Ming Dynasty, starting from the empty seal case

Chapter 7 We will deal with you severely!

The matters discussed in the morning are all national affairs.

However, the case of Kongyin, which made Baiguan's heart agitate the most, was not mentioned at the beginning.

When selecting officials from the imperial dynasty, should we continue to follow the imperial examination system of the previous dynasty?
  Now comes the Ming Dynasty Tongbao, the shortage of materials for copper coin casting...

Soon.

It’s another military and national event of the Northern Expedition!
  Difficulties in transporting grain and grass, and dredging rivers.

It’s time to crusade against the vassal king’s misbehavior in the fiefdom again...

All kinds of things...

at last.

"Your Majesty, the imperial censor's desk and the imperial censor's tujie are in full swing!"

The hundred officials are ranked at the very back of the team. Following a middle-aged figure in his thirties, he took half a step forward.

In an instant, the hustle and bustle of discussing state affairs suddenly became quiet.

On the dragon chair.

Zhu Yuanzhang half-squinted his eyes, and his eyes seemed to sweep across the faces of every official before finally settling on that person's face.

"Come forward and speak!"

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, the Yushitai was still the Yushitai and had not been changed to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

As for the official position of Shi Yushi, it was only for the sixth rank who could just enter the early dynasty.

Although the official position is small, the power is great. Supervise hundreds of officials!

Tu Jie stepped forward quickly.

Within the sight of the officials, Tu Jie completely turned a blind eye. However, when he was about to stand still, he still shifted his gaze toward a figure on the left front.

Immediately he knelt down and said quickly:

"My servant, Shi Tujie, serves as the imperial censor, and I would like to report to Your Majesty the case regarding the empty seal."

"A few days ago, the Qintian Supervisor talked about the changes in the stars. His Majesty was deeply aware of the secrets of this case, so he asked the chief officials of various regions, as well as the relevant taxation officials of the Ministry of Revenue, no matter how big or small, to report what they saw and heard during their duties. , played to the Holy One."

"Now, all the chief officials from various places have been escorted to Beijing."

"As soon as I respond to the memorial, I will send it to the palace."

"The prisons in the capital are now full, and there is no time to imprison too many criminals."

"Your Majesty, in order to maintain order in the capital, the three departments responsible for this case should be tried as soon as possible."

After Tu Jie finished speaking, he knelt down and said nothing.

The censor hears about things, supervises all officials, and can have a say in everything.

It just so happens that this position is a high-ranking and important position and can be promoted the fastest.

Especially in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, as long as you followed the right people, you could get ahead in three to five years.

therefore.

Many times, every seemingly inconspicuous act in the noble and important positions of the Yushitai is the hand that lifts some big curtains.

From the beginning of the morning to now, everyone knows that the highlight is at the end.

But most of the time, officials are not willing to be the one to offend His Majesty.

As for the position of censor, one must naturally shoulder responsibilities.

Sure enough, after he opened his mouth.

The officials seemed to have a tacit understanding, and their hidden gazes were all directed towards His Majesty...

"Well, you reminded us."

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone seemed to have returned to normal. After being emperor for ten years, he still liked to call himself "We".

"You are Shi Yushi. Since you have started this, how about you tell me your suggestions?"

Tu Jie was stunned. He had listened to the order in advance and prepared.

After this reason was given, the rest could not be said at all.

after all.

The Lord has an argument for this case.

But since the Holy One asked, Tu Jie thought for a moment and said immediately:

"The chief officials from all over the country have used empty seals to deceive the Holy One. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor. During this period, I don't know how many people have enriched their own pockets, taken bribes and perverted the law. They should be questioned and executed! It's just..."

When Tu Jie said this, he subconsciously thought it was not good.

Because he keenly felt that when he said the first half of his words, His Majesty's eyes were very approving.

But after he said the last two words, when he secretly observed His Majesty, he clearly noticed a slight change in the latter's eyes.

"Just what?"

He was horrified and quickly changed his mind.

"It's just that I am just an imperial censor after all. This case is too big, and I dare not let my own thoughts interfere with His Majesty's judgment. If I miss something important, I will never be able to redeem myself!"

After he finished speaking, he simply knelt down and lowered his head, but chose to remain silent.

The imperial censor is noble and has a bright future, but he doesn't want to get involved.

"Anyone who can be a censor has a good mind!"

Seeing how quickly his words changed, all the officials present couldn't help but curse.

but.

His Majesty's thunderous wrath earlier was right in front of him.

Again, it's not my own business, no one really dares to get stuck in this mud.

However, officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs kept silent for no reason.

This may be their only chance to defend themselves.

Before the court began, Lord Shangshu's words rang in his ears.

In addition, His Majesty's tone has been very gentle since the beginning of the court meeting, and he is not as angry as before.

Maybe this is the time to step down from the previously high tone.

Think of this.

Wu Wenyong, the head of the household department, gritted his teeth.

He immediately stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the matter of the empty seal is not actually a case. It has been found out now."

"Our Ming Dynasty benefited from the expansion of territory by the Holy Sage. The territory far exceeded that of the previous Song Dynasty, and it even regained the old land that had been lost for nearly 500 years since the end of the Tang Dynasty!"

He first praised his majesty.

Then he said again: "But because the territory is too large and the journey is difficult, transporting officials from various places, some of which are remote, takes more than half a trip."

"If there is an error in the account verification with the Ministry of Revenue, you have to go back and stamp it again. During this period, the Ministry of Revenue cannot verify the tax and grain details of a place. When it comes back, the tax collection for the second year may have already started... …”

"Not to mention the time and official work wasted, even the financial and material resources wasted, it is extremely worthless."

"This method of empty printing is really a helpless move!"

It starts with one person.

When others saw this, they quickly said: "Yes, Your Majesty, this is not an intentional deception by the officials below, it is all for the sake of the efficiency of the court."

Another person followed closely and said: "Your Majesty, this was the case in the previous dynasties, and it was also the case in the Song Dynasty a few years ago. Even in the Tang and Han Dynasties, it was still the same..." "..."

You say something to me.

At this moment, almost everything can be related to this case, to be honest.

In the end, even the Minister of Household Affairs also spoke.

"Your Majesty, due to geographical restrictions, many outstanding people in the past thousands of years, including previous dynasties, have thought of making the tax verification process efficient, clean, fair and transparent."

"But, is there a way to get the best of both worlds?"

At the end of the sentence, the old minister's tone even turned bitter.

"Please, Your Majesty, please tell me clearly. I didn't mean to deceive you, but I had no choice but to do it..."

For a while.

The entire Fengtian Palace seemed to be able to feel the helplessness and anguish of the old minister.

Just despite that.

Most of the other officials still watched indifferently and did not participate.

The atmosphere was silent.

As soon as the Hubu officials responded, they knelt in front of the palace, as if waiting for His Majesty to change his mind.

a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned forward, his tone was soft and his emotions were unclear.

It seemed to be mixed with a little lamentation.

"So, we are indeed wrong?"

As soon as these words came out.

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue suddenly became happy and realized that something was going on.

It was just as they thought.

The previous intelligence was not wrong, and the officials of Qintian Prison alerted the Holy Emperor with the changes in the astrology.

The Holy Spirit also realized the helplessness, so he wanted to get off the stairs.

Think of this.

Hundreds of officials were at the forefront, and a certain official from Zhongshu Province also took a step forward.

He quickly said: "Your Majesty, this change in the astrology may indicate that there is something hidden."

"But this is not because His Majesty made a mistake, but because the officials below did not report the matter."

"All of this is the fault of those below!"

After characterizing the case.

He quickly said:
  "But even though there was a mistake below, it was not a crime that would lead to death, and it would not have affected such a wide range of people."

"The Ming Dynasty was only ten years old. Under His Majesty's governance, it was the time when officials governed the Qingming Dynasty."

"But tens of thousands of people shouldn't have to suffer such heavy crimes!"

"In my opinion, the main officials who have been sealed this time can be exiled if they have serious crimes."

"The rest of the people should return immediately."

"I believe that after this suffering, no one will dare to deceive Your Majesty again."

As these words fell.

Suddenly.

All the officials agreed.

"That's why we should teach them a lesson this time."

"Your Majesty is kind and generous. Officials from all over the country should also be grateful!"

"..."

Seeing the officials below, they began to shed tears of gratitude and even breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly smiled and said: "Very good, very good, hahaha..."

As soon as these words came out.

In an instant, everyone felt as if a heavy stone had fallen from their hearts.

Sure enough.

The Holy Spirit has long since changed his mind.

The smiles are so hearty.

For a moment, everyone felt relaxed and smiles appeared on their faces.

The picture is enjoyable.

However, it was abrupt.

Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed his smile and suddenly uttered a question.

"That's not right..."

All the officials raised their heads, the smiles still on their faces. They thought the Holy One had some doubts so they could continue to answer.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at them with a light voice.

"So soon... you have taken over the responsibility for us?"

In an instant.

Baiguan's smile froze on his face.

The entire Fengtian Temple seemed to have been poured with cold water.

It is obviously the beginning of spring, but it feels like the twelfth lunar month of winter!
  next moment.

The calm tone suddenly disappeared, and it was already the fury of thunder.

"You cunning people are still talking nonsense and trying to turn black into white!"

"Bang" sound!
  Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table angrily and stood up suddenly.

This shot almost made many people present feel dizzy and empty-headed.

"When things are about to come to an end, you are still thinking of taking chances and trying to deceive us?"

"Please beg me, today you dare to use the empty seal to hide it from me, take bribes and embezzle taxes and rations! Will you dare to use the empty seal again tomorrow to seize power and mutiny?"

"Shall we give you the blank imperial edict with the big seal on it?"

As soon as these words came out, all the ministers panicked and knelt down completely, not even daring to shout.

But Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said again:

"You don't dare? Where does the empty seal come from?"

As he spoke, he turned around suddenly and looked to the side.

"Go! Let the prince bring us all those memorials!"

"Now, let's deal with them severely!"

(End of this chapter)