The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 6 Mother and Son Break Up
Wanli had just had a quarrel with Empress Dowager Li when the Minister of Personnel Liang Menglong arrived.

What is this guy doing here?

Soon, Liang Menglong walked in quickly, prostrated himself on the ground and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

What do you mean by such a big gift?
Seeing this, Wanli raised his hand slightly and said, "No need to be polite, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liang Menglong quickly got up from the ground and stood respectfully with his hands hanging down.

This man has thick eyebrows, big eyes and a square face, and does not look like a treacherous person.

Wanli asked curiously, "Lord Liang, what brings you to the audience?"

Liang Menglong said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am a humble official with limited talent and knowledge. I cannot possibly shoulder this heavy responsibility, so I am here to resign."

You don’t even want to be the Minister of Personnel?

This is impossible. The Minister of Personnel is a high-ranking official who is in charge of the appointment, dismissal and promotion of officials. There is no official who does not want to be the Minister of Personnel.

When people say "difficult", they most likely mean that they can no longer do the job.

Wanli was quite puzzled and said, "I have heard of your achievements. Even if you are not very talented and knowledgeable, there are no more learned people in the court. My dear Liang, I don't like to beat around the bush. Please tell me the truth. Why do you want to resign?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Menglong gritted his teeth and bowed, saying, "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. I simply cannot continue to serve as the Minister of Personnel.

The power of the cabinet is too great now, and the six ministers have almost been sidelined. I have no say in the appointment, dismissal and promotion of officials.

If I don't listen to them, I might end up with my property confiscated and exiled, so I can only resign."

Are they going to confiscate your property and exile you?
Zhang Siwei and his gang clearly want to retaliate and make an example of someone.

Because Zhang Juzheng said that after the land was surveyed, the corrupt officials would have their properties confiscated and be exiled.

Therefore, in history, many of Zhang Juzheng's disciples and students had their homes confiscated and were exiled. Except for the one who committed suicide, all of Zhang Juzheng's sons had their homes confiscated and were exiled.

It seems that he may have misunderstood Liang Menglong.

Liang Menglong should not be in the same group with Shen Shixing. Shen Shixing probably saw that this fellow disciple was capable, so he wanted to win him over as an assistant.

As a result, this guy refused to go along with the crowd, so he could only be the target of retaliation.

However, this guy came to resign in person, probably not because he wanted to accept his fate and really didn't want to be the Minister of Personnel.

It is very likely that this guy saw his decisive and ruthless killing attitude early this morning and thought that he had a chance to suppress Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing's gang, so he wanted to take a chance, or give it a try.

This guy has the ability, but I don't know if he has the courage.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then said solemnly: "Lord Liang, don't worry, as long as you listen to me, confiscating your property and exiling you will not be possible."

When Liang Menglong heard this, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

He thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Of course, I will follow Your Majesty's orders. The reason I rushed here to ask for an audience with Your Majesty is actually to tell You that Zhang Siwei has obtained the Empress Dowager's decree, and the cabinet has already issued a letter to dismiss Lord Cai Sheng from his post."

what?
When Feng Bao heard this, a look of panic appeared on his face again.

The cabinet has issued a document, and Cai Sheng will definitely be dismissed.

Now it is useless for the young emperor to issue an edict. If the cabinet does not approve the imperial edict, it will be considered an unauthorized edict, and Cai Sheng cannot be recalled at all.

In other words, their efforts were in vain, and the cabinet was still controlled by Zhang Siwei.

Moreover, he offended Empress Dowager Li.

It's over now!

When Wanli heard this, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger.

Empress Dowager Li, you are too self-righteous!
Do you think you are smart?

Actually you are very stupid, you are so gullible!
Do you think the revival of the country in the first ten years of the Wanli reign was your credit?
You are lucky to have met Zhang Juzheng, a rare and famous minister in history.

Now your bad luck starts to run into that old bastard Zhang Siwei.

Do you still want to use him to control the power of the court?
He also wants to use you to abolish Zhang Juzheng's reforms.

If you continue to listen to slander and act recklessly like this, my Ming Dynasty will really fall into your hands!

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then stood up and walked to the huge bookshelf next to him. He took out the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and handed it to Liang Menglong. Then he asked, "My dear Liang, have you read this book?"

This book is very popular now, and Nurhaci reads it every day.

Liang Menglong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, this book is quite well written. I have read it several times."

Wanli nodded slightly and asked, "You should know what Cai Yong said in the first chapter, right?"

Of course he knows this.

Liang Menglong nodded repeatedly and said, "Cai Yong said that the strange phenomenon from the sky was caused by the interference of women in government affairs."

Wanli sighed slightly and said, "Yes, women and ministers interfering in government affairs bring disaster to the country and the people. It can be said that the Eastern Han Dynasty was destroyed by women and ministers interfering in government affairs.

"Go and explain the first chapter of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms to your mother. The key point is Cai Yong's words. You need to make her understand how the Eastern Han Dynasty fell." "Huh?"
Isn't this just asking for trouble?
Liang Menglong was stunned when he heard this.

Empress Dowager Li was extremely fierce. If he told others that women interfering in government affairs was a disaster for the country and the people, she would definitely be furious.

The problem is, if he doesn't go, he probably won't get the full support of the young emperor.

If he did not get the full support of the young emperor, he might really be confiscated and exiled.

Moreover, any disciples promoted by his mentor Zhang Juzheng who did not submit to Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing might be retaliated against.

Most of these are his close friends. Everyone is counting on him, and he can't let them down.

Perhaps, this was the token of allegiance that the young emperor asked him to submit.

The only way for him to gain the trust of the young emperor was to submit a letter of surrender and completely break with Empress Dowager Li, Zhang Siwei, Shen Shixing and others.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Okay, I will go and explain this first chapter in detail to the Empress Dowager."

Well, it seems that this guy is brave and can be used.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, go ahead."

At this time, Feng Bao's expression was extremely complicated and he didn't dare to say a word.

Women and temples interfering in politics bring disaster to the country and the people?
This temple refers to the eunuchs.

The Ten Eunuchs in the late Eastern Han Dynasty were notoriously corrupt eunuchs.

What does this little emperor mean?
In fact, he fell into Wanli's trap unknowingly and submitted a letter of allegiance to Wanli.

When he ordered his men to execute the seven censors, there was no turning back. Zhang Siwei would definitely not forgive him.

Now that he has offended Empress Dowager Li, he can only rely on Wanli, otherwise he will be dead.

He had been tied to the chariot by Wanli.

Who else can be tied to the chariot next?

Wanli began to stare blankly ahead again, trying hard to recall.

I don’t know how long it took, but Liang Menglong finally came back with a lingering fear on his face.

It was obvious that he was frightened by Empress Dowager Li.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli could not help but ask, "Well, what did the Queen Mother say?"

This one.

Liang Menglong said carefully, "The Empress Dowager said that you should never go to the Cining Palace to pay your respects again. She will just pretend that you are not her son."

Humph, I am no longer her son.

It was half wrong before, but now it is not right at all.

Wanli looked at Liang Menglong, who seemed to be hesitant to speak, and asked, "What else did the Queen Mother say?"

Liang Menglong hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and said, "She said you are a tyrant and unfit to be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. She wants Prince Lu to replace you."

When Wanli heard this, a surge of anger rose in his mind again.

Am I not worthy to be the Ming Emperor?

What is Prince Lu?
Who are you?
I have told you clearly that women interfering in government will lead to the demise of the Ming Dynasty like the Eastern Han Dynasty. Not only do you not repent, you also say such things.

Okay, from now on we are no longer mother and son.

And Prince Lu, you better be careful too.

If you really listen to that woman and try to usurp the throne, then don't blame me and my brothers for killing each other.

At this time, he also thought about which people he wanted to win over, and he had to quickly control the military force.

Today's morning court session was a very obvious example. Only by controlling military force can one speak with confidence.

If he had not threatened Feng Bao in advance and made Feng Bao obey his actions, then what he said would be like a fart. Those civil servants would definitely not stop and would force him to betray his teacher and ancestors.

Therefore, controlling military force is the basis for controlling power.

The Imperial Guards, Embroidered Uniform Guards and Eastern Depot under Feng Bao’s control are far from enough.

The four guards of the Imperial Guard, Tengxiang, had a full staffing of only more than 20,000 men, the seventeen thousand-household units of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a full staffing of only more than 20,000 men, and the East Factory had only more than 1,000 people.

This number of troops may not be able to defeat the Beijing camp, not to mention that Empress Dowager Li can also join forces with Zhang Siwei to recruit border troops to purge the court.

Zhang Siwei's strength is extremely terrifying. The Beijing Camp is now controlled by this guy, and he also has deep roots in the border army.

The struggle for imperial power has always been a life-and-death struggle, so he can't be careless.

(End of this chapter)