"Your Majesty, we understand your concern for the people, but you can't just ignore the laws of the country because of this!"
"You must have been deceived by some unscrupulous people into thinking how wronged he was. In fact, these unscrupulous people are the most cunning."
"How can you believe a murderer's words?"
"Four pieces of silver, Your Majesty, who dares to kill someone for this little money, what kind of good person can he be, Your Majesty?"
"The case this time is very simple. I feel that there is no need to overturn the case." The officials of the Ministry of Punishments knelt on the ground, all looking like they were asking for help from the people.
It was as if Zhu Han had committed some heinous crime if he really stood up for Miao Lifu. The more they persuaded him, the more furious Zhu Han became.
"Very good! You are worthy of being my good ministers of the Ming Dynasty!" The word "good" at the end was bitten very hard by Zhu Han, as if he was going to bite these officials from the Ministry of Justice to pieces.
"Four coins of silver are not worth mentioning in the eyes of your lords?" His voice suddenly rose:
"Miao Lifu!"
"The little one is here."
"Come and tell me how much your family earned in a month during the previous dynasty." Miao Lifu was stunned for a moment, and his eyes suddenly turned red:
"Back to my lord, in the past I was still young and didn't know how much money my family could charge."
"It's just that the little guy never had enough to eat at that time, so he just lay still most of the time, saving some energy and eating less."
"When I got older, I went to the mountains to collect firewood and sold it to the wealthy families in the village. However, those mountains and land belonged to wealthy families, so we had to pay taxes when we picked it up. After deducting the tax, we only had a few cents left."
"Later, my father was captured by the Mongols and never came back. I am the only male in the family, so I can only support the family."
"At that time, we worked hard for a whole year, and 70% to 80% of the harvest from the fields had to be paid to the government in various taxes. The rest was not even enough to eat, and we made no money at all." These things, Miao Lifu was extremely impressed, and he kept talking without any intention of stopping.
With fierce eyes, Zhu Han stopped several officials from the Ministry of Justice who wanted to interrupt Miao Lifu. After Miao Lifu finished speaking, he continued to ask:
"Now, how much income can you earn in a year?" Miao Lifu, who was originally grieved, suddenly brightened up, and his whole spirit seemed to be completely different from before.
"Life is much better now than before. The government has canceled many random taxes. After a year, the family can still save food. If the year is good, there will still be some money left."
"I still can't forget what happened in the second year of Hongwu."
"Oh?" Zhu Han asked with interest:
"What was so special about that year?" Miao Lifu grinned, revealing his big yellow teeth, full of yearning:
"Because that year was the first time that I was not hungry for a whole year. It was also the first time that my family saved a little money, about two cents of silver." When he mentioned this, many officials from the Ministry of Punishments expressed their anger. His expression couldn't help but change.
Zhu Hande's voice recalled:
"What happened next? From what you're saying, you never had enough to eat after that?" Bitterness crept up Miao Lifu's dark face:
"Later, my mother got sick and the family lost some income, so life became more difficult."
"But I also know that without our Ming Dynasty, our family would have starved to death long ago. Although the current life is not as good as the second year of Hongwu, compared with the early years, it is still quite good."
"I heard that if you work for people now, you can earn more than a car a month, so I thought of going out to earn money for my mother's medical treatment." Miao Lifu became angrier as he spoke, gritting his teeth:
"But that bastard actually deducted my wages. So, when he scolded me just now, I took action in my lifetime." After Miao Lifu finished speaking, there was silence in the Jingzhao Mansion courtroom.
After a moment, Zhu Han looked at the officials of the Ministry of Justice with lightning eyes:
"Did you hear everything clearly?"
"Four pieces of silver is really not worth mentioning to you people. I'm afraid the amount of money you casually give to your servants is more than this, right?" The officials of the Ministry of Justice lowered their heads one after another.
A layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on the head of Li Huairen, the Minister of Punishment, and he argued forcefully:
"Your Majesty, this is not a matter of more money or less money. Even if the money is indeed a lot for Miao Lifu, it cannot be the reason for him to kill people." If it weren't for the fact that he had nothing to lose, Zhu Han would have rewarded this guy more. thing.
"Li Huairen!" Zhu Han yelled:
"You are worse than a pig or a dog. Now that things have happened, do you still think that this king is talking about money?"
"You wait for me, and if I let you stay in the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice in Yanjing for one more day, I will take your surname." Facing the furious Zhu Han, Li Huairen became more and more aggressive:
"Your Majesty, we in the Ming Dynasty are legal practitioners, but whoever has the loudest voice does not have the right."
"Your Majesty is so arrogant and even openly insults the court officials. I will definitely report the matter to His Majesty truthfully and ask Your Majesty to make the decision for us."
"What the hell!" Zhu Han roared and rushed towards Li Huairen. Just when Li Huairen was about to say something, Zhu Han rushed in front of him like a furious lion and kicked Li Huairen to the ground with a hateful kick.
Still not satisfied, he kicked and stomped hard.
"Tell me the laws of the Ming Dynasty!" He kicked Li Huairen in the chest, almost knocking his breath away.
"Who do you think you are?" Another heavy kick, this time touching Li Huairen's broken arm. In pain, Li Huairen opened his mouth and wanted to scream, but no sound came out. His face was blood red and his veins were bulging.
"In this land of Ming Dynasty, I am the king's law!"
"If you are not convinced, you can go ahead and sue me in front of eldest brother. See if eldest brother believes you or me, my biological brother." It was only then that the officials from the Ministry of Punishment realized what was happening and hurriedly tried to stop him.
As a result, before they could make any move, several sharp steel knives were already blocked in front of them.
Just kidding, Zhu Han is a majestic prince, how could he let people like them come forward? Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhu Han held the incense stick for a short time, until he was exhausted and panting, and then he stopped.
It wasn't until Zhu Han had beaten enough that Liu Ji came over to dissuade him hypocritically:
"Your Majesty, we can't fight any more. If we continue, I'm afraid we will really kill someone." Zhu Han got off the donkey and let out a disdainful sigh:
"Things that are inferior to pigs and dogs, don't think that this matter is over." He limped back and found himself in his original position. Zhou Liang had a look and asked someone to prepare the chair again.
Zhu Han now misses the leather shoes of later generations. Those shoes are powerful for kicking and will not sting the feet.
"You..." Zhu Han, who sat down again, glanced at the faces of all the officials from the Ministry of Punishments with his sharp eyes, which made those officials from the Ministry of Punishments tremble with fear.
I think this King of England is too moody, right?
"Since we are going to talk about the Great Ming Law, I will give it to you today."
"Miao Lifu has worked hard for a year, and his surplus is only a few coins. As the main labor force in the family, once he goes out to work, even if the family's fields are not abandoned, his income will probably drop sharply."
"These four pieces of silver are the main source of income to support their family."
"If Miao Lifu can't get the money, let's not talk about his own life. If his seriously ill mother dies without medical treatment, wouldn't this be murder?"
"Not to mention Miao Lifu's mother, he worked diligently for half a month, but in the end he didn't get a penny of wages. How will Miao Lifu live in the future?"
"Should he beg for food, or should he steal?" The more he talked, the angrier Zhu Han became. The next words were almost shouted.
"When you accused Miao Lifu of killing someone for four pieces of silver, did you ever think that just because of these four pieces of silver, the people's lives would be difficult to live by?"
"At that time, it wasn't just one person who died, but a whole family!"
"To those extremely wealthy businessmen, this money is nothing. But in the eyes of ordinary people, this money is their life."
"Those who don't pay their wages are trying to kill their whole family. If you let me know about such people, I will kill them."
"Now, if you have any opinions, you can express your opinions!" After the words fell, the courtroom of Jingzhao Mansion was completely silent. Who dares to speak out? If he did, wouldn't he become an accomplice of the profiteers?
The lesson learned by Li Huairen, the Minister of Punishment, is right in front of us. Only a fool would show up at this time.
"Zhou Liang!" Zhu Han said coldly.
"The official is here."
"Sentence!" His Royal Highness, even the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, said that he would be beaten. How could the mere governor of Jingzhao dare to say no?
"Although Miao Lifu killed someone in the street, he thought it was excusable because the employer deliberately delayed paying his wages..." After thinking about it, Zhou Liang gritted his teeth:
"Acquitted." After hearing that he was not guilty, Miao Lifu burst into tears and kowtowed:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Mr. Qingtian!" Zhou Liang looked embarrassed. He strongly advocated asking the queen to be killed.
Zhu Han asked someone to give Miao Lifu some money and asked Miao Lifu to go back to see a doctor for his mother. The money was not much, only fifteen taels of silver in total.
It's not that he cares about money, but ordinary people like Miao Lifu. If they suddenly have a lot of money in their hands, this may not be a good thing for them.
If it attracts the covetousness of someone with ill-intentioned intentions, it might even lead to fire. After returning from Jingzhao Mansion, Zhu Han began to write letters to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Before coming to Yanjing, Zhu Han knew that the situation here was very troublesome. That's why he pushed the matter to Li Shanchang and Liu Ji and asked them to compete with the people from Yanjing.
In the end, he was tricked by his elder brother and had to go into battle himself. Put down the pen, blow dry the ink on it, put it in an envelope, seal it with glue, and ask someone to deliver it to Yingtian as quickly as possible.
After doing all this, Zhu Han took a long stretch and said:
"I have already made a move. I want to see what you guys are capable of." The residence of Li Huairen, the Minister of Punishment.
Seeing Li Huairen being carried back, the entire Li family burst into excitement. Being able to become the Minister of the Ministry of Justice in Yanjing, the strength of the Li family cannot be underestimated.
That night, a few people who looked like servants sneaked out of the small door of Shangshu Mansion and went to various places in Yanjing.
But these people didn't notice that they had already been targeted by Jin Yiwei. Miao Lifu killed someone in the street, but was arrested and taken to the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion and released within two hours.
This incident immediately caused an uproar in the entire Yanjing City. The attitudes towards this matter in Yanjing City are also highly polarized.
Ordinary people naturally applauded.
"His Majesty, the King of England, is so mighty that he has given a sigh of relief to poor people like us."
"The money is not used unfairly. He even dares to use our people's money. Is there anything else that he can't do?"
"I've only heard of officials protecting each other before, but this is the first time I've seen one who sincerely works for us people."
"Tch, that's because you don't know. This is His Royal Highness, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He is the one who helped us conquer the Ming Dynasty. How can he be like those corrupt officials?"
"In any case, we can rest assured to work in Yanjing from now on. No one will dare to default on our wages anymore." In contrast to ordinary people, some officials and businessmen were quite critical of Zhu Han's handling.
"It's ridiculous. You can kill someone in the street in broad daylight and still be found not guilty. This is simply the most ridiculous thing in the world. If everyone follows the same example, the Ming Dynasty will not be a country!" Wen Yueyi, the Minister of Rites in Yanjing He looked like he was crying and crying.
Wang Dong, the minister of Dali Temple, said with a gloomy face:
"The dignified Minister of the Ministry of Justice was beaten and seriously injured in the court. The King of England is too lawless!" They did not dare to argue with Zhu Han in person, for fear of ending up like Li Huairen.
However, this did not prevent them from impeaching Zhu Han. At the same time that Zhu Han's letter to Zhu Yuanzhang was sent, a flurry of impeachment memorials was already on its way to Yingtian Mansion.
In front of Jufeng Tower. Two gorgeous carriages stopped one behind the other. Shen Wansan had just gotten out of the car when he heard a strange voice.
"I just said, this carriage looks familiar to me just now. It's really you. Shen Wansan, I'm not talking about you. You are also the richest man in our Ming Dynasty. How many years has this broken carriage been used? Do you want to replace it? Don't be embarrassed, I'll be embarrassed for you." In the entire Yanjing City, anyone who dared to talk to Shen Wansan like this would know who he was without asking.
Shen Wansan glanced at the speaker with disdain:
"It's just a carriage. It's just a means of transportation. As long as it can be used, it doesn't matter if it's broken."
"Here you are, Zhou Gushan. You have been very diligent in replacing carriages in recent years. It seems that you have made a lot of money. Congratulations." These two guys are not good birds.
One of them called the other party stingy in a roundabout way, and the other also called the other party a nouveau riche in a roundabout way.
After making some amusing remarks, Zhou Gushan suddenly straightened his face, looked at the people coming and going in the Jufeng Tower and said:
"Shen Wansan, why do you think those people called us here this time?" Shen Wansan curled his lips:
"Okay, are you still playing tricks on me? Don't tell me that you don't know about the use of money. I'm a little curious. I know what they are going to do, but you dare to come here, so you are not afraid..." , Shen Wansan made a gesture of wiping his neck.
Zhou Gushan sneered:
"You, Shen Wansan, are here too. You, the richest man in the Ming Dynasty, are not afraid of you. What do I have to be afraid of?" After a moment of silence, the two of them smiled knowingly at the same time.
