King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

That’s all I have to say.

The silent sound in the field seemed so deafening.

No one knew how to answer.

Because of Jin Zhong’s words, everyone felt even less confident.

Let them measure it themselves. How to measure this issue?
If they were confident and could really measure things clearly, why would they keep pestering Jin Zhong to get the result on this issue?

As for why these people wanted to keep targeting Jin Zhong on this issue and wanted to get a definite or exact answer from him, the reason was very simple. In the entire Ming Dynasty court, Jin Zhong was not only a solid member of the prince's party, but also a truly trusted minister of Emperor Yongle.

Based on Jin Zhong's understanding of Emperor Yongle, the relationship between the two is unmatched by anyone in the entire Ming Dynasty court.

It was for this reason that the ministers in the field acted like this and wanted to get the proper answers from Jin Zhong.

However, it was obvious that Jin Zhong's answer to the current question did not satisfy the people present.

That's it.

After a while, Yang Rong, the civil official in charge, stood up, walked to Jin Zhong's side with a worried look on his face, and said softly:

"Master Jin."

"Don't you have the confidence or solution for this problem or this matter?"

"If that's the case, what should we do?"

Hearing this.

Jin Zhong did not answer the question immediately. Instead, he looked coldly at Yang Rong, who was worried and frightened. He was too lazy to pay attention to Yang Rong. Instead, he set his gaze on Xia Yuanji, who had a silent face and did not speak a word from beginning to end, and looked at him for a long time.

Afterwards, Jin Zhong came back to his senses from his daze, waved his hand at Yang Rong who was standing cautiously beside him, and said:

"okay!"

"This matter should stop here."

"I have made my words so clear, what else do you want me to do?"

"Do we really have to give you a guarantee?"

“Do what needs to be done”

"Don't waste your time here. Instead of wasting your time here and nagging me, it would be more practical for you to think about it carefully."

At this moment, one could sense the dissatisfaction in Jin Zhong's words, as well as his resolute intention to expel him.

The civil officials could not help but look at each other. Although they were reluctant to leave and wanted to say something more about this matter, they were unable to say anything in the end and left obediently.

Wait until everyone leaves one after another.

Jin Zhong, who was standing on the steps, saw Xia Yuanji, who was left alone to accompany him. He pondered for a moment and said quietly:

"Lord Xia"

Hearing this, Xia Yuanji, who was in a daze, came back to his senses, raised his head, looked at Jin Zhong who called his name, with a little surprise in his expression, and said:

"What do you want, Master Jin?"

Jin Zhong simply sorted out his thoughts, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked up and down at Xia Yuanji for a moment, and asked meaningfully:
"Lord Xia"

"You are the Minister of Finance of our Ming Dynasty, just as His Royal Highness the King of Han said before."

"You are in charge of the taxes and revenues of the entire Ming Dynasty. For such a long time, you have seen that the taxes and revenues of our Ming Dynasty have been falling at a visible rate. As for the reasons for these things, have you really never investigated the inside story?"

"Or in other words, what do you think about the Ming Dynasty's taxation and revenue issues, and the increasingly empty treasury situation over such a long period of time?"

"Why."

The question was asked quite cleverly, and the time period was also very well chosen, stopping at the right moment, without asking all the words and all the matters bluntly and directly.

But they are both smart people. How could Xia Yuanji not understand what Jin Zhong meant by such meaningful words?
Hearing this, Xia Yuanji briefly pondered for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he seemed to have thought of something, couldn't help but sigh, shook his head, and replied:

"It doesn't matter if you know or not."

"Master Jin."

"We are all smart people. As for the current situation and the kind of people our colleagues and colleagues are, doesn't Mr. Jin know clearly?"

"If it were not so urgent today, if these people had not been pushed into a desperate situation, do you think they would do this?"

"Now that things have come to this, these people have also thought of the best way to break the deadlock. Elder Jin has also given these people some rational suggestions, almost wanting to make things clear to them."

"But what was the result?"

"I think coming here, Master Jin should be deeply touched by what is happening right now!"

"Faced with Master Jin and facing a critical situation, they can still have such little thoughts and calculations. Master Jin, do you think that a small minister of the Ministry of Revenue can play a big role in their hearts?"

"Moreover"

"Master Jin, when you ask me this question, let's talk about what these individuals have done. Although Master Jin is not in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, but in charge of the Ministry of War, with Master Jin's intelligence and wisdom, is it true that he has not noticed anything, or heard any rumors?"

Hearing this, Xia Yuanji asked back without any politeness.

Jin Zhong's expression froze and he opened his mouth to say something, but after thinking for a long time, he didn't know how to answer or face Xia Yuanji's question.

Why?

It is true that Jin Zhong had never participated in these matters and had never done such dirty things, but with his skills and abilities, how could it be possible that he really knew nothing about what these individuals had done, or had never heard any rumors?
Why didn't Jin Zhong report or report these things even though he knew about them?

to be honest.

After all, I still have my own selfish desires and thoughts. I don't want to be the target of public criticism, and I don't want to be a thorn in everyone's eyes. It's that simple.

That was why, when faced with Xia Yuanji's question, he was stunned where he was.

Since he, the emperor's confidant and old minister, had such thoughts, then what qualifications did he have, or why did he ask Xia Yuanji to do such a thing? Was it possible?

Do unto others, do not impose on others.

Just like that, the atmosphere between the two of them suddenly became subtle.

After a long while, Jin Zhong withdrew his gaze from him, sighed, shook his head slightly, and said:
"Yes!" "It's going to rain, and my mother is going to get married."

"They themselves have forgotten their original intentions for being officials, and the aspirations they had when reading the books of sages. They have ended up with the current outcome and result, and they cannot blame anyone else."

"No matter what, whether it's good or bad, these individuals deserve it."

As he spoke, Jin Zhong couldn't help but turn his head to look at the towering palace wall behind him. An extremely complicated look flashed across his face, and he continued:

“The current situation, the current circumstances and conditions.”

“It’s really becoming more and more difficult to understand.”

"Lord Xia"

"I wonder if you have any different opinions on what happened today?"

As soon as he spoke.

We are all smart people. How could Xia Yuanji not know Jin Zhong? What is this word referring to? What kind of desires and thoughts are hidden in it? This is secretly referring to the prince's attitude towards the current situation.

However, in response to Jin Zhong’s questions.

This indeed made Xia Yuanji fall into deep thought. Regarding what happened in the court today, the attitude of Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was really intriguing and difficult to understand. It was hard to tell what the Crown Prince's attitude was and what he was up to.

To know.

Today is the time of the grand court meeting.

Zhu Gaoxu's style of doing things was ruthless and strong.

He directly dealt with dozens of officials who held real power. Such cruel means were not shown at all by the crown prince who was standing nearby and participating in the court meeting. He just watched quietly without expressing any opinion.

Afterwards, King of Han Zhu Gaoxu put golden hoops on their heads to control their lifeblood. In the early days, when the situation did not develop to the point of being out of control and when the crown prince did not pretend to faint, he did not have the slightest intention of standing up to speak for them. Only when the situation really developed to the point of being out of control did the crown prince finally stand up as a last resort.

Although they were unable to convince the Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu individually, if the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi stood firmly on their side, or showed some attitude, then the situation of these civil officials at today's court meeting would definitely not be as uncomfortable as it is now.

This behavior and attitude are indeed intriguing, and the deeper meaning behind it really makes people think more.

After hearing this, Xia Yuanji paused for a moment, then came back to his senses. He raised his eyebrows slightly, a faint and gentle smile appeared on his face, and he looked at Jin Zhong deeply and replied:

"Master Jin."

"Why think so much?"

"Instead of racking our brains here to think about it, in my humble opinion, it would be better for us to go directly to the Crown Prince's residence to pay a visit to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"After all, we both have clean records, so there is no possibility of betraying the emperor's grace or the trust of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. We still have the face to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

“If there is something in here.”

"I think given the relationship between the two of us and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, even if he doesn't tell us everything, he can at least give us some hints, right?"

"What do you think?"

After hearing this, Jin Zhong also reacted instantly, stared at him for a moment, then couldn't help laughing and said:

"Master Xia is right."

"Then shall we go together?"

"Go together! Go together!"

at the same time.

After all the officials who participated in the grand court meeting left, only Prince of Han Zhu Gaoxu and Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi were left in the huge palace. The atmosphere in the entire palace was so depressing that it made people feel a little breathless.

Neither of the two people in the hall spoke, they just looked at each other.

The palace maids who were quietly serving on the side were all extremely sensitive to the changing atmosphere in the hall. Everyone's face looked extremely ugly, and they all buried their heads unconsciously, not daring to make any unnecessary movements or make any inappropriate noises, for fear of disturbing the two masters in front of them, making them disgusted and hateful, and bringing disaster upon themselves.

That's it.

After about a quarter of an hour, the Crown Prince was the first to come back to his senses. He waved his hand at the trembling palace servants and said,
"All of you, please step back."

These words sounded like the sound of nature to the ears of all the palace servants. They all felt as if they had been pardoned. At the same time, they also knew that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Han had something to discuss in detail. So they did not dare to hesitate at all. After paying their respects, they retreated as quickly as possible, not daring to stay any longer.

Wait until everyone leaves.

The huge palace was even quieter than before.

After seeing everyone leave, Zhu Gaochi turned his head to look at Zhu Gaoxu who was standing aside with an indifferent expression. He took a few deep breaths, and his eyes flashed with an intriguing cold light. His words became extremely serious and solemn at this moment, and he asked:
"Second child"

"What on earth do you mean!"

"Who asked you to do this? Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this?"

"Such a big thing involves so many people and so many things."

"Before this, why didn't you communicate with me in advance when you were going to do this?"

"For such an important matter, who allowed you to make the decision on your own? Who gave you the confidence?"

Under the angry gaze of the Crown Prince, Zhu Gaoxu slowly turned his head and looked at him without hesitation, his expression indifferent and without any emotion. After a long while, he finally spoke:
"Boss"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?"

"Why did you choose to question me by putting the blame on me?"

"If you hadn't interrupted my plan and stopped me from talking, my plan and thoughts would have achieved what I wanted."

"There are not so many messes, and there are not so many twists and turns."

"If these people don't give us a clear reason, do you really think they can get away with what we have said so easily?"

"As for why I didn't inform you in advance?"

"The answer to this question, when you asked this question, didn't you already have the answer in your heart?"

"Why bother deceiving yourself and others, and why bother asking this unnecessary question?" (End of this chapter)