Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 143 The High-Ranking Official Arrives Again

Previously!

When he was talking to His Majesty in the Wuying Hall, there was no one else around. Could it be that his fellow townsman was the Crown Prince of the other side?

But he clearly didn't say anything just now, so he's truly and utterly wronged.

"So it turns out that Li Shanchang is involved. Then we brothers can rest assured about this matter."

Xu Da nodded again in a simple and honest manner.

Following them were Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and then Hu Weiyong. And it wasn't just these names; they even brought in Song Lian at the end, and they all stood in the Wuying Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not here at the moment, but even though he did not appear, the presence of these important court officials gathered together already carried considerable weight.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not arrive, he was inside the hall.

These high-ranking officials were not afraid, and so they cautiously asked each other, "What exactly happened?"

"Could it be that preparations for the Northern Expedition were inadequate, or that the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, or the Ministry of Personnel failed to coordinate properly, which is why His Majesty is so furious today?"

Liu Bowen closed his eyes, his gaze revealing profound wisdom.

He spoke slowly.

Hu Weiyong immediately shook his head: "Lord Liu, that's not the case."

"How dare our Six Ministries offend His Majesty over this matter? This is a major event for the nation. The regulations were established last year and will be implemented this year. No one would dare to be so audacious."

Li Shanchang was like a towering tree with intertwined roots within the Wuying Hall. Although he did not speak at this moment, the eyes of the important officials were subtly drawn to him, as if he were equally crucial to today's events.

"Alright, in any case, once His Majesty appears, everything will be settled. No matter how much we ponder, we might as well ask His Majesty a question."

"Li Shanchang, you are the most cunning and treacherous old man after all. I'm afraid that even we are now somewhat inferior to you."

Just as Li Shanchang finished speaking, silence returned to the Wuying Hall.

Suddenly, steady footsteps sounded, followed by Zhu Yuanzhang's majestic stride and his powerful voice that resonated in their ears: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The high-ranking officials of the court bowed in unison, which showed their deep loyalty to Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, loyalty is loyalty, suspicion is suspicion, and ambition is ambition, and there is no real conflict between them.

"Tell me, have you done anything improper or detrimental to us these past few days?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sat firmly on his throne, head held high and chest out.

At this moment, although he didn't reveal everything, he actually exuded an air of complete control over the situation.

As Zhu Yuanzhang entered, Zhu Biao also appeared silently, and the situation and circumstances on the field naturally changed as well.

Upon seeing the Zhu family father and son, these high-ranking officials of the court pondered for a long time, and finally Li Shanchang spoke first: "Your Majesty, this humble subject will naturally be loyal to Your Majesty and do my best for the country. How could I have done anything disrespectful?"

"I hope Your Majesty will make the right decision."

Although Li Shanchang has been in the limelight lately, he has not done anything improper, and he is not thinking about such trivial matters at the moment.

Hu Weiyong then shook his head, and Liu Bowen gave a wry smile.

Xu Da and Tang He, in such an extremely important occasion, were not entirely lacking in insight.

They call each other brothers, but that's all done in private; what's done in public is done privately.

They weren't that stupid.

To disrespect the emperor is to disregard one's own extended family, and who knows, one day, those extended family will have to say goodbye to them.

"Your Majesty, I have been resting and recuperating at my residence these days, preparing for the upcoming northern expedition."

"I am not familiar with matters of the court."

Xu Da pretended to be stupid.

Seeing this, Tang He followed suit, which is called "Cao follows Xiao's rules". In the present Ming Dynasty, it became "Tang follows Xu's return".

The two of them worked together exceptionally well.

Zhu Biao glanced at the two of them, intentionally or unintentionally. Looking at the assembled court officials, he felt somewhat at ease only with Xu Da and his companion.

As for the others, Zhu Yuanzhang looked down and thought to himself, "That old fellow Li Shanchang has recommended several of his men recently. Although they are still within reasonable limits, he already has ulterior motives."

Li Shanchang used to be quite arrogant, but now that the new dynasty has been established...

He was even given the title of Duke of Han, making him virtually unmatched in the capital.

Perhaps for this reason, he acted rather superficially. In addition, the people around him flattered him. Although there were no other unusual actions for the time being, Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding of the previous dynasty allowed him to see through some of the problems.

Of the people in front of me, probably eight or nine out of ten have planted their own people in this palace.

Even if no one was planted in their service, there were probably one or two palace servants with whom they had a good relationship.

Such things have happened throughout history, but some things can be tolerated while others are absolutely unacceptable.

Moreover, given the current situation where a large amount of evidence has been obtained from the whistleblower, even if Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to turn a blind eye, it would be impossible for him to do so now.

They stopped caring and asking questions.

Does he still want to be the emperor?

Otherwise, he would truly end up all alone.

Similarly, Zhu Yuanzhang also intended to use today's events to give his old comrades a good warning: do what you're supposed to do, and don't try to do everything.

That would be being too greedy.

"Look, look closely. Look at our great Ming Dynasty, it's only been a few years since it was established, and look what it's become."

Zhu Yuanzhang angrily cursed, and then Zhu Biao distributed the so-called evidence to the important officials in the court.

Tang He, Li Shanchang, and other ministers, although none of them currently hold the title of Duke, if the matter is allowed to escalate further, it will likely be a foregone conclusion whether they will receive the title of Duke.

After all, not everyone's bottom is perfectly clean.

Whether they were genuinely good at acting or simply unaware of the situation, the expressions on their faces were nothing short of a performance show.

"How could this be? I have rendered many meritorious services in the past, always fighting bravely and charging ahead in battle. How could I have done such an absurd and foolish thing now?"

Xu Da was covered in sweat, his face filled with surprise and indignation.

Even Tang He, who was standing next to him, was dumbfounded, since many of these people had been following him all along.

These people are now actually planting their own people in the palace. And to make matters worse, they've been discovered and reported by their own people. Where can we find justice in this?