In the second hall of the county government, Zhang Shou made an excuse that it was none of his business and slipped away. Ge Yong was so angry that he slammed the armrest and cursed. However, when the old man wanted to slip away, it would not be so easy. Not to mention that Lu Chan would never let go of this old tutor who could make the final decision in front of the emperor, even Zhu Tingfang would not let him go.
He has already let Zhang Shou go. If he lets Ge Yong go too, won't he have to face Lu Chan alone
However, Lu Chan's request was very big, and he put it forward directly with a sincere and genuine attitude. Although Zhu Tingfang and Ge Yong would not easily agree or make a promise, they would not refuse it outright like those civil servants who were very cautious about eunuchs. After a period of wrangling, the two of them finally agreed to Lu Chan and would consider the matter carefully.
But after sending Lü Chan away with gifts, Zhu Tingfang's face, which had been indifferent but at least polite, suddenly became cold: "Mr. Ge, our dynasty has restricted the number of eunuchs since Taizu, and has also restricted eunuchs from being sent out to supervise the army and taxes, etc. This is a rule passed down from our ancestors. What Lü Chan is doing now should not represent him alone. He has Chu Kuan and other eunuchs behind him."
Seeing that Ge Yong was calm and silent, he paused and continued, "During the years since the Emperor ascended the throne, because of the Empress Dowager's strict defense, there are few female officials around him and many eunuchs, so that now most of the female officials' powers are usurped by eunuchs, and the power of the Ministry of Ceremonies is getting longer and longer. Is this really instructed by the Emperor? And what Lu Chan just proposed, is it considered to be trying to guess the Emperor's intentions and interfere in politics?"
"Taizu has many ancestral rules, and the person who knows them best is Yingying, who often goes to the Ancient and Modern Collection to look through Taizu's scrolls. Ask her how many of them are still strictly enforced today?"
Ge Yong asked Zhu Tingfang a question, then smiled and drank two sips of tea to moisten his throat. Without even looking at Zhu Tingfang's gloomy face, he said to himself: "Others don't know about things like ancestral rules, but you don't know? That's bullshit. You can throw it away when you need it, and pick it up when you want. What's the point of respecting heaven and following ancestors? Only the interests that have been passed down for dozens or hundreds of years are truly untouchable."
"Take the emperor for example. Ten years ago, do you think that even if he had the evidence that the Taizu plaque had been shelved, he could have reopened Jiuzhangtang? It's impossible. Not to mention Zhang Shou, even if I personally appealed to the court, it wouldn't have been possible. Why couldn't it be done then, but it is possible now? It's very simple. He has been cultivating this group of old people for twenty years, hoping to wipe out old man Jiang and his group of old people."
“So, even if there are people who criticize, there are also people who support it, which is why it was so easy to reopen Jiuzhangtang last year.”
"But even if old man Jiang is really brought down this time, and a new group of people come on stage, do you think that the court is a place where whatever the emperor says goes? It's impossible. Some people will continue to serve as his mouthpieces, while some people already have a large number of people under their command and cannot ignore the interests of their followers. Those who can share hardships will go their separate ways when they share wealth."
Ge Yong, who had been in the political arena for half his life, put the teacup heavily on the high table beside him. He then said word by word: "In the eyes of Lü Chan and others, they are the only ones who hold the ancestral system of Taizu as the golden rule. In their eyes, they are the staunch supporters of the ancestral system of Taizu and the most loyal henchmen of the royal family, unlike the foreign ministers who are demanding and insatiable."