Chapter 461: I, the Emperor of Great Ming, Possess All Within the Four Seas

The matter of the scholars brawling had already been settled, so Han Kuang and the other two would not discuss it further—they considered the affair closed.

Xu Guangqi raised his head, looked at Han Kuang and the others, and said, "What do you two think about the situation in Liaodong?"

Upon hearing this, both Han Kuang and Huang Kezuan's expressions turned grave.

The Liaodong matter was far greater than the scholars brawling just now. Even if no one stepped in to suppress it, the scholars' fight wouldn't have escalated. Those people were nothing but jumping clowns.

The longer Han Kuang and the others worked under His Majesty, the clearer one thing became: as long as His Majesty supported them and power at court remained in their hands, everyone below them was nothing but a jumping clown.

Though they were still far from powerful ministers like Yan Song—that minister had been opposed by the entire realm and attacked by countless people—what good had it done?

As long as the Emperor supported Yan Song, he could wield power over the entire court.

But if the Liaodong matter were mishandled, it would become a major problem.

"We must send capable men over as soon as possible." Han Kuang looked at Xu Guangqi and said directly, "We have no say in the Imperial Guard offices. But with His Majesty's imperial decree, they surely won't dare obstruct—they should act soon. Whatever coordination is needed on our side must be done flawlessly—absolutely no mistakes allowed."

Han Kuang instructed in a stern tone, "Tell the men below: anyone who dares to cause trouble on this matter, I'll send him off to Qiongzhou."

Han Kuang had now firmly secured his position as Chief Grand Secretary, and with His Majesty's support, his standing was very stable.

Now with the backing of Huang Kezuan and others, plus Feng Congwu and his people cultivating talent for Han Kuang, Han Kuang's influence at court had swelled tremendously of late. More and more people were throwing in their lot with him, and naturally his words carried increasing weight.

Xu Guangqi didn't find this surprising. In fact, he too had been steadily expanding his own network of men.

Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "I know about this matter, and the men below know the stakes—they won't cause trouble. That's not the key issue. You know what I'm referring to."

Upon hearing this, Han Kuang was momentarily stunned, then let out a helpless sigh.

That matter—he truly didn't want to bring it up. Just hearing about it had given him a headache; now that it was being raised again, it felt even more troublesome.

When His Majesty was in the capital, things were manageable—people could still offer remonstrance. Though he could be willful at times, he was still willing to listen to others; if what you said made sense, His Majesty would take some of it in.

But ever since His Majesty left the capital for Zhangjiakou, the moment he got out, he had completely thrown caution to the wind. The things he did were utterly impossible to fathom or understand.

Take this matter of taking a wife, for instance. Though she was merely a ten-year-old girl from the Khorchin Great Khan's family, and though she would only be a consort, the implications were enormous.

Since the founding of the Great Ming, there had never been a case of marrying a woman of foreign ethnicity. Even if someone kept a foreign woman in their household, they wouldn't make a public spectacle of it for all to know.

It wasn't strange for an Emperor to favor foreign women—there were foreign women in the palace. But they were kept quiet, and weren't even allowed to bear children.

The most famous case was that of His Majesty's father, the late Taichang Emperor.

That Emperor, who had passed away a month after ascending the throne, had originally been in decent health. But after taking the throne, he became somewhat unrestrained—perhaps from being suppressed for too long. One night he took ten women, all sorts of women, including foreign ones. After indulging continuously for over half a month, his body simply collapsed.

But the current His Majesty was different—he wanted to marry a foreign woman, and a Mongol at that, and establish her as a consort. This came with an official title, which changed the significance entirely. It would very likely stir up trouble at court.

Seeing Han Kuang silent, Xu Guangqi furrowed his brow and asked, "Grand Secretary Han, do you find this matter inappropriate?"

On this matter, Xu Guangqi intended to support Zhu Youxiao.

In Xu Guangqi's eyes, the current His Majesty was a perfect sovereign. Though he had minor flaws, those flaws weren't worth counting.

After all, in Xu Guangqi's view, His Majesty's flaws were merely the result of youth and impulsive action. But His Majesty was also rational, willing to listen to others' counsel, and had his own judgment on every matter.

Moreover, His Majesty was frugal and temperate, not given to lust. Even now, the palace had only one Empress and two Noble Consorts, and he hadn't even favored any other women.

An Emperor like this was already rare indeed—one could say extremely hard to come by.

Whether on the Hundred Crafts Institute or on strengthening the military, the current His Majesty spent money without a hint of reluctance—he'd nearly exhausted even the imperial treasury.

What more could one say about such an Emperor?

What His Majesty did in Zhangjiakou this time, in Xu Guangqi's view, was deeply satisfying. Those people had no family, no country—only money in their eyes. Killing them was best; even executing their entire households wouldn't have been excessive.

As for their family property, all of it being seized and confiscated was an even better outcome. After all, the state was short on funds, and these people's ill-gotten wealth could just happen to fill the national coffers.

Whether that money was used to expand military preparations or to relieve disaster-stricken commoners, it would be excellent.

Besides, His Majesty marrying that young Mongol woman wasn't a big deal—after all, His Majesty had his own plans. It was clear that His Majesty intended to drive a wedge between the Mongols and the Jianzhou barbarians. Xu Guangqi was well aware of this.

Though he didn't know exactly how His Majesty would go about it, that didn't matter—he trusted His Majesty could handle it well. In this regard, His Majesty was capable. So Xu Guangqi didn't oppose this matter at all.

As for all that messy talk from people outside, Xu Guangqi cared even less.

His Majesty wanted to marry a woman—what was so great about that?

It wasn't as if she were being made Empress. Never mind a Mongol woman—what difference did a woman from any place make?

The Son of Heaven of the Great Ming possesses all within the four seas!

Xu Guangqi had that kind of confidence. His Majesty could marry whoever he wished—who was anyone else to point fingers?

Seeing Han Kuang hesitate, his expression immediately changed, looking ready to go to war with Han Kuang at any moment.

Han Kuang's mind stirred. He stared at Xu Guangqi and instantly understood what this old fellow was planning.

Cold sweat broke out on Han Kuang's back.

Damn it! He'd almost been trapped by this old bastard!

If he showed even the slightest hint of opposition on this matter, Xu Guangqi would likely seize the opportunity and blow the whole thing up.

One had to understand—the current Emperor was very young. In matters of men and women, he would hardly tolerate others pointing fingers.

His Majesty was no weak sovereign—the current His Majesty was extremely assertive. If anyone opposed him, they'd probably be sent home to retire by the next day. At that point, what meaning would opposing or not opposing have?

Xu Guangqi intended to exploit exactly that. If he opposed, he'd be dragged down right along with it.

That old fellow was truly treacherous!

They'd been cooperating perfectly just moments ago, and now in a turn he'd dug a pit, trying to bury old Han in it.

Thank goodness he'd been alert—otherwise he'd have been duped by this old bastard!

"His Majesty is merely selecting a consort—nothing major. Even if she's a Mongol, so what?" Not a trace of hesitation showed on Han Kuang's face as he said with a smile, "This matter is nothing significant."

Han Kuang repeated himself twice, "Nothing significant." Then he added, "Besides, His Majesty's harem has too few consorts. How else will he spread the branches and leaves of the Great Ming and carry on the imperial bloodline? That simply won't do. This old man will submit a routine memorial requesting that consorts be selected for His Majesty."

Xu Guangqi stared at Han Kuang, wishing he could bite this old bastard to death.

What a wily old fox—he'd turned around and refused to take the bait!

And he had no lower limit at all! He was already calling for His Majesty to select consorts?

Utterly shameless!

But Xu Guangqi could only curse in his heart—he absolutely could not say it aloud.

"That works too—then let the Chief Grand Secretary draft a routine memorial!" Xu Guangqi said with an air of indifference.

"His Majesty is currently in Liaodong. This matter should not be raised again." Han Kuang said with a grave expression: "State affairs take priority. Wait until this business is settled before discussing it."

Han Kuang: Old fox!

Xu Guangqi: Old fox!

The two cursed each other in their hearts simultaneously.

If one were to ask who would be the most displeased by a large-scale selection of consorts for the Emperor?

Need that even be said? Of course it would be Empress Zhang in the palace.

If the Empress were out of favor, that would be one thing, and they wouldn't need to fear much. But is that the situation now?

How deeply His Majesty dotes on Empress Zhang—doesn't everyone already know?

Moreover, Empress Zhang has just borne His Majesty an imperial prince. What does this mean?

This is precisely 'a mother's status rising with her son'! And since the birth mother is already exalted beyond measure, the effect far exceeds the mere sum of the two.

To propose such a suggestion at this time—are you afraid Empress Zhang won't give you a hard time?

Though it's said the harem must not interfere in governance, when that pillow talk starts blowing, few can withstand it. So when Han Kuang said that, it was just talk—he wouldn't be the one to stick his neck out.

He was already Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. Stability was what mattered most—what benefit was there in courting attention?

Xu Guangqi had originally thought Han Kuang would take the lead on this. As it turned out, the old fellow was only paying lip service.

Xu Guangqi lost interest in an instant. His earlier words had merely expressed his attitude toward that Mongol—it had nothing to do with him.

They directly categorized the matter as His Majesty's family affair and washed their hands of it.

This sort of maneuver wasn't unprecedented—it had appeared many times throughout history. When an emperor wanted to depose his empress, there would always be those who objected. And those who agreed would argue that this was the emperor's family affair—what business was it of yours?

Someone had even once said that even a country bumpkin who harvested two extra stacks of rice would trade in his wife—how much more so an emperor?

In any case, those people were ultimately branded as treacherous ministers. Only some emperors succeeded in their aims, while others did not.

Now His Majesty merely wished to take another consort—not replace the Empress. What harm was there in that?

After the two old foxes clashed with each other, they found they still couldn't get the better of the other—both were cunning as foxes, and neither would take the bait.

The only option was to reach an agreement and quietly lower their banners.