Chapter 389 Public Opinion Forces
These rumors circulating among the public must be orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.
Emperor Xiao Wu has accomplished a great deal in the past two years.
The rejuvenation of the court officials broke down the rigid class system, and the efforts to get farmers to cultivate the land and pay less rent offended a large number of powerful and influential people.
The establishment of a women's personal guard dealt a blow to the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues advocated by those Confucian scholars.
These things may not seem like many, but when accumulated, they become a considerable force of obstruction.
The current drought has given those people an opportunity.
Regardless of the era of dynastic change, natural disasters were always a contributing factor...
"To manipulate public opinion, we must start with the supernatural and ghostly theories that the people are most sensitive to."
"These people have really put in a lot of effort!" Shangguan Jin said slowly.
"Mother, isn't it time to do something?"
If those remarks were to reach the capital and be amplified by those with ulterior motives, His Majesty would face considerable pressure.
"The court has only recently stabilized after many years of hard work; we can't afford any more trouble," Shen Qingyue quickly said.
Shangguan Jin's mind raced.
They wanted to use these statements to blackmail Emperor Xiao Wu...
Those people are probably going to miscalculate again.
“Using etiquette and law to manipulate public opinion, this matter is generally related to the Ministry of Rites.”
But now the Minister of Rites is Lord Qian, who is old and will not get involved in these matters.
The Ministry of Personnel is under your maternal grandfather's control, so nothing will go wrong.
Minister Liu of the Ministry of War wished he could be tied to His Majesty's ship forever, and would never oppose His Majesty.
Lord Sun of the Ministry of Works...is focused entirely on researching the national treasure and wouldn't get involved in such matters.
The Ministry of Revenue must be quite busy lately, dealing with disaster relief efforts across the country.
Even if Lord Xu wanted to do it, he wouldn't dare to do it openly.
Therefore, those who did these things should not be from the Six Ministries.
"Which department was it that tried to win over Jun-ge'er by asking him to sign that petition?" Shangguan Jin asked.
“From the Hanlin Academy!” Shen Qingyue hurriedly said.
Shangguan Jin understood.
Actually, it was probably those old scholars from the Hanlin Academy who fueled the flames!
Their students are all over Chongqing.
Isn't it the simplest thing to let their followers cause trouble everywhere?
What is their purpose...?
Force Emperor Xiaowu to admit that some of his previous actions were wrong? And then force him to issue an edict of self-reproach...
In this way, could we weaken Emperor Xiao Wu's authority and at the same time establish a good reputation for them as fearless of powerful figures and dedicated to the cause of the Great Yu?
hehe!
dream!
"Sister Yao, come here, Mother has something to tell you!" Shangguan Jin suddenly had an idea.
Shen Qingyue immediately moved closer.
......
In the palace, Emperor Xiao Wu had lunch with Huangfu Ruoxi.
The weather was hot, and Huangfu Ruoxi's appetite hadn't been very good these past two days.
"Your Majesty, is there still no sign of rain?"
"What did the Imperial Observatory say?" Huangfu Ruoxi asked with a smile.
Emperor Xiao Wu smiled and put down his teacup.
"What else can I say? It's all just nonsense."
It's simply that the time wasn't right; when it was supposed to rain, it rained.
"Instead of waiting for them to calculate when it will rain, I would rather have the Ministry of Works dig more wells," Emperor Xiao Wu said.
Huangfu Ruoxi smiled and dropped the subject.
It was already the end of May, and her body felt heavier and heavier.
Emperor Xiao Wu felt a pang of sympathy when he looked at Huangfu Ruoxi's belly.
How come there are twins?!
That day, after examining the Empress's pulse, the imperial physician said that she was carrying twins, which startled Emperor Xiao Wu and Huangfu Ruoxi.
Twins...
I don't think there's any precedent for this in the royal family!
So these twins... must be because of the Huangfu family.
When people in the palace found out, they all started saying that since Lady Huangfu had given birth to so many children, it was normal for the Empress to be able to have twins!
Look at the Empress, how blessed she is, she conceived twins in one pregnancy.
But their surname is also good, it's a two-character surname, and it even has the character "Huang" in it, isn't that a great blessing!
"I heard from my third brother that my mother-in-law has already rushed from Jiangnan to the capital."
Also, my father-in-law has come from the north to Beijing for his rest and has already arrived.
By the time you give birth next month, your mother-in-law will definitely be back in Beijing.
"I'll have your mother-in-law come to the palace to be with you during childbirth," Emperor Xiao Wu said.
Huangfu Ruoxi nodded.
Yes, the imperial physician said that she would give birth at the end of June, by which time her mother would definitely have returned to the capital.
Oh! I never imagined I'd be a mother.
He's no longer the little child who clung to his mother, wanting to go out and play...
"Don't worry! Everything will go smoothly!" Emperor Xiaowu said, stroking Huangfu Ruoxi's belly.
Huangfu Ruoxi nodded seriously.
Yes, everything will definitely go smoothly...
Huangfu Ruoxi leaned against Emperor Xiao Wu and talked for a while before slowly falling asleep.
Seeing that Huangfu Ruoxi had fallen asleep, Emperor Xiaowu then gestured for a palace maid to come forward and attend to Huangfu Ruoxi so she could rest.
These days, Huangfu Ruoxi has been sleeping lightly and hasn't been getting enough rest!
I'll sleep as long as I can.
Seeing Huangfu Ruoxi lie down and breathe evenly, Emperor Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief.
He whispered instructions to the palace servants.
"Take good care of Her Majesty, and do not allow anyone to disturb her when she is resting."
Even the most important matters are not to be brought before the Empress, understand?
The palace servant quickly agreed.
Emperor Xiao Wu then slowly left the Empress's palace and walked towards the Hall of Diligent Governance.
I need to go out of the city tomorrow to check on the farmland. I have a lot of things to do today, so it's best to finish them as soon as possible.
However, not long after he sat down in the Hall of Diligent Governance, Hu Zhouquan came to report.
"The Imperial Concubine requests an audience with His Majesty."
Emperor Xiao Wu frowned.
"Is something being delivered? Just accept it."
Hu Zhouquan immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine did not come to deliver anything."
He only brought one palace maid with him, saying he had important matters to discuss.
Emperor Xiao Wu...
Although Consort Xu frequently sent things here, she mostly assigned palace maids to deliver them.
She knew very well what the Hall of Diligent Governance was.
It seems something has happened!
"Please invite the Imperial Concubine in!" Emperor Xiao Wu said, putting down his pen.
Hu Zhouquan hurriedly invited Consort Xu into the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Half an hour later, Consort Xu calmly left the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Emperor Xiao Wu, sitting on the dragon throne, had a somewhat cold expression.
A moment later, a secret guard quietly appeared in the Hall of Diligent Governance.
"Your Majesty, Princess Pingning sent it in."
The guard then placed a brocade pouch in front of Emperor Xiao Wu.
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