The emperor wants to remove the title of a minister, which is a more serious situation.
The reason why Zhu Houzhao did this was not just the one mentioned previously.
In addition to that, he also knows that the money involved in the salt class is really huge, and cleaning up the shortcomings cannot be done just by talking. So it can’t be a little soft,
Because if he is soft here, he will put a lot of pressure on the people who directly execute him. They don't know if the person they arrested is right. They will think that maybe the emperor's determination was not fulfilled and he let him go in the end.
At that time, what will they do?
These people all belong to this marquis or that uncle, and it is not easy to find fault with them. The emperor is very busy and cannot support them every day.
That's the saying: 'You can't do anything soft'!
Therefore, even if the British spoke openly, Zhu Houzhao would not be able to agree.
Emotionally, he hates these people who sell illegal salt, and rationally, he cannot let them go easily.
It's just that some of these reasons can be expressed, and some cannot. Not all of his ministers can understand them. Maybe they will criticize him a little bit from now on.
Hundreds of years later, his reputation as Zhu Houzhao was not much better.
As for the moment, he doesn't care about this. Anyway, some people say it's good and some people say it's not. He only cares about whether these people get things done according to his wishes.
The British prince was old and had a high status. He finally spoke up but was rejected by the emperor in person, which made him feel uncomfortable.
At that time, Emperor Hongzhi had a tolerant personality and was very easy to talk to. All I can say now is...everything has changed.
With this thought in his mind, he also began to recall the late emperor, and then unbearable sadness surged into his heart, causing him to slowly sob and shed tears.
An old man cried in front of him like this,
Zhu Houzhao was inexplicable.
"Mr. British, why are you crying?!"
"Reply to Your Majesty. Wei Chen wants to first..."
In the middle of speaking, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, and he broke into a cold sweat behind his back. If he really wanted to miss the late emperor, he would never leave the Qianqing Palace safely today.
"...Think...of our ancestors, if Yongkang Hou Xuzhong knew that his descendants were so arrogant, he would definitely be furious and furious."
Zhu Houzhao stood up from the dragon chair and slowly approached him, "I heard that people will always miss the past when they grow old. Is this true for the British?"
The British father suddenly felt very scared.
He has been in the court for decades, so he naturally understands what the emperor means. This means that he is old!
"I have behaved disrespectfully before you, Your Majesty, please punish me!"
"...If I punish you, and then punish you for your crime, wouldn't you feel that I am even more inhumane?"
"I don't dare!"
The emperor's power is increasing day by day, and it is really scary to say such things.
Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, "Everyone, go down."
"Yes, please leave!"
After they all took two steps back, Zhu Houzhao thought of something, "The British Lord."
"The old minister is here."
"Everyone in the palace knows my character, and I guess you know it too. But in order to let you understand, I will say it again. It is actually simple. I am tolerant of small things in daily life or occasional mistakes, but it is about the country, the country, and the country. When it comes to the common people's affairs, you must not mess with Hu Tu."
"Old minister understands."
Zhu Houzhao took a memorial, lowered his head to read it, and said the last sentence at the same time,
"Remember. Don't use your status as Duke to influence the Salt Class trial."
The British public was extremely frightened.
He just said a word of love for Marquis Yongkang, but unexpectedly it aroused the emperor's secret anger.
However, the efforts of the British Duke have not yielded much results, so who can everyone in the court count on?
Jin Yiwei went to Yangzhou to clean up the salt in Lianghuai, and will definitely clean up the salt in Liangzhe, Changlu, and Shandong later.
How can I run away by then?
Two days later, Zhu Houzhao went to the Yongshou Palace. When he arrived at the palace gate, he smelled the faint smell of smoke. He felt strange. When he turned in, he discovered that a eunuch wore a Taoist robe, lit incense with a stove, and was casting a spell. !
The surrounding eunuchs and maids knelt quite devoutly, while Huaiyan and Huaixiao sat on the left and right, closing their eyes, as if sensing the heaven and earth.
A eunuch turned into a god!
Zhu Houzhao was stunned. This incident really shocked him, so much so that he became unusually calm despite his anger.
Perhaps he allowed Princess Yongkang to take them to pray to gods and worship Buddha, so others accepted that this was okay.
After all, Xianmiao and Xiaomiao also called some alchemists into the palace.
Many elderly people in the palace still have memories of this.
Even when Huaiyan and Huaixiao saw him coming, they were not particularly frightened by what they had done. Instead, they stood up naturally to greet him and said, "I pay my respects to your majesty."
The father-in-law who performed the ritual had a rich face, and the earlobes of his ears were indeed enlarged, making him look like Maitreya Buddha.
At this time, he also pretended to worship him, "I have met your Majesty."
Zhu Houzhao's mind paused for a long time, and finally he couldn't help laughing angrily,
This matter is said to be 'blaming myself'. How many people are addicted to such things as feudal superstition and power? If you show a little bit, I don't know how many people will use different methods to keep an eye on you.
"I didn't know that the Taoist Priest was hidden among the chamberlains in the palace. Who got it?"
When Huaixiao saw that the emperor seemed to be in a bad mood, he hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The servants of Yongshou Palace saw that my concubine had recently been worshiping gods and begging for a son, so they mentioned that there was a Taoist named Wanshenyuan in the inner study hall of the palace, who had magic skills. It is profound and can communicate with the gods. So I invited the Taoist priest to come here to cast spells."
This Taoist priest has a unique temperament because of his rich appearance and fair complexion. "Your Majesty, you are polite."
Zhu Houzhao thought of what Princess Yongkang said to him, and he felt something was wrong.
So he temporarily suppressed his anger, narrowed his eyes and asked: "Master Wan, your magic is so advanced, you should know how these two nobles can give birth to a prince for me, right?"
"I know the heaven above, the human world below, and the underworld below. Naturally, I also know your Majesty's problem. The crux of the problem of the two nobles giving birth to a prince is not actually them, but the emperor."
"how do I say this?"
"Your Majesty wants to perpetuate the incense of our dynasty. This is the feeling of human relations. All the people in the world want to enjoy human relations to the fullest. God has the virtue of good life. Your Majesty has been so angry recently that he talks lightly about harsh punishments, but he doesn't realize that severe punishments are too easy. Roots, tranquility is the master of impatience..."
This old guy spoke like a Taoist priest, and the emperor became more and more annoyed with every word he said. Once he heard that he was fooling around with words like "light words and heavy punishments," he couldn't bear it anymore.
Snapped!
Zhu Houzhao took matters into his own hands. He stepped forward and slapped the man hard.
The crisp sound startled everyone in the Yongshou Palace.
Because his hands were too strong, the old Taoist priest couldn't maintain his balance and fell to the ground!
With a bang, everyone knelt down.
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
"Come here, take off his Taoist robe! He came to the palace pretending to be a ghost!"
Then four or five people rushed up,
Taoist Master Wan didn't have that much temperament at this time, and he begged for mercy like he was pissing himself, "Your Majesty, there are gods three feet above your head. There are some things that you would rather believe in than believe in their non-existence!"
"Liu Jin."
"My slave is here."
"I leave this matter to you."
"Your Majesty, just ask."
Zhu Houzhao already had a rough idea, so he asked first: "Huaixiao."
"My...my concubine is here." The girl's family had never seen the emperor so angry, so she seemed to be frightened.
"Who told you about Wanshenyuan for the first time?"
"It's... the eunuch from Yong... Yongshou Palace."
Among those kneeling around, one person was panicking.
"...Wu Qing."
"Your Majesty, please spare your life, Your Majesty, please spare your life, Your Majesty, please spare your life..."
Zhu Houzhao put one hand on his waist and pointed at the two people with the other, "Liu Jin, arrest these two people and investigate them like I did this time! I will turn the Forbidden City upside down and find out the people behind them. !”
"I agree with the two nobles to worship the empress, but these slaves dare to take advantage of this loophole and bring these things to the palace! What are you doing, do you want to be the second Li Guang?!"
"You go now, I don't need you to serve me here! If there is no result in this matter, I want your head!"
Liu Jin didn't dare to say a word, stood up in a panic, and then ordered his men, "Quickly, carry these two people away!"
Honorable ministers advised me,
The ministers have these thoughts,
The purpose behind it is actually one, to hinder the expansion of salt classes.
They all want to live.
But what surprised Zhu Houzhao was that he even used this method.
It seems that the dishonest people in this palace are going to take this opportunity to clean up! With a plan in mind, he first appeased the harem.
In fact, there are many rules in the palace, and you still have to pay attention to some etiquette during the day, but Huaixiao and Huaiyan were a little frightened, and when Zhu Houzhao went to hug them respectively, they did not dodge.
"You two don't have to be afraid. This matter has nothing to do with you. I will go back to Qianqing Palace first and come back in the evening."
…
On the way back to Qianqing Palace, he had already asked someone to call You Zhi.
At the same time, when passing by the attendant's room, Yan Song was called.
"Draft a decree to order the guarding eunuch Zhang Yong to return to the capital."
"yes."
Yan Song didn't know anything else, so he didn't think much about it.
How the ministers arrange things is not just a word from the emperor.
Not long after, You Zhi also arrived, and he knelt down in front of the emperor.
"Let me ask you, has the eunuch in charge of the Shangshan Supervisor been summoned?"
You Zhi felt a little guilty. If he had achieved results, he would have reported it long ago.
"Continue the trial! Use whatever method you can, I don't believe these people are hard-core!"
At this moment, Zhu Houzhao was indeed a little upset. In fact, he is too smart and can see through many things. If he really wants to be an emperor who swallows everything, there is no point in being annoyed by these ridiculous things every day.
In fact, sitting in this seat, he realized that the Ming Dynasty must perish.
Because even people like the British Duke don't take the common people seriously. Zhu Yuanzhang said that the people are easy to abuse, but God is hard to bully. Who among them remembers this sentence?
Ordinary people still expect the superiors to implement benevolent policies, but that's nonsense, while the superiors are thinking of how to get more out of you.
…
With a creaking sound, the dungeon of Zhao Prison was opened.
Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait to leave the palace and came here.
Gu Zuo was sitting on the withered grass. Perhaps because of the lack of light, his face was just pressed against the table. At this time, he was busy writing something. Perhaps because he was too focused, he didn't notice the sounds from the outside, or even knew that someone was leaving. Outside his cell.
"Shilang Gu, the Emperor is here to see you."
Seeing that he still didn't move, Mao Yuwen called out louder, "Shilang Gu, the emperor is here to see you!"
Card.
Gu Zuofeng paused and was stunned for a while before turning his head slightly.
Their eyes met, and the feeling was both strange and familiar.
Immediately afterwards, Gu Zuo got up and bowed formally to Zhu Houzhao through the wooden door.
"The guilty minister Gu Zuo, please bow to the emperor. Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"
