In the study of Liu Jian, the chief minister of the Beijing cabinet, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian gathered together, with each other looking sad and worried.
"Mr. Liu, too many people died this time."
The atmosphere was a bit heavy, and the three of them didn't speak to each other. After a long time, Xie Qian sighed and said.
"Yes, too many people died. Many ministers were actually not worthy of death for their crimes. It was just that His Majesty was angry, and the incident this time was indeed too big, so they were beheaded."
Li Dongyang also nodded and said, thousands of people were beheaded here in the capital alone, and some local officials were executed directly there, as well as some generals and generals of the border army.
They were also executed on the spot.
Calculated, nearly 5,000 people have been killed because of this case. This number is very scary and reminds people of the four major cases of the Hongwu Dynasty.
You must know that except for the two murderers Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, even if the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were good at killing, they never killed nearly 5,000 people at once like they do now.
In particular, Emperor Hongzhi was always tolerant and generous, and he treated ministers like them quite well. Even if a minister made a mistake, the most he would do was send him home to retire, and he would not be punished as a scholar-official. This was clearly demonstrated.
But now, it was Emperor Hongzhi, a good old man, who killed nearly 5,000 people at one time, and this case seemed to have no intention of being concluded at once, and it was still implicating more officials.
Everyone is in danger and remains silent. This is the current situation in the DPRK.
"Your Majesty no longer trusts us."
Liu Jian remained silent. In fact, he had been thinking about a question: why did Emperor Hongzhi undergo such a huge change.
Why did the kind-hearted Emperor Hongzhi become murderous? In the past, he could even spare his mortal enemies. Why did he want to kill so many people this time? Some people were actually corrupt and bribed. In the past, it was definitely a trivial matter.
The kind that will never lead to death.
But this time, Emperor Hongzhi did not let them go.
After thinking about it, Liu Jian came to the conclusion that Emperor Hongzhi had changed. He was no longer the Emperor Hongzhi who had 100% trust in them, and he was no longer the Emperor Hongzhi who could be united with their monarchs and ministers.
After hearing Liu Jian's words, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were also silent.
As cabinet ministers, they get along with Emperor Hongzhi every day. Of course, they are very aware of the changes in Emperor Hongzhi.
In the past, Emperor Hongzhi discussed everything with them and listened to their opinions. As for the generals and nobles, they had nothing to do with them, let alone the factory guards.
But now, Zhang Mao will be there every time there is a discussion. At the same time, Emperor Hongzhi continues to strengthen the strength of the factory guards and allocates a large amount of funds to the factory guards.
Regarding everyone's opinions, Emperor Hongzhi will now listen to Zhang Mao's opinions. In many cases, he will not directly adopt everyone's opinions like before, but will ask the factory guards to investigate clearly before making a decision.
.
What does all this mean? As Liu Jian said, Emperor Hongzhi no longer trusts them, which is why everything is happening now.
"We, the ministers, failed to share His Majesty's worries and solve the country's difficulties. We really feel unworthy of His Majesty's trust and support."
After thinking about it, Liu Jian also said with some emotion.
Ever since the theft of the official warehouse, he was keenly aware of one thing, that is, Emperor Hongzhi was dissatisfied with himself and the civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty.
"Mr. Liu, what do you think is the real purpose of His Majesty's killing spree this time?"
Li Dongyang thought very far. He always felt that Emperor Hongzhi's killing spree had a purpose. It was not just out of anger, but had a greater purpose.
"The real purpose?"
When Xie Qian and Liu Jian heard this, they immediately frowned again and began to think carefully.
"Mr. Xie, are you saying that His Majesty will take back military power this time?"
Liu Jian and Xie Qian were both smart people. After thinking about it carefully, they immediately thought of a possibility, and then they opened their eyes wide and said.
"We'll find out soon enough."
Li Dongyang smiled bitterly and shook his head.
On this day, Emperor Hongzhi got up very early, looked at himself in the mirror, and looked at himself in the mirror.
Although he is only in his thirties, he looks like a dying old man, with a lot of white hair, wrinkled skin, and cloudy eyes.
"My health is getting worse day by day. Fortunately, the prince has grown up and is more sensible. He knows how to handle national affairs. Even if he is gone now, I can rest assured."
Emperor Hongzhi was very calm on the surface, but he was thinking very far in his heart.
In the past, the person he was most worried about was Zhu Houzhao. Zhu Houzhao was still young and very naughty. He refused to learn from his teacher how to govern a country and be a king.
But now, judging from Zhu Houzhao's performance in the past two years, although he is still a little more naughty, he has matured a lot. He is also able to sympathize with the sufferings of the people and understand the hardships of the people. Following Liu Jin, he also learned a lot about governing the country.
The way of the king.
This made him feel more relieved and at the same time more relieved.
"I still have time and can pave a wider road for him."
"Since you want to restrict the imperial power, then I must strengthen the imperial power, and the military power should also be taken back."
Thinking of this, Emperor Hongzhi made up his mind and walked towards the Jinluan Palace with firm steps.
He is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he is also a father. Like all fathers in the world, he is also thinking about his son. He wants to pave the way for Zhu Houzhao before he leaves.
In the Jinluan Hall, all the ministers had been waiting for a long time. Emperor Hongzhi had no expression on his face and ascended to his throne with firm steps.
The ministers knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting long live, and the morning court of the day began.
And this day is also a day destined to be written into history.
"If there is something to do, start the show, if there is nothing to do, leave the court~"
Xiao Jing opened his voice and shouted loudly.
For a long time, no one among the officials stood up to make an announcement. During the recent Haiqinghe Banquet, there was no major issue worthy of being discussed in the court.
What's more, at this time, everyone has no time to discuss these trivial matters. The ministers are all silent, for fear of being implicated, for fear of hitting Emperor Hongzhi's knife edge, so even if there is something, they try not to go to court early in the morning.
superior.
Therefore, the whole morning court was very quiet and extremely simple. For several days in a row, everyone came to stand in line, and then quickly left the court and went back.
"Since my dear friends, you don't have anything to say, I do have one thing that you might as well express your opinions on."
When Emperor Hongzhi saw that everyone was silent, he slowly spoke.
"Since the Tumubao Incident, our Ming army's armaments have been depleted and its combat effectiveness has been low. Facing the Tatars' repeated march south, they can only defend the city and cannot fight the Tatars to protect their homeland."
"This time, there have been so many problems. Withholding of military pay, unlucky military supplies, empty pay, drinking of soldiers' blood, even killing good people and taking credit for their merits, generals raising domestic slaves privately, setting up horse markets privately, collaborating with the enemy and treason, etc. It can be said that
It’s a disease that is riddled with problems and is hard to get rid of.”
"So I decided to reform the Ming Dynasty's military system from now on..."
Emperor Hongzhi's voice was very loud and he said a lot of things, but everyone heard clearly that Emperor Hongzhi wanted to take back military power through this incident.
The so-called reform of the Ming military system is just an excuse. The real purpose is to take back military power. From today on, the Ming army will only be under the jurisdiction of the emperor, and troops and generals no longer need to go through the Ministry of War.
"What do you think of this military reform?"
"Everyone can speak freely and express their opinions."
After Emperor Hongzhi finished speaking, he also said to the ministers with a smile on his face.
The ministers were silent. No one dared to stand up and say no at this time. At the same time, everyone finally understood why Emperor Hongzhi went on a killing spree. It was all for military power.
