Huangming

Chapter 43 Power is hard to wield, draft passed by vote
"Slave, you obey!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Chao was overjoyed. He knelt down and bowed twice. After getting up, there was no trace of disappointment on his face.

He thought bitterly: Wei Zhongxian, don't let me catch you red-handed, or my family will make you pay!

"I wish to review my studies. You may leave."

Wei Chao, with a fawning expression, said, "Your Majesty, there are still a few palace maids in Cining Palace who are knowledgeable in poetry and literature and quite beautiful. Would you like them to come and serve you?"

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the eunuch and said, "Just have Zhang Yun'er come over."

As emperor, what woman couldn't he have?

Does Wei Chao really think he's obsessed with women?
This attempt at flattery backfired spectacularly, leaving Wei Chao embarrassed and with no choice but to take his leave.

As Zhu Youxiao watched Wei Chao's departing figure, a smile gradually crept onto his lips.

Although the Wei dynasty was difficult to obey the emperor's will, it had the advantage of not being too scheming and being easy to control.

Wei Zhongxian has too many schemes; we need to bring in Wei Chao to counterbalance him.

Just like training a dog, if it becomes possessive of its food, it should be punished accordingly. However, it should not be allowed to feel that the emperor cannot live without it.

You need to make him feel insecure, make him feel that his position is unstable and that he could be replaced at any time.

In this Ming Dynasty, apart from him as emperor, there were always replacements for anyone else who left.

in this way.

Only these henchmen could work diligently and serve as Zhu Youxiao's driving force.
-
at the same time.

Six-science corridor.

After the Six Ministries signed their rebuttals to the Emperor's decree, the twenty-one officials who signed the document were uneasy.

Zhou Chaorui, the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, was particularly alarmed.

What if His Majesty is furious?

Disturbed and unable to concentrate on his work, he went to the military affairs office in the north-west corridor of the Right Shun Gate.

At this moment, Yang Lian sat upright in the military affairs office, reviewing the draft edicts prepared by the cabinet, his mind completely unaffected.

Seeing that it was Zhou Chaorui, Yang Lian chuckled and asked, "Siyong, what brings you here?"

Zhou Chaorui simply sat down in the armchair, sighed, and readily admitted, "I am restless and filled with anxiety."

Yang Lian put down his brush and said, "We are acting in the right way, so why should we be uneasy or worried?"

Zhou Chaorui looked at Yang Lian, but could only sigh again.

You're not afraid of death, but I am!
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Tap tap tap~
Before the people arrive, the sound comes first.

"Chief Censor, the cabinet's draft proposal has arrived!"

Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Chaorui knew it was his subordinate, the Left Assistant of the Ministry of Personnel.

"If it's not an emergency, I'll deal with it later." With the sword hanging over his neck, and the Great Ming Divine Sword yet to fall, he really had no mind for anything else.

"It is related to His Majesty's decree today."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chaorui jumped up.

He frowned and asked, "Has the cabinet issued another order?"

The six departments rejected the Cabinet's draft proposal, and the Cabinet can resubmit it after deliberation.

Upon hearing this, Yang Lian frowned, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes, and said, "Your Excellency is muddleheaded! How dare you send back the imperial edict that was rejected by the Six Ministries? We will immediately summon the officials of the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice to kneel outside the Zuoshun Gate and beg His Majesty to withdraw the imperial edict and dismiss Fang Congzhe!"

If we don't put some pressure on the young emperor, he probably won't realize that violating ancestral rules is absolutely unacceptable.

"Yang Dujian has misunderstood. This is not His Majesty's decree, but a normal draft by the cabinet," said the Left Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel.

Zhou Chaorui immediately took the edict drafted by the cabinet and looked at it.

"Hehe! It's done, we've done it!" At this moment, Zhou Chaorui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is not an imperial edict, but a draft proposal from the cabinet. His Majesty is truly a wise ruler who listens to advice!"

Yang Lian also stepped forward to take a look, and saw that the edict drafted by the cabinet was indeed an edict that did not allow Xiong Tingbi to resign.

Below the Cabinet's draft proposal is a line of text:

This minister is experienced and capable, and is of high standing. How can he possibly resign and ask to step down? His request is denied.

His Majesty has stopped issuing imperial edicts and has switched to issuing decrees through normal channels.

However.
Xiong Tingbi was still in office, and the capable minister Yuan Yingtai was still unable to take over the position of Liaodong Military Commissioner. Although he achieved one goal, he did not achieve all of them.

Yang Lian frowned, a feeling of frustration welling up inside him.

He originally thought the emperor would challenge them, so he had prepared many methods:
If the emperor remains obstinate, dozens or even hundreds of officials will jointly submit a memorial opposing him.

Secondly, they contacted insightful people in the court and prepared to kneel outside the Zuoshun Gate to plead with the emperor, even at the cost of their lives, to put pressure on him.

If the emperor still insists on issuing the imperial edict, they will make sure that the emperor's name is 'etched in history'!
They secretly compiled their memorials against the imperial edict into a collection and disseminated them through private bookstores, thus portraying the emperor as "dull-witted."

Through lectures at academies or exchanges of poetry and prose, public opinion pressure against the emperor was created.

These tactics would be too much for Emperor Shenzong to withstand, and even Emperor Shizong would not have been able to resist them.

Hai Rui's memorial on maintaining order directly criticized Emperor Jiajing, stating that "Jiajing means that every household is clean and has no money," which shocked the court and the public.

Yang Jisheng's impeachment of Yan Song, "Memorial Requesting the Execution of the Traitorous Minister," was printed and circulated, forcing the Jiajing Emperor to conduct a public trial.

There are precedents for this.

The results of it?
These prepared moves are now completely useless.

Yang Lian seemed to have made thorough preparations to show the new emperor what the world was like.

The new emperor didn't respond at all, as if his punch had hit cotton, leaving him feeling so frustrated he wanted to vomit blood.

His Majesty.

Where is your youthful vigor, your thunderous rage?

Why is it gone now?

Seeing Yang Lian's face grow increasingly pale, turning completely red like a roasted shrimp, Zhou Chaorui understood Yang Lian's feelings.

He immediately spoke up to comfort him, saying, "Wenru, at least His Majesty has taken a step back, so let's just let this matter go."

"never mind?"

Yang Lian snorted coldly, just like a gambler who had lost at the card table.

"We can't let this go. Although His Majesty didn't issue an imperial edict, his heavy reliance on Xiong Tingbi was also due to being misled by treacherous people. The Six Ministries must refute the Cabinet's proposal!"

Zhou Chaorui was stunned. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "His Majesty issued an imperial edict suddenly. Therefore, we have ancestral laws as a shield and are following the right path. Now that His Majesty is listening to advice and accepting suggestions, if we were to refute it again, not only His Majesty, but even the cabinet would have objections. At that time, how many people in the court will stand behind us?"

Just because you, Yang Lian, are not afraid of death doesn't mean we are not afraid of death.

Even those who acted righteously were afraid of the emperor's wrath.

If we refute this now, and the emperor punishes us, I'm afraid the court officials will not sympathize with us.

"If Chief Censor Zhou dares not refute this, then I, Yang Lian, will personally sign my rebuttal!"

Zhou Chaorui snorted coldly and said, "I, Zhou, am the Chief Censor of the Ministry of Personnel, not Yang, the Chief Censor. Now that neither of the two Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet has reminded us, what are we still doing here?"

With that, he snatched the draft of the cabinet document and headed towards the door of the Ministry of War's office.

However, after stepping over the threshold of the duty room, Zhou Chaorui paused for a moment and slowly said, "It is not that I am afraid of death, but that I am afraid that His Majesty's wrath will cause the administration to fall into disarray. If Wenru makes such a big fuss over such a small matter, who will speak up for our Great Ming Dynasty if something really big happens in the future?"

After saying this, Zhou Chaorui turned and left.

Yang Lian was left alone in the duty room, bewildered.

(End of this chapter)