marquis of jingan

Chapter 1498: Knock Knock

Chapter 1498: Knock Knock

As Shen Yi's backup, the current Minister of Rites and one of the Nine Ministers, Shen Heng naturally knew some things that others didn't know. Hearing Shen Yi say this, he looked around and then whispered.

"Brother, I don't know what your plans are with His Majesty, nor do I know who will be the crown prince in the end. But no matter what you think, the court must not be in chaos."

He said with a serious face: "This is the result of twenty years of hard work by your Majesty, you, my elder brother, and countless ministers in the court. It is not easy to get to the present day when the country is prosperous and the court is full of upright people..."

"You better take care of it!"

The words "the court is full of justice" are really not just Minister Shen's way of whitewashing the situation.

In fact, there have been many capable and virtuous ministers in the Hongde Dynasty until now. For example, Zhao Changping and Zhang Jian can be said to be capable ministers.

Looking at the entire court, although corruption still exists, most people are able to do their jobs conscientiously while being corrupt.

The reason for this situation is not because of the prosperity of the country or the arrival of some great era, but simply because of the personal reasons of the leader.

Or to put it more simply, it was due to the emperor's personal reasons.

As the saying goes, what the ruler likes, the subordinates will like even more. As the greatest leader in the world, the emperor likes capable and virtuous ministers, so he will naturally choose virtuous and capable ministers to serve in the court. Even as long as the emperor has this tendency, those originally unvirtuous ministers will force themselves to become virtuous.

Those who are unwilling to work will force themselves to work.

For example, a person like Chen Yu, if he encountered a tyrant in power, he would most likely become a traitor, but now it is the Hongde Dynasty.

Chen Yu was a truly capable minister who was very capable of getting things done.

This is one of the biggest characteristics of the feudal dynasty.

The rise and fall of feudal dynasties will change dramatically with the change of the emperor, as the saying goes, a new emperor means new ministers.

Now the country is prosperous during the Hongde reign and the Chen Dynasty is at its peak. However, once the emperor changes, the new ruler will suddenly become a tyrant and incompetent ruler after two or three years in office, and it won't take long.

In ten years or even seven or eight years, the country will become weak.

This is also the fundamental reason why Emperor Hongde is still hesitant about the crown prince.

In other words, this is a common problem of "successful monarchs". They have already achieved great success in their lives, so they want to carefully select a monarch who can at least maintain the status quo and are unwilling to let their life's efforts go to waste.

Master Shen pulled Shen Heng to sit down, and said with a smile: "Zichang is worrying too much. Fortunately, His Majesty is still alive in the court, and my brother is not dead, so the court will not be in chaos."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince really has some messed up orders."

Shen Yi said silently: "It can't be sent out."

Master Shen knew very well that although the emperor in Ganlu Palace was now living in seclusion, the inner guards under his command were probably working at full capacity.

There were countless pairs of eyes watching the court for him, watching his son sitting in the Secretariat.

And I am afraid that the energy consumed in this process will not be much less than when he personally handles government affairs.

Shen Heng frowned and said, "The new Minister of Rites has been in office for more than a month, and I have hardly seen him in the Ministry of Rites."

"He ran to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Mr. Shen smiled and said, "Most likely he was promoted by the Crown Prince, so he must go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Logically speaking, Zi Changni should also go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince more often, so that it will be natural for him to be appointed as a prime minister in the future."

Shen Heng still frowned: "Brother, I have been an official for so long and I am already satisfied. It doesn't matter whether I am appointed as prime minister or not."

"Besides, as long as Senior Brother Zhang is in the Secretariat, I will never be able to become the Prime Minister."

This is true.

The Zhang and Shen families are too close. There are only five ministers in the Secretariat. If they take two of them, they can easily win over one of the remaining three, and the internal affairs will be completely decided by their "Ganquan faction".

In addition, Master Shen was still leading troops outside. At that time, both the inside and the outside were unified, so it was difficult to say what the imperial court would be.

Master Shen patted his brother on the shoulder and said with a smile: "If you can't be the prime minister, being a minister of heaven will be more impressive."

Shen Heng shook his head silently: "This is not my ambition."

Shen Yi nodded gently and said, "I know, but there is one thing you should always pay attention to."

"Brother, please speak."

"You are the chief examiner for this year's spring imperial examination. All the newly-appointed Jinshi can be considered your students."

"In order to find a way out recently, almost all of them have been trying their best to meet the prince."

Master Shen said softly, "As a teacher, you can't just sit there and do nothing. Take a good look at it. If there are any good ones, stop them and leave a few talents for this department."

Shen Heng was stunned for a moment, then whispered: "Brother, why do I hear you say that...it seems like something is going to happen to the prince?"

"I didn't say that."

Shen Yi said softly: "Whether the prince has problems or not, these new scholars will definitely anger your majesty. How can a disciple of the emperor be so determined to join the prince?"

“That’s outrageous.”

Minister Shen nodded silently.

"That's true, but those young people are too eager for quick success. They haven't even completed their three-year observation period as a new scholar, but they're already thinking about finding a vacancy for themselves."

Mr. Shen said calmly.

"Didn't a few new Jinshi who hadn't seen government affairs get official positions from the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince set this precedent, and other Jinshi will naturally flock to it."

Minister Shen looked up at Shen Yi and said with a wry smile, "I thought you were bored at home and didn't know anything, but it turns out you know everything."

“I just know a little bit.”

Mr. Shen stretched his body and said lazily, "Just be at ease as the Minister of Rites, take care of your subordinates, and make money from the new Jinshi."

"Don't worry about the other things."

Mr. Shen smiled and said, "It is the five ministers in the Secretariat who should be worried about it."

Shen Heng nodded silently at first, then looked at Shen Yi and asked, "Brother, Yuan'er has been in Goryeo for half a year, how is he doing now?"

"It's OK."

Mr. Shen smiled and said, "At least he has learned how to lead an army. If he comes back in the future, let him lead 10,000 people so that he won't be at a loss."

"As for Goryeo..."

Shen Yi knocked on the table and said softly, "It's not a difficult task. Let him practice."

He looked at Shen Heng.

"The Silang of Zichang's family will also go to Goryeo to help his elder brother in two years."

Shen Heng nodded slightly and said, "It seems that Big Brother is really planning to take over Goryeo..."

"Of course."

Mr. Shen was calm and composed.

"Korea is not a small country. We should take it down while we have the ability. Otherwise, after a few hundred years, the descendants of that small peninsula may start to disgust us."

Shen Heng was confused and didn't understand what was going on.

Shen Yi just smiled slightly without further explanation.

…………

The power transition in Yanjing City continues.

As he gradually gained power, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was also testing the limits of his power step by step.

He first replaced some officials in the court and filled some important positions in the court with people who defected to him.

More than half of the backbone forces of the court sided with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

And this number of people is gradually increasing as time goes by.

In the blink of an eye, another two or three months passed.

Time came to the autumn of the thirty-first year of Hongde.

On this day, Mr. Shen was personally invited to the palace by Eunuch Xiao.

He went very smoothly and met the Emperor, whom outsiders could never see, in the Ganlu Palace.

At this time, Emperor Hongde looked even worse.

Maybe because he hadn't seen the sun for a long time, his face was so pale that it was a little scary.

After seeing Shen Yi, the emperor smiled. He waved at Shen Yi and said, "Shen Qing, come here."

Shen Yi sat down and looked at the emperor, his expression somewhat gloomy: "Your Majesty, are you okay?"

"Alive."

The emperor showed a relieved smile on his face. He sat up straight, looked at Shen Yi, and sighed softly: "Yesterday, the boss left Yanjing."

A few days ago, the Prince Fu's Palace in Fuzhou was finally completed, and the eldest prince Li Wang left Yanjing and headed south.

As for the fourth prince Li Jian, he left Yanjing earlier because the Prince of Wu's Palace in Jiangdu was completed faster.

But last time, the emperor did not express such emotion.

It is obvious that in the emperor's heart, the eldest brother Li Wang is closer. After all, Concubine Hui is the most beloved woman in his life.

Maybe in his eyes, he, Concubine Hui, and Li Wang are the real family.

Shen Yi comforted him softly, "Your Majesty, don't be sad. His Royal Highness Prince Fu will live a happy life."

"I hope so."

The emperor sighed silently.

"The third brother has become more and more capable in the past six months."

The emperor whispered, "They have already begun to interfere with the palace guards."

Shen Yi narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this.

"Maybe it's for the sake of your majesty's safety."

The emperor laughed.

"Mr. Shen's words are brilliant. He is indeed thinking about my safety."

Finally, the prince's six-month-long test finally touched the "limit of his power."

In a sense, the relationship between the emperor and the crown prince is not simply that of father and son, but rather political rivals.

Now, Emperor Hongde is a little unhappy.

He looked at Master Shen and said softly, "I don't have the energy to fight him right now. Shen Qing will do it for me."

"Hit him."

The emperor said softly: "It can be considered as..."

"As a father, I am giving him a warning."

As he said that, he looked at Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Don't say that you received my order."

Mr. Shen lowered his head silently.

"My minister obeys."

(End of this chapter)