eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 170

Zhu Houzhao is not an unrealistic person. He knows that no matter how hard he tries and how many ways he thinks, he will even usher in a real prosperity in the future.

There will be no shortage of corrupt officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang has been killed to that extent, and there are still corrupt officials.

But there must be a bottom line for this matter. If everyone knows about it, the trouble comes to his prince, or it is fooled, then this country will have no way to control it.

More outrageous things will definitely happen after that.

The prince's last words resounded loudly, like a heavy drum beating on everyone's hearts.

It is not that Emperor Hongzhi does not support his son, but he has been on the throne for 17 years, and he still has basic political experience.

For example, if the case is to be handled according to this standard, these people will not be the only ones who will be killed in the end.

Because, someone will report and confess.What to do by then?So he was a little scared.

Mr. Xie Ge, who had been silent all this time, moved his position and knelt down where the emperor could see him directly, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, can you allow me to say something?"

"Thank you, Mr. Ge, please tell me."

"The old minister thinks that His Highness should uphold justice, and pleading for the people is also the responsibility of officials at all levels of the court. But His Majesty's worries are by no means groundless. If the Zhejiang case opened this case, I think the court will continue to receive all kinds of complaints. The report of the case. At that time, will it still be done? If not, how will the court go out? If it is done, the final scope will never be limited to Zhejiang."

This hidden danger obviously exists.

Because these people will confess too, and who knows who they will recruit?
Li Yancai came from Huguang, and he brought some people from there. He himself is a high-ranking official like the chief minister, and he can get in touch with the central government, so he can easily 'burn' the fire to the capital.

Isn't that the so-called pulling out the radish to bring out the mud?

Let's talk about a little bloody, what if the courtiers in the warm pavilion are also stained?

60 Those who have never taken the taels of silver,
To be honest, there are very few.

At that time, the crown prince will be unable to get off the tiger, which is not what Xie Qian wants to see.

Zhu Houzhao admitted that he actually understood something deeper, "In the final analysis, if the court handles it harder, the government will be unstable, which may be disadvantageous. If it is dealt with softer, the government will be stable, but the result will still be suffering for the people."

"Your Highness, if the government is unstable, it will still harm the people in the end." Liu Jian is also not in favor of such a large-scale handling of the Zhejiang case, "However... accepting silver taels and searching for people's fat and people's anointing must also be punished. I am thinking, can't It is not necessary to beheaded, even if it is exile, the final impact will be less."

The emperor said to his son earnestly, "Prince, I know what you're thinking. But don't be too hasty in governing the country."

He said this because he had other considerations in his heart, that is, his relatives, over the years, people have been complaining to him, saying that this vassal king and that foreign relative demanded more or less money.

It's really decided,

Isn't it framed for your own family by then?

Zhu Houzhao had a twisted thought, "I don't agree with exile! But if the emperor and all the elders feel that this is a bit risky, I am willing to compromise."

"Let's talk about it." The emperor looked up.

"At the time of Taizu, the country had just experienced war, and most of the people had just laid down their weapons, so a 60 tael beheading line was drawn at that time. Now, the father and the ministers have worked hard to govern for 17 years, and the state affairs have gradually improved, and there is more money. Let’s get up, if the emperor and the other ministers have no objections, the ministers feel that the beheading line can be redrawn.”

Liu, Li, and Xie were taken aback for a moment, and then they all frowned, thinking,

I have to say, the prince still has a solution.

Zhu Houzhao went on to say: "Just now, Mr. Xie Ge was worried that handling the Zhejiang case in this way would lead to sudden reports from all over the country. At that time, whether to kill these officials will become a burden for the court. But redrawing the beheading line will be different. Those above the line can be decapitated, and those below the line can be exiled or demoted, or can be recorded in official files to examine whether the person is suitable for promotion in the future, what level of promotion, and the lightest one, refund embezzling money."

This approach cannot solve corruption.Because once the government is bad, any method can be changed.

But this approach can solve the current problem.

"I think this method can be implemented." Liu Jian reported.

Later, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian also agreed.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Shi Daishan, the left capital of the Procuratorate, and Zhang Sheng, the Minister of Rites, and neither of them had any objections.

As for Liu Daxia, he is still full of shit.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao did not expect that this item was agreed.

The people of the country like the mean. If they insisted on killing them all at the beginning, then it is acceptable to change the practice of Emperor Taizu now.

To be honest, 60 taels is indeed too low.

Although 60 pairs of ordinary people is a lot.

But these days there is a big gap between the rich and the poor, the common people have no money, and the officials have money. It is actually not very easy to draw the beheading line here.

And the one who can implement it to the end may be the prestige of the founding emperor.

In addition, they all agreed, also because the key to this reform is not here.

The key lies in where the redrawn beheading line is set.

Seeing that a consensus was reached, Zhu Houzhao continued, "I think the new beheading line can be set at 1 taels of silver."

1 taels, so the person on Wang Huaxin's list this time will also be unable to survive.

Mr. Xie Ge couldn't help giving a thumbs up in his heart... Going around, he actually played this hand.

But this method cannot deceive a room full of smart people.

The emperor had the same expression as Xie Ge, and he was a little speechless, "If you draw like this, you still have to kill them all. There is no difference. Can you draw this line at 3 taels?"

Zhu Houzhao kowtowed immediately, "Father is wise!"

The three elders raised their eyelids and stared at the prince lightly.

This is intentional...

The emperor also made a 'thumb' sound... It felt as if he was being surrounded by his son.

Although this number is three times what Zhu Houzhao said, it's okay...as long as those culprits can be cut off.

In this way, in the end, the case involved a knife and killed someone, so the role of the "bottom line" is still there.

The most important thing is that this law will be useful in the future.

What do you mean?
It means that Zhu Yuanzhang's law has been established for hundreds of years, but now it is just a formality, and everyone knows it as if they don't know it.

But now that it has been changed, it is different. The court has brought up this matter again, and since it is mentioned, it is useful.

But this time,
Zhang Sheng, the minister of the Ministry of Rites who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke, and the old man muttered, "...Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that changing the law of the ancestors without authorization must be carefully considered and carefully considered. Is the beheading line 1 taels?" It’s still 3 taels, or is it 5 taels, how can it be drawn down in an instant?”

Zhu Houzhao was surprised by this remark,

This was beyond his expectations.

In his prediction, as long as the words reach this level, there will be no more ministers to express objections.

Because...to avoid suspicion...

You think the line of 3 taels is not well drawn,
What do you mean?
Of course, you can say that I completely consider it from the perspective of the overall situation of the court and the country.

But the problem is, if you say this, you will still cause yourself trouble.

Because this is obviously a guilty conscience.

That being the case, why are you willing to take the risk of being suspected?

Zhu Houzhao was both puzzled and skeptical, and Liu, Li, and Xie caught this look.

They all silently prayed to Zhang Sheng.

"Uncle Da Zong thinks, where should this line be drawn?" The prince asked meaningfully.

Zhang Sheng replied: "I heard this method for the first time today, and I don't think I have grasped its essentials, so the king's prelude is correct, and I dare not speak nonsense. I just feel that its influence is quite large, so I have this remonstrance. I hope your Majesty and Your Highness will make a prudent decision." .”

Don't talk about such stupid and muddled words.

Zhu Houzhao rubbed his thumb and forefinger in his heart, and suddenly a thought he had never had before arises in his heart. Could it be that the 18 taels of silver are related to this person?
Besides, the relationship between Zhang Sheng and Liu Daxia is not ordinary.

So I couldn't help but move my heart.

What is the relationship between the Zhejiang incident and Jingli is actually still unclear.

Rather...

Let heroes judge heroes, and let heroes judge heroes.

Anyway, if the line is redrawn, some people must die.

If he doesn't kill people, Zhang Sheng can't explain to the prince.
But if he killed someone, Zhang Sheng couldn't explain it to the people below.

Hey, it's a tough situation too.

"Don't worry too much, Uncle Dazong. Even if I'm still young and don't think enough, but what my father and the three elders agreed to, even if it has an impact, how much impact will it have?" Zhu Houzhao first said Zhang Sheng's words. The suggestion was rejected.
Then he looked at the emperor again, "Father, the Zhejiang case involves ministers in the capital. As Wang Hua, the governor of Zhejiang, he is unable to handle the case. Do you think it is best for the court to send a highly respected minister to go there? It's a pity that Da Sima wanted to avoid suspicion at this time, and Dai Zongxian was too old and weak to travel far, and winter was coming soon. Therefore, I thought it would be best for Da Zongbo to go to Zhejiang to handle the case. As for Wang Hua, he I just know how to be a deputy."

In the warm pavilion, after he finished speaking, Liu, Li, and Xie were all silent.The prince wants to trouble you, but you can still feel comfortable?
This is definitely a hot potato, because no one knows who Li Yancai and the others will recruit.What if you recruit some sensitive people?
And the cabinet originally didn't want to get involved in this matter.

"Zhang Aiqing, what do you think?" Emperor Hongzhi should have no major objections, so he began to ask.

Poor Zhang Sheng immediately sweated on his forehead, "I would like to report to your majesty. As a minister, I should share the worries of the king and contribute to the country, but your majesty, the minister is old and frail, and he is already overwhelmed like an old horse. At that time, the veteran will be condemned to death."

This is also the old fritters' words.

So it is really not easy to be the emperor, if you are a little stupid, you can't play with these clever and slippery ministers.

This Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites is very active, but now he says he is not in good health.

Zhu Houzhao snorted through his nostrils, "Uncle Da Zong is too old to be useful? Does this mean that the prince in this palace is not considerate of the veterans? He also said that he was afraid of delaying the major events in Zhejiang. Why, the affairs of the Ministry of Rites are trivial matters, so you are not afraid Is it a delay?"

Zhang Sheng couldn't argue with these words, so he could only say: "Your Highness misunderstood, this minister didn't mean it."

Zhu Houzhao caught up and asked: "Then what do you mean? If you are not in good health, why don't you say it in front of the Ministry of Rites on weekdays, but you suddenly said it at this juncture. Is it because you are dissatisfied with my palace's arrangement?"

Then he said sadly: "Besides, you keep talking about sharing your worries for the king and contributing to the country, but you open your eyes and look at your father, not to mention that your father is still sick today, even if you don't have a morning court on weekdays, you will be fine." I have to discuss it with you, and if I was a little careless, I handed over a memorial from the censor! Is this how you share your worries?!"

These words are murderous, how can Zhang Sheng evade them?
This mountain of swords in Zhejiang, he can go up if he doesn't!
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Thank you Lu Xi for the rewards!
(End of this chapter)