Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 547 Emperor Wu summons ministers

Looking at the mess, no one looks like an official of the imperial court.

Dai Quan immediately shouted loudly,

"quiet!"

Everyone looked for the sound and looked over. When they saw Dai Quan coming out of the palace, they all gathered around him regardless of the fact that they were yelling at each other just now. They looked eager and wanted to inquire.

Dai Quan waved his hand, and the imperial guards behind him ran over to separate the people.

"Everyone, please pass on His Majesty's oral instructions and invite all the ministers to come to the palace to see you."

"The minister obeys the order."

All the ministers knelt on the ground to receive the order, and then lined up according to their seats in court.

Entering the palace one by one, Dai Quan asked his confidants to lead him in front. Many old princes wanted to come over and inquire.

"Interior Minister, how are your Majesty and the Supreme Emperor doing?"

"Yes, Internal Minister, Your Majesty and the Supreme Emperor are now in good health."

"I'm so anxious."

Upon hearing the question, several pavilion elders also stopped and looked over. When Dai Quan saw the people gathered around him, he said softly,

"Everyone, this is not the place to talk. You will know it when you go to the palace."

After Dai Quan finished speaking, he ignored the ministers and led the people outside the palace. When he arrived between the two armies, he saw tens of thousands of soldiers looking at each other and a large pool of blood on the ground. Knowing that Marquis Luo Yun There must have been some fight between the commanders of the two guards. I don’t know the details yet. I kept it in my mind and shouted,

"Your Majesty ordered Zhang Jinyu, the Marquis of Luoyun, He Xiaocheng, the commander of the left guard, and Yi Anxin, the commander of the right guard, to enter the palace to meet the saint. There must be no mistake."

After listening to Dai Quanchuan's words, Zhang Jinyu knew that he had already met His Majesty and had made all the arrangements. Without hesitation, he got off his horse and ordered,

"Duan Hong, lead the troops here."

"Yes, Lord Marquis, I will obey the order."

As he spoke, Zhang Jinyu walked forward and then performed a military salute.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Jinyu accepts the order,"

Then he looked provocatively at the two generals on the left and right of the Forbidden Army on the opposite side. The latter two looked ugly. They could do this, but they had to follow the order. The two looked at each other, dismounted reluctantly, and then said in unison,

"The final general and Xiao Cheng, Yi Anxin accepted the order."

Then the two of them each gave their explanations to the deputy general, and then came over. Looking at the unconvinced two, Zhang Jinyu also smiled disdainfully and said,

"The two generals are old. They walk such a short distance so slowly. The flowers I have been waiting for have withered."

Such frivolous words were not a good thing to say. The two of them were stunned, and all the flowers withered. Looking at Luo Yunhou's face, it was obvious that he wanted to tease them, and he immediately became angry. He Xiaocheng was furious. road,

"Marquis Luo Yun, don't think you are so great. This is the capital, and it's not up to you!"

"Yeah, you've only been in the capital for a few days, and there are some things that you can't get involved in."

Yi Anxin also echoed his words, as if he could use this to suppress Marquis Luo Yun's momentum.

But how could Zhang Jinyu be afraid of these two idiots? Not only was he stern and restrained, but he was just a silver gun wax head. He sneered,

"What the two generals said is that the capital city is indeed deep, and the two generals are trapped in it. But don't wait until the end. You will be brave all your life, and in the end you will lose your wealth and life. I don't dare to be like the two generals. There is no comparison." .”

He also made a scared expression, which made the two of them feel sick as if they had eaten flies. Dai Quan walked in front and listened, and felt that the two commanders were restrained by Luo Yunhou alone. It was really unexpected, and His Majesty was indeed very discerning.

In the Yangxin Hall,

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong was lying on the bed, listening to the movements outside. Marquis Baoning was standing outside, not daring to move, let alone any unnecessary movements. The soldiers around him were holding the handles of their swords with serious expressions.

Outside the palace,

Suddenly the voice of the inner prisoner was heard,

"Your Majesty, the court officials have arrived. Mr. Lu Ge, Mr. Gu Ge, Duke Zhen Guo and others, Marquis Luo Yun and the commanders of the left and right guards are all waiting outside the palace."

"Xiao, the cabinet ministers are coming to see you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

There is a small yellow gate to deliver orders,

"Xiao, the cabinet ministers are coming to see you."

Not long after, Lu Wenshan, Gu Yichen, Duke Zhen and others were seen arriving one after another. Marquis Luo Yun and the two commanders of the left and right guards were among them.

It turned out that when it was announced outside the palace that the cabinet ministers were coming, Zhang Jinyu was worried about His Majesty, so he just followed the team in. Naturally, the two commanders of the left and right guards were not willing to be outdone and also followed in. The others couldn't help but look at a few of them. , Dai Quan did not say much, and led the people into the inner hall.

Everyone arrived at the inner hall and outside the palace. The leaders, Lu Shangshu and Gu Yichen, were a little confused as to why they were not in the imperial study room but instead came to the palace. Before they thought about it, they smelled a strong smell of medicine. At this time, everyone Everyone smelled it,

What happened to Your Majesty?

Walking further, I came outside the stalls and saw Marquis Baoning with the Imperial Guards, Imperial City Guards, and, well, Marquis Luo Yun's soldiers and horses, all wearing armor and holding swords. The silence was a bit depressing, and I had a bad feeling in my heart.

All the ministers have long smelled the smell of medicine filling the air. With such a strong smell of medicine, whoever is in trouble has something to do with his health. Only Your Majesty is brewing the medicine in the Hall of Nourishing Heart!

When the ministers were still at a loss, behind the hall, Mr. Li, the chief minister of the cabinet, walked over tremblingly with the support of his chamberlain, and shouted as if he was crying,

"Old minister, I pay my respects to your Majesty. Long live your Majesty. Long live your Majesty."

The first assistant, Li Chonghou, was the first to salute and wake up the ministers. Then Gu Yichen, Lu Wenshan, Zhao Jingwu and other cabinet ministers saluted Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong in the enclosure, followed by the censor of Zuodu, the minister of Dali Temple, and the envoy of general affairs. , followed each other into the hall and saluted,

Finally it was Zhang Jinyu’s turn, shouting loudly from behind,

"Your Majesty, sir, Zhang Jinyu is late! Your Majesty, your dragon body is fine."

What Marquis Luo Yun asked was what the ministers and Wu Xun wanted to know. The ministers around him were nervous and wanted to look in, but they couldn't see clearly because of the screen. Dai Quan was already helping Emperor Wu to stand up, leaning on On the dragon couch,

"Okay, you're not too late." After saying that, he winked at Dai Quan and said,

"Remove the screen."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Dai Quan responded, waved, and several small yellow gates came over, lifted up the screen, and pulled it down. Then the palace was clearly visible. All the ministers looked up eagerly, and saw His Majesty with a knot on his head. He had a brocade cloth on his arm and a large bandage on his arm. There was still faint blood stains on it. He was leaning on the dragon couch. He was injured.

Seeing this, Lu Wenshan was particularly worried about who had been injured or what happened. He immediately crawled forward a few steps without daring to raise his head. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, who caused this injury? Even if I fight with my old bones, I still want to fight him."

"Yes, Your Majesty, how could it be like this?"

The other ministers were all shocked when they saw His Majesty's sick appearance. Even Zhang Jinyu was stunned. No, when I bandaged His Majesty not long ago, it was just a flesh wound. The skin was broken and there was some blood. , why does he seem to be terminally ill now? Could it be that he remembered it wrong.

Thinking back carefully, something was wrong. It was impossible to remember it wrong. His clothes were torn by himself. How could he not know how big the wound was? But the Emperor Wu couldn't lie when he came back. Unexpectedly, he glanced sideways at Ning Bian, who was standing by, and saw that Ning Bian also raised his head and looked over, blinked, and shook his head slightly.

Only then did Zhang Jinyu realize that something was fishy, ​​but she didn't know what was going on. Seeing everyone crying, Zhang Jinyu's eyes turned red.

They wiped their tears together and pretended to cry.

The two commanders of the left and right guards were even more in disbelief. They had not received a letter saying that His Majesty was injured. The two quietly looked at each other, gradually leaned closer to each other, and whispered,

"How could this be?"

"I don't know. If His Majesty is like this, what will happen to the Supreme Emperor?"

The two of them were worried and worried that something might happen to the Supreme Emperor. They were restless. He Xiaocheng raised his head and looked at Emperor Wu who was not far away. His face was pale. The arm was bandaged by Imperial Physician Wang. The blood stains were faintly visible. It didn't look like he was pretending. It must have been an accident.

At this moment,

Emperor Wu had a panoramic view of the reactions of the people in the palace.

At about the same time, he immediately spoke out and comforted,

"I'm fine. When we were in the front hall, Earth Dragon rolled over and his arm was injured by debris. It's fine. Gentlemen, there was an earthquake in the capital. Are there any casualties among the ministries, government offices, soldiers and civilians?"

This was the last concern of Emperor Wu. Now the overall situation is under control. As for the Changle Palace, there are the Queen Mother and the old concubine. I don't know what happened to Yuqing, but since there is no movement, it is good news.

"Your Majesty, I have just heard that the officers from the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen came to report that the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen and the Five Cities Military and Horse Division have sent people to search and rescue, count the collapsed houses, and rescue the people. The Five Cities Military and Ma Division Tongzhi also led troops to guard the four city gates. , it is strictly forbidden for anyone to enter or exit, and the capital is sealed off! The overall situation is stable."

Lu Wenshan was worried and said with cupped hands. There was one thing he didn't say in his heart. He didn't dare to mention the vision of the Heavenly Dog eclipsing the sun and the great changes in the world. It was unclear whether it was because he was too angry or a warning from God.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The capital is already under the control of the imperial court. But today's vision will inevitably attract criticism from the people of the world. I am afraid that rumors will spread. It is useless for me to stay in the court now that I am over sixty years old. After this incident, I will Being willing to take responsibility is an act of immorality for an old minister, which has caused God to warn me. I sincerely ask for your majesty's permission to resign from the position of chief minister of the cabinet and allow the old minister to resign and return to his hometown."

Such disasters and strange phenomena will inevitably arouse people in the world to make false claims, and rumors and rumors will follow one after another. Many people will far-fetchedly use prophecies to attract warnings from heaven, which may affect the changes in the government and trigger political tides. The conflict between the northern and southern township parties Struggle, and the first person to bear the brunt is him, the chief minister of the cabinet.

Rather than being criticized by others, it is better to resign and return to one's hometown. Now that the court is strange and the current situation in the world is unclear, I have long lost my spirit. It is better to go back and live a good life and avoid being slandered by the courtiers here. Late holidays are not guaranteed.

Chief Assistant Li had long seen clearly that after so many years of ups and downs, if the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty had not persuaded him to stay and not allow him to step down as Chief Assistant and leave the court, he might have returned to his hometown long ago.

Since he is going to be punished, he might as well take the blame himself and calm the world for His Majesty and the Supreme Emperor. Maybe this time is an opportunity.

Let them Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen fight for the position of chief minister of the cabinet. The civil unrest in the south of Jingnan seems not to be easy to quell, so let them solve it. I really have no idea how to fight.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong looked indifferent and leaned on the bed. Then he looked at the other cabinet ministers. They were shocked. The chief minister was about to resign. What should we do? Who would take the position of chief minister?

But I can't admit it with my mouth.

"Your Majesty, since the fifteenth year of Tianbao, apart from the great disturbance of the earth dragon in Hedong and Hexi counties, the earth dragon has not been seen in the capital for decades. Fortunately, this time it was just a small earthquake. As for the Tengu eating the sun, there was also one in the previous dynasty. Records are nothing. Li Shoufu has worked hard for more than ten years, how can he leave because of this? We beg your Majesty to retain Mr. Shoufu."

Gu Yichen said carefully from behind, although the chief assistant has no role, the victory lies in balance. If Li chief assistant resigns today, for the position of chief assistant, there will be a fierce struggle between the civil servants and the rural parties in the north and south. If this happens at this time, I am afraid that It's difficult.

After Gu Yichen finished speaking, many people in the ministry agreed. Even Lu Wenshan knew that the time was not right and he had to stabilize the court and persuade him to stay.

"Your Majesty, I agree with what Gu Yichen said. The world's visions have always been unpredictable. There are many records in the previous dynasties, so there is nothing to worry about. The chief minister has worked hard and made great achievements. How can he resign because of this? Moreover, the earthquakes in the capital are all small earthquakes. They have happened since ancient times. In addition, it has not caused a major disaster, so the Chief Assistant cannot resign."

Emperor Wu looked at the cabinet ministers, his face worried, and he looked at the general envoy:

"The Secretary of General Affairs is waiting for reports from the provinces. If there is any warning about the disaster, he should not delay and go directly to the cabinet to report. In addition, the capital has asked the fifth-level military and horse division to step up the rescue, then open the city gate, carefully inspect and then release, without the need for martial law. The Ministry of Household Affairs will allocate a special batch of funds to prepare for relief needs and first let the people in the capital settle down."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your order."

The General Secretary raised his hand and said yes.

Then, Emperor Wu looked at Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen, the leaders of the northern and southern factions, and ordered,

"You two, you must always supervise them in the cabinet, strictly reprimand and restrain the officials, so that people can cause misfortunes, use earthquakes to cause trouble, confuse the public with monstrous words, and make arrogant comments on state affairs. There are also officials in various ministries and the Hanlin Academy. To be effective, any rumors must be investigated to see who is causing trouble behind the scenes, and the robbers and thieves in the streets and alleys of the capital must also be severely punished. "

Lu Wenshan and Gu Yichen's expressions were solemn. Li Shoufu might not be able to leave, but there might be changes in other matters. In His Majesty's mind, what he wanted to guard against was just remarks that used disasters to demagogue people's minds, and that kind of political turmoil. Clearly enlightened.

The emperor summoned all the ministers and ministers of the cabinet to discuss the matter together, presumably to stabilize the government.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong squinted his eyes, leaned on the bedside of the dragon bed, looked at Dai Quan beside him, and said:

"The Imperial City Department should also send more personnel to patrol the capital, paying special attention to the movements on the ground in the capital to prevent bad guys from spreading rumors and causing trouble, especially those from the Taiping Sect. They will definitely use this to cause trouble and cause trouble in the capital, lest the world Not messy.”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your order."

Then he looked at the officials in the palace, as well as the Ministry of Punishment, the Minister of Dali Temple, and the people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and continued:

"Although the previous dynasties have records of the visions of heaven and earth, they have to investigate themselves. Song Zhen, the Ministry of Punishment has been stagnant in recent years in combing unjust prisons. In the future, I will ask Dali Temple to dispatch manpower to patrol the provinces to assist in the Autumn Judgment. Now we can Let’s start with this and see how we can arrange it.”

Although it was said to be a warning from superstitious ghosts and gods, it was still a bit false. Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong immediately thought that in addition to the Ningguo Mansion, it might also be the people in the imperial court who were unjustly imprisoned and alarmed the heavens.

"In compliance with the order, I will definitely go back and write a charter and submit it to His Majesty for review."

"Well, that's good, be quick."

(End of this chapter)