King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 650 The Old Man Always Thinks of You

Inside the Xuanzheng Hall, a court meeting was underway.

The cabinet ministers, the six ministries and nine officials, the five military governors' offices, the six departments' secretaries, as well as the crown prince and Prince Rui were all standing in the hall at this time.

The ministers present held two different opinions, which were debated with each other at this time, and the arguments were heard one after another.

The first round of negotiations with the Spanish has ended, and the other side has put forward three demands for peace.

The first was to demand that the Ming Dynasty recognize its occupation of Luzon, the second was to demand that the Ming Dynasty give it several small islands on the southeast coast, and the third was to demand that the Ming Dynasty close its coastal shipyards.

In response, the Spaniards were willing to pay a tribute of one million taels of silver every year and to help the Ming Dynasty eliminate pirates with all their strength.

Luzon is thousands of miles away in the ocean and has now been occupied by the Spaniards. It would be difficult and unprofitable for the Ming Dynasty to send troops on a long expedition to drive out these hungry wolves.

Therefore, the first point proposed by the Spaniards received support from more than half of the six ministries and nine ministers.

Even those who do not support it do so only out of respect for the Celestial Empire, not because they really think Luzon must be saved.

As for the second point of debate, it was much more intense. Some people felt that giving up a few deserted islands was not a big deal, while others believed that it was a loss of sovereignty and humiliation to the country.

As for asking the Ming Dynasty to give up shipbuilding, people were not only willing to subsidize silver, but also willing to help fight pirates. This did not cause any controversy.

Everyone was talking heatedly, except for a few people from the Five Military Commandery, who remained silent as usual. This was also the custom in court meetings.

Their silence does not mean they have no attitude. They believe that they cannot agree to any of the three points proposed by the Spaniards.

Sitting on the throne, Zhu Xianming remained silent and just watched the ministers arguing below.

Of course, he did not agree with the civil servants' views, but he also knew that these people looked at the problem from different perspectives, so they would come to different conclusions.

From a short-term perspective, abandoning Luzon and stopping shipbuilding, coupled with the Spanish sending silver and stabilizing the sea, can greatly reduce the burden on the Ming Dynasty while gaining huge benefits.

Zhu Xianming is not a short-sighted person. Especially after being repeatedly "brainwashed" by Zhu Jinghong, he is no longer considering things ten or twenty years later, but looking ahead to fifty or even a hundred years later.

Now the Western barbarians want to take over Luzon with just a little benefit, and even want to push their warships to the coast of the Ming Dynasty, and let the court abandon its shipyard and weaken its military strength. Zhu Xianming certainly cannot agree to this.

This court discussion lasted for nearly an hour, and no conclusion was reached in the end, but there was a trend of agreeing to "peace talks".

After the court discussion, only the Prime Minister Zhao Yushan was left behind, while the rest left the Xuanzheng Hall.

"Zhao Qing, you didn't say a word just now, don't you have any opinion on this matter?"

Zhao Yushan replied calmly: "Your Majesty, although the court is in trouble right now, it is not the end of its rope yet!"

"Yeah!" Zhu Xianming motioned for him to continue.

"The Western Barbarians have evil ambitions. They want to encroach on the territory of the Ming Dynasty and dominate the four seas. Our dynasty will never let them succeed!"

Zhao Yushan had a long-term vision and saw through the Spaniards' evil intentions, so he expressed his views very directly.

Zhu Xianming sighed, "Yes... It's a pity that all the court officials knew nothing about this!"

It is normal that the court officials did not realize the seriousness of the threat from the sea.

In their view, the worst-case scenario would be the emergence of another Japanese pirate, which would not be a big problem.

Zhao Yushan replied: "They are blinded by one leaf. If Your Majesty guides them well, they will surely wake up!"

Zhu Xianming smiled slightly, and then said: "Mr. Zhao... You are the Prime Minister. I have handed the court over to you. You must pay more attention to this matter!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yushan answered frankly.

Next, the two discussed the land survey, and the conversation ended half an hour later.

Zhao Yushan was burdened with the task and was thinking about how to persuade the minister to leave, while the emperor returned to the Qianqing Palace.

Here, Prince Rui Zhu Jingyuan was already waiting.

After entering the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xianming sat down on a chair, and Zhu Jingyuan had already brought him tea.

After taking the teacup, Zhu Xianming said, "Sixth Brother, you have done a good job recently. I am finally at peace with myself!"

Zhu Jingyuan was immediately delighted by his father's praise, so he replied: "Dad... How dare I not do my best to fulfill your orders!"

"If everyone is like you, I will feel at ease!"

After the two of them talked a lot of nonsense, Zhu Xianming finally asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Dad, regarding the affairs of the Western Barbarians, I have something to say to you alone!"

Zhu Xianming's eyes lit up at this, so he said, "Just say it if you have something to say!"

"My son thinks that Xiyi has evil ambitions, and we must not be fooled by him!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Jingyuan elaborated on his own views, which hit the key point.

In fact, the so-called "key point" was not only seen by Zhu Jingyuan, but also by the bigwigs of the six ministries and nine officials. Only the young officials of the six departments knew nothing.

The reason why the six ministries and nine ministers turned a blind eye to the "problem" was because they had different interests to consider.

Therefore, the emperor asked Zhao Yushan to "persuade" these people to correct their thoughts.

A few minutes later, Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking and said, "Dad, I think we must not agree to Xiyi's request!"

Zhu Xianming was indeed surprised that Lao Liu could say these words, and it also made him have higher expectations for this kid.

In order to test the boy's limit, Zhu Xianming continued to ask: "The court is in a turbulent time. The war in the northwest has cost a lot of money, the Korean rebellion has just been quelled, and there are many grievances in various places due to land reclamation..."

After discussing the practical issues, Zhu Xianming asked: "If we become enemies with the Western Barbarians and they lead their army to attack us, what should we do?"

"You should know that the Western barbarians have strong ships and powerful guns. They are not as easy to deal with as the Japanese pirates!"

It's no wonder that Zhu Jingyuan had worked in Nanjing for a year and was well aware of how powerful the Western Barbarians were, at least in terms of their navy.

"My son thinks... our army won because of the favorable weather, favorable terrain, and favorable people. Although the Western barbarians have strong ships and powerful artillery, they..."

Zhu Jingyuan talked incessantly, and his words seemed to be very convincing, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that they are empty talk.

In the end, Zhu Xianming praised Lao Liu a few words and then let him leave.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Xianming came up with another idea, which was to use this matter to test Zhu Jinghong.

But he just thought about it and finally shook his head because there was no need at all.

Judging from this guy's radicalism, he will probably have to send it over to teach the emperor a lesson. Then Zhu will be accused of not having a broad vision. This is purely making things difficult for himself!

Should I ask the prince...

The second thought that came to Zhu Xianming's mind also quickly disappeared because there was no need to ask.

Even the sixth prince is only at this level, what good things can the prince say when he comes? Zhu Xianming has no hope at all.

The major policies of the imperial court have little to do with ordinary people, they just provide topics of conversation for the people.

In Prince Xiang's mansion, Zhu Jinghong, who was under house arrest, was not affected by this.

Wang Pei'an went to the northwest. He has now relaxed again, but he still insists on reading every day and then seeking pleasure.

It was now the turn of spring, and the flowers in the back garden of the palace were in full bloom. When this incident came out, a banquet was being held in the garden.

Several female musicians were playing music, Li Huizhen was wearing a feathered dress and dancing in the center of the banquet, while Zhu Jinghong was unrestrained and danced with the girl holding a flower.

It was said to be dancing together, but in fact he was just following Li Huizhen and taking advantage of her.

At the scene, concubine Yang Jingting, selected ladies Zhen Qin, Keqing, Yinglian, and Qi Qi Genomin were all present, and of course Baoqin.

As for Baochai, she went to the palace today as usual to pay respects to the Queen on behalf of Zhu Jinghong.

Back at the scene, Baoqin was sitting next to Yinglian. She lowered her voice and said, "My brother-in-law is so disregarding his status that he chased after a dancer. Isn't he afraid that the emperor would be furious if he found out?"

To be honest, as an outsider, Baoqin was worried about Zhu Jinghong at this moment.

Yinglian smiled and then replied: "Your Majesty always does what he wants, and Your Majesty is kind and broad-minded... I don't think he will care!"

This is of course a matter of experience. Having been brought to the capital by Zhu Jinghong over the past few years, Yinglian knows all too well what this man has done.

Compared to the big things in the past, the current situation is nothing. "Sister, why do you need to worry about these things? Come on... let's have another drink together!"

The person who spoke was Zhen Qin, who was a person who changed with the situation. Thinking that Baoqin was Baochai's sister, she wanted to make friends with her.

"I can't hold my liquor, please forgive me, sister!" Baoqin looked troubled.

Just as Zhen Qin was about to persuade her again, Yang Jingting said, "Qin girl, drink less too. Don't be helped back like last time!"

Yang Jingting is a concubine and has the highest status among all the women, so of course her words carry a lot of weight.

Zhen Qin stopped her anger, and Bao Qin breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone was looking at the center of the venue. At this time, Zhu Jinghong had caught Li Huizhen, and then took a flower and inserted it into her hair.

Li Huizhen's face was shy and her eyes were extremely seductive. She was indeed a very beautiful woman.

At this moment, not to mention the other women in the backstage, even Yang Jingting and others sitting at the table looked at Li Huizhen with some envy.

At this moment, Deng An walked in from outside. Seeing that Zhu Jinghong had something to do, he waited aside.

"Good... looks good!" Zhu Jinghong praised.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the flowers!" Li Huizhen bowed.

Zhu Jinghong replied: "Giving flowers to beautiful women is the gift of flowers!"

At this time, he also turned around and saw Deng An, so after helping Li Huizhen up, he turned around and walked back to his seat.

Li Huizhen left the stage according to the rules, and the next show started immediately.

After sitting down, Zhu Jinghong took the teacup handed to him by Yu Hai, while Deng An tactfully came over.

After Zhu Jinghong had his tea, Deng Anfang reported: "Your Majesty, I went to ask, but there is no result for the time being."

"It's just that they...found something suspicious!"

"tell me the story!"

Zhu Jinghong's position was set up independently, and there were only a few eunuchs close to him, who were also driven away by Yu Hai.

"That mansion seems to be looking for something. Eunuchs go out every day and come into contact with street gangsters!"

"Are you looking for someone?" Zhu Jinghong asked back.

Zhu Jingting's son was missing, which made Zhu Jinghong think of this place.

Zhu Jingting's son must know the inside story. His disappearance made Zhu Jinghong think that he was dead. Now if Zhu Jingrun is also looking for him, it is very likely that this guy is alive but just hiding.

"I think so too. Maybe he is looking for Zhu Jingting's son!" Deng An analyzed tentatively.

The capital city is so big, it is really not easy to find someone who hides himself, not to mention that he may have escaped from the capital.

Of course, even if the person cannot be found, if it can be confirmed that Zhu Jingrun is looking for Zhu Jingting’s son, then it will be confirmed that he is the mastermind behind the scenes.

Seeing Park Jin-young already on the field, Zhu Jinghong looked at the field and clapped his hands, saying, "Think of a way to arrest the eunuch who is in charge of this matter in the Guangyang Palace and find out what's going on!"

Understanding Zhu Jinghong's intention, Deng An replied: "I will arrange it when I get down, and it will be done cleanly!"

"Ok!"

Logically, Deng An should leave, but he doesn't seem to want to leave.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing that I don't know whether I should tell you or not!"

"If you fart, let it go!"

"I heard that Rongguo Mansion is already arranging the marriage of his second daughter!"

Hearing this, the smile on Zhu Jinghong's face disappeared, and he turned around and stared at Deng An.

Thinking that he had said something wrong, Deng An knelt down on the ground decisively, his face full of panic.

Just as he was about to confess, Zhu Jinghong asked, "Has the marriage been decided?"

"This... is just the preparation, and we haven't decided yet!"

Looking up, Deng An continued, "And as far as I know, most of the noble families that Jia's family is interested in marrying are indifferent to the matter of marriage!"

Although the Rongguo Mansion is related to the prince, the prince's position is very unstable, and it is really difficult for people to think about forming a marriage.

The title that your ancestors fought for at great risk of their lives may be lost and you may end up in prison if you take a wrong step in an important matter.

After the Donghuamen Incident more than ten years ago, dozens of meritorious officials disappeared. Even top nobles like the Ning and Rong families, even if they just chose to wait and see, were also brought down to the dust and became what they are now.

The noble families favored by the Jia family thought they were not as powerful as the Jia family during its heyday, so who would be willing to take such a big risk?

Of course, all this is due to the fact that the prince is too weak, so it is naturally difficult for him to win the confidence of the military heroes.

Even his uncle Zhu Xiankun had the support of a group of nobles and was much stronger than Zhu Jingyuan.

Looking at Deng An, who looked respectful, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "You are thoughtful. You pay attention to these trivial matters!"

Deng An heaved a sigh of relief and quickly said with a smile: "I just can't sit still. In order to do my job well, I dare not neglect any matter, big or small, and I pay attention to everything!"

"Well... nothing to do, just go and get busy!"

"Yes!" Deng An replied.

After Deng An left, Yang Jingting came over again with a glass of wine in her hand.

She is in the palace, currently in charge of dance and music, so how could she not show her ability on an occasion like today?

And because she was a concubine, the status of everyone present was lower than hers, so no one came to compete with her at this time.

In the end, Yang Jingting simply asked someone to bring a small stool, sat next to Zhu Jinghong with her arm around his, and introduced him to the details of the singing and dancing.

She really cares about these things, and knowing the details and twists and turns makes the dance and music more three-dimensional and adds a lot of fun.

Soon, another two days passed. In the early morning, Zhu Jinghong was practicing calligraphy, while Baochai was sitting by the window reading a book.

Since the confinement, he has spent less time wielding swords and sticks and more time in the study. This is his deliberate attempt to change his image.

"Your Majesty, someone is coming from the palace!"

Yu Hai came in to report, asking Zhu Jinghong to stop writing, and Baochai also put down the book.

"Where is the person?" Zhu Jinghong asked.

Yu Hai replied: "In the main hall, it's Eunuch Zhang from the Palace of Heavenly Purity!"

"Okay...I'll go see him!"

After a few breaths, Zhu Jinghong came to the main hall and met a young eunuch.

"Your Highness, the Lord has given you an order!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong was about to bow, but Eunuch Zhang stepped forward and helped him up.

"The Lord has said that Your Highness should just stand and listen!"

Standing and listening is a courtesy to Zhu Jinghong, but this situation is actually not common.

Zhu Jinghong was not polite and asked Eunuch Zhang what was going on.

"On April 5, the imperial court will hold a second negotiation with the Western Barbarians. His Majesty asked you to be there!"

"I accept the decree!"

After the decree was delivered, the eunuch left, and Zhu Jinghong returned to the study next door.

As soon as he entered the room, Baochai came up to him and said, "Every time it comes to a critical moment, the old man always thinks of you. Congratulations!"

(End of this chapter)