As the prisoners were being escorted to Beijing one after another, the case reached its most critical moment. Many officials from the Zhongshu Province, Yushitai and Jinyiwei stood together. With Zhang Ximeng's statement, the people gathered around the Right Prime Minister also gradually
There are more.
Zhang Ximeng did not act like a clique. He took the initiative and first persuaded Zhu Sheng to accept his point of view. Then Zhang Ximeng went to see Li Zhen.
"I said, Mr. Zhang, please feel sorry for me, an old man! Ever since you pushed me to do so many things, I have been so busy that I can't even rest for a few days all year round. My grandson doesn't even recognize me anymore."
." Li Zhen complained as soon as she came up.
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile on his face, "I would like to explain that you, the old man, are very important, and let me say that the matter at hand has indeed touched the key. As long as you get through this hurdle, your old man's burden will be much lighter."
Li Zhen rolled her eyelids, obviously not so convinced. Others saw Zhang Ximeng as aloof, polite, and a sincere gentleman. But Li Zhen knew clearly that this kid had more evil in his belly than anyone else. He was just restraining himself. If
If you sincerely harm others, no one can escape.
"Xiang Zhang, now that you've come to the door, I can't say I won't listen. Just tell me. I'll take it as a joke."
Zhang Ximeng didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "I strongly oppose the case being handled as a rebellion, just because this case does not reach the level of rebellion... Rebellion needs someone to take the lead, someone to coordinate, a clear purpose, and a careful plan...
Taking one or two hundred people, raiding the Gongde camp, and rescuing the emperor of the old Yuan Dynasty, can this be considered treason? And even if it is, the two hundred people can't be found. It's just words on paper, how can we take it seriously?"
Li Zhen thought for a while, "There is also a saying, but according to Zhang Xiang's intention, these prisoners must be indulged?"
"No! On the contrary, I want to punish them severely and make their affairs clear and clear!"
Li Zhen gradually became serious and frowned: "What does Zhang Xiang think they are doing? And what does it have to do with me?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "I came to see you, old man, and I already understood that these people are after wealth!"
"Trying to make money?"
"Yes! Because of the desire for wealth, they stole and sold military rations! Because of the desire for wealth, they colluded with the Yuan army and leaked military information! Because of the desire for wealth, so many people miss the Yuan Dynasty!" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "In a nutshell, we
We need to understand the interests behind it!”
"Benefits?" Li Zhen hesitated again.
"Indeed, we must admit that the Ming Dynasty was strict in some aspects, which made some people uncomfortable. They still miss the good days of the Yuan Dynasty, when they could do whatever they wanted and make a lot of money. We cannot simply think of missing the Yuan Dynasty as treason.
.”
Li Zhen frowned and said, "Xiang Zhang, doesn't this excuse them?"
"No!" Zhang Ximeng said sternly: "What we need to do is to quickly make up for our shortcomings and establish our own business order. We must manage what should be managed and release the benefits that should be released. This is also why I ask you to come forward.
I mean. His Majesty must have made a lot of money from his investment in the past few years, right? He can't enjoy such a good thing alone, right? Can it be extended to the whole country and everyone can share the profits?"
Hearing this, Li Zhen's old face showed a slight embarrassment, "That Prime Minister... His Majesty is not the only one who makes money. Our Zongzheng Temple is also much richer than before. We are also involved in shipyards, foreign trade, commercial firms, and fleets...
Not bad."
Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly and said, "You always make a fortune casually. What I mean is to expand your business and attract more people to come in. Zongzheng Temple is a leader, leading the world's trends. By then Zongzheng Temple will be on par with Zhongshu's disciples!"
"
"Yes! That's great. When I became the prime minister of a country, my ancestral graves were covered in smoke!" Li Zhen laughed loudly. Halfway through the ridiculousness, he suddenly paused again, turned his head hurriedly, and stared at
Zhang Ximeng, the old man gritted his teeth!
"Okay, Prime Minister Zhang is really awesome, I'm convinced! I listen to you!"
With a smile on his face, Zhang Ximeng finally gained the most crucial force and became much more confident in persuading Lao Zhu!
Turning around, it was the imperial meeting again, and representatives of all parties gathered in Fengtian Hall again.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked serious and unsmiling. Sitting there, he looked majestic and evil. He really had the courage to dominate the world.
It's just that no matter how strong Lao Zhu's momentum is, no matter how great the power in his hands, he still needs to have a way to use it, and he can never abuse it. To put it bluntly, whoever's principles can conquer Lao Zhu is the real king.
Zhang Ximeng spoke first, "Your Majesty, I have said a few days ago that the fundamental purpose of these people is to make money. Their crimes are too great to be described. But it would be unfair to punish them as treason. Yesterday, we also
Timur and everyone from the Gongde Camp have entered Yingtian, and your Majesty will ask you now to verify my statement."
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and said, "Okay, bring them up."
Soon, Timur, Tieguo and others entered the hall one after another.
A smile appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, "Give Timur a place first, he is innocent."
Just this sentence made Timur tremble all over and shed tears of gratitude. Although the Ming Dynasty would also arrest people, the Ming Dynasty still had justice and king's law.
This is the difference between the Ming Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty!
First of all, Timur is more determined and calm than before.
After thanking you, sit aside seriously.
Zhu Yuanzhang set his sights on the iron pot again.
"We won't give you a seat, and you don't have to kneel down. Let me ask you now, someone wants to rescue you and become the emperor again. What do you think?"
Iron Guo paused and said in a low voice: "Hey, the common people have no intention of rebellion, let alone collude with those people. How can the Yuan Dynasty recover after it has been destroyed for a long time? Isn't this a daydream?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xian suddenly took a step forward, and Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly.
Yang Xian asked: "You don't dare to think that I, the Ming Sage King, am in court and have strong generals at my side, so I am naturally fearless. But some people are always evil and want to use you to command the world. What can I do?"
Iron Pot's eyes widened and he looked at Yang Xian stupidly. How should he answer this question?
There are many kings of subjugated countries in the past dynasties, but only a few of them can die a good death... They are just suffocated to death with pillows, poisoned to death, depressed and sick... They just eradicate the root causes and eliminate future troubles.
You ask me what I can do?
Do you want me to kill myself?
Iron Pot's face was pale and his hands were trembling.
No one expected that the person who always hated iron pots would speak first.
"Lord Zongxian, when he was in Dadu, his ministers were disloyal, and none of the civil servants and generals obeyed orders. Even his son wanted to usurp the throne and wooed outsiders several times to kill his father and seize power. There is also Queen Qi, although she is
The person next to me is colluding with both inside and outside, and can do anything! You say that such a coward can still command the world and stir up troubles, are you exalting him, or are you contemptuous of the Ming Dynasty? "
Iron Pot is about to cry. Let me start with Timur, my good brother, my dearest relatives and friends, I want to strangle you to death!
I have to say that these words are still very powerful, and they directly overwhelm the eloquent Yang Xian. As long as I am useless enough, no conspiracy or trick can harm me.
This is not the Iron Pot Emperor, he is simply possessed by Liu Chan.
"Although this person is nothing to worry about, there are always ambitious people who want to restore the Yuan Dynasty and become a hero from the dragon. These people are always the thorn in the side of the Ming Dynasty and must be eliminated!" Yang Xian reiterated his point of view again, even in the face of the
He also felt confident about Zhang Ximeng.
This has been true throughout the ages, and no one can refute this!
Zhang Ximeng chuckled and said: "Your Majesty, and all the gentlemen, I would like to ask you to imagine a situation. Suppose that all the remaining forces of the Yuan Dynasty were wiped out. Those who thought about the Yuan Dynasty were also killed. After a long time
, even the Yuan Dynasty has forgotten. By that time, will there still be people stealing and selling food in our frontier areas? Will there still be people who betray military intelligence? Will there still be people who collude with the grassland tribes and give them advice?"
Everyone couldn't help but be startled, what does this mean?
Just when everyone was puzzled, Zhu Sheng suddenly spoke slowly, "I don't know if what Prime Minister Zhang said will happen a few years later... But I know that when we raised the army, we smuggled money from Yuan Ting.
We bought a lot of food and ordnance, and it was even easier to investigate the military situation!"
Zhu Sheng's words not only embarrassed the officials, but also the people in the Gongde Camp were ashamed of themselves. You are not kind to expose your shortcomings in person!
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Learn from history, this is the truth! Although we can handle this matter as a rebellion, many years later, we can also handle it as a rebellion! But the benefits are that we cannot avoid."
"Are there those who have lost their minds and insist on overthrowing the Ming Dynasty? I think there are, but definitely not many. Most of them want to make a big profit and earn benefits, such as this time, those who stole military rations and betrayed military intelligence
people."
"I say this not to absolve them of their crimes. On the contrary, stealing and selling military rations and selling military information is a major crime against the nine tribes! It is no different from treason! What I want to say is that if we just carry out mass killings on the charge of treason, of course
It may have a temporary effect, but it ignores the economic interests that exist in border areas. If this source is not blocked, there will be endless troubles in the future!"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, "Sir, what do you think should be done?"
This time, Zhang Ximeng was not asked to speak. Li Zhen stood up and said, "Your Majesty, all frontier merchants must register with the imperial court and obtain approval before they can operate. Their accounts and transaction objects are all under the control of the imperial court. The money they need
You can also borrow money from the court."
"It boils down to one thing. The imperial court should take control of all matters related to industry and commerce, and constrain the behavior of businessmen from the root. People who are greedy for money and profit-seeking should be distinguished from those who are ambitious."
Li Zhendao: "I am in Zongzheng Temple, managing your Majesty's finances. I have some experience in industry and commerce. I think that now that the Ming Dynasty is prosperous, it is the best time to surpass previous dynasties and set rules for merchants!"