Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Just when all the civil and military officials were preparing to leave.

Eunuch Wang Zhong walked in, saluted Zhu Biao on the throne, and then said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has ordered that Your Majesty, the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, Prince Consort Ouyang, Grand Secretary Li Shanchang, Grand Secretary Song Lian, and Grand Secretary Lu Chang go to the Taiyue Palace."

Hearing this, Zhu Biao naturally did not dare to be negligent and nodded, "Since it is the order of the emperor, I will naturally obey it. Please report to the emperor, I will take a few ministers to the Taiyue Palace now."

"Yes, the old slave retire!"

Eunuch Wang bowed again, then stepped back and left.

"Other officials please withdraw first. Prince Consort Ouyang, Lord Li, Lord Song, Lord Lu, follow me to the Taiyue Palace now."

Zhu Biao slowly spoke.

"I will obey the imperial edict!"

Li Shanchang, Song Lian and Lu Chang were all very happy to be summoned by the retired emperor. You know, since Zhu Yuanzhang moved into Taile Palace, they, the old ministers, have rarely seen Zhu Yuanzhang. Even if they were the three important officials of the court, they had to get Zhu Yuanzhang's consent if they wanted to see him. Li Shanchang had even applied to go to Taile Palace to see Zhu Yuanzhang several times, but was rejected every time.

Even though Zhu Yuanzhang abdicated, everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew that as long as Zhu Yuanzhang wanted, he could control the government at any time. Zhu Yuanzhang was the man standing at the pinnacle of the Ming Dynasty.

Being able to figure out Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude is very important for the court's next move.

Different from Li Shanchang, Song Lian and Lu Chang who were happy and excited, when Ouyang Lun was told that he would follow Zhu Biao to meet Zhu Yuanzhang, he obviously refused. He had just had a showdown with Zhu Yuanzhang, and it was somewhat awkward to meet him again at this time.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang called these people over at this time, obviously he had no good intentions.

But the retired emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had personally sent someone to call him. If he didn't go, given Zhu Yuanzhang's petty mind, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause. Besides, he and Zhu Yuanzhang were neighbors now, and it would be bad for his future life if the relationship between them became strained.

Seeing that Ouyang Lun did not follow Li Shanchang, Song Lian, and Lu Chang to accept the invitation at the same time, Zhu Biao was worried that Ouyang Lun would escape, so he asked directly: "Brother-in-law Ouyang, this is an invitation from my father, are you free?"

I'm busy!
Ouyang Lun really wanted to reply to this, but obviously couldn't.

"If Prince Consort Ouyang really cannot go, I will be willing to explain to you in front of the Emperor."

Li Shanchang said proudly.

Ouyang Lun rolled his eyes at Li Shanchang and said, "Lord Li is really a kind-hearted person. He is willing to explain to me the emperor. But His Majesty hasn't agreed whether I need to go or not. What are you talking about here?"

"Could it be possible that you, Li Shanchang, are superior to His Majesty the Emperor?"

Hearing this, Li Shanchang's face became visibly flustered. "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not what I meant. I am extremely loyal to Your Majesty and the Ming Dynasty. It is impossible for me to have any other thoughts."

"Master Li, why are you in such a hurry to explain? I was just talking nonsense just now, but judging from your reaction, I'm afraid you really meant it."

"Ouyang Lun! Don't tell your Majesty about my slanderous words." Li Shanchang was furious. "You clearly don't want to go. I'm trying to help you, but you're blaming me. You really don't know how to be kind! Humph!"

"Thank you. You, an old man, can have good intentions?" Ouyang Lun did not indulge Li Shanchang at all. "You clearly wanted to take advantage of my absence to slander me in front of His Majesty the Emperor and the Grand Emperor. And you had to speak so highly of yourself?"

"If you really have such a kind heart, did those political enemies who have been against you all these years die in vain?"

"You are all thousand-year-old foxes, so stop pretending to be a good person!"

"You you." Li Shanchang was so angry that he almost vomited blood when he heard Ouyang Lun's reply.

"What do you mean by you? What do you mean by me? I didn't want to answer you in the first place, but you insisted on coming in to cause trouble. You said you couldn't beat me, so why bother to get angry?!" Ouyang Lun continued to speak, "Besides, have we ever said we couldn't get along?"

"I was just stunned for a moment. In your eyes, I just didn't want to go? You made the decision for me without my opinion? What level are you? Can you be my boss?"

"Forehead"

Listening to Ouyang Lun's retort, Li Shanchang suddenly felt dizzy.

"Alright, we are going to see the Emperor soon. If you keep arguing like this and it delays the meeting with the Emperor, he will be unhappy and you won't have a good life!"

Zhu Biao couldn't bear it any longer and tried to speak up to dissuade them.

After saying that, Zhu Biao walked out of the Taiji Hall, got on his own imperial carriage and left, leaving Ouyang Lun, Li Shanchang and four others dumbfounded in the Taiji Hall.

"You two stop arguing. His Majesty has left, so let's leave as well."

"That's right, what's the point of arguing? If you really make the Grand Emperor angry, you'll end up with nothing!"

Song Lian and Lu Chang also hurriedly followed him out.

"Hmph, I won't argue with you! See you at the Emperor's place!" Li Shanchang was severely criticized by Ouyang Lun. He also knew that Ouyang Lun was very eloquent, and was afraid that if he continued to argue with Ouyang Lun, he would be angry and pass out, so he simply chose to leave.

"cut--"

Ouyang Lun rolled his eyes. "If you can't argue, then just argue. Why are you making up so many excuses?"

"Do you think you can win me in front of the Emperor when we get to the Palace of Imperial Music?"

"Today we want to see if you, Li Shanchang, have the ability to do this."

After muttering, Ouyang Lun also put his hands behind his back and followed slowly.

When Ouyang Lun arrived at Taile Palace, Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Shanchang, Song Lian, Lu Chang and others all started discussing.

Seeing Ouyang Lun, Zhu Biao immediately greeted him, "Brother-in-law, come quickly!"

"I pay my respects to the Emperor, Your Majesty."

Ouyang Lun saluted.

"no."

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at Ouyang Lun and had a bad look on his face. The reason was very simple. He called everyone over to discuss the matter. Zhu Biao, the emperor, came over immediately. Li Shanchang, Lu Chang and Song Lian also came quickly, panting, and it was obvious that they had jogged all the way.

On the other hand, Ouyang Lun looked relaxed and at ease, and it was obvious that he was walking slowly.

They had been discussing for a while when Ouyang Lun finally arrived. How could Zhu Yuanzhang possibly give Ouyang Lun a good face?

Ouyang Lun remained very calm when Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at him.

Zhu Yuanzhang had rolled his eyes at him so many times over the years that Ouyang Lun had gotten used to it. He did not refute, but planned to stand aside quietly and be a mere tool. However, Ouyang Lun did not want to cause trouble, but someone did not want to miss this opportunity.

As an old minister, Li Shanchang naturally saw at a glance that Zhu Yuanzhang was very dissatisfied with Ouyang Lun's late arrival.

Thinking of how Ouyang Lun had just attacked him crazily in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Li Shanchang would naturally not miss such a good opportunity.

"Prince Consort Ouyang is so leisurely! The Emperor summoned us for national affairs and for the people of the world, but Prince Consort Ouyang just does what he wants and strolls around leisurely. It's obvious that he doesn't care about the country and the people of Ming Dynasty, let alone His Majesty and the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, Prince Consort Ouyang is the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and should set a good example for all civil and military officials. However, his behavior today is really despicable. I suggest that he must be dealt with seriously! Only in this way can it serve as a warning to all civil and military officials!"

Li Shan said loudly.

"Ouyang Lun, what do you want to say?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I don't have much to say." Ouyang Lun shook his head calmly.

"Oh, so you also think you are guilty?" Zhu Yuanzhang said with some surprise.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"Guilt? What crime have I committed?" Ouyang Lun said calmly, "The reason why I have nothing to say is because facts have already proven whether I care about the country and the people of the Ming Dynasty. There is no need to say more!"

"On the contrary, some people, not only do they have no ability to develop the Ming Dynasty and benefit the people, but they are also jealous of others' talents and make a fuss about trivial matters. They might as well do more practical things for the people with their time. If their performance this year is only just passing, I don't think they have the face to stay in this court."

When Ouyang Lun said this, he didn't even look at Li Shanchang.

But as soon as Li Shanchang heard it, he knew it was talking about him!

Just when Li Shanchang was filled with anger and wanted to vent it, Zhu Biao spoke.

"enough!"

"It's fine that you just quarreled in the court, but now we are in my father's palace, I don't want you to have such a meaningless quarrel again! Whoever stirs up trouble again, get out!"

Upon hearing what Zhu Biao said, Li Shanchang, who was about to debate with Ouyang Lun for eight hundred rounds, was completely speechless.

Seeing that no one was arguing anymore, Zhu Biao's expression eased a little and he looked at Ouyang Lun, "Brother-in-law, I was just discussing with my father about giving gifts back to the princes of various places. My father also thinks that since the princes took the initiative to give gifts, we can't be stingy and should also give gifts in return!"

"As for the return gift from the court, I will ask the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to prepare something. It should not be too expensive, but it should not be too shabby either. It should also let the princes know the court's intentions."

"Oh, by the way, the prince also sent you a gift. Do you want to return one? That way, I can directly arrange for an official from the Ministry of Rites to deliver it, so you don't have to arrange for someone to deliver it again."

Hearing Zhu Biao's words, Ouyang Lun smiled helplessly in his heart.

My elder brother-in-law and I are very close friends, but he is setting a trap for me!
The imperial court returns gifts to the vassal kings, which is a matter of etiquette. But if an official like me returns gifts to the vassal kings, what will happen?

Now you, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang, don’t mind, but if they mind one day in the future, it will become a handle to use against us!
Ouyang Lun certainly wouldn't sell himself out like this.

As expected, some things may not necessarily solve the problem even if they are discussed openly and honestly, after all, people have different ideas.

"Return gift?"

Ouyang Lun shook his head. "Your Majesty, when have you ever seen me, Ouyang Lun, return a gift? Since it's already been given to me, it's mine. You want me to return the gift? No way!"

"You give me gifts, and I give you gifts. This back and forth, I don't make any money, but I lose out on favors. I, Ouyang Lun, will not do this kind of loss-making business!"

Forehead.
Hearing Ouyang Lun’s words.

Everyone at the scene, whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and his son, or Li Shanchang, Lu Chang and Song Lian, were stunned.

Damn, this Ouyang Lun might be a Pi Xie, who only goes in and never leaves!
However, even Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao could not force this matter. After all, if they forced Ouyang Lun to return the gift to the vassal king, the meaning would be different.

"Since my brother-in-law has made up his mind, I won't force it."

"Regarding the matter of returning the gift to the vassal king, I will leave it to Lord Lu."

Zhu Biao said to Lu Chang.

"Your Majesty, the Supreme Emperor, please rest assured that I, an old minister, will definitely get this done!" Lu Chang responded.

After arranging this matter, Zhu Biao continued, "I just reported to my father about the management of the princes. My father, Brother-in-law Ouyang is now in charge of these issues. If you have any requests, please tell Brother-in-law Ouyang."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Ouyang Lun and said slowly: "There is nothing wrong with the new vassal king management system. I agree with it. However, I sometimes feel that the connection between the vassal kings and the central court is a little less, which makes it difficult to manage!"

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, with the implementation of the new vassal management system, the vassal system and the official system seemed to be two incompletely intersecting systems.

Officials in the vassal states were also subject to the management of the imperial court. However, apart from being appointed by the emperor, the imperial court only had contact with these vassal kings through the Imperial Clan Court. However, they were merely treated as ordinary members of the imperial clan.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang a little uneasy.

"Do you have any good solutions?"

this.
Li Shanchang, Lu Chang and Song Lian immediately frowned and started thinking, but they couldn't think of a better solution in a short time.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw the sad faces of Li Shanchang and others, his heart sank. He looked at Ouyang Lun again, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Ouyang Lun looked completely comfortable at the moment, not thinking at all. He didn't come here to discuss state affairs, but to watch the fun.

Zhu Biao was quite helpless when he saw this. He could now understand why his father, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, disliked Teacher Ouyang Lun. The reason was that Ouyang Lun was in such a state now that, let alone Zhu Yuanzhang, even he wanted to beat Ouyang Lun up!

Fortunately, Zhu Biao's mentality was much better than Zhu Yuanzhang's. He immediately said, "Brother-in-law, if you want to strengthen the connection between the vassal kings and the Ming Dynasty central court, you must suppress the vassal kings. This will easily cause protests from the vassal kings!"

"What the Ming Dynasty needs now is development, not civil strife. Do you have any ideas that can both increase the connection between the vassal kings and the Ming Dynasty's central court and make the vassal kings happy to accept it?"

Hearing Zhu Biao's question, Ouyang Lun said calmly: "Isn't it very simple to solve this problem?"

"And if we want to increase the connection, there is no need to suppress the vassal kings!"

"My method is very simple. Not only do we not need to suppress the vassal kings, but we also need to give them more rights!"

As soon as these words came out, the scene fell into silence (End of this chapter)