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On the eighth day of the ninth month, the coronation ceremony was held as scheduled. Emperor Chongzhen, Liu Tan, announced the celebration. On the same day, the Golden Phoenix issued an edict conferring Lady Xiajiang as the Empress of the Six Palaces.
Three days later, Emperor Chongzhen amended the thirty-two laws, abolished the Left and Right Prime Ministers, restored the Six Ministers, and demoted them from the first rank to the third rank. Because the former Right Prime Minister Xue Lingnan was convicted, the Right Prime Minister Yin Tianhou retired and was conferred the title of Marquis. The Prime Minister was originally empty, but now he was abolished. However, from then on, only the Celestial Commissioner was promoted to the first rank.
In the face of this situation, an unscrupulous censor suggested that since the Celestial Commissioner was demoted, not only the Six Ministers, but also the Celestial Commissioner. As soon as these words were spoken, the imperial court immediately turned into a vegetable market. A few officials from the Imperial Astronomer and a group of civil officials quarreled fiercely, while a few generals with military power watched from the sidelines. Zhu Muzhao, who had just left his post, did not say a word. Emperor Chongzhen, who had just sat on the dragon throne and had not even warmed his buttocks, sneered repeatedly.
Soon, everyone realized that the Emperor was unhappy. After arguing for a while, there was no sound. Emperor Chongzhen reprimanded with a stern face, "If you have the energy to talk nonsense, you have forgotten about the important affairs of the country. Jiang Huaiying of the Northeast has his own army and did not go abroad to mourn. He did not start a war and temporarily put this matter on hold. Now, give me a plan. How are we going to punish the rebels?"
The officials looked at each other. Prince Dongjing had hundreds of thousands of troops and horses. He had been entrenched in Liaodong for a long time. It would take more than a day to send troops to suppress him. Moreover, the Northeast army was brave and good at fighting. No one had the confidence to win. If they volunteered and suffered a defeat, who could bear the responsibility?
The group of people who were eloquent just now became mute. Emperor Chongzhen's face darkened. No Emperor would want his officials to be a bunch of useless people. At this time, the Left Commander of the Yulin Royal Guards, Yin Yuanrong, stepped out and kneeled. He said loudly, "I am willing to lead the troops to the Northeast to suppress the rebels!"
Yin Tianhou had retired from the imperial court, but he had left behind the grandson he was most proud of. Although Yin Yuanrong didn't have great talent or great strategy, he was a natural general who only lacked a few opportunities to gain experience.
Emperor Chong Zhen nodded slightly, looking at Yin Yuanrong with admiration in his eyes. He raised his hand, indicating for him to stand up, but he did not approve his request. Following that, the aged Duke Jing, Xuanwu Great General Feng Xiao, the newly appointed Minister of War, and others all stepped forward to request for battle.
Emperor Chong Zhen did not comment. His cold eyes swept across the hall. His gaze fell on a group of people on the right. He asked in a low voice, "What does the Celestial Commissioner think?"
Zhu Muzhao stood there without moving. A few steps behind him, Yu Shu, who was dressed in white, stepped forward. She lifted her robe and knelt beside the old officials. She lowered her eyebrows and said, "This official thinks that we can wait at ease for the exhausted."
"Oh?" Emperor Chong Zhen sat on his side and looked at her with interest, "What do you mean by waiting at ease for the exhausted?"
Yu Shu said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, in addition to the Death Sentence Technique, this official has a small success in the Six Trigrams Technique. I can predict natural and man-made disasters and predict the rise and fall of a country. Last night, this official predicted that the Tartars in the north are ready to make trouble and will soon invade Liaodong. The Northeast Army will definitely not remain indifferent. When the two sides fight to the point where both sides are injured, Your Majesty will send troops to recruit them. If Jiang Huaiying is tactful, then allow him to return to the capital to enjoy glory and wealth. If he stubbornly resists, then lead the troops to the north and take his life while he is sick. This is to wait at ease for the exhausted. "
Emperor Chong Zhen's eyes lit up. The generals had a thoughtful look on their faces. Before they could say anything, someone jumped out to oppose. It was the civil officials who had argued about the change of the Celestial Commissioner's official rank.
"This official doesn't think it's appropriate. Let's not talk about how certain Official Yu's divination is. Even if there is really a war in the north, and the Northeast Army and the Tartars fight to the point where both sides are injured, Jiang Huaiying is still a meritorious service. Not to mention that the imperial court did not help, they also took advantage of the situation to send troops to suppress him. Wouldn't that attract criticism from the people of the world?"
"Exactly, if you want to go on an expedition, you should do it early. Sending troops openly is the right way. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, so you must not underestimate the people's hearts. "
In the face of a group of civil officials who spoke without thinking, Yu Shu only sneered and unceremoniously refuted them, "Prince of Dongjing, Jiang Huaiying, is an official of our Great An. It is his duty to guard the border. No matter how great his merit is, it cannot cover up his crime of rebelling. Letting him use his merit to make up for his mistake is already benevolent. How can you say that you are taking advantage of him? Do you think the people of the world are as pedantic as you and can't distinguish right from wrong? "
A few civil officials blushed at her sarcasm. They had just opened their mouths to refute when they heard Emperor Chongzhen unhappily interrupt them, "Alright, all of you shut up. We will discuss the matter of suppressing the rebellion another day. I will give you three days to use your brains to think. "
With that, he retreated from the court. After the court was adjourned, a few old officials gathered together to discuss the meeting to be held at the government office. Someone invited Zhu Muzhao to go with them, and they saw the eunuch running over.
"The Great Advisor, please wait a moment. Official Yu, please wait a moment. His Majesty has invited the two of you to the study of Peaceful Peace Palace to talk."
These two sentences were not spoken loudly, but the officials who were standing nearby and had not left in time all heard it. They exchanged glances and pondered over Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. They watched with envy and jealousy as Zhu Muzhao and Yu Shu left with the eunuch.
.....
Yu Shu stayed in Peaceful Peace Palace for the whole afternoon. Lunch was an imperial meal given by the Emperor. After the meal, Zhu Muzhao took his leave first, leaving her alone to accompany the Emperor.
Emperor Chongzhen was very interested in her strategy of 'waiting at ease for the exhausted', but he was worried that her divination would be wrong. If the court decided to ignore the Prince of Dongjing and the Tatars in the north did not make a move, it would become the biggest joke in the world.
Yu Shu did not dare to guarantee that the Northeast Army would fight with the Tatars first. However, she suggested to Emperor Chongzhen that it would be better to postpone the war for two months and observe for a while. If the Tatars did not attack, it would not be too late to send troops.
If another person was the Emperor, they might not listen to the words of a woman like Yu Shu. However, Emperor Chongzhen was different. When he was still insignificant, he used Yu Shu to open up the situation at the Double Sun Meeting. He had a special appreciation for her.
"Let me think about it carefully." Emperor Chongzhen was not in a hurry to make a decision. He changed the topic and asked the person beside Yu Shu: "I have already ascended to the throne. Recently, there have been many memorials mentioning the Great Advisor's term. What do you think?"
For more than two hundred years, there had not been a situation where the Great Advisor was re-elected, but this did not matter if Zhu Muzhao suddenly had this idea. Moreover, he had just abolished the position of two Prime Ministers. In the court, there was a phenomenon of the Great Advisor dominating the court. Would Zhu Muzhao be willing to let go of the power that was at its zenith?
Compared to Zhu Muzhao, who was difficult to control, of course he would be more willing to use Yu Shu, who was easier to subdue.
Hearing this, Yu Shu knew that Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious of Zhu Muzhao. She did not hesitate and said: "A new Emperor brings a new court of ministers. This is the rule of our ancestors. The Great Advisor is well versed in this. A few days ago, he also mentioned the succession to me."
What she meant was: Don't worry, Lao Zhu will not refuse to leave.
Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly and looked much more relaxed. He seemed to be very satisfied with Yu Shu's quick understanding. He changed the topic and chatted with her about the selection of the harem: "After the death of the late Emperor, I dismissed the harem. In theory, there should be a batch of new people. In the past, the selection was done in September. I just ascended to the throne and thought it was too hasty. In addition, the Empress is pregnant. I do not want her to work hard for the selection. Shu Fei is not good, so I want to skip this year's selection and postpone it until next spring. "
Before he ascended to the throne, he did not have many women. Xia Jiangmin, his first wife, was naturally the Empress. Rui Zizhu was given the title of Shu Fei because of the Rui family's contribution to the throne. There was also Mei Jieyu. The others were not worth mentioning.
As a close friend of the Empress, Yu Shu of course agreed to skip this year's selection. But she knew that the officials in court would not agree. The selection involved everyone's interests. If the Emperor insisted on skipping the selection, there would be people taking the opportunity to attack the unstable Empress, Xia Jiangmin.
She thought for a moment and asked: "Has His Majesty discussed this with the Empress?" This matter depended on what Xia Jiangmin thought. If she also agreed to skip the selection, then there was nothing else to say.
"The Empress does not agree to skip the selection," Emperor Chong Zhen shook his head helplessly, "She said that the selection can be handed over to Shu Fei and Kun Ling Bureau, but the hougong cannot be empty. The hearts of the people in court are not stable."
Yu Shu sighed: Xia Jiangmin is no longer that naïve and ignorant little girl. The position of the Empress and the child in her stomach forced her to grow up overnight.
"The Empress is right. This subject thinks that there is no harm in following the wishes of the Empress and asking Shu Fei to temporarily preside over the selection. Kun Ling Bureau will assist from the side. That way, there will not be any delays and the hearts of the people can be comforted."
Emperor Chong Zhen hesitated again and again before nodding in agreement. He immediately called for a taijian to draft an edict. One was sent to the hougong, one to the Ministry of Rites, and the other was given directly to Yu Shu.
As the sun set, Yu Shu came out of the palace. Sitting in the soft sedan, she was so tired that she did not want to move. To be trusted by the Emperor was both a good thing and a bad thing.
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The next day, officials from the Ministry of Rites came to the Kun Ling Bureau to discuss the selection. Even though the Ministry of Rites had a Minister and did not need to follow the Celestial Commissioner for everything, they could not immediately act alone. Habitually, they still went to the Celestial Commissioner.
The person from the Ministry of Rites was none other than Yu Shu's old acquaintance. He was the ceremonial officer responsible for guiding the people who held the vessel at the ancestral worship ceremony, Wang Daren. Now it was time to call him Assistant Minister Wang. This was because the original Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites had been promoted to Minister. Wang Daren had also been promoted and became rich.
It was easier to work with people he was familiar with. Wang Daren did not change his position and did not compete with the Kun Ling Bureau. He peacefully drafted the rules for the hougong selection on the same day and sent it to the palace. He first had Empress Xia Jiang look over it and then passed it to Rui Shu Fei. Then he sent out official letters to all prefectures and counties to search for women of suitable age to enter the capital.
Yu Shu did not think it was a big deal. The Emperor did not want her to do it herself, so she asked Situ Qinglan to keep an eye on it. Who knew that in less than two days, someone from the palace sent a message. Rui Shu Fei summoned her to the palace for questioning, saying it was about the selection.
When Yu Shu heard such a casual summon, she felt it was funny. Now even Empress Dowager Xue did not dare to order her around. Rui Zizhu, an unfavored concubine, actually dared to order her around with a feather.
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