I'm really not doing business

Chapter 683: One person in the elegant seat of Jiejie Courtyard

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is easier to talk to than Zhu Yiliu, which is true most of the time. But once someone crosses the bottom line, Zhu Yijun will be even more unruly than Prince Lu. This has been proven by repeated political struggles.

When the emperor does not follow the rules, it is like the sky falling for all the officials.

Zhu Yijun reviewed the entire process of the case and discovered a characteristic of the officials in the Southern Courtyard, which was that they particularly liked to find a scapegoat. In Hai Rui's words, this was an old trick.

They tried to use one or two scapegoats to take all the blame and give an explanation to everyone. From the vegetable farmers who should have been killed, to Dan Wen from the herbal medicine shop, to Dai Fengxiang, they were all scapegoats.

If the emperor was not so serious, or if he was weak, this matter would have ended with the vegetable farmers, or with Shan Wen, just like Wang Jinglong and Gao Gong. In the assassination case in the first month of the first year of the Wanli period, Wang Jinglong and Gao Gong were both scapegoats.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to publicly try Shu Hua, Dai Fengxiang and the seven officials who raised funds together. In addition, there was also the former Xuzhou prefect Chen Wuyin and seven other traitors who openly sold minerals, abused their power for personal gain, sold affiliated household registrations, and made things difficult for military households.

Zhu Yijun also conducted a public trial, so that no one could criticize Prince Lu anymore.

"Your Majesty, I, Xu Bangrui, pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty." Duke of Wei, Xu Bangrui, went to Nanhu Villa to pay homage to the emperor and was quite respectful.

"No need to be polite, my dear. Sit down and talk." Zhu Yijun said with a smile. He did not have too many requirements for the military merits of the Ming Dynasty. As long as he did not cause trouble, it would be fine. This time, Xu Bangrui did not cause trouble. When the Ming Dynasty navy moved from Songjiang Prefecture to Nan Ya and took over the defense, Xu Bangrui did not have any dissatisfaction and handed over the responsibility.

"The humble scholar in the Southern Court hoped that you would not let the Ming navy take over, but you were straightforward and did not hesitate at all. I am very pleased." Zhu Yijun spoke directly to express his thoughts. He has always been like this, speaking his mind directly. It is easy to guess wrong if you keep guessing.

Xu Bangrui bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am ashamed to receive your praise. It is because of the virtue of our ancestors that I have a family motto: the Duke's Mansion will prosper with the country. The Duke's Mansion will survive as long as the country survives. I studied the theory of contradiction and the theory of public and private a few days ago and saw Yuan Fu's words: Guanzi said: Take the family as the family, the township as the township, the country as the country, and the world as the world. I suddenly realized it and my mind was opened. I have a deeper understanding of the family motto."

“There is no home without a country.”

"Guan Zi" is a eclectic school, and its works include the thoughts of Confucianism, Huang-Lao, Legalism, as well as military strategists, diplomats, agronomists, etc.

It is completely different from the Confucian advocacy of self-cultivation, family management, governance of the country and peace in the world. According to Confucianism, everything must start with self-cultivation, while according to Guanzi, the country and the family are inseparable. It is not a concept that needs to be clearly separated, but a relationship of inclusion and being included.

Guanzi's words are actually a question. If you do not regard your family as your family and your country as your country, and you regard other people's families as your family and other people's countries as your country, how can you cultivate yourself? What you cultivate is wrong.

"My dear, do you still believe in the theory of contradiction and the theory of public and private?" Zhu Yijun asked with an even brighter smile.

"I have nothing to do. Unlike scholars who specialize in studying, I just read it because I am interested. My understanding is not deep." Xu Bangrui hurriedly explained that he did not study it very thoroughly. He just read it dozens of times. As a duke, it is his duty to grasp the political direction.

As for political struggles? Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu has already proved with his own example that military merits cannot defeat these scholars, and civil officials are specialized in this.

As long as they don't rebel, no matter how strong the wind is, it won't reach their home in the Duke's Mansion.

"Very good." Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table before speaking, "My dear, I have something to entrust to you. A large execution hall has been built outside the Dagongfang, right in front of your house. You know, this is a public trial. Do you want to preside over it? There is nothing to do, just sit there."

"I obey your order." Xu Bangrui did not hesitate and accepted the order immediately without any reluctance. He had made the choice long ago. It was not this time when he took over the defense, but even earlier, when Song Yiwang was the governor of Nan Ya, Xu Bangrui had already made the choice.

Song Yiwang implemented the land surveying method in the Southern Court. At that time, the powerful and wealthy in the Southern Court were unwilling to do so. As the Duke of Wei, Xu Bangrui took the lead and asked Song Yiwang to lead people to survey their own land. Moreover, in recent years, he has been secretly implementing the decree to return the land to the government office in exchange for boat tows.

A ship's cap is a good thing. Even if you don't sell it overseas yourself, just selling a ship's cap can earn you 10,000 taels of silver a year. It's much better than digging for food in the soil.

The Xu family has two dukes, Duke Ding of the North Yamen and Duke Wei of the South Yamen. They were able to survive amid the violent turmoil during the Hongwu, Jianwen and Yongle years. There must be something to their family motto.

Exchanging farmland for boat guides is a way of judging the situation, and you can also take advantage of the favorable conditions at sea to make a fortune.

The emperor asked him to preside over the public trial, not to let him judge the legal provisions, but to make a statement in support of the emperor's decision as the most powerful and wealthy person in the Southern Court.

"I am a little worried. Will Wang Ci Fu think that I am overstepping my authority and overreaching? If he feels uncomfortable about this, it might not be appropriate." Xu Bangrui expressed his concerns. Will Wang Chonggu feel that the position that should have belonged to him was taken away by the Duke of Wei?
If this leads to a conflict or even enmity, the emperor will have to step in to mediate.

"That won't happen. Wang Ci Fu went fishing." Zhu Yijun looked embarrassed when he talked about this. He had agreed to take a vacation during the southern tour, but it turned out that everyone else was on vacation and he, the emperor, was the only one who was so busy that he had to meet with court officials after reading the memorials and handle cases.

"Ah, fishing?" Xu Bangrui only knew that Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang went fishing, so did Wang Chonggu also go fishing?

Is it really a fish? I'm afraid it's a person.

Prime Minister, Generalissimo, and Deputy Prime Minister, what good targets these are. Once they are eliminated, the Ming Emperor will immediately lose his right-hand man, just like Emperor Shizong lost Zhang Cong.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "They didn't catch any fish. It's not that there are no fish. There are a lot of fish over there. It's probably because they don't fish on weekdays, so that's not the case."

This is not a double entendre, he really didn't catch any fish. Wang Chonggu was so anxious that he wanted to pump out the water!
The fish in Nan Ya were not tactful and would not jump into the fish guard on their own initiative. Luo Sigong bought a lot of fish and threw them into the dragon pond, but the three masters didn't catch a single one.

Lion Mountain is an ancient battlefield. Zhu Yuanzhang built the Yuejiang Tower because it was convenient to observe the enemy situation from Lion Mountain. Qi Jiguang chose Lion Mountain to fish because it was convenient to observe the enemy situation from here. The Ming Dynasty’s Beijing Camp had already crossed the river from Pukou and was stationed outside the Longjiang Shipyard. Once anything happened in Nanhu Villa, the Beijing Camp could rush to help as quickly as possible.

Qi Jiguang was prepared. Of course, he did not think that the lowly Confucian scholars would be so crazy as to attack Lion Rock where the Beijing camp was located. After all, people only have one life.

These three people were fishing in Longtan, but they didn't catch any fish or anyone. They were very angry and frustrated.

"Your Majesty, the new policy is good and I support it. I also agree with splitting up the Southern Court. To be honest with Your Majesty, when I was young, my mother sighed every winter and lamented how difficult people's lives were. When it came to wind, frost, rain and snow, a pound of coal, charcoal, and firewood would sell for a hundred coins. A pound of firewood is only a few cents, but it costs a hundred coins! What a bunch of beasts!" Xu Bangrui said gritting his teeth.

He really hates it.

Xu Bangrui did not have a happy childhood. He was the eldest son of a concubine and his mother was not favored. Xu Bangrui's father, Xu Pengju, preferred his concubine Zheng's son Xu Bangning. Xu Pengju bribed Yan Song and Yan Shifan, and after some efforts, the concubine Zheng became the wife of Duke of Wei. It seemed that it was a foregone conclusion that Zheng's son Xu Bangning would inherit the title of Duke of Wei.

During the Jiajing period, the Zhenwu Camp mutiny broke out in the Southern Court. Duke of Wei Xu Pengju was held accountable by the court, and Zheng's title of Lady of Duke of Wei was also stripped away. All of a sudden, everyone became a bastard, and Xu Bangrui was the eldest son, so he eventually inherited the title of Duke of Wei.

Therefore, Xu Bangrui was not an ordinary born nobleman who did not know the five grains. Because of his father's preference, although his life was not difficult, he had to live frugally since he was a child.

What Xu Bangrui remembers most is his mother's sigh when he was a child.

Xu Bangrui said with emotion: "Now, a pound of coal only costs ten cents. Even in windy, frost, rainy and snowy weather, it only costs twelve cents. This is already extremely cheap, and it is much easier for the people to stock up on coal."

If there had been the Wanli Reform when he was young and coal cost ten cents a pound, my mother probably wouldn't have sighed so often.

"Food, clothing, housing and transportation are all the foundation of the country." Zhu Yijun was very satisfied with Xu Bangrui's choice. At least Xu Bangrui did not jump out to become an obstacle to the new policy, which was a good thing.

Xu Bangrui seemed to have suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, recently Songjiang wealthy merchant Sun Kehong took out 50,000 silver to promote the cowpox vaccination. I was also skeptical at first. Can this little cowpox conquer the plague god?"

"Sun Kehong was doing very well in Songjiang Prefecture. It happened that during the transition from winter to spring, there was an epidemic. Smallpox broke out in Qingpu County. This cowpox is really amazing! If it weren't for the soldiers' vaccination and proper handling, I don't know how big a mess it would have caused."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to take out 50,000 silver coins to promote the cowpox treatment in the Southern Court. I hope Your Majesty will help me."

"Okay, okay, that's right." Zhu Yijun replied with a smile.

Sun Kehong liked to spend money at Songjiang Maritime Academy, mainly to establish good relations. After the maritime academy's captains finished their studies, they would have a natural liking for Songjiang Ocean Trading Company when choosing a ship. The maritime academy was becoming more and more stable and no longer needed so much sponsorship. Sun Kehong now began to use other methods to send money to the government office.

I gave you, Shen Shixing, money, but you, Shen Shixing, absolutely refused to accept it and might even have offended him.

Who are they disgusting? Using the smell of copper to test the officials of the imperial court? In the eyes of the Qingliu, this is a humiliation.

But you, Shen Shixing, cannot refuse to use silver to promote the smallpox epidemic, and these are your political achievements, and we do not ask for your help. But as long as Shen Shixing is in Songjiang, or even enters the cabinet, he can scare some scoundrels and they will not dare to use any bad means against their Sun family.

Sun Kehong used silver to pave the way for Shen Shixing. Shen Shixing did not provide protection but provided deterrence. Is this considered bribery?
At least according to Hai Rui's definition, this does not count as bribery.

Xu Bangrui did not suddenly think of it, but had prepared for it. This was also his usual routine, offering auspiciousness.

Since Xu Bangrui couldn't come up with any auspicious signs, he used the money to promote the cowpox treatment, which could be considered a contribution to the people.

"Reward." Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand and asked Feng Bao to give the reward that had been prepared long ago to Xu Bangrui.

In fact, there was not much, just one hundred silver coins, five bottles of Guojiao, and a Qilin cloak, nothing else. However, this Qilin cloak was what Xu Bangrui wanted most. Although this thing could not be used as a gold medal of immunity from death, it could be used as a waist badge, which could prove that he, Xu Bangrui, was His Majesty's man.

With the opening of the sea in the east wind, the Duke of Wei's mansion earned a lot of silver. It would be better to give some of it to please Your Majesty than to have your property confiscated by Your Majesty.

They were chatting excitedly when suddenly they stopped talking and the atmosphere became a little awkward, because Xu Bangrui was really hesitant this time and seemed to be hesitant to speak for a long time. Zhu Yijun was not in a hurry and waited for Xu Bangrui to weigh the pros and cons and figure it out before speaking.

Xu Bangrui finally took out a memorial, handed it to Feng Bao and said, "Your Majesty, I am stupid, but a fool can always make a good decision. I have an idea and wrote it down. Please take a look at it. If it is not appropriate, please pretend that you did not see it and give me some mercy."

"Let me see what it is." Zhu Yijun picked up the memorial and looked at it carefully. After reading it, he looked at Xu Bangrui more kindly.

"Your idea is very good. I plan to make a decision after discussing it in court. I will collect the memorial first." Zhu Yijun affirmed Xu Bangrui's proposal and gave a clear message that the memorial would go through the process.

"If you have any good ideas, please feel free to tell me. If they are really inappropriate, they will not be implemented. Even if I have ideas, they must be discussed in court. One person's shortcomings can benefit everyone." Zhu Yijun tried to get some more ideas from Xu Bangrui, because the content of this memorial was really good.

"I have lived for so many years, and I have only come up with this seemingly reliable idea. There is really nothing else." Xu Bangrui bowed his head and said, he really had no intention of interfering in the government affairs of the court, nor did he have the ability to do so. It was just that he had been a figurehead for so many years, and only had this seemingly useful suggestion. "I will take my leave." Xu Bangrui finished his words, and without disturbing His Majesty any further, he immediately took his leave.

"Feng Daban, please see Duke Wei off for me."

Xu Bangrui had a low conversation with Feng Bao in front of the door. Feng Bao told Xu Bangrui that he, Feng Bao, was also the Prime Minister, and as the Prime Minister, he would not go out to see anyone off if His Majesty was not satisfied. Moreover, Xu Bangrui's suggestions were very good, and His Majesty would only emphasize them twice if he was really satisfied. There was no need to think too much, just do his job well and run the Grand Court well.

Zhu Yijun held Xu Bangrui's memorial and said with emotion: "Xu Bangrui said that he was just sitting there doing nothing, but I think he actually wanted to do something, but he didn't dare to do it and couldn't do it. He didn't dare to do it because he was afraid that it would be a bad thing; he couldn't do it because the public opinion in the Southern Court didn't allow him to do so."

"He said he had read Theory of Contradiction and Theory of Public and Private. At first I thought he was fooling me, but I didn't expect he really read it."

"He may not even know what he has done. His hesitation is only about whether the Honor of Arms should participate in political affairs, not about this decree."

Xu Bangrui gave the emperor a memorial, the content of which was to boost military power. The current military pay for the Ming Dynasty's capital camp and navy was eighteen silver coins a year, which was neither too much nor too little.

But Xu Bangrui hopes to increase the soldiers' pay, but not for free.

According to Xu Bangrui's idea, if a man had a family, wives, concubines, and a son, he would be given an extra penny of silver every month; if he had three or more sons, he would be given an extra two pennies of silver every month to support the family.

This idea was not created by Xu Bangrui himself, but was first proposed by Zhang Ao, the Minister of War in the Southern Court during the Jiajing period, and was implemented during the Jiajing period.

And this Shangshu Zhang Ao is the father-in-law of the current Sichuan General Liu Jing. Zhang Ao also comes from a military household and is a family friend of the former Sichuan General Liu Xian.

Xu Bangrui's father Xu Pengju was nicknamed a fool during the mutiny in Zhenwu Camp because he was really a fool. The reason for the mutiny in Zhenwu Camp was similar to that of the Ninth Camp in Zhejiang, which was a pay cut. However, the pay cut in Zhenwu Camp was not a reduction in military pay, but a reduction in the monthly rations for the wives of the recruited soldiers.

The Zhenwu Camp was a group of guest soldiers, that is, recruited soldiers. The monthly ration for the wives of soldiers was four dou of rice. According to the price of rice, the wives of soldiers could receive two cents of silver a month. This amount of money was really a lot of money. When the Japanese invasion gradually subsided and Ma was released to the south, Ma Kun, the Minister of Revenue in Nanjing, requested to abolish the monthly ration for the wives, which naturally caused dissatisfaction among the soldiers.

When the Zhenwu Camp mutinied, Xu Pengju fled with his tail between his legs, and then immediately took out a reward of 100,000 silver coins to reward the foreign soldiers, further intensifying the conflict.

If Li Sui, the assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, had not come forward to greet the soldiers, there might have been a real war.

Later, the monthly food allowances for the wives of the Zhenwu Camp were stopped, and the Zhenwu Camp was gradually disbanded after being repeatedly cut by a blunt knife.

The policy of promoting culture and military power was never just talk, including Chen Wuyin's audacity to sell the attached citizenship. These small local tricks were to undermine the specific practice of military settlements and garrisons. Some people in the court instigated the policy, while some people in the localities carried it out. Various difficulties were made, and the policy of promoting culture and military power gradually turned into a policy of not promoting military power. Altan Khan directly attacked the capital, and Japanese pirates plagued the southeast.

The soldiers also made a fuss, but it was of no avail. Under the unstoppable trend, even the Nan Ya Zhenwu Camp became a historical silhouette.

During the whole process, Xu Bangrui could not understand his father's decision. There were only 3,000 people in the Zhenwu Camp at most, and his wife earned two cents of silver a month, and his monthly expenses were only 600 taels. After the mutiny, Xu Pengju offered a reward of 100,000 silver taels to quell the mutiny. These 100,000 taels of silver could support the camp for twelve years. As long as no new soldiers were recruited, these twelve years would be enough for the Zhenwu Camp to disintegrate naturally.

Does it have to get to this point where everyone loses face?

What Xu Bangrui could not understand the most was that his father, as a military hero, did not seek benefits for the soldiers, but instead mixed with the civil officials to promote civil and military affairs. What benefits would promoting civil and military affairs bring to military heroes?
"The soldiers of our Ming Dynasty are truly loyal beyond words." Zhu Yijun sighed. If these methods of promoting both civil and military affairs were used in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, not to mention the military governors, even the emperor's head would have been chopped off. This will teach you what it means to lose control of violence.

"Submit an order to the Ministry of War to implement it. This should be the treatment they deserve." Zhu Yijun decided to implement it. In fact, there was really not much money. Compared with the Ming Dynasty's annual military expenditure of 12 million silver dollars, the monthly food for wives was really not a lot of money.

"Your Majesty, I am stupid." Feng Bao looked at Zhang Hong and asked, "Your Majesty, my wife's monthly food allowance is only two coins, why do you force her so hard?"

Feng Bao could not understand the reasons and the whole development process of the Zhenwu Camp mutiny. Logically speaking, everyone was a decent person, and it was really unacceptable for them to behave so disgracefully, but it still happened.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "It's very simple. Military pay is life money. You can't not give it. If you don't give it, no one will fight for you. The Japanese pirates won't talk nonsense with you. When they kill people, they don't care whether you are wearing a Confucian robe or not. But you must not give monthly food for your wife. If you give it, the soldiers can support their wives and children. Do you understand?"

"I am stupid." Zhang Hong bowed his head again. What the emperor said was confusing and Zhang Hong didn't seem to understand.

Zhu Yijun put his hands together and said directly, "Because soldiers can support their wives and children, these children can read and learn to read, and in the future they can pass the imperial examinations and seize power. Isn't this the reason why Chen Wuyin and his gang are trying to sell the attached household registration? They are trying every possible way to reduce the number of Jinshi from military households and keep the power firmly in their own hands."

"You see, the teacher was a fish that slipped through the net. He sympathized with the soldiers' plight and proposed a new policy to enrich the country and strengthen the army. This system of performance appraisal made all officials feel uneasy and miserable."

"No matter what, we cannot encourage soldiers to have children. It would be best if they were to die without heirs. This is the way to wipe out the family line of scholars in our Ming Dynasty. This is how we promote culture while promoting military power."

Feng Bao immediately bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand. This scholar wants to promote culture and military power. I understand, but if this promotion of culture and military power lasts too long, what will happen if the northern barbarians come? What will happen if the Japanese pirates come?"

Zhu Yijun was almost laughing out of anger, and waved his hands repeatedly, saying: "What should I do? What should I do? How should I know what to do? Asking me to kneel down and kowtow, pay tribute and live in peace, our Ming Dynasty can't do it, right? So, just die."

These two companions were playing tricks on the emperor again, but Zhu Yijun didn't care.

"I understand." Feng Bao and Zhang Hong looked at each other. They understood everything! They just deliberately sang the same tune to let His Majesty speak it out himself. And His Majesty knew it very well. This little trick could not be hidden from His Majesty.

The two eunuchs kept complaining in the emperor's ears about the bad things about the civil servants every day. After a long time, the emperor got annoyed, so it was better for the emperor to complain himself.

"No, one penny of silver for one child, two pennies for three children, this is not reasonable. Two pennies of silver cannot support three children, and these little brats will eat me to death. We have to add some more money. One penny of silver for one child, two pennies for two, and three pennies for three. This way, it will be reasonable." Zhu Yijun picked up Xu Bangrui's memorial and gave his opinion - add more money.

Of course he knew that soldiers were paid, and most of the Ming Dynasty soldiers' salaries were used to support their families. He was just looking for a reason to increase their pay.

Live, live hard!

Xu Bangrui's method was to encourage soldiers to have children. If they married a wife and had a child, they would get an extra penny of military pay, and if they had three children, they would get two pennies of military pay.

With more people, plus the three-level schools in the Beijing Garrison and the Navy, the number of Jinshi from the military households of the Ming Dynasty will increase, which can at least stop the trend of promoting culture and military affairs.

There is no need to worry about children giving birth to grandchildren or grandchildren giving birth to children. In this army, every soldier has his own position and whoever serves in the army will enjoy the benefits.

In this way, the basic foundation of the Ming Emperor was completely determined.

On April 15th of the 13th year of the Wanli reign, the splitting of the Southern Yamen began secretly. Everyone's attention was attracted by the public trial outside the Xi'an Gate. The first public appearance of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun in the Southern Yamen was the public trial.

Chen Lin, Li Le and others renovated the Xi'an Gate and made it look brand new, which did not bring shame to the government office. After all, if such a large city gate tower was in such a dilapidated state, the people of the Ming Dynasty would laugh at the poverty of the court, and if foreign envoys saw it, friendly countries would be shocked.

"Let's begin." After Zhu Yijun sat down, he announced the start of the public trial.

The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear. God was particularly kind today. The late spring and early summer sunshine was shining on the earth. On the city walls, flags were fluttering. As the emperor gave orders, drums and trumpets sounded, and Yuan Hongyu, the chief censor of the Nanjing Censorate, walked out of the Xi'an Gate holding the imperial edict and came to the Great Punishment Hall.

The execution hall was open-air. In keeping with the virtue of frugality, it looked a little crude, but dignified enough. Below the execution hall were people from the Southern Court of the Ming Dynasty. A total of three thousand people were selected, including three hundred soldiers, and the remaining two thousand seven hundred were all poor laborers rather than powerful and wealthy people.

"Bring the prisoner!" Yuan Hongyu placed the imperial edict on the shelf on the table, pulled out a command arrow, threw it on the ground, and started today's public trial.

Xu Bangrui didn't need to do anything, he just had to sit there, Yuan Hongyu was in charge of everything.

Yuan Hongyu looked at the 17 criminals below the stage and sighed. He was not sighing because he was with his colleagues, but because he sighed that they did not listen to advice. After Yuan Hongyu arrived at the Southern Court, he reminded them more than once not to go too far in anything they did. The emperor was not so unkind that as long as you don't do things too excessively, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would not bother to pay attention to you.

It's not a big deal if you are greedy and take a little, but if you insist on making yourself a traitor, this will be the end result.

"Dai Fengxiang, Shu Hua, General Hai is too lazy to pay attention to you. What happened in the past is in the past. You insisted on carrying out another assassination, and things have come to this point. You are bringing trouble upon yourself." Yuan Hongyu said with some emotion as he looked at Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua who were kneeling on the ground.

If Hai Rui came, they would just stay away. After all, Hai Rui was a gentleman, so how could he chase them? But they were afraid, afraid that Hai Rui would retaliate against them.

Judging from their own experience, Dai Fengxiang and Shu Hua would never give up, so they thought Hai Rui would not give up either.

"Bring the witness." Yuan Hongyu said no more and began to investigate the case.

Three hundred copies of written evidence and confessions were made and preached among the people below the stage. Yuan Hongyu would proceed to the next step only after the imperial guards had finished their preaching. The whole process was very rigorous. All physical evidence was held up and displayed by the imperial guards. The whole process was orderly, and the right and wrong were clear.

"Your Majesty, the people are a little excited. It is better to end it quickly." Wang Chonggu had been looking around. He believed that the public trial was good, but it should not last too long. The people were already red-eyed, and they wanted to eat the scum in the execution hall alive.

If we continue with the established process, I'm afraid there will be chaos.

Hai Rui was the upright judge in the hearts of the people. They only found out today that the upright judge's wives and concubines had died, and the judge almost died as well.

"What Wang Ci Fu said makes sense. Let's announce the verdict." Zhu Yijun nodded. He claimed to be calm, but looking at the witnesses, objects, and evidence, he wanted to run to the execution hall and chop these 17 scumbags into pieces one by one!

They all came to the world as human beings, but after reading so many books, they became animals instead!
"Dai Fengxiang will be escorted to the capital today and taken to the interrogation court. Shu Hua, Chen Wuyin and other criminals will be executed immediately! In broad daylight, in full view of everyone, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Yuan Hongyu, will make the verdict and report it to the court. They will be executed in the autumn!" After the eunuch conveyed the highest instructions, Yuan Hongyu immediately announced the verdict.

The people's emotions have reached a critical point. If more evidence is presented, I'm afraid someone will really be sent to the execution hall.

Dai Fengxiang's crime was to be executed as a member of the imperial court, while Shu Hua and other corrupt officials were beheaded in public.

(End of this chapter)