Upon hearing this, Bi Ziyan indeed became somewhat interested.
He pressed on, asking:
“Lord Zhou, please tell me in detail.”
"Is Master Gao encouraging His Majesty to seek immortality and enlightenment, or is he instructing him to undertake large-scale construction projects, building pavilions and towers?"
Throughout history, "demons" who infiltrated the emperor's inner circle have almost always engaged in these kinds of activities.
Zhou Yanru coughed a few times.
"Uh...no, not at all."
"Master Gao went even further!"
"He directly interfered in military affairs!"
This time, even Bi Ziyan was a little angry.
Is this really true?
Zhou Yanru nodded and reached out to take out a secret letter.
"Look, this was sent back to Beijing by Yuan Chonghuan from the front lines."
“When Yuan Chonghuan passed the imperial examination, the Minister of Rites at that time was a member of my Donglin Party.”
"So this time his letter was also sent directly to me."
As he spoke, he handed the secret letter directly to Bi Ziyan.
Bi Ziyan didn't stand on ceremony and picked up the letter to read it.
In the letter, Yuan Chonghuan implied that Li Ruolian's slow march was due to a man named Master Gao.
"It's most likely that this person slandered him to His Majesty!"
"Please, sir, investigate Master Gao's background for me."
Bi Ziyan frowned deeply.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"This Master Gao might not be the same person who donated medicine a few days ago."
Zhou Yanru sneered.
"Heh heh, how many Master Gaos do we have left in our Great Ming Dynasty?"
"I'm sure this is a person!"
At this point, he stared at Bi Ziyan.
"Minister Bi, I will be presenting a memorial to His Majesty at the grand court assembly in a little while."
"Have him arrest Master Gao and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for punishment!"
"Would you like to join me in presenting the memorial?"
Bi Ziyan fell silent instantly.
He was able to rise to the position of Minister of Revenue, so he certainly wasn't a fool.
He knew very well that Zhou Yanru's invitation for him to submit a memorial together was not because of their good relationship.
On the contrary, it's because they didn't have much of a relationship before.
"It seems that the Donglin Party is not a monolithic entity."
“Zhou Yanru was afraid of being opposed by other members of the Donglin Party, so he sought help from me, an outsider.”
After hesitating for a while, Bi Ziyan nodded.
"If that's really the case, then I'll go with you to submit the memorial!"
"Our Ming Dynasty has lasted for over two hundred years; how can we allow a sorcerer to interfere in military affairs?"
A resolute look appeared on his face.
"Master Gao saved His Majesty not long ago, so he must be highly trusted by His Majesty."
"This memorial will likely anger the emperor, and I might even be imprisoned in the Imperial Guard's prison."
"Lord Zhou, my younger brother passed away not long ago, leaving behind an orphan and a widow."
“If we are imprisoned, I would like to ask you members of the Donglin Party to look after his family for me.”
A righteous and awe-inspiring expression also appeared on Zhou Yanru's face.
"Don't worry, Lord Bi, I've already prepared all of these."
There will absolutely be no problem!
But in his heart, he sneered.
"Bi Ziyan is quite capable in doing things, but his ability to be an official is terrible."
"Not to mention that when the young emperor saw our joint memorial, he probably panicked and didn't dare to object at all."
"Even if he refuses to listen to our memorials, how dare he arrest us?"
"I am a member of the Donglin Party!"
Thinking of this, he grabbed Bi Ziyan's hand.
"Then it's settled. We must stand together during the court assembly later!"
Meanwhile, inside the main hall...
Zhu Youjian also looked conflicted.
"It's been several days, why is there still no news from the front lines?"
He got up and circled around the dragon throne.
"I'm so anxious!"
"Luo Yangxing, what exactly are you Imperial Guards doing?"
"You can't even investigate such a small amount of military intelligence?"
Not far from him, Luo Yangxing knelt on the ground.
Upon hearing the emperor's angry rebuke, he immediately kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, this is indeed my fault."
He started by admitting his guilt, and then began to explain.
"However, Your Majesty, I must also report that since the late Emperor's early reign, the court lost most of Liaodong."
"The foundation of my Embroidered Uniform Guard outside the Great Wall has been completely shaken."
"Even the spies are only one-tenth of their peak strength left."
"I am truly like a skilled cook without rice to cook."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian was about to get angry when Gao Qingyun's face flashed before his eyes.
“Since Master Gao said that the Jurchens would definitely retreat, then he must be right.”
"Moreover, Luo Yangxing's words were not entirely about shirking responsibility."
A moment later, Zhu Youjian sat back down on the dragon throne.
"Fine, I'll spare you this time."
"But you'll have to hurry up and rebuild the Embroidered Uniform Guard system outside the Great Wall."
Luo Yangxing quickly bowed.
"Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I will certainly handle this matter well."
"Alright, you can leave now." Zhu Youjian waved to him and then announced the start of court.
Before long, the court officials filed in.
Wang Chengen had just finished shouting, "If you have something to say, speak up now; if not, the court is dismissed."
Zhou Yanru took a step forward.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
"Your Majesty, I implore you to be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from petty men, so that the Ming Dynasty may be filled with upright officials in the court!"
Zhu Youjian squinted.
He had heard Zhong Zhengying say this many times.
The subtext was that he should give more opportunities to members of the Donglin Party.
But he wasn't quite sure who this villain was.
"Zhou Yanru, do you want me to arrest Wei Zhongxian again?"
Zhou Yanru shook his head.
Although Wei Zhongxian did not die after being arrested last time, he suffered a great blow.
The original eunuch faction has also largely dissipated.
Even Wei Zhongxian himself began to live a secluded life.
Zhou Yanru was unaware that Wei Zhongxian was secretly investigating the Donglin Party.
I thought Wei Zhongxian was scared and pretended to be dead.
So for now, he's not in a hurry to deal with Wei Zhongxian.
"Your Majesty, the person I wish to impeach is not Wei Zhongxian, but the so-called Master Gao!"
“Master Gao?” Zhu Youjian frowned.
Besides him, the other ministers in the court also immediately began to discuss the matter.
"Why did Lord Zhou suddenly decide to impeach him?"
"That's right! I heard that Master Gao is a member of the Donglin Party!"
Zhou Yanru nodded.
"That's right, it's Master Gao!"
"If Master Gao were focused on refining pills and making medicine to protect His Majesty's health, then that would be fine."
"But he actually interfered in military affairs; how could I tolerate this?"
Zhu Youjian's face instantly darkened.
"How dare you call Master Gao a sorcerer?"
"Also, how did you know that Master Gao was involved in military affairs?"
But Zhu Youjian forgot that by asking that question, he was essentially admitting his guilt.
This can be seen as an admission that Gao Qingyun did indeed provide military advice.
Upon hearing this, Bi Ziyan couldn't hold back any longer.
He walked over to Zhou Yanru's side.
"Your Majesty, back then Emperor Yingzong was misled by treacherous people and rashly led troops into battle, which is why he ended up in a foreign land."
You must not repeat the same mistake today!
"Your Majesty, together with Minister Zhou, urges you to dismiss these treacherous officials!"
Zhu Youjian chuckled coldly a few times.
"Well, I didn't expect that you, Bi Ziyan, are also one of Zhou Yanru's people."
He looked up into the hall.
"Who else wants to join Zhou Yanru in impeaching Master Gao?"
Zhu Youjian originally thought that Zhou Yanru's impeachment this time would definitely be met with widespread support.
So he was already prepared.
If the Donglin Party were to launch a full-scale attack, he wouldn't care about anything else.
Let's just send the Imperial Guards to arrest them.
But he didn't expect that after he looked up and asked the question...
Very few ministers stepped forward.
The vast majority of the officials were covering their mouths and coughing secretly.
Zhu Youjian was taken aback for a moment, then understood, and shook his head with a smile.
He sighed softly, "Could this also be part of Master Gao's plan?"
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