Chapter 161 Those who don’t eat melons are not worthy of attending the court
The prince wanted to shout: Why do I always have to deal with such dilemmas?
But he managed to keep calm.
The prince thought for a moment and decided to come up with an alternative answer.
The prince said, "Father, I do not agree with sending troops to the King of Huainan immediately."
The court officials who were on good terms with the prince looked worried.
The emperor looked away coldly.
The prince said loudly, "Father. In the knowledge of the system and my ninth sister, the King of Huainan can still wait for several years before raising an army. But if we ignore the war with the Xiongnu and the locust plague and suddenly attack the King of Huainan, will my ninth sister and the system become suspicious? Will something unexpected happen? After all, it is often said in the stories that gods cannot reveal their secrets. Although I don't know if my ninth sister can accept this restriction, I think there is no need to take this risk."
Courtiers: !!!
It's a good idea to not let the small country doubt this point! Your Majesty will definitely care about it. As expected of a prince, he has a flexible mind.
The emperor's expression softened a little, as if he was thinking about something.
The prince continued: "As for the specific follow-up, I agree with Prime Minister Li."
Under the tense gazes of the courtiers, the emperor hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes."
Court officials: Yes! I knew the prince was the most reliable!
After the emperor and his court officials reached a basic consensus, they began to make relevant arrangements for government affairs.
An hour later, they had finalized the basic framework.
The emperor suddenly said, "Prince, go ask your sister for the list of young officials for the princess' banquet."
The prince was stunned and nodded in agreement.
The emperor then said to everyone, "Jiu'er is the destiny of the country. Knowing her heart can help avoid disasters and will be of great help to Daxia. So what Daxia needs is young talents who dare to stay by Jiu'er's side and listen to her talk without fear of exposing themselves."
The court officials were shocked: Your Majesty, does this mean that you want to settle accounts with those young officials who left early? !
The emperor looked at the Minister of Personnel and said, "The young talents who took the initiative to stay on the ship today, Minister of Personnel, will all be awarded a merit. As for those who escaped from the battlefield, they will not be awarded the first-class for two years."
The Minister of Personnel hesitated for a moment and then accepted the order.
Some officials who congratulated themselves or their sons for running fast: !!!
What can I do? If I fall behind in my career, I will fall behind step by step!
If you can't get promoted for two years, all the positions above you will be taken by others.
They looked at the prince anxiously and expectantly.
The prince ignored it. In his opinion, this time his father's seemingly absurd order was not wrong.
Because the little national teacher is really brave enough to expose the gossip.
Therefore, these young officials who dare to stay and listen to the gossip and are not afraid of exposing themselves generally have higher character, morality and patriotism.
Seeing that the prince was unmoved, these worried officials stepped forward.
But before he could open his mouth, the emperor said, "If there are still people who dare to make excuses or express dissenting opinions, they will not be allowed to hold an official position of the sixth rank or above within three years." After saying this, the emperor announced the end of the small court meeting and stood up to leave.
Some court officials were so confused that they dared not say another word.
…
In the next three days, at the entrance of East Street where the nobles lived, such dramas could be often heard: "I'll let you show off your wits! You're almost ruining your future.", "I regret it! Why did I follow the trend and leave? I regret it!", "What is there to be afraid of at your age? I'm not afraid of your father. I think you might as well go back to your hometown and farm."...
After these literary dramas were over, some officials’ homes would also stage martial arts dramas such as “father beating son” and “parents fighting each other”.
As a result, the number of officials submitting memorials to the court has decreased significantly recently.
A few days later, when a small number of court officials had almost gathered their emotions and were ready to go to court, before they even entered the room, they suddenly saw Yuan Ruan sitting on the Third Prince's shoulder.
Everyone had a blank expression on their faces, but in their hearts they were thinking: Ah, ah, ah!
They saw Yuan Ruan waving to them happily, and the court officials subconsciously made a heart shape with their hands to Yuan Ruan. Then they saw Yuan Ruan climb down from the shoulders of the Third Prince and stagger happily towards the direction of the Crown Prince.
After Yuan Ruan left, the expressions of the few court officials who had been stunned before suddenly changed. They frowned and surrounded the Third Prince.
"What are you doing!" The Third Prince spoke quickly and stretched out his hand. "Isn't the lesson given by the Emperor brother enough? Do you still want to avoid melon? Who wants to avoid melon? I will report the list now, so that you can go home and rest today."
These words were extremely destructive.
The court officials who were originally full of anger suddenly became depressed.
The most ferocious Minister of War forced a smile, patted his sleeves, and softened his tone: "I have no such petty thoughts, but Third Prince, why did you suddenly bring the Ninth Princess here today?"
The Third Prince smiled and said what his mother had said: "What? Can I still restrain the Ninth Princess?"
Minister of War: ...
Seeing that the other party was choked, the Third Prince felt secretly happy. He just said, "I'm going to court," and walked into the court in a good mood.
The Minister of Justice, who had been watching the whole time, stepped forward, patted the Minister of War on the shoulder, and said, "I know that this time it involves not only your nephew, but also several young generals you promoted. You may feel a little frustrated, but don't forget how terrible the emperor's temper was before the young imperial tutor came. Now he has not been beheaded, his property has not been confiscated, and his entire family has not been exterminated. This is a blessing."
The Minister of War suddenly became enlightened. Not only was he enlightened, but a small number of court officials who had previously been hesitant also showed expressions of gratitude.
"Minister of the Ministry of Justice, I'm glad you enlightened me! I've been so comfortable in the court this year that I've forgotten the past."
"Yes. Compared to losing your job and your life, your life is more important."
…
Yuan Ruan was unaware of the turbulent emotions among the court officials outside the palace.
She was happily spending time with the prince and Wu Yi, whom she hadn't seen for several days.
The emperor, who was waiting in the wings, saw this and directly opened the curtain and walked over, picked up the lively Yuan Ruan and took her away. At the same time, he ordered the eunuch to bring some fruit preserves and milk soup.
The emperor said, "Ah Ruan said last time that it wasn't too sweet. This is a new flavor made by the little kitchen. Try it."
Yuan Ruan tasted it and found it sweet but not greasy. His eyes lit up instantly: "It's delicious, Father, eat it too!"
The emperor smiled and said meaningfully, "Ah Ruan said it was delicious, so it should be good if mixed with other things."
Yuan soft one pause.
The emperor wiped Yuanruan's mouth and then picked him up.
Just at this moment, a voice came from outside the curtain: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
The emperor strode out, and the court officials saluted and shouted "Long live the emperor".
The emperor motioned for everyone to stand up, and then said to everyone: "If you have something to report, please report it. If not, please leave the court."
Prime Minister Li was the first to bow and said, "Your Majesty, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heavens in response to the locust plague has been scheduled for ten days from now. Of the six dukes and princes, Prince Jing and Prince Yan have confirmed that they will attend the ceremony, but the other four dukes and princes have not responded yet."
The emperor said "hmm" indifferently.
The Minister of War also came out and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to ask. In less than twenty days, Daxia will officially go to war against the Xiongnu, but we don't have 10,000 three-piece saddles yet. I beg the Ministry of Works to speed up the process."
The Minister of Works also said, "Your Majesty, it is not that we are not attentive, but the warehouse is short of materials, and the Minister of Revenue is very strict. I am like a housewife without rice, but I can't cook."
The emperor looked at the Minister of Revenue: "What?"
The Minister of Finance smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I almost cut up the boxes used to store gold and silver in the treasury and sold them as firewood to make money. The treasury is empty."
At this moment, Yuan Ruan's inner voice rang out: [Is Daxia already so poor? ]
System: [Yes. The Minister of Finance is so anxious that he is almost selling his blood. Ah Ruan, you dare not even imagine what kind of crazy money-making tricks the Minister of Finance has come up with.]
Yuanruan: [Ah? Tell me more.]
Everyone: ???