Chapter 281 Xinglin
Since the peace talks crisis arose again, Emperor Zhao has rarely appeared in public, but this has instead intensified the solemn and tense atmosphere in Tokyo, and even spread it to the local areas.
You have to know that although there were not many people present at the banquet in Gyeongbokgung Palace that day, there were many concubines of Emperor Taishang Daojun who had just returned to Tokyo. That night, they were able to meet with their respective families according to the official's order, so the stories at the banquet could not be concealed at all.
And Emperor Zhao's words, "Only by opposing Cao can things be accomplished," spread throughout Tokyo almost immediately along with the candles and a hundred sheep.
Among these people, Concubine Qiao Gui, who was a sworn sister of Empress Dowager Wei, felt relieved after seeing her nephew's family that night, but she also said with emotion that the emperor should "blame the two emperors and the sisters for the death of Empress Xing."
As for the fact that Empress Dowager Zheng summoned several of her daughters who had returned earlier and her fake nephew Zheng Yinian and real nephew Zheng Zao to Yeonbok Palace that day, she also "sighed" and said that the emperor actually regarded the two emperors as enemies.
Of course, Empress Dowager Zheng and Concubine Qiao Gui both had status to rely on, so they could still speak with some sense. As for the other concubines who were the title of the Supreme Taoist Emperor, their behavior was different... Some of them had no children, some had daughters who had returned, and some had sons who were still in the north... The first two could still be calm, but those with sons in the north were obviously in a bad mood, fearing that the emperor would do something to their sons. And under the worry, they overreacted, some dared not say a word, but just cried non-stop, and some said some messed up things, saying that the two saints and the princes would not survive for more than three or five days after returning.
All these words, after being spread, naturally became more bizarre and absurd... and among them, of course, there were Emperor Zhao who hated these concubines for their infidelity, so he made vulgar remarks to deliberately humiliate them and spread his own jokes like slut-shaming.
But in the next few days, as real-life conflicts broke out, things became even more absurd.
By the way, Emperor Taishang Daojun had too many concubines. There were one hundred and forty-five concubines with names who were captured during the Jingkang Incident. Most of them were exiled or died, but dozens of them still returned. But at the same time, there were only a few hundred eunuchs and palace maids in the entire palace, and most of them were in Yangzhou. When these dozens of "mother concubines" with names came back, except for the two empress dowagers and three imperial concubines, where would they find the staff to serve them?
Even though they all came back from Five Kingdoms City, they could tolerate a simple living environment, but after all, they were back, and they were her 'mothers', so how could he let them clean the room, fetch water and cook by themselves?
So, within two days, Emperor Zhao officially issued an edict, letting the two empress dowagers make the decision, allowing all the concubines to return to their parents' homes to settle down. Of course, those who wished to live in the palace in the capital could do so, and those who wished to live in Yangzhou or Nanyang in their old age could live in the temporary palaces in Yangzhou and Nanyang. Those whose sons had not returned could wait until their sons came back before making any other decisions.
At first glance, this treatment is no different from the treatment of the princesses before, and there seems to be nothing wrong with it. But in fact, anyone with a little common sense can understand a huge problem, that is, these concubines all have husbands! People with husbands must live with their husbands... How can you let them go back to their own homes and live in three different places?
Is the Emperor Taishang Daojun a dead person? !
Someone submitted a memorial that day saying it was inappropriate.
Moreover, as word of the matter spread, officials from wealthy families in the south soon came to the emperor's attention and offered to donate tens of thousands of strings of cash from their family assets. They said that they had once been with the emperor's family and knew that they lived a simple life and were indeed short of money, so they were willing to donate money so that the emperor could show his filial piety.
Moreover, this move soon attracted imitation, and within a few days, the money donated from Tokyo and the surrounding areas amounted to hundreds of thousands of strings of cash... It can only be said that the war did not cross the Huai River, and for the wealthy families south of the Huai River, the accumulation of hundreds of years was still considerable.
But then again, this was not just a matter of money, it might also be a reflection of the emperor's words "always opposing Cao", so the palace remained silent and did not respond.
But soon, the capital province, or the secret cabinet, for some unknown reason, took the initiative to take over the matter. In the name of the capital province, on the one hand, it issued a court order to reprimand and accuse these officials of interfering in the affairs of the royal family without authorization. On the other hand, it took the initiative to divide the finances and left a special fund for the resettlement, relocation, and use of the concubines.
According to the provincial government, there is nothing wrong with the government's handling of the matter, it's just a little stingy? !
What happened next was even more puzzling. A fierce conflict soon broke out inside the Secret Chamber. The reason was that Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun, the two most powerful ministers, actually wanted to hold a meeting in the Secret Chamber and then take the initiative to write a letter to the emperor, asking Queen Dowager Zheng to live in Nanyang!
Empress Dowager Zheng was the empress of Emperor Taishang Daojun and her political status was unquestionable, but she also wanted to live in Nanyang. The political language in this move was too shocking and immediately caused a backlash from many Confucian officials. Not only Chief Censor Li Guang as expected, but also the Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong and the Judge of the Ministry of the Treasury Zhang Jie, who always obeyed Zhao Ding's words, and the Minister of Dali Temple Wang Jin and the Vice Minister of Rites He Chang, who were promoted by Zhang Jun, all opposed it.
Zhao and Zhang were actually helpless. The return of the two queen dowagers, plus the phrase "always rebelling against Cao", almost made them further believe that there was a certain danger. They did this simply to avoid this danger, but it was impossible for them to explain the reason, which caused the dispute.
Finally, the two were completely helpless, so they simply used their power as prime ministers, left the secret cabinet behind, and directly submitted a memorial. Not only that, they also personally requested to go to the harem to meet the emperor and Queen Mother Zheng in order to persuade them in person.
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