Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 235: Be cautious at the end and be disciplined

It is hard to say whether the Lotus Case can stand the test of history.

But judging from the situation in Wenhua Hall, it was almost unable to withstand the test of the Prime Minister.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng returned to Beijing, he acted like an eagle and a wolf in the Wenhua Hall, bullying his colleagues. He didn't look like a loyal subject at all - of course, the Dali Temple Minister Wang Sanxi could only criticize him in his heart.

As for the surface, Wang Sanxi still protested in a good tone: "Prime Minister, it is not appropriate to say that the Lotus Case was a wrongful case, and it is even more absurd to call for the killing of Minister Weng and General Zhang."

It's rare for someone to come forward and confront you.

It should have been a lively event, but at this moment, most of the court officials in the Wenhua Hall were looking at each other with their eyes on the nose and their noses on their hearts, as if it had nothing to do with them.

Why is it that it has been two months since the real murderer was arrested and the case has not been overturned yet?
Some people don't want to overturn the verdict, some don't want to offend their colleagues, and some are truly laymen and dare not intervene.

All in all, things like right and wrong have never been top priority in Wenhua Hall.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Zhang Juzheng looks like he is following the emperor’s edict and is shouting for war and killing.

But anyone who has stood in the Wenhua Hall for a day can guess that the real purpose of these two emperors and ministers is definitely not limited to the case itself, but is hidden behind this case.

Otherwise, why didn’t they bring up the Hangzhou case at the beginning of the year? Wasn’t it because it was not as serious as the Lotus case?

Without putting their hands in their pockets and watching carefully, few court officials dared to give up easily.

Zhang Juzheng turned around and took a look at Wang Sanxi's position: "I haven't seen you for a few months, and Wang Yousi has been promoted to the position of Tingwei."

When he returned home, Chen Yubei was still the Minister of Dali Temple.

Wang Sanxi bowed quickly and explained respectfully: "Chen Tingwei was grateful for his father Chen Ge's old age and knew that moral principles and human relations could not be changed at the last minute. He retired at the beginning of the year and returned home to serve his father. I took over the position at that time."

His attitude was respectful, but his words were sarcastic.

Knowing that the moral principles and human ethics cannot be compromised, who compromised?
The ministers looked at Wang Sanxi strangely, not knowing whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally.

Zhang Juzheng seemed to have not heard what he said. He lowered his eyebrows and returned to the main topic expressionlessly: "Wang Tingwei said that the Lotus Case might not be a wrongful case. What does that mean? Could it be that the evidence found in Zhu Guochen's house after the thieves broke into it cannot be counted?"

This was also the main reason why the Lotus Case was widely circulated among the people as a wrongful case.

It was said that the maid had an affair and teamed up with her lover to kill her master. So where did the stolen property in the house go?
At that time, the homes of the three criminals were searched thoroughly, but there was no trace of him.

This is of course an unavoidable question, but it does not prevent the Dali Temple Minister from using his expertise: "Prince, what I mean is that the maid at that time confessed even though there was no physical evidence; now Zhu Guochen, although physical evidence has been found, refuses to confess."

"One is verbal evidence, the other is physical evidence. The truth is still ambiguous. How can we conclude that it was a wrongful conviction?"

Since Wang Sanxi entered the officialdom, he was promoted from the Director of the Ministry of Justice and the Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice to the Shaoqing and Qing of the Dali Temple.

After all, he is a professional, so when it comes to solving cases, he has his own principles.

"Fuck your motherfucker."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was indeed the rude Yin Zhengmao.

Minister Yin looked disdainful and said, "You are just kidding me. Don't you know which one counts, the verbal evidence or the physical evidence?"

People who hang out with soldiers often develop some strange habits.

They had naturally restrained themselves when the emperor was around, but now that he hasn't come to court for a month, it's natural that they've returned to their old ways.

Wang Sanxi was not at all flustered: "The Grand Marshal should just discuss the matter at hand. How can he always lose his manners in front of the palace when Your Majesty is not around?"

"Even if there are some doubts in this case, the three suspects cannot prove their innocence. The judicial process was clear, the confessions were rigorous, the files were complete, and the procedures were legal. It is really not right to declare this case a wrongful conviction just because of the theft of a collection purchased from an unknown source."

Wang Sanxi knew which one counted, physical evidence or testimonial evidence. All he needed was a reasonable reason. After all, the specific handling of the case had to be done by the Dali Temple.

Do you have to ask which one counts?
In the past, it was Weng Dali, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who had the final say, but now it is him, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who has the final say.

It doesn't matter whether anyone in Wenhua Hall believes this statement or not. What colleagues will consider is whether they can quell the outside criticism and the emperor's possible dissatisfaction.

At this time, Chief Censor Xu Yizhong followed closely behind him and saluted in all directions.

"Prime Minister, Grand Marshal, Court Judge, and all my colleagues, this case must be a conspiracy. For example, Zhu Guochen committed theft and injured someone, and the maid Hehua took advantage of the master's injury and murdered him."

He is impartial and tries to smooth things over.

"In my opinion, since Zhu Guochen has been convicted, he should be included in the same case and sentenced to death by lingchi. As for the maid Hehua, the old servant Wang Kui, and the neighbor Lu Jin, since they have already been executed, let the past be the past."

Compromise and reconciliation have always been a backup hidden energy source when disputes are at their limit.

Yes, the deceased Zhou Shichen was a relative of the emperor after all. If the real murderer was allowed to go unpunished, the emperor would definitely be unhappy and the people outside would easily gossip about him.

If that doesn't work, just send them together to see Zhou Shichen, so that the emperor and the people can vent their anger, and the matter will be over.

This argument would have no problem convincing old bureaucrats who don't want to cause unnecessary trouble.

At least old bureaucrats like Yao Hongmo, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Wang Zongyi, the Minister of Rites, have already fallen into deep thought.

Everyone looked at Zhang Juzheng at the same time.

Unfortunately, how could it be so easy to take over Wenhua Hall?
Zhang Juzheng faced the court officials and shook his head slightly. “Wang Sanxi, Xu Yizhong, I personally read the case files this morning.”

The Prime Minister does not argue with others about which has the final say, verbal evidence or physical evidence. It would be a loss of status to get involved in political entanglements on these issues.

After hearing this, Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong's expressions changed again and again.

There is no difference between calling someone by their name and scolding them by pointing at their nose.

But the message in the words made Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong not have time to think about this little thing. They turned their heads stiffly at the same time and looked at Pan Sheng and Xu Guo.

But I only saw the two of them turning their backs and whispering something.

Zhang Juzheng noticed the two's little tricks but ignored them and continued, "At that time, the case was submitted to the Ministry of Justice. Pan Zhiyi, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, rejected the case of the Wucheng Bingmasi and ordered Zhang Guowei to re-examine the case. The case file recorded three reasons."

Zhang Juzheng paused, and suddenly recited the files in the Wenhua Hall: "First, the Military Department reported that Wang Kui, a servant of Shichen, and his maid Hehua had an affair and hated their master. However, the Ministry of Justice reviewed and found that Hehua was still a virgin."

"Secondly, the Military Affairs Department used three people to kill Shichen and obtain the stolen goods, but they could not find the stolen goods after searching everywhere."

"Third, although there were confessions, the statements made by the criminals were different."

"Therefore, this office remands the case for retrial as the crime is unsolved. Criminal Cao Pan Zhiyi, reply."

Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong looked at each other.

The proposals Zhang Juzheng recited were exactly the same as those in the files!
This treacherous prime minister really turned the files upside down!

Zhang Juzheng's devilish voice continued to fill his ears, frightening him out of his wits: "Then Zhang Guowei, the military commander, did not change a word and sent the case to the Ministry of Justice again, bypassing Pan Zhiyi and directly reporting it to the left assistant minister Weng Dali."

"Afterwards, Minister Weng ordered Pan Zhiyi to close the case as soon as possible, as the crime was clear. Pan Zhiyi refused to comply, so Minister Weng ordered doctors Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong to join him in the trial."

"The three criminal courts examined the case and sentenced Wang Kui, He Hua, and Lu Jin to death by lingchi, two against one."

Zhang Juzheng turned around and looked at the two men quietly: "Wang Sanxi, Xu Yizhong, you two are the same as Weng Dali, you were the chief officers in charge of the case back then. The thief Zhu Guochen has been arrested for more than two months, and you two have repeatedly obstructed the retrial of the case. Don't you know how to avoid it?"

The Prime Minister, who had been recuperating for half a year, was still imposing when he returned to the court.

When the issue was brought back to the political rules, it was the Prime Minister's home turf. Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong were both speechless and unable to speak for a while.

The ministers didn't pay any more attention to the two of them. They just frowned slightly and glanced at the Minister of Justice Pan Sheng and the Left Vice Minister Xu Guo.

Previously, Wang Sanxi had confronted the emperor and stated frankly that he had expertise in criminal law, and the Dali Temple believed that the case was appropriate.

At that time, everyone thought that this guy was protecting his old boss Weng Dali, but they didn't expect that Wang Sanxi was also in the same boat. But if that was the case, why didn't the Ministry of Justice come forward to break the window paper?

The judicial files are not shown to others easily, and even if court officials ask for them, they will be gently rejected. However, this does not prevent the Ministry of Justice from reviewing them at will.

If the Ministry of Justice had exposed the case earlier, would Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong have had any room to jump around?

It's fine if you keep it hidden.

It had been delayed for two months, and it seemed that the case would soon be lost. How could Zhang Juzheng be allowed to read the case so easily? What about the old business of losing the case?

What are these two officials from the Ministry of Justice thinking?
Pan Sheng was arguing with Xu Guo with his back to back when he suddenly felt a burning sensation on his back and immediately realized that it was due to countless gazes being cast at him.

He sighed in his heart and turned around with difficulty.

Pan Sheng's eyes swept across the pale faces of Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong, met the questioning gazes of his colleagues, and finally fell on Zhang Juzheng, who showed neither sadness nor joy.

He pursed his lips and spoke slowly: "Prime Minister, Minister Weng has made contributions to the country after all, and many officials in the ministry feel sympathy for him."

As soon as Minister Pan said this, everyone immediately understood his position.

Zhang Juzheng had no expression on his face and looked at Pan Sheng quietly.

Pan Sheng no longer concealed his intentions and pleaded directly, "Since Lord Hai entered the government in the 17th year of Jiajing, he has been the governor of Shandong and the governor of Yingtian. He has enforced strict laws and kept thieves away. He truly has the virtue of bringing peace to the people!"

"At the beginning of the Longqing reign, the Yellow River burst its banks and the Huai River rose again. We saw Hai Gong rushing to the river channels and dredging the Huai River, saving thousands of hectares of farmland and 100,000 lives. He really made great contributions to flood control!"

"How can a minister of state be sentenced to death for a minor mistake?"

He bowed to Zhang Juzheng, then turned and knelt down towards the throne: "The Ministry of Justice believes that the Lotus case can be retried, and Weng Dali should not be punished. I sincerely ask you to think twice."

Humans are not plants or trees, so they cannot be heartless.

In the 20th year of Jiajing's reign, Pan Sheng was appointed as a Hanlin editor and assisted in the compilation of "The Ming Dynasty Code". He happened to be in the same duty room as Weng Dali, who was one grade earlier than him.

In Pan Sheng's eyes, Weng Dali had worked hard for the country for decades, made outstanding contributions, and rarely made any major mistakes.

Not to mention his contribution to flood control, although Weng Dali's punishments were harsh, he also dealt a heavy blow to lawlessness and saved the world, which was a great achievement. How could he be wanted to be killed by the emperor just because he happened to be harsh and made a mistake?
Precisely because the emperor left no room for maneuver, the Ministry of Justice was united in secretly protecting Weng Dali.

Why did it have to go to this extent? Couldn't they just give the meritorious officials a chance?

When Shen Shixing saw this scene, he held his forehead and rubbed his eyebrows.

There are certainly many reasons why a small case cannot be resolved for a long time.

Judging from the expressions of his colleagues in the hall, it was clear that there were quite a few who sympathized with Weng Dali - most of them were old ministers who had served during the Jiajing period, and it was inevitable that they would feel grief over the loss of their loved ones.

Especially since Weng Dali has served the country for so many years, even if he has no merits, he has worked hard. Isn't this enough to be worth his death?

The emperor was young and hot-headed. The Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple, which were involved in the case, tried to obstruct the case in every possible way. The irrelevant court officials just stood by and watched tacitly. The cabinet had been in a dilemma for more than two months.

"Ugh."

A sigh.

Everyone followed the voice and looked towards Zhang Juzheng, the head of the class.

Zhang Juzheng put his hands behind his back and looked down at Pan Sheng who was bowing down. He was a little disappointed: "The Ministry of Justice has pity on the old boss."

Countless eyes fell on Pan Sheng.

Pan Sheng's face seemed to be worried and sad, but he did not think he was wrong. He held the tablet in both hands and bowed again calmly.

Xu Guo, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was looking at the beams of the house, wondering whether he had made the right decision to retrieve the files without telling Pan Sheng.

Zhang Juzheng turned to Wang Sanxi, his face full of disgust: "Back then, the Criminal Department was in charge of the Dali Temple."

He cast a vicious look at Wang Sanxi, who clenched his teeth tightly. The hairs on the mole on his jaw seemed to be exerting force, and three or five of them stood up.

But with eyes coming from all directions, Wang Sanxi finally couldn't hold it any longer and turned his head away guiltily.

Zhang Juzheng paused.

Finally, he cast his gaze on Xu Yizhong, his expression unpredictable: "Even the Censorate has kept silent."

The Wucheng Bingmasi, which handled the case at that time, was nominally under the Ministry of War, but in terms of business, it was under the leadership of the Censor-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate.

Deputy Chief Censor Chen Wude glared at Chief Censor Xu Yizhong with an unpleasant expression.

Only then did he realize why this guy volunteered to go to the military department to investigate whether the Lotus case was unjust. Xu Yizhong's face was full of bitterness, and he stepped out of the line and fell to the ground without saying a word.

He squatted in the hall, his official uniform shaking on his body. It was unclear whether it was the atmosphere or the person that was shaking.

After calling out all the names, Zhang Juzheng looked solemn and said, "No wonder even though the real culprit of the Lotus Case was arrested, the verdict has not been overturned."

"No wonder the Hangzhou case, even though the deceased was resurrected, was able to be evaded by saying 'although the deceased was misidentified, the murderer was not mistaken'."

"No wonder the Ministry of Justice has changed so many ministers, from Liu Ziqiang, Wang Zhigao, Zhang Han, to the current Pan Sheng, but the judicial department has not improved at all."

"It turns out... it's impenetrable and water can't get in."

What a horrifying eight words!

The ministers in the hall were furious, caught off guard by Zhang Juzheng's fierce words.

Pan Sheng and others protested in trembling voices: "Prime Minister! We are definitely not forming a clique!"

Zhang Juzheng ignored him and sighed: "I thought Your Majesty asked me to inquire about such a small case. I thought Your Majesty was making a fuss over nothing. I didn't expect that I was narrow-minded."

"Your Majesty did not ask me to discuss the Lotus Case."

At this point, Zhang Juzheng's temperament suddenly changed. He gritted his teeth and said in a stern tone, "Your Majesty asked me to flatten all these hills!"

……

The court discussion in Wenhua Hall was in full swing.

The Prime Minister was furious and didn't even allow us to have lunch.

The nap at Wanshou Palace was still unsatisfying.

After getting dressed, the emperor walked sleepily to the main hall of the Wanshou Palace.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat had already finished his shift and was waiting in the hall.

Zhu Yijun yawned and glanced at Wang Yingxuan: "Wang Qing is back, is the court dismissed?"

He didn't specifically remember which secretary was on duty at the Wenhua Palace today. It was just that during lunch, Wei Chao happened to mention that the little prince had been taught a lesson by the great king.

As a result, Zhu Yijun now finds Wang Yingxuan funny whenever he sees him.

How could you, one of the four Yanmen members, go to Huguang to report the work of the central government privately to the prime minister who was visiting his relatives?

outrageous.

Wang Yingxuan naturally didn't know that the emperor was criticizing him, and said with a rather dissatisfied look on his face: "It hasn't ended yet, the prime minister said that it will take a whole day to discuss it."

"It was only because the ministers were extremely hungry that the Prime Minister asked the court officials to share their meals first. I saw an opportunity and switched shifts with Yao Sanrang."

After hearing this, Zhu Yijun took a breath of cold air. What a workaholic!

He certainly knew that the task he had assigned would not be concluded in one day, otherwise he would not have given Zhang Juzheng an oral order to "report on the matter the day after tomorrow."

But I really didn't expect that Mr. Zhang would forget about eating and sleeping and work overtime as soon as he returned to the court!

Ashamed!
Zhu Yijun decided not to complain of being tired again within three days.

The emperor drew temporary strength from the example, but he still kept his focus on the matter: "How is the discussion going?"

Wang Yingxuan answered fluently: "The Prime Minister presided over the court this morning. He first overturned the verdict for He Hua, and then sent several controversial cases back to the Ministry of Justice, ordering the Left Vice Minister Xu Guo to re-examine them."

Zhu Yijun sighed.

Other old cases would be fine, but for the Lotus Case, logically speaking, he, as the emperor, was also responsible. The list of death penalty reviews had to be approved by the emperor, and he approved the Lotus Case personally.

However, the emperor lived deep in the palace and it was impossible for him to personally read the files, criminals, and evidence of each case. The so-called review had long become a formality.

But this case is not as famous as the Little White Poplar case, and there is not even a basic impression of it - of course, he did not know that, in fact, the overturning of the Lotus case in history was not because the three judges had a change of heart, but because "people in the capital competed to say that Lotus was innocent, and the news spread to the palace, and the emperor was furious." Because the case was overturned based on the Wanli Emperor's simple view of right and wrong, it was not worth singing about in the literati circle.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and asked, "How should we deal with the criminals?"

Wang Yingxuan omitted the process of the court hearing and summarized it succinctly: "From the process of the trial, Nanjing Criminal Minister Weng Dali and Wucheng Military Commander Zhang Guowei knew that the injustice was committed but deliberately covered it up; while Dali Temple Minister Wang Sanxi and Assistant Censor Xu Yizhong catered to their superiors and fabricated a wrongful case."

"The Prime Minister wants to execute Weng Dali and Zhang Guowei for murder. He wants to exile Wang Sanxi and Xu Yizhong for dereliction of duty."

"Some old officials think that a light punishment should be given and a severe warning should be given. There is still a debate about this in Wenhua Palace."

Zhu Yijun was quite satisfied with the result.

It's normal to be arguing. After everyone has voted, the emperor will come forward and make a decision, and then everything will go smoothly.

This is also the reason why Zhang Juzheng is indispensable today.

After all, Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue had been in the cabinet for too short a time and lacked prestige, and were often overshadowed by veteran ministers such as Wang Zongyi and Pan Sheng.

Only Zhang Juzheng can suppress these old antiques.

Of course, this is not to say that the old minister is wrong, but there will definitely be differences in the way and method of doing things.

The old ministers remembered that Weng Dali had made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty and shed blood for the emperor, but Zhu Yijun only saw that this guy knew the truth and deliberately fabricated a false case and killed innocent people.

Meritorious? Even if he is meritorious, he still needs to use the Flame Fist on this guy!
Zhu Yijun shook his head: "We have almost finished discussing this, what else does the Prime Minister want to discuss this afternoon?"

He could roughly guess it, but he couldn't wait to confirm it.

Wang Yingxuan lowered his head and said, "The Prime Minister used the Lotus Case as an excuse to criticize the three judicial departments, and then bluntly said that there are many factions in the court."

"The officials of the ministries and departments shall attend the meeting this afternoon, conduct self-examination and self-correction, and admonish each other."

Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief, Good sir, you have good eyesight!

That's exactly what he meant.

Zhu Yijun was satisfied, but also somewhat melancholy as he slowly leaned back in his chair.

Ever since the Southern Suburbs Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony, which had demoted hundreds of court officials, all of the court officials, or rather the officials in the Wenhua Hall, were members of the New Party who supported the reform.

But there are no factions within the party, and there are all kinds of strange things.

After eliminating the external enemies, some bad signs began to appear internally.

The backbone members of the New Party who have risen to the positions of ministerial officials are not people who just sit there and do nothing.

In addition to him as the emperor, these outstanding backbones were also thinking about and actively exploring the direction of the new policy.

It is impossible for people to be completely in sync with each other.

It should be said that it is normal and inevitable for different ideas to emerge among the leaders of these countries during the exploration process.

The key is how to deal with different ideas and disagreements.

It is obvious that the bureaucratic system's primitive inertia in dealing with dissent far exceeds the influence that the emperor has exerted on the party over the years.

The entire system would naturally and as a matter of course bypass the emperor and promote its own ideas.

The first senior official to show signs was actually Wen Chun.

In order to elevate his policy of transforming the southwestern tribes into a national policy, Wen Chun actually covered up for Yang Yinglong in front of himself and Shen Shixing.

This kind of man who killed his wife and mother-in-law, wantonly castrated the people under his rule, and let his soldiers massacre the city of Qijiang, was turned into a white lotus bullied by the chieftain in Wen Chun's mouth.

Shen Shixing, who was standing next to him, was also indifferent.

If Zhu Yijun hadn’t opened his third eye, he probably wouldn’t have been able to discover it.

Of course, Wen Chun is a loyal minister.

Among the chieftains, the Han-ized chieftains, and the officials, winning over the Han-ized Yang family and suppressing the non-Han-ized chieftains is a century-old national policy that will stand the test of history.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty took a different path, appeasing the chieftains and suppressing the Sinicized chieftains. As a result, the chieftains learned from previous experiences and a group of non-Sinicized chieftains secretly united to launch the She'an Rebellion, which affected four provinces, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi, and caused over one million casualties.

Because of this, when Wen Chun wanted to implement this national policy that violated Tianhe without telling the emperor, Zhu Yijun did not expose him, but simply transferred Wen Chun to Guizhou.

While being demoted and punished, Wen Chun was also given the opportunity to do it himself and handle the matter.

After Wen Chun.

In the civil uprisings in various provinces caused by the land survey, the court officials in Wenhua Hall, all the court officials, unanimously went against the emperor's will.

Everyone supports the land transfer, but when faced with obstacles, should we persuade them to leave gently or suppress them violently?
For example, the incident in Qufu.

Shen Li mobilized the imperial guards to suppress Qufu, which caused a lot of disputes in the court.

Great scholars like Wang Zongyi, Wang Guoguang, and Zhu Heng all had extraordinary compassion when it came to issues concerning the common people. Impeachments against Shen Li came pouring in like snowflakes into the Western Garden, accusing him of having a rude style and disregarding public opinion.

Zhu Yijun certainly would not allow Shen Li to be treated like Hai Rui during the Longqing period, who was treated as a discarded pawn by his superiors for his work. In order to protect Shen Li, he simply kept the memorial in his hands and did not send it out.

This was naturally interpreted as the emperor's support for Shen Li's behavior.

At the court meeting in Wenhua Hall the next day, the ministers actually defied the emperor's ambiguous attitude and publicly criticized Shen Li!

These court officials had objections to the emperor's practice of appointing special governors to go to the provinces to handle cases, and Zhu Yijun certainly understood.

This is the head of bureaucratic politics, who rejects the instinct of oligarchy. It doesn't matter who sits in the corresponding position. Zhu Yijun is also unable to plant the Three Corpses Brain Pill in the brain of every court official.

But having said that, according to the tacit understanding over the years, these court officials should not go beyond the will of him as the emperor.

This was a heavy blow to Zhu Yijun, who thought he would be able to control the government with ease after offering sacrifices to heaven in the southern suburbs and eliminating dissidents.

Feeling the spontaneous will of the bureaucratic system time and time again, Zhu Yijun became increasingly vigilant.

After carefully examining all the major and minor events in the court, Zhu Yijun suddenly realized that the will of this bureaucratic system was far more universal and powerful than he had imagined!
The most typical example is the three judicial officials banding together!

The officials of the three judicial departments should, in theory, have their own wills. However, when something really happened, they discovered that these people all unanimously excluded outsiders, and acted as if anyone who interfered with criminal cases would be their enemy!
How simple was the original case in Hangzhou Prefecture?
All the dead had come back, and the Hangzhou government had found another skeleton. The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice jointly submitted a memorial, saying that although the criminal did not kill this person, he killed that person.

He was so frightened by the ministers in Wenhua Palace that they were stunned.

The Lotus Case was an obvious injustice.

You won't know the result until you see it. You will be shocked when you see it. Among the officials who fabricated the unjust case, the one who was either the Minister of the Ministry of Justice of Nanjing or the Minister of the Dali Temple. Pan Zhiyi, the only one who insisted on his doubts, had long been demoted to the Guangdong Censorate to oversee the reservoir.

As an emperor, he wanted to overturn the verdict, but he ended up forcing the three judicial officials to unite against a common enemy, and brought out an indescribable collective will!

That was why Zhu Yijun used the bombardment of the Three Courts as a starting point and assigned Zhang Juzheng a long-term task of flattening the hilltops - Beijing was a plain and there should not be too many hilltops.

The emperor leaned back in his chair with his head tilted back, his eyes closed, as if he was thinking deeply.

Unlike the previous brief contemplation, this time the reverie was extremely long.

It lasted so long that Wang Yingxuan thought the emperor might have fallen asleep.

I don’t know how much time passed.

A sigh was heard from the throne: "My Lord, draft an edict for me."

Wang Yingxuan quickly spread out paper and pen and sat up straight.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment.

Of course weeds need to be cleared from time to time, but it takes time to make the ministries and agencies impenetrable. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a century-long struggle between the cabinet and the ministries and agencies.

Given the situation, even if Zhang Juzheng fought alone, he would not be able to control the situation.

We still have to take drastic measures!

After a long while, Zhu Yijun slowly stood up and said word by word: "Here is Hai Rui, the governor of Sichuan. He has been disciplined and sensible for many years. He has made great contributions to land reclamation. He is promoted to the position of Right Censor-in-Chief and in charge of the Censorate. He is ordered to come to Beijing immediately!"
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(End of this chapter)