The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

A major case ended almost silently.

It's the end of October.

After Zhang Zhou returned to the capital, he never appeared in the court, and the ministers almost forgot about this person.

Zhu Youtang only held a court meeting every few days. He seemed to be too lazy to handle state affairs and would rather leave everything to others while he continued to dream of becoming the greatest emperor of all time.

At this time, Zhu Youtang was only thinking about how to pacify the grassland, but his physical condition was no better than before.

It’s not that he didn’t want to go to court. Sometimes it was because he was sick, especially in the autumn and winter seasons. He would be sick for a period of time. Sometimes he would drag his sick body to court, and then he would have to rest for a few days or even more than half a month.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Youtang seemed to have begun to make some plans for a "successor".

That day he summoned Zhang Zhou to the palace and talked to Zhang Zhou about the idea of ​​letting Zhu Houzhao govern the country in Wenhua Palace.

"I know that the prince is still young and doesn't understand many things. He is also very willful. He hasn't even learned what is in the books. It's like learning to run before learning to walk. It's a little difficult. Ahem."

Zhu Youtang coughed twice and said, "But I always feel that he is still talented. With your guidance, Bingkuan, maybe he can become a qualified crown prince sooner rather than later."

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty has good intentions. Although the prince is still young, he is very smart and can understand many things at a glance."

Zhu Youtang waved his hand and said, "It depends on what the matter is. If it involves fighting and killing, he likes it very much. But when it comes to governing the country, how to allocate money and grain, or even maintaining the stability of the government, he lacks interest. I don't know how he formed this character."

Zhang Zhou thought, isn’t this the same as you?
You and your son have many similarities. Perhaps the only difference is the environment in which you grew up.

"In a few days, before the New Year," Zhu Youtang said, "Let him hold court in Wenhua Hall for a few times. I will go there in person. You stay with him and don't let him show up for the time being. If anything happens, you can give him instructions from behind."

In other words.

Several special court meetings would be arranged before the New Year, with the emperor and ministers speaking in front of the Wenhua Hall, while Zhang Zhou would accompany Zhu Houzhao to eavesdrop in the back.

Probably the reason why Zhang Zhou was allowed not to attend court was because of this consideration, so that one day Zhang Zhou could serve as a regent and teach the prince.

By then, no one would know that there was a Zhang Zhou hiding behind the scenes, and if Zhu Houzhao had any questions, he could ask at the first time and get the best explanation.

……

……

Zhu Youtang had lunch with Zhang Zhou, and then Zhu Youtang sent someone to Wenhua Hall to pass on a message, asking the lecturer of the Eastern Palace to leave first in the afternoon.

meaning is.

Let Zhang Zhou give Zhu Youtang a lesson.

Before leaving, Zhu Youtang specifically told Zhang Zhou that Zhu Xiurong was also in Wenhua Hall, meaning that this time you not only have to teach my son, but also my daughter.

As for what to teach, it’s up to you. Anyway, I am responsible for giving birth to them, and you are responsible for teaching them.

Zhang Zhou walked towards Wenhua Hall accompanied by Yang Peng, and Yang Peng took the opportunity to mention to Zhang Zhou the results of the previous court corruption case. There was a person...even Yang Peng himself couldn't deal with him, that was Li Dongyang's younger brother Li Dongming.

"We found out that he received 1,600 taels. If we add in some undisclosed benefits, such as calligraphy and paintings, the market value would probably be more than 2,000 taels. All together, it's about 4,000 taels."

Yang Peng said, "According to the other officials' convictions, he should at least be a... border garrison. And since he has been amassing wealth without regard for the law, he could be... sentenced to death."

What Yang Peng meant was, it’s up to you.

Zhang Zhou asked, "Where is the person?"

"He was interrogated several times. Once... he was tortured. The longest time he was kept in custody was six or seven days. He is still recuperating at home. Occasionally, we would send people to ask him about the case. At first, he seemed to rely on the support of Lord Li and refused to cooperate, but now... he basically answers whatever I ask..."

Yang Peng said this with a smile on his face.

What I mean is, look how well I have subdued those literati?

Zhang Zhou asked, "Did anyone contact the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guards because of him?"

"No." Yang Peng said, "Even Lord Li didn't say anything, and the censors were even more silent. This case was too big, and it was your Majesty who sent people to investigate. In the end, the case was handed over to the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple, and the outcome of the case is clear at a glance. If someone comes forward to plead for them, they will be asking for trouble."

Zhang Zhou said: "But I heard that some people came out to say that the case should not be expanded. It seems that they want to settle the matter peacefully."

Yang Peng smiled and said, "The case has now been investigated to the level of the vice minister. Li Shishi, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, has been imprisoned. In addition... the right vice minister of the Ministry of War... has not been taken yet. He is also waiting for your inquiry."

Zhang Zhou asked, "There is no movement from the Ministry of Revenue?"

"No." Yang Peng said, "According to your majesty's intention, we can only investigate up to the level of the vice minister or the temple minister, and we can't touch the minister yet."

What I meant was, we also want to take down Qi Zhong and bring him to justice, but we just can't do it yet.

After all, the Ministry of Revenue currently has two assistant ministers, the left assistant minister Lu Wan and the right assistant minister Tang Yin, both of whom are your people. When investigating this case, your people will not be touched for the time being.

Zhang Zhou said: "Is the Ministry of Revenue really okay?"

"This..." Yang Peng said with difficulty, "Sir, there are some things you already know, why do you still ask? This matter, even if you report it to His Majesty, it will be difficult to investigate. Let's just... put it aside for now."

This time, Yang Peng, who was known for his iron-bloodedness and ruthlessness, also encountered trouble in investigating the Ministry of Households.

Obviously, there are some people that Yang Peng thinks should not be touched.

Zhang Zhou knew very well that the person he was talking about was Lu Wan.

As a member of his camp, Wang Qiong, at least until now, has been very cautious and has not revealed any clues that could allow others to catch him.

But Lu Wan is different...

Lu Wan actively accumulated his reputation and connections in the court, and soon established his own set of cliques. Although it was not yet a powerful faction, there were many unscrupulous people among them.

Zhang Zhou also understood clearly that Lu Wan and Wang Qiong were both eventually not tolerated by the traditional civil officials in history. It was not that they were bad human beings, but that they did have some bad deeds... just like Wang Yue.

It is true that Wang Yue is very capable, but if you say that Wang Yue is a perfect gentleman, that would be too biased.

To put it bluntly, Wang Qiong and Lu Wan are both well versed in the traditional ways of civil servants, which is to form cliques and factions.

It's just that Lu Wan seems to be stronger in this regard, and Wang Qiong may also be very low-key after returning to the court because he had served in the three borders for a period of time... It is also related to the fact that when Lu Wan served in the Shangtingchu, the power of the Shangtingchu reached its peak and could compete with the cabinet, and he even personally led the incident of bringing down Xie Qian.

Lu Wan is the person Yang Peng doesn’t want to mention at the moment.

……

...Inside the Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Xiurong had already known that Zhang Zhou was coming.

The brother and sister had prepared the desk and bench in advance. After sitting down, they waited for Zhang Zhou to start class.

"Imperial sister, I will make a bet with you. I will let the teacher test us on a military question. Didn't you say that you are also good at it? Let's compare. If you lose, you will leave Wenhua Palace and find a female teacher to teach you. What do you think?"

Zhu Houzhao was being petty in front of his sister.

Zhu Xiurong asked curiously, "My coming to study has affected you, my brother? Why are you chasing me away?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "As a girl, why do you need to learn so many Four Books and Five Classics? Besides, can you understand what the teacher teaches? Don't think I don't know. The teacher is talking, and you are hiding behind the screen folding paper cranes. How interesting is that?"

"Interesting." Zhu Xiurong said, "I like origami cranes, is that okay? Besides, I haven't missed my class yet."

"You haven't learned anything yet, how can you understand? If you can't keep up, you might as well go back and find a teacher to teach you. Why do you have to compete with me here?"

Zhu Houzhao seemed very unhappy.

Obviously, I am the protagonist in Wenhua Hall, and these gentlemen are speaking for me alone. But now there is a follower next to me who is eavesdropping and may even tell my parents what is happening here.

Although you can say that you can't speak, if your parents ask you, you will definitely answer truthfully.

Do I need more supervisors in my classes who I can’t even control?
Zhu Xiurong said: "No, I am studying my own thing, you have no right to interfere."

Zhu Houzhao said with a smug look on his face: "So you don't dare to compete? I said, you have learned everything carelessly, and you are still pretending here. In fact, you don't have the courage."

Zhu Xiurong asked: "Is this a provocation?"

"What? If you don't dare to compete, then don't compete. Why are you trying to provoke me? Or are you a general? If I really want to drive you away, I can just tell my father and say that you disturbed my studies. In fact, I am just giving you a chance. Haven't you always wanted to prove yourself? Little girl, you don't have a chance to beat me normally." Zhu Houzhao looked smug.

Zhu Xiurong thought about it and nodded, "Okay then. I can compete with you, but let me make it clear first, if you lose, I can choose any of your things."

Zhu Houzhao asked, "Didn't you steal all my things?"

"That's not stealing!" Zhu Xiurong wanted to argue, then said, "Let's make a deal. I'm going to take all your military maps away. Don't blame me."

"What do you want those maps for?" Zhu Houzhao became a little anxious when he heard it.

Zhu Xiurong said with a leisurely look: "Since you don't let me attend the class, of course you have to take away the things you care about. This is fair. Besides, you said you want to compete in military affairs later. If you lose, what's the use of looking at the map? It's better to let me take it back and study it carefully. Brother Huang, you won't dare to do it, right?"

"you you……"

Zhu Houzhao was so angry that his old face turned red.

Gao Feng next to him hurriedly wanted to remind him, Prince, we must not fall into the trap.

It was you who said before that you can't be swayed by provocation. Now your sister is fighting back against you. It will be meaningless if you fall for it.

Zhu Houzhao said, "Let's compete! I don't believe that a little girl like you can beat me."

Zhu Xiurong smiled and said, "Of course, you can't decide the outcome. Let Mr. Zhang decide the outcome. We have to answer our own questions. Mr. Zhang can't know who wrote it. It would be best if someone else copied it so that no one would know."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised.

I thought to myself, what is this little girl thinking about?
Zhu Xiurong said, "I heard that you have to copy the papers to take the imperial examination. Today, I am comparing my knowledge with you, my brother, so of course I have to be fair. My brother, I am thinking about you. You don't want to be accused of winning unfairly, right? Besides, when we are comparing our real talents and knowledge, will it be harmful to you to use more fair means?"

Zhu Houzhao curled his lips and said, "You sound so great. Let's compete. If you lose, don't cry and scream! Then go back to your inner palace. I'm annoyed when I see you."

"Aloulou..." Zhu Xiurong made a face at Zhu Houzhao.

……

……

There is a lot of tension between the brother and sister.

After waiting for a long time, Zhu Houzhao even asked people to go out and check several times. He almost wanted to ask someone to urge him to come. It was not until the sun was setting that he saw Zhang Zhou walking very slowly into the Wenhua Hall.

"Sir, why are you here just now? We have been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhu Xiurong spoke first.

Zhang Zhou then looked at the two younger ones.

Zhu Houzhao...still looks like he's dying.

Zhu Xiurong, with her ponytail, looks like a little adult, and in her every frown and smile, she looks a bit like Zhu Houzhao.

This made Zhang Zhou think, everyone said that these two children were not born by Empress Zhang, but it seemed that they were hers, or maybe... they had the same mother, but the only difference was who the mother was... These were palace secrets, and even I hadn't figured them out yet.

"Both of you."

Zhang Zhou said this and walked to the teaching plan and sat down.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly jumped up and said, "Hello, teacher."

Zhu Xiurong shuddered, looked at his brother who looked like a psychopath, and said, "Brother Huang, what are you doing? You scared me to death."

Zhu Houzhao said: "You don't understand this, right? This is called respecting teachers and honoring virtues."

Zhu Xiurong frowned and said, "I didn't see you being so respectful to your teachers when I was talking to those lecturers this morning."

"Humph." Zhu Houzhao turned his head and said, "You don't understand this, do you? Those gentlemen don't care about these things, but Mr. Zhang in front of you is the most particular about formalism. Yes, that's what he said. It seems that you are not his student. You'd better admit defeat, little sister. Eat for a few more years before coming back."

"Hmph! Hello, teacher!" Zhu Xiurong was unwilling to admit defeat and also stood up and saluted Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "Sir, this is the case. My sister and I have already discussed that we will have a fair competition today. We will not only decide who wins but also who loses, and there will be stakes. What we want to compete is our views on military marches, which is what you usually teach us... Please be our examiner and referee."

Zhu Xiurong asked: "What is a referee?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "As the name implies, a referee is a person who makes decisions and judges. Who is higher and who is lower is determined by the referee. Of course, for the sake of fairness, we decided to answer the questions in the form of a written test, and after the test is completed, someone needs to transcribe the test paper and then give it to you for review." (End of this chapter)