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After the prince left Beijing, he strictly investigated the "Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case" along the way from Beijing to Nanjing. Now, after nearly two months of work, he finally returned to Beijing. [No pop-up novel website]
Such a major event naturally attracted the attention of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and Emperor Deqing did not delay and immediately announced the prince's appearance.
Next, while waiting for the prince to enter the palace, both Emperor Deqing and the officials in the court were all distracted, secretly thinking about the changes in the political situation after the prince returned to Beijing.
As a result, for a while, the atmosphere in the hall seemed a bit dull, and Emperor Deqing and the ministers chatted all the time.
However, Zhao Junchen had already made full preparations for the prince's return to Beijing. He did not think too much about it at this time. He just took advantage of this time to summarize the rankings of the previous palace examinations.
Apart from Li Chunchen's unexpected ranking of 17th in the second class, the rankings of other candidates were not much different from Zhao Junchen's expectations.
Although Zhou Suwen, the number one scholar in this palace examination, has extraordinary abilities, in terms of true intellectual talent, he should still be inferior to Zhao Shancai. The reason why Emperor Deqing appointed him as the number one scholar was probably because of Zhou Shangjing's face - fact When Emperor Deqing appointed Zhou Shangjing as the Grading Minister, it was originally a deal. Now the special care given to Zhou Suwen is also a tacit understanding in this deal - it's just that after Zhou Shangjing's officials saw Zhou Suwen winning the first prize, It is believed that if Zhou Shangjing has a successor, his morale will be boosted and he will become more united, so it will be more difficult to deal with.
Zhao Shancai's knowledge and talent made him the well-deserved leader among the candidates of this year. It was only because there was no one in the court to help that he fell to second place - if Zhao Shancai had taken refuge in Zhao Junchen. Zhao Junchen would naturally fight for Zhao Shancai with all his strength, but Zhao Shancai defected to the prince's party. The princeling party is the most flamboyant about "justice", so naturally they will not help Zhao Shancai privately. However, under the current situation in the court, isn't the "fairness" of the princelings the biggest injustice to Zhao Shancai? At least, what was supposed to be his top pick became Zhou Suwen's.
As for Zeng Wei, who is second in the list, he is very talented and has secret help from Zhao Junchen. It is expected that he will be ranked third. In addition, Zeng Wei's vision, knowledge, and methods are all extraordinary, so Zhao Junchen has secretly decided to train and support him with all his strength in the future. With Zhao Junchen's full support, Zeng Wei will surely soon Became one of the core members of the Zhao Party.
However, Liu Zimin was able to get the seventh place in the second class. Among the candidates who took refuge in Zhao Junchen, he ranked second only to Zeng Wei, which was an unexpected surprise. Although this person is far inferior to Zeng Wei in terms of knowledge, means, and government, and his personal ethics are also despicable, his advantage is that he is diligent in doing things and quick to spot opportunities. In addition, his deceased father, who was once the leader of Qingliu, is quite prestigious. So Zhao Junchen decided to support Liu Zimin in the future.
In addition, among the 21 candidates who took refuge in Zhao Junchen, 11 people entered the second class. The other ten people are ranked among the top three, for Zhao Junchen. This year's palace examination can be said to be a great harvest, and Zhao Junchen will also take into account the differences in their rankings, abilities, minds, personalities, etc. in the future. Provide different levels of promotion support respectively.
"My party members are all robbers, thieves, crooked melons and jujubes. Although the momentum is getting bigger and the number of people is large, there are not many of them who can be reused. Now it is time to inject some fresh blood... these With my help, the candidates have passed the imperial examination and have already been branded as "Zhao Party". In the future, they will be promoted step by step with my help. Loyalty is not a problem. The most important thing is that they have just entered the officialdom and have not been influenced by the officialdom. The big dyeing vat changed the color, but I just like to be opportunistic. It has strong plasticity. If I cultivate it well, maybe it will be the beginning of my real rise in the temple..."
And just when Zhao Junchen was planning the future development route of the Zhao party, someone suddenly raised his voice in the hall: "His Royal Highness is here~!"
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When Prince Zhu Heyu strode into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Zhao Junchen turned around and looked around secretly, with a look of surprise in his eyes.
Without him, just not seeing each other for a while, there was a huge change in the temperament of Prince Zhu and Yu.
Perhaps it is because Prince Zhu Heyu has been interrogating corrupt officials in various places and holds the power of life and death in his hands. At this time, Prince Zhu Heyu always gives people a domineering look while raising his hands and looking forward. This feeling of domineering combined with his original perseverance and uprightness will give people a great sense of oppression. Many corrupt officials with evil intentions in their hearts will involuntarily feel guilty when they see the appearance of Prince Zhu Heyu. Timid and confused.
Zhu Heyu's domineering and powerful power was so obvious that all the officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were aware of it. All the elites were naturally happy and excited. They felt that the prince had really grown a lot after leaving Beijing to handle the case. , and with the prince's domineering power and power, he will naturally be able to wipe out all the monsters in the court, ward off evil spirits, and restore peace to the world!
However, Zhao Junchen secretly shook his head.
In Zhao Junchen's view, Prince Zhu Heyu may have really grown a lot this time he left Beijing to handle the case, but his growth was in the wrong direction!
As the saying goes, hardness can easily be broken. The prince is already very straight. If he learns a little more tact and flexibility, and can combine hardness and softness, he may not be able to accomplish great things in the future. However, the prince Zhu Heyu was in the trial of "Southern Tour Preparation Fraud" During the "case", with the power of life and death in their hands and the help of factory guards, the corrupt officials along the way were trembling in front of the prince and did not dare to disobey. However, the prince Zhu Heyu mistakenly believed that all corrupt officials in the world were weak and incompetent. , not only did they not learn to be diplomatic and flexible, but they became even tougher.
"Such a change is not an unexpected gain..."
Zhao Junchen thought secretly.
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While Zhao Junchen was thinking secretly, Prince Zhu Heyu came to the imperial steps and knelt down to Emperor Deqing and said: "Father, I was ordered to examine the 'Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case', and now I have done my best. , come and recover!"
On the other side, when Emperor Deqing saw the transformation of Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, he also realized something was wrong and frowned secretly, but he did not show it. He just asked calmly: "Oh? The 'Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case' has been completed? What was the result? Report to me quickly."
Crown Prince Zhu Heyu looked resolute and raised his head and replied: "Father. This time, I was ordered to investigate the case from North Zhili to South Zhili. It was found that most of the local civil and military officials along the way were involved. 'Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case'! After rigorous investigation by Erchen, there are now seventy-one officials who have been proven guilty and were dismissed by Erchen and arrested and imprisoned. Among them, there are a total of 32 officials below the seventh rank. There are 29 county magistrate-level officials above the seventh rank, seven prefect-level officials above the fifth rank, and three provincial and highway officials above the third rank...
……in addition. There are still twenty-three local officials who are still suspected, ranging in rank. However, due to the rush of time, the son-in-law has not caught evidence of the crime for a while, so he just controlled them and asked his father to issue an edict, ordering the son-in-law to continue to be strict. check……
...In addition, during the trial of the case, Erchen discovered that the 'Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case' involved not only officials along the route. Among the squires and merchants from all over the country, many people were also involved. Now my son has arrested and imprisoned more than 30 of them who committed the most serious crimes. As for how these squires and merchants who committed the crimes should be punished. Please also ask Father to issue an edict..."
Although Emperor Deqing was in a deep state, his expression changed drastically when he heard these reports from Zhu Heyu!
He didn't expect it at all. The prince left Beijing to handle the case within a short period of time. Seventy-one local officials have been convicted! And there are still twenty-three local officials awaiting trial! A large number of local squires and businessmen were also arrested!
So many officials were convicted, so were the local officials from North Zhili to South Zhili. Wasn't it almost wiped out by Prince Zhu Heyu? !
Once this situation becomes known to the world, how much shock will it cause to the government and the public? In the eyes of the people, what kind of evil will the current imperial court look like? With so many local officials resigned, how should local governance be carried out? It can be said that such a big fraud case was involved because of Emperor Deqing's southern tour, which is unprecedented in ancient times. How should future generations evaluate Emperor Deqing and the Ming Dynasty?
With so many questions, have Zhu Heyu never considered them?
There has been a saying that "the law does not punish everyone" since ancient times. Could it be that Zhu Heyu had never heard of it?
In fact, not only did Emperor Deqing's face turn pale, but as Zhu Heyu finished speaking, all the civil and military officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were also shocked!
However, before Emperor Deqing and his officials could wake up from the shock, Zhu Heyu dropped another bombshell in the Hall of Supreme Harmony!
"Father, I have been ordered to severely punish corrupt officials from all over the country this time. I found that most of these corrupt officials are the disciples and former officials of the three chief ministers Zhou Shangjing, Ge Lao Huang Yourong, and Ge Lao Shen Changmao. The reason why these corrupt officials have been promoted to their current official positions over the years is, It all depends on the support and recommendation of these three cabinet elders, so I still want to impeach the three cabinet elders for not knowing people well, employing people improperly, and appointing private parties!"
At this time, Prince Zhu Heyu looked resolute and upright, but the words in his mouth made the civil and military officials in the court even more uproar!
Okay! Zhu Heyu wiped out all the local officials from North Zhili to South Zhili, and now he even impeached three cabinet ministers in one go! How much courage and recklessness does this require? How much shock and chaos will it cause?
For a time, all the officials were talking about it, and the scene in the Hall of Supreme Harmony became increasingly chaotic and noisy.
At this moment, Emperor Deqing, whose expression had been changing for a long time, finally spoke.
"I'm feeling a little unwell, so I'll leave the court today. We'll discuss all the court discussions tomorrow!"
With that said, Emperor Deqing ignored the chaos in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, stood up and left.
His steps were hurried and his expression was solemn.
With the departure of Emperor Deqing, the situation in the Hall of Supreme Harmony was finally no longer under control. Officials gathered together to discuss, or looked for their own backers to discuss countermeasures. For a time, the Hall of Supreme Harmony became... Chaos.
Just as Zhao Junchen expected, with the return of Prince Zhu Heyu to Beijing, the temple, which had been gradually becoming calm, became lively again!
In fact, if Zhao Junchen hadn't secretly fueled the situation, I'm afraid things wouldn't have developed to this point!
However, Zhao Junchen seemed to have nothing to do with all this. He just glanced at Prince Zhu Heyu who was still standing under the imperial steps, shook his head, and turned around to walk outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
In fact, because Zhao Junchen's influence is currently limited to the capital, there are not many local cronies, and not many of the officials involved in the "Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case" are Zhao Junchen's party members, so Prince Zhu Heyu This time Zhao Junchen was not impeached by name. This was the first time in recent years that this happened!
Therefore, from a certain perspective, this incident does not have much to do with Zhao Junchen.
Seeing Zhao Junchen leaving, a group of Zhao party members quickly followed.
They didn't know Zhao Junchen's plan, they just felt that the current situation in the court was in chaos, and they wanted to discuss countermeasures with Zhao Junchen to see if they could fish in troubled waters.
However, as soon as everyone in the Zhao party left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, they saw eunuch Zhang De hurriedly came to Zhao Junchen and said softly: "Master Zhao, His Majesty has a decree for you to go to the Imperial Study Room to have an audience."
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ps: Chongzi was very touched after seeing everyone’s votes, rewards and messages! thank you all!
...(To be continued...)
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