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

Chapter 236: King Xinghuang passed away, Zhu Youtang’s cabinet discussed the matter!
Wang Zhi walked towards Zhu Youqiu's hiding place, and every step he took seemed to be stepping on Zhu Youqiu's heart.

Zhu Youlang looked at Wang Zhi who was approaching step by step, and his tense nerves finally broke under the heavy pressure!
"do not come!"

"do not come!"

"I can do it myself! Can't I do it myself?"

Zhu Youqiu broke down and cried, tears streaming down his face, his voice filled with grief.

Wang Zhi stopped and looked at Zhu Youlang calmly without saying a word.

Zhu Youqiu slowly crawled out from under the table, picked up the small porcelain bottle with trembling hands, and tears kept falling!

"Brother Emperor!"

"We are born from the same roots, so why rush each other?"

Zhu Youqi finally uttered a mournful whine, and then drank the medicine in the porcelain bottle in one gulp.

After drinking it, Zhu Youqi immediately felt his heart beating faster, his breathing became rapid, and he felt dizzy and nauseous.

He pinched his neck with both hands, fell to the ground, and convulsed all over.

But this pain did not last long, and Zhu Youqiu's struggling body soon calmed down.

Wang Zhi placed his hand on Zhu Youlang's neck and confirmed that Zhu Youlang was dead before quietly leaving the room.

A few days later, an obituary from the Imperial Clan Court spread to all princes in the world, shocking the capital and the outside world.

Prince Xing Zhu Youlang committed suicide in Prince Xing’s Palace!

Concubine Shao was so heartbroken that she died soon after.

King Xing was buried with the rites for a prince in the western hills outside the capital, and his mausoleum was built next to the tomb of King Qingli.

Your Majesty issued an edict, bestowing the posthumous title of "Huang" on him, calling him "King Xinghuang", on the grounds that he was "unfilial, unfraternal, unkind, unrighteous, and his evil deeds were known to the world, causing outrage among gods and men."

Together with Zhu Qiyu's King of Qinli, they became the two kings with evil posthumous titles in the Ming Dynasty.

The Taifei Shao was buried in the Xishan Concubine Mausoleum with the ceremony of a Taifei.

No posthumous title after death.

Just as the officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works were nervously handling the burial of King Xinghuang.

Zhu Youtang has been in the Yangxin Palace these days, handling government affairs while studying information on system rewards.

Of course, the main issue that Zhu Youtang studied was who would be responsible for the implementation of these industries.

After dealing with a large number of officials in the capital, Zhu Youtang once again faced a very serious problem.

Who will fill these vacant official positions?

Zhu Youtang didn't have to worry about those middle and low-level officials. There were too many Jinshi candidates waiting to be appointed to official positions, and he simply couldn't keep up with them.

Almost all the remaining reserve officials in the Hanlin Academy have entered officialdom early.

At the same time, many top three Jinshi scholars from previous years were allowed to study in the Hanlin Academy as an exception.

Moreover, the autumn examination is approaching, and after the beginning of next spring, Zhu Youtang will have another large number of Jinshi.

What worries Zhu Youtang is that there are three vacant positions of Shangshu in the court: the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Justice.

The number of cabinet members also dropped by half from four to only two.

At the same time, the commander of the capital guards, the imperial guards, the Shanglinyuan prison, etc., all needed to be recommended by the imperial court.
Therefore, Zhu Youtang simply summoned the two existing cabinet ministers and two chancellors to discuss the matter together in the Yangxin Palace.

Discuss who should take over and become Zhu Youtang’s new core team members.

It is worth mentioning that Zhu Youtang has been living in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity since he returned to the capital.

Zhu Youtang basically never went to the Qianqing Palace anymore.

……

Forbidden City.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

In the east side hall, Zhu Youtang sat high on the dragon throne.

On his left and right sat the two remaining senior officials of the court.

Sitting on his left were Liu Jian, Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, Second Assistant of the Cabinet and Minister of Rites, and Li Dongyang, Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion.

Sitting on the right were the Minister of Personnel Wang Shu, who had not been seen for a long time, and the Minister of Works Jia Jun.

"Your Majesty, I think the position of Minister of Revenue should be taken over by Qiu Jun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"Qiu Jun was well-read and once served as the chief academician of the Imperial Academy. He read all the teachings of the three religions and hundreds of schools of thought."

"Although he spent many years as a writer, he paid attention to the study of practical application, was particularly familiar with national history, was proud of economics, and had his own unique insights into economics."

"Having Qiu Jun in charge of the Ministry of Revenue is a good use of his talents, not a waste of talent."

Liu Jian was the first to speak to Zhu Youtang and recommended Qiu Jun for promotion to the Minister of Revenue.

Zhu Youtang had an impression of Qiu Jun, so this time when he personally led the army, Zhu Youtang asked Qiu Jun to be responsible for collecting food and fodder.

Qiu Jun's performance satisfied Zhu Youtang.

But Zhu Youtang still asked one more question: "Where is Qiu Jun's native place?"

As the Minister of Personnel, Wang Shu was relatively familiar with the hometowns of these important officials.

At this time, he answered Zhu Youtang's questions on his behalf.

"Your Majesty, Qiu Jun is from Qiongshan Prefecture, Yuezhou."

Qiongshan Prefecture is now Hainan Island.

As long as Qiu Jun was not from Jiangnan, Zhu Youtang would feel more at ease.

The Minister of Revenue was in charge of the country's money and grain. Zhu Youtang dared not entrust this important position to a person from Jiangnan.

"That's right."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

During this period, Liu Jian seemed to have experienced a chaotic cycle. He was first demoted to the lowest position by Yu Shenyi, and then reinstated by Zhu Youtang.

After this ordeal, Liu Jian will probably be well behaved for many years.

But simply letting Qiu Jun take over as the Minister of Revenue was not enough for Liu Jian.

He still hoped to have a prime minister to stand in front of him and draw fire for him. Last time he recommended Xu Pu to be the prime minister, and this time he also had this idea.

"Your Majesty, there are only two people left in the cabinet now, me and Li Dongyang."

"The cabinet is busy with affairs, and it's really hard for two people to handle it. Why not let Qiu Junyi join the cabinet and replace Xu Pu as the chief minister..."

Zhu Youtang turned his head and looked at Liu Jian. Liu Jian stopped talking for a moment, feeling uneasy.

Liu Jian's mind was rapidly recalling what he had just said, wondering if something he had said had angered Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang certainly understood Liu Jian's thoughts, so he rejected Liu Jian's proposal to nominate Qiu Jun as the prime minister on the spot.

"Qiu Jun can join the cabinet, but you still have to be the Prime Minister."

"Li Dongyang, you will take over as the deputy assistant."

Liu Jian smiled bitterly in his heart, but his face was full of gratitude.

"I, your humble servant, thank you for your grace!"

"Thank you very much for your trust, Your Majesty. I will repay Your Majesty with all my knowledge!"

Without saying a word, Liu Jian immediately knelt down in front of Zhu Youtang to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

After Liu Jian, Li Dongyang also knelt down to express his gratitude.

Zhu Youtang said calmly: "Everyone, get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

When Liu Jian and Li Dongyang thanked them and sat down again.

Zhu Youtang then continued to ask: "Then for the position of Minister of War, do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

Everyone present turned their eyes to Wang Shu.

Wang Shu sighed slightly. After not seeing him for a while, Wang Shu's already old face now looked like tree bark, covered with deep wrinkles.

Wang Shu's mood was even more complicated.

During this period, he was lucky enough to escape disaster because he was caught in a dilemma.

Now, Ma Wensheng and Liu Daxia, who were known as the Three Gentlemen of Hongzhi together with him, have successively fallen from the position of Minister of War.

One had his three clans exterminated, the other had his nine clans exterminated.

This official position feels very hot.

Wang Shu also didn't know how long he could stay in the position of Minister of Personnel.

Wang Shu thought for a moment and said, "I recommend the former Right Censor-in-Chief Li Jie to serve as the Minister of War."

"Li Jie was born as a censor. He has inspected various places in the country and conducted assessments. He speaks out boldly and is known for his fairness."

"But I am currently in my hometown, Gaomi, Luzhou, and my mother is worried about me."

Zhu Youtang had no impression of Li Jie.

Most of the time, he is out on patrol.

But because of this, he had no foundation in the court and never participated in party struggles.

Of course, the most important point is that he is from the North.

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "Okay, then I will issue an order to take away his love and let him return to the capital to take up his post immediately."

Officials in the Ming Dynasty were required to resign from their official positions immediately and return to their hometowns to observe mourning after their parents died, which was called Dingyou.

At this time, the emperor could also issue an edict to recall officials in mourning and restore them to their original posts, which was known as depriving of affection.

"Yes, thank you Your Majesty."

Wang Shu's recommendation was accepted by Zhu Youtang, but his face remained calm, without revealing any emotion.

Finally, Liu Jian recommended He Qiaoxin, the former Minister of Justice who had resigned and was unemployed at home, to resume his post as Minister of Justice.

He Qiaoxin was from Ganzhou. Although his hometown made Zhu Youtang hesitant, because Ganzhou's education was very developed, there were many people from Ganzhou in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom.

If the decision was really made based on place of origin, the entire Ming officialdom would come to a standstill.

So Zhu Youtang finally agreed to Liu Jian's proposal because there was really no suitable candidate in the court.

Zhu Youtang’s current ruling team has actually become very northernized.

After this great purge, the power of officials throughout the South in the court suffered a devastating blow.

At least in the next hundred years, no one should dare to mention moving the capital.

After solving the official appointment problem that gave Zhu Youtang the most headache, Zhu Youtang waved his hand and dismissed everyone, except for Jia Jun, the Minister of Works, who stayed.

"You all leave, Jia Jun stay."

"It's your Majesty, I'm sorry, please leave!"

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang looked at Jia Jun curiously, then stood up and bowed to say goodbye.

After Wang Shu paid his respects, he left the Hall of Mental Cultivation without saying a word.

After this incident, Wang Shu seemed to become more cautious.

If Zhu Youtang's efforts could make these officials more restrained, then they would not be in vain.

After Jia Jun was left alone by Zhu Youtang, he was extremely nervous.

He thought carefully about what he had done during this period of time.

Only after confirming that I had not done anything illegal did I feel a little relaxed.

After everyone left, Jia Jun, feeling anxious, asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, did you leave me here to do something important?"

"That's natural. Take a look at this blueprint first."

Zhu Youtang took out a blueprint from the dragon table and threw it in front of Jia Jun.

Jia Jun hurriedly bowed and took it: "Yes, Your Majesty."

As Jia Jun spoke, he opened the drawing and looked at it carefully.

(End of this chapter)