Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2345: Visit Nanjing (XII) I Want a Solitary Minister

Zhu Yijun sat in front of the imperial desk in the Qianqing Palace, holding Gao Youshi's memorial in his hand, with a frown on his face. The text on the memorial was not complicated, but the information it revealed made him think deeply.

"Nanjing Imperial Palace Renovation Case..." Zhu Yijun muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the memorial back and forth, as if he wanted to read more from between the lines.

He had a deep understanding of Gao Youshi, the Prime Minister and Duke of Jingguo, just as Gao Youshi knew him very well. He knew that most people only saw Gao Youshi launching various reforms and creating various business models, so they subconsciously believed that Gao Youshi was a person who liked to do things haphazardly, and no one knew what he would do next.

However, Zhu Yijun knew very well that Gao Youshi never did anything without a purpose. This memorial seemed simple, just comparing the Nanjing side's offer and the actual cost in the renovation of the Nanjing Imperial Palace. Not to mention that there was no opinion on the matter, Gao Youshi did not even make a comment. But it was precisely this indifference that showed the power behind it.

"Is Rixin testing my attitude?" Zhu Yijun thought to himself, "Or does he want to take this opportunity to thoroughly rectify the Nanjing officialdom and expel all the Xinxue officials?"

Zhu Yijun stood up, walked to the window, looked at the night outside, and fell into deep thought.

"Nanjing is the capital," Zhu Yijun thought to himself. "Although it does not have the majesty of Beijing, it is also an important city of the country and the political, economic and cultural center of the entire South. Not only is the School of Mind deeply rooted in Nanjing, but the nobles have been entrenched there for 200 years. The ice is three feet thick and it is not formed in a day. If this matter cannot be properly handled, it may cause greater turmoil."

In his opinion, Gao Youshi's memorial was not only about the corruption in the renovation of the Nanjing Imperial Palace, but also about the atmosphere in the Nanjing officialdom and the influence of the Xinxue School on the southern forces.

"Rixin, Rixin, what do you want?" Zhu Yijun sighed in his heart, "You threw this difficult problem to me, do you want me to make the decision? With your prestige and authority today, are you afraid that you can't achieve the result you want, and still need me to support you?"

Zhu Yijun turned around, walked back to the imperial desk, picked up the memorial again, and his eyes became determined.

"No matter what, since the evidence has been obtained, this matter must be dealt with." Zhu Yijun has made up his mind. "Even the renovation of the imperial palace has to be interfered with. The problem of Nanjing can no longer be ignored. Although Rixin's move may be a test, it is also pointing out the direction for me."

He took a deep breath, picked up the red brush, and was about to write his comments on the memorial, but the moment he put pen to paper, he suddenly retracted his hand.

Zhu Yijun seemed to have suddenly thought of something. He slowly put down his red pen, touched his chin with his right hand, and reorganized his thoughts.

"No, no, Nanjing's problems are far more than just corruption." Zhu Yijun felt that he had slowly figured out Gao Youshi's intentions. "The influence of the Xinxue School and the power of the nobles, when viewed separately, are not a big deal. But if they are as close as they are in this palace renovation project... it seems that this move by Youshi is indeed pointing the way for me, but it is not what I thought before."

He certainly knew that Gao Youshi, as the Prime Minister of the current dynasty, had recently been conferred the title of Duke of Wenchen, and his influence on the government was undoubtedly extremely huge. Then, his memorial would soon be known to the Cabinet, the Inspectorate, and other ministries, but he did not raise any opinions...

A fool would think that Gao Youshi was afraid to face such a power combination, but a wise man would understand that a storm was coming. For the emperor, the problem now was that Gao Youshi was well versed in officialdom and would naturally predict these things, so why did he create such a situation?

"Rixin, what exactly do you want to do?" Zhu Yijun thought to himself, "You handed this difficult problem to me. Do you really want me to make the decision, or do you already have your own plans?"

Zhu Yijun closed his eyes, but he was constantly calculating various possibilities in his mind. He sat in front of the imperial desk, stroking Gao Youshi's memorial in his hand. He knew that this light piece of paper carried countless undercurrents in the court.

"Rixin, you are giving me a hard time." After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Yijun sighed, but he couldn't help but feel a little admiration. He finally figured out that Gao Youshi's move had many intentions.

He was both testing and pointing out, and showing off his strength to himself, and even in the end he was expressing his position to himself.

"Nanjing, the nest of the Xinxue School, the back garden of the nobles." Zhu Yijun's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, "You all claim to be deeply rooted, but you don't know that I and Rixin have seen through your tricks. Humph, don't you think that I have important things to do in the south this time, and I won't make trouble and take action against such a seemingly huge power group like you to avoid political turmoil?

As for Ri Xin, you are sure that he will not disregard the overall situation and ruin my great plan. Even if you know what you have done, you can only endure it this time and pretend that there is no evidence, raise it high and put it down lightly... Haha, it is indeed a good plan.

After all these years, how come you haven't made any progress? At first, you thought that Rixin rose to prominence only because of his relationship with me as a classmate. Later, you had to admit that Rixin had great military skills. Later, you had to admit that Rixin was unparalleled in financial management. And now... you still refuse to admit that Rixin's political strategy is also beyond your reach."

Zhu Yijun let out a long sigh.

He deliberately placed Gao Youshi in Chunhe Palace in order to alert the enemy and make those hidden forces unable to hold back and jump out. He wanted them to join forces in panic. Because he wanted to know how far the Xinxue School in Nanjing was connected with the nobles, and whether it was necessary to give them a warning, or even... to kill a chicken to scare the monkey.

Obviously, Gao Youshi saw through this purpose. But it didn't matter, he was not afraid that Gao Youshi saw through this, because even if he did, he knew that Gao Youshi would not ruin his good show.

However, Gao Youshi's next move was more subtle than he expected. He did not directly attack the Xinxue School and the nobles, but chose a seemingly insignificant palace renovation project as a breakthrough point.

This approach can avoid directly causing unrest in the court and limit the matter to the category of "corruption" rather than the power struggle of interest groups. At the same time, it can still expose the connection between the Xinxue School and the nobles to the sun without anyone noticing.

"Rixin, you are telling me that you have evidence of their crimes, right?" Zhu Yijun's mouth curled up into a faint smile. He knew that Gao Youshi was showing him that he was capable of solving this problem, but he was not too willing to solve it himself.

Yes, Gao Youshi didn't want to solve it himself, which is why he didn't make any suggestions in his memorial. This surprised Zhu Yijun, so he thought about it for a long time before he realized that Gao Youshi was keeping a low profile and didn't want to become the target of public criticism.

"What are you worried about?" Zhu Yijun shook his head gently, "Are you worried about causing unrest in the court and the discussion among scholars, or... are you worried about my attitude?"

He sighed and curled his lips. Although Gao Youshi's approach was safe, it was not the result he wanted. What he wanted was for Gao Youshi to ignore all other people's opinions and completely draw a line between himself and the Xinxue School and the nobles.

"Rixin, everything I promised you has been given to you on time according to the tacit agreement between you and me. I will never change my mind about what I will give you in the future. But since this is the case, you should not worry about the rest... Since you have already made a move, don't stop."

Zhu Yijun's eyes became firm, and he said proudly: "I will give you enough support so that you can let go and do it. I don't just want you to do this one thing well, but I want you to do everything that a loyal minister, a lone minister should do well!"

He picked up the red pen and wrote a note on the memorial: "The Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Imperial Guards will jointly investigate this case and make sure it is thoroughly investigated. The Grand Secretary of the Central Ji Palace and the Duke of Jingguo Gao Youshi will hold the Emperor's Sword and supervise the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Imperial Guards to investigate it thoroughly."

Zhu Yijun put down his red brush and looked through the window at the night in the distance.

  "Rixin, I'm waiting to see your performance." Zhu Yijun's mouth curled up into a confident smile, "I believe that this time, you will not let me down either."
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Thanks to book friends "doni", "Deyiyangyang", and "Galuluonaga" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!

PS: This chapter has a little less words, but after thinking about it, there is really nothing to add. Adding more would be superfluous, so let's leave it at that.

PS: I think I know why I can’t log into my account on my PC sometimes… It may be because my computer’s IP address changes inexplicably between several different cities. It should be a problem with the Internet provider.