My God, I am the emperor, the lord of mankind.

Chapter 325 Civil and Military Manipulation
In the majestic Wanshou Palace, there was no noise from the princes and princesses playing during the day, and the palace filled with people of all colors seemed silent.

The blazing fire in the main hall reflected on the faces of each of the imperial ministers who were summoned from home by the eunuch who was responsible for the eunuch in the middle of the night. The dim and uncertain fire was just like their turbulent hearts under the calm surface at this moment. It's endlessly flipping.

The eunuchs and maids who were ordered to serve in the Wanshou Palace stood on both sides.

Cautiously and respectfully, they observed the powerful people standing at the top of the empire with their eyes, and were always ready to remind them to follow the complicated and solemn etiquette of the empire to show the majesty of the precepts between monarchs and ministers.

Finally, as the bronze chime rang, people finally heard that the emperor, who had once again been lost in Xiyuan for half a month and failed to meet his courtiers, spoke again and asked the cabinet about the political gains and losses of the world.

"I have heard from the Ministry of Rites that during the exchange of trade between China and North Korea, many Korean scholars hoped to use the protection of the mission to flee to the Ming Dynasty with their families to avoid persecution by traitorous officials in the country. Is there such a thing——"

After hearing the first words of the Emperor's meeting with the ministers today, many people's expressions changed slightly.

The emperor neither punished the cabinet for failing to restrain the ministers from discussing the emperor's affairs in private as many people thought, nor did he ask many cabinet ministers for their opinions on the previous orders of foreign relatives from various places to Beijing.

Instead, he asked about trade issues between the Ministry of Rites and surrounding vassal countries.

This has undoubtedly shown a lot of things and attitudes silently.

The emperor did not want his ministers to raise any objections to matters that had already been decided. In terms of strengthening the strength of his relatives, he did not allow his ministers to raise any objections, so as to disrupt the subsequent imperial decision to enfeoff vassal kings.

"However, there is a thing. Since the tenth year of Zhengde, the internal party strife in Korea has been endless. The powerful minister Hong Jingzhou Nangon and others used the emperor's secret edict to cause trouble for themselves and the soldiers. A large number of nobles in the Korean Kingdom were expelled and arrested, and some of them fled into our country along the coast. .”

Yuan Zonggao immediately stood up and said.

As the former Minister of Rites, even though he has joined the cabinet, he still has inextricable ties with the Ministry of Rites. He can be regarded as the spokesperson of the Ministry of Rites in the cabinet, and is the most suitable candidate to answer questions related to the emperor.

Therefore, when he came to answer the emperor's question, no one had any objections.

Considering that the youngest of these cabinet members was over 50 years old, the emperor specially granted these cabinet members the favor of "discussing political affairs."

Although Zhu Houcong usually gave them seats when he summoned these cabinet ministers, the atmosphere in the Longevity Palace today was obviously different.

Although it was a sudden imperial cabinet meeting at night, the emperor, who always hated the red tape of the empire, specially ordered the eunuchs to ring the forbidden bell at the Meridian Gate to announce to the people of the world, and also ordered the eunuchs and eunuchs to raise their whips on the Jinshui Bridge to warn the participants. The ministers should not have any intention of cheating and getting lucky.

All kinds of performances made the human spirits of these empires smell something unusual.

They had to prepare early and make various plans so that they could respond promptly in today's sudden meeting, which had an obviously strange atmosphere.

And Yuan Zonggao obviously noticed the hidden meaning in the emperor's tone.

So he immediately made a decision and took a stand on the side of those Korean scholars who fled into the Ming Dynasty.

He began to describe the disasters caused to the country by the powerful officials in North Korea.

"The state affairs of North Korea are controlled by powerful ministers such as Hong Jingzhou and Nan Gun, and the relationship between monarch and minister has been completely lost. He is so bold that he dares to extend his tentacles to the harem, collude with his favorite concubines, and frame the emperor's heirs. He is really bold and reckless!"

Although Yuan Zonggao was impassioned on the surface when he spoke, he was secretly observing the emperor's expression.

Although the powerful ministers were hateful, King Li Yi of Korea believed in the words of treacherous people and spread secret edicts to purge the nobles, thus losing his power. Didn't he have the fault of not knowing others?

But everyone understands that no one here, from the emperor down to the silent elders, including Yuan Zonggao, really cares who is at fault for the current situation in North Korea.The only focus of everyone's attention at this moment is how to figure out the holy intention, to figure out the purpose of the emperor's words today, and whether they can get anything from it.

"The harem is interfering in politics! It has been an ominous sign for the family and the country since ancient times. My Emperor Taizu said, "Those who rule the world should put their family first.The way to maintain a healthy family begins with Mr. and Mrs. Jin. "It means that future generations of concubines are not allowed to interfere in the government's affairs——"

After hearing Yuan Zonggao's words, the emperor slowly spoke.

If the emperor's words had any meaning, everyone present would feel uneasy.

And Yuan Zonggao felt the scrutinizing gaze of the emperor above his head, and couldn't help but sweat.

Could it be that the emperor thought that he had close contact with the queen mother and others in the harem because of his status as an official in the palace, so he came here to beat himself up?

Thinking of this, Yuan Zonggao's face turned slightly pale, and even his palms trembled slightly.

When the ministers in the cabinet nearby saw this, they all secretly warned in their hearts.

Knowing that the emperor was silently warning everyone not to cross the red line of not intervening in politics in the harem, he tried to imitate the former chief ministers of the Ming Dynasty, colluding with the queen mother, ostracizing the young emperor, and monopolizing power.

It was not long ago that Yang Tinghe, the chief minister of Zhengde, colluded with Empress Dowager Zhang to force the palace. Further on, taking advantage of the young Emperor Yingzong, the cabinet headed by San Yang colluded with the harem to evade imperial power.

In fact, Zhu Houcong was not worried that someone could really threaten his throne.

What he was really worried about was that during his absence, someone in the cabinet would use the name of the Queen Mother and the Emperor to disrupt the government, and the officials in the government and the public had no means of countermeasures.

Today, Zhu Houcong summoned the ministers and mentioned again that "the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics" in order to prevent this worst-case scenario from happening.

At least if something goes wrong, the ministers can still find the legal basis for removing the powerful officials from today's discussion, and will not be trapped by etiquette.

Zhu Houcong looked at Yan Song, who was sitting upright and writing furiously.

The empire governs the world with classics and history, and today's records will become evidence for future courtiers to maintain the imperial etiquette system.

"The treacherous ministers in Korea are in power and harm the loyal and good. The imperial court should order the Ministry of Rites to send envoys into Korea to rebuke the king as an envoy from the foreign country and order him to remove the treacherous traitors, welcome back the virtuous, and spread the cause of the emperor's kingship to save the people of Li -"

Zhu Houcong saw that Yan Song had almost finished recording, so he started talking about today's business.

After hearing the emperor's words, the cabinet members couldn't help but feel their hearts sinking.

It seems that the emperor's intention is to directly interfere in North Korea's national affairs.

Let’s not say whether North Korea will agree.

Although the Ming Dynasty has always liked to interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries.

For example, during the Yongle period, Emperor Taizong sent hundreds of thousands of troops south to conquer Jiaozhi in order to maintain the Ming court's control over Annan.

(End of this chapter)