nycdaug Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Although Yang Yiqing and others have withdrawn from the political arena, and although Zhu Houcong holds an absolute advantage in the court, the matter of establishing his birth mother as Empress Dowager is of great importance and cannot be resolved in a short time. It is destined to be a protracted tug-of-war.
Ultimately, due to the dispute between the two sides, this proposal was temporarily shelved and the debate was to continue at the next morning's court session.
On the morning of the third day, Yang Shen claimed to be ill and stayed home, so he did not attend the court session. Officials led by Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe began a heated debate, which was not much different from a shrewish argument in the street. Zhu Houcong sat high on the throne, watching the two sides argue with great excitement. Sometimes, if he felt that Yang Yiqing's side was not performing well, he would personally intervene.
Of course, before dealing with this matter, Jiajing first announced several other things.
One of these rewards was bestowing honors upon Wang Yangming. Wang Yangming's suppression of the Prince of Ning's rebellion was a great achievement, and the late Emperor Zhu Houzhao had not bestowed any honors upon him. Naturally, Zhu Houcong would not do the same. In addition, the court's control over military power in Jiangnan was extremely weak, so Zhu Houcong directly appointed Wang Yangming as the Minister of War in Nanjing.
The Ming Dynasty had two Ministers of War, one for each of the two capitals. Both were of the second rank and wielded immense power.
The reason why Zhu Houcong so readily bestowed honors upon Wang Yangming was not only because Wang Yangming had indeed made contributions, but also because of another reason.
Zhu Houcong remembered clearly that Zhou Hengqi had mentioned to him that the focus should be on governing the Jiangnan region in the future. Although Zhou Hengqi was vague, Zhu Houcong was able to keenly grasp some of the information.
How difficult it would be to govern the Jiangnan region! How could it be done without military power? Although Zhu Houcong was not clear about Zhou Chu's specific plans, he decided to replace the Minister of War in Nanjing with Wang Yangming first.
He remembered very clearly that Zhou Chu had mentioned to him that Wang Yangming was a man with only public-mindedness and no selfishness. Moreover, the elegant affair between Zhou Chu, Wang Yangming, and Tang Bohu was known to everyone in the capital.
In this way, it can be said that the Jiajing Emperor had made arrangements in advance.
In addition to appointing Wang Yangming as Minister of War in Nanjing, he was also granted the title of Earl of Xinjian, a hereditary title.
At this moment, the officials in the court had no time to care about the rewards bestowed upon Wang Yangming. Even if they had opinions, they had to keep them to themselves. After all, Wang Yangming's previous achievements were undeniable. He had genuinely quelled a rebellion, saving countless people of the Ming Dynasty from the ravages of war.
Previously, they could go along with the fact that Zhu Houzhao did not bestow rewards due to special circumstances, but now that Zhu Houcong wanted to do so, they had no reason to stop him.
There are rules and unspoken rules in officialdom; it's not something anyone can do as they please. Everything must follow established principles.
Regardless of how the court assembly proceeded, Zhou Chu slept for an hour, then practiced martial arts with Yun Jin, and then ate breakfast.
He then went to the stable, picked up a carrot, and stuffed it into the mouth of the black horse.
The black horse seemed to enjoy it and appeared quite pleased.
Zhou Chu's household also had two eunuchs who helped serve the black horse. Its daily diet consisted mainly of grass and concentrated feed, which was made up of many ingredients, such as grains and beans.
Carrots are edible, but not in large quantities. According to these eunuchs, eating a little will make the black horse's coat more beautiful, but eating too much will burden its stomach and intestines.
The care of top-quality horses is something that not just anyone can do well.
Zhou Chu then went to the kitchen, picked up the food he had specially prepared, and arrived at the main gate of the Zhou residence.
Jin Youcai was lying in the corner, pretending to sleep.
"Old Jin, we owe you a lot for your men last night."
As Zhou Chu spoke, he handed the food to Jin Youcai, who then began to eat heartily.
Although he usually ate well, it was far inferior to the food provided by the Zhou family. Since he started following Zhou Chu, Zhou Chu had been in charge of Jin Youcai's meals.