Although it stands to reason that after the winter solstice, there will be no major events in the capital, but there are particularly many things happening this year, so even at the end of the year, some departments are inevitably busy.
For example, with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, as Yu Qian returned to the capital, the big policy of rectifying the military settlements has basically come to an end. However, the accounting documents that Yu Qian brought back were huge. Although some of them have been processed daily, they still need to be finally summarized.
It still takes a lot of time.
However, what made Yu Shiyue slightly relieved was that after Yu Qian returned to the capital, he kept a very low profile and did not express any attitude on the matters he was worried about. He just immersed himself in the Ministry of War to sort out official documents.
The Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer, and the atmosphere of the New Year in the capital is getting more and more full and lively.
In the side hall of Wenhua Hall, several ministers in scarlet robes sat together, chatting together. After a while, the eunuch came in again and said respectfully.
"My lords, I'm really sorry. Eunuch Huai'en just sent a message saying that Prince Zhou is very happy today and has been accompanying His Majesty to talk in the palace, so we may have to be delayed for a while. I hope you can stay calm."
Several people looked at each other, and then Wang Wen waved his hand and said.
"It doesn't matter, I'll just wait here."
So, the eunuch who came to deliver the message carefully bowed his hand and retreated. No wonder he was so cautious. You know, if any of these people waiting in the hall are taken out, the whole court will be shocked.
character of.
But now, they have been waiting in this palace for almost half an hour.
After the eunuchs left the house, Wang Ao, the chief minister of the cabinet, looked at his tea bowl that had reached the bottom and felt that he could not refill the tea bowl, otherwise, something might go wrong during the meeting.
Glancing around, his eyes fell on a person he hadn't seen for a long time, and a smile appeared on his face, Wang Ao said.
"Jin Shangshu has really done a lot of big things when he left the capital this time. I heard that among the troops here, their expressions changed when they heard the name of Jin Shangshu..."
This sentence attracted everyone's attention to Jin Lian, who had just returned to Beijing.
Seeing this situation, Jin Lian smiled bitterly and said.
"Don't make fun of me, Chief Assistant Wang. He is just on an errand. The border army has been corrupted for a long time. I have heard about this for a long time. However, it was only when I got to the border that I realized why Your Majesty decided to start the policy of reorganizing the army and the garrison.
"
"The armies and generals on the border colluded with each other to torture the soldiers. Countless officers and soldiers were hungry and cold, and were driven by the border generals like slaves. They deserted, took credit, and invaded military camps. All kinds of crimes have plunged the border into a precarious situation.
If not, how could I be so harsh?"
You know, among the various ministries of the imperial court, the Ministry of Punishment has never had a strong presence, and Jin Lian, the minister, also keeps a low profile.
But this time, the Punishment Department managed to steal the limelight.
Originally, Jin Lian came to Beijing to investigate the Ren Li case. Of course, this was so on the surface. In fact, he was afraid that the Ren Li case would be handled improperly and cause the Seven Guards of Kansai to feel resentful. Therefore, Jin Lian was put in charge in advance to coordinate the affairs.
, to prevent accidents.
Fortunately, there was no change among the Seven Guards of Kansai. Asu showed his loyalty and even went to Beijing in person. In the end, the case ended with the death of Ren Li and the exile of the Ren family.
The case was settled, but Jin Lian still stayed at the border, carrying the imperial flag given by the emperor, and accepting the imperial edict, he naturally took over the management of the border military and military garrison.
Unlike Yu Qian's relatively mild methods, Jin Lian's methods at the border can be described as brutal.
In just six months, he borrowed the royal flag at the border and beheaded fourteen border generals on the spot who had proven evidence of their crimes and almost caused a mutiny.
Their ranks range from commander-in-chief to staff general, deputy general, and the highest level even has a fourth-rank officer who commands the generals.
Although it is said that the commander was killed on the spot because he wanted to raise an army to resist, but he was a senior official of the fourth rank after all. Even if he had the royal flag and the resistance was fierce, he was killed.
The entire border was divided between the government and the opposition, and it also aroused great repercussions at the time.
But Jin Lian really dared to do this!
Of course, the reason why he did this was that after the incident, the emperor not only did not blame him, but instead issued an edict to encourage him.
In addition to killing people, Jin Lian imprisoned and dismissed more generals at the border this time. With the imperial flag given by the emperor, he boldly dismissed many uncooperative generals and sent them back to the capital.
Nowadays, there are still twenty or thirty generals in charge of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and there is still no conclusion...
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration when Wang Ao said that the current Jin Lian made the border troops change their minds.
However, the benefits are obviously immediate. At present, most of the military camps on the border have been returned to the imperial court. At the same time, the morale of the border army has also become much cleaner.
At this time, Wang Wendao stood aside.
"It doesn't hurt to be stricter. The soul of an army lies in its generals. The generals on the frontier are greedy for profit, and the atmosphere of the frontier army is naturally unhealthy. Your Majesty is determined to reshape the soul of the frontier army."
"Although what Jin Shangshu did was painful, if it can rectify the morale of the border army, it will be worth paying no matter how high the price is."
"It's just that, as a result, the pressure on the Ministry of War will be much greater. What do Yu Shaobao think?"
As Wang Wen spoke, the eyes of the people in the palace moved to Yu Qian.
As a result, the atmosphere in the palace became a little strange.
You know, Jin Lian's great opening and closing at the border this time is extremely enjoyable. However, there are two issues in between, or these two issues are actually related to one thing, and that is about the selection and award of generals.
, the matter of deposing Zhi is originally the authority of the Ministry of War.
Jin Lian obeyed the imperial edict and carried the king's order flag. Whether he directly questioned the offending general or escorted him back to the capital for investigation, there was essentially no problem.
However, these things should actually be done by the Ministry of War. Therefore, for the Ministry of War, Jin Lian's move is actually suspected of usurping the power of the Ministry of War. Even if we do not talk about the power of deposing military generals, this time Jin Lian was dismissed at once
Recruiting so many generals can be regarded as a big problem for the Ministry of War.
It is not easy to fill up so many holes at once. This is one of the reasons why many courtiers tried their best to prevent the emperor from mobilizing troops some time ago.
Of course, now that Tatar and Oara have fallen into civil strife one after another, and the border crisis has been perfectly resolved, this matter does not seem so urgent. However, for the already busy Ministry of War, this is also a headache.
At this time, Wang Wen said this with a hint of temptation. However, Yu Qian did not have any special reaction. He just took a sip of tea and said.
"This time, the Ministry of Justice has made great efforts to rectify the military garrison. If it weren't for Jin Shangshu's thunderous methods, I would not be able to go out to the capital to inspect various places with such confidence. The reorganization of the garrison garrison touches every aspect, so we cannot delay and be lazy. It is precisely because of the Ministry of War,
Only through the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and even other government offices can the matter be successfully resolved within the next year."
"As for the remaining matters, we will slowly resolve them. It is normal to use extraordinary measures in extraordinary times. In the final analysis, the crimes of the generals still need to be judged by Your Majesty. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment should all take note of His Majesty's orders.
From this, what does Jin Shangshu think?"
Therefore, although Yu Shaobao seems to be tough, in fact, he is also very familiar with officialdom methods.
There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in this world. Before reorganizing the army, the Ministry of War transferred part of its power in order to win the support of the Ministry of Justice.
According to the regulations drafted by the Ministry of War at that time, criminal civil and military officials who were identified in the military camps and escorted back to the capital would be handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for interrogation, with the Ministry of War and the Metropolitan Procuratorate cooperating.
But now it seems that in actual operations, what the Ministry of Punishment has done is obviously beyond this scope.
Of course, the reasons for this are complicated, and it cannot be said that it is entirely the problem of the Ministry of Justice. The biggest reason is actually that the emperor gave Jin Lian a special decree and a royal flag, which allowed him to exercise powers beyond the scope of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War.
That's why Yu Qian said that in extraordinary times, there are extraordinary means.
This sentence has two meanings. The first is that the Ministry of War does not care whether Jin Lian usurped the power of the Ministry of War during the process of reorganizing the army, or whether he violated the original agreement and acted beyond his authority. The second is that in the process of reorganizing the army,
It is said that this kind of situation is only limited to emergency situations. When everything calms down, it will naturally return to normal.
To put it bluntly, it is his own authority, and even Yu Qian will not make concessions.
Although the six ministries seem to have clear powers and responsibilities, in fact, there are still many overlapping powers. How much can be achieved in the court affairs often depends on the methods of each minister.
Faced with such a situation, Jin Lian had obviously expected it. He put his hand on the armrest unhurriedly and said with a smile.
"In serious cases of imprisonment, one should take note of His Majesty's orders. This is the right thing to do. Having said that, although I dismissed so many generals at once this time, although it was to frighten the armies, there were indeed some ill-thoughts.
"
"The Criminal Department has many cases and lacks manpower. Although the crimes of these generals have been made clear, many details still need to be verified. It is really beyond our ability to try them one by one. If Master Du had not been transferred out of Beijing and the Dali Temple Minister was still vacant, I would have originally
I’m thinking I’ll ask Dali Temple for help!”
"By the way, counting the days, Mr. Du has been out of the capital for a while. I wonder if there is a candidate for the Minister of Dali Temple in the Ministry of Personnel?"
As soon as these words came out, the eyes of other ministers present flickered.
Jin Lian's words seemed to be sighing, but in fact, they were far from that simple.
According to the regulations, the powers of the Ministry of Punishment should cover the entire process of interrogation, verification, review, and judgment and conviction.
However, in actual implementation, this is far from the case.
Although the Ministry of Punishment has the power to interrogate, investigate, and make judgments, there are numerous criminal cases all over the world, and new cases arise almost every moment, so it is impossible for the Ministry of Punishment to hear them one by one.
Therefore, for criminal cases in various places, the Ministry of Punishment is mainly responsible for reviewing and reviewing the case facts and punishment standards. If there are no errors, they will be submitted to the emperor for final determination.
If there is any suspicion, it will be sent to Dali Temple, which will re-investigate and collect evidence, interrogate and make a judgment. However, one thing to be clear is that the Ministry of Punishment itself also has the power to interrogate and investigate cases. However, this power has actually been restricted for a long time.
of encroachment and neglect.
As for those who have invaded and neglected, there are two people. One of them is Dali Temple. In fact, this cannot be called an occupation. It is more appropriate to say that it is an overlapping of powers.
Because the Ministry of Punishment itself has the power to interrogate, but Dali Temple also has the power to interrogate major cases by decree, so in many cases, the two yamen will jointly conduct trials.
Of course, this is not what Jin Lian wants to express in this scene.
What he wanted to express was exactly what he didn't say, another organization's usurpation of the Ministry of Punishments' powers...
Jinyiwei!
In terms of scope and impact, there are some major cases and some minor ones, but regardless of whether they are major or minor, they should fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.
But the fact is that the Ministry of Punishment can only govern the criminal cases of ordinary people. All cases involving officials will be taken over either by the censors from various places or by the Jin Yiwei.
That's it for the censor. After all, the Ministry of Punishment is beyond the reach of local cases. However, just like now, when it comes to officials who have been detained and returned to Beijing for interrogation, or officials with higher official positions, the Ministry of Punishment is also unable to intervene.
Because these cases will be handled by Jin Yiwei!
These various reasons have led to the long-term lack of authority of the Ministry of Punishment, and it is also in a relatively weak position among the six ministries.
What is even more depressing is that if the powers of other yamen overlap, such as between the Ministry of War and the Military Government, or between the Ministry of Personnel and the Cabinet, they can still compete with each other.
But the Ministry of Punishment... don’t even think about it!
In the final analysis, because the Jinyiwei represents the emperor, if the Ministry of Punishment wants to compete with the Jinyiwei for power, it is tantamount to fighting for power with the emperor.
Therefore, this led to the fact that although the Ministry of Punishments lacked its powers, no matter which old man came to be the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, they never thought about taking back these powers.
Because it's simply impossible to get it back.
The elders present knew this very well, and it was precisely because of this that their expressions at the moment were complicated.
Yu Qian said that emergency measures require extraordinary measures, so once the matter is over, everything should return to normal.
Jin Lian's response was that it doesn't matter if things go back to normal.
However, if everything returns to normal, then not only the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment will be restored, but also the Jin Yiwei!
The role played by the Ministry of Punishment in rectifying the army this time, or Jin Lian's harsh measures, was actually the emperor's tacit approval.
Even during the original discussion, the Emperor himself spoke out and asked the Ministry of Punishment to participate. In a sense, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
There are two conditions for achieving this situation. First, the implementation of such a major policy requires the support of the Ministry of Punishment.
Second, the process of reorganizing the military camp will involve many civil and military ministers. With such a large number of interrogations, the Jinyiwei will not be able to handle it, and they cannot be in the limelight.
Therefore, the emperor handed over the punishment to the Ministry of Justice and gave Jin Lian the right to take advantage of it. However, this is obviously not the norm.
Therefore, there are two roads before them now.
First, return to normal, with each government office conducting its own affairs without interfering with each other. Second, help the Ministry of Punishment to consolidate the powers that were regained under the special situation.
The difficulty with this second path is that what the Ministry of Punishment wants to take back is not only the power usurped by the Jin Yiwei, but also some of the power of the Ministry of War, and even the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate...
