I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 196: Angrily scolding the ministers (second update)

"It seems that you two think Bi Ziyan should be dismissed? What do you think, Liu Yishen and Shen Guan?"

Zhu Youxiao immediately understood what the two meant, and then looked at the other two.

Shen Guan, who had not followed Ye Xianggao, came out and answered with his hands raised.

"Your Majesty, this Bi Ziyan is indeed hateful. He insulted the gentry and tortured former important officials of the imperial court. Such a traitor should be removed from his post and investigated."

As soon as these words came out, Ye Xianggao nodded secretly. Although he didn't know what medicine Shen Guan was selling in the gourd just now, it was good to be on the same side as him now.

In this way, three of the four cabinet members supported the removal, and three of the six ministers supported the removal. Such great pressure cannot be ignored even if the emperor has a tough character.

But what Shen Guan said next surprised him.

"It's just that although Bi Ziyan was at fault, he did extraordinary things at an extraordinary time. Now the country is wasted and the court's expenses have increased. Therefore, after your Majesty ascended the throne, he devoted himself to financial matters. He not only reduced the expenses in the palace, but also Open up the internal fund relief situation. Therefore, the pursuit of Jiangnan's debts is of vital importance to the court, so although Bi Ziyan's behavior is harsh, it is true and excusable."

As soon as these words came out, except for Sun Ruyou who knew about it in advance, the other members of the Zhejiang Party and even Donglin were all shocked. Shen Guan's statement had not been communicated to them in advance.Although he knew that his words would cause controversy, Shen Guan had his own considerations and had not finished speaking yet.

"Therefore, I feel that at this critical moment, Bi Ziyan cannot be removed. If he is removed rashly, where is the majesty of the court and where is the majesty of His Majesty? At the same time, not only cannot he be removed, but the traitors in the court must be investigated to see who they are. To disregard the interests of the imperial court and privately instigate officials to criticize the ministers of the imperial court is to be punished."

The Wenhua Palace fell silent instantly. No one expected that these words came from Shen Guan's mouth. Ye Xianggao and Han Xu also secretly complained that Shen Guan actually turned against them and pointed the finger at them.

Liu Yishen seemed to have woken up at this time. He changed his lazy style and slowly came out to reply.

"Your Majesty, what Mr. Shen Ge said makes sense. No matter how cruel Bi Ziyan's methods are, he is still doing things for the imperial court. How can there be any excuse for owing taxes? I see that no matter who he is, he has to pay taxes, even if he is an official in the court. No way, if he is so inconsiderate to the court, I think it would be better to dismiss him from his official position, or even take away his fame."

"Furthermore, I remember that Bi Ziyan once wrote a letter saying that in order not to offend local wealthy families, some county yamen in Jiangnan Prefecture had cleverly created a name to pass on the tax arrears of these gentry to the common people.

Therefore, I think that as long as Bi Ziyan is replaced, other yamen will follow suit and distribute the tax arrears to the people. I wonder if this is compassion for the court and the people?This kind of wanton and reckless people actually have people interceding for them. It is really intolerable. "

Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction after listening to Shen Guan and Liu Yishen's statements.

It can be said that as a bystander, he already understands the whole story.

It seems that Donglin has already been divided. Liu Yishen, Wang Yingjiao, Zuo Guangdou and others are in one faction, while Ye Xianggao, Han Xu and others are in another faction.

I'm afraid Liu Yishen told Wang Yingjiao to tell this matter, otherwise why would he insist on telling it until now.

But he was confused, what was the purpose of saying this?

Although he hates Ye Xianggao and others, he can only use this matter to punish the officials in Nanzhili who have violated the law. Ye Xianggao and others only support the dismissal of Bi Ziyan. He has done nothing wrong and he cannot punish him now. them.

Not only Zhu Youxiao thought so, but now Ye Xianggao also thought so. When he heard Liu Yishen's words, he had already guessed the whole story. It seemed that Liu Yishen was not a vegetarian. Knowing that he had teamed up with Han Xu to deal with him, he would Take action in advance and be prepared to deal with yourself.

It's just that he is sneering in his heart now. After all, Liu Yishen is still young. He has only been the chief assistant for five months, and he wants to deal with him before he is fully prepared.

It doesn't matter if the emperor is angry now. He is just giving advice and he cannot be dismissed because of this matter.

"I know what you mean. It seems that your ministers still have great differences on this matter. But now that you have finished talking, I will just talk about it."

Although there were still doubts in his heart, Liu Yishen finally made the problem clear and stood on his side, so that he, the emperor, would not be alone in insisting on using Bi Ziyan, so he was willing to follow the trend. , let’s see what other cards Liu Yishen can play.

Zhu Youxiao stood up slowly, stepped down from the dragon chair, and walked slowly to the front of the emperor's throne, looking at the people below who were bending over to hold their hands.

"On the west side of the Wenhua Hall is the Huangji Gate. I remember that I ascended the throne there half a year ago. Most of the ministers were present at that time. At that time, the emperor and emperor Kao died one after another, and the country was shaken. Li Xuanshi also conspired to threaten I plotted rebellion and the situation was critical. It was Wang Daban, Fang Congzhe, Liu Yishui, Han Xu, Shen Guan, the cabinet ministers, Yang Lian and others who rushed to the Qianqing Palace regardless of the obstruction, helped me up the dragon, and supported me here. I have never forgotten the fact about the east palace of Wenhua Palace. At that time, all the ministers were really united and devoted themselves to the country, and I have a deep understanding of it."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present felt the same. It was true that the situation was critical at that time. Everyone did not have any political opinions. They just wanted to succeed in Zhu Youxiao's position. Anyone who dared to stand in the way was the enemy of the civil servants.

"When I came to the throne, everything was in ruins. The princes also wanted to cheer up. I also appreciated it very much and wanted to set an example. Now inside the Huangji Gate, the three main halls of Huangji, Zhongji and Jianji serve as the majestic place in the world and the facade of the imperial court. , I feel that it costs a lot, so I haven’t started repairing it yet, and I have also cut the palace expenses by half, and even the emperor’s brother Zhu Youjian, the emperor’s sister and others have to freeze in winter during the New Year.”

"Every time I think about this, I feel heartbroken. Folks say that an eldest brother is like a father. Although I am the eldest brother, I am indeed extremely incompetent at my job. But now that the world is in turmoil, I, as the emperor, must set an example, and then open up internal funds and appoint virtuous ministers. , accept the suggestion, Liaodong is a great victory, I would like to ask the princes in the court, how have I done in the six months since I took the throne?"

The people below never expected that the emperor did not face the problem head-on, but instead played the emotional card, which made them feel ashamed.

The emperor was indeed right. Just half a year ago, they were united and wanted to follow the late emperor's orders to bring order to the chaos and revive the imperial court.

And in this era when emperors compete with each other, Zhu Youxiao did a pretty good job as emperor. The most important thing was that he achieved the great victory in Liaodong and curbed the deterioration of the situation. Apart from liking martial arts, he had no other problems.

"After your Majesty succeeded to the throne, you revitalized the imperial court and revived the Ming Dynasty. This is something we all have witnessed. Your Majesty has done a good enough job. It is the ministers who are incompetent and constantly worrying about your Majesty. I dare to be ashamed and still... Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Liu Yishui was the first to react. As a participant in the Tianqi Dynasty, he had the most say. If there were still people who thought the emperor was young at first, they could take advantage of it.But only half a year later, no one dared to underestimate the young emperor. He even felt that Zhu Youxiao was even half a point more powerful than Shizong when he came to the throne.

As soon as Liu Yishen said this, everyone knelt down and blamed themselves.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and continued to pace in front of the throne. He didn't care whether these people were sincere or fake, but today they insisted on picking out Bi Ziyan's matter, so let's share it.

One of the benefits of what I did before was that I could stand on the moral high ground and criticize the officials who were holding me back.

Although these people are all veterans, even if he says this, many people will still be rough-skinned and unmoved, and their hearts will definitely not be affected, but in this era of ruling the empire with moral rule, there will always be Some people feel ashamed and realize their mistakes, which is enough to allow them to continue to perform.

"I don't know whether you are ashamed or not, but I am very ashamed. I feel that I have not done well enough to make so many of you think that pursuing Jiangnan's tax arrears is such a bad policy and has caused all kinds of obstructions."

Zhu Youxiao had no expression on his face and started slowly, but the more he spoke, the more severe he became. Finally, he stopped pacing and looked down solemnly.

"I don't know if this is the case. What Wang Yingjiao said just now is right. Is it still reasonable to owe taxes? Is it possible for me to owe taxes unscrupulously with my own fame? Is it possible that all the money recovered by the court was given to me to spend my days and nights? Or was it all used by me? Did you find any money?"

"This is probably your purpose of obstructing Bi Zi's strict punishment of corruption and pursuing the country's tax arrears. To think of me so badly is to embarrass you."

"But I beg you to take a closer look at this world. The rebels in the Northeast have not been wiped out. Many soldiers in the northwest military towns have been without money and food for several years and are selling their sons and daughters. Shandong, Liaodong, and Huaibei are suffering from disasters. The land is thousands of miles away, and the people are displaced. What's more, Not to mention overseas, there are also Western countries that are eyeing us."

Zhu Youxiao is getting more and more angry now. These people don't do practical things for him. Instead, they wantonly obstruct him. They are really doing nothing.

"But you haven't considered this at all. It's really ridiculous that you are listed as a minister, and you still want to revive the imperial court half a year ago. Have you really felt sorry for these people, and have you ever felt sorry for the consequences if the imperial court was defeated in Liaodong?"

"Haha, I see that many of you have never felt sorry for you, and have not even really cared about the situation of the government or the livelihood of the people. The current situation is so difficult that you can't see it clearly, but you are full of talk. Benevolence, righteousness and morality are all about care behind the scenes. They only care about when they will be promoted and whether their own interests will be damaged."

"I'm only 17 years old and I'm still young. I want to learn more from you, but you attack each other all day long for your own selfish interests and ignore the interests of the court. How can I learn from this? I'm really disappointed. "

Zhu Youxiao's sharp words exposed the background of these courtiers.The entire court was silent, speechless as the emperor scolded him.

　Second update please subscribe.

　　I'll continue this evening and see if I can make four updates.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)