The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 567 Grass Snake Gray Line
“Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. One move can affect the whole body. We can only take a long-term view and work slowly.”

Seeing that the emperor had taken the bait, Zhang Yun逸 was no longer anxious.

"Of course I know, my dear, please feel free to tell me!"

Emperor Wanlong just thought that he was afraid of getting into trouble.

Of course, Zhang Yun逸 did not forget to remind the emperor because he was worried that the emperor would be too eager for quick success.

However, it was also because he had other intentions and tried to direct the problem to Li Congwen.

After hearing what the emperor said, he calmly said, "The country has only been in existence for a hundred years, but there are many aristocratic families that have existed for thousands of years. If we want to eradicate it completely, we have to take a two-pronged approach."

He pondered for a moment and said, "In the final analysis, although Your Majesty owns the whole world and is rich, you cannot control it as you please. This is why the gentry took advantage of the opportunity..."

Although this was a bit taboo, it also touched the heart of Emperor Wanlong, who hurriedly urged him, "Go on!"

"I have limited knowledge and can only guess a little from the policies of the immortals. I hope Your Majesty will correct me!"

Zhang Yun逸 first made a patch to prevent the emperor from doubting his original intention, and then said: "In the local area, the clan law is more important than the national law. In addition to the high prestige of the gentry, there is also a lack of staff in the government.

In addition, there is also concern that officials will protect each other, leading to a lack of trust in the government.

The three judicial departments of the Xianmin people are different from those of the imperial court. The Ministry of Justice investigates cases, the Censorate supervises and accepts cases, and the Dali Temple judges cases. The three are not subordinate to each other. In a sense, this reduces the possibility of officials protecting each other and can also increase the people's confidence in the court. This is one of the reasons."

Although the government offices of this era lacked a certain degree of credibility, the title of the Three Courts' Joint Trial often appeared in operas.

Whether it is for the purpose of political correctness or the needs of opera itself.

In short, once the case is heard by three courts, there will always be a good outcome. Imperceptibly, the credibility of the trial by three courts has also been significantly improved.

If all cases could go through this procedure, it would undoubtedly increase people's confidence in the government.

Of course, if it were just this one point, it would not only be insufficient to convince the emperor, but would also make him doubt his own purpose.

So Zhang Yunyi did not wait for the emperor to ask, and continued: "Investigating cases requires manpower. The local county government has a limited number of three shifts of yamen runners, which is not enough to cope with it, so we must expand the manpower.

On the one hand, these people belong to the Ministry of Justice, so they are not constrained by the local authorities. On the other hand, they are only responsible for investigating the case and maintaining public order, which not only reduces the possibility of local gentry holding the emperor hostage, but also deepens the emperor's control over the people! This is the second point!"

"Are you going to promote the Five Cities Military Command to the local areas?"

Speaking of which, the second point Zhang Yun逸 mentioned basically falls into the category of fire prevention and theft prevention, which is the responsibility of the Five Cities Military Department.

However, due to financial and institutional redundancy considerations, only the capital and major cities such as Nanjing and Chang'an had the Wucheng Bingmasi government office.

Therefore, the emperor understood it immediately.

"Your Majesty!"

Zhang Yunyi flattered him at the right time and continued, "With these two aspects laid, when the time is right, the emperor can use a conspiracy similar to the Enfeoffment Order. Even if he cannot imitate the fairy world and take over the ownership of the land, the sale must be reviewed by the court. It will be a natural thing. Even if the gentry will resist, there is nothing to worry about."

The Enfeoffment Order was a conspiracy by Emperor Wu of Han to weaken the power of princes and strengthen central power.

To put it more clearly, it is actually about dividing up the families and gradually weakening the fiefdoms of the princes in order to prevent the princes' power from accumulating and expanding through generations.

This method can also be applied to clans with slight improvements.

Even if a concubine's son cannot be given certain inheritance rights, as long as other legitimate sons are given certain inheritance rights, the effect will not be bad.

Moreover, this is an open conspiracy. Take Rongguo Mansion for example. Doesn't Grandmother Jia want to give Jia Zheng a legitimate opportunity to fight for his interests? Even if she is not as partial as Grandmother Jia, she still has flesh and blood. They are both legitimate sons. Even if she really treats them equally, she may not resist this policy.

As long as we divide the opposition from within, the resistance will collapse on its own.

This is also the reason why the Enfeoffment Order was implemented.

Emperor Wanlong naturally knew the power of this conspiracy. With a gleam in his eyes, he looked deeply at Zhang Yunyi and said, "Since you are so far-sighted, why didn't you give me advice earlier?"

"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. If we are not careful, it will shake the country. If Your Majesty hadn't asked, I would never dare to speak nonsense!"

At this point, he shook his head and said, "Besides, everything is difficult at the beginning. Some ideas are deeply rooted. I have never participated in political affairs, so what I said is just paper talk. If we make a big fanfare but achieve little effect, I am afraid it will waste the national treasury..."

That’s all I can say. Sufficient groundwork has been laid. If the emperor wants to strengthen his power, he will certainly take advantage of Li Congwen’s incident and make use of it.

If you don't have this idea, then anything you say will not only be ineffective, but may even be counterproductive.

So, after saying everything, he remained silent.

Emperor Wanlong pondered for a long time before waving his hand and saying, "Forget it! This matter is of great importance. You know it and I know it. Don't let anyone else know about it!"

At this point, Emperor Wanlong paused and said, "There is no need to recall the newspapers that have been published, but this will not happen again. Before publishing in the future, the samples must be sent to the eunuchs and the cabinet for review!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yun逸 felt mixed emotions.

"I obey the Holy Order!"

Although the goal against Li Congwen was achieved, killing one thousand enemies but losing one hundred and eight of his own, it also made the emperor wary of newspapers.

However, it is a good thing to lose something in one place, although the loss is not small.

But by defeating Li Congwen, he not only gained the gratitude of Wang Hui and Zhang Songyuan, but also strengthened his relationship with Yun Guang through this incident.

In addition, it also helped him establish his authority.

Previously, although he had established his authority in the Zhen family case, any discerning person could see that the Zhen family had offended the retired emperor, and he could only be considered to have benefited from it at best.

However, Li Congwen's downfall this time was different.

The capital city was the hub, so there was no need to worry about the spread of news. It was not difficult to connect a series of events, including Li Congwen's disputes with him, Wang Hui's devotion to Taoism, Yun Guang's petition, and the case published in the newspapers.

From now on, no matter who wants to trip him up, they have to consider whether they have the strength of Li Congwen.

Carrot and stick is always the best way.

He controls Tiangong Academy and Xianxue, and holds both money and promotion channels. He has no shortage of carrots and temptations, but he does not have the capital to inspire awe.

Now, it can be regarded as a warning to others.

"You go down first!"

After sending Zhang Yunyi away, Emperor Wanlong leaned back on the dragon throne with his eyes closed, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, he suddenly opened his eyes, leaned forward, and leaned on the dragon table, and shouted to the outside of the imperial study: "Xuan Gu Dashou is here to see you!"

……

(End of this chapter)