Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 044: A Slap on the Face Must Hurt (V)
On the fifth day of September in the thirty-third year of the Wanli reign, the emperor convened a grand court meeting again after a lapse of more than four years.
Compared with the previous grand court meeting four years ago, this one was quite a pitfall: since the Ming Dynasty had not held a grand court meeting for decades, officials in the capital usually went to bed late at night and got up even later in the morning: since they didn't have to attend court anyway.
Four years ago, the Imperial Palace issued a notice two or three days in advance: a grand court meeting will be held on a certain day of a certain month, and everyone should be prepared. Then officials from all walks of life naturally knew that they had to go to bed early on that night and eat enough before going out.
As a result, this time, the eunuchs and generals of the palace waited until the early hours of the morning to go door to door to inform officials that there would be a grand court meeting this morning. As a result, most of the gentlemen who rushed out to attend the meeting were listless and hungry.
After everyone walked into the Huangji Hall in the palace city with resentment in their hearts, the ministers could not help but start whispering to each other.
"What's wrong with the emperor today? Why is the court meeting so urgent?"
"Hey! This isn't urgent at all. It 's just haste!"
"That's not the case, but what's the country's emergency military situation?"
"Your Excellency, I am from the Ministry of War. At least until I was off duty last night, I didn't hear any urgent military information."
"Hey, stop guessing. Didn't you hear the news from the eunuchs in the palace? Seven or eight days ago, almost all the censors wrote letters to impeach the crown prince. You must know that, right?"
"Of course I know that. But based on previous years' examples, weren't these things kept in China?"
"Yes, I heard that the Emperor also intends to keep all of them. But the Crown Prince is not happy about it and insists on holding a grand court meeting to argue with everyone."
"Hahahaha~~ He is just a four-year-old child, and he is so naive. Are those censors capable of reasoning?"
It can be said that the administrative officials and the censors have always disliked each other. One thinks that I am tired and hard-working as a censor, and you guys are still nagging me all day long. The other thinks: I am a censor, and I am supposed to supervise your work and your morality. You people who only know how to work, how can you know the importance of thinking? If your thinking is wrong, no matter how much you do, it will be wrong!
Therefore, in the matter of soap, not all officials in the Ming Dynasty were disgusted. On the contrary, they were more appreciative of those officials who did practical things.
Unfortunately, the current Chinese Empire has gone further and further down the evil path of governing the country with morality. No one dares to take on anything that involves the words of a saint.
At this moment, three whip sounds were heard, and the idle chatter among the many small groups quickly quieted down.
The area of the Huangji Hall was not small, but it definitely could not accommodate so many ministers. Therefore, most low-ranking officials could only stand outside the hall. Soon after the whip sounded, eunuchs came out of the hall and shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty has spoken, this court meeting was called too hastily, and many of the ministers were unable to have breakfast. In order to prevent the ministers from being impolite in front of the emperor due to hunger, before the court meeting begins, the emperor will give each of the ministers a bowl of potato and corn soup."
"We thank the Emperor for his consideration."
After a while, many eunuchs came out one after another carrying steaming bowls. Soon, whether in the hall or outside, the ministers got a bowl of hot soup that gave off an inexplicable fragrance. The bowl was a sticky mess with some yellow and white things in the middle.
"Hmm? What is this? Why does it taste so weird? But, it's really delicious!"
"This thing smells really good and tastes really good. But what is it?"
"Isn't this the sweet potato grown in my hometown? I didn't expect it to taste so good after being mixed into a paste. But what are the beans in this sweet potato soup?"
After all, the whip had been fired, so although the officials attending the meeting had their own thoughts, they did not dare to whisper to each other. Besides, everyone was really hungry at this time. So, with the snoring of varying sizes, bowls of bean soup were quickly drunk up.
After the eunuchs took the empty bowls away, the whips sounded again, and many more eunuchs stood outside the palace and spoke to the ministers outside: "Your Majesty has ordered that many ministers have recently submitted reports impeaching the Crown Prince. At the request of the Crown Prince, I have specially held this court meeting. All ministers who have something to say about this matter may speak freely!"
"I, Wang Tingjian, the Censor of the Censorate, have a memorial to submit!"
"I, Xu Shunmin, the Censor of the Censorate, have a memorial to submit!"
"I, Yang Yingwen, the Minister of the Household Department, have a copy..."
"I also have a report to submit!"
"The Emperor has ordered that there are too many people to submit reports, and it is impossible to summon them one by one. Now we will follow the order of the reports just now, and the first one to speak will be given priority. Now we will summon Wang Tingjian, Xu Shunmin, and Yang Yingwen to the palace to report. The rest of you will wait outside for the time being."
"Your Highness obeys your order!"
The three people who were called were a little nervous, but they walked into the Huangji Palace with more excitement.
Alas, after all, his rank is too low. Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty has rarely held a grand court meeting in recent decades. Even if there is a grand court meeting, if it weren't for an opportunity like today, how could he enter the Huangji Hall? This is a place where only the cabinet elders, the six ministers, and the chief censor can stand.
Yes! That's right. If we can refute the Grand Prince and make him speechless today, and make him repent, then it will also benefit the world . Naturally, he should soon become a frequent visitor to the Imperial Palace, right?
With this thought in mind, the three followed the eunuch into the theoretically highest power hall of the Ming Dynasty.
Entering the hall, I saw Emperor Wanli sitting at the top with a big smile on his face. To his lower left stood a young man in his twenties, pale, flustered, and at a loss: This should be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right? He really looked like a kind-hearted and benevolent monarch!
On a soft couch to the lower right of the Emperor sat a four-year-old child with sparkling eyes and a strong will. Is this the Crown Prince? Humph, his eyes are shining with gold, so he must be a money-grubbing person!
Seeing three young and middle-aged men who had just entered officialdom walking into the hall with great bearing, Left Censor-in-Chief Wen Chun shook his head imperceptibly.
As the chief of the censors of the Ming Dynasty , Old Wen is no fool. He knows clearly that the emperor would not hold this grand court meeting today if he was not absolutely sure.
Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty had been in operation for more than 200 years, and the censors had long become tools of the bigwigs. He, the Left Censor-in-Chief, was nominally the manager of the censors. In fact, he had no control over the overall situation.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, and greet the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince."
"My three dear ministers, please excuse me. Who will make the first speech? Let me make it clear. Today is a grand court meeting, and all the officials have gathered. So, let's keep our discussion brief. Also, the speeches in this hall must be orderly. Do not rush in all at once, and do not roar in the hall. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to ask the officials to punish you for your impoliteness in front of the emperor."
"Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty. I, Wang Tingjian, have a memorial to make!"
"Well, what does Wang Qing want to say?"
"I impeach His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for disregarding the words of the sage and only seeking land and houses. He has no respect for his elders and is morally corrupt!"
"Zhu Youdong, Wang Qing has impeached you for a serious crime. Do you have anything to say?"
"May I ask Lord Wang..."
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, has spoken out of turn. Your Highness is the king, and I dare not address you as Lord in front of the Crown Prince."
Huh? Your IQ isn't that low. You didn't even jump into this pit. But it doesn't matter, I'll dig another pit for you.
"Oh, I was wrong. May I ask, Lord Wang, how can I bear the consequences of what you just said?"
"I heard that after Your Highness received the imperial farm allocated , he immediately sent eunuchs to bring the farm under the jurisdiction of Xinghua Palace. Not only that, he also forced the nearby Wuqing Marquis to hand over nearly 2,000 acres of land. When Wuqing Marquis refused, the Crown Prince personally led a team and killed the servants in Wuqing Marquis' farm... Wuqing Marquis is the uncle of this dynasty. According to seniority, he is the great-uncle of Your Highness. By doing this, isn't Your Highness disrespectful to his elders? He led the crowd to kill and burn people over a disagreement. I would say that he is morally corrupt, which is the least of his crimes!"
"Hiss~~ Wang Qing, you don't have to be polite. Today's grand court meeting was held at my request. I just wanted to clarify any problems and misunderstandings. After all, the truth becomes clearer the more it is argued. Wang Qing, did you want to tell me that a perverse and cruel child like me is not fit to be a monarch. If compared with the predecessors, am I like the Haihun Marquis of the Former Han Dynasty? Or the Hengshan King (Li Chengqian) of the Early Tang Dynasty?"
