Above the Fengtian Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was already a little unhappy.
Some time ago, Zhu Biao was seriously ill, and he had been busy with Zhu Biao's condition, but things didn't work out as he wished, and Biao'er finally passed away. He was in great grief, and he was also dealing with Zhu Biao's funeral affairs, so the orphan had no time to take care of government affairs.
There was news about refugees from various places in the Ming Dynasty. He had just learned about it and immediately sent two guards, Tan Yuan and Ji Gang, to investigate the truth.
It sounds like the officials below were impeached just now, and even said that in serious places, there are cases of people exchanging children and eating them. It is really unreasonable!
This is the Hongwu period. Under his own control, how long did it take for him to put down the government, and how long did it take for Biao'er to become seriously ill and leave, before leaving the people homeless?
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhao Mianren, the Minister of Household Affairs, and said, "Is this possible?"
Zhao Mianren was from Lan Yu's side, but he thought to himself that he usually didn't express his position and sent people to pass the news. How could he be targeted collectively?
He cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty is aware that since the drought, I have been working day and night, and I will never neglect it. I have prepared disaster relief funds for the places where the drought is located. His Highness the Crown Prince has personally approved it, and the funds have been allocated."
After he finished speaking, he winked at a minister from the Ministry of Finance, who immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this is the truth. In June of the 24th year of Hongwu, there was no rain in many places for several years, so there was no rain in Beiping, Hejian, Henan, etc." Kaifeng, Yan'an, and Fenzhou were rented from disaster-stricken fields. In the autumn of the seventh month, Renyin ordered Hubuji to provide compensation for floods and droughts in all provinces since he crossed the river. Beiping allocated 20,000 taels of silver, and Hejian allocated 18,000 taels of silver. 2. Dial silver from Kaifeng."
Zhu Yuanzhang's face was expressionless, but he could not see the joy, anger, sorrow, or joy. He just interrupted lightly: "I ask you if you have detailed the allocation for disaster relief? I ask you whether there are any victims who have escaped from the famine. Don't make judgments about them."
As soon as he finished speaking, beads of sweat rolled down Zhao Mianren's forehead.
He did allocate the money, and the work of the household department was considered qualified, but he couldn't control the handling of the affairs in various prefectures and regions.
There are often layers of exploitation. In the past, it was just a push-over and the matter would pass. But now it is different, at the cusp of the storm, and there are indeed cases of victims fleeing the famine. This is a result that Zhao Mianren did not expect.
Zhao Mianren knew that if he tried to quibble at this time, something might be wrong, so he immediately knelt down and said:
"I did not do my job well, and I beg the Holy One to punish me. I have already appropriated the funds, but I really did not know about the people fleeing the famine. If it is true, the prefects in various places have not done enough to provide disaster relief. It is hateful to conceal the truth and not report it."
As he spoke, he secretly shirked his responsibility.
Then he looked at the officials who had just been impeached, and said with cupped hands: "I am impeaching Deng Zhao, Bie Rong, Meng Cheng, and Cheng Ji. Several of them serve as supervisory censors or are responsible for the matter. There are cases in the various governments below, but there are no I know that I only reported it today. I sincerely request your majesty to punish them for their negligence in supervision and give them the death penalty in order to uphold the principles of the government!"
In the court, if you don't understand how to impeach others, just take it seriously.
You say me, I say 伱, you will die anyway. As for real death or fake death, that is not an issue for them to consider.
Subsequently, officials from the Lan Yu camp also joined the battlefield.
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Bie Rong, and the supervision is not good. Not long ago, I saw Bie Rong lingering on the Huayue place. As a supervisory official, it is inevitable to make people suspicious!"
"Your Majesty, I am impeaching Cheng Ji. If the famine is true, it must be the failure of the local magistrates in disaster relief. Such a big thing is only reported now."
"Your Majesty, Chen impeached Deng Zhao. This person has ulterior motives. He wrote a book not long ago in which he satirized the current political situation."
These people are also well prepared and have some small clues about others. Anyway, whether it is a clue is another matter. Let’s talk it out with just one mouth to discredit the matter first.
As this group of people impeached, the other group of people immediately began to fight back, also using the opponent's little excuse to attack the opponent.
Soon, the court became lively and turned into a vegetable market in an instant. The two sides were red-faced and started to curse each other, and a fight was about to begin.
"quiet!"
The eunuch beside Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his throat and said loudly: "The palace has lost its etiquette, how can it be decent?"
With a loud roar, Fengtian Hall fell silent instantly.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon chair and glanced at everyone. The majesty of the emperor, the incomprehension of joy and anger, and the elusiveness made people tremble in their hearts.
How could Zhu Yuanzhang not know what was going on? He was obviously divided into two factions.
As an emperor, the art of imperial balancing is to weigh the factions in the court.
One side is headed by Lan Yu, and the other side is headed by Zhu Di.
Which side to suppress depends entirely on Zhu Yuanzhang's will.
Zhu Yuanzhang finally realized today that Lan Yu could win over so many officials in the court, and that was all. What made Zhu Yuanzhang even more dissatisfied was that Lan Yu's prestige in the military was also extremely high!
In comparison, Lan Yu overwhelmed Zhu Di.
Although Zhu Di was also operating in the court, he was his own son after all. Facing the position of crown prince, it was understandable and common sense for him to come to fight for it.
But you are a blue jade and a relative, what do you want to do?
Now that you are the Duke of the country and have power over everything, what do you want to do?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang became even more disgusted with Lan Yu.
On balance, that is to suppress Lan Yu's party.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flickered, he looked at Zhao Mianren, the Minister of Household Affairs, and said:
"The deserted people everywhere are displaced. As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you still pretend not to know? How can this be unreasonable! How did you become the Minister of the Ministry of Households? And you said that only a few deserted people fled? Ridiculous! Come, Jin Yiwei Tan Yuan and Ji Gang! "
The words fell.
Zhao Mianren, the Minister of Household Affairs, shivered with fright, and beads of sweat continued to roll down his forehead.
Standing in front of Liang Guogong, Lan Yu suddenly felt bad. He seemed to have lost this round.
He didn't want to see this situation.
Tan Yuan doesn't know, but Ji Gang Lanyu knows.
After Lan Yu's private investigation, it was discovered that Li Xiao, the son-in-law of King Yan, secretly worked with Tan Yuan to capture Feng Wen, the son of Song Guogong Feng Sheng, in Texas, and also captured his own son with Tan Yuan in Hangzhou.
It can be seen from this that Ji Gang is not a person of King Yan now, but he is still a person of King Yan!
Thinking of Li Xiao, Lan Yu felt a surge of hatred in her heart.
He has sent dead soldiers to assassinate Li Xiao. He should be dead now, right?
Thinking that King Yan Zhu Di would soon hear the news that his good son-in-law had died in Peiping, Lan Yu felt secretly happy.
Zhu Di, you can still laugh now, but I will make you cry later!
Not long after.
Following the summons.
Tan Yuan and Ji Gang wore Feiyu suits and came to Fengtian Hall.
"Your Majesty, Tan Yuan, please see Your Majesty, long live my emperor."
"Ji Gang, please see Your Majesty, long live my emperor."
One went south, the other went north, and investigated separately. They had just returned to the palace, and before they had time to report to Zhu Yuanzhang, they were directly summoned to Fengtian Hall.
"Flat body."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and asked: "How did you go about the things I asked you to investigate?"
The two of them cupped their hands and said, "We have found out the truth."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Say."
Ji Gang, who was responsible for investigating the southern region, was the first to speak: "My ministers were ordered to inspect various places and found that this drought is more serious than before. Since the 23rd year of Hongwu, there has been no rain in many places since June. All rivers and ditches have dried up, and the people are suffering. After two years of support, in serious areas, famine-stricken villages began to swap women with each other and eat each other. In March this year, it completely broke out, and victims from all over the country fled in groups."
The more Zhu Yuanzhang listened, the more shocked he became!
This kind of thing actually happened. During this period of time, I did not focus on government affairs. What a bunch of rubbish below.
Next, Ji Gang began to report which places were affected by the disaster, saying: "Your Majesty, the disaster-stricken areas include Hanyang, Yuezhou and Jingzhou under the jurisdiction of Huguang."
Ji Gang said sixteen things in one breath.
After listening, Zhu Yuanzhang looked very unhappy.
He looked at Zhao Mianren, the Minister of Household Affairs, and said, "How many places are these? There are sixteen places in the south alone."
After speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Tan Yuan silently.
Tan Yuan cupped his hands and said: "Back to your majesty, the situation in the north that I surveyed is almost the same as what Ji Gang found. Every place is dry. Even the water in the Peking section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal has dried up. The people have no food. They have even eaten the rice seeds for the coming year. They had no choice but to flee to other places. There are the following places: Hejian, Baoding, Yanzhou, and Dongchang. There are eleven places in total. According to my investigation, many people starved to death along the way. No less than 3,000 people died of starvation. Just because All local governments refused to bear the responsibility for the victims of disasters in other places."
Following the report from the two royal guards, countless officials present were frightened. If His Majesty was angry, many more heads would fall to the ground.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face became colder and colder, he slapped the dragon chair suddenly and said:
"The civil and military officials of the dynasty concealed the truth when something like this happened, leaving the people to find their own way to survive. Is this what you officials do?"
The words fell.
All the civil and military officials in Fengtian Palace knelt down and prostrated themselves on the ground.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Tan Yuan and asked: "The local magistrate made a note of all the places that excluded foreign victims. Isn't there a wealthy place for disaster relief in so many places?"
The words fell.
In the main hall, many people secretly rejoiced, especially Zhu Di.
So much work has been done in the past, impeaching others, is to prepare for this moment. It is not to impeach others. The real purpose is this moment.
Tan Yuan cupped his hands and said: "Hui Sheng, there is indeed a government that has provided relief to the victims in the three provinces."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly became interested, looked at Tan Yuan, and said, "Speak quickly."
Tan Yuan said: "Your Majesty, this is Beiping Prefecture. Although Beiping is the most severely affected by drought, the Beiping Prefecture has been able to provide disaster relief and pacify the affected areas, but there is no feeling of famine.
Victims from the surrounding three prefectures flocked to the counties of Peiping. There should be tens of thousands of victims. Princess Yan of Prince Yan's Mansion in Peking couldn't bear the victims to starve to death, so she opened a warehouse to provide food to the victims.
Princess Yongan Zhu Ningyun and Yibin Li Xiao, the daughters of the King of Yan, led the Yan Wei to provide disaster relief in an orderly manner, and the disaster relief went particularly smoothly.
Zhu Ningyun and Li Xiao, the princesses of Yong'an County, also spent their own money to buy rice seeds from other places and distribute them to the victims, as well as carts and other equipment to help them return to their hometowns to rebuild their homes.
In addition, the minister also inquired that for some landless farmers who were unwilling to return to their hometowns, Li Xiao also provided work relief and accepted them to work in publishing houses and give them a livelihood. "
With this breath, Tan Yuan finally finished speaking.
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty understood as soon as they heard this. This guy stood firmly on Zhu Di's side.
I really didn’t expect that this Jin Yiwei Tan Yuan was so hidden, so deep!
"Okay! Okay!"
After listening, Zhu Yuanzhang felt happy.
Regardless of whether it was true or just to show off, Prince Yan's Mansion set an example and did a pretty good job in all aspects, allowing the people to get real benefits.
"Look at you guys, you are not as good as what my granddaughter and grandson-in-law are doing. There is a huge difference!!"
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at all the officials under Fengtian Palace and scolded them so hard that they couldn't hold their heads up.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di with a smile and said, "Zhu Di."
Zhu Di hurriedly stood up and held his hands in his hands: "My son is here."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "During this period, you have been in Yingtian Mansion. Do you know about the events in Peking? Did you ask for it?"
Zhu Di hurriedly objected: "I don't know, it takes half a month for the carriage and horse to go back and forth. The sudden escape of the victims happened recently. I only learned about it when I heard from Tan Yuan."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, thinking that this should be the case.
After a brief thought, I knew it was Xu Miaoyun's idea.
When he was looking for a family for his fourth son, Zhu Yuanzhang fell in love with Xu Miaoyun at first glance.
He personally called Xu Da and said that he would reward Xu Da with a marriage. When Xu Da heard that it was Empress Zhu Di, he shook his head like a rattle.
At that time, Zhu Di was very naughty and often made trouble in the university hall, running around and gaining a bad reputation. Of course Xu Da refused.
In order to introduce this daughter-in-law to the fourth son in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang specially asked Empress Ma to cook her favorite roast goose for Xu Da. After some hard talking, the old guy Xu Da agreed to the marriage.
After the marriage was consummated, Zhu Yuanzhang could see with the naked eye that Zhu Di gradually became calmer, which should be all because of that girl Xu Miaoyun.
Fourth son, fourth son, it seems that your family is the most harmonious now.
The second eldest child, Zhu Xiang, was obsessed with a princess from Beiyuan and couldn't stay with her.
The third child's family relationship is also not harmonious.
Only Xu Miaoyun was dignified, gentle, resourceful, and had a good relationship with each other. The three sons they gave birth to now seem to be brothers.
Now I have found a good son-in-law. During this time, I chatted with my grandson Zhu Gaochi and others, and I could feel that they had a very good relationship with their son-in-law, Li Xiao.
As the saying goes, everything is prosperous when the family is in harmony.
Zhu Di worked in the fiefdom, and the weather was smooth, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their families were harmonious.
Zhu Yuanzhang actually wanted to pass the throne to his son Zhu Di.
He smiled and said: "Yes, Zhu Di, you have done a good job in governing Beiping, so that the officials in Beiping can work together. The disaster relief work is worthy of emulation and learning from other places. As an official of the Ming Dynasty, you should work for the welfare of the people."
Zhu Di held up his hands and said, "My father has given me too much praise. This is just the responsibility of his sons and ministers."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, then looked at Ji Gang and Tan Yuan and said: "You two, compile a memorial about this matter. Whoever has meritorious deeds and whoever has demerits must be clearly remembered by me. Merits will be rewarded, and demerits will be rewarded." If you want to be punished, no one can escape, you know?"
After saying this, he glanced at the officials with frightening eyes.
This look was so familiar that all civil and military officials knew that every time this look came out, a group of people would die.
Being an official during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, especially in the middle and late periods, was indeed not an easy job. You had to fight with each other every day to prevent yourself from making mistakes.
Because you might go to court in the morning and not be able to come back in the afternoon.
Many officials have to bow to the Bodhisattva when they go to court in the morning.
Let the Bodhisattva bless you for peace. If you go home at night, the whole family will celebrate because you have lived one more day.
Many people can't bear it and want to resign, but being an official is not a job and you can't quit. You can come and go as you please, and can you leave if you want?
Many officials in local yamen across the country have been beheaded and their positions are vacant, so one person can fill multiple positions.
Some officials even wore shackles while handling local government affairs.
However, he has restrained himself somewhat in the past two years, because Zhu Yuanzhang handed over most of the government affairs to the prince Zhu Biao. The prince Zhu Biao was kind and would not behead people easily.
But as Zhu Biao left, civil and military officials began to realize that the emperor seemed to be back.
"Your Majesty, take your orders." Tan Yuan and Ji Gang handed over their hands.
"If you have something to do, continue to play, if there is nothing to do, leave the court." The eunuch shouted.
At this time, Lan Yu winked.
Another speaker stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I still have something to report!"
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his temples and said, "Say."
This famous official said: "I want to impeach King Zhu Di of Yan and his guest Li Xiao. King Yan is the king of the border vassal and controls a heavy army. He is the first line of defense for the Ming Dynasty against the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
This is the foundation of the country. The Northern Yuan Dynasty's desire to covet the Central Plains has not died, and there must be no slacking off there.
At any time, military defense is a top priority.
At any time, nothing is as important as this!
As far as I know, the disaster relief in Peiping was indeed successful this time, but the rations of 150,000 border guards were used.
The people are certainly pitiful, but if there is a problem with the border defense, more than three thousand people will die? Thirty thousand or one hundred thousand are possible!
I am impeaching Li Xiao, a guest of honour, at the Prince of Yan's Mansion, for not being able to distinguish between the minor and the serious, and using military rations to provide disaster relief. His intention is to be punished. He ignores the border officers and soldiers, treats border defense affairs as child's play, and should be punished for the crime of disturbing military affairs!
The minister's key to impeaching King Zhu Di of Yan was wrong, but a guest of honor gave Nuo great authority and gave him the right to command the army. This was already a broken rule.
Also, as far as I know, the Prince's Palace in Beiping was changed to Li's Palace, and Li Xiao was called the head of the family in Li's Palace, overpowering the princess. This is a disregard for the royal family's face, and he should be punished! "
As soon as this statement came out.
All civil and military officials in the court were shocked. This blue jade was holding back a big move.
The two charges are serious crimes.
Xiao Xiaoyibin can actually command the army to provide disaster relief, which makes people think wildly. He even changed the princess's mansion to Li's mansion. In this world, the surname is Zhu, and the surname of Li is more than that of Zhu.
You must know that the Li surname has also produced emperors in the past dynasties. The most popular ones include Li Yuan, Li Shimin and other Li surnames in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, as well as Dacheng, Xiliang, Liang, Wu, Wei, Tang, Chu, Later Tang, and Nan Both Tang and Li surnames established political power
Zhu Yuanzhang actually found out through Jin Yiwei, and he was indeed a little unhappy at the time, but he still turned to look at Zhu Di and asked, knowingly: "Zhu Di, is this the case?"
Zhu Di had known for a long time that Lan Yu would make a big fuss about this matter, and he was already prepared.
He cupped his hands and said, "Father, this is indeed true."
As soon as this statement came out,
The whole hall became a little noisy.
"The little guest of honor, Li Xiao, actually overwhelms the princess. This is simply unbelievable."
"Even a prince-in-law does not have such authority. If King Yan leaves it alone, it will lead to disaster."
"It's just another surname. The surname Li is not an ordinary surname."
"Yes, there have been many emperors named Li. King Yan is not as alert as he is. Is this really the calm and cautious King Yan who is rumored to be?"
"I heard that this Li Xiao is very talented and has many people under his command. He is very popular in Beiping and the Li Mansion is gradually growing. But I seem to remember that this Li Xiao is just a farmer, right?"
"You said how could a farmer have such talent? Could this person be a descendant of Li Shimin?"
"Hey, you said that, and it is possible. If it is really the descendant of Li Shimin, that would be terrible. This is a disaster, a huge disaster. With this person in the Ming Dynasty, it is unstable, not stable!"
"Oh my god, how come this Li Xiao is so talented? It's really possible. It's scary to imagine."
"Do you think King Yan has known about it for a long time, and is just secretly cultivating a force, a force that belongs to him?"
In particular, Lan Yu's side deliberately amplified their voices to discuss.
This group of people became more and more serious, making a fuss about Li's family affairs and smearing them wantonly. They even said that Li Xiao was a descendant of Li Shimin and was a big disaster in the Ming Dynasty.
And Zhu Di was the culprit who protected and indulged in this disaster.
It was almost said that Zhu Di rebelled and wanted to lead Li Shimin's descendants to rebel.
"Absurd! Ridiculous!"
Zhu Di was well prepared, his face turned cold, and he said loudly: "To say that Li Xiao is a descendant of Li Shimin is a person with ulterior motives! The Tang Dynasty was separated from the Ming Dynasty by hundreds of years, and they actually used this as an excuse!"
Zhu Di glared at the group of people and said angrily: "A group of trash, take ten thousand steps back and say, even if the descendants of Li Shimin are really here, with the generosity of my Zhu family, shouldn't we be able to tolerate them? I am afraid of overthrowing the Ming Dynasty, and even more It’s extremely ridiculous. We have a huge Ming Dynasty, a strong country and a prosperous people. Twenty-six vassal kings sit in various places, and the Holy Emperor reigns over the world. How can we still be afraid of a descendant of Li Shimin? What a joke, cowardly, and heartless!"
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up slightly, these words simply spoke to his heart.
I overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and established the Ming Dynasty. I will be an emperor for the ages. I will be praised by future generations in the future. I am no worse than the ancestors of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty! The fourth child is right.
At this time, Zhu Di had already waved his hand excitedly and said: "Father, this is slander. Li Xiao's genealogy has long been handed over to the clan. After a search, it was found out that more than ten generations of his ancestors were ordinary farmers." .”
"Come here, bring the Li Xiao family tree."
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered.
"Yes." The eunuch received the order and immediately walked towards the clan mansion.
Zhu Di had long known that Lan Yu was going to impeach him in this way.
If you didn't know it in advance, you would really be caught off guard.
But Ye Bugui has already started operating in Peiping, so many things cannot escape his ears.
Today, he was very well prepared.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and then looked at Zhu Di: "Let's not care about the genealogy for the time being. The matter about Li Shimin's descendants is just nonsense. So what if we don't mention it at all? But how can we explain the matter about Li Mansion?"
"Father, please take a look!"
Zhu Di took out an object, displayed it in front of everyone, and said loudly: "Father, when you see this object, you will understand everything."
(End of chapter)
