After the emperor finished speaking, the palace suddenly fell into silence.
It is said that you can know the elegant meaning after hearing the string song, not to mention the emperor's words, which are almost already explicit.
There are so many people interceding, and they are sworn in. If they are not reckless and gullible, then it can only be that they themselves are involved.
In other words, if the group of people currently in the Punishment Department cannot be rescued, they themselves will be dragged into the water.
Because of this, they would act like this. It would be fine in normal times, but the current His Majesty may not be able to get rid of the sand in his eyes.
Now that we are aware of the involvement behind this, I am afraid we will not give up easily.
After pondering for a moment, Wang Wen and Shen Yi on the side both looked at the silent Jin Lian in unison.
The most important thing right now is what the Ministry of Punishment has discovered.
Feeling that everyone was looking at him, Jin Lian's expression was quite complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke and said.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that when the Ministry of Punishment interrogated these officials, many officials indeed confessed that they had paid bribes, and some even produced specific lists and accounts. However, this is only one side of the story. Now the Ministry of Punishment still has
Under interrogation."
When I heard this, I had reservations.
Indeed, it is impossible to conclude a case like this just by listening to the confessions of the prisoners in prison. However, now that there are clues and evidence, the first thing should be to report to the emperor and request that the officials involved be suspended from office.
check.
However, to this day, no rumors have been revealed in the court, which shows that Jin Lian is also very conflicted in his heart.
As for what he was worried about, the two of them figured it out after thinking about it for a while.
Although they don't know what evidence the Ministry of Punishment currently has and which courtiers are involved.
However, some clues can be seen from the recent continuous intercession memorials in the court to intercede for these prisoners.
Secondly, the emperor was obviously serious about this plan. Whether it was the scale or the harsh attitude of the Ministry of Punishment, there was obviously no room for leniency.
Especially when the dozen or so officials who had already been interrogated were either confiscated or exiled, the officials who were still in prison and whose interrogations had not yet ended must have realized this.
As a result, they naturally have to find a way to survive.
Since outsiders cannot save them, it is natural to betray these people to save themselves in the hope of reducing their punishment.
From these two points, it can be inferred that the Ministry of Punishment must now have a lot of clues and evidence in its hands.
And the problem is precisely here. If it is just one or two officials, then no matter how high the official position and status of the people involved are, Jin Lian will not hesitate to investigate thoroughly given his status in the court.
But if nothing unexpected happens, the fact is that the officials currently imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment must have provided a lot of clues and evidence out of panic.
As a result, Jin Lian faced a difficult situation.
If he really wants to investigate thoroughly, then, let alone how difficult it is, or whether there is the possibility of frame-up, even if everything is true, the resistance encountered by such a huge number will definitely be Extremely huge.
Maybe Jin Lian himself would have been tortured to death before the investigation was completed by then. After all, no matter how he was the Minister of the Seventh Minister, he was only a human being.
So in this case, the best way is to keep silent, press everything down, and let the case go to this level.
However, the premise for this is that the emperor does not know the inside story, but now it seems that the person on the throne is obviously not so easy to fool...
After looking at each other, Chen Yi stepped forward, spoke carefully and said:
"Your Majesty, the army to suppress the Japanese is now out. The Miao rebellion in Guizhou has just been put down. Last year there was a drought, and there was a snowstorm at the beginning of the new year. It can be seen that the year is not good. The court has been experiencing frequent events in the past two years, and it is difficult to have time to rest and recuperate. Therefore, I think , At present, the imperial court should still focus on Anshun."
From the emperor's words just now, it can be seen that the emperor intends to investigate the matter thoroughly, but from the standpoint of the courtiers, this is not a good thing.
To put it bluntly, this matter, to put it mildly, must be an earthquake in the officialdom; to put it more seriously, it is a major reshuffle.
After all, in this court, who dares to say that he is clean, has not accepted any bribes, and has not done anything illegal?
Don't think that a major reshuffle in the officialdom is a good thing for ministers like them. On the contrary, people who have reached their status actually hope that the court can be safe and stable.
Not to mention anything else, people of their status don't have a few capable people under their command, and they don't have a group of old friends and fellow villagers.
Even if they can maintain themselves, can these people do the same?
If nothing else, is Yu Qian considered honest and upright?
But even a person like him was not imprisoned because of a relative of his son-in-law's mother's family.
If something really breaks out, who can guarantee that they won't be implicated for various unexpected reasons?
To take a step back, even if they can take care of themselves, when the storm comes, they can only protect themselves and cannot care about anything else. How can it be better for them than the stability of the government?
But, then again, in recent days, all major matters have been decided by Qian Gang. If the emperor is really determined, they may not be able to persuade him even if they want to.
Therefore, what Shen Yi can do now is to give some tactful advice to see if the emperor has made a decision or is still hesitating.
However, the emperor's next words made all of them feel cold.
The emperor's eyes fell on Wang Wen who was standing aside, and he spoke.
"If I remember correctly, this is the year of the Beijing Police, right?"
The Grand Plan and the Beijing Examination are for the Ministry of Personnel to examine the official documents of officials inside and outside the capital. Under normal circumstances, they are held once every three years.
The last time the Beijing inspection was carried out was in the first year of Jingtai. Calculating according to time, it would indeed be this year. However, at this time, the emperor mentioned the Beijing inspection...
"Your Majesty, it's true. The Ministry of Civil Affairs is formulating this year's regulations for Beijing inspections."
Wang Wen obviously did not dare to say anything about such a big matter. He answered cautiously and did not say any more.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu sighed and said.
"If that's the case, then why not take this opportunity to straighten out the officialdom..."
"His Majesty!"
As soon as the words fell, the expressions of the ministers below suddenly changed. Shen Yi was the first to speak. However, he only said one sentence before he was interrupted by Zhu Qiyu raising his hand.
"I know what you are worried about, but the government is more important than the administration of officials!"
"If the officials are not able to govern well, then even if the government seems to be smooth, it will be nothing more than gold and jade."
As he spoke, Zhu Qiyu looked at Jin Lian and said.
"Jin Shangshu, I know that the Ministry of Punishment must have obtained a lot of confessions, but there may be no evidence. This time, Jin Yiwei was sent to search the official's residence. In addition to confiscating many gold and silver antiques, they also found a lot of correspondence."
"If there are some matters that are not convenient for trial, the Criminal Department will merge with Jin Yiwei to investigate the case. I will go back and give Jin Yiwei a decree to ask them to assist you in the trial. This should make the case investigation faster."
Ah this...
Jin Lian's expression was stagnant, and he wanted to say a few more words, but when he raised his head and saw the emperor's expression, he swallowed his words again.
However, if Jin Yiwei is involved, it should be much smoother...
Thinking like this, the emperor's voice sounded again.
"Let's stop the discussion for today. The Heavenly Official will stay and the other two will leave. What is discussed today must not be leaked to anyone. Do you understand?"
"I obey the decree."
Seeing this situation, Shen Yi and Jin Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief and resigned.
Soon, only Wang Wen was left in the palace. The fire was still burning, and the palace was as warm as spring, but there was no sound at all.
After a while, Zhu Qiyu looked at Wang Wen with his head lowered, and finally couldn't help but speak, saying.
"Does the Heavenly Official also think that it is inappropriate for the Jingchao to go into a big fight this time?"
How could Zhu Qiyu not see the way they were hesitant to speak just now? He knew very well that if he really gave the order, these people would probably not refuse. However, Zhu Qiyu did not do so because he knew Here comes a question.
It is okay to do arbitrary things occasionally, but if it is done like this for a long time, it will have a bad effect, that is, it will be easy not to hear the truth.
This is why all virtuous kings throughout the dynasties will listen to their advice and accept advice. The advice given by their ministers may not always be correct, but it is the most important thing that they are willing to speak and dare to speak.
In fact, Zhu Qiyu had expected this situation to occur when the Kedao reform was launched, but it turned out that the situation deteriorated much earlier than he imagined.
Wang Wen, Shen Yi, and Jin Lian are all important ministers in the court, and these people can also be regarded as quite favored ministers.
However, even with their status, when facing Zhu Qiyu, even if they disapprove in their hearts, they dare not object openly. This is not a good sign.
After wandering around for hundreds of years in his previous life, what impressed Zhu Qiyu the most was Hai Rui's words, "It's been a long time since the people of the world have been honest with you." To be fair, Jiajing was a promising king. The reason why he abandoned the government in the end was largely because of What lingered in his ears every day were the words of Haiyanheqing and peace in the world. He had been saying it for so long that Jiajing himself might have believed it.
With all the current political affairs, Zhu Qiyu is of course confident that his general direction is correct, but he cannot just look at the present. If things go on like this for a long time, even Zhu Qiyu may not be able to guarantee that he will not become the next (previous?) Emperor Jiajing.
Since Yu Qian was demoted from the capital, Wang Wen has been regarded as the emperor's first close minister. Now, the emperor has kicked out all the other ministers and left them alone. Such an attitude clearly means that he wants to ask the truth in private.
Therefore, Wang Wen pondered for a moment, raised his hands and said:
"Your Majesty, I understand that your Majesty wants to clarify the government. However, last year's big plan has caused turmoil in the officialdom. If this time the Beijing inspection also causes such a huge turmoil, I am afraid that everyone in the court will be in danger from now on. That’s it.”
"What Shen Shangshu said just now is not unreasonable. The imperial court has a large army outside and there are natural disasters on the side. If there is a big war, there will be trouble."
Therefore, many times, as an emperor, he is a collection of contradictions.
Zhu Qiyu hoped that the ministers below him would dare to speak out to him, but when he did say it, he couldn't help but say.
"Then if you say that, you are allowing these people who disrupt the court's laws to still stand in the court? So, where are the rules and regulations, and where do the laws exist?"
After hearing this, Wang Wen was a little helpless. After thinking about it, he spoke.
"Your Majesty, I do not want to condone these officials. However, if there is a strict investigation, I am afraid that half of the court will be involved. This will definitely affect national affairs. Please be careful, Your Majesty!"
This time, Zhu Qiyu did not speak. After a moment of silence, he waved his hand and said.
"I understand, Heavenly Official please step aside first, I will think about it carefully!"
"yes……"
When Wang Wen saw this situation, he didn't say much and resigned.
After he left, Zhu Qiyu's brows knitted together with a rather complicated expression. After an unknown amount of time, he raised his hand and called Huaien over and gave him instructions.
Hearing this, Wynn was startled at first, then raised his head. Seeing the emperor's serious look, he bowed his head in approval and hurried down to prepare.
…………
The snow that had been falling for several days finally stopped, but the sky was still overcast and seemed a bit depressing.
Scattered snowflakes were still falling, and a simple carriage, pressed against the thick snow, stopped in front of a mansion.
This house doesn't look particularly big, with only four courtyards. However, those who can live in this area are basically dignitaries.
Even though it has been snowing continuously these past few days, people who come to visit are still guarded outside the door of the house, which shows the identity of the owner of the house.
The carriage stopped leisurely, and a regal young man, wearing a thick cloak, got out of the carriage and looked at the mansion in front of him, his expression showing a trace of sadness for some unknown reason.
After getting off the car, a follower naturally went to knock on the door. After the door opened, the concierge of the master's house came out. His expression was a bit impatient at first, but soon, he saw something, and his expression changed and he immediately became respectful.
stand up.
Not long after, the main door opened wide, and a middle-aged man in his forties walked out of the mansion. He quickly walked out of the mansion with a group of people in the mansion, and went straight to the young master standing outside.
"Chen Shen, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of War, pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live our Emperor!"
Zhu Qiyu looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, and a trace of emotion flashed in his heart.
The position of Secretary of the Ministry of War sounds nice, but in fact, he is just a junior official from the ninth rank. He is over forty years old and still holding the official position of the ninth rank, with almost no progress.
Either this person has just entered the official position, or he is really immoral and incompetent. Of course, there are many people like this who have worked in low-level official positions for decades.
However, this man was different. Although he himself was just a ninth-grade official who was responsible for supervising students and filling vacancies, and was not even qualified to go to court, his father was indeed a very important minister in the court.
