Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 659: How Long Will the Ming Dynasty Last?

Jinshen Palace, Yingtian Prefecture, Ming Dynasty.

All the officials gathered here to congratulate Tian on his birthday, but at this moment, the protagonist of this birthday party had disappeared for more than an hour.

Whenever he looked up and saw the empty imperial throne, Li Mian, who had been on trial for the position of Minister of Rites for only a month, wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

After all, since Wang Guangyang was sentenced to death in September last year, Hu Weiyong and six subordinate officials were also implicated, which implicated a wide range of people. The aftermath caused by this has not yet subsided.

Your Majesty also ordered the abolition of the Prime Minister and the division of power among six people. It seemed like a great honor, but those who were lucky enough not to be implicated also felt insecure.

Just like the position of Minister of Personnel, in just half a year, four people, namely Qie Si, Hong Yi, Liu Song and Ruan Jun, took turns to hold the position.

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue originally pointed to Xu Duo, but he was dismissed within a month because he was implicated in party treason.

The position of Minister of Rites was even more turbulent. In the first month of the year, His Majesty originally designated Zheng Jiuchen to take the position, but in February, Zheng Jiuchen retired due to old age. The position of Minister of Rites was then transferred to Qie Si, who had served as Minister of Personnel for a month.

Qie Si took office in February and retired in June due to old age, and no one dared to take up the position of Shangshu.

Finally, due to the emperor's inquiry, Christmas and Tianshou Festival would be celebrated in August, and the Ministry of Rites must have a person in charge. So Li Mian, the Minister of Rites who was originally just the deputy of the Shangshu, was pushed up.

And now, His Majesty left the Christmas banquet in the middle. Although all the officials saw that it was the maids from Kunning Palace who came here, it was most likely because the sick Queen had invited them.

But... Li Mian made up his mind again:
After the Tianshou Festival, you can ask to be exiled.

Anyone can take up the post of Shangshu, since Li Mian doesn't want to stay in the capital anymore.

Or the sweat on the forehead was too obvious, and someone next to him comforted him:

"Young Master Zong, don't worry. There is nothing wrong with the Crown Prince's management here. The next time we meet, he will probably address me as the Grand Master Zong."

Because His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty drove out the Hu Yuan and restored the Han Dynasty, in line with the attitude that it is necessary to go to extremes to correct a wrong, the Ming Emperor would occasionally use the official titles in the Book of Documents as nicknames for the officials of the Six Ministries and Seven Departments.

Just as Qie Si resigned from the post of Minister of Personnel before, Your Majesty will call him the Grand Chancellor.

Li Mian buried the idea of ​​resigning in his heart, turned back and said seriously:

"Thank you, Duke of Korea, but everyone knows that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very lenient and does not criticize his subjects."

Duke of Korea Li Shanchang shook his head, put down the fruit in his hand, and said:
"Your Majesty, why are you taking your anger out on your subjects because of the affairs of the royal family?"

So Li Mian's worries were relieved a little.

At least, now that Duke Hanguo Li Shanchang is the Left Censor-in-Chief, not to mention that he himself is ranked first among the dukes, if he says so, then he will most likely be safe today.

So Li Mian changed his name to express his gratitude:
"Then I would like to thank the Grand Censor for his guidance."

He picked up two fruits in front of him and tasted them carefully. At the same time, he watched the Crown Prince sitting on the left of the throne receiving the ministers. From time to time, loud laughter could be heard and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

The Crown Prince has been in charge of government for more than two years, so he is no stranger to the officials, including Li Mian.

As for how the crown prince behaves, all officials know it very well.

Treat people with kindness, govern the country with benevolence, issue orders with fairness, and handle matters with ease.

Well, and most importantly, it does not match the interests of the current emperor.

So Li Mian, who was eating, suddenly had an idea:

If the current Ju Dabao was the crown prince, why would he request to be sent away?
But soon Li Mian felt that his idea was too stupid. If the Crown Prince really was in power, both Zheng Jiuchen and Qie Si would most likely be stuck in the position of Minister of Rites until they were unable to do anything. How could it be his turn?
As his thoughts wandered, Li Mian suddenly felt that the Jinshen Hall seemed to have become much colder, and the voices of the ministers talking to each other also quieted down.

"Tens of millions of years old."

"May your majesty live a thousand years." "May the saint live a thousand years. I congratulate your majesty."

"You need not say more. Just be loyal and diligent. A hundred years of life will be enough for me."

The chaotic sound of the piano indicated that Emperor Ming had finally returned. Li Mian wanted to say something, but in his haste he choked on the food he had just eaten.

So in the hall, which had just quieted down because of Zhu Yuanzhang's answer, Li Mian's cough became extremely obvious.

Li Mian really wanted to just cough to death, but surprisingly, the Majesty did not say anything more.

"Li Qing, eat slowly. Our Ming Empire still needs your help as the Grand Master."

When Zhu Yuanzhang passed by Li Mian, he patted him on the back to calm him down and comforted him with kind words.

This made all the officials somewhat confused. Why did His Majesty's attitude seem... different?

But soon, the ministers felt that they were overthinking this idea.

"Since we are all full, let's go."

"Don't delay today's government affairs, and don't be late for court tomorrow."

Well, this is indeed the Majesty we are familiar with.

Li Mian heaved a sigh of relief, and his heart became more determined to resign and be transferred to a distant place, away from this life of fear.

The Tianshou Festival in the Jinshen Hall started off well but ended badly. However, for all the officials, they thought that today's government affairs could be postponed for the time being. However, they did not expect that His Majesty would order that no delay should be allowed, so they left very quickly one by one.

As for His Majesty's order to let the Crown Prince and the Duke of Korea stay, no one cared.

One is his biological son, and the other is the head of all officials who is often referred to as "Li Xiaohe". It is normal for him to be favored.

Naturally, someone cleaned up the banquet, but what puzzled Zhu Biao was that his father led him and Duke Hanguo out of the north gate of Jinshen Hall and entered Huagai Hall.

At this point, Emperor Ming did not say anything. He just stood in the hall with his back to the two of them, sighing.

"Do you remember, Master? There was a screen in this hall."

"I have some impression."

The Huagai Hall was where the emperor stayed when he was preparing to go to court or offer sacrifices. Most of the time, eunuchs in the palace came and went here when they were serving the emperor. Li Shanchang was only summoned here a few times to discuss matters, so he was not familiar with this place.

Therefore, Li Shanchang was also a little confused. There was originally a screen here, and then what?

Zhu Biao suddenly thought of his mother. When he went to pay his respects in the morning, he knew that his mother had caught a cold and was feeling a little unwell, otherwise she would have attended the Tianshou Festival today.

Daddy was away from the table for a long time, and sighed here...

"Dad, but Mom's health..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands in a helpless manner, and first gave his son and his minister a reassurance:

"When we came here from Kunning Palace, we summoned the imperial physician to see her. He said there was nothing serious. The queen has taken the medicine and is already asleep. If she eats something light at night, she will probably be fine."

After putting his heart at ease, Zhu Biao immediately noticed the Ming Emperor's hesitant attitude.

The father and son were always casual with each other, and at this moment, the attendants were dismissed when entering the palace, so Zhu Biao simply asked directly:
"What is troubling Dad?"

Sighing, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate too much, or he had already made up his mind when he chose to dismiss his attendants:
"How long do you two think the Ming Dynasty will last?"

(End of this chapter)