As I set foot on the road home again, I felt much less relaxed.
There is a first time for assassination, and there may be a second time.
However, it seemed that the other party really only took this one action, and everything was extremely dull.
It was a smooth ride along the way.
Yingtianfu Fengxian Hall.
Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing the memorials and happened to approve the memorials from the Ministry of Punishment.
It is a list of newly imprisoned prisoners, and now Zhu Yuanzhang needs to verify it.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think much about it at first. He glanced at it and pressed for immediate approval.
There are several rounds of processes from when there is a problem to review and then to arrest and prosecution.
With this kind of list, the possibility of making mistakes is very low.
The book was already about to be closed, but Zhu Yuanzhang opened it again.
Just because he saw a familiar name: Ma Zhiyuan.
I can't say I'm familiar with it, I can only say I have some impression.
Looking at his identity again, he is the head of the branch of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately remembered that this was not the official who packed the food at the Spring Festival banquet.
Why was Ma Zhiyuan suddenly imprisoned?
It didn’t take long!
Zhu Yuanzhang rummaged around with doubts.
Because they were all reviewed by him personally, it was easy to find them.
"Huh? Corruption?"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and couldn't even hold back his words.
Ma Zhiyuan is an official who even packs leftovers. How can this be related to corruption?
Zhu Yuanzhang took a closer look at the general situation and finally figured it out.
Ma Zhiyuan is the head of the household branch and has to handle quite a lot of accounts on weekdays.
Someone bribed Ma Zhiyuan to let him modify his accounts to avoid being found out about his own problems.
In the recent large-scale inspection by the Ministry of Household Affairs, quite a few officials were caught.
In order to protect themselves, some people naturally try to find ways to do these evil things.
"It's so abominable that they used such despicable means as packing leftovers to confuse me!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry.
What he praised Ma Zhiyuan at that time clearly appeared in his mind at this moment.
In his opinion, Ma Zhiyuan just knows how to act, and everything is just to deceive himself!
The furious Zhu Yuanzhang immediately took out the book and wanted to revise the trial opinions.
For such an official, it would not be enough to vent his anger even if he deceives his superiors and deceives his subordinates. Even his family members have to sit down.
"Chongba, what's wrong with you? Are you so angry?"
Queen Ma came slowly, saying so, but in fact, she was not surprised to be angry with Zhu Yuanzhang.
The more investigations were conducted, the more problems appeared, and the more Zhu Yuanzhang would naturally become angry.
In order to keep more officials, Queen Ma has been working much harder these days.
"Sister, this is really annoying. These officials really deceived me and tried every means possible!"
Zhu Yuanzhang turned to Queen Ma and said, "Ma Zhiyuan, the head of the Hubu Branch, is the guy who packed the leftovers at the dinner that day. Do you still remember him?"
Queen Ma thought for a while and said, "I know, you specifically mentioned it to me that night, saying that he was very good. What, what did he do?"
Zhu Yuanzhang worked hard to deal with the hundreds of officials, and Queen Ma also worked hard to remember the officials, trying to get every one they could.
Zhu Yuanzhang then briefly talked about Ma Zhiyuan.
After hearing this, Empress Ma was surprised and said: "That shouldn't be the case. She might have put her face down and packed up the leftovers. This boss Ma should be an honest official and wouldn't do such a thing."
If it is really corrupt, then there is no need to pack leftovers.
Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily: "Sister, that's why I said he deceived the superiors and concealed the truth from the inferiors. This is obviously to confuse my judgment and just to cover up his corrupt behavior."
It cannot be said that Zhu Yuanzhang's words are completely unreasonable.
Queen Ma didn't refute immediately, but just picked up the folding notes and looked at them.
After a while, she said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Chongba, I see from what is written in this brochure that what Master Ma did is not that serious. Why do you want to involve his family in it?"
If someone else had said this, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely be furious.
But what Queen Ma said is different.
"Sister, yes, judging from the amount, how much money was confiscated, and they were discovered before they even had time to change the accounts, but the nature of this is so bad!"
Zhu Yuanzhang explained patiently: "The Du Branch of the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of various tax and expenditure accounts. If there is a mistake, it is a big deal. I didn't kill the Nine Tribes, so I have already taken advantage of him."
Queen Ma always felt that something was not right about this matter.
"Chongpachi, wasn't this Ma Boss discovered before he even did what he did? It won't harm his wife and children. I won't say anything after Qiu Qiuzhan, but let his family go, okay."
Queen Ma was kind-hearted after all, so she wanted to save Ma Zhiyuan's family first.
"Okay, then I'll listen to you, but this horse is far away, we can't let it go."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "This kind of behavior must be killed to serve as a warning to hundreds of people."
Empress Ma sighed slightly. Judging from the information given by Zhu Yuanzhang, this matter was handled without any problems.
The head of the household branch seems to be only a sixth-rank official, but his importance is still very high.
Beheading is not an exaggeration.
However, Queen Ma still felt that something was not quite right.
"Okay, sister, I know what you're here for, and I'm not that murderous. I've treated most of the officials leniently."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Queen Ma and said.
Zhu Yuanzhang actually knew very well about his own character, and he also knew why Empress Ma wanted to stop him.
"It's good to know."
Queen Ma nodded and said, "By the way, Biao'er and the others should be arriving soon."
Empress Ma has always been thinking about the whereabouts of Su Jing and the others.
Zhu Yuanzhang replied: "It's almost there. It will probably take about three days."
Arriving around Yingtian Mansion, Zhu Yuanzhang's control over intelligence was obviously much stronger.
The speed of information dissemination was an important reason that restricted the scope of power of ancient feudal rulers.
"Have you thought about it, Zhongba, how to tell Mr. Su?"
Queen Ma asked Zhu Yuanzhang.
The preparations in the court are almost done.
All that's left is how to have a showdown with Su Jing.
This is also something that needs to be considered. You can't drag Su Jing into saying:
I am Zhu Yuanzhang, you come to be an official.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "I have already thought about it. When Su Jing comes, I will arrange to stay in Niu Mansion first, and then tell him that the matter in Qingzhou Mansion has been reported to the imperial court. The imperial court was furious. A mere civilian dared to do so. Take him to jail!"
"At that time, Su Jing will definitely be scared to death, and then I will show up again."
Just talking about it made Zhu Yuanzhang quite excited.
After waiting for a long time, I finally found an opportunity to treat Su Jing.
Not to mention, Zhu Yuanzhang still has quite a bad taste.
"Chongpachi, is this your method?"
Queen Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a look of disbelief.
Zhu Yuanzhang was still contented and extremely excited: "That's right, I must punish this kid Su Jing, otherwise I really think that I, the emperor, are joking with him."
Holding grudges is Lao Zhu’s nature engraved in his bones.
"Chongba, you also know that you are the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Is there anyone like you? You are not afraid of scaring Mr. Su away. By then you will not have time to cry."
Queen Ma was really helpless. Zhu Yuanzhang now looked like a child.
"Humph, he dares!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's face was stern, and he seemed to have decided on Su Jing.
Empress Ma said calmly: "Anyway, I don't think Mr. Su will be scared by you, but Chongba, you have to think about what you will do if Mr. Su still refuses to enter the court."
Empress Ma did not have good expectations for Zhu Yuanzhang's confidence.
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival poem indeed contained the mood of dissatisfaction, Empress Ma still could not connect it with Su Jing.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Sister, don't worry about it. Anyway, just watch it when the time comes, but don't show off in advance, that would be boring."
Zhu Yuanzhang had already written the script and just waited for Su Jing to arrive before starting the performance directly.
the other side.
In the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
Ma Zhiyuan sat slumped in the cell, completely confused.
Everything was like a huge conspiracy, shrouding him.
He himself didn't know how things turned out like this.
Outside the cell.
The jailer looked at Ma Zhiyuan and said disdainfully: "My lord, please stop being in a daze and eat well. There are not many lives left. Qiu Hou Wenzhan's imperial order has been issued."
"Why are you pretending to be here? Why didn't I see you like this when I took the money?"
The recent prison cells of the Ministry of Punishment are very busy, and these jailers naturally have to work overtime frequently.
Most of the prisoners are corrupt officials, so their attitude is definitely not very good.
"I didn't take any money!"
Ma Zhiyuan suddenly stood up and yelled at the jailer.
The jailer didn't react at all, but sneered: "Come on, everyone who comes here says so, but how did you get in without any money?"
Ma Zhiyuan was stunned.
Yes, how did you get in?
What went wrong?
What did you do wrong?
"I just want to save my child. Is this wrong?"
Ma Zhiyuan grabbed the cell door and asked the jailer.
The jailer said coldly: "You know whether you are wrong or not. I am not responsible for judging your guilt. You can spend the rest of your life here."
Although outside, the sixth-grade chief is already considered a high-ranking official to the jailer.
But here, he is just a prisoner, a prisoner who is about to be executed.
…
Household Department.
Ma Zhiyuan has been found out, and naturally many other officials are involved.
Yang Siyi, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, had a headache because it was the Ministry of Revenue that was investigating others at the beginning, which had already caused some objections from several other departments.
Now that there is a problem in the household department, everyone else is adding insult to injury, hoping that the household department can never turn around from now on.
In other words, Yang Siyi was concentrating on the affairs of the Agricultural College, and he acted upright and was not affected.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded him, it was mainly due to his inability to control his subordinates and was just a verbal reprimand.
Mr. Su, come quickly!
Yang Siyi's inner cry.
He also clearly sees the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, and Su Jing is the center of the storm.
When Su Jing arrives, all eyes and eyes will be focused on it, and the pressure on the household department will naturally be reduced a lot.
Although this may not be a good thing for Su Jing.
But it is better to die as a Taoist friend than to die as a poor Taoist.
There is no firm alliance between Yang Siyi and Su Jing.
In the prime minister's house.
Li Shanchang has become a rich man. Although he has not really resigned, his status is not much different from Liu Bowen.
Except for the things that he had to deal with as the Prime Minister Zuo of the Ming Dynasty, the rest could be left to others.
Li Shanchang had a rare moment of leisure.
It’s so pleasant to raise flowers and feed fish.
However, Li Shanchang still needs to know more about the court situation than Liu Bowen.
"Prime Minister, Su Jing is less than a hundred miles away from Yingtian. We expect to arrive tomorrow."
Hu Weiyong stood beside Li Shanchang and reported softly.
Li Shanchang sprinkled a handful of fish food into the pool and said, "That was quite fast. It seems that everything went well on the road and His Royal Highness is safe, which is a good thing."
Hu Weiyong was talking about Su Jing, but Li Shanchang didn't seem to care.
"His Royal Highness is blessed with great blessings, so he will naturally be safe."
Hu Weiyong replied.
When it comes to Zhu Biao's outing, the ministers are most worried.
If something unexpected happened, it would be a big turmoil for Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang himself was a very murderous emperor. Recently, many officials with problems have been found out, and the prison of the Ministry of Punishment is almost full.
Despite Queen Ma's persuasion, many of them survived.
But if something happens to Prince Zhu Biao, a large number of officials will definitely be buried with him.
Zhu Biao's safe return meant that the lives of many officials were saved.
"Oh, Weiyong, what you said is a bit interesting. His Royal Highness is safe, isn't Su Jing safe?"
Li Shanchang asked calmly as he still looked at the fish eating.
Hu Weiyong looked normal and said: "Prime Minister, Weiyong just feels that although Su Jing is a great talent, compared with the bright moon of His Royal Highness, he is just a firefly. It doesn't matter whether he is safe or not."
Hearing this, Li Shanchang turned his head slightly and looked at Hu Weiyong, then changed the topic and said, "Recently, you seem to have been visiting Yongjia Marquis's residence quite frequently."
"Yes, Prime Minister, Marquis Yongjia came to see me for something, and I couldn't refuse, so I went there several times."
Hu Weiyong replied.
Li Shanchang turned around and sat on the chair: "Yongjia Marquis is outspoken. It is better not to say some things to him. As for things, I won't ask too many questions. You can know it yourself."
"Wei Yong will definitely remember the Prime Minister's teachings."
Hu Weiyong immediately bowed towards Li Shanchang.
Li Shanchang nodded and said: "You and I can rest assured. We must do things carefully and make no mistakes. Remember, the most important thing is to make no mistakes in everything. Otherwise, even a thousand-mile dike will collapse in an ant nest."
Hu Weiyong saluted again, saying nothing.
Both of them are smart people, and things that are not convenient to talk about directly have already been communicated in these words.
(End of chapter)
