Huangming

Chapter 7 The allure of power: divide and conquer

After the successor left the Wenhua Hall, the sparsely populated officials who had been kneeling in the hall finally rose to their feet.

Han Kuang and Zhu Guozuo were still immersed in the afterglow of the previous events and could not come back to their senses for a long time. Yang Lian walked up to Liu Yizhuan, the Vice Premier of the Cabinet, and asked with a puzzled look, "Why is Lord Liu not saying a word?"

Liu Yiju then opened his hazy old eyes, his gaze filled with confusion.

"Wenru, you were tired this morning and just fell asleep. What happened?"

"Master Liu, oh dear~"

Yang Lian was taken aback and could only sigh and leave.

His face looked extremely ugly, but he was helpless.

"The court session is adjourned."

The eunuch shouted loudly.

Led by officials from the Court of State Ceremonial, the officials returned to their respective posts.

After all, with two emperors falling in a single month, there were too many things to do.

The current heir is like a deep pool, unfathomable. His first audience with the court left a deep and indelible impression on all the officials.

Many people chose to wait and see.

Before the situation becomes clear, it's always best to wait and see.

It was just a pity for the censor Zuo Guangdou, who became a victim of the Donglin Party's test of the heir apparent.

He was lying outside the Wenhua Hall, his buttocks beaten bloody and mangled, and he didn't even have the strength to howl.

Even a court flogging can be used to gain a reputation for integrity.

But now that his official position has been stripped, when will he be able to be reinstated?

As the officials passed by him, their resolve to wait and see became even stronger.

only.
The new emperor was powerful, but the Donglin Party members were not easy to control.

If one were to ascend the throne, but there were no courtiers to handle state affairs, what good would it do to be the supreme ruler?
Aren't they deaf and blind?
Although the country is large and the imperial power is strong, it still depends on the ministers to govern it.

Even an energetic emperor like Emperor Taizu would be useless without these officials to carry out his decrees and review countless memorials.

Zhu Youxiao returned to Cining Palace and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Despite his minor victory, Zhu Youxiao was not complacent.

His ability to win against these court officials was due to their underestimation of him and their lack of understanding of him.

He knew these officials very well.

Zhu Youxiao learned etiquette from Sun Ruyou in Ciqing Palace, and that wasn't for nothing.

For example, the order of precedence in court.

Zhu Youxiao was able to recognize these people in the court because civil and military officials were strictly ranked during court sessions.

The civil officials were on the east side, and those standing in the front row were the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

The middle row consists of the Vice Minister, the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

The back row consisted of officials from the Six Ministries of Censors, thirteen circuits of Censors, and local prefectural and county officials.

The military officer ranks are on the west side.

The person in the front row is the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commissions and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The middle row consisted of the deputy commanders of various guards and the commander of the Beijing garrison.

The people in the back row were commanders of the Thousand Households and secretaries of the Imperial Secretariat.

Of course, this is not always the case; there are exceptions.

If the emperor granted an official the special privilege of "advanced rank," allowing them to exceed the limits of their official grade, such as Zhang Juzheng during the Wanli era, who, as the Grand Secretary, stood at the forefront of the civil officials.

However, the order in which civil and military officials attended court today was written by Sun Ruyou to Zhu Youxiao. Only after memorizing it briefly did he arrive at the scene in the Wenhua Hall just now.

As a doctoral candidate selected for official post, Zhu Youxiao's twenty years of diligent study in his previous life had not been in vain.

I wouldn't say I have a photographic memory, but after reading a draft, forming a short-term memory is definitely not a problem.

Fortunately, the first hurdle of dealing with the courtiers has been overcome.

Zhu Youxiao immediately summarized and reviewed the situation, and pondered what to do next.

However, he had not been seated in the inner hall of Cining Palace for long when a eunuch rushed in and knelt down.

"This servant, Wei Chao, greets Your Highness."

Wei Chao's face was like a full moon, his cheeks were slightly pale from years of pampered life, and his chin was adorned with a few inches of fat that trembled slightly like solidified fat when he spoke.

The fine lines at the corners of her eyes were like those drawn in a meticulous brushstroke; her nose was slightly wide; and her lips were thin and pale, as if they had been pressed with ink residue from imperial edicts for many years.

His sparse eyebrows were deliberately trimmed into a sword-like shape, with the ends slanting towards his temples, adding a touch of sinister ruthlessness.

Zhu Youxiao examined him for a moment and asked, "Why hasn't Wang Daban returned yet?"

Wei Chao was slightly nervous, but still bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, there are many complicated matters in the outer court. Whether it is the relocation of the palace or the Red Pill case, we need the Ancestor to take care of them."

"Ancestor?"

Zhu Youxiao looked coldly at Wei Chao and asked, "How come I didn't know there was an ancestor in the Forbidden City?"

Wei Chao immediately realized he had misspoke and quickly slapped his face, saying, "No, Your Majesty, it was a slip of the tongue. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"That's all."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Get up."

Wei Chao was uncertain and couldn't figure out what the successor was thinking, but he could only slowly get up.

"I wonder if Your Highness has summoned me for any purpose?"

Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly, "In the Forbidden City, I haven't found anyone I'm comfortable with. As the saying goes, old clothes are worse than new ones, and new people are worse than old ones. Wang An has been the scribe in the Directorate of Ceremonial for many years, but he's become somewhat muddle-headed. Of course, I can't blame him. Sometimes, people have to accept getting old and need someone younger to take over their position. Wei Chao, what do you say?"

The successor's words struck him like a thunderbolt, making his heart pound.

Wang An is old.

Who is younger?
Wei Chao was young!

Gollum~
Wei Chao swallowed hard, his face filled with ecstatic joy. He quickly knelt down and crawled to Zhu Youxiao's feet, looking up at Zhu Youxiao like a dog looking at its master.

"Since I entered the palace at a young age, I have known the meaning of loyalty. If the Crown Prince orders Wei Chao to go east, I would never dare to go west! If I disobey, I will surely die a terrible death!"

If not now, when?

Wei Chao was also a shrewd man. After observing the successor today, he understood that this man was definitely not an ordinary person.

Now that the heir apparent has no one to rely on, it is the perfect time for him to step in.

As for his ancestor Wang An, who had promoted him.
The Wei Dynasty could only say three words: It's irrelevant!

The ancestors clearly wanted to learn from the story of Feng Bao during the Wanli era. However, Feng Bao had accompanied the emperor since childhood and was extremely trusted. Zhang Juzheng was exceptionally capable, and Empress Dowager Li in the harem was biased towards outsiders. She was able to control the emperor under the guise of instruction. In addition, the emperor was young, which allowed Feng Bao to exercise some of the imperial power and become one of the most powerful people in the world at that time.

However.
The heir is no longer young, and it seems that neither Consort Zheng nor Consort Li can control him in the harem.

Are there still people like Zhang Juzheng in the outer court?
Lacking both internal and external support, and disloyal to the new ruler, Wang An was considered senile by the Wei dynasty.

Since he's getting senile, why not give this promotion position to his godson?
Talking to smart people is always so easy, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.

"Very well, very well, I need a loyal minister like you. Now, I have a task for you."

(End of this chapter)