Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 282: Give the Cabinet officials an official warning and discuss crimes at the court meeting!

The twelfth month of the third year of Jiajing.

Estuary of Nanchang River, Jiangxi Province.

On this day, there was heavy snow all over the sky and dark clouds covering the sky.

Yang Tinghe was wrapped in furs and sitting by the fire in the boat, braving the biting river wind, waiting for someone to come.

This person is the newly appointed Grand Secretary Lin Jun.

Lin Jun, a native of Fujian, received the news in advance that Yang Tinghe wanted to meet him, so he specially chose to go north from Jiangxi, passed Zishiling and left Fujian, and then took a boat all the way to Nanchang.

At that time, Lin Jun, wearing a cloak, had just come out of the jade forest on a boat, and saw Yang Tinghe in a red robe smiling at him in the snow boat.

And when the boat approached, Lin Jun smiled and called out, "Shi Zhai!"

Shizhai is the pseudonym of Yang Tinghe.

Lin Jun had a close relationship with him, so he called him by his nickname.

Yang Tinghe also smiled and led Lin Jun into his cabin. After sitting down with Lin Jun, he said, "What a heavy snow!"

"Yeah! The river wind is cold, why bother coming out?"

After Lin Jun took off his cloak and handed it to his servant, he took the hot tea from Yang Ting and the servant.

Yang Tinghe said: "Although the river wind is cold, I am anxious to see you, so I don't care about so much."

"Thank you for your concern. Since we arrived in Nanchang, it has been either snowing or raining, so we have been delayed."

Lin Jun replied.

Yang Tinghe waved his hand and said, "It's okay! Now the elder has to go north to take up his post, which is hard work."

"I would also like to live leisurely in the woods like Shi Zhai and play with my grandchildren at home, but I can't disobey the emperor's order. Besides, you all know the current situation. If there are really few old ministers in the court, wouldn't Zhang Fujing and others really be able to do whatever they want?"

Lin Jun started asking about Yang Tinghe.

Yang Tinghe stopped smiling, nodded and said, "I waited for you to come specially for this reason."

"Mr. Fan Wencheng once said that if you are in a high position in the government, you will worry about the people; if you are far away in the world, you will worry about your ruler. Although the emperor is naturally wise and kind, he does not have many honest and upright ministers around him!"

Yang Tinghe stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked at the heavy snow rolling on the blue waves, and sighed.

Lin Jun nodded towards the fire, then took a cup of hot tea from the Ru kiln teacup from Yang Tinghe's maid, took a sip and said:

"I have heard that Your Majesty has reinstated Wang Qiong to the cabinet, and has also increased the tax on paper currency, and even followed Wang Qiong's advice to change the grain transport to commercial transport."

"This is another national policy that does not follow the laws of our ancestors after the appointment of the Commissioner for Observing Customs and Rectifying Morals. People like Wang Qiong are truly harming the country and the emperor!"

After Lin Jun said this, Yang Tinghe followed up and said, "It's scary that Wang Qiong was reinstated and promoted, but what's even scarier is that Fei Qianshan is no match for Wang Qiong and may even be in cahoots with him!"

"How do you say this?"

Lin Jun asked.

Yang Tinghe turned around and said to Lin Jun with a smile:

"I have worked with these two for many years, so I know them very well. Wang Qiong is extremely cunning and has repeatedly ruined important events in the world!"

"The key is Fei Qianshan. Although he is from the Qing Dynasty, he is also greedy and treacherous. At the critical moment, he will not put the world first. When Prince Ning was in rebellion, Wang Yangming was able to win quickly because he refused to follow the trend and took the initiative to provide food to help him, which made the gentry in Jiangxi afraid to step forward!"

"Shi Zhai, be careful with your words!"

Lin Jun immediately stopped Yang Tinghe.

"Can this be said?"

then.

Lin Jun suddenly asked this question with a stern look.

"Let the world know that the Ning Wang Rebellion is only related to the Chief Censor Li Shishi and his men. This is the best outcome. Don't mention anything else!"

Then, Lin Jun put down his tea, walked to Yang Tinghe and waved his hand.

Yang Tinghe nodded: "I know! But I only dare to mention it in front of you today to prove that Fei Qianshan is a double-faced person!"

"You mean, after I enter Beijing, I will be charged?"

Lin Jun asked.

Yang Tinghe nodded: "This person cannot be kept! Oftentimes, the scum among the clean stream is more terrifying than people like Wang Qiong!"

Yang Tinghe was actually telling the truth.

Because Yan Song, who also came from a clean family, had a greater influence on the bureaucratic group than Wang Qiong and others after he defected to the emperor.

"But, when Fei Qianshan was investigating the case of the wealthy family in Fujian swallowing up the Donglai gold mine, he specifically covered up for you, Yang Shizhai, and destroyed all the evidence related to your crime!"

"This is a huge favor!"

Lin Jun said.

Yang Tinghe said: "I am not doing this for personal grudges, but for the future of the country! Moreover, it is easier to get rid of him because he covered it up and destroyed it!"

"You, Yang Shizhai, have the heart of a prime minister!"

After hearing this, Lin Jun couldn't help but reply.

Yang Tinghe sat back and picked up the tea: "The current prime minister is you, Lin Jiansu!"

Lin Jun laughed.

suddenly!

Lin Jun stopped smiling: "This is not something I can do just because I want to! Just like Wang Yangming back then, the emperor wanted to use him and keep him, no one could stop him! You originally wanted him to be a minister in Nanjing and let him die in depression! But as you know, the emperor had already planned to use this man in his private residence!"

"I never expected that the emperor is so wise and loves his people."

"I also don't regret following the ancestral teachings and appointing him as the Son of Heaven, instead of using extraordinary means to make him die prematurely in the mansion, so that the throne would be passed to the lineage of Prince Yi!"

"After all, you and I both know that whether you truly love the people or pretend to love them, it is better than not loving them at all."

Yang Tinghe spoke thoughtfully at this time, and then looked at Lin Jun: "But do you know what His Majesty said to me when I left?"

Lin Jun asked hurriedly: "How did you say that?"

"He asked me that since he was asked to serve the country alone, why didn't I first divide the land of my Yang family among the people and let the benefits of the Yang family benefit the people?" "I said, it's not that I don't want to, but I don't dare to go against the elders of the clan."

"He said, since I don't dare to go against the clan leader and elders, why dare he, the emperor, go against the leaders in the palace."

Yang Tinghe replied.

Lin Jun laughed after hearing this: "Your Majesty, that's a good question! But it's also scary to think about it!"

“It’s terrible!”

Snapped!
Yang Tinghe suddenly stood up and looked at Lin Jun:
"I am afraid that there will be scoundrels like Fei Qianshan in the future. After he finds that he cannot find any new mines overseas to increase the benefits of the world, he will think that he can continue to reform the system and use scoundrels like Fei Qianshan and the law-abiding officials to treat the gentry harshly!"

"Jiansu! I don't want me, the emperor appointed according to the ancestral teachings, to be known as a mean, ungrateful, cruel tyrant in the future!"

Yang Tinghe said as he held Lin Jun's hand: "Do you know my heart?"

Lin Jun also looked serious, then nodded and said, "I will do my best to prevent Fei Qianshan from ruining the moral character of the world's scholars!"

Yang Tinghe quickly pulled his hand away and bowed to Lin Jun: "Then I'll leave it to you, old man!"

Lin Jun also hurriedly returned the greeting.

……

……

Lin Jun came to Beijing in the late spring of the fourth year of Jiajing.

This was because, after he met Yang Tinghe that day, he encountered even colder temperatures on his way north and caught a cold. He had to stay in Linqing temporarily for treatment and recuperation, and only set out again after the temperature warmed up and he had recovered.

When Lin Jun entered Beijing, Zhu Houcong summoned Xie Qian and his two sons.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong did not summon him that night.

Only Fei Hong, Wang Qiong and Wang Ao met Lin Jun in the cabinet that night.

As soon as Fei Hong saw Lin Jun, he said, "Your Majesty is meeting Lord Xie, so he only asked me to tell you one thing after Lord Lin arrives in Beijing, that is, the evidence of Yang Tinghe's crimes in Fujian has not been destroyed by me!"

Lin Jun opened his eyes wide upon hearing this.

He had to admit that Fei Hong was indeed treacherous, and Yang Tinghe had underestimated his treachery.

Wang Ao was also stunned, and looked at Fei Hong with a complicated expression: "So, why did your majesty ask the Prime Minister to tell us about this?"

"For no other reason!"

"Your Majesty just wants us ministers not to learn from Yang Xindu!"

Fei Hongyan said.

Lin Jun immediately said: "Of course we won't learn from Yang Xindu!"

"To be honest, I met him on the way to Beijing, and he gave me some advice. I really disagreed with it!"

"How can an opposition elder instigate infighting among cabinet ministers? Isn't this just starting a party struggle?"

Lin Jun decisively revealed what Yang Tinghe said.

But he had no choice. The emperor was too good at manipulating his ministers, and the Prime Minister Fei Hong did not seem that simple. Yang Tinghe, who always claimed to be the smartest man in the world, still had a handle in their hands, so he could only change sides at the last minute.

Fei Hong nodded. He knew what Lin Jun meant, so he said, "I guessed it!"

"Your Majesty is wise and sage, so that the cabinet will not be in conflict because of Yang Xindu."

Wang Qiong said with a smile.

Wang Ao nodded and said, "Yes, in that case, at the Zuo Shun Gate court meeting tomorrow, we will all obey the emperor's will and put the overall situation first. We should not disrupt the law for the sake of the appearance of the Qingliu!"

"Very true!"

Everyone nodded.

……

……

The next day was indeed the day when Zhu Houcong held a court meeting with all officials at Zuoshunmen.

What was different about this court meeting was that Zhu Houcong brought one more person with him.

This person is Xie Qian.

Zhu Houcong therefore said at the court meeting:

"I'm sure you all know that Lord Xie took the initiative to confess his crime by abducting his two sons and to expose his sons' crimes!"

"In my opinion, Lord Xie is worthy of being a role model of integrity. He not only upholds the law, but also prevents the court from directly using force to search the homes of the two ministers, which would have brought disgrace to both sides!"

"So I have decided to punish only the two sons of the Xie family, and not to confiscate their property. I will only order Mr. Xie to hand over all the stolen money from smuggling. At the same time, as a reward for his loyalty and initiative in exposing the truth, I will confer him the title of Grand Tutor, and set up a council behind the Wenhua Palace, with him as a minister of the council, ready for me to consult on important military and national affairs!"

"Now that Taifu Yang has returned to his hometown, I am in need of an important official to consult with. According to Zhen Tingyi's opinion, Taifu Xie is an old official of Hongzhi. If he is willing to make plans for me, I will be even more pleased!"

"I wonder if Mr. Xie can accept the appointment?"

Zhu Houcong asked Xie Qian.

Xie Qian bowed his head and kowtowed: "I am grateful for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will do my best to repay your grace!"

This was something Zhu Houcong and Xie Qian had discussed in advance, and now they were just announcing it at the court meeting to go through the formalities.

But the court officials were very shocked when they saw this.

Because they all understood that people like Xie Qian not only took the initiative to confess and expose the two sons, but were also willing to be under the emperor's command. This would undoubtedly strengthen the emperor's ruling power in the bureaucracy, and no one would dare to question whether the emperor's current rituals were correct.

Then, Zhu Houcong said: "As for the crimes of the two sons of the Xie family, let the court decide their crimes."

"Xingbu!"

Zhu Houcong called out at this time.

The Minister of Justice Zhao Huang stepped out and said, "I am here!"

"According to the law, how should the punishment for crimes such as smuggling weapons be determined?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

(End of this chapter)