As they watched Chen Hong walk away, the people in the duty room had different expressions, but everyone understood one thing: this was going to be trouble.
Liu Yijing was very hesitant. What did His Majesty mean?
When Xiong Tingbi was removed, others didn't know what was going on, so how could Liu Yijing not know? It was the Donglin Party eliminating dissidents!
Let alone Xiong Tingbi, what about the former chief minister Fang Congzhe?
Fang Congzhe was basically the sole prime minister throughout the late Wanli period. After Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, Fang knew that he had lost his function as a balancer and was of no help to the court, so didn't he go home?
But now Your Majesty wants to recall Yuan Yingtai and reappoint Xiong Tingbi. The water seems to be very deep here!
"What should I do?" Liu Yijing couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
In fact, Liu Yijing also knew that he was just taking up a seat and he would have to leave soon.
After thinking for a while, Liu Yijing laughed at himself. He was already in this state now, so why should he think about these things? What did this have to do with him? He might as well just listen to the emperor's draft.
"Mr. Liu, I'm afraid there's something wrong with this matter, isn't it?"
Liu Yijing could tolerate it, but someone could not, and that person was Han Yu, the second assistant minister of the cabinet.
Unlike Liu Yijing, Han Yu was a true veteran of the Donglin Party. Like Ye Xianggao, he participated in many important affairs of the court. He made fair decisions and could get along with the officials of the Zhejiang Party.
Dismissing Yuan Yingtai and reinstating Xiong Tingbi was a matter that Han Yu could not accept, as he looked down on Xiong Tingbi.
But he was only the second-in-command, and he wanted Liu Yijing to agree with him, at least to reach a consensus on this matter.
Glancing at Han Yu, Liu Yirong immediately smiled, waved his hand to interrupt him, and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Han?"
Without waiting for Han Yu to speak, Liu Yirong stood up and closed the door, then slowly sat back down and continued, "After all, this matter is His Majesty's order, and I'm afraid it won't be easy to turn around."
What do you mean by "difficult to turn around"? Liu Yijing's words were polite, but in reality, he was telling Han Yu that this was His Majesty's decree. If you want to object, you should go to His Majesty. What's the point of coming to me? Do you think I should disobey the decree? I may not have the ability to turn around for you.
After a brief hesitation, Han Yu agreed, "Then I will go see His Majesty and explain the pros and cons to him in person!" After that, he straightened his back slightly, turned around, opened the door, and strode out of the cabinet's duty room.
Watching Han Yu's back gradually walking away, Liu Yijing sat on the chair, stroking his slightly gray beard and revealing a meaningful smile.
In the warm room of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao leaned on the couch with no expression on his face, but he was thinking about the affairs in Liaodong.
I don’t know if it’s too late to transfer Xiong Tingbi there now. By the time he arrives in Liaodong, the entire Liaodong will have been defeated.
Once Liaoyang and Shenyang are lost, the entire Liaodong will be in danger, and the Later Jin will completely lose the foundation for its establishment!
"Your Majesty, Cabinet Grand Secretary Han Yu requests to see you!" Chen Hong walked in cautiously and bowed.
Zhu Youxiao was not surprised to see Han Yu coming. He knew that things would not go so smoothly. He sat up and ordered, "Let him in!"
After a while, Han Yu walked in from outside and saluted the emperor respectfully.
Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "My dear, please excuse me! What is the matter that you wish to see me?"
"Your Majesty, I am here for Yuan Yingtai, the governor of Liaodong. As far as I know, Yuan Yingtai is kind and loving to the people in Liaoyang and Shenyang, and enjoys a very high reputation in the army. I wonder if Your Majesty..." Han Yu had been in the officialdom for decades, so naturally he learned to speak half-sentences.
He came to find out what the emperor was thinking, so naturally he had to speak only half of his words.
Zhu Youxiao glanced at Han Yu calmly, smiled softly, and said, "What do you think, my dear?"
In fact, Zhu Youxiao had a good impression of Han Yu. Although this person was a veteran of the Donglin Party, he still had a bottom line in doing things.
For example, there is the famous incident in history where the Donglin Party tried to stir up a false case. You should know that when it comes to party disputes, the Donglin Party has always dared to take ruthless measures.
Concocting a major crime is always the best way to deal with some people. When you physically eliminate your opponent, then to some extent, you have won.
Were there any wronged individuals involved in the major cases initiated by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang? No one knows, but those individuals were definitely among those targeted for purges. Initiating a major case to ensnare all those who were hostile to one was a common tactic.
How could the Donglin Party let go of such a good idea?
At that time, the Donglin Party began to settle the "Red Pill Case", which was an incident in which Li Kezhuo, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, gave red pills to Emperor Guangzong when he was ill, and the emperor died after taking two pills.
At the time, discussions were rife in the court and the public, with some Donglin Party members attempting to seize the opportunity to vent their anger. In April of the second year of the Tianqi reign, Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, impeached Fang Congzhe for using Li Kezhuo to present the red pill, a charge he considered akin to regicide and treason. The court was in turmoil, with no consensus.
At that time, Liu Yijing had already resigned, so Han Yu insisted on defending the matter. He submitted a memorial to the Tianqi Emperor who had ascended the throne, and truthfully recounted the whole story of the medicine.
The memorial mentioned: "So that those who discuss laws will not turn small doubts into big ones, and those who compile history will not turn reliable history into slanderous history." It was to prevent a major case from being launched because of this incident, thus protecting the Prime Minister and Zhejiang Party leader Fang Congzhe and preventing a major injustice.
What happened was that some people in the Donglin Party were preparing to fabricate a major case of regicide and treason in order to completely eliminate their political enemies. They would directly launch a large-scale prison and implicate all their political enemies and kill them.
But people like Han Yu refused. He knew that party struggles were allowed, but they must never escalate to the point of taking lives or even fabricating a major case of treason.
Once it got to that point, it would really be a fight to the death. However, things did not go as Han Yu expected. With the Qi, Zhejiang and Chu parties defecting to Wei Zhongxian and the rise of the eunuch party, this rule was broken.
Ever since Wei Zhongxian killed the so-called Six Gentlemen of Donglin, the party struggles in the Ming Dynasty have slid into a life-and-death struggle.
Is this also why even when the country is destroyed, these people are still fighting to the death?
Because once you lose the fight, even if your country is not destroyed, you will not be able to survive.
The one who has traveled through time now is Zhu Youxiao. Although he is living in a rare chaotic era in history, he is at the center of the vortex and knows the general direction of history. Naturally, he cannot allow the situation to slide into the abyss.
He also knew that the Donglin Party's foundation lay not in the court but in the gentry of Jiangnan. They annexed land, engaged in smuggling, and engaged in maritime trade, making every family incredibly wealthy. Yet, they often sought to avoid paying taxes. Therefore, the Donglin Party advocated emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, hoarding wealth among the people.
Even if all the Donglin Party members in the court were deposed and killed, what would happen? New participants in the party struggle would continue to emerge generation after generation.
If this problem cannot be fundamentally solved, the Donglin Party will continue to exist.
The Donglin Party represented the newly emerging industrial and commercial gentry in Jiangnan, while the Qi, Zhejiang and Chu Party represented the landlord class. However, both parties were cliques, forming cliques for personal gain and forming groups for profit.
In Zhu Youxiao's mind, the two parties were no different. All he had to do was to exploit them and gain his own benefits.
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