Chapter 7 Goryeo
Not only Lord Yan, but everyone present was bewildered: the emperor had been practicing Taoism for decades and had never missed reading Qingci because of state affairs. Today was a complete deviation from his normal behavior, it was like the sun rising from the west.
Because of the same doubt, after the eunuch presented the poem, the palace was silent for a moment. It was Master Fei Xuan who spoke up himself:
"Lord Yan, let's calculate the time. Di Maoyan, the inspector of the Fourth Division of Salt, has been gone for more than a month. Has he written you a letter?"
Lord Yan shuddered and immediately came to his senses. The imperial court was like a ship leaking from the top, the closer to the core the faster the news leaked; the news of sending the Jinyiwei to monitor the smoking place had long been circulated among the top leaders, and the emperor now specifically reminded him of it, which was undoubtedly a warning for him to draw a clear line between himself and his resentful student.
He spoke decisively: "I have never received a single word from Censor Di, and Censor Di rarely meets me, so we are not familiar with each other."
Di Chouyan was not yet Yan Ge Lao Zhuoliu's confidant, so it would not be a big deal if he was killed, so he took action immediately.
The emperor snorted, "How could he not even care about the friendship of his master? He is indeed ungrateful. Judging from this, the people below who impeached Di Maoyan for corruption and abuse of power are probably true, and we need to investigate it carefully."
Without the protection of the cabinet minister, a mere Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief would be nothing more than a larger ant in such a high-level meeting. Everyone crossed their hands and accepted the order. The smoke coming out of the ground was the final nail in the coffin. The emperor shook his sleeves and said:
"First, we will investigate quietly. After Di Maoyan returns to Beijing from his salt inspection and hands over the silver, we will deal with him and his accomplices. We should not alert them. The Ministry of Revenue and the Textile Bureau always complain to me about being poor. This time, we have settled the matter. Finally, life will be better this year."
Mu Qi held his breath and concentrated, the corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously when he heard the words. The old Taoist priest seemed to be in seclusion and not concerned with worldly affairs, but his calculations on money were terrifyingly shrewd. In the past few days, the Jinyiwei were sent to monitor the Di Mansion. I'm afraid they might have secretly moved the abacus beads around and caught all the rats in the Di Mansion's storehouse and sold them to the countryside, using the money to fill the deficit in his small treasury.
What's this "life is better this year"? It's just an excuse to share profits with the national treasury!
As the chief minister, Xia Ge Lao took the lead in discussing the division of money between the internal and external governments with the emperor: "Your Majesty, the salaries owed to Zhili and Shanxi have been delayed for more than a year. Can you allocate 700,000 taels of silver to make up the salaries of local officials below the fourth rank first?"
The emperor said, "Yes."
Xia Gelao said, "In order to make up for the deficit in the national treasury, it is proposed to increase the tax by two cents per mu of irrigated land in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Your Majesty, can we exempt it now?"
The True Lord said leisurely: "The people have a hard life. It is right to share some of it. I approve it."
Although the words were still sarcastic and disgusting, Mu Qi still widened his eyes in surprise: According to convention, the taxes that were scheduled to be increased were already money in the emperor's pocket; he actually agreed to reduce the burden on the people. When did the old Taoist become so anthropomorphic?
The emperor quietly touched the book in his sleeve, but he showed no reaction. Obviously, no matter where the banished immortal hiding in the crowd is now, he has nothing to say about his actions and can only remain silent.
Master Fei Xuan had been tormented by the strange book for several days, and now he finally took the initiative, and he couldn't help but feel relieved:
"As for other matters that benefit the country and the people, you can discuss with the six ministries and draft a proposal for my approval. As long as it is reasonable, it can be approved. I will find a way to make up for the remaining money and repair the Taimiao first, which can be regarded as a sincere act of respecting the heaven and following the ancestors."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall's eyelids jumped, and they immediately understood the clue:
The main part of the show is here!
No wonder the emperor was so open-minded and tolerant, and complied with the request for funding. It turned out that the foreshadowing of the exchange was buried here!
The emperor was adopted as an heir from an alien vassal state and ascended the throne at a young age. In order to posthumously honor his biological father, King Xingxian, as emperor, he fought a fierce battle with the then Prime Minister Yang and his son. There were as many as sixteen officials above the fourth rank who were beaten to death in the court. At the end of the Grand Ceremony, Prime Minister Yang was demoted to a commoner and died of illness at home. His son Yang Yongxiu was exiled to Lingnan and was never pardoned throughout his life. However, Yang Yongxiu was extremely talented and worked hard to improve himself. It is said that he learned from his mistakes in Lingnan and made further progress. His articles will surely be immortal.
However, the court officials did not have the great sentiment of dedicating themselves to the history of literature, and were even less willing to use their buttocks to resist the emperor's cane. So everyone followed suit and acquiesced to the emperor's move to posthumously honor his biological father.
But the old Taoist's desires seemed endless, and his methods became more and more aggressive. After posthumously honoring his biological father, the next step was to give him a posthumous title. After the posthumous title, the next step was to build a mausoleum. Now that the mausoleum has been completed, there were rumors in the palace that the emperor seemed to want to bring his biological father into the Taimiao to eat a bowl of cold pork!
——This is really too much. The Taimiao is used to commemorate the ancestors of previous dynasties, and the number of tablets enshrined in the main hall is limited. If King Xingxian's tablet is moved in, whose tablet will be squeezed out? How can a vassal king who has never even touched the emperor's side occupy the position of the legitimate emperor and seize his position?
Even with the court's docility and obedience after the grand ceremony, it is still difficult to open the mouth. The emperor probably knew that he was in the wrong, so he tried to attack indirectly, first using the matter of repairing the Taimiao to test the waters, and then taking some small actions to gain momentum day by day. But even if they make progress step by step, I'm afraid few people would dare to give in!
As expected, Lord Xia fell silent.
And just in time, the book in the emperor's sleeve launched the attack:
[Lao Deng is really lacking in virtue. If he puts his father in, who will be kicked out? According to the rules set by Emperor Gaozu, the "Nine Temples of the Son of Heaven" - now counting up nine generations, isn't it exactly the royal ancestor, Taizong Zhu Laosi, who led the Jingnan Rebellion? Oh my god, are we going to move Emperor Taizong Zhu Laosi out? ! If Zhu Laosi knew about this in his afterlife, he would probably roll around on the ground in Changling - filial piety cannot be expressed in words, filial piety cannot be expressed in words! 】
The emperor's mouth twitched, but he did not lose his composure.
…It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, he had heard a lot of rude words since the beginning of etiquette, so he didn't care about this at all. Besides, he had a foolproof plan in place and would not offend Emperor Taizong.
[No, the old Taoist priest doesn’t have such courage. If Zhu Laosi is removed, what will become of the branch that they have passed down? Rebellious traitors? Zhu Laosi had to be saved no matter what, so the only option was to move Zhu Laosi’s son, the fat emperor Renzong… Well, if I can’t bully him, I’ll bully my son. Honest people are miserable…】
Fei Xuan Zhenjun, who bullied the honest man, let out a long breath and looked at Elder Xia who was standing with his hands down:
"The Imperial Ancestral Temple is the residence of our ancestors' spirits, how can it be simple? I...I am concerned about this day and night, and I must get it done."
He originally wanted to express his filial piety to his ancestors, but when he thought of the accusation of treason in the book, he swallowed back half of his words.
His Majesty asked this question, and Elder Xia had no choice but to express his opinion:
"Renovating the Imperial Ancestral Temple is a major matter. Let me discuss this with the Ministry of Rites before you get back to me."
This was obviously a delay, but the emperor didn't mind. It is not uncommon for the Prime Minister to be a little shy. However, he has more considerate and more useful tools, so he doesn't have to worry about his ministers being perfunctory.
"Lord Yan." He called out, "You are in charge of the Ministry of Rites, you must take care of it carefully."
Yan Ge Lao immediately crossed his hands and replied, "I obey your order. However, the Ministry of Rites is currently looking after the envoys from Goryeo to discuss the appointment of the crown prince, so I'm afraid I can't be there for the time being."
This sentence was ordinary, but Xia Yan couldn't help but frowned slightly. He knew very little about the news about the foreign vassal states. He only vaguely heard that there were some problems with the hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate children in the Goryeo etiquette, so the position of the crown prince could not be determined for a long time. A mere prince of a foreign vassal state is not a big deal, but the etiquette and legal system is a big deal. The court has precedents that cannot be abolished. As long as Yan Fenyi manipulates the etiquette and laws of Goryeo, he can seize the initiative and set this precedent as a model. When he argues about the late emperor's entry into the Taimiao in the future, he will have more leverage.
Although they knew that Yan Fenyi wanted to use this as an excuse to cause trouble, Xia Yan and Xu Shaohu knew nothing about Goryeo affairs and could not interfere, so they could only keep silent. Master Feixuan also understood the hint from this close and treacherous minister and nodded happily, feeling very happy.
The major matters including the confiscation of property, division of money and sending my father to the Imperial Ancestral Temple were agreed upon, and the remaining minor matters did not require much effort. At six quarters past the morning hour, the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department had finished approving and sealing the documents, and the young eunuchs who were cleaning the table filed in, removed the long tables and chairs on all four sides, and replaced them with incense burners burning pine and cypress. Everyone in the hall stood in two rows, bowed their heads slightly, and waited for the palace servants to put on for them the scented leaf crowns with lush flowers and greenery, covered with green gauze.
That’s right, after reporting on the matter, the second skill that the old Taoist priest must have will come in handy. They also had to "dance in the dust" and "pray with the group" to pray to heaven together with the emperor.
Mu Qi lowered his head slightly, expressionless, until the big moth in front of him fluttered back behind the screen, leaving only a hazy figure; then a bronze chime rang, and everyone twisted their waists, stretched their legs, and began to sway. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he had no choice but to twist his hips and wave his sleeves vigorously.
Therefore, human adaptability is still very strong. Earlier, he was favored by the emperor and was chosen to write Qingci. When he smelled the poisonous smoke and danced in front of dozens of people, twisting his waist and hips and raising dust, Mu Qi was extremely sad and angry, and couldn't control himself. He cursed Lao Deng thousands of times in his diary. But now, after a few years, Mu Qi really couldn't come up with anything new to say. In order to dispel the unbearable embarrassment in this long dance, he could only empty his mind and force himself to think about random things to pass the time.
For example, what caught his special attention today was the dispute over the crown prince in Goryeo that Yan Fenyi mentioned at the end. He always felt vaguely that this thing seemed to foreshadow some big event and should be taken note of.
·
Although he was happy to enjoy the passionate dancing of his ministers, the Lord himself would never dance in front of them. The huge screen was empty except for Wang Ben, his childhood playmate, who was standing by his side, holding his breath and waiting for the bronze chime to be struck to the rhythm. Master Fei Xuan changed into a close-fitting purple Taoist robe, and following the curling smoke from pine and cypress trees, he slowly stepped onto the Tai Chi platform inlaid with black and white jade. He pinched the Dharma fingers with his hands, stepped on the Nine Palaces, and took the strict Yu Step.
Amid the curling smoke, there was an immortal air and a graceful figure, who looked like a real human being and was quite deceptive.
After stepping over two hexagram positions, the book in the emperor's sleeve began to drip again:
[I remembered that this was the origin of the Goryeo crown prince change incident - it later caused such a big disaster, but now it can be settled in just two or three sentences? 】
The emperor was calm and his steps were steady. After being frightened repeatedly in the past few days, Master Fei Xuan has finally become a master. A mere disturbance is not enough to stir his heartstrings.
[However, the foreshadowing of this matter was laid very early.] More than a decade ago, Goryeo sent an envoy to request that Chunbin Daejin be appointed as the queen. Unfortunately, the great etiquette was in turmoil at the time, and the Ministry of Rites was overwhelmed and had no time to investigate in detail. They even mistakenly reported the name of Daejin's sister, Sunbin Xiaojin, and the edict was drafted into a document. Once the decree was issued, it could not be changed, and Xiao Jin became the princess inexplicably.
But as luck would have it, during the reign of the previous emperor Mujong, in order to reward the obedience of the Goryeo royal family, the eldest son of the Lee family, the son of Sunbin Daejin, was canonized as the crown prince. Such an edict also could not be changed! 】
The emperor raised an eyebrow and changed his step lightly, and his clothes fluttered. While you are always concerned about your own affairs, you will always think that other people's melons are delicious. As for the mistake that was made, the emperor had long forgotten it and was too lazy to make up for it.
[From this point of view, all the things that happened later were basically caused by these conflicting edicts - after the two enthronements, the biological mother of the prince was not the princess, and the son of the princess was not the prince. This ultimate bug created by human beings is simply going to burst the lungs of Goryeo!
Although the Central Plains believes in "a mother's status depends on her son", they can get away with it by being muddle-headed. But Goryeo was different. Goryeo was obsessed with class differentiation, and it could be described as a paradise in the dream of the religion of the legitimate and illegitimate children. With the clear distinction between different levels of hierarchy, there is absolutely no room for any perfunctory treatment. To exaggerate a bit, the crowned princess, as the legal wife, can directly sell the prince's biological mother; the prince, who is both the legitimate and the eldest, can also sell the queen's children - selling each other, threatening each other, what kind of ultimate Dark Forest version of the Legitimate and Illegitimate God Cult is this, a deterrent chain blessed by the God of Betrayal! 】
When the sound of bells and chimes rang out, His Majesty looked calm. He moved his fingers in coordination with his footwork, and breathed in true energy from his dantian, slowly pouring it into his chest. No matter whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, or sold, Yan Fenyi will take care of it anyway, so Emperor Feixuan doesn't need to worry about it. However, Goryeo attached so much importance to "legitimate and illegitimate" that even if it was purely unintentional, it still made Zhenjun, who came from a side branch, quite unhappy, and he decided to reduce the rewards for the tribute envoys.
[So, it is actually normal for Goryeo to repeatedly send people to urge the court to solve the problem. However, no one in the Ministry of Rites dared to correct the emperor's will and could only do a perfunctory job. It was not until Yan Fenyi took over that, in order to set a precedent for the case of moving the Taimiao, he forcibly designated the son of Queen Xiaojin to inherit the throne on the grounds of Emperor Gaozu's ancestral teachings, and changed the original prince to Wang Taixiong, with an agreement that the position would be passed back to Wang Taixiong's son in the future.
But how could there not be problems with such a structure? Less than three years after the new king took office, he secretly executed the father and son of the King's eldest brother, cleared out the remaining followers, and brought great disgrace to the court. Fortunately, Yan Fenyi had been promoted to the position of Prime Minister by then, holding great power. He patched up loopholes between the upper and lower levels and concealed all kinds of lies, and at least the emperor didn't know about it. 】
Yan Fenyi looked like a loyal man, but once he came to power, he actually dared to deceive his superiors and subordinates?
...It seems that in addition to promoting old officials, we also have to make some preparations.
[However, Old Yan did not dare to report it, and he did have his reasons. At that time, the Ministry of Rites sent someone to question the new King of Goryeo, but the man was shameless and extremely rude. When the messenger asked where his nephew was, the new king blurted out:
"To find Emperor Jianwen, ride on that white cloud!"
Oh, and added: "Even the emperor obeys his biological father, so why can't I respect my biological mother? Besides, my father is also the king, and there is no need to repair the imperial temple and ask the late king to move to another place, so the envoy does not need to worry!"
——Mom, if the old Taoist priest knew this, he would probably hit me hard and break my heart…】
·
Mu Qi looked through the materials, compared his memories, and finally sorted out the changes in Goryeo. He closed his Heart Sound Notes with satisfaction. But just as he raised his leg to follow everyone in taking the Crane Step, he heard a loud clanging noise in front of the screen, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground and rolled several times. Then there was a sharp, shrill, mournful and long-lasting cry. It was Wang Ben's voice:
"My Lord, Your Majesty! Is Your Majesty okay? Your Majesty, what happened to your face——"
He howled only twice before there was a crisp snap, and then a violent roar exploded out of nowhere:
"Get out, all of you, get out!"
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