The Most Powerful Man in the World

Now Zhu Houzhao summoned several people, obviously to communicate with several important cabinet ministers, but also to listen to the opinions of several important cabinet ministers.

After all, Zhu Houzhao can be arbitrary in the Sacred Heart, but if the cabinet elders are dissatisfied, it will be harmful to Zhu Houzhao or the court.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao also worked hard to keep several important cabinet ministers.

Chu Yi sat there and did not mean to speak. After all, this was an exchange between Zhu Houzhao and several important cabinet ministers. He could not replace Zhu Houzhao. After all, Zhu Houzhao was the emperor.

If the elders of the pavilion said that they had no idea about what Zhu Houzhao did today, it would definitely be a lie.

Just like Chen Ding, Chen Ding has always been loyal and straight. Of course, his temperament is somewhat pedantic, but his loyalty is not doubted at all.

Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, like Jiao Fang, he just stroked his beard and didn't speak in a hurry.

For example, although Wang Hua said that he had some thoughts in his heart, he was not busy talking, but Chen Ding was different. His temperament destined him to remain silent.

Seeing Chen Ding bowing his hands to the emperor, he slowly got up and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister has something to say!"

Seeing Chen Ding's opening, Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly and said: "Elder Chen Ge is a veteran of several dynasties, and I have always respected it very much. If Chen Ge has anything to say, just say it, I will not blame people for words!"

Chen Ding thanked the emperor first, then looked at Zhu Houzhao and said: "Your Majesty took down Jiang Mian and other officials with ill-conceived intentions today, and the old ministers agreed, even those newly promoted officials promoted by His Majesty. They are all talents, and His Majesty’s actions can be described as holy!”

Hearing that Chen Ding, who had always been fond of picking on him, called his actions holy, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help showing a bit of a smile on his face.

However, Chen Ding's voice changed and respectfully said: "Your Majesty, please forgive the old minister's boldness. Although the Zhu family is guilty, it will not destroy the family. The old minister urges His Majesty to give it light..."

Zhu Houzhao's face suddenly became gloomy, although he said that he knew that Chen Ding was loyal and had no selfish thoughts, but at this moment Chen Ding was so pedantic, he even begged him to let the Zhu family go, which naturally made Zhu Houzhao feel great. for unhappiness.

Fortunately, although Zhu Houzhao said that he was quite unhappy in his heart, he would not take his anger on Chen Ding because of this. After all, Chen Ding was also a bit pedantic, and both ability and loyalty were the most important things.

At least under the leadership of Chen Ding, everything is in order, and Zhu Houzhao doesn't have to worry that the Ministry of Household will be greedy for ink. I have to say that Chen Ding is still quite conscientious.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao's face became a little ugly, both Wang Hua and Jiao Fang couldn't help breaking a cold sweat for Chen Ding.

Who does not know that Zhu Houzhao ordered Chu Yi to specially escort them to the capital, although it is said that some officials in the capital wrote to the emperor under the instigation of people with a heart, begging the emperor to forgive the big sin of the Zhu family.

But everyone knew Zhu Houzhao's attitude. If Zhu Houzhao was willing to pardon the Zhu family, he would not have sent the Zhu family all the way to the capital.

Now Chen Ding clearly is that which pot does not open and lift which is to offend the emperor, it is not unusual.

With a light cough, Jiao Fang saw that Zhu Houzhao's face was a little angry and said quickly: "Your Majesty, Lord Chen is not interceding for the Zhu family, but I am afraid that once His Majesty kills the Zhu family, it will cause extremely bad effects, Lord Chen Loyalty can be learned from, and I hope Your Majesty will look into it!"

Several senior cabinet ministers of Wang Hua also stood up and pleaded for Chen Ding.

Chen Ding frowned, glanced at Jiao Fang and sighed, but looked at Zhu Houzhao with a bit of stubbornness.

Zhu Houzhao was annoyed, but he wouldn't be angry with Chen Ding because of this, but seeing Chen Ding's stubborn appearance, he couldn't help but have a headache, and looked at Chu Yi subconsciously.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know how to deal with Chen Ding. He originally thought that Chu Yi would be able to help him, but Chu Yi sat there with a calm expression, looking dazed.

Zhu Houzhao knew just by looking at Chu Yi's expression that Chu Yi didn't plan to help him in this regard, he took a deep breath and said to Chen Ding: "Elder Chen Ge is a little tired, Gu Dafan, it's getting late, you send someone Send old Chen Ge back to the house, the chaos in the capital is uncertain, don’t let any accidents happen.”

Chen Ding couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Houzhao didn't get angry at him, Chen Ding was naturally moved, but this did not mean that he would give up his opinion, but instead he took a step forward and wanted to speak before making further comments.

However, at this moment, several ministers Jiao Fang and Wang Hua hurriedly grabbed Chen Ding and said, "Master Chen, Your Majesty takes pity on me and other ministers, and personally sent the servants in the palace to send Master Chen back to the manor, what an honor this is. Love it!"

At this moment, Gu Dayong also came over, looking at Chen Ding with a smile on his face: "Master Chen, please come with us!"

While speaking, Gu Dayong stretched out his hand to hold Chen Ding, Chen Ding had no strength to hold the chicken, how could he resist Gu Dayong, and was pulled out involuntarily.

Chen Ding couldn't help turning his head to Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty think twice, think twice..."

Seeing Chen Ding being pulled away by Gu Dayong, Zhu Houzhao was relieved, but he couldn't let out the fire in his heart, which naturally made Zhu Houzhao's face quite ugly.

His eyes fell on Jiao Fang and Wang Hua, and Zhu Houzhao said with a bit of unkindness in his tone: "Isn't the Qing family trying to persuade me to pardon the Zhu family!"

Just looking at Zhu Houzhao's expression, fools know that Zhu Houzhao's patience is limited, even Chen Ding is nothing. If even they followed Chen Ding to persuade Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao would not be so patient.

[The first four thousand words will be sent, and there will be more in a while, please ask for monthly ticket support. 】

Chapter 2 An avenue to the sky! 【[-] more】

Jiao Fang smiled slightly and stepped forward: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the ministers and others are naturally not interceding for the Zhu family, but this time dozens of important officials in the court have been imprisoned. Regarding the disposal of these people, His Majesty still needs to give the ministers a clear statement. , to be punished for what crime.”

After all, there are hundreds of officials involved, and if you add the nobles involved, there are more than [-] court officials, many of whom are important court officials.

Now these people are in prison, but these people always have to be dealt with, so it is very important to say what crime Zhu Houzhao will punish these officials.

If it is said to be a crime of treason, then the consequences can be a bit scary. At that time, the number of people directly or indirectly implicated will probably reach as many as tens of thousands, far exceeding the Hu Weiyong case and the Lanyu case in the time of Taizu. size.

Several patriarchs all looked at Zhu Houzhao. It can be said that Zhu Houzhao was so short of a thought that he didn't know how many people would die because of it.

Looking at the expressions of the elders, Zhu Houzhao was not a foolish king, he naturally understood.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Houzhao said slowly: "I know the worries of the Qing family, and you don't have to worry. I will deal with them according to their performance."

Hearing what Zhu Houzhao said, both Jiao Fang, Wang Hua and others breathed a sigh of relief. They bowed down to Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty is merciful, you are the king of sages through the ages!"

However, Zhu Houzhao said with a cold expression: "But I said the ugly words up front, I am very angry this time, so I want to kill a group of people, I just hope that a few patriarchs can help me appease Baiguan, I don't want to see anyone doing it again. These rebellious people, as well as the Jianyang Zhu clan, wrote to plead for mercy."

In Zhu Houzhao's view, as the emperor, whether it was the actions of Jiang Mian and others, or the assassination of the emperor by the Zhu clan, they were all crimes of treason against the nine clan, and he was willing to forgive some of them who were implicated. If there are people like Chen Ding who write to intercede for these people, it would be strange that Zhu Houzhao would not be annoyed.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao directly warned several patriarchs, otherwise, don't blame the emperor for his madness.

Jiao Fang and the others looked at each other and said to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty is kind, and the ministers will definitely inform the court of your kindness."

With a wave of his hand, Zhu Houzhao glanced at Jiao Fang and the others and said, "Forget it, it's getting late, and I won't keep you in the palace. With so many things going on this day, I'm afraid that your relatives in the palace will be waiting anxiously. It's gone!"

Zhu Houzhao sent the servants in the palace to send Jiao Fang and others to reply.

With Jiao Fang and others saying their goodbyes, only Zhu Houzhao, Chu Yi and several servants were left in the hall.

Only then did Zhu Houzhao look down and said to Chu Yi, "Why didn't you speak for me just now, my partner!"

With Chu Yi's power, if Chu Yi opened his mouth, it would naturally make Zhu Houzhao less stressed when facing the elders of the cabinet.

Hearing this, Chu Yi looked at Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and it is when the Sacred Heart decides. As the saying goes, when the Son of Heaven is angry, blood will flow! Think about Taizu and Chengzu, your Majesty doesn't want to use The two emperors are the target, if even the elders of the court can't be suppressed, how can they surpass their ancestors!"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but be stunned when he heard the words, and gradually a light flashed in his eyes, an inexplicable aura on his body seemed to be awakened, and he couldn't help laughing.

Looking at Zhu Houzhao's changes, Chu Yi not only felt a little relieved in his heart, but in Chu Yi's view, Zhu Houzhao was not actually a qualified emperor.

Compared with Zhu Yuanzhang, who was devoted to life and death, and Zhu Di, who fought on the battlefield and killed decisively, Zhu Houzhao was, in the final analysis, a guarded ruler who was under the shadow of his ancestors.

It can even be said that Zhu Houzhao is a little worse than the Shoucheng King, but Zhu Houzhao is also a malleable talent, and what he lacks is nothing more than a spiritual transformation.

Of course, if one day, Zhu Houzhao really grows into an emperor comparable to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, then Chu Yi's situation will obviously be very embarrassing.

However, Chu Yi never worried that the ruler and ministers would turn against each other one day. Even if Zhu Houzhao grew up a little, it would be extremely difficult to reach that level without a dozen or twenty years.

Even Chu Yi himself couldn't guarantee that he would be able to see the day when Zhu Houzhao fully grew up. He didn't know when he would leave this world, a monarch and a minister. If Chu Yi has no feelings for Zhu Houzhao, that's fine. Now, he will not spend any effort to support Zhu Houzhao and lead Zhu Houzhao.

It is precisely because of the monarch-subject friendship over the years that Chu Yi is naturally reluctant to retaliate after Zhu Houzhao's inability to take over and suppress the forces he cultivated for him after he leaves one day.

The relationship of more than ten years is not easy. He spent so much thought and tried to pull Daming back from the road that slipped into the abyss. Naturally, he did not want everything to return to its original position after he left.

Chu Yi looked at Zhu Houzhao, and Zhu Houzhao also looked at Chu Yi. From Chu Yi's eyes, Zhu Houzhao felt Chu Yi's ardent expectation and encouragement for him, which made Zhu Houzhao couldn't help being moved.

In his life, apart from Emperor Xiaozong, he has never felt the true feelings of Chu Yi from anyone else. The already emotional Zhu Houzhao stepped forward and grabbed Chu Yi's hand, unable to help reveal his true feelings. Said: "My partner... I will definitely not live up to your expectations."

In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed, and the successive changes in the capital half a month ago can gradually spread, whether it is the fire in the Qianqing Palace, or the siege of the Forbidden City led by Guo Xun, or at the meeting of the Great Court, Jiang Mian and others Forcing the empress dowager to elect the crown prince directly to be won by the emperor, these extremely explosive news spread like wings, and I don't know how many people were shocked.

The south of the Yangtze River is prosperous, a land of fish and rice, rich in things and treasures, and outstanding people.

Although there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below, Yangzhou is not bad.

Yangzhou is located on the Grand Canal, which is an important node. In the past, when Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty toured the south of the Yangtze River, he stopped in Yangzhou City.

As an important city in the south of the Yangtze River, because of the Grand Canal, there are many people traveling from the south to the north, and the news is naturally very well-informed.

With the news from the capital, for ordinary people, the changes in the capital will not pay attention to the people at all. Even if the emperor is changed, it is not as important as the government's policy of tax reduction and exemption. .

However, ordinary people will not pay attention to the changes in the capital, but for these powerful and noble people in Jiangnan, I don't know how many people have been staring at the capital.

Duke Muzhai moved to the capital because of Xie Qian, not only on behalf of him, but on behalf of the will of most of the wealthy and powerful people in the south of the Yangtze River.

If it weren't for this, just relying on Xie Qian's influence, it was the limit that he could win so many officials to accompany him to change the sky in Beijing.

But Xie Qian stood behind most of the dignitaries and lords in the south of the Yangtze River, so Xie Qian was able to be like a duck in water in the capital, and easily gathered hundreds of high-ranking officials in the dynasty to wave the flag for him.

In a quiet and elegant garden, more than a dozen figures are sitting in the hall with awe.

The person at the head was dressed in filial attire, and there was a hint of sternness in his eyes. This person was the head of the Jiangnan Xie family, Xie Mingyu.

As the eldest son of Xie Qian, Xie Mingyu has been with Xie Qian since he was a child. Even Xie Qian took Xie Mingyu by his side to teach him when he was an official in the capital.

Xie Mingyu's own ability is not bad, and he was admitted to the Juren with his own talents. He also has an official status, but Xie Mingyu also resigned and returned to his hometown with Xie Qian after Xie Qian was forced by Liu Jin to serve.

Don't look at Xie Mingyu's resignation, but he took over the position of the head of Xie Qian's family and took charge of the entire Xie family. of sea merchants.

Not long ago, news came from the capital that Xie Qian was forced to death by Chu Yi, and the Xie family was like a concubine.

Don't look at Xie Qian's career, but Xie Qian has been an official for decades, and the big net weaved in the court and the opposition is simply too important to the Xie family.

It can be said that the Xie family's strength has skyrocketed so much in less than ten years because of the presence of Xie Qian, a towering white jade pillar, which has blocked the Xie family from unknown storms.

Now that Xie Qian was forced to death by Chu Yi, it was equivalent to directly cutting down a towering tree in the Xie family that sheltered from the wind and rain.

The loyal servants of the Xie family sent back news from the capital day and night that the imperial court had ordered the Yangzhou government to arrest the Xie family, which was naturally a disaster for the Xie family.

Xie Mingyu, who was dressed in filial attire, looked at the time and said slowly: "Everyone, the time to come is here now, and Xie will not talk nonsense. The purpose of inviting everyone to come here today is to think that Xie will not talk about it, and you should have it in your heart. clear!"

Saying that, Xie Mingyu's eyes fell on a blue-shirted scholar and said, "Brother Mo has also received news from Beijing, right? That Wudao Shunjun has already ordered to arrest me and all the young and old, and Jinyiwei's people are probably already on the way. Now, he will arrive at Yangzhou City in a few days at most, he is going to cut the grass and root out, and kill them all!"

Mo De, who was wearing a blue shirt, couldn't help but change his face, gritted his teeth and said: "The castrated thief put my father into a big prison, and the faint-hearted lord did not remember his father's deeds of serving several generations of emperors, and wanted to destroy my Mo family, what does Brother Xie have? Let’s just say it bluntly, which one of you gathered here today is not driven to a dead end by the faint-hearted castrate!”

Xie Mingyu nodded slightly, his eyes swept across the crowd, and he said word by word: "It is said that the sovereign treats his ministers like grass, the ministers regard the king as a gangster, and the emperor is foolish, so don't blame me for waiting against this foolish monarch! "

"Reverse, reverse!"

More than a dozen family heads who were in the same situation as the Xie family and the Mo family were filled with righteous indignation and shouted loudly.

Seeing such a situation, Xie Mingyu nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Since everyone is of the same mind, then Xie will recommend someone who can save us from suffering!"

Everyone couldn't help showing some doubts, who has such ability to make Xie Mingyu so praised, and even claim that the other party can help them get out of the sea of ​​misery.

They were all forced to the point of rebellion, the Son of Heaven's will has been made, who in this world can help them escape the calamity!

While speaking, Xie Mingyu bowed towards the side hall and said, "Respectfully, Lord Shoufu!"

Xie Mingyu's voice fell, and everyone present couldn't help but change their expressions. They looked towards the entrance of the side hall and saw a figure slowly walking out.

When they saw the person coming, many people's eyes flashed brightly. Most of them are not unfamiliar with this person at all. This is Yang Tinghe, the former chief assistant of the cabinet wanted by the emperor!

Yang Tinghe's reputation is not small in Jiangnan, and it can even be said to be a little bigger than Xie Qianlai. The news of Yang Tinghe's entry into Ning Wang's mansion is only circulated among a very small number of people. It can be said that these people present, only Xie Mingyu knew that Yang Tinghe was standing behind Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao.

Seeing Yang Tinghe, a group of people bowed to Yang Tinghe with some respect, but their expressions were suspicious.