Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 73: Is that all Hu Weiyong is?
In late December of the twelfth year of the Hongwu reign, as the year drew to a close, the city of Jinling finally became a little more lively.

Villagers from the suburbs of nearby counties such as Jiangning and Shangyuan also have to go to the city to buy some New Year's goods.

Recently, the imperial court suddenly issued an order to recruit people to reclaim wasteland in the southern suburbs of the city. It was the slack season for farming, and many laborers signed up enthusiastically, and soon 5,000 acres of land were reclaimed.

After the farmland was reclaimed, the prince designated this place as the Ming Dynasty Imperial Farm.

The imperial farm was irrigated with water from the Qinhuai River and was located in the southeast of Jinling City, almost north of the Jiangning District of Nanjing in later generations. At a glance, it was a vast expanse of fertile land.

Unfortunately, due to the war in the early Ming Dynasty, many places were left unattended and water conservancy facilities were damaged, resulting in a lot of abandoned arable land.

However, it was also the wars in the early Ming Dynasty that led to a reshuffle of the domestic pie. The original land annexation problem was alleviated, and the landlord class had not yet taken shape, allowing the country to smoothly enter the production stage.

At this moment, the prince did not use the army in the city to help reclaim the land for free, but instead hired the people, so that they could have a slightly more comfortable year.

The city of Jinling was decorated with lights and lanterns.

It is said that this time the prince will hold a grand New Year celebration to pray for His Majesty who is seriously ill.

Not only did they purchase a large number of fireworks, but they also invited some singing, dancing, sparkler and other performances, which will then tour the streets of South City, making the people of Jinling full of expectations.

In the early morning, before dawn, in the cold winter wind, a row of carriages slowly stopped at the palace gate, waiting for the Meridian Gate to open.

This was the first time the Crown Prince had held a morning court session in over a month, and many officials were not even used to it.

Countless torches were lit, illuminating the palace gate.

The snow stopped falling some time ago, but the weather is still cold. The snow on the ground outside the palace gate has not melted yet and has formed a thin layer of ice.

All the officials were yawning. This was the most comfortable time for them in over a month.

When Your Majesty was in power, anyone who was not careful would either be dismissed or killed. For example, because of the incident with the Champa envoy, there were only a few people left in the Ministry of Rites, from the Minister to the Vice Minister.

Now, not only do we not have to worry about being suddenly dismissed from office or killed, but we can also skip court in the early morning and go to work in various government offices at noon.

Such a pleasant life is something I never dared to imagine before.

Soon a large number of officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate. They stood in twos and threes with people they knew. Until Hu Weiyong's carriage arrived, they were immediately clearly separated.

As soon as Hu Weiyong got off the carriage, more than 70% of the 300 civil servants who needed to attend the court rushed towards him.

They gathered around him and said all kinds of compliments.

"The Prime Minister sleeps peacefully day and night, lives peacefully morning and night, and works hard for the common people of the world."

"Yes, nowadays, the prime minister is responsible for all national affairs, and the same was true for Zhuge Liang in ancient times."

"Your Majesty is seriously ill, and the Crown Prince is young, so the Prime Minister needs to take care of him."

"Hey, we are all serving the court, serving His Majesty and the Crown Prince, so please stop saying these things."

Although Hu Weiyong said some polite words after getting off the car, his expression did not show any fear or trepidation. Instead, he looked very relaxed, as if it was a matter of course.

Not far away, a group of military generals and nobles stood together, and there were also a small number of civil servants, about dozens of people gathered in a corner.

If you stand on the palace wall above the Meridian Gate and look down, you will see that except for a very small number of weak individuals outside the palace, more than 90% of the civil and military officials automatically represent three forces.

The most powerful group is naturally the one headed by Hu Weiyong.

They were recommended by their fellow villagers from Huaixi, and together with other local officials, they formed a huge group.

The second is the group of military generals and nobles headed by Li Wenzhong.

They were not allowed to have any interactions with civil officials, and had to be separated during the morning court. They were not allowed to have any contact with each other in private, and were independent of the court.

Finally, there are the remnants of the Zhejiang East Group.

When Liu Bowen and others were there, although the Zhejiang East Group was at a disadvantage, it still had a large number of people, at least over a hundred, and could barely compete with Hu Weiyong's forces.

But now, with the death of Liu Bowen and others, many officials of the Zhejiang East Group have been dismissed by Hu Weiyong, and their power is no longer as strong as before.

The highest-ranking officials among them were only Qian Tang, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Wu Chen, the editor of the Hanlin Academy.

Originally, the new Minister of Rites Zhang Chou should also be a member of the Zhejiang East Group. He is from Wuxi and had previously worked with Song Lian to customize court etiquette. He has a good relationship with the Zhejiang East Group.

However, historical records show that he was quite good at making up stories. After becoming the Minister of Rites, he was quite fawning on Hu Weiyong. Although he is not a core member of Hu Weiyong's group at present, he has already distanced himself from the Zhejiang East Group.

So now the Zhejiang East Group can be said to be just a few kittens.

Except for Qian Tang, the rest were basically below the fifth rank, and even during the morning court sessions, their seats were very far back.

"Boom boom boom!"

The eunuch at the palace gate rang the bell loudly.

The Meridian Gate slowly opened.

The guards on both sides made way, and the officials immediately lined up, entered the palace from the Meridian Gate, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, went to the Fengtian Gate, and then stepped into the square outside the Fengtian Hall.

What was unexpected was that at this moment, more than a hundred people had already stood in the square outside the Fengtian Gate Palace.

They did not stand at the bottom of the jade steps, but on the right side of the steps, next to where the civil servants stood, about a few feet away from them.

It was three quarters past the hour of Yin, or four o'clock in the morning. It was winter again, the days were short and the nights were long, and the sky was dark and difficult to see clearly, which made people confused.

It was not until the civil officials slowly walked to the bottom of the jade steps and, in the light of the fire in the Fengtian Hall, noticed that there seemed to be some familiar faces among these people.

Those with sharp eyes have already recognized a few of them.

"Hey, isn't that Wu Bozong, the former deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites? Wasn't he dismissed and exiled to Fengyang? Why is he here?"

"That person seems to be Han Yike. He used to be a censor. He was demoted to Xi'an because he impeached the prime minister. How come he was suddenly called back? Could it be..."

"Look, it's Xue Xiang. He's back too."

There were more than a hundred officials standing nearby, and although most of them were unfamiliar, the familiar faces were frightening.

Because many of them were ministers who were driven out of the court by Hu Weiyong, including many high-ranking officials.

For example, Xue Xiang was the Minister of Works. Later, because of his great contribution in repairing palaces and building palaces in the Ministry of Works, he was promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang to the Governor of Beiping, from the third rank to the second rank.

As a result, he offended Hu Weiyong. Although he had been the most successful governor in the country for three years, he was dismissed from the position of second-rank governor to the position of fourth-rank prefect of Jiaxing Prefecture.

Many people in and out of the government knew that Xue Xiang had outstanding political achievements and was an upright person, but it was very regrettable that he was treated so unfairly.

But at that time Hu Weiyong was in great power, so naturally no one stood up for him.

I didn't expect he was here today too.

Seeing this scene, Hu Weiyong and his followers felt something was wrong.

Prince, what does this mean?
"The prince is here!"

Just at this moment, the eunuch Wang Dong, the commander of the internal affairs department, shouted loudly.

All the officials immediately bowed and saluted: "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Biao walked out of the Fengtian Hall slowly, with Zhu Di and Zhu Yunfeng following closely on both sides like bodyguards.

The eunuchs had already moved a dragon throne made of huanghuali wood and painted with gold and placed it on the jade steps.

On the left and right jade platforms and at the foot of the jade steps, the soldiers of the Yiluan Guard stood majestically.

Zhu Biao lifted the hem of his robe, sat on the dragon throne, and looked down with a solemn expression.

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

All the officials raised their heads.

Hu Weiyong already had a thousand questions to ask at this time.

He always felt that something was wrong, but according to etiquette it was not yet time to report anything, so he could only endure it for the time being.

At this time, the ceremonial officer shouted: "If you have something to say, please report it early. If you don't, please leave the court!"

"I have something to say!"

An official walked out of the crowd, clasped his hands and said, "I, Shang Hao, the chief official of the Secretariat, impeached Prime Minister Hu Weiyong for abusing his power, appointing people based on personal connections, and being the prime minister for several years. He killed, promoted, demoted, or promoted people without reporting to the emperor. He read the secret reports submitted by the various departments inside and outside the court first, and concealed those that were harmful to him. The impetuous people from all over the country, as well as the meritorious officials and warriors who failed in their duties, rushed to his door and gave him gold, silk, famous horses, and toys. They were countless!"

"Shang Haoshi, you are slandering me!" Hu Weiyong could no longer sit still and stood up and shouted angrily.

Huh?
He actually took action himself?

Zhu Yunfeng yawned while standing on the steps. When he heard Hu Weiyong's scolding, he looked down in surprise.

This old guy was too impatient and actually came out to refute it personally.

If it had been someone as shrewd and calculating as Yan Song, there would probably have been young generals from Yan's party who would have led the charge for him long ago.

But if you think about it carefully, maybe it's normal.

Jiajing was already in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. The party struggles and calculations were already sophisticated and the political game was played to perfection. Naturally, the party struggles would not be too ostentatious and expose their true intentions.

In contrast, the early Ming Dynasty was much simpler and more brutal, with direct impeachment. Zhu Yuanzhang would interrogate the impeached person, and if he could not answer, he would die.

In the end.

Although Hu Weiyong seemed to be the prime minister, he was actually a clerk who rose to the position of prime minister in the Secretariat by bribing Li Shanchang.

In his early days, he was very favored by Zhu Yuanzhang, so much so that he had absolute power in the Secretariat. Anyone who offended him would be dismissed, and anyone who flattered him would be promoted. He had no experience in political struggles at all.

To put it bluntly, the entire court is now a makeshift team.

The imperial examinations in the early Ming Dynasty were not held smoothly. Many officials did not come from the imperial examination system and had no experience in local governance.

Many of them were only officials of the seventh or eighth rank the moment before. Some were recommended by Zhu Yuanzhang and rapidly promoted, while others joined Hu Weiyong and ascended to high positions. Their abilities and political struggles were very poor.

As a result, Hu Weiyong was impeached in front of civil and military officials at the morning court. Naturally, he could not remain calm and was the first to jump out.

As he jumped out, his followers also stood up and scolded him.

"Shang Haoshi, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"Your Highness, when I impeached Shang Hao, I falsely accused important officials of the court. I hope Your Highness will investigate this matter!"

"The Prime Minister has devoted all his energy to the affairs of the court day and night, always thinking about serving the country. Your Highness must not listen to the slander of the traitors!"

At once, more than twenty court officials came to present their reports.

"Dong dong!"

Wang Dong struck the gong beside him and shouted, "Silence!"

"Well"

Zhu Biao let out a long breath, stood up and put his hands behind his back, pretending to be surprised and said, "During the Shang Dynasty, Prime Minister Hu was the pillar of the Ming Dynasty. How can you impeach him casually? Do you have any evidence?"

Shang Haoshi sneered and said, "I have evidence."

As he spoke, he took out the memorial from his bosom, held it up with both hands, bent down and said, "This is the memorial that Hu Weiyong has made without authorization in recent years, as well as the memorials that he has concealed. They are all recorded one by one. Your Highness can ask the Ministry of Public Administration to check it!"

"Where is Zeng Bingzheng?"

"The minister is here."

"Compare them."

"Yes."

Zeng Bingzheng immediately walked over, took the memorial and read it.

The field was extremely quiet at this time.

All of Hu Weiyong's followers were sweating profusely and kept wiping the sweat from their foreheads.

Before that, Shang Hao was the second-rank Chief Censor. Because he offended Hu Weiyong, he was dismissed by Hu Weiyong and became the seventh-rank Director of the Secretariat.

It has to be said that the gap between promotion and demotion in the early Ming Dynasty was so huge.

Promotion or demotion is completely independent of official rules.

Sometimes, if one is valued by Zhu Yuanzhang or Hu Weiyong, he or she may be promoted directly from the seventh rank to the third rank or even the second rank.

But once Zhu Yuanzhang and Hu Weiyong disliked one, it was common for him to be demoted from the second rank to the seventh rank.

Therefore, at this moment everyone thought that this was Shang Haoshi's revenge on Hu Weiyong.

Only Hu Weiyong felt something was wrong.

After all, no matter how knowledgeable and well-remembered Zeng Bingzheng was, the number of memorials sent to the Ministry of Public Administration and the Secretariat in a year ranged from six to seven thousand, to tens of thousands. How could he possibly remember them all?

There must be a conspiracy behind this.

really.

Soon Zeng Bingzheng finished comparing and reported: "Your Highness, the comparison is correct. In the past five years, Prime Minister Hu has made more than 1,600 memorials without authorization, and has concealed 337 memorials."

"Does Minister Hu want to give me an explanation?"

Zhu Biao stood on the jade steps with his hands behind his back, looking down at Hu Weiyong with a stern gaze.

This is the first difficult point.

Hu Weiyong's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he quickly said, "Your Highness, I just think these are trivial matters, and there is no need to trouble Your Majesty and Your Highness. Many of these memorials came in just before the end of the shift, and the palace was about to be closed. It was urgent, and it was not a big deal. I didn't want to bother Your Majesty again, so I made the decision on my own. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

"Ah."

Shang Haoshi sneered, "The severe drought in Jiangnan is a small matter. Your Majesty didn't know about it until a few days later. Transferring the six ministers is also a small matter. You dismissed them without your permission when they didn't suit your wishes. Even Your Majesty didn't know. I don't even know whether the Ming Dynasty's court is Your Majesty's court or yours, Prime Minister Hu!"

"you!"

Hu Weiyong glared at him and yelled, "You shameless villain who framed me!"

"Your Highness, I also impeach Hu Weiyong for selling official positions and accepting bribes."

Mao Xiang suddenly stood up and bowed and said.

"Is there any evidence?"

Zhu Biao asked.

"This is the account book and the records from the past two years. The most recent month is the clearest, recording how many officials in the court bribed Hu Weiyong."

Mao Xiang took out the account book and memorials from his bosom, then glanced at Hu Weiyong and said, "Sun Xi, a servant of Hu Weiyong, and I have a history. These are all recorded by Sun Xi in secret, with the time, place, and personnel. Not only the amount of their bribes, but also the conversations between them, the words used in private to decide the court affairs, and who entered and left the Hu Mansion, and who was discussing the court affairs. In addition, some servants in the ministers' mansions are also in contact with me, and the records between them can be checked and compared one by one!"

Hu Weiyong widened his eyes and began to tremble all over.

The many followers behind him were also sweating profusely, with expressions of panic on their faces.

I didn't expect that there was a thief in my own house.

Mao Xiang had caught them in everything they did. I'm afraid His Royal Highness the Crown Prince knew far more than they imagined!

Zhu Biao glared at the people below and said, "Who are the ones who sold their positions and titles? Who are the ones who made decisions on their own? If you stand up, you can still avoid death. If you tell me your name, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"I am guilty. I bribed Prime Minister Hu with 100 taels of gold."

"I am also guilty. I bribed Prime Minister Hu with 1,200 pieces of silk."

"minister"

In an instant, more than a dozen officials stood up, knelt down on the ground, trembling, kowtowed and wailed.

As they stood up, a large number of officials knelt down and cried.

Looking at the Hu party officials below.

Zhu Yunfeng was stretching and yawning on the jade steps.

So boring.

I thought it was going to be a thrilling battle.

So this is what Hu Weiyong became?
boring.

(End of this chapter)