After the morning court,
Prince Yu kept Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Zhao Zhenji, and Tan Lun. They went to a side hall, and Prince Yu let out a long sigh, stretched his limbs, and said:
"Grand Secretary Xu, has it always been like this in court since ancient times?"
Xu Jie said with a wry smile:
"It's always been like this. Every three, five, or seven days, or every other day, a court session can be held. The Rites of Zhou say "xun chao" (ten-day court), and generally emperors must have a court session every ten days to be considered diligent. In our dynasty, there is also the platform summons. In our dynasty, His Majesty has wise foresight and can hold court anywhere."
Everyone felt a sense of absurdity at this. Things that were originally normal suddenly felt uncomfortable. At the same time, everyone had a thought: the Emperor's method was actually quite good. It could both discuss matters and make decisions, saving countless troubles. Take Yan Song's memorial today, for instance. It had to be submitted to the Grand Secretariat for preliminary drafting and then approved with red ink, which would take several more days. Moreover, with so many people in court and so many rules, how could they discuss anything? It was all up to Yan Song.
Li Chunfang shook his head and said:
"Shaohu, this is not a solution. Yan Ge Lao's few points are not without problems, but there's no way to discuss them..."
Prince Yu also felt he had been too hasty. For such an important matter as the ancestral sacrifice, it was best to request an imperial decree, otherwise the Emperor would likely be displeased.
With this thought,
He sighed:
"Grand Secretary Xu, should I go to the Yuxi Palace again to request an imperial decree? To see what His Majesty thinks?"
The four men exchanged glances and nodded.
Xu Jie said:
"Your Highness, I think it would be best to hold court once every ten days, and for ordinary discussions, use the summoned audience... Uh, previously the summoned audience was held in the Jianji Hall. Your Highness, just follow the usual practice. After each summoned audience, go to the Yuxi Palace to request an imperial decree and hear whatever His Majesty has to say... Brother Shiluo, what do you think?"
Li Chunfang said, "Appropriate! Uh, truly appropriate!"
He seemed to want to say something,
But suddenly stopped!
A thought immediately flashed through Xu Jie's mind—
Prince Yu is now the regent, essentially the Emperor, and he cannot speak as he did before...
He sighed inwardly—
No wonder the Emperor never attends court? In such a court session, the monarch is almost a mere decoration. It's inconvenient to ask or say what one wants. The power of the chief grand secretary is immense, almost absolute. If the monarch rejects the chief grand secretary's memorial on the spot, in front of so many people, how can it be easily handled? Moreover, this would undoubtedly weaken the chief grand secretary's authority, making matters difficult.
He hadn't given much thought to the customs of the Great Ming dynasty before, but now he suddenly felt that this was indeed a hurdle. The Yongle Emperor's establishment of the Grand Secretariat was indeed reasonable. But with the Grand Secretariat, powerful chief grand secretaries like Yang Tinghe and Yan Song would emerge, which was a dilemma.
He, Xu Jie, was different from Yan Song. He had no ambition to dominate the court, but even so, he felt a sense of crisis—
Prince Yu is now the regent. If he needs to make a decision, he must make it himself. Even if I am the most trusted, I cannot make decisions on his behalf. Otherwise, I would become like Yang Tinghe or Yan Song, thus placing myself in a perilous and unpredictable position!
Thinking of this, he glanced at Li Chunfang, and both had the same thought—
The Emperor's move is truly brilliant!
This has pushed everyone forward...
Judging by the situation, let alone renovating in three years, it would be good enough to maintain peace!
But these thoughts could no longer be spoken. The person before him was already a quasi-emperor, completely different from when he was in the princely residence.
...
Yuxi Palace,
Prince Yu had been kneeling for a while. Jiajing was still meditating. Lü Fang brought a cushion and a stool, allowing him to rest his arms, making it a little more comfortable.
After nearly half an hour, Prince Yu was sore all over from exhaustion. Jiajing slowly opened his eyes and said indifferently:
"Is there something?"
Prince Yu touched the ground with his head and said:
"Your son had his first court session today. Grand Secretary Yan proposed three points—"
"Enough..."
Jiajing waved his hand and said indifferently:
"As I said, you are the regent now. Unless it is a matter of extreme importance, you do not need to report it..."
This?
Prince Yu was immediately choked.
Lü Fang said kindly, "Crown Prince, His Majesty is advanced in age and weary. Any major matters can be decided by the Crown Prince and the ministers."
But?
But?
Prince Yu wanted to speak several times but forcefully suppressed himself. He looked around and remembered the situation in court just now. He suddenly felt he had no one to turn to, and was completely alone!
Only now did he feel what it was like to be an emperor, but this feeling was not good at all, incredibly lonely! It was a suffocating feeling of ten thousand mountains pressing down.
But the embarrassing thing was: he had not yet ascended the throne. If the Emperor was not satisfied with what he did in these three years, he could still be deposed! And to satisfy the Emperor, he really couldn't figure it out. Take Yan Song's proposals, for instance, whether they suited the Emperor's intentions or not, who knew?
Moreover,
According to the Emperor's current intention, he was directly washing his hands of it, letting me decide everything! That made it even more difficult, as there was absolutely no clue...
He sighed inwardly and finally bowed and withdrew.
After he left,
Lü Fang also sighed softly, feeling that Prince Yu was truly a pitiable person. He had been timid for half his life and suddenly became the regent, with a formidable old emperor above him. This regency was truly difficult. Moreover, he had protected Yan Song last time, which had angered the Emperor. The Emperor doing this was a monumental test for him...
As he was thinking,
Jiajing suddenly snorted and said:
"Why are you sighing?"
Lü Fang quickly knelt down and said with a trembling voice, "Your servant merely, merely..."
"Merely pities Prince Yu...?"
Hmph!
Jiajing stared at him and said again:
"What are you thinking about again? Do you blame me for being heartless?"
"No! No such thing! Your servant, your servant didn't think that..."
Lü Fang knew he had inadvertently touched upon a taboo and immediately kowtowed repeatedly.
Jiajing sneered and said:
"Let him gain experience... Without experience, how will he know that being the Emperor of the Great Ming is not easy? And how will he understand that the Great Ming dynasty needs to change...?"
He slowly stood up, his heart also feeling uncomfortable—
Zhu Mo understood right away, but Prince Yu still didn't understand...
Today's court session, he was probably at a loss and couldn't fathom my intentions, which is why he came to pay respects, wanting to gauge my attitude. But wasn't my attitude already obvious? If he could think more deeply and broadly, he would understand that reform was necessary.
He wasn't unwilling to let Prince Yu ascend the throne, but the prerequisite was that Prince Yu could not reject Zhu Mo's previous reforms and must truly understand why the reforms were necessary. If Prince Yu didn't understand before, then starting from today, he would definitely feel the pressure from the officials and gradually understand what the true role of the Emperor of the Great Ming was...
But this process was not without risks. At this juncture, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, and all other officials and gentry would gradually react. He wanted to see what these people could stir up? How high they could jump? What else could Yan Song and Yan Shifan do? And how would Prince Yu treat them? In fact, did Prince Yu have the ability to wield power? Did he have the will and ambition to break free from the encirclement of the officials?
Over the years, this had also been one of Jiajing's biggest concerns.
Therefore,
This was not a conspiracy, but a true test. If Prince Yu could wield power and recognize the necessity of reform, then he would naturally be the one to ascend the throne. If Prince Yu's performance was unsatisfactory, then it would be another matter!
He was angry at Lü Fang earlier because Lü Fang only thought of conspiracies and failed to see that Zhu Mo and Zhu Zaihou were like the palm and the back of the hand. He, Jiajing, would definitely treat them equally!
As for reform, it would be good if it could continue, but if it couldn't, then it wouldn't proceed. Although he agreed with Zhu Mo's views, the paramount task of the Great Ming dynasty was still to maintain its existence. This was the most realistic goal...
With this thought, he said leisurely:
"Lü Fang, we should also make some preparations... Have you investigated the people and matters I asked you to check last time? Have the people who should be replaced been replaced?"
Lü Fang had now recovered and said:
"Your Majesty, we have gathered most of the information."
Mm,
"Don't act yet... Just watch from the shadows... Make it clear to those below, interfere less with outside matters! Let them cause trouble first!"
"Your servant understands."
Lü Fang suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of reverence—
Originally, Yan Song and Xu Jie were in the shadows. Now the roles were reversed, and they were in the light, while this side was in the shadows. Those in the shadows naturally saw more clearly and didn't have to brave the wind and waves at the forefront. When the time was right, this grand play of reform would conclude.