Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 359 Your Majesty, someone is holding a large imperial edict to sue the emperor! (Please subscribe!!)

In an inn on the outskirts of Beijing.

Several businessmen walked in despite the wind and snow.

"Boy, hurry up and prepare some food for us! Also, feed the horses outside the house with some fodder! Hurry. We have to enter the capital before dark!"

"Okay! Please sit down first. Hot food will be served to you soon!"

The waiter in the store immediately became busy.

"Hey, why are the guests in such a hurry? It's snowy outside and it will get dark soon. Why don't you stay here for one night and go to the city tomorrow?"

A beautiful woman in red came down from upstairs. She seemed to be the proprietress of this inn.

Hearing the sound, several businessmen looked at the proprietress in red, their eyes brightening.

"Ouch! I didn't expect that this capital city is different. A suburban inn has such a beautiful proprietress!"

"What a feast for the eyes! It's a pity that we rushed to the capital for important matters, otherwise we would have to stay in the inn today to take care of the landlady's business."

"Don't be sad in the New Year, boss. If everything goes well, we'll come back when we come back!"

After hearing the words of several businessmen, the lady boss in red smiled and said, "Since you all have important things to do objectively, I won't force you to keep me here. Can I give you a shredded pork rice bowl for each of you?"

"Shredded Pork Rice Bowl?! Is this the first time I've heard of this name?"

"Boss, we are in a hurry, so we can't take too long!"

"The taste must also be guaranteed. If the taste is not good, we will not pay for it."

"This is just the shredded pork rice bowl, the boss lady can arrange it for us quickly!"

After hearing about "Shredded Pork Rice Bowl", several businessmen looked puzzled and started talking one after another.

"Every guest, this must be your first time to my shop. The shredded pork rice bowl is our signature. Every day, many people come to my place to eat. They all praise the shredded pork rice bowl for its deliciousness. There are also many repeat customers. !” The proprietress in red said with a smile: “And this shredded pork rice bowl not only tastes good, but it’s also fast!”

"Kitchen chefs, listen up, here are four portions of shredded pork rice bowl!"

Not long after the lady boss in red finished speaking, the waiter came out with something, which was four bowls of shredded pork rice.

"Everyone who is objective, please use it slowly!"

After saying that, the lady boss in red returned to the counter.

The four businessmen started eating after receiving the shredded pork rice bowl!

"Hey, this shredded pork rice bowl tastes really good!"

"Fragrant! The aroma of vegetables and rice blend into one!"

"Yeah, this is the best meal I've ever had!"

"It's delicious! Although it's just shredded pork with some vegetables, it tastes even better than those delicacies from the mountains and seas!"

The more the four businessmen ate, the happier they became, and they turned into masters of cooking.

After a while, they finished eating the meat rice bowl and sat on the bench with expressions of enjoyment.

“The capital is such a great place, with such delicious food!”

"We have come all the way, and this is the most comfortable meal we have today."

“I really can’t eat anymore, otherwise I’ll have to order another bowl!”

"We'll have another meal after we finish things!"

"This is a good idea, but please keep your voices down, we have important tasks on our shoulders!"

"Hey - we go to Beijing this time. If we succeed, that's fine. If we don't, I'm afraid we won't be able to get out again!"

"We are the only ones who have successfully arrived in the capital. Seeing that we are about to arrive in the capital, we must not let down our guard, let alone give up!"

"Yes, what we shoulder is the future of nearly ten million people in the four southern provinces. We must not lose anything."

"Hmph! Li Shanchang is covering the sky with one hand in the four southern provinces and bullying the people. If the court did not move him down last time, our four southern provinces will probably fall into the endless abyss!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down, we have entered the capital now. Don't you know that the Huaixi Party has great influence in the capital? If the Huaixi Party members know our whereabouts, our lives will be in danger!"

"Let's go, don't waste any time, let's get to the capital first before it gets dark!"

The four businessmen murmured in a low voice, threw a piece of silver on the dining table, and left in a hurry.

Looking at the backs of the four businessmen leaving.

The proprietress in red was thoughtful and murmured in a low voice, "Could it be that these businessmen from the four southern provinces and Li Shanchang want to go to Beijing to sue the grand master of the dynasty and the Duke of South Korea - Li Shanchang??!!"

Coming to this conclusion, the lady boss in red looked surprised.

At this time, the waiter walked in, muttering as he walked, "This horse has not even eaten yet, so he rode away in a hurry. This is the first time I have seen someone in such a hurry. He is more anxious than going to reincarnate!"

"Boss boss, have you paid these people for their meals? If they are freeloaders, we have to report them to the police and arrest these people!" The waiter's words brought the red-dressed boss lady back to her senses, "They put all the money on the table. Go get the money quickly!"

"Yes." The waiter nodded and quickly came to the place where the four businessmen were eating. He picked up the silver from the table and said excitedly: "Madam boss, those people just now are really rich! Just fifty taels of silver in one hand!"

The proprietress in red did not answer the waiter's words. Instead, she wrote something in a notebook. After finishing writing, she quickly said: "Waiter, please send this letter to the women's and children's society office! You must be quick!"

"Yes!"

The waiter took the letter and ran out of the inn.

The landlady in red said in a deep voice: "It seems like something big has happened in the south, and I'm afraid the capital won't be peaceful either."

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Zhu Yuanzhang is reviewing the memorial.

Almost a year later, Zhu Yuanzhang was visibly aging, and the hair on his head was completely white.

Although most memorials are now handled by Prince Zhu Biao and several cabinet scholars such as Lu Chang and Song Lian, many major issues still have to be sent to Zhu Yuanzhang for review.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself is a person who focuses on "government affairs", and he can handle memorials with ease, and he does not feel tired. However, every time he handles them for a long time, he always feels that his body is getting more and more strenuous.

And for more than a year, Ming Dynasty has been booming in all aspects. The treasury has more money and more things are done. What satisfies Zhu Yuanzhang most is that the development of the north and the south is relatively balanced!

Previously, under Ouyang Lun's management, Beizhili became the richest province in the Ming Dynasty, providing a lot of tax revenue for the Ming Dynasty. Although Ouyang Lun was transferred to the capital, the development of Beizhili did not stop. The Great Wall It is still under renovation, and a new city is rising from the ground! Highways and cement roads are being built one after another, and taxes are increasing year by year.

Border trade is also booming. The trade city is becoming more and more famous, and it has begun to support Beizhili. The trade city has actually become a platform for the grassland people to use their cattle, sheep, and wealth to purchase the products produced by various workshops in Beizhili. The product.

According to Jinyiwei's intelligence, many tribes in the southern part of the grassland are now heavily dependent on the products of Beizhili. If anyone wants to attack Beizhili, these tribes will be the first to give up. The north can be said to be very safe.

It stands to reason that with such rapid development in the north, the gap between the north and the south should become wider.

But what surprised Zhu Yuanzhang was that the development of the south was not bad. According to the memorial statement submitted by Li Shanchang, under his management, the four southern provinces achieved the development speed of Beizhili. Various roads, bridges, buildings, new districts, and stock markets .are popping up like bamboo shoots after the rain. It can be said that they are found in Northern Zhili and also in the four southern provinces.

"Father seems to be quite satisfied with the development in the south." Prince Zhu Biao was standing behind Zhu Yuanzhang. He couldn't help but say when he saw Zhu Yuanzhang holding Li Shanchang's memorial and smiling.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "The foundation of the south is already good, and Li Shanchang refers to Ouyang Lun's methods everywhere, so it is normal for the four southern provinces to develop."

"Li Shanchang is not as capable as Liu Bowen or Ouyang Lun in terms of ability, but he can learn. I was not disappointed when I sent him to manage the South this time!"

"Hmph, the success of the four southern provinces has made me certain of one thing."

"Father, what is going on?" Zhu Biao asked curiously.

"Of course it would be good for our Ming Dynasty to leave Ouyang Lun. Ouyang Lun's methods can be copied and used better!" Zhu Yuanzhang said excitedly.

"Father, I don't quite understand why you are so happy." Zhu Biao asked.

"Biao'er, you have to remember that it's not scary if a minister is capable, but if his ability is unique and no one can replace him, it would be very scary!" Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly: "Facing such a capable minister, you can't bear to let him go. Kill him and the people will support him. As time goes by, our old Zhu family's empire will be unstable!"

"For such a person, either squeeze out his value and kill him as soon as possible, or cultivate an existence that can check and balance him. Only in this way can the problem be solved!"

"But Father, your fourth brother-in-law is not an outsider, he is your son-in-law and your son-in-law's brother-in-law!" Zhu Biao couldn't bear to say.

"Ahem, we didn't say it was Ouyang Lun, you're overthinking it!" Zhu Yuanzhang said awkwardly: "Biao'er, after the New Year, you will go to Guangdong in person and bring Li Shanchang back. By that time Ouyang Lun should also It’s time to go to court, and then the court will be the stage I set for the two of them!”

"Yes." Zhu Biao nodded.

At this moment, a guard ran in.

"Your Majesty, there is someone holding a large imperial edict to report to the imperial court!"

Um! ?

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and his son were both shocked.

Unlike other founding emperors, Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a completely poor family. He had witnessed the corruption of officials and the hardships of the people. After becoming emperor, he recalled the past and said emotionally to the prince Zhu Biao: "Peasants work early in the morning and work late in the day, but they wear rags." , Eat coarse food, I wonder if the local parents and officials can have mercy on them." Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang established his own thoughts on governing the country early - "control officials with strictness, and treat the people with generosity." In other words, he must have strict requirements for officials and treat the people , try to be tolerant.

In order to implement this ideal of governing the country, Zhu Yuanzhang began to severely crack down on official crimes as soon as the Ming Dynasty was established. He severely punished corrupt officials and officials who neglected their duties, and even introduced the penalty of "peeling off the skin to make the grass grow stronger", which meant The skins of corrupt officials were peeled off, filled with straw, and placed at the gate of the government office as a warning to subsequent officials.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was at a high level in the temple, so it was impossible for him to completely investigate the sentiments of the people, let alone to have a panoramic view of the crimes committed by all local officials. So, how can we detect and punish those unjust officials early? Zhu Yuanzhang thought hard and finally thought of a way: let the common people go to the capital to report the crimes of unscrupulous officials, and no one was allowed to stop him along the way!

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang did not make such "extreme" regulations at the beginning. In the fifteenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial edict that stated: People who have been wronged can only redress their grievances in the local government, and then they can be redressed from below. However, it was finally handed over to Zhu Yuanzhang, and he could not just go all the way to the capital to complain to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"All military and civilian complaints regarding household marriages, farm land, rape and criminal offenses, etc., will be reported from the bottom up by the original lawsuit. They are not allowed to go to the capital."

After all, he is the emperor and has a lot of things to do every day. It is impossible to deal with so many things at once. But Zhu Yuanzhang soon discovered that this method of processing was too limiting. Local officials easily suppressed the matter, kept the complaint in their own hands without reporting it, and even privately beat the people who had redressed their grievances. As a result, the people had no way to prosecute their grievances, and this regulation became increasingly ineffective.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally very angry. In anger, he finally made a new provision in the "Da Gao" issued for the first time in the 18th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty: Officials of local governments, states, and counties, if If the people are harmed and corrupted, then the local people are allowed to go directly to the capital to complain to Zhu Yuanzhang himself. No one is allowed to stop the people on their way to complain. Even if they don't have a "road guide", which is a proof of passing, as long as they hold a copy of "Da Gao", they can pass without hindrance. If anyone dares to stop them, the whole family will be executed.

In order to prevent local officials from continuing to beat the people as before, Zhu Yuanzhang was very harsh on those officials who prevented the people from complaining. In "Da Gao", Zhu Yuanzhang recorded several examples of people being convicted for preventing people from complaining.

An official named He Tianguan was sentenced to "cutting off" and having his knees dug out because he prevented people from complaining. Under the pressure of such severe punishments and laws, people from all over the country can naturally complain more easily. At the same time, those officials are too frightened to stop them. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang will also conduct a detailed investigation into what the people say. Once he discovers that these people are making false accusations, he will also severely punish them, because "if the traitors do not answer their crimes, there will be many false accusations made by good people in the world."

In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang would also take the initiative to contact local people and communicate with them. He once personally met with people who came to collect food and asked them how the local situation was. He also summoned local wealthy landlords and sternly admonished them, such as Ming Ming In the second year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned some wealthy households in western Zhejiang and taught them "Don't bully the weak, don't swallow the poor, don't abuse the young, don't bully the elderly, honor your father and brother, live in harmony with your relatives, give to the poor, and be docile to the countryside."

This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang likes to conduct private visits in private.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were quite surprised when they heard someone holding the "Da Gao" to complain.

(End of this chapter)