The eunuchs and guards outside Qianqing Palace all shrank their heads, not daring to breathe.
The emperor's roar and curses frightened the bastard. He wiped the cold sweat from his head and quietly looked into the palace.
A Tang Dynasty gilt five-clawed tiger-foot incense burner that was priceless and hard to find was thrown to the ground by the emperor and fell into pieces.
"Look, I...are being treated like a fool by them!"
~~
The atmosphere in the palace dropped to freezing point, making people shudder.
All the ministers present at the meeting were silent and their faces were frighteningly gloomy.
"Come, I'll read it to you. Listen carefully!"
Today's Zhu Yunxi is very out of character. He does not appear to be calm and relaxed at all times in the past. Instead, he is extremely corrupt.
This kind of desperation is like a peerless goddess and invincible fairy who is sought after by thousands of people and whose little hands can't be touched by millions of dollars, but let an open-air god sleep in vain.
And I can’t fucking say it...because it would be extremely embarrassing to say it.
But at this moment, Zhu Yunxi was desperate and didn't care about the shame.
"This is the report from the first year of my accession to the throne, the first year of Yongchang!" Zhu Yunxi opened a somewhat old memorial and read, "There is a report on Yangzhou's grain road, saying that there was insufficient rain that year and the people's fields generally had poor harvests. Please ask me. Can you reduce some money and food?"
Zhu Yunxi's face was full of ferocity at this time, and he kept saying, "What is my reply? It's accurate!" After saying that, he roared again, "Because of the lack of rain, I exempted the whole government from the autumn grain!"
"At that time, the government and the public were full of flatterers, saying that I was the most kind and kind king in history, and that I cared about the people of the world!"
"But what's the truth? I only found out today!"
Bang bang bang, Zhu Yunxi banged the table hard, the sound was deafening, "I exempted the autumn grain, but what I really exempted was the officials and gentry. Not only did they not exempt the people, they also swallowed up what the people paid!"
All the ministers lowered their heads in shame, not daring to look directly into the emperor's eyes.
Yangzhou is within the jurisdiction of Zhili, which means that such a big thing happened under the eyes of the imperial court, but what about outside?
These ministers have now become fools, blind and deaf...
Especially the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate were so ashamed that their faces turned red and their necks thickened. The Minister of Integrity was so angry that he sat there with trembling shoulders, eyes like bells and teeth rattling, like a vicious dog about to go into rabies.
"Look at this memorial again!" Zhu Yunxi picked up another one from the imperial case and read aloud, "In May of the second year of Yongchang, this memorial was published on Yangzhou Liangdao..."
"To collect the spring grain tax this year, the people are very cunning. They fill the grain bags with sand and gravel and make up for the amount. Some even exchange small bags for larger ones to deceive the government."
"I originally wanted to punish him according to the law, but I know that the emperor is kind and caring for the people, so I dare not ask him for the crime. But if he is not asked about the crime, this trend will inevitably get worse..."
Zhu Yunxi's throat was filled with smoke, but he didn't care at all, and continued, "See how I replied to them? Yangzhou is not a major grain-producing area, and the granary depends on Jiangxi and Huguang for supply."
"The people already have no savings at home, and if they continue to pay the royal rations, they will have a hard time making a living. In my opinion, the so-called cunning is just a last resort, for the sake of the family's belly."
"As grain officials, you must be flexible and flexible in your work. You must not neglect your duties, but you must not make a fuss out of a molehill. As long as what the common people do can be justified, please be more tolerant!"
"But what did they do? They added all the food taxes that the officials and gentry had evaded on top of this, treating it as a legitimate loss!"
"The common people don't have enough to eat, and they still have to pay grain. It's just that the officials and gentry deceived me, and they still have to use their hands."
Speaking of this, Zhu Yunxi suddenly felt helpless in his heart.
The hand holding the memorial slumped down, and with a clatter, the messy memorial fell to the floor.
"I... I am a fool in their eyes!"
He always felt that if local officials had too much power, they would go too far. Therefore, as the emperor, he always told them to handle specific matters in person, and to let them know that there is love outside the law and there is justice in the world.
But!
In the end, he is still such a bastard!
The harm caused by local officials and gentry was so blatant and so shocking.
Paying royal rations...it's really the officials and gentry who pay them back in full, and the common people's 30-70 split...
"When Li Zhigang inspected the northern provinces, there were many illegal things among the officials and gentry!" Zhu Yunxi said weakly, "But there were no such shocking things among the official warehouses in the northern provinces!"
"He has just arrived in Yangzhou. This is just Yangzhou! There will be other places in the future. If they are like this, how can it happen?"
A feeling of weakness came over me.
Zhu Yunxi threw away the things in his hands and lay down on the Luohan bed with one hand on his forehead, closed his eyes and frowned, "I don't need to think about it, I know that other places will definitely not be much better!"
"When I came to the throne, I was grateful that in the more than thirty years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the taxes in Jiangnan have been twice as high as in other places, so I have issued decrees many times to reduce the burden on the people."
"Now it seems that Yangzhou Liangdao alone has dared to deceive me many times. There may be more tricks in other places!"
"Are the tax reductions and exemptions really reduced? I'm afraid... Just like the reduction of imperial grains in Yangzhou, the officials and gentry clapped their hands and applauded, and everyone was very happy, but the common people couldn't live without a rich man.
....."
Finally, the ministers in the palace could no longer sit still and stood up one after another, "I am guilty!"
Especially the Minister of Integrity, whose face was full of guilt.
He knelt down and kowtowed, "I am in charge of the clean government of the Ming Dynasty, but such a heartbreaking case has appeared in the local area. I... I have failed both the emperor and the country!"
As he spoke, he gritted his teeth and said, "I dare to beg the emperor to hand over this case to you..."
"I have asked the Jin Yiwei to go down!" Zhu Yunxi waved his hand feebly.
Suddenly, the officials were shocked.
"The skin temple in the capital probably has no deterrent effect because there are no new human skin lanterns!" Zhu Yunxi sneered, "Those involved in the case follow the old practices of the Hongwu Dynasty!"
With that said, Zhu Yunxi sat up and looked behind the ministers, "He Guangyi!"
"I'm here!"
"In the past, when things like this happened, officials were killed!" Zhu Yunxi said coldly, "Send capable personnel to Yangzhou, and the officials involved in the case cannot let go. At the same time, none of the officials and gentry who profited from it can escape!"
"According to the order!"
"In addition!" Zhu Yunxi said again, "The case in Yangzhou has become known to the world, so all officials in Beijing should write me their thoughts!"
"Let them tell you why this happened!"
"The emperor wants to settle accounts with the queen?"
The ministers in the palace were all core figures of the Ming Dynasty, and they immediately understood the emperor's intention.
A few days ago, hundreds of officials knelt down and cried outside the Meridian Gate, and now such a huge case of corruption and fraud in official offices has broken out in Yangzhou.
And behind this official warehouse case, all the officials and gentry involved were prominent local families.
Gradually, someone's back was covered in cold sweat, and they were thinking and worrying.
"Emperor Taizu Gao killed officials, but today's emperor has raised his knife against the entire class of officials and gentry!"
"More!" Zhu Yunxi said coldly, "Especially in the southern provinces, local officials need to look at this case carefully and take a good look! If such a case is discovered elsewhere in the future, it will be handled accordingly."
"Whether they are serving officials, gentry, or famous local families, as long as they are involved in harming the interests of the court and exploiting the people, they will all be prosecuted!"