Daming: I am the Crown Prince

It is impossible to catch all corrupt officials. Even though Zhu Yuanzhang punished them severely, it did have a certain deterrent effect, as if it had slightly curbed the corruption left over from the Yuan Dynasty.

However, there have always been people who dare to commit crimes against the law. The so-called clean administration during the Hongwu period was only relatively speaking, as there were still some corrupt officials.

This problem is almost unsolvable. It has existed in the past and will exist in the future. Once they have power, some people only think about gaining more benefits for themselves. This is the motivation behind their desire for power.

Jiang Li was sweating profusely because these things could be considered as his dereliction of duty. As the commander of the Jinyiwei, he failed to investigate the case in time.

Zhu Yunhuan was still furious and shouted, "Call Ruhong, Chen Di, Bao Zhao, and Yu Xin here too! Lian Zining, Lian Zining, come here too!"

The only sound in Wuying Hall was Zhu Yunhuan's roar. No matter if they were eunuchs or guards, they were all trembling with fear. The emperor's rage was their biggest fear, and they could not make any mistakes at this time.

The better situation is that although Emperor Chengkang was furious, he basically did not take his anger out on other people. But Emperor Hongwu was different. He often took his anger out on some people, which was a real misfortune.

But no matter what, we still need to be cautious at this time and not bring trouble upon ourselves.

Jiang Li and Zhu Zhong knelt obediently, and the guards, eunuchs and others, except those who went to summon the important ministers, all lowered their heads and appeared extremely cautious.

In such a situation, we naturally need to be more careful. No one can advise the furious emperor.

Zhu Yunhuan suddenly remembered something and shouted, "What are Xu Huizu, Li Jinglong, Chang Sheng, Fu Youde and Lan Yu doing for a living? The court has given these generals hereditary positions and treated them well. What do they want to do?"

Those who didn't know thought that the five dukes were also involved in this case, or that they were also involved in corruption. But Zhu Zhong and others understood that His Majesty was blaming these dukes for not being strict with their subordinates and for making mistakes in employing people.

They definitely need to be recalled. In a case like this, it seems that no system can remain immune. This is basically a case of a group of people involved.

This was also what made Zhu Yunhuan most angry. The maritime trade had just started to show some signs of progress and had some good momentum, but a large group of people suddenly rushed in, all wanting to benefit from it.

As for the interests of the court and so on, these people obviously did not put them first. The most important thing was to fill their own pockets.

The royal family was involved, and the military officers were not clean either. The civil officials were not much better, they said they could not compete with the people for profit and should serve the country and the people, but when it came to making money, they were not ambiguous at all.

Zhu Yunhuan was even numb to such situations, after all, everyone has selfish motives. But some people's greed was too ugly, and they were so eager to take advantage of it so early.

Many ministers were confused, especially those who had just left Wuying Palace. They were even more puzzled.

Although he was puzzled, he did not hesitate at all. His Majesty must have summoned him so urgently that something big must have happened, and there was no time to delay.

What's more, Zhang Fusheng and others controlled their subordinates and dared not reveal major events. However, when His Majesty was angry, some eunuchs still dared to spread these small words.

Even a cautious person like Xu Huizu would not offend some people around the emperor for no reason, let alone win them over. These seemingly insignificant little people can sometimes be of great help.

Although these young eunuchs may seem insignificant, they are in front of the emperor after all. Most of them come from relatively poor families, and many of them have families outside the palace.

Sometimes, after receiving some rewards or doing a small favor, these nobles or important officials would also repay the favor by giving some care to the eunuchs' families outside the palace.

A little land, a job, or gold and silver, etc., these worthless little things in the eyes of the nobles, are unimaginable wealth and resources for many families.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally knew something about these situations, but in most cases he was too lazy to care as long as they did not involve some important matters.

Four of the six ministers and the five dukes had all arrived, which must be a big deal. Especially seeing the two spy chiefs, Jiang Li and Zhu Zhong, kneeling in the Wuying Hall, made people even more frightened.

At this time, I should kneel down first, maybe wait until everyone is gathered, or maybe wait until His Majesty wants to speak and then tell him what’s going on.

Even Chang Sheng, Lan Yu and others did not dare to say anything at this time. Lan Yu even felt that he regretted not going to Guanzhong earlier so that he could avoid all these troubles.

For Lan Yu, fighting was where he should shine. He really didn't want to get involved in the intrigues in the court, and he didn't think he was good at them.

But even if he felt a little regretful now, it was too late, because he was still in Beijing and could not escape.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Zhang Fusheng, show them the things and let them think about it before speaking to me."

The emperor looked unhappy and spoke in a bad tone, which made Chang Sheng and others even more nervous. This was not a major border event, because civil servants and nobles were involved, and normally these two groups were clearly separated.

What kind of thing happened that would make the emperor dissatisfied with these two major groups? What kind of thing is this?

You may be puzzled or surprised, but when it is time to know the reasons, you definitely need to know them.

Zhang Fusheng held the secret letter and showed it in front of all the important officials. Not to mention Ru Hong and others, even Lan Yu, Chang Sheng and others were nervously reading the contents of the secret letter.

You don't know until you see it. It was really shocking. Everyone started sweating profusely and no longer felt that they were called here for no reason.

If you really start to take it seriously, each and every one of them can be considered involved.

Needless to say, some of the officers and soldiers of the navy were sent by the Five Military Commandery, as well as the nobles like Yu Tongyuan. From this point of view, the nobles were not in a good situation.

The civil officials were even more nervous. The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of money, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Honglu Temple sent officials and envoys, and the Ministry of Justice naturally had the power to investigate cases and enforce criminal laws. Previously, the civil officials had tried to take back the control of the Maritime Customs from the emperor. Whether it was directly assigned to the six ministries or to the local provincial governments, it was basically the sphere of influence of the civil officials and could ensure their interests.

After all, no matter how you look at it, maritime trade is very profitable. In the eyes of people in the civil service system, if they take control of the Maritime Customs and dominate maritime trade, the national treasury can be more full and they will have more power.

But now, maritime trade has not officially started yet, and a lot of corrupt officials have emerged among these so-called carefully selected officials, and they are trying to gain personal benefits from maritime trade.

Zhu Yunxun snorted coldly and asked, "Tell me, what do you want to say to me now?"

Lan Yu, Ru Yan and others were straightforward and said in unison, "We have failed to supervise, please punish us, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yunhuan laughed and started to talk nonsense, "Punishment, how should I punish you now? Is it because you guys failed to supervise me, or is it because I didn't know people well enough to use you guys and choose those parasites!"

The officials seemed to be quite numb to this, mainly because the emperor was still in a state of yin and yang, so he was not completely furious. The emperor in front of him sometimes spoke harshly, and this was not a new thing.

When this emperor was still the crown prince, and even when he was just the grandson of the emperor, he was quite sharp-tongued. Sometimes he would seize on the loopholes in people's words and constantly attack them.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Chen Di and asked directly, "Is this the kind of people the Ministry of Rites has chosen? They are sent as envoys to various countries. Are they going to teach the barbarians to be corrupt or are they planning to exploit the barbarians under the banner of the Ming Dynasty?"

Chen Di kowtowed repeatedly and said quickly, "I am guilty! I will investigate thoroughly. I failed to restrain the officials of this yamen. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yunhuan then looked at Ru Rong and asked, "What about you? I asked you to evaluate all officials. This Ministry of Personnel is great! As expected of a government office with high entry barriers, your own officials are corrupt and you are evaluating others. How can you feel at ease with this?"

Ru Hong also kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Majesty, please punish me!"

This is something that cannot be justified. The Ministry of Personnel is a powerful department that is in charge of the promotion and evaluation of civil servants. However, now some officials of the Ministry of Personnel are involved in corruption, which is a distorted stance.

Such a situation would naturally make Ru Hong extremely embarrassed, and the Ministry of Personnel really had no way to say that it was innocent now.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Yu Xin and asked with a smile, "I'm afraid my purse is not enough to dredge the canal. If I give the Maritime Customs to you, will it be enough?"

Yu Xin kowtowed repeatedly. How could he dare to climb up the pole at this time?

Zhu Yunhuan continued to ask, "How good it is for you to manage it. The Five Military Command Office pays for the silver for going to sea and rewards the soldiers. The Ministry of Revenue sends 10,000 taels to the national treasury, and the officials' homes are piled with gold and silver. How good is that!"

Xia Yuanji felt embarrassed for Yu Xin. The Ministry of Revenue was the government office that was most attached to the Maritime Customs. After all, it was related to a huge amount of silver and money. But now the Ministry of Revenue was not clean. Wasn't this an obvious invitation to ridicule by His Majesty?

Zhu Yunhuan then glanced at Lan Yu and others, "The Five Military Commands are still wronged. They have to provide money and manpower, and they may even have to fight a war. The rewards from the court are not enough. It would be much better to do it yourself. Not only can you earn more, but you don't have to worry about your superiors' corruption."

Lan Yu and the others were also extremely embarrassed. In fact, the army had always had the habit of intercepting some spoils of war, and everyone turned a blind eye. As long as they won, the emperor would not be serious.

The court had accomplished its strategic goal, and those who deserved rewards would be rewarded. It was harmless for the soldiers to keep some spoils of war privately.

But now, the navy has finally come to their senses and realized that maritime trade can make money. They all want to stop being soldiers and become businessmen to make some money first, and then consider military merit, etc.

This is no longer a case of killing two birds with one stone or having one's cake and eating it too. The goal is to gain benefits from the beginning to the end, and there is no need to worry about whether the court suffers any losses.

The purpose of fighting wars is to gain military merit, promotion and wealth. Now let’s get rich first. You can get much more than becoming an official or receiving rewards.

All these civil and military officials looked unhappy. Even Bao Zhao and Lian Zining, who were not named, did not feel that they had escaped a disaster. They were all terrified.

His Majesty did not mention them, not because they were so innocent in this matter, but because they may have already disappointed the emperor so much that he is now too lazy to pay attention to them.

No one can be immune to this now. The occurrence of such a series of cases is no longer the responsibility of just one government office. Everyone has some responsibility to a greater or lesser extent.

However, the people in the Wuying Palace were not particularly worried. The emperor before them was not the type who liked to implicate others by association. He would not purge everyone from top to bottom like the Hongwu Emperor did.

The most important thing is that although the various government offices are responsible, they are not the direct responsible parties for the time being, so there is naturally no need to be nervous at this time.

Zhu Yunxun was too lazy to say anything more. "Tomorrow, when the court goes to court, the Northern Pacification Office will report on the matter. The Imperial Guards will go and listen to how others are doing things!"

Jiang Li wanted to cry but had no tears. However, at this time he could only listen obediently. With such a huge oversight, he, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, would naturally be punished by His Majesty.

Ru Rong and others did not dare to express any opinions. If they had not done anything wrong, they would still have the opportunity to argue and stand firm on their positions. But now, not to mention showing their faces, their butts are exposed. How can they have the confidence to express their positions in front of His Majesty?

In fact, everyone understands that there is nothing wrong with discussing the disposal plan privately now, but His Majesty wants to make these things public in the court, just to embarrass some people and to make this matter a big deal.

This is very obvious. The emperor has caught hold of it. This is not to ridicule the officials, but to further control the power. It is obvious that the emperor will not delegate the power of the Maritime Customs and Maritime Trade.

Before things are completely successful, a large group of corrupt officials have appeared. If power is decentralized, it will be disastrous!
Although some officials looked at each other in bewilderment and indeed felt unwilling, under such a situation, they seemed to have no choice but to accept that even if they wanted to fight for some things, the difficulty would increase.

The emperor before him would never miss such opportunities. After all, he was the grandson of Emperor Hongwu and was good at using various means to highly concentrate imperial power.

The idea of ​​ruling the world together with the literati is the most unrealistic fantasy. For the time being, there is no chance of such a thing happening in the Ming Dynasty. (End of this chapter)