previous series of political struggles, it seemed that the nobles and relatives of the emperor were working together to suppress the civil officials, but in reality, they also played a role behind the scenes.

Everything is driven by self-interest.

If the aristocratic faction grows powerful, they can still get a share of the profits.

As the civil service group grew in power, its first target became the "eunuch faction."

"Your Majesty, these are memorials submitted by the censors, all of which urge you to be diligent in your duties."

Xu Zhongen, standing to the side, subtly subtly sowed discord among the civil service group.

The Empress Dowager is critically ill, and the Emperor went to attend to her yesterday, which delayed the morning court session.

It's human nature, yet there are still those short-sighted officials who submit memorials.

In the past, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs would automatically filter out such memorials filled with nonsense.

The situation is different now; a new round of court infighting is about to begin.

The emperor's move to promote civil officials was undoubtedly dangerous in the eyes of the eunuchs.

Personally participating in the game could lead to serious consequences if you win, but if you lose, it could cause major problems.

Given the strength of the nobility faction, a counterattack could potentially jeopardize the imperial power. As their close associates, they are completely bound to Emperor Yongning and will not allow the worst-case scenario to occur.

Unfortunately, the emperor was stubborn, and directly offering advice would most likely backfire.

"He is truly a good subject of mine!"
"Does this mean I don't even have the right to fulfill my filial duties?"

After casually flipping through a few books, Emperor Yongning said with a self-deprecating smile.

Clearly, this round of eye drops was a success.

In the past, what annoyed him most were these censors, who would lecture him endlessly over trivial matters.

This often put him in an awkward position, forcing him to admit his mistakes on the spot in order to protect his reputation.

No matter how broad-minded someone is, they'll eventually break down after being tormented a few times.

It was common practice for officials to report on matters they heard about and to impeach officials everywhere.

It's not the first or second time that they've acted unreasonably in court for partisan interests.

This continued until the nobility seized power, at which point these people became somewhat more subdued.

However, this seclusion was limited to the imperial court; impeachment memorials were still numerous.

Perhaps sensing that things were not going well, there have been far fewer memorials of officials tearing each other apart these days, while memorials of officials angrily criticizing the emperor have increased significantly.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

The eunuchs hurriedly tried to dissuade them.

The Great Yu Dynasty governed the world with filial piety as its core ruling principle.

When the Empress Dowager was critically ill, the Emperor had to go and attend to her.

Even if he can't help and can only watch from the sidelines, he still has to stay on site.

The court assembly was delayed, but that was fine. The political system of the Great Yu Dynasty was well-established, and the emperor's absence did not affect the normal operation of the court.

During the reign of the late emperor, he would often not show his face for several months, yet no trouble ever arose.

If one is absent from attending to the sick in order to handle government affairs, and is branded as unfilial, then one will be despised by the whole world.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager...the Empress Dowager has passed away!"

Upon hearing this devastating news, Emperor Yongning's expression changed drastically.

Although the matter of the Marquis of Wuyang caused a very strained relationship between him and the Empress Dowager, they were still mother and son, and it was impossible for them to be completely without affection.

All the past conflicts vanished at the moment of separation by death, leaving only beautiful memories.

Without the slightest hesitation, Emperor Yongning immediately went straight to the Empress Dowager's palace.

At a time like this, he has to be by his side.

"Prepare mourning clothes immediately and notify the cabinet to discuss funeral arrangements!"

Seeing the emperor lose his composure, Xu Zhongen followed closely behind while issuing orders.

The Empress Dowager's death is a national day of mourning.

Every step of the process is strictly regulated, and no detail can be overlooked.

The death knell tolled at the palace gate, shaking the entire capital.

The eunuch delivering the news rushed to the residences of all the civil and military officials as quickly as possible.

The civil and military factions, who were originally eager to fight, had to put aside their efforts and first prepare for the national mourning.

The messengers responsible for delivering messages mounted their warhorses and galloped to all parts of the country to report the death.

Upon receiving the news, civil and military officials hurriedly changed into mourning clothes and rushed to the palace as quickly as possible.

All banquets and events have been cancelled.

The once bustling brothels and taverns suddenly became deserted.

……

The Marquis of Hanshui's Residence.

The news of the national mourning arrived a month after the Empress Dowager's death.

“My lord, Annam is a newly recovered land, and many of its people are ignorant of etiquette and morality.”

With the Empress Dowager's passing, during this period of national mourning, you will likely need to keep a close eye on things.

Jing Yaqing spoke up to remind her.

The Great Yu Dynasty was known for its strict etiquette, especially when it came to national mourning, where many rules were considered ironclad.

To touch upon this would be to disrespect imperial authority.

Not only will the person involved suffer, but if this happens frequently, local officials will also be implicated.

Of course, these are just the rules on paper, and they are not strictly enforced in practice.

Generally speaking, as long as you don't cause trouble in Beijing, it's fine.

In remote areas, as long as no one files a complaint, the government officials prefer to avoid trouble.

"Madam is right, we do need to restrain ourselves."

Especially the officers and soldiers at the front lines; they're always thinking about starting a war. We can't let them cause trouble during this period of national mourning.

Li Mu nodded and said.

As nobles, they must set an example during the period of national mourning.

Even if the emperor is far away, they must still put on a show of mourning so that the Imperial Guards spies lurking around the Marquis's residence can see it.

As for suspending entertainment activities, that's no big deal.

In Annam, he was the boss himself and didn't need to host banquets or social events.

If someone defies the rules, he wouldn't mind using these fools to demonstrate his loyalty to Emperor Yongning.

As for ordinary people, they just need to avoid holding weddings during this period.

They wouldn't even qualify to break other taboos, even if they wanted to.

The objects of etiquette constraints have always been the wealthy and powerful.

According to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, there were different levels of mourning, with higher social status resulting in longer mourning periods.

In Beijing, civil and military officials observed 27 days of mourning, slaughtering was prohibited for 49 days, marriages were forbidden for officials' families for 100 days, marriages were forbidden for noble families for one year, and marriages were forbidden for commoners' families for one month.

If they were in Beijing, the couple would personally attend the funeral.

Thousands of miles away, these funeral procedures are omitted, but mourning is still required.

The time frame begins from the day the death is announced.

These are all easy to resolve. What really needs to be restrained is the military, to prevent them from launching foreign wars during the national mourning period.

If this gets back to the capital, that would be a huge problem.

The complaint filed against him by the Kingdom of Siam caused a great uproar in the court.

The situation was able to calm down quickly because the aggrieved party was gone.

After the fall of the Siamese capital, Li Mu unilaterally declared the demise of the Kingdom of Siam and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the remaining government.

The officials in the capital were unaware of the true situation; in their minds, the Kingdom of Siam was a tiny, insignificant country.

Seeing that their capital had been captured, he gave up the idea of ​​seeking justice for them.

Even if they made a mistake, it's their bad luck.

It is only natural for the Celestial Empire to annihilate a few small states that do not submit to its rule.

"My husband, there is another issue that I need you to pay attention to."

The three brothers, Li Sen, Li Lai, and Li Long, are getting on in years and it's time for them to worry about their marriages, but the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence has yet to offer any information.

"Let them return to Beijing after the national mourning period ends!"

After hearing Jing Yaqing's words, Li Mu remembered his three younger cousins, who were now twenty years old and needed to consider marriage.

However, since their parents are both there, it's not his place to interfere in this kind of matter.

"Madam is right to remind us. They have been training with us for several years, and it is time for them to return to the capital to take up their posts."

Li Mu thought for a moment and then said.

Life is tough for illegitimate sons. The Lady of the Marquis's Mansion did not mistreat them, but they should not expect to receive any special treatment.

Being stationed far away, one is naturally forgotten.

(End of this chapter)