Although it stands to reason that after the winter solstice, there will be no major events in the capital, but there are particularly many things happening this year, so even at the end of the year, some departments are inevitably busy. Lan
For example, with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, with Yu Qian's return to the capital, the big policy of rectifying the military settlements has basically come to an end. However, the accounting documents that Yu Qian brought back are huge. Although some of them have been processed daily, they still need to be finally summarized. It still takes a lot of time.
However, what made Yu Shiyue slightly relieved was that after Yu Qian returned to the capital, he kept a very low profile and did not express any attitude on the matters he was worried about. He just immersed himself in the Ministry of War to sort out official documents.
The Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer, and the New Year atmosphere in the capital is getting more and more full and lively.
In the side hall of Wenhua Hall, several ministers in scarlet robes sat together, chatting. After a while, the eunuch came in again and said respectfully.
"My lords, I'm really sorry. Eunuch Huai'en just sent a message saying that Prince Zhou is very happy today and has been accompanying His Majesty to talk in the palace, so we may have to be delayed for a while. I hope you guys can stay calm."
Several people looked at each other, and then Wang Wen waved his hand and said.
"It doesn't matter, I'll just wait here." Lan
So, the eunuch who came to deliver the message carefully bowed his hands and retreated. No wonder he was so cautious. You know, if any of these people waiting in the hall are taken out, the whole court will be shocked. character of.
But now, they have been waiting in this palace for almost half an hour.
After the eunuchs went out, Wang Ao, the chief minister of the cabinet, looked at his tea bowl that had reached the bottom and felt that he could not refill the tea bowl, otherwise, something would go wrong during the meeting.
Glancing around, his eyes fell on a long-lost person, and a smile appeared on his face, Wang Ao said.
"Jin Shangshu has really done a lot of big things when he left the capital this time. I heard that among the troops here, their expressions changed when they heard the name of Jin Shangshu..."
This sentence attracted everyone's attention to Jin Lian, who had just returned to Beijing.
Seeing this situation, Jin Lian smiled bitterly and said. Lan
"Don't make fun of me, Chief Assistant Wang. He is just on an errand. The border army has been corrupted for a long time. I have heard about this for a long time. However, it was only when I got to the border that I realized why your majesty decided to start the policy of reorganizing the army. "
"The armies and generals on the border colluded with each other to torture the soldiers. Countless officers and soldiers were hungry and cold, and were driven by the border generals like slaves. They deserted, took credit for their merits, and invaded military camps. All kinds of crimes have put the border in danger. If this were not the case, how could I be so harsh?"
You know, among the various ministries in the imperial court, the Ministry of Justice has always had a weak presence, and Jin Lian, the minister, also keeps a low profile.
But this time, the Punishment Department was able to steal the limelight.
Originally, Jin Lian left the capital to track down Ren Liyi. Of course, on the surface, this was the case. In fact, he was afraid that Ren Liyi would mishandle the situation and cause the Seven Guards of Kansai to feel resentful. Therefore, Jin Lian was placed in charge in advance to make arrangements. , to prevent accidents.
Fortunately, there was no change among the Seven Guards of Kansai. Asu showed his loyalty and even went to Beijing in person. This incident ended with the death of Ren Li and the exile of the Ren family.
The incident was over, but Jin Lian still stayed at the border, carrying the imperial flag given by the emperor, and accepting the imperial edict, he naturally took over the military and military garrison affairs at the border. Lan
Unlike Yu Qian's relatively mild methods, Jin Lian's methods on the border can be described as brutal.
In just six months, he borrowed the royal flag at the border and beheaded fourteen border generals on the spot who had proven guilty and almost caused a mutiny.
Their ranks range from commander-in-chief to staff general, deputy general, and the highest level even has a fourth-rank officer who commands the generals.
Although it is said that the commander was killed on the spot because he wanted to raise an army to resist, but he was a senior official of the fourth rank after all. Even if he had the king's order flag and the resistance was fierce, he was killed. The entire border was divided between the government and the opposition, which also caused a great response at the time.
But Jin Lian really dared to do this!
Of course, the reason why he did this was that after the incident, the emperor not only did not blame him, but instead issued an edict to encourage him.
In addition to killing people, Jin Lian imprisoned and deposed more generals at the border this time. With the royal flag given by the emperor, he boldly dismissed many uncooperative generals and sent them back to the capital. Lan
Nowadays, there are still twenty or thirty generals in charge of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and there is still no conclusion...
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration when Wang Ao said that the current Jin Lian made the border troops change their expressions upon hearing this.
However, the benefits are obviously immediate. At present, most of the military camps on the border have been returned to the imperial court. At the same time, the atmosphere of the border army has become much cleaner.
At this time, Wang Wendao on the side.
"It doesn't hurt to be stricter. The soul of an army lies in the generals. The generals are greedy for profit, and the atmosphere of the frontier army is naturally unhealthy. Your Majesty is determined to reshape the soul of the frontier army."
"Although what Jin Shangshu did was painful, if it can rectify the morale of the border army, it will be worth paying no matter how high the price is."
"It's just that, as a result, the pressure on the Ministry of War will be much greater. What do Yu Shaobao think?" Lan
As Wang Wen spoke, the eyes of the people in the palace moved to Yu Qian.
As a result, the atmosphere in the palace became a little weird.
You know, Jin Lian's great opening and closing at the border this time can be described as extremely happy. However, there are two problems, or these two problems are actually related to one thing, that is, the selection and award of military generals. , the matter of deposing Zhi is originally the authority of the Ministry of War.
Jin Lian obeyed the imperial edict and held the king's order flag. Whether he directly questioned the offending general or escorted him back to the capital for investigation, there was essentially no problem.
However, these things should actually be done by the Ministry of War. Therefore, for the Ministry of War, Jin Lian's move is actually suspected of usurping the power of the Ministry of War. Even if we do not talk about the power of deposing generals, this time Jin Lian will be dismissed at once. The recruitment of so many generals can be regarded as a big problem for the Ministry of War.
It is not easy to fill up so many holes at once. This is one of the reasons why many courtiers tried their best to prevent the emperor from mobilizing troops some time ago.
Of course, now that Tatar and Oara have fallen into civil strife one after another, and the border crisis has been perfectly resolved, this matter does not seem so urgent. However, for the already busy Ministry of War, this is also a headache. Lan
At this time, Wang Wen said this with a hint of temptation. However, Yu Qian had no special reaction. He just took a sip of tea calmly and said.
"The Ministry of Justice has made great efforts to rectify the military camps this time. If it weren't for Jin Shangshu's thunderous methods, I would not be able to go out to the capital to inspect various places with such confidence. The rectification of the military camps touches all aspects, so we cannot delay and be lazy. It is precisely because of the Ministry of War, The Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and even other imperial yamen can work together to resolve this matter smoothly within the next year."
"As for the remaining matters, they will be solved slowly. It is normal for the so-called extraordinary means to be used in extraordinary times. In the final analysis, the crimes of the generals still need to be judged by Your Majesty. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment should all take note of His Majesty's orders. From this, what does Jin Shangshu think?"
Therefore, although Yu Shaobao seems to be tough, in fact, he is also very familiar with officialdom methods.
There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in this world. Before reorganizing the army, the Ministry of War had ceded part of its power in order to win the support of the Ministry of Justice.
According to the regulations drafted by the Ministry of War at that time, guilty civil and military officials found in military camps and escorted back to the capital will be handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for trial, with the Ministry of War and the Metropolitan Procuratorate co-adjusting.
But now it seems that in actual operations, what the Ministry of Punishment has done is obviously beyond this scope. Lan
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Of course, the reasons for this are complicated and cannot be said to be entirely the fault of the Ministry of Punishment. The biggest reason is actually that the emperor gave Jin Lian a special edict and a royal flag, allowing him to exercise powers beyond the scope of the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of War.
Therefore, Yu Qian said that in extraordinary times, there are extraordinary means.
This sentence has two meanings. The first is that the Ministry of War does not care whether Jin Lian usurped the power of the Ministry of War during the process of reorganizing the army, or whether he violated the original agreement and acted beyond his authority. It is said that this kind of situation is only limited to extraordinary times. When everything calms down, it will naturally return to normal.
To put it bluntly, it is his own departmental authority, and even Yu Qian will not make concessions.
Although the six ministries seem to have clear powers and responsibilities, in fact, there are still many overlapping powers. How much can be achieved in the court affairs often depends on the methods of each minister.
Faced with such a situation, Jin Lian had obviously expected it. He put his hand on the armrest unhurriedly and said with a smile.
"The prison sentence should be based on His Majesty's orders. This is the right thing to do. Having said that, this time I dismissed so many generals at once. Although it was to frighten the armies, there was indeed some ill-thought out. "Lan
"The Criminal Department has a large number of cases and is short of manpower. Although the crimes of these generals have been made clear, many details still need to be verified. It is really beyond our ability to try them one by one. If Master Du had not been transferred out of Beijing and the Dali Temple Minister was still vacant, I would have originally I’m still thinking of asking Dali Temple for help!”
"By the way, counting the days, Mr. Du has been out of the capital for a while. I wonder if there is a candidate for the Minister of Dali Temple in the Ministry of Personnel?"
As soon as these words came out, the eyes of other ministers present flickered.
Jin Lian's words seemed to be sighing, but in fact, they were far from that simple.
According to the regulations, the powers of the Ministry of Punishment should cover the entire process of interrogation, verification, review, and sentencing.
However, in the actual implementation process, it is far from the case.
Although the Ministry of Punishment has the power to interrogate, investigate, and make judgments, there are so many criminal cases all over the world, and new cases occur almost every moment, so it is impossible for the Ministry of Punishment to hear them one by one. Lan
Therefore, for punishments in various places, the Ministry of Punishment is mainly responsible for reviewing and reviewing the circumstances and punishment standards. If there are no errors, they will be submitted to the emperor for final determination.
If there is any suspicion, it will be sent to Dali Temple, which will conduct a new investigation, collect evidence, and interrogate and make a judgment. However, one thing to be clear is that the Ministry of Punishment itself also has the power to interrogate and investigate. However, this power has actually been restricted for a long time. of encroachment and neglect.
As for those who have invaded and neglected, there are two people. One of them is Dali Temple. In fact, this cannot be called an occupation. It is more appropriate to say that it is an overlapping of powers.
Because the Ministry of Punishment itself has the power to interrogate, but Dali Temple also has the power to interrogate major cases under orders, so in many cases, the two yamen will jointly conduct interrogations.
Of course, this is not what Jin Lian wants to express in this scene.
What he wanted to express was exactly what he didn't say, another organization's usurpation of the Ministry of Punishments' powers...
Jinyiwei! Lan
In terms of scope and impact, there are major and minor cases, but regardless of whether they are major or minor, they should fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.
But the fact is that the Ministry of Punishment can only govern the punishment of ordinary people. All cases involving officials will be taken over either by the censors from various places or by the Jin Yiwei.
That's it for the censor. After all, the Ministry of Punishment is beyond the reach of local officials. However, just like now, when it comes to officials who have been detained and returned to Beijing for interrogation, or officials with higher official positions, the Ministry of Punishment is also unable to intervene.
Because these items will be handled by Jin Yiwei!
These various reasons have led to the long-term lack of authority of the Ministry of Justice, and it is also in a relatively weak position among the six departments.
What is even more depressing is that if the powers of other yamen overlap, such as between the Ministry of War and the Military Government, or between the Ministry of Personnel and the Cabinet, they can still compete with each other.
But the Punishment Department...don't even think about it! Lan
In the final analysis, because the Jinyiwei represents the emperor, if the Ministry of Punishment wants to compete with the Jinyiwei for power, it is tantamount to fighting for power with the emperor.
Therefore, this led to the fact that although the Ministry of Punishments lacked its powers, no matter which old man came to be the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, they never thought about taking back these powers.
Because it's impossible to get it back.
The elders present knew this very well, and it was precisely because of this that their expressions at the moment were complicated.
Yu Qian said that extraordinary times require extraordinary measures, so when the matter is over, everything should return to normal.
Jin Lian's response was that it didn't matter if things returned to normal.
However, if everything returns to normal, then not only the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment will be restored, but also the Jin Yiwei! Lan
The role played by the Ministry of Punishment in rectifying the army this time, or Jin Lian's harsh methods, was actually the emperor's tacit approval.
Even during the original discussion, the Emperor himself spoke out and asked the Ministry of Punishment to participate. In a sense, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
There are two conditions for achieving this situation. First, the implementation of such a major policy requires the support of the Ministry of Punishment.
Second, the process of reorganizing the military camp will involve many civil and military ministers. With such a large number of interrogations, Jinyiwei will not be able to handle it, nor can he be in the limelight.
Therefore, the emperor handed over the punishment to the Ministry of Justice and gave Jin Lian the right to take advantage of it. However, this is obviously not the norm.
Therefore, there are two paths before them now.
First, return to normal, with each government office conducting its own affairs without interfering with each other. Second, help the Ministry of Punishment to consolidate the powers regained under the special situation. Lan
The difficulty with this second path is that what the Ministry of Punishment wants to take back is not only the power usurped by the Jin Yiwei, but also some of the power of the Ministry of War, and even the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate...
