The emperor stayed in Luoyang for a few months, and the New Year was approaching, but he still refused to return to Beijing, but was keen to issue holy decrees, one after another, appointing a large number of new officials, and at the same time constantly summoning the important ministers who stayed in the capital, each time only saw one, except for the prime minister, the ministers with real power above the third grade, almost all of them were called. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The Emperor's response became clear.

Summoned the ministers one by one, in order to divide the imperial court, this trick did have an effect, when they were in the capital, the ministers were very united, once they were in two cities, separated by Hangu Pass, they were inevitably suspicious of each other, as long as they were people who had been seen by the emperor, they had to "prove their innocence" to their colleagues.

But the minister is still slowly divided, the former military department Shangshu Jiang Juying was transferred to the general's mansion seal officer, full-time investigation of the case of soldiers and slaves, as soon as someone interceded, he held out a copy of the military order with both hands to show the other party, "The official's net worth and life are on this, you say, how can I help you?" ”

Another trick of the emperor was an even bigger headache for the ministers.

The new officials are all talents selected by the emperor himself, and the grade is not high, but they are placed in important ministries and departments, these people have the support of the emperor, all of them are very arrogant, and they regard themselves as future scholars and squires, and as soon as they take office, they will roll up their sleeves and want to do a big job, which makes the boss extremely dissatisfied and apprehensive.

Most of the ministers in the capital have already handed in their resignations, and the emperor has detained them, which turned out to be just a delaying tactic, and when the cronies mature, all the ministers will be replaced!

Few people really wanted to resign, the emperor only asked for the release of private slaves, and did not confiscate the farmland, if he lost his official position, the loss would be great.

The minister began to "fight back", by taking his position without seeking his own government, suggesting that his old officials could slack off, and since the emperor had sent new officials, let them do their work.

The imperial court gradually fell into chaos, and the impact was so great that the emperor in Luoyang could feel it.

The chapter is no longer delivered on time, it has become the norm to be two or three days late, the order is reversed, regardless of priority, and occasionally there will be loss, either in the post station, or left in the ministry, and it is all the committee, who does the work who is responsible, and the new officials appointed by the emperor have to ask for the guilt.

The emperor still did not give in, the chapter was chaotic, he simply did not make a reply, after having an idea, he directly issued the holy decree, the post station was unreliable, so he sent the Su guards and even the eunuchs around him to send the holy decree to the prime minister's mansion in the capital, and watched the prime minister release it.

Zhuo Ruhe finally fulfilled his duties, he did not completely stand on the side of the minister, although he kept writing to resign, and earnestly asked the emperor to take the world first and take a step back, but he did not slack off like other ministers, as long as it was a holy decree, he would follow it correctly.

In the snowy season, the emperor and his ministers fought fiercely, and the "battlefield" gradually expanded, and the first to join was a group of scholars.

There was also a split among the scholars, with one faction supporting the emperor and the other supporting the ministers, either debating in public or exchanging letters, each holding their own opinions, and some even broke off diplomatic relations because of this.

Qu Zixi used to be one of the leaders of the scholars, but now he can't suppress the original admirers, he is still in the East China Sea, there is an endless stream of letters from all over the country, and anonymous letters are often stuffed into the house, most of which are accusations and curses, claiming that he has lost his integrity, which makes the world's scholars cold.

Qu Zixi only replied to a few friends, and did not reply to any other letters, but wrote four big characters in his own hand, and pasted them on the door - the public gate was selfless, and the handwriting was splashed with ink, so he arranged for a craftsman to carve a wooden plaque.

Qu Zixi, as the right patrol of the imperial history, could not participate in the battle between the scholars, the emperor's side of the "general" is Kang Zijiao, he was not sent back to the capital as an official, still stayed by the emperor's side as an adviser, during the day with the visiting scholars on the spot, at night to write books, continue to defend himself.

Kang Zijiao is very smart, does not oppress people with power, and is good at treating others in his own way, the other party said that the emperor exceeded the rules, and he asked the minister where the rules were? The other party said that the emperor worked hard for the people and hurt the money, so he asked whose people and whose wealth were hurt? The other party said that the world was troubled, and the emperor should bear the greatest responsibility, so he said that the emperor was of course responsible, so he had to issue holy decrees frequently......

It was a battle that was not won or lost, and no one could convince anyone, but more and more people began to believe that the emperor would not change his mind, right or wrong.

Han Ruzi wants this effect, and next, he has to wait for the minister to make a new move.

There was still half a month before the New Year, and shortly after noon on this day, the king of the East China Sea asked to see him.

The king of the East China Sea has always been careful to stay out of the matter, refusing to see outsiders, rarely even writing letters, and only giving some painless advice when asked by the emperor.

Han Ruzi had just had lunch and was standing next to the table in a daze, and the official documents on the table were in a mess.

After the king of the East China Sea came in, he smiled and said: "How can this be reasonable, even the people around Your Majesty are slack, and it is not good to clean up such a mess on the table." ”

Han Ruzi turned around, "Why bother? This is the real status quo, and there is no need to whitewash it. ”

The King of the East Sea smiled again, did not answer, and said, "I received a letter this morning, and Your Majesty will definitely not guess who wrote it. ”

"Since you said that I 'can't guess', then nine times out of ten, this letter came from the palace, the queen mother or the queen?"

"It's the Queen Mother." The king of the East China Sea bowed down and said, the emperor is like a master who is about to enter the competition, his momentum is exposed, and he is ready to make a counterattack at any time, the king of the East China Sea can only bow to the wind, "The Empress Dowager Cining asked me to ask me to persuade Your Majesty to return to Beijing, just celebrate the New Year, and go anywhere with Your Majesty after the New Year." ”

Han Ruzi pondered for a moment, "This is the minister's new move." ”

"Hmm...... Not necessarily, Sizi is heartfelt, the Empress Dowager Cining should really hope that Her Majesty will return to Beijing. ”

"The Queen Mother is sincere, but sincerity will be used by falsehood." Han Ruzi pointed to the music on the table, "Do you think it's messy?" This is the most punctual and the largest number in two months. Before you came, I was thinking, what is the purpose of the minister's resignation? ”

The King of the East Sea was reluctant to argue directly with the emperor, and said with a wry smile: "In this way, even I have been used. ”

Han Ruzi smiled, "Since you're here, let's talk about it, how do you persuade me to return to Beijing?" ”

"I am self-aware, Your Majesty will definitely not agree, so why should I bother to speak?"

"Your rhetoric today may be the ministers' rhetoric in the future, even if I don't accept it, I can take precautions in advance."

The king of the East China Sea scratched his head, "Actually, I really don't have a good explanation, I thought so before I came, the Queen Mother's face cannot be dismissed, I came to ask to see Your Majesty, just say a few words, even if I give the Queen Mother an explanation." ”

"Your skills are more than that, don't be modest, just say whatever."

The King of the East China Sea arched his hand, looked contemplative, walked three steps sideways, turned to face the emperor, and said: "Your Majesty allows me to say 'casually', and I will dare once: Your Majesty thinks it is difficult to be the emperor, but have you ever thought that it is also difficult for the Queen Mother?" ”

The king of the East China Sea hit the point, Han Ruzi was silent for a moment, and said, "Where is the queen mother's difficulty?" ”

"Your Majesty feels that the minister is difficult to deal with, so she is far away from the capital, but the Queen Mother is in the capital, deep in the palace, and is not affected by the minister all the time, what she sees and hears is all bad things for Your Majesty, the so-called three people become tigers, the Queen Mother must think that Her Majesty is in danger, and her mother's heart is worried, which is a difficulty."

Han Ruzi was speechless, he sent Zhang Youcai back to the capital to send letters to his mother many times, it is credible that he is not himself after all, and he can't offset the influence of the minister, he can imagine that in the eyes of his mother, the emperor must have been stormy outside.

The King of the East Sea continued, "What is a 'dignitary'? It's just that the status is useless, and it always shines in front of people, so the officials with real power at a lower level have a higher status than the officials with false titles who are in the first rank. The Queen Mother's mother is the world, and the Queen Mother has the highest status among the women in the world, but she is noble and inconspicuous, and she has been reduced to a false title, which is a dilemma. ”

"I left my uncle's family in the capital." Han Ruzi defended that the Empress Dowager Cining had pleaded guilty to the emperor and wanted to send the Wang family back to their hometown in the countryside.

The King of the East China Sea said with a smile: "Your Majesty is the same as the Queen Mother, rich is rich, not 'expensive', let alone 'noble'." ”

Han Ruzi sighed, "If the Wang family becomes a 'noble', I am only afraid that the ministers will follow suit, the officials will be nepotistic, and the decline of the Great Chu will be even worse." ”

"Your Majesty is rightly worried, relatives are often the source of trouble, and there are countless records in the history books. I just thought, Your Majesty can't make the Wang family 'noble', can you elevate the Queen Mother in other things, so that the Queen Mother's face will shine? Your Majesty's filial piety can be exhausted, and the Queen Mother is also at ease, and she will no longer think that her position as Queen Mother is a false title. ”

Han Ruzi stared at the King of the East China Sea and thought for a while, "You really have some ability. ”

The King of the East China Sea smiled: "It's just a little clever, as for the court and the world, I have no way at all." ”

The king of the East China Sea blocked the road first, and Han Ruzi snorted, he didn't believe that the king of the East China Sea could still seize the throne now, but he wouldn't reuse him.

"Wait." Han Ruzi did not make a decision immediately, even if he wanted to respect the Empress Dowager Cining, he had to wait for the minister to ask the emperor to return to Beijing first, and then accept the Empress Dowager Cining's request after refusing.

"How could the Queen Mother write to you?" Han Ruzi was a little puzzled, his mother had always disliked the King of the East China Sea, and even persuaded the emperor to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, but now she asked the King of the East China Sea for help, which is really a bit strange.

"I don't really know, probably Mrs. Pingenhou praised me in front of the Queen Mother." The King of the East Sea shook his head, "Lady Pingenhou is too nosy. ”

"Mrs. Pingenhou...... His son is still in Luoyang, right? ”

"Miao Yuan? In Luoyang, the military officer of the Xiao Cavalry Battalion. ”

Han Ruzi fell into deep thought.

The King of the East Sea waited for a while and asked, "How can I reply to the Queen Mother?" Your Majesty, rest assured, Your Majesty's words will never leak out of my mouth. ”

Han Ruzi raised his head, "Why do I have to go back to the capital?" Why can't the Queen Mother and Queen come to Luoyang to meet me? The road is not far and the road is smooth. ”

The King of the East China Sea was stunned for a moment, "It should be possible, but this is the ...... Won't Luoyang become the capital? ”

Han Ruzi nodded, "King of the East China Sea, you have a good idea. ”

The East Sea King was taken aback, this was not his idea. (To be continued.) )