RPAGF Chapter 1064 The Decline of Imperial Power
Chapter 1064 The Decline of Imperial Power
The family of several people shared a warm breakfast together.
The two children hadn't seen their father in a long time and missed him terribly, clinging to Xiaoyuer and refusing to leave.
This scene of being surrounded by children and grandchildren is what the elderly love most.
Unfortunately, they didn't chat for long after the meal, and Zhang Lao Er became noticeably tired. He even dozed off while talking. Xiao Yu'er couldn't bear to see her grandparents forcing themselves to stay awake and chat with him, so she arranged for a servant to help the two of them inside for a rest.
After watching his grandparents lie down, he took the child back to the front yard, handed the child over to Li, and went to see his father alone.
He knew about Curry's gold and silver swap beforehand; it was something the father and son had discussed beforehand.
“This trip to the South won’t be any easier than going to Hebei. Be careful after you set off. Don’t worry too much about your fourth uncle. No matter what he says in his letter, I’ll be there to protect you. Don’t fret. I’ll take the blame for the bad guys,” Zhang Ping’an carefully instructed.
"The other thing is about your second aunt's husband and sixth aunt's husband. When you visit them, you are the younger generation. No matter what their attitude is or whether they agree to your request, you must be sincere and not give them anything to talk about."
"There shouldn't be any major problems with my second uncle. Didn't he always want my eldest cousin to advance his career in the canal transport industry? My trip to Lin'an will be the perfect opportunity to finalize that. People are bound by their word, and my second uncle is a man who cares about his reputation. If we ever need his help in the future, he certainly won't be able to refuse."
The only person we're a little unsure about is our sixth aunt's husband. He's upright and dedicated to his craft, and if we don't tell him the inside story, he probably won't feel comfortable sharing his secret techniques with us. After all, that would be a dereliction of duty.
"Whether it succeeds or not, don't force it. Even if it doesn't succeed, at least we can bring back some of the latest finished products from the firearms workshops in Yangzhou. Then we can ask people in this field to study them and see if we can make any breakthroughs."
"Well, that's all we can do. We'll see how things go. But with Aunt Liu around, I think we have a good chance. Uncle Liu always listens to Aunt Liu, and Aunt Liu loves me, so she definitely won't want me to be in a difficult position," Xiaoyuer said with a smile.
“You, you…” Zhang Ping’an shook his head and smiled.
That very evening, Xiaoyuer hired a new group of skilled men and set off with the supplies.
This time, we'll travel directly south by boat, and if things go smoothly, we should arrive in less than ten days.
Every time he passed through a new city, Little Fish would write a letter and send it back to Huainan by express horse to let them know he was safe.
He was on a mission this time, and he had a lot of favors to take care of, so it would take a long time. He might not be able to return until the Chinese New Year at the earliest, or even after the New Year.
While Zhang Ping'an was worried about his son, he also had to deal with official duties, social interactions, and changes in the officialdom.
Winter has arrived before we knew it.
After winter set in, the most significant news was probably the death of the Second Prince from a cold.
Although the Second Prince was still young, only ten years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, and it's not uncommon for children to die at that age, his passing, as one of the only two bloodlines of the current Emperor, still caused quite a stir in the court.
On the one hand, they felt it was a pity, and on the other hand, they were worried about the thinness of the royal bloodline.
The topic of talent shows has once again come to the forefront.
Zhou Pu was well aware of his situation. He had no intention of participating in the talent show at all. He would rather spend his time in the alchemy room and relax.
He had planned to simply give up this time and use imperial power to suppress the voices in the court, but unexpectedly, the ministers below did not buy it, and some even wanted to die to remonstrate.
As Empress and mother of the nation, Cui Rong also faced considerable pressure.
She had no affection for Zhou Pu to begin with, and she didn't care whether or not he participated in the talent show. Those newcomers to the palace were no match for her and posed no threat.
However, she knew that Zhou Pu was currently indifferent to women and had no fondness for them. Bringing these women into the palace would only be an eyesore and cause her trouble. In the end, she would have to clean up the mess. Therefore, it was best to avoid the selection of concubines if possible.
After discussing it, the couple felt they couldn't continue like this, so they decided to make an example of someone.
Cui Rong, through her family, found some faults and directly suppressed the minister who had been most vocal in his remonstrance to the death in court.
Within three days, the entire family was either exiled or sent to the army.
They showed absolutely no consideration for sentimentality.
This move was ruthless and effective, but the backlash was even greater. Ever since Grand Tutor Qian retired and left the capital, Zhou Pu felt that there were many obstacles in the court. Now that this minister who remonstrated to the death had died, the feeling was even more pronounced.
His words as emperor were carrying less and less weight, and the various powerful families under his command had, without him noticing, quietly united and turned their anger against him.
Many political problems were directly dumped on him, seemingly intended to embarrass him and sideline him.
As time went on, Zhou Pu couldn't take it anymore. He felt that everything was going wrong and he was very upset. In the end, he compromised and took a step back.
They announced another round of drafting at the end of November that year.
This selection process has a wider scope, no longer limited to prominent families or officials of certain ranks.
As long as a girl from a respectable family is within the age range for the imperial concubine selection, she can participate. This decision was made after unanimous discussion among the court officials, who believed that daughters from ordinary families might have an advantage in childbirth.
Zhou Pu thought that this concession would bring him some peace and quiet, but little did he know that this was just the beginning.
The relationship between the monarch and his courtiers is one of superior and inferior. When the monarch is weak, the courtiers are strong; when the monarch is strong, the courtiers are weak. This ebbs and flows!
Zhou Pu is now clearly showing his weakness, as if his bottom line has been tested by the other party.
When the court officials went to court, they could no longer regain the cautious and apprehensive attitude they used to have.
Cui Rong clearly noticed these changes, and only then did she realize that agreeing to the selection of concubines was a mistake, and that dealing with the minister who died for his remonstrance was an even bigger mistake.
There should have been a better way at the time.
Unlike Zhou Pu, who would sit idly by and only get angry, her first thought was how to solve the problem. She became empress to enjoy life, not to be controlled by the court officials and clean up Zhou Pu's messes every day.
Moreover, she quickly discovered that the root of the problem lay with the Qian family!