The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 29 Elders Enter the Capital

Li Qi's main position was Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, so he spent most of his time on duty in the palace, occasionally going to the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy to teach.

At the same time, he sent people to investigate the Jingning Marquis's residence for its misconduct. This investigation uncovered a great deal of problems, the number of items and the variety of categories were simply astonishing.

Embezzling soldiers' salt, military rations, rewards for superiors, and the output of their farms were all commonplace for him. He even forced soldiers who offended him to commit suicide. Some soldiers went to the capital to complain, but were caught and executed on the way. As for his subordinates having affairs with the wives of their soldiers, there were far too many.

He also transferred soldiers from the army to serve as servants and help him with his business, as well as to use them as laborers. This was not particularly noteworthy, since all the nobles did it, and Li Shanchang did it too.

The most outrageous thing was that during his time stationed in Guangxi, he oppressed local officials and exploited the local people, leading to three rebellions by the people of Guangxi. Instead, he was promoted and given titles by suppressing the rebellions.

His titles and official hats are all made up of the blood and bones of countless people of the Ming Dynasty!

Li Qi took a deep breath, and sure enough!
These nobles are all burdened with blood debts; killing them ten or a hundred times wouldn't be a problem.

"If these matters are reported to the Emperor, how can Ye Sheng possibly survive? So the question now is, who should be chosen to report these matters to the Emperor?"

Li Qi naturally wouldn't do it himself; no one knew that Yang Jing, Zhan Hui, and Li Yuanming were plotting to frame the Han State government.

Others only thought it was a political struggle and wouldn't think it was revenge, but Ye Sheng was different. Everyone knew that Li Qi and the Jingning Marquis's mansion had a blood feud.

Li Qi should avoid any appearance of impropriety in this matter.

In other periods of the Ming Dynasty, impeachment by censors might have been necessary, but during the Hongwu era, there was a group of even better candidates—

Elderly!
"Ye Sheng, prepare for the storm."

……

On the third day of the seventh month of the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, a group of elders from Guangxi arrived by carriage and knocked on the gates of the palace to file a complaint against Marquis Jingning, Ye Sheng!

This matter quickly attracted the emperor's attention. He sent people to bring the group of elders into the palace and ordered the arrest of Marquis Jingning, Ye Sheng, and imprisonment in the Jinyiwei prison.

No one expected that just ten days later, the palace issued an edict ordering the three judicial offices, the Grand Secretaries, the ministers and vice ministers of the six ministries, the Directorate of State Affairs, and other important officials to come to the palace to try the Marquis of Jingning.

In fact, the entire capital was already in an uproar when it was learned that an elder had come to the capital to petition the emperor.

The elders of the Ming Dynasty were truly unique; they were not merely ceremonial titles like those of previous dynasties, but rather the actual ruling class.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely disappointed with the Ming Dynasty officials, he placed his hopes on the local elders. He once said, "The elders are old, they have experienced and heard a lot, they know about good and evil, easy and difficult things. If we use them to deal with problems, the country will prosper."

Zhu Yuanzhang granted these elders many privileges, such as the right to recommend "filial and incorruptible officials," judicial power to handle local disputes, and most importantly, the power to supervise officials—the power that is now widely circulated online, allowing ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty to bind officials and bring them to the capital to file complaints.

Li Qi himself scoffed at this system. Anyone from later generations knows that once these so-called local gentry gained power, they did not supervise officials at all, but instead colluded with local officials to intensify their harm to ordinary people.

Unfortunately, this system also originated from the supreme imperial power, and it was abolished in history only after Zhu Yuanzhang's death.

As the Grand Secretary and the Emperor's secretary, Li Qi naturally entered the palace by imperial decree. Officials strolled in twos and threes in front of the palace gate, and soon the court entered the palace, and His Majesty went to the Fengtian Hall.

A group of elderly men were already waiting in the Fengtian Hall. All of them had gray hair and beards and their faces were full of fatigue. Everyone knew that these were the elders from Guangxi.

Li Qi glanced at it from afar before looking away, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

After all the officials had entered the hall, the emperor came out from the rear hall. Li Qi, along with the crowd, shouted "Long live the emperor!" and then Marquis Jingning, Ye Sheng, was brought into the hall bound hand and foot.

Li Qi narrowed his eyes slightly. Ye Sheng was no longer the arrogant and noble figure he had been outside the Fengtian Hall that day. He was quite disheveled, covered in wounds, dried blood, and scars.

When the courtiers saw Ye Sheng's miserable state, they were all shocked, knowing that His Majesty was truly enraged this time, and that the Marquis of Jingning might be finished.

"Ten days ago, an elder from Guangxi accused Ye Sheng, so I sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate. It turns out that Ye Sheng is truly a good minister of mine, daring to commit so many heinous acts behind my back! Read Ye Sheng's crimes aloud in front of all the court officials, so that they can all hear it properly. This is what a duke of the Ming Dynasty looks like!"

Upon hearing the emperor refer to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I"), the courtiers were horrified and bowed their heads in silence, silently condemning the Marquis of Jingning to death.

As the eunuch's voice echoed throughout the hall, one line, ten lines, densely packed, seemingly endless, the assembled civil officials felt terrified and looked at the Marquis of Jingning in shock.

Only one thought occupied his mind—"Has Marquis Jingning gone mad? How dare he do this? Does he think he's a prince?"

Meanwhile, many of the commanders and officers in the palace were sweating profusely, because they were doing some of the things that Marquis Jingning was doing.

After leaving the palace, arrange for someone to quickly handle everything from beginning to end!
Marquis Jingning was gagged and unable to speak, but the look of terror on his face proved that it was all true.

After the eunuch finished reading the charges, the atmosphere in the hall almost froze. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The emperor's anger was building up, and the officials didn't dare to breathe, fearing that they would become the emperor's punching bag for any misbehavior in front of him.

a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly threw the bronze token down from the head of the table, which hit Ye Sheng hard. He roared, "This is the duke or marquis we have appointed!"

Ye Sheng!

The hereditary title and generous salary were given to you so that you would support the country and be loyal to the royal family and the world. But you, you beast, have you done anything for the sake of the world?

You've let us down!

Ye Sheng couldn't say anything, he could only keep kowtowing, hoping that the emperor would spare his life in consideration of his past merits.

Li Qi stood by, watching indifferently.

He orchestrated this whole affair, acting in accordance with the prevailing trend.

Zhu Yuanzhang was already planning to find a reason to take down Ye Sheng, and now that such a perfect weapon had been delivered to him, how could he possibly refuse it?

Li Qi's strategy was in accordance with the emperor's will and the people's wishes.

Once the crimes committed by Ye Sheng are publicized, they will surely arouse public outrage and endless calls for Ye Sheng's execution. No one will dare to plead for him. The emperor only needs to go with the flow.

The case of Ye Sheng is similar to that of many other meritorious officials.

They would inevitably feel fear, plot in secret, and develop rebellious intentions. With their allies also involved, the nobles and officials of Huaixi could be implicated and wiped out.

The Lan Yu Party case will be a major case with solid evidence, and the emperor will surely be able to think of this.

And it all started with—Ye Sheng was going to die!
As long as Ye Sheng dies, Li Qi will seek revenge and gain achievement points. As for the fate of the other noble families in Huaixi, they were doomed anyway, so it has nothing to do with him!

The Korean royal family has long since perished. The current Li family follows the path of scholars and the tradition of passing down poetry and books through generations.

The ministers in the hall all focused their attention on Ye Sheng, but Li Qi sensed a surging sea of ​​blood approaching.

The Blue Jade Case.

it has started.

Only the emperor knows who will live and who will die in this life.

(End of this chapter)