Chapter 123 Every move made by the emperor is accompanied by his shadow
The night is dark and the crescent moon is like a hook.
The moonlight was like a net with dots of light, falling from the sky and covering the red walls and green tiles, adding a layer of coldness and silence to the heavily guarded imperial study.
At this moment, a thin figure with a staggering gait, led by a close eunuch under the cover of night, bypassed the main palace road and quietly came to the door of the imperial study.
In just a few breaths, the eunuch Li Fusheng, who was in charge of writing, came to greet him personally. After bowing, the figure walked in slowly and skillfully.
"Your Highness, I, Gu Yanjun, pay my respects to His Majesty."
The emperor, who was sitting at the imperial desk, noticed that he was moving slowly and with difficulty. After he kowtowed, he raised his hand to let him stand up and said, "Mr. Gu, I'm sorry for the hardship you endured in the court today."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Li Fusheng stepped forward to help Gu Yanjun up and supported him to sit on the specially cushioned armchair.
"You have to put on a good show. Besides, it's only ten lashes. I can bear it."
As the emperor listened to Gu Yanjun's casual answer, his thoughts immediately returned to the lobby today, and the feeling of boredom once again came over him.
A few days earlier, Dingyuan Marquis Lu Zhi had sent an urgent secret letter accusing General Pei Yuanshan of deliberately delaying military reports. The emperor subsequently blamed Xu Chongnian, the recently appointed Minister of Rites, and transferred him out of the capital. This move displeased Lu Zhi, who subsequently ordered his son, Lu Chenghui, then Vice Governor-General and known behind the scenes as "the empty-headed military lord," to file another complaint in the imperial court.
"I have something to report. General Pei Yuanshan, the Northern Guardian, concealed the outbreak during its initial stages and simply sealed off and suppressed the affected areas without providing medical assistance. Over time, the plague in the north spiraled out of control, leading to widespread public resentment. Your Majesty, I beg you to investigate."
Having already been tricked by the Lu family's secret reports, the Pei family naturally wouldn't give the Lu family a second chance to frame them. The well-prepared Pei family's third son, the Empress's younger brother, and the recently retired Minister of Rites, Pei Zhufeng, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, my brother's lockdown was solely to prevent the spread of the plague. Now that the epidemic is out of control, it's Marquis Dingyuan's fault for withholding medicine and grain, missing the best opportunity to control the epidemic. May I ask, Assistant Secretary Lu, what are Marquis Dingyuan's motives?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chenghui, no longer caring about the fact that he was in the main hall, shouted "nonsense" and refuted: "It was clearly the Pei family who set up the barrier and blocked the passage, why are you putting the blame on my Lu family?"
Pei Zhufeng was not to be outdone. He sneered and said, "If we don't set up more checkpoints, how can we know where you are smuggling the medicine and grain to?"
For a time, the Pei and Lu families were locked in a bitter quarrel, and no one in the room, including Yuan Zhixu, dared to speak. At this point, speaking for either faction would reveal one's true identity. Xu Chongnian was a prime example, and no one dared to cross that path again.
At this moment, someone fearless enough stood up. Everyone looked over and saw that it was the least-known Minister of Works, Gu Yanjun. Everyone was surprised. Why would a Minister of Works join in all this fun? But then again, he wasn't affiliated with any faction. If he spoke softly, perhaps he could have gotten the whole thing off his chest.
"Please be patient, both of you. Can you please listen to me?"
Lu Chenghui and Pei Zhufeng, who were arguing heatedly, were both somewhat disdainful when they saw the rather insignificant minister approaching. However, since they were in the court, they had to maintain some dignity, so they both stopped talking and waited to see how Gu Yanjun would smooth things over.
Unexpectedly, Gu Yanjun made a shocking statement and gave both of them a big slap:
"General Pei delayed reporting the epidemic. Unexpectedly, the epidemic was not brought under control, but instead intensified. The general failed to fulfill his duty and made a serious mistake."
"Lord Lu knew full well that the epidemic had broken out, yet he only bothered to report it to the capital. He ignored the lives of the border residents and privately withheld medicine and grain. This is a grave mistake!"
"I suggest that Your Majesty punish the people immediately to appease the people's resentment!"
As soon as Gu Yanjun finished speaking, the court fell silent. No one dared to second the motion and offend the Pei and Lu families.
After a long while, the emperor finally spoke: "You are just an assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, your duty is to maintain the works, yet you dare to go beyond your authority and make irresponsible remarks on military affairs? Come, drag you away and punish you!"
The two imperial guards obeyed the order, grabbed Gu Yanjun's arms on the left and right, and dragged him out of the hall.
Gu Yanjun remained unmoved. As he was dragged away, he continued to shout, "Marquis Lu and General Pei, both of whom are incapable of clarifying the situation in the North, how can they have the nerve to criticize each other?"
The three distant drumbeats brought the emperor back to his senses. He glanced at Gu Yanjun, who was now forced to sit sideways on the imperial chair due to his punishment, and said helplessly, "You spoke my heart out in the court today, but none of this bunch of rubbish dared to follow your lead."
"My great Zhou Dynasty has reached a point where no one is available!"
Unbeknownst to everyone, this humble position of Minister of Works was a position specifically reserved for Gu Yanjun by the Emperor. On the surface, Gu Yanjun was a minister who distanced himself from both the Gu and Pei factions, never gaining the Emperor's favor, never receiving promotions, and perpetually languishing in an awkward position. In reality, however, compared to Yuan Zhixu, who had delivered the final, crucial blow by presenting evidence against the former Crown Prince and Empress Dowager on the Emperor's behalf, Gu Yanjun was the person the Emperor trusted most and was closest to.
It was he who, upon learning that the Emperor, then a prince, had been dejected and sent north by the Empress Dowager, sought out all the information on Lu Zhi and the border, convincing the Emperor to be close to the Lu family. This was because Lu Zhi came from a humble background, had no roots, and was therefore easy to recruit.
It was also he who, upon learning that Pei Yuanshan, the son of the Minister of War, had volunteered to go to the north for training, wrote a letter to the emperor, prompting him to choose a well-established escape route for himself.
His Majesty's every move can be seen with his shadow.
After the emperor ascended the throne, he obeyed orders and hid behind others, speaking for the emperor what he could not say and doing what he could not do.
"The Spring Examination will soon be approaching, and then Your Majesty can begin selecting suitable candidates."
However, the emperor remained scowling: "The plague is out of control. I'm afraid it's too late to hold the Spring Examination."
Gu Yanjun said, "Today, His Majesty defended the Lu and Pei families and refused to listen to my advice and punish them. I believe they will temporarily give up their fighting spirit. They also know that no matter how selfishly His Majesty defends them, it must be done only when the plague is under control. The Lu family dare not withhold medicine and grain for too long, and the Pei family dare not allow public resentment to escalate and lead to a rebellion."
"However," Gu Yanjun understood the emperor's anxiety and did not blindly offer words of comfort. Instead, he earnestly suggested, "However, I have a method that can allow the emperor to select some useful people in advance."
"What method? Gu Qing, tell me quickly!"
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