Chapter 9 Discussion

There are no secrets in Xiyuan. Within half a day, the news of the emperor's sudden rage spread throughout the upper class in the capital, arousing countless suspicions - since the establishment of the dynasty, there has been no end to the turmoil in the palace; the former Emperor Jianwen flew away on a white cloud, the previous Emperor Wuzong was easily dissolved in water, and the current Emperor Qingmiao was almost ignited by fire; with all these precedents, it is inevitable that people will be worried.

However, the emperor soon issued an edict, ordering Yan Fenyi to take charge of all matters concerning the tribute from the Goryeo envoys; the wording of the edict was the same as before, and the palace servants who conveyed the edict did not see anything unusual; the vague suspicion was naturally dispelled.

As the emperor's closest minister, Yan Fenyi naturally has a tacit understanding with the emperor and can understand everything he says. On the same day, he summoned officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue to discuss ways to receive the Goryeo envoys. After the rules were finally agreed upon, the next day a eunuch from the Western Garden came to inspect the progress on the emperor's orders.

This was just a sloppy and customary procedure, but the eunuch read the document and shook his head repeatedly, then read out the emperor's oral order:

"The Ministry of Rites is doing things according to orders, why are you so extravagant! I only wear eight sets of clothes in four seasons, and I change them dry and wash them wet, and wash them again and again. I am thinking about the people in the world who have nothing to wear. The saints take the people's heart as their own, and the Ministry of Rites looks up to me. Who can act recklessly and waste money without limit? Frugality cultivates virtue, you should be careful!"

Lord Yan was hit so hard by this blow that he was sweating profusely. He could only kneel on the ground and apologize. But after apologizing, he couldn't help but have doubts: in order to please the emperor and do his job well, he did try to add some reception ceremonies, but no matter what, it was not to the point of "extravagant and wasteful", right?

He could only stuff another banknote into the eunuch's hand and said, "Please give me some advice, eunuch!"

The eunuch who delivered the message looked around and finally said, "The emperor is very concerned about the reception of Gaoli and asks about it two or three times a day."

Elder Yan quickly probed: "What does His Majesty mean?"

The eunuch whispered, "The emperor has clearly said that the Ministry of Rites should act on its own? There are clearly rules set by Emperor Gaozu, why don't you follow them?"

After saying that, he bowed and left quickly, leaving only Lord Yan standing there. He was at a loss for a moment, his heart was filled with despair, and he was almost speechless for a moment.

——The rules of Emperor Gaozu? Emperor Gaozu was a ruthless person who was so stingy that he only gave a first-rank official a monthly salary of ten taels of silver! If we follow his rules, the Ministry of Rites' funds would probably only be enough to treat the Goryeo envoys to a bucket of sewage!

Damn it, you still remember the hardships that your great-grandfather had to endure when he had to beg for food, and you still drink the pearly white jade soup with him, right?

Thinking of this, Lord Yan's chest churned, his nostrils felt hot again, and two streams of hot blood flowed out.

·

In just one day, the emperor's extremely subtle attitude towards the Goryeo envoys spread instantly to the ears of those who were qualified to know. The foreign vassal states are irrelevant to the overall situation, and most people just see them as a joke. But for the Qingliu faction who were ready to fight and eyeing the throne of the Prime Minister, it was undoubtedly good news from heaven and they were eager to turn the tables in one fell swoop!

Less than half an hour after the eunuch delivered the order, Xu Ge Lao's disciple, the Imperial Secretary Zhou Zhicheng, quietly visited his master and delivered the crucial news:

"I have already inquired and confirmed that Yan Fenyi was indeed reprimanded by His Majesty. Although he was not named, he was humiliated!" Zhou Zhicheng was very excited: "The Yan faction used the Grand Ceremony Discussion to curry favor with the emperor and has been in control of the Ministry of Rites for more than ten years. Now is the perfect opportunity to teach them a lesson!"

Xu Shaohu wanted to speak, but then he closed his eyes tiredly. He took half a pill of the golden elixir yesterday and submitted a report to the emperor. Although he was extremely careful with the dosage, he still had to go to the toilet several times and urinated more than ten times. He is now a little weak and is really not suitable for such a difficult activity as political struggle. He could only look at Gao Xuexuan beside him:

"Su Qing, what do you think?"

Gao Zhongxuan, as Prince Yu's tutor, was always cautious. He only pondered and said, "The Yan Party is a turbid force that harms the country and the people, so it is natural that we must get rid of it. But I think the emperor's oral order may not mean to blame Yan Fenyi, so I'm afraid it's not appropriate to take action now."

This makes sense, but Zhou Zhicheng was very dissatisfied. His talent and knowledge are far inferior to those of the upright figures, but thanks to the kinship between his mother's family and Lord Xu, he has been able to barely climb to his current position and has some reputation among his disciples. Recently I heard that Lord Xu highly values ​​a candidate named Zhang Taiyue and intends to take him under his wing. He secretly developed a sense of crisis and wanted to take the opportunity to show off and consolidate his position.

He argued: "Zhuoliu was only able to occupy a high position by relying on Yan Fenyi's flattery. Why should Master Gao be so afraid?"

After hearing this, Gao Zhongxuan didn't care, but Lord Xu's expression changed slightly. In just a few days since the meeting in the Western Garden, although the overall situation in the court has not changed, the power of the cabinet has subtly fluctuated. Originally, there was no hierarchy below the Prime Minister, but now when the emperor issued an imperial decree, he would send it to Yan Fenyi first and then to Xu Shaohu; Yan Fenyi also received an extra silver seal of the Qingliang Palace, which allowed him to take up duty at any time without reporting. With this two-pronged approach, power will undoubtedly increase greatly.

Zhou Zhicheng was right. This was indeed the reward Yan Fenyi earned for flattering the emperor and working hard. But doesn’t Xu Shaohu want to lick it anymore? But there is nothing you can do about talent. Elder Yan was born with a holy body for making elixirs, an indestructible chosen guinea pig, and he could take elixirs without batting an eyelid. How could Elder Xu, a weakling who could be full for a whole day after eating half a pill, compare with him? ! Now when I hear the phrase "flattering and fawning on superiors in order to seize high positions", it really hurts my heart.

Thinking about the current sensitive situation, Xu Shaohu made up his mind immediately:

"You can speak freely. Zhicheng, why don't you say more?"

This obviously meant tacit approval, and Zhou Zhicheng was delighted:

"Your Excellency, I understand clearly. The Yan Party is a disaster to the country and the people. How can we allow them to hold power? What I mean is that we can be ruthless this time and simply use Your Majesty's decree to directly ruin the tribute of the Goryeo envoys! Your Excellency, it is better to suffer a short pain than a long one. The more serious the matter of receiving foreign vassals is, the greater the consequences for the Yan Party. Just treat it as a piece of rotten meat on the body of the country and squeeze out the sore of Yan Fenyi!"

He spoke sternly and with righteous words. Gao Zhongxuan, who was listening carefully, narrowed his eyes slightly: The tribute of the Goryeo envoys has been messed up, and whose face is lost? Whose hearts are shaken? Using this method to fight is really crossing the line.

But Lord Xu did not say anything, so he just spoke lightly:

"Then how do we deal with this?"

Zhou Zhicheng was very excited:

"Master Gao, this is not difficult. We already have our people in the Ministry of Rites. We can just let them intentionally or unintentionally criticize the Koreans in the reception documents, and the matter will be ruined, and we will not be blamed. I went to the Honglu Temple to check the archives, and it turns out that the succession of the Korean throne was also in chaos, and it is not worth telling outsiders..."

Xu Shaohu and Gao Xuexuan frowned at the same time: If you are talking about Goryeo, just say Goryeo. What does the word "也" in "also in chaos" mean?

Zhou Zhicheng was unaware of this and continued to talk non-stop, showing off:

"For example, the current King of Goryeo's father, King Hyojo, got the throne in a very suspicious way. He probably seized it from the previous King Jingzong, and now there is still the aftermath of the palace coup. Jingzong is quite knowledgeable in writing. If we secretly use two lines of his poems in the documents, the Goryeo envoys will definitely not be able to tolerate it and will probably turn hostile."

Xu Shaohu's expression softened. "So there is such a connection. I wonder what the origins of this Goryeo King Jingzong are?"

There was a strong trend of small demons in Goryeo temples, palace changes and displacements were numerous, and there was an old custom of close relative marriage among the nobles. Zhou Zhicheng rolled his eyes and thought for a long time before he could finally figure it out:

"Xiaozu's father was originally the half-brother of Jingzong's grandfather, and they were also intermarried. So Jingzong should call Xiaozu 'uncle'..."

His voice gradually became quieter and he had to lower his head to avoid the two sudden cold gazes.