Chapter 603 From now on, the king will not come to court early

Beijing city.

Nanxunfang in the southeast corner of the Forbidden City.

The shop in the alley outside with the sign of Gao's Restaurant hanging on it is still small and has only two floors.

Likewise, on ordinary days, there aren't many diners.

There were only a few individual customers downstairs who came here because they heard that Gaojia Restaurant recently launched the Henan braised noodles, which were very delicious.

People gathered in groups of three or five at a table.

Eat the stewed noodles with garlic.

Most of them were dressed in ordinary clothes and looked like ordinary people from Nanxunfang.

If there are those who are a little more wealthy, they will order a portion of braised meat. Those who are more generous will naturally invite the diners at the same table to share.

If you are a bit stingy, they will wait for the waiter to bring the sliced ​​braised meat to the table, and then immediately pick up the plate and put a portion of the braised meat into the bowl of noodles.

When others see this, they won't say anything.

And today.

On the second floor of Gao’s Restaurant.

It was still the single room facing the alley that belonged to someone.

Yan Shaoting was sitting by the window, looking up at the corner tower in the southeast corner of the imperial city.

On the palace wall, you can vaguely see the soldiers who are on duty in the palace. There are the big generals of the Jinyiwei, the sword-bearing officers of the Fujun Vanguard, the red-helmeted generals of the Shenshu Camp and the sword-bearing officers of the Wujun Camp. Of course, there are also the warriors of the Tengxiang Four Guards under the Imperial Horse Administration and the Dongchang guards.

The Forbidden City is heavily guarded, but because of this, it has become a sieve that cannot hide any secrets.

And now in this building.

The shop owner who was rumored to have a close relationship with Prime Minister Gao Gong was standing aside with a nervous expression.

It’s not because Yan Shaoting looks so scary.

Instead, he was sitting here with Yan Shaoting. Lu Yi, wearing the imperial Feiyu robe and an embroidered spring sword on his waist, was really intimidating.

"Don't panic, Mr. Gao."

Yan Shaoting withdrew his gaze from the corner tower of the imperial city, turned to look at Gao Dianjia, and a kind smile appeared on his face.

Shopkeeper Gao was very apprehensive and said, "Just tell me what you need, sir."

Although I have some connections with Gaoge's hometown, I can't always ask them for help every day.

Yan Shaoting just smiled and said, "I just want to ask Gao the shopkeeper something."

Shopkeeper Gao bent his waist a little more: "You order."

"When was the last time our Prime Minister came here to eat?"

Yan Shaoting asked casually, but his eyes were observing the shop owner.

Lu Yi, who was beside him, also hummed at the right time, took off the Embroidered Spring Sword from his waist, and dropped it on the ground against the table.

Shopkeeper Gao was so frightened that his shoulders trembled, and he lowered his head quickly: "Well... that person hasn't been here for a while... Speaking of which... it should be more than a month, right?"

Has it been more than a month since you came?

This is quite a long time.

Yan Shaoting thought silently in his heart, and then nodded: "It's still the old rules. According to the dishes that person ate last time, serve the same portion. There is no need for the store to serve here. Go and get busy. It's okay."

Finally, three words: It's okay.

It was almost as if Gao Dianjia was listening to heavenly music. He quickly obeyed the order and went downstairs quickly.

Lu Yi glanced at his brother-in-law, his eyes moving: "Every time you come here, you have to eat the same dishes that Gao Gong had the last time he came. Do you want to be the prime minister?"

"Do you believe me when I say this is just bad fun?"

Yan Shaoting picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, then looked at his brother-in-law with a smile in his eyes.

Lu Yi shook his head.

Yan Shaoting remained silent and let his brother-in-law imagine what his intentions were and whether there was any conspiracy behind the scenes.

Lu Yi asked in a low voice: "Brother-in-law, if you come here to eat the same food, I'm afraid Gao Gong will find out later."

"I just want him to know."

Yan Shaoting took another sip of tea.

The weather is getting hotter now and I always feel thirsty.

The young Jinyiwei commander frowned.

This answer really made him confused.

But since his brother-in-law didn't explain, he couldn't come up with an answer even if he racked his brains.

soon.

The store prepared a few dishes and served them up.

Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, plus a quite refreshing soup.

Yan Shaoting just took a look and then looked at the shop owner with a smile: "So simple?"

Gao forced a smile on his face, not knowing what to say in response. He bowed and left quietly.

Lu Yi turned his head and looked at him: "Brother-in-law, have you figured out something or are you planning something?"

Yan Shaoting just shook his head and said, "Although our Prime Minister is stubborn and fiery, he holds great power and is the emperor's teacher, but he has always been honest and has good personal ethics. I think these two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes were brought by his staff when he came last time."

This is the private appearance of Gao Gong, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, who had a very distinctive personality.

It also reminded Yan Shaoting that when Gao Gong was dismissed and expelled by Zhang Juzheng, Concubine Li, the young emperor and others, they did not attack him on the basis of personal morality at all.

If we follow Yan Shaoting's evaluation.

Gao Gong is a political creature with unbreakable and extremely tenacious ideals and pursuits.

He has his own political ideas which will never be changed.

Such people can be said to be sad, but they can also be said to be the blessing of an era.

It’s just that what he did was not in line with the development of the times.

He glanced at his brother-in-law who had already picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Yan Shaoting suddenly chuckled: "I plan to give the Prime Minister a decent treatment in a few years."

Lu Yi: ??
……

The small courtyard where the cabinet is located.

It always seems somewhat out of place with the nearby Forbidden City palace buildings with red walls and glazed tiles.

However, it was in this small courtyard that countless decisions that changed this vast empire had taken place, affecting billions of people in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

In the past.

Every day before dawn, people would come and go here, and it was bustling all day long. All officials from the six ministries, five temples, and various government offices in the capital would submit their memorials here if they wanted to report something, and those officials would also rush here from outside the palace for their own affairs.

Under such circumstances, the cabinet's tea supply always seemed insufficient.

The old secretaries would assign young people to take on the tasks of boiling water and pouring tea in addition to their duties.

But after all, it is right in front of them, and working in the cabinet, these young Zhongshu Sheren are still full of energy.

But recently the atmosphere in the cabinet seems a little too solemn.

Not to mention the officials who came from various departments outside the palace to do business, even young officials like Su Yu and Cao Zideng who worked in the palace did not dare to make any big noise.

And those rooms belong to the cabinet classroom.

Now it has become a forbidden area for everyone.

No one is allowed to approach unless necessary.

Even if there were calls coming from those rooms, everyone would push and shove each other to avoid it.

It is also today.

Su Yu, the secretary of the Imperial Edict-Drafting Office, was unlucky enough to have no time to dodge, and was pushed by his colleagues to the job of serving tea and water in the classroom.

After sending the tea in with trepidation, Su Yu fled out in two steps at a time. Then he shook his head at his colleagues who were waiting outside.

Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but did not leave. They still stood outside the classroom, listening carefully.

And in the classroom.

Gao Yi, who was at the bottom of the cabinet, picked up the hot water brought in by the young Zhongshu Sheren named Su Yu and exchanged it for a bowl of tea for everyone in the classroom.

After doing all this, he sat back in his seat and glanced at everyone.

The former cabinet minister Li Chunfang had completed all his tasks and rushed to Guizhou with the imperial edict.

Now in this cabinet classroom.

Apart from Gao Yi, there were only four other people: the chief minister Gao Gong, the second minister Yuan Wei, Zhao Zhenji and Hu Zongxian.

According to the ranking order of the cabinet ministers, they are the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace, the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion and the Grand Secretary of Dongge.

Because Li Chunfang left.

He Gaoyi also moved up one position in the rank, from Dongge Grand Secretary to Wenyuange Grand Secretary.

Also promoted to the rank of Grand Secretary were Zhao Zhenji and Hu Zongxian, who entered the cabinet after Li Chunfang.

Hu Zongxian is now the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace and in charge of the Ministry of War.

He was the first to speak.

"The Tuman tribe outside Jizhen has recently made some unusual movements. In addition, the Jurchens in Liaodong have been secretly colluding with the eastern Mongolian tribes while asking the court for titles. I think there will be some unrest here in the next few years. We should first check the border troops in Shanhaiguan, Xifengkou, Gubeikou, etc., reorganize the troops, and prepare for border garrisons."

As he spoke, he handed a memorial to Gao Gong.

Gao Gong just nodded silently, looked down at the memorials submitted by Jizhen and the Ministry of War, and then looked at the draft opinions prepared by Hu Zongxian in advance: "Ruzhen has never made any mistakes in handling military affairs, so submit it to the Ministry of Ceremonies for approval according to Ruzhen's draft."

After saying that, he picked up the pen and signed his name under Hu Zongxian's draft opinion.

Then Zhao Zhenji said, "Qi Jiguang and Wang Chonggu reported that the new borders of Hetao and Yinshan need to increase the amount of rice and wheat by 100,000 dan and the salaries of the host and guest soldiers by 123,000 taels this year due to construction, migration and garrisoning. The Ministry of War has already discussed this at the beginning of the year and it is correct. The Ministry of Revenue has confirmed it and has now submitted this matter."

After saying this, he also presented the memorial to Gao Gong.

Gao Gong still looked calm as he reviewed the contents of the memorial and the draft made by Zhao Zhenji, and then frowned slightly.

He picked up his pen and began to write, "Henan suffered a disaster last year, and Shaanxi was not well-fed. Now that the new borders of Hetao and Yinshan have been established, the court has discussed that there is no need to station troops in Shanxi, Yansui and other towns to defend the border. I think Hai Rui has already cleared the troops here, so the court can allow them to be disbanded or relocated elsewhere. Now we should transfer food and grass from the Hedong area of ​​Shanxi and transport them to the new borders of Hetao and Yinshan for the use of the military and civilians. The salaries of the host and the guests will be issued from the capital as usual, but since Wang Chonggu has attached a memorial, we should order the Taichang Temple to allocate a portion of the silver for the price of horses."

After saying this, Gao Gong had also finished writing his opinions, and then looked up at Zhao Zhenji.

Zhao Zhenji nodded and said, "What the Prime Minister said is very true. It would be best if it could become a permanent rule."

Soon after, Yuan Wei reported to the emperor that several officials inside and outside the capital were worthy of review. Some needed to be dismissed, some needed to be demoted, and some needed to be promoted.

Even Gao Yi reported several matters concerning the local prefectural schools, asking the Ministry of Revenue to allocate money and grain supplies.

Gao Gong, the chief minister of the cabinet, also reviewed them one by one, and either directly agreed with their proposals or made slight changes to make them more appropriate.

After some processing, it was almost noon.

Everyone looked at Gao Gong in tacit understanding.

You Gaoyi said, "I've heard that an acquaintance from Yuanfu's hometown opened a restaurant in Nanxunfang. I went there with my wife last time and the dishes were really good. It's almost time today, why don't we go there together, have dinner, and then come back to take care of the business?"

Since the emperor stopped attending court not long ago, he has not attended a court meeting until now.

He did not attend the court meeting in Wenhua Hall.

He didn't come to the court meeting on the first day of the lunar month either.

Even the imperial court's hearings could be stopped.

Everyone knew that Gao Gong was furious.

However, ever since that day in Wenhua Palace when he almost beat up the eunuch Teng Xiang in person, he has not lost his temper.

A few people also discussed this matter privately when Gao Gong was away.

After all, it was the emperor who was wrong in this matter.

But how could they, as ministers, have the right to interfere with the emperor?

It's not that there have been no memorials of advice and remonstrance submitted, but the emperor kept them all and didn't send them out. Instead, he gave some palace items as rewards during irregular holidays.

Continue to submit memorials for advice?

This is natural.

Nowadays, they would take turns to submit a memorial every one or two days, advising the emperor to be diligent in government affairs.

But there is only so much that can be done.

Unless they wanted to disrupt the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, they instructed the censors and imperial censors in the court to submit memorials to advise and remonstrate.

He even signaled all the civil and military officials in the court to write a letter together.

But if that happened, there would inevitably be countless disturbances in the court.

Don’t forget that the Zuo Shunmen Massacre happened just before our eyes.

At that time, countless censors submitted memorials to the late emperor, which made him extremely furious. He dispatched the Embroidered Uniform Guards to beat dozens of censors to death at Zuoshunmen.

correct.

Zuo Shunmen is today's Huijimen.

It's the door on the west side after exiting the cabinet.

We can't cause unrest in the court, but we can't do nothing either.

After much deliberation, the few of them decided that it would be better to appease Gao Gong, the Prime Minister, first.

To prevent this hot-tempered prime minister from doing something earth-shattering in private.

however.

When Gao Yi suggested going to Gao's Restaurant in Nanxunfang for dinner, Yuan Wei, Zhao Zhenji and Hu Zongxian all nodded in agreement.

Gao Gong snorted coldly.

"There's no way to make a fool of yourself!"

As if he wanted to release all the anger that he had suppressed recently, Gao Gong shouted in a tearing voice.

Yuan Wei and others looked tense.

At this time, they couldn't understand who these words were directed at.

It's them?
still is……

The emperor himself?

But soon, Gao Gong pulled out a memorial from under his desk and placed it in front of him.

Then he looked up at the four people in the room.

"Everyone."

Yuan Wei and the other three immediately became serious.

Gao Gong said with a gloomy look, "I happen to have a memorial here as well, which I have recently completed over a month. You can take a look at it together. If you think there is no problem, please sign your names and present it to His Majesty."

After saying this, he pushed the memorial forward.

Seeing that Gao Gong seemed to be well prepared, Gao Yi hurriedly stood up and picked up the memorial. He took a closer look and was immediately shocked.

Yuan Wei frowned beside him: "Zi Xiang, what does the Prime Minister want to report?"

Gao Yi turned around with trembling eyes and looked at Yuan Wei, then turned his head to look at Gao Gong, and handed the memorial to Yuan Wei.

His action caused Zhao Zhenji and Hu Zongxian to stand up immediately and walk behind Yuan Wei.

Not long after.

The three of them were as shocked as Gao Yi just now.

"Motosuke!"

"Do you really want to do this?"

…………

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(End of this chapter)