Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 433: Taking the Head Start
Zhang Luan took the lead in selecting the location of the imperial mausoleum. According to Li Hua's idea, he should agree with it and second the proposal, and then report it.

This is too easy.

Anyway, Zhang Luan has a strong background and Li Zisheng's support. If I can't afford to offend him, can't I just avoid him?

Unexpectedly, Ni Yue was firm in his attitude and objected loudly: "We were not consulted beforehand. This is definitely not a normal choice... Please forgive me for not agreeing with it!"

Don’t talk about right or wrong, just talk about whether it is normal or not.

This is also Ni Yue’s thinking habit.

Why did you, Zhang Luan, come to this place and do nothing? We are working hard here, but you are nowhere to be seen? You said you have been to all the surrounding places, but who can prove it? But when we met today, you told us the place you chose as if to give us an order, and asked us to report it according to your wishes?
Then haven't we worked for nothing these two days?
Tolerable or unbearable!
Although we are both Ministers of Rites, you are just a figurehead with only the title. Why should I listen to you?
Li Zisheng looked like a Maitreya Buddha and asked with a smile: "What is the normal choice? I don't know what this means. Why don't I understand... Minister Zhang, do you understand?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan had a bitter face and felt helpless. When he looked at Ni Yue, his eyes were a little evasive.

It’s all Li Zisheng’s fault!

He always likes to make big promises to me, saying that I should defeat Ni Yue, put all the women in Ni Yue's family in jail, and then redeem them and send them to me...

Don’t you think this is inducing me to commit a crime?
Nothing has happened yet, but I'm already fantasizing about someone else's family?
How can I face someone named Ni?

But in Ni Yue's opinion, Zhang Luan's behavior was not out of shame, but intentional avoidance. It also showed that Zhang Luan was guilty and was plotting in the selection of the site for the imperial mausoleum.

The so-called "the enemy retreats and I advance" is because I can see that you are not right and are just bluffing and not worth mentioning, so I must be more aggressive. This is the way to advance and retreat in officialdom.

Ni Yue angrily shouted, "This site selection is too ridiculous. I absolutely do not agree with it!"

Li Zisheng pursed his lips and rebuked angrily: "It's so hard to choose a place, but you don't agree. Do you have to choose it? The prince seems to want us to make a decision after discussion... When you say this, does it mean that we can't reach a conclusion after discussion?"

"Choosing an imperial mausoleum is no small matter, and we must be careful!" Ni Yue said with his neck stiff, "There are too many subjects involved... Taoist Li, you'd better not get involved."

At this moment, he still did not forget to threaten Li Zisheng.

Li Zisheng is an open-minded person. You threaten me, but I just laugh it off.

If you have the guts, go and jump around on your own!

Anyway, I don't necessarily have to feel bad for you. We have actually already reported it and impeached you. It would be bad if you agreed with us on all opinions.

Now is the perfect time!
"Laizhan, I think we need to visit more places, so that people won't say that we didn't do our best when we were ordered to do the emperor's mission." Li Zisheng was about to pull Zhang Luan away.

Zhang Luan asked, "Are you not going to discuss this anymore?"

Li Zisheng sighed, "Do you think we can come to a conclusion? You two, just continue to survey here. Find a better site than ours in a couple of days, and then we can discuss it again..."

After saying that, he took Zhang Luan and went down the mountain on a sedan chair.

……

……

"Laizhan, you are really good. You acted really well just now. You looked totally unconfident and fooled those two old foxes."

On the way down the mountain, Li Zisheng praised, "So, since I've been working with you, everything has been going smoothly. Even performing a play is easy for me."

"hehe."

Zhang Luan could only respond with a wry smile.

Am I pretending to be a grandson?

I am a real grandson!
The problem was that I had no idea how to face them, especially when a dispute occurred. My lack of experience as an official became my most fatal weakness, and I didn't even have the confidence to speak.

But you still think that I am pretending to be a coward and deliberately paralyzing them?

"Both of you."

As soon as the two of them came down the mountain, someone came over to report, "The memorial that Master Li asked us to send has been sent to the capital. And it has been sent all the way to the cabinet. He has also instructed the people below that if there are any memorials coming up, they must be strictly investigated. If it is related to the imperial mausoleum, it must be postponed to the cabinet until another day."

Zhang Luan asked, "What does this mean?"

Li Zisheng laughed and said, "Have you forgotten what I do?"

Zhang Luan was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that Li Zisheng was the head of the Yintaisi and the Minister of Public Administration of the Ming Dynasty.

The Tongzhengshi was in charge of organizing memorials and reporting them. It could be said that all memorials from all over the world had to pass through the Tongzhengshisi first. After passing the Tongzhengshisi, the memorials were not sent to the cabinet, but directly to the Silijian, and only one copy needed to be given to the cabinet.

If it was Zhang Luan's memorial, he could take the shortcut and report it directly.

In this way, even if Ni Yue and Li Hua's memorials were sent to the capital, they would be reported one day later. Even though this was not in accordance with the rules and they might even be held accountable afterwards, Li Zisheng still had a way to solve it.

"Laizhan, just rest assured."

Li Zisheng looked confident and said, "Just leave this kind of small matter to me... If I can't even handle this, I won't be able to face you."

……

……

Just when Zhang Luan was fully enjoying the happiness of being a "treacherous minister" and leisurely discussing "important matters" with Li Zisheng, a memorial concerning the site selection of the imperial mausoleum in the capital was personally delivered to the prince by Wei Tai and Qin Chang.

Zhu Youtang did not dare to make a decision on his own. He took the memorial and went to Qingning Palace to meet Empress Dowager Zhou with Wei Tai and Qin Chang.

"Grandmother, the location has been chosen. Would you like to take a look?"

Zhu Youtang presented the memorial to Empress Dowager Zhou.

Empress Dowager Zhou waved her hands, as if unwilling to take on this hot potato, and said kindly: "Silly child, why are you telling me this? This is something you can decide on your own. As a son, of course, such matters are subject to your will! After all, this concerns the fate of the Ming Dynasty, and the person who is most affected is you. I am already an old man."

According to Empress Dowager Zhou, where I will be buried after my death is a matter of destiny. I will be buried in the tomb of my husband, Emperor Yingzong.

But you are different.

This is your father's grave, which concerns your destiny. According to the rules, it must be decided by you, his son, and not by me, his mother.

Zhu Youtang said in embarrassment: "But my grandson doesn't understand these."

Queen Mother Zhou asked, "Is this a unanimous decision they made after consultation?"

"it's not true."

Zhu Youtang said, "Neither Mr. Ni nor Li Hua submitted a memorial. It was my father-in-law who submitted one himself. He also specifically stated that after Mr. Ni and Li Hua arrived at Wanshou Mountain, they were slow in their work and seemed to be slacking off. They also kept shirking their responsibilities and refused to discuss the site selection with my father-in-law."

"Oh? Did they have any disputes after leaving the city?" Queen Mother Zhou frowned.

If Zhu Youtang couldn't understand the ins and outs of it, an old fox like Queen Mother Zhou could see some clues.

Zhu Youtang said: "It's hard to say specifically, Grandmother, please see for yourself."

"Well, since you asked me to see it, I will take a look at it."

After Empress Dowager Zhou finished speaking, she took the memorial and stared at it without waiting for anyone else to read it.

The words on it are very large, as if they are designed to make it easier for people with presbyopia to see clearly.

Queen Mother Zhou looked at it for a long while, then shook her head and sighed, "Your father-in-law is such a good man! He has always been working hard. He just said that Ni Yue and Li Hua did something wrong, but he didn't mean to kill them."

Zhu Youtang was very curious.

I thought to myself, are we talking about the same thing?
Empress Dowager Zhou asked, "Except for your father-in-law's memorial, Ni Yue and Li Hua didn't submit any memorials?"

"I haven't seen it yet."

Zhu Youtang hesitated and frowned, saying, "They just arrived yesterday, so they may not be that anxious."

Queen Mother Zhou nodded slightly and said, "Then wait and see what Ni Yue and Li Hua say. Grandson, don't think Ni Yue is a good person. This man... Sigh! I don't know what to say! But it's true. After all, he was a lecturer in the Eastern Palace. Logically speaking, students should not make malicious assumptions about their teachers."

Zhu Youtang reminded him, "My father-in-law also worked as a lecturer in the Eastern Palace for a few days."

"It's all the same."

Queen Mother Zhou said, "You just need to be fair and impartial."

……

……

On the other side, Ni Yue and Li Hua discussed the result that night and decided to report an address of the imperial tomb that was different from Zhang Luan's.

Ever since.

Without a detailed survey of the location reported by Zhang Luan, Li Hua had to give up this option that he favored in his previous life, and according to Ni Yue's request, he attacked Zhang Luan's choice, and then impeached Zhang Luan and Li Zisheng together with Ni Yue for their improper work and slackness in selecting the imperial mausoleum...

To put it bluntly, I am impeaching you for not working hard for the late emperor.

After you arrived at Xishan, you were always missing and said you were working hard, but just looking at your lazy look, I knew you were just being lazy.

You don't do your job properly, and yet you still want to command us?

Are you trying to suppress us?
Thus, without Li Hua having any idea about the situation behind the scenes, he was used by Ni Yue, and the two of them jointly submitted a memorial to impeach Zhang Luan and Li Zisheng.

The memorial was delivered to the capital on the afternoon of the next day, but was not sent to the Imperial Household Department until the third day.

"These two..."

After seeing the two people's memorials, Wei Tai almost vomited blood.

Qin Chang took it and looked at it, frowning as well, and asked, "They attacked the future father-in-law of the emperor so confidently, but they didn't investigate what Minister Zhang had done before? They submitted the memorial two days later than Minister Zhang, yet they still dared to say that others did nothing?"

Wei Tai asked, "Did someone deliberately suppress the memorial?"

Qin Chang pointed to the signature at the back and said, "Everything has a time limit. Even if it is one day late, it is reasonable. It was only delivered to the capital yesterday evening. How much earlier can it be?"

Wei Tai frowned and asked, "Then what is the purpose of their submission of this memorial?"

Qin Chang was experienced after all, and said, "I heard that the people in the Eastern Palace now generally think that Minister Zhang is not capable enough. When it comes to choosing a mausoleum for the late emperor, they all agree that they should listen to Ni Yue and Li Hua, after all, they are both the best. But... this matter is not simple."

"Then how should we deal with it? Please give me some advice, Eunuch Tan."

On the one hand, Wei Tai was on guard against Qin Chang, but on the other hand, due to his lack of experience, he had to humbly ask Qin Chang for advice.

Qin Chang said: "Report the truth. This is not a decision we should make."

……

……

Afterwards, the two of them quickly sent the memorial to Zhu Youtang for review.

As expected, Zhu Youtang took the memorial to see Empress Dowager Zhou.

However, he was told that Queen Mother Zhou was worshiping Buddha, and it seemed that Queen Mother Zhou wanted to avoid suspicion this time and did not ask about the matter directly.

"Your Highness, the old ancestor meant for you to decide for yourself."

Chen Gui came out and said, "She said that she is just an old lady and shouldn't interfere in the affairs of the court. You should judge for yourself what is right and what is wrong."

(End of this chapter)