British Government.
It's May, the weather has already warmed up, the sun is hanging high above our heads, and the cicadas on the trees are chirping incessantly, which is annoying.
Zhang Shi had just had lunch and was a little sleepy, so he asked someone to beat up all the cicadas outside and planned to take a nap.
However, just as he undressed his coat under the concubine's service, the housekeeper outside knocked on the door and whispered.
"Second Master, Duke Cheng Guo is here. He said he has something urgent to discuss with you."
Hearing this, Zhang Shi was slightly unhappy, but Zhu Yi's visit at this time must have something important indeed.
So, he had to change his clothes again, and then came to the flower hall.
Zhu Yi had already been welcomed in, but she did not sit down in the hall. Instead, she stood in the hall with her hands behind her hands, looking quite uneasy.
Entering the hall, the two of them each bowed. Zhang Xi had just sat down, but before he could sit firmly, Zhu Yi hurriedly said:
"Second Master, there is news!"
Zhang Min was stunned for a moment before he realized what Zhu Yi was talking about. At that moment, he couldn't sit still. He suddenly stood up from his chair, took two steps forward, and asked.
"Really? But why haven't you heard the news before?"
Relatively speaking, although Zhu Yi looked happy, she was much calmer and nodded.
"The imperial edict has been issued and there will be no mistakes."
As he spoke, he sighed and said.
"We still misjudged the present His Majesty. We originally thought that such a big matter would have to go to the court for discussion. But who would have thought that His Majesty did not even pass the court discussion and directly issued an edict."
"It is said that several cabinet ministers went to the palace to ask for an audience on the spot. As a result, they were all rejected. Immediately after the news spread, important ministers from various ministries also rushed to the palace. The first one to arrive was Yu Qian from the Ministry of War.
!”
"Okay, okay, okay..."
Zhang Xi rubbed his hands, and immediately, before he had time to say more, he shouted outside.
"Prepare the car, I want to enter the palace."
After the servants outside hurriedly went to prepare, he calmed down slightly, turned to Zhu Yi and said.
"My lord, why don't you go and watch such a wonderful show?"
Zhu Yi obviously understood what Zhang Shi meant, smiled and nodded, saying.
"Let's go together naturally..."
At the same time, outside Donghua Gate, several sedan chairs were parked not far away, and seven or eight ministers in scarlet robes stood outside the palace gate, gathering in twos and threes, whispering something, but without exception, they
His brows were all furrowed.
Not long after, Wang Ao and several cabinet ministers hurried out. As soon as their figures appeared, they were immediately surrounded.
Yu Qian was the first to speak and asked directly.
"Everyone, what's going on? Why is it that the establishment of an imperial palace is such a big deal, and the imperial edict has been issued without any court discussion?"
Wang Ao also smiled bitterly and said.
"Don't be anxious, Shaobao. We know that this matter is important. However, His Majesty has spoken this and the Holy Will has been decided. Do you want us to resist the decree?"
With that said, the Chief Assistant told the whole story of what happened today.
It should be said that the process of the matter was relatively simple. After the early morning court, the emperor suddenly sent Huaien to the cabinet to deliver the decree. The content was very simple, only two short sentences.
"...According to the request of the kings, an imperial village is established under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs. The hidden military fields, private fields, and official fields inspected by the previous court will be handed over to the imperial village for management according to the fish scale atlas. The departments shall not delay...
…”
Although the words were brief, the information revealed in them undoubtedly caused shock in the imperial court.
The first person to raise objections was the Ministry of Rites. After Wang Ao finished speaking, Hu Hui from the Ministry of Rites immediately asked.
"What time did the kings invite you to do? Why didn't the Ministry of Rites receive the memorial?"
The affairs of the clan have always been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. Although the clan mansion has been re-established, its jurisdiction is limited to religious affairs, and it must be coordinated with the Ministry of Rites. Most of the officials and subordinates are seconded by officials from the Ministry of Rites.
past.
According to previous practice, memorials, seals, and congratulatory notes from kings requesting titles, names, marriages, and other matters must be sent to the Ministry of Rites first, and then handed over to the Ministry of Rites for forwarding.
But this time around the so-called Huangzhuang, although there were rumors in the capital, the ministers in the court were always present. The reason was that there was no news from the Ministry of Rites.
But now, the emperor suddenly issued an edict, clearly indicating that the kings' request was approved, so the Ministry of Rites naturally wanted to question it first.
After hearing this, Wang Ao smiled bitterly and said.
"I also asked Eunuch Huai about this matter, and he said that it was submitted directly by His Majesty when he summoned the kings a few days ago. It did not go through the General Affairs Department or the Ministry of Rites, but there was an attachment from Prince Min.
, it must have been handed over by the clan’s mansion.”
Hu Xi's face became more and more ugly. Looking at the old man's appearance, one knew that he was very angry.
This explanation seems to make sense, but in fact there is a big problem. The imperial court has its own rules for memorials. It does not mean that kings cannot submit memorials, but that they cannot submit them in this form and go beyond all the yamen.
The most typical result of sending it directly to the emperor is that, as now, such a big matter as the Imperial Village is decided directly by the officials without any news or discussion in advance.
Moreover, the Zongren's Office is responsible for the affairs of the clan, but the imperial village involves military garrison and official land, which obviously belongs to the national government. As a rule, the Zongren's Office has no right to submit such memorials, not to mention that it also involves the interference of feudal kings in government affairs.
The problem.
In short, there are already a lot of problems exposed by this incident on the Ministry of Rites alone, not to mention other specific problems.
Hu Xi stopped talking, but with this look, it was obvious that he was not giving up. It seemed that the old man was planning to argue in front of the emperor.
Yu Qian followed closely behind and asked again. Unlike Hu Hui who focused on the vassal king, his energy was more focused on the matter itself.
Although he had already seen the imperial edict, after hearing the original words of the oral edict, he thought for a moment and continued.
"Since it was written by all the kings, where is the memorial?"
"The imperial edict only states that imperial estates will be established in various places, and all the military, official, and private lands that have been recovered this time will be returned to the imperial estates. How to implement it specifically is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs, so who will manage it specifically?
Why does the imperial edict vaguely include the intention of involving the vassal king?"
"What are the specific regulations? Is there any news on how the feudal king will report it?"
This series of questions made Wang Ao feel a little dizzy.
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue on the side came to the rescue and said.
"Yu Shaobao, the cabinet is only responsible for drafting decrees. The kings' memorials are still in the palace, and we have not seen them."
After the words fell, Yu Qian's face looked a little ugly and he said directly.
"For such a big matter, we should at least go to the palace to meet His Majesty, understand it carefully and discuss it before making a final decision. Since we haven't even seen the memorial and don't understand anything, how can the cabinet just rely on oral instructions and rashly draft a decree?"
"If something goes wrong, who will be responsible?"
What he said did not save any face for Yu Shiyue, an old friend, and he almost said that the cabinet post was a vegetarian.
Yu Shiyue was choked and could not speak. However, Wang Wen on the side couldn't stand it anymore and said.
"What does Yu Shaobao mean by this?"
"The cabinet is originally a government office prepared for consultation, and it is not under Zhongshu's sect. What does it mean to rashly draft decrees based only on oral instructions?"
"The Chief Minister has just said that after receiving the decree, all the ministers in the cabinet have invited him to see me, but His Majesty did not see him."
"Under such circumstances, is it possible that you want the cabinet to resist the decree and refuse to enact it?"
"But……"
Yu Qian frowned and was about to argue when he saw Wynn leading a group of people out of the palace gate in a hurry.
As a result, all the important ministers who had been having a vague dispute fell silent and waited for Wynn's explanation.
In this kind of scene, even with Huaien's position, one needs to be cautious. You must know that although there were only six important ministers who came first.
But as time went by, more and more ministers gathered outside the palace gate, watching from a distance, wanting to see the outcome of this matter.
Hua En looked a little embarrassed as he hurriedly walked in front of the ministers, but he still spoke.
"My lords, Your Majesty felt a little dizzy when he woke up this morning. The imperial doctor is currently undergoing treatment and has no time to summon you. If you have any questions, please let us know in the morning the day after tomorrow."
As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden uproar in the room, and all the important ministers were also stunned, but soon they frowned.
The emperor never got sick sooner or later, but he got sick at this time, which was obviously to avoid them.
Morning tomorrow?
How can this be accomplished? The imperial edict has been issued. The longer the delay, the smaller the chance of recovery. No, I must see His Majesty today.
The ministers looked at each other and tacitly agreed on their opinions, and then Yu Qian stepped forward and spoke.
"Eunuch Huai, please report to Your Majesty that we are here to establish the Imperial Villa. This matter involves great importance and involves national affairs and cannot be ignored. Therefore, I sincerely request Your Majesty to allow us to have an audience."
"this……"
Huaien looked at Yu Qian with a rather embarrassed expression on his face and said.
"Yu Shaobao, it's not that our family refuses to report it, it's just that His Majesty has given orders. The Dragon Body is sick and doesn't want to see anyone. No matter how big the national affairs are, it can't be more important than the health of His Majesty's Holy Body. Since Your Majesty has said it, I will leave it to you in the future.
We’ll talk about it in the morning, so please come back.”
Although these words were euphemistic, the meaning was very clear, so the faces of the ministers present suddenly became a little ugly.
Seeing this situation, Wang Ao stepped forward again and said.
"Eunuch Huai, since His Majesty is in ill health, it is natural for us to go to the palace to pay our respects. Please inform me again, otherwise you see this..."
As he spoke, the chief minister glanced at the dark-faced Yu Qian next to him, feeling a little embarrassed as well.
That means it’s not easy to appease here either…
Wynn is naturally a person who knows how to observe words and emotions. Looking at this scene, he hesitated for a moment and finally said.
"That's alright, let's go and report it again, my lords, please wait for now."
After saying that, Wynn turned around and entered the palace.
With this incident, the original disputes among the important ministers also calmed down slightly, and everyone's emotions gradually stabilized.
Seeing this situation, Wang Ao took Yu Shiyue to the side, pouted in the direction where Wynn left, and said with a sad face.
"Yu Cifu, what do you think?"
Yu Shiyue knew that he was asking about the emperor's decree, so he frowned and pondered for a moment.
"Although I didn't listen to His Majesty's oral instructions in person, judging from this situation, it is indeed His Majesty's intention. Wynn is not so bold."
The implication is that the possibility of falsely spreading the imperial edict can basically be ruled out.
Wang Ao nodded, agreed, and said.
"That's right, the palace guards, the royal guards, and the east factory haven't moved, so there shouldn't be any problems. If you put it that way, His Majesty is hiding from us on purpose."
Hearing this, Yu Shiyue was a little silent and then said.
"Now it seems that it should be so. The Imperial Village matter is of great importance. His Majesty issued the edict rashly. It is impossible not to foresee the consequences. Since Your Majesty did so, he must not want to conflict with the courtiers at this time, and..."
As he spoke, Mr. Cifu glanced at a few people on the side, and finally landed on a certain Minister of the Ministry of Finance who was always shrinking behind.
Wang Ao followed his gaze, his eyes flashed, and he said.
"Did you see it too?"
Yu Shiyue nodded slightly, then Wang Ao sighed and said.
"Your Majesty has always been prudent in his actions. This matter is related to national affairs. Your Majesty has not passed the imperial consultation, so he must be sure that it can be implemented despite the imperial consultation. Now, although the military camp has been reorganized, it is still in the hands of the Ministry of Revenue. As long as the Ministry of Revenue is willing to cooperate,
It’ll be no big deal.”
"Now that the imperial edict is issued, all the ministries are surprised. But the household ministry that is most involved has never said a word. This shows that this Minister Shen may have known the inside story for a long time."
Of course Chen Yi knew the inside story, but at this moment, he was also worried.
Before, he had been wondering why the emperor was not in a hurry for such a big matter. It is important to know that if such a big matter is put into court discussion, it is impossible to achieve a result without arguing for ten days and a half.
of.
However, now that the kings have left Beijing and returned to the vassal territory, they will definitely start to work on this matter. At that time, if the local officials do not receive the edict and do not cooperate, trouble will inevitably occur, so he has been thinking,
What is the emperor's plan?
When the emperor summoned the clan for discussions several times before and ignored all the ministers except him, Shen Yi actually had a premonition, but he did not expect that His Majesty would play such a big role this time.
For such an important matter, the decree was issued directly without court discussion, which was beyond everyone's expectations.
As a result, the pressure on Shen Shangshu increased. His original idea was to stay above the court's discussion, neither support nor oppose, and then leave the job of offending the emperor to other ministers, such as a certain impatient Yu.
Shaobao does it, so no matter what the outcome is, it has nothing to do with him. At most, it will only cause people to talk about his lack of responsibility.
But as soon as the emperor did this, the pressure was all on him. It was okay just now, but this time everyone calmed down. In just a short moment, Shen Yi felt several thoughtful eyes sweeping over him.
The ministers present are all smart people. They understand that the Emperor, His Majesty, may be impulsive, but he will never do anything that is uncertain.
Since he made the decree without going through the court meeting, it shows that he has the confidence to accomplish the matter without going through the court meeting, and this confidence can only come from the full support of the Ministry of Revenue...
This chapter has been completed!