At the beginning of the civil castle, the Ming God of War was a little panicked

Chapter 498 The Great Conspiracy

Zhu Qizhen had no intention of discussing with them at all, all the ten clans who were the principal culprits had been condemned, and the only thing to consider now was, what is the basis for the division of the ten clans.

Classmates, friends, these concepts are too broad, there must always be a standard of measurement.

Cao Nai and others saw that the emperor's attitude was so firm that there was no room for maneuver, so they could only shake their heads silently.

After this coup, the emperor's sentencing standards for officials will increase again, and everyone's life will only be more difficult in the future.

"Report to the emperor, I have a word."

At this time, Kuang Ye suddenly stood up.

The three of them went to the hall to face the saint, Cao Nai and Zhang Yi were always talking, and they almost forgot that there was someone behind them.

Turning his head to look at this time, there was a look of approval on his face at the same time, Kuang Shangshu was over seventy years old, he was the oldest courtier in the dynasty, he might have a way to make the emperor change his mind.

Zhu Qizhen still had a sullen face, and said, "Speak!"

Kuang Ye said: "At the time of Jing Nan, I was 16 years old. I had just passed the examination of scholar, and my teacher was Chengtai and the great Confucian Wang Jing."

Zhu Qizhen was a little puzzled, what did the old guy mean when he suddenly mentioned Jing Nan?
Could it be implying that the emperor himself killed too much?
Damn it, during the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties, tens of thousands of people were involved in a single case, why should they not be killed when they come to me!
Just about to explode, I heard Kuang Ye continue to say: "About the Fang Xiaoru case that shocked the world, I have heard from my mentor that the so-called Zhushi Clan is not a temporary anger of Emperor Taizong, but... something else hidden."

Zhu Qizhen froze for a moment, Cao Nai and Zhang Yi were also a little surprised, they all looked at Kuang Ye, waiting for him to continue.

"After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, Chen Ying, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was appointed to investigate the Jianwen remnant party. His teacher Wang Jing and Chen Ying were classmates. Therefore, the veteran knew a thing or two about the situation at that time."

"Censor Chen Ying repeatedly investigated for several months, and finally submitted a list of 870 pages long, with a total of [-] three people. Most of the officials are related to Fang Xiaoru, and, far beyond the nine clans, it spread to ten clans."

Zhu Qizhen asked: "You mean, it's not that Emperor Taizong asked Fang Xiaoru's ten clans to be punished, but because this person formed a clique for personal gain and attracted more than 800 people. In this way, when Emperor Taizong raised troops to calm down the Qing Dynasty, the one who was Qing was these people?"

Kuang Ye nodded and said, "Go back to the emperor, that's right!"

Zhu Qizhen frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked: "What was Fang Xiaoru's official position?"

Cao Nai was more clear, so he replied: "After Emperor Jianwen came to the throne, Fang Xiaoru successively served as a lecturer in the Imperial Academy and a scholar in the Imperial Academy."

"what?"

Zhu Qizhen was surprised and said: "Fang Xiaoru is so famous, why is he just a Hanlin scholar?"

Cao Nai nodded and said, "Exactly."

Zhu Qizhen felt a little funny, and asked again: "How can a mere Hanlin scholar win over 800 party members?"

Kuang Ye replied: "In the early years of Jianwen, the New Deal was implemented and the recommendation system was restored. This suggestion was put forward by Fang Xiaoru and implemented by him. As a result, in just three years, as many as a thousand people were recommended to the court as officials. The three people in 870 identified by Shi Chenying are all directly or indirectly related to Fang Xiaoru."

Zhu Qizhen is not familiar with these things, even the veritable emperor of his predecessor would not study the history of Jingnan.

Zhu Di, the king of Yan, raised his troops to calm Nan, and got the name of rebellion. He himself didn't bother to wash it off. I just rebelled. What's the matter?
Later generations acquiesced to the fact that their ancestors rebelled and started a family, and they no longer pursued the details at that time, only knowing the result was enough.

Kuang Ye continued: "These 870 people actually have one thing in common, that is, they are all from Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

Zhu Qizhen immediately discovered the problem, and asked: "Isn't it a blatant faction? No matter how confused Emperor Jianwen is, he can't tolerate such a thing!"

Kuang Ye said: "The veteran speculates that perhaps when Emperor Jianwen found out that the situation was wrong, he couldn't help himself."

There is no conclusion on this matter, and we can only rely on speculation. Just imagine, Emperor Jianwen opened a new policy under the advice of Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru and others, and he must have wanted to do something.

Who would have imagined that the New Deal is open, but it has become a means for these people to form cliques for personal gain.

The recommendation system can bypass the imperial examination and promote people at will. By the time Emperor Jianwen discovered the clue, there were already 1000 more people in the court.

But at this time, his biggest opponent is King Yan in the north, who has no time for internal affairs.

Until the Yan army broke the city and Yan Wang Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, this issue was left to the new emperor to deal with.

After Kuang Ye said so much, Zhu Qizhen also understood that when Zhu Di ordered Fang Xiaoru's ten clans to be implicated, it was definitely not a momentary anger, but he had to do it.

Today's situation is very different. Yang Dan's party members are all conservative officials and gentry. Their participation in rebellion is already a capital crime, and there is no need to use Yang Dan's identity to implicate them.

If Yang Dan is given a ten clan of punishment, the friends and classmates who take him in will really be innocent.

Zhu Qizhen is not a die-hard person, so he immediately made a concession: "Then punish the nine clans, but we must strictly investigate the party, and never take it lightly!"

Only then did Cao Nai and the others breathe a sigh of relief, and saluted: "I obey the order!"

Things started to spread, and in the capital alone, more than [-]% of the officials were arrested.

However, their base camp is not the capital, but Jiangnan!

From the beginning to the end, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River were the biggest force against the imperial power, but they usually didn't show it.

According to Yang Dan's account, as early as the Renxuan period, the smuggling gangs in Jiangnan were already rampant.

Even Daming Haiban was created by them. Among the so-called Japanese pirates, no more than [-]% of them are real Japanese, and most of them are hired by Han people.

Even in Japan's native land, the real combat effectiveness is pitifully low. Just one Shi Heng, with hundreds of soldiers and horses, managed to subdue them.

Since the Daming sea ban, all the huge profits from smuggling have fallen into the hands of the gentry on the southeast coast. With the start of Zheng He's voyage to the West, the court took most of the profits. Although these people were unwilling, they could only smash it when they met Emperor Taizong. The teeth swallowed in the stomach.

However, with the death of Emperor Taizong and the succession of Emperor Renzong, they regained the right to trade at sea.

That is to say, since then, Jiaozhi has been gained and lost again, and it has become an important transit point for smuggling at sea. Emperor Xuanzong was about to restart his voyages to the West, but found that there were many obstacles and had to stop.

Suddenly, Zhu Qizhen saw a confession that made him shudder.

This is a huge conspiracy!

Emperor Xuanzong did not die normally, but was murdered as he was preparing to resume his voyages to the West again.

(End of this chapter)