bullyxtreme Chapter 24 Undercurrents
Chapter 24 Undercurrents
The next day, at Fengtian Hall.
The atmosphere of the morning court was as solemn and dignified as ever. However, after Zhu Yuanzhang announced the marriages of the two princes, the entire hall was instantly like a calm lake where a boulder had been thrown in, stirring up huge waves.
"Crown Prince Zhu Biao has betrothed Chang Meirong, daughter of Chang Yuchun, as his principal wife!"
"King Zhu Mu of Chu has betrothed Liu Wanyan, daughter of Liu Bowen, to be his principal wife!"
The entire court was astonished!
The Crown Prince and the Prince of Chu, the two princes who are currently the most powerful and favored by the Emperor, have chosen their wives on the same day!
One alliance was formed by the pinnacle of the Huaihe River military clique, and the other by the leader of the Zhejiang East civil official clique.
One is scholarly, the other martial; one is strong, the other gentle. How grand and ingenious is this chess game!
The vast majority of officials, including many nobles from Huaixi, believed that this was a stroke of genius from His Majesty.
This arrangement is both a blessing and a perfect balance.
However, in some people's eyes, this marriage was like a sharp thorn, deeply embedded in their hearts.
Liu Bowen was the Imperial Censor and concurrently the Grand Historian.
The former supervised all officials, reported matters based on hearsay, and impeached countless people;
The latter was in charge of recording celestial phenomena, spoke on behalf of Heaven, and held a transcendent status.
He's an extremely difficult character to deal with.
Now that he has transformed into the father-in-law of the King of Chu and a member of the royal family, those officials who disliked him or had been impeached by him felt extremely uneasy and on edge.
After the court session ended, carriages and horses kept coming and going in front of the residence of Left Chancellor Li Shanchang.
Inside the study, a group of core members of the Huaixi civil official group, led by Li Shanchang, gathered, each with a solemn expression.
"Prime Minister, this... now that Liu Bowen has become a member of the imperial family, won't he become even more unscrupulous in the future?"
"I said with concern," an official said.
"Yes, His Highness the King of Chu is currently enjoying great favor from the Emperor, and with Liu Bowen's assistance, this..."
Li Shanchang held his teacup, gently skimming off the foam with the lid, his expression calm, seemingly unconcerned about the anxiety of the others.
He slowly blew out a breath before speaking:
"What's the panic? The sky hasn't fallen yet."
He glanced around and said in a deep voice:
"Liu Bowen was not easy to deal with, and now he's even more difficult to deal with."
"But you must remember, this is His Majesty's decree, and the match was personally arranged by the Empress. Anyone who dares to have any ulterior motives in this matter is going against His Majesty, the Crown Prince's Palace, and the Prince of Chu's residence."
He emphasized his words:
"I don't care what you think, but none of you should be foolish enough to go after that Miss Liu. We don't know how much His Majesty and the Empress like her, nor do we know what kind of temper Prince Chu has. If you mess with her, it's like stirring up a hornet's nest."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen had been at odds for most of their lives, and even he said such things, which shows that there was absolutely no room for intervention in this matter.
Sitting in the corner, Hu Weiyong, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, had a glint of shrewdness flash in his eyes.
He didn't utter a single word throughout, only lowered his head to drink tea, as if he had taken in everything Li Shanchang said.
After everyone dispersed, Hu Weiyong and a few trusted confidants walked back home.
"Lord Hu, are we just going to let this go? Are we just going to watch that old fox Liu Ji rise to power overnight?"
One of his trusted confidants said resentfully.
Hu Weiyong's lips curled into a cold smile:
"Forget it? How could that be?"
He stopped and whispered:
"The Prime Minister is right. We cannot target Liu Wanyan herself, nor can we leave any evidence against her. However, there are some things that do not require our personal intervention."
He glanced at his trusted aide, his eyes flashing with a venomous coldness:
"Street gossip has legs; it runs on its own, and no one can catch its source. When dealing with an unmarried woman, her reputation is her most vulnerable weakness."
The group immediately understood.
Hu Weiyong continued in a low voice, giving the instructions:
"Go find a few clever street urchins, and bribe one or two of the best storytellers in the teahouses. Pay them enough money to make the stories come alive."
He paused, a calculating glint in his eyes:
"But don't say stupid things like 'secretly pledging your life to each other' or 'showing your face in public,' those are too easy to verify."
"Go and spread the word that Miss Liu has a peculiar fate, an extremely strong birth chart, and is destined to bring misfortune to her husband and relatives. Say that a wise man has calculated that she carries an inauspicious star in her destiny, which no ordinary family can suppress..."
The confidant was terrified; this was too vicious a move!
Hu Weiyong sneered and continued:
"The most ingenious thing about these rumors is that they don't need any evidence at all; they just need people to say them."
"If you pass it on to me, and I pass it on to him, and if many people pass it on, even a falsehood becomes true. Our Emperor, who has spent his life in battle, is a firm believer in the Mandate of Heaven and is extremely sensitive to matters of celestial phenomena and destiny."
"Once this rumor of him being a jinx spreads throughout the city and even reaches the palace, wouldn't he have some doubts? For the safety of His Highness the Prince of Chu and for the fate of the Ming Dynasty, he might have to reconsider this marriage."
"By then, even if Liu Bowen finds out that we are behind this, he won't be able to find any evidence. We can simply sit back and watch the two tigers fight, and see how the Liu family deals with this overwhelming public opinion."
"My lord, you are wise!"
Several trusted confidants echoed in unison, their faces revealing sinister smiles.
……
Meanwhile, inside the Wenhua Hall.
A faint scent of ink permeated the hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat behind his desk, his brow furrowed, reviewing a memorial summarizing the performance evaluations of officials in various regions.
Crown Prince Zhu Biao stood by his side, sorting through the documents, while Zhu Mu stood in front of the bookshelf on the other side, categorizing and filing the memorials he had reviewed.
The two brothers worked together seamlessly, quietly and efficiently.
Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the wolf-hair brush he was holding onto the brush holder, making a crisp sound.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples, and said with a hint of weariness and annoyance:
"Biao'er, Mu'er, come and see."
Zhu Biao and Zhu Mu immediately put down their work and went to the imperial desk.
"Look,"
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to a thick book of memorials spread out on the table.
"These are reports compiled by the Censorate from various regions by the supervising censors."
"It is said that in the several prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Henan Provincial Administration Commission, the officials are diligent, the people are prosperous, and there is a scene of peace and prosperity."
"But the secret report we received from the Embroidered Uniform Guard a few days ago said that in those areas, the powerful and wealthy are repeatedly seizing land, and taxes and corvée labor are being increased at every level, causing unbearable suffering to the people!"
Zhu Biao picked up the memorial and flipped through a few pages; his face darkened.
"Father, these local officials and censors are protecting each other, deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth. They are truly hateful!"
"yes!"
Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the table, his dragon eyes blazing with fury.
"We establish the Censorate and send out censors to act as our eyes and ears, to keep an eye on the world for us."
"But now, it seems their eyes are blindfolded, and their ears can no longer hear the truth! If this continues, the nation will cease to exist!"
"Besides the ruthless methods of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what better way is there for us to sit in Nanjing and truly see and hear what is happening in the world, and to better monitor all regions?"
This is a problem that has troubled rulers throughout history.
The lag and distortion of information transmission are the greatest enemies of centralized power.