King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 807: I Can't Only Be Loyal to the Emperor When He Accepts Advice
Looking at the arrogant Daiyu, Zhu Jinghong smiled even more, then took her hand and said, "It's better to believe it than not to believe it!"

"So, Your Majesty still thinks I am making up stories?"

Zhu Jinghong did not answer, but looked up at the stars and sighed: "In this case... I can make the final decision again!"

Daiyu did not interrupt because she had already said enough tonight, or to be more precise, she had already overstepped her bounds.

Zhu Jinghong has always tried his best to avoid being a dictator, but he always possesses this ability and makes sure he always masters it.

After Zhu Jinghong finished speaking, Daiyu said, "I don't know anything and I don't understand!"

"I only know that if Your Majesty delays for a while longer, I'm afraid Sister Bao will send someone to invite you again!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and continued to move forward, but he heard him say loudly: "Ask Lu Tong to Kunning Palace!"

"Yes!" Yu Hai agreed.

About ten minutes later, when Zhu Jinghong had already taken his seat, Lu Tong hurried to Kunning Palace.

There were not many people in the hall at the moment. Apart from Zhu Jinghong and his wife, there were only Daiyu, Xiangyun and Keqing.

After Lu Tong saluted, Zhu Jinghong asked, "I estimate... the candidate for the first place should have been decided by now!"

Although the palace examination rankings will not be announced until tomorrow, it is still easy to determine the top one. Normally, it will be presented to the emperor early tomorrow morning, waiting for Zhu Jinghong to finally confirm the top one ranking.

"Your Majesty, it should have been decided!" the old eunuch Lu Tong replied cautiously.

Looking at this old eunuch who had held the seal for nearly twenty years and controlled tens of thousands of palace servants, Zhu Jinghong asked again, "What do you think about the ranking of the palace examination? Does my opinion count?"

Lü Tong replied without hesitation: "All the people in the land are subjects of the king. Moreover, Your Majesty is the chief examiner of the palace examination and the one who determines the ranking... It is Your Majesty's turn to make the final decision!"

This is the advantage of eunuchs. They obey the emperor's will unconditionally. Any other factors come second. Loyalty is the foundation of their existence.

"really?"

"How dare I deceive the king!" Lu Tong knelt on the ground again.

"Well then... you go to the Cabinet and convey the imperial decree, saying that Feng Yuan's essay is penetrating and profound, and it is in line with my heart, and I decree that he be ranked first in the first class!"

"I obey your order!" Lu Tong bowed again.

Although Lu Tong also felt that this imperial edict was too outrageous, what did it have to do with him? The officials should be worried.

"I will go and pass on the order right away!"

"Go!" Zhu Jinghong nodded.

After Lu Tong left, Baochai said, "Feng Yuan... this name sounds familiar!"

Zhu Jinghong said: "If it weren't for him, your brother wouldn't have gotten into trouble ten years ago!"

Baochai smiled and answered while picking up some food for her husband: "Your Majesty, now that you mention it, I remember that if it weren't for him...how could Your Majesty have gotten a beauty like Yinglian!"

Seeing the two of them joking like this, Daiyu, who was not far away, said, "Sister Bao, what you said is not right. Compared to meeting Yinglian, I am afraid that meeting you is more important. I heard you say... You two don't know each other until you fight!"

At this time, Xiangyun put down her chopsticks, pulled Daiyu's sleeve and said, "Sister Lin is the one who talks the most!"

Keqing smiled and said slowly: "This is a marriage destined by heaven!"

While they were chatting and laughing here, Lu Tong had already arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion. This was where the grand secretaries worked, and it was also the residence of the so-called cabinet.

Lu Tong was a eunuch, but he was the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and the real "Prime Minister". In fact, he was on the same level as Zhao Yushan. At this time, the three cabinet ministers and examiners all came out to greet him.

"Eunuch Lu, the top candidates have been shortlisted and were about to be sent to the Imperial Household Department. I didn't expect you to come!" Zhao Yushan said with a smile.

During the past ten years, he has been in charge of the cabinet and has gotten along well with Lu Tong, and the relationship between the two is pretty good.

"No hurry, no hurry... Have you all not had dinner yet?"

"Your Majesty has entrusted us with such an important task, how dare we neglect it? We must focus on the important task!"

"Alas... Although it is almost summer, it is still chilly. The elders should not catch a cold!"

At this time, Zheng Zhiqing interrupted and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Lu, for your concern. Let's go in and talk... It's warmer inside!"

"Please..." Lu Tong responded.

According to convention, Lu Tong should wait for the result in the Imperial Household Department. Now that he came here on his own initiative, it was obvious that he came here on orders.

After a brief greeting, everyone entered the hall. Zhao Yushan invited Lu Tong to take a seat and ordered the secretary on duty to get the "ticket", which was the reserved candidate for the first class.

Lu Tong and Zhao Yushan sat in the upper seat together, while the other cabinet ministers and examiners sat in the guest seats facing each other on the left and right.

Soon the list was brought and handed to Lu Tong personally by Zhao Yushan.

The first name is Song Ziyu, followed by Mu Xinrong and Wen Yutang. This ranking also implies a top ranking.

"Eunuch Lu, since you are here, please present it to the emperor!" Zhao Yushan reminded.

With a smile on his face, Lu Tong put the ticket on the table, then stood up under everyone's gaze.

“Imperial Decree…”

Everyone was stunned, not knowing what was going on, but they stood up reflexively and hurried to Lu Tong.

"Your Majesty, I wish you the best of health."

"Saints!"

After accepting the offer, Lu Tongdao said: "Feng Yuan's essay is penetrating and profound, and it is in line with my opinion. I have officially designated him as... the first place in the first class!"

"Appreciate this!"

After hearing this imperial edict, everyone present was shocked. Although they heard it clearly, they still felt it was outrageous and very far from the truth.

"Everyone, it's time to receive the order." Lu Tong reminded.

"Your Highness, the Minister of Revenue, He Gu, accepts your order!"

He Gujin was the first to speak. Of course he was also shocked, but he didn’t care much about the result. His reputation was ruined anyway.

Wang Pei'an hesitated for a few seconds and finally concluded that the emperor was far-sighted. He could not reach that level and therefore did not understand, but he supported the emperor's decision.

"I, the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Pei'an, accept the order!"

Therefore, at critical moments, the people you promoted are still reliable, and the difference is evident from the comparison.

Zhao Yushan really wanted to shout, "This is a rebellious order, I will not obey it," but he was just thinking about it.

"Eunuch Lu, I want to see His Majesty and present my sincere advice to him in person."

Lu Tong smiled, and then reminded: "Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear, Lord Zhao, please don't be confused."

At this time, Zhao Yushan turned around and said to the two cabinet ministers and Minister of Rites Luo Guangde: "Everyone, are you willing to go with me?"

The three people he was watching actually hoped that Zhao Yushan would go so that they could reap the benefits.

But now that Zhao Yushan has invited them, if they don’t go, they will be like He Gujin, and the so-called clean stream will become dirty.

No matter what reasons they find, they cannot change the fact that they have deserted the battlefield, so now the only choice is to go or not to go.

In other words, Zhao Yushan's question was equivalent to setting up a trap for Zheng Zhiqing and three others. If they were not dealt with, it would cause great damage to their reputation.

They had no choice but to go along, and from the perspective of scholars, they should indeed go and offer honest advice and remonstrance, after all, the emperor's actions were indeed too much.

"I'm willing to go!" Zheng Zhiqing spoke first.

The remaining two agreed, and then the four of them kowtowed to Lu Tong, and then stood up and walked out of the hall. Lu Tong's expression changed drastically, so he immediately followed him. After He Gujin and Wang Pei'an looked at each other, they also followed him, expecting something big to happen.

The secretary on duty also heard the decree, and then all the secretaries who stayed in the cabinet knew about it.

After discussion, everyone left behind some people to handle the emergency, and the rest of the people followed to Qianqing Gate.

Fortunately, it is already night, otherwise these people would definitely contact the officials, and who knows how much trouble this would cause.

Outside the Qianqing Gate, several important officials had already knelt outside the palace gate. This was the farthest they could go, waiting for the emperor's summons.

At the Qianqing Gate, there are more than a dozen fully armored guards guarding there. These people do not belong to the Dragon Guards, but are attached to the Qianqing Gate Guards. They are all relatives of the royal family.

The loyalty of these people is unquestionable, and at this moment they are looking at Zhao Yushan and his companions coldly.

"Everyone, the palace examination is conducted by the Lord himself, so the ranking... should be decided by the Lord himself!"

"Your Majesty is the father of all the people in the world. You are not following His instructions... Is this what you should do?"

"You are all loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty, but now you are going against the imperial edict. Have you forgotten the usual principles of monarch and minister, father and son?"

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Lu Tong was fulfilling his duties. If he could persuade these people to go back, he would have proved his role again. Of course, this was very difficult to do.

He said a lot, but Zhao Yushan and others remained unmoved.

He is a mature and patient man. The reason why he came to give advice so impulsively today was not only because of his ranking in the imperial examination, but also because he was dissatisfied with a series of actions of the emperor in the past six months.

In other words, since Zhu Jinghong ascended the throne, Zhao Yushan was dissatisfied with many things, but he had endured them considering the situation. But today he really couldn't endure it anymore, so he decided to fight for it.

Of course he knew that this was very dangerous, but he still felt that he should say something, and he would accept it if the emperor wanted to punish him.

A few minutes later, Zhu Jinghong received the news.

He knew there would be a backlash, but he didn't expect the other party to react so strongly.

"Let them wait first!" Zhu Jinghong said calmly.

He had to listen to the advice of these people, otherwise he would lose face as an emperor.

For him, these people's strong reactions were acceptable. After all, if he wanted to completely tame the officials and literati, he had to wear these people down over and over again.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go to meet them? After all, these are important ministers." Baochai reminded.

"Don't worry about it for now, let them wait and think it over carefully!" Zhu Jinghong said indifferently.

Baochai sighed and said no more. However, Daiyu on the side became worried. After all, it was because of her "talkativeness" that she caused all these troubles.

Zhu Jinghong chatted and laughed with the girls, and soon another half hour had passed. It was already late at night.

After all, Zhao Yushan and others are old, and their waists and legs are sore after such a long time, but since they are here, they can only endure it.

Just when they were feeling extremely uncomfortable, several eunuchs appeared on the steps of Qianqing Gate and brought a chair and placed it in the middle outside the palace gate.

The appearance of the chair here indicates that the emperor will summon them here instead of letting them go into the hall. This can be seen as a kind of alienation and a warning.

The chair was empty, waiting for its owner, and the ministers were waiting for the emperor.

In a sense, ministers like Zhao Yushan are like chairs to Zhu Jinghong, and are all valuable tools.

They waited for a while, and when they heard the sound again from inside the palace gate, everyone outside knew that the emperor had arrived.

The guards stood straighter, while Zhao Yushan and his companions knelt straighter.

Wearing an ochre-yellow round-collar dragon robe and a Yishan crown on his head, Zhu Jinghong appeared behind the chair.

His attire was actually very formal, and it emphasized that he was a king rather than a father, and that the father was kind while the king was majestic.

"I issued an edict and you came here. Are you planning to disobey me? Or what does it mean?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty..."

Zhao Yushan straightened up and was about to speak, but was silenced by Zhu Jinghong's words.

"It is said that a minister should be loyal to his emperor and father, and the emperor is the master of all people and all things in the world."

"Now I have issued an edict, and you refuse to accept it. Where did you learn how to be a minister? And where do you put me, the emperor, in this position?"

For these knowledgeable university scholars, it was very easy to directly refute Zhu Jinghong's words. They could easily think of six or seven relevant sayings of saints.

But obviously, they couldn't refute directly, so they had to be more tactful and leave themselves some way out.

"Your Majesty, we are here to give you honest advice in order to protect you, my king and father!"

"Feng Yuan's writing may have some merits, but Your Majesty is overly flattering him by giving him the first place. This is unfair to the scholars of the world and may lead to criticism... and even undermine Your Majesty's wisdom."

Then Zheng Zhiqing said: "The loyalty of our subjects is evident to all!"

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong had already sat on the chair, leaning back to listen to all these words, but he calmly replied: "So, only by following your wishes can we protect my wisdom?"

"I dare not, Your Majesty!" Zhao Yushan and the others bowed again.
Zhu Jinghong sighed and said, "Since I ascended the throne, I have handed over important government affairs to the cabinet, and almost all of the proposals have been adopted. You praised me during the court meeting... I am wise and enlightened!"

"Now that I have made a suggestion, you are trying to obstruct me. What's the meaning of this?"

"Everyone, you can't just be loyal to me when I accept your advice, and you can't assume that I am unfair when your ideas are rejected!"

It sounds like it makes sense, especially since Zhu Jinghong's tone was gloomy at the moment, which brought great pressure to Zhao Yushan and others.

As a result, Zhu Jinghong picked up the cup lid and fiddled with the tea leaves when Yu Hai handed it to him, then said, "Your visit today is more like forcing the emperor to abdicate than an audience with him."

This meant that he was going to ask for punishment again. Zhao Yushan hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, we have no intention of forcing you, our king or father. It's just that if we name Feng Yuan as the first, it will definitely cause a stir in the world. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

"The whole world is shocked?"

Lifting his head, Zhu Jinghong looked at the people below the steps and said calmly, "I am not the spiritual commoner of a hundred years ago. I have been a general for more than ten years. I have conquered the northwest, pacified Liaodong, fought across the ocean, traveled thousands of miles, and survived swords and guns. I am a tough guy who can't be killed by artillery fire...

When talking about tough guy, Zhu Jinghong threw the cup lid back on the cup, and a crisp "ding" sound was heard in the quiet scene.

"The whole world is shaken. I want to see... how the whole world will shake. If it really causes the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, I will abdicate without waiting for you to force me to abdicate!"

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong said no more. He stood up, walked around the chair and walked into the palace gate. He had already made his attitude clear.

Since he ascended the throne, he has not carried out large-scale crackdowns on officials. He is much more merciful than his father.

So if there are really people who are blind, he doesn't mind sending these people to the South Pacific islands to contribute some supplies to the development of the Ming Dynasty.

Outside the Qianqing Gate, Zhao Yushan and the other two were still kneeling, but they all had complicated expressions.

"All the elders, please get up... and go back home early!"

Lu Tong called the eunuchs present and ordered them to help Zhao Yushan and others up.

Lu Tong then advised: "Your Majesty has made up his mind, just follow your orders... The overall situation of the court is important, you should understand your Majesty's difficulties!"

Understanding the emperor's difficulties, Zhao Yushan and his companions were speechless. After all, they were sandwiched between the emperor and the officials, which was the most difficult situation.

Once the imperial edict is announced, their cabinet will be under great criticism. Not many officials dare to advise the emperor, but many dare to cause trouble for them.

"Ugh……"

With a sigh, Zhao Yushan walked away. Zheng Zhiqing and the other two looked at each other and could only follow him and leave.

Zhu Jinghong felt that he was kind, but in the eyes of these important ministers, he was much more difficult to get along with than Zhu Xianming.

(End of this chapter)