Chapter 43 Surrounded

Zhang Taiyue was stunned and sat there motionless. He was obviously shocked. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. The Prince of Mu resealed the difficult memorial and prepared to take it back for the important officials to review again. But after thinking about it, he asked again:

"Since we are talking about the government affairs of the Hanlin Academy...Mr. Zhang, if you are selected in the future, would you like to go to the Hanlin Academy to see the world?"

Zhang Taiyue was slightly stunned: "I am not well educated, I am afraid I can't cross the threshold of the Hanlin Academy."

If the eight-legged essay imperial examination is truly a huge army crossing a single-plank bridge, then the Hanlin Academy is the most glorious peak of this single-plank bridge and the unique crown of the kings of the exams. According to the regulations of the imperial court, only the "outstanding talents" who ranked first or second in the Jinshi examination were eligible to be selected into the Hanlin Academy as "drafting imperial edicts" and "editing officials". These official positions were noble and prestigious, and their status was far above that of ordinary minor officials. It was considered the best destination after they got a job.

Precisely because it is the best destination for Jinshi, it is extremely difficult to get in. Judging from past examples, even if the emperor favored one and chose him as a substitute, one had to at least be in the top 15 of the second class in order to have the nerve to survive in the strict hierarchy of the Hanlin Academy - in other words, one had to be in the top 18 in the country.

Zhang Taiyue is certainly a man of extraordinary talent and ability, but he is not absolutely sure whether he can make it in this level of chicken-eating competition.

The prince just smiled and said, "Of course I have confidence in Mr. Zhang's talent. No matter how high the threshold is, it doesn't matter. But I am always worried that Mr. Zhang is unwilling to cross the threshold of the Hanlin Academy."

No matter how noble and important the Hanlin Academy is, it has to sway with the emperor's wishes in court. The Yuanshi case that broke out after the banquet in the Forbidden Garden undoubtedly planted a political minefield that could not be removed or explained in the Hanlin Academy; no matter how much they begged, explained, or asked others to intercede, the stain of disrespecting Emperor Gaozu would never be washed away. Even if the emperor wanted to show his deep filial piety to his ancestors, he had to peel off a layer of their skin.

Because of this, although the situation has changed over time, the reputation of the Hanlin Academy has been declining, and there is no sign of a turnaround. The falling of a leaf heralds the approach of autumn. Many scholars who are familiar with the situation in the court will naturally seek benefits and avoid harm. I am afraid they will have to use all means to try their best to jump out of the pit of Hanlin Academy. At such a delicate and awkward time, hoping that others would pass the imperial examination and be appointed as a Hanlin scholar may not be considered a blessing.

Zhang Taiyue thought for a moment, then shook his head: "How dare I talk about the central government? I just think that the emperor is as kind as the sky, and there will always be room for people to change their ways. Even if he is angry with the Hanlin Academy for a while, he will gradually let it go after a while."

He paused for a moment and continued, "I think the current situation of the Hanlin Academy is just a temporary downturn."

Hearing this, Mu Qi turned around and glanced at Zhang Taiyue with a rather surprised look - obviously, the "Your Majesty is as benevolent as Heaven" was just empty words; Zhang Taiyue was not from the secluded and remote Haigang Peak, even if he listened to the reputation of the upright people, he should be able to guess what a mean and vicious old man the current Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor was. But no matter what the rhetoric was, Zhang Taiyue's judgment was absolutely correct - no matter how incompetent and furious Lao Deng was, he would never ignore the Hanlin Academy for long; the shift in momentum was ultimately only a short-term accident, and as time passed, the political situation would return to its original state.

Of course, this does not mean that Master Feixuan will suddenly show his humanity and have any special tolerance towards the Hanlin Academy. The True Lord's disgust for that group of Hanlin scholars was genuine and there was no room for maneuver. But the Hanlin Academy is, after all, the head of the poets and a key pillar of the central government; if such a key pillar is shaken at will, the consequences will be quite difficult to guess.

...After all, the Ming dynasty was founded a hundred years after the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and the systems and practices since the Tang and Song dynasties had basically been swept away, leaving almost no remnants; Emperor Gaozu started from scratch, and took over a country that had to be built from scratch with no reference at all (you couldn't expect the Mongols to have any system construction, could you?), so he had to bite the bullet and force things to happen, borrowing from here and there, and finally came up with a set of rules and regulations for the court that could barely work. But even this set of shabby stuff that was imagined on the spur of the moment was kicked in the chest by Emperor Taizong when he went south to quell the rebellion - as a result, the entire system was completely defeated and went from bad to worse, and finally became irreversible.

By now, the country's system has completely become a pile of shitty codes, and it even relies on endless bugs to barely maintain its operation. The code of Shit Mountain is closely related to the whole body. If you move the knife carelessly, you might cut the aorta. The effect of drastic and forced implementation can be seen in the Huai Zong who was hanging under the old crooked tree decades later.

True Lord Feixuan is certainly much smarter than Huai Zong. If it were more than ten years ago when he was full of energy, he would probably have been patient enough to work for a few years, gradually undermining the status of the Hanlin Academy and slowly venting the anger in his heart. But now... now he has taken too many golden elixirs, and he is getting manic, hot, and using them wrongly. He no longer has the patience and energy to do such meticulous work.

Forget it, as long as you can run, that’s fine. If you can run, then don’t move around. What’s the point of fussing?

Therefore, Master Feixuan could at most deal with the existing Hanlin scholars and throw them into a remote area to eat sand for the rest of their lives. However, the Hanlin Academy, a vital institution, will eventually have to gradually regain its power in order to maintain the balance of power in the court and prevent any unexpected changes from occurring.

From the perspective of later generations, this can be considered as what Feixuan Zhenjun sowed upon himself and he had no choice. But after all, the person in charge is in the dark. There is no way Zhang Taiyue could have known Feixuan Zhenjun's physical condition. He was able to glimpse the emperor's governing style from a few bits of information, and to make bold guesses and careful judgments. This level of ability is really impressive.

The prince said, "From what you said, Master, it seems that you have no objection to joining the Imperial Academy?"

Zhang Taiyue was very modest: "How can a minister have any opinion on the state's public property?"

Regardless of whether there are any objections or not, if one can figure out Lao Deng's thoughts, then taking up the position at this time when the Hanlin Academy's reputation is low would be a good way to stir up trouble. What's more, several scholars in charge of the Hanlin Academy have already been in precarious situations. When Lao Deng seizes the opportunity to send them to Hainan for vacation, won't that create room for advancement for new officials?

Having a long-term vision and being able to endure loneliness is the natural talent and true wisdom.

The prince smiled and said, "For Taiyue to say this means that he is loyal to the court. Since he is loyal to the court, I should do everything I can to help him. I will try my best to go to the Hanlin Academy to make plans for Taiyue."

The Hanlin Academy is the headquarters of the noble civil officials, and a place where poetry and writing converge. With the cultural level of the Prince of Mu, can he really come up with anything among this group of arrogant poets? Even if he is not afraid of the saliva of the literati, just the prince's behavior of making the appointment by hand is a bit too arrogant and power-hungry, isn't it?

Zhang Taiyue felt great doubt. But perhaps out of politeness, he didn't say a word.

...Besides, what can the poor and weak Zhang Taiyue do in front of the top powerful officials in the court?

·

After checking Zhang Taiyue's internship work, Mu Qi went to the cabinet with the memorial. He dismounted from the corner gate and entered the palace. As soon as he entered, he felt something was wrong - the corner gate was usually where palace servants came in and out, so it was not strictly guarded. Occasionally, some vendors came to sell candied haws and mung bean soup, doing business in the palace. But today the gatekeepers were replaced by five tall and sturdy Jinwu Guards who were unfamiliar to them, and the hawker's cart was nowhere to be seen. There was no one inside or outside the door, not a single person could be seen.

Mu Qi had some complaints in his heart, but it was not easy for him to turn around and run away, so he could only walk inside; but it turned out that the guards inside the door were more strict, and someone even searched his clothes specifically. After turning the screen wall in the southeast corner, I saw seventeen or eighteen Jinyiwei standing in front of the cabinet duty room, surrounding several important officials on duty today; the leading eunuch had one hand on his waist, directing his men to search him.

Mu Qi was stunned for a moment, and then his scalp exploded!

Oh my God, I have to deal with such a bad thing!

It’s really a big stage in the imperial court, come if you have a dream. I originally thought that fighting wits and courage with Lao Deng in the cabinet was already a great torture, but I didn't expect that such a storm was waiting for me! ——Mu Qi’s heart was filled with the roar of a mountain and waves, and he really wanted to say “wow” thousands of times; but the current situation required that he could not make the slightest mistake. He looked around, then lowered his head and bent over, trying to sneak back to the screen wall using the willow tree by the wall and hide himself first.

But the Jinyiwei surrounding the cabinet were obviously very sharp-eyed. Soon someone saw it and strode over:

"What are you doing here, my Lord?"

Mu Qi was almost weak, and could only grit his teeth and talk nonsense, trying to get away with it:

"I just happened to walk here... Well, I have a stomachache and want to go to the back to relieve myself!"

——If he remembered correctly, there was an extremely hidden dog hole outside the toilet at the back where the palace servants used to relieve themselves, which led directly to the palace wall through twists and turns. Although the origin of this dog hole is really hard to think about, I can’t care much about it now in such a hurry. As long as he could find a way to crawl out of the dog hole, he could jump out of the palace wall and desperately call for help in the downtown area...

Damn it, for the sake of the country’s overall situation, he has really tried his best today!

The Royal Guard was stunned for a moment: "There is a toilet in the cabinet duty room, which is clean and convenient. Why does the prince go to a far place?"

Mu Qi's heart was filled with alarm: How could the Jinyiwei working in the outer court know that the toilet in the cabinet's duty room was "clean and convenient"? There is no doubt that these people have searched the place thoroughly.

He took a deep breath: "Going to the toilet is secondary, the main thing is to breathe some fresh air..."

Seeing that the Jinyiwei's expression became more and more surprised, his right hand unconsciously reached for his waist. Mu Qi felt a chill in his heart, knowing that he would not be able to get away with it today no matter what.

...But that's normal. How could someone who does such a big thing let down his guard just because of a few crazy words?

Things have come to this point, he has no choice but to fight hard. The Duke's face suddenly changed, and his tone suddenly became tough:

"It seems that the Jinyiwei don't need to worry about where I go! But you, you surrounded the cabinet so tightly, what big things are you trying to do?!"

The voice was so sharp and loud that even the other guards guarding the cabinet were startled and turned their heads. The leading eunuch immediately came over, as if he wanted to quickly control the situation. But Mu Qi only took one look and immediately became furious, unable to control himself!

"Huang Shanggang, you are here too!" He shouted angrily, "The emperor will always treat you well no matter what, right? How dare you, the East Factory, rebel?"

Even though I was bullied like this by Lao Deng, I didn't dare to overturn the table and disrupt the situation in the world. How can you, a eunuch who rose to power by favor, still dream of the chair in the Western Garden? !

Damn it, if I had known that Lao Deng’s subordinates were so restless, I would have taken the initiative!

Eunuch Huang Shanggang was stunned and for a moment he could not believe what he heard. When his shocked brain finally analyzed the prince's angry rebuke, what he felt in an instant was not anger or fear, but indescribable absurdity:

"How can our family rebel? Have you ever seen the East Factory rebel since ancient times?"

What’s the point of eunuchs rebelling? Will you pass the throne to your partner after you die?

Mu Qi said confidently: "You led troops into the palace and surrounded the cabinet, and you still dare to say that you don't have rebellious intentions! Of course, the East Factory has no precedent of rebellion, but don't forget that in the past, during the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the eunuch Cao Jixiang, who was the governor of the troops in the capital, did something big!"

As the emperor who single-handedly lowered the bottom line of the dynasty, Emperor Baozong's political level has always been stable and never disappoints people. Under his wise governance, the eunuch Cao Jixiang, who had participated in the coup d'état, secretly raised his assassins and grew in power. Finally, he brazenly launched an attack and led his army into the imperial city, killing many nobles and civil servants along the way, and almost overturned the throne of the emperor. And Baozong became the only emperor in hundreds of years of this dynasty who was almost successfully usurped by a eunuch.

To be honest, given the strict and harsh decentralization system designed by Emperor Gaozu and the strong and stable imperial power of this dynasty, the Emperor Taiping, who had sat on the throne for decades, was almost overthrown by the eunuchs. This is probably a miracle that is unique in the history of political development for thousands of years. All we can say is that the Bao Zong is the Bao Zong, and it can always easily break through the lower limit of human imagination and reach an unprecedented level.

What does it mean that Emperor Taiping was overthrown by the eunuchs? Have you ever seen the emperor of unified China himself deliver food to the Mongols? Never seen it, right? Bao Zong wants you to open your eyes and know your place and don’t be so self-righteous!

Of course, the current emperor can never be compared with Bao Zong, but since there is this precedent, you can't say that it is impossible for eunuchs to rebellion. The prince's suspicion is groundless!

Eunuch Huang was speechless for a moment, and then he became furious:

"Stop slandering me! We are here to clean up things in the cabinet according to the imperial order!"

"Where's the imperial edict?" The prince of Duke Mu stretched out his hand, but suddenly became alert: "Wait, you didn't make it up yourself? 'If he wants an imperial edict, I will write one for him'?"

Eunuch Huang became even more angry: "How can you slander me like this, my lord? If you want evidence, after we clear the evidence, we can go to see the emperor together with you!"

Mu Qi snorted, "You mean cleanup? May I ask, Eunuch Huang, what are you going to clean up in the cabinet?"

This sentence was ordinary, but Eunuch Huang, who was very angry, choked up. He held it in for a long time, his face getting redder and redder, but he still couldn't utter a word. He could only stand there sweating profusely. As a result, not only did the prince's eyes become more and more strange, but even the Jinyiwei on the side began to look weird.

...If you think about it carefully, when Eunuch Huang transferred people, he only said that there was an imperial decree, but he never explained the specific content of the decree.

——What the hell, what the hell, is this true?

Huang Shanggang saw the expressions of his men and couldn't help but groan in his heart. Obviously, it is difficult to deal with the ambiguity between people in the melon field and the plum tree. If his subordinates really become suspicious, he will be skinned alive. But - but, if he really revealed the real reason for today's cleanup, he would be exposed for more than just a layer of skin!

He couldn't retort if he couldn't explain the reason. Because of this, facing the aggressive questioning of Prince Mu, he couldn't utter a single word in defense!

Oh my God, this job is so bad!

Seeing that the situation was gradually getting out of control, Eunuch Huang was at a loss and could only grit his teeth and forcibly change the subject. At least he had to deal with the powerful source of destruction, the Prince of Mu:

"I'm afraid the imperial edict we received doesn't need to be reviewed by the prince. Besides, so many important officials in the cabinet are obediently waiting for the imperial edict to be reviewed. Why does the prince want to act differently?"

He pointed to where everyone was gathered outside the duty room, indicating that he had no intention of overstepping his authority or forcing anyone. The prince chuckled softly and also took a step towards the cabinet duty room. He probably wanted to angrily denounce the Jinyiwei's shameless behavior of holding important officials hostage, but as his eyes swept over the several important officials who were gathered together - Chen Shilang of the Ministry of War, Zhao Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, Wu Shangshu of the Ministry of Works, etc. - his expression gradually became confused.

Obviously, these important officials did not look nervous or fearful. Some of them even looked interested and were obviously enjoying eating this melon. and……

He was stunned for a moment, and finally he slowly let out a breath, and had to admit his mistake:

"…My father-in-law is right. I must have been reckless."

Eunuch Huang sneered: "Why, now you know you made a mistake?"

"I should apologize to my father-in-law. He is definitely not rebelling." The prince said sincerely, "After all, rebellion is a matter of quick action. Once you start, you must control the key points of the center. And now these adults who are surrounded in the cabinet..."

He thought about it, but couldn't find a more euphemistic way to put it, so he could only force out a sentence: "...They are all relatively harmless. Even if they are controlled, they will not help the rebellion."

Several important officials who are eating melons:? ? ! ! !

Wait, what the hell do you mean by "harmless"? !

Who the fuck are you? !

I am so insignificant that I am not even qualified to be targeted, right? !

It turned out to be the Mad Man with infinite destructive power. With just one sentence, everyone's defense was broken at the same time!

Unfortunately, no one present dared to jump out and say that they could be of great use in the usurpation of the throne, so they could only glare at the Prince of Mu, with sparks almost flying in their eyes. The prince obviously realized that something was wrong and quickly added:

"Of course, I am just as harmless, so I shouldn't be a hindrance."

Obviously, being listed alongside the Prince of Mu did not quell everyone's anger, and the looks of the important officials became even more terrifying.

Eunuch Huang sighed, feeling an inexplicable fatigue:

"... Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. Just follow my orders and start the search."

·

Compared with the previous quiet and perfunctory inspections, this time the inspection was much more detailed. More than a dozen Jinyiwei and eunuchs carried the miscellaneous items back and forth, checking and counting them one by one. After searching high and low, they even found a dry bun that had been left in the pile of papers at some point, along with a rat and dozens of cockroaches. Due to the restrictions of the imperial decree, everyone could only stand still and watch these lively and diverse little creatures crawling all over the ground, while secretly cursing the seniors who did not collect the snacks after eating them.

After such a careful search, they finally found the fatal thing - when counting a desk often used by Minister Wu of the Ministry of Works, the Jinyiwei shook open the straw paper and pulled out a piece of exquisite and thin colored paper with a portrait on it.

...Mu Qi knew at a glance that this was an insert from the special collector's edition of "The Elder is Locked Up in the Western Garden in Spring". Only big customers who had grabbed the first edition in one go were eligible to get such a copy as a souvenir from a big bookseller.

Beside him, Minister Wu's face immediately lost color.