Jiajing Chengming

Zhu Houcong walked down the steps step by step, his steps were steady and his eyes were sharp.

He waved his hand to signal the Jinyiwei to temporarily delay pulling Yang Yi away, then glanced at the ministers present, and spoke in a low but majestic voice:
"Perhaps some of you are like Yang Yi, who do not understand why I am so partial to the Prime Minister and why I am against the gentry and wealthy families in the world."

He paused, his eyes like knives, as if to pierce everyone's heart:

"Then I will tell you, and also tell him about Yang Yi."

Zhu Houcong's voice gradually became louder, with a bit of wisdom that penetrated everything:

"I am not trying to be an enemy of the gentry and wealthy families in the world, but many of them are forcing me to be their enemy!"

After he said this, the ministers became even more silent.

"Ask yourselves!"

"Who forced me to disobey the late emperor's will and enter the capital as the crown prince? Who disregarded the ancestral system and forced me to recognize Xiao Miao as my father? And who created disasters when the world was at peace, posted posters everywhere, forged the will of heaven to intimidate me, and forced me to abandon the two ministers Zhang and Gui?"

Zhu Houcong's voice echoed in the hall like thunder.

His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, sweeping across the faces of every minister, as if trying to see through their thoughts.

The hall was still silent, with only Zhu Houcong's voice echoing.

"Think about it for yourselves," Zhu Houcong's voice gradually became low, but with unquestionable majesty!
"In addition, I also ask you, if I don't do the land survey and really follow their wishes, don't kill Nie Bao, don't ask about the true situation of Huizhou Prefecture's land survey, and let the wealthy families in Huizhou Prefecture get what they want and devour the people's land and children, then the wealthy families in the world, the wealthy families in Huizhou, will control their greed from now on, stop depriving the people of their food, stop annexing the world's benefits, and stop destroying the foundation of peace in this world?!"

"I will answer for you..."

"will not!"

Zhu Houcong's sudden loud shout echoed in the hall, shocking everyone's hearts.

He then turned to look at Zhang Cong, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

At this time, Zhang Cong had already knelt on the ground, his voice choked with sobs: "Although Yang Yi was disloyal, what he said was not wrong. I am not worthy of Your Majesty to bear the infamy of the world to vent my anger!"

Zhu Houcong walked slowly to Zhang Cong, stretched out his hand to help him up, and said in a gentle but firm tone: "It is not that I want to protect you, but the people of the world need me to protect you! It is my ancestors of the Ming Dynasty and the country that need me to protect you!"

Zhang Cong raised his head, tears glistening in his eyes, and his voice trembled: "Your Majesty! I don't know what to say. Only by dying a thousand times can I repay your kindness!"

After saying this, he knelt down again with his forehead pressed against the ground.

For him, it was really a great honor to meet such a wise and responsible monarch.

Zhu Houcong sighed softly, then turned to look at the courtiers who were looking at Zhang Cong coldly, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone:

"Don't look at Yuan Fu like that! He is an official who follows the right path. I can't do anything to him, so what can you do?"

He paused, and his voice suddenly rose: "Speaking of infamy, a true gentleman would not infamy me for killing Yang Yi. Only selfish villains would infamy me and use this as an excuse to slander me! On the contrary, if I kill Yuan Fu for you at this time, I will be ridiculed by the wise people of the world, and even scolded by my ancestors!"

Zhu Houcong's eyes were like torches, sweeping across the crowd, and his voice was sonorous and powerful: "As a gentleman, why should I be afraid of villains?"

Xia Yan also knelt down at this time, his tone was firm, but also a little helpless:
"Your Majesty's words are truly insightful and I am deeply moved. Anyone who slanders you for this is either stupid or evil. I am deeply ashamed of myself for saying such things!"

"So do we, your servants!"

Other court officials echoed this and knelt on the ground.

Seeing this, Zhu Houcong nodded slightly and said in a gentle tone: "Everyone, get up. Let's stop here today." In the East Palace, Crown Prince Zhu Zaigui was sitting at his desk with a frown on his face, also because of Zhu Houcong's severe punishment of Nie Bao and Yang Yi:

"Masters, why did the emperor become even harsher towards the ministers after the land reclamation began? For example, this time, Yang Yi ended up like this just because he was dissatisfied with Fu Hanchen's dissatisfaction with the land reclamation, and his family was also implicated."

Zhai Luan was speechless for a moment, with an awkward smile on his face, and whispered: "Your Highness is still young now, you need to first understand the classics of the saints, and when you have mastered the classics in the future, you will understand it."

Gao Gong stood up at this time, with a serious expression and a firm tone: "Your Highness, I think what Master Zhai said is wrong. As the saying goes, learning is for practical use. Your Highness should combine the learning of the saints with current affairs. Only in this way can you understand the truth of the saints!"

He paused, his eyes sparkling, “I am willing to help Your Highness solve this puzzle!”

A hint of interest flashed across the eyes of Crown Prince Zhu Zaiqi, and he nodded slightly:

"Master Gao, please speak."

Gao Gong took a deep breath and said slowly: "Your Highness, in my humble opinion, as the saying goes, the world is for the public, and different people have different views on what is public, so there is a so-called contradiction here, and because of this contradiction, there are different claims for rights, such as imperial power, scholar power, and civilian power."

"The survey of land in the country was essentially a struggle for the three rights of the emperor, the scholars and the people."

"As long as the scholar-official power does not give up challenging the imperial power, the struggle will never stop. And because the scholar-official power fails in challenging the imperial power, it will seek back the rights it lost to the imperial power from the people. That will intensify the struggle between the imperial power and the scholar-official power."

The prince listened attentively, his eyes flickering with thought, and he couldn't help asking, "Why?"

Gao Gong became more serious and excited when he saw the prince asking, and answered in a steady tone: "Because the imperial power will have to increase its suppression of the power of the scholars in order to maintain its stability. This is the real reason why Your Majesty has become more harsh on the rebellious ministers after the land survey. It is not because Your Majesty is unkind, but because Your Majesty is so kind and wise that you dare to be so ruthless!"

He paused, his eyes firm: "Your Highness, unless you give up your power in the future and let the power of the scholars and the rights of the people balance naturally, otherwise, in order to maintain the balance of the three powers of the emperor, the power of the scholars, and the rights of the people, and to ensure the long-term peace of the world, you have to do this!"

When Zhai Luan heard this, his face suddenly changed. He stood up abruptly and shouted, "Gao Suqing, you are so bold! You actually said that Your Highness can give up power. What do you mean by this? Do you want to be a powerful official in the future?!"

He then turned to the crown prince and bowed deeply, his tone respectful but somewhat anxious: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. As the chief tutor of the Eastern Palace, I saw Gao Gong misleading Your Highness, so I had to reprimand him in front of Your Highness. If I have offended Your Highness, please forgive me."

Crown Prince Zhu Zaigui waved his hand and said calmly, "It's okay."

Zhai Luan thanked him immediately, and then said solemnly: "If Your Highness becomes the king in the future, you must not abandon the world, and you should exercise your power and authority on your own!"

Gao Gong bowed slightly when he saw this, and said respectfully but firmly, "Your Highness, I am only explaining the truth. I did not really ask Your Highness to give up the power of the world when you become the king. Master Zhai misunderstood my meaning."

The prince nodded: "I know."

At this time, Zhao Zhenji also stood up, and said in a steady tone: "Your Highness, in my humble opinion, it is not appropriate for you to express your opinion on what to do now. First, the emperor's will is unclear, and second, it is easy to be harmed by villains. The incident of Shi Miyuan changing the crown prince in the Southern Song Dynasty is a lesson not far away."

The prince nodded again, a hint of deep thought flashing in his eyes.

Seeing this, Zhai Luan looked at Zhao Zhenji with a complicated expression and thought secretly in his heart.

Then he looked at Xu Jie, who was also a lecturer in the Eastern Palace, and he only admired Xu Jie even more.

After all, Xu Jie had remained silent all the time. Even though his teacher was killed this time, he did not say much in front of the prince just because he was the master of the Eastern Palace, and he did not speak too much about matters concerning the imperial power and the power of the scholars without authorization. He was truly prudent and steady.

When Zhai Luan came to the cabinet to receive the lecture as per the rules, he saw Xia Yan and whispered to him:

"It would be better to transfer Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji out of the Eastern Palace as soon as possible!"

"These two are not like Xu Shaohu and me. They have learned a lot from the East Palace!" (End of this chapter)