Next, is the confession of Fan Yongzheng, the owner of Fan Ji Bank.
His confession also corroborated the confessions made by Fan Fu, the shopkeeper of Fan Ji Bank, and they all matched up. What is even more surprising is that the time and the words are all very clear. It was also because the factory guards had such specific details that shocked Fan Fu, Fan Yongzheng and others, including other domestic slaves, and forced them to confess.
Before the civil and military officials present had time to express their feelings, including Dongchang Admiral Cao Huachun, they all came out and read out the confessions in their hands one by one in public.
As a result, a thread was connected in series, and through Fan Fu, the censor Liu Meicai was led out; through Liu Meicai, two other censors, Yang Zhiqi and Liao Guolin were led out; what was even more shocking was that the censor Liu Meicai was also led out. Yang Sichang.
By this point in the confession, it was obvious that none of these men could escape guilt.
Although these things are indeed shocking, most civil and military officials are still a little unconvinced when it comes to treason.
Except for the censor Liu Meicai, the other people's charges were more about corruption and party strife, which was more accurate.
If this kind of thing is classified as a case of treason, many people are worried that after the Chongzhen Dynasty makes this move, will there be accusations of treason at every turn in the future?
Therefore, Zuodu Yushi Zhongyi reported to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I wonder if Yang Sichang has confessed?"
Yang Sichang's confession has not yet been read out. And his confession is naturally what all civil and military officials are most concerned about and is a top priority. Therefore, many officials followed suit and expressed their concerns.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen just nodded lightly and said to Cao Huachun: "Read it!"
"My slave obeys the order!" After Cao Huachun bowed to accept the order, he began to read Yang Sichang's confession.
In his confession, he confessed to trying to bring down Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun Chuanting was also the target he wanted to take down. These things, what time they happened, and the exact words they said were all available. Yang Sichang couldn't even plead guilty.
It was also from his confession that Chen Xinjia, the governor of Xuanda, was implicated.
However, even after hearing these confessions, the officials were still a little disapproving, because this kind of thing should not be too common in the court. Just say that the Chongzhen Dynasty was over, so many chief ministers and six ministers were removed and killed. Wasn't that person involved in this kind of party struggle?
In other dynasties, there are the same. And they can believe that this kind of thing has happened before, exists now, and will definitely happen in the future.
It is a good thing that the emperor can distinguish between loyal and traitorous people and not be influenced by traitorous ministers. For the officials who framed the case, it doesn't matter if they are convicted or even put to death. Who makes him unlucky? The party struggle has failed!
But if the emperor wants to characterize this kind of thing as treason, this is a serious crime of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan. How many people can afford such consequences. At least for now, these civil and military officials all believe that the emperor's punishment is too severe. The word "treason" is too arbitrary. They have opinions on this kind of thing!
Emperor Chongzhen was on the throne. When Cao Huachun or Li Ruolian was reading the confession, he glanced at each of the ministers below, and naturally noticed the changes in their faces. This was all expected and not taken seriously.
Cao Huachun continued to think about it. At this time, he thought about corruption matters such as how much money Yang Sichang accepted, and then naturally brought out other officials who paid bribes. Of the officials who mentioned it, they didn't even mention those with small amounts, but generally those with relatively large amounts and serious circumstances. And these people have obviously been arrested. These things are like a melon on a vine. If you follow the vine, you will find out a lot of seriously corrupt officials.
After reading this part of the confession, Cao Huachun turned to the confessions of other arrested officials. Naturally, among them, the most serious matter of buying and selling officials could not be escaped. Therefore, those things about Tian Weijia, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel , was revealed again.
When Cao Huachun read this, his mouth went dry. Then, Emperor Chongzhen intervened and said: "The reason why I severely punished Tian Weijia and punished him for the crime of deceiving the emperor is not only because he deceived me, but also because he corrupted the imperial court and used his official position as a tool to make money. Buying and selling Official position. Don’t tell me, gentlemen, that today’s scholars can spend money to buy an official position and then serve the country and the people, right? If there is a person with such noble moral character, you should recommend it to me, and I will definitely use him!"
At this point, his tone suddenly became stern, and he shouted loudly: "How corrupt has the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty become today? Judging from the corruption situation under my control now, is it true that the geese have plucked their feathers?"
Faced with the emperor's anger, the civil and military officials didn't know why, but they breathed a sigh of relief.
The emperor has admitted it now. In the final analysis, it is still corruption. You said this yourself. You will use this to talk about things later. In this way, the charge of treason cannot be abused after all, right?
Corruption is corruption, and rebellion is rebellion. They must not be confused!
When Emperor Chongzhen got angry, he actually stood up from his throne, with an angry look on his face, like a fierce tiger that seemed to choose people to devour. He continued to shout and asked: "Today's officials, no matter where they are or in the court, whether they are civil servants, Or military generals, only those with some power in their hands can cheat the court to pay taxes out of thin air, right? You said it yourself, how many people actually paid taxes according to the number of tax-free acres? They all colluded, falsely reported tax-free acres, and paid all the taxes. Is it possible to classify it as tax-exempt to avoid paying taxes?”
The Ming Dynasty never said that as long as you were an official, all property taxes would be exempted. There was no such thing. There are limits based on grade. However, in most cases, this limit is just a decoration. Especially in the late Ming Dynasty, this situation became even more serious.
This is a chronic disease that affects all officials and cannot be cured. However, it is still necessary to take it out and beat it.
Facing the emperor's wrath, no one spoke.
"Is there any exploitation and deduction at all levels? Let's just talk about military pay. After the imperial court allocates it, how many people will reach out to deduct it? When the military pay reaches the hands of the soldiers, will there be eleven? There is also disaster relief money. When you go to the local area, how much of it is actually used for disaster relief? Tell me, are there such things, and are they many?"
All officials were well aware of this and no one objected.
"Also, is there any collusion and embezzlement between internal and external parties? How much of the money allocated by the court for court purchases fell into the pockets of court officials and local businessmen in collusion with each other? Is there such a thing? ,too much?"
There was still silence, but some officials looked at each other privately, with surprise in their eyes. They seemed to be surprised how the emperor knew so many things.
“Are there many arbitrary and willful officials who treat the court’s taxes as private property, place baskets at the yamen’s entrance, pay the taxes as much as they like, and use the court’s taxes to win the reputation of loving the people? Are there many such officials? "
This kind of thing was more common in local areas during the Ming Dynasty, and was concentrated in the Jiangnan area. From the governor down to the local government, there are such things. The example cited by Emperor Chongzhen is one of several special cases that has reached the point of unscrupulousness. Although other officials are not so obvious, they do similar things. That is to say, using the interests of the court as a bargaining chip to exchange for one's own reputation.
"How much money and money have the officials who cleverly made excuses plundered from the people? As far as I know, more than half of the money handed over by the people is this kind of money. The people eventually abandoned their fields and fled, and even took risks. Many of them were enslaved by such officials. Are there many such officials who ask endlessly for what they are forced to do?"
"Also, when things happen, if there are good things to do, they will favor relatives and close friends. If there is no benefit, or things that require energy to solve, they will just push the blame and make things difficult. Are there such officials? Are there many of them?"
"..."
Listening to Emperor Chongzhen enumerating detailed examples of corruption, the civil and military officials could only wait in silence. They were surprised and at the same time thought to themselves that they didn't know which official had given the emperor a secret report. Otherwise, how could the emperor know about various local affairs when he was in the capital?
Thinking about this, many people turned their attention to Xue Guoguan, the chief minister standing at the front. Obviously, they felt that it was Xue Manzi who was responsible for these things.
But at this time, many people are a little relieved about this. It’s better to catch corruption than treason, right?
After Emperor Chongzhen summarized a bunch of examples of corruption, he sternly asked: "Do you think this official corruption must be cured? If this kind of corruption is allowed to continue, can the Ming Dynasty be protected?"
After hearing this, many people suddenly came to their senses. Could it be that the emperor felt that corruption would corrupt the Ming Dynasty, so he was charged with treason? Is this what the emperor actually said? Doesn't that mean that if someone is corrupted and convicted of treason, wouldn't it be the end?
As a result, many people wanted to correct the emperor's statement.
However, at this moment, Xue Guoguan took the lead and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the "Da Ming Code" decreed by Taizu and revised by the previous emperors all have provisions on corruption among officials. Wei Chen thought, if Corruption should be punished according to the law. If there are too many corrupt people and the officialdom is corrupt, then the law should be strictly enforced. Anyone who violates the "Great Ming Law" will be punished, one by one. In this way, I believe that, The administration should be improved!"
Hearing this, many people couldn't help but look at Xue Guoguan with admiration. The sun today actually came out from the west. The emperor's scoundrel actually objected to the emperor's indiscriminate accusations and wanted to be convicted according to the "Da Ming Law"! Rare, rare!
But looking back, I think so. You, Xue Guoguan, are also a minister. If one day you offend the emperor and are charged with treason, won't it also bring disaster to the nine clans?
Thinking of this, many officials came out one after another, all echoing Xue Guoguan's words. The general meaning is that laws must be followed, law enforcement must be strict, and violations must be prosecuted. As for indiscriminate accusations, especially the crime of treason, then don't do it.
Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be moved. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. However, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which oversees hundreds of officials, is an area hit hard by corruption. I want to rebuild the Metropolitan Procuratorate and strictly supervise Mechanism to prevent official corruption, is this okay?”
There is no guarantee that the remaining officials are free from corruption, but the severity of their corruption is still much lighter than that of those who were caught. At this time, when they heard the emperor's words, they couldn't help but have doubts in their minds: Rebuilding the Metropolitan Procuratorate? Serious monitoring mechanism?
For a moment, they didn't know what the emperor wanted to do? But the corruption of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is indeed an indisputable fact. As long as we don't talk about treason, then everything else can be discussed.
Therefore, some ministers asked, what kind of construction method is used to rebuild the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and what kind of serious method is used to rebuild the serious supervision mechanism?
In response to this, Emperor Chongzhen had been waiting for a long time and immediately said to them: "I want to expand the Metropolitan Procuratorate, not only in the capital and Yingtian Mansion, but also in other provinces, at least to the prefectural level. The local Metropolitan Procuratorate His duty is to supervise local officials, strictly enforce the law, and keep the local officialdom clean. It is not just to temporarily send patrols to inspect the local area!"
This is to increase the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the officials under supervision are naturally not happy. But at this time, the corruption of local officials has just been cited. Anyone who objects will feel like there is no silver in this place.
So, for a while, no officials said anything about it and responded with silence.
However, the Censor Zuo of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is here. If he doesn't speak out, he will be scolded to death by the Censor Yanguan in the future. Besides, he was also happy that the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate would be increased, so he immediately went out and said: "Your Majesty, this method is very wonderful, and I would like to support it!"
The few remaining members of the Metropolitan Procuratorate also followed suit. Although the momentum is a bit smaller. But after all, some people agreed one after another. Emperor Chongzhen nodded at this, looked at other officials and said, "What do you think, sir? Or do you have a better way to supervise me?"
After hearing this, the civil and military officials had no explanation, but Cao Huachun, the governor of the East Factory, came out and said: "Your Majesty, it is also okay for the factory guards to monitor the place."
Factory guards have much more power than the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Law enforcement has also become more violent. As long as civilian officials can choose, it is naturally impossible to choose factory guards to monitor.
Therefore, after hearing what Cao Huachun said, other civil servants had no choice but to come out and agree with the measure of establishing the local Metropolitan Procuratorate.
"Okay, if that's the case, then the matter is settled. Later, Zhong Qing will come up with a charter." Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zuodu Yushi and ordered him.
When Zhong Yan heard this, he quickly accepted the order and said: "I obey the order!"
It's really unpredictable. In the blink of an eye, the remaining censor Yanguan will definitely be promoted and his power will be much greater.
But at this moment, Xue Guoguan, the first assistant, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has been devolved to the local areas. The ministers thought that they should no longer hear about the affairs. If a matter is far away, it is too late to go up to heaven to hear it. Your Majesty's decision will not be heard. It’s not very convenient; secondly, if it’s just a rumor without any solid evidence, it will have a great impact on the local area and be detrimental to the stability of the local area!”
Upon hearing this, the civil servants were surprised again. This Xue Manzi can speak today!
As a result, many officials immediately came out to agree with Xue Guoguan's views. Even if Zhong Yan suggested that the right to report events was given by Taizu, he was rejected. No, you have already restructured the procuratorate, and you still want to use the same old methods, no way!
Seeing the debate among the courtiers below, Emperor Chongzhen immediately made a decision: "I heard that the power to report matters is indeed inconsistent with the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty in the future, so it should be abolished. However, I will send more manpower to the Metropolitan Procuratorate so that the local Metropolitan Procuratorate will have the ability to conduct investigations." Yes. In addition, people are allowed to report with their real names. Is that okay?"
When Zhong Yan heard this, you are cheating on us and we all have the authority to inspect the court. Yes, the emperor has compensation now. He did not wait for the ministers to say anything, and said first: "Your Majesty has learned clearly. I think it is feasible, and we should be able to clean up the local officialdom!"
Many officials heard this and asked the people to sue them? How is this possible?
In the past, of course, it was possible for citizens to complain to officials, but they could only be reported to higher-level officials. Generally speaking, such matters were easy to handle. But now they are specifically complaining to the yamen in charge of officials. That is a professional thing and people make a living at it. Doesn't that mean they are caught to investigate the problem?
Naturally, many people are not happy with this kind of thing. So, Xue Guoguan started to steal the show again, and took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, who can control the power of the local procuratorate? If you act recklessly, it will have a great impact on the local officialdom, what should you do?"
What he said once again attracted the support of other officials. Everyone questioned the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and some even called the people to sue the officials, which was not appropriate.
In response to this, Emperor Chongzhen said with a serious face: "In the past, under Taizu, the people could sue the officials. This is the ancestral system, and I think it is acceptable! As for the excessive power of the local procuratorate, it is not a big deal, and it is not a matter of repayment. Are there any of our factory guards? In the future, I will send more of them to local areas to investigate public sentiment. If the local procuratorate abuses its power, I will also know about it."
"In addition, the local Metropolitan Procuratorate only has the power of supervision. Trials below the seventh rank are jointly heard by three departments at the provincial level, and the Provincial Metropolitan Procuratorate is the jury. When necessary, factory guards will also be present to observe. As for those above the seventh rank, they are escorted When you arrive in Beijing, the three judicial departments of the capital will review the case. This can also prevent the local procuratorate from having too much power."
At this point, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly raised his voice a little and said: "From now on, all official corruption matters will be handled in this way, can you?"
Before, these officials were still thinking about this series of things the emperor said, but when they heard this, they were all stunned. Does the emperor mean that the corrupt officials caught now should be dealt with in this way? Are you rebelling? In other words, everyone can rest assured that the emperor will not label him as treason.
When they were thinking this, Xue Guoguan came out and said: "Your Majesty, will the corrupt officials who have been arrested now also follow this law?"
When they heard that Xue Guoguan asked the question on their mind, everyone was very concerned and looked at Emperor Chongzhen to see how he would answer?
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and agreed with Xue Guoguan's proposal, and everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Therefore, the ministers had no objections and the matter was settled.
Emperor Chongzhen's face became a little more relaxed, and he said to everyone below: "Okay, the corruption matter has been concluded, Cao Qing, Li Qing?"
"My servant is here!" Cao Huachun immediately bowed and waited for the order.
"The general is here!" Li Ruolian also ordered at the same time.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and said: "Those corrupt officials will all be transferred to the Ministry of Punishment, and the files will be handed over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The ministers and others will send people to observe."
"According to the order!"
After hearing this, the civil and military officials thought that the matter was over. Everyone was happy with the result. When the court should be dismissed, they heard Emperor Chongzhen suddenly shout in a cold voice: "Now, let's talk about the treason case again!"
"..." After hearing this, all the officials couldn't help but feel stupid: Your Majesty, you are unreasonable!
Didn't I say just now that I would forget about treason? Why do you do it again?
Lin Yuji, the Minister of Rites, immediately came out and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, wasn't it concluded just now that corruption will be transferred from the Metropolitan Procuratorate to the Three Justice Departments for joint trial?"
"That's right!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "But the thing related to Shanxi merchants is a conspiracy case. Just wait and listen!"
Hearing this, the civil and military officials were a little relieved. After all, it was only related to Shanxi merchants. But this isn’t appropriate. No matter what, Yang Sichang and others shouldn’t be plotting rebellion, right?
Just looking at it like this, it seems that the emperor still has evidence that he has not released yet. Moreover, the emperor seemed to be very confident.
Thinking about what the emperor said just now, he was very organized and didn't feel like he was messing around. So, they were all a little curious and wanted to see what evidence the emperor had to prove that they were the culprits of the treason!
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This is a big update of more than 5,000 words. It won’t be finished tonight. Today is Mother’s Day, so everyone should go about their business! Well, I have to be busy too!
