King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 826 Changes
The Xue family of Yingtian, the Lin family of Suzhou!
When they heard these eight words, everyone present changed color, because everyone knew who they were referring to.

One was the current empress, and the other was a favored imperial concubine, much more noble than the chancellors, ministers, and distant relatives of the royal family.

No one expected that Chen Yuying would dare to say these eight words. To involve these two families is equivalent to dragging the emperor into it. This is extremely courageous.

In fact, Chen Yuying was a little impulsive, but she was also forced into a desperate situation and had no choice but to do something desperate.

If Li Ziheng can be cautious by involving these two people, then Chen Yuying will have won the bet!
Will Li Ziheng have any scruples? Everyone at the scene was watching, and they also hoped that he would have some scruples, so that the next thing would be easy to handle.

But before Li Ziheng could react, Ni Er, who was sitting in his original seat, suddenly stood up, walked to Chen Yuying in full view of everyone, and punched the old man in the face.

"How dare you, old dog, throw dirty water on Your Majesty!"

Ni Er was a smart man. He saw through Chen Yuying's intention, and as the emperor's slave he wanted to stop her.

The reason why Ni Er rose to the top can be summed up in one word: "loyalty", which is loyalty at all costs.

But Ni Er's actions at this moment made Li Ziheng very angry, because this was exactly what Chen Yuying had planned, making him involve the annexation with the royal family.

"Back off!" Li Ziheng shouted.

But his identity as an imperial envoy is not of much use to Ni Er.

In Ni Er's opinion, there is nothing wrong in defending the emperor. Anyone who throws dirty water on the emperor like this deserves to be killed with a single blow.

"Captain Song? Get him to leave!"

Li Ziheng looked at Song Fusheng. At this moment, only he could persuade Ni Er.

Compared to Ni Er, who changed his career late and has been doing rough work all the time, Song Fusheng, who entered the palace since he was a child and worked in the East Factory, has a much more thorough understanding of today's events.

After weighing the pros and cons, Song Fusheng said, "Captain Ni, the Ming Dynasty has its own laws. Such rebellious people will be punished by law. Sit back quickly!"

While Song Fusheng was speaking, Ni Er punched Chen Yuying a few more times, causing her to wail several times in succession.

Lifting Chen Yuying up, Ni Er scolded, "You damn bastard, if you dare to slander our king and father again, I will make you wish you were dead!"

Chen Yuying held back the pain and shouted wildly, "Well done, well done... I was arrogant and shouldn't have involved the Xue and Lin families in this hall!"

One is a commoner, the other is from the Xue and Lin families. To put it bluntly, they are still trying to stir up confrontation, not only for the gentry who are watching the trial, but also for Li Ziheng who is in the court.

Didn't you say that anyone can investigate? Why are you keeping silent now?

At this time, Song Fusheng said, "Master Li, I suggest that we stop here today and rest for a while before retrial!"

Interrupting the interrogation at this time would be tantamount to admitting that the royal court was involved and that the so-called Ming laws would be ineffective.

In this way, the so-called justice will no longer exist, and Li Ziheng will fall from the moral high ground.

"No... The Chen family's case will be concluded today. One is one and two is two. As for the Xue and Lin families he mentioned, if they have violated the law, I will punish them according to the law!"

Hearing what Li Ziheng said, Song Fusheng stood up. He felt that his proposal was safer. They should stop and discuss countermeasures before re-examining the case, instead of rushing into it blindly.

And when Li Ziheng said that even the Xue and Lin families would be tried, Song Fusheng really couldn't sit still.

The imperial guards were different from the officials; they only had to be loyal to the emperor, and everything else had to stand back.

So when Li Ziheng made it clear that he wanted to investigate the Xue and Lin families, Song Fusheng had to respond correctly to show his absolute loyalty to the royal family.

But he is different from Ni Er, he is more methodical in doing things.

"Master Li, you only believed Chen Yuying's one-sided statement and said you wanted to investigate the Xue and Lin families... as if they really broke the law!"

Song Fusheng did not use his power to oppress others, but instead reasoned with Li Ziheng and defended the Xue and Lin families, and what he said made a lot of sense.

"The Xue and Lin families are far away in Jinling. What do they have to do with Jiangbei's affairs? Lord Li, please don't let them mess your mind and do something stupid that would insult your virtue!"

Li Ziheng is also a mortal and he is also prone to inconsiderate things. At this moment, he realized that he had just said the wrong thing.

There was no need to make a statement on things that had not been verified, but he was misled by this old man Chen Yuying.

Li Ziheng then replied: "You are right, eunuch. Today we will only examine the Chen family's affairs, and we will discuss other matters later!"

Judging from his behavior, he had no intention of adjourning the trial, and Song Fusheng had no choice but to say what he should say.

At this point, Chen Yuying has done everything she can, and there is not much room for struggle as to how things will develop next.

The trial continued. Li Ziheng asked the first few questions, but Chen Yuying still could not give a direct answer. Then the former produced various evidences.

With all the evidence, this was an irrefutable situation. Chen Yuying's initial move of using three tricks was obviously a wise one.

Because if he waits until Li Ziheng produces the evidence, he will have no chance to speak.

But whether his three-pronged approach was objectively wise is questionable.

After all, to be associated with the royal family is a way to death!

The Chen family was doomed, but after Chen Yuying burned herself to death, she provided the gentry with a way to involve the Xue and Lin families.

As for whether they can be involved, this is not a problem at all, because the Xue family and the Lin family have really purchased a large amount of land in Jiangbei, especially in Sizhou near Jinling, which is where the civil unrest first broke out.

Why buy land?
This is not a question at all, just like asking why people need to breathe or why they need to eat.

The Chen family was being investigated, and the trial process was spread, so the affairs of the Xue and Lin families could no longer be concealed.

Two days later, the news reached Yingtian, but Xue Pan didn't care. After all, he did not force the sale, and the work was done by the second house.

The second branch of the Xue family is also not simple; Baoqin is from this lineage.

But Xia Yuegui realized something was wrong, so she wrote a letter and sent it to the capital, explaining her family's situation truthfully to the Queen.

Two days after the Xue family's letter was sent, Feng Yuan received an urgent delivery in the Jinling Inspectorate's Office.

The content of the urgent letter was to order him to thoroughly investigate the Nanjing deficit case and bring all the criminals to justice. The wording was extremely harsh.

Bring all lawless elements to justice. This sentence may sound simple, but it is extremely difficult to grasp the right measure.

If the investigation is too thorough, it will involve Lord Jia Hua, who is currently the most popular candidate to join the cabinet.

But only two days later, on the second day of April, Feng Yuan received the latest official report.

The content of each issue of the court bulletin is very diverse, covering all major events inside and outside the court during that period.

But in this report, Feng Yuan saw the most crucial one.

"On March 25, the Emperor went to Chongzheng Hall and appointed Ye Bingwei as Grand Secretary of Wenhua Hall, Luo Guangde as Grand Secretary of Wuying Hall, and promoted Minister of War Gao Zhiwen to the Cabinet, appointing him Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion!"

In other words, the latest cabinet was established, with Ye Bingwei as the chief minister and Luo Guangde as the second chief minister. The missing person was neither He Gujin nor Jia Yucun, but Gao Zhiwen, who was ranked lower.

Feng Yuan needs to carefully understand the purpose of such an arrangement.

He read the court report carefully again, and then discovered another detail, that is, the Minister of Public Security Gu Junliang was imprisoned for forming a party.

Feng Yuan had been in the capital for a long time and knew that Gu Junliang was close to Jia Yucun. The fact that he was thrown into prison without any warning explained more problems.

Why did Feng Yuan become the top scholar? Why didn't he have to endure the hardships in the Imperial Academy? Why could he be sent out as an inspector after being appointed as an official? Why did he come to such an important place as Nanjing?
The only reason for his rise was to figure out the emperor's intentions and do what he wanted to do beautifully.

So that afternoon, Feng Yuan sat quietly in his study and began to write a memorial to impeach the Minister of Rites.

He also found out a lot of information these days, and it was not difficult for him to write it down. It can be said that it is well-reasoned and the content is detailed.

Forming cliques for personal gain, embezzling state funds, and deceiving the emperor...

Once these charges are confirmed, they will be enough to overthrow Jia Yucun.

"At the beginning of the tenth year of Zhengtong, Jia Yucun took office as the prefect of Yingtian. He investigated the deficit and forced his subordinates to make up for it. At that time, I had a conflict with the Xue family and was thrown into prison. With their tacit consent, I was blackmailed by Hu Jin'an and almost died in prison!"

"Fifteen years later, I have to send this important minister to prison. It is really fate..."

Feng Yuan lamented his luck, but because he was deeply involved in the situation, it was difficult for him to have a detached perspective, so there were some things he could not see through.

Otherwise he should have realized that, to be honest, there is no difference between him now and Jia Yucun many years ago.

When Feng Yuan finished writing the memorial and handed it in, he felt like he had accomplished a big thing and felt a little relieved.

Feng Yuan was in a good mood at the moment, because if he could bring Jia Yucun down, he would win great prestige in the imperial censor system and further broaden his official career. He was even sure that he could be promoted to a frontier governor around the age of 40.

Thinking about how I had failed for many years but now I have a successful career, this is what is called late bloomer.

After changing out of his official uniform and bringing only two followers, Feng Yuan walked out of the office and came to the long street.

Before he knew it, Feng Yuan walked into Wuding Gate and saw a small stall on the roadside with seven or eight tables half occupied.

The common people in the market, unaware of the struggles at the top, were discussing the affairs of Jiangbei, especially the story of Li Qingtian.

The so-called Li Qingtian, of course, refers to Li Ziheng, who is indeed famous all over the world today.

Feng Yuan found a seat in a corner and sat down. Listening to the sighs of the holy emperor and the wise ministers in the court, a smile appeared on his face.

Suddenly looking up, Feng Yuan looked towards the sky, only to see the setting sun dyeing the sky and earth crimson.

The sun sets and the moon rises, and the old is replaced by the new. This is their era.

Half an hour later, Feng Yuan left here. Although he didn't order anything, he still left a silver ingot.

When the stall owner saw this, he was stunned. When he wanted to chase after him, the noble man was gone.

Looking at the crowd, the middle-aged stall owner muttered, "More than ten years ago, my father met a noble man who gave him ten silver ingots for just selling a few rice dumplings. I didn't expect that I would encounter something even stranger. This man gave me one silver ingot even though he didn't eat anything!"

Feng Yuan had no idea about the stall owner's feelings. At this moment, he went to the street in front, where he was almost beaten to death.

Back to the end of March, the series of changes that took place in the court shocked everyone.

Zhu Jinghong made an overall adjustment to the cabinet scholars and officials of the six ministries. The impact of this matter would last for a long time, extending to the end of the empire's rule.

The inducement for this change was the presentation of Jinling's deficit, which let him know how bold Jia Yucun was in order to speed up the progress.

Of course, if it was just a matter of deficit, Zhu Jinghong could tolerate it, after all, this guy really got things done.

But this guy was close to Gu Junliang, who was a very important official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so Zhu Jinghong took action.

Gu Junliang had a much shallower foundation, and he was the first to be taken down. As for whether to deal with Jia Yucun, Zhu Jinghong was really hesitant, after all, this man was capable.

Zhu Jinghong was hesitating, and Jia Yucun was extremely terrified because his ally Gu Junliang was imprisoned.

So these few days, Jia Yucun claimed to be ill and was recuperating in his mansion, and none of his followers showed up to see him.

Jia Yucun did not meet any guests, but Zhu Jinghong had been meeting quite a few people recently, mainly the newly promoted ministers and vice ministers.

This was the second large-scale personnel adjustment after Zhu Jinghong ascended the throne. Now, except for two people in the cabinet, the nine ministers and officials of various departments no longer have the old ministers from the Zhengtong period.

Zhu Jinghong's purpose in meeting with these people was very simple, which was to explain the rules to them clearly and tell them what they should do in their positions.

During the meeting, he also revealed to the officials that he would investigate mergers and acquisitions in the north and other places, and seek a plan to exempt from punishment if the properties were returned within a limited time.

At the same time, he also issued an edict to the cabinet, ordering it to formulate a strategy to migrate to the Northeast and other places to alleviate the difficulties of survival of tenants in various places.

On the one hand, Zhu Jinghong stepped up efforts to crack down on mergers and acquisitions, and on the other hand, he encouraged immigration to expand outward, coupled with continuous improvement of productivity. This was Zhu Jinghong's strategy for internal governance.

But internal affairs are only part of his job. Zhu Jinghong's main focus will still be on military affairs, so the arrangement of officials from the cabinet and six ministries is very important.

Fortunately, he had sufficient control over the court and could arrange officials as he wished, but this did not mean that everything was fine. On the contrary, it was just the beginning.

On the first day of April, Zhu Jinghong issued another decree to the Northern Pacification Office, asking the local thousand households to inquire more about the people's sentiments and report any changes in a timely manner.

On the second day of April, Zhu Jinghong summoned Wang Pei'an and ordered him to send imperial censors to inspect various places and investigate some local cancers.

On the third day of April, Zhu Jinghong issued another decree to the Ministry of War, ordering it to summon the commanders-in-chief of various places to report on their work in Beijing at the end of May, and to instruct them on their responsibilities for local security.

A series of imperial edicts were issued, heralding the great changes during the Qiansheng period, which happened without any warning but actually happened.

But if you think about it carefully, this will be inevitable.

Now that external threats have been completely eradicated, it is indeed time to free up our hands and carry out internal reforms and governance. What's more, Zhu Jinghong has a lot of chips in his hands.

His bargaining chips include not only the military power he firmly controls, but also large tracts of undeveloped land in Northeast China and Southeast Asia. With the latter alone, he can crush his opponents in the "economic warfare" aspect.

On the sixth day of April, the letter sent back from the Xue family in Nanjing was finally delivered to the Kunning Palace.

After reading Xue's statement, Baochai couldn't help but sigh.

To be honest, she was not aware of these things, and even if she knew, she would not care, because buying and selling land is indeed a common thing.

But she also knew how sensitive this matter was in the current situation, so she had to think about how to deal with it.

The letter from the Xue family also mentioned what happened at the Lin family, so Baochai asked someone to find Daiyu again.

When Daiyu came over, Baochai showed her the letter.

After reading it, Daiyu and Baochai had similar feelings, but she was more worried that the Lin family had done something immoral in the process of buying and selling.

Putting down the letter, Daiyu said, "The Jiangbei Circuit Inspectorate is trying a case, and someone is trying to make a fuss... I think this is not a simple matter!"

"These gentlemen are always looking ahead. I'm afraid there will be trouble later, and they won't let go!"

Although Daiyu does not care about worldly affairs, she knows about some major events of the time through the mouths of palace maids and eunuchs.

But the fact that she was able to infer the subsequent events based solely on the content of the letter still shows her extremely high political acumen.

Baochai nodded and replied, "I am worried about two things. The first is whether they have done anything evil!"

A blacksmith must be strong himself. As long as you ensure that you are absolutely clean, you have nothing to fear if others throw dirty water on you.

When Baochai brought this up, it was obvious that she had deep doubts about it, even though the letter assured her that there was no such thing.

Daiyu nodded, and then she heard Baochai say, "Your Majesty must know about this, but you haven't summoned me to ask about it. It's hard to predict His Majesty's intentions!"

Zhu Jinghong had of course received the report on the court trial on March 27, and Chen Yuying pointed out that he knew about the affairs of the Xue and Lin families.

For this reason, Zhu Jinghong issued a secret order, asking the Jinyiwei to investigate the situation of the Xue and Lin families. He had no intention of informing Baochai and the others before receiving the reply.

"How will Sister Bao respond next?" Daiyu asked.

They both want to protect their families if it doesn't hurt the greater good and break the law, even if the contact between them is minimal.

Baochai replied, "Take the initiative to report it. If there is something wrong, just make it clear. If there is punishment, then punish it. If you cover it up, it may cause trouble!"

In fact, Daiyu had the same idea. The reason why she didn't take the initiative to propose it was that she didn't want to appear too proactive. This was the prerequisite for the two of them to live in harmony.

The two of them came to the Qianqing Palace together, only to find out that Zhu Jinghong had gone to the Tiangongyuan, which was located in the Shanglinyuan.

This trip was arranged at the last minute. After Baochai asked, she found out that there was a breakthrough in an object called "steam engine" at Tiangongyuan, so Zhu Jinghong made a special trip to take a look.

Baochai knew that Tiangongyuan was a place for studying strange and bizarre things. It was said that under the guidance of Zhu Jinghong, the university had developed several clearly classified disciplines.

There was no choice but for them to go back to the palace and wait until Zhu Jinghong came back when it was almost dark.

It could be seen that this person was in a good mood, so Baochai and the other two seized the opportunity to tell him everything about the letter from Jinling.

Zhu Jinghong no longer concealed this and informed the factory guards that he had ordered an investigation and would take further action once the situation became clear.

After hearing this, Baochai and the other two didn't say much, and just said that they would follow Zhu Jinghong's orders and they would not have any objections.

This is a smart approach. First, get your attitude right so that you can do the next thing easily.

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed, and on the tenth day of April, Feng Yuan's impeachment was delivered to the capital.

If Gu Junliang was still the Minister of Public Administration, when he knew that it was a memorial to impeach Jia Yucun, he could choose to suppress it for a day or two and then discuss countermeasures with his old friend.

But now the Minister of Public Security had been replaced, and he had a grudge against Jia Yucun, so the memorial was directly forwarded to the emperor.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Jinghong was surprised, because the data reported by Feng Yuan included aspects that were not covered by the Northern Pacification Office.

Simply put, Jia Yucun did commit many evil things.

(End of this chapter)