I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 197 The Crown Prince is more clever than Lord Gao

After Zhu Yijun finished striking the bronze bell, he returned to the hall, looked at the ministers kneeling on the ground, turned around and bowed to Emperor Longqing, saying, "Father, please grant me grace. Please ask all the ministers to stand up."

Emperor Longqing waved his hand and said, "Please stand up, my lords."

After Xu Jie and other ministers stood up, Zhu Yijun continued.

"The Liaodong victory report: Wang Gao and his gang of bandits surrendered. They openly humiliated the late emperor, and now the hatred of the country and the family has been avenged. We need a minister of high moral character and prestige to go and pay homage to the late emperor.

Mr. Yin."

Zhu Yijun looked at Yin Shidan and said, "You are the elder, so please go to Yongling and pay homage to the late emperor in the temple of the world to show our loyalty and filial piety.

In addition, the Liaodong Nuzhen's open provocation is unprecedented in the country, and the ancestral tombs are in turmoil. I also ask Mr. Yin to pay homage to the Tai Mausoleum of Xiao Temple, the Mao Mausoleum of Xian Temple, the Yu Mausoleum of Ying Temple, the Jing Mausoleum of Xuan Temple, the Xian Mausoleum of Ren Temple, and the Chang Mausoleum of Chengzu. Then go south to Zhongdu Fengyang to pay homage to the ancestral tombs, and then go to Nanjing to pay homage to the Xiao Mausoleum, and inform the victory report to comfort the spirits of the two ancestors in heaven. "

The palace was very quiet. The ministers knew that this was a counterattack by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He used the excuse of paying homage to the tombs of the ancestors to kick Yin Shidan out of the cabinet.

This round of worship will take at least a year.

Because to worship the ancestors, you can't just go and worship them. You have to choose an auspicious day and bathe and fast.

Due to the red tape, it takes at least half a month to pay homage to an ancestral tomb.

It was impossible for the cabinet elder to let you lead the work outside for a year, so it was natural for him to kick Yin Shidan out of the cabinet.

Yin Shidan had a complicated expression. He knew that his carefully designed plan to seize the Coordination Bureau had failed and his official career had come to an end.

What’s even more terrifying is, what kind of revenge will the prince take on him in the future?

Yin Shidan knelt on the ground and said to Emperor Longqing sadly: "Your Majesty, I bid you farewell."

Looking at Yin Shidan, who had accompanied him in Prince Yu's Mansion for several years, Emperor Longqing felt a surge of emotions in his heart and couldn't bear it.

Just as he was about to speak, Zhu Yijun said, "Father, Mr. Yin is weak. How about asking Mr. Chen or Mr. Gao to go over?"

In the heart of Emperor Longqing, among the lecturers in Prince Yu's mansion, the one he had the deepest feelings for was Gao Gong first, and the second was Chen Yiqin.

When Yan's father and son bullied him, these two stood up, ran around, and tried their best to help.

Emperor Longqing saw it all and was grateful in his heart.

Yin Shidan was much worse, because when he was in Prince Yu's Mansion, he was fully focused on teaching Emperor Longqing and rarely interfered in other matters.

Maybe he was afraid of the power of Yan's father and son, or maybe he was powerless and wanted to protect himself. In any case, in the heart of Emperor Longqing, his feelings for Yin Shidan were definitely not as good as those for Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin.

As for Zhang Juzheng, he entered Prince Yu's Mansion a little late and had a shallower relationship with him.

Now Zhu Yijun presented a dilemma: either Yin Shidan should go, or Gao Gong or Chen Yiqin should go.

Emperor Longqing didn't have to think about it for long. He certainly wouldn't want Gao Gong or Chen Yiqin to make such a hard journey and also sacrifice their official careers.

In that case, I'd better take the trouble to go there, Mr. Yin.

Yin Shidan heard the conspiracy in Zhu Yijun's words, his face changed repeatedly, and he sighed in his heart.

With this prince and this emperor in the future, it is unknown where the Ming Dynasty will go.

But what Yin Shidan was certain of was that if the holy teachings did not flourish, the righteous path would inevitably decline.

"Mr. Yin, take care on your journey."

After hearing what Emperor Longqing said, Yin Shidan, resigned to his fate, prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowed three times, and staggered out of Baohe Hall.

Zhu Yijun stared at Hu Qingxu and said bluntly: "This time when distributing salaries, the Minister of Revenue Gao has repeatedly emphasized that all officials should receive 50% rice, 30% in kind, and 20% in silver, to give all officials some breathing space.

You secretly instructed the Langzhong and Yuanwailang of the Qinglisi of Shaanxi, your two confidants, to change the actual payment to 40% rice and 60% in exchange for goods for officials above the fourth rank; 20% rice and 80% in exchange for officials below the fourth rank. This incident eventually occurred. Zhu Yijun sneered, "You are really a little clever. When you are hurting others, you don't forget to please officials above the fourth rank. But as officials appointed by the court, you have important responsibilities, but you only have such a little cleverness to hurt others and benefit yourself, and you have no wisdom to benefit the country and the people. How can you have the face to be in the palace?"

After saying this, he turned to face Emperor Longqing, cupped his hands and said, "Father, I beg you to arrest Hu Qingxu and his followers who caused this disturbance, and send them to the Censorate and the Dali Temple for trial. Their crimes should be made public to appease the public anger."

"Okay!" Emperor Longqing responded decisively.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, and a Jinyiwei military officer on duty came into the hall and took away Hu Qingxu, who was shaking like a sieve.

"Now, let's discuss how to deal with the subsequent issues."

At this time, Emperor Longqing interrupted Zhu Yijun.

"Prince, please discuss with the old gentlemen and other ministers and deal with it properly. I am tired, so I will go back to catch up on some sleep first."

"Yes, Father."

Xu Jie and others were shocked and looked up, seeing that Emperor Longqing's face was a little gray, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He stood up from the throne and his steps were unsteady as he walked down the stairs.

After Emperor Longqing left, Zhu Yijun held out his hands and said, "Please stand up, gentlemen. Feng Bao, get some stools for the old gentlemen and ministers to sit on."

The cabinet ministers such as Xu Jie, the chancellors such as Gao Gong, and the chancellor Zhao Zhenji sat on stools, while the rest stood.

Zhu Yijun put his hands in his sleeves and continued, "The money in the Imperial Household Department is to be used to buy horses for the frontier troops, and it cannot be misappropriated. The Coordination Bureau will first lend one million taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue to get through the next two months."

Gao Gong quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Zhu Yijun looked at him and said word by word: "The dirty things in the Ministry of Revenue are well known throughout the court. If the loopholes are not plugged, no amount of silver will be enough to fill them. I hope Mr. Gao understands this."

"I understand. I will check the accounts of the Thirteenth Department of the Ministry of Revenue when I return."

Zhu Yijun nodded and continued, "Since Mr. Gao has started the Lianghuai Salt Administration, we must investigate this matter thoroughly."

He paused, glanced around, and his tone became firm.

"The Jiangxi bandit issue has been resolved. Wang Yi'e, the Jiangxi governor, was transferred to be the governor of the grain transport. Liu Yingjie was transferred to Nanjing as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Hai Rui was appointed as the right deputy censor-in-chief, specializing in inspecting the salt administration in Lianghuai."

Gao Gong was stunned when he heard this, and immediately understood the difference between the prince's inspection of salt administration and his own inspection of salt administration.

He made the first two moves and appointed Wang Yi'e, a capable minister who was good at suppressing bandits and pacifying the people, as the governor-general of the grain transport system.

The full title of this official position is Governor-General of Grain Transport and Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs, Governor of Fengyang and other places, and in charge of waterways.

In addition to managing the 3,000-mile grain transport, he also served as the governor of Lufeng, managing Fengyang Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture and the three direct-controlled prefectures of Xuzhou, Hezhou and Chuzhou.

All areas where the Lianghuai Salt Administration was located were under his jurisdiction.

Liu Yingjie was transferred to the post of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, in charge of salt permit affairs, and was the immediate superior of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.

The place where the Lianghuai Salt Administration was located, and the immediate superior placed two capable officials in charge, and then sent Hai Rui, who was famous throughout the country, to inspect the salt administration, which was a heavy blow to the emperor.

If the salt merchants involved in the Lianghuai Salt Administration and the forces behind them dared to resist, Wang Yi'e had killed Japanese pirates and bandits before, and he really dared to kill people at the critical moment.

As soon as the three-horse carriage was put into place, it was clear that the court was determined to clarify the salt administration.

Gao Gong also understood that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had long been thinking about taking action against the Lianghuai Salt Administration.

If I had taken more initiative at the beginning, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would have sent Wang Yi'e and Liu Yingjie, and I would have sent a trusted confidant to lead the team. I would have been able to sort out the Lianghuai Salt Administration and would not have ended up in the passive situation we are in now.

Alas, it’s all my fault!

(End of this chapter)