Chapter 523 Do you still have the late emperor in your eyes?
Yan Shaoting's face was filled with grief and indignation.

So much so that everyone was in a brief trance for a moment.

Look at the grief-stricken Yan Shaoting, and then look at his father Yan Shifan.

Everyone couldn't help but murmur in their hearts.

Aren't such words and actions something that only Yan Donglou would do?
Is it really true that a dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a mouse's son will dig holes?

Zhu Zaigui looked at Yan Shaoting with a blank look.

The late emperor's last will was actually just a formality for him.

The imperial edict that the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites brought out today, although somewhat biased in its content, is actually not unacceptable.

But Yan Shaoting has stood up at this time.

So if we can make the late emperor's will better, that would be fine.

But he didn't quite understand why Yan Shaoting would argue with the cabinet in public about the will.

Yan Shaoting's face was already filled with sorrow as he said, "Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teachers, the emperor and father are above, and the subjects are below. However, the emperor and subjects are all human beings. The cabinet and all of you here today are all human beings, living in the capital and owning houses. If your houses are old and destroyed, would you just leave them alone and let the ruins stay in your house? You would definitely hire people, buy materials, and rebuild the houses."

"If a minister is like this, then the Forbidden City is the residence of the emperor. If the residence of the emperor falls into disrepair over time and then collapses, or is destroyed by lightning or fire, should it be repaired? Or should it be left in the palace as a mess?"

"Zuo Zhuan also said that the most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and war. Worshiping heaven and earth, building palaces and temples are the rituals of worshiping heaven, just like the ancestral halls and Buddhist temples in the homes of officials. What is the difference?"

"If that's the case, why does this draft of the will mention that the late emperor built many buildings every year, implying that he was arrogant and extravagant?"

Inside the Wenhua Hall, Yan Shaoting let out a long sigh.

He looked at Li Chunfang and Minister of Rites Gao Yi with a look of great grief and anger, and then turned to Prime Minister Gao Gong.

"Prince, I am deeply saddened by the words I say to the late emperor, and my words may be biased, but what do you think of what I say this time?"

Gao Gong's face looked solemn.

Li Chunfang was filled with indignation.

sophistry!

Yan Shaoting is here to make excuses today.

What kind of people are ministers below us? They are human beings. The ruler and father above us are also human beings.

Because of this, the emperor’s construction of palaces and mansions cannot be considered as extravagance and waste.

Isn't this pure sophistry?

But Li Chunfang was speechless.

Because sophistry is sometimes so useful.

If he objected, Yan Shaoting might suggest checking whether his family had repaired the house over the years.

Everyone knows that when the previous emperor was alive, he built palaces and mansions on a large scale, wasting countless money and grain from the national treasury.

But what Yan Shaoting said made them unable to refute.

A feeling of powerlessness arises spontaneously.

Gao Gong could only nod and say, "What Runwu said is true. How can I blame you for doing something inhumane when I am repairing your house? But..."

With Gao Gong, he had to accept it with a pinch of his nose.

Yan Shaoting said immediately, "However, I also remembered what Zhang Juzheng, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, said when he was in Beijing, that if you plan ahead, you will succeed, and if you don't plan ahead, you will fail. By extension, everything has its limits. For example, when the Ministry of Works rebuilt the Wanshou Palace, I also participated in it and supervised the matter together with Lei Shangshu of the Ministry of Works. At that time, the cost of the reconstruction was less than 200,000 taels. In this way, there should be no mistakes."

Lei Li, the Minister of Works, who was present, immediately agreed with a smile: "What Guest Yan said actually happened only a few years ago. The reason why the reconstruction of the Wanshou Palace only cost 200,000 taels was precisely because of Guest Yan's suggestion."

I saw Yan Shaoting talking about the reconstruction of Wanshou Palace a few years ago.

Gao Gong's expression eased a little: "In that case, the palace will naturally follow this example in the future. As for the sentence in today's will that mentioned the late emperor's annual construction projects, it will naturally be crossed out."

The reason why he calmed down was because Yan Shaoting did not talk aimlessly and at the end he specifically mentioned the need to be frugal. In this case, it would be natural to remove the sentence about the former emperor's annual construction and warning the new emperor against waste from the will.

Seeing that Gao Gong said so, Li Chunfang could not let go of the matter any longer.

Otherwise, with the words "The late emperor was busy with construction projects every year", I could take this opportunity to impeach the Yan family in the new dynasty.

After all, when the late emperor was alive, most of the construction in the palace was presided over by Yan Shifan, who was the Minister of Works at the time.

Let’s not talk about whether the emperor is guilty or not, and whether he can be punished.

Now that the late emperor has passed away, if there are any problems, the officials at that time must be held accountable.

At least that's what Li Chunfang planned.

Now that his plots have been exposed, Li Chunfang could only ask, "Guest Yan spoke of the will today out of deep sorrow for the late emperor. Now that Yuan Fu and I all think that what Guest Yan said is true, we will certainly revise these parts of the will. I wonder if Guest Yan has anything else to say today?"

End it quickly!
I really don't want to argue with Yan Shaoting about a will anymore.

Lord Li wants to go home.

But Yan Shaoting was unwilling to let it go.

He added: "Please be patient, Mr. Li. I also think that the sentence 'Every time I think about it, I feel more guilty and resentful, because my faults have become evil' is also inappropriate."

Li Chunfang frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yan Shaoting raised his eyebrows, clasped his hands together and worshipped the heavens, saying calmly: "When the late emperor was alive, he allowed the court to implement new policies. This move was to change the accumulated problems of the country and the world. Even when the late emperor was about to die, he also went to the Huangji Gate to ask about the affairs. Although I am not talented, I think this sentence can be changed to 'The late emperor wanted to make new policies and worked hard to govern, but his life was short', which would be fair."

After saying this, he squinted his eyes and looked at Li Chunfang.

This group of old Qingliu party had been suppressed in the court in recent years until Xu Jie's downfall, when they completely lost their arrogance. Now they want to completely deny the old Taoist priest in the will and forget about the new policy.

How could I let them succeed?

And adding to this sentence that the old Taoist priest is promoting new policies, it can naturally be related to the Yan family, especially old Yan, who submitted resignations one after another and finally asked the old Taoist priest to approve the new policies.

This way.

By using this will, the Yan family and Jiajing's new policies can be completely tied together.

Li Chunfang frowned and opened his mouth slightly, as if to speak.

However, Zhu Zaigui nodded with a look of regret and said, "What you said is very appropriate. When my father was alive, he implemented the new policy, which was the Jiajing New Policy. If my father had not lived a short life, I am afraid that we would all be handling the new policy at this time. It is like the country, the people, and the foundation of the family are suddenly added to my shoulders. This is so difficult, I feel deeply, if the late emperor was still alive, everything would go smoothly."

At this moment, Zhu Zaigui, the newly appointed crown prince and soon the new emperor, truly sighed.

You know best what your qualifications are.

If my father were still alive, I wouldn't have to worry about the new policies.

We can wait until the new policies and laws are thoroughly implemented throughout the country and in effect for several years, so that everything can be tested and adjusted.

Now he suddenly had to shoulder the responsibility of ruling the country and people of the Ming Dynasty. It was so complicated that he was at a loss for a moment.

When Li Chunfang heard the prince say this, he could only shut up immediately.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Yan Shaoting with a smile on his face: "Today, we have discussed the matter of the late emperor's will, and we have put a lot of effort into it. Do you have anything else to say now?"

Yan Shaoting nodded and lowered his head.

After what he had done, the old Taoist priest's will would no longer contain any content criticizing him, and it could also be used to dispel the little thoughts of the Qingliu Old Party.

to him.

This is enough.

After all, he tied the Yan family to the Jiajing New Deal, and finally won back some posthumous reputation for the old Taoist priest.

He shook his head and said, "The late emperor reigned for forty-five years. I think his merits and demerits will be judged by future generations. We are all ministers of the late emperor, so we should be more respectful. I have nothing else to say."

Seeing Yan Shaoting say this.

A hint of gratitude flashed in Zhu Zaigui's eyes.

It was not because Yan Shaoting finally stopped giving instructions on today's edict, but because the first half of his sentence expressed some concerns about the late emperor's reputation after his death.

Although when the late emperor was alive, the court and the world were indeed becoming increasingly difficult.

But after all, the late emperor was first his father. Like Wuzong, he had no offspring after his death, and his merits and demerits could only be decided by the court officials. But the late emperor still had his son!

The late emperor not only had a son, but also a grandson!

Describing the late emperor in an ugly light will also embarrass his descendants.

忠！
The Yan family is still loyal after all!

There was a light in Zhu Zaigui's eyes.

Helping the late emperor to gain posthumous fame is helping yourself.

Zhu Zaigui was very sure of this.

Ever since.

The young heir glanced at everyone present.

Then, seemingly unintentionally, yet as if deliberately, he spoke slowly.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"When the late emperor was alive, Runwu was working in the court. The late emperor was very tolerant of you, and you were loyal to the late emperor and did your job faithfully. You did everything well."

Everyone present, especially Gao Gong, Li Chunfang and others, frowned slightly.

Zhu Zaigui continued, "Now that the late emperor has passed away, I am shouldering the responsibility of governing the country. The new dynasty is just around the corner. If it weren't for your young age and lack of experience, I would have wanted to bring you to my side to serve as your close advisor."

This statement came out.

The whole hall changed color.

Li Chunfang's face was even more gloomy.

The prince didn't beat around the bush when he spoke.

The four words "close attendants to the government" also have a history.

Today's cabinet ministers and grand secretaries did not originally have the power they have now and were in charge of the central government. In the beginning, what they actually did was to accompany the emperor and handle government affairs.

The prince's words undoubtedly meant that he valued Yan Shaoting very much, but because the other party was young and inexperienced, he could not allow him to join the cabinet as an assistant.

The late emperor passed away just yesterday.

The successor said today that he wanted to arrange Yan Shaoting in the cabinet.

This honor.

But it's rare.

Zhu Zaigui smiled slightly, observed the expressions of the crowd, and then waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. I have said too much."

"Your Highness, I do have something to say."

At this time.

A familiar voice reached everyone's ears.

It’s Yan Shifan!

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice spoke.

Yan Shifan frowned and walked forward, pointing to the second half of the draft edict.

Yan Shifan turned around and looked at Gao Gong and the others: "Prime Minister, fellow ministers, I think there is something wrong with the second half of this will?"

Gao Gong immediately frowned and asked, "What's wrong here?"

His tone was clearly filled with impatience.

Okay.

You, the Yan family, are truly loyal.

Just now, your son Yan Shifan made a fuss for a long time and denied the first half of the will.

Now that you, Yan Shifan, are the father, are you going to deny the second half of the will?

what's going on?

The will produced by the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites is completely useless.

It would be better to hand over the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites to your Yan family.

The Prime Minister was immediately very displeased.

Yan Shifan, however, seemed to be blind to Gao Gong's ugly expression. He pointed at the draft edict and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise and intelligent, and is naturally the only candidate for the new emperor of our dynasty. There is no problem with the drafting of these paragraphs. The next part is about the funeral ceremony of the late emperor, which is also impeccable."

Gao Gong snorted twice.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at Yan Shifan.

It seems to be saying that if you, Yan Shifan, have the ability, you can deny the crown prince's accession to the throne.

"only……"

Yan Shifan dragged out his words and shook his head, saying, "Here... this paragraph 'Since I ascended the throne, those who have made suggestions and offended the ministers have been summoned to work, those who have died have been given condolences, those who have been imprisoned have been released first, and those who have been reinstated have been investigated and punished accordingly'. I think this is inappropriate, absolutely inappropriate!"

When the Left Assistant Minister spoke, his expression was extremely exaggerated.

His fingers kept pointing on the will.

Gao Gong immediately asked back: "What's wrong with that? The last emperor's will is just a precedent. It was like this during the reign of Emperor Wuzong, Emperor Xiaozong, and the wills of our ancestors..."

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

The voice suddenly stopped.

Gao Gong opened his mouth, looking a little dazed.

His neck turned stiffly and he glanced sideways at Li Chunfang who was lowering his head.

Quiet.

There was an extremely awkward silence.

Prime Minister Gao's face was turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Yan Shifan didn't say anything either, he just stared at Gao Gong with his eyes wide open.

The eyes were moving vividly.

talk!

Please continue speaking, Prime Minister Gao!

Why are not you talking?
snort!
Ouyang Bijin, the Left Censor-in-Chief, snorted coldly.

It finally woke up the crowd that had been awkwardly quiet.

Ouyang Bijin cursed with a gloomy face: "Yesterday! Just yesterday! When the late emperor was still alive, the Huangji Gate heard government affairs and executed several nobles, demoted dozens of officials, and imprisoned hundreds of people, all because of the new policy. Now, in just one day, the elders of the cabinet are going to release all those who were punished by the late emperor yesterday?"

The official in charge of the Censorate was extremely angry when he opened his mouth.

There is no mercy at all.

Ouyang Bijin also became louder and louder: "What's going on? The late emperor has just passed away, and your cabinet is going to release all those who were demoted and imprisoned yesterday? Are you still going to appeal for the injustice of the person who was beheaded yesterday?"

"The late emperor was only yesterday, yet he is still before our eyes."

"You are capable of doing such a vile thing, and your mind is so vicious."

"Do you still have the nerve to call yourself a minister?"

"Do you still have the late emperor in your eyes?"

…………

Monthly PassMonthly Pass
(End of this chapter)