For the next period of time, the entire court was busy with one thing, which was to select a queen for Emperor Tianqi.
Although the purpose was to select a queen for himself, Zhu Youxiao found that he had no part in the matter. The entire selection process was handled by Concubine Zhuang, and the person in charge was Wang An from the Imperial Household Department.
Originally, Zhu Youxiao wanted to learn more about the process of selecting a queen. After all, he had read so many novels about selections in later generations, but he had never had the chance to truly understand the process! But now, it seemed that there was nothing he could do.
Since he had nothing to do with the selection of the queen, Zhu Youxiao could only read the memorials submitted by the ministers in the Qianqing Palace.
Just as Zhu Youxiao was reviewing the memorials, Chen Hong came to the cabinet and said, "Propagate the imperial edict!"
The cabinet officials saluted.
Chen Hong looked around at everyone and said, "Propagate Your Majesty's decree: Heaven and earth are in harmony, yin and yang are in harmony, and all things are governed..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers in the cabinet were moved.
As expected, the eunuch continued, "...Our dynasty has always relied on the orthodox doctrine to respond to the will of heaven and earth. The will of heaven and yin and yang cannot be violated. In this prosperous year, and the time for taking concubines, I respect the imperial decree of Concubine Zhuang and issue a decree to all prefectures and counties throughout the country to select beautiful women to fill the six harems."
As expected, the cabinet ministers secretly thought, their minds as clear as a mirror. Then Chen Hong paused, his voice rising as he continued, "I have ordered the Ministry of Revenue and Rites to carry this decree. You are to inspect the prefectures and counties. All women over the age of 15, under the age of 18, with graceful figures, graceful voices, and proficiency in the six arts, shall be selected for promotion. You are to carry out my decree, select Zhaoyuan, and present them as Liangdi, to promote the harmony of yin and yang, safeguard the peace of the Ming Dynasty, and continue the prosperity of the ancestral temple. I decree this."
After this imperial edict spread throughout the country, officials in all prefectures and counties became active and were busy selecting beauties under their jurisdiction.
This is not difficult to understand. For these local officials, the selection is a rare opportunity.
Even if the person she recommended didn't become the empress, even if she only became a concubine, she would definitely be taken care of as the recommender. As the emperor's bedmate, as long as she had a wish, wouldn't her official career be promoted all the way?
All officials spared no effort to search for beautiful or talented virgins. Some officials even went to the homes of famous local families with daughters to coerce or bribe them to hand over the girls to them.
However, none of this concerned the high-ranking officials in the capital. Although everyone was discussing the emperor's selection of a concubine, they were more worried about something else: the frame-up of Xiong Tingbi. The imperial court issued an imperial decree, appointing Yang Lian as the presiding judge and the three courts to jointly review the case. The prisoners, Feng Sanyuan, Wei Yingjia, Zhang Xiude, and Yao Zongwen, had already been brought to the Ministry of Justice's prison.
Among them was naturally Li Ruzhen, the general of Liaodong. Originally, this was a good thing because the Donglin Party had taken the case into its hands.
But the news that came out next was not so good. The Emperor Tianqi first summoned Gao Panlong and wanted to hand over the case to him for trial. As a result, Gao Panlong colluded with Wei Zhongxian and refused the emperor's request. As a result, the emperor asked Yang Lian to try the case.
Regardless of whether this news was true or false, it caused a huge stir in the capital, and even more so within the Donglin Party.
For a time, the Donglin Party was in complete chaos surrounding Xiong Tingbi's case, and many people were watching Yang Lian to see how he would try the case.
Inside the imperial palace, Zhu Youxiao was basking in the sun again.
The sun has been shining brightly recently, and the carpenter's studio has been idle, and Zhu Youxiao doesn't allow anyone to go in to clean it.
He squinted his eyes, enjoying the warm sunshine, looking like he was about to fall asleep. In his heart, he was thinking about the Ming Dynasty's Censorate.
The Censorate, developed from the previous dynasty's Censorate, was in charge of supervision, impeachment and advice, and was known as one of the Three Judicial Departments together with the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple.
In case of major cases, the three judicial departments will jointly hear the case, also known as the "three-department joint trial."
The Censorate, which has a semi-judicial nature, looks like a procuratorate in later centuries, but Zhu Youxiao feels that the Censorate of the Ming Dynasty has changed.
What are the responsibilities of the Censorate?
The answer is very simple. The Censorate is responsible for supervising all officials. To put it bluntly, it is to help the emperor keep an eye on his ministers.
But what about the current Ming Dynasty Censorate?
Everyone was competing to impeach the emperor, resorting to any means necessary. The emperor had to rely on the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards to obtain any useful information from the Censorate, which was a tragedy. When did everyone start using the emperor to gain reputation? It was as if not grinding the emperor's dungeon would be a betrayal of their duties as imperial envoys.
"Zou Yuanbiao." Zhu Youxiao tapped the armrest of the wheelchair with one hand while recalling this person in his mind.
Humans are actually very complex creatures. Zou Yuanbiao first appeared on the political stage because he opposed and impeached Zhang Juzheng. As a result, he was beaten with eighty strokes of the cane in court by Zhang Juzheng and then exiled to Guizhou.
In the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, Zou Yuanbiao was demoted again for advising Emperor Wanli. He was not able to return until his adoptive father, Emperor Taichang, came to the throne.
Zou Yuanbiao recommended Tu Zongjun, Li Banghua and 18 others to his father, who issued an imperial edict commending them and accepting their recommendations.
Two days later, Zou Yuanbiao presented several matters such as discovering and selecting talents, managing finances and strengthening the army, as well as four rules to ensure peace. He also requested to recruit and employ Ye Maocai, Zhao Nanxing, Gao Panlong, Liu Zongzhou, and Ding Yuanjian, and to provide pensions and employ fifteen people including Luo Dahong and Luo Yuren.
It can be said that most of the Donglin Party members in the court now were recommended by Zou Yuanbiao, and his position within the Donglin Party is extremely important.
Of course, these were not what Zhu Youxiao cared about. What he cared about was Zou Yuanbiao's political views, that is, Zou Yuanbiao's agreement with Zhang Juzheng's reforms.
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