Just when Zhang Zhou was giving lessons to Zhu Houzhao.
However, Zhu Youtang attended the court meeting at Meridian Gate and listened to the quarrels among the ministers.
Hu Xian, the supervisory censor, was intervening in the bribery case of Li Guang: "... I reported, 'There are traffic eunuch Li Guangjin among the officials. Although Li Guang is dead, his books are still there, such as Zuodu censor Tu Yu Wang Yueqi was promoted to be the censor of the left capital, and Li Hui was promoted to be the censor of the right capital. As ministers, these three led others to commit treachery, so they should be promoted first. Correct his crime, and then punish him one by one'..."
Although Li Guang passed away.
But there are many people who want to make a big fuss out of Li Guang's death.
In the middle period of Hongzhi, the positions of the Six Ministers and Nine Ministers were the most stable in the court. The positions of the Six Ministers often remained unchanged for three to five years, forming a solidified position. Lower-level officials saw no hope and finally seized the opportunity. Of course, they had to use all their firepower. .
Zhu Youtang said coldly: "Didn't I say that Dongchang would investigate this matter?"
Ai Hong from the Military Affairs Bureau stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, if this case is not investigated and the truth is uncovered, it will definitely be the beginning of evil deeds, and it will be difficult to hold him accountable under the law. This case should not be investigated privately, but should be handed over to the Criminal Department for investigation and punishment. , Only then can the world return home safely."
"Ministry of Punishment!" Zhu Youtang said coldly.
Bai Ang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I am old and sick. Please beg me to return to my fields."
Bai Ang was not stupid at this time.
I might even be listed in that booklet, should I check myself?
If I don't quickly find a way out of my misery before there are many people involved in impeaching me, am I really going to fall into the hands of you, a group of science and education officials, and be infamous from now on?
Tu Jie came out and argued: "I beg to order the officials to track down Li Guang's records and investigate. If my name is found, I will be executed Ling Chi to express my gratitude to the officials. If not, I also beg to defend my case and clear my name, so that I will not be falsely accused and tarnish my reputation!" "
Tu Yu was also anxious.
What he means is, aren't you trying to impeach me?
I will ask your Majesty to check Li Guang's book. If my name is really there, I will ask Ling Chi to be executed. If not, please clear my name.
Tu Feng was not aimless.
When Li Guang just died, no one was more nervous than him, but as the emperor handed the case to Dongchang, Dongchang didn't even ask him, which made Tu Yu feel that Li Guang should not be so stupid and should not name names. Dao Xing recorded the details of the bribery. Besides, the person is dead, and some things can be denied.
Anyway, Chief Assistant Liu Jian encouraged him to do this.
Now he feels that Li Guang most likely did not remember him, and setting the flag of "Lingchi execution" is obviously more convincing, and the people who eat melons will think that he dares to say this because he has a clear conscience.
This passage is also the original words of Tu Yu recorded in "Records of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty".
Zhu Youtang became even more angry after hearing this.
Are you, Tu Yu, seeking death on your own? Did you give Li Guang a gift? Are you worried?
But Zhu Youtang listened to Zhang Zhou's words and did not have an attack.
But that's not the only thing that made him angry. It would be okay if he only participated in the impeachment of Tu Yu, Wang Yue and Li Hui. Even Xu Jing, the Minister of Household Affairs, was also included in the impeachment.
In the end, Zhu Youtang was afraid that the situation would further escalate and become difficult to deal with, so he hastily ended the court meeting.
…
…
"Cough cough cough..."
Walking back from the Meridian Gate, Zhu Youtang kept coughing.
Xiao Jing walked over and said, "Your Majesty, you'd better take the Luan chariot. Your health is important."
"Ahem...I'm fine. You guys can tell me, what are they arguing about? Is it because I said something too early and didn't pursue the issue, so they got into trouble?"
Zhu Youtang sounded a little annoyed, probably because he felt that these people were bullying him because he was ignorant and easy to bully.
Dai Yi hurried over and said, "Your Majesty, maybe those ministers are more loyal and upright."
"Zhongzhi? Can you even say what you asked Lingchi to do? Xiao Jing, go and show that booklet to the cabinet ministers. After reading it, bring it back to me and let them decide what to do!"
Dai Yi, Xiao Jing and others saw it immediately.
The emperor was not trying to get angry at the officials. Perhaps the emperor felt that the officials were fulfilling their duties.
What the emperor was angry about was that Tu Fu thought that he was not on the list, so he dared to boast about his high status in the court and said that "if he has the name of the minister, he will be executed by Ling Chi".
Just because I am tolerant to you does not mean that you can use my tolerance to show your integrity.
So I will now show the "book" that you are thinking about so much to the three cabinet officials to see for themselves whether you are really listed on it.
At the same time, I tell you that I just don’t care about you!
"Yes." Xiao Jing accepted the order.
Dai Yi also looked at him with strange eyes.
Up to now, except for Zhu Youtang and Xiao Jing who have read the entire booklet, Zhang Zhou may have read the entire book at most, while Dai Yi, Chen Kuan and Wei Bin only glanced at the title page. Then there was Xiao Jing who relayed it.
They also wanted to know which ministers were involved. Could it be that... everyone in the court was involved?
"Where is the prince?" Zhu Youtang was in a bad mood and suddenly thought of something and asked.
Xiao Jing was about to go to Qianqing Palace to pick up the book. Hearing this, he replied: "Your Majesty, today is the day when Zhang Jieyuan enters the palace to teach the prince. I guess he has arrived now."
"Okay, you all perform your duties. Dai Yi, you come with me to the Wenhua Hall. I want to see if Bingkuan is teaching seriously."
At this time, Zhu Youtang probably felt that only by seeing how Zhang Zhou taught his son could he feel more relaxed and even have some expectations.
…
…
Cabinet value.
When Xiao Jing arrived, the three cabinet members were still discussing court affairs together, and what they were talking about was the Li Guang case mentioned in the court hall before.
When they learned that Xiao Jing was coming, the three of them went to the door to greet him.
"Three pavilion elders, His Majesty asked us to forward this to our family. He only said that it would be looked at by a few people. After one stick of incense, we will bring the original thing back." Xiao Jing took out the booklet in which Li Guang recorded the bribery situation.
Liu Jian didn't take it, so Li Dongyang took it on his behalf.
Xie Qian asked: "What is this?"
Xiao Jing smiled bitterly but didn't answer.
When Li Dongyang opened the book, the three cabinet ministers took a deep breath. Although the content was a bit obscure, they could still tell that it was a roster recording bribes.
Among the names recorded on the home page, Tu Yun was clearly listed.
"In the leap month of the year Bingchen, Renzi was slaughtered by the censor of Zuodu. He received twenty shi of yellow rice and 650 shi of white rice. At Jimao in the sixth month of the year Bingchen, he received an additional 500 shi of white rice..."
The records were so detailed that even Liu Jian, who knew about Tu Jian's gift in advance, was surprised.
Liu Jian felt troubled.
Chaozong clearly said that he had to give gifts for the operation of the ministry, but this is not the case in the record. The Bingchen year happened to be the year when he became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Can we say that this was not bribery in order to obtain an official position?
His Majesty has made it clear that anyone who obtains an official position by befriending and bribing Li Guang needs to be dismissed. Why do you, Tu Yu, think that your gift-giving is more noble than others'?
Li Dongyang read very quickly. After flipping through a few pages, he looked up at Xiao Jing and said, "Eunuch Xiao, what does your Majesty mean by this?"
Xiao Jing said: "His Majesty's intention is not to let the situation escalate, not to punish anyone. He also asked the three cabinet elders to mediate to eliminate the impact of this matter. As for the rest, please forgive me that it is difficult for us to elaborate."
Because there was only one stick of incense to flip through the book, the three of them could not write it all down, but Li Dongyang still tried his best to keep the people and things listed above in mind.
This is equivalent to a book of criminal evidence, held in the hands of the emperor, and the emperor can deal with whomever he wants at any time.
It belongs to the art of emperors controlling their ministers.
"You three, have you finished reading? Our family has been ordered to take them back. Mr. Li Ge?"
Li Dongyang had just finished reading the last page and reluctantly handed the book back.
Xiao Jing didn't say anything unnecessary, got the booklet, saluted and left.
When they left, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian looked at Liu Jian at the same time, meaning that Liu Jian would make the decision.
Liu Jian sighed: "Actually, I had known about this for a long time, and I had discussed it with Eunuch Xiao in private."
"Why didn't Your Majesty mention it before?" Li Dongyang got straight to the point.
"It's not that we didn't mention it, but someone made a report and urged His Majesty to suppress the matter." Liu Jiandao.
Li Dongyang asked: "Who?"
Liu Jian sighed: "It was Zhang Bingkuan, a student of Nanyong Gong who predicted the disaster in the Qingning Palace. According to Xiao's father-in-law, after Li Guang's death, he and Zhang Bingkuan found this record in the Li Mansion. Later, Zhang Bingkuan reported it on the grounds that the situation should not be expanded. The request was made to dissuade His Majesty from minimizing the big deal, which was adopted by Your Majesty after careful consideration."
Even Li Dongyang was shocked and said: "This Zhang Bingkuan is really not simple."
Xie Qian also lamented: "Jiangnan Jieyuan, how can he have such a mind that takes the overall situation into consideration? Could it be that he also calculated the questions in the Jiangnan Provincial Examination?"
Liu Jian didn't want to answer such groundless speculation.
Xie Qian added and asked: "What about, I will go see Tu Chaozong to explain this matter?"
"No!"
Liu Jian immediately rejected the proposal, "Chaozong said so full things in court. If he were to know, how would he stand among the courtiers? Your Majesty did not expose it on the spot, but he meant not to hold him accountable, or he thought that Li Guang is dead, and most of his one-sided words cannot be trusted. At this time, His Majesty asked us to appease people's hearts and calm the situation in the DPRK. This is our responsibility."
"Put down what you are doing first, go around each yamen, and dissuade the officials from talking about Li Guang's accomplices."
Li Dongyang asked: "Where is the Qingning Palace disaster?"
Liu Jian nodded: "That's okay."
…
…
Zhu Youtang took Dai Yi and a few followers and walked all the way to Wenhua Hall.
This time there was not even a eunuch watching outside the Wenhua Palace, because Zhu Houzhao was playing openly and openly inside. It was rare that Zhu Houzhao was so stubborn and ignored his father.
When Zhu Youtang entered the back hall of Wenhua Hall.
Gao Feng, who was watching the excitement from the side, felt a hand fall on his shoulder. He turned around suddenly and saw Zhu Youtang standing in front of him with a stern look on his face.
"Don't make any noise!"
Zhu Youtang looked at the large group of people inside, and the loudest among them was his son, "What are you doing?"
In the back hall of the Wenhua Hall, dozens of tables are being placed together, and there are dozens of strange-looking wooden boards put together. On the wooden boards, there are cardboard boxes. There are things that look like mountains when erected, there are mountainous sandy areas made of sand and gravel, and there are also city outlines made of simple clay...
There is also something that looks like a clay figure, either riding a horse or holding a spear, accompanied by various strange flags with logos, inserted on this large spliced wooden pallet.
Gao Feng replied softly: "Your Majesty, Zhang Jieyuan said that this is called a sand table exercise."
Zhu Youtang said with a serious face: "I told you that I was here to teach, why are you just playing? The sand table..."
Even though Zhu Youtang thought his son was having fun, he still couldn't help but take a few more glances when he saw such a spectacular "sand table exercise".
At this time, Zhu Houzhao was still shouting loudly: "My three troops have surrounded your soldiers and horses in the isolated city. It seems that I will win."
No longer opening his mouth to say "I am" and closing his mouth to say "I am", Zhu Houzhao looked domineering, but he seemed to be more approachable.
This made Zhu Youtang feel that his son had made some progress.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Your Highness, please don't speak too early. There is an ambush on my side, which has not yet been uncovered. Do you know what kind of troops I am on this side? Eunuch Liu, please announce it."
Liu Jin picked up the card on the side, corresponding to the number of the flag, and said in surprise: "Your Highness, Zhang Jieyuan only deployed 300 light cavalry and 600 infantry here, which is much less than your siege troops! Your Highness, then The city can be withdrawn."
Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Liu, do you understand the rules? You must have three times more troops to besiege a city to have any chance of winning. If a war breaks out, the loss ratio will be one to three. Your Highness, are you sure you want to attack me with your current troops?" Lonely city?"
Zhu Houzhao was like a tactician, he chuckled and said: "I can besiege the city and call for reinforcements, but I don't believe that you have enough food and grass in the city. Liu Jin, tell me, how much food and grass does he have in the city?"
As the judge, Liu Jin continued to read the records in the book and said: "Six hundred stones can last for ten days."
Zhu Houzhao said proudly: "Then my troops will be stationed here for ten days to see if you send reinforcements. If you send reinforcements, I will attack your city on the left. If you don't send them, I will wait for you to run out of food and grass, and then we will attack again." Attack the city and attack your hungry soldiers. What will be the battle loss ratio then?"
Liu Jin said happily: "Five to one."
Zhang Zhou said with regret: "It seems that I can only find opportunities to break out."
Zhu Houzhao said: "Your three hundred light cavalry may run away if you take three steps a day, but your six hundred infantry can only move one step a day. My heavy cavalry takes two steps a day and will defend them tightly. It depends on you." How to run!"
