books44 Chapter 360 Confidence and Arrogance
Chapter 360 Confidence and Arrogance
Chapter 360 Confidence and Arrogance
The study room.
Zhu Youjian looked at the group of people kneeling below and shook his head with a wry smile. Wang Wenzhou was really outrageous! It was just a minor conflict, and he went and chopped off someone's finger.
Hou Xun said with a sob in his voice, "Your Majesty, you must do justice for this old minister! Wang Wenzhou is lawless and lawless. In front of Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Justice, he chopped off the fingers of many people. Such a heinous act must be punished to appease public anger!"
"We second that!" the crowd quickly echoed.
As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's money is bound to him." Zhu Youjian had just robbed Wang Wenzhou of so much silver, and he didn't intend to continue negotiating peace with the Tartars. He truly felt he had wronged Wang Wenzhou. Before Hou Xun and the others arrived, Zhu Youjian had already received a secret report from the Western Depot and knew the whole story.
"Sigh..." Zhu Youjian sighed softly. Wang Wenzhou, I have to clean up your mess again. After the peace talks are over, I will definitely exile you to the frontier. You can cause as much trouble as you want over there. I won't have to see you or worry about you.
"Guards, draft the decree!" Zhu Youjian said solemnly, "Wang Wenzhou, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had an argument with someone, which escalated into a fight. Although no one was killed, he allowed others to commit violence, injuring several people. I am outraged when I learned of this! I hereby strip him of his position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and demote him to a commoner. This is my decree."
"Huh?" Hou Xun and the others felt like crying. Your Majesty, is this how you try to smooth things over? Wang Wenzhou threatened to become a monk and resign just a few days ago, and you even granted his son the title of Duke of Zhongyi. Wang Wenzhou cut off so many people's fingers, and you only symbolically demoted him to a commoner? He was already a commoner!
"Your Majesty! I request that Wang Wenzhou be arrested immediately and tried for his crime of instigating violence!" Zheng Sanjun said hastily.
Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said, "I have already demoted Wang Wenzhou to a commoner! What else do you want? Do you want me to kill him? You all know that Wang Wenzhou risked his life for the Ming Dynasty. After all, he was a meritorious official and a hero of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Youjian pointed at Hou Fangjiang and the others, and said in an unfriendly tone: "You bunch of good-for-nothing rascals are no pushovers either! If you hadn't beaten Wang Wenzhou, would Wang Wenzhou have chopped off your fingers?"
Hou Xun smiled wryly, "Your Majesty, is Wang Wenzhou your biological father? Why are you protecting him so much?"
Zhu Youjian said coldly, "Hou Xun, you are all important officials of the court. The education of your children and nephews cannot be neglected. Although they are victims in this matter, they also made mistakes. I will not pursue the matter further. You may leave!"
Hou Xun and the others exchanged bewildered glances. Had they known this would happen, they wouldn't have come here to embarrass themselves. Wang Wenzhou's favor with the emperor remains undiminished!
Hou Xun had just left the study when he happened to run into Wang Wenzhou.
Wang Wenzhou did not bring the baby with him. He was constantly on guard against Zhu Youjian, fearing that Zhu Youjian would sleep with his baby.
Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Lord Hou, you're quite fast! How's your lawsuit going?"
"A petty person who has gained power!" Hou Xun cursed.
Hou Fangjiang glared fiercely at Wang Wenzhou, wishing he could strangle him. His left hand, missing his little finger, still ached faintly.
"Lord Hou, you are all so old, aren't you ashamed! Only children in private schools would run to the teacher to complain if they were beaten by their classmates. But you, all of you important officials of the court, are running to the Emperor to report on others!" Wang Wenzhou mocked.
"Wang Wenzhou, just you wait!" Hou Xun and the others left with a harsh remark.
"Tch!" Wang Wenzhou curled his lip in disdain. If I were really afraid of you, I wouldn't be so arrogant! Do you think I'm stupid? If I don't fight with you, Zhu Youjian will be afraid of me and form cliques. It's only because I'm so talented that even the emperor is jealous to death.
Wang Wenzhou pushed open the door and entered, pointing at Zhu Youjian and cursing, "Brother Zhu, are you fucking an idiot?!"
Not far away, Hou Fangjiang and the other young masters turned pale with fright upon hearing this. How dare Wang Wenzhou be so disrespectful to the Emperor! Hou Fangjiang glanced at his father, Hou Xun, whose expression remained unchanged.
Driven by curiosity, Hou Fangjiang asked, "Father, why does the Emperor tolerate Wang Wenzhou's lack of loyalty and respect for the emperor?"
Hou Xun said with a wry smile, "You unfilial son, remember this: from now on, avoid Wang Wenzhou whenever you see him!"
"Yes!" Hou Fangjiang nodded quickly.
Hou Xun didn't want his rascal to know too much, fearing he'd speak recklessly and cause more trouble. Wang Wenzhou was more than that; on his first meeting with the Emperor, he beat him up, and that wasn't all—he slept with Consort Tian, yet the Emperor didn't punish him. This old man doesn't understand either; I even think Wang Wenzhou is the Emperor's biological father!
Zhu Youjian frowned and said irritably, "Boxin, I just cleaned up your mess, and you're cursing me instead?"
“Those things are just children playing house, not a big deal.” Wang Wenzhou frowned and said solemnly, “But peace talks are a big deal! Brother Zhu, you’ve changed your mind too quickly!”
Zhu Youjian knew that Wang Wenzhou would oppose this matter, otherwise he would not have asked Wen Tiren to inform Wang Wenzhou.
“Boxin, times have changed!” Zhu Youjian said with a smile.
"Brother Zhu, do you really think that the Ming Dynasty's imperial army can defeat the Manchu cavalry?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
"Of course!" Zhu Youjian said confidently, "Boxin, there's no need to persuade me any further! My mind is made up. I agreed to the peace talks back then only out of necessity. Now that the national treasury is full, my Great Ming will surely pacify Liaodong!"
"Idiot!" Wang Wenzhou cursed inwardly. "From the time Nurhaci raised his army, your grandfather, your father, your brother, and now you, your family has failed to destroy the Later Jin for so many generations. And you think you can destroy the Qing Dynasty just because you have a little silver in your hands? Dream on! Don't forget, the rebels in your country haven't been wiped out yet!"
"Boxin! I know you must be feeling uncomfortable, after all, you risked eternal infamy and your life just to negotiate peace with the Tartars. But times have changed. Our Great Ming has been established for over two hundred years, and we have never engaged in marriage alliances, paid indemnities, ceded territory, or paid tribute. I do not want to die without the face to meet my ancestors!" Zhu Youjian said.
Wang Wenzhou curled his lip. He now understood why Emperor Chongzhen was the last emperor of his dynasty. That idiot, so damn confident! Where did he get the confidence that the Ming army could defeat the Manchu cavalry? Confidence is a good thing, but too much of a good thing can be bad; too much confidence is arrogance!
“Brother Zhu, it’s alright to wait a few years! We must first pacify the internal situation before we can fight external enemies. I can persuade the Tartars to send troops to help us quell the banditry in the Northwest. Once our Great Ming is stable, we can then wage war against the Tartars.” Wang Wenzhou tried to persuade Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian shook his head and said, "Boxin, our Great Ming is a celestial empire. These bandits within our borders are no threat. Stop trying to persuade me; my mind is made up! I presume that Minister Wen has already informed you. Continue to pretend to negotiate with the Tartars, and once our army is ready, we will pacify Liaodong in one fell swoop."
"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "Alright, it seems I can't be a king of a different surname after all, I can only be a duke!"
Zhu Youjian said with a smile, "Boxin, I still stand by what I said: If the ruler does not betray me, I will not betray the ruler!"
Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Zhu Youjian, don't just say nice things. Did a dog steal my money? You want to die? I'm happy for you. At worst, I'll join Dorgon. An investment of 600 million taels of silver is no small sum."