Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 10 All civil and military officials were shocked!
Wan'an bowed respectfully first, then spoke.

"Your Majesty has been on the throne for more than a few months, but the harem is not yet full. Your Majesty should select a queen as soon as possible to establish a foundation for the country!"

Zhu Youtang nodded calmly: "The Empress Dowager Wu has already started handling the selection of concubines, and the selection will begin soon."

Queen Mother Wu?

Zhu Youtang's words made the ministers in the court suspicious.

Shouldn't the harem be managed by Empress Dowager Zhou now?

Why is there still the matter of Empress Wu being deposed?
Moreover, when did a deposed queen become the empress dowager?
Still the Queen Mother!
The Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother are two different concepts.

Now the only person in the palace who can be called the Empress Dowager is Emperor Xianzong’s Queen Wang.

These cabinet ministers know everything about the emperor's harem, even better than their own family affairs.

Could it be that something new has happened in the harem?
There is no stupid person who can serve as an official under the nose of the Ming Dynasty emperor.

Just these four words, Empress Dowager Wu, were enough to make them feel that something was wrong.

The emperor's family affairs, which he had known well, had now turned into changes.

They seemed to have lost control of the palace, which made them feel deeply uneasy.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wan'an slowly saluted and actually stood back in the line.

This surprised Zhu Youtang a little.

Is this gone?

Why don't you come and ask me why I want to keep the memorials from the Cabinet?
Zhu Youtang originally thought that Wan'an would just start with the draft and then move on to the abolition of the Sino-Japanese War.

Unexpectedly, Wan'an made a light-hearted report on the talent show and then returned to the team.

Zhu Youtang frowned. Could it be that Wan'an had learned about the purge of the palace last night?
No reason!

The palace was under martial law last night and no one was allowed to enter or leave.

Even the carrier pigeon that Wei Xing released to send a message to Jinyiwei Wan Tong was shot down by the Dongchang's spies.

Moreover, the cleansing operation was handled by 10,000 people from the Eastern Depot, and the news would never leak out.

Or did the cabinet simply not want to discuss matters with the emperor, and only wanted to contact Empress Dowager Zhou in the harem after the court session...

If this is the case, Wan An should be killed!
Zhu Youtang looked at the ministers expressionlessly: "Is there anyone else who wants to report something?"

"Your Majesty, I have this report!"

From behind the crowd, far away from the Fengtian Gate, a loud shout came.

"Prelude!"

The man came up trottingly, holding a tablet in his hand, and knelt down in front of Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang did not recognize this person, so Huai En whispered in Zhu Youtang's ear: "Your Majesty, this person is Zhang Yuan, the Left Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel."

Zhu Youtang understood that it was the censor.

In the Ming Dynasty, censors were divided into the Censorate and the Six Departments.

Although the rank is low, the power is great.

Taking the Six Departments’ Censors as an example, the last step in each department’s daily processing is to hand it over to the Censors for verification.

After the six ministries submitted memorials to the cabinet or the emperor and received their approval, they could not be executed immediately but had to be submitted to the Imperial Censor for review.

The Six Departments' Censors also had the power to refute memorials from the Six Ministries and the Emperor.

Even if it is not blocked, it may get stuck here and cannot move forward.

Moreover, the original duties of the Six Departments' Censors were to supervise all officials and advise the emperor.

His daily work was to go to court to impeach officials and the emperor.

Although Zhang Yuan's position as Zuo Jishizhong in the Ministry of Personnel was only a minor official of the seventh rank.

But the assistant ministers and ministers of the Ministry of Personnel had to be polite when they met him.

In this system where the small controls the big, is a difference of five or six levels in quality a big deal?
Simply put, this is a group of people who can't do anything, curse you every day, but can make you unable to do anything either.

Moreover, if the censors collectively impeached an official, even the prime minister of the cabinet would not be able to stand it and those who were thin-skinned would have to retire and go home.

Zhu Youtang has always been very disgusted with the censors, and he was not in a good mood at the moment. "Your Majesty, I want to report Jinyiwei assistant Mou Bin for privately taking important officials from the court!"

"Mou Bin, in his capacity as a deputy officer of the Imperial Guard, secretly arrested Wan Tong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and Zhou Ping, a captain of the Imperial Guard."

"Zhou Ping and Zhou Yi are royal relatives and clansmen of the Empress Dowager Zhou."

"Mou Bin's actions are a violation of the rules and treason. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly!"

It turned out that he was a member of Zhou's party.

Since the reign of Emperor Xianzong, the Zhou family has been colluding with both internal and external forces to disrupt government affairs.

Zhu Youtang was not surprised at all that there were people from Zhou's party in the court and the country.

Just after Zhang Yuan finished his speech, several ministers immediately stood up from the team.

"I second the proposal!"

"Your Majesty, I second the motion! Jinyiwei Mou Bin must be severely punished, and Wan Tong, Zhou Ping and Zhou Yi must be released!"

"Zhou Ping and Zhou Yi are royal relatives, Mou Bin's crime is unforgivable!"

"..."

Last night, all the officials in the capital only knew that in the first half of the night, Mou Bin openly arrested Wantong, Zhou Ping and Zhou Yi. They did not know that in the second half of the night, the Jinyiwei raided the mansions of the Earl of Qingyun and the Earl of Changning.

Attending the morning court in the Ming Dynasty was very torturous. One had to get up in the middle of the night and wait in the court room at dawn.

When the Jinyiwei searched the property, the officials were already in the palace waiting to attend court.

None of the officials received any news about the confiscation of property of Earl Qingyun and Earl Changning.

Zhang Yuan himself was an official promoted by the Zhou clan and belonged to the Zhou Party, a party with a good pedigree.

Ever since he climbed up the big tree of Zhou's family, Zhang Yuan finally understood what it meant to lean against a big tree to enjoy the shade.

However, in just a few years, he was able to hold such a powerful position as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Ministry of Personnel.

He is naturally loyal to the Zhou family.

After receiving the letter from Earl Qingyun last night, he set out for the palace to attend court, waiting to report to Mou Bin in front of the hall.

Zhang Yuan looked at the people around and behind him and felt very relaxed.

According to past experience, as long as these ministers collectively forced the emperor to abdicate, the little emperor would panic and agree to all their demands.

But this time, something seemed different.

Zhu Youtang did not rush to express his opinion, but looked at Zhang Yuan calmly.

Zhang Yuan hadn't seen Zhu Youtang's response for a long time, and he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. A drop of sweat quietly slid down his forehead.

Even the ministers behind him could not give him a sense of security.

Zhu Youtang took a quick look and saw that more than a dozen ministers stood up.

There are officials from the six ministries, censors, and personnel from the five temples. They are widely distributed and can be found in almost every government office.

Zhu Youtang remained silent until the court fell into a deathly silence, then he looked around at the officials in the court.

"Is there anyone else impeaching Mou Bin?"

All the officials bowed their heads and remained silent, and no one answered.

Zhu Youtang sneered: "If not, then Xuan Moubin will come to see the emperor."

The eunuch of the Imperial Household Department hurriedly sang the greetings: "Summon the commander of the Imperial Guard, Mou Bin, to the court to see the emperor!"

The commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
Zhang Yuan and other civil and military officials all looked terribly disappointed!

The next moment, Mou Bin, covered in blood, had crossed the Jinshui Bridge and arrived at Fengtianmen Square.

He didn't come alone.

Behind him followed a group of ferocious looking Jinyiwei.

In the hands of every Jinyiwei, either a member of the Zhou family was being held captive or the head of a member of the Zhou family was held.

The two people who were betting on the front were Earl Qingyun and Earl Changning.

All the civil and military officials were shocked!
(End of this chapter)