The emperor is embarrassed

Although Ming Zhan's title was finally named after the word "Wu", in fact, whether it is historical records or the real situation, although Ming Zhan has a bad temper, he is not a domineering dictator.

On this point, historians have a very consistent view.

Because, during the reign of Emperor Wu, the officials showed an extremely active state, and even made some very presumptuous remarks, which even Emperor Renzong, known as the best-tempered Emperor of the Great Phoenix Dynasty, would not tolerate. Emperor Wu just laughed it off.

Perhaps, it was Emperor Wu's good temper that nourished the arrogance of the literati.

Ming Zhan saw that the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were arguing about the position of the president of the royal ceremony. They could mention anyone: Qian Yongdao, the head of the Imperial Academy, or the minister of the Ministry of Rites, or the chief minister of the court.

Anyway, nothing they couldn't think of.

What's more, the strange thing is that although the people they recommend are different, they all share a common goal, that is: Zhong Jingshu is definitely not suitable for the position of president of the Royal Ceremony.

Ming Zhan has been emperor for a long time, even if he has a violent temper, he has cultivated some self-restraint. He is the final judge, so he is not in a hurry to draw conclusions, he has to let the courtiers speak.

If the civil servants are not allowed to speak, they will not be suffocated!

Ming Zhan listened to the vegetable market below, you said something, I refuted it, because of the position of the president of the royal ceremony, he was so noisy that he blushed and had a thick neck. He wished he could have a fight and directly decide the winner.

However, Ming Zhan found that the literati of this era are actually very interesting.

Although they often fight like black-eyed chickens because of different opinions, they may still be good friends in life or in daily communication.For example, Wang Rui'an and Li Pingzhou.

Wang Rui'an was extremely opposed to Qian Yongdao being the chief executive officer of the royal ceremony before, and he supported the court official to take over the position.In this position, he is consistent with Li Pingzhou.Moreover, Ming Zhan knew that Wang Rui'an and Li Pingzhou had a good friendship.

However, when he heard that someone recommended Li Pingzhou to serve as the CEO concurrently, Wang Rui'an disagreed. Instead of talking to the recommender, he directly asked Li Pingzhou, "Mr. Li, do you want to be the CEO of the Royal Ceremony?" He said, "I don't think you are suitable. You are complementary, and you can't take care of many important national affairs on weekdays. How can you have the energy to be the president? If it's just a name, it's a good idea. Li Xiang, you don't like What kind of person is this?"

Li Pingzhou made a fuss, Li Pingzhou said, "I didn't say I want to be the president."

Wang Rui'an immediately took Li Pingzhou's words to the recommender and said, "Did you hear that, Li Xiang didn't mean that, so you dare to shut up."

Li Pingzhou had a straight face. He felt that he was completely ashamed to talk to Wang Rui'an like a big fool.

Ming Zhan smiled secretly, and raised his hand to signal silence, "Okay, don't talk about it, I understand what you mean." He still didn't forget to mock these people, "It's a small matter, it's like a noisy black-eyed chicken .You are the loyal ministers of the country, all of you are knowledgeable, restful and graceful, and pay attention to your behavior."

Seeing that all the courtiers were trying to pull Zhong Jingshu down, Ming Zhan looked over the courtiers and landed on Zhong Jingshu, but unfortunately, he didn't see the expression on Zhong Jingshu's face.Zhong Jingshu was probably lowering his head, so Ming Zhan could only see the official hat on Zhong Jingshu's head as still as water.

Ming Zhan already had an idea in his mind, and ordered, "It's easy too. Wang Rui'an, tell me how many people they have recommended. He Yu, pass the paper and ink, cut the paper into small squares, and then Get an empty box."

"What about you, write the candidates you want to recommend on a slip of paper, fold it up so that no one can see it, and then put it in this box, one person, one vote, let's discuss and count the votes. Let me see too , who is the nominated candidate." Ming Zhan glanced at the officials with a half-smile, "I, I just want to know who is the most suitable person in your mind for this royal ceremony."

Ming Zhan's mind is definitely not comparable to that of ordinary people.

For others like him, a young man who has just ascended the throne and has little experience in being an emperor, he should not rely on veteran officials for anything.Of course, the old ministers also thought the same way, and opened their broad chests to be relied on by the emperor.As a result, the emperor didn't appreciate it very much, and he couldn't make up his own mind about anything, which blinded the fiery hearts of the veterans.

As in the past, the emperor made decisions, or the emperor was arbitrarily arbitrarily determined, or he consulted with each other and recommended, and there has never been this kind of voting.When Ming Zhan said this, the ministers also found it fresh, and Ming Zhan comforted them, "Don't worry, just vote, anonymous. Whoever you support, just write whose name, and don't need to sign your own name. Son. Don’t worry about who you know well or not, choose him or not his offender. Of course, if someone supports me and recommends himself, I welcome it.”

Those who say people are right and wrong are right and wrong.

Ming Zhan had to see who was playing tricks behind his back, trying to squeeze Zhong Jingshu away.

When Zhong Jingshu was very old, he wrote a book like memoirs. He described himself at that time as: his heart was ashes, his body was ashamed, he put all his eggs in one basket, and turned around.

Of course, at that time, Zhong Jingshu had already achieved great success, and he was willing to talk about the past, which is also human nature.Moreover, according to historians' analysis of Zhong Jingshu's situation at that time, this state of mind is really eight or nine percent true.

Only Zhong Jingshu knew that even these sixteen characters were not enough to describe his state of mind at that time.

No matter how prominent it will be in the future, at this time, Zhong Jingshu is just a small fifth-rank editor in the Imperial Academy. The emperor did not set a rank for the president of the royal ceremony.Therefore, when Zhong Jingshu first took the order to compile the book, he was still only a fifth-rank Hanlin editor.

The morning court has already been halfway through, and the courtiers usually come to the court on an empty stomach, because at this time, you are absolutely not allowed to go to the toilet halfway through the court.Therefore, before the general ministers come to court, they only take a small amount of ginseng soup to lower their stomachs.Wait until the court meeting is over, and then go home for breakfast.

Like those poor officials who can't afford ginseng soup and can't stand hunger, they usually get up in the morning and stuff two steamed buns, and then drink a little water.

So, don't look at the tall and glamorous ministers standing in the middle of the court, in fact, alas, those who either have stomach problems or suffer from constipation are pitiful.

The courtiers usually come to court in the dark, but now the sun has come out, shining through the window paper of Ruixiang Hall and onto the clean floor tiles.Ming Zhan felt faintly hungry.

He Yu has a clear eye and a quick heart. He has been with Ming Zhan since he was a child, and he is most familiar with Ming Zhan's temperament. He cats down and serves Ming Zhan a bowl of delicious chicken soup.

The ministers below secretly swallowed their saliva smelling the smell of chicken soup, and secretly wondered if the emperor was deliberately messing with them.This should be put in modern times, and I have already scolded my mother in my stomach.However, the ancients put the emperor's status above that of his own father, and the result of scolding the emperor is much more serious than scolding his own father.They just complained a few words in their hearts, and unconsciously accelerated the voting speed with their hands.

There are also some generals who are not willing to get involved, muttering in their hearts that the literati have too much shit to do.Repairing a few broken books, who can't fix it? There are so many poor and fastidious people, causing everyone to starve together.

Ming Zhan drank the chicken soup and stuffed two milk nests before he calmed down.He also brazenly said something, "Oh, I'm no different than you, my old arms and legs are all set. I'm still very young, and I'm still growing. Compared with last year, I've grown an inch taller Xu. That's why I can't help but be hungry, so please take care of me." Several old ministers thoughtfully replied to such shameless words, that His Majesty is hungry, but he doesn't grow tall.We are hungry with old arms and legs, don't we want to see Hades sooner.

However, what kind of emperor can you meet?

Anyway, although Ming Zhan occasionally made the ministers have a lot of opinions, Ming Zhan's talent was obvious to all the ministers, and they admired and admired him. Moreover, Ming Zhan had a good temper.

The emperor is hungry, so it's nothing to drink a bowl of chicken soup?

Although some ministers have opinions on this, they don't want to cause the emperor's disgust because of a bowl of chicken soup.

Therefore, there is only patience.

You have to slobber and talk, and you can't be cold, "The emperor's ten thousand chariots, the body of ten thousand gold, naturally can't be damaged by hard work and petty affection. If your majesty hurts the holy body because of hunger in the stomach, it will be a minister." crimes." We shouldn't be talking about this today!

Because the ministers were hungry, they voted very quickly.Wang Rui'an quickly counted the results. Qian Yongdao's votes were not high. He had already been rejected by the ministers on a large scale before, but there was one person with a very high number of votes.

This person is no stranger to Ming Zhan, Master Shi Zhongwei Shi, head of the Imperial Academy.

Behind Shi Zhongwei is Zhong Jingshu.

Zhong Jingshu's inclusion on the list, to be honest, was not due to the merits of civil officials, but the strength of military officers.

Today, as soon as the court came up, these civil servants chattered and talked endlessly about the candidate for the president of the royal ceremony. The dispute has been making everyone hungry, and the military officials generally rarely participate in the government.

People who are military generals are seldom those who are slick and articulate. They generally don't like literati's poems and the like, thinking that they are not suitable for eating or drinking, and are of little use.

This vote was proposed by Ming Zhan, but the source of the vote is still a matter of the civil society.

Although the military officers don't speak much in the court, it's not because they don't want to speak, but the eloquence is simply far inferior to these literati, and they can't speak well.If you suffer a lot, you will know to shut up!

None of the military officers who can stand on the stage is stupid. They and the civil servants are completely two interest groups. so what.

However, it is clear that this referral vote is an unprecedented way of doing things.Before Civil and Wu had time to join forces, votes began to be cast.

The military officers were not interested in this matter, so they simply followed the emperor, anyway, the emperor had said to let Zhong Jingshu do it before, but at this moment of argument, the emperor did not say that he would resign Zhong Jingshu and give the job to someone else.Therefore, the military officers basically voted for Zhong Jingshu.

In addition, apart from the civil and military officials, there are clansmen and royal relatives in this palace. These people all have titles, and they rely on the emperor's face to eat.

With such a stroke, Zhong Jingshu got quite a lot of votes.

However, Zhong Jingshu still fell behind Shi Zhongwei Shi Zhangyuan by three votes.

When Wang Rui'an announced the number of votes in public, Zhong Jingshu's heart turned cold and his face turned pale.Such a person who doesn't know much about human affairs, a literati official who usually lowers his head habitually, raised his head in disbelief at this moment, staring straight at Ming Zhan, with an innocent and sad look in his eyes.

Ming Zhan was not in a hurry, "Oh, it seems that you have more confidence in Shi Zhongwei than in Zhong Jingshu?"

"Shi Zhongwei?" Ming Zhan pointed at Shi Zhongwei's name.

These days, it's not easy to get into the Imperial Academy. Shi Zhongwei is not young anymore, in his early fifties, with a gray beard.Shi Zhong did not come out to salute the king, Ming Zhan asked him, "I see that many people in the court recommended you, um, you are not bad, you were born as a Jinshi in the second list during the reign of Renzong, and you have been a Hanlin for a lifetime, and you also have knowledge. Tell me, do you think you can do this job?"

Shi Zhong didn't listen to Ming Zhan's brief account of his political experience, and his heart moved slightly. It seemed that the emperor had paid attention to him, otherwise he wouldn't be able to know his resume so clearly.Shi Zhongwei said humbly, "If your majesty has an order, I will go all out. If you say you can do it or you can't do it, I have stayed in the Imperial Academy for most of your life. I have participated in the compilation of books and history in the Imperial Academy. I am no stranger to compiling books, and I think I can do this job."

At the beginning, Shi Zhongwei didn't really take the matter of revising the royal ceremony to heart, and he didn't think it was a big deal.However, since Zhong Jingshu and others started to edit books.

Shi Zhongwei keenly realized that he had misread it!As soon as it started, Zhong Jingshu transferred all the idlers from the Imperial Academy, and there were not enough people, the university scholars who came to the imperial capital also began to participate in the editing of the royal ceremony, and even the students with excellent grades in the Imperial College were also transferred. Approved in the past.

In this way, there are still many people who say that the manpower is tight.

Shi Zhongwei suddenly realized that this is not an ordinary book, according to this kind of setting, it must be an extraordinary book!

At this moment, he realized what kind of opportunity he had missed!

Not to be missed!

However, he is the head of the Hanlin Academy!Such a unique opportunity was actually snatched by one of his subordinates, the old Hanlin who had been in the office for many years with mediocre official career and mediocre popularity.

Zhong Jingshu is poor, low-ranking official, how can he afford such a position?

How can Shi Zhongwei be convinced?How can you be willing?

Ming Zhan glanced at the humble Shi Zhongwei who was doing his part, then looked at Zhong Jingshu, and raised his voice and asked, "Zhong Jingshu, you have presided over the revision of the royal ceremony before, tell me, are you willing to do this job?"

Zhong Jingshu was already desperate at first, with so many people supporting Shi Zhongwei, the emperor would definitely replace him directly.However, when he heard the emperor's question, this unsophisticated scholar, he was really not a fool, he knew it very well in his heart, and in an instant, he even guessed Ming Zhan's intentions.Zhong Jingshu's voice trembled with excitement, and he replied tremblingly, "I am willing to do this job! Your Majesty, I am willing!"

Even, in the quiet morning, people could clearly hear Zhong Jingshu sobbing excitedly.Zhong Jingshu tried his best to control his mood, and he said loudly, "Your Majesty, I am willing! I, I, I..." After stammering three times, Zhong Jingshu finally took a breath before he could speak clearly, "Although I have not dealt with it It’s a good thing about Mr. Chen, but I will go all out, and I promise that I can make the grand ceremony perfect! I am a new official, and it is really normal for some people to disobey me and become the president! I don’t do what Master Shi does. Having been in charge of the Imperial Academy, he has prestige in the Imperial Academy. The only thing I can do is that I like to edit books and compile history, and I have been doing this kind of work for 20 years in the Imperial Academy. This is what I am most familiar with. I want to do this mission, please give me another chance, even if Emperor Taizu attacked the imperial capital, it would not be possible to capture it in a day!"

"To be honest, the Imperial Academy has a lot of things to do. When the Supreme Emperor ordered the Imperial Academy to revise the history books of the previous dynasty, it has not yet been completed. Master Shi has been staring at the revision of the history of the previous dynasty. Now the royal ceremony also needs to devote all its energy. Minister I think that if no one devotes 100% of their energy to compiling this canon, then it will be difficult to make this book perfect." Zhong Jingshu said, "Your Majesty, no matter how capable Mr. Shi is, his energy is limited. I think, The minister is the most suitable candidate for the president."

This honest man is even more reckless when he starts to be ruthless, like Zhong Jingshu, he is not afraid of offending his superiors anymore.

Shi Zhongwei immediately said, "The revision of the history of the previous dynasty is coming to an end, and I think I have the energy and ability to devote myself to the revision of the royal ceremony."

Zhong Jingshu said honestly, "Lord Shi, apart from the history of the previous dynasty, the daily errands, examinations and ratings of the various scholars in the Imperial Academy cannot be separated from you."

Moreover, Zhong Jingshu said a very superb thing, he said directly, "Unless Mr. Shi is willing to resign from the position of head of the academy and edit the royal ceremonies with peace of mind, otherwise, I really can't think that Mr. Shi will do better than the lower officials."

It's absolutely amazing!

Ming Zhan's stomach hurts from laughing inwardly, this honest man is running on people, and he can see blood all the time, going straight to the point!

In fact, this also illustrates the difference between scholars and politicians.

Scholars are a very specific type of people. They may only love the study of one thing all their lives, and work hard on it until they die.They are completely the kind of people who have no distractions.

Politicians, however, are different.

Politicians have to consider a lot of things, pros and cons, gains and losses, trade-offs and contests.In these aspects, Shi Zhongwei definitely has the advantage. From the fact that so many people support Shi Zhong to be the president of the royal ceremony in the future, it can be seen that Shi Zhongwei is very popular in the court.

Ming Zhan smiled, waved his hands and said, "Okay, don't argue. Shi Zhongwei, you did a good job in the Imperial Academy, which saved me a lot of worry. You are a good official, and your talent lies in Be an official."

"Zhong Jingshu, you are a person who is suitable for learning, and your strengths are not in the officialdom." Ming Zhan glanced at the two, "Shi Zhongwei, if you are asked to keep your head on the book, who will do the work of the Imperial Academy? ? Do you want me to be in charge of another hospital?”

Shi Zhongwei was puzzled, he wanted to be the president of the Royal Ceremony, but he never thought of giving up the position of head of the academy!He worked so hard for half his life to be the second-rank schoolmaster, and it was a lot of hardships.

"As for you, you can't calm down and study books. I said this, not to belittle you." Ming Zhan pointed casually, "It's Li Pingzhou and the others, Xu San, who was born in Sanyuan. It is absolutely impossible to ask them to study books now. Not as good as Zhong Jingshu."

"Your strengths lie in handling state affairs. Why do you want to compete with a scholar for editing books and essays?" Ming Zhan sighed, "Okay, the ruler is long and the inch is short. You really want to think about it." Try to edit the royal ceremonies, change the guard with Zhong Jingshu, and experience for yourself whether you are the material!"

Change, change, change of guard!

When Li Pingzhou heard these two words, he cried out anxiously!Isn't it messy to let an outsider do an insider's job?

Even Shi Zhongwei gave up his mind. The president of the Royal Ceremony is an honor, but there is no rank.If he was asked to exchange his position as a master of the academy, he would not be willing to part with it!

Ming Zhan glanced at Shi Zhongwei, it turned out that this old guy was behind the scene!Shi Zhongwei was suppressed, Ming Zhan won a game, and Shi Shiyan retreated!