Zhurou

Chapter 223

There was no need to make any promises. Everyone was in sync and went back to give their own instructions. Soon, except for the censors from the Censorate, the Privy Council, the Council of State Affairs, and even ordinary officials, submitted memorials advising the emperor to leave the city like snowflakes.

Zhang Yi did not miss Lu Xianzhang either.

"As a minister, honest advice may be unpleasant to the ears. Although Zhiyou is not a censor, I have advised Your Majesty to leave the city to avoid danger. In an emergency, I have to do my part." Zhang Yi seemed to be walking forward, but he walked beside Lu Xianzhang, without looking away.

Perhaps because he didn't hear Lu Xianzhang's reply, he took a few more steps, then turned around and asked, "Does Zhiyou have any difficulties? Or does he have other ideas?"

Compared to the old officials of the two governments, Lu Xianzhang was a lucky person. He was asked questions one after another and dared not refuse, but it was even more difficult to agree. He could only reply: "Sir, you and Your Majesty have suffered in Caizhou together, so there is no need for me to say more. However, although the emperor is young, he is always strong-willed. I am afraid that if everyone in the court reports to you, he will be unhappy..."

Zhang Yi said sternly, "You and I eat the emperor's salary and worry about him. Do we do things just to please His Majesty?"

As he spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice was filled with displeasure: "Your Majesty is young, just like a new sapling. It takes ten years for a tree to grow, and dripping water can wear away a stone. If everyone lets them do what they want, who can lead them to the right path?"

Lu Xianzhang lowered his head and said nothing.

Your Majesty is young, and the princess almost never interferes in military affairs. For more than half a year, it has been the ministers who have made the decisions. It has become a habit. The last time the emperor cried and made a fuss in Caizhou, he finally got his way. How could this not make the Privy Council very uneasy?

Therefore, after returning to Beijing, the gentlemen made tests from time to time.

But no matter how young he is, the emperor is still the emperor.

When in Caizhou, His Majesty could only cry and make a fuss. Now, in only one or two months, he has already learned to give medicines separately. I heard that he even wrote the imperial edicts himself. The words in them were earnest. Although his methods were clumsy and immature, he was only eight or nine years old, but he had already begun to learn the art of weighing things. How could such a person be treated as an ordinary child?

To put it bluntly, the actions of Zhang Shumi and other officials today were actually childish.

  The emperor left the city, ostensibly to protect his precious life from danger, but was there also a desire to take control of the emperor and let him see the situation in the court and the power of the court officials?

As for sending troops to station on all sides to guard against Pei Yong, it was just a show - after guarding the city for so many days, how could Lu Xianzhang not see the huge gap in strength between the Western Army and the Imperial Army?

If there are too many people, we can’t afford to stay there. If there are too few people, when we encounter the enemy, we may not be able to escape.

If he was not sure that the emperor was young and ignorant and the emperor emeritus was still alive, how could he dare to do so?

But no matter what he thought in his mind, Lu Xianzhang did not refuse in person.

Although he is also in the two governments, the power he holds is not as much as that of the other old officials with deep roots. Given the current situation, it would be fine if the Di people changed their ways, but once they really withdrew their troops, Pei Yong would inevitably become a real threat when he returns to the capital. By then, he would have to rely on the power of others to make a balance and would not want to offend him too much.

Thinking of this, Lu Xianzhang took advantage of the fact that no one was looking around and hurriedly bowed and said, "My lord, you are right to suggest this."

  ***

Even Lu Xianzhang was half-hearted, and the reactions of the rest of the court were self-evident.

However, seeing that the letters of admonition from the Yintai Department were pouring in like snowflakes, at the grand court meeting or after the court meeting, all the officials spoke in unison, being advised to go out and to come in. Even during the imperial lectures, when the professors quoted from the classics, all of them were words of admonition. Zhao Hong's reaction was completely unexpected by everyone.

  If it were a child who encountered such a life-and-death matter, and everyone said the same thing, and every word was for the comfort of his own life, and what they said was extremely reasonable, how could he not be shaken?

Even if they can resist for a while, they will give in soon.

But Zhao Hong's return to the capital this time was against the trend. He was alone in guarding Caizhou. When he fled south before, he had seen many times that Zhao Mingzhi tried his best to resist the ministers and acted on his own. Moreover, Zhang Li, the assistant minister of Taichang Temple, brought back news from the north, wanting the emperor to confess the guilt of the Di people and offer gold, silver and people to Xingqing Prefecture in order to bring back the retired emperor and others. However, few civil and military officials in the court spoke out.

In fact, he had already been discouraged and became more and more rebellious. Now that he was being oppressed by everyone, he became angry. He wanted to speak several times during the court meeting, but seeing that Zhao Mingzhi was calm and not angry, he had to shut up. After returning to the inner court, he was lectured over and over again by several ministers during the imperial lecture, and his temper flared up, especially when Zhang Yi's lecture early in the morning was all about stories from the previous dynasty.

Zhang Yi spoke eloquently and incessantly, refusing to stop even though he had clearly reached the point. For nearly an hour, he first talked about how the emperor of a certain dynasty insisted on having his own way and ignored the advice of wise ministers and generals, and insisted on leading the army in person. Although he did not die in the end, he caused the defeat of hundreds of thousands of troops and the decline of the country. He also talked about how a certain emperor trusted only his mother's family, appointed treacherous people to lead the troops, and was completely defenseless, which led to the enemy's army crossing mountains and rivers, and took everyone in the city, from the emperor to the officials and the common people, into captivity.

After hearing this, Zhao Hong became very impatient and tried to find reasons to end the conversation several times, but was forced to stay by the person on the other side.

When he could hardly hold back any longer, Zhang Yi stood up, knelt on the ground, and said, "Your Majesty, remember the past and learn from it. Our country is in a situation today and we cannot be careless any more. Your Majesty's body is worth a million dollars, please leave the city as soon as possible!"

After talking about this and that for a long time, we finally got back to this matter.

Although Zhao Hong had expected this, when he saw Zhang Yi bowing his head, it was clearly him who was kneeling and he was sitting, but he always felt that he was the one being bullied. He even felt like he was slapped in the face several times. His head and face were hot and burning, and the anger in his heart was surging up and almost rushing to his forehead.

He was forcing himself to endure it. For half a day, his heart was filled with grievances, just to not cause trouble for Zhao Mingzhi, because he knew that although it was difficult for him to handle this, his sister had to deal with countless memorials, even more court officials, and so many messy things every day, which must be even more stressful, so he held on tightly. At this moment, all his emotions came out at once, and he finally couldn't bear it anymore. He stood up in anger, his face flushed, his chest heaving, hot and stuffy, and he could hardly breathe.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!!"

Seeing Zhao Hong in such a state, the eunuchs on both sides were all panicked and came forward one after another to either help him calm down or support him.

Zhang Yi knelt on the ground, but did not move at all.

At this moment, there was a sudden loud clamor outside the hall, followed by someone shouting "Your Majesty". After a breath or two, the voices of "Your Majesty" rang out at the same time. It was impossible to tell how many people were outside, and it was like a roar from the sky.

Zhao Hong was having trouble breathing, and his chest felt uncomfortable. There seemed to be a buzzing sound in his ears, and the roar of the crowd filled his ears, as if there was a thick layer of separation. He didn't know what was going on, so he just felt panic. He subconsciously grabbed the arm of the eunuch next to him and shouted, "Wang Shu!"

Just as Wang Shu was about to speak, the ceremonial gate officer had already strode into the hall, knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, the officials of the Censorate outside the hall wish to see you..."

Zhao Hong hadn't reacted yet. He was just dazed. There were stars in front of his eyes. He could hardly stand on his feet and was staggering.

At this moment, Zhao Mingzhi, who got the news, hurried over.

Before she got closer, she saw from afar a group of officials kneeling on the ground outside the Chuigong Hall. Most of them wore green robes, and some wore red robes. However, almost all of them wore wooden crowns shaped like xiezhi horns on their heads. It was obvious that they were all censors.

——This is the step where the memorials, court petitions and joint discussions have all failed and it has finally come to the point of submitting to the cabinet.

The so-called "Fu Ge" means that when all other channels for admonishment are blocked, the censors stand outside the palace to seek to confront the emperor face to face. Since the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, there have been a few examples of this. The most recent one was when the Chief Censor, the Palace Censor, and more than ten censors knelt down in the cabinet to make a remonstrance, asking the late emperor to stop deposing the late empress.

Extreme measures like Fu Ge are never a good thing. After all, once it happens, it means that the emperor has been completely shut down. Once it is recorded in history books and spread out, how will the world and future generations view the emperor? Therefore, it will not be used unless it is absolutely necessary.

——Then at this moment, what intolerable wrong did Zhao Hong do that caused all the censors in the room to make such a choice?

After several rounds of cheers, everyone fell silent and just knelt on the ground, extremely quiet.

Zhao Mingzhi was so angry that he calmed down instead.

She hardly even glanced at the kneeling censors outside, and walked straight into the Chuigong Hall. As soon as she entered the door, she glanced at Zhang Yi on the ground, and saw her brother surrounded by people behind the table.

Zhao Hong's face was flushed and his eyes were wide open. People around him were stroking his chest and back to test his sweat, but it seemed to be of little use.

Zhao Mingzhi was startled and hurried forward, holding his brother's arm with one hand, and turned to shout to the side: "Your Majesty is not feeling well, why don't you call the doctor!"

While she was explaining, she said to Zhang Yi who was still kneeling, "Sir, if you don't have anything very important to do, why don't you write a letter and report back later?"

Zhang Yi stood up, bowed, and then said to Zhao Mingzhi and his sister and brother: "Your Majesty is worth a lot of money, but you are weak and powerless. The palace is located in the city, which is far away from the outside of the city. If you encounter trouble, you want to leave quickly but can't. Your Highness is smart, and I don't need to persuade you too much. You should know the key points..."

Zhao Mingzhi frowned and said, "We'll discuss this later."

As he said this, he helped Zhao Hong walk out of the hall.

Zhang Yi stood still and watched the two of them walk out. He first said, "I am terrified," and then said to Zhao Hong, "Your Majesty, please..."

However, before he finished speaking, Zhao Hong finally caught his breath and struggled to stand up as he approached the palace gate. Just as he was about to look up, he saw the censors all over the place. Although no one spoke and most of them did not look up, only a few at the back were whispering to each other. But the sea of ​​heads made him angry again. He turned around and shouted to Zhang Yi, "Mr. Zhang, if I refuse to leave the city, what are you going to do?!"

He was short of breath, and he had to use all his strength to roar out from his throat. However, to others, it sounded just full of anger, and had no intimidation at all.

Zhang Yi stood with a frown on his face, cupped his hands and said, "I am terrified..."

But there wasn't a trace of fear or trepidation in his words.

As for the several censors kneeling on the ground outside the hall, those who were close could half hear and half guess what was going on here, but those who were far away could not tell how they could tell. Perhaps out of anxiety, many of them carefully raised their heads to the side, or used their peripheral vision, or found an angle to cover themselves, and watched secretly.

Zhao Hong was originally leaning sideways, with Zhang Yi pressing him step by step on his left, always saying "I am terrified" in the face of any change. On his right were the censors, who were supposed to be the emperor's mouthpiece but were now being manipulated by the two ministers like dogs and horses. He really felt that the world was so big and the emperor was so supreme that he had no dignity at all.

His hand was on Zhao Mingzhi's arm, with half of his body leaning in her arms. He felt that his sister's arm was so thin that it would break if it was bent through two layers of cloth. After being busy for several months, her body became even thinner. Standing next to him, she seemed to be resisting the left and right, and it was as if all the people in the court were forcing her, and she would not give up until she molded them into clay figures in the shapes she wanted.

Zhao Hong's heart seemed to be burning with raging fire. All his previous anger could not find an outlet, but now he was filled with too much hatred, as if he was back in Caizhou. He wanted to return to the capital, but no one agreed. He was clearly the emperor, and everything he did was for the world and the people, but everyone opposed him. It was really like crying out to heaven and earth for no one's help.

"I will not leave the city. If Zhang Xianggong and the other officials want to force me, it would be better to change someone else to be the emperor!"

Zhao Hong stared, first looking at Zhang Yi on his left, then looking coldly at the censor on the ground on his right.

With his usual temperament, he should have shed tears when he was wronged, but at this moment, his tears seemed to have been burned dry by the fire in his heart, not even a single drop remained. There was only hatred and heat in his eyes. He took a long breath, and after gathering some strength, he shouted again: "Who has the final say in this court?"

Zhang Yi stood there with his hands in his sleeves, not at all disturbed by the words of the little emperor opposite him.

Especially after hearing Zhao Hong's last sentence, he was so experienced that he immediately sensed the cowardice in it.

When he was in Caizhou, he was frightened by the emperor's words "Who is the emperor?" and no one dared to act rashly. This gave him an opportunity to be deceived by Pei Yong and finally return to the capital.

  If he becomes accustomed to this and uses it whenever he encounters something, indulging himself all the time, how can he govern the country in the future? Where will he put the two governments?

The child doesn't know how to act or retreat, so he should be disciplined.

He straightened his back, bowed his head and said, "Why do you say that, Your Majesty?"

When Zhao Hong heard Zhang Yi's words and saw that he didn't care at all, he became even more angry than when he was scolded by the other person. He couldn't help but shout, "Mr. Zhang, whose words count? Are you the emperor or am I?!"

He was so angry that he couldn't think straight when speaking.

Zhao Mingzhi's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He hurriedly pulled his brother hard and whispered, "Your Majesty!"

Zhang Yi's face finally changed, and he said, "Your Majesty, do you think that what I did today was to usurp the throne and seize power?!"

As he spoke, he reached out and took off his fu hat, turned around and looked around the hall. When he saw one of the big pillars, he threw the fu hat to the ground and shouted, "The heart of this humble minister is known to all, and the sun and the sky are clear as day!"

While shouting, he turned sideways and was about to rush forward.

The two places were still far apart, and his movements were not very fast. He was surrounded by eunuchs on both sides, and there were censors and ministers not far away, not to mention the few steps away. Zhao Mingzhi opened his eyes and watched, so how could he let him really hit the pillar? He first shouted to Wang Shu, who was closest, let go of Zhao Hong, strode forward, and reached out to grab him.

Countless gasps were heard inside and outside the hall.

Zhao Hong just stood there in a daze, as if he was frightened silly.

At this moment, in the chaos, a man in the distance ran towards this place. When he got closer, he saw the situation and could not move forward or backward. He hesitated for a few breaths and finally stepped forward and shouted: "Your Majesty! The front line... the front line has a great victory! Pei Yong, the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, has a report!!"