Chapter 491: His Majesty Wants to Go to Nanjing

The Emperor had been on the throne for eight years now, and having spent so long with his ministers, the turnover of officials at court was hardly brisk.

So whether Emperor or minister, each side already understood the other well enough. Everyone knew the temperament of His Majesty.

Whenever His Majesty raised a matter, if you offered constructive opinions and took the initiative to see it done well, then your merit would not be small — His Majesty would not be stingy with rewards.

This had been proven countless times, and the most typical example was Cui Chengxiu.

In the eyes of the assembled ministers at court, Cui Chengxiu was a man of no learning and no ability whatsoever. Yet precisely because His Majesty valued him, Cui Chengxiu had always been one who received promotion.

A few years back, when the Academy reforms were being carried out, Cui Chengxiu had thrown himself into the work with great effort. There had been plenty of sordid business involved — everyone knew it.

But even so, after the Academy reforms succeeded, His Majesty still bestowed very generous rewards upon Cui Chengxiu.

After Zhu Tongmeng was transferred away, Cui Chengxiu smoothly became the top man of the Censorate — now he was the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

There were already people outside calling for Cui Chengxiu to enter the Grand Secretariat. Though no one knew who had started it, someone was saying it after all, and who knew which day His Majesty might let him into the Grand Secretariat.

Under such circumstances, who wouldn't think of getting things done well?

Everyone wanted to be like Cui Chengxiu, especially men like Yuan Yingtai. Back when he was in Liaodong, though Yuan Yingtai had made no mistakes, he had still been replaced.

And the man who took his place was Xiong Tingbi.

In all those years in Liaodong, Xiong Tingbi had not only stabilized the situation there, but had also repeatedly distinguished himself in battle — he had even killed Nurhaci with cannon fire.

Under such circumstances, anyone could see why His Majesty gave Xiong Tingbi such heavy responsibility. Then Yuan Yingtai's position became all the more awkward — His Majesty did not trust him, did not trust his ability.

The better Xiong Tingbi did, the more humiliated Yuan Yingtai became. If Xiong Tingbi did poorly, then Yuan Yingtai might gain some benefit instead.

But the benefit was limited after all, since if Xiong Tingbi did poorly, it would prove His Majesty had poor judgment in choosing men.

Just like when Yuan Shao killed Tian Feng back in the day — if he had won that battle, Tian Feng could have lived; but since Yuan Shao lost that battle, Tian Feng had no road but death.

Everyone had originally thought Yuan Yingtai would meet the same fate — with the situation in Liaodong so good, he would be cast aside by His Majesty and never used again.

But no one had expected His Majesty to employ Yuan Yingtai once more, and to give him heavy responsibility. It was just that Yuan Yingtai had never managed to firmly secure his position.

Clearly this time was an opportunity — if Yuan Yingtai handled the matter well, then his position would be secured.

Those eyeing his position were somewhat displeased. After all, there were only so many posts at court — if you sat in one, there was none left for me.

Add to that the fact that His Majesty disliked churning the court — since the last large-scale dismissal of officials, up to now the official posts at court had not changed, and the Grand Secretariat still held the same few men.

Though Cui Jingrong had been added, Sun Chengzong had also been transferred to the Staff Office. Stability at the top of the government could guarantee continuity of policy. That was the benefit.

The drawback was that those below had no way to rise up. Some people had already grown impatient, so there was even some pressure that could barely be contained at court.

This time, with this matter, Yuan Yingtai had stepped forward, and some people could not stand to watch.

Yuan Yingtai was perfectly clear about his own situation — he understood very well what position he now occupied, where one slight misstep meant utter ruin.

Under such circumstances, Yuan Yingtai dared not make the slightest error; the key was still to earn merit, or else he could not hold his position well.

Now Yuan Yingtai finally had such an opportunity — how could he let it go?

"Yes, Your Majesty. After I return, I will produce a proposal." Yuan Yingtai hurriedly agreed.

Since it was a good opportunity, he had to do the matter well, or else problems would easily arise.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Yuan Yingtai, nodded, and said: "That would be excellent."

"Alright, this matter is settled. Let us speak of the next matter." Zhu Youxiao directly changed the subject.

The ministers below were somewhat stunned — was this matter decided just like that? Wasn't this a bit too fast?

But even so, they knew there was no help for it — what His Majesty decided was decided.

Zhu Youxiao rose to his feet and said: "The realm has enjoyed peace for a long time. The people live and work in contentment. Since I ascended the throne, the Great Ming has flourished day by day, the state treasury has been amply supplied, the nation is secure and the people at peace — all thanks to the devoted efforts of my beloved ministers."

When it came to singing his own praises, Zhu Youxiao was quite experienced — he could now do it without his face reddening or his heart racing, and with a sincere attitude and earnest words.

To put it plainly, when he praised himself, he could even move himself. So when Zhu Youxiao said these words, his tone was vivid and his emotion genuine.

The people below listened to these words, and their faces also showed expressions of emotion and admiration.

His Majesty was good in every way, except this habit of self-praise could never be changed. Of course, His Majesty did measure up to such achievements.

One should know that among the common people, His Majesty's reputation was very good indeed — all sorts of words and phrases sang His Majesty's praises.

Many people had already hailed the Great Ming as restored to glory — a glorious restoration — and Zhu Youxiao was naturally the enlightened sovereign of that restoration.

Having said this much, Zhu Youxiao shifted his tone and said directly: "With such flourishing prosperity, I intend to make a tour of inspection to Nanjing, and also return to Fengyang to pay homage to the ancestors. What opinions do my beloved ministers have?"

When these words came out, everyone's expression turned rather unpleasant.

An emperor of the Great Ming going out was not in itself anything too abnormal. The Zhengde Emperor had traveled incognito everywhere — everyone had seen that before; and the Jiajing Emperor had also left the capital, even going to both Nanjing and Fengyang.

Under such circumstances, the current Emperor wanting to go out for a stroll was nothing major. Even if His Majesty wanted to go to Mount Tai for the Fengshan sacrifices, that would not be impermissible either.

But the Fengshan ceremony had been ruined by Emperor Renzong of Song, and no later emperors had gone to do it again. The problem was not that His Majesty leaving the capital caused great disturbance — it was that it could scare people to death.

One should know, His Majesty had left the capital three times in total. The first time he went to Shandong, and the result was that everyone up and down Shandong was finished — officials great and small were arrested, beheaded, or exiled, and one could say hardly any came to a good end. Even the Kong family of Shandong had been dealt a blow, and quite a few of them had been killed.

The second time he left the capital, His Majesty went to Zhangjiakou, and then Zhangjiakou ran with rivers of blood — those merchants were all arrested and killed, a large number of officials and generals were implicated, and the whole place was purged from top to bottom.

The last time, His Majesty went to Liaodong. That time was better — there was no purge from top to bottom, but there was a battle fought.

Everyone at court knew this — there were no fools present.

What money the court had been spending these years, everyone knew full well.

The money in His Majesty's private treasury had all these years been supporting the Imperial Guard Corps, and also supporting the Hundred Crafts Institute, and supporting the New City — all sorts of expenses were paid for by the Emperor's own money.

Where did the Emperor get the money?

Everyone knew the Emperor was a poor man — relying on the meager income from the imperial estates, he could never have such expenditures.

The Imperial Household Department was all about doing business, and sent the Emperor a good deal of money every year. But everyone also knew that this money had its limits — it could not possibly support His Majesty's spending every year.

So most of His Majesty's money came from confiscating households. Under such circumstances, who dared let the Emperor go out?

And this time, where was the Emperor going?

It was Nanjing!

The Great Ming's Nanjing — to put it plainly, that was the whole of Jiangnan. Everyone there lay beneath the Emperor's executioner's blade. If the Emperor stretched out his knife at this time, what would the outcome be?

The whole of Jiangnan had money — everyone knew that. How many officials at court were struggling in hardship?

Even Xu Guangqi was from Songjiang Prefecture. If the Emperor went to Jiangnan, how could they not be afraid?

And so for a moment, the atmosphere in the court was strange. No one knew what to say.

If they opposed it, His Majesty would surely pursue the matter. The current Emperor was not one to be easily reasoned with.

But if they did not oppose it, and the matter of His Majesty going to Nanjing was settled, they feared there would be trouble.

For a moment, everyone was at a loss.

But Zhu Youxiao did not care. He smiled and nodded, looking very satisfied.

The ministers immediately realized—this was bad! Staying silent would not do; they could not give His Majesty an opening!

So someone stepped forward to speak, but before they could open their mouths, Zhu Youxiao had already spoken first.

"Since none of you ministers oppose it, then this matter is settled."

Having said this, Zhu Youxiao turned and left directly, without even bothering to instruct how preparations should be made or which office should handle what.

Those matters could be discussed later; now was not the time to continue. If the court ministers opposed it and all sorts of messy affairs were dredged up, the arguments would only become more troublesome.

So Zhu Youxiao decisively slipped away, hands clasped behind his back as he headed straight for the rear, giving the ministers no chance to stop him.

Wei Chao, standing nearby, did not even react in time.

The ministers below reacted more quickly, hastily calling out: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please slow down! Your servant has a memorial to present!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This matter cannot be done this way!"

But such cries never reached Zhu Youxiao's ears.

Zhu Youxiao simply slipped away.

In this world, no one dared to grab hold of the Emperor.

There had only ever been one person who did such a thing, and that person was Bao Zheng. When the Emperor tried to flee, Bao Zheng grabbed him by the sleeve, dragged him back, and pressed him onto the dragon throne, then gave the Emperor a thorough scolding, spraying his face with spittle.

In the Ming Dynasty, there truly was no one who dared to do such a thing.

After the commotion below started, Wei Chao finally reacted and hastily shouted: "Court dismissed!"

After shouting, Wei Chao looked at the ministers below.

If anyone rushed forward, he would charge up and knock that person down.

But Wei Chao was disappointed—no one rushed forward. The ministers all returned to their respective places.