"The current situation in the palace is before us. There have been precedents in the past. When encountering such a thing, His Majesty has always investigated it to the end. It is extremely difficult for Your Majesty to give up halfway at this time."
Li Dongyang and Xie Qian finally came back.
It turns out that their group of people seems to have found a backbone.
Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, Zhang Fuhua, the Yushi of Zuodu, Wu Jiao, the newly appointed Minister of Dali Temple, and Zeng Jian, the Minister of Industry, all came to see him impatiently.
What is said is naturally also part of the salt lesson.
But when Li Dongyang opened his mouth, he said it was "extremely difficult", which made it difficult for others to talk about it.
"Liu Jin, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, took advantage of His Majesty's serious illness to recuperate and massacred people in the palace. Although it was washed away by the heavy rain yesterday, nothing can be seen today. But people have memories." Zeng Jian raised his sleeves and said the last words seriously. Then he lowered his head and sighed, "The way the palace is being treated now... it's gone out of style. How can we ensure that it doesn't go out of style if the people outside continue to pursue it? The cruel officials and the like can't understand the exact meaning of the emperor at all. They can only say that the emperor has orders, Then no one can stop it!”
They foreign ministers cannot get accurate figures.
However, there was a lot of commotion in the palace, and those who were making insinuations also knew that Liu Jin's final killing was based on personal preference. Those who followed him were kept, and those who were not close to him were not killed on weekdays.
This approach caused some dissatisfaction among civil servants. Although only the ministers were killed,
But how can a person like this be allowed to occupy such a high position as Chief of Ceremonies, Palm Print Eunuch?
His Majesty was ill this time, so he showed off his power.
When His Majesty falls ill next time, will they be the unlucky ones?
A cruel and tyrannical eunuch sitting in that position would worry everyone.
Of course, it's hard to say this. After all, the emperor is doing well. If you insist on saying he's sick next time, isn't that because you don't want to live long?
"Not only that," Zhang Fuhua said with worry: "The salt lesson has never been a matter for ministers or nobles. What do Zou Cheng and others say? Who will this guy really meet next? Hard to say."
This is the main reason why they gathered today.
Because eucalyptus is expanding,
The emperor's determination was unshakable.
It's hard to say whether this situation will involve them as well.
It doesn't mean that all the civil servants have nothing to do with the things here, right?
"In my opinion, it is better not to mention the situation of selling illegal salt to Your Majesty. The killings in the palace have reached this level, and Marquis Yongkang and Uncle Nanning are still in prison. Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible for Your Majesty to forgive the illegal salt dealers. Impossible."
Xie Qian stopped sticking to Huhu and made it clear directly, "But whether the matter in the outer court specifically involves private salt sales or not, we can explain it clearly. We cannot convict people at will, just like everyone in the Ming Dynasty." Everyone sells private salt. Both His Majesty and Chief Situ agree on this."
Everyone nodded, Mr. Xie Ge's words were quite honest.
No matter how much the palace kills him, he can't control it.
But they still have to try to reduce unjust and false accusations.
The most important thing is that the emperor not only does not object to this, but also supports it.
"Second, they are people who are not involved in illegal salt selling. We can petition together and beg His Majesty not to deal too harshly. On the one hand, it can make the bottom line of illegal salt selling clearer, and on the other hand, it can also demonstrate the benevolence of the Holy One."
This means that the court is not looking for trouble, but is just resolutely dealing with illegal salt dealers. If you are not involved, it’s easy to talk about it. If you are involved, don’t say anything. If you want to blame, blame yourself.
It's dry, crisp, refreshing, and eucalyptus can make it easier.
Li Dongyang nodded, Xie Yuqiao's wisdom was still higher than that of ordinary people.
Others have no objections. As long as the 'intensity' can be controlled, there will be no biting everywhere.
Otherwise, Zhang San, Li Si, Wang and Ma will all be dragged into the water.
How can people like them guarantee that nothing will happen to them?
What if someone comes out to identify you?
Now Mr. Xie Ge's method, to put it bluntly, is eight words: be cautious in convicting, or die if convicted.
The key lies in the word caution.
Fortunately, none of them had taken the initiative to sell private salt, because they had high positions and no shortage of money.
Ge Lao is Ge Lao.
On the other side,
Han Wen, Min Gui, and Wang Bing also had a lot of troubles. Especially Korean.
The salt administration was originally under the management of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Gu Zuo could still say that he was not in charge of it, but he, the minister, could not.
Zou Cheng, the Lianghuai salt envoy, is still going crazy, and the Shandong Qingli Department of the Ministry of Revenue has also arrested a few people, but these are also small officials, and it is not their turn to make money like smuggling salt, so it seems that this has saved lives. .
But on the other hand, the salt transport envoys from Liangzhe, Changlu, Shandong and other places saw the court's situation and wrote to him one after another to plead for mercy.
Some of them are indeed people arranged by him!
"...Da Situ recommended them, but he did not recommend them to sell smuggled salt. The court laws cannot be abided by. What's the use of begging for mercy at this time? Your Majesty has reorganized the palace and even arrested the ministers. Why don't you spare them? Rao?"
What Min Gui said makes sense.
But Korean's behavior is very awkward. It was equivalent to cutting off his own retreat, and all hope was on Gu Zuo.
"Catch them all?"
Wang Bing did not understand the difficulties of Korean, "What does Da Situ mean by this? At this juncture, anyone who sells smuggled salt will be punished by death."
In fact, Han Wen is just a little confused. After all, he is a human being, and it is not easy for people to make such a decision.
"Check it out, get to the bottom of it!"
The imperial edict has been issued for a long time, and there is no need to go to the palace to report it at this time.
Starting with the Lianghuai Salt Fields, under Zou Cheng, the civil servants involved could not escape the law.
Han Ziren and Mao Yuwen, deputy commanders of the Jinyiwei, have left Beijing successively. As for killing so many people, what kind of turmoil will there be...
Even though Zhu Houzhao was ill and lying in Qianqing Palace,
Even if the tiger takes a nap, they won't dare.
Another day later,
Suddenly, a decree came out from the attendant's room.
Not in a commanding way, but in a soliciting way.
The content is simple but novel.
It was the emperor who came up with the term "special salary", mainly to reward officials who have made meritorious and hard work in the court. As long as the situation is true, you can receive this special salary. The money comes out of the internal funds and does not occupy the annual revenue of the national treasury.
But for what level of officials, how much merit and how much special salary they will be rewarded, this needs to be carefully identified and stipulated.
We can't all be given 10,000 taels. That would be really rough management.
There should be a distinction, at least into levels, one thousand taels, three thousand taels, five thousand taels, ten thousand taels, twenty thousand taels, etc. per year.
Zhu Houzhao did not mention other issues, including the fact that the official salary was too low and the corruption of those who received special salaries was even more unforgivable. These are thoughts, not suitable for writing on paper.
This decree came from the palace, which suddenly surprised the outer court.
However, people could not see the emperor, so they could only talk to each other without knowing the emperor's true purpose.
This was not a big deal, and Doctor Tan did not agree to let the emperor resume handling government affairs just because of this matter.
It also happened that the two pavilion elders returned to Beijing, and they helped to comment on many memorials.
Then it was handed to the Supervisor of Ceremonies for approval.
As a result, Liu Jin was quite unhappy when he saw the words "condemn with caution and die if convicted". Several memorials had this meaning. It was obviously someone who did it deliberately.
And the reason why he didn't like it was because the memorial still contained some criticism of him.
In fact, it is also very interesting to think about why Wen Chen proposed these eight words. It was not a lesson learned from Liu Jin.
How could Liu Jin be happy if such words were written in a memorandum for the emperor to read?
So he also got angry in the Li Jian, and said with some resentment: Our family did not offend these court officials, but they stabbed our family first!
In essence, the conflict between them is irreconcilable.
Because civil servants don't like people with such a personality to be eunuchs in charge of the ceremony, but when Liu Jin is not the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, his end will definitely be bad.
What made Liu Jin even more horrified was that these memorials also came from high-ranking officials like Shangshu.
"...Like Lin Han, His Majesty doesn't like him in the first place. If you find an opportunity, you must find a way to drive him down!"
Liu Jin also has a group of people around him, including Ma Yongcheng, the original Eight Tigers and now the eunuch Bingbi, the Superintendent of Ceremonies.
Ma Yongcheng's words are completely justified. If someone offends you, why don't you fight back?
But Liu Jin had concerns.
I wonder if the Emperor of Qianqing Palace would mind him doing such a thing...
"Don't be impulsive. Fighting can't delay His Majesty's business, otherwise you and I will not be able to get anything done. In our opinion, it is better to make a fuss about selling smuggled salt, and it is always right to follow His Majesty's wishes. How about civil servants? Don’t you love money? It’s so easy to get away with it!”
The emperor was meeting You Zhi at this time.
The old eunuch cried with tears in his eyes and talked about what happened in the palace two nights ago.
"Stop crying, Liu Jin killed someone, why are you crying?"
"Your Majesty, I was afraid when I saw Eunuch Liu killing too many people that day. I wanted to stop him at that time, but His Majesty was recovering from illness, so I didn't dare to disturb him at all. In this way, I don't know how many people died in the palace in one day and night. Now it has reached the point where everyone is in danger. His majesty’s kindness and generosity over the years have completely destroyed Eunuch Liu! My servants are not worthy of your majesty!”
Zhu Houzhao looked outside the hall, with no expression on his face.
"Get up, and don't cry anymore. Liu Jin is also afraid that he won't be able to complete the errands I asked him to do. His methods are a bit drastic, but the results are good. As for you, you have always been willing to consider for me, and I know everything in my heart. So you There’s no need to say you’re afraid. Liu Jin, don’t you dare to cause trouble to you?”
After hearing this, You Zhi wiped his eyes and stood up, still sobbing faintly.
In fact, he was thinking that the emperor was not an ordinary weak king. Among the words he said, the most important thing was that everyone is in danger.
How could a person like today's Holy Master allow such a powerful eunuch to be around him.
Therefore, the power-hungry Liu Jin is simply digging his own grave.
And for him to come over and 'complain' at this time is actually to break away from Liu Jin, showing that he is not a person under that influence.
Therefore, he will not be implicated in dealing with Liu Jincai in the future.
There are all kinds of people hiding in this huge capital, but what everyone does is just four words: seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.
For You Zhi, this is the way he chose to survive in the palace.
Without such vision, it would be difficult to survive.
You secretly glanced at the emperor who was eating, and his mood slowly calmed down.
"What is the Supervisor of Ceremonies doing?"
You Zhi bowed his head and reported, "Your Majesty has been resting for the past few days. The Chief of Ceremonies mainly approved the cabinet votes."
Zhu Houzhao smiled softly, "Liu Jin probably has a headache..."
How could people outside like such a palm print eunuch?
But for him as an emperor, it would be good to have a eunuch with the eunuch's seal to keep an eye on the gang of evil officials selling smuggled salt.
At the beginning, he deliberately created such a situation, otherwise, he would have to worry about it himself.
