In the following more than two months, Zhang Jia carefully mobilized credible personnel, and finally captured all the suspects and sent them to the torture chamber. But the results that came out surprised everyone!
In Emperor Wanli's palace, Liu Haojia's eyes widened. Emperor Wanli, who had known the news earlier, wanted to laugh, and even his tense heart felt much relieved!
Liu Haojia was surprised because he had just heard a strange news: Those people confessed that, except for some people who had been installed by nobles and civil servants, everyone else belonged to an organization or gang called the Master Society!
He had never heard of what this Lord's Association was, but the eunuch who was on trial clearly explained that many people knew about the existence of the Lord's Association. It was already a semi-public organization, and only low-level officials were not allowed to do so. Just understand! This name has long been known among the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty!
After listening to the confession recited by Zhang Jia, Emperor Wanli said: "Although I have heard it once, I still think it is impossible! How could such a large society have no news at all? The Jin Yiwei has never reported it, and the officials at all levels have not discovered it. . Maybe these prisoners are talking nonsense to get away with it!"
Liu Haojia was originally at a loss, but when Emperor Wanli mentioned the government, it gave him a wake-up call and gave him inspiration! He immediately said to Zhang Jia: "Eunuch Zhang, please immediately send someone to ask again, is this master association all organized by civil servants?"
Although Emperor Wanli was stunned by Liu Haojia's thinking, he still urged Zhang Jia to go back quickly. And he was so patient that he didn't ask what Liu Haojia thought.
Soon Zhang Jia and Li Song came back, and Li Song said with a little admiration: "Master Liu is really good at predicting things! Eunuch Zhang has already asked clearly that this master meeting was organized by civil servants! But these palace people Not much is known about it. They have either been trained and placed here since childhood, or they have a handle or their family members are in the hands of others, so they don’t know much about the Lord’s Association. Some of them even only know their names. But based on what they said, it seems that the Master Society is not an organization that wants to rebel, which is a bit strange!"
Liu Haojia had fully understood at this time, and he said to Emperor Wanli: "Long live Lord, we can't blame anyone else for this, only ourselves!"
Emperor Wanli said in surprise: "Why do you say that?"
Liu Haojia said: "Long live my Lord, you have been in the palace all day, and the information you have received is limited. But the minister's rank is too low, and he has no access to anything. In addition, he is targeted by civil servants, so some information can only be circulated in the officialdom. It’s hard to know the news! And if I think about it, this master association does not want to rebel. They just want to limit the emperor’s power and maintain the status of the civil servants. So this can also explain why. This kind of semi-public organization has not been targeted! Because this organization is beneficial to the civil servants, they naturally turn a blind eye and close a blind eye! As for where Xun Gui is, they either don’t know, or the people who know are bribed or tricked. It's a threat, and he protects himself wisely and deliberately pretends not to know! As for the Jin Yiwei, Liu Shouyou is basically a civil servant, so it is even less likely that he will mention this matter to His Majesty! "
When Emperor Wanli heard Liu Haojia's explanation, he vaguely felt that he was right, and immediately gritted his teeth and cursed loudly: "Liu Shou has such a thief!"
After he vented his anger, he calmed down and said, "Then what should we do about this matter? We can't arrest those civil servants now! And Liu Shouyou is not obedient at all. It would be better to let Dongchang do it than let them do it!"
Liu Haojia thought about it and said, "I think we can't take action now, it's too involved! Why don't you have a talk with Mr. Zhang!"
Emperor Wanli said angrily: "If it is like what these spies said, everyone among the top civil servants knows about the Lord's Association, but he doesn't say a word to me, does he still have me as a student in his eyes? And me. Is this the emperor? And I don’t believe that Liu Shou has that bitch who didn’t grasp the information about the Lord’s Association. His concealment must have been his instruction!”
But Liu Haojia comforted him and said: "Long live my lord, I think this matter must be discussed with Prime Minister Zhang! If what the spies told is true, then Prime Minister Zhang must also know about the Master Council. But he is sitting next to the Chief Assistant. In that position, he has to think about the whole world. He will definitely let go of an organization like this that is a civil servant and has no rebellious intentions, but he will never turn a blind eye! After all, he is the leader of the Ming Dynasty. Fu, naturally I don’t have a good impression of this kind of club! If Banzai Ye opens up and talks to him, it might work wonders!"
Speaking of this, Liu Haojia took a deep breath and said: "There are not many people available to the Long Live Lord now, and the civil servants who have taken refuge with us are not of high grade. There are still very few people, so we don't know many things! Otherwise, this news would not have passed." An old palace official who was unable to serve found out! It shows that Long Live Lord still has to put more thought into civil servants!"
Emperor Wanli was also discouraged when he heard this, but he still refused to compromise with Zhang Juzheng! Liu Haojia couldn't console him many times and had to say: "Long live Lord, this is a big handle for Prime Minister Zhang! If nothing else, not reporting the knowledge is his dereliction of duty as the chief minister. If he uses it well, he might be able to make Long live Lord earlier." Master some rights! And one more thing, please don’t forget, our Ming Dynasty prohibited secret associations. This is a punishable crime. If Prime Minister Zhang cherishes those civil servants, he will make concessions! If he doesn’t give in, Let him take action to deal with the Master Council, which will also cause him to lose support among the civil servants. In order to secure his position, he may need the support of Long Live Lord!"
Emperor Wanli immediately became energetic after hearing this and began to think about Liu Haojia's suggestion. But he completely abandoned the first half of Liu Haojia's suggestion and said, "Can we deal with them like the White Lotus Sect?"
Seeing that Emperor Wanli refused to let go, Liu Haojia could only say: "It's not impossible, it's just that the time has not come yet! An organization like this must have a big tree and deep roots. If you don't kill the snake, you will definitely suffer from it! That's why we fight for Prime Minister Zhang." It’s a top priority!”
In the period that followed, Liu Haojia kept trying various tricks to persuade Emperor Wanli to cooperate with Zhang Juzheng. But what he didn't know was that Emperor Wanli, who had just been provoked by Zhang Juzheng recently, was firmly opposed to this opinion!
Finally, he was annoyed by Liu Haojia's remarks and said directly: "I want to discuss this matter with my mother. You guys should step aside first!"
