Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Xiyuan, Yangxin Hall.

Zhu Youtang listened quietly to the whole process reported by Wang Xiang, but there was no anger on his face, and he even continued to drink tea calmly.

Huh?

Liu Jin never expected that a small Jinyiwei Baihu would dare to point the finger at the dignified Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but he was already ready to clean up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground at any time, but found that things were not what he thought. .

This time, Prime Minister Wang brought Mou Bin with him to meet the saint, and he was kneeling on the ground respectfully at this moment.

Thinking of the ridiculous things his Jin Yiwei had done, even though they had nothing to do with him, he felt too guilty at the moment to dare to look directly at the emperor in front of him.

Mou Bin felt the majesty of this emperor and knew that it was not easy to walk here from the palace road, so he did not dare to breathe heavily.

Sandalwood curled up, and the entire hall became eerily quiet.

Zhu Youtang blew the hot tea slowly, but asked lightly: "The six of them are good young people. None of them have been disabled due to injuries, right?"

"When Wei Chen arrived after hearing the news, the four people who were tortured all suffered from whip wounds. They will definitely recover after half a month of rest." Mou Bin was the first to arrive and responded honestly.

When Wang Xiang thought about Jin Yiwei's endless tricks, he felt secretly lucky in his heart.

If Mou Bin hadn't reacted in time today, he still wouldn't have known that Ma Shu had done such a ridiculous thing, and even now he had a testimony against Wang Yue.

Zhu Youtang took a sip of hot tea and changed the subject: "Prime Minister, I have asked you to investigate secretly for so long. Isn't there still no clue about Zhu Ji's matter?"

The current problem of Jinyiwei is far more than the problem of Zhu Ji, the commander of Jinyiwei, but the middle level of Jinyiwei are all related households, and even many of the lower levels are confidants of powerful people.

Simply changing a few leaders cannot solve the core problems of Jinyiwei. The best solution is to conduct a major operation and directly clean the middle and upper levels of Jinyiwei.

It's just that the Jin Yiwei are the emperor's nominal pro-army after all. There are also Jin Yiwei who have been loyal to the emperor for generations, and they are recognized as the most loyal army in the world.

Even if it is known that there is a problem with Jin Yiwei, it must be sorted out slowly, rather than mass dismissal and dismissal of officials indiscriminately. What's more, some hereditary households also need a sufficient reason for dismissal and dismissal.

Although the emperor always claimed to be a loner, he could not really be a loner.

Zhu Youtang had already seen through Jin Yiwei and had plans to clean up, but he could never find the right time. The reason why Zhu Ji has been retained is actually to start from Zhu Ji, so as to find loopholes and purge all those martial arts men, second-generation officials and second-generation soldiers.

It’s just that the ideal is very plump and the reality is very skinny.

Although he had sent Wang Xiang to keep an eye on Zhu Ji very early, and had already investigated Zhu Ji's financial impurity, he had not yet obtained any substantial evidence of guilt.

this……

Wang Xiang realized that it would be better to watch Zhu Youtang smash things, and responded awkwardly: "Your Majesty, I have found out that Zhu Ji earned income through a pawn shop under his name, but these incomes... seem to be legal."

"Pawn shop? The main business of this pawn shop is Beijing Debt, right?" After Zhu Youtang learned this unexpected information, he couldn't help but feel a little moved in his heart.

The Prime Minister was suddenly startled and blurted out: "Your Majesty, how did you know?"

Zhu Youtang couldn't help but smile coldly, this was naturally a guess.

Originally, I didn't pay much attention to Beijing Debt, but after a deeper understanding, I found that the danger of Beijing Debt was much more serious than imagined.

Beijing debt is not a product that only appeared in the Ming Dynasty, but can be traced back to the period of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty.

"Old Tang Book - Wuzong Benji" records: On Bingyin in February of the second year of Huichang, Zhongshu reported... With monthly payments, accounts were calculated at the end of the year and applied to the household department, and officials were elected to have many debts in Beijing, which were repaid when they were appointed. This is not the reason for his greed.

According to later statistics, the Ming Dynasty's Beijing debt reached the highest level in history, and the situation of officials borrowing Beijing debt became more and more serious.

Nowadays, the lending targets of Beijing bonds are no longer limited to officials who have not yet taken office. Some officials who have been in office for many years have also begun to borrow Beijing bonds repeatedly.

Although his cotton business is very profitable, compared with Beijing Debt, he is simply a younger brother.

It's just that if these pawnshops dare to make usurious loans, they naturally have powerful support behind them. Otherwise, how could a merchant dare to make usurious loans to the imperial officials?

The situation has gradually become clear. Although Zhu Ji did not make any money on the surface, he made a lot of money from Beijing Debt and was even one of the important lenders of Beijing Debt.

Zhu Youtang originally suspected that Wang Xiang had betrayed him, but then he softened his expression slightly and said: "Get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief before he and Mou Bin got up from the ground.

The emperor of heaven and earth is a personal teacher, and now the king and prime minister have implemented it very thoroughly. If it were not for the emperor's special favor, he would have no status at all in Ruianbo Mansion.

Zhu Youtang held the tea cup in his hand and made a decision: "You are conducting an internal investigation in the name of Ma Shu's dereliction of duty. Just put him under supervision first. I will make arrangements later, so step aside!"

"Yes!" Wang Xiang and Mou Bin couldn't help being slightly stunned, but then they respectfully handed over their hands.

Zhu Youtang watched the two people leave, but couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Majesty, Ma Shu is just a small character, there is no need to be angry with such a person!" Liu Jin consoled him seriously when he saw that Zhu Youtang still failed to show his emotions and anger after all.

Zhu Youtang was about to put down the tea cup, but suddenly he was stunned: "I always thought you were a roundworm in my heart, but now it seems that may not be the case!"

"Your Majesty, weren't you angry just now about Ma Shu?" Liu Jin couldn't help but be stunned.

Zhu Youtang shook his head gently, and then a smile appeared on his face: "How could I be angry because of Ma Shu? I have to thank Ma Shu for the stupid thing he did this time. I have always wanted to clean up Jin Yiwei, but I have always wanted to clean up Jin Yiwei. There is no perfect opportunity. After all, I can’t purge my most loyal bodyguards for no reason. Isn’t this a joke to the world?”

Liu Jin listened carefully, but still looked a little confused.

Zhu Youtang brought the tea cup he was about to put down to his mouth, took a sip of tea and continued: "Ma Shu must have been instructed by someone this time, but he wanted to use this opportunity to target Wang Yue, and deliberately created a I will try a fraud case to discredit the imperial court. It’s just that Ma Shu is not a civil servant, nor is he a military general of the Ming Dynasty, but one of my close soldiers. Now all fools know that I want to re-employ Wang Yue, but in the end, Ma Shu will be loyal to me. I arrested him and tortured him severely, now let alone I want to investigate and send Ma Shu, even if I want Zhu Ji to get out, no one in the civil and military dynasties dares to say anything wrong with me!"

Jin Yiwei can be disloyal to him, and can even treat the officials he asks to imprison as his ancestors, but he does not want to openly confront him.

It is unethical to purge the Jin Yiwei for no reason, and it also chills the hearts of the meritorious soldiers in the world, but it is only right to punish a Jin Yiwei who is against him.

To borrow a classic saying: We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, and we know they know we know they are lying, but they still lie.

The emperor and Jin Yiwei were inseparable in appearance and knew each other's positions, but they could not pierce the window paper.

Others may think that Ma Shu was out for justice, but people in the officialdom knew at a glance that Ma Shu was pointing his sword at Wang Yue, and that he was targeting important ministers who were important to the emperor.

That's why Zhu Youtang really had no reason to be angry. After all, Ma Shu took the initiative to send his neck over and even gave him a reason to clean the Jin Yiwei.

"My servant is stupid! But since it is a good thing now, why did Your Majesty sigh just now?" Liu Jin finally realized and immediately apologized happily.

Zhu Youtang put down the tea cup in his hand and said bitterly: "Jinyiwei is my personal guard, and it is not easy to verify. If Dongchang verifies Jinyiwei, this matter will definitely be strongly opposed by the government and the opposition, and Dongchang It may not be possible to get the matter done. The best thing to do now is for the Metropolitan Procuratorate to intervene, but unfortunately Wang Yue is now too busy to do what he wants, and God is not going to do what he wants!"

The examination was related to the talent selection ceremony. Although Shuntian Gongyuan was closed for nine days and then unsealed, the area of ​​​​Jukui Hall was still closed, and Wang Yue and nine other examiners were judging the candidates' examination papers.

According to the usual practice, not even the person inside, not even the note, can be passed out.

Not to mention that Zhu Youtang wanted Wang Yue to help with things, even if he suddenly summoned Wang Yue for discussion, it would not be appropriate.

If an order was issued to take Wang Yue out of the heavily guarded Jukuitang area, it would allow people outside to think about it, and various versions of fraud would naturally occur.

Although Zhu Youtang wanted to call people over immediately, and even wanted Wang Yue to start directly from the Ma Shu case to find out who was behind the scenes, the talent promotion ceremony could not be messed up, and the rules were the rules.

"Your Majesty, we still have to wait five more days before the results are released!" Liu Jin also felt that the matter was difficult, so he counted the days in frustration.

Zhu Youtang actually made a decision in his heart: "I've been waiting for so long, what's the harm in waiting for another five days? This time, Wang Yue will investigate who instigated Ma Shu, and I will take this opportunity to dig out the Jinyiwei. , maybe we can really dig out a bunch of bad apples!"

Various signs indicate that this incident is closely related to Zhu Ji, and there is even a mysterious force behind it.

In mid-February, the weather in Beijing has turned warmer, and the snow has already melted away without a trace.

The time has come for the results release day, and more than 4,000 candidates are eagerly looking forward to being favored by the goddess of luck and waiting to jump over the dragon gate today.

What is the reason for the cold window for ten years? Naturally, it is known all over the world once he is on the gold list.

Although people can be elected as officials, the number of official positions in the Ming Dynasty has already been overpopulated. It is not known how long it will take for people to wait for candidates to be filled. Moreover, if you want to find a better position to fill the vacancy, you have to borrow Beijing debt to finance it.

On the other hand, the title of Jinshi, not only the opportunity to enter the Hanlin Academy, but also the lack of being a seventh-grade county magistrate or an official in a government, even if it is sent to other places, it also has the opportunity to display what one has learned throughout his life.

Dongsheng Inn, the golden sun falls in the courtyard here.

Shopkeeper Zhang walked back to the front hall from the courtyard bathed in the morning sun. He seemed a little more nervous than the candidates, and he was fidgeting back and forth.

Ordinarily, since the location of my inn is so good, I should be able to make a lot of money. It's just that, as if by chance, there has been no Jinshi for several subjects in a row, and even the second-class Jinshi has not appeared.

However, the previous murder had affected the reputation. If he could not make a comeback today, his inn would definitely be despised next year.

Not to mention making money to marry a big-assed concubine and giving birth to a fat boy to carry on the family line. Even if it continues to operate, it will become a big problem.

Shopkeeper Zhang almost bumped into someone. When he looked up and saw the waiter who was usually the laziest, he started to teach him a lesson: "Today is a good day to announce good news. Please be more diligent and smart in your work!"

"Cousin, please be at ease. I usually get lazy occasionally, but today I promise to be the most diligent!" The clever young man immediately winked and patted his chest as a guarantee.

Shopkeeper Zhang thought that this nephew and his 200-pound daughter seemed to have an eye on each other, and pointed at the table angrily: "What are you doing just standing there stupidly? Wipe the table here quickly. If there is even a little bit on it, You're unclean, I have to skin you today!"

Seeing that the shopkeeper was getting angry, the young man no longer dared to talk. He worked obediently and looked up when he saw the six people appearing and greeted them warmly: "Masters, please sit down!"

Xu Hong and the other six people were already friends in times of need, and they had just made an appointment to come to the front hall together.

After several days of recuperation, the bodies of the four people who were whipped have improved significantly, but some wounds are still aching. It's just that I can't care about these things now, but I hope to be named on the gold list today.

On the surface, Juren looks prosperous, but he also has his own dissatisfaction.

"If I fail the exam again this time, I will go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs as a candidate!"

"Living in the capital is not easy. I am now in debt to the capital."

"If I fail the exam this time, I'm going to take the exam again next year. I don't believe I'm any worse than others!"

…

The six people sat together. Since the results of the Guangdong General Examination have always been relatively poor, even though 600 places were admitted this time, Haikuan and other candidates looked worried.

Seeing that the atmosphere was gloomy, Xu Hong cheered up: "Don't forget, we all did well in the second exam. Maybe all six of us here got it!"

"If all six of you can go to high school this time, I will write your names backwards!" Tan Bo happened to come to the front hall and immediately opened the paper fan and mocked.

Xu Hong really didn't like this young man who always looked down on them, so he suddenly had an idea: "If we are six high schools, you go to the gate of Fusi in Beizhen and call the Commander Zhu Ji a turtle bastard!"

"What if none of you win?" Tan Bo found that the game was quite big, but he asked without flinching.

Xu Hong picked up the egg he had just delivered and nibbled it on the edge of the table. The corners of his mouth raised slightly: "If none of the six of us win, the six of us will go to the Fusi Gate in Beizhen and call Zhu Ji a turtle bastard."

"Okay, it's a deal!" Tan Bo gathered up the paper fan and slapped it on the palm of his hand, making the bet with great confidence.

At this moment, a beautiful figure walked in from the door, carrying a heavy food box in her hand.