I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 366 He Finally Left

In the Qinzheng Hall of Ziguang Pavilion in Xiyuan, Feng Bao was in front and Chen Ju was behind. The two walked in quietly and saw Zhu Yijun reviewing memorials and documents at his desk. They stood aside with their hands hanging down, without saying a word.

After about ten minutes, Zhu Yijun accidentally looked up and saw the two people.

"Oh, I'm back."

"Your Highness, I have come back here in compliance with your order to escort Mr. Xu back to his hometown."

Feng Bao and Chen Ju quickly bowed and replied.

"Get up. Many people have gone there?" Zhu Yijun continued to work at his desk and asked.

"To answer your question, Your Highness, more than half of the civil servants in the capital have gone there, and a lot of nobles and relatives have also gone there. The East Gate Wharf is so crowded that there is no room for them.

Mr. Zhang and other disciples of Mr. Xu will be sent to Tongzhou before they can come back."

"Yes, Mr. Zhang has taken leave. Feng Bao."

"I'm here!" Feng Bao took half a step forward.

"Master Pan submitted a memorial on building a long dike, requesting once again that the Yellow River and the Grand Canal be restored to their original course. He also said that in order to plan for long-term river construction, it is necessary to build a near dike to contain the river and a far dike to prevent it from bursting.

However, Master Pan's several memorials were rejected by the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, or only partially approved.

River works are not only costly, but also of great importance. Any negligence will affect the lives and property of millions of people. We must be extremely careful.

Ask the East Factory to send a few capable people to investigate."

Feng Bao asked hesitantly, "Your Highness, what are you checking?"

"Check the river workers. Master Pan has built thousands of miles of river embankments in the past few years, but he has not received a single good word from the locals. From the prefectures and counties to the provincial government, many local officials are impeaching him for occupying the people's land in the name of river construction, mixing inferior materials and stones, and demanding labor from the people. The people are suffering.

In particular, Shandong received the most memorials impeaching Master Pan. On the contrary, Henan, Xuhuai and other places not only had few impeachment memorials, but also a large number of memorials praising Master Pan.

Different places have different reactions. There is a mystery here. Shandong needs to be investigated, and Henan and Xuhuai also need to be investigated. I want to know the whole story behind this.”

Feng Bao immediately responded, "I understand. I will make arrangements right away."

After Feng Bao left, Zhu Yijun said to Chen Ju: "Go and talk to Yang Jinshui and ask the Supervisor of the Imperial Household to organize a group of surveyors and construction experts from the Imperial Observatory, the Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, and the Civilian Construction Society to secretly survey and map the river channel that Master Pan has built.

I know that Master Pan is an honest man and will work hard to repair the river. But I want to know what it will look like! "

"As you command."

Zhu Yijun raised his head, glanced at the empty space ahead, then bent down to continue reviewing memorials and documents.

On the official ship that set sail from Tongzhou, Xu Jie, who had just changed ships, lay comfortably on a recliner, looking at the scenery outside the window.

"Spring is in full swing and full of vitality, but I have to retire and return home." Xu Jie sighed softly.

The second son, Xu Kun, came in with a cup of tea and placed it on the coffee table next to him.

"Father, we have finally left Beijing."

"Yes, we finally left Beijing." Xu Jie nodded.

"Father, today, officials and civilians from all walks of life are sending you off to retire and return home. This is a great honor, something that is rare in our country for a century. It's just a pity."

"What's a pity?"

"It's a pity that Xiyuan only sent Eunuch Feng and Eunuch Chen to escort him, but he didn't come in person."

"Be content. My Xu family is now at the peak of its prosperity. Be careful that things will turn into the opposite when they reach the extreme."

"Father, I heard that since you resigned from the cabinet, there have been undercurrents in the court, and everyone is eyeing the position of cabinet elder."

"That's natural. If someone withdraws, someone else will naturally step in."

"Father, everyone says that Gao Gongbu from the Ministry of Revenue has the best chance of joining the cabinet. What do you think?"

Xu Jie sneered, "Don't ask me how I feel. What's the point of me feeling this way? Ask me how Xiyuan feels."

"Father, who do you think Xiyuan wants to be appointed to the cabinet? I remember that Gao Gong was not popular with Xiyuan. After the late emperor passed away, Xiyuan took advantage of the national mourning and detained Gao Xinzheng in his hometown for three or four months. Later, they agreed to let him go to Beijing, but only let him take charge of the Ministry of Revenue and not enter the cabinet.

Gao Xinzheng is arrogant and very dissatisfied, and has secretly fought with the Crown Prince several times. Father, will Xiyuan and Gao Xinzheng really put aside their past grudges? "

"Let bygones be bygones? How can bygones be bygones so easily let bygones be bygones? Gao Xinzheng is a mean-spirited man who will take revenge for any slight. The whole court knows his temper, and Xiyuan knows his temper as well."

Xu Kun's eyes lit up: "Father means that Xiyuan will not let Gao Gong get what he wants when he enters the cabinet this time?"

Xu Jie glanced at him and said, "If Lord Gao is unhappy, what does it have to do with you and me?"

Xu Kun was anxious: "Father, Lord Gao has a grudge against our Xu family. I have heard that Lord Gao felt that when the late emperor passed away, the new emperor delayed summoning him to the capital, and that it was my father who was obstructing him. He has kept this account in mind, and once he gains power, he will definitely take revenge on my father and our Xu family. He dare not go to Xiyuan to cause bad luck. Now that my father has retired, Gao Xinzheng will definitely take the opportunity to take revenge."

Xu Jie replied calmly: "Let's wait until he gets what he wants."

Seeing that his father was not in a hurry, Xu Kun could do nothing.

Perhaps his shrewd father had already thought of a way to deal with it.

If you are not anxious, why should I be anxious? You can resign from the court and leave it alone, but you cannot resign from the position of the head of the Xu family. It is a lifelong tenure and you cannot get rid of it.

Xu Jie took the initiative to speak: "Do you know what is the most talked about thing in Beijing recently?"

"It's about the various vassal clans." Xu Kun replied, "Hai Gangfeng submitted another memorial, impeaching all the vassal clans for various illegal activities.

The last time he wrote a memorial on public security, he only scolded the late emperor, but this time he scolded Taizu and all the princes and clans. He is the only one in the world who can do such a crazy thing. "

"Hai Gangfeng is not the same kind of person as us. Don't try to guess his thoughts with ordinary people's thinking."

Xu Kun continued, "Father, it's strange to say. This time, Hai Gangfeng's memorial received a lot of support from many central and local governments."

"What's so strange about this? Restraining the royal family is the unanimous idea of ​​all civil officials." Xu Jie turned around and made himself more comfortable in the recliner. "Emperor Taizu initially established the feudal system of various vassal states. Each vassal state held troops and was stationed in a fortress or city. The original intention was to jointly defend the local area and consolidate the country forever.

After Emperor Chengzu put down the rebellion in Fengtian, he collected all the troops from the vassal states, but he did not dare to abolish the feudal system. So he took away all the power of the vassal states and took extreme precautions against them. He called it well-being, but in fact it was keeping them in captivity.

After Renzong and Xuanzong, the civil officials certainly did not want the royal family to participate in government affairs and share power with everyone, and they persisted in making the cage tighter and tighter on the royal family.

But this system has lasted for two hundred years, and the rice and salary expenditure has been excessive. It is indeed time to change it. But everyone has their own ideas on how to change it. "

"Father, what do you mean by different thoughts? What could they be thinking?"

Xu Jie glanced at him and said, "Then tell me, how should the various vassal clans be changed?"

Xu Kun thought for a moment and said, "Abolish them all and save a lot of money and grain. Anyway, these princes and royal families are far away from the emperor and the prince, so they won't feel sad."

"That's one idea. Anything else?"

Xu Kun thought for a moment and said, "The ancestral rules cannot be changed lightly. The clan members who violated the law will be punished according to the law. The rest will be left as they are."

"Yeah, that's an idea. Anything else?"

Xu Kun shook his head: "Father, my son is gone. Tell me, what does Xiyuan think?"

"It's hard to predict God's will. But it must be a big move, and it must be quite effective. Otherwise, they wouldn't have summoned five princes to the capital at once, which is unprecedented.

Xiyuan has its own ideas, and the ministers have their own ideas. The emperor and his ministers of the Ming Dynasty have been fighting openly and secretly since the reign of Emperor Taizu Hongwu. When the emperor is strong, the ministers are weak, and when the emperor is dormant, the ministers are powerful. Second brother, what do you think of the current situation in the court?"

"The ruler is strong and the ministers are weak." Xu Kun answered affirmatively
"Of course the king is strong, Xiyuan. But am I weak?"

"Father, am I not weak?"

"Gao Gong carried out a land survey and implemented a budget system, which caused a lot of criticism from the local governments, but he suppressed all of it. Li Chunfang rectified the administration of officials, and there were complaints from the central and local governments, but he just smiled it off. Hu Zongxian, Tan Lun, Wang Yi'e, Wang Chonggu, and Huo Yi were in charge of the local governments, and they were decisive and ruthless, and the military and civilians all obeyed them.

Are they weak? "

Xu Kun thought about it and thought, yes, this is a bit beyond common sense.

But Xiyuan is strong, and these ministers are also strong, so who is weak?
Xu Jie did not answer his question and continued to say: "There are actually signs of rectification of the various vassal clans this time."

"What's the sign?"

"The various vassal clans and the imperial power all have the same origin and are one and the same. It is still unknown who will benefit from this rectification."

"Father, who benefits?"

Xu Jie sat up, picked up the teacup, took two sips, and slowly said: "Some civil officials want to take this opportunity to abolish the princes and royal family, completely prevent them from participating in government affairs, and no longer share power with scholars and civil officials.

But I am worried that this will backfire. Xiyuan is so smart. Even if he is not careful for a while, he will figure out the tricks after being misled by these people's tricks. Then it will be exciting to watch."

Xu Kun asked stupidly, "Father, what's the trick?"

"Power! The power of the Ming Dynasty! Xiyuan is good at delegating power to his ministers, but it is based on the fact that he has enough power. No one thinks his power is too great."

Xu Jie shook his head and didn't want to say anything more.

What's the point of telling you? Can you inherit my mantle?

I’m tired and don’t want to talk about it anymore. I want to lie down from Beijing to Songjiang!
Ugh!
Amid Xu Jie's sigh, the official ship set sail, and with the last bit of north wind of the season, it slowly headed south, getting farther and farther away from the capital.

(End of this chapter)