Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2337: Visiting Nanjing (IV) Nanjing Garrison Eunuch

After the cabinet meeting was adjourned, everyone left. Gao Youshi and Fang Congzhe walked quietly at the end. Judging from their expressions and behavior, Gao Youshi must have given his disciple a few simple instructions.

When Fang Congzhe also bowed and said goodbye, Gao Youshi turned around and headed for the Qianqing Palace. When he arrived at the Qianqing Gate, he called over an unfamiliar eunuch not far away and said, "Please tell the eunuch that I, Gao Youshi, want to see Your Majesty."

This eunuch worked in the Nanjing Imperial Palace, so he was not very familiar with Gao Youshi. However, Gao Youshi's outfit was unique in the world and there was no way he could be mistaken: he wore a scarlet silk uniform in the style of a first-rank civil official, with a sitting python embroidered on the front of his chest, and on his head he wore the "Eight-Beam Crown" that symbolized his status as a duke.

This eunuch worked in the Nanjing Imperial Palace all year round. Naturally, he had seen people wearing the red silk uniform of a first-rank civil official, and he had also seen people wearing the "eight-beam crown" on their heads. However, among the billions of subjects of the Ming Dynasty, there was only one person who could wear this clothing and crown together: Gao Youshi.

Why do you think so? Because Nanjing also has a team of six ministries, and they are often idle positions for "retirement". Among them, senior civil servants with rich experience who cannot continue to stay in Beijing and are sent to Nanjing for some reason always appear from time to time, but the crown on their heads only has seven beams, and it is impossible to have eight beams.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period, the Ministry of Rites submitted a draft of the official uniform system to Zhu Yuanzhang. After reading it, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "What you proposed is in line with my opinion, but the duke is the most respected, and the crown and clothing for court sacrifices are no different from those of the barons and below. This is not in accordance with etiquette. The duke's crown should have eight beams, and the barons, left and right prime ministers, left and right grand governors, and left and right imperial censors should have seven beams, and all should have a cage cap with a diaopsis. I agree with your proposal."

  [Note: In addition to the "eight beams" being exclusive to the Duke, the beam crown also has the regulations of "five folds of the upright pen, four pillars, five sections of fragrant grass, and jade cicadas in front and behind." Especially the jade cicada is also exclusive.]

Because the previous dukes, especially the dukes in Nanjing such as Duke Wei, also wore the eight-beam crown, but as a military official, he wore a red silk uniform in the style of a military official, which was different from Gao Youshi. In addition, even the current Duke Wei did not get a sitting python robe, but only a walking python robe, which made the difference even more obvious.

In short, there was no other official in the world who could wear Gao Youshi's outfit, so this eunuch would never make a mistake or recognize the wrong person just because he was not familiar with Gao Youshi.

Facing this most important official in the Wanli Dynasty, who was second only to the emperor and was recently conferred the title of Duke of Jingguo, how could he, a marginal eunuch in the Nanjing Imperial Palace, dare to neglect this great god? He hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, I have been informed. Please wait in the side hall for a while, my Lord. I will go right away."

Seeing Gao Fusi smiling and nodding, the eunuch hurriedly ran to tell the news that Duke Jingguo wanted to see the emperor. Gao Fusi, accompanied by a group of other eunuchs, went to the side hall of Qianqing Gate to wait, and the palace servants hurriedly served him tea, snacks, preserved fruits and the like.

Gao Fusi waited in the side hall, thinking over and over again about every word he would say when he met Zhu Yijun, and even how to interpret every expression. He knew that the emperor was now mature, and his decisions often contained deep meanings - just like the Confucius Temple incident.

As a subject, he had to show respect for the emperor's orders, but he also couldn't appear too timid, losing the demeanor of a famous minister of the restoration period and making the emperor think that "being pragmatic is just the work of an ordinary minister."

This is naturally difficult, and the "degree" is especially difficult to grasp. It is not good to be not firm enough, and it is not good to be too firm. In the final analysis, it is necessary to estimate the emperor's psychology in advance.

Soon, an eunuch hurried over and respectfully led Gao Youshi to the imperial study in the Qianqing Palace. Along the way, the palace walls were tall, with carved beams and painted rafters, showing the royal style. In the past, when Nanjing officials mentioned the Nanjing Imperial Palace in their memorials, they would never mention the dilapidated and dilapidated state. In this regard, Shen Yikuan did a good job in repairing the Nanjing Imperial Palace.

Gao Youshi's face was calm, showing no emotion, but his pace became steadier and each step seemed extra cautious.

In the imperial study, Zhu Yijun was concentrating on reviewing memorials as he did not have to fast tonight. Upon seeing Gao Youshi coming, he put down the red pen in his hand, raised his head, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I, Gao Youshi, have an important matter to report." Gao Youshi bowed, his tone respectful and firm.

Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, waved to Chen Ju beside him and said: "Give the Duke of Jingguo a seat." Then he motioned Gao Youshi to continue. Gao Youshi returned the greeting, thanked him and sat down.

"Your Majesty, I have been blessed with the promotion to the title, and your Majesty has graciously allowed me to temporarily reside in Chunhe Palace and accompany you, which is a great honor for me. However, I think that although the Nanjing Imperial Palace has not been used for two hundred years, Chunhe Palace is after all the main palace of the Crown Prince. If I live there, it would be a great presumption. I hope your Majesty will revoke your order. Moreover, although I have no mansion in Nanjing, I have the buildings of a trading company where I can temporarily live, so I don't have to worry about being homeless." Gao Youshi spoke sincerely, looking directly at the emperor, showing a frank look.

Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows slightly after hearing this, as if he was a little surprised by Gao Youshi's concerns. He pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "Duke Jingguo, I understand your concerns. However, although Chunhe Palace is where the Crown Prince lives, Nanjing is not like Beijing, and the Crown Prince did not come with me...

Of course, what you are worried about is true, but I have also considered your concerns. Although this palace is the East Palace, its West Side Hall has always been used by the prince's teachers for lectures and rest. You are also the prince's grand teacher. As long as you do not live in the main palace of Chunhe Palace this time, but live in the West Side Hall, I think there is nothing wrong with it. "

Living in the West Wing Hall instead of the main palace? Well, it seems that the emperor really considered it seriously. The reason why the West Wing Hall is suitable for Gao Youshi is that he does have the position of the prince's teacher, and the teacher is called "Western Master". It sounds like it is completely appropriate for the prince's teacher to live in the West Wing Hall of the prince's palace.

  [Note: Although Gao Youshi’s current official title is “Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall”, his official full title should actually be “Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall and Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Duke of Jingguo Gao Youshi”.]

Since Shen Yikuan had not explained the matter of the West Wing Hall clearly before, Gao Youshi inevitably felt passive when he heard the emperor say that. He lowered his head slightly, thought for a moment, then raised his head again with a hint of determination in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, although this is reasonable, I believe that as a subject, I should still abide by my duty and not overstep my bounds. Chunhe Palace is of noble status. If I have time to rest for a while during my lectures, I can be at ease. However, if I stay there for a long time, it will surely cause a lot of criticism from the outside world and affect your Majesty's reputation."

Zhu Yijun heard this, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. He knew that Gao Youshi was thinking about himself as the emperor, and didn't want this matter to bring him any trouble. He sighed softly, and then said: "Duke Jingguo, I know your loyalty. However, I let you live in Chunhe Palace, and I also have my considerations.

As the Prime Minister and the Minister of Planning, you are very busy. I made this arrangement because I hope you can have a quiet place to rest, so that you don’t have to run around in and out of the palace every day, wasting a lot of time. This way you can better assist me.”

Gao Youshi felt warm in his heart after hearing this, he knew that the emperor was concerned about him. However, he also knew that the emperor might really care about him, but he was not necessarily concerned only about himself. Now he has a unique status, one side is the head of the civil officials, the other side is the top of the nobles, and he has already won over the nobles of the Jingnan faction in the capital. Only in Nanjing, the cooperation between him and the nobles of the founding faction has always maintained a close but distant relationship - cooperation is necessary, but it is determined to only talk about the economy and never talk about politics.

Gao Youshi has always known the reason for this: the Jingnan nobles were the real power base after Zhu Di ascended the throne, while the founding nobles were more subtle. Their theoretical status has always been high, but they can often only operate within the Nanjing system and are rarely allowed to hold national positions. They always feel that they are not truly trusted by the emperor.

Under this delicate situation, the nobles of Nanjing are usually very cautious. Of course they have the courage to make money, and it is very big. However, they are as timid as mice on the political level. Whenever it comes to matters involving actual power, they will put on an attitude of keeping away from strangers, indicating that we will not get involved in these matters.

Because of this, although Jinghua had a lot of business dealings with the nobles of Nanjing, it was a pipe dream to expect the nobles of Nanjing to sever their ties with the Jiangnan chaebols and the Jiangnan officialdom and really stand on the side of the practical school. They didn't buy it at all. They were completely a non-stick pan. I took all the benefits and didn't get my hands dirty when doing bad things.

This time when the emperor went south, Gao Youshi always suspected that Zhu Yijun intended to reorganize the Nanjing officialdom at the same time, because when the Fengshan Ceremony was first designed, the court officials including himself and Shen Yikuan did not arrange for the emperor to go directly to Nanjing. It was the emperor who took the initiative to request to come to Nanjing to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum during the Fengshan Ceremony.

  Paying respect to Xiaoling Mausoleum itself has its own great political implications, but to go to Nanjing just for show and spend a huge amount of money on it, including the renovation of Xiaoling Mausoleum and the repair of the imperial palace... this seems a bit too much. Therefore, Gao Youshi has always suspected that Zhu Yijun wanted to take the opportunity to make some arrangements for the Nanjing officialdom. The question now is, what exactly does the emperor want to do?

If the emperor simply thought that Nanjing was the base of the School of Mind and wanted to suppress it so that the School of Practical Learning could better govern the country, then that would be great. But what if the emperor's idea was not that simple?

However, to see through the emperor's true intentions, it is obviously not enough to judge based on the current situation alone. Even if Gao Yousi knows the emperor well, he must observe further to see what the emperor does next.

Gao Youshi bowed again, with a hint of gratitude in his tone: "Your Majesty cares so much about me, and I am grateful. But I still think that my residence is not a big deal. Your Majesty's reputation and the stability of the court are the most important. I implore Your Majesty to reconsider."

Zhu Yijun looked at Gao Youshi, with a complex emotion in his eyes. He knew that Gao Youshi was sticking to his position, but at the same time he was also thinking about himself.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Duke Jingguo, I understand your loyalty and concerns. How about this, Chunhe Palace is big enough, I will also move Shen Yikuan into the west side hall of Chunhe Palace and live next to you. In this way, the two cabinet ministers can enjoy this courtesy together, which can not only ensure your rest, but also avoid criticism from the outside world."

Gao Youshi didn't know what to feel after hearing this. Although Shen Yikuan was suppressed by him, judging from his performance today, he firmly believed in the advantage of "fighting" at home in Nanjing, and obviously did not intend to give up the confrontation with the Practical School because of the Confucius Temple incident.

Under such circumstances, although the two were not mortal enemies, they probably had little room for maneuver in terms of political stance. Now they had to live together in the West Wing of Chunhe Palace. Even though the Chunhe Palace was indeed large and the West Wing was not small, this situation was really ridiculous.

But no matter what, Gao Youshi knew that the emperor was making concessions, and he couldn't insist on it, that would be too tactless. So Gao Youshi had to bow again, deliberately saying in a relieved tone: "Your Majesty is wise, I accept your order and thank you."

Afterwards, the two discussed some state affairs, mainly the arrangements for the next visit to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and then Gao Youshi took his leave.

He knew that the game that was about to take place in Nanjing had just begun. Although everything was still shrouded in a deep fog, clues would soon emerge, and what he had to do was to observe carefully and make careful arrangements. He would never act rashly until he found out the truth.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Gao Fushi looked up at the night sky, only to find that the sky was covered by light clouds and the spring breeze was warm and cold. He was a little distracted when he suddenly saw a bright light in front of his eyes. Just as he was about to take a closer look, he heard a thunderclap in the air.

"Is it going to rain?" He muttered, feeling quite uneasy. It was not that he believed in any signs, but he was worried about the Qingming Festival at the Xiaoling Mausoleum in a few days - if it rained, it would be even more troublesome.

What he didn't expect was that as soon as he said this to himself, a voice beside him laughed and said, "If what we know is true, Lord Jingguo should have just come to Nanjing for the first time. No wonder he doesn't know the climate in Jiangnan. The weather in Jiangnan is changeable at this time of year, and it has been even more unpredictable in recent years. It is often sunny at one time and rainy at another.

Many times, the sun is shining brightly in the morning, and then a sudden rainstorm comes at night. But the next morning, the sky may be clear and cloudless again... In short, Jiangnan is very changeable. "

Gao Fusi turned around and saw that it was the eunuch of Nanjing garrison, whose surname was Tian Yiyi. He looked a few years older than Chen Ju, with white hair on his temples. Even if he was not seventy, he should be in his sixties. He was looking at him with a smile.

Gao Youshi always felt that what he said just now was meaningful and there seemed to be something behind his words. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "No matter how changeable the weather is, it is still the Jiangnan of the Ming Dynasty. I love it when it's sunny and I love it when it's raining."

A gleam of light flashed in Tian Yi's eyes. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding and saying, "The Duke is indeed very generous." Seeing that Gao Youshi only smiled but did not answer, he added, "I just wonder how the local tyrants in Nanjing will react when they see the weather change..."

Gao Fusi raised his eyebrows slightly and was about to ask a question, but he didn't expect the eunuch who was guarding Nanjing to suddenly bow and say, "I have something important to report to the emperor, so I won't bother you this time. I will go to Chunhe Palace to apologize when I have time another day."

  Gao Youshi swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and could only smile and said, "The internal garrison is important, please do as you please." After that, he nodded to Tian Yi and turned to leave.
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