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

As soon as he finished speaking, the officials in the palace all turned their eyes to Ouyang Lun. Some showed admiration, while others had complicated expressions, especially the officials of the Huaixi Party, who had a hint of resentment in their eyes. However, Ouyang Lun looked calm, bowed and said, "Your Majesty has trusted me, and I will do my best to serve the court and benefit the people."

Zhu Biao nodded slightly, with a rare smile on his face. He looked around at the officials and said firmly: "This rectification of the administration is just the beginning. I hope that you will take this as a warning, fulfill your duties, and be honest and upright. If there is any dereliction of duty or violation of the law again, I will never tolerate it!"

After the court meeting, Zhu Biao returned to the imperial study, still feeling a lot of emotion in his heart. He whispered to himself: "Ouyang Lun, Ouyang Lun, please don't let me down." He knew that the turmoil in the court was far from over, and Ouyang Lun would definitely play a more important role in this turmoil.
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At the same time, the retired emperor Zhu Yuanzhang also praised Ouyang Lun's performance. Although he had retired behind the scenes, he was still well aware of the major events in the court. When he learned about Ouyang Lun's performance in rectifying the administration, especially the investigation of the Huaixi Party, he couldn't help but laugh and nodded repeatedly.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the imperial study, holding a memorial in his hand, which was a detailed report on the official inspection. He glanced at the memorial, his mouth slightly raised, and a hint of approval in his eyes. He put down the memorial and said to the eunuch Wang Zhong beside him: "This Ouyang Lun really did not disappoint us. He is resolute and decisive in his work, and does not show favoritism. He is exactly the pillar of the court that needs."

"Let's just say that no matter how difficult the problem is, it can be solved as long as Ouyang Lun takes action."

Zhu Yuanzhang's satisfaction with Ouyang Lun was not a spur-of-the-moment thing.

He knew very well that the court had been plagued by serious problems for many years, especially the Huaixi Party, which was full of factionalism and corruption, and had long become a major cancer of the court.

However, the Huaixi Party was powerful and deeply rooted in the court. Even he, the founding emperor, had not been able to completely eradicate it because he was concerned about the stability of the court. Now, Ouyang Lun's thunderous investigation of the Huaixi Party not only broke the interest structure in the court, but also let the people see the court's determination to rectify the administration. This made Zhu Yuanzhang very pleased.

"Ouyang Lun is not only courageous, but also strategic," Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself. He recalled his decision to transfer Ouyang Lun to the military cabinet and serve as the general, and he was more convinced that his vision was correct. At that time, many people in the court complained about this move, thinking that Ouyang Lun was not experienced enough and it was difficult to convince the public. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was impressed by Ouyang Lun's talent and courage. He knew that the military cabinet not only needed people who were proficient in military tactics, but also needed capable officials who dared to break the old rules and reform. And Ouyang Lun was just such a talent.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, walked slowly to the window, and looked at the palace wall in the distance, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. He whispered: "I have already seen Ouyang Lun's performance in the military cabinet. He not only rectified military affairs and improved the combat effectiveness of the army, but also established prestige in the court. Now, he has made great contributions to the administration of officials, which shows that my original decision was indeed correct."

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang showed a rare smile on his face. He turned to the eunuch and ordered: "Pass on my decree to reward Ouyang Lun with 1,000 taels of gold and 100 pieces of brocade to commend his achievements. In addition, tell him that I have high hopes for him and hope that he will continue to work hard and serve the court."

"Your Majesty, Prince Consort Ouyang doesn't need these, right?"

Wang Zhong spoke.

"If he doesn't need it, that's Ouyang Lun's business. Whether we reward him or not is our business. Of course, if Ouyang Lun doesn't want it, we will be even happier. You have to bring the things back to us quickly. A thousand taels of gold and a hundred pieces of brocade are not a small amount!" Zhu Yuanzhang muttered.

"Uh" Wang Zhong's face was filled with shame.

"What are you talking about? Hurry up and go. We won't let Ouyang Lun accuse us of being stingy. You have to find a way to make Ouyang Lun not accept our reward!"

Zhu Yuanzhang warned.

"Your Majesty, this might not be a good idea!" Wang Zhong said somewhat embarrassedly.

"What's wrong with that? Didn't you say that Ouyang Lun has no shortage of money, but we do? Let's just do it!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's firm attitude, eunuch Wang Zhong had nothing to say, so he immediately bowed his head, accepted the order, and hurriedly retreated.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat back in his chair, his eyes revealing a hint of deep meaning. He whispered to himself: "The Huaixi Party has indeed been too arrogant in recent years. Ouyang Lun's move can be regarded as a vent for me. However, the affairs of the court still need to be handled cautiously. Although Ouyang Lun is talented, he must be careful not to make too many enemies."

"At the same time, we must prevent this kid from gaining too much power and becoming too inflated!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was satisfied with Ouyang Lun not only for his ability, but also for his loyalty and responsibility. He knew that there were few officials in the court who dared to face problems and were not afraid of the powerful. Ouyang Lun's performance also made him more convinced that it was an extremely correct decision to put him in the position of the general of the military cabinet.

"Ouyang Lun, Ouyang Lun, please don't let me down." Zhu Yuanzhang said softly, with a glimmer of expectation in his eyes. He knew that the turmoil in the court was far from over, and Ouyang Lun would definitely play a more important role in this turmoil.

After the court meeting, Zhu Biao thought that the assessment of the military cabinet would go smoothly. However, not long after, the imperial study was filled with memorials impeaching Ouyang Lun. The contents of these memorials were varied, some questioned the fairness of the assessment, some were complaints from officials of the Huaixi Party, and there were even some anonymous memorials with fierce words, directly accusing Ouyang Lun of abusing his power and forming a clique for personal gain.

Zhu Biao frowned and casually opened a few memorials and read them carefully.

"I, Li Qian, the Minister of War, respectfully report:

I dare not comment on the recent military cabinet assessment, but the results are incredible. I heard that many generals with rich experience and outstanding military achievements were demoted, while some people with shallow qualifications and no outstanding military achievements were promoted. Such results are really hard to convince the public. I implore Your Majesty to look into it and reconsider the assessment process to avoid chilling the hearts of the officers and soldiers. " "I, Wang De, the Lieutenant General of the Huaixi Military Governor's Office, respectfully report:
I have been in the army since the early years of the Hongwu reign, and have fought with the Emperor, making great contributions. However, in this assessment, I was demoted to an idle position, and the reason was "lax military discipline and slack military preparations". I feel really wronged! The army under my command has always had strict military discipline and sufficient military preparations, so how can it be said to be "lax" or "slack"? I suspect that this is a deliberate frame-up by someone, using the name of the assessment to exclude dissidents. I beg Your Majesty to make a decision for me and clear my name!"

"I risk my life to submit this memorial:

As a general of the military cabinet, Ouyang Lun should have presided over the assessment with an impartial heart, but he took the opportunity to exclude dissidents and promote his confidants. I heard that he has always had a grudge with the Huaixi Party. In this assessment, all officials of the Huaixi Party were demoted regardless of their achievements. Such behavior is actually forming a clique for personal gain and abusing power! I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and rectify the government!"

"I, Zhang Wen, the Supervisory Censor of the Censorate, respectfully report:
Although Ouyang Lun is a close confidant of Your Majesty, his power has been growing in recent years and he is becoming too powerful to be controlled. In this assessment, he acted arbitrarily and made arbitrary decisions on the promotion and demotion of officials without consulting the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel. Such behavior is an act of usurping authority and is against the court system. I am afraid that he will become more powerful in the future and may have the intention of disobeying his will. I implore Your Majesty to take a clear look and prevent such behavior from happening again!"

"I, the generals of the Huaixi Military Governor's Office, jointly submit a memorial:

In this assessment, Ouyang Lun used the name of rectifying the administration to suppress the officials of Huaixi Party. We have all served the court for many years. Although we have some minor flaws, we have not committed any major mistakes. However, Ouyang Lun took the opportunity to demote us and even dismissed us from our posts. Such behavior is a revenge for personal gain, which makes us feel chilled! I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice and clear our name! "
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Zhu Biao felt even more heavy-hearted after reading these memorials. He knew that these impeachments were not groundless, and that the Huaixi Party and other interest groups must have been behind them. However, he also knew that Ouyang Lun's actions had indeed touched the interests of many people in the court. If handled improperly, not only would the assessment of the military cabinet come to nothing, it might even lead to greater turmoil in the court.

Zhu Biao rubbed his temple and whispered to himself: "Ouyang Lun, Ouyang Lun, you really gave me a difficult problem this time."

He pondered for a moment, then instructed the eunuch beside him: "Pass on my order to summon Ouyang Lun to the palace immediately for an audience. Also, make a copy of these memorials and send them to the Emperor Retired for his review."

The eunuch took the order and left. Zhu Biao stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the palace wall in the distance, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. He knew that every step he took would be related to the stability and future of the court. And whether Ouyang Lun could get out of this turmoil unscathed would also be the key to the direction of the court.

In the Taile Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting at his desk, holding a memorial in his hand, his brows furrowed. He had just finished reading the memorial sent by Zhu Biao to impeach Ouyang Lun, and was thinking about how to deal with this sudden storm. At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the palace, and then the eunuch Wang Zhong hurried in and bowed to report: "Your Majesty, Lord Li Shanchang brought a group of old officials from Huaixi to see you, saying that... there is something important to report."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned even more when he heard this. He put down the memorial and snorted coldly: "Li Shanchang? He came quickly. Let them in."

A moment later, Li Shanchang entered with a dozen old officials from Huaixi. Most of them were over fifty years old, and some even had white hair, but they were all excited. As soon as they entered the hall, they all knelt on the ground and shouted, "Your subjects are here to see the emperor!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at them and said calmly, "Everyone, get up. You all came together. Is there something important you want to report?"

Li Shanchang raised his head, his face full of grief and indignation, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, we have no choice but to come here today! Ouyang Lun, relying on your majesty's favor, acts recklessly, using the name of rectifying the administration to eliminate dissidents! We have served the court for many years, but now we are humiliated by him like this, it is really chilling!"

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "Oh? What did Ouyang Lun do to make you so angry?"

Before Li Shanchang could speak, an old minister behind him could not help but rush to say: "Your Majesty, Ouyang Lun presided over the military cabinet assessment this time, and he actually demoted all the generals of our Huaixi faction! These people are all veterans who followed you in the wars! They have made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty, but now they have ended up like this, which is really chilling!"

Another old minister also echoed, "Yes, Your Majesty! Ouyang Lun's move is clearly to suppress our Huaixi Party! He is trying to completely eradicate our influence in the court! Your Majesty, you have to make the decision for us!"

Seeing that everyone was very emotional, Li Shanchang raised his hand and signaled everyone to calm down. Then he said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, we are not seeking personal gain, but for the stability of the court. Ouyang Lun's behavior has caused dissatisfaction among many officials in the court. If he is allowed to continue, I am afraid that the court will be unstable and even affect the foundation of the Ming Dynasty!"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished listening, his face still showed no emotion, he just asked calmly: "So what do you think we should do with Ouyang Lun?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang's eyes flashed with joy, and he quickly said, "I think that we should immediately stop this assessment and reconsider the promotion and demotion of officials. At the same time, we should conduct a thorough investigation of Ouyang Lun's behavior. If it is found that he has indeed formed a clique for personal gain and excluded dissidents, he should be severely punished!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "Li Shanchang, you want us to dismiss Ouyang Lun and restore the power of your Huaixi Party, right?"

Li Shanchang's face changed, and he lowered his head and said, "I dare not! I am only thinking about the court, and I have no other intentions!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, stood up, walked slowly to Li Shanchang, and swept his eyes across the crowd like a knife: "You keep saying that you are thinking about the court, but why do I feel that you are seeking personal gain? We are not unaware that the Huaixi Party has been forming cliques and engaging in corruption in recent years. It's just that you have made contributions to the Ming Dynasty that you have not been severely punished. Now that Ouyang Lun is helping us to rectify the administration of officials, you jump out and complain. Do you really think that I am old and confused and can't see through your thoughts?"

Li Shanchang and his companions turned pale and sweat broke out on their foreheads after hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words. Li Shanchang kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, please understand! We have no such intention! It's just that Ouyang Lun's actions are too radical and may cause instability in the court, so we dare to speak up!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "The court is unstable? I think it is because your interests are damaged that you think the court is unstable! You people, relying on your past merits, have formed cliques in the court, embezzled and perverted the law. Do you really think I don't know? Now that Ouyang Lun is cleaning up the court for us, you can't sit still? I tell you, this time I am determined to carry out the rectification of the government to the end! If anyone dares to obstruct, don't blame me for not remembering the old friendship!"

Li Shanchang and others were frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's majesty, and they knelt on the ground one by one, not daring to speak. Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said in a cold tone: "Everyone, retreat. Go back and think carefully about what you have done over the years. If you dare to stir up trouble again, I will never let you off easily!" (End of this chapter)