Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 239 Controversy over the disposal of eunuchs
Just when Yang Jingchen was asking Fang Zhuangwei for advice, Ni Yuanlu, who also received news from Cao Sicheng, was also asking his master Yuan Keli for advice:

"Why did Your Majesty appoint me to act as the Prime Minister of Taichang Temple, and also asked Taichang Temple to build a martial temple and rectify the immortal system?"

"This matter is not urgent and may cause controversy."

"Why not focus on punishing the eunuchs instead of doing this?"

Ni Yuanlu was confused about this, and she really couldn't figure it out. Why did the emperor not focus on punishing the eunuchs, but cared about religious sacrifices?

As a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi, Ni Yuanlu not only recognized Yuan Keli as his master, but also recognized Sun Chengzong of the Donglin Party as his master. Huang Daozhou, Wen Zhenmeng, Zheng Yan, Chen Renxi and others who were in the same class as him were all included in the Donglin Party.

Ni Yuanlu's ideological tendencies are the same as those of these people. Although his name is not listed in the eunuch party, it can be said that he belongs to the Donglin party.

After he came back from presiding over the Jiangxi Provincial Examination, he learned that Wei Zhongxian had been removed by the emperor, and that everyone in the eunuch party in the court had to pass the test. He was very excited and wanted to flex his muscles and overturn the verdict of the Donglin Party.

Unexpectedly, he was transferred to Taichang Temple, which made him really confused and asked his master Yuan Keli for advice.

Yuan Keli looked at Ni Yuanlu and knew that he hadn't figured it out yet. This is not because Ni Yuanlu lacks talent, but because she lacks experience and has a problem with her stance.

Unlike him who is relatively neutral and only leans towards the Donglin Party, Ni Yuanlu fully stands on the Donglin Party's side. Naturally, punishing eunuchs is a big deal, and other matters can be left alone.

As far as he knew, many new Donglin Party members who came to Beijing were dissatisfied with the emperor's "minor punishment" and wanted to sweep away the rebellious eunuch officials and replace them with Donglin Party members.

Although Ni Yuanlu did not express this idea clearly, he obviously looked down upon Cao Sicheng, a person who was assigned to the sixth level of the counter-case. Otherwise, he would not ignore his immediate superior after being promoted and come to him for advice.

Thinking of this matter, Yuan Keli couldn't help but frown. Knowing that the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party in the DPRK are still clearly divided, they did not let the Donglin Party put down their grudges just because the emperor had already punished the Eunuch Party.

This is definitely not a good thing for the government. Ministers like Yuan Keli are certainly worried about this:
"Your Majesty didn't even agree to Cao Sicheng's request to increase the number of Taichang Temple Shaoqing. It was obvious that he wanted to stabilize the court situation. 』

"The current situation will not change for a while. If the Donglin Party refuses to give up, it will only attract His Majesty's disgust. 』

"We must pay attention to this matter, and we must not let the Donglin Party vent their hatred wantonly and cause political strife again. 』

Generally speaking, he is quite satisfied with the current emperor, and wants to do something at this age. Of course, Yuan Keli does not want to cause another turmoil in the court, which has been in turmoil.

So when faced with Ni Yuanlu's inquiry, Yuan Keli warned him:

"You, the temple minister, are in charge of the General Office of Translation. The office is in the former Siyi Hall, which is not in the same place as Taichang Temple."

"If you are willing to interfere with the sacrifices, then go to Shangshu to support you."

"If you don't want to support it, then don't worry about anything and focus on your job."

"Your Majesty has made a decision regarding the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, and you don't need to care."

"We must seize the time to make political achievements and be promoted next year!"

Obviously dissatisfied with this reply, Ni Yuanlu said:

"Why can't we just support it?"

"When a king makes a mistake, his ministers should admonish him."

"Nowadays, there are still remnants of the eunuchs in Taichang Temple. The students think that we should clean up the eunuchs first and then correct the rituals."

"Otherwise, letting eunuchs participate will only spoil things."

Shaking his head at this, Yuan Keli said:
"What eunuchs are there in Taichang Temple?"

"What should you do with me?"

"Are you saying that you won't do anything until all the eunuchs you think are eunuchs are driven away?"

Ni Yuanlu paused after hearing the words and hurriedly explained:
"The student didn't mean that. He was just worried that the eunuchs would do bad things and miss His Majesty's important events." Yuan Keli said:

"If you are really worried, then follow the court system."

"His Majesty said before that everyone passed the test, and he also examined the chief officials of the ministry and temple in the court."

"Now officials from the Department of Science and Technology, the Three Law Departments and the Ministry of Personnel have completed the review and are reviewing the remaining ones."

"If you are anxious, you can ask them to review Taichang Temple officials first."

Ni Yuanlu didn't mean this. He had objections to the emperor's handling methods and said:

"The review has been done, but are people like Cao Sicheng, Yang Suoxiu, and Yang Weiyuan really suitable to be officials in the court?"

"Such a counter-indictment, not to mention being jailed and exiled, at least you should be deprived of your citizenship, right?"

"Your Majesty's current treatment is too light!"

He was just demoted and appointed, but he still stayed as an official in the court. This made many Donglin Party members feel that the emperor's punishment was too light, and believed that these people should be severely punished and let them have a taste of prison——

Threats should never be punished lightly, but rather severely.

Frowning at this, Yuan Ke stood up and said seriously:

"The method for dealing with the eunuchs was decided by His Majesty himself and has been approved by the court."

"If you think someone is being punished lightly, find evidence that they committed other crimes and identify them as the principal culprit."

"If you think that all rebellious officials should be dealt with more severely, then don't mention it again."

"This matter has been settled, no more disputes!"

After solemnly warning Ni Yuanlu, Yuan Keli saw that he was still arguing and said:

"Okay! Don't argue about this anymore!"

"Your Majesty is a promising king and needs someone to do things."

"If you drive away all the officials in the court, who will do anything for Your Majesty?"

"If you want to change His Majesty's mind, you must first show your ability."

"Let His Majesty know that you can get things done and there is no need to retain eunuchs."

"Otherwise, if they get things done first, they will lose their time!"

These words made Ni Yuanlu understand the emperor's intention of retaining eunuch ministers. At the same time, it is also recognized that if the Donglin Party does not show its ability, those eunuch Party officials will not only be retained, but they may also be promoted or even restored to their original positions in the future.

This was something Ni Yuanlu didn't want to see, so he made up his mind to use his ability to take the initiative in this matter. Let the emperor know that there is no need for eunuchs in the court to get things done.

Nodding secretly to Ni Yuanlu's change of attitude, Yuan Keli thought of other Donglin Party members who had recently entered Beijing. Ni Yuanlu, who was not included in the Donglin Party by the Eunuch Party, is like this. The attitude of other Donglin Party members is expected to be even more intense. If he wants to stabilize the government, he must appease these people.

Thinking of this matter, Yuan Keli couldn't help but frown. He was very clear about the emperor's purpose of using him, and knew that the emperor regarded him as a bridge of communication with the Donglin Party and other civilian officials, so he respected his attitude and even informed him in advance when adjusting policies.

If this matter is not handled well, it will obviously disappoint the emperor and affect his, Sun Chengzong and others' ideas of making contributions.

Therefore, Yuan Keli has planned to communicate with Dong Qichang and obtain his support. Let this old friend, who is included in the Donglin Party, appease the Donglin Party members.

Also, like Fang Guiwei, he saw that the emperor was learning the great etiquette of the Jiajing Dynasty. He was very dissatisfied with this kind of forcing officials to take sides, so he decided to communicate with Dong Qichang, who was the Japanese lecturer, and asked the emperor to learn more from Mingjun instead of Emperor Jiajing.

(End of this chapter)