prosperous age

Chapter 863 952 Recommended Generals

Fanzi gave Minister Wang the medicine, and ignored Minister Wang who was kneeling on the ground and scratching his throat desperately. He walked out of the prison and locked the door again.

"My lord, it's all done."

The three of them arrived in front of Xu Jue and bowed.

"Just keep an eye on him and don't let anyone die."

Two days ago, they entertained Minister Wang with wine and food, but some of the guards were extremely jealous.

Who can eat so well after being in a prison? They have to be careful.

Minister Wang was such a fool. He had been shouting at them all those days. Those who didn't know it thought he was their boss.

So Xu Jue got something and asked him to drink it down, even if he had a few jokes.

But they also heard that the medicine Mr. Xu took seemed to be indestructible.

Then just wait and see what happens after taking this medicine.

The next day, Wang Zhigao, Chen Yisong, and Ge Shouli met again in a duty room of the Criminal Department.

"Wang Shangshu, you came to us in such a hurry, but what confession did you get from Dongchang?"

Ge Shouli asked with a smile.

After the court hearing was interrupted yesterday, the three of them simply discussed whether they should wait for Dongchang's actions before making a decision. Judging from the current situation, it seems that this case will not go to trial.

This person who offended Minister Wang was really weird. Ge Shouli thought at first that it was arranged by Feng Bao to kill Gao Gong.

But yesterday's court inspection showed that it didn't look like it, and it was a complete farce.

The three people made a final analysis and finally came to the conclusion that Feng Bao had found someone who was deliberately disgusting Gao Gong, probably because he wanted Gao Gong to suffer under the escort of Jin Yiwei.

Initially, the palace wanted to escort Gao Gong to Xinzheng, but in the end Zhang Juzheng petitioned for mercy and took the post road instead.

It seems that Feng Bao couldn't stand it, so he wanted to use Jin Yiwei to adjust the high arch.

"The Dongchang department sent an official document this morning, please take a look."

With that said, Wang Zhigao handed the Jin Yiwei official document received by the Punishment Department to Ge Shouli to read, and he sat there drinking tea.

"Are you mute? What should I do next?"

Ge Shouli only read half of the document before he was shocked by the contents of the document. The prisoner was mute, and he was an illiterate master. How could this case be tried?

Chen Yisong took the official document from Dongchang from Ge Shouli. After quickly browsing the content, he was not too surprised. He just shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this is what it is. Anyone who commits a crime will be executed. As for how he got into the palace, What is his intention? Naturally, there is no way to investigate further."

"Yesterday, Zhang Shoufu handed me a note here, asking him to settle the case as soon as possible."

Wang Zhigao spoke again.

"Ah."

Ge Shouli nodded. He knew this because he also received a note from Zhang Juzheng.

"It seems that this is what the palace wants."

Chen Yisong guessed.

"Maybe, but now that all the prisoners are like this, how can we still try him? Obviously Feng Bao plays a very important role in it. If the trial really continues, no one can save him just by framing the minister."

Ge Shouli said bitterly.

That is to say, it was not mentioned during the hearing of the case in the lobby yesterday, otherwise the cabinet today would have been overwhelmed by the impeachment memorial.

In fact, after yesterday's court hearing, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Sixth Section had a group of officials and officials working together to impeach Feng Bao.

Unfortunately, at the critical moment yesterday, Zhu Xixiao decisively terminated the trial process.

As long as Minister Wang said it was Gao Gong who was taught by a eunuch to confess during his detention in Dongchang, the matter would be confirmed.

The guesses of the three people are actually very close.

After Zhu Xixiao came back from the Ministry of Justice yesterday, he immediately asked to see Queen Mother Chen and explained the court trial process.

Queen Mother Chen was also frightened and angry at the time, but after all, it involved Feng Bao, Queen Mother Chen did not make an immediate decision and only asked him to go back first.

After Wang Zhen returned to the palace, Queen Mother Chen may have asked questions again, and then discussed with Queen Mother Li.

The time Zhang Juzheng went out, he was directly summoned to the Empress Dowager Chen in Ciqing Palace.

When he entered, Feng Bao, the first person in the inner court, was made to kneel in the Ciqing Palace.

As Chen Yisong said, Queen Mother Chen and Queen Mother Li did not intend to punish Feng Bao severely, but they taught him a lesson.

At the very least, Feng Bao knew how to end things at this time.

Queen Mother Chen later asked Zhang Juzheng to follow Feng Bao's wishes and end the trial of this case as soon as possible.

The whole thing, in Zhu Xixiao's rhetoric, has become that Feng Bao wanted to rectify Gao Gong, so he picked a fool, helped him enter the palace and easily caught him, and then framed Gao Gong.

Because he was a fool, the court judge could easily tell that Feng Bao was disgusted with Gao Gong, or he wanted Gao Gong to suffer when he was interrogated by the Jin Yiwei.

Regarding Feng Bao's way of venting his anger on national affairs like child's play, Feng Bao tactfully said that it was to vent his anger on the young emperor, not to frame the minister.

Feng Bao was punished in the palace, but the empress dowagers of the two palaces saw his loyalty to Emperor Wanli, so they felt more at ease with him.

Of course, only Feng Bao knew that he was mentioning that Zhu Xixiao was blamed for the lax palace confinement, and that Zhu Xixiao had secretly assisted him.

In Feng Bao's view, this result was considered good. At least he could retain his position as supervisor of the eunuch.

It can only be said that from then on, Feng Bao was careful in everything he did and did not dare to cause trouble on a whim.

No matter what he does, he must discuss it with his think tank first and make a decision before taking action.

This is also because after half a year as admiral, Feng Bao felt a little distracted. He felt that there was nothing he couldn't do in the inner court.

The cabinet also has Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde to help with the finishing touches, so there is no need to be afraid even if there is something wrong.

As for Xinzheng's Jinyi Tiqi, after receiving the letter from the capital, although they were very reluctant, there was nothing they could do.

Just kidding, watching a big fat sheep run away like this.

The Gao Gong family is considered to be a big family in Xinzheng. If they arrest people and confiscate their homes, it will be a fat job. I don't know how much money they can get.

Pity.

The Tiqi leader who led the team could only curse in his mind, and with his men, he packed up the property looted from the servants who had escaped from Gaofu these days and headed back home.

Seeing the Tiqi withdraw, people in the Gao family calmed down, and Gao Gong also breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately arranged for people to deliver things to the capital. No matter who contributed, it would not be in vain, and the gifts were indispensable.

The situation was urgent at that time, and Gao Gong only asked people to send letters to the capital to ask for help, but there was no way for people to bring property.

It was different now. Without the surveillance of Jin Yiwei, he could safely arrange for people to do things.

Several large cars were carrying things to the capital. At the same time, Gao Gong also wanted to settle accounts for the slaves who had stolen property and escaped from Gao's mansion during this period. If the Gao family is unlucky, there will naturally be nothing to say.

But now that the court has not continued to investigate, the situation is naturally different.

In the capital, Feng Bao also calmed down and did not dare to make any mistakes again.

Although there were still some among the Ke Dao Yan Guan who wanted to file an impeachment petition, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in the cabinet suppressed it, and Ge Shouli of the Metropolitan Procuratorate also restrained the thirteen Dao Dao Yan Guan, which made many people understand.

This matter is a bit complicated, so it’s best not to get involved.

The case of Minister Wang also progressed rapidly under the supervision of Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet.

Since Minister Wang could no longer speak, there was little chance of him being defended. In the end, the Ministry of Punishment directly charged him with "trespassing within palace limits" and sentenced him to death.

When the memorial was submitted, Zhang Juzheng quickly voted for approval, and the palace also directly approved it.

At this point, the case of Minister Wang that caused a sensation in the capital was concluded. From the incident in January of the first year of Wanli to the execution of Minister Wang in early March, the process of trial and closure was completed in just two months, which is extremely fast.

It's just that the scribes of the Ministry of Punishment had to work hard to perfect the documents of this case. Many places were revised, and they were all vague and vague.

The court has resumed normal operations, and officials are performing their duties with all their heart.

Everyone knows that the current Chief Assistant Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Ge are always very efficient. Once a document is issued, the yamen must deal with it as soon as possible. Once it is delayed for a long time, the court official will be scolded in the cabinet, and he will also be punished when he comes back. He cursed them all.

I don’t know if it was due to the change of year name. The Yellow River floods that were rampant during the Longqing period suddenly disappeared in the Wanli year.

Just this year, the cabinet issued a special message to ask Caoshan to prepare for floods and ensure the safety of Caoshan grain.

But this year, the Yellow River calmed down, and large quantities of grain were safely delivered to the Tongzhou granary on time, which made all the officials in the imperial court heave a sigh of relief.

After all, a lot of the grain in the canal is to be paid to them as salary, and it also has the function of asking the capital's grain price.

Even money-grubbing businessmen would never dare to drive up the price of food in the capital at will.

Because there are so many Qingliu officials in Beijing, fluctuations in food prices have a great impact on their lives.

"Yesterday, the Ministry of Household Affairs reported that Tongzhou Universiade will store 3 million shi of grain this year, and there is still 1 million shi left, which will arrive in the near future. This year's grain is considered safe."

In the cabinet, in the duty room of the Chief Assistant, Zhang Juzheng summoned Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang to talk about recent major events in the DPRK.

At this time, three months had passed since the case of Minister Wang was concluded.

Although they had to deal with endless memorials every day, because nothing major happened, Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and other three cabinet ministers lived a good life. At least they did not need to worry about troubles in various parts of the empire.

Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Household Affairs, was recommended by Zhang Juzheng. In the first year, the grain was safely collected in Tongzhou warehouse. In his opinion, it was naturally an achievement of Wang Guangguang's work.

As for the Yellow River not flooding, is this important?

What they only look at is performance. The safe arrival of grain at Tongzhou pier and delivery to Jingtong warehouse is a sign of outstanding work performance.

"Wang Shangshu's hard work is not easy, and it is not easy. In the past few years, the grain transportation has not been able to complete the rated transportation capacity, and river workers have to be mobilized to rush for transportation."

Wei Guangde knew that this year's grain transportation was mainly due to the tranquility of the Yellow River, but he would not mention it at this time.

There are already rumors outside, blaming Emperor Longqing for the frequent floods in the Yellow River in recent years, thinking that it was a punishment from heaven caused by his unrighteousness.

Although it is nonsense, Zhu Yijun seems to have good luck. As soon as he ascended the throne, the Yellow River became calm, and it no longer had the irritability of the previous two years, which continued to burst its banks and block the waterway.

Beijing was the companion capital of the Liao Dynasty and the imperial capital of the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Although the wars between dynasties caused damage to agricultural production, even though due to the improvements in farming technology during the Liao and Jin dynasties, the Yuan Dynasty deployed some troops to engage in reclamation and construction of water conservancy and water diversion for rice cultivation. , as well as four large-scale immigrations during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and soldiers working in the fields, a large number of villages were formed in the suburbs of Beijing, but the food output was still far from meeting the needs of life.

As the political and economic center of the feudal dynasty, the functions of large cities gradually became complete, and food supply became the primary issue in maintaining the feudal regime.

After the Jin Dynasty moved the capital in the first year of Zhenyuan, the population of Zhongdu increased to more than 800,000, and the country became more and more dependent on grain.

A new canal was opened in the twelfth year of Emperor Shizong's Dading reign, and in the fifth year of Zhang Zong's reign in Taihe, Tongzhou's Luchuang canal was dredged, allowing grain ships to reach Zhongdu. The annual grain transportation volume increased from one hundred thousand shi to one million shi.

In the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Shoujing connected the north and south water systems on the basis of the original canal, reaching the capital city directly.

In the 30th year of the Yuan Dynasty, the Grand Canal from Dadu to Hangzhou was fully connected, allowing grains from Jiangnan, Huanghuai and other places to be continuously imported into Dadu. Every year, the amount of grain transported was between one million and three million shi, feeding Dadu's millions of soldiers and civilians.

Most of the capitals set up agencies such as the Gyeonggi Water Transport Envoy and the Tonghui River Grain Transport Office. They turned Jishuitan into a water and land dock. Grain transport ships arrived here. For a while, boats and boats were used to cover the water and cargoes gathered.

When Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, was in power, he opened up shipping channels, and then the shipping volume increased year by year. By the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, shipping had almost replaced inland water transportation.

By the Ming Dynasty, due to the emphasis on water transportation and light on sea transportation, in order to meet the livelihood of the eight to nine hundred thousand people in the capital, a large amount of grain must be transported to Beijing every year.

But before that, the amount of grain received fluctuated every year.

In the 18th year of Yongle, it was only 600,000 shi, and in the 6th year of Xuande, it was as high as 6.7 million shi, with a fluctuation range of more than 6 million shi.

However, from the 10th year of Xuande to the 7th year of Tianshun, the annual grain transportation volume began to stabilize, roughly around 4 million shi, with fluctuations of only 500,000 shi.

So in the seventh year of Chenghua, "a fixed amount of four million shi per year for transportation of grain" became a system. From then on, the amount of grain transported through the Grand Canal every year was 4 million shi.

Like Zhang Juzheng's experience in the Longqing years, when the cabinet was worried about the grain supply every day, it was really a bit uncomfortable to put down the big burden of the grain supply.

"The southwest is also stable this year, and I haven't seen any reports of instability."

Lu Tiaoyang also happily answered.

In fact, the major affairs of the imperial court are nothing more than two, one is military affairs, and the other is finance.

As for the rest, it’s not a big deal and can be solved in most places.

"Speaking of military matters, I have an idea. Let's discuss it with the Second Master."

Zhang Juzheng suddenly said after hearing this.

"All ears."

Wei Guangde said with a smile.

"The ancients said that although the world is peaceful, it will be in danger if it forgets to fight. Nowadays, peace has been rising for a long time, military preparations have been weakened, and officers and men are under the control of civil servants. From now on, generals who are loyal and brave should be given power so that they can display their talents."

Zhang Juzheng said immediately.

"Give me authority?"

Wei Guangde repeated in surprise.

"My intention is to find good generals for the imperial court. If everything must be reported to the imperial court before making a decision, I am afraid that the general will often use this to pervert his business in the future.

I think military generals should still take responsibility. "

Zhang Juzheng said, "In addition, as far as I know, many generals are unable to fulfill their ambitions due to the suppression of military power by culture. I plan to ask your majesty to allow those above the fourth rank in the capital and those who are in the field to be governors, towns, patrols and other officials abroad. Promote generals and talents to prepare them for assignment."

"Are there any restrictions?"

Wei Guangde suddenly interjected, "Recommending generals is of course a good thing, but the recommended people may be uneven, and some people may take advantage of the loopholes."

(End of this chapter)