Chapter 380

Besides being divided by region into factions such as the Zhe Party, Qi Party, and Chu Party, civil officials are actually also divided by political stance into the New Party, the Old Party, and the Imperial Party.

Among them, those who support the New Policies, such as Zhang Tingyu and Li Guangdi, naturally belong to the New Party.

And those like Fang Congzhe and Xu Qianxue, who were recommended and selected by the Jiangnan gentry, naturally belong to the Old Party.

Gong Dingzi and others who were personally promoted by Emperor Jing Sheng during his time as a prince belong to the Imperial Party, meaning they take the emperor's will as the sole standard for handling affairs.

Of course,

No matter which faction, once one reaches the position of grand councilor, they would not openly jump out and openly oppose Emperor Jing Sheng!

After all, it is not easy to become a grand councilor, and they do not need to gain a reputation for frank remonstration like censorial officials.

Emperor Jing Sheng's expression stiffened slightly; he did not hastily attend to the grand councilors, for today's palace coercion surely has some people's shadows behind it.

Emperor Jing Sheng turned his gaze to Jia Jing, his face somewhat solemn, and said:

"Zi Jie! Since the New Policies were implemented, Jiangnan has begun land surveys and tax inspections, and has long been dissatisfied with the court."

"Lord Gong, in Jiangnan, is constantly restrained, has suffered multiple assassination attempts, and now merely rectifying the bureaucracy has drawn countless impeachments."

"The officials in the capital have even formed factions to coerce the palace, deceiving the sovereign and rebelling—utterly treasonous, shameless, and insane!"

"Now, I only ask you one thing: if the south truly rises in rebellion, are you willing to lead the great army down to Jiangnan, to punish the disloyal and eradicate the treacherous for me?"

Jia Jing's expression tightened; as he lifted his eyes, he saw Emperor Jing Sheng's gaze holding back endless anger and gloom!

The Son of Heaven seems to hate the Jiangnan gentry and officials to the extreme!

Especially today, when a group of officials coerced the palace and actually demanded that Emperor Jing Sheng abolish the New Policies, it truly touched his reverse scale.

Or rather, Emperor Jing Sheng originally thought that after the great victory in the northwest, with high spirits he would implement the New Policies, and the time for revitalizing the Da Han Empire had arrived.

Who would have expected to receive such a blunt rebuke, leaving him unable to swallow this anger!

Thus, he has even conceived the plan to let Jia Jing lead troops to Jiangnan to suppress it!

You must know, dealing with internal affairs is not the same as external; if one raises the butcher's knife domestically, one will truly leave the infamy of a 'tyrannical ruler' in the histories!

Jia Jing's expression became solemn; he suddenly lifted his python robe, knelt on the ground, bowed his head, and spoke solemnly:

"Your Majesty! I still say the same thing: I am the sword in Your Majesty's hand, originally meant to sweep away all disloyal subjects for Your Majesty!"

"Please, Your Majesty, do not worry; certainly do not let anger at these traitorous officials harm your spirit and damage the dragon body."

"Although I am a simple and honest man, I may utter one presumptuous remark."

"Not to mention merely a disturbance in Jiangnan; even if all officials and gentry across the realm rebel and beacon fires rise everywhere, I dare say I could still suppress them with ease."

"My sole concern is Your Majesty's dragon body health; seeing Your Majesty today so greatly stir your liver fire, consuming your blood and qi, I am utterly tormented within, unable to exert my strength."

"I, having been singled out by Your Majesty's favor and promoted to a first-rank duke, the highest among ministers, now that these rebels dare offend the heavenly countenance, it is all my fault!"

"I hope Your Majesty need not worry about the Jiangnan situation; these flag-planting, head-selling troublemakers are truly not worth Your Majesty's anger."

The officials inside the hall, hearing Jia Jing's words, had their faces drastically change, their hearts shaken beyond words!

Again, the dragon body's health?

And he even admits his own fault?

No, this civil official is coercing the palace with a petition; what fault could a military marquis like you have?

If even you have faults, then those grand councilors who manage court affairs surely deserve death!

Even someone like Zhang Tingyu, a Confucian minister whose heart is unmoved by anything, at this moment cannot help but feel a prickle on his back!

And Jia Jing is not speaking empty words at this moment; his true concern is indeed Emperor Jing Sheng's dragon body.

Emperor Jing Sheng has always been a person of temperament; after this bout of anger, his ears and eyes are all red, his face flushed, and his heart is probably already at the peak of fury.

If he truly falls ill from anger or something happens, that would be a major affair!

After all, his dream-fulfilled worthy minister can only serve Emperor Jing Sheng; moreover, the ruler and minister have always understood each other well, and if the emperor were changed, many things would become difficult!

Of course, he voluntarily took it on, mainly to display the political responsibility of a high-ranking court minister, the breadth of a duke!

In short, the Son of Heaven cannot be wrong; if the Son of Heaven is angry, it must be our ministers' fault!

Emperor Jing Sheng looked at the youth kneeling on the ground, momentarily speechless, a glint of tears flashing in his eyes; besides being moved, he also felt a deep wellspring of confidence.

"Not to mention merely a disturbance in Jiangnan; even if all officials and gentry across the realm rebel and beacon fires rise everywhere, Zi Jie dares say he could still suppress them with ease."

Yes! What does he have to worry about or be angry about!

With Zi Jie, this dream-fulfilled worthy minister, the mere Jiangnan gentry cannot even cover the sky of the Da Han Empire!

Emperor Jing Sheng never thought this was Jia Jing's boastful talk, given his record of winning every battle in Liaodong and the northwest, which is almost supernatural.

He is utterly not speaking empty words; his words have already been proven by the hundreds of thousands of enemy corpses to be immutable law.

Emperor Jing Sheng slightly closed his eyes, his expression eased a bit, stepped forward a few paces to help Jia Jing up, and said movingly:

"Among all civil and military officials, only Zi Jie truly thinks for Me and for the Da Han Empire!"

"I am truly blessed by heaven to have a loyal, virtuous minister like you, Zi Jie, who is a pillar of the state!"

"For a minister to encounter a sovereign as wise and enlightened as Your Majesty is the fortune cultivated over ten lifetimes!" Jia Jing gazed into Emperor Jing Sheng's eyes and said solemnly.

At this moment, Zhang Tingyu knelt on the ground, his expression solemn, and kowtowed, saying:

"Your Majesty! I, as the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, cannot assist Your Majesty in implementing the New Policies to revitalize the state."

"On the contrary, by allowing officials to coerce the palace, disturbing the sovereign's peace, leading to this situation, I bear the guilt of dereliction of duty!"

The other grand councilors, seeing this, could not stand aside; one by one they knelt and kowtowed to plead guilty.

"Treacherous minister! Powerful minister! Flatterer! Throughout history, treacherous flatterers are most skilled at sweet words and pleasing looks; Jia Zi Jie holds military power, yet merely fawns upon the sovereign!"

"Knowing full well that the New Policies violate ancestral law and will cause great chaos in the realm, yet he persists obstinately, bewitching the sovereign's heart; his wolfish ambition is obvious—Your Majesty must absolutely not be deluded by him!"

Xu Zhuo, seeing Emperor Jing Sheng and Jia Jing in such harmonious ruler-minister relations, even hearing them speak of sending troops against Jiangnan, was somewhat startled and hastily spoke up to present a memorial.

These words essentially mean that Jia Jing deliberately supports the New Policies in order to cause great chaos in the realm, so as to reap profit from the fire and scheme for the throne!

Beside him, Lu Shengnan, hearing this, his expression tightened, and he likewise spoke loudly:

"Jia Zi Jie harbors disloyal intentions! He supports the New Policies to ruin Your Majesty's reputation among the realm's scholars, deliberately to shake the foundation of our Da Han Empire, so that he may seize it for himself!"

This is nothing but naked words of accusing the heart!

Xie Jishi said:

"Your Majesty, you are perceptive! Though we speak frankly, we do so for the sake of the realm of the Da Han Empire; what Jia Zi Jie says may sound pleasant, but it is the likes of Wang Mang!"

Hearing this, Jing Sheng Di let out a cold sneer, his face sinking like water; he pointed at the three and gazed warmly at Jia Jing, saying:

"Zi Jie, you see these treacherous ministers and villains, death is at their door, yet they still do not forget to sow discord between us ruler and ministers!"

"Just now they pressed me, asking if I fear being an enemy of all scholars under heaven? They also pressed me, asking if I fear leaving an infamous name for thousands of generations?"

"These words of yours clearly show you are worried that I will really send you to Jiangnan to raise troops, which you cannot resist, so you want to sow suspicion between us ruler and ministers to escape calamity!"

"But how could they, with their treacherous hearts, understand that our ruler and ministers' sincere hearts are solely for the revitalization of the Da Han Empire!"

"If I doubted you, how could I let you command the twelve battalions' troops? If I doubted you, how could I let you wear swords and shoes into the hall? If I doubted you, may ghosts and spirits take my soul!"

Jing Sheng Di's series of parallel sentences rang out powerfully, leaving Xu Zhuo and the others stunned!

No! Your Majesty!

We are saying that Jia Zi Jie harbors disloyal intentions, not you! How come you are swearing an oath to heaven?