My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 37 Lecture on the East Palace
As expected, faced with the memorials from Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, each with his own opinion, Li Fang, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, was also worried.

Like the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, the power of the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department also fluctuated in the Ming Dynasty.

Before and after Li Fang, although there was a powerful eunuch like Liu Jin in front and a powerful eunuch like Wei Zhongxian in the back, most of the eunuchs in charge of seals in the Ming Dynasty were cautious about the emperor and ministers and did not dare to overstep the line.

Not to mention that there is Feng Bao, the second-in-command in the Imperial Household Department who is eyeing the situation covetously.

Li Fang had no reason to protect these censors, lest he be caught by Feng Bao for the crime of "abusing power", so he could only honestly deliver these memorials to Emperor Longqing's desk.

As expected, after seeing the two piles of memorials, one high and one low, the usually good-tempered Emperor Longqing also got angry, which was rare for him.

"Clear Stream, Clear Stream! Is this my Clear Stream!?"

Emperor Longqing looked at the mountain of impeachment memorials from the Ministry of Rites and then at the memorials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Reception, and suddenly felt extremely ironic.

At the same time, the emperor looked at the impeachment memorials, which were almost identical in tone, and became even more alert. When Yan Song formed a clique, Emperor Longqing saw it all.

Now that the six departments and thirteen ministries are united in attacking Su Ze, is there a member of Xu's party among the departments?
In addition to his dissatisfaction with the factions in the imperial court, Emperor Longqing was not stupid. He now understood the benefits of the golden urn drawing method.

What’s even more gratifying is that the U-Tsang delegation has no objection to the golden urn method, which means that the Ming Dynasty has penetrated further into U-Tsang.

This is something that even our ancestors couldn’t do!
Since he ascended the throne, Xu Jie has used ancestral rules to suppress the emperor in every way, and Longqing has continued the policies of the previous emperor and followed them step by step.

This time, the golden urn drawing method allowed Emperor Longqing to taste the power.

I can do what the previous emperor and even my ancestors could not do!
The emperor stood up and looked at the words he had written on the screen - "The New Deal of Longqing".

This was Gao Gong's reform proposal to the emperor, and also his beautiful expectation for the future of the Ming Dynasty.

Today's incident also made Emperor Longqing make up his mind. Xu Jie has left the court, and the Kedao should be cleaned up. The next step is to appoint capable ministers and start the Longqing New Deal.

Emperor Longqing picked up the red brush again and wrote Su Ze's name on the screen.

A newcomer to the officialdom actually wrote a series of memorials on important military and national affairs, and each time he achieved what others could not do.

The morning court session was cancelled, the national history was revised, a crown prince was appointed, and this was in addition to the pacification of U-Tsang.

At this moment, Concubine Li walked into the palace.

"My beloved, do you remember the memorial I told you about the other day? The one with the Golden Urn?"

Concubine Li immediately said:
"Your Majesty, I dare not speak of state affairs."

The emperor was in a good mood today, so he continued:
"The envoys from U-Tsang are all willing to accept the Golden Urn Method. This method proposed by Su Ze has really worked! When the Dharma King of U-Tsang reincarnates in the future, he must be conferred the title by the Ming Dynasty!"

Concubine Li still did not speak out on specific government affairs, but she also said happily:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on gaining such a capable minister!"

Emperor Longqing said:

"It's a pity that Su Ze is too young to be of any use to me. I'll have to wait until Jun'er takes the throne."

Concubine Li quickly said:
"Your Majesty, what are you talking about? Your Majesty is in the prime of life. If we wait for a dozen years, won't Su Ze be able to join the cabinet and assist in government?"

Emperor Longqing burst into laughter after hearing this.

Concubine Li was of humble origin and was originally just a maid in Prince Yu's mansion.

The reason why she was favored by Emperor Longqing was not only because of her good looks, but also because she knew the emperor's mind.

"Your Majesty, I have a request for you."

"My dear, please feel free to speak."

Concubine Li pretended to hesitate and said:
"This matter is not for me to speak up, so I'd better not say anything." Emperor Longqing pretended to be angry and said:

"Just say it when I tell you to!"

Concubine Li pretended to be terrified and said:

"I want to say that since Your Majesty values ​​Hanlin Su so much and he is now an official in the Imperial Household Department, why not let him teach Jun'er?"

Hearing this, Emperor Longqing hurried over, pulled Concubine Li up and said:

"You're just taking your responsibilities too far! Jun'er is the crown prince, and Ai Fei is Jun'er's biological mother. She's worried about her son's studies. This is a family matter. What's there to be said?"

Concubine Li shed tears and said:
"I see Your Majesty toiling away day and night on paperwork, and I don't want my comments to spark further criticism from the outside court, accusing me of meddling in government affairs."

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing thought of the thirteen memorials from the six departments, and his heart became even more angry. He brought up an old story and said:

"This year I wanted to hold the Lantern Festival according to our ancestral tradition, but it was Elder Xu and his gang of censors who stopped me, using the fact that the previous emperor didn't hold the Lantern Festival as pressure to stop me."

"The previous emperor built the Wanshou and Renshou Palaces, and I have never undertaken any major construction since I ascended the throne. Why didn't they say anything?!"

This impeachment by the Imperial Academy brought out all of Emperor Longqing's dissatisfaction with being suppressed by Xu Jie. He walked behind the imperial desk and said to Li Fang, who had been pretending to be invisible:
"Draft an edict!"

"Su Ze, the Left Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household, was appointed to attend the Imperial Lectures and to lecture in the Eastern Palace."

The emperor glanced at the mountain of memorials impeaching Su Ze and said again:
"Anyone who submits a letter to impeach Su Ze will be fined three months' salary, and the Ministry of Public Security will be ordered to go and give him a warning!"

"Instruct the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Office to fill the vacancies as soon as possible."

Li Fang received the imperial edict and walked out of the Yiku Palace. He looked at the south of the palace city and sighed slightly.

Li Fang was also a shrewd man who had experienced two dynasties. The emperor's meaning was very clear. This was a hint that the Ministry of Personnel controlled by Gao Gong could take action to expel the remaining forces of Xu Jie in the Ministry of Personnel.

Although Li Fang once had a good cooperation with Xu Jie, the era of Lord Xu had come to an end.

However, Li Fang was still hesitant about who would replace Xu Jie and become the person in charge of the cabinet.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng in the cabinet seem to be united, but once Xu Jie's remaining forces are expelled, can the two of them still be as harmonious as they are now?

In Li Fang's opinion, these two people are very opinionated and unwilling to be inferior to others.

Looking at the night, Li Fang began to think of backing out, but when she thought of her godson and grandson, she could only smile bitterly.

Being in this position, how can you not fight for it just because you want to?
-
Su Ze had no idea that his memorial would cause such a huge chain reaction, indirectly leading Emperor Longqing to decide to expel the remnants of Xu Jie and launch the Longqing New Deal.

Of course, if Su Ze knew, he would only applaud.

At this moment, he was checking the settlement report.

The Golden Urn Lot Method ensured peace in the U-Tsang region, and the Ming Dynasty strengthened its rule over the region.

Unfortunately, when the world was in chaos, U-Tsang was too far away from the Central Plains to influence the situation there.

The remnants of the Ming court, which retreated to Sichuan, held out for another two years with the support of the chieftain of U-Tsang, but were still unable to resist their inevitable fate.

[The Ming Dynasty's fate is unaffected, the remaining Ming Dynasty's fate is increased by +2]

[The Emperor punished the officials who impeached you because of your memorial. Prestige -30]

[Current prestige value: 80]

(End of this chapter)