Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 34 What a good Majesty!

"Death penalty!"

Yang Tinghe hurriedly stood up and kowtowed to apologize.

Seeing this, Zhu Houcong held him down again and said, "No need. I was anxious at the moment and said this. Don't take it too seriously, Yuan Fu."

"Even if your majesty blames me, I have no way to argue."

"This is indeed my fault. I shouldn't have thought about retiring at this time."

"But I am indeed an old man, and it is difficult for me to hold on any longer. I wanted to resign as soon as Your Majesty came to the capital, but I thought that Your Majesty would not ascend the throne and the world would not be at peace, so I gritted my teeth and held on until today."

"Now, I see that Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, and is capable of making decisions on his own. And since you have really recovered from your old illness, I dare to think about retiring again, but I have never dared to abandon you!"

Yang Tinghe touched his chest and spoke to Zhu Houcong with tears streaming down his face.

Zhu Houcong said: "Since this is the case, I will not force Yuanfu. However, Yuanfu is a senior official who is highly regarded by the people. I have just ascended the throne. How can I let Yuanfu go at this time and make the people think that I do not tolerate Yuanfu and do not want to use him to start a new policy?!"

"Therefore, I ask the Prime Minister not to retire, but to stay in the capital to recuperate for the time being, and return to the cabinet after recovery."

"I am an old and feeble man, and it is useless for me to stay in the capital."

Yang Tinghe replied with a wry smile.

Zhu Houcong said: "It's useful! The Prime Minister is in the capital, and the people's hearts are with him!"

"Your Majesty thinks highly of me!"

Yang Tinghe said with a feigned helpless smile.

"However, Your Majesty's foundation is indeed not stable at the moment, and the world has not yet been truly governed. It is indeed not appropriate for me to abandon Your Majesty and the people of the country and return to the forest at this time."

"So I am willing to follow your Majesty's wishes."

"But please allow me to hand over the power of the Prime Minister and not be involved in state affairs."

Then, Yang Tinghe said a few more words.

Zhu Houcong thought about it and nodded: "In this case, I will approve your request and let you stay in the capital as the Taifu for a while, and return to the cabinet to take charge of the affairs after you recover from your illness! I grant you the position of the Three Dukes, first to calm the people of the world, and second to fulfill my intention of respecting the elder ministers. Please don't resign."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"I am ashamed to accept the emperor's grace!"

This time, Yang Tinghe forced himself to kneel up from the couch.

Compared to continuing to serve as the Prime Minister and offending people with his new policy, he would rather stay in Beijing to recuperate as a grand tutor with a title but no power.

Zhu Houcong did not stop him from saluting, and after Yang Tinghe lay back down, he said: "I will not disturb you for long to recuperate. I only ask you to rest assured and return to the cabinet as soon as possible. I am waiting for you to sort out the affairs of state for me!"

"No need to get up and see me off."

"I am disrespectful!"

Zhu Houcong stood up and looked at Yang Ting and his family kneeling on the ground, and asked, "Who is Yang Shen?"

At this time.

A middle-aged man kneeling in front of Zhu Houcong replied, "Your Majesty, I am Yang Shen, the Imperial Academy Editor."

"Keep your head up."

"Yes!"

Then, Zhu Houcong looked at the great talent who wrote "Linjiangxian" in history, and then instructed:
"You must ask a doctor to take good care of your father's illness. If you need any medicine and can't find it outside, come to the palace to ask for it! In addition, if there is any progress in your father's condition, you must report it to me in time!"

"Hanlin Academy, you don't have to report for duty every day. Take good care of your father first. Taking good care of your father is more effective than writing any number of articles."

"I will obey your Majesty's instructions and thank you for your filial piety!"

Yang Shen bowed deeply and pursed his lips with red eyes.

Only then did Zhu Houcong leave Yang's house.

As soon as he left Yang's house, Zhu Houcong stopped looking unhappy and calmly told Wei Bin:

"Xuan Liangge's elders played on the platform!"

After Zhu Houcong left, Yang Tinghe lay on the couch, pouting and weeping as he sighed:
"What a good Majesty!"

"They care about the ministers more than the filial piety temple did back then! They also hope to rule together with their father, the monarch and the ministers. How lucky I am, Yang, to have the grace of the three ministers Liu, Li and Xie again!"

"Shen'er, tell me, isn't it too much for your father to treat such a holy and benevolent ruler like this? Is it disloyalty?"

Yang Tinghe asked his eldest son Yang Shen for the first time without much confidence. Yang Shen thought for a moment and answered firmly: "Father is not unfaithful. It just so happens that it is precisely because father is too loyal that he has to do this temporarily. After all, father cannot really stop Your Majesty from making changes when Your Majesty has to make changes for the sake of peace. That would only make it difficult for Your Majesty and father to get along well with each other as a monarch and a subject."

"Yes!"

"Your Majesty is diligent in governing the country, kind and loving to the people, and open-minded in accepting advice. But you are too kind and too diligent in governing and studying!"

"I never thought that Your Majesty would really care about those refugees."

"The key point is that he even knows about Luo Zhengan's unorthodox teachings."

Yang Tinghe nodded, and when he mentioned Luo Qinshun, a civil servant who laid the theoretical foundation for the reform, his face darkened, and then he gritted his teeth and said:
"I'm afraid he also knows about Wang Yangming's evil words and evil ways!"

"Give a heads-up to the censors in Nanjing and have them impeach Luo Zheng'an and put him together with those treacherous officials of Wang Jinxi. Make him retire or at least transfer him to Nanjing! Don't let him continue to serve as a court official in the capital!"

"Also, Wang Yangming, although his contributions cannot be buried, we cannot allow him to come to the capital!"

Yang Tinghe said this in an unquestionable tone, and then said, "Send someone to send a letter to invite Lord Liang to come."

Yang Shen replied, "Nanjing has already sent someone to say hello. As for Wang Yangming, I have already told him that he will not be allowed to take up a post in Beijing. But Liang Shuhou, do you really want to invite him?"

"I have to invite him. He is a kind man. Now he has to take the responsibility of clearing the fields and reforming the system!"

"He has to bear the responsibility even if he doesn't want to!"

……

Before today, Liang Chu had never thought that he would have the opportunity to be summoned by the platform so soon.

But this incident did happen to him.

As he walked towards Yuntai Gate, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

"Yang Tinghe is still unwilling to change the system, even though there is no reason to refuse the change."

"But, if this happens, I will become the Prime Minister again!"

"But being the Prime Minister right now could easily lead to eternal infamy if you're not careful! Yang Xindu, Yang Xindu, if you don't want to change the system, just advise His Majesty to do it directly. Why are you putting the burden on me? Are you so afraid of being called someone who doesn't truly love the people?"

Ever since Yang Tinghe returned to the court after mourning for his father, and Liang Chu gave up the position of Prime Minister, he himself has not appeared in the court as Prime Minister for a long time.

But for Liang Chu at this time, he did not want to get the position of Prime Minister.

Yuntai Gate.

When Liang Chu, who was feeling depressed, arrived here and saw Zhu Houcong sitting with his hands hanging down, he hurriedly waved his sleeves and bowed deeply, then stood in front of him.

For Liang Chu, it was very gratifying to see such a steady emperor who was diligent in asking questions of his ministers about government affairs, sitting solemnly in front of him.

After all, as a clean-minded civil servant, he prefers an upright and honest emperor rather than an unorthodox one.

"Lord, the Prime Minister is ill now, so I have to rely on you to manage my new policies."

Zhu Houcong said this after Liang Chu stood in front of him.

Liang Chu heard the disappointment and eager anticipation in Zhu Houcong's tone.

He knew that His Majesty hoped to have a loyal and experienced minister to assist him in governing the country, reconcile the good and bad, and clean up the mess.

Liang Chu has never liked to reject others, nor does he want to let others down.

In addition, he knew that many people in Yang Tinghe's party were dissatisfied with his flirting with Wang Qiong, Jiang Bin and others. If he offended the emperor again, he would be even worse off.

And if he were to become the Prime Minister, then even if His Majesty said that the liquidation should continue, he could use his power as the Prime Minister to exclude himself from the liquidation list.

But precisely because he was not as upright as Yang Tinghe, and did not have a clear boundary between himself and Jiang Bin, Wang Qiong and others, although he was popular, his reputation was not as good as Yang Tinghe's.

Liang Chu then hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I am too old and weak, and I often say bad things, so I am afraid that I will not be able to assist Your Majesty."

Zhu Houcong said: "Your Excellency does not need to be modest or self-deprecating. In the past, my brother was devoted to military affairs, so he was inevitably unkind to the people and made the military officers cause trouble in the city and the countryside. Your Excellency had to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens to stabilize the court. Even if others do not understand what you did, I can understand it. Your Excellency now only assists me wholeheartedly and changes his ways."

"Because I can only rely on you now."

"Among the senior ministers, apart from the Prime Minister, only the cabinet minister can help me share my worries."

Zhu Houcong said one more thing and asked, "Does the elder also want to abandon me and leave, thinking that I am not worthy of your assistance?"

Liang Chu's eyes reddened, and he bowed and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I am grateful that I am old and ignorant. How dare I abandon my king and country and live a leisurely life in the forest? I will do my best for Your Majesty. However, if Yuanfu recovers, please allow me to give up the position of Prime Minister to Yang Gong."

Zhu Houcong smiled and nodded.

He believed that once Liang Chu served as the Prime Minister in his dynasty for a long time, his position would become more and more powerful, and in the end he would be reluctant to give it up.

(End of this chapter)