eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 362
When Cui Yuan went back to talk to Princess Yongkang, Princess Yongkang showed considerable approval.

Their husband and wife have a deep relationship and are like-minded.

Cui Yuan is a man, he also has to consider his reputation abroad,

Princess Yongkang can't control that much.

As the second daughter of Emperor Xianzong, she actually had no status during the Chenghua period.Her mother, Concubine Guo Hui, was also not favored in the harem, and she was the only one who gave birth to a daughter without a son, so she was basically the kind that was put aside by Emperor Xianzong.

Until Emperor Hongzhi ascended the throne.

Hongzhi was a generous emperor, especially his relatives.

And the title of Yongkang,
It was also granted to her by Emperor Hongzhi.

In the sixth year of Hongzhi, Cui Yuan, the son-in-law, was specially selected for him.

Cui Yuan is handsome and has a good reputation. Marrying his younger sister to this person can also show that Emperor Hongzhi loves her.

Now, Zhu Houzhao treats them well.

Because Princess Yongkang and concubine Cui Yuan are both law-abiding people, Zhu Houzhao has no reason not to treat them preferentially.

In this way, Princess Yongkang was actually more radical than Cui Yuan. She advised her husband, "Since we know about this, we should report it to His Majesty immediately."

Of course Cui Yuan was conflicted,
It's kind of unkind to do this...

"If my husband finds it difficult, then my husband should not enter the palace."

That means, she has to go alone.

Princess Yongkang must protect the emperor. Anyway, she is a woman and a princess. She is not afraid of any bad words. Those men who care about her are narrow-minded.

But in fact, Zhu Houzhao doesn't need her help.

Marquis Yongkang's actions were too amateurish, Jin Yiwei also caught the two escaped assassins.

He must be involved in the salt class case.

This is already a certainty.

But after all, Emperor Taizong himself conferred the title of Marquis of Yongkang. If there is no emperor's decree, Mao Yuwen would not be able to arrest people rashly, so there are many procedures to go to the palace to ask for the decree.

After that, groups of people surrounded the Yongkang Hou Mansion.

The female relatives in the mansion were crying loudly, while Yongkang Hou himself was sitting in the lobby with a pale face.

"This Marquis wants to see His Majesty!"

Mao Yuwen didn't understand why he was so fierce at this time.

"Master Xu, even if a courtier has a serious business to see His Majesty, he still has to go to the attendant's room to pass a note and wait. Now you always want to see Your Majesty so easily, I'm afraid it will be as difficult as heaven."

Mao Yuwen made a bad move, the meaning in his words, you see the emperor is nothing serious.

"Xu Kai, Marquis of Yongkang, begs to see His Majesty!!"

"Xu Kai, Marquis of Yongkang, begs to see His Majesty!!"

……

Although this guy was arrested, he kept shouting like that all the way.

Those who didn't know thought there was some grievance.

Mao Yuwen had no choice but to send someone to report the situation to the emperor.

In fact, the emperor is very busy, where is the time to see him?

It's not a lie,
At this time, Minister Liang Chu of the Ministry of Officials, Minister Han Wen of the Ministry of Households, Minister Wang Bing of the Ministry of War, Minister Lin Han of the Ministry of Rites, Minister Zeng Jian of the Ministry of Industry, Minister Min Yu of the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, the Minister of General Affairs, and the chief officer of the Metropolitan Procuratorate All gathered in the Qianqing Palace.

There are six departments and nine ministers, and one is not less.

In addition, Yang Tinghe, British Duke Zhang Mao, Cheng Guogong Zhu Fu, and Dingguo Duke Xu Guangzuo were also present.

Among the ministers, the most important is the British official Zhang Mao. He is now in charge of the military governor's mansion and the five military battalions. He not only has a high title, but also a high official position.

So now the nobles in the capital are often headed by him.

Such a big battle is naturally not a small talk.

But the case of the salt class has confirmed the fact that since there is such a thing, then what to do is naturally a matter for the court to consider.

It just happened that there was a memorial in Korean as an opportunity,
Among them, "private cooking is especially the beginning of the malpractice system", "traitors occupy the middle and Huai salt, and sell nests without profit" and so on, they can all see clearly.

And dry the palace,
Except for a few people like Han Wen and Min Gui who knew that the emperor already knew about the disadvantages of the salt lesson, many others were a little caught off guard. It hasn't been long since that morning, how did the situation develop so fast?
"...Although the first year of Zhengde is not yet halfway through, this case must have become the biggest case of the year. Not one of the ministers, servants, and civil servants will fall... Hey, I really didn't know that the Ming Dynasty was so filthy. corner of!"

The ministers bowed their heads, what can they say when things have reached this level?
I'm afraid I pray more that I don't get involved in it.

"You all came here today, and now that such a scandal has happened, you all talk about what to do. Before you talk, think about how the Ming Dynasty became what it is today."

"If the ancestors have spirits in the sky, I don't know how angry they would be to see the world being turned into this state. In order to have face to meet the ancestors in the underground in the future, I have to think about it. Emperor Taizu faced today's situation. What to do. So let's all think about it, and after thinking about it, this matter will be easy to handle."

The ministers were shocked,

What are you doing mentioning Emperor Taizu at this time?
Is it necessary to slaughter all those related personnel?

To tell the truth, some honored ministers' salt quotations were given by Emperor Hongzhi. Of course, it is wrong for them to use their status to "sell their nests", but it should not be a crime of beheading.

Moreover, in fact, in addition to the honorable ministers, servants and civil servants, there are also clan relatives, and this group has also been rewarded with a lot of salt by the Xiao Temple.

They shouldn't be honest, right?
"Qizou Your Majesty," Han Wen stepped forward and cupped his hands. He is a man of Shangshu, so he naturally wanted to speak, "I think the disadvantages of the salt lesson have harmed the country. If it is not clear, the world will be restless and the treasury will not be rich. Therefore, I hope your majesty Make a decision early, thoroughly investigate the salt law, and clean up the universe!"

It's not like what he said.

Many people in Qianqing Palace understand Korean.

There are many people involved in the salt class, and it is said that a thorough investigation is required, how to investigate, and what to do if it is found out?
The Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry Zeng Jianren was old and unwilling to have such turmoil, so he played: "Your Majesty, the so-called heavy codes are used in troubled times, and benevolent government is practiced in prosperous times. Since your Majesty ruled the country, the court has become more pragmatic and the people have become more prosperous. Benevolence to the world. The evils of the Salt Law are certainly hateful, but the Salt Law has a great relationship, if it is easily provoked, the ministers fear that the court will be in turmoil and the people will be uneasy!"

"But I remember a saying in "Zhou Li": strong medicine to eliminate illness, and severe punishment to rule chaos. Shouldn't heavy punishment be applied to serious illness like the Salt Law? Benevolent government is given to the people who abide by the law. These people are neither ordinary people, They won’t abide by the law either. In this case, you still have to show mercy to them?” Zhu Houzhao was slightly disdainful, “Today’s discussion is for you to discuss how to punish them, not whether to punish them. Sometimes I feel that Strange, it is only natural to be punished for doing something wrong, why? I have been in the deep palace for a long time, don't you know that in this world, people who make mistakes can not be punished?"

No one answered this question.

Zhu Houzhao felt ashamed.

"Zeng Shangshu, what do you think?"

Zeng Jian was helpless, he paused for a moment and replied, "What Your Majesty said is of course correct. It's just the way of governing the country, sometimes it's not that simple."

"How complicated can it be?" Zhu Houzhao tilted his body, "If I don't punish people who have done wrong things, then who should I punish? People who have done wrong things and have low official positions? Then the emperor is not bullying the weak and fearing the hard Lord."

Speaking of this, everyone knows that the emperor has already made up his mind.

According to past experience, this cannot be persuaded.

The British Duke Zhang Mao, who had been silent for a long time, said: "Your Majesty is naturally bullying the weak and afraid of the hard-pressed. His Majesty will make the decision tomorrow. However, if there are too many people involved in the case, it is indeed unstable. It is better like this. This case should be investigated or investigated, but it is not Can there be a distinction?"

"What's the difference?"

"Those who voluntarily confess to the imperial court and hand over the silver taels obtained will be dealt with lightly. Those who resist the investigation and refuse to plead guilty will be punished according to His Majesty's will! I have two considerations. First, some salts are given by the Temple of Filial Piety. Second , There are too many people involved in the case, Jinyiwei will have to seize the world, and there will be chaos at that time, which will actually affect this year's salt taxation."

Zhu Houzhao nodded, but it actually sounded a little plausible.

The main reason is that Emperor Hongzhi did reward too much Yanyin, but he cannot be blamed for this.As a person of this era, from the perspective of an exploiter, he naturally thinks that such things can be rewarded, and that it is normal for businessmen and common people to be exploited.

It's just that the last emperor rewarded Yan Yin, and this emperor would kill people because of this excuse, which is really unreasonable.

However, the Duke of England should know that the Marquis of Yongkang did not take the initiative to confess. This suggestion was actually to sacrifice him, which was regarded as a concession to the emperor.

"Mr. Ying, your idea is good. But there is a time limit for voluntary confession. I can't wait for him for ten or eight years. There must be specific measures for lenient punishment. How can it be called lenient punishment?"

After Zhu Houzhao finished asking, he said again: "Besides, I have never said that it is a sin for these people to hold salt in their hands. As you said, many of them were bestowed by the late emperor. What I want to investigate is that some people are making profits. I used inappropriate means, so even if I voluntarily confessed, I would not deal with it too lightly. Otherwise, wouldn’t Daming Law become a joke, anyway, as long as I did something wrong, it would be fine if I said it.”

The atmosphere of Qianqing Palace was a little stagnant for a while,
The emperor had a tough attitude and was unwilling to let offenders who violated the law.

In this case, it can't be said that people's heads are really rolling.

"Your Majesty," Min Gui, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, asked a professional question, "You can make a profit by selling Yanyin itself. How do you define it as profit by improper means?"

Zhu Houzhao frowned, and said four words, "Sell private salt."

The normal sale of official salt is the guarantee for the court to impose a regular tax on salt.After the rise of private salt, this part of the regular tax was embezzled.

In other words, reselling private salt is poaching the corner of the country.

So other things can be discussed as appropriate, but it is absolutely not acceptable to take the initiative to sell private salt. This is something that directly damages the interests of the emperor. If you have done all this, how can you say the word "loyal to the emperor"?

So Zhu Houzhao's meaning is very simple and direct, if you poach my corner, I will kill you.

All the officials of the Qianqing Palace looked at me and I looked at you, but in the end no one could say anything.

(End of this chapter)