King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

Choose the lesser of two evils and you will avoid danger.

Even ants try to survive, so they certainly won't seek death.

Compared with the immediate benefits, although it is tempting to take a bite and get a share of the pie, it is still unclear whether one can eat it. Even if one eats it, there will be endless troubles. One needs to bear joint liability and be responsible for subsequent matters, and one may even lose oneself.

The danger involved is totally disproportionate to the benefits, so they are not fools. Naturally, they will not blindly nod and agree. It is not worth it and does not make any sense to insist on fighting for this fat meat that is obviously poisonous and risk their families.

That's it.

After a long silence in the hall, the ministers who were lifted into the air under the gaze of the crowd felt embarrassed and felt it was shameful to admit defeat. They were also very reluctant to admit defeat, but they had to lower their heads for their own lives and safety, and said with gritted teeth:
"Your Majesty, Prince Han, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"After reading the contents of the memorial and listening to Minister Song's passionate speech, I was enlightened. We were too narrow-minded and didn't think comprehensively enough. We didn't have a deep understanding of many things."

"Here, we have just realized that in response to the prince's suggestion, the dozens of vacant official positions in the Ministry of Works should be filled by people from the Mohist School to serve the Ming court and bring some good changes and suggestions to the Ministry of Works."

"After careful consideration, I think this proposal is indeed very good and is in line with the current situation and situation of our Ming Dynasty. Fighting on two fronts requires powerful weapons. The people of the Mohist School must have profound experience and skills in this regard."

"Compared to the officials selected by the Ministry of Personnel, they have natural advantages. For this reason, we have no objection. Everything is entirely up to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Han."

This statement.

What he said was sincere and convincing.

If these people had not stood up to oppose and raised different opinions and refuted them, I would have really believed their lies and thought that they were really thinking about the entire Ming Dynasty court and were selfless.

But with the lessons learned from the previous incident, as well as Zhu Gaoxu's series of "friendly reminders" later on, and the Minister of Works Song Li's unreserved response and threatening remarks that determined to confront these people to the end.

to this end.

Zhu Gaoxu was not a fool. He naturally knew that these people were afraid of taking responsibility. At the same time, he did not have the confidence in his heart that he could really guarantee to handle the problems facing the Ministry of Industry 100%. For this reason, he had to accept it with a pinch of his nose and lower his posture. The nice words were just a way for him to save face.

However, everyone knew the truth about this matter, so Zhu Gaoxu did not dwell on it, or take the opportunity to deliberately say something to disgust others or cause trouble for others. However, he knew that he had to make it clear in advance and express his position. He said in a deep voice:
"My Lords, I am very pleased that you have such thoughts and can make such a statement."

"But let's be mean first and gentlemen later, and we have to say the ugly words first."

"After all, as far as the laws and calendars of the Ming Dynasty are concerned, I am still afraid that there will be rumors that I am the only one who has the final say, or that I ignore the laws of the Ming Dynasty, ignore the thousands of students in the world, and are harsh on the thousands of students in the world, and other remarks that are not conducive to the unity of the court."

"You all agree on this matter. Since you agree, I would like to trouble you to share some of the responsibility for me."

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly shouted angrily toward the outside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony:

"Someone is coming."

"Bring in the things I just ordered you to prepare. The desk, writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone are ready."

That’s all I have to say.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside the hall.

The ministers in the audience were so shocked that they turned their heads to look behind the sound, wanting to see what had happened and what the Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu was trying to do.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

I saw two armored Ming soldiers in the back really carrying a huge table into the room. The Ming court officials passing by squeezed to the sides very consciously, trying their best to make a path for others to pass. At the same time, behind the soldiers, several eunuchs hurriedly followed, some holding rice paper, some holding pens and ink and a series of other things.

Afterwards, under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, a huge desk was placed right in front of the hall, a few steps below where the emperor was raising the price. Then the two soldiers tactfully withdrew, and several eunuchs in the back quickly and neatly placed the things in their hands on the desk, prepared a series of trivial tasks such as grinding, and did not dare to be negligent. After a salute, they bowed and retreated.

Seeing the things appearing before their eyes, everyone couldn't help but be stunned. Their faces showed confusion, puzzlement and curiosity. They raised their heads and looked at them for several times, completely unaware of the significance of these things appearing here.

After a brief pause, some of the more impatient courtiers pointed at the things in front of them and couldn't help but ask first:
"Your Majesty the Han, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"What does this mean? Forgive my ignorance, I really don't quite understand."

Hearing this, the two brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi glanced at each other inconspicuously. Then Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing in the front, half-squinted his eyes and looked around at the people below the stage. A hint of intriguing sneer appeared at the corners of his slightly raised mouth, and he said:
"Don't worry, I will never harm you."

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Let's be a villain first and a gentleman later."

"According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, there is indeed no precedent for a commoner to suddenly become an official. I am a prince of the Ming Dynasty, and Your Majesty no longer lets me preside over the government. But even though I am bold, I dare not act so recklessly, right?"

"When doing anything, it must be reasonable, legal and compliant, and try to avoid any faults that others can find."

"Of course, this is also to prevent you adults from being criticized by the younger generation."

"For this reason, I have thought of a solution that will satisfy both of you. It will not only make others agree with me, but also prevent you and me from being criticized by those who do not know the inside story."

“That’s a recommendation.”

"This king needs all the gentlemen in the court to sign their names and stamp their fingerprints on this recommendation."

"With everyone's recommendation, even if someone has doubts or different ideas at that time."

"I also think that even with the signatures and recommendations of all the gentlemen, no one can say anything about this matter."

“It will definitely convince everyone.”

"My Lords, is that right?"

"This king has thought very carefully and avoided all the risks for us."

"Don't worry, some people will use this as an excuse to attack you, right?"

Ministers: "???????"

How shameless!
It's simply a murder and a heart-breaking move!

Doesn't this tie all of them down?

As a result, everyone present almost couldn't hold back from swearing.

To be honest, they thought they were shameless enough, but they didn't expect that there were people who were even more shameless than them.

He actually could come up with such a sinister move.

Many people, who were already filled with anger, thought of pretending to be nice.

When the court meeting is over, the news will spread quickly, arousing dissatisfaction among the students of the Ming Dynasty, and thus giving a harsh response to Zhu Gaoxu's move.

But before they could take any action, their way was cut off by Zhu Gaoxu.

It's just like the worms in their stomachs. They feel that no matter what they think or what different ideas they have, they can't hide it from each other. First the villain, then the gentleman.

He is really a mean person, not a gentleman. They really don’t know how to evaluate this matter.

What is happening right now has really caught them off guard, and they don't know how to deal with it for a moment.

You said you don’t want to sign!
The fact that they just agreed and approved of this shows that they were lying and deliberately trying to fool Zhu Gaoxu, doesn't it?
You must know that Zhu Gaoxu was the regent appointed by Emperor Yongle!
In his hand he held the imperial badge bestowed by Emperor Yongle, so seeing him was like seeing the emperor.

If at this moment, they all changed their minds and regretted it.

If Zhu Gaoxu had confronted them head-on, he would have insisted on getting to the bottom of this matter.

They can definitely be accused of deceiving the emperor.

If so, sign it!
There is really no room for maneuver in this matter. All hidden dangers have been eliminated, but are they really willing to do so?
Obviously, this is not possible, let alone realistic.

After all, Zhu Gaoxu was able to do it once, but who knows if he will do it again?
There is no doubt that with Zhu Gaoxu's character, there are some things that he doesn't even need to think about, because there will definitely be a next time.

While feeling frustrated, they also have to endorse others and soothe the restless hearts of the students.

How can they be willing and feel comfortable?
For a moment, everyone was in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

Seeing that everyone had fallen into silence, Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing on the high platform, had not yet opened his mouth. The Minister of Works Song Li, who was standing nearby, took the first step forward and ran straight to the desk. He reached out to grab the brush on the inkstone, dipped it in the ink in the inkstone, and wrote his name in a smooth and elegant movement, and pressed his handprint.

This move made the indifferent ministers speechless, and they almost couldn't help but speak out to stop it.

However, when everyone was looking at Song Li with disgust, he noticed the gazes of the ministers and looked back without hesitation, then snorted coldly and said sarcastically:
"My Lords, do you have any doubts about this matter?"

"I just heard from you all that you agree with the proposal of the prince and the crown prince."

"Why are you all hesitant and unwilling to step forward when we need you to write a joint recommendation?"

"Oh?"

"Could it be that what you said just now was not a deliberate attempt to put off the King of Han and the Crown Prince?"

"If that's the case..."

The rest of the words were not said, but everyone knew clearly what the unspoken words meant and what they were referring to.

This is said.

The ministers behind him were really disgusted and cursed in their hearts: "Old man, you really make me angry, really make me angry! You are doing it on purpose, right?"

"Does the revenge mentality have to be so strong? It's just a matter of pointing out the faults of the Ministry of Industry. Is it necessary to keep giving them the cold shoulder?"

"It's simply unreasonable!"

Although everyone was very unhappy about this and wanted to stand up and curse, they thought about the current occasion and timing and finally gave up.

no way!
How to curse?
Doesn't cursing mean that you and others have that kind of intention and thought?
They are not fools, so they will not be fooled.

After a brief silence, someone finally couldn't stand it anymore, bowed slightly, and saluted:

"Your Highness, Prince Han..."

"This, this, this...this is not necessary, right?"

"We discussed this matter in court, so why do we need to do such a useless thing as signing and sealing it?"

"If someone really has other intentions..."

The words are not finished yet.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, his expression suddenly froze, and he interrupted:
"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you just say that everything was the result of our discussion?"

"The things recorded in this recommendation column are all the things that were said today."

"I did not add anything randomly, why do you feel embarrassed?"

"What is the meaning of this desire?"

"I really don't understand. I wonder if you can give me a reasonable explanation, or... Lord Song's suspicion just now is the most sincere thought in your heart?"

That's what I said.

The faces of the ministers could not help but turn bitter. Naturally, they dared not admit it or agree with it. Then, they did not dare to hesitate at all and waved their hands repeatedly, saying:

"No, no, no..."

"Your Majesty, this is too much. How could we have such thoughts?"

"Absolutely not, absolutely not, I beg Your Majesty to understand!"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu looked around at everyone present with a cold expression, then snorted coldly and said in a deep voice:
"There is no best!"

"If you don't have any other intentions or thoughts, what are you still standing there for?"

"Hasn't Minister Song already set an example for you?"

"Hurry up and take care of this matter."

"We can leave the court earlier, and you don't have to stand here all the time."

"You said so, right?"

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoxu pointed to the desk in front of him.

Say it.

The ministers in the audience looked at each other.

Although I was very reluctant, I knew that some things could not be avoided today.

In the end, I had no choice but to bite the bullet, step forward, sign my name and put my fingerprints on it.

(End of this chapter)