Everything was as expected by Xiao Chen. That afternoon, both Lin Han and Shi Mingtao were imprisoned. They were also high-standard Jin Yiwei Zhao Prison.
Although Shi Mingtao did not have an official status, because it was a case personally investigated by the emperor's order, he was considered an imperial offender.
But the two of them lived very well in Zhao Prison. Xiao Chen had greeted them in advance, and they both knew what they were doing, so they ate well and slept well.
Compared with the crimes of other relatives, Li Hong and Liu Wenzheng were involved in trivial matters. For example, Lin Han relied on his status as a relative, so he was very arrogant and rude. Not only did he contradict his boss, he also contradicted Prince Li Feng.
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He also did not get along well with local officials in Jiangdong, and many officials had played with him.
He even led troops to break into Governor Lin Dongyang's yamen, and gave Lin Dongyang instructions and rude remarks. Although the argument was about official matters, his arrogance, domineering, and rudeness were evident.
Shi Mingtao's crime was even more obvious. He used his status as the Queen Mother's nephew to engage in illegal smuggling. I heard that he had business dealings with Japan, Burma, Siam, Northern Xinjiang, Russia, and even Western countries.
However, our Great Zhou Dynasty has explicitly prohibited overseas trade. He is acting against his will and commits a crime. He must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others!
Although the crime was actually not worth mentioning at all, both Li Hong and Liu Wenzheng suggested that he be executed publicly to quell public outrage... which was obviously too serious.
If the two of them had to be executed for such minor crimes, how would the other relatives be sentenced for major crimes such as colluding with foreign countries, contacting foreign countries, forming private parties, secretly raising soldiers, intervening in local areas, withholding money and food, etc.?
You are not allowed to peel the day lily, cut it into pieces with thousands of knives, and divide it into pieces by five horses?
As a relative, Li Wanjiang naturally couldn't bear it, so after hearing the report from Zhu Xiaochuan and others, he summoned several close ministers, including Xiao Chen, to come to discuss the matter. He said it was a matter of discussion, but he stood with his hands behind his back and remained silent for a long time.
He didn't speak, and the others couldn't talk, so the Qinzheng Hall fell into a deathly silence.
"I feel that although they have too much power in the local area, they are still loyal to me. Just like Xiao Chen, who is also a powerful governor. I may have his own way in Yanyun, but Xiao Chen's loyalty to me has not wavered in the slightest.
Yeah." Li Wanjiang didn't speak for a long time, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Xiao Chen was shocked.
Damn it, why did you find me when you convened a court meeting?
It turned out that he wanted to attack me.
While you are not going to clean up your relatives, you are also going to clean up your young master, right?
Probably not. He, Li Wanjiang, is not that courageous! If you dare to arrest the young master today, tomorrow the old master, Zhuge Xiaosheng, Dugulou, Wanyan Pingqiu and others will dare to rebel directly and go south in a big way!
What the hell do you still want to regain Yizhou? Believe it or not, my brother and second brother will attack you from the north and the south, and you will have success on both sides?
But having said that, I still feel a little uneasy in my heart.
"Your Majesty, the crime of foreign relatives is not to exercise power but to form cliques." Zhu Xiaochuan pointed out the greatest harm of foreign relatives in a bloody battle.
"Yes, but despite this, their crimes are not obvious. The Queen Mother has just become a Buddha. I want to save some face for them. What do you all think?"
As soon as Li Wanjiang said these words, Xiao Chencai secretly let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that Li Wanjiang was just using himself as a small example, but he had no intention of punishing himself, otherwise he would never change the subject easily.
"Your Majesty, when their crimes are exposed, they will be rebelling!" Since it was none of his business, Xiao Chen had to say something that the Emperor would like to hear.
"Are you going too far, my dear?" Li Wanjiang expressed surprise, "I thought it wasn't that much."
"Your Majesty, it is better to take precautions before they happen than to fix them before they happen." Wang Anbang also spoke, and what he said was even more serious...??m
"What's more, it's a serious problem! The officials in their fiefdom only know that they have relatives, but they don't know that there is an emperor, because the appointment and selection of local officials are all decided by themselves, and I can't interfere with the selected list! It seems that in the past, the country will be the king, and the king will be the king?"
"Especially the generals who are in charge of the local area. The generals under their command are all their close confidants. What's more, they will listen to orders but not propaganda! Our Ministry of War has ordered them to come to Beijing several times to report on their duties, but they refused for various reasons. Send a few deputy generals to deal with the problem. For example, last time the Ministry of War summoned Qin Gang to the capital, he just sent Yu Feihu."
Lu Jing also seriously pointed out the major disadvantages of having relatives lead troops and gave examples.
The edicts of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War represent the emperor. They do not listen to the orders of the two ministries, which means they do not respect the emperor's will. Therefore, the crime of resisting the edict and disrespecting the emperor is enough to behead them all!
In fact, we can only decapitate, and we must decapitate them all. If we can't clean up this time, there will be disaster in the future.
Because, Your Majesty, as long as you kill one of your relatives, all the relatives will become frightened. Do you know where they will fly to?
Now that the Queen Mother is dead, all these birds have taken the initiative to fall into the trap, so they must be caught in one fell swoop, and no one can be let go!
Talk about exile, dismissal from office, and reduction of rank are all nonsense, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
After the Empress Dowager passed away, Wu Zhongze, the Admiral of the Nine Gates, put the entire city under martial law. No one was allowed to enter but not to leave, let alone people. Not even a bird could fly out.
Therefore, the news of the death of the Queen Mother has not yet spread, which leaves us with considerable room to take action, and now is the time to take action.
Otherwise, once the news leaks out, the best opportunity will be missed, and if you try to clean it up at that time, you will get twice the result with half the effort.
"Alas...how could it be like this? Sure enough, what the Empress Dowager taught me back then is true. It is easy to conquer a country, but it is difficult to sit in a country. It is really difficult for me!" Li Wanjiang let out a long sigh and looked at the crowd almost pleadingly and said, " No matter what, you must leave me some relatives, right?" These words were tantamount to making a decision.
"Although the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, he still has flesh-and-blood kinship." Chen Wenqi said, "Although it is for the sake of justice to eliminate relatives, it cannot be generalized. Although people like Shi Mingtao are wrong, their feelings are excusable, their intentions can be punished, and their people can be spared."
"There is also Lin Han. Although he is Jiangdong General, he is not involved in forming cliques for personal gain, and he has very little contact with other relatives. In his case, the emperor can forgive him at his discretion. Thunder, rain, and dew are all the emperor's favor. "Wang Anbang said.
"Speaking of Lin Han, I have something to report to the emperor. Although this man is arrogant, he has the ability to lead troops. Prince Zhongcheng also admires him very much. He even sent someone to ask me for him a few days ago. I want to I think it’s okay to ask him to go out with the army and make meritorious deeds,” Lu Jing said.
"Then remove all Lin Han's titles and let him fight Wan Yun as a soldier. If he can make some achievements, it will not be too late to use him again. As for Shi Mingtao, although he can be exempted from death penalty, he cannot escape from living punishment. , ransacked his home and confiscated all his belongings...leave him a home." Li Wanjiang happily agreed.