Emperor Cao Rui, who had finished his duties in the East Hall, announced that he would go back to the Imperial Garden to have fun with the Queen today, and asked his ministers to leave the palace and go back on their own.
After all the ministers bowed and left, he asked the driver to drive the chariot to the back hall of Chonghua. After lunch and a nap, he quietly summoned Jiang Ji, the central guard.
In this regard, Jiang Ji, who has served in the Central Committee for ten years, does not think there is anything unusual.
In his view, the thief Wu Sunquan had already moved his capital to Yangzhou and reaffirmed the alliance with Bashu, so he would naturally cross the river frequently to invade Huainan. In this way, the emperor's summons was nothing more than a whim, and he suddenly had the idea to plan military affairs in Huainan. It's just a mood.
After all, there is nothing else going on above the temple today.
And after the emperor learned the lesson from the Battle of Shiting, whenever there was any movement from the thief Wu, he would immediately summon Liu Ye or himself to ask for advice.
However, it seems that the thief Wu Sunquan has not made any changes now!
At the turn of spring and summer, Man Chong, the former general who was guarding Huainan, had learned the news about Da Yan in Jiangdong in advance, so he sent troops and horses into Xiyang early to prepare for the battle, causing Sun Quan's warships to retreat before they even launched. Yet?
Is it possible that the water level in the tributaries of the river rose after autumn, which made the thief Wu have the idea of invading again?
Jiang Ji, who was puzzled and did not dare to neglect, hurried to the Chonghua rear hall.
After entering the palace, he was a little stunned.
In the huge back hall, Emperor Cao Rui was alone picking through piles of silk, gold and silver, royal treasures, and the extremely gorgeous concubines' silk clothes. Hearing that the attendants outside the hall reported that he had arrived, he did not wait for him. After saluting, he waved his hand and urged, "Jiang Qing, there is no need to be polite. Come quickly and give me a detailed explanation."
This is
Do you want to follow the example of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty who set up a restaurant in the palace to have fun?
Jiang Ji couldn't help but twitch his eyes when he saw many concubines wearing silky clothes. After first bowing respectfully, he came to the side of Emperor Cao Rui with a small "wei" sound.
Before he could think of how to ask the question tactfully, he saw Cao Rui holding up a piece of concubine's clothing with both hands and showing it to him. He asked with a smile on his face, "Qing Jiang, how much is this clothing worth if it is collected everywhere in the city?" ah?"
It’s not even worth five baht!
No one wants it even if it is given away for free!
Because whoever dares to take this kind of thing from the Heavenly Family will be charged with treason by Yousi and executed by the clan the next day!
"Your Majesty, I cannot put a price on this piece of clothing."
Although he was a little confused in his heart, Jiang Ji still replied slowly, "This is a thing from the heavenly family, and it cannot be obtained by gathering."
Well?
Hearing this, Cao Rui paused slightly.
And he murmured with a little unwillingness, "It can't be done. Obviously, I asked Concubine Guo to pick out the most ordinary clothes." After throwing the clothes aside like lint, he picked out another pair. Jade Bi asked again, "Qing Jiang, where is this thing? Can it be sold in the city?"
Of course not.
Jiang Ji was a little helpless, "Your Majesty, although this object has no traces of the heavenly family, it is too valuable. It can be kept as a private treasure, or as a reward for your majesty's meritorious service, but it cannot be circulated among the people."
"Oh~"
Responding in a sullen tone, Emperor Cao Rui threw down the jade again.
Immediately, after selecting among the many treasures for a while, Fang shook his head sadly, grabbed a piece of silk, and said with emotion, "It seems that these are the only silks available. Alas, the young man ordered Yang Qing to be upright and fair, so he rejected the offer. I understand that I want to use the palace property."
No, as an emperor, he is so poor!
Are you actually thinking of selling the palace treasures and the concubines’ silk clothes to raise money?
Jiang Ji could no longer hold himself back and asked, "I said something arrogantly. Your Majesty is rich all over the world, and everything in the world is in your pocket. Why are you so obsessed with wealth and silk today?"
"Without him."
Emperor Cao Rui gently put down the silk and said, "I would like to give it to you."
You actually want to reward me?
Why?
Jiang Ji was stunned again.
Because in June of the Xia Dynasty, he went to the Central Secretary Liu Fang, who claimed to be the "Zai Fu" as an example of many powerful ministers in the previous dynasty who had messed up the government. The Central Secretary ordered Sun Zi to have too much power, so he advised Cao Rui to take over Recruit more talented and good people, divide the power of the Central Secretary and the Ministry of Education, and do not allow full-time officials in the temple.
Cao Rui was also very satisfied with this.
Although he did not split the power of Zhongshu Sheng in accordance with the advice, he issued an edict to commend Chiang Jicai for being both civil and military, for his hard work and integrity, and for being transferred to the rank of General of the Guards (senior Guards of the Central Committee, with the same powers and duties), and for being dismissed as an official. Riding as a regular attendant.
This is where his doubts lie.
He was promoted to the Central Guards Corps after the Battle of Shiting. It was already a great honor for him to be promoted to a senior rank after only serving for one year!
It's only mid-autumn in August, only two months have passed, and yet another gift of money and silk has been given?
He is not a sycophant~
How can one receive endless gifts if he has no merit or achievements?
"Your Majesty is so kind to me, I am so grateful."
Immediately, Jiang Ji bowed to express his thanks and refused loudly, "However, please forgive me for not daring to accept the gift. Your Majesty, I have not made any significant achievements in recent times, so I am afraid of receiving it, and"
But before he finished his words of rejection, Emperor Cao Rui said again, "Jiang Qing, there is no need to refuse. It is not easy to live in the capital, and Qing's family is not rich, and life is difficult. I couldn't bear it, so I used some money to support him." . ”
ah?!
Involuntarily, Jiang Ji was stunned for a moment when his words were interrupted, and his face turned red immediately.
He also hurriedly bowed his head and bowed, and apologized with shame, "I am a commoner in Jianghuai and have no talent or virtue. I relied on Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen to trust me and not hesitate to promote me, and I was able to live in the temple. After your Majesty succeeded to the throne, you will not Abandoned ministers are stupid and often consult on state affairs. They are promoted to protect the army, thinking that they are loyal and generous, and it is difficult to repay even one of them if they die! However, I am rebellious. I have not thought about repaying your majesty and benefiting the country since I took office. I have not cultivated my moral character. To be greedy, to use one’s position for personal gain, to be unworthy of Your Majesty’s favor, is a capital crime! A capital crime!”
Yes.
With his intelligence, he had already guessed the meaning of Emperor Cao Rui's gesture.
It was simply because he took advantage of his position to accept bribes so much that the folk song "If you want teeth, you should get a thousand horses; if you have 500 people to supervise, you will get 500 horses", the folk song was noisy in Kyoto.
"Jiang Qing doesn't have to be like this."
Taking a step forward, Cao Rui stretched out his hand to help Jiang Ji and said softly, "If I had the intention to punish Jiang Qing, I would not summon you to this palace alone today."
After saying this, he took Jiang Ji and sat down together, caressed his back and sighed.
"I am giving you money and silk for your home use. I do not mean to ridicule it, but it is really out of my love and care. You also know that in the past when Emperor Wu was in the dynasty, there were many talented people with both literary and military skills. It can be said that there was no shortage of virtuous people. Today, Shu and Wu still exist. However, many handsome men have passed away, and there are only a few who can plan military affairs! Still in the capital, the only people who can consult me about the four seasons are your minister and the minister Liu Ziyang'er! And Liu Ziyang often has the tendency to frame others. It is said that it is too early to know the destiny of heaven, and once it happens, the only person I can rely on in the future is your ear! This is the reason why I bestow money and silk. You are an important minister of the country and the mainstay of the country, and you will definitely leave your name in the history of Qing Dynasty. I am committed to the truth. I don’t want to see that when the Qing Dynasty Zang Fuqing is named after his death, he still has a shortcoming in his moral conduct!"
Jiang Ji burst into tears immediately after listening to such earnest feelings and heart-to-heart words.
He was truly moved beyond measure.
People from the Tian family have always been weak in human nature.
And it is clear that his behavior is immoral, and the monarch is not only not guilty, but also loves and protects him like this, how many people in ancient and modern times can there be!
Therefore, he was so ashamed that he couldn't help himself.
He quickly prostrated himself on the ground again, wanting to express some words of gratitude, but after saying only the word "Your Majesty", his lips trembled for a long time without saying anything else. He simply kowtowed and burst into tears.
It also made Cao Rui feel relieved for a while.
The two of them performed a drama of mutual affection between the king and his minister in the palace, and after exchanging some personal words, the summons ended.
However, when Jiang Ji resigned and left with a face full of gratitude, Emperor Cao Rui, who was alone in the palace, could no longer hold back his joy and laughed heartily.
At the same time, I appreciated Xia Houhui more and more in my heart.
His behavior today was the advice given by Xia Houhui that night - without hurting Jiang Ji's face or insulting the old minister's heart, he made Jiang Ji feel guilty, voluntarily restrained his behavior of accepting bribes, and set an example to promote the Kyoto customs. Get better.
Now it seems that the effect is remarkable~
Because after Jiang Ji returned home, that night he counted all the money he had earned since taking up the Central Guard Army, sealed it all and sent it to the Shaofu Office the next day!
He also made a confession and examined himself for the crime of accepting bribes.
It also caused an uproar in both the government and the public.
In the temple, Emperor Cao Rui first fined Jiang Ji half a year's salary as punishment, and then praised him for his behavior of knowing his way back. He also took the opportunity to order the ministers and officials to abide by the law and put an end to corruption and bribery. He also set up a plan During the one-month period, if there are those who are corrupt or bribery and come to plead guilty on their own initiative, they will not be guilty; if they do not plead guilty and are released by a supervisory officer for review, they will be prosecuted according to the law.
In this way, the official administration became clear for a while.
Well, at least that's the case on the surface.
What made Cao Rui most happy was that after this incident, he legitimately increased the authority of the school officials and gave them the same powers as the censor, which meant that the monarch's power was quietly increased.
He was well versed in the power of the emperor, but he actually didn't care whether Jiang Ji was greedy or not, and he didn't pay much attention to the shortcomings in officialdom that Xia Houhui so generously stated that night.
If the water is clear, there will be no fish~
If a person is not a sage, how can he have no faults?
In the eyes of the monarch, a minister who is a mainstay and has a handle is a good minister. On the contrary, ministers who have no desires or demands will make the monarch fearful.
Because it is difficult to control and understand one's will.
Therefore, he took Xiahou Hui's advice on rectifying officialdom as an opportunity to expand his monarchy.
A happy ending was ushered in.
Indeed, everyone is happy.
After Jiang Ji handed over all the bribes, Cao Rui asked Qin Lang to quietly return them to Jiang Ji that night, and also rewarded him with a lot of gold and hardware, which was more than the half-year salary that Jiang Ji had been fined.
In this way, Jiang Ji not only won a good reputation, but also gained a lot of extra wealth.
The most important thing is that he was given authority by Cao Rui himself.
In the private confrontation between the emperor and his ministers in the apse of Chonghua, after he bowed his head to plead guilty, Cao Rui also mentioned the preparation for the establishment of the "Emperor Enke".
He also claimed that if everything went well, he would be the chief officer.
In other words, he will not only have the power to select military attaches in the future, but will also have the power to select disciples for the emperor!
From an anonymous Shangqing, he suddenly became a person with more power than the three nobles.
right.
Emperor Cao Rui was not optimistic about Du Shu, and he had no intention of letting Du Shu take charge.
He is just a young scholar with little qualifications, and he can be promoted to participate in it. How can he be entrusted with such authority?