Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 324
The next day, the sky was still gloomy, and the light of dawn had not yet shone on the square of the Forbidden City, but the elders who went to the morning court had already arrived outside the Meridian Gate to wait one after another.

The weather was still a bit cold, and the elders gathered in twos and threes, holding hand stoves, and gossiping.

"Have you heard? Yesterday, Yu Shaobao had just been released from the restraint, and he hurried into the palace before he sat warm in the military department. It is said that he quarreled with His Majesty again."

"Isn't it? The cabinet's decree has been drawn up. It is said that the king was disrespectful and the salary was fined for one month. The confinement has just been lifted, and the salary is fined. I am afraid that His Majesty has become really angry."

"That's right, Yu Shaobao's temper, alas, but after all, he is also an important minister of the Seven Ministers, so it is too harsh for His Majesty to punish him one after another."

"Who says it's not? Don't forget. A few days ago, Feng Guogong Li Xian impeached Yu Shaobao, but there was no explanation. Could it be..."

"Be careful, be careful..."

Small groups gathered together, discussing in low voices.

Yu Qian stood not far in front of them, with his sleeves wrapped around his eyes and his eyes closed, his face was expressionless, as if they were not talking about him.

Another sedan chair landed not far from the palace gate. Cabinet Minister Yu Shiyue got off the sedan chair, looked around for a while, then walked slowly to stand in front of Yu Qian.

"Ting Yi, what are you making a fuss about? This old man was thinking about going down to your mansion yesterday to congratulate you on your reinstatement. What's going on, oh..."

Yu Qian opened his eyes, there was finally a smile on Gujing Wubo's face, and he bowed his hands back, saying.

"In the days when Yu was not in the court, there was brother Lao Shichao. I didn't expect that so many major events had happened in Beijing in just one month."

One day is enough for Yu Qian to understand all the big and small things that have happened in the capital recently.

Yu Shiyue waved his hand and said.

"What are you talking about? They are all serving the country and sharing the worries of the king. Why are you talking about labor? It's you. What's going on?"

"Yesterday, Eunuch Cheng came to deliver the decree, saying that he would fine you a month's salary, but he was vague about what it was for."

"Do you know that there are rumors in the central capital that His Majesty intends to target you."

Yu Qian glanced at a group of officials not far away, and they immediately hissed silently, pretending to be nonchalant.

Shaking his head slightly, Yu Qian said.

"It's just a little difference in political opinions. It was Yu who offended His Majesty again yesterday. He deserves to be punished."

He obviously didn't want to elaborate on what he said.

But Yu Shiyue didn't intend to just let him deal with it, so he took two steps forward and asked in a low voice.

"Ting Yi, tell the old man the truth, did you enter the palace yesterday because of the mission?"

After all, Yu Shiyue stared at Yu Qian closely, not letting go of any change on his face.

Yu Qian was taken aback for a moment, and then fell silent, neither admitting nor denying.

But in Yu Shiyue's eyes, it was acquiescence.

At that moment, Yu Shiyue felt a little helpless, sighed, and said.

"You, what's the trouble here? It's what they have been asking for. Your Majesty is just going along with the flow. Even if something happens, it's what they asked for. Why do you..."

Hearing this, Yu Qian felt a little surprised, and asked with a frown.

"Brother Yu, how did you know that the mission's trip to Beijing would be unsettling?"

You know, to this day, no third person knows the contents of the military newspaper.

Although the Jingying side has been mobilized, but now that the Jingying is Admiral Yu Qian, all the anointed children of the gang of relatives have been cleared out by him.

Now the commanders of each regiment and battalion are selected from all over the country. The military discipline is strict and they will not disclose the specific situation of the transfer without authorization.

Secondly, during this period of time, the Beijing camp was also frequently mobilized. More than half a month ago, Baoding Bo Liangyao had just brought tens of thousands of troops to Miaodi to take over from Wang Ji to suppress the rebellion.

The mobilization of these thousands of people was mixed in, without even a splash.

Coupled with these days, the government and the public have been closely attracted by the case of King Zhennan, and no one will notice that the Beijing camp has increased its troops to Datong.

Even if they noticed, most of them thought it was a normal border defense arrangement, and no one thought much about it.

But Yu Qian did not expect that Yu Shiyue would directly ask about the mission as soon as they met.

Yu Qian's abnormal performance made Yu Shiyue frown, and after thinking about it, he said.

"It's nothing difficult to guess. Some time ago, you asked me to go to Wang Wen to discuss it. At that time, I knew that the emperor did not approve of this matter."

"Later, when the emperor agreed to send a mission, I felt suspicious and went to Wang Wen's house again, but his attitude changed drastically."

"Not only did they not set up obstacles for the mission, but they also called several yamen to make it easier."

"I knew at the time that the mission's trip to Beijing this time might be a waste of time."

After hearing what Yu Shiyue said, Yu Qian felt relieved and sighed.

"So that's the case. Brother Yu guessed right. I'm afraid the embassy going out of Beijing this time will waste a lot of effort. However, the reason I argued with His Majesty yesterday was not because of this..."

Yu Shiyue was a little puzzled, pondered for a moment, and asked.

"It's not for this matter, maybe it's for Wang Ji?"

You must know that the reason why Yu Qian was grounded at that time was that he opposed the replacement of Wang Ji, the general recruiting officer.

Yu Qian shook his head and said, "Brother Yu, you better stop guessing."

After thinking about it, Yu Qian seemed to feel something was wrong again, and said, "Brother Yu, do you still remember that you were at my house on New Year's Eve, why did I push you away?"

Yu Shiyue was startled immediately, and said in a low voice: "You mean, are those rumors true? Your Majesty really wants to target you?"

Yu Qian sighed and said softly.

"Anyway, Brother Yu just needs to wait and see what happens in the morning. Just watch from the sidelines. Don't go in this muddy water."

Yu Shiyue wanted to ask again, but the sky had already dawned, the palace gate was slowly pushed open, and it was time to go to court.

So, he had no choice but to swallow the words that came to his lips, straightened his appearance, and followed the long team towards the palace city.

Today's morning is in Wenhua Hall.

Although it was said that yesterday, the Ministry of Officials officially opened the Jingchao, the government and the opposition have aroused people's hearts because of this.

However, after all, Jingcha is not something that can be completed in a day, and the officials involved in Jingcha are all middle-level officials below the fourth rank.

The elders who can enter the early dynasty are basically not too low in grade.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the morning court was relatively relaxed.

The Ministry of Rites inscribed some specific matters about the draft, and then the Ministry of Officials inscribed the list of transfers of a group of local officials.

Then when they arrived at the Ministry of Industry, Shangshu Chen Xun did not come out to play, but the servant Wang Wei stood up and played.

"Your Majesty, I have been ordered by the emperor to inspect the Shawan breach in the Yellow River. It has been two months. This is the local hydrology and topography. Your Majesty please take a look."

A servant came down and sent the memorial to the emperor's imperial case.

The ministers below did not respond. The Ministry of Industry inspected many places every year, and it was nothing more than building embankments and repairing rivers.

But these projects cost money.

The Ministry of Finance is currently in a tight financial situation, and I'm afraid that this matter will be nothing in the end.

Wang Wei said: "Your Majesty, Shawan has breached for several years. Every year, embankments are built and washed away. Every summer, when there is heavy rain and high tide, there will be breaches everywhere. The local people are miserable. affect the operation."

"Your minister led a group of officials from the Ministry of Industry to conduct on-the-spot investigations and found that the river sections in Zhangqiu and other places have been silted up for many years, and the dams built are more than two feet high."

"In such a situation, dredging alone is not enough. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry proposed that we should build larger weirs, use water gates, control canals and build gates, and build Zhangqiu to connect to the Yellow River and Qinshui. Only in this way can we solve the years of Shawan. Difficult to decide."

Now the elders are in good spirits.

They thought that the Ministry of Industry would build the embankment as usual, but they never thought that the Ministry of Industry would actually do something big this time.

The money spent on digging the canal and building the water gate will go to the sea. Just say that there are not tens of thousands of people who have been recruited. It is impossible to even start construction on this canal.

The emperor here also finished reading the memorial, nodded and said.

"Wang Qing has worked hard. It is indeed inappropriate to procrastinate the Shawan breach. Since the Ministry of Industry has inspected the local situation, do you have a specific budget?"

This time, it was Chen Xun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, who appeared on the stage.

Elder Chen stepped forward and cupped his hands.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, if it starts from Zhang Qiu and ends at Qinshui, the construction of the canal is expected to cost 80 taels of silver."

"As for the construction period, it depends on the number of peasants. If the number is sufficient, the construction can be completed in three to five months. It can still be completed before the rainy season this year to avoid affecting the transfer of summer grain."

After Chen Xun's voice fell, a censor asked.

"Dare to ask Chen Shangshu, how many civilian husbands does he mean?"

Chen Laoshangshu was obviously also prepared, and played again.

"If there are [-] civilians, they should be able to build a big canal in five months."

Needle drop can be heard in the hall.

The elders look at me and I look at you, and they are all very surprised.

You must know that the recruitment of more than [-] laborers is already a great pressure on the imperial court.

6 people?This Chen Shangshu is crazy!

At the moment, there is a censor who speaks out.

"Your Majesty, this matter is inappropriate. Now that the border wars have just ended, the Miao land in the southwest is still facing each other, and the people are withered, how can we carry out this heavy duty? Besides, the Ministry of Households does not have enough money to allocate. I think that we can still build dams and build The matter of Daqu can be postponed."

The emperor seemed to be hesitant, and after a while, he asked the household department beside him.

"Shen Qing, what do you think of this matter?"

All the ministers immediately set their eyes on the Minister of the Household Department.

Shen Shangshu curled his lips inwardly, but on the face he was very respectful, said.

"Your Majesty cares about all the people, so I don't dare to be negligent. If the Ministry of Industry wants to build a canal, it doesn't have to be 80 taels in a short time. If it is divided into several batches, the Ministry of Households can support it. The first batch 30 taels can still be made up.”

Is this the sun coming out of the west?

The bosses looked at each other, and the discussion started with a "buzz".

They didn't pay much attention to this matter before, because they felt that the Ministry of Industry's proposal would not pass at all, and the Ministry of Household Affairs would immediately get stuck.

But no one thought that Hubu, known as the iron rooster, agreed this time without any resistance.

Now the pot is fried.

Although I was thinking of watching a joke before, who doesn't know that the imperial court has so much money, if it is used too much, it should be used less.

Everyone knows the current situation of the Ministry of Finance.

If such a large amount of silver taels were invested in the Ministry of Industry, I am afraid that what everyone will take home next year will still be a pile of pepper sumac.

"Your Majesty, no, it's time for the common people to recuperate, how can they make such a big effort?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is safer to build dikes and dams. If you are worried about another breach, you can move the local people out first, and rush to build the canal. It will waste people and money, and it may not be able to achieve results."

All of a sudden, the ruling and opposition parties were full of opposition.

However, no one dared to give up river control. After all, Shawan breached for five or six years, basically every year.

The local people are indeed miserable. The imperial court sends officials to control the water every year, but the effect is not great.

So the reason for their opposition is nothing more than focusing on silver and civilian husbands.

Chen Xun was also prepared for this, he took a step forward and said.

"Your Majesty, I have also considered this matter. It is better to build a big canal sooner rather than later. The breach of Shawan will directly affect the transportation of grain. The grain that is delayed due to this is no less than hundreds of thousands of stones. If the breach of Shawan can be completely solved, It should be able to smooth the water transportation and restore our country's national power as soon as possible."

"In addition, regarding the matter of civilian husbands, it is indeed not appropriate to recruit them on a large scale. According to the old minister, we can temporarily transfer [-] soldiers from the capital, and more than [-] water workers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The minister will personally supervise the battle and make a quick decision. The canal can be built before the rainy season. Dredging the canal."

Everyone was speechless for a while, and no one thought that the Ministry of Industry would turn their minds on the Beijing Army.

So, everyone's eyes turned to Yu Qian who was aside, hoping that he could speak out against it.

However, in Shaobao, they stood there like clay sculptures and wood carvings, without saying a word.

As we all know, the relationship between the emperor and Yu Qian was not very good during this time.

So, after a short pause, seeing that Yu Qian didn't object, the emperor didn't seem to bother to ask him any more, so he just said it.

"Since this is the case, then the Ministry of Industry will transfer [-] assistants to the Beijing Army, and Chen Xun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, will personally supervise the construction of the canal within a period of five months."

Seeing that the ministers below still had objections, the emperor was a little helpless and continued.

"As for the silver, the national treasury is now empty. For the 30 taels that need to be allocated in advance, half of the state treasury and the internal transport depot will be allocated. The remaining 50 taels will be prepaid in half by the internal transport depot. After the transfer of summer grain is completed, it will be returned to the internal transport depot. Shipping warehouse."

Well, the emperor paid for it himself, and the people below have nothing to say.

It's just that looking at Chen Xun's eyes, I can't help feeling a little envious and jealous.

This is 80 taels. Even the salary here is half of the salary of pepper sumac. The Ministry of Industry just got such a large amount of money. How can it not be enviable?
Being surrounded by the crowd, Chen Xun felt only pressure.

These ministers just watched the fun, but only Chen Xun knew how much the emperor had placed his expectations on this matter.

This court meeting seems to be passed easily.

But in fact, it was all because neither the household department nor the military department gave any constraints.

One of them gave money and the other gave others, and this was considered a smooth way to push this matter forward.

And the reason why the two sides cooperate so much is because the emperor is helping behind the scenes.

Even, because of this matter, the emperor had another big fight with Yu Qian yesterday. If the emperor hadn't forced Yu Qian to bow his head in the end, his stubborn temper would have blown the roof off today.

But because of this, Chen Xun felt more pressure.

He has always been transferred in Qingliu, and he is not particularly familiar with the practice. Although he has been making up a lot these days, he still has no idea about the specific operation.

After all, this is not a trivial matter, the emperor has done so much for him, if he messes up by himself, Chen Xun would not dare to think about the consequences.

Building a large canal and setting water gates may seem simple, but in fact, where to start, how to repair, and how to install water gates are all delicate tasks that cannot tolerate any mistakes.

Chen Xun knew how much he weighed, so after pondering for a moment, he boldly stepped forward and said.

"Your Majesty, the construction of the canal is not a trivial matter. It needs to be done carefully. I know someone who is proficient in hydrology and geography. I beseech your Majesty's permission to order him to follow the minister to build the canal. The project will be completed as scheduled."

The elders seemed to feel a gust of cool wind blowing in the hall in an instant, and couldn't help shivering Lingling.

Immediately afterwards, the calm voice of the Son of Heaven came down.

"who?"

Chen Xun also felt the subtle change in the atmosphere, but if he was to go into battle alone, even with the help of officials from the Ministry of Industry, he really didn't know what to do.

In desperation, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say.

"Return to Your Majesty, this person's name is Xu Youzhen, and he is currently serving as an attendant in the Imperial Academy."

After finishing speaking, Chen Xun's heart was up and down.

He had mentioned this matter to the emperor before, but at that time, the emperor seemed to still be concerned about Xu Youzhen's proposal to move the capital, so he was perfunctory.

This time, he gave Xu Youzhen an idea to change his name, so that he might be able to get away with it.

The emperor did not speak.

The courtiers also sensed that something was wrong, they looked at each other and bowed their heads in silence.

Just when Chen Xun was uneasy and felt that this matter was useless.

Lun's voice descended on the imperial steps, still flat and indifferent.

"That's it!"

(End of this chapter)