PFC Chapter 41 Who Cannot Die?!
Chapter 41 Who Cannot Die?!
The next day.
A shocking and terrifying piece of news spread throughout the capital.
Empress Dowager Zhang and Grand Empress Dowager Wang passed away on the same day!
Empress Dowager Zhang was admiring chrysanthemums by the pond when she accidentally fell into the water. The eunuchs and palace maids around her failed to rescue her and she drowned.
Empress Dowager Wang caught a cold and took medicine from the Imperial Hospital. She felt unwell and passed away in the early morning.
This was the definitive news received by all officials in the capital regarding the passing of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager.
But not a single official in the entire capital city actually believed these rumors.
Because that's what they claimed to the public when they killed Emperor Xiaozong.
No one knows the ins and outs better than them.
The news of the deaths of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager instilled a deep sense of fear in all the officials of the capital.
If even the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager could die, then who among the officials in the entire capital could not die?
Moreover, last night, the Six Doors arrested the families of Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Qin Hong in full view of everyone.
Considering that Liu Jian and Xie Qian, these two Grand Secretaries, are still being interrogated in the Six Doors prison to this day.
The fates of Liu Jian and Xie Qian are self-evident.
The officials in the capital suddenly realized that the weather in the capital was extremely cold.
Because of the passing of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager, Zhu Houzhao ordered a three-day suspension of court proceedings, with the Ministry of Rites in charge of the funeral arrangements.
The Ministry of Rites reported to the Ministry of Revenue that the funeral would cost a total of 800,000 taels of silver.
Qin Hong, the Minister of Revenue, was imprisoned. Han Wen, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was unable to make a decision on the matter, so he reported it to the cabinet.
At this moment, two Grand Secretaries were imprisoned, and one Grand Secretary claimed illness and took leave. With no one on duty in the cabinet, this memorial ended up in the hands of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Liu Jin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was first given a good lesson by Zhu Houzhao, and now he witnessed Zhu Houzhao's cold-blooded and ruthless handling of so many people.
He dared not overstep his bounds again and sent the memorial to Zhu Houzhao's desk.
However, this was not the only thing the Ming Dynasty had to deal with every day.
Because the cabinet had been shut down at this time, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs dared not issue imperial edicts, and the ministers below were all on high alert. They dared not make decisions on many small matters and had to report them to the cabinet for handling.
As a result, Zhu Houzhao's workload increased exponentially.
Zhu Houzhao frowned as he looked at the mountain of memorials piled up on his desk.
He has to handle so many memorials; he'll be exhausted to death.
This is the dilemma of being an emperor: if you don't relinquish power, you'll be overwhelmed by mountains of government affairs.
But once power is delegated, one has to worry whether subordinates will outwardly comply but inwardly defy them, deceive them, and seek their own interests.
Perhaps he can also begin to cultivate his own group of trusted followers.
Zhu Houzhao picked up Han Wen's memorial, glanced at it, sat on the dragon throne, and called out, "Liu Jin."
"This old servant is here. What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
With a fawning smile, Liu Jin jogged up to Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao took out the secret letter, looked at the name on it, and gave the order.
"By imperial decree, Zhou Jing, the Minister of Revenue in Nanjing, is hereby promoted to return to the capital and assume the post of Minister of Revenue in the capital."
"Wu Yiguan was promoted from Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Cong Lan, a Councilor of the Office of Transmission, was promoted to Left Transmissioner of the Office of Transmission."
"Li Mengyang was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, while the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Yan, had his entire family executed."
"Han Zhi was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, while Liu Yu, the former Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, had his entire family executed."
"Have the Six Ministries recommend new cabinet members. Tell Li Dongyang that if he claims to be sick and asks for leave again, I will send the Imperial Guard to investigate his background."
Zhu Houzhao issued several orders in one go, which Liu Jin memorized and dared not forget.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Furthermore, your Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs should also filter things yourselves from now on, and don't bother me with such trivial matters in the future."
As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he threw the stack of memorials placed on the dragon desk at Liu Jin.
Liu Jin was stunned for a moment when the memorials hit him, then exclaimed with joy, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
"The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will certainly review this matter carefully and will not allow such trivial matters to waste His Majesty's time."
As Liu Jin spoke, he kept kowtowing to Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "Just give me a verbal report every day on how many documents the Directorate of Ceremonial handles and what they are about."
"Alright, go and proclaim the imperial decree."
"Yes, Your Majesty. This old servant takes his leave."
……
After Zhu Houzhao's order was conveyed, the capital was once again shaken.
Wang Yan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, and Liu Yu, the Left Censor-in-Chief, were both high-ranking officials of the third rank or above.
Zhu Houzhao ordered the execution of the entire family, and so the entire family was executed.
At the same time, Li Mengyang, who had just been promoted to the position of Assistant Minister of Revenue, was suddenly promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue.
Cong Lan, a fifth-rank official, was promoted to a fourth-rank official, Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. This rapid promotion was simply astonishing.
All these changes were telling the officials in the capital that the current emperor was no longer the Emperor Xiaozong of the past.
The landscape of Beijing is about to change!
The weather in Beijing can change in an instant; a few snowflakes suddenly drifted down from the sky.
The eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign is finally coming to an end.
After the New Year, the Zhengde era officially began.
As the first snow fell in the capital, Yu Huatian finally returned from Liaodong.
Inside the Qianqing Palace, Yu Huatian knelt before Zhu Houzhao and respectfully bowed, saying, "Your humble servant Yu Huatian greets Your Majesty."
No need for formalities.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After getting up, Yu Huatian quickly reported the battle report from Liaodong to Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, Governor Wang Shouren of Liaodong led 100,000 troops from the capital to Liaodong and successfully annihilated all the invading Uriyangkhai!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao revealed a rare smile: "Good! Good! Good!"
"I knew Wang Shouren was a good general; I couldn't have been wrong about him!"
Yu Huatian glanced at Zhu Houzhao and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, the decisive factor in the complete annihilation of the Uriyangkhai was not Governor Wang."
"Oh?" Zhu Houzhao asked with some curiosity, "Who is that? Is it Zhu Wushi? Or you?"
"Neither."
Yu Huatian shook his head, his expression grave: "It's Ling Luoshi, the garrison commander of Datong and the Fearful General!"
"Ling Luoshi privately mobilized 100,000 troops from Datong to Liaodong, blocking the Uriyangkhai's route, which enabled General Wang to annihilate the Uriyangkhai."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this news, Zhu Houzhao immediately stood up, his brows furrowed and his right hand clenched tightly.
Without his orders, Ling Luoshi mobilized 100,000 troops on his own. What exactly is he up to?!
Was he trying to tell himself that he could send 100,000 troops to Liaodong, and he could also send 100,000 troops to the capital at any time?