In February, the weather gradually became warmer. As the grass grows and orioles fly in February, the late spring cold has passed, and all the affairs of the court are gradually getting back on track.
Just like the warm and gentle spring days, in recent days, the entire imperial court has been peaceful.
Although a certain escort general was ordered to suspend his duties pending investigation a few days ago, and was brought back the hereditary iron certificate by the palace, in the end, Zhu Yi was just an ordinary guard general, not the real Duke Cheng. The title was not abolished, and taking away the world certificate was more like some kind of warning from the emperor.
Therefore, after a few sporadic imperial censors asked about the situation, no one in the entire court mentioned this matter again.
Of course, smart people will find that this thing is not normal.
For a distinguished family, the world certificate is more important than life. Even if the Chengguo Palace is in decline, in the end, it will not be able to make a sound in the court.
What's more, Zhu Yi has Hu Hui as his father-in-law and an in-law relationship with the British government. These two families are very important among the civil and military ministers.
If they really want to make a fuss, there will definitely be a lot of turmoil in the court.
But now, not only are the nobles from all the families silent, but even Zhu Yi herself is really staying in the house obediently, not taking a step out, really pretending to be quietly meditating in the house waiting to find out.
However, in the calmness, some things are becoming more and more noticeable, such as...
"Zhang Shi went to Nangong?"
In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Qiyu had just finished the sutra banquet and came back to change his clothes when he heard Huaien coming to report in a hurry.
"Yes, please see the sign I handed you today. This is the second time this month. The first time I didn't see the Supreme Emperor. But this time, the Supreme Emperor just sent someone out and has already brought Zhang Mi in."
It should be said that this is not a trivial matter. Since the return of the Supreme Emperor, basically no ministers have been summoned alone.
In addition to the grand banquet held by the ministers during the Zhengdan period, and further back, King Xiang came to pay homage to the king as his uncle, and there was also the matter of summoning the consort Xue Huan into the palace that caused a lot of commotion some time ago.
However, even that time, it was in the name of Queen Qian that the princess was summoned to "bring" the consort into the palace for a talk. The external view was that the family was reunited.
However, Zhang Min was neither a relative of the emperor nor an imperial edict, but took the initiative to hand over a sign to invite him. More importantly, the Supreme Emperor actually summoned him.
The political implications of this are very strong!
Or to put it more bluntly, this kind of individual summons has basically no other possibility except to talk about matters related to government affairs.
This point is not clear to everyone in the court, and Zhu Qiyu naturally understands it better.
However, after hearing Wynn's report, he had no special reaction. He just nodded and said.
"I understand."
After saying these four words, he treated the matter as if it was over, and instead of asking any more questions, asked instead.
"Has Uncle Zong arrived?"
The emperor didn't ask any more questions, so Hua En naturally didn't mention it too much. He bowed his head respectfully and said.
"Back to your Majesty, Grand Uncle Zong and Yu Cifu are already waiting in the side hall of Wenhua Palace. In addition, Jin Shangshu will rush to Gansu in the near future. He is also waiting for the call to deliver his message today."
"Mr. Jin?"
Zhu Qiyu was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face and he said.
"He is quite calm. Lu Zhong has been very depressed these past few days. It doesn't matter. You go and call Lu Zhong over. This time Mr. Jin goes to Gansu and asks him to go with him." "
Huaien blinked and didn't understand. Jin Lian went to Gansu to thoroughly investigate Ren Li's case. Of course, the more important role was to summon the leaders of the Seven Guards of Guanxi to come to Beijing for an audience to prevent Ren Li. After the incident broke out, the Seven Guards of Kansai made some changes.
Because of this, Jin Lian was still carrying orders from the governors of both sides, and had the authority to mobilize border troops to deal with emergencies.
Under such circumstances, it would be superfluous to ask Lu Zhong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, to follow him.
However, since it was the emperor's arrangement, Wynn never asked more questions. He bowed his hand and turned around to arrange for someone to deliver the order.
Someone sent some food to the elders waiting in the Wenhua Hall. Zhu Qiyu was not in a hurry and ordered someone to serve breakfast. After eating it slowly and leisurely, he drove to the Wenhua Hall.
"The Crown Prince, Taibao, the Minister of Punishment, Jin Lian, is here to see Your Majesty."
After sitting down on the throne, the first person Zhu Qiyu summoned was Jin Lian.
Immediately behind Jin Lian was Lu Zhong, the commander of the Jin Yiwei, who hurried over.
"Sir, please get up."
Zhu Qiyu raised his hand to let Jin Lian level up, and then spoke.
"It's hard work for me to go to Gansu now. Although the border is temporarily stable, it's not a good thing to be together with Tuotuo Buhua. This time the Wala delegation came to Beijing, and I don't know what they are planning. Under this situation, the stability of Gansu Very important.”
"In the case of Ren Li, we need to handle it in such a way that the government and the public are convinced, but we also need to pay attention to the impact on the Seven Guards of Kansai. We need to balance this carefully. Thank you for your hard work, Mr."
In fact, this was the biggest reason why the ministers were worried when they wanted to delve into the Ren Li case.
Justice and morality are important, but the stability of the border cannot be ignored. Even in many people's minds, although they dare not say it out loud, in practice, the latter is given priority.
However, for Zhu Qiyu, what he wants this time is obviously to have his cake and eat it too!
During this period of time, Jin Shangshu naturally had a full understanding of the difficulty of what he had to do and made a lot of preparations. At this moment in front of the emperor, he naturally could not lose his momentum and immediately gave up.
"Your Majesty, rest assured that I will live up to your Majesty's trust. While ensuring the stability of the Seven Guards in Gansu and Guanxi, I will do my best to investigate the case and bring a clear sky to the court."
"Okay, sir, I feel relieved if you have this confidence!"
Zhu Qiyu nodded, with a hint of approval on his face. He was obviously very satisfied with Mr. Jin's courageous attitude.
But immediately, the smile on his face faded slightly, he turned to Lu Zhong and asked.
"Commander Lu, I ordered you last time to transfer the witnesses in Ren Li's case to the Ministry of Punishment, and the Jinyi Guards will cooperate with the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the case. Did you transfer it?"
Lu Zhong didn't know what he meant, but he still stepped forward to report.
"Your Majesty, how dare I disobey your orders? After receiving your orders, I will transfer He Hao from the imperial prison to the Prison of the Ministry of Punishment and keep him under strict guard. But..."
At this point, Commander Lu's honest face showed a hint of embarrassment, with a hint of dissatisfaction. He looked at Jin Lian aside, seeming hesitant to continue speaking.
Of course, such a small move could not be hidden from Mr. Jin, but he just stood there motionless, as if he didn't see anything.
At the same time, Zhu Qiyu pretended that nothing happened and continued to ask.
"Just what?"
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Commander Lu felt a little unsure, but finally he could not suppress the small resentment in his heart and spoke.
"However, Jin Shangshu is too busy with his affairs and has never brought He Hao to trial. Now that Jin Shangshu is about to leave the capital, I am worried that I don't know how long the trial of He Hao will be delayed."
Gu Chu
"and……"
Glancing at Jin Lian again, Lu Zhong hesitated and said.
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty. During this time, I have been guarding outside the Punishment Department and have discovered many times that the jailers of the Punishment Department accepted bribes and secretly delivered some clothes and food boxes to the prison. The guards inside and outside are really not as tight as those in the imperial prison. "
"Your Majesty, would you like me to take He Hao back to prison and interrogate him strictly? I promise that I will get a detailed confession this time and help Jin Shangshu clear up the case."
Zhu Qiyu ignored the second half of Lu Zhong's words.
He still knew something about He Hao. He was a man who had been beaten on the battlefield and accepted death. If Lu Zhong's little tricks could pry his mouth open, he wouldn't have to wait until now.
If He Hao is really sent back to prison, he will inevitably be tortured again, and finally a confession will be produced, and he doesn't even know how much of it is true.
However, what Lu Zhong said earlier is worth noting.
This was said tactfully, but in fact, Lu Zhong was secretly saying that the guards in the Ministry of Justice were not strict.
You know, since clothes and food boxes can be sent in, it is naturally not a problem to send a few words, secretly send a small note or something.
However, this is also a chronic problem of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. After all, in the capital city, all kinds of relationships are complicated. Moreover, under normal circumstances, the prisoners detained by the Ministry of Punishment are either not very important, or have been sentenced to be executed, whether they are Either way, there is no need to be particularly tightly guarded.
Of course, this does not mean that it is reasonable to do so. Therefore, even though he knew that Lu Zhong was complaining, Zhu Qiyu still showed a hint of displeasure and asked.
"Sir, is what Commander Lu said the truth?"
Not to mention, Mr. Jin has also been in officialdom for many years. Faced with the blatant complaints from his colleagues and the emperor's seemingly displeased questioning, he did not panic at all.
Jin Lian, as the Minister of Punishment, was naturally aware of the issue of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and more importantly, what he knew better was that the Emperor must also be aware of it.
If you want to imprison a person in an airtight manner, the prison of the Ministry of Punishment is never the best choice. Whether it is the imperial edict prison or the prison in Dali Temple, they are much more reliable than the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
However, the emperor still transferred the prisoner to the Ministry of Punishment. This was his obvious intention.
Therefore, from the beginning to the end, Old Shangshu Jin looked like an old god. At this moment, after hearing the emperor's questions, Jin Lian raised his hands and spoke.
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case."
Lu Zhong blinked, a little surprised by Jin Lian's crispness, and finally realized something was wrong. He raised his head and glanced at the emperor, but saw that the displeasure on the old man's face had long since dissipated, replaced by a smile, and asked .
"Why?"
Jin Lian raised his eyes and glanced at Lu Zhong, then raised his hands to the emperor.
"Back to Your Majesty, He Hao was brought here with bruises all over his body and almost only one breath left. At that time, continuing to interrogate him would not only be useless, but also might lead to sudden death, so I ordered him to be put to death. Take good care of yourself and wait until you recover a little before discussing the case again."
While talking, Jin Lian saw Lu Zhong's hesitant expression and immediately understood what he wanted to say and continued.
"Of course, he is almost healthy now, but I have to leave the capital again. Therefore, I plan to leave the capital this time and take He Hao with me for interrogation on the road."
After a brief pause, as if to give the commander time to digest, Jin Lianfang continued.
"As for the lax guarding in the Criminal Department, it is indeed my fault. After I return this time, I will reprimand my subordinates to avoid this happening again."
At this time, Commander Lu really couldn't bear it anymore.
The front leg just said that he would leave the capital soon, and the back leg said that he would take good care of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. Even if it is perfunctory, you are too careless, right?
Just as he was about to say a few words, when he looked up, he saw the Emperor glare at him. Commander Lu immediately withered and stepped aside, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
At this time, the emperor who was above him nodded slightly and said.
"Well, a lot of people are paying attention to Ren Li's case. Now that the military cantonment is being rectified, the case must be investigated clearly, but we must also pay attention to the methods. Since He Hao has been handed over to the hands of the Ministry of Punishment, I naturally Believe me sir."
Therefore, this is actually Jin Lian's confidence.
When he reaches this point, he focuses on the overall situation, not just one corner.
For example, Lu Zhong is not inferior to Jin Lian in terms of experience or resourcefulness. The real difference between them is precisely the structure.
What Lu Zhong wanted to do was very simple, that is, to complete the errand given by the emperor. The emperor asked him to investigate the case, to uncover He Hao's crime, and to get the evidence of Ren Li's crime, so he worked hard to complete the errand.
However, when it was Jin Lian's place, his focus was completely different.
After taking over the prisoner, Jin Lian's first thought was not how to quickly clear up the case and obtain the confession, but what the emperor's intention was.
The prisons of the Ministry of Punishment are not tightly guarded. This is determined by the mechanism and the situation of the prisoners being held. Of course, as the Minister of Punishment, it is not difficult to rectify the situation. At least, when he was in the Ministry of Punishment, it was not difficult to improve this situation. Disaster.
But is it necessary?
Again, if the emperor wants to imprison a person firmly, just let him stay in the imperial prison. There is no need to transfer him to the Ministry of Punishments.
Since it was sent here, it meant that the emperor didn't care about He Haohui passing on the news inside and outside, and he might even hope so.
As for why?
First of all, what Jin Lian just said, He Hao's life cannot be lost now. If he stays in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, at least Jin Lian will not torture him.
As for the clothes and food boxes sent in, do you really think that the prison of the Ministry of Punishment is purely a sieve? Those jailers were all senior officials, and some were even junior officials who had been working in the Ministry of Punishments for several generations.
They knew clearly what things should be done and what money should be taken. With these people looking after him, nothing could happen to He Hao.
Moreover, as the emperor just said, the investigation must be carried out, but it cannot just focus on the investigation.
When He Hao arrived at the Ministry of Justice, some people outside would know that He Hao didn't say anything.
Compared to being in prison, where he didn't know whether he was alive or dead, or what he had revealed, He Hao could at least let some people in the Penal Department understand his "situation" so that they would not act rashly.
These are all political considerations outside of the case, that is, only ministers like Jin Lian can roughly understand their intentions.
Lu Zhong? hehe……
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu glanced at Lu Zhong, then turned his gaze back to Jin Lian and said.
"Sir, I'm going to Gansu. Since I want to take He Hao with me, I think I can check him out on the way. Commander Lu is fine in the capital. Since he was responsible for this errand in the first place, let him go with me." , help sir, interrogate the prisoner together and bring him back, okay?"
As soon as these words came out, Jin Lian couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Now, he could see that the emperor still trusted and valued Lu Zhong, the commander of the Jinyi Guards.
It was said that he was asked to come over to assist, but in fact, it was just to ask Jin Lian to give him some advice. Although he was a little reluctant to deal with Jin Yiwei, the emperor was discussing with you because it was to give you face. If you really dare to say no, that is I don’t know how to praise.
Therefore, Mr. Jin had no choice but to cup his hands and said.
"I will do my best to obey the decree."
7017k
