I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 198 Severe Punishment (First Update)
"As for you?"

Zhu Youxiao was furious as he looked at the group of people demanding Bi Ziyan's dismissal.

If they were spontaneous before, it would be forgiven, but after Ye Xianggao's incident, they turned into an organized and premeditated attack. If they obstruct the imperial government, they will naturally be severely punished.

It's just that these people account for half of the six ministries and nine ministers. If they are all severely punished, the six ministries will be wiped out in an instant, and the court organization will be paralyzed immediately.So Zhu Youxiao was very angry, and he knew that the law does not punish the public, but he could only pick a few typical cases to deal with.

"I have said before that anyone can make suggestions in Wenhua Palace's edict without imposing any guilt. No matter what you say, I will not blame you. But you are no longer making suggestions, but are organized and premeditated attacks."

At the beginning, Zhu Youxiao directly characterized them, saying that they were premeditated attacks, so that they could be punished.

"The imperial court is in such a difficult situation. Instead of being considerate of the imperial court, you are instigated by others with the intention of forcing me to depose Bi Ziyan. I really don't know if you still have me or the people in your eyes. I am so disappointed."

"The left minister of the Ministry of War, Yang Changkui, and others formed a clique for personal gain, instigated criticism, and persecuted the emperor. The crime was unforgivable, and they were stripped of their official hats and dismissed from their posts for investigation. The Minister of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and others instigated criticism, causing chaos in the court and leaving the crime. On standby, he will be fined for one year. Everyone else will be strictly investigated to see if they have accepted bribes. If there is any truth, they can be given a lighter sentence as long as they hand over the bribes and self-examine themselves."

"The Governor of Southern Zhili was ordered to Bi Ziyan again. Li Sancai had committed a lot of corruption. He illegally used golden nanmu. After being imprisoned, he did not repent. He colluded with the courtiers to exonerate himself. His crime was unpardonable. He ransacked his house and executed him. The execution in Nanjing serves as a warning and there is no need to escort him to Beijing."

"He then ordered people from the Ministry of Household Affairs to go to Nanzhili to assist Bi Ziyan in recovering the arrears. He promoted Hong Chengchou to be the censor of Nanzhili to organize troops and prepare roads, and to be responsible for the military affairs of Nanzhili. Sun Chuanting was the censor to patrol grain roads in Nanzhili. , responsible for the money and food affairs of South Zhili.

As for the gentry in Jiangnan who owes taxes, Fang Congzhe has done great service to me. I will make up for his debts, so I won't bother him.

As for everyone else, they must pay their taxes within a time limit. No matter what position someone in his family holds or what fame he has, as long as he fails to pay the court taxes within the time limit, he will be dismissed from his position, his title will be deprived of his title, and he will never be used again. Nobles and even relatives of the emperor will also be dismissed. So true.

He then ordered the Metropolitan Procuratorate to send censors to Jiangnan to strictly examine and issue orders. Anyone who dared to add debts owed by wealthy families to the common people in the government offices of Nanzhili and Jiangnan would be seized of official positions immediately and severely punished! "

A series of oral instructions came from Zhu Youxiao's mouth, and the entire court was silent, no one dared to speak.But there was a huge wave in their hearts.

They never expected that the emperor would be so ruthless. They were both surprised and frightened by the emperor's decision. They couldn't help but wonder if the emperor was not afraid of the backlash in the Jiangnan area.

There was such a person more than 40 years ago, who hoped to completely change the Ming Dynasty and re-measure the land throughout the country, harming the interests of the gentry. However, after his death, this person was criticized by hundreds of officials, which implicated the entire clan, and his reputation has not been restored until now.

Although the emperor did not do it more thoroughly than him, he was much more ruthless than him. After all, Zhang Taiyue did not take measures such as seizing fame without paying taxes, dismissal from office, investigation and other measures. This is the most fatal for scholars.

Although this was only the emperor's decision, everyone did not dare to hate the emperor. They could only hate Shen Guan. Their hatred for him really exceeded the sky. It was all because of Shen Guan. If it weren't for him, His Majesty would have been killed long ago. He gave in. If it hadn't been for him, His Majesty wouldn't have punished him so severely.

Shen Guan was also in a state of panic. He had calculated that the emperor would support Bi Ziyan, but he did not expect that the emperor would be so harsh on the gentry in Jiangnan who did not pay taxes.

But there is no turning back now. Although his original intention was to completely divide Donglin and further consolidate his position, now that things have happened, these Jiangnan gentry and even officials will definitely hate him to death.

He is now making countless calculations, knowing that he has only one way to go now, which is to stand on the same side as the emperor, otherwise he will die without a burial place in the future.

At this time, he couldn't help but think of Zhang Cong. During the Great Ceremony Meeting, all the cabinets opposed Emperor Sejong, but he was the only one who saw the opportunity to write a letter of support. This made him spurned by all officials, but he was promoted to the cabinet like a rocket, and became an official in the cabinet. First assistant.

Now he doesn't want the emperor to let him be the chief assistant. He only hopes that the emperor can protect him at the critical moment.

"What's wrong? Are you all mute?"

Zhu Youxiao looked at the silence of everyone in the audience, and instantly became angry again. He knew the consequences of this order, but now he was a little disgusted with his previous style of doing things.

In the past, I felt that I was not authoritative enough when I first took the throne. The Liaodong War was approaching and I did not fully control the military power.

Therefore, he needs to be patient, look forward and backward, and be timid when doing things. But what will be the consequences of such actions? The courtiers form cliques for personal gain and attack each other.

Now that the government has achieved initial results, the Liaodong victory has been won, the construction of the Beijing camp has begun to take shape, and combat effectiveness will be formed immediately. The problem of pay arrears on the nine sides has been almost solved, and the military morale is available.

Therefore, he had the confidence to do things. As long as he held the military power, he would use Bi Ziyan, Hong Chengchou and others to hold the military and financial power in Jiangnan.The gentry in Jiangnan cannot afford to make any big waves.

"Your Majesty, I was wronged. I didn't want to mention this matter. It was all Shen Guan! Shen Guan asked us to go to the Wenhua Palace to mention this matter deliberately so that His Majesty could recall Bi Ziyan." Yang Changwei finally said He couldn't stand it anymore. The hatred he felt towards Shen Guan was because he was treating him as a tool. He was in trouble now, but Shen Guan was fine.

So now he is really determined to bring down the dog thief Shen Guan even at all costs.

As soon as this statement came out, many Zhejiang Party officials also stood up and criticized Shen Guan, saying that Shen Guan was the mastermind behind the scenes.

But even if Zhu Youxiao knew that what they said was true, he would not punish them easily. After all, people like Shen Guan had already cut themselves off from their own class and could only belong to themselves.

In this way, whatever he does in the future, Shen Guan will strongly support him in order to keep his position. This kind of person is the most useful to Zhu Youxiao, so he will not believe Yang Changkui's words easily.

"Your Majesty, I think this statement is wrong. Mr. Shen Ge has always supported the appointment of Bi Ziyan in the palace. How could he deliberately encourage it? I think this is deliberate frame-up. And now there are only two people left in the cabinet. If Mr. Shen Ge resigns because of this matter, I will be the only one left in the cabinet. I am also old and frail, so I am afraid that I will not be fully qualified. Please give me your advice."

Zhu Youxiao was just about to speak for him, but Liu Yishen unexpectedly stood up and spoke for Shen Guan.

As the winner of this struggle, he naturally did not want to see him alone in the final cabinet, otherwise rumors of him being the mastermind would spread throughout the world. He could only put Shen Guan next to him and block the gun for him. Only then could he get rid of it completely, so he had to take action to keep Shen Guan both emotionally and logically.

Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction. He also wanted to keep it, but he just lacked a reason.

"What the Chief Minister said is absolutely right. Mr. Shen Ge has no reason to instigate this matter, but I will investigate the matter carefully. But now there are many national affairs, and the cabinet cannot be short of too many people. Mr. Shen Ge will continue. I will work in the cabinet to find out more before making a final decision."

"Your Majesty, treacherous ministers are in power, treacherous ministers are in power, your Majesty, please distinguish between good and good."

Seeing that the impeachment failed, Yang Changkui was furious and shouted immediately, but Zhu Youxiao didn't give him a chance, so he had people take off his official hat and drag him out.

Shen Guan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his position was saved, and his status in the emperor's heart also rose sharply. He knew it was a blessing in disguise, so he immediately bowed and thanked him.

After such a struggle, the matter of tax arrears in Jiangnan has been settled. Donglin and the Zhejiang Party are both losing. If there is a winner, it will be the Donglin pragmatist faction headed by Liu Yishen who wins.

Liu Yishui still occupied the position of chief assistant. Zou Yuanbiao, Zuo Guangdou, Wang Yingjiao and others were not implicated, and they were even more important by the emperor because of their support for Bi Ziyan.

But this is what Zhu Youxiao likes to see. Doing more practical things and less criticizing each other is what he hopes to see in the court.

"Wang Yingjiao, now that Li Sancai has been punished, Bi Ziyan will continue to pursue the recovery of tax arrears in Nanzhili and take over the power of the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs. Do you think Jiangnan's taxes can still be collected?"

When all the dust settled, Zhu Youxiao looked at the slightly empty Wenhua Hall and began to ask the "initiator" Wang Yingjiao, the Minister of Hubu.

"Your Majesty, in this way, the recovery of arrears will be successful, and this year's taxes will finally be paid. However, although the arrears in Jiangnan account for the majority, the arrears in other places cannot be delayed."

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, it made sense. The right way is not to worry about the disadvantages of the few and the unevenness of the disadvantages. It would not be a problem if only one sheep in Jiangnan was caught.

"This is indeed the case. The cabinet issued a strict order to the chief secretaries to follow the example of Nanzhili and collect the arrears without making any mistakes."

"The minister leads the order!"

"Well, I didn't expect that what happened today would be so big because of Jiangnan's tax arrears. So many people jointly criticized it, which is shocking. Fortunately, Shen Guan has the overall interests of the DPRK and China in mind, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. In fact, it's okay, sir. Without so many people who form cliques and pursue personal interests, it will be much easier for the court to handle affairs.

Today we just take this opportunity to discuss not only the salt tax, but also major financial matters. We will be here first for today's morning meeting. I hope you can make suggestions in the afternoon. As long as you don't criticize wantonly, it will be beneficial to the court. , words do not add guilt. "

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand. Wei Zhongxian immediately understood and immediately stepped forward to announce the end of the imperial edict, and Zhu Youxiao also drove back to the palace.

Nearly a quarter of the people in the hall were dismissed from their posts. Even if the remaining officials who supported the removal were not removed from their posts, they were either reprimanded or asked to self-examine and pay the stolen money. They were dejected and the atmosphere became dull for a while.

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(End of this chapter)