In June of the seventh year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde issued an edict to restore the Yanguan system. Yanguan, as the eyes and ears of the court, must "proclaim the highest virtues and convey the lower sentiments."
Yanguan is the collective name given to Shizhong and Yushi, and its organizational structure is the Sixth Section and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
The most senior member of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is the Capital Censor, and there are other official positions such as Deputy Capital Censor and Qian Du Censor.
Visits to soldiers and civilians to express their condolences, and to eliminate disasters, floods, droughts, and injuries, must be carried out immediately, and must not "follow the rules and neglect one's duties." If an official does not do good deeds when he is touring a place, and does not do evil when he sees it, he will be punished with a hundred sticks. And distributed miasma ground resettlement.
In the Metropolitan Procuratorate, there are also fifteen supervisory censors, and these supervisory censors are sent to all parts of the country.
Emperor Guangde divided the country into fifteen provinces, and each province sent a censor to inspect.
The supervisory censor, like the capital censor, also has the responsibility of supervising officials. In addition, the censor also supervises the money and grain cashier accounts of Guanglu Temple to check whether there is any embezzlement.
Censors can be divided into special errands and temporary errands. The so-called special mission is to specifically supervise the local financial situation, and the so-called special mission is to supervise the implementation of fiscal policies on behalf of the emperor. Including salt, tea, horse administration, water transportation, customs duties, farming, etc...
In the six departments, there is a department under the official, household, ritual, military, punishment, and work departments. The number of people varies, usually within ten people. He was only responsible to the emperor and had the right to participate in and discuss government affairs. For example, he could inspect the collection of money and grain for the current season during the Ministry of Household Affairs.
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The reason why Emperor Guangde chose to restore the Yanguan system at this point in time was not only to build momentum for the New Deal, but also had an ulterior purpose.
Emperor Guangde had long heard of the power of the Yushi Yanguan. Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time and could not personally experience the fighting power of this group. But now, the opportunity has come.
At dusk on June 18th, the seventh year of Guangde, an assassin armed with a long sword broke into the Kunning Palace where the two queen mothers lived. He wanted to assassinate the queen mother. The assassin wounded the eunuch guarding the gate. Jiang Liuer, the commander of the imperial guards, rushed to the palace after hearing the news. , caught the assassin in the front hall.
Someone immediately reported the matter to Emperor Guangde, who immediately ordered someone to interrogate him. Deng Shouchang, commander of the Wucheng Army and Horse Division, interrogated him on the spot according to law.
The assassin called himself Li Hao, a native of Jing'eryu, Jizhou. He didn't say a few words before he started to be confused, like a madman.
Deng Shouchang interrogated him again and again, but Li Hao always talked nonsense about eating fast and asking for a seal. After asking for a long time, he still didn't tell the truth.
The judge impatiently handed him over to the Ministry of Punishment for final decision. After being handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, he was re-interrogated by doctor Han Shixiang and others.
At this time, Li Hao seemed to be more awake and replied:
"I was bullied by my neighbors Zhang Ziqiang, Ma Wanchang and others. They burned my firewood and beat me up. I was very angry. I heard it said in "Dazhongjue Mi Lu" that the emperor was a good emperor and was filial to his parents. The people were very kind, so I planned to come to the capital to complain. In mid-April, I came to the capital and walked in from the east gate, but I didn’t know the road, so I had to keep walking west. I met two men on the way and gave me A sword told me that I can redress my injustice with this sword. I don’t know what happened. Maybe I got confused and walked to the gate of the palace. I injured many people and was finally caught. Already."
Han Shixiang was still unable to come to a conclusion. He thought Li Hao was crazy, so he reported the situation to Emperor Guangde.
Wang Zhicai, the jailer of the Ministry of Punishment, saw something fishy. One day, Wang Zhicai distributed meals to the prisoners in the prison and felt that Li Hao definitely did not look like a crazy person. So he decided to interrogate Li Hao again. In order to get him to tell the truth, Wang Zhicai said to Li Hao:
"To be honest, I will give you food, otherwise I will starve you to death."
Li Hao lowered his head and said nothing, and after a while he said, "I dare not say."
Wang Zhicai immediately ordered other jailers in the prison to avoid him, leaving only two jailers nearby to interrogate him personally.
Under coercion, Li Hao told the truth and revealed a shocking conspiracy.
According to Li Hao, his real name is Zhang Cha. He lives in Jing'er Valley in Jizhou and makes a living by cutting firewood and hunting. A month ago, after selling goods in Jeju, his hand was about to be chopped off because he lost money in gambling. A eunuch.
The eunuch said that as long as he did as he asked, he would give him three hundred acres of land, five hundred taels of silver, and find him a wife.
Zhang Cha followed the eunuch to Beijing and came to a large house where an old eunuch came. The old eunuch offered him wine and meat.
A few days later, the old eunuch took him into the Forbidden City in Nanjing. He handed the sword to Zhang Cha and gave him wine to drink.
He took him through Houzai Gate and brought him to Cining Palace, and told him:
"You rush in, bump into one, and kill one. Especially if you see the man in yellow robe, chop him to death. There will be heavy rewards. If you are caught, we will save you."
Wang Zhicai did not dare to continue the trial and reported this situation to the police.
Emperor Guangde, together with officials from the Ministry of Punishment and the Coil Guards, jointly arraigned the case.
When he asked the old eunuch how he looked like several times, Li Hao just said that it was dark at the time and he couldn't see clearly.
Liu Xingzuo took a red-hot iron rod from somewhere, put it against the prisoner's throat, and said expressionlessly:
"What does he look like? Tall, short, fat and thin? Tell me! If you say the wrong word, the stick will move forward an inch."
"I said, I said!"
Li Hao revealed the appearance of the old eunuch.
"Fat and black, with a Liaodong accent."
"There are too many fat eunuchs in the palace, and half of them have Liaodong accents!"
A red-hot iron rod was pressed against the prisoner's throat, causing a scream and the smell of burning human flesh filling the air.
Emperor Guangde was about to stop drinking when the prisoner said in a trembling tone:
"He was eating soybeans while talking."
Liu Xingzuo's eyes lit up and he took back the iron rod:
"Eating soybeans is the eldest princess's personal eunuch, Pang Bao."
Emperor Guangde saw that the implication was so serious that he immediately suspended the trial.
The news quickly spread throughout Nanjing, and the officials suspected that the eldest princess's gang was behind the murder of the emperor. The assassin only got lost and walked to Kunning Palace.
Two days later, Li Hao died violently and was imprisoned.
The government and the public were in an uproar for a while, and there were many speculations.
At this time, the Sixth Section Yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate happened to be established, and the writing on the Yamen plaque had not yet completely dried up when such a major event happened.
As a result, the censors who had been suppressed for decades suddenly broke out in a concentrated manner.
The impeachment memorials flew to Emperor Guangde's court like snowflakes and piled up into a hill.
The contents of the memorials are similar, with the theme of impeaching the eldest princess for her unforgivable crimes.
The censor listed many crimes of the eldest princess:
From being unmarried and disobeying the late emperor, to inciting various regiments to rebel; from forcing Concubine Liu Guifei (Liu Rushi) and Concubine De (Bumu Butai) to be buried to death, to returning to the capital for no reason to plot to assassinate the emperor...
All crimes add up to a total of 108.
At this time, the rebellion in the southwest had not yet been put down, and there was a lot of police in Huguang. The censor Yanguan, regardless of his personal safety, directly remonstrated with Emperor Guangde, asking the emperor to kill the relatives in a righteous way, and execute the eldest princess in accordance with the law, so as to cut off the rebellious intention to cause trouble.
After Emperor Guangde read the memorial, he covered his face with his hands and burst into tears:
"Although the eldest princess is unforgivable, she is my biological sister. We have a deep love for each other. When we were in Shenyang in the past years, the eldest princess took care of me. I can still remember her. How could I treat her like this?"
"Your Majesty, the emperor has no family affairs, and the eldest princess is so vicious that she dared to assassinate the Holy Emperor. If not for the protection of your majesty, the divine and mighty gods, something might have happened. The chieftain of Sichuan openly rebelled in the name of the eldest princess. He must continue to do so, and he will be subject to chaos! Your Majesty! "
Although Eunuch Li was an eunuch, he also knew the emperor's ruthlessness. He persuaded Liu Kan, hoping that the emperor would obey the advice of his ministers and comply with the people's wishes.
Emperor Guangde sighed:
"Alas, the censor impeached the princess, the cabinet recommended Liu Yufei be killed, and even you eunuchs said you wanted to kill her. It shows that she really deserves to die, but..."
"It's just that Liu Yufei is my only relative. If you want me to kill her, you have to... you have to think about it carefully."
~~~~~
On July 14, the seventh year of Guangde, Nanjing elders, soldiers and civilians jointly signed a blood letter, imploring the court to severely punish the eldest princess and her gang members in order to uphold justice.
Under pressure from all parties, Emperor Guangde finally agreed to start a trial for Liu Yifei.
On the 15th, he issued an order to Mao Wendou, the Minister of Punishment, and Liu Xingzuo, the commander-in-chief of the Feiyi Guards:
"It must be tried as soon as possible. If we don't try it at this time, the people may have stupid men and women who think that the eldest princess and her gang members are not guilty enough, or they may be deceived by the female thief!"
Although Mao Wendou and Liu Xingzuo were in charge of the trial of the eldest princess, Emperor Guangde always had a clear plan regarding the specific sentencing. Especially regarding whether to conduct a public trial, Liu Kan opposed the public opinion and demanded that the Nanjing military and civilians must know Liu Yufei's crimes.
The public trial demonstrated the serious attitude of the Daqi emperor. In addition, during the reign of the Supreme Emperor, orders were changed day by day and officials were frequently killed, which plunged Daqi into chaos and turmoil for ten (or even twenty) years.
At this time when chaos is being brought to an end and the past is reformed, this trial can declare to billions of people that Daqi's laws are fair and strict, and it is also an excellent opportunity to reshape the image of the Celestial Kingdom.
~~~~
The trial was held in Fengtian Hall.
On July 18th of the seventh year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde presided over the trial, and the Ministry of Punishment, together with the coir raincoat guards, assisted the trial. Nanjing elders, scholars, farmers, merchants, and merchants began a long trial of the eldest princess in the Fengtian Temple Square.
The interrogation continued until it ended on the second day of August. For fourteen days, nearly a hundred interrogations and confessions were retracted. The difficulty of the interrogation was shocking. However, Emperor Guangde's righteousness in exterminating relatives and being non-party and selfless was also affirmed by civil and military officials and the people of Nanjing.
The trial marked the end of decades of turmoil.
Liu Yufei and her party members will all be destroyed and will be punished as they should be. The New Deal will continue to make great strides forward, and the empire will open a new chapter.
On the third day of August, Emperor Guangde issued an edict in public, announcing that the title of the eldest princess would be abolished and she would be exiled to Yunyang. All the party members he captured would be executed.
On the fourth day of the lunar month, Emperor Guangde privately summoned Kang Guangxu, Mao Wendou and others.
Everyone who came was Liu Kan's confidant, and the monarch and his ministers had no scruples in speaking to each other.
Kang Guangxu persuaded: "Jingxiang has a strong folk custom and it would be inappropriate to place it in Yunyang. Moreover, Qin Jianxun's attitude towards the court is unclear. If the Fourth Corps also follows the example of Liaodong..."
"Lin Zhenyu is very useful. Even if the Fourth Corps rebels, it will be easy for me to pacify them. The eldest princess is seriously ill. If she dies in Nanjing, how will the world talk about me?"
Mao Wendou echoed: "My emperor has been a holy king for thousands of years. He is the most pure and filial king. How can he ruin his saintly virtues for a dying man?"
Liu Kan whispered:
"Ask the coir raincoat guards to escort the eldest princess to Yunyang. This sister of mine has been lucky and lucky since she was a child. She has survived many disasters. I hope she can survive this time..."
Mao Wendou understood the situation, bid farewell to Emperor Guangde, and immediately found Jiang Liuer and Li Juying to discuss the details of letting the eldest princess "hold on".
On the same day, Emperor Guangde paid a visit to the two empress dowagers.
"Why don't you let your sister go?"
"My mother has misunderstood. Don't listen to outsiders' nonsense. Liu Yufei's old illness relapsed the day before yesterday, and the imperial doctor was helpless. My son heard from Dr. Zhang that there is a red-haired Yi missionary in Suzhou who can cure this disease. But he is old and wants to grow up. The princess was sent back to Dongzhuang, Suzhou. She has lived in Dongzhuang for three years, and her food and accommodation must be more comfortable than those in the palace. It will not be too late to return to Nanjing to reunite with her mother after she recovers."
Jin Yuji sighed, shook her head and said:
"Kan'er, you and Liu Yufei are from the same family, why do you want to kill each other?"
Liu Kan looked around and said to him: "Mother, don't worry, Liu Yufei took the airship at Longsheng Pass, and must have arrived in Suzhou by now."
Emperor Guangde left Kunning Palace.
Duke Yansheng Zhu Youren left Qufu to meet Emperor Guangde and had arrived at the palace gate;
"His Majesty,"
Kang Guangxu's eyes shone: "Yanshenggong promoted royal education and promoted the new policies of the imperial court in Shandong. Last year, Qufu County ranked first in tax payment among all counties in Shandong. Yanshenggong has made great contributions to his hard work, and your majesty should reward him."
Emperor Guangde nodded and said: "When my father was in power, Duke Yan Sheng was very harsh. Even Kong Lin was cut down. In the end, he only got a million taels of silver. Therefore, he offended the world's scholars and the loss outweighed the gain. Now I treat the Kong family generously. Duke Yansheng is a model scholar and sets an example for us, the scholar-bureaucrats of the Qi Dynasty. With him, we will benefit from more than a million dollars. Hahaha!"
Deng Shouchang echoed:
"Anyone who does not plan for the overall situation cannot plan for a region. My emperor is wise and powerful.
It is the honor of the common people to strategize and bathe in the enlightenment of the holy pilgrimage. "
Emperor Guangde glanced at him and said displeasedly:
"I heard that Commander Deng and his father are separated. Your father Cheng Guogong has made great contributions to the Qi Dynasty. Although he no longer leads troops to fight, he is still ambitious for a thousand miles. If there is a war, I will consult Duke Cheng. I will go to the imperial court. Ruling the world with filial piety, I hope Lord Deng will treat Duke Cheng kindly and not let him feel cold."
Deng Shouchang's face turned pale and he knelt down and kowtowed.
"Thanks to the Holy Spirit's teachings, my father is old and frail and only likes peace and quiet, so I asked you to live somewhere else. I will move back to Dagongfang tomorrow to take care of my father."
Emperor Guangde waved his hand: "That's all. Elderly people like to be quiet. Let them be quiet. Children cannot go against their parents' wishes."
Yuan Shu, editor of the Hanlin Academy, stepped forward and addressed the emperor:
"The first volume of "Records of Taizu" compiled by the Hanlin Academy has been completed. It started from the 28th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Saarhu War in the 47th year of Wanli. Please correct it."
Emperor Guangde sighed and said solemnly:
"The New Deal has been completed, Liu Yufei has obeyed the law, the world is at peace, Hai Qing He Yan, my father, the merits and demerits of his life, it is time to conclude the coffin."
