After celebrating his younger brother's birthday, Zhu Yunying naturally had to do some of the things that an emperor should do.
Besides his fourth son going to his hometown of Fengyang, Zhu Yunying's thirteenth uncle, Zhu Gui, will also be going back with him this time. However, this time, there are some slight differences, and the gap is quite large.
Although Zhu Yunxuan, the fourth son of the late emperor, does not yet hold the title of prince, he was in high spirits during his recent trip back to his ancestral home in Fengyang. Everyone knew that after returning from Fengyang, Zhu Yunxuan would be granted the title of prince.
However, Prince Zhu Gui was utterly humiliated, even though he hadn't yet been brought to the court for discussion. This was only because the retired emperor and the current emperor had joined forces, and the civil and military officials couldn't say much at this time. The imperial clan members were well aware that Prince Zhu Gui would be punished upon his return, and they even harbored resentment towards him.
The current emperor dislikes the princes who have been enfeoffed, and now that Zhu Gui has caused such a disturbance, their enfeoffment is even less likely. Furthermore, the treatment of some of the princes may be further reduced.
During the morning court session, Zhu Yunying accomplished a significant feat: the selection of the Minister of Rites was finally finalized.
Although Yan Zhenzhi longed for a promotion, he remained the Minister of Works. However, he had no complaints; rising from a grain official to the Minister of Works was already an immense honor.
Moreover, it is common knowledge that the current emperor favors the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Works' power is also constantly increasing.
Ru Chang remained in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and Zhu Yunying had no intention of replacing Yu Xin in the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of War was handed over to Chen Di, who was knowledgeable in military affairs and had experience governing local areas. Yang Jing remained in charge of the Ministry of Justice, while Bao Zhao of the Court of Judicial Review quickly rose to prominence and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would become the next Minister of Justice.
Zhang Dan is qualified to serve as Minister of Rites. He entered officialdom through the Mingjing examination and was once a tutor to the emperor. He also governed Yunnan and accomplished a great deal there, including standardizing etiquette and culture.
Looking at the six ministers in the imperial court, basically only Ru Chang lacked experience in governing local areas. The others were mostly confidants of the crown prince or members of the late emperor's inner circle. Most importantly, this group of people made no secret of their political ideology of weakening the power of the princes, and each of them was someone Zhu Yunying was quite satisfied with.
This is not a bad thing, as it has made many people see more clearly the current emperor's attitude towards the vassal kings.
Just like Prince Zhu Gui of Dai, it's clear to everyone that although he's been exiled back to his hometown of Fengyang, it doesn't mean he can escape unscathed. Many things aren't about 'settling scores later,' but rather the emperor is playing the long game to catch bigger fish.
The appointment of the six ministers is basically confirmed, and the vacant position of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is also a high-ranking and powerful position, one of the Nine Ministers.
Ding Zhifang, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1380), once served as the magistrate of Wuqiao County. Later, he was promoted to Supervising Censor, and this man from Liaocheng became the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. These were mostly transfers within the same system, ultimately making him one of the three judicial departments.
Some things are just so helpless. Before Zhu Yunying ascended the throne, he had discussed many things with Zhu Yunying.
However, Ren Hengtai's lack of self-respect led to a clash with Zhu Yunying's trusted confidant, Zhuo Jing, on whom he placed high hopes. Now, Yang Jing is also unlikely to recover his health. Zhu Yunying has only been on the throne for a year, yet he has already made significant changes to his six ministries.
Even if many plans seem good, unexpected changes can occur, which is always surprising. Zhu Yunying was well aware that things like birth, aging, illness, and death are beyond his control, or that political disagreements or mistakes made during his term of office could very likely force him to change some personnel appointments.
Even though Joo Yoon-young was somewhat frustrated, since such a thing had already happened, he could only accept it and deal with it.
After the court session, Zhu Yunying returned to the Wuying Hall and asked Wang Chengen, "Where is the Duke of Qian's memorial?"
Wang Chengen immediately found Mu Chun's memorial, which essentially stated that Mu Chun was preparing to return to Yunnan.
Zhu Yunying thought for a moment and said, "Order all the princes of the imperial clan to accompany me out of the palace the day after tomorrow, and deploy all the elite troops of the three major camps. The Five Military Commands, except for the officers on duty, will be in full military formation. I will be the one to carry the chariot and push the wheels!"
Wang Chengen was stunned. Although he was a eunuch, he had at least received some education. Especially after following Zhu Yunying, Wang Chengen had been constantly learning. He didn't need to be an expert in the Four Books and Five Classics, but there were some things he knew.
Holding the wheel hub and pushing the cart forward was a grand ceremony performed by the emperor when appointing generals. It was a ritual of unparalleled solemnity, on par with the "building of an altar to appoint generals".
To be honest, when Fu Youde and others went on expeditions before, they basically didn't have a formal ceremony to appoint generals. This was mainly because Emperor Zhu planned and appointed most of the generals, and he didn't need to use such methods to win over military commanders. At most, they would return victorious, and the Crown Prince and Grandson would come out of the city to greet them, with princes driving the carriages and leading the horses, and so on.
Perhaps Wang Chengen felt that the emperor's treatment was excessive, but he didn't say much and simply obediently carried out the order.
Even in Wang Chengen's mind, the emperor was naturally wise. The emperor must have had a reason for doing this; he didn't think of the reason, simply because he was too stupid.
Continuing to handle state affairs, Lian Zining also sent over thirteen lists of imperial censors to conduct inspections. These lists all required Zhu Yunying's approval before they could lead their teams to the prefectures to carry out their work.
"Summon Song Zhong and Jiang Huan," Zhu Yunying said without looking up from the list.
Although Lian Zining conducted some internal investigations and the list he provided was relatively credible, the emperor was clearly suspicious. Even lists submitted by trusted ministers required Zhu Yunying to undergo further investigation.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
