Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 86 Jiajing's Attention (Part )
Just an hour before the turmoil in the Imperial College.

Inside the Forbidden City.

Jinyiwei Sheren Lu Bing walked through the numerous palace gates with his eyes lowered and a respectful expression, and every step he took was extremely cautious.

The palace walls are tall and the glazed tiles are shining coldly in the sun.

The majesty and solemnity of this imperial city are by no means comparable to the former Prince Xing's Palace.

Naturally, he could not follow Zhu Houcong, who was four years older than him, and play like the Prince Xing.

The closer the relationship, the more important it was to pay attention to the distinction between the monarch and his subjects. When he reached the Qianqing Palace, Lu Bing looked up slightly and saw guards standing in front of the palace, wearing bright armor and holding sharp swords and spears. He took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and then saw a round-faced eunuch coming out to greet him.

This eunuch's name is Huang Jin.

During his time at Prince Xing's Palace, he served as a companion to the Crown Prince Zhu Houcong, responsible for daily service and clerical affairs, and was very familiar with Lu Bing.

Huang Jin was not actually responsible for welcoming and seeing off officials, but every time Lu Bing entered the palace, it was Huang Jin who was sent to greet him.

What this naturally reflects is the emperor's unreserved trust in these old ministers of the royal palace.

Seeing an old friend, the two exchanged glances, feeling a warm feeling in their hearts. However, they both walked into the hall with a more cautious attitude, kneeling and bowing. "Your Majesty, I, Lu Bing, pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be blessed!"

On the throne, Zhu Houcong, only 24 years old, sat upright like a pine tree, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe and a winged hat on his head. His eyes were as deep as a pool, as if he could see through people's hearts, yet it was difficult to understand. "Mr. Lu, please don't be polite. You have worked hard all the way. I am grateful for your contribution this time. Please take a seat!"

Lu Bing stood up, still keeping his head down and his eyes submissive, not overstepping his bounds. "It is my duty to share your majesty's worries, and I dare not take any credit for it!"

Zhu Houcong chuckled, "You're becoming more and more reserved. Didn't Madam Wang tell you how to get close to me after she returned home?"

Mother Wang is Lu Bing's mother, Wang. The biological father of Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Youlang, used to like to refer to his wet nurse by adding a surname to his mother. This name was also continued by Jiajing. He called his biological mother "Amu" and his wet nurse "Mama".

But it was precisely this mother, Wang, who, after returning home from the last visit to the palace, warned her son, Lu Bing, not to be disrespectful in front of the emperor because of their past closeness. Lu Bing obviously remembered his mother's advice.

Although Zhu Houcong's tone contained a hint of blame, his voice was very relaxed: "Tell me about your experiences during this trip south!"

"Yes!"

Lu Bing began to tell about what he saw and heard along the way.

Unlike when he returned to Beijing, where he almost always traveled by water, Lu Bing paid a lot of attention when he went down from the capital to Guangdong, and witnessed many natural disasters and man-made disasters, and the people's miserable lives.

Before leaving the capital, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the land measurement and one-whip system currently being implemented in the court.

After returning to Beijing, I felt it was extremely necessary.

I admire it even more.

Of course, what he admired was not the executors such as Zhang Cong, Gui E, Fang Xianfu and Huo Tao, but the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who sat on the dragon throne, the ruler of the nine provinces, the current Majesty.

When Zhu Houcong just ascended the throne, Lu Bing was only ten years old. Facing the dignitaries and nobles in the court, he felt only genuine fear and confusion and did not dare to resist at all.

At that time, Zhu Houcong, who was only fourteen years old, faced pressure from his ministers to enter the palace from Dong'anmen as the crown prince and then inherit the throne after becoming the crown prince.

If it were Lu Bing, facing the will of Yang Tinghe, a veteran minister of three dynasties, and the coercion of Mao Cheng, the Minister of Rites, he would definitely have agreed without thinking, because he wanted to be the emperor anyway.

But he didn't realize at all that if his name was not right, his words would not flow. When he entered the imperial city as an emperor, he was the absolute representative of imperial power and the unquestionable power core of the Ming Dynasty. However, if he entered the imperial city as a prince, he would be manipulated and controlled, and might even be in danger of being deposed.

Zhu Houcong, who was only fourteen years old, flatly rejected the proposal of his ministers and stood against a group of powerful old ministers and Empress Dowager Zhang, who had been powerful in the deep palace for decades.

In the end, it was the Queen Mother and the ministers who surrendered, because they were not in the right and could not scare a fourteen-year-old boy, so they were the ones who suffered the loss.

This young emperor has shown extraordinary talent and determination since then. Now, in just ten years, those ministers who wanted to compete with the new emperor have not only been swept out of the court, but the still young emperor has to launch reforms to change this devastated country!

Lu Bing also firmly believed that the emperor could change this devastated country!

Zhu Houcong calmly listened to reports of people's suffering across the country, especially the massive locust plague that had broken out in Henan. The locusts filled the sky, obscuring the sun and devouring crops down to the very roots. His brow furrowed ever deeper, and he finally said in a cold voice, "At a time when people's livelihoods are facing immense hardship, there are still so many corrupt officials exploiting the people and increasing the burden on the victims. This corrupt administration should have been rectified long ago!"

Lu Bing agreed in his heart, but remained silent on the surface. The Jinyiwei was only responsible to the emperor and acted as his eyes and ears, but the actual governance was still left to the court officials of the six ministries of the cabinet. He should not and could not say too much.

Of course, some things can be guided, such as the major case surrounding Hepu Pearl.

Zhu Houcong's eyes flashed coldly when he heard this. He said coldly, "Wang Shifang, the house collapsed! How can such a despicable person be qualified to take the name of Shifang? Just like the thieves back then, they are all hypocrites!"

The emperor's mind can sometimes be very narrow. For example, although Zhu Houcong did not kill Yang Shen, the son of Yang Tinghe, he banished this talented man to Yunnan. He also often asked about Yang Shen's recent situation. Whenever he heard that Yang Shen was not feeling well or was "ill with old age", Zhu Houcong felt very happy.

Throughout the reign of Emperor Sejong, there were six general amnesties, but Yang Shen was ultimately unable to return to his hometown. According to Ming law, criminals over the age of sixty could redeem themselves and return home, but no one dared to accept Yang Shen's application, and he eventually died in a foreign land.

By the same token, Wang Shifang is Mao Cheng's son-in-law, and he will never be able to turn his life around.

After all, Lu Bing understood this person's temperament, so he deliberately used this as a starting point and also mentioned Wang Shifang's control over the college examination results.

As expected, when Zhu Houcong heard that Wang Shifang had used his power as the director of education to set Haiyue's score in the college entrance examination to last, he also recalled the despair and grief he had felt when Mao Cheng forced him to change his biological father. He actually felt some empathy for this seventeen-year-old student who had suffered such injustice.

"Haiyue...Qiongshan Haiyue...was it this person who saw through the Annan assassin's scheme and saved the entire delegation?"

Lu Bing cheered up: "Yes!"

But in the next sentence, Zhu Houcong looked at Lu Bing meaningfully and said with a smile: "This person went north with you Jinyiwei and came to the capital?"

Lu Bing's heart trembled, and the pride he had in recommending someone well instantly faded. He hurriedly said, "I'm so presumptuous. I couldn't bear to see such a talent go to waste, so I did bring him to the capital. He might be studying at the Imperial College now. He doesn't want to rely on others for admission, so I don't know... I don't know..."

Zhu Houcong said calmly: "You have done a good job. This is what you should do when recruiting talents for the country!"

Lu Bing's body trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

In the past, I just listened to my mother and didn't dare to be rude in the slightest. But just now, I deeply realized how terrible it is to serve the king like serving a tiger.

The Ming emperor might still regard himself as a childhood playmate and have a friendship with him that is different from that with other ministers, but if he thinks so, his end will definitely be miserable!
After slightly shocking his confidant, Zhu Houcong's tone became more sincere: "You have been honest since childhood, don't let yourself be taken advantage of by always saying good things for others!"

Lu Bing took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty! I believe that Haiyue is indeed talented and a kind person. He hates evil and has a chivalrous heart. He has not used me!"

Lu Bing truly regarded Hai Yue as a friend, which revealed his close relationship with the emperor, but the other party still started the same.

Such people are very rare. They are true gentlemen who cannot be corrupted by wealth and cannot be moved by poverty.

So at this moment, Lu Bing was also willing to guarantee the other party, so as to avoid giving the emperor a bad impression of currying favor with the powerful because of his recommendation.

"Oh?"

Zhu Houcong was a little surprised, but finally showed real interest. "Why are you so optimistic about this man? Could you please tell me in detail about your contact with him when he was in Guangzhou?"

"Yes!"

Lu Bing breathed a sigh of relief again and told Zhu Houcong everything about their work together in Guangzhou Prefecture. Zhu Houcong was listening with great interest when he saw another eunuch quickly come to him and report in a low voice.

"A murder occurred in the Imperial College? Did the son of Gui Gelao murder the brother-in-law of Marquis Wuding?"

Zhu Houcong immediately put aside his leisurely mood and his eyes became serious.

The five core figures of the new nobles in the Great Ceremony Discussion:

Zhang Cong, Gui E, Fang Xianfu, Huo Tao, and Guo Xun.

These five are his capable ministers who are now in charge of government affairs and implementing reforms. They have a very good relationship with each other. "When discussing rituals, the five ministers were united in overcoming their differences and were very happy with each other."

But as the Son of Heaven, he naturally did not want to see these five ministers who had been promoted to high positions because of the same political event secretly forming a group and becoming another Yang Tinghe group that was difficult to get rid of.

So last year, Zhu Houcong deliberately suppressed and condoned the opposition's offensive against Zhang Cong and Gui E, dismissed them, and then immediately conducted an investigation, finding out that they were wronged and the accusations were pure slander. He cleared the opposition, including Yang Yiqing, out of the cabinet, and reinstated Zhang Cong and Gui E.

Even the elder minister, after experiencing such ups and downs, was terrified and trembling with fear, and was full of gratitude to his emperor and father.

Zhu Houcong was very satisfied with this.

But he could punish his favorites, but he would not allow others to do the same.

Now Gui E's son actually harmed Guo Xun's brother-in-law?
Zhu Houcong's first reaction was that someone was behind the scenes trying to alienate the relationships between his right-hand men and his left-hand men, causing the already difficult reform to completely collapse!

Then, a voice of authority that belied his age echoed within the Qianqing Palace: "You have been instrumental in solving the Guangzhou pearl theft case. I bestow upon you the Embroidered Spring Sword and assign you to inspect the Imperial College. Your priority is to calm the situation. If you discover any thieves stirring up trouble, they will be imprisoned and severely punished! If Gui E and Guo Xun clash over their sons and heirs, tell them, 'Don't stir up internal conflict, lest we become a laughingstock to others.'"

Lu Bing was sincerely convinced and bowed his head to accept the order: "I obey your order!"

(End of this chapter)