Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 67: Driving the tiger and swallowing the wolf
"…Then my grandson will tell you."

Zhu Changluo seemed very embarrassed. He looked at the two old ministers with slightly red eyes and gritted his teeth.

Finally, he said, "Father fell ill because of Zheng's witchcraft. The files and evidence are all there. If she had no evidence, how could she be so bold? When the Zheng residence was searched, it was found that for many years there had been foreign officials helping the tyrant to commit atrocities, often stirring up the emperor's heart, so that the dispute over the foundation of the country had not been resolved. How could these things be spread outside? The Imperial Grandmother's decree made it a small matter, but at that time the three judicial departments were ready to handle the case on a large scale."

"...Nonsense...Nonsense..."

Shen Shixing was horrified. Could such a thing be used to eliminate dissidents? Shen Yiguan's desire for power was too strong!
"Even matters such as the ceremonial notes and imperial edicts were used to threaten the emperor's entrustment of me to him, saying that there was no precedent for the ceremony and that he could only proceed with caution. My father first withdrew the local tax collectors, and now the officials have ignored the Shanhaiguan uprising and killed the imperial envoys, and have submitted petitions to withdraw all the officials sent out from the palace. My grandmother and I are terrified day and night!"

"… lawless, without father or king…" Wang Xijue muttered to himself, his expression gradually getting angry, "Queen Mother! Now that I, Wang Xijue, have returned to the court, I will never tolerate those treacherous villains who have no father or king!"

"This matter will only be told to you two, and no third person outside the court can know about it." Empress Dowager Li sobbed, "Go to the cabinet and take a look at the edict drafted by the crown prince. Which one is not about settling things peacefully? It's a pity that there are always people pressing the issue step by step, trying to make it seem that the emperor's twenty-eight years of ruling the country have been useless?"

Shen Shixing secretly groaned, kneeling on the ground and kowtowed: "Queen Dowager, calm down, Your Highness, calm down! There are still many loyal and virtuous people in the court. Shen Jianwu has repeatedly requested for the enthronement of Your Highness over the years, and he would never be so lawless. I'm afraid there are also misunderstandings. Your Highness is about to ascend the throne, how can there be a big turmoil in the court? Since this old minister and Yuan Yu have heard this secret, we should take the responsibility. Queen Dowager, don't worry, Your Highness, don't worry."

Back then, he was caught between the imperial power and the ministers. Now, as soon as he returned, he heard such a secret, and he was caught between the imperial power and the ministers again.

On one side is the imperial power, which was probably caused by a deliberate "murder" and led to the abdication of the emperor due to illness, and the new emperor has an unstable foundation; on the other side are the ministers who have been "eager for governance" due to years of inaction.

It's really hard to be a cabinet minister!

Wang Xijue might be angry at Shen's consistent behavior, but Shen Shixing knew that this matter could not be that simple.

But we cannot say that these three generations of grandparents and grandchildren are a bit too sensitive, as if the imperial power is really under threat.

Now, I first heard that the successor emperor was bullied by his ministers. Now I know why he felt that way.

This reason cannot be told to outsiders.

Then, as soon as he comes back, he will face off against the emperor who has been in power for many years to resolve the crisis of "jealousy between the monarch and his ministers."

After seeing them say goodbye and leave, Empress Dowager Li came out from behind the curtain.

Looking at her grandson, she couldn't help but sigh: "This move is really amazing."

Zhu Changluo sighed, "If I don't let them fight Shen Yikuan, and if I have to bear this secret to suppress the officials' impulse to challenge my grandson in government affairs, how can I plan my plans slowly?"

"Grandmother is becoming more and more relieved." Empress Dowager Li looked at him, "You have really suffered."

"I am not afraid of hardship or fatigue, but I am afraid of failing my grandmother's expectations and my ancestors." Zhu Changluo knelt down and said, "Thank you, grandmother, for helping me persuade my father and letting the outsiders know about the family scandal... After all, I am unfilial."

"Alas, the struggle for the throne in every dynasty has led to so many conspiracies and rumors. The emperor suddenly fell ill. No matter what the reason is, there will be rumors everywhere." Empress Dowager Li was in a complicated mood. "The emperor is also concerned about the country and the people. He will not let the two old ministers have any doubts. There is no need for grandma to persuade you. You can go and do your work."

Zhu Changluo left.

The reason why I think Shen Yikuan is likely to do such a thing is naturally based on my understanding of him.

During the second demon book case, he took advantage of the situation to stir up factional strife, targeting Shen Li who was in the cabinet at that time.

He was even afraid of Shen Li, let alone Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue?
Moreover, at that time he was far from having the status of a "minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor" and the prestige of repeatedly asking the emperor to issue several good policies as he does today.

Now Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue have arrived at the cabinet.

They were supposed to leave the palace and return to their old residence after meeting His Majesty, and then officially join the cabinet to do their work tomorrow.

But they all came over. Shen Shixing was worried, and Wang Xijue had a cold face under his sharp and thick triangular eyebrows.

Shen Yikuan greeted him outside the door with a forced smile.

The secretaries in Wenyuan Pavilion didn't dare to breathe: the old prime ministers had such a strong sense of oppression.

Why does it look like you're here just to quarrel?

"Rumo, Yuanyu, it's been many years since we last met. I feel relieved to see you two return to the court."

"Brother Jianwu, there is no need to be polite. The situation is tense, so let's discuss the important matters of the court first." Wang Xijue's face did not change. "Brother Yuanyu, why do you have to do this?" Shen Shixing tried to ease the atmosphere and bowed to Shen Yiguan, "When your majesty was seriously ill, the prime minister was about to fall. The successor was established, the tax collectors were all removed, Ximing was pardoned, and the government was in order. This is all due to Brother Jianwu's contribution."

In terms of age, Shen Yikuan is older than all of them, and is already seventy years old.

As soon as they met, Shen Yikuan felt Wang Xijue's impoliteness. When he heard Shen Shixing call him Prime Minister, he felt even more strange.

What's more, he pointed out several things as soon as we met. It was obvious that he knew a lot and only picked out the nice things to talk about.

"I am an old man who has not considered things carefully. How can I claim credit for everything? I have left my father and king worried, and I have not been able to comfort the ministers. I feel ashamed. Now I understand the difficulties you two have gone through in the past. I have requested to leave my bones several times in recent days, but it has not been granted."

Hearing him talk about the past, Shen Shixing sighed, and Wang Xijue was also slightly moved.

But Wang Xijue still said: "The jealousy between the emperor and his ministers has already formed. The prime minister has been in the court for several years. If he asks for his remains to leave, wouldn't it still leave the emperor and his father with worries? Well, there is plenty of time to reminisce about the past. Let's go inside first. There are some things that are not convenient to talk about here."

They have all served as prime ministers, so they can still empathize with some things.

Both of them called him Yuanfu, which seemed to show that they respected him.

On the way forward, Shen Shixing asked about Yu Jideng's condition again.

Although everyone knows why Yu Ji entered the cabinet, it is normal. It is reasonable to show some concern.

The cabinet is actually very close to Ciqing Palace. It is located in front of the right side of the main entrance of Ciqing Palace and in the northeast of Wenhua Hall. It is on the left side when entering from Zhengyin Gate.

So when Tian Le went to Ciqing Palace that day, Shen Yikuan knew it immediately.

Now the three of them sat down in the hall where the ministers were meeting, and Shen Yi Guan said to his colleagues: "You two have already met His Majesty and the heir, and there is no one else here. I will speak my mind."

"Please speak, Prime Minister." Shen Shixing spoke before Wang Xijue.

"Many things are due to this edict." He took out the vernacular edict drafted by Zhu Changluo and stood beside the long table in the hall and spread it out one by one. "I know that some people in the court and the public criticize me for excluding dissidents and abusing power for personal gain. I dare not arbitrarily draft an edict because there are many disputes between the old and new dynasties. Now that you two have been in the officialdom for many years, you should know how much waves this edict will cause."

After saying that, he sighed, made way for the two of them to take a closer look.

The successor prince entrusted the emperor with the intention of rehabilitating Zhang Juzheng and secretly intending to implement new policies. He believed that these two people could see it.

Although he also perfunctorily explained his procrastination in drafting the edict.

Even without asking the three people about their respective positions on the new policy, with everyone's experience, they naturally know what this trend means to the government and the opposition.

"That day, Your Highness showed the Emperor His Majesty's handwritten edict, which had the words 'Hundred Years' and 'Master Zhang' on it." He also reminded him.

Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue looked at it carefully, and their initial judgment was of course the same as that of Shen Yiquan and the others.

Have ideas, but no culture.

But unlike Shen Yiquan, the two of them had just met the emperor.

The two men saw with their own eyes that the emperor was crying very sadly.

Shen Shixing remained silent after reading it, while Wang Xijue said, "We just had an audience with His Majesty. His Majesty was seriously ill in bed, his eyes were filled with tears, and he was deeply regretful!"

Shen Yikuan looked at him with mixed feelings: You were regarded as a general under Zhang Juzheng back then, and it was because you firmly opposed his seizure of love that everyone realized that you actually just felt that the new policy was necessary to implement, rather than blindly following Zhang Juzheng's lead.

But is this the problem now? When the new policy was implemented in the ninth and tenth years of the Wanli reign, the whole country was in turmoil. Didn't you, Wang Taicang, know about this?
"Not to mention that the successor king only drafted it according to the order, there is no intention to redress Zhang Jiangling's injustice or to implement new laws." Wang Xijue continued to stare at Shen Yikuan, "Just say that after the Shanhaiguan uprising, officials in and outside the capital all requested to dismiss the external officials. Could it be that the prime minister would also say that this was entirely out of loyalty? Or did someone misinterpret the intentions of your majesty and the successor king, making people think that the successor king would implement new laws after ascending the throne?"

"Brother Yuan Yu, things have come to this..." Shen Shixing called him, then sighed, "Since there were many people discussing the matter in the court that day, how could they allude to Yuan Fu's leaking of the secrets? In the current situation, the monarch and his ministers are wary of each other because of this. Yuan Fu doesn't know that the Holy Mother Empress Dowager is already worried about the stability of the throne, so she urgently ordered the two of us to rush to the capital."

Shen Yiguan's face suddenly changed, and he said in a lost voice: "Why is it so?"

Wang Xijue hesitated to speak, then shook his sleeves heavily and complained: "The emperor is seriously ill and can't speak, the dispute over the foundation of the country has been delayed for many years, the third prince was sent to Fengyang, and the Zheng family was wiped out overnight! How can the prime minister be so careless when he is in power?"

(End of this chapter)