On the upper floor of Chang'an Right Gate City Gate.
Listening to the voices coming from below, Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said: "Boss, have you seen it? They have obviously colluded long ago, and they have to perform a show in front of the palace gate to show that everyone is not colluding. It's really necessary.
Being a bitch means setting up a memorial arch!"
Zhu Biao was speechless for a while. The antagonism between monarch and ministers in this dynasty was more severe than ever before. The scene of mutual harmony between monarch and ministers could not be seen at least in the Hongwu Dynasty.
But there is no other way. The prerequisite for the monarch and his ministers to get along with each other is that they are of the same mind - now the ministers want to live back to the unrestrained and lawless "good old days" like the Yuan Dynasty. At worst, they have to treat the scholar-bureaucrats like the Song Dynasty. But my father must resolutely avoid it.
The political corruption and the out-of-control situation of the court like the Yuan Dynasty will appear again. As for the Song Dynasty, go to the children's table, you have no say here...
The two sides are completely antagonistic, okay? It would be weird if you don't think twice.
They were all victors in the troubled times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and no one wanted to compromise, so as the father said, they had to split up. Either the ministers divided the emperor's head, or the emperor divided the officials' heads. There is no third party.
possibility.
But if a new group of people come in, will it still be the same? After being honest for a while, they will just repeat the old ways of their predecessors?
Is my father's path of "not sharing the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, but sharing the world with the common people" really feasible?
The prince stared at the city of Nanjing shrouded in mist, trying to see a way forward, but he couldn't see clearly...
But the biggest difference between him and other princes is that he always knows whose son he is and what his mission is, so he will never do the kind of stupid thing that makes his relatives hurt and his enemies happy.
At this time, the majestic bells rang out at the Meridian Gate, and the palace gates opened slowly. All the officials also stopped talking and began to organize their duties according to civil and military duties.
"Let's go, it's time to go to court." Zhu Yuanzhang greeted the prince and walked down the city gate tower.
'Well, let's take it one step at a time.' The prince sighed, putting the annoying feeling of powerlessness behind him, and quickly caught up with him to support his father.
~~
In front of the right gate of Chang'an.
When the hundreds of officials were divided into civil and military ranks and prepared to enter the palace, Hu Weiyong and others found that Cao Guogong and Song Guogong, the two dukes in Beijing, were tired of their work.
"What's going on?" Hu Weiyong frowned slightly and looked at Wu Liang, Fei Ju and others.
"I don't know..." They didn't count on Cao Guogong, but Song Guogong clearly promised yesterday that they would advance and retreat together today.
Tu Jie looked at the censor who was in charge of attendance, and the censor hurriedly came over to report: "I just received the report that Duke Guo of Song suddenly had abdominal pain last night, and he still can't get out of bed."
"Old slippery man!" Fei Ju snorted, knowing that this guy was shrinking from the battle.
"The Duke of Song is also in trouble," Hu Weiyong said calmly: "He is the father-in-law of the King of Zhou and a relative of the emperor, so don't embarrass him."
"Let's go, don't delay going to court." Everyone was still making irresponsible remarks, but he took a step forward with a cane.
The officials had no choice but to follow.
~~
In front of Fengtian Gate.
Emperor Hongwu ascended the golden platform, sat on the dragon chair, and accepted the worship of all officials.
After performing the rituals, Eunuch Wu sang loudly: "If anything happens, come early, if nothing happens, leave the court..."
The emperor and all the officials looked at the left prime minister Hu Weiyong.
The difference is that the former's eyes contain a warning; the latter's eyes are full of expectations.
At that moment, Hu Weiyong felt a war between heaven and man in his heart.
He knew that if he took this step, there would be no turning back.
But I had no choice but to disappoint the emperor...
After exhaling a long breath, Hu Weiyong stepped forward, leaning on his staff, and said with a slightly trembling voice: "Your Majesty, Hu Weiyong, has the foundation!"
"Say." The emperor's voice could not conceal his disappointment.
"Your Majesty, there is a rumor in the capital today about a list of names that has leaked out from nowhere..." Hu Weiyong still faced the emperor's cannibalistic gaze and recounted the evil deeds of King Yan's placement and surveillance of officials.
"I didn't believe it at first. How could His Highness the King of Yan commit such crazy evil deeds? But according to the list, the officials found the spies at home and obtained their confessions.
"When they put the confession in front of the old minister, the old minister was shocked beyond measure! I really looked through the twenty-one histories, but I didn't see such ridiculous deeds! How could King Yan do such a thing that alienated the emperor and his ministers and chilled the hearts of all the officials?!
"
As he spoke, he clasped his hands in his fists, looked up at the emperor, and said in a trembling voice unique to stroke patients:
"Your Majesty, the mood of the ministers was extremely low yesterday. Many of them were in tears. They said that they were loyal to the Emperor and devoted themselves to the country. However, the Emperor's son planted spies in their homes to monitor their every move."
"Hmph..." Many officials sobbed in unison, adding a bit more justice and support to Xiang Hu's speech.
"Where is the dignity of ministers here? It shows that they are not trusted by the emperor at all! For a while, everyone said that since the emperor was jealous of Ruosi, how could they have the face to stand in court and serve the emperor? So they wanted to resign.
, Your Majesty, please invite Gao Ming..."
"Uuuuuuuu, Your Majesty..." The ministers cried even harder. Many of them burst into tears and covered their faces with the sleeves of their official robes as they sobbed.
For those who didn’t know, they thought Emperor Hongwu was dead.
Emperor Hongwu was really overwhelmed. The prince on the side could hear his father's teeth clenching, and he hurriedly scolded:
"Hu Xiang, the truth of the matter has not been investigated clearly yet, so don't rush to cry and fight!"
"Prince, I have misunderstood the old minister. The old minister also advised them like this." Hu Weiyong cupped his hands towards the prince and said:
"I told them that for many years the emperor has been adhering to the principle of 'do not trust those who employ them, and do not use those who doubt'. Since you are using them, you must trust them. If you really want to doubt them, just remove them."
"Yes, yes." The ministers nodded quickly, indicating that Xiang Hu was right, and they all agreed:
"This is all the result of King Yan's evil intentions and behind the Emperor's back."
"For his own selfish interests, he alienated our monarchs and ministers!"
"This has just begun, but he dared to spy on the ministers behind the Emperor's back, and even bombarded the Marquis of Ji'an's Mansion. I don't even dare to think of what he can do in the future!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, these two crimes are so heinous that even the nine clans would not be able to copy ordinary ministers! Although King Yan is a prince, the prince broke the law and is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Please punish him severely!" The ministers said and knelt down one after another!
, raised the bullets in their hands high and said in unison:
"I kneel down with tears and blood and ask the emperor to severely punish King Yan, to uphold the laws of the country, and to set a warning to others!"
Hu Weiyong also knelt down, looked at the emperor and said loudly: "Your Majesty, please put the country first and don't chill people's hearts!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting on the dragon chair, watching the wonderful performances of the ministers expressionlessly. He said softly to the prince beside him:
"Do you believe this was a separate operation now?"
"..." The prince was silent for a long time, and Fang nodded heavily.
