Chapter 115: The Emperor Does Not Step Down

In officialdom, this sort of thing was hardly anything new; switching one's allegiance was an operation everyone was accustomed to.

Although changing allegiance was often despised by those in office, officials were invariably that pragmatic—kicking those below while climbing over those above, following the powerful and abandoning the weak—was that not also the norm?

It was just that Xu Guangqi had one point of confusion: why would Yu Maohuai choose to attach himself to his teacher's camp?

One had to know that Yu Maohuai was currently a favorite before His Majesty's eyes. The thing he ought most to do was change nothing—he was already prominent enough. Not changing meant sustainability, so why would Yu Maohuai still switch allegiance?

Thus many people would not choose to change allegiance at such a time, yet Yu Maohuai went ahead and did it anyway.

There had to be something wrong here! Xu Guangqi could tell with even his toes that something fishy was afoot, except that Yu Maohuai probably could not tell him the reason.

Glancing at Yu Maohuai, Xu Guangqi smiled and said, "If Your Excellency Yu is willing, then of course this is very good."

Yu Maohuai nodded, knowing that his objective had been achieved.

The two of them did not discuss any sensitive topics afterward; instead, they began a discussion based on scholarship.

With Yu Maohuai's deliberate flattery, the two talked very happily, and the atmosphere appeared extremely harmonious.

In fact, for officials in the bureaucracy, what doctrine or what school of thought was not all that important.

The importance of doctrines and schools was actually reflected in helping them win over people's hearts and helping them form cliques for private gain. As for everything else, it did not matter. Many bureaucrats did not uphold the things in these doctrines at all—what use were these things? They used whatever was useful.

Did they really think the Huang-Lao school and the Confucians were contending over the orthodox lineage of the Way?

In fact, they were not.

What they were actually contending over was the right to rule this world.

Speaking broadly, they wanted their own doctrine to govern the realm; speaking narrowly, they wanted everyone in their own school to govern the realm.

Whether looked at from the broad or the narrow view, the benefits were extremely numerous.

The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao heard Chen Hong's report and learned that Yu Maohuai had accepted the routine memorial he had sent over.

He felt quite satisfied in his heart—he truly had not misjudged the man. This Yu Maohuai was indeed a suitable choice. As long as he stirred up some waves, the court was bound to be thrown into turmoil. Then he would have room to maneuver.

For an emperor, a court that was too calm and uneventful was not a good thing.

Whether corrupt officials or upright ones, if they twisted themselves into a single rope, it would be enough to give the emperor trouble.

The corrupt officials went without saying—they would take all the state's money into their own homes. Then the state would have no money, and the emperor might as well wait to die.

As for the upright officials, they had very many demands of the emperor, and at the same time, no one knew how capable they actually were.

In a word, if the officials at court twisted themselves into a single rope, the emperor simply could not rule.

Take the Donglin Faction, for example—on the surface they were incorruptible and self-disciplined, but in reality they were corrupt in every way. And even so, they still twisted themselves into a single rope. How could any emperor endure that?

Zhu Youxiao's aim was precisely to make them fight among themselves. If they did not fight, how could he profit from the middle?

The best way to deal with ministers was always to use ministers, never to step down into the arena and do it oneself.

Chen Hong delivered the routine memorials before Zhu Youxiao, then softly opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, these are routine memorials just sent up from the Grand Secretariat."

Zhu Youxiao looked at the pile on the desk before him and was momentarily stunned. There were quite a lot of memorials here.

Although there had been many memorials these past days, most of them had not been sent over. This was the largest delivery in recent times.

Glancing at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao gestured for him to put the memorials down, then casually picked one up.

Having spent so long together as sovereign and subject, Zhu Youxiao understood Chen Hong quite well.

Although Chen Hong had many little schemes of his own, he still handled matters very properly. A man like this would not do things without reason.

For Chen Hong to send up so many memorials at once, he must have had his reasons.

Opening the memorial and glancing at it, Zhu Youxiao's pupils contracted.

He could now see clearly why Chen Hong had sent up so many memorials together.

Because these memorials were unlike any previous one—the content within them was unprecedented.

Previously, most memorials had impeached Wei Zhongxian or defended Zou Yuanbiao, Yang Lian, and others.

But this time, the pile Chen Hong sent over was different. These memorials all directly impeached Yao Zongwen and others for colluding with Li Ruzhen to frame Xiong Tingbi in that case, and further claimed that Zou Yuanbiao and Yang Lian knew the truth of the matter yet covered for Yao Zongwen and his lot, deceiving the Emperor, disregarding imperial grace, and forming cliques for private gain.

Besides these people, those submitting the memorials also dragged in some others—for example, Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing, and Gao Panlong.

The memorial submitters let no one off the hook. They wrote in great detail, and at the same time they dug up the case of Fang Congzhe, claiming that Zou Yuanbiao, Yang Lian, and the others had no sovereign in their eyes, had colluded with Fang Congzhe, and were utterly unworthy to be called ministers.

In short, these memorials tore the Donglin Faction apart root and branch—one could say they were extremely detailed and extremely vicious.

After reading several memorials in succession, Zhu Youxiao found that they were all roughly of the same content, and he roughly understood what was going on in his heart.

To sum it up in one sentence: someone had made a move—someone had struck at the Donglin Faction.

As for who it was?

With a little thought, he knew—it must be one of the Grand Secretaries in the Grand Secretariat, or even several of them. It might even be Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yijing.

Now Zhu Youxiao somewhat understood why the Donglin Faction insisted on replacing Chief Grand Secretary Liu Yijing.

Although on the surface Liu Yijing seemed very close to the Donglin Faction, privately they truly were not of one mind. Once trouble arose, he would turn around and stab the Donglin Faction in the back.

If the current Chief Grand Secretary were Ye Xianggao, then this sort of thing would absolutely never have happened.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao also understood another matter—that was why, in the original history, when Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin Faction were struggling, everyone else stood by watching the excitement, even secretly helping Wei Zhongxian. After Ye Xianggao stepped down, these people also handed power over to Wei Zhongxian.

Because for them, who held power did not really matter, since whatever they said did not count anyway. Whoever gave me more benefits, then I would follow him.

Since anyone could hold power, all they had to do was scoop the benefits into their own pockets.

Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin people were different—he could not even leave the capital, nor could he install officials in the provinces. So, did not matters in the provinces remain for people like themselves to decide?

Now they saw their opportunity—without Wei Zhongxian, they could turn themselves over and become masters.

So they decisively made their move.

Many people in history said these officials were useless—that they did not help the Donglin Faction fight Wei Zhongxian, that they did not dare to strike at Wei Zhongxian.

Now Zhu Youxiao somewhat understood.

Seeing these memorials, he suddenly laughed, and the laughter grew stronger and stronger.

This was not laughter of joy because someone had taken his side, but rather laughter tinged with a slight sadness.

He had still underestimated just how shameless these people could be.

This was simply going beyond all bounds of decency.

They kicked a man when he was down without a shred of guilt.

PS: Recommending a Three Kingdoms historical novel, "Starting from Changban Slope."

Synopsis: My name is Guan Ping, a member of the weakest of the three brothers' faction. I'd just transmigrated and barely had time to adapt to life in the Great Han when I had to follow Zhao Zilong of the International Manor in hacking my way from one end of Changban Slope to the other.