The nobles were also shocked and found it incredible. Xu Guangzuo was about to go out to dissuade Zhu Houzhao and defend him. He took half a step, but Zhang Yanling grabbed his sleeve.
Xu Guangzuo turned around and saw Zhang Yanling shaking his head calmly. Xu Guangzuo stopped in doubt and thought: It seems that Zhang Yanling knew what happened today, and he had no intention of stopping it, so there was no need for him to stop it.
Zhang Yanling was actually very happy in her heart. Zhu Houzhao seemed to have really made up his mind. It was a great courage to be able to sin against oneself. He was indeed a smart man. To sin against oneself was to issue an edict. This is called not to break but not to establish, and to break and then build.
Completely resolve all the previous matters with an edict, start a new future, cut through the mess with a sharp knife, the courage and determination are commendable.
On the throne, Zhu Houzhao looked at the shocked faces in the palace, and suddenly felt a sense of relief in his heart. It turns out that it is not difficult to have the courage to admit one's mistakes. He has shouldered too many things, and he should face the truth.
It's time for me to take off my disguise long ago.
"I know you are surprised. I have issued an edict to sin against you, and you have lost your face. The world will say that you, as ministers, are ineffective in assisting you. But I have made up my mind, and you don't need to persuade me. Regarding the rebellion of King Ning,
I will take responsibility. However, are there any local officials among you who do not have responsibility? I can blame myself, and those responsible must also be held accountable and severely punished. I know
Dao, Zhu Chenhao has a very good relationship with many of you, and some of you have also received many benefits from him. At the beginning, someone also reported to Zhu Chenhao to defend him, saying that he had no objection, saying that it was Wang Shouren who wanted to be promoted.
So I fabricated things and stirred up slander. Now, I want to ask, where are the people who benefited from Zhu Chenhao? Who are the people mentioned in the memorial and where are they?" Zhu Houzhao said in a deep voice.
Many people in the palace had pale faces. Zhu Chenhao spent a lot of money to make friends with the courtiers. I don't know how many officials in the court received his gifts. Liu Jin got the biggest benefit at the beginning, and some people in the outer court also took Zhu Chenhao's gifts.
Silver and gifts.
Zhu Chenhao has not made this matter public. Until now, these people are still pretending to be confused and taking chances. It was not until Zhu Houzhao pointed it out that they realized that they could not hide it. There are also those who wrote memorials to defend Zhu Chenhao.
The officials were even more out of their minds at this moment.
"Your Majesty, I am confused. I was deceived by the traitor Zhu Chenhao. How could I know that he is an ambitious man? I regret it too much. Please forgive me. On Zhu Chenhao's New Year's Day the year before last, I gave him a gift.
Some gifts from the old minister. Talking to the officials
All, it was his intention. The old minister thought that in this case, it would not be easy to refute Prince Ning's face, so he accepted it. If he had known this, the old minister would never accept this thief's gift. The old minister is willing to return it.
, and ask the emperor to punish me."
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A minister rolled around and crawled out of the queue. He knelt on the ground and began to blame himself.
That person was Xia Zhirong, a member of the Ministry of Rites, a veteran minister in his sixties and a little-known official of the Ministry of Rites.
"Xia Zhirong, um, I remember you. Are you saying that you just accepted Zhu Chenhao's gift unintentionally? Were you deceived by him?" Zhu Houzhao said solemnly.
"The emperor is wise, but the old minister is confused, the old minister is confused." Xia Zhirong kowtowed and shouted.
Zhu Houzhao sneered and said: "Isn't that right? I remember that three years ago, you gave a teaser, saying that Zhu Chenhao's son was smart and liked the Queen Mother, so he could adopt her and keep her company in the palace to comfort the Queen Mother. He said
, they are all from the royal family, and there is nothing wrong with the Queen Mother educating the son of the feudal prince. Yes or no?"
"I am confused, I deserve to die. I never thought that Zhu Chenhao had a rebellious heart. Your Majesty, please forgive me." Xia Zhirong was frightened and kowtowed, his face covered with sweat.
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said: "I thought it was nothing at the time, but now it seems that Zhu Chenhao must have given you a favor and asked you to write a memorial so that the Queen Mother could adopt his son. In disguise, he became my stepson. I have no idea.
Heir, if I die in the future, you can steal my throne, right?"
Xia Zhirong almost fainted, feeling extremely regretful. He originally wanted to be the first to blame himself, express his sorrow and sorrow, saying that he had been deceived, and the emperor would spare him because of his good attitude. This wave was because he wanted to come.
A person who dares to be the first, honest and lenient.
However, he did not expect that the emperor had such a good memory. Three years ago, he was bribed by Zhu Chenhao with a heavy gift, so he handed over a piece of information. This piece of information was thrown into disgrace afterwards. Xia Zhirong thought that the emperor was indulging in joy every day, and Liu Jin was in power at that time. This piece of information was
It may not be handed over to the emperor, and the emperor may not have read it. But who would have thought that the emperor not only read it, but also remembered it clearly, and guessed the intention. This is really self-defeating.
"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I deserve to die." Xia Zhirong begged for mercy loudly.
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"You really deserve to die. Come here, pull out the imperial staff of twenty. You will be dismissed from your post and your home will be raided." Zhu Houzhao shouted.
Jiang Bin winked, and two Han generals and camp captains came forward and carried Xia Zhirong out like a chicken.
All the ministers thought in their hearts, Xia Zhirong's body could not withstand twenty imperial staffs. He might die here. The emperor was cruel. But in this situation, no one dared to intercede for Xia Zhirong. Because
This is a matter involving Zhu Chenhao's rebellion. This is a crime of conspiracy to rebel. Who dares to speak out?
Xia Zhirong screamed and begged for mercy, but no one dared to make a sound. After a while, screams were heard outside the palace. The imperial staff crackled down. Xia Zhirong only screamed seven or eight times before there was no sound anymore, only the crackle of the imperial staff.
It came out like it was being hit on a broken sack.
A Han general and lieutenant entered the palace and reported: "To your Majesty, Xia Zhirong has expired."
Zhu Houzhao snorted coldly and glanced at the ministers, who were all silent.
"I don't want to waste time on this matter. Jiang Bin, according to the gift list you found from Zhu Chenhao's house, investigate and deal with all the officials who have benefited from Zhu Chenhao, and hand them over to Beizhen Fusi for interrogation. Find out who they are.
Are you colluding with Zhu Chenhao? All conspirators will be dealt with strictly. You should handle this matter carefully and make no mistakes." Zhu Houzhao shouted.
Jiang Bin was stunned and said loudly: "I obey the order."
Some officials in the palace were about to wet their pants. They didn't want to confess at first, but after seeing Xia Zhirong's fate, they were determined not to admit it. But they didn't expect that Zhu Chenhao actually had a gift list. They really didn't know what to do now.
That's fine. This time I'm dead.
Except for Liu Jin and others in the inner court, most of the officials in the DPRK and central government whom Zhu Chenhao bribed were civil servants in the outer court. But there were none among the nobles. Zhu Chenhao was so smart. He knew that the nobles were deeply favored by the emperor, so he would never accept it.
In order to stand up for him and do things for him, the nobles in the palace were most relaxed at this moment, and they all looked at the civil servants with gloating eyes.
"Yang Shoufu, do you think I am right to deal with it this way?" Zhu Houzhao finally named Yang Tinghe.
Yang Tinghe frowned. He finally figured out that the emperor had a plan today. He first blamed himself, and then used the topic to show his ruthlessness. He made it clear that he wanted to purge a group of officials. In fact, the officials who benefited from Zhu Chenhao may not be the same as Zhu Chenhao.
Hao conspired, and even did something for him. However, at this moment, he could never plead for them.
"The Emperor is wise, and I believe that the Emperor has dealt with it appropriately. The traitor Zhu Chenhao and the rest of the party should be vigorously eliminated. I have no objection. I feel that those who are found to be complicit will be severely punished and cannot be tolerated." Yang Tinghe said.
When Yang Tinghe said this, all the civil servants became even more paralyzed. The last glimmer of hope was shattered. Yang Shoufu would not contribute to this matter or plead for mercy for people like himself.
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "Very good, Yang Shoufu thinks so too, so there is nothing more to say. Not only the imperial court must clean up the remnants, but Jiangxi local officials must also investigate and clean up. I will issue an order that all Jiangxi officials will suspend their duties and go to Beijing to accept the punishment."
Ask and prove your innocence. What do you think, gentlemen?"
"Your Majesty... Shengming!"
"The Emperor's Holy Ming."
Civil and military officials spoke loudly or quietly. Then there was dead silence.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say." Zhang Yanling suddenly came out and said.
"What does the Protector want to say?" Zhu Houzhao said in a deep voice.
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Zhang Yanling said: "I feel that officials who have made mistakes must be given a chance. Who can make mistakes without being a sage? Zhu Chenhao was previously the Prince of Ning, so officials were inevitably affected by his status and did not dare to offend. After interacting with each other,
Zhong Ye couldn't refuse some of Zhu Chenhao's requests. Many of them were helpless. I thought it was necessary to find out whether these people were doing evil and not to beat them to death with a stick."
Zhu Houzhao was silent.
Zhang Yanling said: "I'm not defending them. I just think that we should avoid past mistakes and avoid future ones, and have the heart to treat illnesses and save people. After all, they are all officials working for the imperial court. I have a suggestion. Mr. Jiang does not need to send Jin Yiwei to investigate, and postpone the Jin Yiwei investigation.
, give them a chance.
Let them voluntarily surrender and confess their crimes. Anyway, with the list in hand, if they deny it, their crime will be increased. If they voluntarily confess and prove their innocence, they can be given a lighter sentence. In this way, it also shows that the emperor has a heart of mercy. After all,
Even the emperor makes mistakes, let alone these people."
All the officials were very surprised when they heard this. Zhang Yanling had some courage to jump out and say these words at this moment. I don't know why he was so assertive. Of course, no one would think that he and Zhu Chenhao were connected, they just felt that
Somewhat strange.
But for those officials with shit on their butts, hearing this, they almost knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Yanling and called them daddy and grandpa. This was saving their lives.
In comparison, Yang Shoufu was too irresponsible. He did not dare to say a word to the officials of the outer court to gain opportunities for them. He was extremely cold and cowardly and ruthless.
Zhu Houzhao secretly praised his uncle's cleverness. He must have heard that there was no list in his hand. Before Zhu Chenhao was captured, the palace was set on fire and everything was burned. Where was the list of gifts? Zhu Houzhao had only the list for Zhu Chenhao before he was captured.
There is no list other than the few officials who were presented in Chen Hao's defense.
The so-called asking Jiang Bin to check people according to the list was just a bluff. Jiang Bin was stunned when he heard the order, but he was still smart and did not reveal any flaws. His uncle must have heard it and came out to ask them to surrender.
In this way, these people must have surrendered enthusiastically and would not deny it desperately. This is indeed a clever cooperation.
"What the Protector said makes sense, and it's correct. Jiang Bin, all officials who surrender themselves will be spared their lives and given a chance to make corrections. Small mistakes can be avoided, and major crimes can be punished with lighter punishments. It's not that the court won't give them a way to survive, it's up to them to make their own choices.
"Zhu Houzhao followed the current and said immediately.
Jiang Bin said loudly: "I obey your order."
Some officials heaved a long sigh of relief, with sweat pouring down their bodies. At least it would not be a one-size-fits-all situation, and at least their lives could be saved.
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