Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 44: Paralyzed Wanli is really useful
Now that Matteo Ricci had entered his field of vision, he had to make use of him.

His request should be to preach, and to obtain this permission, of course he has to provide a steady supply of good things.

And...if it was Empress Dowager Li in person, Zhu Changluo could strengthen the impression of "the Lord destined to face disaster."

If what she saw and heard in the dream could be corroborated by the words of the Western barbarians thousands of miles away, Empress Dowager Li would be more trustful and reliable in him.

It would be better to delegate power completely so that he doesn't have to consult Empress Dowager Li for many things as he does now.

There was no way. No matter how much he was "enlightened" and "his mind was opened", he had lived in seclusion for more than ten years and had not read many books.

Empress Dowager Li did this for him under such tremendous psychological pressure, so of course she didn't dare to let him rule the country so quickly.

There are pros and cons. The more you expect, the more attention you pay.

Who knows whether this situation will continue after I ascend the throne?
Zhu Changluo was busy in Ciqing Palace until dusk, and then he came to Cining Palace.

I visited Zhu Yijun as a routine matter. This time his recovery was very slow and only his eyes could move.

This kind of Wanli is a good Wanli.

When he arrived in front of Empress Dowager Li, he was still in the Buddhist hall.

Zhu Changluo first asked for instructions on the arrangements for the Emperor's Longevity Festival. As expected, Empress Dowager Li's opinion was very simple: the gifts and memorials would be accepted, and the ceremonial officials would only be sent to burn incense.

And then came the secret revelation.

Queen Mother Li looked at the intact secret revelation with a slight anger on her face: "How dare you!"

"My grandson thinks that Lord Zhao did this not for any other purpose, but because he has made up his mind to leave." Zhu Changluo said on Zhao Zhigao's behalf, "That night, he also received the order from the emperor. Now that the emperor is also seriously ill, why not allow him to return home out of pity for his illness?"

"How can one person run the cabinet alone? There will be fears of factions forming in the blink of an eye!"

This is exactly the case. Zheng's misleading the emperor led to a dispute over the foundation of the country, which caused the emperor and his ministers to be alienated. The emperor suffered a stroke due to depression, but she did not give up and aggravated the emperor's condition. Empress Dowager Li wanted to make a big deal about this case to make it seem that the reason for her death and extermination of the Zheng family was just this, but Shen Yikuan really intended to take advantage of the situation to suppress dissidents.

In fact, after Zhu Yijun appointed Zhu Changluo as the crown prince in the 29th year of Wanli, Shen Yikuan did the same thing in the second evil book case.

Although no new cabinet members have been added and Shen Yikuan does not know what Zhu Changluo is thinking now, it is impossible for the cabinet to always have only one member who is actually doing the work.

"Naturally, so my grandson has some ideas."

Zhu Changluo took the opportunity to bring up the reinstatement of Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue, and also gave another reason: "They all resigned due to disputes over the foundation of the country. Now that the foundation of the country has been determined, if the emperor issues an edict to re-employ them, it will also let all the ministers know that the emperor now thinks back only because of Zheng's instigation. When he was seriously ill, he entrusted them to assist his grandson, which shows how determined the emperor is now. In that case, they will no longer speculate privately about the cause of the emperor's illness."

Empress Dowager Li looked at Zhu Changluo in surprise. After a long while, she slowly said, "Grandmother was very worried that you were not familiar with state affairs. Now it seems that you have thought very carefully... This method is very appropriate."

"One more thing..."

……

The drama between the three prime ministers is the excitement behind. In the eyes of Empress Dowager Li, the rare treasures of the Western barbarians are just the filial piety of her grandsons for the upcoming birthday of the emperor and the Holy Mother Empress Dowager.

What Zhu Changluo did not mention was the memorials submitted by Li Hualong from the Ministry of War and Cui Jingrong from the Censorate.

The next morning, Ciqing Palace became busy.

The courtyard between the main hall and the rear hall now looks like a small workshop.

According to Zhu Changluo's request, some of them used ink fountains to make more large papers with forms.

Under the eaves, there were some literate slaves who had moved tables and chairs there.

What they were doing was to copy the contents of the large paper that Wang An and Zou Yi had already copied several times.

Some palace maids took scissors and cut the large papers they had copied into strips along the lines.

Another place that looks most like a workshop is where several screens are modified.

Two slots should be nailed on the top of the screen.

Two palace maids worked with the eunuchs to nail the silk cloth onto a wooden shaft.

On the silk cloth, there were pieces of cloth cut into different sizes and sewn onto the silk cloth wrapped around the wooden shaft.

The densely hanging pieces of cloth look like a huge book.

After hanging it on the screen, you can turn it over page by page and hang the ones you don't want to read on the back of the screen.

There was already such a screen in front of Zhu Changluo's desk, and Wang An and Zou Yi posted many contents during the broadcast process on it.

Some are arranged according to chronological order, and some are arranged according to key figures such as Li Hualong and Liu Jing.

Zhu Changluo sat in a chair, thinking while reading some complete memorials from the past.

These things can be put aside temporarily, but they must be dealt with eventually.

Now, Li Hualong had finished fighting and returned home to observe mourning for his father. Why did he first report Liu Jing as the main contributor and then impeach Liu Jing for failing to bribe him and being rejected by him?

Wang An and Zou Yi had just finished pasting the notes on hand when Tian Yi came over, bringing more than a hundred newly submitted memorials.

After seeing the screen, Tian Yi had an intuitive understanding of the method Zhu Changluo requested.

"Your Highness, although it took a little more effort up front, now that it's sorted out, it's really clear."

Tian Yi praised him, and Zhu Changluo stood up and walked over: "You guys should leave for Suzhou now, and remember what I taught you."

Wang An and Zou Yi were overjoyed and said goodbye with great ceremony.

Zhu Changluo obtained the approval of Empress Dowager Li, and the task of going to Suzhou Prefecture to announce the imperial decree to invite the two old prime ministers to return to Beijing to resume their posts was given to them.

This is a very important experience.

After Wang An and Zou Yi left, Zhu Changluo frowned and pointed at the results they had previously compiled.

"Li Hualong recommended Liu Jing first. The censors accused Liu Jing of accepting bribes from Yang Yinglong, the chieftain of the Bozhou bandits, and of being slow in marching. They dismissed Liu Jing from his post and ordered him to follow the army as a soldier."

"Li Hualong tried his best to protect Liu Jing and appointed him as the general commander of a route. After several months of suppressing the enemy, Liu Jing was always the first to fight. This shows that he had a past relationship with Yang Yinglong, but it was just hearsay or speculation that falsely accused him of a crime."

"Li Hualong first reported on the great achievements in suppressing the rebellion, with Liu Jing as the military commander and Cui Jingrong as the civil official. Later, he and Cui Jingrong impeached Liu Jing at almost the same time, both of them saying the same thing."

After confiscating some silver from the Zheng family, Zhu Changluo had some initial ideas about the money issue. The next issue was the issue of military power.

This question is also difficult.

At this time, these two memorials regarding the merits of suppressing the rebellion in Bozhou attracted Zhu Changluo's attention.

The key point is that Liu Jing was only forty-three, in the prime of his life.

Tian Yi saw him stop and nodded: "This is the process."

Zhu Changluo looked at him and said, "Whether it is between civil officials or military generals, this kind of thing should be common. Li Hualong was kind to Liu Jing, and Liu Jing was grateful and expressed his gratitude; the censor impeached him first, and Liu Jing arranged for the military inspection."

Seeing that he pointed this out, Tian Yi added: "But the act of bribery, although unsuccessful, did violate the law and can be used as a reason for impeachment."

"Oh. The standards are flexible."

Zhu Changluo did not comment, and then sighed: "Does Li Hualong have to protect himself by defaming himself? Liu Jing, the man who made the first contribution, is being attacked by everyone just because of such a problem? It's too much for civil officials to suppress military generals."

"…Your Highness is very observant, and I admire you very much."

Tian Yi felt so sincerely.

The more I interacted with him, the more I realized how unusual he was.

In a short period of time, he saw the key to this matter.

"What do you think?" Zhu Changluo asked him.

Faced with a very sensitive question, Tian Yi thought for a moment and said, "Li Hualong asked to be dismissed and still serve as the commander-in-chief. He is criticized for being greedy and unfilial. However, changing the commander in the middle of a battle may seem like a sure win, but who knows if he will fail? I think Li Hualong is truly loyal to the country! But if he still refuses to leave after the mission is accomplished, someone will impeach him and his subordinates will gather together, and he may be in danger of becoming powerful."

"He reported Liu Jing as the first meritorious official and impeached him for bribery. This was done to reassure the court. How could the generals of Pingbo agree with Li Hualong after hearing about this? Now that he is on mourning, even if His Highness wants to use him, it cannot be now."

Zhu Changluo asked again: "Where is Liu Jing?"

"This man is a brave and honest general. If Your Majesty is determined to keep the military power, you must find ways to protect him." Tian Yi said earnestly, "You must not create a rift with the ministers. You must find a way."

After these days, Tian Yi already knew that the successor wanted to do something big.

And based on Tian Yi's understanding of the current Ming Dynasty...if he wants to get things done, he cannot do without military power.

It is not easy under the current military power system of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Changluo continued to look silently at the contents on the screen in front of him.

But he was a bit naive. He immediately went to repay the favor, but was betrayed by Li Hualong.

But how do we know that it wasn’t Li Hualong’s protection for him?
Liu Jing was so rough in his work, and yet he had the greatest achievements among all the generals, so everyone was looking for faults in him, but he only knew how to wield a sword.

If we protect him, those civil officials might sense danger and start to use laws to argue.

Tian Yi reminded him that he had to think of a way, and Zhu Changluo quickly thought of a way.

He laughed, "Ping Bo was chosen by the emperor. Now that the emperor is seriously ill, how can we punish people who have made contributions instead of rewarding them? Wouldn't that be a loss to the emperor's kindness?"

Tian Yi was stunned for a moment, then he sighed: "Who wouldn't think about your majesty's health?"

The world is vast, but the imperial power is supreme. What does the law matter in front of the emperor?
At this stage, the emperor who is sick and paralyzed in bed is the most useful.

As long as everything is done to the level of praying for the emperor and accumulating merits, then other minor stains can be put aside.

(End of this chapter)