After Zhu Houzhao went to Sutong Mansion last time, she was still unsatisfied and wanted to continue to eat and drink at Suzhou Mansion. She also discussed the romantic scenes during the meal.

However, on the 19th day of the first lunar month, Zhu Houzhao had one important thing, which was to hold a court meeting. Although he did not put this court meeting in mind, the ministers were all prepared in advance.

After the New Year, the imperial court did not officially work due to a rest. The nine ministers and the heads of the temple departments summarized important matters at the end of the year and during the New Year, and prepared to present them when they met the holy.

Xie Qian got up early in the morning, hurriedly took a few sips of millet porridge and went out to the Ministry of Personnel, preparing to say hello to He Jian first and confirm what he wanted to say at today's court meeting.

Some things cannot be reported by Xie Qian. At most, he will start with the inappropriate and disobedient crimes. Those words of the censors who are willing to act as the scapegoat are the scapegoats. As for Xie Qian himself, he only needs to stand up and argue in the end and prevent those policies he is unhappy to implement.

"...It's not bad. Your Majesty is willing to convene a court meeting and discuss with the ministers. If Your Majesty insists on commanding the imperial army and just greets the Chinese military in the court, then the problem will be big..."

Xie Qian was quite satisfied with Zhu Houzhao's court meeting. As a minister, he actually didn't want the emperor to hold court meetings every day. This was a big burden for the ministers. Just hold court meetings once a month. Ministers don't have to be careful about what they want to report every day. They can basically decide on their own affairs within their jurisdiction.

The emperor did not care about the affairs of the court, but for the ministers, there were pros and cons. Now Xie Qian has basically controlled the affairs of the court, and Zhang Yuan did not interfere with him due to his limited ability.

In the living room of the Ministry of Personnel, He Jian did not say much to Xie Qian, and then left together after a few simple greetings.

Although the time of the court meeting was set at noon, the two had to wait in Wenhua Palace first. They were the top civil officials, and others had to use their will as a reference. Many ministers had no plans for what they said in front of the emperor. They went to the palace to wait in advance, so that those ministers, especially those who had recently entered the center of the court, could have a place to ask for instructions.

The two of them headed towards the palace. He Jian accidentally mentioned on the way: "... Yesterday, His Majesty seemed to have left the leopard room and went to the market to play, and returned after night."

"What?"

Xie Qian obviously didn't know the news, so he turned his head in surprise and asked, "Brother Shiguang, where did you know?"

He Jian looked at Xie Qian, as if he was suspicious of the other party's confusion... In his opinion, as the chief minister who controls the government, Xie Qian should send someone to keep an eye on the Leopard Room at all times. Even the people he sent to investigate, Xie Qian was confused and the situation was too strange.

He Jian naturally would not admit his private actions and said, "I just heard... Zhihou took His Majesty out of the leopard room, but I still don't know where to go."

Xie Qian frowned: "It's this guy again. It seems that he is very good at managing his relationship with His Majesty... Humph, it's obviously ulterior motives!"

He Jian smiled and said, "I thought Yu Qiao, you knew about this for a long time. I wanted to ask you where Zhihou took His Majesty, but now it seems that you don't know either?"

"How difficult is that?" Xie Qian said coldly, "When I see him later, I will ask you in person, can he still dare to hide something from you and me?"

As they spoke, the two arrived at the side hall of Wenhua Hall. At this time, a minister was waiting in the hall, Yang Yiqing, Minister of Revenue.

Yang Yiqing hurried over to salute the two of them. Xie Qian looked around and asked, "You Yingning, are you here?"

Yang Yiqing said: "Shangshu Chen from the Ministry of War had also been here before, but he said he was unwell today and came to take leave... He would not attend the court meeting today, and an internal official had already passed the news to His Majesty."

Xie Qian's face suddenly became ugly.

He Jian smiled and said, "Yes, Zhihou was stabbed before the age of a year, and is still in the stage of recuperation. I am afraid that the injury has been repeated in the past two days... It is understandable that he wants to take a leave to recuperate."

Xie Qian looked at He Jian coldly, as if he was blaming him for speaking for Chen Xi, and did not stand up and criticize him.

"By the way, Ying Ning."

He Jian continued to ask, "Have your Ministry of Revenue recently received imperial decree? For example, reimbursement of money and grain, or mobilize granary reserves in the Gyeonggi region?"

Yang Yiqing was stunned and said, "No imperial edict was sent to the Ministry of Revenue after the New Year. Didn't Xie Zhongtang know about these long ago?"

He Jian smiled and said, "The army and horses are going to move before they move. It seems that Your Majesty is not concerned about the war. Yu Qiao, don't worry too much... Come on, let's sit down and talk in detail. There is still a long time before the meeting."

He Jian pulled Xie Qian down, and Yang Yiqing could only sit in the last place.

He Jian and Yang Yiqing talked a few times, and they were all about the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. Xie Qian didn't say a word, as if he had something to worry about.

After about a quarter of an hour, another minister arrived, and soon the side hall of Wenhua Hall became lively.

It was almost over the Si time, and He Jian found the opportunity to talk to Xie Qian alone and asked, "Why did Yu Qiao suddenly say less?"

Xie Qian's old face wrinkled: "I was thinking, what the hell is Zhihou doing? It would be fine if he didn't attend the banquet at the beginning of the year. Now he is avoiding the court meeting... Could it be that he wants to secretly confirm the matter and does not want to cause trouble because of the opposition of the ministers of the court meeting?"

He Jian sighed, "Maybe the heavy injury is really repeated?"

"You also said that maybe, this kid has too many tricks. If you don't say it, I don't know that he actually took His Majesty out of the leopard room yesterday. What do you think he has the intention?"

Xie Qian's face was full of anger, as if Chen Xi should ask him for instructions on everything he did, otherwise he would have a bad intention, and singing opposites with Chen Xi was almost his daily life. "Your Majesty has not yet taken back his orders, that is to say, sending troops after the beginning of spring is almost a foregone conclusion... This time it is likely that this is the last court meeting before the war. If it cannot be saved, there will be no chance to meet the emperor and accept advice in the future."

He Jian smiled bitterly: "How is this possible? To send troops, you must first stabilize the thoughts of the court officials and be united... Besides, Your Majesty wants to lead the army in person, so don't make arrangements for the affairs of the capital?"

Xie Qian hummed lightly: "At that time, you only need to say hello to the court officials, and there is no need to discuss it anymore... Dehua returned to the three sides, and he was afraid that he had brought his Majesty and Zhihou's secret order to send troops. At this moment, the soldiers on the border are ready to fight at any time."

Chen Xi did not attend the court meeting, and Xie Qian was worried. Fortunately, there was no delay in the Wu Dynasty. At six o'clock, an eunuch came to summon him. All the ministers went to the Ganqing Palace together. When they entered the hall, they found that Zhu Houzhao had arrived one step earlier and sat upright on the dragon throne, but they seemed to be in a bad state.

Zhu Houzhao has received news about Chen Xi not attending the court meeting and has not even asked.

After the necessary etiquette, Zhu Houzhao said impatiently: "You guys, if you have something to report, you can retire from the court if you have nothing to do. I have something to do later."

Xie Qian would not let Zhu Houzhao leave easily. Today he finally got the opportunity and must finish everything he should say.

"Your Majesty, the old minister has something to say."

Xie Qian left the line and prepared to report the matter to set a good start for the ministers.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Xie Qian and asked, "Gei Master Xie, isn't it going to hold an exam soon? I said that the Liang Qing family and Jin Qing family were the chief examiners. Are you going to talk about this? I'm right. As for the etiquette and other etiquettes, the Hanlin Academy will arrange it. At that time, Master Xie will represent me to go to the Confucian Temple."

Before Xie Qian could speak, he was choked back by Zhu Houzhao, which suddenly disrupted his rhythm. Xie Qian sorted out his thoughts and was about to continue reporting, but Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "This is the matter of the imperial examination. Master Xie Ge left first... Who else has important things to report?"

Zhu Houzhao had an impatient expression on his face. It is easy to be disgusted by anyone who stands up and speaks. This makes the ministers present unacceptable... Since you are not a good emperor who is diligent and loves the people, and you don't want to hold a court meeting, just stop the court meeting as before. Today, you finally drove back to Wu Dynasty, but you are so impatient and determined to end it early. Could it be that Chen Xi did not come?

He Jian said: "Your Majesty, the old minister has something to report."

When others didn't say anything, He Jian always wanted to set an example. When he took the tablet out, he immediately received Xie Qian's praise from the eyes... The two had discussed a lot of things before. Under the threat of the emperor, only if they stood up and took on the heavy responsibility would they have guided other ministers.

Zhu Houzhao was not angry, but she was not very patient, and waved her hand: "Tell me."

He Jian said seriously: "The old minister learned that in the southwest area, civil unrest broke out in May and June last year, and local tribes attacked the government, and even severe grain production in Sichuan, Guizhou and other places was severely reduced, and government orders were not accessible. In addition, civil unrest in the Central Plains area... Now the world is not stable and peaceful."

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "What is the meaning of He Qing's family?"

He Jian said: "As the old ministers' intentions, we must first calm the country when fighting foreign countries. We should quickly send troops to quell the chaos in the people and calm the hearts of the people."

Although He Jian didn't say too deeply, a few short sentences made Zhu Houguang understand his intentions.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Xie Qian thoughtfully, as if saying, "You old man Xie taught these words, right?"

The ministers present knew it clearly that Xie Qian used domestic turmoil as an excuse to prevent Zhu Houzhao from sending troops. As for whether this method works, it would be better to say that at least Xie Qian's attitude is clear, that is, he will never send troops!

Zhu Houzhao said: "There are chaos in the local area every year. Can there be no qualified officials in Chuangui and other places maintain local stability? As long as the foundation of the imperial rule has not endangered, I will not force it. Speaking of which, the southwest was not peaceful at the beginning, but Chen Qing's family led the troops to quell... I also received news a few days ago that Shandong Governor Hu Lian and Hu Qing's family made contributions to quell the rebellion. I guess in about a month, I will be able to return to the court..."

If it were in the past, because Liu Jin deliberately concealed it, Zhu Houzhao only cared about food, drink and entertainment, and basically did not know about the affairs in the court. Since Liu Jin was plotting a rebellion, Zhu Houzhao has become aware that he knew that ignorant officials could abuse their power or even endanger the stability of the throne. In addition, Zhang Yuan dared not conceal the affairs of the court, so Zhu Houzhao could basically talk about military affairs.

He Jian said: "With your majesty's intention, is he trying to transfer the governor of Shandong to the southwest?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled: "I am not worried about the chaos in the southwest. Now I can quell the rebellion in the capital, Shandong and Henan. I want to raise troops to pacify the grassland. This is a national policy established two years ago. At that time, all the families of you were witnesses. Will you still go back on your word?"

At first, Zhu Houzhao smiled, but when she said that, her face became cold and her eyes were fierce. She looked around, as if she was saying, "Whoever comes out to say something despair will make it difficult for anyone to live. You'd better be aware of each other and stay honestly in your place."

The civil officials present were all senior officials of the six ministries and various temple officials, at least at the level of ministers and Shaoqing. These people knew the doctrine of the mean. When Liu Jinquan was the best in the world, the number of old ministers in the court decreased sharply. Even the backwards like Yang Yiqing have now become the Minister of Revenue. There are many similar ministers. After experiencing Liu Jin's bloody purge, no one wants to come out to take the lead.

He Jian was not easy to deal with it because he found that it would be best for Xie Qian to come forward to speak, because he was the Minister of War and had fully assisted Chen Xi in promoting the national policy of smoothing the grassland for two years. If he opposed it now, he would inevitably have a two-faced and three-faced statement.

So, He Jian simply took a step back and gave the "opportunity" to others.

Xie Qian immediately left the list: "Your Majesty, the old minister believes that it is not appropriate to send troops to the grassland this year."

Xie Qian's statement immediately highlighted the conflict between the monarch and his ministers. The ministers present held their breath and wanted to see how Zhu Houzhao and Xie Qian competed.

The emperor was in charge of the war, but the chief assistant opposed it. The collision between the two sides was likely to be Mars hitting the earth. Who would have thought that Zhu Houzhao just smiled and said, "Georg Xie is too extreme in some aspects. I don't want to argue with you. You can say whatever you like! Who has the report? If it's gone, I'm going to go back and rest!"

Afterwards, Zhu Houzhao simply lost the minimum cover-up. She didn't say that she would do something big after leaving the court, but she simply stated that she would go to bed.

Xie Qian immediately knelt down with a determined look on his face: "Your Majesty, sending troops will endanger the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. Do you want the Ming Dynasty to destroy the country?"

"Please think twice."

When He Jian saw this attitude, he would not be able to help Xie Qian without coming forward, so he simply changed his position and changed from neutral to peace. He went out to kneel down with Xie Qian. Other ministers also knelt down and asked for his orders under the guidance of the two.

The scene became tense instantly.

Most people dared not look up at Zhu Houzhao, nor did they know what the emperor had. After a while, there was no movement on the dragon throne, but Xie Qian continued: "Your Majesty, the grassland is vast, and the people of the Tatars, Oirat and other tribes are fierce. If they start a war with them on the grassland, the Ming Dynasty will lose all its advantages, which may re-enact the disaster of Tumu Fort during the Yingzong period."

Xie Qian was afraid that Zhu Houzhao would leave, so others dared not look up, but he dared to stare at the emperor with bright eyes.

Zhu Houzhao sat upright on the dragon throne with a calm expression: "What Mr. Xie meant was to let me be a cowardly emperor and live with a swallowing voice? I don't want to guard the ancestors' land. In the past, Taizu Taizong sent troops to pacify the grasslands many times. Although it has not completely calmed down, at least the grassland tribes dare not attack our Ming Dynasty... In recent decades, the grassland tribes have repeatedly invaded the Central Plains, first the Oirats, then the Tatars... The Tatars can be said to have a desperate desire to perish me. If they don't teach them a lesson, how can they make the border safe and sound for hundreds of years in the next few decades and hundreds of years, and the people of the Ming Dynasty live a good life?"

From a reasonable point of view, Zhu Houzhao's analysis was quite thorough. I was not just shouting slogans, but just wanted to defeat the edge of the grassland tribe and maintain a peaceful period of decades or even hundreds of years for the Ming Dynasty border.

If you hinder me, you will be unable to get along with me.

Xie Qian said: "But sending troops to the grassland will likely ruin the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Houzhao said sternly: "Xie Qing family, you are my mentor, even the mentor of the late emperor, so I respect you. Even if you speak rudely, I didn't say anything, but you are clearly exaggerating now. Is this only in this way that you are a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty and a foolish monarch?"

"His Majesty……"

Xie Qian still refused to give up.

Zhu Houzhao said: "The issue of sending troops was decided by the court at the beginning. All the Qing families agreed. Why did they start to belittle them today? Do you want to say that the national policy was formulated to fight Liu Jin. Now that Liu Jin is dead, you have no scruples, so you can ignore my words, right?"

No one would have thought that Zhu Houzhao would say so thoroughly and directly, and all lowered their heads and dared not speak, even Xie Qian was no exception.

Some people even realized that Zhu Houzhao was actually regretful after killing Liu Jin. No matter whether Liu Jin really had a rebellious act, at least he was responsible for the government. Zhu Houzhao lived a comfortable life, and he was even enjoying the blessings of Liu Jin's death... Because of the rich harvest of searching the eunuch's mansion, he would not have to worry about spending on the leopard house in a short period of time.

In fact, civil officials were not afraid of the emperor. They could make a desperate advice in the court to make a name for themselves and leave their reputation for loyalty and righteousness... In Confucianism, although the emperor was superior, civil officials should take the world as their responsibility and not let the king indulge in leisure and joy.

But if there is an autocratic eunuch, everything will be different. When Liu Jin was in court, Xie Qian did not dare to say that at all. At the beginning, Shen Xi came forward to impeach Liu Jin, but was sent to Beijing. Xie Qian acted as a turtle with a headscared turtle, not because he had no backbone, but because he knew that the scholar had a reasonable reason to meet a soldier.

It is best not to reason with scoundrels.

Zhu Houzhao stood up and said, "I want the people of Daming to stop suffering from war. So while I am young and strong, I personally lead my troops to fight the grasslands and lift all safety hazards in the north at one time... If anyone objected again, it would be against me and against the welfare of the people in the world. Don't blame me for turning against me."

"His Majesty!"

Xie Qian, regardless of how Zhu Houzhao threatened, just thought he was right and kowtowed, "Please take back your life!"

Zhu Houzhao laughed furiously: "Why, Master Xie is going to give advice here to death? Then continue to kneel down. Come on, and transfer Dongchang and Jinyiwei into the hall. Except for Master Xie, who dares to kneel down here to advise, and blame all the sticks until he begs for mercy and expresses his willingness to leave the palace... If you don't leave, you will be beaten until you leave! See who dares to fight me!"

Zhu Houzhao is now like an unreasonable child. Whoever goes against him will make his butt bloom.
Chapter completed!