Chapter 48 Rejection of the King
Chapter 48: Rejection of the King

As soon as Old Man Li left, Ye Xuan also planned to leave, but before he could say goodbye, he heard Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly: "Ye Xuan, I have a plan that I want to entrust to you, I wonder what you think."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan immediately started to complain in his heart: You are the emperor and your word is law, so just give me any errand I want to do. How can I, a mere captain of the Jinyiwei, refuse?

But even though he complained, if Zhu Yuanzhang really assigned him any task, Ye Xuan would be unwilling to do it from the bottom of his heart.

I'm still monitoring Yang Xian, and I've just finished handling Lin Zhiqi's case, and now His Majesty the Emperor has given me another task right after that. It seems like it's endless!
Even the people's entrepreneurs in the previous life did not order people around like this. At least they had to leave a few days of rest to shut the leeks' mouths!

Besides, I am only a centurion, and there are thousand-householders and commanders above me. If you have any errands to do, can you ask them?
Although he was about to rant like crazy in his heart, Ye Xuan did not dare to show any reluctance on his face. Instead, he said very respectfully: "As long as it is within my ability, Your Majesty will not delay the delivery."

Ye Xuan played a little trick here, and only said that he would never delay it within his ability, but could the matter personally instructed by His Majesty the Emperor be a trivial matter?
When the time comes, you just need to express your inability and find a tactful excuse to push it away.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also a shrewd man. Hearing what he said, he could tell that Ye Xuan was playing tricks on him. He was not angry in his heart, but just a little curious.

When others heard that it was a task assigned by the emperor, they all scrambled to do it, and were eager to show off in front of him.

But why did he seem a little reluctant when it came to Ye Xuan?

Although he was a little confused, Zhu Yuanzhang did not delve into it further, but directly expressed his thoughts.

It turned out that through Lin Zhiqi's case, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that many officials in the court must have been thinking that the emperor was far away and the country was high above them, and like Lin Zhiqi, they oppressed the people and brought disaster to the people in their respective places of office.

Just imagine, Shangyuan County is only a few dozen miles away from Yingtian Prefecture and is one of the eight counties under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture. Even under the feet of the emperor, they dare to blatantly engage in corruption and bribery. How unscrupulous would those corrupt officials in places farther away from the capital be?
For these officials, there must be a strong regulatory agency to conduct supervision and investigation to ensure that even if the court officials want to be corrupt, they dare not!
Originally, it would be most appropriate to give this task to the Jinyiwei, who were responsible for inspecting all officials and had professional methods.

However, the current scale of the Jinyiwei is still too small. It can only cover the area of ​​Yingtian Prefecture. Once it leaves the capital, it is like a deaf and blind person.

Therefore, while Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to expand the Jinyiwei, he was also worried that the Jinyiwei would become too powerful. Not only would it fail to check the officials, but it would also use the supreme power granted by the imperial authority to bring disaster to the court.

At that time, Mao Xiang will be the only one who will decide whether officials are good or bad. So will all officials listen to the emperor or to Mao Xiang?
When Ye Xuan heard this, he immediately realized that Mao Xiang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who seemed to be Zhu Yuanzhang's absolute confidant, was actually not absolutely trustworthy in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. In fact, for some reasons that Ye Xuan didn't know, Zhu Yuanzhang had already become alienated from Mao Xiang.

After sighing again that it was really difficult to be an official under Emperor Hongwu, Ye Xuan pricked up his ears again to listen to what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Based on the idea that power should not be monopolized by one person, Zhu Yuanzhang planned to set up a separate Jinyiwei secret guard besides Jinyiwei.

Not only does he have the same duties as the Jinyiwei, but in addition to inspecting all officials, he is also responsible for supervising the Jinyiwei.

If the Jinyiwei, or Mao Xiang, committed any act that violated the law, the secret guards would be responsible for tracking them down and arresting them.

At this point, Ye Xuan had roughly understood Zhu Yuanzhang's intention, probably wanting to transfer him to the secret guards. If that was the case, it wouldn't affect Ye Xuan's leisure time, so it was not unacceptable.

But Zhu Yuanzhang's next words immediately made Ye Xuan complain bitterly.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Ye Xuan with a half-smile and said, "This secret guard is independent of the Jinyiwei and directly obeys my orders. It is not subject to the jurisdiction of any other government office."

"And I intend to promote you to the rank of Qian Hu and make you the commander of the secret guards. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan felt suddenly sick and secretly groaned in his heart.

What did I do so well that Zhu Yuanzhang valued me so much? Can't I change it?

You must know that no matter which dynasty, those who are in charge of a force directly under the emperor and are responsible to the supreme emperor are considered important officials of the court and can walk sideways among the civil and military officials in the court.

What’s more, Zhu Yuanzhang was not an ordinary emperor, but the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty who could be called the greatest emperor of all time!
Ye Xuan could already imagine that as long as he agreed now, his name, Ye Xuan, would definitely have a place in history books.

But who is Ye Xuan? He claims to be the number one salty fish king in the Ming Dynasty. How could he become the king of books just for a little power and the temptation of a high position?
And from another perspective, following Zhu Yuanzhang meant going hungry for three days and not being allowed to take bribes. Not only that, but also few of the founding heroes who followed him had a good ending.

It is considered good if one can kill oneself cleanly and decisively. What is tragic is that not only will one die, but one will also be implicated along with the entire clan, and will also drag down one's relatives and friends to follow them to the Western Paradise.

Thinking of this, Ye Xuan immediately hesitated with cold sweat on his forehead, "Which one... Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I have never had great ambitions. I am content with just having a wife and children. Moreover, there is an old saying that the three unfilial acts are to have no descendants, and the worst is to have no offspring. Although my parents died young, I also want to continue the incense of my Ye family as soon as possible."

"So I have been thinking about finding a wife and having a few kids recently. If I agree to your majesty's request, I will definitely not have the time and energy to take care of the family. I hope your majesty will forgive me for the injustice of starting a family!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had long felt that Ye Xuan was a lazy person, he was still stunned by Ye Xuan's well-reasoned and filial refusal.

He had never seen any minister use the excuse of getting married and having children to refuse promotion.

How come something that others are desperate for becomes a poisonous snake or a ferocious beast that people try to avoid when it comes to Ye Xuan?

Although I can't understand it, the Ming Dynasty ruled the world with Confucianism, and the most important thing was filial piety.

There was even a rule that when parents died, officials had to temporarily resign and return to their hometown to observe a three-year mourning period for their parents.

When Ye Xuan brought up the issue of filial piety, Zhu Yuanzhang really couldn't say anything.

(End of this chapter)