Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 237: Since it is for the sake of the people of the world, let’s reform it again!

"Has the emperor approved it or not?"

Zhang Yunxiu took the resignation letter and looked at it again and again. He was a little unsure about the word "accurate" that Emperor Wanli meant.

In response to this question, Zhang Chonghui on the side simply said: "The ink review doesn't count."

Zhang Yunxiu breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this answer, but soon he became curious again and asked, "Aren't you afraid that the emperor will really approve your resignation?"

"Not afraid."

"Why aren't you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid." Zhang Chonghui said with a smile, "Who knows, the emperor might be worried that I really won't go to the Honglu Temple tomorrow."

Seeing Zhang Chonghui so calm, Zhang Yunxiu was relieved. Suddenly he remembered something and asked, "By the way, have you contacted Concubine Zheng yet?"

"Yes." Zhang Chonghui said truthfully.

Zhang Yunxiu was embarrassed for a moment, and hesitated to say: "To be honest... I don't quite understand... Which side are you on?"

Zhang Chonghui said: "Stand on either side, or stand on neither side."

"So..." Zhang Yunxiu asked bluntly, "Are you more inclined to let the crown prince ascend the throne, or let Prince Fu take the throne?"

Zhang Chonghui did not answer, but asked: "What do you think?"

Zhang Yunxiu spoke frankly: "To be honest, I don't think highly of Prince Fu, and I don't think highly of Concubine Zheng either. Especially Concubine Zheng, she is not worthy of being the queen mother of the country."

Zhang Yunxiu said this very seriously, but Zhang Chonghui laughed after hearing it and said:

"Hahaha, it seems like you have a lot of opinions about Concubine Zheng. Yes, you are acting like a censor now."

"I'm not kidding you." Zhang Yunxiu said seriously, "A woman like her who is stupid, bad, and only has a beautiful appearance is nothing but a hindrance! If we cooperate with such a person, what else can she do except cause trouble for us!"

"There's a lot that can be done." Zhang Chonghui patted Zhang Yunxiu on the shoulder and said, "It depends on the situation. Sometimes, some things really have to be done by stupid and bad people like this."

"You mean...?"

"Don't worry, it's still early. Anyway, one more way is one more option. Let's just keep her hanging for now."

……

Time flies and it’s the next day.

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Yijun woke up early in the morning and wanted to take a nap, but he couldn't fall asleep.

After thinking it over and over again, he found Chen Ju and asked a question:
"Did Zhang Chonghui go to the Honglu Temple today?"

Chen Ju was stunned for a moment, and said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, it's only been a while since daybreak, Zhang Chonghui should... not be able to get to the Honglu Temple so soon, right?"

Zhu Yijun was silent.

Just as Chen Ju was thinking about the past, he heard the Emperor ask, hesitantly:
"Will he...really not come?"

Chen Ju didn't know what to say. He couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts and could only reply, "Your Majesty, I will send someone to the Honglu Temple to check it out."

Half an hour later, the news came back.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Chonghui went to the Honglu Temple. I heard that he locked the door of the Zhubu Hall as soon as he entered it."

After hearing this news, Zhu Yijun first breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Will locking the door work?"

"This..." Chen Ju thought for a moment and replied, "It should be useless, right?"

……

Facts have proved that locking the door is indeed useless, as the door panels can't block out the angry scolding from the censors at all.

Not only was Zhang Chonghui's method of locking the door useless, it even seemed to have angered the censors.

For a moment, a large group of people gathered outside the usually quiet and deserted chief clerk's office, banging on the door and scolding Zhang Chonghui inside as a "coward".

Faced with these scoldings, Zhang Chonghui inside did not react at all. This indifference made the literati outside even more angry.

So...

……

When Zhu Yijun heard the news that the door of the Chief Clerk's Office was broken, he was stunned.

Before he could react to what was going on, he received another report from Zhang Chonghui.

This time, Zhang Chonghui submitted not a resignation letter but an impeachment memorial.

The people Zhang Chonghui impeached were those who caused trouble outside the chief clerk's office today.

The content of the impeachment was exactly the incident of the door of the Chief Registrar's Office being damaged.

This was the first time that Zhu Yijun took a serious look at Zhang Chonghui's memorial. It would have been better if he hadn't read it. The more he read, the more he felt something was wrong...

"Your Majesty, the Honglu Temple is an important place for receiving foreign envoys. Now there are censors who have forgotten their duties and acted recklessly, treating the court's public property as if it were nothing and causing great damage. This is extremely disrespectful, unkind, and unjust!
How outrageous and shameless these words and deeds are! The court's public property is the foundation of the country, how can we allow others to mess with it at will? Such actions are tantamount to a blatant insult to the dignity of the emperor and a blatant challenge to the authority of the court!

Every citizen has a share of responsibility for the rise and fall of a country. Although I am a humble official, I must be loyal to my duties and protect the interests of the country! Therefore, I, Zhang Chonghui, implore the emperor to severely punish the officials involved today, in order to rectify the government and boost the country's prestige!

Yours sincerely!"

Zhu Yijun quickly finished reading Zhang Chonghui's memorial. After reading it, he couldn't help but frowned and said:
"It's not... it's that serious..."

It's just a broken door, is it necessary to make it sound so... heinous?
On second thought, Zhu Yijun was not surprised. After all, he had been scolded even more exaggeratedly by the censors over the years.

It’s like he thinks he just has difficulty walking, but others say he has kidney deficiency.

After reading Zhang Chonghui's impeachment memorial, Zhu Yijun felt that something was not right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He turned around and asked Chen Ju:
"How many memorials are there to impeach Zhang Chonghui?"

Chen Ju said, "Your Majesty, there are many, many... Do you want to see them?"

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, I won't read it. Also, pass down the order to fine all those who blocked the door of the Honglu Temple's Chief Clerk's Office today for three months on the grounds of damaging the court's public property."

……

The news of salary deduction soon spread widely. Seeing that they not only did not get any satisfaction from punishing Zhang Chonghui but also had their salary deducted, everyone simply turned to the cabinet to ask for an explanation.

In order to avoid these endless political struggles, Prime Minister Zhu Geng simply submitted his resignation on the grounds of poor health and quit his job.

It is worth mentioning that this time, the Emperor, who has always been reluctant to deal with personnel transfers, actually approved Zhu Geng’s resignation for the first time.

After Zhu Geng left, Yu Shenxing took over the position of Prime Minister that all civil officials dreamed of. However, he was not very happy.

As long as His Majesty the Emperor does not abolish the mining issue, he, as the current Prime Minister of the Cabinet, is destined to have no peace!
……

After Zhu Geng left, Yu Shenxing naturally and logically became the target of public criticism.

On the one hand, there is helplessness in the position, and on the other hand, one has to face the emperor's deliberate behavior.

"How can we get the Emperor to abolish the mining tax?"

Yu Shenxing still went to find Zhang Chonghui, even though they were both in the spotlight now and it was the time to avoid suspicion and not meet.

Even so, Yu Shenxing went to Zhao's house without hesitation and once again saw Zhang Chonghui playing with wood. "Didn't I tell you a long time ago?" Zhang Chonghui answered while holding a small carving knife and carefully carving a long piece of wood in his hand.

"When did you tell me?" Yu Shenxing asked with a frown.

"Think about it yourself."

"I can't remember."

"If you can't remember, then think about it more."

"No... I mean, it's already this late, the fire is almost burning your eyebrows, why are you still playing with these broken pieces of wood all day?"

Yu Shenxing was really anxious. He was already extremely worried, but Zhang Chonghui was still playing with the wood calmly, which made him anxious for no reason.

"What's wrong with playing with wood?" Zhang Chonghui blew away the debris on the long wooden piece before saying:

"Don't underestimate this piece of wood. It's a gift from me to the emperor's grandson. You have to use it with care."

"How old is the emperor's grandson..." Yu Shenxing sighed, "Instead of thinking about clinging to a swaddled baby, it's better to think about the current situation and how to deal with it..."

"What's the current situation?" Zhang Chonghui asked deliberately.

Yu Shenxing said, "Zhu Geng left so easily. The emperor is clearly pushing me out to take the blame for him. As long as the emperor does not abolish the mining tax, my position as the prime minister will become more and more unstable. I tell you the truth, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't care about the floods. I want to go back to my hometown to plant bamboo and raise cranes."

Yu Shenxing said this very easily, as if he was really ready to quit at any time.

However, Zhang Chonghui laughed after hearing this and said, "Why, are you threatening me by saying you'll quit?"

Yu Shenxing flatly denied it: "I didn't mean that."

Zhang Chonghui smiled and said, "Come on, that's what you mean."

"Okay." Yu Shenxing stopped pretending and said bluntly, "I won't hide it from you. I'm really unwilling to leave like this, but I didn't lie to you either. If this continues, even if I don't want to leave, I will be forced to leave!"

"Yeah." Zhang Chonghui only responded with this one word.

Seeing Zhang Chonghui's perfunctory response, Yu Shenxing became anxious again: "So what? I know you have a way to get the emperor to abolish the mining tax, why don't you want to say it? Do you want to let those mining supervisors endanger the people of the world?"

"All the people in the world? Hahaha..." Zhang Chonghui suddenly laughed a few times and said in a strange tone:
"You are really a man with a broad mind. Since you are thinking about the common people in the world, how about this? I will give you an idea."

"What idea?" Yu Shenxing sensed something bad.

"It's simple." Zhang Chonghui swung the sharp little carving knife and said with a smile:

"Since it is for the benefit of the people of the world, let's reform the system again! Take out all the land of the aristocratic families, officials and nobles and distribute it to the poor people! In this way, there will be no more..."

"You're crazy!" Yu Shenxing interrupted Zhang Chonghui hastily: "You're crazy for talking nonsense like this!"

"Eh?" Zhang Chonghui looked puzzled and said, "Aren't you doing this for the benefit of the people of the world? Could it be that in your eyes, the poor are not considered to be the people of the world? Or do you really think that the reason why the poor are so poor is because the emperor is mining and making money?"

"You've been too..." Yu Shenxing stopped in time and asked, "So, do you support the emperor in opening a mine to make money?"

"Of course I don't support it." Zhang Chonghui said seriously.

"Since you don't support it, then why are you making excuses and refusing to tell me how to get the emperor to stop mining?"

"When did I ever refuse to tell you? I told you a long time ago."

"When?"

"I forgot. It was either the last time, the time before that, or the time before that."

"Ah, wait……"

"Remember?"

"No...no..."

“That means I remember it.”

"I...I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

"Why are you leaving?"

Zhang Chonghui held a knife to stop Yu Shenxing who was about to flee again. He waved the sharp carving knife twice, as if hinting at something, and said:

"I've already told you that the emperor is determined to make money from mining this time, unless..."

"Stop talking!" Yu Shenxing's eyes turned red with anxiety, and he was thinking in his heart, if he had known earlier, he would not have come to find Zhang Chonghui!
Yu Shenxing still fled in panic. Zhang Chonghui followed him with a knife in his hand, and said as he chased him:
"Lord Yu, there is only one way. Also, I remember that Prince Fu is not young anymore. As the chief minister of the cabinet, you should also submit a petition to the emperor to arrange a marriage for Prince Fu as soon as possible."

Zhao Shizhen once again witnessed Yu Shenxing's escape, and was especially shocked when he saw Zhang Chonghui chasing him with a knife.

At the same time, Yu Shenxing was also wondering what Zhang Chonghui meant by asking the emperor to quickly plan a marriage for Prince Fu.

Yu Shenxing knew very well that Zhang Chonghui's words were full of hidden meanings, and he might be planning some bad ideas.

Yu Shenxing knew better that if he wanted to abolish the mining tax, it seemed that... that was really the only way...

However, he still didn't dare.

Of course Zhang Chonghui knew that Yu Shenxing would not dare to do that. If Yu Shenxing dared to do such a treasonous thing, he would not be Yu Shenxing.

However, I dare not return, what if it is because of cause and effect, what if it is because of natural laws, what if it is just a coincidence?

What if, there are really so many ifs.

……

At this time when the emperor was busy mining and making money and the court was in turmoil, the chief minister Yu Shenxing, after much consideration, asked his subordinates to submit a petition to the emperor, asking him to arrange a marriage for Prince Fu.

When the Emperor learned about this, he was very pleased. He never expected that these ministers would one day submit a memorial to him about something that would make him happy.

Perhaps it was God's mercy that in the middle of the 27th year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun was given another piece of good news!

Yang Yinglong is dead!
The Bozhou Rebellion ended here. This war, which was originally estimated to cost at least two million taels of silver, was won in just over half a year.

Li Rusong once again became a prominent figure, and Emperor Wanli became even more fond of this good general who could both fight in battles and save money for him.

But Li Rusong already held the first-rank official title of Prince Taibao. For a moment, Zhu Yijun really didn't know what else he could reward this beloved general with.

"Chen Ju, what do you think would be a good reward for Li Rusong besides gold, silver and treasures?" Zhu Yijun asked his military advisor.

Chen Ju thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, General Li now has the title of the first-rank official of the Prince's Guardian. If you really want to reward him, why not give him the title of the first-rank official?"

Chen Ju thought that his suggestion was perfect. After all, he could see that the emperor liked Li Rusong very much.

If the rewards were given according to the meritorious officials in the past, he would definitely only be awarded the first-rank official title of "Shao Bao" or "San Gu", or the second-rank official title of "Tai Zi Shao Bao".

However, this time, Chen Ju went all the way and directly proposed that the emperor confer the title of "Taibao" on Li Rusong, which was among the "Three Dukes".

Everyone knows the value of the Three Dukes, which is the highest honor for a minister, not to mention that Li Rusong is still alive.

Chen Ju thought that since the emperor liked Li Rusong so much, and Li Rusong was so loyal to the emperor, it would be better to give him the highest title at once so that Li Rusong would be loyal to the emperor wholeheartedly!
It turned out that Chen Ju still didn’t understand his emperor well enough. Not long after he made this suggestion, he was scolded by the emperor:
"idiot!"

Chen Ju didn't know what he said wrong, or maybe he was not wrong.

He just forgot one thing. He forgot who the previous Three Dukes was who was personally conferred the title of "Grand Master" by Emperor Wanli when he was still alive.

(End of this chapter)