sovbooks Chapter 54 A Lonely Man!
Chapter 54 A Lonely Man!
After giving the order, Zhu Houzhao announced the end of the court session.
Zhu Houzhao left Fengtianmen Square, leaving behind a group of civil and military officials who were still in shock.
Many officials in the southeastern coastal areas breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the matter was over.
Their eyes were filled with sympathy as they looked at Liu Daxia.
But there was no other way; for the sake of the collective good, this was a necessary sacrifice.
However, Liu Daxia rest assured that the collective will not treat him unfairly.
Later, they can write a letter to Liu Daxia, praising him as a loyal, virtuous, and renowned minister.
One of the Three Gentlemen of the Hongzhi Era, what do you think of this title?
I imagine Liu Daxia would be very satisfied, right?
Since the common people are illiterate and don't write books, the propaganda mouthpiece is in the hands of the literati and officials.
They can write however they want.
Any official who benefits the landlords and gentry is a loyal and honest minister!
Any official who opposes landlords and gentry is a treacherous and corrupt official!
Looking at his grandson who had died in front of him, Liu Daxia was overwhelmed with grief, tears streaming down his face, and he fainted again.
The Eastern Depot agents took over Liu Daxia's family and imprisoned them in the Eastern Depot prison.
On the other side, Wang Shouren witnessed all of this and was filled with emotion.
He rose from a minor official in the Ministry of War's Military Selection Department to the current Minister of War in less than three months.
With just one sentence from Zhu Houzhao, his life trajectory began to change, from a minor official of the sixth rank to now serving in the cabinet and in charge of the Ministry of War.
It was also because of a single sentence from Zhu Houzhao that Liu Daxia, the former Minister of War, went from being a minister in charge of a ministry to a prisoner whose entire family was implicated and punished.
The rise and fall of an official was entirely in Zhu Houzhao's hands!
What is imperial power? This is imperial power!
As Wang Shouren was reminiscing, Wang Hua kicked him, yelling, "What are you thinking, brat? Court is over, get to the Ministry of War and take your post!"
"You have just become the Minister of War, so you must be extremely careful in your actions and never do anything to disobey His Majesty!"
"Otherwise, that person next to you will suffer the same fate, and then even your father will be implicated!"
As Wang Hua spoke, he nodded to Liu Daxia, who was being dragged away beside him.
Wang Shouren rubbed his backside and nodded repeatedly, "I understand, Father. I will certainly be loyal to His Majesty and would never dare to have any disloyalty!"
"Besides, Father, I am now the Minister of War, a second-rank official, and a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. You are only a third-rank Vice Minister of Rites. You can't treat me like this, can you?"
As Wang Shouren spoke, he glanced around to see if anyone had noticed Wang Hua's kick.
Wang Hua raised an eyebrow: "Bullshit!"
"Even if you become the Grand Secretary, you're still my son. I can kick you out whenever I want!"
Although he said that, Wang Hua ultimately did not make any further moves.
The father and son chatted as they walked toward Qipan Street, where the six ministries where they worked were located on both sides.
……
The last days of the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign passed by peacefully, like flowing water.
The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month in the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign was the last day of the Hongzhi reign.
Starting tomorrow, it will be the first year of the Zhengde era.
In the morning, Zhu Houzhao convened the last grand court assembly of the Hongzhi era.
In the afternoon, Zhu Houzhao lay in the East Warm Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, idly reading the memorials.
"He's already the emperor, why would he need to work overtime on New Year's Eve?"
Zhu Houzhao put down the memorial and looked at the empty Qianqing Palace, feeling somewhat lonely.
Lunar New Year's Eve is a day for family reunion.
Inside the imperial court, apart from the officials who remained on duty, everyone went home to celebrate the New Year after the court session.
But as emperor, possessing the entire Ming Empire, he had long since lost his home.
With the late emperor's passing and the empress dowager's recent death, Zhu Houzhao felt an emptiness in his heart, no matter how vast the Forbidden City was.
Zhu Houzhao left the Qianqing Palace, intending to wander around and dispel his loneliness.
He was still accompanied by Liu Jin and Gu Dayong, the old eunuchs from the Eastern Palace.
As Zhu Houzhao walked through the snow, he chatted with Liu Jin and Gu Dayong: "It's almost New Year's, have you given any gifts to your godsons?"
While holding an umbrella over Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin complained, "Hey, they're all a bunch of little brats. Forget about showing them any respect, I have to give them red envelopes instead."
"Haha, then next year, the first person to wish me a Happy New Year will receive a big red envelope from me."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jin and Gu Dayong were overjoyed: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty! This old servant will definitely be the first to kowtow and offer New Year's greetings to Your Majesty tomorrow!"
As they wandered around aimlessly, they realized they had unknowingly arrived near the Wenyuan Pavilion.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the Wenyuan Pavilion and asked, "Who is on duty in the Grand Secretariat today?"
Liu Jin immediately replied, "Your Majesty, it is Wang Shouren, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall."
"It's him."
Zhu Houzhao thought about it for a moment and then understood the reason.
Although Wang Shouren was in the cabinet, his official position and rank were not the lowest.
But he was the youngest. Needless to say, the others, including Liu Zhong and Yang Tinghe, whose official positions and ranks were not as high as his, were all veterans in the court.
The arduous task of being on duty on New Year's Eve naturally fell to him.
"Let's go take a look."
As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he walked straight toward the Wenyuan Pavilion.
Liu Jin and Gu Dayong followed closely behind Zhu Houzhao.
Upon entering the Wenyuan Pavilion, after being announced by the eunuch, Wang Shouren, who was writing furiously at his desk, quickly put down his pen and bowed to Zhu Houzhao.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy good health."
"I am at peace. Sit down and let's talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Zhu Houzhao and Wang Shouren sat down, Zhu Houzhao jokingly asked, "I just saw you writing furiously. What were you writing?"
"It's already the Lunar New Year, is there anything urgent in the cabinet?"
Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao ask this question, Wang Shouren lowered his head somewhat embarrassed.
"Your Majesty, the palace is quite quiet today, with nothing of great importance to attend to. Your humble servant... Your humble servant was just writing the New Year's greetings to my parents and grandmother tonight."
"Oh……"
Zhu Houzhao nodded and casually asked, "So, did you have a lively New Year celebration this year?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. My father, mother, and two younger brothers have been making preparations for a long time."
"Look, my father and I are still putting together Spring Festival couplets. Every year, my father and I write the Spring Festival couplets ourselves."
As Wang Shouren spoke, he also showed a couplet written by Wang Hua and himself.
"But I have to go on duty today, so I can only go back tomorrow to pay my respects and put up the Spring Festival couplets."
Seeing the smile on Wang Shouren's face and his expectant eyes, Zhu Houzhao also smiled slightly.
"Minister Wang, since there's nothing to do in the cabinet today, you don't need to work. Go home for the New Year."
"real?!"
Wang Shouren's face lit up with ecstasy, but then he hesitated for a moment.
"But Your Majesty, what if no one is on duty in the cabinet?"
"Don't worry, with me here, things won't get chaotic."
Wang Shouren was still somewhat hesitant.
"That wouldn't be right, Your Majesty. If I run back now, my father will definitely scold me."
"He dares!"
"Go back and tell your father that I sent you back. If he dares to scold you, I will scold him tomorrow!"
Zhu Houzhao waved to him: "Go back to your family reunion dinner, don't linger here."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shouren happily bowed deeply to Zhu Houzhao, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will come again tomorrow to offer my New Year's greetings!"
After saying this, Wang Shouren happily left the Wenyuan Pavilion and walked quickly out of the palace.
Zhu Houzhao sat in the Wenyuan Pavilion, looking at the vast expanse of white snow outside the window, and sighed softly.
I'm all alone...