The ministers present are all decisive people. Now that they have made up their minds, they will naturally not hesitate again.
Following Yu Shiyue, Wang Ao also came forward and said.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the matter of rectifying the army camp has not yet been settled. There may be something wrong with what Yu Shaobao did. However, after all, there is a reason for everything."
"In this purge of the Ministry of War, various vassals invaded and occupied military villages and privately used officers and soldiers to reclaim wasteland. The number was huge, and the vast majority of them came from the names of the kings."
"Even if His Majesty wants to punish Yu Shaobao for his reckless behavior, he should wait for the Ministry of War to sort out the official documents and report them to the palace before making a decision."
The implication is, you vassal kings haven’t wiped your own butts clean, how dare you attack others here?
Aren’t we going to argue about who is right and who is wrong? Okay, let’s have a good discussion!
As soon as these words came out, the air pressure in the palace dropped a bit.
However, this was not over yet. After Wang Ao finished speaking, Hu Hui also spoke.
"Your Majesty, I think it's just a matter of asking for forgiveness, but you need to think again."
"Yu Shaobao left the capital on an order to rectify the military garrison. There were many officials involved. If the apology list is as high as that, the people in the government and the public must be panicked. Now the imperial court has only taken back the military fields. It will also need to transfer the official registration to appease the people. All of this,
They all need to rely on local officials. If the officials up and down the court are busy protecting themselves, then the court's hard work for a year will be in vain."
"The kings are all ministers of the clan and the pillars of the country. They certainly don't want to see the situation where the government is in decline, the military power is wasted, and it is difficult to defend the world."
Isn't it just a game of going up and down the line? Those are all the rest of their game.
As soon as Hu Hu opened his mouth, he tied Yu Qian and the court to death. The seriousness of Yu Qian's admission of mistake rose to the level of national affairs.
Didn’t you vassal kings say that you vassal the country and do your best for the country? How could this be so ungenerous?
All the ministers present are people who have been in officialdom for many years. At their level, as long as they have the same stance, they can cooperate tacitly on many things.
Don't think that just you vassal kings will sing with one red face and one with a white face. With the cooperation of their civil servants, it's not bad at all.
On one side, Yu Shiyue had a tough attitude and wanted to escalate the matter. On the other side, Wang Ao began to enumerate the sins of the kings and dragged them all into the water. Then Hu Hui was replaced, which further exaggerated the seriousness of the matter and brought all the kings into trouble.
Wang held himself high and was very skilled at moral kidnapping.
Such mutual cooperation, interlocking, and a few words have brought the kings to a standstill. Under this situation, if they want to continue to cause trouble, first a person who does not care about the overall situation of the court will be planted, and then we will discuss it in detail.
How many disgusting things have King Fan done over the years?
If they still refuse to give in, then go to the court for discussion. If they were to face the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, would these vassal kings still have such a tough attitude?
You must know that the ministers present have high and low status and have many scruples in their actions. However, there are many young officials in the court who are bold and outspoken.
There are some things they can't say directly, but when they get to the court, some of them are brave. If they don't make you old guys so angry that they vomit blood, they will be regarded as acting abnormally and losing their civil servants!
This time, the emperor did not speak, but quietly looked at the several vassal kings below. The atmosphere suddenly seemed a bit depressing.
King Zhou and others looked at the ministers below, and their expressions became extremely ugly.
However, even so, they did not stop. They just glanced at each other, and King Zhou stepped forward again and said.
"Your Majesty, I and other vassal princes and clan members do not want to interfere in the government affairs of the imperial court, and I don't know how many complicated relationships are involved. However, there is one thing that I and others always understand..."
As he spoke, King Zhou glanced down from the corner of his eyes and continued.
"That is, the following is the way to cause chaos. This is a principle that has not been changed since ancient times. The imperial court has its difficulties, and I understand it. However, no matter how difficult it is, we cannot sit back and watch the superiors and inferiors get confused."
"As vassal kings, if I cannot seek justice for myself in front of His Majesty, then if other clan members are bullied, won't they have no way to appeal?"
"Your Majesty, what I want is just a formal visit to apologize. Could it be said that Yu Shaobao's status is so noble that even as the vassal king, I cannot accept a courtesy from him?"
These words are simply heart-breaking words, insisting on the superiority and inferiority.
No matter how weak the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty are, they are still vassal kings. No matter how high his status is, Yu Qian is still a minister. When ministers meet the king, they should be treated with all the etiquette.
As a Qingqing, Yu Qian's status is comparable to that of a duke. However, when compared with the vassal king, there is an insurmountable gap between him.
So today, no matter what, they have to force Yu Qian to bow his head. Only in this way can they once again show the world the transcendent status of the vassal king.
They are very sure about this.
Because the essence of the vassal king is actually part of the imperial power, or in other words, the imperial power itself. To deny the status of the vassal king is actually to weaken the majesty of the imperial power.
They believed that no matter how favored the emperor was about Yu Qian, he would not be able to break this boundary, because breaking this boundary would mean breaking the courtiers' respect for the imperial power.
From this point of view, what they did was actually in the interests of the emperor.
Seeing that the emperor still showed no expression, King Yin, King Zheng, King Ning and others also stood up silently, came behind King Zhou and others, cupped their hands and said.
"Your Majesty, please grant me permission."
There was silence in the Wenhua Hall.
The hearts of all the ministers sank at the same time.
They did not expect that the determination of these vassal kings would be so strong this time. All the kings played together to put pressure on the emperor.
This kind of behavior means that they have given up on reasoning and are purely relying on their own status to strive for benefits.
But the more this situation happens, the more difficult it is to deal with.
Because all strategies and excuses can play an extremely limited role in a competition of hard power.
When these vassal kings were reasoning, the civil servants present had many ways to deal with them. However, when they made it clear that they wanted to use their power to suppress others and act rogue, as now, the civil servants almost had only two options left.
Either, find a stronger force and push back head-on, or you can only bow your head and submit.
The former path is obviously unrealistic. It does not mean that there are no forces in the court that can suppress these vassal kings. Just like what Yu Shiyue suggested just now, if there is a court meeting, all the civil servants will face, no matter how powerful these vassal kings are.
, I can only bow my head obediently.
But the problem is that above the civil servants, there is also the great Buddha of the Emperor!
Although the emperor did have the intention to protect Yu Qian, his old man's attitude had just been made very clear. Bringing this matter to court would only increase internal friction and would be of no benefit.
So if they insist on doing this, they will offend the emperor.
Once the emperor takes action, and with the cooperation of the vassal princes, even if all the civil and military officials in the court unite, it may not be able to do anything.
Therefore, the only way now is to hope that the emperor can suppress these feudal kings.
However, let alone if the emperor used his power to suppress these feudal princes and spread the reputation of disrespecting their elders and not being affectionate, if these feudal princes insisted on making trouble, the emperor would probably be in trouble.
At this thought, the expressions of the ministers present couldn't help but become worried.
At this time, the emperor did speak. Facing the invitations from the kings, the emperor's face became a little ugly.
After pondering for a moment, the emperor's tone remained gentle and said.
"My uncles, as well as other kings, I know your grievances and intentions well. All the kings are clan members, so it is natural for them to accept the courtesy of humility."
"It's just that after all, Yu Qian is an important minister of the imperial court. This time he left the capital to serve the imperial court. Now that the New Year is approaching, peace and obedience should be the top priority. Since he has admitted his mistake, don't hold on to him."
"The kings came to the capital this time to visit the disciples of the sect. Everyone should leave some leeway and spend this New Year well. Why do you need to make things so fussy?"
When the matter reached this point, the emperor no longer concealed his attitude.
The sincerity of these words was enough to give face to all the feudal kings present.
However, even so, King Zhou and others still did not give up. After thinking for a moment, King Zhou cupped his hands and said.
"Your Majesty clearly understands that I do not want to embarrass Your Majesty, nor do I even want to embarrass Yu Qian. I understand that what Yu Qian did was out of necessity and was also to serve the country."
"However, I understand that what Yu Qian did is already against the principles of a minister. If he is the only one, considering that he is busy with state affairs, the ministers can ignore his offense and rebelliousness."
"As the saying goes, there has been such an example before. Nowadays, local officials, in order to buy their reputation and please their superiors, follow suit one after another. This is the current situation."
"Therefore, I cannot give in on this matter, and please ask your Majesty to be considerate."
Immediately afterwards, King Lu on the side also said.
"Your Majesty, what King Zhou said makes sense."
"As vassal kings, I have a respected status and have been worshiped by the imperial court. For the sake of the country and the country, it is okay even if I swallow this breath."
"However, in addition to ministers, there are countless low-level clans in various places. Their lives are already difficult. If such a trend is established and local officials are unscrupulous and frequently use clan names to invite people, the foundation of our Ming Dynasty will be shaken."
"These clan members are all relatives of His Majesty. Can you bear to let them be bullied by ordinary officials?"
Well, here the emperor is talking about respect for his ministers, and these vassal kings are starting to play the bitterness card, tearing out the entire clan as a tiger skin.
It seemed as if if Yu Qian didn't come to apologize, their clan wouldn't be able to survive.
Immediately afterwards, King Zheng, King Ning and others also spoke one after another.
"Your Majesty, I can prove that what my two uncles said is not an exaggeration. I have come to the capital and passed through various places. What I saw and heard is that local officials and imperial censors used the name of ordering military camps.
, oppressing the clan."
"The lower-level clan members have no way to appeal, so they can only swallow the bitter fruit. If things go on like this, where is the dignity of superiors and inferiors, and where is the sense of awe? Your Majesty, think twice!"
As soon as these words came out, the emperor felt helpless. After thinking for a moment, the emperor had to turn his eyes to King Min on the side again and said.
"Uncle King Min..."
"His Majesty!"
"His Majesty!"
Two voices sounded at the same time, one came from King Zhou, who obviously wanted to persuade him, but the other, unexpectedly, came from Yu Qian.
At this time, not only the emperor, but also everyone present looked at Yu Qian.
So, Yu Qian took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, and said.
"I thank your Majesty for your kindness. However, what you princes said is right. I am willing to go to the Tenth Prince's Mansion to apologize and give you an explanation."
After the words fell, everyone's expressions became complicated.
I dare say they fought with the emperor in this battle, but in the end, Yu Qian himself gave in first.
this……
He sighed silently in his heart, and the ministers were also speechless for a while.
Yu Qian has this kind of temperament!
In the current situation, the kings are resolute and will obviously not give up until they get the results they want.
Although the emperor tried his best to protect him, he was always restrained for various reasons. Under such circumstances, if the quarrel continues, it will only intensify the contradiction and completely pit the clan princes and court ministers against each other.
At that time, it will not only be the vassal kings and ministers present who will be involved.
Just like what the emperor said, if there is really a commotion in the city, the whole court may not even be able to survive this new year.
Because he alone caused such consequences, how could Yu Qian's character accept it.
So it was actually foreseeable that Yu Qian would do this.
But having said that, if Yu Qian lowers his head like this, the consequences...
Obviously, the emperor also realized this, looked at Yu Qian's eyes and frowned, and said.
"Yu Qian, this matter is not non-negotiable. The kings also said it just now. They don't want to deliberately embarrass you. They want to talk it out. There is no misunderstanding that cannot be solved. You..."
Halfway through his words, the emperor stopped.
Because Yu Qian had already kowtowed and prostrated himself on the ground. This Yu Shaobao's character was no worse than Wang Tianguan's in stubbornness. The emperor obviously knew this.
Seeing his actions, you knew that Yu Qian had made up his mind.
Sighing, the emperor turned around and said.
"Yu Qian, have you...really thought about it?"
Coming to apologize is not just a matter of going to the Tenth Prince's Mansion and saying a few words. The reason why the kings had such a strong attitude and asked Yu Qian to come to the door in person was to show their strength to the civil and military officials of the dynasty.
Because of this, they chose Yu Qian, a man who held a pivotal position in the court and was trusted by the emperor.
If such people cannot defeat them, it will once again illustrate the importance of Prince Zongfan's position in the Ming Dynasty.
To achieve such an effect, Yu Qian's visit to apologize and cause a stir would definitely not be trivial.
Otherwise, the effect will not be achieved at all.
By then, even if it doesn't make the whole city known, it will at least cause a sensation in the government and the public. And this process will definitely not be easy for a person of Yu Qian's status.
Yu Qian was not unaware of this, but he remained firm and kowtowed again.
"Your Majesty, please issue an order."
Seeing this situation, the emperor clearly knew that he could no longer stop Yu Qian. Taking a deep breath, he turned his eyes to the kings aside and said.
"Since all the clans have this intention, then I am sure!"
This chapter has been completed!