Chapter 59 A sudden change in the court
Chapter 59: Shocking Changes in the Court

Fengtian Temple.

The court meeting was held and all officials gathered.

At this time, the dragon throne was still empty.

Zhu Yuanzhang arrived late, which was unusual for him, so the ministers in the hall couldn't help but take the opportunity to chat.

The official position on the left side is on the east side, facing north.

Hu Weiyong, who was only the vice chancellor of the Secretariat at that time, stood beside Li Shanchang and said with a smile: "Yang Xian of Zhejiang East has been dismissed for several days. Your Majesty naturally knows that all officials cannot be without a leader for a day."

"I guess the new prime minister will be decided today. Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only Brother Shanchang can take on this job!"

Li Shanchang remained calm when he heard this. He just stroked his beard and said calmly, "Mr. Hu, you are too kind. How can we, as ministers, guess what His Majesty is thinking?"

"Besides, Lord Hu has been in the Secretariat for a long time. His ability is not inferior to mine. The position of Prime Minister may fall on Lord Hu's shoulders!"

If someone were complimented like this by Li Shanchang, he would definitely be frightened and think that Li Shanchang was holding a grudge against him, which is why he made such sarcastic remarks.

But Hu Weiyong didn't care.

In terms of seniority, Li Shanchang was the Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat; in terms of title, Li Shanchang was one of the six founding dukes.

Yang Xian was brought down. Even without considering his personal ability, Li Shanchang was well-deserved for the position of Zuo Cheng based on seniority alone.

Both of them were Zhu Yuanzhang's fellow villagers, core figures of the Huaixi Party, and allies in the court. Li Shanchang's words were simply out of politeness.

After all, putting aside other factors, Li Shanchang was originally the left chancellor of the Secretariat, but he was sick for a period of time and was taken advantage of by Yang Xian.

Now that Yang Xian is dead, it is only natural for Li Shanchang to return to the position of Zuo Cheng, the left chancellor of the Secretariat.

Obviously, Li Shanchang himself thought so too.

Just as Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong were chatting like this.

Liu Bowen, who was not far away from the two of them, had his eyes slightly closed and seemed to be troubled by something.

The last time Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him and asked him about the candidate for prime minister, Liu Bowen realized that he had said the wrong thing after he returned home.

The more he thought about it, the more regretful he felt. He was now trying to think of ways to make amends.

After a while, he murmured, "It has to be this way."

Following the eunuch Yunqi's shout of "The Emperor has arrived."

Everyone put on their clothes and bowed their heads in silence.

Zhu Yuanzhang strode onto the dragon throne, and Yunqi announced the start of the morning court.

Something happened that no one expected. Liu Bowen, a core figure of the Zhejiang East Group, was the first to stand up.

"Your Majesty, my health is getting worse day by day. I request to resign from the position of Chief Censor and return home due to illness."

As soon as Liu Bowen said this, the whole court was in an uproar. No matter how the Minister of Rites scolded in a low voice, he could not stop the officials from whispering.

The party members in eastern Zhejiang were especially terrified and whispered to each other, not knowing what to do.

As the figurehead of eastern Zhejiang, after Yang Xian's death, Liu Bowen was the only one left to compete with Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong and others from the Huaixi Party.

But Liu Bowen suddenly proposed to resign?

Wouldn't the Zhejiang East Party members be crushed by the Huaixi Group? The timid ones were already thinking about how to turn their guns around and join the Huaixi Group.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened as well. He looked at Liu Bowen coldly and said, "I think you are fine, my dear. Why do you suddenly say you are sick?"

Liu Bowen knelt on the ground, lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that I have been weak inside and weak outside for a long time. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to resign and return home."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression flashed a trace of cruelty, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. He said: "If my dear minister is really unwell, I won't force you. It's just..."

Before Liu Bowen could be happy, Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Wouldn't it be better for you to stay in the capital to recuperate? I can ask the Imperial Hospital to give you a good diagnosis and treatment."

"Your Majesty..." Liu Bowen wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Zhu Yuanzhang without question.

"No need to say more. I allow you to resign from the position of Chief Censor, but you must stay in the capital to recuperate."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang made the decision in such an unquestionable tone, Liu Bowen dared not argue any further.

Otherwise, you are seeking death.

After arranging for Liu Bowen's sudden accident, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang with a solemn expression.

"Lord Li, since the position of the Chief Censor is temporarily vacant, you will take the position."

"The duties of the Imperial Censorate are related to the administration of officials and the emperor's hearing. I cannot be more relieved to have you in charge."

Li Shanchang's mind immediately went blank, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

He knew in his heart that Zhu Yuanzhang clearly did not want him to be the Minister of the Secretariat and did not want to see the Huaixi Group become bigger.

Although he was extremely reluctant, he did not dare to openly oppose Zhu Yuanzhang's decision, so he had to pretend to be respectful and accept the order.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's decision shocked all officials no less than Liu Bowen's sudden resignation and retirement.

You have to know that Li Shanchang was the Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat. Even if he could not take over the position of Left Prime Minister, he would not go to the Censorate!
For a moment, all officials began to speculate whether the Huaixi Party had done something to displease the emperor, which was why they were suppressed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, when the party members in eastern Zhejiang heard this, they seemed to have been reborn after a disaster.

Although their side lost Liu Bowen, the other side's Li Shanchang was also suppressed. As a result, the two factions maintained a delicate balance.

But the Zhejiang East Party members did not feel happy for long, as the feeling of having survived a disaster was shattered by another imperial edict from Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked solemn and said, "The left chancellor of the Secretariat is the head of all officials. He is in charge of all matters of the court and cannot be vacant for a single day. I have decided to appoint Hu Weiyong, the assistant minister of the Secretariat, to take over. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

Although it seemed like doubt, all the officials could hear the firmness in Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

but……

Didn’t the emperor intend to suppress the Huaixi Group?
Why is it that Hu Weiyong is appointed as the left prime minister now?

This seemingly contradictory decision actually had Zhu Yuanzhang's own considerations.

Firstly, sending Li Shanchang, the Duke, to the position of the Censorate would help to strike a blow against the increasingly powerful Huaixi Group;
Secondly, the Huaixi lineage was, after all, his fellow villagers, and could be said to be his trusted group. By suppressing Hu Weiyong while promoting him, he would not discourage the Huaixi party members.

Hu Weiyong was a talented person, but unlike Li Shanchang, he was not extremely ambitious and was relatively easy to control. As a result, he became the only vested interest in this political game.

Although Li Shanchang was unwilling at this time, as he did not expect that a polite remark he made before going to court would come true, he had no choice but to accept this fact under the fierce power of Zhu Yuanzhang.

But at this time Hu Weiyong was a little confused.

(End of this chapter)