In the future, these will all be worthy of being in a museum!
However, since it was already ruined, he could only set this matter aside and turn to discuss official business.
I intend to restart the imperial examinations.
Fu seemed to have expected this and asked, "Does Your Majesty intend to hold the spring imperial examinations?"
Zhu Ci gave an affirmative response and said, "Yes, there are vacancies in the imperial court; it would be best to fill them as soon as possible."
Fu calculated with his fingers and said, "I'm afraid time is a bit tight."
One must realize that because the world is in such chaos, the imperial court's orders do not reach the countryside, so many local examinations, such as the child examinations and provincial examinations, have been suspended in many places.
Zhu Ci said, "Have the Ministry of Rites see how long it will take to restart. It doesn't necessarily have to follow the previous schedule; pushing it back a bit would be fine, given the exceptional circumstances. Additionally, the military examinations must also be reopened simultaneously. Besides that.. I have another idea."
Fu saw the Little Emperor's hesitant expression and knew it was likely not a good idea, or rather, an idea that might spark controversy.
However, he still asked, "What are your instructions, Your Majesty?"
Zhu Ci leaned back in his chair, pondered for a long while, said, "I want the army to not have complete autonomy."
Fu's expression instantly turned serious as he asked with a hint of confusion, "What do you mean by not having complete autonomy?"
Zhu Ci simply handed over a thick stack of documents to Fu and said, "My dear subject, take a look at these first."
Wu Xia immediately went over to take them and handed them to Fu with both hands.
Fu quickly unfolded it and took a glance.
He read through it quickly, but fell into deep thought after finishing.
Zhu Ci did not disturb him, but instead directly grabbed the memorial sent from the Censorate and began to review it.
Fu thought for quite a long time, which made Zhu Ci feel a bit uncertain.
After a long silence, Fu Cai spoke up and asked, "Does Your Majesty mean that the military and the government must be separated?"
Zhu Ci put down his pen and said, "Yes! They must be separated!"
Fu reminded him, "This has never happened before; Your Majesty must think twice."
Zhu Ci waved his hand to dismiss Wu Xia and closed the doors of the warming pavilion at the same time.
He lowered his voice and said, "But this system has already been put into practice."
Upon hearing this, Fu understood his meaning and couldn't help but ask further, "Is it feasible?"
Zhu Ci tilted his head and thought for a moment. "If you want to ensure eternal prosperity.. I don't know, but at least there will be no worries for a hundred years."
Fu's brow relaxed slightly; that was enough.
Although the Little Emperor only mentioned a period of one hundred years, if this system truly succeeds, it certainly will not only last for a hundred years.
Fu looked at it again and asked, "Is this version completely consistent with Your Majesty's?"
His words were abrupt, but Zhu Ci understood his meaning, shaking his head as he said, "They are not the same. The foundations are different, so they cannot be copied exactly. Therefore, I have made some changes, which is why I need to discuss them with you, my dear minister."
As for Huang Chunyao.. it wasn't that he wanted to snub him, but rather that he was certain the other would never agree; regardless, Huang Chunyao would definitely be standing on the side of the Scholar-official group.
Everyone knows that military power is important, so who would be willing to hand it over?
After listening, Fu Chunsheng pondered seriously for a long while before saying, "How can military pay be allocated separately? This money will inevitably still have to go through the Ministry of Revenue."
After all, military pay is also an expenditure from the Central Government's finances; how could it be independent?
Zhu Ci pondered and said, "Submit the budget every year, allocate it centrally, conduct audits and verifications at the end of the year. If it hasn't been fully used, it should be returned to the treasury."
Even so, Zhu Ci knew very well in his heart that even if the money wasn't fully used by the end of the year, the subordinates would find ways to spend it all; it would never be returned.
Fu Xinsuo thought, if meat buns are swallowed by a dog, can one expect it to spit them back out?
However, both he and Zhu Ci were very clear that when the water is too clear, there are no fish; as long as the subordinates' corruption was minor, they would turn a blind eye, but if they were excessively corrupt, they could not blame Zhu Ci's blade for being sharp.
Fu Chunsheng nodded slowly and said, "It is feasible."
Zhu Ci breathed a sigh of relief instantly, a smile appearing on his face as he said, "That is excellent."
With Fu's support, this matter was practically a done deal.
It felt truly wonderful to be in the same camp as the Grand Secretary. Zhu Ci suddenly understood why the founding Emperor loved to arrange marriages between his children and the families of his subordinates.
So this is what an interest group is like. If Zhu Ci hadn't remained rational and known that a three-way stalemate was the best situation, where neither side tilting heavily in one direction would be a good thing, he might have been swayed.
He was able to remain rational and calm because he had little at stake, whereas even though Huang Chunyao knew these things in his heart, he was surrounded by too many people who revolved around him, forming an interest group with his former employers, relatives, friends, classmates, even his mentor.
Huang Chunyao did not have enough resources in his hands, so he gave them very little, which was why they would support Huang Chunyao's pursuit of more.
Under these circumstances, Hou Dongzeng gave Huang Chunyao a suggestion: "Doesn't Unshheng still have a daughter waiting in the boudoir? Since the Marquis of Huating is currently single and unmarried, why not form a marriage alliance?"
Huang Chunyao was quite moved after hearing this; the title of Marquis of Huating's wife was very attractive.
As for the matter of his unusual appearance, it had become quite insignificant; even the Emperor had said it was a condition he was born with and would not be passed down to his descendants.
Moreover, if one looks closely, one would realize that the Marquis of Huating possesses top-tier looks, once you get used to seeing him, it wouldn't seem like anything special.
The other party's status and position were both considered a good match.
Hou Dongzeng saw that he remained silent for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "Does Unshheng have other plans?"
Huang Chunyao said euphemistically, "My daughter is only one year older than the current Emperor."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I don't have any other thoughts, I just don't want to see another group of scholar-officials ganging up to stall military supplies and grain again! *Cat resting chin on paws and sighing. jpg*
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 138
Upon hearing this, Hou Dongzeng knew that Huang Chunyao was intentionally letting his daughter vie for the position of Empress.
Indeed, Madam Hou was far inferior to the Empress.
He spoke deliberately, "This matter.. might not be feasible. The current Emperor is a man of great talent and vision who has already established national policies; he will absolutely not tolerate the interference of imperial relatives in government affairs. Since the reign of the Orthodox Emperor, all Empresses have been selected from the ranks of low-to-mid-level military officers or commoner merchant families."
Huang Chunyao could not help but sigh after hearing this, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "How could I not know what Yuzhan said? It is just that one cannot help being greedy. Very well, I fear the daughter of the Left Censor might not even have the qualifications to enter the palace for the selection. However, I have heard that many matchmakers have attempted to act as intermediaries for the Marquis of Huating, but they could not even get through the door. I fear.."
Those who dared to propose marriage to the Marquis of Huating were certainly no ordinary commoners; several Ministers of the Six Ministries and even military commanders had expressed interest.
As a result, the Marquis of Huating would not even meet with the matchmaker, let alone discuss the matter; his refusal was quite obvious.
Among them was the Right Censor, whose treatment was slightly better; the matchmaker was allowed in, yet the Marquis of Huating still refused.
His position as Left Censor was only slightly higher than that of the Right Censor; would he really be able to do it?
Hou Dongzeng pondered for a long while before saying, "In that case, we must choose a matchmaker whom the Marquis of Huating cannot refuse."
Who?
“Your Majesty!”
Huang Chunyao was slightly stunned. "This.. I am afraid His Majesty might not necessarily welcome this."
Hou Dongzeng said with an inscrutable expression, "If the Emperor refuses, that would actually be for the best. Regardless of the Marquis of Huating's status, he has one massive flaw: he does not come from a scholar background. Unshheng's willingness to form a marriage alliance with the Marquis of Huating represents the scholar-official group's acceptance of him. From then on, no one will be able to make issues of his background, which will be a tremendous boost for him. If the Emperor is unwilling, it simply shows that the Marquis of Huating is not as highly esteemed as everyone thinks."
It is common knowledge that when the Emperor favors someone, he will certainly grant them all sorts of good things, such as higher status and better treatment.
Fu's level of favor had already given many people a sense of crisis. Ever since returning to Nanjing, everyone thought there would be more opportunities, but unexpectedly, everyone remained the same as before, with only the Marquis of Huating being different.
The Emperor had been summoning Fu for several days straight, no one knew what they were discussing. Not only did he provide meals every day, but their discussions often lasted until the middle of the night.
It was already so late that the palace gates had been locked, there was a curfew outside as well, making it naturally inconvenient to return home, so they stayed overnight in the palace.
Everyone watched with envy, naturally, censors submitted memorials stating that the Emperor's actions were against the rules—how could he allow external officials to stay overnight in the inner palace?
Zhu Ci stated quite calmly: The situation is exceptional, given the current state of the palace, there is nothing inappropriate about it.
So many people were so envious and jealous that their eyes turned red, wishing they could pull Fu down and take his place.
One must realize that when men compete for favor, their methods become even more sinister; currently, some people are already secretly digging up the Marquis of Huating's dark history.
The Marquis of Huating was once a rebel; that alone was enough to impeach him.
However, an impeachment would certainly have no effect now; everyone is waiting for him to make a mistake. As long as Fu makes one wrong move, he will inevitably be attacked by the masses.
Could Fu really not perceive the current situation?
Once he became Huang Chunyao's son-in-law, he would become one of our own.
Huang Chunyao pondered for a long while before saying, "What if the Prince of Ning acts as the matchmaker?"
Agreed!
Nowadays, there are only two princes in the entire Great Ming, the other one has surrendered and is being treated well. Zhu Ci's status is certainly higher than Li Zicheng's, so it would be good to have him act as a matchmaker.
However, the Prince of Ning felt it wasn't quite right; even his emperor cousin hadn't said anything about interfering in Fu's marriage, so how would he dare to interfere?
Is he very familiar with Fu?
The most familiar time was probably when he was captured by Fu and became a prisoner. Although Fu was quite polite to him, Zhu Ci wanted to take a detour whenever he saw him.
Zhu Ci not only refused to agree, but even went to complain to the Emperor's cousin.
Zhu Ci said irritably after hearing this, "Can't they just be quiet for once during the New Year?"
If only I hadn't given them a holiday so early!
Zhu Ci originally felt that the imperial court was basically back on track, the front lines were in a stalemate. After winter began, grain and fodder would become a major issue, as the Little Ice Age made farming unsuitable for both the north and the south. Therefore, everyone would certainly have to wait until spring, or at least until the first wave of winter wheat was harvested.
There was nothing major on the front lines, things in the imperial court were not that urgent, so the officials were simply given a half-month holiday in advance. As long as the duty rosters were arranged, everyone could return home in peace to celebrate the New Year.
This could also be considered a way to stabilize people's hearts; since they could celebrate the New Year peacefully, there was no need to worry about war.
As a result, once the holidays began, all sorts of unexpected troubles cropped up.
Zhu Ci said with great curiosity, "Although I have refused, the Left Censor might not give up; who knows who he might go looking for next."
Zhu Ci looked puzzled. "To want to be Fu's father-in-law? What is he thinking?"
If Zhu Ci hadn't given him a hand, it would have been impossible for a Censorate Censor to sit on equal footing with a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat; yet now, he is still not satisfied with sitting on equal footing and wants to become Fu's father-in-law?
When they meet on the road before the morning court, Fu will still have to pay his respects to him, won't he?
That was some calculating.