The Child Emperor

The day after Nan Zhijin left the emperor, the minister's memorial for his resignation finally poured in like snowflakes. At most, there were more than forty copies a day.

The reasons are all surprisingly similar. First, they praised the emperor's wiseness and decisiveness. The Great Chu has been accumulating abuses for a long time, and it really needs to be eliminated by force. The second is the content of the accusation. At this place, he kept a varying number of family slaves privately. In the end, he blamed himself for his incompetence and was ashamed of the court's salary.

Only one person's resignation memorial was a little special.

Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe wrote a very long memorial, the main meaning is only one, he is helpless in the face of the chaos of the court, he is willing to do the emperor's hard work, but the teeth are shaking, the heart is flustered, even if there is hunting In the end, he asked to see the emperor in person, but the emperor needed to designate a minister to stay behind.

Han Ruzi could not find the ministers who stayed behind. Except for a small number of idle officials, almost all the senior officials above the third rank submitted their resignation letters. Only Qu Zixi was still struggling to support the East China Sea. .

Han Ruzi did not approve any of them, and kept them all in his hands, as if he had not received them.

Nan Zhijin left, but there were more people watching the emperor's every move. The accompanying officials and noble children in the entire camp, including many advisors personally selected by the emperor, were trying to figure out the emperor's intentions.

In this contest of meeting on a narrow road, the competition is who can persevere more. As long as one step back, the whole army will be disintegrated.

Han Ruzi pays attention to his words and deeds all the time, and never shows the slightest hesitation. Even in front of Concubine Shu Deng Yun, he maintains a ruthless and full of fighting spirit.

Not long after, the resignation memorials for military generals from all over the country also came. There were not as many as expected. The number of resignations for civil officials had reached more than 100, but the number of military generals was less than 20.

Han Ruzi transferred several troops from the capital in advance. This move had a great impact. The civil servants who stayed in the capital were united, but the generals who went to different places had their own calculations. They were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. Be careful.

The patrol team resumed their journey and headed to Luoyang according to the original itinerary. The day before the departure, Han Ruzi issued another imperial decree, which had nothing to do with resignation, but appointed Huang Pugong as the general of Haixi, entrusted with envoys to hold festivals, and commanded the military affairs of the countries in the South China Sea and the West China Sea. , you have to act cheaply and report it afterwards.

Han Ruzi also gave Huang Pugong 20 new large warships built within two years, allowing him to recruit crew members among the soldiers and people of Dachu on his own, but the time limit was only one month.

In short, he gave Huang Pugong everything he wanted. With this imperial decree, Huang Pugong led the navy to run wild at sea, with only one requirement: the great Chu Yuwei is still there, and the countries at sea welcome the arrival of the Chu army.

The patrolling team slowly traveled west on land, and Huang Pugong was preparing intensively at sea. More and more pirates accepted the recruitment, and a small number of civilians and soldiers also joined this strange navy, willing to follow Huang Pugong to take risks at sea.

After Yaoyue married Huang Pugong, she was escorted by the government all the way back to the capital and became the official wife of the general.

The matter of Huang Pugong has come to an end. Han Ruzi no longer thinks about him, and concentrates on cracking down on the behavior of private slaves. On the one hand, he has seized all the resignation memorials. On the other hand, every time he goes to a county on the hunting tour, he must summon Qipin. All the above officials were questioned one by one, and those who made false statements were dismissed on the spot.

Jin Chunzhong and Jing Yao acted separately to verify the situation of the local manor, so Han Ruzi could know what to do.

The officials who asked to resign did not respond, but more than a dozen people who were greedy for the official position were removed. The emperor's mind became more and more unpredictable for the ministers.

Half a month later, the people around the emperor began to act. They did not dare to hold a group in front of the emperor, but came forward one by one to give advice.

The first one was Kang Zijiao. Because of a single summons, he was considered a new favorite minister. After being instigated, he formally asked to see the emperor and wanted to be a critical minister.

The team marched relatively slowly, camping early in the afternoon, Han Ruzi summoned Kang Zijie before dinner, and did not intend to give him too much time.

Kang Zijiao understood the meaning of the emperor, so he went straight to the point after saluting, Your Majesty is out on patrol, people in the capital are panicking, and hundreds of officials have resigned.

The resignation memorial is here, of course I know. Han Ruzi said calmly, and now he will use all means to show his determination to the ministers.

Wei Chen once spoke to His Majesty. In the face of resigning officials, they can be divided, but His Majesty did not move. Wei Chen dared to make a statement, thinking that His Majesty should not hesitate, or advance or retreat, and a great turmoil can be avoided.

Why did Baiguan resign? Han Ruzi asked rhetorically.

Because Your Majesty wants to change the ancestral system, he wants to fight against the court.

I just abolish private slaves and open up wasteland, what do I have to do with the court?

Although private slaves and slave fields are illegal, the emperors of all dynasties have tolerated them as a necessary price for the stability of the imperial court. When they arrive at His Majesty's place, they must be abolished and cleaned up within three months. This is a change to the ancestor system. All of them want to wear brocade clothes and jade food, and those who marry and marry with aristocratic families have long been established as their own. Once they gain power, they will also need to buy more fields and more slaves, thinking that they will have no worries for ten and a hundred generations, and then they can concentrate on serving the court, Your Majesty. Freeing slaves is tantamount to shaking the foundations of a hundred officials' families, and this is a big move.

Han Ruzi laughed, As time changes, the previous emperors tolerated private slaves and private fields, because the scale was small and the influence was not deep, but unfortunately people were not enough, one generation was more greedy than the next, and now even the soldiers raised by the government have become private. Slave, I spent a lot of effort to resettle the refugees, and the result was sent to each family's manor. It's not that I compete with the officials, but the officials are fighting for profits with me. Will Taizu, Emperor Lie, and Emperor Wu still tolerate it when they are alive? ? As for worry-free behind me, I only release slaves, not farmland, and I won't bankrupt the families, they just won't give up their immediate benefits.

Then what is your Majesty going to do? Just keep dragging it on until the officials come to their senses?

I have my own ideas, but I will never give in.

Kang Zijiao thought for a while, bowed deeply to the ground, got up and said, If Your Majesty can really stand firm, Wei Chen is willing to be a pawn in front of the horse.

Kang Zijiao was entrusted by others to give advice to the emperor, but he turned against him after a short fight. In fact, this was his original intention. The previous persuasion was just to hear whether the emperor understood what he was doing.

Han Ruzi smiled slightly. He needed pawns, but not everyone would accept it. What is Kang Qing going to do?

Everyone is an official for the sake of profit, but no official is willing to speak for profit. The words that are always on the lips are the words loyalty and filial piety. This is their appearance and their weakness. , there is only a three-inch incorrupt tongue, which is dedicated to poking at the soft underbelly.

You have my permission.

According to the order. Kang self-corrected and retired, and that night he wrote another ten thousand words book, this time not for the emperor to read, but to criticize, persuade, or speak to officials, scholars, and people in the world. Inspiration, in short, I hope everyone will support the emperor.

The previous agitators were very embarrassed and refused to communicate with Kang Zijiao again. No one copied the Wanyanshu. Kang Zijiao copied it himself and sent it to those who disagreed. He used the banner of the emperor, and the other party did not dare not catch.

Every time he went to a county, Kang Zijiao distributed the Wanyan Book to local officials and scholars, asking the former to appreciate it and the latter to spread it on their behalf.

A few days later, the second counselor asked for an interview, and was also summoned in the evening.

The King of the East Sea would not get straight to the point, chatted with the emperor for a while, and said with a smile, Has your majesty heard about it? Kang Bang second is now famous, and the world knows it.

The top three jinshi should all be famous. Han Ruzi pretended to be confused.

This second Kang Bang is different. He did not become famous by articles, but used His Majesty's name to build momentum for himself. Everyone said that he was a fox and a tiger, but they were not sure.

What did he say to me?

That's not true. He wrote a ten thousand words book, and his words were arrogant, and then he claimed that he was 'passing the book under an order', and others would not accept it or read it.

Han Ruzi sighed, It's my fault, I did allow him to do something, but I didn't expect him to hold on to it and take it as a decree, but there's no way, Jun Wu joking, as long as it's not too outrageous, let him go.

The King of Donghai understood and laughed a few times, That's right, what can a Jinshi who is waiting for a post in the Ministry of Personnel toss out? It's nothing but a reputation. By the way, I will also accuse Your Majesty.

What sin?

The crime of lax governance of the family, I thought I was a clean and honest prince, but your Majesty issued an decree, requiring each family to hand over their privately held slaves within three months. I just received a reply yesterday. I never imagined that the capital is fine, and the East China Sea is fine, but I have a plot of land in Luoyang and Nanyang, and hundreds of tenant farmers, of which… dozens of households have not been naturalized and are privately owned slaves, and I don’t know. When did you stay? I have already written back, and the princess will soon send people to these two places to let everyone naturalize, and they can do whatever they want.

It's still far from the March period, you don't have to worry.

Your Majesty doesn't blame me?

Since you obeyed the order, you are naturally innocent.

Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. To be honest, after I received the letter from home, I was really worried for a while.

worry about what?

The King of the East Sea laughed and said, I'm worried that Your Majesty will take me as an early bird and deal with it harshly to set an example.

Han Ruzi's heart moved, Everyone thinks that I will be an anticlimactic, and after dealing with a few unloved ministers, will this matter be ended hastily?

The King of the East Sea said with a smile: Don't take offense, Your Majesty. His Majesty's plans are very big, but all the officials have resigned and refused to cooperate. It is normal for the people of the world to wait and see at this time.

Han Ruzi leaned forward slightly, When we arrive in Luoyang, I will let everyone understand how serious I am.

I don't need to go to Luoyang, I can see His Majesty's seriousness now. The King of the East Sea wisely retired without saying a word of advice.

Han Ruzi was ready to rest when Zhang Youcai ran in to report, Someone from the palace has just arrived.

The civil officials complained, the military generals reported illness, and the Queen Mother's people finally came. Han Ruzi regained his spirits and said, Bring them in.