Hu Weiyong knelt down and resigned, begging the emperor to spare the prisoner who had sealed the case.
Zhu Yuanzhang still looked at Hu Weiyong's performance expressionlessly.
The prince had not yet reached the level of cultivation. He suppressed his anger and glared at Hu Weiyong, but he could not hide the look in his eyes that wanted to kill someone.
That day, when his father summoned the beast at Wuying Hall, the prince was also present.
He could witness with his own eyes how dignified Prime Minister Hu looked as humble as an ant in front of his father.
By the way, Hu Weiyong also knelt down and asked to resign that day, but the two times were of completely different nature.
Last time, it was begging; this time, it was a threat.
Zhu Biao suddenly thought that even the empty seal case this time was actually his confession. It was Hu Weiyong who revealed to his father that the local government would talk to Li Shanchang every year, so his father brought them all to Beijing.
Then they seize the incriminating evidence and want to catch them all.
As a result, my father really concentrated on dealing with the Korean gang, but he actually dared to betray him on the spot?!
It's so shameless and so bold!
This is not over yet. Next, there is an even more unexpected scene...
After seeing Prime Minister Hu kneel down to resign, the Zhongshu Provincial officials behind him actually knelt down as well.
This is the Zhongshu Province, which accounts for three-quarters of the civil servants in the court.
A small group of people from the Yushitai, Dali Temple and other places were left. Seeing that everyone was kneeling, it was not a problem for them to stand on their own, so they also knelt down.
"Please, Your Majesty, give me a lighter sentence!" the entire left half of the court shouted in unison.
Although the noble generals on the right half did not follow, their eyes were shining brightly, and they seemed to be taking pleasure in others' misfortunes. It was just that I didn't know whose misfortune they were rejoicing in, or whose misfortune they were rejoicing about.
~~
Facing the prime minister and officials who were almost in the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled coldly and was about to open his mouth.
"Father, I have something to say!" But Jin Wang Zhu, who was standing under the golden stage, suddenly shouted loudly, cupping his fists.
"Speak." Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed his anger and nodded slightly.
"I think what Prime Minister Hu said is wrong. Either he has very short knowledge or has bad intentions. No matter what the possibility is, it means that he is not suitable to be the prime minister anymore." Zhu took a deep breath, pointed at Hu Weiyong and said:
"My son, please ask your father to help Prime Minister Hu and get rid of his Prime Minister Zhongshu Shengyou!"
"..." Baiguan raised his head and glared at Lao San. If it weren't for his identity as a prince, I don't know how many people would jump out and start complaining.
"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed, and he pretended to scold: "How can you talk to the Prime Minister like this?"
"Your Majesty, it's okay. I have to resign." Hu Weiyong couldn't help but asked: "I just don't know how His Highness the King of Jin could tell that I am very short-sighted and have bad intentions?"
"Just because you confuse right and wrong and call a deer a horse!" King Jin sneered and said:
"You said that the reason why you have time to print is because the journey is too long. It takes several months or even a year to get to the ministry. But the actual situation is that if you have the documents and go to the official post office, you can get from the Ming Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty in as little as a month.
How could it take so long to reach Nanjing from a remote state or county?
"Furthermore, 70% of the more than 300 criminals arrested this time are from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huguang, and Shandong, and they can travel up to ten days and a half months. Why do they also bring short-term printing? It must not be because they are afraid of not being able to make it in time, right?
"Your Highness is still young and has not been exposed to specific government affairs. He does not know that the accounts of the imperial court and local governments are extremely complex and contradictory. It is impossible to completely match them. In many cases, revisions once or twice are not enough and need to be revised repeatedly." Minister of Household Affairs
Wu Bingzhong quickly explained.
"There are a lot of people from around Nanjing. They can go back and forth for a few days at most. Even if they make repeated revisions, it won't be a problem." The third child persisted and asked.
"His Royal Highness the King of Jin, your Majesty, the officials in the surrounding prefectures and counties did have enough time, but everyone did it. In order to save trouble, they followed bad habits." Wu Bingzhong explained again, he did not believe that he could not argue with this young boy.
"Is it really just to save trouble by following bad habits?" The third child sneered: "Do you believe this? You little ninety-nine, you can't even deceive me, let alone your father!
"Your Ministry of Accounts and the local officials who are in charge of tax accounts are busy with this kind of thing all year round. As a result, you can't even reconcile the accounts at the end of the year. Are you a bunch of idiots?
"If the accounts cannot be reconciled, I will not hold you accountable and ask you to go back and correct them, which is enough to give you face. You actually dare to come to the capital directly with blank paper and discuss the accounting in front of you.
"What's the point of this kind of confusing accounting that needs to be given shape? Do you think your father is a fool, or are you so stupid that you can't even make false accounts?"
"Or are you so lawless that you are too lazy to go out of your way to make false accounts?" His Highness King Jin stared at the other party with lightning eyes.
"This..." Wu Bingzhong didn't expect that His Highness Prince Jin would be so sharp-tongued at such a young age, and he would see the case extremely thoroughly, and his words would hit the mark, making him unable to argue with his words for a moment.
"Wu Shilang, shut up." Seeing that Wu Bingzhong failed, Hu Weiyong glared at him sternly. "If you are wrong, you are wrong. Stop making excuses."
"Yes..." Wu Bingzhong lowered his head in dismay.
"Your Highness, they did make mistakes, but they can't be said to be guilty." Then Hu Weiyong raised his hands to the King of Jin and said: "As I said just now, since the founding of the country, there has never been a law of empty seals. The emperor must rule the world by law.
Teach and then punish."
"This is what I want to scold you for." Unexpectedly, King Jin became more courageous as he fought, and pointed the finger at him again:
"The prime minister does not distinguish between public and private affairs, and confuses the public and the public. He is really confused! Don't you know that national laws are different for the people and the government? For the people, anything can be done without prohibition by law! But for the government, there is no law.
Authorization means prohibition!”
"The law prohibits it without authorization?" Hu Weiyong was stunned and quickly started thinking, but he had little talent and knowledge and could not remember which sage's saying this was.
‘The law prohibits it without authorization?’ Boss Zhu and the prince looked at each other and saw the light in each other’s eyes, obviously inspired by the third child.
"That's right. The government controls the life and death of the people and can easily bankrupt people. Therefore, power must be used strictly in accordance with national laws and only exercise the power granted by the law. You cannot do whatever you want just because the law does not provide for it.
"The Ming Dynasty has just been founded, and there are many wastes waiting to be revitalized. The legislation is also very imperfect, with too many gaps and omissions. When officials find loopholes, they should help the court improve them, rather than specifically exploit loopholes.
"If this time my father forgives these corrupt officials who are obviously malicious and colluding to embezzle state funds, there will definitely be other officials in the future who will focus on studying the loopholes in the law and exploit the loopholes to do evil! Anyway, as long as the law does not prohibit it, we can break the law.
You will not be punished!
"If things go on like this, the government will be ruined, the people will not be able to live well, and they will repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty!" After King Jin finished speaking, he clasped his fists towards his father and said loudly:
"Therefore, I ask you to severely punish the officials involved in the case of not loaning an empty seal. Only in this way can we deter Xiao Xiao and serve as a warning to others! So that officials all over the world will no longer dare to take advantage of the imperial court's loopholes!"
