I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 177 The Prince Does Not Kill People, Only Destroys Their Hearts
After Feng Bao finished dealing with Han Ji's affairs, he got on the sedan chair and headed straight to Gao's house.

He knew that Gao Gong had taken a day off today to receive his good friend Zhang Siwei who had just returned to the capital yesterday.

Haha, so what if he’s Master Gao?
So what if you have been a tutor to the Emperor for nine years?

If His Highness were to deal with you, it would be like dealing with a chicken.

Now Master Gao, you have also experienced His Highness’s methods. How do they compare to those of the late emperor?
Gao Gong was having a lively conversation with Zhang Siwei in the study.

"Feng Pan, the situation in the court today is completely different from the 43rd year of Jiajing when we returned home with hatred. Standing in the palace, I can see very few people who share the same ideals as me. Those who have seized the court are the remnants of the Yan Party, such as Hu Zongxian, and the lineage of Shao Hu Gong who do not want to make progress.

The entire court is stagnant and filled with a gloomy atmosphere."

Zhang Siwei stroked his beautiful beard and said with emotion: "I have heard about this in my hometown, but I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was only in Shanxi where the treacherous party was doing evil things. I didn't expect that it was also the case in the government.

Back then, our generation of people with lofty ideals worked together to overthrow Yan Shifan, and were ready to continue their efforts to clear up the world and rectify the government. But we didn't want to fail at the last moment.

Gao Gong has been dormant in Xinzheng for two years, and now he has risen again. He should once again show his lofty ambitions to repay the trust and expectations of the world. "

Gao Gong let out a long sigh, stood up suddenly, put his hands behind his back, and walked back and forth anxiously.

"Now the Tai'a has been upside down and the sacred artifact has been stolen by a 13-year-old child. He has done evil and disrupted the government, and we are extremely worried."

Zhang Siwei pondered and said, "You and I all know the emperor's temperament. Now he lives in the inner palace, and it is extremely difficult for Lord Gao to say a word to him. Although the prince lives in the West Garden, he is the emperor's father and son, and he is young, so he has no taboos in going in and out of the inner palace.

It’s really difficult.”

He looked up at Gao Gong and said carefully, "Mr. Gao, the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system is like this. The affairs of the outer court will eventually fall into the hands of the inner court.

If Lord Gao wants to make a difference, he must join the cabinet and take charge of the affairs. If so, someone must be in the inner court. Aren’t the eunuch Meng Chong and others on good terms with Lord Gao?"

"I am on good terms with Meng Chong and others, but other people in the outer court are not easy to deal with. Xu Shaohu and Huang Jin have been friends for many years, Chen Songgu (Chen Yiqin) and Wanfu are good friends, Tangchuan (Yin Shidan) and Teng Xiang are familiar with each other, and Zhang Shuda is familiar with Feng Bao and Li Fang.

Li Chunfang seemed to have nothing to do with the inner court, but in fact he was good at writing Qingci and often went in and out of the West Garden. When the prince was the heir, he served as a lecturer for several years and could talk to Huang Jin, Li Fang, Feng Bao, Liu Yi, and Fang Liang. "

My goodness, each of the cabinet ministers is a talent, and the wires in the inner court are buried deeper than each other.

Zhang Siwei thought about it and suggested, "Mr. Gao, why don't we try another approach?"

"What is the path?"

"In addition to the crown prince, the emperor's concubine Li gave birth to his third son, Zhu Yihao, in the Qiandi. It is said that Concubine Li was quite favored by the emperor. In addition to the third son, she also gave birth to a princess for the emperor in the 44th year of Jiajing.

After the Emperor ascended the throne, it was said that Concubine Li was secretly suppressed by the Empress and was only given the title of Concubine Xian. It stands to reason that a mother is honored by her son, so Concubine Li should be given the title of Imperial Concubine.

Gao Gong stroked his beard and said slowly, "Feng Pan asked me to submit a petition to confer the title of Imperial Concubine Li?"

"At the same time, please confer the title of prince on the third son of the emperor, and then pass on Duke Gao's good intentions to Concubine Li through Meng Chong."

Gao Gong's eyes sparkled, and his voice was stern, "Feng Pan! You are putting me in an unjust and disloyal position! In the harem, there is a queen, who is the master of the six palaces. The prince has been appointed, and he has offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and the imperial temple to make it known to the world.

"Once the Crown Prince and his followers know about these words and actions, Feng Pan, this matter will not end well."

Zhang Siwei said quietly, "Gao Gong, the late emperor's Crown Prince Zhuangjing, died of illness at the age of fourteen. The fourth son, His Royal Highness Prince Jing, lived to be twenty-nine, but died without an heir!

Now the emperor is in his prime, and the days ahead will be long. Lord Gao, don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one!”

Gao Gong had a gloomy face and remained silent.

The old servant knocked on the door outside and announced in a loud voice: "Master, the eunuch Feng Bao from the Imperial Household Department is here to deliver an oral order."

Gao Gong's face changed, and he signaled Zhang Siwei to hide in the study and not go out. He hurried away and went to the front hall to greet them.

Feng Bao orally repeated the decree on the punishment of Han Ji. Gao Gong looked extremely unhappy, as this was a slap in his face.

"Eunuch Feng, does the emperor know about this decree?" Gao Gong asked with a stiff face.

Feng Bao kept smiling: "Master Gao, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will tell the Emperor about anything that involves you. After the Emperor knew about this, he scolded Han Ji and agreed to the decree drafted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Originally, the Emperor had forbidden Han Ji and his descendants from taking the imperial examination for five generations, but the Crown Prince pleaded for mercy and changed the limit to three generations."

Then I would also like to thank the prince on behalf of Han Ji's family, right?
Gao Gong held his breath and continued listening.

"The Emperor asked me to bring a message to Master Gao."

Gao Gong pretended to kneel down, but Feng Bao stopped him with both hands.

"The Emperor specifically told me that these were private conversations and asked Master Gao not to be too polite."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Please let Eunuch Feng speak."

"The emperor asked me to tell Master Gao that I know that Master Gao is highly respected and has great ambitions for the world. Although he has been deceived by villains, Master Gao please don't mind and get familiar with political affairs, solve problems for the country, and share the worries of the emperor."

Gao Gong's face turned blue and white. Although Emperor Longqing's words were well-intentioned, to him, it sounded like a slap in the face.

The emperor summoned you back to the capital because he remembered our old friendship and asked you to come back to the court to do some work. But you ended up doing nothing after nearly a month back in the court. You were just fighting for power and profit.

The students under your tutelage even go so far as to throw dirty water on the late emperor and you, their teacher, just to gain fame. Why do they do that?
Gao Gong forced himself to see Feng Bao out of the house, and when he turned back he saw Zhang Siwei waiting in the front hall.

"I heard everything from the back just now. Lord Gao, the late emperor dared to kill people, but the prince is destroying their hearts."

Gao Gong sighed, "Killing someone's heart is even more cruel than killing him. Han Ji was stripped of his honors and official position, reduced to a commoner, and his three generations were not allowed to take the imperial examinations."

Zhang Siwei said quietly, "The Han family is wealthy and has a lot of property. But now they have lost their fame and official positions, and are surrounded by tigers and wolves. Haha, three generations have failed the imperial examinations. It's hard to say whether the Han family can survive for three generations.

The prince is indeed the good grandson of the late emperor! His methods are better than his predecessors. He knows that the emperor has just ascended the throne, and he must leave the person alive during the imperial caning.

Since I can't beat you to death, I might as well make you live a life worse than death!"

Zhu Yijun met three people in the West Garden.

Lu Xiang, Lieutenant General of the Beihai Navy and Commander of the Escort Battalion of the Fleet that Surveys and Maps the East Japanese Waters; Xue Yi, the Fleet Chief, and Chen Keyan, the Deputy Chief.

"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

When Lu Xiang, Xue Yi and Chen Keyan saw Zhu Yijun coming in, they hurriedly greeted him.

"Stand up, take a seat, and serve tea."

Zhu Yijun sat down at the top seat, and after the three of them sat down, he went straight to the point: "Have you found the island with mountains of gold and silver in the north of Japan?"

Xue Yi replied, "Your Highness, we found it. The locals call it Sado Island. We stayed there for three or four months, wiped out the local natives, and conducted a thorough investigation. We found that there is indeed a mountain of gold and silver hidden there."

"Are you sure it's correct?"

"Your Highness, it is confirmed. We sent some people to collect some ore, and the ore we got was refined into 1,600 taels of gold and 12,000 taels of silver."

After Zhu Yijun listened quietly to the report of Xue Yi and the other two, he turned to Fang Liang and said, "Go and tell your uncle to gather all the nobles who have joined the group at the Xi'an Gate Coordination Bureau and tell them that it's a great thing and there's money to be shared!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)