I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 173 The Prince is Really Difficult to Deal with

In the Xiyuan Silijian, Chen Ju, who had been promoted to the eunuch in charge of writing, was reading memorials.

"Your Highness, the Minister of Revenue Gao Qi petitions to demolish the altars of the Taoist temples, prohibit fasting and offering sacrifices, arrest and punish the Taoist priest Wang Jin and others, and revoke the official titles of Taoist priests Shao Yuanjie, Tao Zhongwen, etc."

The first sword that Gao Gong made when he returned to the court was chosen with great skill.

After the death of Emperor Jiajing, these Taoists became "orphans".

Before this, they were arrogant and domineering, relying on the favor of Emperor Jiajing to plunder, occupy fields and houses, and embezzle money. Now that Emperor Jiajing is gone, they have lost their umbrella of protection and have become big fat sheep.

All forces don't mind slaughtering these fat sheep and sharing the food.

"How did the cabinet vote?" Zhu Yijun asked.

"Approved. The Metropolitan Procuratorate shall investigate, the Ministry of Rites shall seize the property, the Ministry of Justice shall arrest and punish the property, and all property and land shall be confiscated by the Ministry of Revenue and the national treasury."

Zhu Yijun snorted, what an ugly way of eating!

In order to share these fat sheep, even the emperor's face was thrown aside.

The altar of the Taoist temple was built by the imperial decree, the fasting and offering sacrifices were conducted by the imperial decree, the alchemists and Taoists were appointed by the imperial grandpa. You are making such a big fuss, calling for war and killing. Where is the emperor's face?
He had lost all his face, and so wouldn't his own saintly grandson, who was ordained by the emperor, also be stripped of his face?

When it comes to some things, civil servants have a tacit understanding when doing them.

Zhu Yijun knew that when such a memorial reached his father, he would definitely approve it with his eyes closed, especially since Gao Gong was the lead author of the memorial.

The trust between a ruler and his subjects cannot last forever.

As his father became the emperor from Prince Yu, Gao Gong became the minister from a tutor, and would later join the cabinet, it would be natural for him to find ways to slowly take away power from his father.

Losing power may not matter to my father. As long as he can live a happy life in the Forbidden City, that's enough.

But it doesn’t work for myself.

The power that was lost at the hands of his father would require more effort and cost to get back after he ascended the throne.

The power left by Grandfather Emperor must be passed to me without a drop of it leaking out!

However, Zhu Yijun also knew that Gao Gong's move was indeed brilliant.

This group of Taoist priests, relying on the emperor's favor during the Jiajing period, provoked the wrath of heaven and the public, and aroused the indignation of the civil officials and literati. Under their intentional or unintentional exaggeration, these Taoist priests were also unpopular among the people.

Yes, the public opinion fronts of both the government and the opposition!
If I don't occupy it, they will occupy it.

Well, this matter can be left to Li Zhi.

Zhu Yijun took action as soon as he thought of it. He immediately wrote a handwritten order, ordering the establishment of an education department in the Coordination Bureau to educate the people and cultivate their morals, with Li Zhi as the main person in charge.

The Coordination Bureau must not only "provide relief to disaster victims, care for orphans and rescue the weak", and provide them with material assistance, but also assume the responsibility of educating the people and helping them spiritually.

In addition to setting up more schools, the Education Department also needs to recruit and train more storytellers, bell doctors and other talents to go from street to street, visit villages and towns, educate the people and change customs.

We should also publish more newspapers and print more books to enrich the cultural life of the people in all parts of the Ming Dynasty and spread positive "energy" ideas.

After Zhu Yijun finished writing, he turned to Li Fang and said, "Li Fang, the Imperial Household Department should count the printing workshops and craftsmen, and give some to the Education Department of the Coordination Bureau."

"Yes." Li Fang answered honestly.

Who owns the largest papermaking and printing workshop in Beijing?
In the hands of the Imperial Household Department.

It manages more than 2,000 papermaking craftsmen, more than 1,000 book printing craftsmen, and dozens of papermaking and book printing workshops.

The properties under the name of Silijian are royal private property.

The Coordination Bureau can be considered as a royal property, which was transferred internally and has nothing to do with the outer court.

After explaining the affairs of the Education Department, Zhu Yijun continued to consider how to deal with Gao Gong's memorial.

The Imperial Household Department was also thinking about Zhu Yijun in this way, and suddenly remembered another way to deal with the matter, and they were used to it.

Gao Gong drew his sword for the first time and pointed it at the Taoist priest. In essence, it was a test for the civil service group, hoping to get back from the new emperor some of the power that they had lost in the hands of the emperor's grandfather.

Standing on this standpoint, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Zhang Juzheng, Chen Yiqin, Yin Shidan, as well as the six ministries, the Censorate, and the nine temples, who all understood the profound meaning of this, all remained silent tacitly and watched the development of the situation with a neutral attitude.

Approval rejected?

No.

The investigation of Taoist temples and alchemists was something that was agreed upon by the government and the public, and was in line with the general trend. If it was rejected, it might lead to a storm of public opinion that swept across the government and the public, which was exactly what Gao Gong wanted.

This is a bit difficult. Zhu Yijun stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, and walked slowly.

Li Fang and others looked at this familiar expression, lowered their heads, held their breath, and busy themselves with their own things.

The mainstream public opinion is that investigating Taoist temples and alchemists is definitely necessary.

The problem is that the person in charge must grasp the scale and control the scope.

Arrest some and release some, investigate private malfeasance and don’t drag it into the hands of the Emperor.

Who should we send to ensure good control?
Our own people definitely cannot go.

No matter what, these Taoists and Taoist temples are related to the Emperor, and he is the Emperor's good grandson. If his subordinates intervene, it would be a slap in the face of the Emperor.

In addition, if one's own people intervene, they will be criticized.

Are you being too concerned about your reputation and being partial to others? A lot of people will find fault with you.

But if we ask other people to investigate, who knows, after three or four investigations, these black-hearted civil servants will take the opportunity to trample on the emperor's reputation beyond recognition.

One of the sources of his authority comes from his grandfather the Emperor. If his reputation is trampled upon, it also means that his authority is trampled upon.

Who to send?
Zhu Yijun looked at the scenery of Zhonghai Lake outside the window and quickly thought of someone.

Since you guys are using ruthless tactics, don't blame me for sending ruthless people.

"Chen Ju!"

"The slave is here!"

"The record of Gao Gong's approval of the memorial."

Chen Ju immediately picked up his pen and waited.

"This case is of great importance and needs to be handled by someone who is fair and honest. Hai Rui, the Right Counselor of the Ministry of Public Administration, is transferred to be the Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites and is responsible for handling this case. After the case is completed, he will report to the Ministry of Rites."

Chen Ju wrote down the comments he had just dictated and presented it to Zhu Yijun for review. After confirming that they were correct, he began to draft the imperial edict and follow the procedure.

The approval was returned to the cabinet. Xu Jie laughed as soon as he saw it, but he didn't laugh for long. He felt sad again and wanted to leave even more.

The prince was so scheming at the age of thirteen. He saw through Gao Da Huzi's intention at a glance, and then agreed to investigate the Taoist temple's alchemists, but handed the case over to Hai Rui for full disposal.

He is very experienced and has inherited many skills from the late emperor.

Oh, I'm tired!

I have been battling with the late emperor for decades and finally ascended to the highest position among the ministers. I am now content and do not want to fight anymore, nor can I.

At the age of thirteen, he had been fond of martial arts and activities since childhood, and had a strong physique since childhood, which made him an anomaly among the crown princes of all dynasties.

If you continue to endure, even my great-grandson may not be able to survive you.

stop!
As soon as Gao Gong enters the cabinet, I will pack up and leave, leaving you, the big bearded man, to have a great fight with the crown prince!
The approval of the memorial was quickly passed back to the Minister of Revenue Gao Gong, and his face changed after reading it.

The trusted staff member beside him couldn't help but ask: "Minister, what does this batch of red mean?"

"What do you mean? The prince saw my intention and caught me with just one move."

"Just send Hai Rui to handle it and we can control it?" The staff was a little skeptical.

"Hai Rui is investigating Taoist temples and alchemists. Do you believe it? Does the world believe it?"

"I can definitely trust him. Hai Qingtian's reputation is well-known throughout the country. He once cursed the late emperor."

"Yes, the whole world trusts him, and the prince also trusts him. He does things exactly as he says. If there are evildoers among the Taoist priests, he will not let them off easily, and if there are selfless evildoers, he will let them off easily. All my efforts have been wasted."

The staff member whispered, "Hai Rui handled this matter with great fanfare. Didn't he also achieve his goal of saving the late emperor's reputation?"

Gao Gong sneered twice: "In the court, the one who cares most about the late emperor's face now, apart from the crown prince of Xiyuan, is Hai Gangfeng who scolded the late emperor!"

The staff was shocked, "How is it possible?"

Gao Gong was too lazy to answer and continued, "He will definitely take the late emperor's face into consideration and handle the matter carefully. Hai Gangfeng is upright and stubborn, but not stupid. He will handle this matter carefully.

The prince is indeed difficult to deal with!"

(End of this chapter)