Chapter 26 Personal Order
After Zhu Qiyu and the palace servants left, Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qizhen, brother and sister, went to the office of the Imperial Stables and sat down together.
The palace servants served tea and snacks and quickly left, leaving only the two of them sitting at the table.
When Zhu Yuhuan saw Zhu Qizhen didn't say anything, he was confused for a moment, but soon realized that Zhu Qizhen was dissatisfied with his failure to care about him and was only concerned about Zhu Qiuyu.
Zhu Yuhuan felt somewhat helpless and could only take a deep breath in his heart. He smiled at Zhu Qizhen and said, "The weather is getting colder these days. I wonder how the floor heating in your palace is doing?"
Zhu Gaochi died not long after living in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, so naturally he didn't have time to carry out the floor heating project. It was not until Zhu Zhanji moved in that he installed floor heating in the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the same way as a greenhouse, and it was gradually popularized in other palaces.
When it comes to warmth, the emperor's bedroom is naturally the best in the palace. Zhu Yuhuan asked this just to break the silence.
"It's still quite warm." Zhu Qizhen could tell his sister was trying to find something to talk about, so he took the initiative to ask, "Is Prince Qing's eyesight failing?"
"I guess you've been studying too hard and rubbing your eyes a lot, so you're seeing double." Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile, "Brother Yu has always been honest and puts a lot of effort into his studies, unlike Your Majesty, who knows how to find the right balance between work and rest."
Zhu Qizhen just thought she was concerned about him, so he smiled. Then he felt like something was wrong. Then he realized that Zhu Yuhuan was laughing at him for skipping class or being absent.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh as he saw him gradually understand. After a long while, he said, "Your Majesty has so many servants around him, why should I worry? Besides, Your Majesty is now grown up and can handle state affairs on his own. Not to mention these daily matters, I'm sure Eunuch Wang will handle them very well."
Wang Zhen, who was named, was in a dilemma. Even though he never offended anyone, it was easy to offend these two people.
Zhu Qizhen's expression was extremely serious. He said, "Sister, don't forget what father said."
Zhu Yuhuan was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Besides Your Majesty, who else would I assist?"
Zhu Qizhen heard the answer he wanted to hear, and nodded with satisfaction, saying, "Dad is right. Big sister understands best what it means to be righteous and to put the overall situation first."
Zhu Yuhuan sneered inwardly when he heard him say that, but his face still had a warm smile like the warm sun, and he said, "When Dad was still alive, he never said such compliments to me in person."
Zhu Qizhen said this just like Zhu Zhanji, using the so-called family affection to make Zhu Yuhuan work for him. However, Zhu Zhanji could still give Zhu Yuhuan something, but Zhu Qizhen did not even have the ability to fulfill it for the time being.
Zhu Qizhen was only a little moved by what he said at that time, and he said confidently: "Dad has praised my elder sister to me privately several times!"
Zhu Yuhuan had no interest in this topic and simply asked, "Your Majesty deliberately kept me here. Could it be that you have something important to tell me?"
Zhu Qizhen then stated his purpose, which was simply to briefly explain the whole process of the great brawl over the memorials.
Zhu Yuhuan, of course, understood Zhu Qizhen's intention. He simply wanted to severely punish Li Yi. He said, "Although Li Yi made some mistakes, his crime is not serious enough. Moreover, his accusation against Liu Lian was not without reason. He actually had evidence. Given this, it would be an exaggeration to deal with him severely."
Zhu Yuhuan saw that Zhu Qizhen seemed somewhat reluctant to accept his statement, and Wang Zhen beside him couldn't help but secretly glance at him. Then he continued, "As for Liu Lian's crimes, they still need to be thoroughly investigated. If they are as bad as Li Yi reported, Liu Lian must be rigorously interrogated to determine whether his claims of Li Yi's promiscuity are true. These two must be dealt with together to correct the atmosphere. If Li Yi's claims are exaggerated, he might just be like Guo Jing and Shi Heng, engaging in mutual accusations. Suspending both of them from their salaries will also serve as a message to the court officials that they should not encourage such unhealthy practices of random accusations and accusations."
Zhu Qizhen understood that the way Zhu Yuhuan described the handling of the matter was reasonable, but he remained silent.
Zhu Yuhuan pretended not to notice and continued, "As for Guo Jing and Shi Heng, Your Majesty should have personally issued a letter admonishing these two to mend their ways. There's no need to completely strain their relationship over such a small matter, which would only lead to internal discord at the border and affect the overall situation."
Zhu Qizhen hesitated and asked, "Sister, don't you think Li Yi and Shi Heng are too close?"
Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly and immediately guessed where Zhu Qizhen's idea came from.
Her eyes fell on Wang Zhen for a moment, and then she said to Zhu Qizhen, "Does Your Majesty think so?"
Zhu Qizhen was puzzled by her question and asked, "Isn't that so?"
Zhu Yuhuan lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before continuing, "Your Majesty, if you say so, it's not entirely unreasonable. However, if that's the case, how can there be no collusion between the civil and military officials in the country? I've made two previous border patrols and have some understanding of these border generals. Most of them are from military households, having risen step by step through military exploits. Many of them are illiterate, unlike the local officials who graduated from the imperial examination system. If they want to submit a memorial to Your Majesty, they will inevitably have to find someone to embellish it. But how can such a major court event be disclosed to ordinary scholars? How many of them have their own residences and can afford to hire advisors and retainers? We can't block the channels of communication below because of concerns about collusion between the civil and military officials. Otherwise, how can Your Majesty maintain a clear hearing?"
Now, they were already worried about alleged collusion between civil and military officials. Minister of War Wang Ji, a member of the imperial examination system, was ordered to the border to oversee military affairs. If the Tatars harassed the border again, and Wang Ji led the army to fight them, wouldn't that be using civil officials to control military power? How would Zhu Qizhen respond? Wasn't he afraid of the so-called "civilian clique"?
Zhu Qizhen had no hesitation in dealing with Li Yi, but after hearing what Zhu Yuhuan said, he couldn't help but feel conflicted.
He originally thought that it was justified for him to severely punish Li Yi, but after thinking about it carefully, Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but feel that such behavior was too extreme and lacked the magnanimity that an emperor should have towards his subjects.
Wang Zhen saw what Zhu Qizhen was thinking, and he couldn't help but feel nervous. He began to think about how to turn Zhu Qizhen over afterwards.
Zhu Yuhuan stared at Zhu Qizhen intently and continued, "Moreover, if you have to be wary of them, won't Your Majesty be wary of me? Aren't you afraid that I might learn about state affairs and become corrupt with the civil and military officials?"
Wang Zhen never expected that Zhu Yuhuan would use her as an example, and her eyes widened.
Some things can only be thought about in the heart. Once they are spoken out, they will inevitably sow the seeds of doubt, especially when it comes to matters involving imperial power.
Even Empress Dowager Zhang and the five regents did not dare to be as outspoken as Zhu Yuhuan, otherwise Wang Zhen would not have been able to seize the opportunity to influence Zhu Qizhen.
Moreover, with Zhu Qizhen's memory, if he said something inappropriate, he would probably be punished sooner or later.
Zhu Qizhen was not as surprised as Wang Zhen. He thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Sister has been well-read in the books of sages since she was young. She knows right from wrong and would never do something that would bring disaster to the country and the people. But these officials are different..."
Zhu Yuhuan knew that he had probably heard it from Zhu Zhanji or others, and that he could not absolutely trust these people.
In particular, Zhu Qizhen himself held a negative and distrustful attitude towards officials. His daily words and deeds had already revealed this, not to mention that now the officials were impeaching each other and were already wrong. Naturally, Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but want to use the officials' strength to fight against each other.
There was no point in insisting on this matter, so Zhu Yuhuan said, "Your Majesty has his own decision, and I only expressed my opinion because you asked. Your Majesty's idea is naturally reasonable. Killing a chicken to scare the monkeys will deter all officials from forming cliques for personal gain and breaking the law... However, An Jing's previous execution was enough to deter all officials. There is no need for additional intimidation, otherwise it will be counterproductive."
Even though Zhu Qizhen had many thoughts in his mind, he had to admit that Zhu Yuhuan's method made sense. In the end, he said, "Sister, you're right. I understand."
Wang Zhen, who was listening from the side, could not help but be shocked by the power of Zhu Yuhuan's few words, which could be described as "a little effort to achieve a great result."
Fortunately, Liu Lian's goal was to exonerate himself and keep his position. Since the emperor intended to follow the princess's instructions, as long as he used the censors in the Censorate to influence him, Liu Lian would at most be suspended from his salary. With his position as the grain counselor, it wouldn't take long for him to "earn" back all the suspended salary.
Zhu Qizhen didn't know what Wang Zhen was thinking, so he said, "I'll have the Hanlin Academy draft the document and then hand it over to you for your polishing."
Zhu Yuhuan showed a look of relief, and then asked, "I wonder if Your Majesty is satisfied with the tea sent to the Palace of Heavenly Purity?"
Speaking of light-hearted topics, Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "It's delicious. No wonder I heard people say that Taiping Teahouse is so prosperous in the capital. It is indeed extraordinary."
Seeing that he had lost his defensive mind, Zhu Yuhuan said, "When Your Majesty is older, I will have someone send in the sorghum liquor brewed in the wine shop outside the palace."
Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. "Then why are you telling me now, sister? Aren't you just keeping me in suspense?"
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile: "Your Majesty can't drink alcohol now, but my mother's palace has a champion cake, which is also made with sorghum. Your Majesty, why don't you try it."
"Then when I go to pay my respects tomorrow, sister, please don't let Mother forget to bring out the cakes."
"good."
The matter of Zhu Qizhen issuing a warning was handed over to the Hanlin Academy, where it was quickly written and handed back to Zhu Yuhuan.
Zhu Yuhuan took a quick look at the article and found it quite acceptable. She then added a few more sentences and then had it sent to Zhu Qizhen for review.
Zhu Qizhen did not understand the mystery, and seeing that there was no major problem with the article, he had it officially distributed.
Li Yi and Liu Lian were lectured by Zhu Qizhen. Liu Lian was not demoted, but Li Yi was suspended from his post as governor of Datong, and both received two years' salary suspension. Although Li Yi's fate was somewhat worse than Liu Lian's, he had already been imprisoned, and his eventual release without incident was a miracle. Furthermore, his family had sent someone to remind him to control his temper and admit his mistakes.
Thinking of his family, Li Yi said nothing more and was able to leave prison and see the light of day again.
As for Shi Heng and Guo Jing, they soon received letters of accountability from the emperor. The content of the letters was similar, criticizing the two for not being united as important border officials and instead spreading rumors about each other.
However, there are obviously a few more sentences at the end of Shi Heng's article, which simply point out that Shi Heng had been appreciated by Emperor Xuan and should be proud of it and repay the emperor's grace, and should not be complacent about his own merits.
The eunuch who came to announce the imperial edict was doing his job impartially, but Shi Heng, who was listening below, gradually felt that something seemed to be wrong.
Putting aside the emperor's youth, how could he have known all these things so clearly when Emperor Xuande was on his border patrol? Furthermore, the way these sentences were written was completely different from any imperial edict he had ever heard; they were written in plain language, as if the emperor was afraid Shi Heng wouldn't understand.
After Shi Heng listened to the eunuch's reading, he first offered his "heartfelt wishes" and then asked cautiously, "May I ask if this imperial edict was written by Your Majesty personally..."
The eunuch took the money and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is so busy with affairs that he doesn't have time to write articles himself..."
"Then... who wrote that article in the Hanlin Academy?"
The eunuch who came to announce the decree had no idea about this. He wanted to give Shi Heng some perfunctory advice, so he said, "How dare we ask about these things? But my father, who is here to deliver the decree, said that the article was personally revised and polished by Princess Shunde. This shows how much the emperor cares about Shi Tongzhi."
Shi Heng's confusion suddenly vanished. No wonder he always felt that the reprimanding edict flashed with swords and sabers. It turned out that it had passed through the hands of Princess Shunde. Now that Princess Shunde was able to handle the content of the emperor's edict and help revise and polish it, it was clear that the emperor trusted her.
This news made Shi Heng's original judgment of Zhu Yuhuan meaningless, and it also gave the imperial edict, which originally sounded simple and clear, multiple layers of meaning. Shi Heng pondered it over and over in his mind, and finally only read out an arrow aimed at himself, and this arrow had only one meaning.
——"Killing you is effortless."
Seeing that Shi Heng remained silent, the eunuch, with sweat on his forehead, asked, "Shi Tongzhi, what are you doing...?"
Shi Heng laughed awkwardly and said, "Nothing..."
He was thinking about who to ask to help him polish the letter and beg for mercy from Princess Shunde as soon as possible...
Now he had to admit his admiration for Zhu Yuhuan. When it came to playing tricks, he was no match for the Princess Shunde. Not only that, she even played the emperor in her hands.
He hardly realized that even during the reign of Emperor Xuande, Zhu Yuhuan had occasionally been impeached, but since the new emperor ascended the throne, there had been very few impeachment memorials against Princess Shunde in the capital. This showed that neither the emperor nor the court officials had any clear objection to the princess's meddling.
Even these people didn't dare to say anything, and he still wanted to "get rid of" Princess Shunde. Isn't this just a daydream?
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