Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 715: Forcing the issue
Last night, something like that happened in his family. Even Wu was worried about Zhu Ying's safety, but Zhang Shou was not worried... No wonder! Even though Zhu Ying had practiced martial arts since she was a child and had extraordinary skills, and she was accompanied by two hundred soldiers, there is a saying that one should be prepared for the worst. However, if Zhu Ying was really in trouble, would the emperor have the leisure to call him and ask him to take people to pick up Zhu Ying?
If he didn't have any ulterior motives...he would just change his surname to the emperor's!
So, when he heard Hua Qi say that Zhu Ying was outside, he saw the emperor's face darken immediately. Although he wanted to laugh, he tried his best to hold it back. However, when he saw Zhu Ying rushing in, he couldn't help laughing.
Zhu Ying only knew from others that the emperor was in Ciqing Palace, and she only expected to see the emperor and the third prince. She didn't care much when she saw Chu Kuan and Hua Qi, after all, they were doing their duty. But when she saw Zhang Shou, she was genuinely surprised and happy. She almost didn't bother to greet him, and she rushed to Zhang Shou like a gust of wind, and asked anxiously, "Ah Shou, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I slept till dawn." Zhang Shou smiled and winked at the young lady. Then he said calmly, "It's the emperor who is worried about your safety. He just asked me and Ah Liu to take people to pick you up! What happened? What happened to you last night?"
"Why pick me up? You'll only cause trouble if you come!" Zhu Ying didn't answer Zhang Shou's last question. She glanced at the emperor unkindly, "If Your Majesty is really that worried about me, you should send more soldiers to pick me up. Why did you send Ah Shou here? He looks so eye-catching. If he runs into a thief outside, will Your Majesty compensate me?"
The emperor felt that he had come to the wrong place today. He was almost choked to death by people again and again - first Chu Kuan, then Zhang Shou, and then Zhu Ying! He snorted coldly and said with a straight face: "Didn't I tell you to stay there for one night? Why did you come back so soon?"
"I also want to have a good night's sleep, but even if I don't have a problem with choosing a bed, I can't stand it again and again for the whole night! If it weren't for Aunt Yuquan's help, I would have been so angry that I would have killed the eldest prince, the guy who attracts bees and butterflies!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help sweating when he used the term "attracting bees and butterflies" to describe a grown man. The emperor couldn't help but feel the veins in his temples throbbing. But he still asked in a deep voice, "Okay, Yingying, stop talking nonsense. What happened? Did someone want to rescue that evil beast last night?"
"Yes, their slogan was to establish the eldest son as the heir and purge the court of officials." Zhu Ying said angrily, "But after I killed the leader, the others immediately became weak. I thought they were traitors, but it turned out to be an old country scholar who brought a group of villagers who had been educated by him and became stupid, carrying sickles and hoes, and came to the imperial farm to do whatever they wanted. Your Majesty, do you believe it?"
After hearing what Zhu Ying said, five words suddenly popped up in Zhang Shou’s mind: Imperial power should not extend to the countryside!
Not only him, but even Hua Qi, who had been silent just now, couldn't help but interrupt and said, "The ignorant men and women in the countryside have limited knowledge. If the local gentry or even the scholars in the village school and clan school tell them something biased, then the persuasion is naturally very serious... In this case, the eldest lady should not have brought the eldest prince with her this time, right?"
"Of course not! I was afraid that a bunch of villagers would show up on the road and stop us from seeing the eldest prince. If they cried and made a scene, how would we end it? I took five people with me, wearing black clothes and hoods, and told people about the military situation in Liaodong along the way. We rushed by and took off the black dog skins when we entered the capital."
Zhu Ying looked at the emperor and said angrily, "I originally went to seek justice for my elder brother, but who knew I would get into such a big trouble! The imperial manor is now being managed by Aunt Yuquan herself, and my wedding is only a few days away. I don't have the ability to clean up this mess in two or three days. Your Majesty, please find someone else as soon as possible. Anyway, I'm not going!"
The emperor was furious because none of them were reliable. Of course, what made him even more angry was that someone was inciting the people to support the eldest prince... Just when he could not help but get angry, he suddenly heard Zhang Shou's voice.
"Your Majesty, if it is just about bringing back the eldest prince, Yingying is naturally qualified to do the job. But since, as Yingying said, someone incited the people to cause trouble last night, then it may not be enough for a senior official to appease them. I think we should select a respected elder from the cabinet to go in person, appease the people, and then bring back the eldest prince openly. This is safer."
The emperor saw Zhang Shou's expression of "I'm definitely not taking revenge on someone personally", and he couldn't help but feel angry. "Don't you know that Mr. Kong was so angry that your future brother-in-law blocked his door that he even asked for leave and didn't attend the morning court today? The director of the Imperial Hospital went there personally, but there is still no result! I wonder if he will just get seriously ill and die! "
"Huh?"
Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying exclaimed in surprise almost at the same time, and then looked at each other in surprise.
The emperor believed that Zhu Ying, who had just returned to Beijing, was not aware of the incident, but he did not believe that Zhang Shou, who should have met Zhu Tingfang before the morning court session, was not aware of the incident. However, Zhang Shou looked innocent, so the emperor could only pull a long face and say, "Are you still going to pretend to be ignorant of this?"
"Your Majesty, I really don't know." Zhang Shou was really helpless at this time. It was true that he had run into his elder brother-in-law, but his elder brother-in-law only said that he went to the Confucius Mansion to question him, but he didn't say that he had made Confucius so angry that he fell ill at home! Seeing Zhu Ying looking at him curiously, he repeated what Zhu Tingfang said in public at that time, and this time, the emperor was so angry that he laughed.
"You two are really not from the same family. You are not from the same family, but you all act in the same way! I really don't know what life I owed you. I have to clean up the mess for you juniors!"
Seeing the emperor rubbing his chin in annoyance and thinking about countermeasures, Zhang Shou quietly asked Zhu Ying, "Yingying, Scholar Kong looks quite thin. Do you know if he usually prefers light food, or if he likes desserts, or if he loves meat and greasy food such as poultry?"
Although his voice was not loud, the emperor, who had been practicing martial arts since childhood, had such sharp hearing.
Without waiting for Zhu Ying to answer, the emperor immediately asked angrily, "Why are you asking these questions? The Kong family is a famous scholarly family. It is said that the first Jinshi they produced 70 or 80 years ago liked to say that meat eaters are vulgar. Having been an official for so many years, they have learned a lot of bad rules. This kind of family pays attention to the exquisiteness of food, and they can't wait to bring up thousands of allusions when eating a dish."
"That is to say, what matters is the presentation and the mood, cherishing food and keeping fit, and not overeating? And as a cabinet minister, I guess for the sake of his image, even if he likes sweets, he will be relatively restrained?"
Seeing that the emperor was looking at him with increasing confusion, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "So, the Kong family should generally live long lives, right?"
This time, the emperor nodded with a half-smile. Zhang Shou immediately laughed - as long as he didn't have any inherited cardiovascular disease, and had a habit of eating light and small amounts of food, and because he was a high-ranking official, he had relatively good medical resources these days... then even if Academician Kong was so angry with Zhu Tingfang that he took sick leave, it would probably be fine.
Don't use the life span of an emperor to measure the life span of many prime ministers these days. You know, high-ranking officials such as prime ministers and cabinet ministers, as long as they don't die suddenly, generally live much longer than the emperor.
Thinking that those who could make it to the position of Grand Councilor were at least fifty years old, and many of them were in their seventies when they retired, he said nonchalantly: "Although Young Master Zhu must have caused a big disturbance at the Kong family, but if I may be frank, the emperor should send someone to visit the Kong family at this time. If the person is not seriously injured, then sending Academician Kong to take the eldest prince back to the capital should be more suitable than anyone else."
"The accusations that Master Zhu made against Dr. Kong are genuine. And what he said about a servant of the Kong family abandoning his master and running away should also be true. In this case, Master Kong should be in a very awkward situation now. If Master Zhu really impeaches him, he might have to take the opportunity to beg for his life. Therefore, when the emperor sends him to pick up the eldest prince, he should be happy to express his feelings."
The emperor was slightly stunned, remembering that although Grand Secretary Kong was promoted by himself, he was also known as the backbone of the new school. He strongly advocated that people from overseas countries come to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute and even study. He also supported official ships sailing to various countries to understand the intelligence of various countries in the world and further improve the globe made by Emperor Taizu Mengtian. However, after Lord Jiang stepped down, he became relatively conservative.
He did not formally confirm the position of Prime Minister, not only because Grand Secretary Kong had also been behind the plot against Zhu Jing and his son, but also because he was concerned about Grand Secretary Kong's political attitude. Sure enough, before he became Prime Minister, he had already deviated from his original position and even excluded Grand Secretary Zhang Yu, whom he had promoted.
As for the yes-man-like Lord Wu, it goes without saying that Grand Secretary Kong showed his disgust and contempt without hesitation.
I think that Master Kong felt that if the three cabinet members were all imperialists, then his existence would be meaningless. Of course, the officialdom and the literati would probably attack him... Didn't you see that most officials in the court were quite supportive of Master Kong?
Therefore, although the emperor is increasingly annoyed with Academician Kong, he knows very well that he can promote more and more people into the cabinet. However, if they are not capable enough or thick-skinned enough, they will not be able to survive for long.
After all, it was rare to find someone like Wu Ge Lao who was so smiling but could withstand impeachment. When Zhang Yu first entered the cabinet, he also complained privately that he felt it was difficult to move forward, whether it was splitting the votes, or the final draft, or even facing the dissatisfaction and even slander of the six ministries and the Censorate.
So, after thinking carefully for a long time, the emperor finally said to Chu Kuan: "Well, you go to the Kong family in the name of the prince and visit Mr. Kong. If he is in good condition, tell him that I intend to let him go to the imperial farm to pick up Dalang."
"Your Majesty, last time, Grand Secretary Kong said in public at the Imperial Lecture that it would be best to employ illiterate eunuchs in Ciqing Palace. So..."
Although Chu Kuan didn't finish his words, everyone present came to their senses - if Chu Kuan went, even if Academician Kong was not sick, he would pretend to be sick and resign, even if it turned out to be true, because Chu Kuan's visit was really a slap in the face!
Seeing that the emperor was stuck, Zhang Shou realized that the emperor seemed to want the Third Prince's people to show favor, and his heart was moved. But when the words came to his lips, he saw that the Third Prince was hesitant to speak, so he smiled and asked: "Does Your Highness have any better ideas?"
Although Zhu Ying didn't quite understand why Zhang Shou wanted to protect Grand Secretary Kong, it was obvious that the emperor listened to this suggestion and was very pleased with it, so she didn't object. Just now, when she heard the emperor ask Chu Kuan to go, she knew it was inappropriate but didn't say anything. Seeing Chu Kuan reveal this himself, she even felt a little regretful. If Chu Kuan really ran away, Grand Secretary Kong would resign in anger. How refreshing would that be?
Therefore, when she heard Zhang Shou suddenly ask the Third Prince, she couldn't help but feel excited again. After all, the Third Prince was inexperienced before, and maybe he would come up with an idea that the Emperor thought was good, but was actually a scam like the one just now?
Sure enough, the next moment, she heard the Third Prince hesitantly say, "Father, as the Crown Prince, I naturally cannot leave the palace casually, but I think that Fourth Brother could go visit Academician Kong, and then..."
Before the Third Prince could finish his words, Zhu Ying immediately praised him, "Good idea!" The Fourth Prince is an impulsive and irritable kid who has never had a good impression of Academician Kong. He might even cause him trouble!
Zhang Shou immediately stopped her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Yingying, don't make trouble! Your Highness, think carefully about it. Let the Fourth Prince talk to Academician Kong and ask him to go to the imperial farm to pick up the First Prince, and then appease those rioters who were bewitched by others? Is this appropriate?"
At this moment, the Third Prince was stunned, and then he realized that he was too concerned. It was okay for the Fourth Prince to visit, but it was absolutely inappropriate to convey such a thing. After understanding this, he thought about it and said, "I know that the emperor wants me to establish a reputation for filial piety, but I have now realized that this is inappropriate. I think..."
"I think it would be more appropriate to send someone to visit Grand Secretary Kong in the name of the emperor and convey the emperor's will to send him to fetch my eldest brother. As for the candidate, I think we can send Duke Qin. Duke Qin has always had a good reputation among the civil servants. Moreover, he is now in charge of Shuntian Prefecture. He can also give an explanation for the servants of the Kong Mansion who abandoned their master and fled and took away their property."
Seeing that the Third Prince finally gave a very reasonable suggestion, Zhang Shou secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this was the right person. But Zhu Ying on the side grumbled in dissatisfaction: "In that case, isn't my father also quite suitable?" If my father goes there, it's not a visit, but a provocation and a demonstration! It would be strange if Master Kong didn't resign in anger!
Zhang Shou saw that the emperor had an expression that said, "I didn't hear what you said, Zhu Ying." He just nodded in agreement with great satisfaction at the Third Prince. He couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead and whispered, "Yingying, don't you think the best way to take revenge is to keep someone under your nose and stab him from time to time to make him feel heartbroken? If Academician Kong resigns, it will really be..."
He paused and said meaningfully, "That means the sea is wide for fish to leap, and the sky is high for birds to fly. With his reputation, any academy he returns to will treat him as a distinguished guest. By then, he will have many students all over the world, and the court will be filled with them. Don't you think this is even more disgusting?"
Zhu Ying's frown immediately relaxed. She nodded heavily and said, "You are right. If he runs away, we will not only have to guard against hidden arrows in the future, but also have to guard against his comeback. A gentleman's revenge is from morning till night. We cannot let him run away!"
