As soon as Zhu Biao came up, he directly bombarded Li Shanchang. Everyone present was shocked. Of course, some of it was true and some of it was false.
But there is no doubt that Hu Weiyong is real.
After Yang Xian's fall, Hu Weiyong restrained himself too much, and even restored the friendship with Lao Li. Of course, the main reason was that Hu Weiyong kept a low voice and tried his best to fawn over, but it was all about emotion.
, no skills.
Can Lao Li not understand what's going on with Hu Weiyong? But he is old and there is no need to cause trouble for his descendants. And with one more helper, there is one more road.
Hu Weiyong was also considered a man of considerable ability. Lao Li accepted Hu Weiyong and even helped him obtain the title of Councilor for Political Affairs, making him equal to Wang Guangyang.
I thought the future was bright, but suddenly, Zhu Biao launched his cavalry and artillery and started a battle with Li Shanchang.
This matter itself is completely ridiculous. With Li Shanchang's status, he has to wait for Zhu Yuanzhang to come back no matter what, and the only person qualified to bring down Li Shanchang is Zhang Ximeng.
Prime Minister Zhang does not take action, Prime Minister Li is as stable as an old dog.
But who could have expected that Zhu Biao would take action before Zhang Ximeng came back. How many things would be involved in this?
Hu Weiyong simply didn't dare to think about it. It is not an exaggeration to say that the country's foundation will be shaken!
In fact, this shows his strength. If Zhang Ximeng is in Beijing, he can directly ask who is the instigator and get to the bottom of it... Even if Zhu Sheng is in court, he can speak up and stop this matter.
But now, these ministers are not powerful enough and cannot stop the Crown Prince's power.
However, Hu Weiyong still tried his best. He hesitated for a while and then bravely said: "Your Highness, is this a trial of guilt or a conviction?"
Hu Weiyong dug a hole and asked the three judges to judge the crime and Zhu Yuanzhang to convict him. Regardless of the outcome, it was not Zhu Biao's turn.
But this little trick is obviously not enough.
Zhu Biao smiled and said: "It's neither a conviction nor an argument... I'm just talking about the current situation in the court. From the initial Tang Lu case to the Navy case to now, there are losses all over the place. My father is working hard to govern, and I am the Ming Dynasty.
It is prospering day by day. However, major cases of corruption are still unavoidable. There are complaints from all over the court. What went wrong with the administration and employment of officials in the Ming Dynasty? Do we need to reflect on ourselves? I think these things, as the Secretary of the Central Committee and the left prime minister, are unavoidable.
It’s his fault.”
Zhu Biao pointed out the problem again.
Hu Weiyong pondered for a moment and was speechless for a while.
But Mao Gui stood up and said, "Your Highness, in fact, regarding the Navy case and the issue of the Municipal Shipping Department, a few years ago, when our Ministry of Foreign Affairs was just established, I wrote to Prime Minister Li, hoping to hand over all external affairs.
It is handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those who come from outside must be approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, Prime Minister Li and other important ministers say that they are guests from afar. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should treat guests as guests and fulfill their friendship as landlords.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs manages the exchanges of envoys, and other matters such as business, trade, and education are beyond the control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Mao Gui didn't say anything further, but the meaning was already clear. Li Shanchang made a mistake!
His words opened up the conversation for everyone.
Luo Furen then said: "Over the years, the Ministry of Revenue has been hoping to take inventory of warehouses in various places. There are no mistakes. As a result, every inventory conducted by Zhongshu is just a formality. The warehouses are unbearable and they only look at the accounts... What are the accounts?
It’s written down by people. If you check it over and over again, what can you find?”
Immediately afterwards, Liu Bowen also fired. Take the appointment of Lu Ben, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in fact, in terms of his qualifications, he is far from the position of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
In Menxia Province, Lu Ben's assessment results were only average.
There were at least dozens of people in front of Lu Ben, who were more suitable for this position.
However, Li Shanchang did not respect the opinions of his subordinates, but insisted on appointing this person. As a result, he was not suitable.
People continued to stand up and accuse Li Shanchang of his mistakes. The fire was fierce and earth-shaking.
Faced with this situation, even a fool knew that Zhu Biao was preparing to capture Li Shanchang.
As an outlier among the crowd, Hu Weiyong was anxious and frightened. If Lao Li couldn't hold on, he might be in trouble too!
What can I do?
When Hu Weiyong was hesitant, Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Hu Shangshu, do you think what these guys said is true? Are they talking nonsense?"
Zhu Biao's question is very interesting. Facing a bunch of people, how dare Hu Weiyong directly say that you are all talking nonsense? Mr. Li is a very loyal minister and good man!
Hu Weiyong had no choice but to say: "There are various rumors emerging one after another, but they may not all be groundless."
Zhu Biao nodded, "Very good, since everyone thinks so, then come with me to meet Mr. Li!"
Is this a showdown?
Everyone is in awe!
Although it is okay to talk about Li Shanchang's faults in private, it is still frightening and shuddering to face this Korean prince who is the secretary of state and has been in charge of the prime minister for more than ten years.
A very simple truth, if someone shouts to deal with Xianggong Zhang, then the big guys will just think you are crazy and out of your mind.
Li Shanchang's prestige and character are naturally not as good as Zhang Ximeng's, but if you confront him head-on, you still have to show courage.
If you fail, Li Shanchang will make your life worse than death.
To be honest, it is indeed a bit difficult.
Fortunately, Zhu Biao took the lead and followed the prince, so he did not lose any courage.
In this way, more than ten important officials of the imperial court gathered around Zhu Biao and came to see Lao Li.
At this moment, Li Shanchang was still chatting with Xu Da.
In fact, Li Shanchang was thoughtful and seemed to sense something was wrong in the atmosphere.
But he never expected that Zhu Biao would dare to attack him.
Li Shanchang is also a man with sharp ears and eyes. He knows all the troubles in the court.
But Li Shanchang also has a judgment, that is, like most people, if Zhang Ximeng doesn't come back and Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't nod, even if someone wants to capture him, they won't be able to succeed.
In the final analysis, Li Shanchang also overestimated the situation and underestimated the changes in the political situation.
In fact, in recent years, the original six-ministry structure has been broken and many new officials have been added. These people may still respect Li Shanchang, but they will never follow his orders.
Moreover, many of the officials at the level of minister and lieutenant were educated, literate, passed the imperial examination, and entered the court after Zhang Ximeng vigorously established schools.
Although these people are young and have little experience, they are more successful than others.
They generally have some opinions about Lao Li's employment, and feel that Li Shanchang is not fair enough. There are many times when he deliberately promotes people who are not so suitable for the sake of control.
On the other hand, these defective people feel guilty and must obey Lao Li's instructions even more after they go up.
This is also a trick that Li Shanchang has accumulated over the years and has proven successful time and time again.
It's just that he is old and slow after all. He didn't realize that those little people he looked down upon could form a trend when they got together.
These days, Zhu Biao severely punished officials. He was not allowed to form parties for personal gain, nor was he allowed to form associations in different ways... His move really gave many young officials hope.
Then a thorough inspection of the warehouse was carried out, and many corrupt officials were arrested, which made everyone feel even more excited.
His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, is not weak to His Majesty in terms of means. He has his own style in punishing corrupt officials and rectifying government affairs.
Everyone in the court already fully recognized this prince.
Lao Li did not notice the change in the direction of the wind, and did not take any measures to win over people's hearts and save the discussion. Today's embarrassment was only to be expected.
But Zhu Biao was surrounded by officials and was very aggressive. After he walked in, Li Shanchang's heart skipped a beat.
Damn it, my eyelids jumped for no reason.
Li Shanchang bowed and saluted. Zhu Biao did not sit down, but looked at Li Shanchang and faced the left prime minister of the Ming Dynasty directly.
"Mr. Li, I have just discussed with several important ministers alone, and I feel that the current deficit cannot be taken lightly. Food and cloth are all necessary for the people's livelihood. The purpose of the court's storage is to cope with the disaster years and ensure the people's livelihood. As a result, corrupt officials
The trend of corruption is rampant. So much so that the price of food in the market is fluctuating and there is an acute shortage of cloth. As the left prime minister, Mr. Li, how do you think he should deal with it?"
Li Shanchang paused for a moment. To be honest, this scene was very bad. It seemed like an attack on the enemy, but he, Old Li, was not an ordinary person. He had never seen any trouble.
He feels that he must stick to his consistent opinions and not let others see his flaws.
Li Shan sighed, "Haste always makes waste in the affairs of the world. The deficit did not come in a day. Even if we conduct a thorough investigation now, it is difficult to find out at once. Even if we do, there will not be so much food to fill the deficit."
, it is just for nothing to make the people fearful, and the world is in chaos for no reason. The old minister thought that His Highness can calm people's hearts first, and then arrange for officials to go down to investigate secretly. Once there is conclusive evidence, they will investigate one by one, that's it. In short, we can't go on with any fanfare.
.”
Li Shanchang concluded: "If His Highness finds it inconvenient, why not ask the veteran to write a memorial to Your Majesty and talk about the matter alone. I wonder what His Highness thinks?"
Zhu Biao smiled slightly and shook his head. Unexpectedly, he was not polite at all.
"Mr. Li, I think it's very inappropriate! What do you mean you can't make a big show of it? What do you mean, sir, that you don't want to investigate? If you don't investigate, there will be no shortfalls? Isn't this just deceiving oneself and others, perfunctory and perfunctory? This is what a prime minister of the Ming Dynasty should do.
Attitude? To be honest, what Mr. Li said is very disappointing, frustrating and irresponsible. Mr. Li, you need to reflect on yourself!"
These words really shocked Li Shanchang.
He was stunned, Zhu Biao, are you talking to me like this?
Get your dad to come over!
But before Li Shanchang could refute, Mao Gui stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Li, His Highness's accusation is completely justified. There are so many officials in several provinces, how many of them are from Mr. Li's family? Prime Minister Li is to blame for improper employment.
!”
Li Shanchang was furious, and it was reasonable for Zhu Biao to attack him based on his status as the crown prince.
But who is Mao Gui, and you dare to accuse him?
Just when Li Shanchang was about to scold Mao Gui, Xu Da suddenly said quietly: "Ms. Li, I think what Shangshu Mao said makes sense."
Xu Da's statement was earth-shattering. Even though Xu Da had resigned as the governor, he was still the Duke of Wei and the leader of the nobles.
No wonder His Highness the Crown Prince dared to attack Li Shanchang, it turned out that he had Xu Da's support!
At this time, other officials gained courage and began to criticize and scold him one after another.
Li Shanchang's old face completely fell to the ground, his beard was trembling with anger, and his chest was filled with anger!
Are you going to beat the old master to death with random punches?
At this moment, Jiang Nan, who had been silent until now, suddenly whispered: "Xianggong Li is the left prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, you can't be so rude!"
Jiang Nan's words stopped everyone.
At this time, everyone turned their attention to Prince Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao muttered: "I will report the matter to my father truthfully and ask him to make a decision!"
As soon as Zhu Biao finished speaking, Li Shanchang suddenly said: "No need, Your Highness, let the veteran submit a letter to resign himself, resign and return to his hometown!"
Everyone was stunned, and Li Shanchang was full of grief and anger, and asked again, "Don't you even give me this dignity?"