Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 679 Heavy Pressure
In front of Fengtian Gate.

The ministers were waiting to enter the palace.

Since the new emperor ascended the throne, in order to take care of the frail health of the old ministers in the court, he would usually let the ministers go directly to the Fengtian Hall to hold court meetings when the weather was cold.

The temperature was very low that day and everyone was waiting patiently. Some people even gathered together openly to chat in twos and threes.

The voices were neither loud nor soft, mainly to show that the topic they were discussing was aboveboard and not factional. After the new emperor ascended the throne, ministers were more cautious, fearing that others would accuse them of forming cliques for personal gain.

Now the focus of all the officials' attention is that Li Zisheng, who is near Piantou Pass, took the initiative to lead his troops out of the border to fight against the Tatar troops. Not only do the upright officials in the court not understand this, even those who are close to Li Zisheng, or who have some sympathy and understanding for him, think that this move is too risky.

"Eunuch Li is here."

I don’t know who said it.

Liu Ji's eyes lit up, and he immediately took the lead to go forward as the Prime Minister, and asked loudly as he walked: "Eunuch Li, are you asking us to move to the Fengtian Palace?"

Perhaps Liu Ji thought that he had become a leading civil official, and today he was going to represent other officials to impeach Li Zisheng and Zhang Luan, so he seemed particularly excited and showed off his authority everywhere.

Li Rong looked apologetic and shook his head, saying, "I will suspend court today... because your Majesty is ill and needs to rest to recover. Please go back."

"Sick? Is that true?"

Liu Ji was stunned, and words of doubt almost came out of his mouth.

Xu Pu, who was standing next to him, quickly tugged at the corner of Liu Ji's clothes, implying that what he said was extremely disrespectful and that the censors might impeach him at any time.

Li Rong said in a clear voice: "Although it is already the end of the first lunar month, the temperature has not risen significantly. Many officials in the court are sick and recuperating at home. It is understandable that Your Majesty is ill. Your Majesty has sent a message saying that the court will be suspended for one day, and whether to resume the court meeting tomorrow will depend on the recovery of the body."

Wang Shu approached and asked, "Eunuch Li, may I ask if His Majesty has stopped attending court because of the events in the northwest?"

Li Rong frowned and refuted: "Prince, is this what the minister has said? Are you so overbearing that you won't allow His Majesty to get sick? We must distinguish right from wrong!
"Didn't you see His Majesty repeatedly coughing and covering his mouth during the court meeting yesterday? Isn't it normal that his condition worsened overnight? The imperial physician diagnosed and recommended that His Majesty rest, and His Majesty followed his advice and ordered the court meeting to be suspended, but it was not because of something that happened in the court."

Wang Shu's face looked somewhat ugly after hearing this.

This little emperor likes to escape when he encounters problems that he cannot solve, but the problem is that he is very enterprising.

Young people like to take risks, but they don't want to take responsibility for the consequences of the risks. How can they become a competent emperor?
Wang Shu pondered for a moment and asked, "I heard that Mr. Zhang is also ill and is recuperating at your house. I wonder if the two are related?"

"I don't know."

Li Rong smiled and shook his head.

Ask me whether the infection between the father-in-law and the son-in-law is mutual?

I'm sorry, I also heard the news of the emperor's illness from other people. They said that an imperial physician had gone to see him. I just wanted to ease your minds and stop you from holding on to the worry. That's all.

As for whether Your Majesty is pretending to be sick like Zhang Luan, I'm sorry, that is beyond my knowledge.

Ma Wensheng smiled and said jokingly, "Your Majesty, this illness came at a really bad time."

Li Rong looked around the scene and saw that all the ministers had mocking expressions. He thought to himself, no wonder Eunuch Huai didn't let me get involved. It seems that the court has reached the point of being united against Zhang Guozhang and Taoist Li?
Look at the way you all are doing, every one of you seems to be planning to make a lot of noise.

It seems that there is a reason why Your Majesty suddenly claimed to be ill and could not go out at this time.

"Everyone, if there is any more news, the Imperial Household Department will send someone to announce it." Li Rong waved his hand and said, "My lords, please go back."

"Let's go."

Liu Ji raised his head and looked in the direction of the Qianqing Palace. He snorted indignantly, then turned around and walked towards the palace gate like a leader.

When the others saw this, they knew that they could not force a person who was pretending to be sick to attend court, especially when this person was the emperor who possessed supreme power.

Regardless of whether Zhu Youtang was sick or not, they could not see him in person today, so they could only go back and discuss a countermeasure.

……

……

The father-in-law’s residence.

Zhang Luan rushed back home from the villa before dawn, went straight to the room next to the backyard through the back door, fell asleep on the bed, and woke up at noon only to find that Qin Ji had been waiting outside for a long time.

"Your Majesty is ill."

As soon as they met, Qin Ji said, "However, Your Majesty has always been concerned about the evolution of celestial phenomena. You sent someone to the palace yesterday to inform you that the drought in the capital area will be alleviated in the next few days. Your Majesty was very happy to hear that." Zhang Luan, who was lying on his back on the bed, said casually, "I wonder if Your Majesty is really sick or... ahem, do you need me to go to the palace to diagnose Your Majesty?"

Qin Ji was surprised and said, "Sir, you are bedridden, but you still care about His Majesty so much. It's really thoughtful... I will tell His Majesty about your thoughts. You should... recover from your illness first, and then think about other things."

Zhang Luan pretended to be weak and shook his head, saying, "Even if I can't go, it's the same if my son goes. You know the situation at home."

"That's it..."

Qin Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, let the uncle take a look at your majesty. Even if he can't diagnose the disease, it would be nice to chat about family matters.

"Imperial Doctor Wang has gone to see His Majesty and said that His Majesty is fine for now. By the way, the Imperial Doctor Wang you recommended is a very skilled doctor. Not only does His Majesty trust him now, but even the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager highly respect him and specifically request him to see a doctor. You really have a way of judging people."

……

……

Zhang Yanling rushed home after receiving the notification, holding a medicine box and followed Qin Ji into the palace.

At this moment, even Zhang Yanling felt that Zhu Youtang pretended to be sick and did not go out because he did not want to face the questioning of the ministers in the court.

But after hearing Qin Ji's worried words on the way, it seemed that Zhu Youtang's condition was not optimistic, and he couldn't help but be full of doubts.

"Second Young Master, His Majesty is worried about the war in the northwest... Why hasn't there been any news yet..."

Qin Ji made the point clear.

The emperor's illness may not seem serious, but when combined with his mental illness, the problem becomes serious.

As the saying goes, the country was beset with internal and external troubles. As soon as he became emperor, he, at the instigation of his father-in-law, sent a treacherous minister of the previous dynasty to lead troops in the northwest. However, that treacherous minister liked to make trouble and had no experience in commanding troops but dared to take the initiative to attack. Although no definite news has been reported so far, according to the comparison of the strength between the enemy and us, it seemed natural that he would lose the battle.

Now facing the questioning of court ministers, Zhu Youtang felt unprecedented pressure.

Zhang Yanling advised: "As a ruler, it is best to take things easy, so that you can be healthy and live a long life."

Qin Ji turned his head in surprise and looked at Zhang Yanling, as if asking, "Are you saying this to me? Are you asking me to persuade His Majesty with your words?"

Why don't you tell him to his face?
It sounds like a sarcastic remark!
But then Qin Ji asked with some joy: "Could it be that the second young master has successfully calculated that there is no problem in the northwest?"

Zhang Yanling shrugged and said as a matter of course: "The Tatars are brazenly invading, and there are officials leading troops to drive them out. Even if they go out to fight, isn't that right?"

Qin Ji said: "If it was a border guard, or a governor-general, there would be no problem. But that Minister Li was only temporarily sent to the northwest to lead the troops, and he actually mobilized the troops in Datong to protect him as he went to Pianguan... You should know that Pianguan is not within the boundaries of Datong Town. This is a cross-regional mobilization of troops, which is a serious violation of the law!"

Zhang Yanling laughed when he heard this: "Lord Li was able to trick the Datong troops away, which is quite a feat. It's worth it for my father and His Majesty to recommend him..."

"Fooling?"

Qin Ji looked confused, obviously not understanding this new word.

Zhang Yanling said: "It means that he is good at speaking and making others willing to work for him. Doesn't this mean that his talent is too outstanding?"

“That makes me even more worried.”

Qin Ji shook his head and said, "Look at him, he was born as an alchemist. He abused his power during the previous emperor's time and offended countless people. Now many people in the court are hostile to him, but he doesn't know how to restrain himself. He even dares to openly misinterpret the court's intentions and blindly use troops against foreign countries. Your Majesty is probably regretting that he shouldn't have used him before?"

Zhang Yanling smiled.

Judging from the situation, Zhu Youtang is indeed a young man whose thoughts are easily influenced by others.

It may also be that he was too kind-hearted as an emperor and had no opinion of his own. With his father-in-law on one side and ministers in the court including the lecturer of the Eastern Palace on the other, it was difficult for him to make a decision.

Now, due to the strong opposition from the ministers and the overwhelming public opinion on the use of troops in the northwest, Zhang Luan suddenly seemed unreliable and seemed to be a betrayal of the emperor's son-in-law, so that he began to waver in his heart.

In this case, we have to give the emperor's brother-in-law some drastic measures.

However, this powerful medicine must come from Lizi Province to be effective.

"Don't doubt people who are suspicious of you, don't doubt those who are employed."

Zhang Yanling said, "There are many officials in the world, but there are not many who are as single-minded as Li Zisheng in climbing up the career ladder, who never hide when faced with trouble, and who even dare to rush forward in battles."

Qin Ji thought about it carefully and nodded vigorously: "Yes, Li Zisheng is now on the decline, and he may rely on this opportunity to regroup, so he must fight hard. I hope he will not disappoint His Majesty, Mr. Zhang, and you, the Second Young Master, for your trust."

(End of this chapter)