eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 957: The Court and Politics in the 35th Year of Zhengde

Chapter 957: The Court and Politics in the th Year of Zhengde

"Your Majesty, Prince Rui is here."

The eunuch standing beside the emperor and serving him now is still You Zhi. Although many people have left and right the court, this old guy is quite enduring. He is over sixty years old, but even his ears are not deaf.

When talking about the secret to longevity with his followers, he just said four words: mind your own business.

It was the Waking of Insects in February, and the weather was still cold. The emperor, wearing a black velvet hat, was studying the three-dimensional map that the people below had presented to him as a tribute. This thing was not easy to make, as people nowadays had no idea of ​​the heights of many mountains and could only get a rough idea.

Lao Wu walked in and saw this scene. He was not surprised. In the past few years, the country was peaceful and the people were safe. The emperor seemed to be slack in government affairs. The sign was that except for the core power, most of the other powers were handed over to the subordinates. He was studying other things, and everything might be involved. For example, astronomy, geography, mathematics and physics had aroused the emperor's interest.

Despite this, the people below still felt a lot of psychological pressure when facing this "old monster" who had been emperor for 35 years. People always felt that it would be easy for an emperor who had established such achievements and held absolute power to deal with them.

Just like when you face an opponent who is stronger than you in a competitive game, you have already set limits for yourself before the game even starts, showing emotions like nervousness and fear, and you don't have the desire to challenge.

Even a prince like the fifth prince was very close to the emperor when he was young. As he grew up, he took the initiative to keep a distance from the emperor. The root cause was that he was both respectful and afraid of the emperor. If he said something wrong, he couldn't get away with it by saying "children talk without restraint".

"My son, I will meet my father."

"Here I am." The emperor was very calm, as if he was treating a familiar family member, without even raising his head.

From Lao Wu's perspective, thick wrinkles appeared at the corners of the emperor's eyes, and white hair sneaked out from his temples, mixing with the black hair, giving people a feeling that time has passed.

"Here I come. Father, be careful. I am here to help you."

The emperor was originally lying down looking at a map, and now he was about to stand up, so he stepped forward and gave him a hand.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "He is indeed not a young man in his twenties anymore."

"Although your father is already fifty years old, I think he looks radiant and energetic. I think your father will live for thousands of years."

"It's different now." Zhu Houzhao turned around and sat down, pounding his old legs. "I didn't feel it a few years ago, but when you guys made a fuss about celebrating my 50th birthday, it felt like a reminder that I'm half buried in the ground. Haha."

These were all idle chats, and we spoke them with laughter.

"No way, our father is celebrating his 100th birthday, and we all want to share in his good fortune."

"In fact, I stay in the palace every day, and sometimes I don't feel the time has passed. But every time I see those young and talented people emerging, I will think back to when I first ascended the throne. I was also a young man then, and then I will feel that more than 30 years have passed in a flash."

Zai Jian asked, "Which amazing person did your father see?"

Zhu Houzhao pointed at the memorial on the imperial desk beside him and said, "Open it and take a look."

"Father, the memorial is..."

"It's okay to take a look, don't waste time."

"Yes."

As he was looking, Zhu Houzhao said, "This man is the county magistrate of Yidu County, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. It is said that there was a locust plague in the area last year. When he was in office, he organized the people to work together to eliminate the locusts, which was very effective. After the disaster, there were occasional bandits, but he suppressed and appeased them. In a short period of time, he was able to calm people's hearts and restore the lives of the people in the area to normal.

When I first heard about this, I wondered who this person was. Could it be that God took pity on our Zhu family and sent another person? So I sent someone to observe him carefully and secretly, and found that he was indeed a very talented person. He was said to be very smart and well-versed in both civil and military affairs since he was young. He was obviously not a Jinshi until the 33rd year of Zhengde, but you can see that he was not confused when faced with a big event. He stood out in just over two years. It was not easy. "

"Hu Zongxian... styled Ruzhen, from Longchuan, Jixi County?"

"It's him, it's him." Zhu Houzhao pointed with his beard raised.

Alas, sometimes the sense of time and age comes only when I see these names.

When he first traveled through time, he even thought that Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian, and Ma Fang were all people from another era, but as he slowly lived until they appeared, what else could he think of except getting old?

"Judging from what he has done, he is indeed a very capable official. I congratulate my father on gaining another capable official."

Zhu Houzhao stood up and took the red pen. "It's not just about congratulating me. I have to employ people after all, and the ability and character of this person actually have the greatest impact on the people under his rule."

As he spoke, he wrote with a red pen in front of the Fifth Prince: This person is both virtuous and talented, and very much suits my taste. I order him to come to the capital and serve as an attendant.

squire?

Zai Jian was shocked, but he said nothing.

He understood the emperor's "methods". To be able to bring a county magistrate directly to such a central position as the attendant's room, he must have investigated this person before. Why did he need to say anything?

In fact, Zhu Houzhao was a little hesitant at first, because a better way would be to let Hu Zongxian work as a prefect for a few more years so that he could gain more experience.

But he also considered that such a person should also be given a global perspective and be exposed to some of the core political affairs of the country, and then it might be better to delegate them.

Another reason is that he has been waiting for three years and doesn't want to wait any longer.

"Father, your Majesty, thinks highly of this man. When I meet him, I will also seek his advice."

Zhu Houzhao thought that Hu Zongxian was 29 years old this year, which was about the same age as his fifth son.

After that, they talked about business, mainly the annual revenue and other matters.

At the same time, two more people came together outside the palace.

After listening to You Zhi's report, Zhu Houzhao said, "It seems that today is a good day. You three brothers are here together. OK, call the eldest and the second brother in as well."

"Yes, I obey your order."

By the 35th year of Zhengde's reign, his two eldest sons were already 34 years old.

These guys have caused him a lot of trouble over the years.

After entering, they naturally greeted each other according to the rules, and the fifth brother even stepped forward and called out, "Big Brother, Second Brother."

"Everyone, take a seat."

"Thank you, Father."

After sitting down, Prince Fu hesitated for a moment, "Fifth brother came first, and is reporting to the emperor, so please let fifth brother continue."

"No, no, no, the eldest brother comes first. The eldest brother should speak first."

Zhu Houzhao snorted and laughed lightly. This time the boss was very obedient. The main reason was that this guy had an indecent private life some time ago, which caused a sensation in the capital and outside, so he gave him another lesson.

The eldest brother is always like this. He won't make any big mistakes, but just like his brain circuit is abnormal, he always makes small mistakes. After he is punished, he will be well behaved for a few days, but after a while he will return to his old ways. It's really a headache.

But to say that he made no serious mistake was true, and he didn't have that opportunity because he was the one the emperor was most wary of.

This is known to all the civil and military officials in the court.

Emperor Zhengde was also a well-read history reader. In history, how many cases of the eldest son of an emperor taking risks because he was not favored? In the battle for the throne, the prince who was at a disadvantage was most likely to take desperate actions.

Of course, there is no shortage of second-in-commands who want to take the lead, so overall, as long as these princes do not have military power in Kyoto, Zhu Houzhao will not give them even a single soldier.

No matter how great your achievements are, you can never even think about becoming the General of Tiance.

The real court and politics are not like Langya Bang. The prince who controls the military power has gotten together with the powerful prince who guards the frontier, and the old emperor is still enjoying himself in the palace. Isn't this a joke?

"Okay, stop acting in front of me. Lao Wu, I know about the Ministry of Revenue. You sit down. Boss, you go ahead."

Zai Yao finally felt relieved after receiving this imperial edict. He was the eldest brother, and it would be embarrassing to always give in.

As for what he was going to say, Zhu Houzhao actually had a rough idea of ​​it.

Now the princes all have their own jobs. The fifth prince is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and the fourth prince leads troops outside.

For some reason, the second son's mind had changed in recent years, and he had stayed out of several crises, making Zhu Houzhao feel that he wanted to stay away from the court.

Even the emperor could not control this kind of thing, after all, a person's mind cannot be changed, so Zhu Houzhao let him be in charge of the Ministry of Science and Technology Industry, which was renamed from the original Ministry of Industry.

The more troublesome one was the eldest brother. Zhu Houzhao sent him to the local area because he was worried that he would get into trouble, so he let him stay in the capital all the time, and what he did specifically was decided randomly.

During this period, he went to the cabinet to "help out", occupying the last seat, and also tried to draft votes.

This was the position of 'temporary cabinet elder' customized for him by the emperor. No royal family member had ever served here before. In fact, cabinet elders generally had the title of Grand Secretary, and Zai Yao was not at this level, so in essence it was just an opportunity for him to vote.

As the eldest prince, holding such a position... cannot be said to be excessive. Some ministers even support it, thinking that it is an opportunity for training.

As for real power, he does not have any. After all, drafting a bill is just a suggestion, and whether someone agrees or not has nothing to do with him.

"Father," Zai'e bowed in a formal manner, "I am here to discuss Ouyang Duo's retirement."

Gu Renyi has passed away, Wang Tingxiang is old and recuperating, and the current Prime Minister has become Ouyang Duo. He was considered young when he entered the cabinet, and even now he is only 55 years old. Compared to those old ministers who are in their sixties and seventies, he can still last a long time.

Zhu Houzhao nodded gently, "What do you think?"

"I think Ouyang Duo is disrespectful to the emperor and is unworthy of a minister. He knows that the emperor hates his ministers to threaten to retire, but he insists on doing it. This is really abominable. Therefore, I think he should be allowed to retire. Can the Ming Dynasty not function without someone with the surname Ouyang?!"

The boss spoke very excitedly.

Zhu Houzhao smiled.

He thought of a classic line and said, "The ancients called the Yangtze River 'Jiang' and the Yellow River 'He'. The water of the Yangtze River is clear, while the water of the Yellow River is turbid. An old proverb says: When a sage appears, the Yellow River becomes clear. But when has the Yellow River ever been clear? The water of the Yangtze River irrigates the fields of several provinces on both sides of the river, and the water of the Yellow River also irrigates the fields of several provinces on both sides of the river. We should not use it in a biased way just because the water is clear, nor should we use it in a biased way just because the water is turbid. This has been the case since ancient times. I have also taught you the principles of employing people. No matter whether it is the Yellow River or the Yangtze River, as long as they overflow, they need to be managed."

Since Zhang Cong left, the Qingliu faction has become very powerful, and over the past thirteen years, each of them has been flattering each other and their reputations have risen rapidly.

For example, did the Wanshou Festival in the 35th year of the Zhengde reign really bring about a well-off society? Of course not, but in the words and articles of the Qingliu, it seems that there are no poor people anymore.

Zhu Houzhao was always able to rely on his keen political sense to sense changes in the court situation. Now that Ouyang Duo dared to propose retirement, it reminded him of the days when civil servants used to bully the emperor.

Thirteen years? Maybe that's too long.

The fifth son Zai Jian made a very appropriate point. He said, "The emperor wanted to add mathematics and the study of things as a chapter in the imperial examination. This was originally opposed by scholars all over the world. Although Ouyang Duo was the prime minister, he could not resist the people of the world. Therefore, he had to retire."

The imperial examination system is indeed one of the fundamental systems for the prosperity of Confucianism, and it is what they insist on most.

For these literati, it was fine that the emperor had been paying more and more attention to science, technology and other things over the years. After all, the country was prosperous, so it didn't matter. At most, someone would just make up a few sentences. But if the imperial examination had to add science to Confucianism, it would not matter.

Then this problem is big.

The most direct issue is that it caused a great debate among scholars on "Which is more important, Confucianism or science?" They also like to talk and write.

If you listen to this thing once, your head will be confused because it cannot be explained clearly.

The ethical principles for the continuation of imperial power and hereditary rule were provided by Confucianism, but the advancement of productivity was provided by science, so of course whoever says it is right.

But Zhu Houzhao also had his reasons. For the Ming Dynasty to develop to this level, it must rely on technological progress. Otherwise, expansion would just be grabbing more land and then cultivating it, which would be meaningless, and the imperial system was too fragile.

In the past, he showed the court's attention to this thing by granting official positions to scientists. Later, it produced results, but most of the results were in the business field, and the political status of businessmen had not improved.

So it’s not enough, far from enough.

Now that it has been introduced into the imperial examination, it is intended to further enhance its importance.

The purpose is also very simple, people who do not understand science will not be able to join the official ranks in the future. So even if science does not account for a high proportion in the exam, the change is fundamental.

In this case, scholars all over the world would certainly not agree, and Ouyang Duo was faced with a dilemma of making a choice between the two.

The eldest brother Zai Yao was quite angry and said, "What do you mean he has to retire? He abandoned his father for his own reputation. Fortunately, the emperor entrusted him with the important position of Prime Minister and was very open with him, but in the end, he was not sincere. What's the point of keeping such a person?"

Zhu Houzhao pursed his lips and said nothing. He guessed that the boss might be thinking that by getting rid of one person, he could make further progress in the cabinet.

Besides, Ouyang Duo's removal from his position is not a big deal.

But after Ouyang Duo came Yan Song, who had nothing to do with the Qingliu, so it was no problem for him to replace Ouyang Duo.

But his eldest son seemed very excited about this incident.

I wonder if it is possible that he and Yan Song had a tacit understanding?

As an emperor, there is no need to confirm this kind of thing, because if you do, you might be deceived. What you really need to do is to "stir up trouble" between the two people so that they cannot be together.

The emperor is the standard-bearer, so this is too easy.

Then he glanced and asked, "Second Brother, what do you think?"

He always thought that his second son was very talented, but unfortunately he was not sensitive enough when it came to power. "In reply to your words, I am willing to be your lobbyist."

Zaizhen remained silent. The matter had reached this point and it was not a matter of Ouyang Duo's attitude at all. What's more, such an old minister would definitely not make a rash choice, so it was absolutely impossible to turn the situation around.

But that's how the second one handles it.

If the emperor asked him, he would not say it has nothing to do with me, I don't know or listen to my father's orders. He would not take sides. He would be more active and willing to work hard for the emperor, but he would travel outside the real game.

It's okay to play this kind of knife-edge game once or twice, but to do so for a long time means that he is actually very sensitive to politics.

He said so, Zhu Houzhao had no choice. Ouyang Duo had been a minister for so many years. Even if he had no merits, he had worked hard. Now he is retiring, and you don't agree if someone is willing to persuade him. That would be too cruel. Besides, no result can be achieved by persuading him, so just let him go.

"Okay, then you go meet this person."

"My son, I obey."

"By the way, why did you come to the palace to ask for an audience today?"

The second son then thought of reporting, "I am here to see the emperor because I want to invite him to the Academy of Sciences to see some new achievements."

"Oh?" Zhu Houzhao rubbed his hands, "This is a big deal. You can arrange a time and submit a memorial to let me know."

"Yes."

After that, the three brothers withdrew.

The game in the court is nothing more than this, it all comes down to balance.

As for the relationship between Yan Song and the boss... Zhu Houzhao also has a way.

This kind of thing depends on the situation. Lord Yan is a smart man, so it's simple.

The next day, he also came to the palace because of Ouyang Duo's matter.

This guy is sixty years old. As a man who entered the court as an official in his twenties and died in his eighties, Lord Yan still has a lot of drama to perform.

Moreover, he has been an official for decades and has always held a prominent position without causing any major trouble, which shows that he is a very good actor.

History is sometimes very strange. For example, common sense tells us that if there are treacherous ministers, then the emperor must be incompetent. However, people who really understand Jiajing would basically say that he was extremely smart.

But why would such a wise emperor have such a notorious treacherous minister under his command?

In Zhu Houzhao's view, Yan Song's understanding of the word "imperial power" was very, very profound, even not less than his own. This was manifested in the fact that he would never do anything that the emperor was taboo about.

In history, Emperor Jiajing would sometimes tease him, that is, "indulge" him a bit, meaning that since you have great power, you should do what a powerful person should do, but Yan Song was never fooled once.

He always had one thing in mind: There was only one person in the Ming Dynasty who could call the wind and rain, and that was the emperor!

Of course, people who are willing to be dogs can easily become treacherous officials.

So Zhu Houzhao had only one sentence to answer the question between him and Zaiye. When he met Yan Gelao, he asked, "Wei Zhong, Ouyang Duo wants to abandon me. If he wants to leave, I will not stop him. From now on, you will be in charge of the cabinet, but it is not easy to be in charge. You need a good helper. Who do you think is suitable to be the replacement?"

Old Lord Yan's eye bags also appeared. He said calmly, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with an important task, and I am terrified. Moreover, the addition of cabinet members is a matter of tacit approval by the Holy Spirit, so I dare not say more."

"I have someone I work for, but I want to be your colleague. You should go back and think about it carefully, and submit a memorial to me." He joked, "Also, you should not retire again, otherwise the throne and the cabinet will become a matter between father and son, which is a bit absurd."

Yan Song's heart was slightly moved. What is absurd? He was asked to recommend someone, but he was afraid that Prince Fu would be ranked higher.

After a little thought, he understood that the cabinet was based on seniority, and those who came in later would naturally be ranked lower, so this time Prince Fu should take a step forward.

But the emperor did not favor his eldest son. Originally, he entered the cabinet mostly to participate, observe and learn, which was actually of no use.

This is nothing, but the implication of the words should be that he should speak out, right?

In fact, this is not that difficult to guess. It is a taboo for the emperor to have important ministers and princes get too close. Now the emperor has mentioned it vaguely, so it is basically true.

"I understand. I will prepare a memorial to the emperor after I return!" Lord Yan was prepared to be a dog. He thought about it and felt that this was not a difficult matter. He had no chance against Prince Fu anyway and could afford to offend him.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and nodded. It didn't matter whether Yan Song understood his thoughts or not, because if the memorial he submitted was not right, he could keep it or even return it until he got the right one.

To put it bluntly, he forced Yan Song to offend Zai Yao to death.

Only in this way can one sit on the dragon throne with peace of mind.

There is no gratitude for recognition or confidantship here, nor is there any deep love between father and son or blood is thicker than water. This is the court and here is politics.

(End of this chapter)