Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 103 Wen Sheng Carrying the Flag

In Dongnuan Pavilion, sandalwood curls up from the copper furnace.

Zhu Youtang looked at Huguang patrolling Jiang Hong's memorial, and didn't know why he had such a bold idea.

It's just that he knows that Yanzheng is like a cake covered with flies and mice, and it's time to see blood.The Ming Dynasty’s salt abuses were not something that Zhang Min’s kind of reform could solve. Only by scaring and killing these flies and mice could the cake that the imperial court should have be preserved.

In fact, this is the case in any era, where there can be a steady stream of money or benefits, then there will definitely be interest groups.

Even in the era of later civilizations, there are also moths in some fields, and they use various means to eat away at the sugar in this field.

The Zhou Dynasty that the civil official group yearns for is largely a fairy tale. The background of the story has been as long as 2000 years, and officials of any era must have selfishness.

As for Zhu Xi's idea of ​​"taking care of heaven and destroying human desires", it may be a way to govern the world, but how many officials can "become holy"?
The land under the jurisdiction of Daming is two capitals and thirteen provinces, and there are more than [-] counties under it. How many Jingshan counties exist here, and how many people like Li Guangming are there?
When Zhu Youtang saw these memorials to impeach Wang Yue from the local government, not only did he not waver in his intention to reuse Wang Yue, but he also wished to kill these officials as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, this is the memorabilia just sent up from the Huiji gate!" Guo Yong came in with a bunch of memorabilia, and reported again.

Zhu Youtang couldn't help but reached out and rubbed his forehead. There were already enough memorabilia from these two capitals and thirteen provinces, but some of the Beijing officials below were restless.

Due to the fact that the early court was closed these days, the number of memorials has increased rapidly, and the number has exceeded the memorials sent by the local government.

It would be fine if these Beijing officials honestly played government affairs, but they were all memorandums handed to themselves. If they sound good, they are direct remonstrance, but if they sound bad, they are actually teaching themselves how to behave.

Zhu Youtang opened a book, and said bitterly, "Ma Wensheng again?"

"Your Majesty, these three are all memorials of Ma Wensheng!" Knowing that Ma Wensheng, the new censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, has become the number one assassin, Liu Jin picked up the other two and reported carefully.

Zhu Youtang directly threw the memorial in his hand aside, but he didn't bother to take another look.

Ma Wensheng, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate who had just arrived from Nanjing, seemed to have taken medicine. He handed over several memorials every day, with a strong sense of disrespect in his words.

Zhu Youtang knew that both Ma Wensheng and Wang Shu were courtiers who liked to "directly advise", and they had a great reputation in later generations, and they were called the three gentlemen of Hongzhi along with Da Xia.

Compared with these eloquent officials, he prefers a man of action like Wang Yue. The former has only such a clever mouth, but the latter is actually doing real things.

Whether reading novels or reading history books, Zhu Youtang has always been thinking about what this official did in that context, instead of easily judging who is good and who is bad by following others.

Zhu Youtang didn't want to waste energy on these people, and suddenly thought that Song Cheng hadn't seen anyone for a few days, so he ordered to summon him alone.

"This time the new king is so reckless, we should be admonishing you as ministers, how can we let the new king make mistakes again and again!" Ma Wenhua not only handed in several memorials every day, but also openly said.

Ma Wenhua was a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai. He was awarded the censor at the beginning, and then patrolled Shanxi and Huguang.

Although he is over sixty now, he is still in good health. Even though he has lost a few teeth, his voice is loud and powerful, and he is still a famous mouth of Daming.

Like Wang Shu, he usually likes to find trouble when he has nothing to do, but now he is looking for trouble when he has something to do.Regardless of whether it is reasonable or unreasonable, anyway, we must make a fuss first.

Back in Beijing at this time, he was furious when he learned that his fellow countryman Li Min had been arrested and imprisoned.

He has a close relationship with Liu Min, and even once wanted to form a family with his son and daughter, but his son committed some crimes, and finally the marriage was abandoned.

Now Zhu Youtang sent Li Min to prison and ransacked his home without any real evidence. In his opinion, Zhu Youtang was worse than a tyrant, so he directly carried the banner of anti-imperialism.

It's just a pity that no matter how many memorials he handed over, there was still nothing.

Coincidentally, the time came to November, and the weather in Beijing was getting colder and colder.

Shuowang Dynasty, this is a court meeting held in Fengtian Palace on the first and fifteenth day of each month. Officials above the fourth rank and above enter the palace to participate. They only pay congratulations and do not discuss political affairs.

Zhu Youtang did not give up on Shuo Wangchao, and went to the Fengxian Hall in the palace early in the morning to pay homage to the ancestors.

Whether he admits it or not, the blood of the Zhu family's royal family flows from his body now, and the spirit card in front of him is his nominal ancestor, and the one in the right place is naturally the great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Youtang has stayed on the throne for a long time, but the person he admires the most is Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

If the system formulated during the Taizu period did not go out of shape, today's Ming Dynasty would definitely be stronger and stronger, and even achieved a strong country and a prosperous people.

Of course, this is actually a fantasy full of fairy tales. It is inevitable that the Yanzheng government will be eaten away by interest groups, and the destruction of Kaizhongfa will sooner or later be the inevitable result of Huaiguan's growth.

"Hundreds of officials enter the palace to worship!"

As Zhu Youtang came to the dragon chair in Fengtian Hall, Guo Yong immediately sang.

At this time, Honglu Temple praised the arrangement and enjoyed the work.

"Holy blessings!"

The new left servant of the Ministry of Rites, Chen Qiong, has arrived. Since he was brought back from the Nanjing Nursing Home by Zhu Youtang, he looked at Zhu Youtang with a touch of gratitude in his eyes, and he seemed to be singing politely.

"Holy blessings!"

Wan An and Liu Ji led all the Beijing officials of the fourth rank or above to enter the hall listening to the sound of the bell, but respectfully bowed once and kowtowed three times.

According to Zhou etiquette, officials originally had to take off their boots and enter the palace to show respect, but Zhu Yuanzhang is not a person who likes this kind of red tape, so he deliberately ordered that all officials entering the palace should not play such a set of hypocrisy, and let Lao Tzu know everything Put the boots on.

Zhu Youtang knew that this pilgrimage meeting was actually just a process. He came here to accept the pilgrimage from Beijing officials of the fourth rank or above.

"Holy blessings!"

The officials below the fourth rank outside stood under the Danchi, and they also bowed once and kowtowed three times to Hongzhi in the hall.

Chen Qiong, the newly appointed left servant of the Ministry of Rites, fulfilled the post of Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and sang again: "Return to work!"

At this time, Zhu Youtang can retreat, but all the officials have to salute when they come out of the palace.

"I have my own play!" Ma Wensheng, the Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, saw that Zhu Youtang was about to leave, and suddenly came out.

Liu Ji, the cabinet assistant, saw that Ma Wensheng was so ignorant of the rules, so he immediately stood up and scolded: "President Ma, today is Shuowang Dynasty!"

"It has been five or six days since your Majesty dismissed the imperial court. I have not yet seen His Majesty's holy face when I went to the capital to take up my post. I will meet you at the court today. I will present a brief report on the fifteen affairs of the current affairs, and I will report on other important matters. Please allow me your Majesty's permission!" Ma Wensheng naturally knew that it did not comply with the regulations, but he still expressed his position firmly.

Zhu Youtang actually saw Ma Wensheng for the first time, and found that his face was relatively thin and long, with deep eye sockets, nose tip, small eyes, and a mustache. He looked like a Hui nationality.

He just met the other party's eyes, resolutely as if he was entangled with himself.

Zhu Youtang knew that this kind of thing might really "can hide from the first day of the first day of the junior high school today, but not the fifteenth day of the new year", so he suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "Let's play!"

Huh?
Upon hearing Zhu Youtang's answer, Li Yu and other officials, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, immediately smelled a smell of gunpowder, and then faintly turned their heads to look at the little old man of the Hui nationality next to him.

In fact, anyone can see that Ma Wensheng came from Nanjing this time, one is to rescue his friend Li Min from the same country, and the other is to make his Ma Wensheng famous.

Now Wange and Liu Ji are still in the imperial court. Xu Pu, a Hanlin scholar with high hopes, has abandoned his helmet and armor, and Ma Wensheng wants to use this to carry the banner of Qingliu.

Looking at the current six ministers, Li Yu and Du Ming have completely turned against each other, Li Si, the minister of the household department, has no commanding power, Jia Jun, the minister of the Ministry of industry, is a candidate minister, Jia Zijun, the minister of the military department, is still in prison, and the minister of rites is vacant.

Ma Wensheng, as the second-rank censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, can be said to be the most prestigious Qingliu now, so he naturally wants to carry the banner of Qingliu without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, I'm going to make four announcements this time! One is to ask Li Min, the former Minister of the Household Department, to stop copying family affairs. Li Min's corruption of ink can't just rely on a private account book to arrest the minister and lose his family wealth. Such practices It has never been seen in ancient times, and it is also inconsistent with the law of this dynasty, so please set things right. Second, please change the post of Wang Yue. When Yue is restored, it will be convenient for Jingshan County to massacre Li Guangming, the former prefect of Shunde, and Jingshan County, and then beheaded in Anlu Prefecture. There are four people in total. Yue’s move is suspected of coercing the public to report his own interests. I also see that this person is cruel. Third, please take back the sword Shangshu. The Shangfang sword represents the supremacy of imperial power. It has always been used in the army. There are many local officials using this sword to kill and poke, so please stop it! Fourth, please pardon Qingyun Hou Zhoushou. It is an unfilial act to hurt the Empress Dowager, so please stop it!" Ma Wensheng submitted the four things in detail, and at the same time stated eloquently.

The officials present couldn't help but exchanged glances silently, realizing that to deal with Hongzhi, they had to rely on this kind of official who dared to say anything.

Zhu Youtang glanced at the officials who were ready to move, and Dang even said indifferently: "Whoever agrees with Ma Yushi's invitation, all stand up!"

Xu Pu weighed it up and didn't intend to stand up. It wasn't that he didn't agree with Ma Wensheng's plan, but that he simply didn't want to make Ma Wensheng stronger.

Liu Jian, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, looked around, and when he was about to take a step forward, Liu Ji, the second assistant, had a sore throat and coughed, which made him shrink back again.

"Second minister!" Feng Guan, Minister of Dali Temple, Hu Gong, Minister of Guanglu Temple, and Zhu Yonghe, Minister of Shangbao Temple, exchanged glances, and Dang even stood up to express his opinion.

When Ma Wensheng saw Dali Temple Minister Feng Guan and the other three standing up, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise slightly.

Even though it was rumored that the new monarch was different from the prince, he always believed that he had brains and eloquence, how could he still be at the mercy of a young emperor.

"In this case, let's do it one by one! Li Min, the former Minister of the Household Department, wants to be exonerated. Are you going to help him as a bail?" Zhu Youtang looked at the four officials in the hall and asked.

"The ministers have no such intentions!" Dali Temple Minister Feng Guan naturally couldn't bet his wealth and life on Li Min, so he denied it.

Zhu Yonghe, Minister of Shangbao Temple, even explained tactfully: "Your Majesty, I think that your Majesty's arrest of the minister's house under insufficient evidence will chill the hearts of scholars all over the world, so please stop admonishing me!"

"That's right. I don't need to testify for Li Min. Your Majesty is at fault for this matter!" Ma Wensheng naturally couldn't risk his family's life, so he responded loudly.

"These four old foxes!"

After hearing their expressions, Li Yu shook his head silently, knowing that officials including Ma Wensheng were well versed in officialdom.

Zhu Youtang naturally knew that the officials under him were as slippery as oil, so he couldn't help but mockingly said: "You both want to ask for mercy, but you don't want to take any responsibility. You really have a good plan." Glancing at Guo Yong standing beside him, he said, "Read it!"

Guo Yong had already made preparations, so he cleared his throat and said, "This is the memorandum just delivered by Liu Zhong, the Guangxi Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the miscellaneous family will read it for everyone! Liu Zhong, the Secretary of Guangxi Department of the Ministry of Accounting, played it carefully." : I went to Yongcheng to search the Li family. However, the stolen silver from the Li family mansion was very little. Fortunately, Gou Youzhong, the magistrate of Yongcheng County, provided the silver of the Li family kiln and stored it in the 10-acre dendrobium forest of Ziyun Academy. In the haunted house, I found a silver hiding place, the kiln contained more than 65 taels of gold, [-] taels of silver, and countless jewels..."

what?
As soon as this remark came out, the officials present couldn't help being stunned.

Although everyone knows that Li Min's hands and feet are not clean, not to mention when he was a local inspector, there have been rumors of corruption when he was the governor of water transportation alone.

It's just that no one thought that Li Min was so greedy that the total value of the taels he had coveted exceeded one million taels.

Of course, what they didn't expect the most was that the Li family's kiln silver was found by a small household doctor, and this fig leaf was officially unveiled.

Zhu Youtang also breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Ma Wensheng and said sternly: "If Li Min is really as clean as water and doesn't take any money, but he doesn't know where the stolen silver of more than one million comes from? Ma Aiqing, please give it to me An explanation, so that I think I did something wrong, that I shouldn't have raided Li Min's home, and that Li Min should be sent back to his hometown!"

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

"Such a greedy person, he should be punished!"

"Your Majesty, you should thoroughly investigate all relevant officials on the ledger!"

……

Knowing that Liu Zhong confiscated so much gold and silver in Yongcheng, the attitudes of the officials immediately changed 180 degrees, and Dang even expressed their opinions one after another.

Ma Wensheng's head was buzzing, and he was sweating profusely. It was absolutely impossible for Li Min to have embezzled so much silver taels, and he was actually found out by the raiding officials.

Dali Temple Minister Feng Guan and the other three were also ashamed, staring blankly at Guo Yong who read out Liu Zhongzuo's report, never expecting that the person who wanted to rescue was the first greedy person of Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)