No matter what time it is, holidays are always amazingly fast.
In a blink of an eye, the new year has already begun.
Xiao Cheng walked unhurriedly into the Hall of Cultivation of Heart with swaying steps.
At this time, the memorials and government affairs accumulated during the New Year had been sent to the Yangxin Hall and handed over to Xiao Cheng for approval. A group of cabinet ministers had already arrived in the front hall and began to deal with political affairs.
Only the memorials with several approval suggestions from these officials serving in the cabinet will be presented to Xiao Cheng and handed over to Xiao Cheng for the final decision.
Not only serving in front of the emperor, but also learning to handle various government affairs. Because of this, this small cabinet tour, which is only a seventh-grade official, has been regarded as a broad road by the government and the public, and they are eager to think about it.
To squeeze into it.
Just before Xiao Cheng walked into the palace, he heard the sound of a dispute.
"Here are the laws of the imperial court. These fifty-nine people have violated the law and should be executed according to their crimes. How can they be forgiven?"
Xiao Cheng paused and followed the sound.
At this moment, a group of cabinet officials surrounded the two people who were arguing, seemingly trying to persuade them.
A young official with a thin body and a dark complexion raised his head slightly and said stubbornly:
"These fifty-nine people have been verified by the local government, the Ministry of Punishment, and Dali Temple, and sentenced to beheading. The evidence is conclusive. Why do you want to forgive their sins when they come to the imperial court? In this way, how do you let Dayun Law deal with it?
?”
The middle-aged official standing opposite the young man, who looked about forty years old, also said angrily:
"Fa Zheng, this is the common practice in the DPRK. It does not mean pardoning these people's sins, but just returning them to retrial. This is to avoid injustice and not let the law harm people because of its harshness. This is good governance!"
At this time, the young official who was arguing was Fa Zheng.
"Returning for a retrial wastes the energy of the local government and adds more variables to the matter. What if someone escapes guilt because of this?"
"Then what if someone dies unjustly because of this? In order to cope with the current examination system of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, local officials can do anything! How can you dare to conclude that there is no wrongful conviction by an enemy?"
"The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple have all verified it. They are all cases with solid evidence. How can you fake it?"
"You don't know the methods of local officials and cunning officials!"
"Then if you remand for retrial, can you bypass those mediocre officials and cunning officials?"
"You, you are using strong words!"
"It's you who are so pedantic!"
"..."
Xiao Chengduo glanced at the two parties arguing, chuckled, and walked straight into the back hall without anyone noticing.
Feng Bao on the side saw this and couldn't help but asked:
"Your Majesty, won't you stop it? We are all officials of the DPRK and China. If there is a gap between them due to a quarrel, I'm afraid it will be bad..."
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he turned to look at Feng Bao, raised his eyebrows and said:
"Then you make a decision for me! Should those fifty-nine people be executed immediately, or should they be remanded for retrial?"
When Feng Bao heard this, he immediately laughed and lowered his head without answering.
Both sides have certain truths about this matter, so there is no final conclusion for the time being.
Xiao Cheng walked into the inner hall and said:
"Should these two dilemmas cause me a headache? How can the ministers come up with a solution for me when they won't argue or argue?"
In fact, the most important reason why Xiao Cheng was so relaxed and unconcerned at this time was because his cabinet already included outstanding figures such as Zhuge Liang, Fazheng, and Di Renjie.
They have outstanding abilities and dare to do anything. They can always come up with suitable ideas for Xiao Cheng, so why bother yourself?
"By the way, what's going on over there at Shenglong Mansion?" Xiao Cheng suddenly remembered and asked.
When Feng Bao heard this, he quickly said:
"Your Majesty, the Anguo court has been cleared of two rounds of rebels. Three days ago, General Anton also led troops to Thang Long and sent people to take over the Anguo Buri camp. There are also opposition forces there. , the layout of the East Factory is also in place!”
At this time, the Li Dynasty, due to Xiao Cheng's many calculations, had completely lost the ability to show its teeth to Yun Guo.
Next, as long as you tame it slowly, you won't be overstretched when you annex it later...
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng nodded with satisfaction and asked again:
"Where's King An?"
"His Royal Highness Prince An is very happy now. He enjoys himself in the palace every day and indulges in refining elixirs in his spare time."
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he frowned and continued to ask:
"Elixir?"
When Feng Bao heard this, he quickly said:
"I looked at Dongchang's report and found that among the medicinal residues there were colorful snow lotus, translucent Ganoderma lucidum, thousand-year-old ginseng king, whale king gelatin, etc. They are all extremely precious medicinal materials..."
Li Hu was addicted to alchemy. From Feng Bao's point of view, he just wanted to find something to rely on.
In fact, it's quite good. It's better than secretly thinking about how to plot rebellion every day. If he continues to be honest like this, even if he is annexed by Dayun in the future, he, Lihu, can keep the ancestral temple and enjoy the title of king.
Think about it carefully, through the ages, how many of the last kings have been able to achieve this honor?
Our Majesty is truly a benevolent and sage!
When Xiao Cheng heard this, his heart moved.
The founder of the Li Dynasty, Li Xing, has been able to maintain his life for six hundred years to this day, not only by relying on the method of integrating the luck of the Li Dynasty into his own body.
According to Li Xing's previous confession, he has been thinking about a certain prescription since that year, and it has achieved some results. After taking it, he can extend his life to a certain extent.
Those kinds of medicinal residues that Feng Bao just mentioned are in this prescription!
Thinking of this, Xiao Cheng frowned slightly.
In other words, Li Hu seems to have something left behind by Li Xing...
"Go ahead and tell Dongchang not to relax for a day! I'm still not too worried about this Li Hu!"
Li Hu's current reputation is already bad both inside and outside the court and among the people, so it is obviously impossible for him to cause much trouble to Xiao Cheng.
But then again, he is also the current King An, so he still has some effect.
Anyway, even if he can't cause trouble, he can still make Xiao Cheng feel disgusted.
When Feng Bao heard this, he quickly responded.
At this time, the quarrels in the outer hall gradually subsided.
I don’t know if there was a result or if I discovered that Xiao Cheng had entered the back hall.
I could only hear someone outside the inner hall door saying loudly:
"I, Zhuge Liang (Di Renjie, Fa Zheng, Yu Xing), would like to see Your Majesty!"
That person in Xing is the person who just argued with Fa Zheng.
This person originally served as a prisoner before the imperial court was reorganized. Because he was familiar with the law and good at writing documents, and on the golden finger panel, his wisdom and political values were also around seventy, so he could He was worthy enough to be used, so he was transferred to the cabinet as an errand.
At this time, the two of them, together with Zhuge Liang and Di Renjie, came to ask for a meeting. Presumably, the result of the discussion was reached.
When Xiao Cheng heard the noise, he smiled at Feng Bao and said:
"Look, I shouldn't have to worry about the headache anymore!"
When Feng Bao heard this, he also pursed his lips and smiled, and echoed:
"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!"
After saying this, he signaled to the young eunuch on the side and stepped forward to summon a few people to enter the palace.
The four people quickly walked into the hall, and immediately bowed and saluted, saying:
"My lord, please pay homage to Your Majesty!"
Xiao Cheng nodded and said:
"But there is a result?"
When they heard that His Majesty was talking about "arguing" to produce a result, rather than "fighting" to produce a result, several people knew that Xiao Cheng was not angry because of what had just happened, and the initial anxiety in their hearts immediately calmed down.
Zhuge Liang immediately stepped forward and said:
"I already have the result, so I come here to ask your Majesty to make a decision!"
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng nodded and said:
"explain!"
Hearing this, Yu Xing immediately spoke:
"Your Majesty, the local government is located in various places, and the central government cannot supervise it all the time. If there are officials who are corrupt, incompetent, and have unjust, false, and wrongful convictions, I am afraid that the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple are far away in the capital, so it is inconvenient to verify them."
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng nodded and said:
"good!"
This is something that is difficult to completely avoid in modern society. In the ancient feudal context, it is even less likely to happen.
"So what do you want?" Xiao Cheng continued to ask.
When Yu Xing heard this, he immediately said:
"Your Majesty has previously established three divisions above the local states and counties. Among them, the Division of Punishment, Prosecution, Prosecution and Envoys has never been able to fully fulfill its responsibilities. Please also ask Your Majesty to select officials and assign them to various regions to avoid this problem!"
The new system between North Korea and China has not been implemented for more than a year, and it has just begun to have some effect.
However, government agencies such as the three local envoys and the fifth military governor's office now have officials only for critical positions, and the rest are vacant. They can only operate barely and cannot fulfill their great responsibilities.
Zhuge Liang on the side also interjected:
"I dare to interrupt. The sentencing envoys who are assigned to various places need to be familiar with prison matters before taking office, so that they can avoid local unjust cases as much as possible!"
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng nodded and said:
"That's an idea!"
Onboarding training is absolutely a must!
Xiao Cheng looked at Di Renjie and Fazheng again and said:
"Di Qing, Fa Qing, what do you want to say?"
Hearing Xiao Cheng's inquiry, Fazheng, who had been excited just now, hesitated a little and did not reply.
Seeing this, Di Renjie had no choice but to take a step forward and said:
"I believe that Dali Temple should follow the example of Yushitai and send officials to various places to personally verify criminal cases!"
It is also possible for the Tixing Bureau and Dali Temple to supervise each other and supplement each other. Xiao Cheng also nodded in agreement.
At this time, Fazheng looked at Xiao Cheng with an increasingly resolute expression and said:
"I would like to ask Your Majesty to re-establish the Dayun Law!"
Xiao Cheng was stunned when he heard this.
Why does this suddenly involve Dayun's law?
Fa Zheng noticed Xiao Cheng's expression and immediately said:
"Your Majesty, the law has been in effect for more than a hundred years since it was revised. I read it and found that there are many loopholes in the provisions. In particular, the penalties for officials are incomplete. Except for treason and rebellion, the rest
The guilt is extremely light and it is difficult to deter the officials. Therefore, I sincerely request your Majesty to issue an edict to re-enact the law!"
Obviously, the method just mentioned by Zhuge Liang and others is already perfect based on the imperial system. Compared with Zhuge Liang and others, who are good at military strategy and good at correcting the law, it is really difficult to come up with a better method.
But if Dayun's law is not enough to deter officials, how can it make all officials fear it?
But strict laws and intimidating the government and the opposition are what his Fa Zheng is good at!
When Xiao Cheng heard the words, he only pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Everyone of you, please submit a note and I will approve it!"
This statement already means a promise.
When the four people heard this, their eyes lit up, and they all bowed down and said:
"I thank you, Your Majesty!"
With such a large number of talents in the cabinet, they can handle the government affairs office of a country very properly, but it can save Xiao Cheng a lot of effort.
At this time, Guo Xie, the envoy of Duyi Guards at Sticky Post, walked quickly into the palace and shouted loudly:
"Your Majesty, Guo Xie, comes to see you!"
When Zhuge Liang and others saw that Guo Xie had arrived and seemed to have something important to report, they immediately stood up and left.
After there was no one else in the hall, Xiao Cheng then asked:
"What's the matter?"
Guo Xie raised his head and said urgently:
"Your Majesty, the Xia Kingdom has come to report. A few days ago, the Xia army in Hechi County seemed to be retreating! After I learned about it, I hurried over to report to Your Majesty!"
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he suddenly said in a deep voice:
"Hechi County? The Xia army has retreated?"
This Hechi County is already the only one that has been defended among the several fronts of the Xia Kingdom. For the Xia Kingdom, which has suffered consecutive defeats, Hechi County is obviously different.
Xiao Cheng originally thought that even if Dejiang County had been lost and Hechi County could not hold it, Xia Kingdom should not give up so quickly!
Thinking of this, Xiao Cheng immediately said in a deep voice:
"The news may be confirmed?"
"Zhong Zizhuo and Zhong Yi's guard reported that a few days ago, the food, grass, materials, etc. of the Wuzhou camp had been transported away. At this time, only a few soldiers and horses were left to guard the empty camp. The Xia Kingdom's Leizhou Navy tried its best to blockade the Yongjiang River and confuse the enemy.
Our army!" Guo Xie said immediately.
Zhong Zizhuo is still the deputy envoy of the Southwest Transportation Department. The transportation of grain, grass, soldiers and horses, and materials in the entire southwest cannot be hidden from his eyes!
When Xiao Cheng heard this, his eyes sharpened immediately and he shouted:
"Instruct Di Qing, the Yongzhou camp, and Wu Zixu, Dejiang County, to send troops together immediately. We must not allow Wuzhou soldiers and horses to withdraw easily!"
Because of the Yin family's information at Sticky Post, the entire Xia Kingdom's southwest defense had previously been deployed, and it was impossible to hide it from Xiao Cheng.
There are only so many soldiers and horses in the entire southwest. After the Rongzhou frontier army was wiped out, only tens of thousands of Wuzhou soldiers were left to fight!
Xiao Cheng originally thought that the Xia Kingdom would not be so decisive in withdrawing Wuzhou soldiers and horses. After a period of repair, Wu Zixu and Di Qing sent troops respectively to attack from both sides and defeated the Xia army in the Wuzhou camp. In the end, Xia Kingdom did not have enough troops in the southwest.
The soldiers will guard and let the Yun Kingdom completely swallow up the six southwest counties!
But I never expected that Xia State would be so decisive. After seeing that they could not defend Hechi County, they decisively abandoned the defense.
In this way, although Hechi County was gained in vain, it also gave Xia Kingdom a defensive force once again!
But before the eunuch could leave, Xiao Cheng suddenly said:
"etc!"
At this time, Xiao Cheng seemed to have suddenly changed his mind.
"It's too late... just let Di Qing go and take over Hechi County directly!"
A few days ago, the Xia army had begun to evacuate secretly. It was too late to report at this time.
Moreover, Di Qing's reaction was too fast. I'm afraid that Xia Guo's side will also be suspicious of why they were able to get this information so quickly!
Xiao Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly:
"Forget it, I will pick up the other two counties later!"
Four of the six southwest counties have a population of tens of millions, which is almost half the population of the Yun Kingdom. The territory has also expanded by more than 30%. With the size of the Yun Kingdom, you will naturally choke on this bite.
In this case, it’s better to accept it as soon as it’s ready, and there’s no need to force it!
Anyway, sooner or later, it’s all yours!
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Something went wrong as soon as I called for an extra shift. The company worked overtime at short notice, and the promised rest days were immediately gone.
Now, I am a little doubtful about life. I really don’t have any consciousness of heaven targeting me...