prosperous age

Chapter 680 779 Busy Business
Leaving the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and going out, Wei Guangde was still thinking about what news Chen Yiqin would give him when he returned to the cabinet.

Yes, has Emperor Longqing lost his anger, or is he still angry and unwilling to let people go.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde, who had already walked in front of the sedan chair, suddenly stood still.

Yin Shizhen, who was about to bend down and get into the sedan chair beside him, stopped unconsciously and looked over suspiciously.

Wei Guangde only thought for a moment, then walked over, pulled him to a secluded corner of the wall and whispered: "Brother Zhengfu, I'm thinking about this matter in case there will be twists and turns.

Brother Yifu, if His Majesty has not been persuaded, then we have to find a way, at least let the Ministry of Criminal Justice procrastinate the verdict until His Majesty calms down. "

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Yin Shizhen asked.

"The vicinity here is the territory of the Ministry of Punishment. I will visit Mao Shangshu and find out his tone. If he also sympathizes with Eunuch Li, this matter will be easy to handle."

Wei Guangde said.

Yin Shizhen nodded after thinking about it, "That's fine, you go and see Mao Kai, I'll go back and check on Yifu's news, there are many affairs in the pavilion, let's work together to make sure nothing goes wrong."

They have already come here, in fact, they have already expressed their discord with Teng Xiang and others.

However, they and Li Fang have been in a relationship for many years anyway, and Teng Xiang's group is not happy, but they dare not make any small moves.

"Thinking about it, he should have come out of the palace."

Wei Guangde shook his head and said.

At this time, Chen Yiqin didn't send anyone to deliver the news, nor did he make a decree, the result can be imagined.

Wei Guangde actually had some ideas at this moment, but it was difficult to express them to Yin Shizhen.

In his opinion, Li Fang has been with Emperor Longqing for so many years, and his relationship is not insignificant.

Therefore, Li Fang's life should be safe.

It's just that Emperor Longqing was also annoyed that he didn't know how to praise him, and often spoiled his interest, perhaps he had already given birth to the idea of ​​teaching him a lesson.

But Wei Guangde knows better that the so-called feelings are actually just like that, what kind of feelings are they talking about with the Tian family.

Last year, Li Fang's favor in front of Emperor Longqing might have faded away, but the emperor hadn't been able to get his heart down on him.

So, why did Emperor Longqing lose his temper this time, beat Li Fang up, and sent him directly to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice?
Wei Guangde guessed that it might be intended to give them a warning.

Don't think that just being an old man can be pampered and pampered, even Li Fang can deal with him ruthlessly.

After parting with Yin Shizhen, Wei Guangde got into the sedan chair and ordered, "Go to the Ministry of Punishment."

The bearer obeyed the order, lifted the sedan chair and went to the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment.

Not long after, I got off the sedan chair outside the gate of the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment.

Wei Guangde appeared in official uniform, and the guards at the gate naturally didn't dare to stop him. While welcoming him into the yamen, he quickly ran to report to Shang Shu's office.

Not long after, Wei Guangde saw Mao Kai who came out to greet him.

"Mao Shangshu, Wei is bothering you."

Wei Guangde bowed his hands first.

"Wei Ge is too polite to be honest, if you are bothering me, please talk inside."

Mao Kai hastily returned the courtesy, invited Wei Guangde to the Shangshu's office, and asked someone to bring tea.

After the people withdrew, Mao Kai asked with a smile: "Mr. Wei Ge came to our Ministry of Punishment this time, but who did he send for today?"

"Mao Shangshu has not been in the capital for a long time. I don't know if he knows Li Fang and Eunuch Li."

Seeing that the other party had already guessed his purpose, Wei Guangde didn't hold back, and simply made the point clear.

"Jie Chuan has heard about it. He knows that Eunuch Li is upright and upright. He is a rare talent in the inner court."

Mao Kai nodded and said.

"I don't know if there is a document from the inner court for what he committed this time? As long as Shangshu Mao takes a look, he should know what's wrong."

Wei Guangde said with a sigh.

"There are documents, saying that Li Fang is favored and spoiled, and disrespects His Majesty."

Mao Kai replied.

To be honest, he didn't understand that Emperor Longqing sent the former head of Yu Wangfu to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

The emperor's servant, if you want to beat or kill you, just do it in the inner court, so why send it to the yamen?

As for the so-called crime of disrespect, it is even more vague.

To be honest, after the inner court sent people here, he felt like a hot potato, but he couldn't send them out.

He even tried to bring in Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to form a joint trial of the three divisions, so that at least there would be an explanation for the court.

If the result does not satisfy the inner court, he is not afraid.

Hearing that Yin Shixuan and Wei Guangde went to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice to visit Li Fang, and brought the doctor with him, he was thinking about whether to bring the cabinet into this matter.

However, he also knows that those who take the initiative to plot against the cabinet may have a backlash.

When he heard that Wei Guangde had come to the yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, but Yin Shizhen hadn't, he guessed that it was because of Li Fang's business, so he took the initiative to start a conversation.

Now there are only Wei Guangde and Mao Kai in the guard room, but they still looked outside the door before whispering: "The so-called Eunuch Li disrespected His Majesty is purely nonsense.

Mao Shangshu may have heard that since His Majesty ascended the throne, Eunuch Li has been urging him to be a promising king."

Emperor Longqing had been on the throne for two years, and the courtiers already had a general impression of him, which should be said to be very bad.

His ability to deal with memorials or state affairs is far inferior to that of his father, Emperor Jiajing. Although he is not keen on cultivating Taoism, he is greedy for beauty and likes precious things such as pearls, jade and gems.

The courtiers also discussed this in private, accusing Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin and others of not teaching His Majesty well when they were in Yuqi.

"Since the impeachment of Minister of Industry Xu Gao, Li Gonggong has been strictly rectifying the expenditures of the inner and outer courts, blocking many people's money, and the relationship with other eunuchs in the inner court is not good.

Last year, Long Yan was angered by repeatedly admonishing His Majesty to abstain from women's sex and treasures, but this time it was because of the renovation of the palace and the Aoshan Lantern Festival that Teng Xiang and Meng Chong were in charge of. A few words.

After that, some people went forward to slander His Majesty, saying that Eunuch Li was dissatisfied after being punished by His Majesty last year, and said disrespectful words to His Majesty. "

Wei Guangde briefly explained the situation to Mao Kai, and he naturally understood what was going on.

Don't care about how the civil servants make money in private, but on the surface, they must be upright. After all, at their level, they will not take those dirty money, but only the subsidies and benefits distributed by the yamen.

Influenced by the film and television works of later generations, many people think that those rich and unkind people in this era will quietly bribe local officials after committing crimes in order to obtain a favorable punishment for themselves. In fact, that is a big mistake.

Perhaps the officials at the magistrate level are willing to take over this kind of money. Compared with the income of the magistrate, the money they usually receive from the yamen is actually not much, so of course they will not be able to withstand this temptation.

But local government officials like magistrates and magistrates look down on such tens or hundreds of taels of silver, and taking such money is risky.

Why let them take such a risk?
I hope that I don't burn incense at ordinary times, and just hug Buddha's feet temporarily, who cares about you.

One hundred thousand snowflake silver from the magistrate of the Qing Dynasty in three years is not just talk.

If you are not greedy, just follow the rules of your predecessor and add miscellaneous taxes to the government on top of the regular national tax, and you will have a lot of leftovers in a year. These are the legitimate income of the magistrate.

Whoever comes, can't say the word "greedy".

Local squires and sensible people will choose to give gifts on New Year's Day to establish a good relationship and ask for help when necessary.

The benefits will not be given at that time, isn't that just a matter of fact?
Afterwards, it is a perfect operation to make up a generous gift in a suitable solar term. Even if the censor comes to investigate, everything can be justified.

China is a country of etiquette, and local gentry give gifts to magistrates from afar during festivals, of course it is not bribery.

As for worrying about not getting any benefits from doing things, have you heard of an old saying called "the county magistrate who destroys the family, the magistrate who destroys the family"?

Don't look at the gentry who act like [-] million in front of the people, but in front of the officials and lords, they are all very well-behaved.

This is also the reason why all the country gentry send their children to study hard, even if they can't read it, they still try to spend money to get an official position, and even small officials have to do it.

As long as there is not one scholar in the three generations of the family, the family will inevitably decline.

But the group of eunuchs is different from civil officials, they like money even more.

Maybe it's because they lost their beauty and could only like yellow and white things. No matter how big or small the eunuchs were, they had to earn money for everything they did, desperately for money.

Consequences, nonexistent.

There is no principle and no bottom line, which is one of the reasons why civil servants look down on eunuchs.

"Old Wei Ge, I've heard people say about Eunuch Li's character. Naturally, I admire him deeply, but His Majesty ordered him to be punished for disrespect."

Mao Kai wondered.

When he arrived at the Ministry of Punishment, he had already been convicted of the crime, and there was no way for him to exonerate Li Fang.

He knew Li Fang was a human being, so he didn't intend to make it difficult for him, but if he wanted to help, Mr. Mao was not willing to agree easily.

Too much to do.

"As the saying goes, to catch a traitor, to catch a double, to take a thief and take dirty things, since it is necessary to convict, it is natural to have someone to prove it, let alone such a serious crime as disrespecting His Majesty."

Wei Guangde said with a smile, "In the palace, we will also find a way to not embarrass Mr. Mao."

"It's so good. To be honest, I also admire Li Gonggong's character. I really don't want to do this."

Mao Kai said happily, now that his doubts are gone, he is also happy.

What Wei Guangde wants is to delay the case. They will try to find a way in the palace if there is no evidence to delay the case. Of course, this is the best solution.

"But if the palace sends a servant to testify"

"It's something that has no shadow in the first place, as long as Mr. Mao interrogates it in detail, it will definitely reveal his feet, haha"

"Too."

After chatting for a while, when Wei Guangde got up to say goodbye, he smiled and said to Mao Kai: "The year before last, General Yu Dayou Yu was impeached by the Yushi of Guangdong Province and Nanjing Kedao. Thank you, Lord Mao, for your righteous words."

"Hey, this General Yu is also the same. He usually doesn't pay attention to propriety when talking, and offends too many people. But when it comes to the generals in Jiangnan, Mao admires him the most."

Mao Kai laughed.

"Hey, he's a little reckless, but if you say that generals don't speak straight and upright, the court may not dare to use such generals with confidence."

Wei Guangde still smiled.

Suppressing the status of military generals is a matter of tacit understanding among civil officials, but they also know that they still need to moderately protect generals who can fight.

Don't just leave people who can sycophant, just pull the legs when they go into battle, the consequences are also very serious.

After sitting for a while, Wei Guangde got up and said goodbye on the grounds that the cabinet was busy. When he returned to the cabinet, he immediately went to Chen Yiqin to be on duty.

At this time, Chen Yiqin had already returned, but he could tell from his sullen expression that things were not done well.

"Shan Loan is back, sit down first, come and serve tea."

Greet Wei Guangde to sit down and ask someone to bring tea.

Wei Guangde didn't move, just asked: "Where is Your Majesty so angry?"

Chen Yiqin seemed hesitant to speak, hesitating for a moment before saying: "Before you mentioned that you let Li Fang go to Nanjing after he was released from prison, I didn't take it seriously, I thought it was too careful, now it seems that you are right. "

Wei Guangde remained silent and did not speak, but was thinking about the reason why Chen Yiqin hesitated earlier.

"How about the punishment department?"

Chen Yiqin asked about the results of Wei Guangde's trip, distracting himself from the affairs in the palace.

"I made an agreement with Mao Shangshu. He will detain the case because the evidence is not clear. The first trial will take at least half a month."

Wei Guangde said immediately, "We still have time to figure out a solution."

"I heard from Zhengfu before that Li Fang's injury will take half a month to recover, as long as the Ministry of Punishment is not in a hurry to get promoted.

By the way, before you were away, Ma Shangshu from the household department came. "

Chen Yiqin said.

"Is it about Zhuangtian? I also said that Lord Wang and Tuntian Yushi will come to the cabinet to discuss the matter later."

Wei Guangde thought that Ma Sen came here for the sake of Xungui Zhuangtian, so he said.

"It's not about the Zhuangtian, it's about Liu Guangji's memorandum, and the Ministry of Household Affairs has already had a meeting."

Chen Yiqin smiled.

Seeing his smiling face, Wei Guangde knew that the result should not be bad.

Sure enough, Chen Yiqin said next: "The Ministry of Household Affairs supports Governor Liu to re-introduce a whipping law in Jiangxi."

Just as Wei Guangde smiled, Chen Yiqin continued, "However, in view of the fact that there are many problems that are not easy to solve during the implementation of the One Whip Law, Jiangxi needs to implement the One Whip Law step by step.

In the first year, it is currently implemented in two to three prefectures in Jiangxi, and it will be implemented in the whole of Jiangxi after it is perfected.

During this process, Governor Liu must promptly report to the imperial court the problems and solutions discovered during the implementation process, and the imperial court will also send people to Jiangxi for inspection. "

"Hehe, it's fine as long as the Ministry of Households doesn't object. It seems that they also hope that after Jiangxi perfects a whipping method, it can be popularized throughout the world."

Wei Guangde was not worried about what to report, and to send a censor to monitor.

"From the previous point of view, it is feasible to implement a single whip method in the south of the Yangtze River, but there are many problems in the north. It is impossible to divide the tax and service system of the imperial court into north and south. After all, it must be unified to manage."

Chen Yiqin said.

"As long as you don't object to it, it's fine. I think a whip method is simple and straightforward for the people, and it won't waste their working time. It is the most beneficial thing for the court and the people.

The poor implementation of the Northland should be more due to the officials, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate should be used to strictly investigate the problems of local officials. "

Wei Guangde spoke.

"Say this to Zizheng, he is in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate."

Chen Yiqin hurriedly waved his hands.

"Hehe, by the way, Mao Shangshu also said something, that is, Zhang Qi accepted bribes and dereliction of duty, and falsely accused the old man of the crime. The Ministry of Punishment will soon play a memorial, and intends to serve as an army guarding the border."

Wei Guangde laughed.

Chen Yiqin nodded upon hearing this, "It's the best."

(End of this chapter)