Zhu Yunying continued, "In his early years, the Retired Emperor also established the Hall of Literary Glory, the Hall of Military Prowess, the Wenyuan Pavilion, and the Eastern Pavilion, among other Grand Secretaries. Later, he even established the Hall of Literary Glory, and recruited senior scholars to tutor the Crown Prince. These measures were indeed somewhat useful."
The title of Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Brilliance was definitely not an innovation created by Zhu Yunying; it existed during Zhu's reign. In fact, it wasn't even Zhu's invention; the title of Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Brilliance already existed during the Song Dynasty.
Zhu Yunying sighed and said, "Since I ascended the throne, not to mention the memorials from officials, I also have to read and approve many memorials from local prefectures and counties. Although I am quite diligent in my duties, I often feel that I am overwhelmed."
Ru Chang appeared to be listening attentively, but inwardly she couldn't help but grumble to herself.
It's no wonder the emperors were so busy; it can only be said that the Hongwu and Yingshi emperors had an excessively strong desire for power, handling everything big and small. Such absolute power was naturally a manifestation of the supreme authority of the emperor, but being so busy was entirely their own doing.
Of course, he wouldn't dare say these things aloud if he only kept them to himself. To do so would be tantamount to courting death, truly ending his career.
Zhu Yunying seemed to have more to say and continued to complain, "In recent years, most of the memorials from officials have concerned important national affairs, which we naturally have to deal with. But quite often, we receive reports of women giving birth to three sons or virtuous widows within our jurisdiction. We can't refuse to approve these memorials, but approving them is time-consuming and laborious."
Zhu Yunying was actually being polite, because many of the memorials were not about such important matters, but rather about minor issues.
The wise Ru Chang chose to remain silent at this time, mainly because he knew that saying too much at this moment would only make him more likely to make a mistake.
However, what Zhu Yunying said was all true. Even though he was very diligent in his duties, many of the memorials and reports he received were about trivial matters, which indeed consumed too much of Zhu Yunying's time and energy.
However, this is the consequence of abolishing the Secretariat and the Chancellor; absolute power naturally means dealing with a lot of trivial matters. And these seemingly insignificant matters also have to be handled.
Zhu Yunying looked at Ru Chang and continued, "We've rested for a few days this time, and we're really exhausted. We're all still young and strong, and we're all a bit worn out."
Seeing that Ru Chang was about to speak, Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "Your companion shouldn't say anything too polite. I'm not an emperor who can only listen to nice words. I know my own body. I can distinguish between truth and falsehood."
At this point, Ru Chang naturally found it even more difficult to respond, as it was indeed inappropriate to bring up auspicious words now. In fact, neither Emperor Ying Shi nor Emperor Hongwu cared much about auspicious sayings; if it weren't for certain court rules, they might not have cared about such things at all.
Looking at Ru Chang, Zhu Yunying said solemnly, "We think the matter reported by the Crown Prince is reasonable. It is naturally not appropriate for us to let the officials make decisions on important matters of the state. However, there are some matters that do not necessarily require our personal handling."
Ru Chang's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! Your Majesty trusts all officials, which is our good fortune. However, if Your Majesty entrusts us with the power of decision-making, I fear that some people will abuse their power!"
Zhu Yunying looked at Ru Chang and said with some doubt, "Isn't it an exaggeration for you to say that, my companion? I think that all the officials in the court are pillars of the government and are worthy of our entrustment to the affairs of state."
Ru Chang felt a chill run down his spine, but he had to state his position: "Your Majesty, the former traitors Hu and Yang were treacherous yet appeared loyal! These two have betrayed Your Majesty's grace and corrupted the court; we must be wary of this!"
Hu Weiyong goes without saying. As the last Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, he was indeed completely controlled by Zhu Yuanzhang. However, it must be admitted that Hu Weiyong himself also committed many self-destructive acts, such as acting recklessly, forming cliques, and engaging in other corrupt practices, all of which were his own fault.
As for Yang Xian, this former confidant of the Hongwu Emperor also became arrogant and reckless after gaining real power. He killed the Imperial Censor, impeached the Right Chancellor Wang Guangyang, and spent his days vying for power with Li Shanchang.
Many people know these things, and as Zhu Yunying's grandson, he knows them even better. In fact, Zhu Yunying wasn't even born when Yang Xian was executed. However, when Hu Weiyong was killed and Wang Guangyang, whom Zhu Yunying compared to Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang, was given a death sentence, Zhu Yunying began to understand the political landscape of the court to some extent.
As for Li Shanchang, his final fate was simply to be placed in Tianjin by Zhu Yunying to continue contributing his remaining talents. It could even be said that Zhu Yunying had clearly arranged the fate of the first civil official of the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
Ru Chang's excitement wasn't because he thought he might be given a more important position; he was sweating profusely and feeling extremely uneasy because he was worried that he would suffer the same fate as the important officials at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
One has to be careful about these things; being in the highest position is indeed very prestigious. However, in such a position, one wrong step can lead to utter ruin. Furthermore, many things are beyond one's control.
What Ru Chang is most worried about now is naturally the emperor's test of him. As Minister of Personnel, Ru Chang has been extremely cautious, daring not to overstep his bounds in the slightest. If he were to be promoted further, it would mean certain death for him.
Power is a good thing, but knowing Emperor Ying Shi's character and methods, Ru Chang dared not have any more greed for power.
Looking at Ru Chang, Zhu Yunying nodded thoughtfully and said, "What you say makes sense. The traitor Hu and the bandit Yang must not be allowed to happen again. The court cannot withstand such turmoil."
Ru Chang clearly didn't think that way about Zhu Yunying's words. After all, Yang Xian, who seemed to have a lot of power, died silently. Hu Weiyong, who seemed to have even more power, was executed by the Hongwu Emperor with ease, and all forces related to Hu Weiyong, and even those unrelated to him, were wiped out.
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