Chapter 132 The master and the apprentice have raised their swords!
The breeze is bright and the moon is bright! Even though the breeze at this time is carrying a strong sense of autumn, which makes people shiver, Chu Zheng still stands in front of the door of the Regency Palace with open arms and feels the moisture in the autumn wind.
, he may have never thought that such an autumn breeze could make people feel so happy.
"Your Majesty, now, the third rice that was just planted in Jiangnan may still have a good harvest. Although the rain here in Bianzhou came a little later, as long as the taxes in Bianzhou area are exempted this year, the common people will
The harvest is still barely enough to last them until the spring of next year. The only things we need to worry about now are the Yuling Prefecture and the Liaodong border. According to Laonu, it’s time for the Emperor to relax."
"Um…"
Faced with the deep concern in Wu Chan's words behind him, Chu Zheng ignored it. He agreed and then closed his eyes and let the wind blow over his body.
Wuchan, who was standing behind Chu Zheng, took the opportunity to stare at his back carefully for a while. Suddenly, he saw a few strands of white hair among Chu Zheng's black hair. Only then did he remember
One very important thing: the king of Chu in front of him is already fifty and four years old, which is not considered young anymore!
Although Wuchan has always stood behind Chu Zheng, he hasn't looked at Chu Zheng carefully for a long time. After following him for decades, he never seemed to find that Chu Zheng would get tired.
But now when he took a closer look, he discovered that Chu Zheng had more and more gray hair. The longer he looked at it, the more distressed he felt. It turned out that this king who never complained about being tired did not age forever!
"Your Majesty, you have never returned to the palace since the drought started. Shouldn't you go see the Queen and the Princess today?"
His eyes gradually became sore. Wu Chan knew that he shouldn't disturb him at this time but still took the risk to come forward to comfort him. He probably felt the tremor in Wu Chan's voice. Chu Zheng did not blame him, but he also did not agree to Wu Chan's return.
Bedroom proposal.
"The drought has passed, but the insect disease in Dachu has not been eradicated. I still feel uneasy!"
Wuchan knew very well what insect disease Chu Zheng was talking about. Apart from those dog officials crawling on Da Chu's body and sucking blood, what other diseases could Chu Zheng say be the disease of the whole Da Chu?
"Your Majesty, haven't the fate of those pests been decided a long time ago? All I need is for you to issue an order now. Six Gates will be able to arrest them immediately, and within half a month, they can all be beheaded in public to appease the people."
Chu Zheng remembered the fate he had set for those corrupt officials. It seemed that those who had embezzled thousands of pounds of money needed to be punished. But then he remembered that those corrupt officials took out the dirty money after realizing that the disaster was uncontrollable.
Sell food to the people.
Although some officials had guessed that he would settle the scores later, and although some officials always felt that they could hide the truth and remain unchanged, no matter what, at this time, Chu Zheng felt that the previous punishment was a bit too severe.
"Let's wait until tomorrow morning to discuss this matter with the ministers before making any plans!"
…
"The drought has passed. It's time to talk about how to deal with those corrupt officials. What are your plans, ministers?"
After going through the proper etiquette in the morning, Chu Zheng raised the issue, and then he sat calmly in his seat and watched the officials below looking at each other.
It's not that the ministers are unwilling to speak, but they are afraid that they will misunderstand Chu Zheng's meaning. Now there are only two roads before the ministers.
One is to enforce the law strictly and kill those who deserve to be killed. The other is that Chu Zheng probably can't bear it anymore. If he wants to excuse those corrupt officials, he will wait for someone to stand up and plead for mercy, but he won't do it until the situation is clear.
Someone stood up.
Among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Su Wang practiced silent chanting as usual, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. Among the three officers, Cheng Yijie was the leader. Although they were whispering to each other at this time, there was nothing they were actually talking about.
People know.
Although Su Ruyu had made a mark in Chu Zheng's heart through her last suggestion, none of the big guys spoke at this time, and he would definitely not stand up pretending to be smart.
Military generals are not well versed in civil affairs, so when there is no war, going to court is a good time for them to take a nap, and Chu Zheng will not care about them anyway.
After much calculation, it seems that there is only one person who can speak at this time, Grand Master Lu Xiangrui!
He didn't talk to anyone, he stared straight ahead and didn't know what he was thinking, but his expression looked very sad.
Slowly, the eyes of the courtiers all focused on Lu Xiangrui. No one who can stand here is a fool. This matter is inseparable from the academy that Taishi Lu wants to build. If he doesn't speak up, who dares to speak up after him?
What to say before standing up.
Shaking his head and smiling bitterly, Lu Xiangrui knew that all the ministers and Chu Zheng were waiting for him, so he walked out slowly from the ministers. No one dared to rush him in the process. Chu Zheng did, but he would not do that.
.
"Your Majesty, what I want to say is still the same. It is always right to study. And those who are scholars, I have recently understood the truth that money touches people's hearts. From poverty to sudden wealth, I don't think many people can withstand such temptation.
, everyone here can’t do it, and so can I!”
Having said this, he took two steps forward.
"Your Majesty, when I say this, I don't mean that those people should not be killed or cannot be killed. No matter what the reason is, if you make a mistake, you have made a mistake. No matter how the Emperor wants to deal with them, I will not complain. It's just that the misfortune cannot come in harm's way.
My wife and children, I hope the emperor can have some kindness towards them."
At this time, the courtiers turned their attention to Chu Zheng again. Although Lu Xiangrui did not expressly plead for mercy, any fool knew that saying "it will not bring harm to the wife and children" was already a plea for mercy.
Chu Zheng touched his beard and secretly lamented that he was getting old. At the same time, he also reconsidered how to deal with those corrupt officials.
"Those who embezzle more than one hundred Dan will be punished unchanged; those who embezzle more than one hundred Dan but less than one thousand Dan will be imprisoned for three to ten years; those who embezzle more than one thousand Dan but less than ten thousand Dan..."
At this point, the courtiers all stretched their necks. The first part is nothing, the next part is the key point.
"Those who have less than 10,000 dans... will be exiled for three thousand miles. Those who have embezzled more than 10,000 dans but less than 100,000 dans will be executed. Those who have embezzled more than 100,000 Dans will be executed and their property will be confiscated. Their descendants will not be allowed to take the imperial examination for three generations!"
"
Tears flowed freely. Maybe others didn't know the specific meaning of this word, but looking at Lu Xiangrui at this time, they could more or less understand it.
Chu Zheng's punishment was a bit gentler than he expected.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the Emperor for his kindness to those dissatisfied scholars!"
…
Wanshan County.
County Governor Liu Shenxu and his master were still planning how to attack Qianbao Chamber of Commerce's business in Wanshan County after the disaster, but he didn't know that people from Liumen had already arrived at his door.
"What are you doing! What are you doing! I am an official of the imperial court, what right do you six families have to arrest me!"
Liu Shenzhen was caught off guard by the six-door police officer who suddenly rushed in. Liu Shenzhen still yelled, but Master Chang Huan could see more clearly than him.
"Master Cha, although I am the master of Wanshan County, there is no such position in Da Chu's official position system. Although I will give some ideas to the county governor, the decision is mainly made by the county governor!"
Liu Shenxun looked at Chang Huan in disbelief. He did not expect that this man would betray him so easily and try to ignore him completely.
No wonder he was greedy for food without mercy. No wonder when he said that he would use all the embezzled money to buy food, the master would not agree to it. It turned out that he had already found a way out for himself.
"you…"
"Hehe, look, Mr. Cha, since I don't have an official position, it doesn't count as corruption. This...did I arrest the wrong person?"
Just when Liu Shenzhen was about to speak, Chang Huan took the opportunity to speak in front of him and asked him to swallow it all.
Chang Huan, who thought he could escape the disaster by relying on this, obviously made a wrong calculation. What he, a young master, could think of, but those above who were so clever and cunning could never think of it.
"Hey, what a coincidence, this time you really can't escape according to the emperor's decree. The imperial edict says that anyone who reaches out to steal food, whether you are an official or a civilian, will be dealt with according to the law! Take them all away!"
"What! This is impossible. There has never been such a law for hundreds of years. How dare you pretend to preach the imperial edict? Why don't you get away with it!"
The commander-in-chief of Wanshan County, who had a fourth-level strength, burst out laughing when he heard this master's words, as if he had heard the biggest joke in his life.
"I don't bother you with whether my head will fall off, but I know your head will fall off soon."
Then, he looked at Liu Shenchun. Unlike how he treated Master Chang Huan, the Wanshan County Chief Constable could actually see that although this scholar was a little greedy, he probably still had some good intentions in his heart.
At first Chang Huan was unwilling to give up his money to buy grain, but he still secretly spent most of his dirty money to buy high-priced grain from the Qianbao Chamber of Commerce.
"The governor of the county, Liu Shen, reported that he had embezzled more than 9,000 pounds. According to the law, he was exiled for 3,000 miles and was sent to Liaodong to be exiled!"
"What!"
It could be said that Chang Huan had been disheartened just now, but at this moment, an unknown fire rose from the bottom of his heart.
"Why! He is a county guard! Why should he just be exiled for three thousand miles if I want to be beheaded! I don't accept it. I want to see the emperor. I want to file a complaint. I don't accept it..."
"Don't accept it? I don't know more, or do I, the Six Doors, know more? Come here, plug his mouth and take him down. Don't give him food. Just drink a few sips of water every day and hang on. I want to let him
Taste what it feels like to be hungry."
"Woo~wow!"
Chang Huan, whose mouth was covered, was still very excited, but he was unable to move under the restraints of the two six-door detectives.
Before leaving, the chief of Wanshan County took a look at Liu Shenqi.
"I will give you one day to say goodbye to your wife and children, and come to Liumen Yamen every morning to collect your guilt."
Liu Shenxun stood up in despair. When he reached for the taxed grain, he should have guessed that the result would be like this, but it was too late to say anything at this time.
In the autumn of the 30th year of Fu Rui's reign, the Chu Dynasty beheaded no less than 300 people, nearly 500 people were exiled, and more than 700 people were dismissed from their posts and imprisoned, and this was all because the Chu government deliberately let the situation go.
Suddenly, the government and the public were filled with mourning, but serious illnesses still required harsh medicines. No one thought there was anything wrong with doing so, and the common people even applauded this.
…
"Your Majesty, this year's imperial examination has ended. Due to the severe drought, the number of scholars who came to the capital from all over the country is less than one percent of previous years. On the list, academy candidates account for 90% of the places!"
In the morning of that day, Qi Baihe, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who had been given the honorary position by chance, finished handling the imperial examination and stood in the main hall to report the details of this year's examination to Chu Zheng.
When they heard that the candidates from the academy accounted for 90% of the places on the Jinshi list, all the ministers trembled. It has to be said that the students from the academy are indeed much better than the scholars from other places, but... the manager
After this drought, will the emperor still believe them?
"Everything follows the old law."
"Ah... um... yes, I obey the order."
Qi Baihe, who was already prepared to be scolded, found it unbelievable. The courtiers suddenly exploded. Only the old foxes Su Wang and Cheng Yijie were still calm. They felt that only this result was in line with Chu Zheng's plan.
Work style.
But Lu Xiangrui was not happy when he heard the news. He also guessed the result, but he also knew that this was the last chance Chu Zheng gave to the academy.
If those stupid guys still only know how to put money in their own pockets, then Chu Zheng will not waste any more energy on the academy.
After retiring from the imperial court, Lu Xiangrui was in a daze. He didn't know how he ended up at the academy by accident.
With its pavilions and pavilions, the academy, which was built at a huge cost, was still the same as when he first came here.
Wandering around the academy in a daze, Lu Xiangrui unknowingly came to a square. According to the course arrangement, the graduated students will have their last critical thinking class in the academy today.
"If we, the scholars, only know the knowledge in books but have no insights of our own, then no matter how hard we study, we can only be regarded as readers of books rather than scholars..."
"One of the three thousand great ways can be escaped from heaven! If scholars can cultivate their moral character and teach, if they can accommodate hundreds of schools of knowledge in one body, they may be able to get a glimpse of the way of heaven..."
Along the way, Lu Xiangrui heard many scholars expressing their eloquent opinions. Even after hearing some incisive words, he couldn't help but think deeply.
On the high platform, Academy Dean Cao Huabin seemed to have found a place to bask in the sun, and did not pay attention to the academy students who were arguing fiercely below the square.
Lu Xiangrui walked up to the high platform step by step. Looking at the many students in the audience, he seemed to be reminded of his own youth. At this moment, he felt that he had no reason not to choose to believe in such a group of scholars.
"Everyone!"
The originally noisy scene quickly quieted down with Lu Xiangrui's shout. The people under the high platform quickly recognized that this was the only Grand Master of the dynasty, but they did not know that this person had never
What is the grand master who showed up at the academy going to do?
"I am very relieved when I come here today to meet all the scholars and know that I am not alone in my education. However, the last drought has made people all over the world look down on us scholars. Today, I might as well say something to offend everyone. To be honest, after leaving the academy and looking around the government and the public, I felt that the road ahead was bleak and my road was so lonely! I was the only one walking the broad road!"
Having said this, the Grand Master of the imperial dynasty, who could meet the emperor without bowing, bowed his head in front of hundreds of students from Jinghua Academy.
"I beg you to rectify the names of our scholars!"
Many students under the stage reacted immediately, and the top scorer in the scientific examination sitting in the front row stood up immediately.
"At that time, I traveled to the world with this body. Not only could I bear the high expectations of my husband, but I would never let my husband feel like there was no one else on the road! I am not alone!"
Afterwards, all the scholars stood up together and shouted loudly.
"I am not alone in my ways!"
On the high platform, Cao Huabin, who had opened his eyes at some point, smiled and arched his eyebrows. He did not make a sound, but if anyone could see his slightly moving lips, they would know that he also said something: