Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In Dongnuan Pavilion, sandalwood curls up from the copper stove.

Zhu Youtang watched the Huguang patrol press Jiang Hong's memorial and didn't know why he had such a bold idea.

But he knew that this Yanzheng was like a cake that was already covered with flies and mice, and it was time to see blood. The salt problem in the Ming Dynasty cannot be solved by Zhang Min's reform at all. Only by frightening and killing these flies and mice can we keep the cake that the imperial court deserves.

In fact, this is true in any era. Once a steady stream of money or benefits can be generated, interest groups will inevitably breed there.

Even in the era of later civilizations, there is still no shortage of moths in some fields, and they use various means to eat away at the sugar in this field.

The Zhou Dynasty that the civil servants longed for was largely a fairy tale. The background of the story was two thousand years ago, and officials of any era must have selfish motives.

As for Zhu Xi's concept of "concerning heaven's principles and destroying human desires", it may be a way to govern the world, but how many officials can "become a saint"?

The land under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty consists of two capitals and thirteen provinces, with more than 1,400 counties. How many Jingshan counties are there, and how many people like Li Guangming are there?

When Zhu Youtang saw these memorials submitted from the local government to impeach Wang Yue, he not only did not waver in his idea of ​​re-employing Wang Yue, but also wanted to kill these officials as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, this is the memorial just sent from Huiji Gate!" Guo Yong came in with a pile of memorials and reported again.

Zhu Youtang couldn't help but stretched out his hand to rub his forehead. There were enough memorials from these two capitals and thirteen provinces, but some of the officials from the capital below were restless.

Since the early morning court meetings were held these days, the number of memorials increased rapidly, and the number already exceeded the memorials sent from the local government.

It would be fine if these Beijing officials honestly reported on government affairs, but they were all handed to me. At best, they were direct admonishments, at worst, they were actually teaching me how to behave.

Zhu Youtang opened a book and said bitterly: "Is it Ma Wensheng again?"

"Your Majesty, these three reports are all from Ma Wensheng!" Liu Jin knew that Ma Wensheng, the newly appointed censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, had become the number one thorn in the side, so he picked up the other two and carefully reported the report.

Zhu Youtang directly threw the memorial aside, but was too lazy to look at it again.

Ma Wensheng, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who had just arrived from Nanjing, seemed to have taken medicine. Several memorials were handed over to him every day, and his words were full of disrespect.

Zhu Youtang knew that both Ma Wensheng and Wang Shu were courtiers who liked "direct admonishment" and had a great reputation in later generations. Together with Daxia, they were known as the three gentlemen of Hongzhi.

Compared with these high-talking officials, he prefers practical men like Wang Yue. The former only has a clever talk, but behind him he actually does practical things.

Whether reading novels or reading history books, Zhu Youtang has always considered what this official did in that context, instead of simply judging who is good and who is bad based on what others say.

Zhu Youtang didn't want to waste his energy on these people. He suddenly thought that Song Cheng had not seen anyone for several days, so he decided to summon him alone.

"This time the new king is acting so recklessly, we, as ministers, are responsible for admonishing him. How can we let the new king make mistakes again and again!" Ma Wenhua not only handed over several memorials every day, but also openly said.

Ma Wenhua was a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai. He was first awarded the title of Censor, and later patrolled Shanxi and Huguang. He was originally the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, but now he was elected to Beijing as the Censor of the Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Although he is now over sixty, his body is still very strong. Even though he is missing a few teeth, his voice is loud and powerful, and he is still a famous mouthpiece of the Ming Dynasty.

Just like Wang Shu, he usually likes to look for trouble when nothing happens, but now he even wants to look for trouble. Regardless of whether it is justified or not, there must be a fuss first.

When he returned to Beijing at this time, he was furious when he learned that his friend Li Min, who was from the same hometown, was arrested and imprisoned.

He had a close relationship with Liu Min, and they even wanted to marry their children. However, his son committed some crimes, and the marriage was finally abandoned.

Now Zhu Youtang sent Li Min to jail and ransacked his home without any solid evidence. In his opinion, Zhu Youtang was not even as good as a tyrant, so he directly took up the banner of anti-imperialism.

It's a pity that no matter how many memorials he submitted, nothing happened.

It happened to be November, and the weather in Beijing was getting colder and colder.

Shuowang Dynasty is a court meeting held in the Fengtian Palace on the first and fifteenth day of each month. Officials of the fourth rank or above enter the palace to participate. They only pay greetings and do not discuss political affairs.

Zhu Youtang did not give up on Shuowang Dynasty. He went to the Fengxian Hall in the palace early in the morning to worship his ancestors.

Regardless of whether he admits it or not, he now has the blood of the Zhu family's royal relatives, and the spiritual tablets in front of him are his nominal ancestors, and the one in the right position is naturally the great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Youtang has stayed on the throne for a long time, but the person he admires most is Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

If the system established during the Taizu period had not gone out of shape, today's Ming Dynasty would definitely be more prosperous, and had even achieved a strong country and a prosperous people.

Of course, this is actually a fantasy full of fairy tales. It is actually inevitable that the salt government will be cannibalized by interest groups, and the destruction of Kaizhongfa will sooner or later be the inevitable result of the growth of Huai officials.

"Hundred officials enter the palace to pay homage!"

As Zhu Youtang came to the dragon chair in Fengtian Hall, Guo Yong immediately sang.

At this time, Honglu Temple praised the arrangement and music.

"Hail, holy bow!"

Chen Qiong, the new left minister of the Ministry of Rites, has arrived. Since he was brought back from the nursing home in Nanjing by Zhu Youtang, his eyes looked at Zhu Youtang with a hint of gratitude, and he appeared to sing the ceremony in a polite manner.

"Hail, holy bow!"

Wan An and Liu Ji led all the fourth-rank and above imperial officials into the palace while listening to the ringing of the bells, and instead bowed respectfully and kowtowed three times.

According to Zhou etiquette, officials originally had to take off their boots to enter the palace to show respect. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was not a person who liked this kind of red tape, so he specially issued an edict stipulating that all officials entering the palace should not play with such false etiquette and leave it to me. Put on all the boots.

Zhu Youtang knew that this court meeting was actually just a process. He came here to accept the worship of the fourth-rank and above imperial officials, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites chanted a lot, and then they dispersed.

"Hail, holy bow!"

The officials below the fourth rank outside stood under the Danqi and also bowed and kowtowed three times to Hongzhi in the palace.

Chen Qiong, the newly appointed left minister of the Ministry of Rites, fulfilled his duties as the Minister of Rites and sang again: "Return to work!"

At this time, Zhu Youtang could retreat, but all officials had to bow before leaving the palace.

"I have this memorial!" Ma Wensheng, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, saw that Zhu Youtang was about to leave, and suddenly came out of the queue.

When Liu Ji, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, saw that Ma Wensheng was so ignorant of the rules, he immediately stood up and yelled: "Ma Zongxian, today is the Shuowang Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty has been out of court for five or six days, and I have not yet seen your majesty's face when I went to the capital to take office. Today, I am meeting in court. I would like to present you with a summary of the fifteen current affairs. I also have other important matters to report. I would like to ask your majesty for your permission!" Ma Wensheng naturally knew that it was not in compliance with the regulations, but he still took a strong stance.

This was actually the first time Zhu Youtang met Ma Wensheng, and found that his face was relatively slender, with deep eye sockets, the tip of his nose, small eyes, and a chin beard, giving him the appearance of a Hui ethnic minority.

He just met the other party's gaze and resolutely showed a posture of entangled with himself.

Zhu Youtang knew that this kind of thing might really be "avoidable on the first day of the lunar month, but not on the 15th day of the lunar month", so he suppressed the anger in his heart and said: "Let's play it!"

Huh?

When Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and other officials heard Zhu Youtang's answer, they immediately smelled the smell of gunpowder, and then faintly turned their heads to look at the little old Hui man next to them.

In fact, anyone can see that Ma Wensheng came from Nanjing this time to rescue his friend Li Min from the same hometown and to establish his name as Ma Wensheng.

At present, the imperial court is still dominated by two paper elders, Wange and Liu Ji. Xu Pu, a Hanlin scholar who had high hopes, has abandoned his armor, and Ma Wensheng wants to use this to carry the banner of Qingliu.

Looking at the current six ministers, Li Yu and Du Ming have completely defected, Li Si, the minister of household affairs, has no command, Jia Jun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, is the minister of Juren, Jia Zijun, the minister of the Ministry of War, is still in prison, and the minister of the Ministry of Rites is vacant.

Ma Wensheng, as the second-rank Censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, can be said to be the most influential Qingliu now, so he naturally has to shoulder the banner of Qingliu without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, I have four things to report this time! The first is to ask Li Min, the former minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, to stop copying family affairs. Li Min's corruption cannot be just based on a private account book, and he can arrest the minister and deprive him of his family property. This kind of practice It has never been seen in ancient times, and it is inconsistent with the laws of this dynasty, so please bring order to the chaos. The second is to ask Wang Yue to be removed from his post. On the day when Yue rises, it will be convenient for Jingshan County to massacre Li Guangming, the former prefect of Shunde, and Jingshan County Magistrate, and later to behead their officials in Anlu Prefecture. There are four people in total. Yue's move is suspected of taking public advantage for personal gain, and this person is cruel. Third, please take back the sword Shangshu. Shang Fangjian represents the supremacy of imperial power. It has always been used in the military. Only when the emperor awards it to the leading general during an expedition, now Yue This sword is used to slaughter many local officials, so please stop it! Fourth, please pardon Qingyun Hou Zhou Shou. After investigation, Qingyun Hou was not involved in Zhou Lie's rebellion, and Qingyun Hou was the brother of the Empress Dowager, and Qingyun Hou was implicated. It is an unfilial act to hurt the heart of the Empress Dowager, so please stop it!" Ma Wensheng presented four matters in detail and stated in a eloquent manner.

The officials present couldn't help but silently exchange glances, realizing that Hong Zhi had to rely on officials with a background in science and technology who dared to say anything.

Zhu Youtang glanced at the officials present who were ready to move, and said calmly: "If any of you agree with Ma Yushi's request, please all come forward!"

Xu Pu weighed it up and didn't plan to step forward. It wasn't that he didn't agree with Ma Wensheng's plan, but simply that he didn't want to stand up for Ma Wensheng.

Liu Jian, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, looked around and was about to step forward when his second assistant Liu Ji coughed due to a scratchy throat, causing him to shrink back again.

"I second the proposal!" Feng Guan, the minister of Dali Temple, Hu Gong, the minister of Guanglu Temple, and Zhu Yonghe, the minister of Shangbao Temple, exchanged glances and immediately stood up to express their stance.

When Ma Wensheng saw Dali Temple Minister Feng Guan and three others standing up, the corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly.

Even though it was rumored that this new king was different from when he was the prince, he always believed that he had brains and eloquence, so how could he be at the mercy of a young emperor.

"In that case, let's do it one by one! Li Min, the former Minister of Household Affairs, wants to be exonerated. Do you want to help him guarantee it?" Zhu Youtang looked at the four officials in the palace and asked.

"I didn't mean this!" Feng Guan, the minister of Dali Temple, naturally couldn't bet his life and fortune on Li Min, so he even denied it.

Zhu Yonghe, minister of Shangbao Temple, explained tactfully: "Your Majesty, I think that your Majesty's imprisonment of ministers and confiscation of their homes without sufficient evidence would be a disgrace to the world's scholars, so please stop admonishing me!"

"That's it. I don't need to testify for Li Min. Your Majesty was at fault in this matter!" Ma Wensheng naturally couldn't risk his life, so he responded loudly.

"These four old foxes!"

After Li Yu heard their expressions, he shook his head silently, but he knew that officials including Ma Wensheng were well versed in officialdom.

Zhu Youtang naturally knew that the officials under him were all slippery, so he couldn't help but mockingly said: "You want to ask for mercy, but you are unwilling to take any responsibility. You are really very good at calculating." As he said that, he looked around. He glanced at Guo Yong standing next to him and said, "Read it!"

Guo Yong had already made preparations. He immediately cleared his throat and said: "This is the memorial just delivered by Liu Zhong, the doctor of the Guangxi Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Zajia will read it for everyone to read! Liu Zhong, the doctor of the Guangxi Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is here to give it to you!" : The minister went to Yongcheng to search the Li family, but very little stolen silver was obtained from the Li family's mansion. Fortunately, Gou Youzhong, the magistrate of Yongcheng, provided that the Li family's silver was hidden in the 10,000-acre Dendrobium forest at Ziyun Academy. After many days of careful search, they were found I found a place to hide the silver in the ghost house. There were more than 100,000 taels of gold in the kiln, 650,000 taels of silver, and countless jewels..."

ah?

As soon as these words came out, the officials present were stunned.

Although everyone knows that Li Min's hands and feet are not clean, not to mention when he was the local governor, there were already rumors of great corruption when he was the governor of water transportation.

But no one thought that Li Min was so greedy that the total value of the silver he had embezzled exceeded one million taels. He was the first person to be greedy after Guo Huan, the former left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Of course, what they didn't expect the most was that the Li family's kiln silver was actually found by a small household doctor, and the fig leaf was officially unveiled.

Zhu Youtang also breathed a long sigh of relief, looked at Ma Wensheng and said sternly: "If Li Min is really a clean official and doesn't take any money, but he doesn't know where this more than one million stolen silver comes from? Ma Aiqing, please give it to me." An explanation to make me think that I did something wrong, that I should not have raided Li Min’s home, and that I should have allowed Li Min to return to his hometown to live a happy life!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"Such a greedy person should be punished!"

"Your majesty is wise, you should thoroughly investigate all relevant officials in the ledger!"

…

After learning that Liu Zhong had confiscated so much gold and silver in Yongcheng, the attitude of the officials immediately changed 180 degrees, and they immediately expressed their stance.

Ma Wensheng's head was buzzing, and he was sweating profusely. He never thought that Li Min had embezzled so much silver, and was actually found out by the confiscating officials.

Feng Guan, the minister of Dali Temple, and the other three people were also despairing. They stared blankly at Guo Yong who read out Liu Zhong's memorial. They never expected that the person they wanted to rescue turned out to be the number one greedy man in the Ming Dynasty.