"This palace has heard that Master Zhu and General Feng are well aware of the righteousness, and today I implore the two of you to focus on the stability of the court and cooperate with Mr. Liu to appease the ministers...... I hope that all the ministers will work together in the future to share the worries of the Ming Dynasty and the emperor, and to benefit the people of the world......"

The eunuch opened the letter in a trembling manner, and read it word by word, gradually his tone stabilized, and his voice became louder and louder, so that every corner of the Fengtian Temple could be heard clearly.

With the reading of the eunuch of the ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang's face slowly eased, and the hearts of the ministers hanging in their throats also fell one by one, and their mood changed from uneasy to ashamed. There is not a trace of words in Ma Xiuying's letter that involve the selfish interests of herself and officials, but it is all the content of painstakingly persuading the ministers to put aside their selfishness, abandon partisan disputes, and work together for the well-being of the Daming Society.

When the eunuch finished reading Ma Xiuying's handwriting, Song Lian choked up and said: "The emperor is sage, the queen is virtuous, this is a great fortune in the world." Although the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, the queen's move did not involve court affairs, but only persuaded the courtiers to abandon partisan disputes and work together to assist the emperor. The queen is the mother of my country, and it is not at fault that she cares about the emperor and her courtiers, and the queen's handwriting is not an ordinary private letter. The minister implored the emperor to display the handwritten letter, and always spurred the ministers and others. ”

Fei Ju and Zhou Dexing wept bitterly, "It's all the fault of the guilty ministers, and the queen and the three adults are worried about the affairs of the criminal ministers." The guilty were willing to be punished as an example. ”

Xu Da kowtowed and said: "This handwritten letter proves that the queen did not form a party with her courtiers, Liu Taishi, Zhu Bachelor, and General Feng are dedicated to the country, and what they do is only for the stability of the court." The minister believed that the three of them were not guilty but meritorious, and asked the emperor to reward them for their loyalty. ”

At this moment, the officials of the Jiangnan faction, the Huaixi faction, or the centrist faction all asked Zhu Yuanzhang to reward Liu Ji and the others, and said that they would work together with one heart and one mind in the future.

There was harmony in the court, as if the factional struggle between the two sides had never happened.

On the contrary, Hu Weiyong knelt on the ground alone and was unattended, obviously isolated by the ministers. For such a mad dog that catches and bites everyone, it is obvious that everyone is not welcome.

However, they didn't know that Hu Weiyong wanted this result. Zhu Yuanzhang was too suspicious and worried about anyone, and often supported one force to suppress the other force, and when the suppressed force weakened, he supported it to suppress the strong force. In this way, few officials can be truly reused by Zhu Yuanzhang, only when he becomes a lonely minister and is not influenced by the party, Zhu Yuanzhang will think that the other party is sincere and only works for himself, and he will naturally be regarded as a confidant.

Zhang Yi resented Hu Weiyong for framing Liu Ji, and said: "The minister thinks that Lord Hu is clear-eyed, and it is really useless to be in charge of etiquette and music. ”

Taichang Shaoqing is a fourth-grade official, and the deputy capital Yushi is a third-grade official, it seems that Zhang Yi is asking Zhu Yuanzhang to promote Hu Weiyong, but asking him to supervise the repair of the Yellow River is asking Zhu Yuanzhang to drive Hu Weiyong out of the capital. This is clearly to promote Hu Weiyong to the dark down.

As we all know, the officials in the capital are greater than the officials in the localities. Even if the administrative level is the same, the magistrate nods when he sees the Beijing official, after all, the Beijing official faces the holy face and can speak in front of the emperor, so he has better executive power and easier opportunities for promotion. Local officials are inspected in the capital every three years, and it is the officials of the capital who review their performance. In order to keep their "black yarn hats", some corrupt officials even used the money obtained by looting the common people to give gifts and bribes to the officials in the capital, hoping that they would help them say a good word or two in front of the emperor. Therefore, whether you have the right or not, you can't look at the superficial article, you have to look at the substance.

If Hu Weiyong really left the capital, under the influence of the ministers, maybe Zhu Yuanzhang would soon forget about him, and his position would stop at the deputy capital of the imperial history.

As soon as this remark came out, Huaixi officials also agreed, Hu Weiyong's betrayal was like a sharp knife stuck in their hearts, and nothing made them more angry than the betrayal from their own people.

Faced with the contemptuous eyes of the ministers, Hu Weiyong turned a blind eye. Everyone's opinion doesn't matter to him, only the person on the dragon chair can control his life and death. He took a risk and gave it a go, which is nothing more than betting on Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, losing means having nothing, and winning will achieve what he wants, no matter which outcome he has, it is happier than his current situation.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not immediately agree with the opinion of the civil and military officials, he looked at Li Shanchang and then at Liu Ji, and finally his eyes fell on Hu Weiyong, his hand knocked on the armrest of the dragon chair again and again, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, slowly opened his eyes and said: "Liu Aiqing, Zhu Aiqing, and Feng Aiqing share worries for the king, and their loyalty is commendable, and they will each be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold, and a pair of wishes." For the sake of the ministers' intercession, I will exempt Fei Qing and Zhou Qing from punishment this time, and I will not be pampered and arrogant in the future. I have long said that you can always give advice on the gains and losses of the government, the mistakes of the ministers and officials. Although Hu Aiqing's performance is somewhat different from the facts, it is also to maintain the court's program, so the merits and demerits are offset by no reward or punishment. As for the supervision of river repairs, other officials can be appointed. ”

Liu Ji and Feng Guosheng hurriedly stepped forward to thank Sheng'en. Fei Ju and Zhou Dexing are also grateful.

The civil and military officials were silent, and it was reasonable for the emperor not to punish Liu Ji and the others, but his attitude towards Hu Weiyong was a little unpredictable. The last time the official impeached the queen was imprisoned, but Hu Weiyong was safe, what did the emperor want to do?

No one noticed that Hu Weiyong's tight breathing stagnated, and his whole body relaxed, did he finally bet right? He lowered his head and covered the corners of his mouth.

Li Shanchang's eyes flashed, and he seemed to understand Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions, he quietly looked at Hu Weiyong's back, with a wry smile on his face, and shook his head, maybe he was really old, and Hu Weiyong could not see through it.

Zhu Sheng relieved himself, but he was still angry in his heart, and asked tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the old minister is old and feels that he is no longer able to serve the imperial court. He also asked the emperor to allow the old ministers to return to their hometowns and sacrifice their ancestors. ”

"Master Zhu!" The civil and military officials exclaimed, the emperor did not exempt him from punishment and commended his loyalty, why did he resign.

Li Shanchang made a gesture behind his back, suggesting that Huaixi officials should not act rashly.

Zhu Yuanzhang said lightly: "Zhu Aiqing is my minister of humerus, indispensable, if you are due to age, I can exempt you from the pilgrimage." ”

"The minister is old and frail, and he has often been confused recently, and he can no longer help the emperor decide court affairs." Zhu Sheng stubbornly knelt on the ground and insisted on retreating.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared deeply at his white hair, and finally spoke: "Quasi!" ”

This sound is like a hammer hammer hitting the hearts of civil and military officials, and everyone's hearts seem to be knocked open, inexplicable grief, inexplicable anger, and inexplicable helplessness.