APSIL -Chapter 188 State Affairs and Family Matters

Regarding the systems left behind by the founding emperor, the current emperor was generally satisfied. However, there were always certain aspects that did not sit well with him. Among them, the court assembly system was something he had long held a deep grievance against.

The founding emperor had indeed changed the time for morning court sessions and reduced the number of officials required to attend. As a result, at least the emperor himself no longer had to wake up in the dark and drag himself to court while yawning endlessly. However, the topics discussed during court sessions were not something he could freely decide.

The night before each court assembly, the Grand Secretariat would select the matters to be discussed the following day. The Directorate of Ceremonial would then submit them before the emperor for approval and selection. Afterwards, officials who would speak on the predetermined topics would be chosen, notified in advance, and given strict time limits.

During each morning court session, the emperor was allowed to raise one matter that was not included in the official agenda and listen to the court’s discussion. However, the duration of the session itself was strictly limited.

It could not exceed one shichen!

The founding emperor had believed that from the moment officials entered the palace for court until they returned to their offices, they would already spend at least half a shichen on the road. If a single court session wasted more than one shichen, how could they possibly have enough time to handle other affairs?

Thus, during that morning’s court session, the emperor had been so engrossed in watching the spectacle unfold that he failed to notice the final issue he personally raised had sparked such a huge controversy. The court discussion went beyond the allotted time.

The emperor could only admit his bad luck and allow the court historian to record it in the daily records:

On such-and-such day of such-and-such year, the Emperor held regular court at the Hall of Heavenly Manifestation. Due to discussion regarding the Second Imperial Prince’s reckless and arrogant speech, the court session exceeded its allotted time.

And so, after court ended, when the emperor ordered the First Prince and Second Prince brought to the Qianqing Gate, personally supervised their punishment, and harshly disciplined both princes, not a single eunuch or palace servant dared say a word.

By evening, the emperor was preparing to leave the western warm chamber of Qianqing Palace and go to the Qingning Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager before retiring.

However, when he heard a eunuch report that the empress had remained at Qingning Palace the entire time and had not left, he let out a cold laugh.

“So she plans to ask the Empress Dowager to uphold justice again?”

In front of the palace servants, he did not continue speaking. But inside, he was already extremely irritated.

He only had two grown sons.

One had been taught by her to become someone whose sincerity was disguised by hypocrisy.

The other had been taught by her to be impulsive and hot-tempered.

And yet she still did not know how to reflect on herself—she only knew how to complain?

Since he had no desire to run into the empress at Qingning Palace, he simply sent someone to inform the Empress Dowager and changed direction, heading directly to the Grand Secretariat instead.

The emperor arrived without the slightest warning. He had not even sent advance notice.

Naturally, his sudden appearance caused chaos inside the Grand Secretariat.

After all, besides the high-ranking Grand Secretaries, there were also numerous scholars and clerks responsible for drafting imperial decrees, preparing appointments, and handling various administrative matters.

The emperor wandered around the place as if merely taking a casual stroll.

Then, he selected the second-ranked Grand Secretary, Grand Secretary Kong, and asked him to accompany him outside.

When they reached the wide corridor outside, the emperor casually asked: “Have you discovered the truth regarding the Linhai Garrison incident?”

The secret letter that Wang Jie had deciphered through Zhang Shou was the only genuine one among the messages. Since the emperor had merely used the court session to announce false information as a distraction, the actual contents of the letter had only been revealed to a handful of people.

Among them was Grand Secretary Kong, who had been specifically mentioned in the secret letter.

The former Minister of War and current Grand Secretary Kong paused for a moment before carefully choosing his words.

“The commander of the Linhai Garrison, Du Heng, was formerly under Duke Zhao. He had only been transferred to the Linhai Garrison less than three months before the incident, so it would have been extremely difficult for him to completely control the troops under him.”

“Therefore, when the rebellion occurred, he was only able to break out with the assistance of his personal guards. Afterwards, he forcibly ordered the two divisions that had not participated in the rebellion to suppress it.”

“Although he was later punished and removed from office, one could say that he also rendered meritorious service by helping put down the rebellion.”

“The words in that letter were undoubtedly meant to frame him.”

Seeing that the emperor neither agreed nor disagreed, Grand Secretary Kong continued sincerely: “Although this subject previously impeached Duke Zhao for delaying military opportunities, this subject would never allow personal feelings to interfere with public affairs.”

“Du Heng is indeed a capable individual…”

Before he could finish speaking, the emperor suddenly laughed.

“Grand Secretary Kong truly is impartial!”

“Zhu Jing only agreed to go to war after I repeatedly persuaded him. Yet he waited several days out of caution. Unfortunately, I happened to fall ill for several days.”

“And then the result of your discussions was to force him into launching an immediate attack, dragging my own nephew into the disaster as well.”

“Afterwards, countless accusations buried Zhu Jing completely.”

Faced with the emperor’s blunt exposure, Grand Secretary Kong’s expression did not change.

He stepped back, raised his hands in a formal salute, and spoke solemnly: “The northern barbarians invaded. The court was not without generals available. Why did Your Majesty insist on sending Duke Zhao, who had not stepped onto a battlefield for many years?”

Seeing that the emperor remained silent, the second Grand Secretary continued with greater emphasis: “When Duke Zhao accompanied Emperor Ruizong in campaigns across the north and south and was granted the title of duke, he was not yet twenty-five years old. Now he is only slightly over fifty, indeed still in his prime.”

“But has Your Majesty forgotten? Duke Zhao is a member of the imperial in-law clan.”

“When a daughter becomes an empress or imperial consort, her father, brothers, sons, and nephews must all relinquish military authority. This is ancestral law!”

“How many so-called ancestral laws are there?” the emperor finally became impatient.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Among the ancestral laws left behind by the founding emperor, is there actually such a rule?”

Grand Secretary Kong immediately froze.

The emperor looked at him deeply.

“I did not insist on using Zhu Jing simply because I wanted to use him.”

“It was because some of the people who previously guarded Xuanfu and Datong had behaved in an utterly disgraceful manner.”

“Furthermore, I did not only use Zhu Jing. I also appointed Zhang Rui and his two brothers.”

“The founding emperor’s meritorious officials have been sitting idle for so many years. It is time to bring them out and see whether they still have any usefulness.”

“But before a great war, is this really the time to test people’s abilities?” Grand Secretary Kong argued.

The emperor casually tucked his hands into his sleeves. His expression remained calm.

“I understand your concerns, Kong Qing. I understand your persistence.”

“But I am no longer the inexperienced child I once was, nor am I the reckless young man who had just taken power.”

“Since you believe Du Heng is capable, transfer him to the capital.”

“He will take command of the left division of the Sharp Cavalry Camp.”

The moment these words came out, Grand Secretary Kong sucked in a breath.

He believed Du Heng had no rebellious intentions and could indeed be used.

But transferring a commander whose troops had recently rebelled back to the capital and making him one of the commanders of the Sharp Cavalry Camp…

Was the emperor’s courage simply too great?

However, before he could speak, the emperor casually turned around.

“Regarding Xiong Wei, he did contribute somewhat during the suppression of the rebellion.”

“Transfer him to the Linhai Garrison.”

Contributed somewhat?

Grand Secretary Kong almost cursed inwardly.

Those rebels had been captured by Zhang Shou leading those noble youths.

Xiong Wei had merely followed imperial orders and escorted them back.

Where was the supposed merit?

Although Kong had countless objections, the emperor had already walked away, leaving him no opportunity to remonstrate.

He could only secretly decide to oppose the matter during the next court discussion or through a memorial.

However, when he returned to the Grand Secretariat with this intention, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

The normally smiling, Maitreya Buddha-like third Grand Secretary, Grand Secretary Wu, winked at him with a cheerful expression, like an old friend.

The next moment, the usually forceful Chief Grand Secretary Jiang spoke coldly: “The emperor personally instructed Brother Kong alone and even had people guard the entrances and exits.”

“Many internal documents could not be sent out, and outside reports could not be brought in.”

“His Majesty truly places great trust in you.”

Because Kong’s political views were more progressive while Jiang’s were conservative, the two had always been at odds.

Facing this sarcasm, Kong immediately responded: “I have never hidden anything from anyone.”

“But walls have ears. Since His Majesty acted this way, naturally he has his reasons.”

“A joke. As Chief Grand Secretary, what words could I possibly be unable to hear?”

“Then perhaps Your Excellency the Chief Grand Secretary should ask yourself.”

Grand Secretary Wu had always been the type who simply followed imperial wishes, saying “Amitabha” to everything.

Seeing the two powerful figures clash, he initially tried to mediate.

But he was immediately dragged into the dispute when Jiang brought up Wu’s past habit of obeying every imperial command without question.

Even Zhang Yu, the newly appointed Grand Secretary who had joined the Grand Secretariat less than three months ago and was normally quiet and reserved, unknowingly became involved.

In the end, Jiang and Kong nearly came to blows.

After visiting the Grand Secretariat and arguing with Grand Secretary Kong, the emperor had never expected that it would nearly lead to a physical confrontation between the chief and second Grand Secretaries.

Completely unaware, he returned to Qingning Palace feeling refreshed.

At that moment, he could not help praising the founding emperor’s system of dividing memorial review authority among the Grand Secretaries.

Even the Chief Grand Secretary could not monopolize the right to draft responses.

Memorials were divided according to the six ministries and distributed among all Grand Secretaries.

If there were fewer than six Grand Secretaries, the Chief Grand Secretary would handle two categories, with the rest distributed in order.

Every season, the Grand Secretaries would rotate responsibilities to prevent anyone from accumulating too much power.

Of course, if the country had a young emperor, such arrangements became impossible.

But every emperor afterward would further emphasize this principle.

And now, things were proceeding exactly like that.

During this season’s rotation, military affairs happened to fall under Grand Secretary Zhang Yu.

This quiet and unassuming scholar was personally cultivated by the emperor.

Compared with the “Amitabha” Grand Secretary Wu, Zhang Yu was even more worthy of being called his trusted aide.

Therefore, the exchange of commanders between the Linhai Garrison and the Sharp Cavalry Camp should be completed successfully.

As for opposition from the court…

Well, compared with when he had first taken power, he had indeed become somewhat softer over the years.

But that did not mean he was incapable of being forceful.

On the road to Qingning Palace, the emperor received a report personally delivered by Chu Kuan, the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Zhang Shou had already submitted a memorial requesting the return of the founding emperor’s manuscripts.

He had also clearly stated that he had ordered his students to make several copies, keeping one for himself and distributing the others to people such as Ge Yong.

Hearing this, the emperor could not help laughing.

“I just came back from the Grand Secretariat, yet surprisingly I did not hear about this matter.”

“To the Grand Secretaries, this is probably only a trivial matter,” Chu Kuan replied.

Following the emperor toward Qingning Palace, Chu Kuan desperately wanted to find an opportunity to bring up the Ancient and Modern Compilation Library.

Unfortunately, no matter what he said, the emperor merely responded with indifferent “hmm”s, showing no interest at all.

He had no chance to introduce the topic.

Only when they reached the Qingning Gate did Chu Kuan suddenly notice something.

The Empress Dowager’s female official, Yuquan, happened to be walking out.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be…

The empress had actually remained at Qingning Palace until this late?

Was this why the Empress Dowager had someone waiting outside?

“Your Majesty.”

Yuquan hurried forward, bowed respectfully, then lowered her voice.

“Her Majesty the Empress has just left.”

“Before leaving, she said that since Your Majesty intends to change the system for selecting imperial consorts, should the system for princess marriages also be changed?”

“Since imperial princes will only select wives from families below the seventh rank, princess marriages should naturally be one rank lower.”

“Only commoners should be selected.”

Even though the emperor had expected this, knowing that his wife was not the type to cry and complain, he was still instantly furious.

He took a deep breath and suppressed his anger before asking: “What did the Empress Dowager say?”

Yuquan composed herself and repeated every word: “The Empress Dowager said:

‘High families marry off daughters; low families marry wives.’

‘The wives of imperial princes and members of the imperial clan in the future will all be carefully selected by the Ministry of Rites, and then personally educated by specially appointed instructors.'”

“Because women of relatively lower birth will not rely on their status to become arrogant and domineering, they will always remember to remain respectful and cautious.”

“But princesses are different.”

“How can a golden branch and jade leaf be married off carelessly?”