Chapter 408: The Sovereign and His Ministers Duel

Glancing at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao knew he had put considerable effort into this matter and arranged many things. But he hadn't expected Chen Hong to arrange so much, nor to have planted so many people — clearly he had put his heart into it.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Well done."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly replied.

Standing up, Zhu Youxiao stretched his limbs.

Since he already had a clear picture in his mind, there was naturally no need to keep hiding things. So Zhu Youxiao said, "Let's go — time to meet those Grand Secretaries."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong acknowledged, then turned to lead the way.

By the time Zhu Youxiao arrived up front, Han Kuang and the others had already been waiting for a while. Though not agitated, they were still somewhat anxious.

Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Han Kuang and the other two quickly rose to pay their respects.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Enough, all of you sit down."

After Han Kuang and the others sat down, Zhu Youxiao said, "All of you ministers have come together — has something happened? Judging by your expressions, it shouldn't be anything good."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's relaxed tone, Han Kuang and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

At least His Majesty was in a good mood right now, which gave them some confidence. After all, when His Majesty was in a good mood, reporting bad news wouldn't make him angry so easily, and everyone could be a bit more at ease.

If His Majesty were in a bad mood and then learned of bad news, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Xu Guangqi and Huang Kezuan both looked at Han Kuang, the meaning obvious — this was the time for him to speak.

As Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Han Kuang naturally bore the responsibility without shirking. He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, there is indeed a matter. An unexpected incident has occurred in the capital; your ministers dared not act on their own authority and have come specially to seek Your Majesty's instruction."

"Then let's hear it." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Han Kuang acknowledged, then quickly continued: "Scholars in the capital are gathering — quite a large number — and they have now all assembled at Shoushan Academy."

Hearing this, a trace of confusion appeared on Zhu Youxiao's face, and he immediately asked, "Why are they gathering? Has something happened at Shoushan Academy?"

"Your Majesty, news of the court's academy reform was leaked by someone." Han Kuang sighed, then continued, "It seems the scholars are dissatisfied, which is why they have gathered together at Shoushan Academy."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Han Kuang, feeling somewhat helpless inside.

Even at a time like this, he still didn't forget to dig a pit for Cui Chengxiu?

But such things were unavoidable, so Zhu Youxiao said nothing and quietly waited for Han Kuang to continue.

"According to reports from those below, it seems someone spread word that after the reform, the academies would no longer teach the Way of the Sages. Once this news spread, public opinion boiled over. The scholars were dissatisfied, and they also heard that Zhong Yuzheng of Shoushan Academy had already presented conditions to Cui Chengxiu — if the academy would not teach the Way of the Sages, Zhong Yuzheng would not agree to the academy reform."

"Now all the scholars have run to Shoushan Academy to support Zhong Yuzheng, and the matter has grown rather large. The entire capital is in a state of anxiety, and public opinion is seething. If this continues to escalate, I fear an unmanageable situation may arise. Your ministers are anxious but dare not decide on their own, so we have come to seek Your Majesty's instruction."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Han Kuang, nodded, and his expression turned serious.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Youxiao said, "This matter is indeed very serious. If we let them continue making a fuss, I fear it will provoke even more resentment. At that point, it truly would become impossible to contain, and it would affect the court's grand plan for academy reform."

"All of you ministers are Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat — planning for Us is your duty. Since all of you are here now, let Us ask: do any of you have ideas?"

Zhu Youxiao's gaze swept across the faces of Han Kuang and the other two, waiting for them to give an answer.

His Majesty had pushed the matter back to them again. Han Kuang and the other two were not surprised by this — it was standard practice at court. In the end, the Grand Secretariat would still have to come up with the decision, which was precisely why Han Kuang and Xu Guangqi had formed a united front earlier.

If they had reached that united front back then, they could now take a kick at Cui Chengxiu. Regardless of how this matter ultimately turned out, Cui Chengxiu was bound to be in trouble.

But since no united front had been reached, they could only each speak their own piece.

Neither Han Kuang nor Huang Kezuan said anything — both of them looked at Xu Guangqi.

They wanted to see how Xu Guangqi would present this matter to His Majesty.

Xu Guangqi was not disappointed either, and spoke directly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, your minister believes the primary task at present is to calm public opinion. Since they have these concerns, the court might as well issue a proclamation telling them that the Imperial Academy will still teach the Way of the Sages after the reform. That will put their minds at ease."

Hearing this, Han Kuang and Huang Kezuan both sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, it was exactly as expected — Xu Guangqi's line of argument was already anticipated by them.

At this particular moment, Xu Guangqi didn't want anything to go wrong; he only wanted the court to be stable. So regarding this matter, Xu Guangqi's thinking was to smooth things over — how could he let the matter blow up?

For Xu Guangqi to speak this way and handle it this way was naturally the best approach.

But Han Kuang didn't think so. He shot Huang Kezuan a meaningful glance.

Huang Kezuan immediately understood and spoke directly: "Your Majesty, your minister believes what Grand Secretary Xu said has merit. However, your minister feels that merely issuing a proclamation is insufficient — after all, this matter has already grown this large. A single proclamation may not be able to convince those scholars. If someone with ulterior motives stirs things up in the middle, it could instead bring trouble."

Hearing this, Xu Guangqi's face darkened.

Xu Guangqi hadn't expected that even though he hadn't agreed to their demands, the two of them still wanted to cause trouble. Xu Guangqi began racking his brains, thinking about how to crush Han Kuang and the others' conspiracy.

In Xu Guangqi's view, Han Kuang and the other were engaging in scheming and intrigue — openly excluding those who disagreed with them and forming cliques for private gain.

Zhu Youxiao nodded thoughtfully, speaking in an approving tone: "What Vice Minister Huang says makes sense. Then does Vice Minister Huang have a solution? By all means, let's hear it."

As for the scheming and infighting among these three below him, Zhu Youxiao naturally could see it clearly.

After Sun Chengzong left, these two factions had begun tearing at each other. This incident had further intensified that conflict — in plain terms, it was nothing more than a struggle for power and profit.

This made Zhu Youxiao somewhat helpless. They really were quite impatient — it seemed some things needed to be changed.

Seeing that Zhu Youxiao approved of him, Huang Kezuan was overjoyed and quickly continued: "Your Majesty, your minister believes the court should dispatch a senior minister to Shoushan Academy. First, it would express the court's regard for the matter; second, it would reassure the people. Most importantly, if any situation arose, it could be handled promptly on the spot to prevent mishaps."

This argument naturally had merit, and it looked like a very appropriate way to handle things.

But Zhu Youxiao understood in his heart that this was merely the beginning of a probing move. They didn't truly want to hand this matter to a senior court minister to handle, nor did they truly want to do it well. Perhaps there was some of that thinking involved, but more than anything, it was aimed at Cui Chengxiu.

Once Zhu Youxiao agreed to this matter, the senior minister dispatched would naturally take over Cui Chengxiu's responsibility — and this matter would naturally become something Cui Chengxiu had failed to handle properly.

Originally, the task of pacifying the scholars should have been given to Cui Chengxiu. Now that it wasn't given to him, that would prove Zhu Youxiao was dissatisfied with him. At that point, people would inevitably attack Cui Chengxiu en masse, saying he was unqualified to preside over the Imperial Academy reform and wanting to replace him.

As for who would replace him — naturally it would be the senior court minister sent to preside over the matter.

There was quite a lot of scheming behind this. So Zhu Youxiao asked, "Vice Minister Huang, who do you think would be suitable?"

Hearing this, Huang Kezuan did not answer immediately but furrowed his brow and began to think.

After a long while, he spoke tentatively: "If the official dispatched holds too high a position, it would be somewhat inappropriate; if the position is too low, it would seem the matter isn't being taken seriously. So your minister feels that Vice Minister of Rites Feng Congwu would be just right."

"First, Vice Minister of Rites Feng Congwu's position is appropriate. Second, Feng Congwu presides over the Imperial Academy and is quite familiar with matters there. I believe that entrusting this matter to him would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao nodded lightly.

This was a move to take over Cui Chengxiu's assignment, using Feng Congwu to replace Cui Chengxiu. Once Feng Congwu succeeded in this matter, his power within the Ministry of Rites would inevitably grow greatly. At that point, Xu Guangqi's days would likely become difficult.

Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Xu Guangqi and said, "What does Grand Secretary Xu think?"

"I believe Grand Secretary Huang's proposal is a good one." Xu Guangqi first affirmed Huang Kezuan, after all, everyone still had to present an appearance of harmonious cooperation before the Emperor.

We are all single-mindedly working for the court; by first agreeing with you, I also show that what I say next carries no selfish motive.

Just now Huang Kezuan had pulled this move on Xu Guangqi, and now Xu Guangqi doing the same could be considered returning the favor.

So Xu Guangqi said: "However, there is one point I cannot quite agree with. I believe it would be more appropriate to dispatch a senior court minister. The matter has now grown so large that scholars both inside and outside the capital are in a state of panic, and it may even affect many officials in the government."

"Under such circumstances, dispatching a senior court minister would have a better effect and would also demonstrate the court's regard for scholars. Therefore, I believe dispatching Minister of Rites Shen Tingyun would be more suitable. I beg Your Majesty to consider this clearly."

Xu Guangqi pushed Shen Tingyun forward—this was something he had to do with a stiff upper lip.

If Feng Congwu were sent, things would be hard to manage afterward. If Shen Tingyun could quell this matter, then his prestige would also rise greatly. If he could take this assignment out of Cui Chengxiu's hands, that would be even better.

This was a last resort; Xu Guangqi could only do it this way.

Listening to Xu Guangqi's words, Zhu Youxiao nodded. Clearly both sides were locking horns over this matter.

However, Zhu Youxiao could not possibly allow them to keep trading blows back and forth. If they were allowed to handle this matter that way, wouldn't it be a disaster?

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Youxiao said: "I fear there is more to this matter than meets the eye."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Han Kuang and the other two were momentarily stunned.

What did this mean? Could His Majesty have other ideas? Please, no!

At this moment, Han Kuang and the other two were panicking inside. Though they squabbled and contended with one another, they did not want Zhu Youxiao to stir things up.

As Zhu Youxiao's trusted ministers, they naturally knew the Emperor they served very well.

His Majesty treated loyal and devoted subordinates well—like the few of them. But if he truly struck, he could be ruthless enough.

If His Majesty truly did something to these scholars, it would only make things worse.

Zhu Youxiao did not look at Han Kuang and the others, continuing: "These people actually dare to gather together to defy the court—could someone be inciting them from behind the scenes? Could there be people with ulterior motives stirring up trouble? If the court compromises like this, would it not damage the court's dignity?"

"When that time comes, everyone will think the court can be bullied, and what if they make a fuss again over the Academy matter? Is the Academy reform still going to be carried out? Today you raise one opinion and make a fuss, tomorrow he raises another opinion and makes a fuss—then whose word does the Academy reform ultimately follow?"

"What all of you beloved ministers say has merit, but this matter cannot be handled rashly." Saying this, Zhu Youxiao's face turned grim.

Han Kuang and the other two felt their hearts skip a beat.

It was over—His Majesty was truly thinking in that direction.

If His Majesty did not agree with their opinion and instead had these scholars arrested, then things would truly have blown up.

"Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to worry about this matter." Han Kuang said hurriedly.

"Oh? What wise counsel does Minister Han have?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Han Kuang and asked.

Upon hearing this, Han Kuang quickly said: "These people gathering together is nothing more than someone leaking information. This matter naturally must be thoroughly investigated, but the urgent task now is to pacify them and keep them from causing trouble."

"Moreover, it was Cui Chengxiu who failed to explain matters clearly, which is why this disturbance arose. As long as the court explains things clearly, I believe it can be settled quickly. As for the demands raised by the scholars, that depends on whether they are reasonable."

"I believe the demands this time are nothing more than clarification—agreeing to them would do no harm. If they are unreasonable demands, naturally they cannot be agreed to."

"Your Majesty, I believe what Grand Secretary Han said is right!" Huang Kezuan said hurriedly.

Xu Guangqi, sitting below, was also anxious at this moment. Setting aside his struggle with Han Kuang and the others, he quickly said: "Your Majesty, what Grand Secretary Han said is right!"

But how could Zhu Youxiao possibly let them slip by?

He frowned and said: "Even if what you say is correct, this cannot be handled rashly. Let us first investigate thoroughly."

Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Chen Hong and said: "Go to the Eastern Depot and have Wei Zhongxian investigate. See whether someone is stirring up trouble behind this matter. Once the situation is clarified, report back immediately."