Fu shook his head and said, "Times change; the court needs Your Majesty even more now."
Zhu Ci frowned and said, "Aren't there still the Grand Secretariat and the Censorate to handle the major affairs of the court?"
This is where the benefits of a constitutional monarchy are demonstrated; even if the monarch were to truly step down, there would be no cause for fear, as the Grand Secretariat and the Censorate would ensure that everything continues to function.
Fu said solemnly, "Your Majesty was previously forced by circumstance, as the court lacked personnel and no generals on the front lines could intimidate the Manchus, which is why Your Majesty needed to lead a personal expedition. But now, while the court may not be overflowing with talent, Your Majesty does not need to personally take risks. Furthermore, the Military Service Examination has already concluded; all Your Majesty needs to do is to recognize talent and assign people to the right positions."
Zhu Ci said indignantly, "How could I possibly know how to do that!"
The phrase "knowing people and assigning them to the right roles" is easy to say, but incredibly difficult to do.
In history, were all those mediocre rulers simply unwilling to be good emperors?
"Love virtuous ministers and keep small men at a distance"—everyone has heard these six words, but would a wise emperor truly seek closeness with someone who is a small man?
The root of everything lies in the failure to judge people correctly.
Wasn't Zhu Ci's willingness to relinquish power due to his fear that his poor judgment of character would ruin a great situation?
If the Grand Secretariat, the Censorate, the Emperor all failed to judge people correctly, then it could only be called the will of Heaven.
Fu rarely saw him in such an angry mood, he said with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Did His Majesty not do very well before?"
After all, haven't all the officials of Great Ming currently been personally appointed by the Little Emperor? The reason Great Ming has reached its current state is because the Little Emperor knows exactly which people to use and which not to.
Zhu Ci lowered his voice and said, "That's because there are some people I already knew! But these new Jinshi, I don't recognize a single one of them!"
Then we shall observe their words and examine their actions," Fu Wensheng said. "Your Majesty need not worry; the Grand Secretariat and the Censorate will not sit idly by.
The Little Emperor's implementation of this Constitutional Monarchy had minimized the impact caused by the Emperor's reckless behavior.
Zhu Ci looked at him and asked, "Is it truly impossible to allow me to lead a personal expedition?"
Fu lowered his eyes and sighed, saying, "I beg Your Majesty for mercy. When Your Majesty went on a Personal Expedition last year, this official could not sleep through the night, wondering whether he was right or wrong. Your Majesty carries the lives of countless commoners upon your person; if any accident were to befall Your Majesty, I would be a sinner for all eternity."
Zhu Ci fell silent instantly.
It wasn't that he had finally realized how important he was to the Great Ming, but rather.. the way Fu used that cold face of his to put on such a weak and melancholic expression was simply unfair!
Zhu Ci had always been quite concerned about Fu's health.
He had always felt that the other was physically weak and feared he might die from exhaustion; his urgency in seeking out Grand Secretaries was also to help share the burden of those trivial matters in his hands.
If his insistence on a Personal Expedition caused the other to lose sleep from worry every day, he truly feared Fu would die of exhaustion.
Zhu Ci looked out the window with a hint of melancholy and said nothing.
Fu felt a moment of heartache.
However, it was only for a moment; compared to letting Zhu Ci go out on an adventure, he still hoped that the other would be safe and sound.
In fact, Zhu Ci indeed did not have much time for melancholy; upon returning to the palace, he had to hold a small court meeting to discuss how to arrange the new Jinshi scholars.
The Civil Service Examination was fine, but he would have to find a way to handle the Military Service Examination.
Zhu Ci thought for a moment and said, "Arrange for a few people to go to Chuangwang, while they're at it, have them bring a few of his men back."
Li Zicheng still had a few civil officials under him, such as Niu Jinxing and others.
When Li Zicheng first surrendered, Zhu Ci did not touch his subordinates, primarily because he was worried that Li Zicheng would suspect him of stripping him of his power.
If suspicion reached an unbearable level and led directly to rebellion, it would truly deal a devastating blow to the vitality of Great Ming.
Now that the situation has stabilized, Zhu Ci is preparing to replace the people around him.
It was mainly because the people who remained were not much to begin with; if they hadn't been fighting each other for power, the Dashun Army wouldn't have suffered such a swift and disastrous defeat.
As for Zhu Ci starting to mobilize people, Li Zicheng accepted it quite well; moreover, the person he sent over was the Top Scholar of the Military Service Examination, which was clearly an opportunity for him to win over people and cultivate his own followers.
As for those who had been cultivated before.. never mind, there's no need to mention them.
Among the group of people he brought, the military officers were all fine, with those who were capable sent to command their own armies, but no arrangements had been made for the civil officials; it was only said that they would be arranged after returning to Nanjing.
Among them, Song Xiance was the most awkward one.
He was neither a civil official nor a military general. When he followed Li Zicheng, he was a strategist, after the city became part of the Dashun, he could barely claim some connection to the State Preceptor, but in the Great Ming.. it seemed there was no such position as State Preceptor.
Song Xiance went to find Li Zicheng in great distress. Li Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "Don't be in a hurry. Go to Nanjing first and see. If the imperial court has no arrangements for you, then go to my Prince's Mansion for now and endure the slight grievance of serving as a steward."
Zhu Ci had arranged a Prince's Mansion for Li Zicheng in Nanjing long ago, partly to ensure he had no worries about his future, partly to wait for him to finally hang up his sword and return to a life of farming.
Clearly, Zhu Ci had already made it very clear that once the empire was stabilized, he would not allow Li Zicheng to continue commanding troops.
Li Zicheng had also experienced moments of profound sorrow, but he had since come to terms with it; having galloped through life for half a lifetime, he felt that being able to live out his days in peace was not a bad outcome.
Song Xiance sighed, feeling that there was nothing else that could be done.
What he found unexpected, however, was that after returning to Nanjing, he actually managed to see the Emperor.
Even Niu Jinxing had not been able to see the Emperor.
When stepping into Huagai Hall, Song Xiance was still very nervous, because he held no official rank and had immediately performed the grand ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
Zhu Ci sat in the seat of honor and set down the memorial in his hands. After giving Song Xiance a brief appraisal, he asked, "I have heard that you are proficient in the Six Ren, Qi Men Dun Jia, various arts of prophecy and mathematics?"
Song Xiance lowered his head and answered cautiously, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble subject only knows a little about them and does not dare to claim expertise."
“Can you find someone?”
Song Xiance was instantly invigorated; he did not fear the Emperor using him, he only feared the Emperor not using him.
He immediately said, "This humble subject is willing to try. I wonder whom Your Majesty is looking for?"
Zhu Ci lowered his eyes and said, "It is a Manchu, named Alna."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: When in doubt, try metaphysics. Cat shaking the divination sticks. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 153
Ever since defeating Alna at Dingyuan last time, Zhu Ci had never been able to find his whereabouts again.
With the great battle imminent, the Dongfeng Bronze Cannon had already been secretly transported to the front lines; even at this time, not knowing the opponent's whereabouts left him feeling extremely uneasy.
He could even discern the movements of the Qing Army, yet he could not find the whereabouts of such a minor figure.
There are only two possibilities: first, Alna has already died in some corner, second, Alna has not returned to the Qing court at all.
But given his status, if he didn't return to the Qing court, where else could he go?
Zhu Ci always had a sense of unease, but the people he sent out could not find the other party's whereabouts.
By this time, even he wanted to seek help from metaphysics.
Fortunately, he knew a great deal about Alna; after all, he was the protagonist. Back then, one could even see the protagonist's profile page on the website, containing everything from his name to his height to his date of birth.
After receiving the news, Song Xiance immediately began to divine.
Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised to find that Song Xiance was an old-fashioned diviner; he was actually using a tortoise shell for divination.
Strange, wasn't it said that Song Xiance's method of divination was Liuren?
However, he said nothing, as this matter truly exceeded the scope of his knowledge.
After a while, Song Xiance calculated for a long time before saying cautiously, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the hexagram indicates this person is south of the Yellow River."
Zhu Ci looked at him speechlessly: "This person is a commander of the Qing Army; naturally, he is in the South right now."
Given Alna's vindictive personality, having set him up so many times, he certainly wouldn't let the matter rest.
Song Xiance immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, this person's fate is extremely unique and very unstable. I am a man of limited knowledge, I fear I may not be able to reach a conclusion immediately."
Zhu Ci was not disappointed and simply waved his hand, saying, "I see."
Song Xiance was somewhat bewildered. This.. was he supposed to just give up?
Jiang Xueyan led him out and said, "His Majesty has already prepared accommodations for Mr. Song. Please, Mr. Song, follow me."
After stepping outside, other eunuchs immediately came to lead him all the way to the side hall of Renzhi Hall. Once Song Xiance was settled, the eunuch bowed slightly and said, "I will be in the duty room right next to you; if Song Xiance has any needs, he may call for me."
Song Xiance immediately felt relieved. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to use all eighteen of his skills, determined to divine that person's whereabouts.
As for why the Emperor wanted to find this person, that was not something he should concern himself with.
No one was hiding the fact that Song Xiance had entered the palace, so Fu asked about it casually when he brought the rapid-fire gun into the palace.
Zhu Ci was holding a rapid-fire gun and looking for a place to test it out; upon hearing Fu's question, he replied casually, "I won't feel at ease until I find this person."
Fu asked thoughtfully, "Does this person have something extraordinary about him?"
Zhu Ci played with the bullets of the rapid-fire gun and said, "There is indeed a point to that. Logically speaking, it shouldn't have such a large impact."
Upon hearing this, Fu knew that His Majesty had a psychological knot regarding this person. While secretly deciding that he must find and kill this person, he comforted the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty need not worry. That man is currently nothing more than a Niu Lu E Zhen; he will not affect the overall situation."
Zhu Ci thought to himself that you just didn't know—the original male protagonist was an undying cockroach.
What kind of Niu Lu E Zhen is he? He started out as a slave; under the Qing court's system, it is already quite difficult for a slave to turn their life around.
Zhu Ci's greatest worry was that if he were not around, no one would be able to suppress this person.
After all, there was no variable like himself in the original story. Alna was someone who would slay gods and kill Buddhas alike; no one could stop his rise to power.
But if he wanted to launch a Personal Expedition because of this, it would be far too childish. Setting aside the entire court of civil and military officials, Fu would be the first to disagree, so Zhu Ci did not tell him exactly what was so extraordinary about Alna.
Zhu Ci also had no way to look at Fu's face and say that you all lived in a book, that you were the protagonists of the story, that he might already be dead before the protagonist's rise.
Isn't this just adding to the frustration?
Everyone is a living, breathing person; how could they suddenly become nothing more than insignificant supporting characters in a book?
Fu also sensed that the Emperor might be hiding something, but he did not care. His Majesty must have his reasons, he was not the type of person to pry into everything.
He changed the subject directly and said, "Your Majesty, I have already prepared the shooting range. Would you like to go and try it out?"
“Let's go and try it, to see if there is anything that can be improved.”
There are too few areas where the Dongfeng Bronze Cannon can be improved, or rather, this thing is already a masterpiece that integrates all current craftsmanship; to take it a step further would require a bit of scientific advancement.
This matter cannot be resolved in a short amount of time, but there are still many aspects of firearms that can be improved.
The direction of improvement for the rapid-fire gun is towards the direction of the machine guns of later generations.