The Splendid Medical Concubine: The Journey of a Concubine

Chapter 421 Extra 012 Cleaning

Over the next two days, the fall hunt was in full swing.

Those young generals and princes all seemed to have taken some magic pill, their blood was boiling, and they wanted to compete in front of the king, relatives and friends. Countless prey were transported back to the hunting palace from the hunting grounds, even those who did not enter The girls at the hunting ground were discussing what everyone had harvested in the past few days.

On the third day of the autumn hunting, Gu Jue made an order early in the morning, and decided to set off back to Beijing three days later, on the ninth day of August. Most of the others still felt that they were still unfinished, especially the young and energetic young masters who were eager to return to the capital before the end of the autumn hunting. Hunt a few ferocious beasts to stand out from the crowd.

Those who like hunting go to the hunting ground every day, and those who like traveling around the mountains and rivers hang out with friends. Some people, such as Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen, go to Wanlin Town, which is the closest to the hunting ground.

Shen Qianchen spent three days in the hunting ground and didn't want to go into the mountains anymore, so on the morning of the seventh day of August, she and Gu Jue went to Wanlin Town incognito.

The small town became more lively and prosperous than usual because of the emperor's autumn hunting.

On the streets, in restaurants, teahouses, shops... you can see men, women and children dressed in rich and colorful clothes everywhere. Their appearance and dress are completely different from the locals, and they look outstanding when walking in the town.

This town relies on mountains, so it is natural to eat a lot of delicacies from the mountains. Along the way, many simple townspeople are setting up stalls selling all kinds of wild mushrooms, miscellaneous fish, wild chrysanthemums, wild bamboo shoots, etc. There are hares, pheasants and other game, and all kinds of shouting sounds come and go.

"Take a look, take a look, these are all freshly picked grasses from the mountains, monkey mushrooms, bamboo fungus, donkey's nest mushrooms, morels, white fungus... as fresh as possible."

"Little lady, don't look at these fish. They are small and delicious. They are perfect for frying small fish."

"Look at how cute these rabbits are, sir. Why don't you buy two for your wife to play with?"

“…”

From the moment they entered the town, Shen Qianchen and Gu Jue only walked through one street before being stopped four or five times by the vendors. It felt like they had walked several miles out of a street that was only a hundred feet away.

The couple strolled around the town casually for a while and bought some miscellaneous gadgets. Gu Jue carried the things for her without complaint.

After shopping for more than half an hour, Shen Qianchen said he was tired, so the two of them entered a nearby restaurant. The restaurant is not big, so there are not many private seats. When they went there, there were only two empty tables in the lobby on the second floor.

They were not particular people anyway, so they sat down at a table by the window on the second floor.

The two generously ordered a table of signature dishes. The waiter knew that he had met a distinguished guest who was not short of money. He smiled from ear to ear and said, "Please wait a moment, sir" and went downstairs.

The diners at the nearby tables were eating, drinking, talking and laughing, making a lot of noise.

Shen Qianchen took a sip of the warm and fragrant barley tea and turned to look out the window when he heard a low-pitched male voice coming from the table next to him: "Brother, does that person really have a prey distribution map?" ?”

A young man in blue, about eighteen or nineteen years old, urged the middle-aged man beside him impatiently, looking out the window across the street from time to time.

The middle-aged man patted the young man in blue on the shoulder and lowered his voice alertly: "Brother, don't worry, there will definitely be no problem. When you present this prey distribution map to your son, it will be a great achievement."

"I will definitely remember your kindness, brother." The young man in blue smiled apologetically, but was still a little anxious.

Gu Jue also heard the conversation and exchanged a tacit look with Shen Qianchen.

According to the rules of Daqi, when the emperor went hunting, he would always send an advance army to the hunting ground to drive away the beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests, and draw a distribution map of the prey in the hunting ground. The main purpose was to record the approximate areas where various prey were distributed, especially the areas where the various prey were roughly distributed. Carefully mark the habitats of bears, tigers, wolves and other wild beasts to prevent these wild beasts from accidentally injuring the nobles.

The middle-aged man glanced at the street outside the window again, and said excitedly: "The people are here, let's go down."

The two guests put down their drink money, got up in a hurry, and hurried downstairs.

Gu Jue didn't even look at them. He drank tea gracefully and snapped his fingers.

Almost the next moment, a young man in gray shorts appeared next to Gu Jue like a ghost, leaning down to obey the order.

Gu Jue pointed out the window and gave another instruction in a very soft voice. Immediately, the young man in gray also quickly got off his arms, and happened to pass by the waiter who came upstairs to serve the food.

"Sir, the food is here, you two can eat it while it's hot!"

The waiter was very nimble and served several hot dishes one after another.

When Gu Jue and Shen Qianchen had finished eating, the young man in gray came back, used his sleeves as a cover and stuffed a piece of paper folded into a long strip to Gu Jue, and then disappeared again. It was as if he had never appeared.

After reading the drawing, Gu Jue smiled, put it away again, and said sarcastically: "This is a cover-up."

Shen Qianchen could see and hear that the drawing was real.

She thought about it briefly and understood the key.

It was precisely because of the leakage of this prey distribution map that Gu Jue and she were attacked by wolves at the hunting ground on the fourth day of August. The person who leaked the distribution map was not a fool. He knew this, so he was afraid.

If this prey distribution map was only sold to a few people, Jin Yiwei would be able to trace him with just one search. So, in order to remedy the situation, he simply spread the map non-stop, hoping that Jin Yiwei would not find out. On his head, or in other words, he should be thinking of not punishing the public.

"Ha," Shen Qianchen chuckled, but the smile was not as bright as his eyes, and his pupils were as cold as the lake in autumn. He said angrily, "I really have too many things on my mind. It's endless."

Gu Jue stopped talking and took a sip of barley tea, a cold light flashing across his eyes.

Yes, one after another, it’s almost endless.

Gu Jue always acted vigorously and resolutely. Now that he had made a decision in his heart, after returning to the hunting palace, he immediately announced that Su Mubai, Xue Fengyan and others were here, and ordered: "There is no need to continue the investigation, mobilize the Xuanjia Army, Take all these people down and remove them from office.”

Gu Jue casually threw out a piece of paper, which was written by Su Mubai himself a few days ago. It listed the generals involved in the "empty salary case" and their various crimes.

Su Mubai, Xue Fengyan and others couldn't help but stand in awe.

The issue of empty pay in the military has been investigated for three months. Su Mubai reported and discussed this matter to Gu Jue several times. In Su Mubai's view, in order to avoid shaking the morale of the army, it is best to "nibble away" these worms in the army step by step and gradually control all the chaos in the army.

However, Gu Jue disagreed.

He believed that these borers should not be tolerated, but should be "punched up to pound their holes" and take drastic measures, so this autumn hunting was carried out.

The essence of this autumn hunting is a "Hongmen Banquet". Gu Jue's purpose is just to legitimately gather all the generals who came to Beijing to report on their duties and the relevant generals in the Forbidden Army to the hunting palace, trapping them in this relatively closed place. In the space, catch them all again.

This is Gu Jue!

Whether he leads troops, governs his subordinates, or conducts himself in life, he is decisive and decisive. No one or anything can stop his steps or decisions.

"Yes, Master Jiu!"

Su Mubai and others responded in unison, and their loud voices startled the birds on the branches outside the window.

It was dusk, the sun was setting low, and most of the hunting men had returned from the hunting grounds.

Many people gathered in the gardens, lakeside, and pavilions of the hunting palace. Some chatted, some chatted about everyday things, some exchanged hunting experiences, and some played, and it was very lively.

On the shore of a sparkling lake, more than a dozen young men and girls were happily playing kettle in the open space beside the lake, beaming and laughing.

Suddenly, a rumble of footsteps came from the direction of the entrance of the hunting palace, getting closer and closer like rolling thunder, resounding throughout the hunting palace.

These young people were all shocked. A girl in green clothes who was about to throw the pot accidentally missed it and dropped the bamboo arrow in her hand.

Everyone followed the sound and saw a large group of black people not far away rushing towards this direction like a tide, exuding an intimidating momentum.

They were startled again, and suddenly there was a commotion, especially the girls, who were so frightened that they all turned pale and shouted:

"Why is there a group of soldiers coming this way?!"

"Is he a rebel?!"

"Quick, go and notify the nearby Jin Yiwei!"

“…”

Because Gu Jue had just encountered danger in the hunting ground not long ago, most people's first reaction was that there was a rebel attack.

However, when the dark group of people gradually approached, everyone saw clearly the clothes of the person coming, and they were convinced that this was definitely not a rebel.

"It's the Xuanjia Army!"

"Why did the Xuanjia Army move out?"

On the one hand, everyone was calm, but on the other hand, they were a little panicked. Everyone knows that the Xuanjia Army is the emperor's personal army and has experienced hundreds of battles. Most of the current Jinyi Guards, Jinwu Guards, Banner Guards and even the reorganized five military camps are transferred from the Xuanjia Army.

Since the Xuanjia Army was dispatched today, it must have been targeted.

The key is who is the "target" being targeted.

Everyone did not dare to act rashly, and just watched from a distance from their original position, watching the Xuanjia Army training quickly divided into several teams, and went in all directions with great momentum.

The girl in green clothes swallowed her saliva and said timidly: "We...should we go back?"

"Since they're not here for us, in my opinion, it's better to stay the same to avoid being accidentally hurt." A young man in blue suggested solemnly.

Most of the girls were uneasy and looked at each other. They also felt that what the young master said made sense: if the Xuanjia Army misunderstood that they were running around because of a guilty conscience, or that they were tipping off the news, wouldn't it be extremely unfair?

These gentlemen and girls no longer had the intention to continue playing pot-tossing, and they all sat down absentmindedly. Some were rubbing their handkerchiefs, some were sipping the cold tea without a sip, and some were fanning their folding fans irritably.

At this moment, time seems to pass especially slowly.

The sunset was getting lower and lower, and half an hour later, everyone heard another loud noise. A group of forty or fifty Xuanjia Army officers escorted five or six rough-looking men over.

Those men were all yelling and yelling, their faces were red and their necks were thick, and some of them started to use their hands directly. His end was that he was hit **** the back of the neck by a Xuanjia Army soldier, and his eyes rolled. , fainted.

In the other direction, another group of Xuanjia soldiers came over escorting several other men.

This scene stunned many people, and a few timid girls became increasingly panicked.

The young man in blue, who just advised everyone not to act rashly, seemed to be talking to himself: "Commander of the Yuzhou Guard, General of the Youzhou Army... General Hussar, General Huaiyuan..."

Most of the other people around him heard his whispers and looked at each other in shock again.

Each of these people captured by the Xuanjia Army were generals of the third rank or above in the imperial court. They were either high-ranking officials in various state guards or generals holding important positions in the Forbidden Army. Each of them was a well-known figure in the Great Qi Dynasty.

"What is the Xuanjia Army doing?" an ordinary-looking young man in green murmured.

He was talking about the "Xuanjia Army", but in fact everyone knew that what he really wanted to ask was, what is the new emperor going to do?

The new emperor mobilized the Xuanjia Army in such a large scale to blockade the hunting palace and capture people. This thunderous momentum made people think of the posture of the army forcing the palace a few months ago.

Everyone was silent. No one could answer this question. It felt like the sky at dusk was half bright and half dark, and the night left a heavy mark in the sky like ink.

Scenes like this happened in every corner of the hunting palace. Military generals were taken away from their palaces by the Xuanjia Army. Those palaces were also sealed and no one could enter.

Some other unrelated families simply stayed behind closed doors, just to avoid suspicion; some families couldn't help but go to relatives, friends or colleagues to inquire about the news; some families were cautiously watching the situation, seeing the Shen family and Prince Li's Mansion. There was no movement at the , Jingjun Prince's Mansion and other residences, so I was a little relieved.

In just an hour or two, the entire hunting palace became quiet again. The soldiers of the Xuanjia Army disappeared without a trace, as if nothing had happened.

When the sun was about to completely set, Zhang Shoufu, Zhuang Maohua, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Wei Jingze, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, hurried to Chengguang Hall.

This time, the Ministers of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Punishments stayed in the capital without accompanying them, so the only people who came to see Gu Jue were Zhang Shoufu and the three elders.

Gu Jue also immediately summoned the three pavilion elders.

Lanterns have been lit in Gu Jue's study, and the lights are bright. There is a three-legged unicorn white porcelain incense burner in the corner. A wisp of green smoke rises. The smell of incense is clear and elegant, but it smells to the three people's noses. Duan, but only felt stuffy.

Zhuang Maohua knew in his heart that those who were taken down by the Xuanjia Army today were found to have problems this time, so the new emperor must be cleaning up the cancer in the army, but the news the new emperor made today It's too big, and it will inevitably make people panic.

Zhuang Maohua sighed secretly in his heart.

"See the Emperor."

The three of them bowed their heads to Gu Jue, and before they could say anything else, Gu Jue took out a few brochures and preemptively said: "There is an old saying: If you don't cure the disease, you can cure the disease; if you don't cure it, you can cure the disorder. All kinds of illnesses in the army are There have been long-standing malpractices, including empty pay, corruption, land encirclement, fraud in recruiting troops, and failure to update armor and weapons... Also, officials protect each other. "

"According to the laws of Daqi, anyone who eats empty pay will be beheaded in public."

Every word and every sentence Gu Jue said made them tremble with fear, especially the last sentence, which was like a heavy hammer hitting their hearts.

Everyone present also knew this law. In the late years of the previous dynasty, the phenomenon of empty pay in the military was common, which put the dynasty in danger. Emperor Taizu realized this and made this law at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Zhang Shouxu and the others quickly looked at the coupons thrown out by Gu Jue, and the more they looked at them, the more frightened they became.

On the brochure, the crimes of those generals and the relevant evidence were all clearly listed, almost listing their nearly twenty years as officials.

Some of the evidence was even seen by Zhuang Maohua, Minister of the Ministry of War, for the first time.

The human heart is not enough for a snake to swallow an elephant.

People's hearts are becoming more and more greedy. At first, they were just greedy for a few hundred taels a year, then thousands of taels, and then tens of thousands of taels. In the end, they decided that the imperial court would allocate money to update armor and weapons. on the payment.

If a soldier wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his weapons.

Soldiers' armor and weapons, such as spears, swords, bows and arrows, etc., will wear out and need to be updated regularly. However, these people either embezzle the government's funds or sell the new weapons through various channels. .

Zhuang Maohua felt as if his throat was on fire, and he had to sigh: These people have simply eaten the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard.

It is a capital crime to take advantage of people's wages, it is a capital crime to commit fraud in recruiting soldiers, and it is also a capital crime to embezzle more than a hundred taels.

Although the crimes committed by these generals were indeed capital crimes, Zhuang Maohua still felt that Gu Jue was too harsh. In this way, it was equivalent to eliminating nearly one-third of the generals from the third rank and above.

Zhuang Maohua looked at Zhang Shoufu with questioning eyes, wanting to see what Zhang Shoufu meant.

Zhang Shoufu frowned and hesitated to speak, but finally spoke with a cautious expression and advised: "Your Majesty, I believe that the crimes committed by these people are indeed unforgivable. Their crimes should be punished and their mistakes should be corrected, but they should be dealt with carefully. yes."

Zhang Shoufu also felt that Gu Jue's methods were too tough. The acting styles of the brothers he and the late emperor Gu Lang were simply two extremes.

When Gu Lang was in power, he was very tolerant of civil servants and generals.

For example, two years ago, there was a flood in Yuzhou. After millions of dollars in disaster relief funds were allocated, only one-tenth of the amount reached the hands of the people. For a while, the people were in dire straits. The victims petitioned for help. Gu Lang ordered the censor of Youdu to conduct a thorough investigation for the imperial envoy. There were a series of corrupt officials, but the result was only demotions and fines, which were lightly put down.

Later, the biggest change was that Yuzhou changed its chief envoy.

The late emperor had let his officials go so far, but Gu Jue faced off against 30% of the generals at once, leaving no room for him at all.

Zhang Shoufu and Zhuang Maohua exchanged silent glances.

Both of them were worried about what they would do if these guards rebelled.

wrong.

Maybe Gu Jue had thought about it, so he announced these military generals to come to the capital to report on their duties, and gathered them all in this hunting palace, so that the Xuanjia Army could catch them all. His move was not only to catch turtles in the urn, but also to make it difficult for them to fly.

Who would have thought that he would have the courage to defeat 30% of the generals at once? !

Gu Jue's methods were too powerful and ruthless.

Zhang Shoufu and Zhuang Maohua were both shocked by Gu Jue's courage to act. Although they admired them, they were still uneasy, fearing that Gu Jue's pressure would be too harsh, which would cause some uncontrollable consequences.

Gu Jue had just ascended the throne, so there was no need to "cut off an arm" to run the army.

Zhuang Maohua calmed down and echoed: "Your Majesty, once the Imperial Army and the local guards are reduced by 30% of the generals, I am afraid that the morale of the army will be disturbed. I think it is better to punish the main culprit severely to set an example and put the overall situation first."

Wei Jingze, the official secretary, rolled his eyes and finally said: "Your Majesty, I second your proposal."

He followed the lead of Zhang Shoufu and Zhuang Maohua, and added: "I believe that if the water is clear, there will be no fish."

Zhang Shoufu and Zhuang Maohua also nodded, thinking of the second half of Wei Jingze's unfinished sentence.

Yes, if the water is extremely clear, there will be no fish, and if people observe it carefully, there will be no disciples.

As long as there are a few officials in the DPRK and Central Government who can guarantee that they or their family members have not made any mistakes, if the new emperor cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes and is so ruthless, then everyone will be in danger and will be unable to move forward.

Not only the army, but also the court will be shaken by this.

(End of chapter)