Ming Dynasty: The poisonous imperial teacher, Zhu Yuanzhang advised me to be kind

Chapter 16 The honest officials were shocked. How could the emperor frame his own ministers?
An honest official of the Huaixi Party looked at another honest official of the Huaixi Party and spoke in confusion.

"Master Zhao, didn't you say you wouldn't come to greet Lan Yu? How come you're here earlier than me?"

It turned out that although they and Lan Yu were both members of the Huaixi Party, they were very dissatisfied because Zhu Yuanzhang had changed their positions, and they all wanted to go against the decision made by Zhu Yuanzhang.

In addition, with Hu Weiyong's instigation, they were not prepared to welcome Lan Yu as Zhu Yuanzhang requested.

But now Lord Zhao, who was supposed to be here, actually came, which was very strange.

"There's nothing we can do." When Lord Zhao heard his colleague's curiosity, his face turned very ugly and he spoke to his colleague in a low voice.

"Master Zhang, you don't know, I got drunk a few days ago, and then I had sex with, uh... a prostitute!"

"What!" Lord Zhang was shocked when he heard it.

"Lord Zhao, you are a breath of fresh air in the imperial court of the Ming Dynasty. You are well-versed in the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and you never turn a blind eye to money and women. How could you..."

"I don't know either..." Lord Zhao's face was full of regret when he recalled that night.

"I just remember getting drunk that night, then feeling groggy, and then my body felt like it was on fire. At that moment, I forgot all about Confucius and Mencius..."

"But..." But when he said this, Lord Zhao's face showed joy again.

"Xiaoyue, who slept with me, was a prostitute, but she said that she fell in love with me after she met me. She belonged to me completely."

"And I seemed to see in her the immature shadow of the girl next door whom I loved deeply but could not have when I was young and studying hard, so I brought her home and provided her with good food and drink."

But at this point, Lord Zhao nervously warned Lord Zhang: "Lord Zhang, please don't tell anyone about this, otherwise my reputation will be ruined!"

“Hmm…” But Lord Zhang was speechless when he heard it. How can you still talk about integrity when you are like this?

But he still frowned: "But Lord Zhao, you haven't told me why you came here? Is there any connection between what you said and the reason for coming here today?"

"Of course there is a connection." When Lord Zhao heard this, his face showed fear and he spoke in a low voice.

"Because just yesterday, I received a message from the palace saying that they had found out about Xiaoyue and I. If I don't go, they will make it public... I have to save face, so I came."

"What!" Lord Zhang was stunned when he heard this was the reason, and then spoke in a low voice.

"People from the palace threatened you? Then, could it be that the matter between you and Xiaoyue was caused by His Majesty..."

"Impossible!" But after hearing what Lord Zhang said, Lord Zhao just shook his head.

"Xiaoyue and I are truly in love. How could this be a trap? You will probably never understand this kind of love. She is so pure and innocent."

"You are too arbitrary. Xiaoyue and I discuss various schools of thought every day. Many of her views are very fresh."

"And." He looked at Lord Zhang seriously.

"Your Majesty is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he is upright and honest, how could he do such a thing? In which dynasty would an emperor frame his own ministers? Definitely not Your Majesty!"

"This..." But Lord Zhang was not shaken by Lord Zhao's words.

Because he was really confused in his heart, in fact, he was planning to disobey Zhu Yuanzhang's order today and didn't want to come.

He himself was a man of integrity, not greedy or possessive. Relying on the rules of propriety, what was he afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang doing?
But who would have thought that a few days ago, his wife actually accepted 500 taels of silver from an official, and then used his name to help the official get something done.

This made him furious and he scolded his wife directly.

But who would have thought that the wife would argue with him instead.

"What have I done wrong? Others who are officials have wives of silk and satin, delicacies from land and sea, gold and silver jewelry, and everything they want. You are an official? I eat bran and vegetables every day, wear coarse linen clothes, and don't eat meat for a few meals a year!"

"I've been through so much following you. I'm greedy for that little bit of money because you're incompetent!"

"And I made this money with my own ability. I just borrowed your reputation and didn't rely on you much. We women should be independent like this!" She even asked his family to judge: "Family, who understands? My husband doesn't let me make money independently. It's disgusting!"

Hearing his wife's words, Mr. Zhang was so angry that he almost died.

He was not corrupt, but his rank was not low and his annual salary was enough for him to eat meat every meal and wear new clothes every month. How could he be as miserable as this woman said?

Was this woman dissatisfied in her heart, and in the end she blamed him? He was really angry. If the woman was not from a famous family and her family was not so strong, he really wanted to slap her and send her flying two miles.

But he thought that this matter would just pass. After all, there were many corrupt officials in the court, so it was okay.

Who would have known that within two days, people from the palace found him and told him that if he did not go to welcome Lan Yu, the matter would be exposed, and he would be arrested and paraded through the streets so that all the people in the city would know and his reputation would be ruined.

He came here because he was very scared, but he felt something was wrong. Wasn't this all just a coincidence?

Now that he saw that Lord Zhao was in a similar situation to himself, he was even more shocked, and his thoughts seemed to be verified.

I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Could it be that this was all done by someone in the palace?

"Lord Hu is here." At this time, a voice sounded, and Hu Weiyong, wearing the second-rank official robe, came.

However, Hu Weiyong's face looked very unhappy at this moment.

Because recently the capital, and even the entire Ming Dynasty, has been led by Crown Prince Zhu Biao, and officials have been transferred, and many officials have already changed their positions.

The transfer outside the capital was a good thing for Hu Weiyong, because his Huaixi Party joined Zhu Yuanzhang's group early, so there were so many people that the Beijing officials could not accommodate them.

Therefore, many officials went to local areas, and once they went there, they were directly promoted to local officials. For example, some members of the Zhejiang East Party also went there, but there were not as many members as the Huaixi Party, so generally those who went there were not capable enough and could only be small officials.

However, since many of the Huaixi Party members had good abilities but mediocre character, Zhu Yuanzhang only let them hold idle positions, and the important positions were still given to honest officials.

But now, under the leadership of Zhu Biao, the most capable officials among these officials were directly transferred to important positions, so this was definitely a good thing for Hu Weiyong.

However, no matter how good it is, it is still outside the capital.

However, in the center of the Ming Dynasty, in the court of Nanjing, his situation was very unfavorable.

Because most of his subordinates in the court were honest officials. Although they were very capable, they were still far behind the Zhejiang East Party, because most of the elites of the Zhejiang East Party remained in Nanjing.

Therefore, with this transfer, Hu Weiyong's power outside Nanjing became stronger, but his power within Nanjing became weaker.

However, his political enemy Yang Xian's power in Jinling had become extremely strong, so he was very angry and almost mad at himself.

How did the situation become like this? Zhu Yuanzhang would never do this before. Who suggested Zhu Yuanzhang to do this?
He always felt that there was someone behind Zhu Yuanzhang who was plotting against him. Did this person exist? Who was it?

"Lord Hu." Seeing Hu Weiyong, Lord Zhang and Lord Zhao, who had just been chatting, also came over to say hello.

"Zhao Wenhui!" When he saw Lord Zhao, Hu Weiyong became angry.

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to come today?"

He was so furious. Zhu Yuanzhang had made him so unhappy that he could only resist by telling these people not to come. But they all came. How could he resist Zhu Yuanzhang then?

"Sir, your humble servant..." Zhao Wenhui didn't know what to say, but still wanted to explain.

"What sir?" But Hu Weiyong obviously didn't want to listen to his explanation and got angry.

"Do you still have me in your eyes? Do you think there are no spies in the capital? I think you have been confused by that prostitute!"

"You treat a leftover geisha from a businessman like a treasure at home. You have brought shame to your Zhao family's ancestors for eighteen generations!"

(End of this chapter)