Chapter 158: Seeing Off Liu Yijing

Days passed one after another, and matters were handled one by one.

Things at court were the same—after all the commotion up to now, many matters had reached their conclusions. The Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat who should go home had gone home, and those who should stay had stayed, though only Han Kuang remained.

At the Tongzhou docks in the capital, the crowds were dense and grain ships gathered like clouds.

The passenger boat off to the side seemed rather unremarkable. Many officials stood on the dock, surrounding Liu Yijing.

Liu Yijing looked at those who had come to see him off, smiled, and cupped his hands in salute. He said, "Today I depart, but you gentlemen remain. The court, the altars of state, the family and the realm—from now on, I entrust them all to you gentlemen."

Everyone returned the courtesy politely, voicing praise: "Grand Secretary, your departure is most glorious."

Just at that moment, a carriage slowly approached from the distance. The clop-clop of hooves, for some reason, stood out sharply amid the bustling dock.

Everyone looked over with some hesitation—at a time like this, who would come running over?

But they soon knew who it was.

The carriage stopped, the curtain was lifted, and Han Kuang stepped out from within.

In truth, many at court had not expected this. Originally everyone had assumed the one leaving would be Han Kuang, or that Liu Yijing and Han Kuang would leave together.

No one had imagined that in the end, Han Kuang would stay. Liu Yijing, on whom everyone had placed great hopes, was the one leaving instead.

Upon seeing Han Kuang arrive, everyone hurriedly made way for him.

Han Kuang was now the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. To everyone present, Han Kuang was their future superior.

Besides, even before this, Han Kuang had been a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat—the respect due to him still had to be shown.

Coming before Liu Yijing, Han Kuang bowed in salute and said, "Grand Secretary."

Liu Yijing quickly stepped forward, reached out to support Han Kuang, and said with a smile, "Yuchen, you are too courteous. There are many matters at court right now, and they are quite complicated—much needs your handling. Today you truly did not need to come. I know your intentions."

Hearing these words, a smile appeared on Han Kuang's face, and he said, "The Grand Secretary has labored for the state for many years. Since you are leaving the capital this time, it is only natural that I come to see you off. Though there are many matters at court, with the foundation the Grand Secretary has left behind, there should be no problems."

Those words were somewhat insincere. Not to mention the people around didn't believe them—even Liu Yijing himself didn't believe them. Because when he had been Chief Grand Secretary in the Grand Secretariat, everyone knew what the situation had been like.

In recent days, the court had been in an uproar over that matter, arguing endlessly. Some had even lost their heads, and the case had still not been fully investigated to this day.

So one could hardly speak of leaving behind a good foundation—calling it a mess would be more accurate. Thus Han Kuang's words could only be empty courtesy.

Hearing this, Liu Yijing smiled awkwardly and said with slight embarrassment, "Yuchen, court affairs are complicated. I leave everything to you. Take care of yourself. With so many people at court, everyone is supporting you—do well."

As for his own prospects, Han Kuang was not so optimistic either.

Though he had now taken the position of Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Han Kuang knew his own situation very well—he probably would not last long in this position, after all, there were still people watching behind him.

Even if no one were watching him, it was uncertain how long he could last. The current court situation was too chaotic, and His Majesty had too many things he wanted to do.

If he could not satisfy His Majesty, then that would be the day he left the capital. He did not know when that day would come, but judging by his own style and his own thinking, it probably would not be too long.

However, Han Kuang would not tell Liu Yijing about this matter, because there was no great meaning in it.

Presumably Liu Yijing also understood, and everyone else present understood as well—the reason he was staying was not because His Majesty thought highly of him, but because His Majesty needed an old hand in the Grand Secretariat to keep watch.

Compared to the others, he was simply more suitable.

"It's getting late. Thank you all for seeing me off. This old man takes his leave." After saying these words, Liu Yijing cupped his hands to everyone, turned, and boarded the boat. Standing at the stern, he waved to the crowd, then walked into the cabin.

Watching Liu Yijing depart, Han Kuang did not linger there long either. He boarded his carriage and headed back toward the capital.

Though he had not admitted it just now, in truth what Liu Yijing had said was correct—there were indeed many matters at court needing handling, and indeed many matters were quite complicated.

At the very least, how to get along with the few people newly entering the Grand Secretariat was a very thorny issue, especially since these people had all been personally promoted by His Majesty, and their identities were all quite extraordinary.

First there was that Xu Guangqi—no one had expected he would sit in the position of Second Grand Secretary.

This was something that surprised everyone, after all, before this, Xu Guangqi had not been particularly valued by His Majesty. Or rather, there had been some signs, but no one had paid them any mind.

Originally Xu Guangqi's position had been very low—he had only been training troops in Tongzhou, and had always been suppressed by others, even going so far as to submit a routine memorial requesting resignation at one point.

It was just that His Majesty had transferred Xu Guangqi to the capital, given him the official position of Vice Minister, and had him follow Qi Jin in training the new army of the Roaring Tiger Battalion.

No one had found this particularly strange, because after all, this was Xu Guangqi's original line of work.

Who could have imagined that this time Xu Guangqi would suddenly stand out from the crowd and directly become Second Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat—a position second only to Han Kuang's Chief Grand Secretary.

The key issue was that Xu Guangqi was actually ranked ahead of Sun Chengzong. As for Sun Chengzong, everyone knew him—he was a teacher His Majesty deeply respected.

Previously, when troubles arose at court, no one had been able to see His Majesty, but His Majesty had seen Sun Chengzong alone.

For someone who received such respect and trust from His Majesty to have failed to outcompete Xu Guangqi this time—one could see how much His Majesty trusted and valued Xu Guangqi.

Especially since His Majesty had also given Xu Guangqi the position of Minister of Revenue—that was even more important.

This time at court, it wasn't just two Ministers who had fallen, but along with the two Ministers, their subordinates in those two ministries had fallen as well. One could say it was a complete overhaul.

Under such circumstances, the newly risen Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong spoke volumes—these were both people His Majesty trusted deeply.

Besides these two, there was also Huang Kezuan, the Minister of Justice. Though this man appeared to have nothing special about him, being able to rise at such a time was already something quite special—especially since he had entered the Grand Secretariat while still holding the position of Minister of Justice.

To speak in plain terms, Han Kuang's seat was very unstable. These few people could kick old Han off at any moment.

The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao reclined somewhat lazily against the daybed, his face devoid of expression.

Glancing at Chen Hong standing beside him, Zhu Youxiao said, "Liu Yijing has already left? I hear quite a few people went to see him off."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, indeed quite a few people went to see him off." Chen Hong hurriedly bowed and said.

Zhu Youxiao nodded, not paying it much mind.

This was one of those broken rules of officialdom—there was no helping it.

Even if he issued an imperial edict forbidding people from seeing Liu Yijing off, a great many people would still go. The rules of officialdom were more important than even this Emperor's edicts.

"Then pass the decree—summon the Grand Secretaries to discuss affairs!" Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly.

The matters were mostly finished by now. What remained was the matter of sentencing those people. Since they had already been arrested, Zhu Youxiao was in no hurry, so he could first handle the proper affairs and deal with the rest slowly.

As for one matter still unfinished—there were still two people who had not been removed.

These two were Sun Shenxing, the Minister of Rites, and one Gao Panlong.

From now on, there could only be one person leading the Donglin Faction at court, and that person was Sun Chengzong. No one else would do.

As for Sun Chengzong—if the person he selected could satisfy His Majesty, then he would be used; if he could not satisfy His Majesty, then he would not be used.

Speaking of which, if he wanted to completely eliminate the Donglin Faction, that was impossible. Unless he eliminated them physically, slaughtered them outright, there was no other way.

Especially at this current stage, choosing a suitable person to manage them was the best option.

As long as the person he had chosen was still there, they wouldn't be able to stir up trouble; if they had other ideas, then he would have to thoroughly topple the person he had chosen.

So the remaining Sun Shenxing and Gao Panlong could not be kept, but it was still better to stabilize things first before getting rid of the two of them.

The most important thing now was stability — after all, so many people had left the Grand Secretariat, and official business could not be delayed.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will go at once." Chen Hong dared not be negligent. He quickly acknowledged the order, bowed, and withdrew.

After Chen Hong had left, Zhu Youxiao rose from the couch, walked to the doorway of the great hall, and stretched lazily.

He felt somewhat refreshed. After all this time since his transmigration, he finally felt like he could breathe a sigh of relief.

Although not everyone in the court currently obeyed him, at least these people could get things done.

If he assigned them tasks, they could handle them properly — they would not be like before, only caring about power struggles and purging dissenters. For the most part, they could still tolerate others.

Even if they could not tolerate others, he could use other means to maintain the balance.

In other words, he, the Emperor, finally had room to maneuver, so that he would not feel so constricted.

The Grand Secretariat naturally received the news quickly, and the four newly appointed Grand Secretaries hurried to the Qianqing Palace.

In truth, the four Grand Secretaries were not really familiar with one another. The ones who had the most contact were probably Han Kuang and Sun Chengzong; the other two were somewhat less acquainted.

Especially Xu Guangqi — he was not familiar with any of the other three. Huang Kezuan was much the same, which made the situation somewhat delicate.

Han Kuang and Sun Chengzong were naturally closer, because the two of them shared many of the same positions, and both were of Donglin origins.

Xu Guangqi appeared rather isolated. Originally Huang Kezuan could have helped him, but that man was famously one who did not form factions, so Huang Kezuan would not stand together with Xu Guangqi either.

The four of them arrived at the Qianqing Palace together, appearing quite harmonious on the surface, but what each of them was thinking inside, no one could know.

"Your subjects pay respects to Your Majesty." Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, the four all bowed in salute.

Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly, "All of you, dispense with the formalities!" With that, he straightened up and continued, "Today I have summoned you, my beloved ministers, because there are some matters I wish to discuss with you."