On the second day after the emperor reprimanded His Royal Highness, a big event happened in the morning.
A certain minister who supported the king of Dai reported to the emperor that Zhang Nan, the chief minister of Nongcheng, was corrupt. As soon as he said these words, he caused an uproar in the court.
A certain minister listed Zhang Nan's crimes of corruption in detail, and also gave strong evidence.
Zhang Nan, the chief minister of Nongcheng, knelt down and complained to the emperor, saying that a certain minister deliberately framed him.
Other ministers who supported the prince criticized a certain minister one after another, saying that he was slanderous and so on.
The ministers who supported the king naturally would not watch their companions being bullied by the prince's people. They scolded the prince's people for being sophistry, and scolded them for often taking advantage of their power to commit corruption and bend the law. He also said that His Highness the Crown Prince, relying on his status as the crown prince, often secretly coveted tribute.
Of course they would not let Duke Zhen go, saying that Duke Zhen took advantage of his status and that he was the uncle of His Highness the Crown Prince to often accept bribes. Not only that, their family also went around amassing money and seizing land, making the people miserable. He also said that the slaves in Zhenguo's government were bullying others.
The prince's people listened to the people who were acting on behalf of the king and became more and more exaggerated. They also angrily said that the king on behalf of the emperor had taken advantage of his status to not only embezzle and accept bribes, but also to buy and sell officials in the military. He also accused Dai Wang of recruiting soldiers in his fief and forging weapons in private. He said that the king had ulterior motives and wanted to do something rebellious.
People on both sides refused to give in to each other and blamed each other for any crime, regardless of whether it was true or not. Then, they started yelling at each other.
As a result, the king's man and the prince's man once again quarreled in the court like shrews. They were all quarreling until their faces turned red, they were vomiting, and they rolled up their sleeves with fierce expressions, as if they were about to fight at the next moment.
I don't dare to fight, after all, this is not Caishikou.
The ministers on both sides were quarreling so fiercely that they completely forgot that they were in the court.
The emperor sat on the dragon chair, holding his face with his right hand, looking at the noisy ministers below with interest.
Sun Kui once again saw the scene of the ministers quarreling, his expression was very speechless, and he complained crazily in his heart: Did these ministers forget that they were still attending the morning court? Have they forgotten their identities? Were they dissatisfied with their longevity, they quarreled again in front of the emperor.
Even if the ministers were arguing, why did His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King also start to argue?
Originally, at the beginning, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King Acted as if the matter had nothing to do with them. However, when they heard the other party's ministers slandering them in various ways, they couldn't help it, began to sneer at each other, and then quarreled without any accident.
Of course, they didn't quarrel as much as the ministers, but they were just angry at each other.
Duke Zhen Guo originally didn't intend to make a quarrel, but when Marquis Xuanping pointed his finger at him and scolded him, he had to retaliate. Then, he quarreled with Marquis Xuanping. Even though Zhen Guoping always looks elegant, when he scolds people, he is not at all elegant.
Marquis Xuanping seemed ruder than Duke Zhen, but he couldn't scold Duke Zhen.
He Xiang, Shen Hu and others stood aside and watched with relish the quarrel between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Dai Wang. If this was not a court, they would want to cheer for them and make them noisy more fiercely.
Sun Kui saw that the ministers were becoming more and more noisy and had no tendency to stop. He asked the emperor cautiously: "Your Majesty, won't you stop them?"
The emperor smiled and said: "I am very bored and let them make noise."
When Sun Kui heard this, he felt a chill in his heart and his scalp felt slightly numb. He quickly shut up, not daring to say a word. He turned his attention back to the ministers who were still arguing, and sympathized with them in his heart.
After arguing for a while, the ministers suddenly felt a dangerous sight. This glaring sight sent a chill down their backs, and then their hair began to tingle.
At this time, the ministers stopped unconsciously, and then their faces turned pale, and their eyes were filled with fear. I don’t know who took the lead to kneel down, and then everyone else also knelt down.
They were kneeling on the ground, their faces were pale, their eyes were filled with horror, their foreheads and faces were covered with cold sweat, and their bodies were trembling slightly.
Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King were sweating on their backs.
The ministers hurriedly apologized: "Your Majesty, forgive me!"
The Crown Prince and the Acting King: "Father, forgive me!"
Seeing that the ministers stopped arguing, the emperor showed a look of pity on his face. He smiled and said to the ministers who were kneeling and trembling on the ground: "I heard that I was very excited. Why don't you stop arguing?"
"I deserve to die. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"I haven't heard enough yet, keep making noise." The emperor's tone was very gentle, but it frightened the ministers kneeling below. "I haven't heard you quarreling for a long time. Your interest is so high today. I want you to quarrel as much as you can."
"I dare not, please forgive me."
"Don't you dare?" The emperor's tone suddenly changed, and the majesty emanating from him made the ministers kneeling on the ground tremble even more. "I think you are quite brave. You treat my court like a food market again and again. You can quarrel whenever you want. How about you fight again?"
Many timid ministers were so frightened that they almost peed their pants. They dare not pee. If you wet your pants in court, it is a capital offense.
"I deserve death for my crimes. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
How fierce the noise was just now, how scared they were now.
"Prince, acting king."
When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King Dai heard the emperor calling them, their hearts skipped a beat. It was rare for the two brothers to have a tacit understanding, and they both became frightened and uneasy.
"Father, my son is guilty, please punish me!"
"One is the crown prince, and the other is the prince, and they actually had a quarrel in the court. You are really my good sons."
"Father..."
The emperor interrupted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King, and turned to look at a certain minister.
"Give your evidence to Master Liu."
A certain minister responded tremblingly: "Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor shouted: "Master Liu."
Taishi Liu responded respectfully: "I am here."
The emperor ordered: "It will be up to you to investigate and judge the corruption of the great minister, Nongcheng Zhang Nan."
"I obey the order."
Zhang Nan almost fainted from fright when he heard that the emperor handed the matter over to Taishi Liu for trial.
It's over. Grand Master Liu checked and found out that neither the prince nor Duke Zhen could save him. He was dead!
The emperor's tone was very calm: "Da Sinong."
But Da Sinong felt that his end was coming. He responded tremblingly: "I, I am here."
The emperor asked: "Do you know that your subordinates are greedy for ink?"
Da Sinong's face was pale and his whole body was trembling as he said, "I don't know..." He really didn't know.
The emperor chuckled and said: "What an ignorant person."
Da Sinong said with an earthy face: "I deserve to die. I beg the emperor to punish me."
"Have you ever been in cahoots with Zhang Nan?"
"Your Majesty, I don't have it. I don't dare. Even if I have a thousand courages, I don't dare to be greedy for ink..." Da Sinong's body was shaking very hard, but his speech was still very clear, "Please see clearly, your Majesty, I am not greedy for ink." "As a great minister, in charge of the finances of the Great Zhou Dynasty, even if you give him ten thousand courages, he would not dare to take bribes or embezzlement under the eyes of the emperor, unless he becomes impatient.
"Zhang Nan is not only your subordinate, but also your apprentice." The emperor's tone was still calm, "I remember that you once praised him in front of me and said that he has outstanding abilities."
Da Sinong immediately raised his hand and slapped himself hard a dozen times. His face suddenly became red and swollen, and he tremblingly apologized to the emperor: "I don't know people clearly, and I beg the emperor to punish me."
The index finger of the emperor's right hand gently tapped the armrest of the dragon chair, making a "dong-dong-dong" sound.
The sound of "dong dong" seemed particularly loud in the quiet court. The ministers kneeling on the ground felt that the emperor was not knocking on the armrest of the dragon chair, but on their hearts.
There was a pool of sweat in front of the ministers. on their foreheads. The cold sweat on his face and neck fell to the ground drop by drop. Many people were so frightened that they cried silently.
"Zhang Nan is your student. If you say you are not greedy, do you think everyone will believe it?"
"Your Majesty, I am really not greedy for ink..." Da Sinong cried, "Your Majesty... I beg the Emperor to let Taishi Liu investigate me to restore my innocence."
"Since you ask for it, I will grant it to you."
"Thank you, Long En."
"Master Liu, I will leave everyone in Da Sinong to you for investigation."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A cold smile suddenly appeared on the corner of the emperor's mouth: "I don't care what means you use, I want to know how much corruption and bribery they have taken over the years, and I also want to know how many people are involved."
Taishi Liu said solemnly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my best to investigate this matter thoroughly."
When the ministers kneeling on the ground heard the emperor say that no matter what means were used to investigate, they were so frightened that they almost collapsed on the ground.
The emperor glanced at the acting king and said with a profound expression: "Let's investigate Zhang Nan's corruption first. As for other matters, we will investigate them later."
The emperor's words made all the ministers present feel excited.
"Of course, if someone voluntarily surrenders, I can give him a lighter sentence." The emperor said with a smile, "If someone is eventually investigated by Grand Master Liu and found to have taken bribes, you should know what the consequences will be."
"Gudong", many ministers were so frightened that they swallowed their saliva.
"Oh, by the way, don't think that you will be fine if you have only a small amount of corruption, and don't think that because you have a lot of corruption, you will not be held accountable by the law." When the emperor said this, he raised the corners of his lips and let out a sneer, "The law will not hold everyone accountable. It won't work with me. If you all participate in the corruption of ink, I will never show mercy. Those who deserve to be killed will be killed, and those who deserve to be exiled will be exiled."
There are many people in the world who want to be officials. If you kill a thousand officials, new officials will take their place.
"Master Liu, I don't have much patience, so I will give you three days to thoroughly investigate this matter."
"I obey the decree." Three days was enough for Master Liu.
The emperor looked at Sun Kui and ordered: "Go and ask the imperial guards to bring the board."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Before leaving, Sun Kui glanced at the ministers who had just argued with deep pity.
Hearing the emperor's call to get the board, an ominous premonition suddenly appeared in the minds of the ministers.
After a while, Sun Kui returned to the court.
"Your Majesty, we are ready."
The emperor glanced at the ministers kneeling below, waved his hand and said: "Pull out the people who were quarreling just now, each with twenty big boards."
really!
"Thirty boards for the crown prince and the acting king."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King Dai did not expect that they would also be beaten. They did not dare to plead for mercy, but instead thanked the emperor.
The Imperial Guards entered the court, and under the command of Sun Kui, dragged away the ministers who had just been arguing in the court.
These ministers had long been frightened to the point of weakness by the emperor, and now they knew that they were going to be beaten again, and they were dragged out one by one like dead corpses.
They were pushed to the ground by the Imperial Guards, and while being beaten, they shouted loudly: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King Dai were in front of the ministers. They had no special rights and lay on the benches, just as obediently as the ministers.
The Imperial Guards treated everyone equally and beat His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King with the same force as they beat the ministers, not lightly but not too hard either.
If all their butts are beaten, they will not be able to come to court tomorrow, and there will be no one to deal with the court affairs.
Sun Kui specifically told the imperial guards not to beat them too hard, but their buttocks must be swollen, otherwise these ministers will not remember.
The emperor took He Xiang and his ministers, who had not quarreled, to watch the prince and the king being beaten as if they were watching a show.
Shen Hu and the four of them felt very happy and amused watching the ministers being beaten. If the emperor hadn't been in front of them, they would have applauded.
The emperor was watching, and the ministers who were beaten did not dare to cry out in pain. Not only that, they also had to smile and thank the emperor.
When Sun Kui saw the beaten ministers all showing smiles that were uglier than crying, he was so happy that he almost couldn't help laughing.
The emperor watched for a while and then left. Shen Hu and the others did not leave, but continued to watch with gloating. When the emperor was gone, they laughed unbridled and laughed very loudly, without giving any face to those who were being beaten.
The faces of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King of Dai turned red, and they looked so ashamed that they wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
The ministers only played twenty big boards, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King Dai played thirty boards. Their Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King Dai did not finish playing, and they could not get up.
Only after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Dai Wang finished playing thirty boards did the ministers dare to stand up.
Shen Hu and the others laughed again when they saw the ministers sticking their butts out and walking crookedly.
In the imperial study, Taishi Liu and Prime Minister He were reporting to the emperor about the corruption of ink by the great minister Nongcheng.
Grand Master Liu and others had known about Zhang Nan's corruption and bribery for a long time, and had told the emperor a long time ago. The emperor had not touched Zhang Nan because he wanted to take a long-term approach to catch the big fish, but he didn't expect that a minister would say it out today.
A certain minister reported it, but it could not be treated as if nothing had happened. The emperor could only order an investigation into the matter.
"Zhang Nan is from His Highness the Crown Prince." Taishi Liu reminded the emperor very directly.
The emperor naturally knew what Taishi Liu meant. He said nothing with a sullen face.
He Xiang said: "Now is not the time to touch Duke Zhen. The investigation of Zhang Nan cannot lead to Duke Zhen."
Taishi Liu sneered and said: "With Duke Zhen's shrewdness, even if we find his head, there is no evidence."
He Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I think it would be better not to alert the enemy for the time being."
The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly and said: "Old He, do you mean not to investigate the prince and the prince?"
He Xiangdao: "As Master Liu said, Duke Zhenguo will not leave any clues for us to investigate."
"Your Majesty, it is easy to investigate Zhang Nan, but it is not so easy to investigate the prince and Duke Zhen." Taishi Liu said bluntly, "You knew that Zhang Nan was corrupt, but you chose to turn a blind eye. , isn’t it just to catch the big fish Zhen Guogong?”
"Yes, it's a pity that this big fish is too cunning and has not taken the bait." The emperor crossed his hands and held his chin and said, "In that case, don't alert the snake, just check Zhang Nan and the people who colluded with him, let me see Look how many people were involved in this.”
Taishi Liu said bluntly: "It must be quite a lot."
"Do you think they will surrender to you?"
"No." Taishi Liu sneered unceremoniously. "Until the last moment, they will hold on to a sense of luck, thinking that they will not find out. Even at the last moment, they still hold on to a sense of luck, thinking that they are greedy for ink. It’s not much, and the sentence won’t be very serious.”
"Back then, I made a heavy move, but as a result, some people are still daring to act rashly." When the emperor was still the prince, that is, when the late emperor was still alive, the emperor was already in charge of the country, and he was responsible for all matters in the court. In the year when the late emperor was seriously ill, some ministers in the court took the opportunity to embezzle and accept bribes, and then took a lot of bribes, which made the late emperor and the prince angry.
At that time, there were hundreds of officials, large and small, in total. The prince did not spare these people just because the law did not punish them. There are only two outcomes for these people, one is beheading, the other is exile.
Most of those sentenced to exile died on the way. When they finally arrived in Lingnan, they died not long after arriving in Lingnan because they were not adapted to the climate in Lingnan and because there was a lot of miasma in Lingnan.
This incident shocked the entire Zhou Dynasty back then. It was from this incident that the ministers knew that their prince was a ruthless person.
The late emperor hated corrupt officials deeply. When the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty were first formulated, the late emperor thought that no matter how much money was embezzled, he would be beheaded as long as he was embezzled. However, Zheng Xilin felt that this was too harsh. Only then did the late emperor withdraw his thoughts.
However, compared with the previous dynasties, the laws of the Zhou Dynasty were much stricter, especially against corrupt officials. Of course, we cannot simply punish corrupt officials severely, but we must also provide benefits to officials. Zheng Xilin felt that the reason why there were so many corrupt officials in the previous dynasty was mainly because the salaries of officials in the previous dynasty were so low that they could not support their families, so they had to take risks and take bribes. If officials' salaries are high, then most officials will not take the risk to commit crimes.
The salaries of officials in the Zhou Dynasty were much higher than those in the previous dynasty. Not only that, every festival, the court would also reward many things. Although most of them were food or cloth, these were things that officials could use. In winter, the court would reward some officials with charcoal. In summer, the court would also reward officials with ice cubes.
If the officials of the previous dynasty knew the salaries and benefits of the officials of the Zhou Dynasty, they would be very envious.
Facts have proved that Zheng Xilin's idea was right. Most officials in the Zhou Dynasty would not take the risk of corruption. They were very satisfied with their salaries. Of course, no matter how high the salary or the best benefits are, there will still be corruption and bribery. However, compared with the previous dynasty where corruption was rampant, Da Zhou was really much better.
In the years since the emperor ascended the throne, there must have been corruption among officials, but the amount of money embezzled was not much. However, this time Zhang Nan embezzled a lot of money, which was less than the corruption case when the late emperor was still alive.
Zhang Nan is from His Highness the Crown Prince, so it is obvious to whom the money he embezzled is given.
"What do you think Duke Zhen Guo wants to do with so much money?" Previously, aristocratic families from Yangzhou came to cooperate with Duke Zhen Guo, but Duke Zhen Guo refused. That was a huge sum of money. The emperor was surprised that Duke Zhen Guo could resist such a big temptation. Now it seems that Duke Zhen Guo just changed his goal and made money elsewhere.
Taishi Liu said without thinking: "It's nothing more than raising soldiers, forging weapons, and raising dead soldiers."
"It seems like Duke Zhen wants to rebel."
When Sun Kui, who had just brought the tea, heard this, his hands shook with fright and he almost knocked over the tea cup in the tea tray.
"The Duke of Zhen Guo will not rebel now. He will only help His Highness the Crown Prince to rebel when it is absolutely necessary." Taishi Liu said, "Everything the Duke of Zhen Guo is doing now, in his own opinion, is just to prepare for a rainy day."
He Xiang continued what Taishi Liu said: "Didn't Duke Zhen Guo ask Xie Shi to spend a lot of money to bribe the soldiers?"
The emperor smiled meaningfully and said: "It seems that Duke Zhen Guo believes that money can buy anything, including the soldiers in my Zhenxi military camp."
Speaking of this, Taishi Liu rarely felt sympathy, and felt a little compassion for Duke Zhen in his heart.
Duke Zhen Guo thought he was smarter than the emperor and felt that everything was under his control. Little did he know that everything was under the emperor's plan, including Duke Zhen Guo himself.
Seeing the emperor's interested expression, He Xiang couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He couldn't help but remind the emperor: "Your Majesty, someone who acts on behalf of the king plays Zhang Nan. You should understand what this means?"
The emperor waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Don't worry, everything is under my control and nothing will happen."
He Xiang didn't quite believe the emperor, and said angrily: "It's best this way."
The emperor pretended not to hear what Xiang He said and continued to talk to Taishi Liu about Zhang Nan.
After Taishi Liu had the emperor's approval, he knew how to investigate Zhang Nan's corruption.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was beaten, and Queen Xie, as the stepmother, naturally had to be concerned. She sent the maids around her to bring some good medicine to the prince, and told the prince to take good care of his injuries and not to quarrel with the king in the court. This would not only lose his status, but also anger the emperor.
On the surface, the prince was very grateful for Queen Xie's concern. As for whether Queen Xie was really kind-hearted or fake, he knew it in his heart.
When Concubine Rong learned that King Dai had been beaten, she quickly sent people around her to deliver medicine to King Dai. In the past, Concubine Rong would have gone to the imperial study to "question" the emperor why he beat their son. However, Concubine Rong has not been to the Imperial Study Room for a long time.
In recent years, Concubine Rong has been far less favored than Concubine Ying. Fortunately, Concubine Ying is not pregnant yet. If Concubine Ying gives birth to a prince, I am afraid that her son will...
The concubines in the harem were jealous of Concubine Ying's favor, but at the same time they also laughed at her for not being able to lay eggs. What's the use of being favored again if you can't give birth to a prince.
Concubine Ying never paid attention to these malicious words. Because no matter what they said, she still continued to favor her.
Unlike Concubine Rong, who was arrogant and domineering when she was favored, Concubine Ying was very kind and would never take the initiative to cause trouble for others, nor would she punish others at every turn, let alone harm other concubines.
Although many concubines were jealous of Concubine Ying's favor, many concubines still liked her.
When Concubine Ying learned that both the prince and the acting king had been beaten, she said very considerately: "The emperor must be angry. I will personally make a bowl of soup for the emperor to reduce the heat."
At noon, Zhao Yao left school and learned from Tong Xi that the prince, the acting king, and many ministers had been beaten.
Seeing Zhao Yao's solemn expression, Tongxi asked worriedly: "Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Yao said with a somewhat heavy tone: "The real beginning has begun."
"Your Highness, what's going on..." Before Tong Xi could finish his words, he saw Concubine Ying not far away and stopped talking.
Zhao Yao also saw Concubine Ying and was about to go over to salute, but he didn't expect Concubine Ying to come towards him.
"I've seen it..." Zhao Yao was just about to salute when he was stopped by Concubine Ying.
"Your Highness, there is no need to be polite." Concubine Ying said with a gentle look, "Your Highness, are you just after school?"
"Well, we just finished school." Zhao Yao noticed that the maid behind Concubine Ying was holding a food box in her hand, and asked, "Concubine Ying is going to see the emperor?"
"Yes, I made a bowl of soup for the emperor to calm down the fire." Concubine Ying said with a smile, "By the way, I made some snacks in the small kitchen in the palace, and I will have them delivered to you later."
In the past few years, Concubine Ying often gave Zhao Yao some snacks to eat. Every year when the pomegranates are ripe, she will take the initiative to ask Zhao Yao to come to her palace to pick them.
Zhao Yao originally thought that after Concubine Ying moved into Changle Palace, he would not be able to go in to pick pomegranates. Unexpectedly, he could not only pick pomegranates like in previous years, but also eat various pomegranate-related things made by the chefs of Changle Palace.
Concubine Ying also occasionally sent some clothes, kerchiefs, sachets and other things to Zhao Yao.
Zhao Yao didn't dare to take it at first because he was afraid that Concubine Ying had any purpose. Later, Liang Bin told him that Concubine Ying had no ill intentions, so he dared to accept it.
Concubine Ying would occasionally invite some unfavored concubines to play cards, drink tea, admire flowers, and do prostitution together. Of course, this includes Liang Bin.
It was not the first time to eat snacks made in the kitchen of Changle Palace. Zhao Yao did not refuse and gave Concubine Ying a sweet smile: "Thank you, Concubine Ying."
"You must be hungry. Go to Kunde Hall for lunch. Then I won't delay you. I'll leave first."
"Concubine Ying, walk slowly."
After Concubine Ying left, Tongxi sighed: "Concubine Ying is really attentive. After learning that the prince and the acting king were beaten, she immediately sent the fire soup to the emperor."
"It's because you are careful." He had always suspected that Concubine Ying might be Bage's lover, otherwise why would Concubine Ying be so good to him.
I had something to do yesterday, so I came back late and didn't have time to update the code, so I'll update a little more today.
Finally, I still ask for a monthly ticket! Please give me a reward! Please leave a message!
