Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 113: According to the "Imperial Edict", what crime should be committed?

Forbidden City.

Hongde Hall.

Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon throne, with stoves placed around him, and the Hongde Hall was as warm as spring.

Zhu Youtang was reading the memorials while eating the red dates, milk and bird's nest soup that had just been cooked by the Shangshenjian.

At this moment, Huai En, who had not appeared for a long time, hurried into the Hongde Hall with a happy look on his face.

"This old slave Huai En pays respect to His Majesty."

Huai'en came before Zhu Youtang and knelt down to salute.

"Get up."

Zhu Youtang put down the memorial in his hand and looked at Huai En calmly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Huai En stood up, he quickly reported the situation to Zhu Youtang.

"Your Majesty, the relatives of Zhang Ying, Liu Ji, Liu Wentai, Min Gui, Wang Ji and others have all been dealt with."

"In order to deal with the relatives of these people, the East Factory has spent a lot of effort. Some of these people are in Southern Zhili, some in Northern Zhili, and some in Raozhou Prefecture and Huzhou Prefecture..."

"Let's get down to business."

Zhu Youtang interrupted Huai En's chattering, and Huai En quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yes Yes."

"Your Majesty, the East Factory has executed a total of 1,396 of these relatives."

"They were all beheaded in the busiest places in the area, with tens of thousands of people watching and cheering every time."

"From the Zhang, Liu, and Min families, we seized a total of 180,000 taels of silver, 30,000 taels of banknotes, 880,000 acres of farmland, more than 1,400 houses, and 1.2 million dan of grain..."

There were only eight officials whose families were executed by Zhu Youtang's order.

Among these eight people, except Liu Wentai, Shi Qin and Zhong Lan, all others are officials of the second or third rank.

The amount of property seized from the execution of these eight people was almost as much as the property seized from the house searches of more than a thousand officials in the capital.

It can be seen that the officials of the Ming Dynasty still had a deep sense of local sentiment.

Whenever there is any benefit, I will take care of my relatives and clansmen in my hometown.

Zhu Youtang nodded expressionlessly: "I understand."

"The East Factory has thoroughly investigated all officials in the capital, and there are no more officials involved in the poisoning of the late emperor."

"Your Majesty, look at the martial law in the capital..."

Zhu Youtang looked at Huai En, without any emotion in his eyes.

"Have you really checked everything?"

Huai En was frightened by Zhu Youtang's eyes and felt a chill on his back. He quickly bent down and said, "I have indeed checked everything clearly."

"Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to tell a lie in front of the emperor!"

Zhu Youtang lowered his eyes and nodded.

The capital city has been under martial law ever since the poisoning of the previous emperor.

Three thousand Dongchang men are still waiting for orders in the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City and the capital are still guarded by the soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp.

The public security in the capital was also maintained by the Jinyiwei.

These deployments could effectively protect Zhu Youtang's safety and deter anyone who dared to have dissenting intentions when the previous emperor was poisoned.

But at the same time, it also affected the main work of the factory guards and the trap camp.

Now that the poisoning of the late emperor has passed, order has returned to the capital.

It would be a waste to let the Factory Guards and the Xianzhen Camp guard the gate.

"In that case, let's cancel the martial law in the capital."

When Zhu Youtang was about to send someone to convey his imperial edict to Wang Zhi, Mou Bin and Gao Shun, Wang Zhi had already arrived at the Hongde Hall.

"Your humble servant Wang Zhi pays respect to Your Majesty!"

Wang Zhi walked into the Hongde Hall and came before Zhu Youtang to pay his respects.

Although there was still no expression on Wang Zhi's face, the tone of his greeting was very relaxed.

Zhu Youtang: "Get up."

"Wang Zhi, you came at the right time. I have something to tell you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Please give your orders."

Wang Zhi thanked him, stood up, took a step closer, and listened attentively.

Zhu Youtang ordered: "Pass it down, the Western Factory will stop investigating the military commanders in the capital, and all the military commanders and soldiers who have no problems will be reinstated."

"The Xianzhen Camp will gather its troops and return to the Xishan Military Camp for training."

"The Imperial Guards are no longer responsible for the security of the capital. Their authority will be returned to the Five Cities Military Command."

"The four Tengxiang guards should return to normal, and the three thousand guards of the East Factory in the palace should also be withdrawn."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang Zhi and Huai En responded to the order at the same time.

This means that the capital city, which has been under martial law for more than a month, will return to normal.

"Your Majesty, victory news has come from the northwest front."

After receiving the order, Wang Zhi hurriedly reported the good news he had just received to Zhu Youtang.

"Governor Xu Chang not only recaptured Hamiwei, but also occupied Gaochang, the capital of the Turpan Khanate."

"We have annihilated more than 200,000 enemy troops and captured 150,000 young women, who are being taken to Shanzhou."

As Wang Zhi spoke, he presented two secret letters to Zhu Youtang.

Of the two secret letters, one had been opened and the other was still intact.

This opened secret letter was written by Ma Jinzhong, the head of the Western Factory, to Wang Zhi, giving him intelligence about the Western Factory.

The letter that had not been opened was written by Xu Chang to Zhu Youtang, reporting the specific battle situation on the front line.

It's just that Xu Chang's letter went through the Western Factory's intelligence network, so it also fell into Wang Zhi's hands.

Zhu Youtang took the two secret letters and opened them one by one.

Huai'en and Wang Zhi carefully observed Zhu Youtang's expression, only to see that after reading Xu Chang's secret letter, Zhu Youtang laughed heartily for the first time in a long time.

"Hahahaha!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhu Youtang said three good words in a row and smiled happily.

"Xu Chang took back Hami Guard and occupied Gaochang. This is really a great achievement."

"When Xu Chang returns to the capital, I will reward the three armies."

"Those soldiers who died on the battlefield should also be treated kindly to their families."

"I cannot let those who shed blood for the Ming Dynasty shed tears again."

The war had not yet ended, but Zhu Youtang had to start considering a series of subsequent matters.

Zhu Youtang handed two secret letters to Huai En: "Send this to the cabinet."

“How to reward the three armies, how to comfort the families of the martyrs, how to deal with the remains of the martyrs, and how to manage Hami Guard and Gaochang City.”

"Let the cabinet come up with a charter."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Huai En took the secret letter respectfully and delivered it to the cabinet personally.

After Huai'en left, Wang Zhi bowed to Zhu Youtang and reported.

"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report."

"Play."

"In the past few days, the West Factory has captured more than ten escaped officials in Hejian Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, Dengzhou Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture and other places."

"After investigation, it was found that these officials were all servants of the officials and nobles in the capital."

"The lands under their names are all good farmlands occupied by officials and nobles in the capital."

"Among them, there are three Yuanwailang, and the land under their names all belongs to the Zhou family of Changping, totaling 170,000 acres."

"The other several Yuanwailang were also the captive slaves of the executed officials in Beijing."

"All the land under their names was occupied by those officials in Beijing who have been executed."

The joy on Zhu Youtang's face gradually faded, his brows furrowed slightly, and he laughed coldly.

"I was wondering why when we raided the Zhou family, we only found silver and banknotes, but no land."

"It turns out that all these land properties were transferred to the names of the officials they kept."

"How did Mou Bin handle things at that time?"

"You don't even know this?!"

When the property of the brothers Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu was confiscated, Zhu Youtang handed the case over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Now it seems that Mou Bin was too young at the time and did not even know that the Zhou brothers had hidden their land under other people's names.

This practice of hiding land under other people's names should be very popular among officials in the capital.

Wang Zhi had a calm expression and did not express his opinion on anything.

He just respectfully asked, "Your Majesty, how should these officials be dealt with?"

Zhu Youtang asked in return: "According to the records in the Imperial Edict, what should we do in this situation?"

"Your Majesty, according to the Imperial Edict, this kind of crime should be listed as a crime under the Tuanju Records, and the punishment should be beheading."

"Then kill it."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After receiving the order, Wang Zhi bowed and took his leave.

The so-called beheading is also a very cruel punishment.

The execution was carried out using a guillotine, chopping the prisoner into two parts from the waist.

Because the main organs of the human body are in the upper body, the prisoner will still be conscious after being cut in half at the waist, and it will take a long time for him to die.

Some prisoners can survive for as long as a stick of incense after being tortured, which is extremely cruel.

Those who had received this training included Li Si, the left prime minister of the Qin Empire, and Fang Xiaoru, one of the Four Gentlemen of Jianwen.

After the Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Di beheaded Fang Xiaoru outside the Jubao Gate in Nanjing.

Legend has it that after Fang Xiaoru was beheaded, he crawled on the ground with his elbows, dipped his hands in blood and wrote twelve and a half characters "Usurpation" before he died.

……

Wenyuan Pavilion.

Xu Pu and Liu Jian, who were on duty in the pavilion, were chatting about this and that.

On the table in front of the two men, the "Great Ming Code" and the unfinished "Regulations on Criminal Interrogation" were still open.

But at this time, the two had completely lost any enthusiasm for drafting the "Regulations on Interrogation of Criminals".

The most important regulations on the punishment of officials were forcibly changed by Zhu Youtang into the "Imperial Edict".

Xu Pu was in complete despair, and the weather was cold, so he felt completely listless.

At this moment, the young eunuch from the Imperial Household Department delivered Xu Chang's letter to Wenyuan Pavilion.

"My two ministers, this is the latest battle report from the northwest front."

"Your Majesty requires the Cabinet to come up with a plan as soon as possible in terms of rewarding the three armies, comforting the families of the martyrs, handling the remains of the martyrs, and handling Hami Guard and Gaochang City."

After hearing the battle reports from the front line, Xu Pu and Liu Jian finally became interested.

"Okay, got it."

Xu Pu picked up Xu Chang's battle report and read it with Liu Jian.

After watching it, both of them had already made up their minds.

"Prime Minister Xu, how do you think we should manage Hami Wei and Gaochang City?" Liu Jian asked.

Xu Pu thought about it for a while and then came up with the answer.

"Hamiwei and Gaochang City should still be managed by the Ming Dynasty's Zhongshun King."

"As for the choice... I think Shanba, the nephew of King Qianben of Anding, is very suitable."

Liu Jian smiled slightly: "It seems that the Prime Minister and I have a common understanding."

Like King Anding Qianben and King Zhongshun Hanshen, they were both members of ethnic minorities who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.

But the difference is that Han Shen was a Uighur, the ancestor of modern Uyghurs.

Qianben and Shanba are authentic Mongolians and descendants of the Yuan Dynasty royal family.

So Xu Pu and Liu Jian worked until sunset before they finally drafted a memorial.

He also dragged a young eunuch from the Imperial Household Department and sent him to Zhu Youtang's Qianqing Palace.

(End of this chapter)