Empress Zhou was secretly pleased upon hearing this.
"I never imagined that Master Gao could have such merits besides protecting His Majesty."
Her eyes darted around, then she stared at Zhu Youjian and said:
"Your Majesty respects teachers and values the Way, which I truly admire."
"Why don't we follow this procedure for all the women selected by the court in the future?"
When Zhu Youjian first heard Empress Zhou praising him, he smiled and felt quite pleased with himself.
"Those women were most likely tricks orchestrated by Wei Zhongxian."
"I sent the person to Master Gao and even received praise from the Empress. This is really a worthwhile thing to do."
But when he heard the second half of the sentence, his smile froze instantly.
"Um, this isn't a good idea."
Empress Zhou's expression remained unchanged as she asked earnestly, "What's wrong with that?"
"Could it be that His Majesty is lustful for women?"
Zhu Youjian could only cough a few times.
"How could I be such an emperor?"
"In that case, we shall obey the Empress's will."
Empress Zhou smiled sweetly, and said contentedly:
"If Your Majesty says so, then I am relieved."
When Zhu Youjian saw her like this, he immediately understood that Empress Zhou was saying this on purpose.
But since he has already agreed, it's not appropriate to take it back.
"The emperor's word is as good as gold."
Zhu Youjian sighed.
However, at this moment, all he could think about was how to save the Ming Dynasty and avoid becoming a ruler who would bring about the downfall of the country.
So I wasn't particularly disappointed.
"That's fine then. Anyway, I don't think it will be like in history, where a woman caused a falling out between a general and a woman."
Just then, Luo Yangxing jogged over.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and then winked at Empress Zhou.
Empress Zhou understood immediately and turned to leave.
The imperial harem is forbidden from interfering in politics.
This is an ancestral rule left by our great-grandfather.
After Empress Zhou left, Zhu Youjian asked, "What brings you to me?"
Luo Yangxing respectfully said:
"Your Majesty, I have come here with two matters to discuss."
"The first thing is that I went out to visit the people that Master Gao mentioned, and I have already made some progress."
"They brought back a few children."
In fact, Luo Yangxing had already brought the person back a few days ago.
However, Zhu Youjian was still lying in his sickbed at the time, and it was unknown when he would go to see the late emperor.
Luo Yangxing also began to have other thoughts.
That's why they didn't bring the person into the palace.
Zhu Youjian was somewhat excited and nodded, saying:
“That’s excellent! Quickly take the person to Master Gao.”
“These people, regardless of their background, must all be very capable.”
"With Master Gao's guidance, he will surely become a great person in a few years."
"When the time comes, I will give them important positions. Why should I worry about the revival of my Great Ming Dynasty?"
Luo Yangxing quickly agreed.
He then added:
"The second matter concerns this year's martial arts examination."
Although the Ming Dynasty had military examinations, they were never as popular as civil examinations.
Even the number of years the event is scheduled to take place has been changed several times.
Therefore, when Zhu Youjian requested to hold a military examination not long ago, it did not provoke any opposition at all.
Moreover, the process was extremely fast; the successful candidates were selected in just a few days.
Zhu Youjian lowered his head and scanned the list handed to him by Luo Yangxing.
Not long after, I saw Li Ruolian's name.
"Master Gao was right. Li Ruolian is indeed a talented person."
He nodded excitedly and said to Luo Yangxing:
"Go and relay the order to the Ministry of War, saying that I have personally appointed Li Ruolian as the top military scholar!"
Luo Yangxing dared not accept the imperial decree.
"Your Majesty, our Great Ming Dynasty has never had a martial arts champion."
"Those who pass the military examination will at most be granted the title of Military Scholar."
This is actually a manifestation of valuing civil affairs over military affairs.
However, even in history, Zhu Youjian appointed the first martial arts champion in history in the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign.
Besides, now he also has Gao Qingyun's hint?
"Do you intend to disobey my orders?" Zhu Youjian stared at Luo Yangxing.
Luo Yangxing panicked immediately.
"Your Majesty, I dare not! I will go to the Ministry of War to deliver the imperial decree immediately!"
After saying that, he turned to leave.
However, Zhu Youjian called him back again.
"No rush. Appointing the top martial arts champion is a major event, and I must be serious about it."
He took Luo Yangxing back to the imperial study, took out the imperial brush with vermilion ink, and wrote the words "Imperial Appointment as the First-Class Martial Arts Champion" next to Li Ruolian's name.
Only then was the list handed over to Luo Yangxing.
"Take it!"
When Luo Yangxing handed the list to the Minister of War...
The Minister of War was dumbfounded.
"What? His Majesty actually intends to appoint a martial arts champion?"
"Absolutely not!"
Although he was in charge of the Ministry of War, this Minister was a civil official through and through.
"There is no precedent for this, so please forgive me for not being able to comply!"
Luo Yangxing narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? So you're going to disobey orders?"
The Minister of War snorted coldly.
"This is a chaotic fate!"
"In my opinion, His Majesty might not be fully recovered yet, which is why he's issuing orders haphazardly!"
His one sentence exposed his true nature.
Those in the imperial court who still dare to speak ill of the emperor like this are undoubtedly members of the Donglin Party.
Only these people knew that Zhu Youjian's health had fully recovered, which is why they were so disappointed.
It is precisely because of this disappointment that he speaks so recklessly.
Luo Yangxing sneered inwardly, not saying another word to him, and turned to leave.
He returned directly to the palace and reported the news to Zhu Youjian.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian's expression instantly turned cold.
"He really said that? That's outrageous!"
Luo Yangxing nodded: "Your subject dares not speak nonsense."
"Besides, how could I dare to slander the Minister of War?"
Zhu Youjian tapped the table lightly, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
"It seems that the Donglin Party truly doesn't care about me as the emperor anymore!"
He looked down at Luo Yangxing and asked, "Where is that old bastard Wei Zhongxian? What has he been up to lately?"
Luo Yangxing quickly said:
"Your Majesty, after your health recovered, Wei Zhongxian was quite happy. I heard that he even went to the temple in a grand manner to fulfill his vow."
"They even said it was because he prayed to the gods and Buddhas that your health was restored."
"He has been requesting to see you for the past few days."
"But Eunuch Wang has always refused to allow him to enter the palace."
Zhu Youjian snorted coldly a few times.
"My recovery is all thanks to Master Gao. What does it have to do with him?"
“Go and tell him that as long as he does what I have entrusted to him, that is true loyalty to the emperor.”
His implication was that Wei Zhongxian should hurry up and find out exactly how much wealth the Donglin Party had.
Then quickly take action against them.
Zhu Youjian could not tolerate the Donglin Party for even a day longer.
Luo Yangxing nodded quickly.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will go find Eunuch Wei right away."
He turned to leave the main hall, but before he could go out, he saw a group of civil officials walking towards him.
"No, we absolutely must stop His Majesty from acting recklessly!"
"The imperial court has never appointed a champion in martial arts before. How can we set such a precedent this time?"
“If we turn a blind eye, those brutes will ride roughshod over us!”
“That’s right, let’s go together to see His Majesty!”
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