Zhu Houzhao crossed his arms and crossed his chest, surrounded by his courtiers.
"Where are the four people from Prince Han's Mansion now?"
Zhao Shen reported, "Your Majesty, I have sent people to search for him."
"Is anyone from the household department here?"
Han Wen lowered his head and stepped forward, "Old minister is here."
Zhu Houzhao tilted his head, "After listening to this story, I understood. The creditor of the Han Palace clan is the court, and I owe them this money. So their gambling funds should come from the Ministry of Household Affairs, right?" "
"Your Majesty, I forgive you. This matter... I don't know about this matter."
"How come you don't know? How can you not know about the money going out from the Ministry of Finance?"
Han Wen felt nervous, "Lieutenant Feng Guo's annual salary is only two hundred stones. This amount is relatively small. I really don't know."
"I wonder what treasury you are in charge of!" Zhu Houzhao suddenly became angry.
So everyone from the cabinet minister to the minister to the ministers who came over to make a fuss knelt down.
"The clan's salary is determined by the ancestors, and I should allocate it to them," Zhu Houzhao raised his eyebrows and pointed at Han Wen and said, "So if he really left the household department, it doesn't matter. It is natural for both parties to pay back debts. One hundred shi, four people are only 800 shi, so it won’t scare anyone. But there is a lack of money and food in the treasury. You, the minister, don’t know that. This is your fault. After this matter, I will check the accounts of the household department. , I don’t know, and you don’t know either, so who is in charge of the Ming Dynasty’s money and food, a few ministers or a few principals?”
"Let's go back to Li Mengyang's matter. You all kneel here today to plead for his life. In the final analysis, this is not a difficult matter. Who committed the crime and find out the evidence. I will deal with him today! I am the biggest Ming Dynasty, and you guys All the civil and military officials nodded, what else are you afraid of?"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
This shout was loud.
"Isn't that a sage who fulfills your wishes? Zhao Shangshu."
"I'm here."
"The clan entered the capital without getting the order and beat up the imperial officials. What is the crime?"
"If you don't get the order, you can't enter the court. This is the imperial edict of our ancestors. If you disobey it, you are disobeying the imperial edict. Beating an official of the imperial court means contempt of the imperial court. Both crimes are punishable. The crime should be beheaded."
"So, you want me to arrest these four people and behead them, and the matter will be settled, right?"
"Your Majesty!" the right deputy imperial censor Mao Cheng requested, "Since Chenghua and Hongzhi, the clans of various princes and clans have repeatedly complained about poverty. Especially in a barren land like Gansu, the local financial resources cannot cope with it, resulting in clans suffering from poverty, hunger, cold, and no way out. It was common for the clan members to leave their fiefdoms without authorization and go to Beijing and Yue to perform. However, the two emperors Xianmiao and Xiaomiao did not have the intention to kill them at every turn.
In the 13th year of Hongzhi, Xiaomiao issued an edict to reiterate that when reporting to the vassal government, unless the matter is related to the prince or the report is confidential, the prince must be informed of all major and minor matters first. Those who go to Beijing privately to report without reason will receive a royal salary. Two out of ten are recovered. At that time, His Majesty was still the Crown Prince and saw it with his own eyes.
Nowadays, the old system is at the forefront. Why has the situation suddenly changed in just a few years? "
Zhu Houzhao knew that if he wanted to kill the clan for this matter, some old Confucians would definitely not agree.
Confucianism has always been about benevolence and righteousness, and killing people of the same clan is something that rarely happens even among the people. Emperors in ancient times generally did not do it, except for rebellion, of course, and the old Confucianism did not like such violent emperors.
In this case, he was not in a hurry and returned to sit on the dragon throne.
On the other side, Mr. Wang Bing came out to speak, "Vice-President Mao's words are wrong. This incident was caused by a fourth-rank official of the imperial court being beaten in the street. Everyone in the capital knew it. After a while, it will happen." It is known to the whole country. If the imperial court does not come to uphold justice, then where is the justice? The crimes committed by these clan members in the Han Palace are not just a crime due to poverty? Besides, get money and food here, and get money and food there. Entering a gambling house, if you are poor, how can you blame the court or your majesty?!"
"that is!"
"What Mr. Wangge said makes sense!"
…
Zhu Houzhao knew and pretended not to know, "Han Shangshu."
"Old minister is here." Han Wen stepped forward.
"Didn't everyone say that the Ming Dynasty was resurrected? Why do we still owe so many clans their ancestry? Can you figure it out, can the court find a way to make up for all the ancestry it owes? How much food will it cost?"
This request has never been made before.
Han Wen would not be too free to calculate how many Zhenguo generals and Fengguo lieutenants there are in the country. Which of them were given to Zonglu and which were not given to Zonglu? There are thousands of people. Who would To worry about this?
Besides, he is already so old, and even if he wants to take care of it, he doesn’t have the energy to keep up.
So he could only give a rough idea, "Your Majesty, the annual payment to Zong Lu from the treasury is about two to three million dan."
Zhu Houzhao was dissatisfied and said, "You are really a rich man. Just a touch of your upper lip and lower lip can make a difference of one million dan. How can a person with money be so careless? Your two ministers are also here. Go down and do a careful calculation. I don’t say it’s a stone’s throw, but it should be relatively accurate.”
After receiving two criticisms in a row, Han Wen felt a little uncomfortable and withdrew nervously. Behind him, two more officials followed.
Zhu Houzhao asked again: "Does anyone know how many members there are in the clan in the world?"
Jin Gui, the attendant in the Attendant's Office, bowed and reported back, "Your Majesty, the specific number of people can be found on the jade plate in the clan's residence, and you will know by reading it. However, I also know the approximate number."
"How many?"
"About 2,800 people."
Everyone exclaimed, there are so many?
Anyway, the emperor was not in a hurry, so he allowed his ministers to whisper among themselves.
After a while, You Zhi whispered and said: Your Majesty, Li Mengyang is here.
The emperor nodded without shaking his head, and You Zhi understood.
"quiet!"
The chief eunuch shouted, and everyone bowed their heads and stood facing the emperor.
"Xuan, Li Mengyang has an audience!"
Zhu Houzhao also sat down. Li Mengyang was not Yan Song, so he had to pay attention to the emperor's manners.
The person who came here still had his head wrapped in white cloth, but the blood stains were gone. Only a small patch of skin on the right side of his face was still purple. Under the white cloth was a face that was full of righteousness and absolutely not flattering.
"My lord, Li Mengyang, the envoy of Huang Tongzheng, is here to bow to the Holy One!"
"Get up. Li Mengyang, you came to the palace today because of the fact that the royal clan of Prince Han beat you, right?"
"Your Majesty!" Li Mengyang raised his arms, looked straight ahead, and said in a loud voice, "This is not why I'm here."
"Then why are you here?"
"When I see you, I come here for the sake of my country! I come to see your majesty for the sake of the great Ming Dynasty!"
The corners of Zhu Houzhao's lips curled up. Those who had read the book liked this tone.
Li Mengyang said loudly: "Has your Majesty heard about the origami theory among the capital's officials recently?"
"What did Origami say?"
"It's just that a piece of paper cannot be folded seven times. Why? The number has doubled so fast that it is far beyond people's expectation. May I ask Your Majesty, during the Hongwu period, how many vassal kings were there in the world?"
"In the last years of Hongwu, there were fifty-eight vassal kings."
"What about today?"
"Everyone knows that there are more than 2,800 people."
Li Mengyang immediately said: "It will double in thirty years. In thirty years, there will be 5,600 clan members in the Ming Dynasty. In another thirty years, there will be 12,000 people. In another thirty years, there will be 24,000 people. From this we can see , a hundred years later, the Ming Dynasty will be full of clans. By then, there will be more vassal kings who will go to Beijing to pay tribute due to poverty! The world's money, food and taxes will not be able to support the clan's salary. Even if it can be supported after a hundred years, what about two hundred years later? What about three hundred years? In other words, can my Ming Dynasty still have three hundred years?!"
You can say this in private, but it is a bit shocking to say it in front of the emperor.
"Presumptuous!" Zhu Houzhao could only scold him directly, "This is the Fengtian Palace!"
Plop!
Li Mengyang knelt down directly, with no intention of retreating, "I sinned against the clan, and the clan used this to retaliate against me. I have no regrets, and I have no fear. I am loyal to the country, and it is righteous. Why should I be afraid of death?! Therefore, today, The death of a minister is a small matter, but the affairs of the Ming Dynasty for eternity are big! The poverty of Zonglu is like the binding of the hands and feet of the court. If it is not removed, it cannot be moved for a day! All of these are related to the inheritance of the ancestors and the common people of the world. Please Your Majesty!"
At this point, he touched his head to the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ming Cha!"
There were even echoes in Fengtian Hall.
His speech made even Yang Yiqing and Wang Hao moved with emotion.
This is a loyal minister! !
