Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 208: The Debauched Civil Servants of the Taichang Temple (Two in One)

Zhu Houzhao looked at Liu Jie, the Minister of Taichang Temple, then at Qu Yang, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Kitchen, and then at the large group of officials from the Taichang Temple and the Imperial Kitchen behind him. He could see that Liu Jie and Qu Yang should not have been involved in this matter, but Zhu Houzhao could not be sure whether these two people were involved.

For a moment, Zhu Houzhao really couldn't be sure who had tampered with the food supply to the palace.

At this time, the cabinet chief Wang Hua stood up and said, "Your Majesty! I dare to ask, what happened that caused Your Majesty to be so angry that you ordered the Western Factory to bring all the officials from the Taichang Temple and the Imperial Kitchen here."

Wang Hua was indeed not clear about this matter, but he could see some clues from Zhu Houzhao's furious expression. He was not a civil servant like Jiao Fang who was only willing to be the emperor's lackey. What he hoped was to try his best not to implicate many innocent people because of some things that might anger the emperor. So he asked this question so that he could think of a way to make a big deal out of a small matter.

Zhu Houzhao naturally understood why Wang Hua asked this question. He just smiled faintly and said, "Since the Prime Minister is interested, I will let you see for yourself what some gentlemen in the court are doing behind the scenes."

Zhu Houzhao then ordered: "Give a bowl of porridge to each official from the Imperial Kitchen and the Imperial Palace who is present this morning."

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Gu Dayong from the Western Factory did as he was told and gave each of the officials from the imperial kitchen and the Taichang Temple a bowl of porridge.

"Eat this bowl of porridge!"

Zhu Houzhao said something.

The chief minister Wang Hua, the second chief minister Zhang Cai, the grand secretary Zhang Cai, and the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department Liu Jin all did not understand what Zhu Houzhao meant.

Most of the officials in the Imperial Kitchen and the Taichang Temple did not know what Zhu Houzhao meant, but since it was the Emperor who gave them the porridge, they all thanked him and started eating the porridge.

There is nothing wrong with the young eunuchs in the imperial kitchen, after all, they are all people without male abilities.

Not long after the civil servants of the Taichang Temple had eaten the porridge, their faces flushed and they looked at Zhu Houzhao with fiery eyes.

"Liu Jie, the Minister of Taichang Temple, the bowl of porridge I gave you just now was white porridge made in the imperial kitchen, using the tribute rice supplied by your Taichang Temple. Can you see the problem now?"

Zhu Houzhao asked, since it was the civil servants of the Taichang Temple who were suffering from hunger instead of him, the emperor, Zhu Houzhao was naturally not in a hurry. He wanted to let the officials present know what despicable means some people with ulterior motives in the court were using.

Liu Jie, the Minister of Taichang Temple, now wished he could go home immediately to find his concubine to perform the Zhougong ceremony, but he also understood why the Emperor had brought the officials of Taichang Temple and the Imperial Kitchen to the palace.

"I never thought that someone would dare to use such means on Your Majesty, and actually intend to make Your Majesty a tyrant. I think this must be the work of the eunuchs in the Imperial Kitchen. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have worked hard to govern the country, taking back the Hetao area in the north and pacifying the south of the Yangtze River in the south, so that the country is rich and the people are well-off. However, because of this, the power of the eunuchs has been further reduced, and the Silijian is just a writer! Therefore, I think that Your Majesty should issue an order to rectify the inner court!"

It was obvious that Liu Jie, the Minister of Taichang Temple, wanted to pass the blame to the imperial kitchen.

At this time, Qu Yang, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Kitchen, also stood up. He did not understand what Liu Jie was talking about, but when he heard that Liu Jie, the Minister of the Imperial Kitchen, was putting the blame on his own Imperial Kitchen, he was naturally unwilling to admit his guilt, and hurriedly explained:

"Your Majesty, please understand! I don't know what the method Liu Taichang mentioned is, but I dare not have the intention to harm Your Majesty! If there is something wrong with the food in the imperial kitchen, then the maids around Your Majesty will be in trouble first. But now, I haven't heard of any eunuchs or sisters in trouble. I can't think of any means that this thief will use to harm Your Majesty if there is a thief in the imperial kitchen."

"Eunuch Qu, why do you have to pretend to be stupid? Although you don't know about the relationship between men and women, you should also know that some medicines are only effective for men. Who else can put medicine in His Majesty's food except your imperial kitchen?"

Liu Jie, the Minister of Taichang Temple, breathed rapidly. He wanted to put his hand into his robe, but he had to hold back. He clenched his fists and argued with Qu Yang, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Stables.

The other civil servants also blushed, some even trembled, and some couldn't help jumping up and down with sweat on their foreheads. At this moment, everyone realized the problem, but now they didn't know what to do. They just cursed in their hearts:
"Who is so wicked as to murder His Majesty in this way?"

Qu Yang now almost understood what the method that Taichang Temple Minister Liu Jie was talking about was, and he once again defended himself: "Your Majesty! I am innocent. I swear that I have no intention of making Your Majesty a tyrant. If I had such an intention, I would be struck by lightning! I will not die a good death, Your Majesty!"

The Cabinet Chief Minister Wang Hua now also saw the trick here, and understood why His Majesty had brought all the officials from the Imperial Kitchen and the Taichang Temple here and made them eat the porridge bestowed by the emperor.

However, Wang Hua didn't know how to judge this matter now.

First of all, Wang Hua had to admit that there were still such shameless people in the court who were willing to use such means to turn His Majesty into a licentious and tyrannical tyrant.

Considering the increasingly heated discussions among the court and the public about His Majesty being lustful and often absent from court, Wang Hua couldn't help but think that perhaps there were treacherous officials and villains behind the scenes who were fanning the flames.

Wang Hua couldn't help but glance at Zhu Houzhao who was sitting on the throne. He began to feel sorry for the emperor. He had to admit that there would never be peace in the court, even though His Majesty had taken many extreme measures that even he had to admit were too cruel.

Sometimes, Wang Hua couldn't understand why an official in the court would use such means to make His Majesty a tyrant.

"You, where do you put the people of the world, where do you put the Ming Dynasty! Is it not good for the world if Your Majesty is a wise ruler, or is it good for the world if Your Majesty is a foolish ruler? If you want Your Majesty to be a foolish ruler, why do you have to use such dirty means, and why do you have to sigh in front of others that Your Majesty is lustful!"

The chief minister of the cabinet, Wang Hua, loudly questioned the official in front of him. Although he could not determine whether this was done by eunuchs, civil servants, or a collusion between eunuchs and civil servants.

But what infuriated him the most was that the court officials would actually use such means to murder His Majesty, and hypocritically sighed for His Majesty's licentious behavior every day like him. Liu Jin, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, smiled coldly to himself. He had to admit that the current Prime Minister Wang Hua was indeed simpler, and he was so excited to see such behavior.

However, Liu Jin did not say much. He knew that the only thing he could do to avoid being implicated in this matter was to remain silent. He was now thankful that Qu Yang, the young supervisor of the imperial kitchen, was Luo Xiang's man, not his own. In this way, whether Qu Yang was punished or not, it would not have much to do with him.

Of course, Liu Jin felt that there was no need for him to help Qu Yang offend the civil officials, nor was there any need for him to help the civil officials offend Luo Xiang, the purchasing eunuch behind Qu Yang, who was now a big shot around the Queen.

The Minister of Personnel and Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Cai also remained silent like Liu Jin at this time, and was not as excited as Wang Hua. He had been observing the court for so many years with a cold eye, and he could see that, although from the perspective of Confucian ethics and the Ming Dynasty, a family needs a strict father and the court needs a wise ruler, in fact, as sons, nephews and ministers, they all hope that their fathers will indulge their kings to be a little stupid, so that they can be more free and get better benefits for themselves.

Nowadays, the emperor is wise and his ministers are diligent. The performance evaluation system, the regular land surveys and the new policies of opening the sea have reduced many of the benefits for most officials and gentry. Even the benefits of asking for salt permits and imperial farms and official land, which they could get by relying on the emperor's kindness, are gone. Naturally, many people want to change the emperor.

Especially after the empress gave birth to a prince, most officials and gentry had the idea of ​​letting a young ruler rule the country in the Ming Dynasty. After all, that would inevitably lead to the transfer of imperial power, and everyone would be able to be an official with a leisurely, easy and wealthy life.

But Zhang Cai knew that the emperor in front of him was not ignorant of this truth, but that the emperor really wanted to do something, so he did not go to the trouble of reminding the emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Zhang Cai only knew that if Your Majesty was a wise monarch who knew how to use people, then he would be a capable minister of the country. If Your Majesty was a foolish and incompetent monarch, then he would be a corrupt official of the country.

Liu Yu, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Minister of War, also saw the clues here. He was a shareholder of many royal industries and, like Wang Hua, a new type of capitalist in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, like Wang Hua, he instinctively hated this behavior of wanting His Majesty the Emperor to be a tyrant. However, he was not as indignant as Wang Hua. He just looked at these civil servants with red faces with a playful smile.

Zhu Houzhao saw that the civil servants of the Taichang Temple were all panting heavily, and some could not help but put their hands into their robes. He slapped the back of his chair and shouted loudly: "Put your hands back! This is a restricted area of ​​the imperial palace, and you are not allowed to do anything indecent! Otherwise, I will kill you for blaspheming the royal dignity!"

After Zhu Houzhao's order, the civil servants of the Taichang Temple present had to hold back their thoughts again. They could only try their best to divert their attention from thinking about the matter, but they could not help but have some indecent images constantly appearing in their minds.

Ye Zhi, the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, really couldn't stand it anymore, but he knew that he couldn't admit it at this time, because once he admitted it, his reputation would be ruined. But he couldn't let this situation continue, because he had to admit that the means he secretly used on Emperor Zhu Houzhao would make him feel so uncomfortable that he would want to commit suicide if he couldn't vent them now.

Therefore, Ye Zhi, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Household, shouted, "Everyone! Who are you to harm His Majesty? Please stand up and tell us why you dare not admit that you want to implicate us!"

"That's right! Eunuchs in the Imperial Kitchen, just admit it. If you hadn't done it, how could our officials in the Imperial Palace have framed the Emperor? And I'm afraid you had already expected that His Majesty would let us know the secrets like he did today. As eunuchs, you won't suffer this punishment, but only let us civil officials suffer!"

Yang Yuanyi, the Minister of the Imperial Household, also echoed this.

Qu Yang, the junior supervisor of the imperial kitchen, was so embarrassed by what he said that he blushed, but he could not clear himself of all blame by using sweet words like those civil servants. He could only swear and refuse to admit that he was the one who did it.

"Issue an order that the officials who will continue to be given a banquet at the Taichang Temple at noon today will still be prepared by the people in the imperial kitchen. Please go home and attend the banquet outside the Qianqing Gate at noon. Do not refuse. Those who violate the order will be punished for disobeying the order!"

Zhu Houzhao asked the people from the Western Factory to take all the officials out. He knew that he might not be able to find out who was behind this despicable move for the time being, so it would be better to continue playing the game and let the person behind the scenes come out himself. Zhu Houzhao did not believe that the person behind the scenes would be willing to play like this every day.

Ye Zhi was very afraid that he would do something even more absurd after attending the banquet in the palace at noon. He began to regret why he had done such a thing in the first place, but he knew that he could not do anything now, because as soon as he took any action, he would definitely be discovered by the people from the Western Factory.

Therefore, Ye Zhi and the civil servants of Taichang Temple had to go to the palace to attend the banquet again.

Moreover, in the next few days, these civil servants of the Taichang Temple will be given banquets by the emperor, even three times a day.

Originally, being granted a banquet by the emperor was a very honorable thing, but at this moment, these civil servants of the Taichang Temple felt that it was more uncomfortable than going to the execution ground.

"Shaoqing Ye, congratulations! You officials of the Taichang Temple are really favored by His Majesty and have been given a banquet by His Majesty. We officials of the Kedao District don't have this blessing," said Tang Ren, the Du Jishi Zhong, sarcastically after seeing Ye Zhi. After knowing that there might be officials in the Imperial Kitchen and the Taichang Temple who wanted to make His Majesty a lustful and tyrant and were frequently given banquets by His Majesty, Tang Ren, as a Kedao District Censor, was very angry about this, and therefore he was merciless when ridiculing the officials of the Taichang Temple.

Although Ye Zhi was very angry, he couldn't say anything.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help laughing when he saw the officials of the Taichang Temple who had lost a lot of weight. "My dear ministers, please be more restrained. I personally watched the people in the imperial kitchen prepare the meals and really didn't add anything. Therefore, you should not have the urge to indulge in Wushan these days. However, you are still much thinner than before, which really makes me feel wrong!"

"I also heard that recently some of you have settled down in the Jiaofangsi. Every day after the banquet in the palace, you have to go to the Jiaofangsi, so many people have contracted syphilis. I really feel sorry for this. Although scholars have loved to be romantic since ancient times, they should also be more careful. How can they only be demons of sex? Do the officials of our Ming Dynasty only know how to be romantic? Aren't they also people who are extremely licentious?"

Zhu Houzhao continued to ask.

Ye Zhi, who was enduring the pain from syphilis caused by frequent visits to brothels, held his forehead helplessly without answering.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao shouted again: "Give me a feast!"

So, many dishes were served again. Seeing this, Ye Zhi couldn't help but shouted instinctively: "Zhu Houzhao! What do you want!"

Thanks to my book friend Li Bozhan for the 500 starting coins. Thank you to my book friend Hua...丿辰 for the 500 starting coins. I wish you all a happy new year again on the first day of the first lunar month. Because it is the first day of the first lunar month and the Spring Festival, I am very busy today visiting relatives and other things. I am sorry that I have only updated now.

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(End of this chapter)