After hearing the statements of the ministers below, Zhu Houcong immediately said:
"I think so too. In fact, there were people who impeached them before, but it was just because of the dignity of the Queen Mother that I couldn't handle it."
"Now that all of you have spoken out about impeachment, how can I ignore it?"
Then, his expression turned to anger:
"I never thought that they would go behind my back and do so many outrageous things. This is simply treating my Ming Dynasty's laws and decrees as correct! How can I tolerate this?"
"Come here and draw up your decree!"
"Depose Zhang Heling, Duke of Chang, and Zhang Yanling, Duke of Jianchang, and arrest and imprison them in royal robes!"
After hearing this sentence, although everyone's appearance did not change, their hearts were moved.
The ministers only suggested reducing the salary. The emperor was talking about the empress dowager respecting her face, but then he immediately reduced his rank and sent him to jail. This was because the empress dowager Zhang was still alive...
Your Majesty is really ruthless this time!
Looking at the eunuch leaving, everyone knew that after today, the two Zhang brothers might never see the light of day again.
The day Queen Mother Zhang passed away was the day when the two brothers passed away.
But Emperor Jiajing had no intention of stopping. He glanced at the ministers below and said:
"I just found out today that there are actually two moths in the imperial court, which have harmed our Ming Dynasty for a long time! It is also a good thing to submit to the law now."
"But! I know..."
"These two are definitely not the only ones in this court who have done such a thing!"
"What I want to say today is that there is no room for these corrupt people in my court!"
Emperor Jiajing stood up and issued his order domineeringly, his eyes so majestic that the ministers bowed their heads:
"I want to cleanse the court, leaving only capable ministers and ministers!"
"Yan Shizhong, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Xu Xu, the Yushi of the Zuodu Procuratorate, you two will jointly preside over this inspection. Officials below the third rank in the court are free to be inspected!"
This, isn't this Jingcha!
The only difference is that the Jingchao can only inspect people below the fifth rank, but this time, the emperor raised this limit to the third rank.
Yan Shizhong blinked.
The capital inspection is held once every six years, and of course it has not yet arrived. Yan Shizhong is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he knows this process very well.
But facing Emperor Jiajing's sharp eyes, Yan Shizhong naturally knew what to say now.
He immediately responded respectfully.
Now it was the officials' turn to be dumbfounded. They didn't expect that the Zhang brothers were just one head, and the emperor took action and fell on them.
But these old foxes quickly reacted - this was obviously an excuse to launch a comprehensive rectification! His Majesty must have had this intention, and the Zhang brothers just happened to hit the muzzle of the gun.
The two of them are just right - you must know that the Queen Mother Zhang is still alive. The emperor's imprisonment of the two people without giving any face has shown his determination, and in this way, the inspection officials will not dare to fool things. , otherwise, you will face the emperor's wrath!
"Not just officials, there are also lawbreakers like these two among the nobles, who invade people's fields and do whatever they want."
"They need to investigate too!"
"Especially some of them have not contributed to the court at all, but only rely on their relatives to become rich and powerful. These people must be punished even more!"
Suddenly, everyone present raised their heads, their eyes bright.
In the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, where the nobles gathered, there was only an official like the Judge Advocate of the Five Armies, who had something to do with this matter. However, he was only a fifth-rank official, and he was definitely not qualified to conduct an investigation of the entire Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies. .
When the time comes, the Procuratorate will definitely intervene...
military power! Since Wu Zong, the military power has been almost firmly held in the hands of Wu Xun! Although Emperor Jiajing dissolved the Zhenguo Mansion, most of the almost most important power in this part was still in the hands of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.
Could it be that the opportunity has come?
There was excitement in someone's eyes.
But Emperor Jiajing was so smart, how could he make such a mistake?
"Yan Yuanmo, the right commander of the former military governor's office!"
Yan Yuanmo listened intently. This was a good opportunity for him to learn court politics. Unexpectedly, the emperor called his name. He was excited and stood up immediately:
"I'm here!"
"I appoint you as the Right Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Five Armies, Right Commander-in-Chief, and the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army, the British Duke Zhang Lun, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Left Armed Forces. You two will jointly preside over the examination of honors, and all those who have done evil will be investigated!"
It turned out that he was waiting for him here!
No wonder Yan Yuanmo was left behind, and Zhang Lun was also summoned inexplicably. The emperor was obviously well prepared.
Although the level of the five army advocators is not high enough, what if they also serve as the governors of the five army governor's mansion?
Who has a higher official rank than the two of them?
The faces of the civil servants present could not help but show a little disappointment. Yang Yiqing and Xie Qian looked at each other and secretly said that His Majesty is only twenty years old, but his methods are so sophisticated and he is so thorough in handling matters. , it’s hard to find a loophole!
Yang Tinghe thought more. He looked at Yan Shizhong and Yan Yuanmo, who were serving as civil officials and military ministers respectively, with a heavy heart.
He knew that ever since the emperor ascended the throne and those two events began, the emperor had been favoring Chen Guogong's family.
After all, it’s timely help!
Although they were said to be in groups of two, both groups included members of the Yan family, which already showed the emperor's attitude.
And he, Yang Tinghe, became the villain and the stepping stone for them to rise to power! If he hadn't been so famous among the courtiers, the emperor might have dismissed him long ago!
If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have accepted those damn bribes, and I shouldn't have gone against the emperor. Otherwise, the emperor, who grew up under Confucian teachings, shouldn't have relied on military honors, but the Yan family...
Yan Yuanmo rolled his eyes.
The emperor's words seem to be implying something...
…
Starting with the imprisonment of the Zhang brothers, the vigorous cleaning of the court began.
Lasting for three months, a comprehensive investigation was conducted on the important officials in the court.
Among the officials, more than 100 criminals were uncovered, the highest of whom were at the level of minister. They were obviously not fooling the emperor.
Many officials gritted their teeth:
"Damn it, how come you only received one thousand taels of silver and it's going to be recorded in the book?"
"I just fell in love with Xiaomin's wife and forced her to remarry. There is no need to be so serious! They are all colleagues..."
"Believe me, I really don't know how the disaster relief food from the court ended up in my family's warehouse... Damn it, it must be because I impeached Yan Song and his son for visiting a brothel and said that his upbringing was not strict. This is revenge!"
"Yes, I have impeached them before. This is revenge!"
"Hmph, I want to see if Xu Xu can capture his disciples, and if Yan Shizhong can capture his clan members!"
"If they don't arrest their own people, we will write a letter of impeachment, saying that they are excluding dissidents!"
"Yes, this is a huge crime. If the emperor finds out, he will be the first to punish them! Maybe we will be fine!"
Many officials on the list gathered together and said.
However, what surprised them was that these two kings of hell did not even spare their own people.
Xu Xu's disciples were sent in, and although the Yan clan generally obeyed the prohibitions of Chen Guogong's government and did not commit corruption or anything, they were still "found trouble" by Yan Shizhong and fired a doctor.
It is necessary for a strong man to cut off his wrist in order to block the world's mouth.
The emperor was also very satisfied when he saw this appearance - it seemed that these two ministers were really going about their business selflessly.
The ministers were speechless. They had already attacked their own people, what else could you do? Thousands of words were bottled up in my stomach, and I could only be dismissed obediently. Some were dismissed from their posts, and some others ransacked their homes. I was extremely aggrieved.
In terms of nobles, many of them were found out, but these people were all knighted by their relatives.
Emperor Jiajing's words had already been hinted clearly.
What he wants to take is people who "rely on relatives to get rich."
That is, relatives.
After all, if those nobles who fought hard in blood and made military exploits for the imperial court, then they have to say that they would sacrifice their lives for your old Zhu family, and the emperor would be too embarrassed to say anything to them.
But Jiajing can't stand those people who have done nothing and still dominate because they have a good sister/daughter.
The fact that he chose the Zhang brothers to attack was already a typical example.
So Yan Yuanmo and Zhang Lun attacked these relatives without any scruples.
(End of chapter)
