Not surprisingly, when Zhu Qiyu announced Dongchang's memorial in the court, the whole court immediately exploded.
Some ministers were filled with righteous indignation and vowed to investigate the case strictly. Some ministers avoided their eyes and lowered their heads and said nothing. Others, like Wang Hong, first reacted that this was Dongchang's frame-up.
For a moment, there was a lot of noise in the court, but no matter how the ordinary ministers below objected or agreed, after small-scale discussions had been held in advance, the joint trial of the three departments was a foregone conclusion.
After the morning court ended, the whole capital immediately became lively. People with guilty consciences began to seek connections and ask for protection. Even the more innocent officials began to inquire about the details of this case and the scope of its impact.
All of a sudden, all the officials from Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Punishment who participated in the trial of the case became popular people.
Of course, these have nothing to do with Zhu Qiyu. As the emperor, he only needs to hand over the tasks and wait for the results after some time.
You must know that although in name, Dongchang is only supervising the investigation, in fact, as the first agency to investigate the case, Zhu Qiyu’s order to Shu Liang was to send people to continue to investigate. Therefore, this This case is actually being investigated by two forces, the overt and the dark.
The Third Division is in the Ming Dynasty and has the right to interrogate. At the same time, it also plays a role in attracting the attention of most courtiers. In the dark, Dongchang is assisted by Jin Yiwei and conducts secret investigations. It can not only give full play to its role, but also has the power to interrogate. Among the three divisions, it is impossible for Dongchang to really make false accusations.
After all, Zhu Qiyu knew very well that human nature is the most untestable. What Wang Hong said in front of the emperor that day was not completely unreasonable. Although he trusted Shu Liang, there were still some things that he had to guard against. Only in this way could he truly Guarantee, no one dares to show favoritism in this case...
"Your Majesty, Lord Wang Ao, the Minister of War, has asked to see you and has a good report to hand."
In the Qianqing Palace, Huaien hurried into the palace and reported with a smile.
Now that the border is peaceful, the only ones that can be called military intelligence are the Japanese army.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu immediately put down the memorial in his hand and said.
"Call."
Not long after, Wang Ao's figure appeared outside the hall and walked into the hall. After saluting, he took out a military report from his sleeve, presented it to it, and said.
"Your Majesty, there is a military report from the Japanese army. It is a great victory. After nearly two months of hard fighting, the army has annihilated more than 3,000 Japanese pirates and captured more than 2,000 alive. The detailed military report is here. Your Majesty, please read it."
After hearing this, Zhu Qiyu's expression perked up. He immediately took the military report and read it carefully. After a while, he breathed a long sigh of relief, and a long-lost smile finally flashed in his eyes.
After so long, good news finally came.
This military report was still jointly submitted by Yu Qian and Zhang Xi. After several months of blockade, as expected, the Japanese pirates hiding at sea gradually ran out of food and basic supplies, and more and more Japanese pirates took risks. Go ashore and get in touch with the family that used to cooperate with them.
However, it is a pity that this is a trap that Yu Qian has laid out a long time ago. He had previously arrested a group of families who were involved in the Japanese, but those people only accounted for about 40% of the list he had, and the remaining 60%, Yu Qian did not move, but selected some of them, plus those families who were truly innocent, to reward them together, which could calm the people's hearts.
When these families lowered their vigilance, the army that blocked the sea area secretly created the illusion that they were slacking off due to the long-term blockade.
Later, when these Japanese pirates ran out of supplies and ventured ashore, they deliberately released a group of them, and then ordered the ships that had been ambushing them to follow them. They found out where these Japanese pirates were hiding, and the army was dispatched. Within a few days, all the largest groups of Japanese pirates were captured.
Of course, this is not over yet. A large number of Japanese pirates at sea have been wiped out. What is left are the squire families on the shore who were originally used to lure the enemy. Compared with the erratic Japanese pirates at sea, these people have their foundations there and can run away if they want. Don't fall off.
Yu Qian didn't even use a large army, but only used the local officers and soldiers to raid all these families.
Later, from the mouths of these people, they followed the clues and destroyed some relatively small Japanese pirate strongholds. At this point, the suppression of Japanese pirates that lasted for more than half a year finally achieved the results it deserved!
"Okay, okay, okay, I know that with Shaobao's ability, we will succeed immediately. This great victory will actually increase the power of our army!"
Putting down the military report in his hand, Zhu Qiyu said with a smile on his face.
"Passing the message, the conquering Japanese army captured thousands of heads. It is indeed a great achievement and should be rewarded..."
"His Majesty……"
Seeing the emperor's long face rejoicing, Wang Ao didn't want to be the person who displeased the scenery. However, he had no choice but to do so. If the emperor was so happy, it would be difficult for him to do it if he really issued an imperial edict.
There have been disasters all over the country this year, and the imperial court has long been unable to make ends meet. Naturally, the Ministry of Husbandry would not dare to pay less for military expenses for the army, but Shen Pixiu from the Ministry of Husbandry is not a good person either.
He did not dare to deduct the military expenses of the army, so he found ways from other places. So far, the Ministry of War has had several budgets, all of which have been cut in half. Many places where the money was originally planned last year have also been delayed by the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The question is, the money has been given to the army, and Wang Ao is very temperamental. If he rewards the army again, the Ministry of War will be even more embarrassed by the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Of course, Mr. Wang is an official from the cabinet after all, unlike some stupid young people who only know how to be direct and don't know how to turn around. Seeing the emperor's face looking a little unhappy, Wang Ao said quickly.
"Your Majesty, the army is still clearing out the remaining Japanese pirates, and the war is not over yet. This matter of rewarding the army may make the officers and soldiers slack off. Therefore, in my opinion, I might as well issue a decree to praise first, and wait for the rewards to be received. It will be more appropriate to describe the merits in detail after the army returns."
Zhu Qiyu was interrupted and was a little unhappy at first, but when he heard Wang Ao's tactful words, he immediately understood.
After pondering for a moment, he spoke.
"That's true. However, for such a great victory, it would be inappropriate for the court to just give verbal praise. So, let's do this. In Yu Shaobao's memorial, he mentioned that many gentry families who had colluded with local Japanese pirates had been seized. Among these properties, Gold, silver, grain and other items were used as rewards for the army, and the remaining properties, mansions, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, etc., were temporarily sealed in the local yamen and left to the court for disposal."
To put it bluntly, the court did not provide any money and used the property of these squires as rewards. Wang Ao was slightly stunned when he heard this, but then he nodded and said.
"Your Majesty is holy."
Anyway, he tried his best, but that's right. It is natural for the army to be rewarded for its meritorious service. Although the detailed credit must wait until the class teacher returns to the court, the immediate reward is also very important. After all, this The second expedition against Japan was arranged by the emperor himself, so it is normal to pay more attention to it.
However, in this case, he could only swallow back what he had prepared. Originally, he wanted to say that since the Japanese pirates were almost suppressed, he could let the army return to the court earlier. However, looking at the emperor's tone, it was obviously There is no such meaning.
After sending Wang Ao away, Zhu Qiyu held the memorial in front of him and read it carefully again. He finally let go of the stone in his heart.
Strictly speaking, the problem of Japanese pirates was not completely eradicated until the end of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention when he was in power in the previous life. Even after the Jiajing Dynasty, Japanese pirates plundered and the imperial court was furious and sent troops to clear them out, but they were defeated repeatedly. Although it is said that after the Longqing switch, most of the fake Japanese became businessmen, this was not due to the imperial court.
Now, this good news has come, which can at least prove that the sea area can be temporarily stable for a period of time, which is crucial for the next step...
However, before he could be happy for long, Wynn stepped forward and said again.
"Your Majesty, Lu Zhong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, would like to see you."
Lu Zhong?
Zhu Qiyu frowned and was a little confused for a moment. What was Lu Zhong doing here at this time? You must know that the biggest job of Jin Yiwei now is to assist in investigating the cases of the Criminal Department. After all, wherever people need to be arrested in the capital, Jin Yiwei can do it. is the most suitable.
But the problem is that Liu Yi's case has just passed not long ago, and those who should be detained are now in custody. There should be no major breakthroughs in a short period of time. Could it be that...
Zhu Qiyu's eyes fell on the military report in front of him, with a thoughtful look on his face, and he said immediately.
"Tell him to come in."
So, not long after, Lu Zhong, who looked honest and honest, walked in, prostrated himself on the ground, and said.
"Commander Lu Zhong, commander of the Jinyi Guards, pays homage to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, Zhu Jian, governor of Fujian, has submitted a secret memorial."
As he spoke, Lu Zhong took out a memorandum sealed with lacquer and handed it to the chamberlain at the side.
Since the last reform of Kedao, which gave Kedao and some ministers inside and outside the capital the right to secretly report, Zhu Qiyu has continuously optimized it during this period.
Generally speaking, today's secret memorial channels are divided into three channels. One is basically the same as the ordinary memorial process. It has to go through many yamen and is submitted one level at a time. However, the difference is that it is stamped as a secret memorial. Before it is delivered to the cabinet, officials are not allowed to open it. If it is damaged, they will be held responsible. After reaching the cabinet, the cabinet minister responsible for drafting the vote will open it. After the draft is drafted, it will be resealed and presented to the emperor.
The advantage of this process is that it can relieve stress. After all, with the secret memorial method, many ministers in the court have given memorials much more frequently, and they do not necessarily talk about specific things. More, It's some insignificant little things or flattery.
To put it bluntly, the secret report allowed these ministers to break the seal of shame. Anyway, only a handful of people knew about it, so flattering them was nothing.
Of course, the disadvantage is that there is no complete guarantee that the contents of the secret report will not be leaked. After all, in addition to the emperor, the cabinet still has a hand in it. Since there are others besides, there will be a risk of leakage, even if it is not leaked directly. , however, it is inevitable to reveal some vague rumors in advance.
Therefore, in order to ensure the top-secret nature of the secret report, there is a second way, which is to send it directly to the imperial court from the General Affairs Department. This is basically the privilege of some high-ranking officials. Those who can obtain this kind of power are basically third-rank or above in Beijing. The high-ranking officials in the country and those outside are all governors. Officials below the third rank do not receive this treatment unless they are granted special permission.
The difference between it and the former is that in the former, the cabinet can foresee it, but in the latter, the cabinet has no right to reveal it, so the confidentiality is higher.
And the last way is through Jinyiwei, yes, Jinyiwei!
Logically speaking, Jin Yiwei's original job is to be a guard of honor, and later evolved into a secret service agency. Now, it has taken on the new responsibility of presenting secret memorials. Compared with the first two, the number of secret memorials that Jin Yiwei is responsible for is very small. However, But absolutely secretive.
This kind of secrecy is reflected in the fact that there are no records in the court. The only traces that can be traced are the emperor's daily records. There are very few people who can get this treatment, or in other words, This kind of treatment is not given to a certain person, but is used for things when encountering certain special tasks.
There is no doubt that this is what Zhu Jian did when he went to Beijing this time. Rough calculation shows that it has been more than half a year since Zhu Jian took office. In these days, Zhu Jian has successively won some official positions through different crimes. At the same time, low-ranking officials were replaced in some key positions by people sent by the imperial court, creating the illusion that the new governor wanted to control the local officialdom.
But in fact, although the people he arrested did not have high official positions, they were all people who knew a lot of information. From the mouths of these people, Zhu Jian should have found out a lot of things, and what should be investigated should also be investigated. about there……
Moreover, now that Yu Qian has begun to clean up the squire families who colluded with the Japanese pirates, presumably those in the officialdom who provided shelter to these squires will be a little restless.
Zhu Qiyu picked up the memorial in front of him, took off the paint on it, and read attentively.
It should be said that Zhu Jian's ability is still very good. His memorial is detailed and clear in describing the illegal activities of many officials in Fujian. It also includes the evidence found. Although it is not the original, but The entire evidence chain is so complete that it is basically impossible to find any faults.
In less than a year, he was able to find out so many things, which can be said to be a capable official, but...
After looking at the incense for half a minute, Zhu Qiyu pinched his eyebrows and finally put down the memorial in front of him.
Zhu Jian's trip to Beijing this time, in addition to rectifying the officialdom in Fujian, also had a very important task, which was to find out the man behind the scenes who really provided protection for the Japanese pirates in the DPRK.
Facts have proved that Zhu Jian did live up to his expectations and found something. Although the evidence is not particularly detailed, it is almost enough.
The good news is that the mastermind behind the scenes is not the central ministers in the court now, but the bad news is...
Zhu Qiyu shook his head, with a trace of regret and disappointment in his eyes.
He didn't expect that the person behind the scenes would be this person!
