Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 8 The Clown's Ramblings and the Jue's Award
Around 1:00 PM, it is the hottest time of the day.

In August, the sun was still blazing in the capital, and the streets and alleys were deserted, with hardly anyone to be seen.

At this moment, the corridors of the Qianqing Palace were guarded every three steps and sentries every five steps. The imperial guards, dressed in iron armor, were lined up in neat rows with solemn expressions.

Zhu Juena, along with Wang Chengen and a group of eunuchs, walked unhurriedly toward the Imperial Study.

He received too many court officials today; he hadn't even finished reviewing all the memorials yet.

This memorial represented the emperor's decision-making power, and he naturally could not delegate it to others.

Liu Ruoyu and Fang Zhenghua had been waiting at the entrance of the Imperial Study for a long time.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, calmly walked into the imperial study and sat down before asking, "Ruoyu, has the imperial edict been sent to Wei Zhongxian?"

How could I dare to neglect the task you assigned?

Liu Ruoyu nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant has already delivered the imperial edict to Lord Wei. This servant has also relayed what Lord Gu and Lord Feng said to Lord Wei. This servant even had a meal with them."

Hmm, not bad. I told you to eat before you came over, but you went over without eating.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "What did Wei Zhongxian say?"

That guy is cunning; he won't say many things to my face.

Liu Ruoyu said cautiously, "Lord Wei didn't say anything, but judging from his expression, he was probably furious."

Was Wei Zhongxian angry?

Will this guy just go and mess with Gu Bingqian and Feng Quan?

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then looked at Fang Zhenghua.

Fang Zhenghua quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Wei Zhongxian angrily took the memorial to the cabinet office, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard has already begun a thorough investigation into the corruption of Huo Weihua and Min Hongxue."

Wei Zhongxian didn't dare to deal with Gu Bingqian and Feng Quan?
Just how much influence do these two guys wield in the court?

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Send someone to secretly investigate Gu Bingqian and Feng Quan, and see who their confidants are in the court."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhenghua quickly bowed and took his leave.

Zhu Jue then picked up the memorials on his desk and continued to review them.

Unexpectedly, less than a quarter of an hour later, Fang Zhenghua strode in again, carrying a memorial, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this is a memorial sent by the Cabinet."

The cabinet sent the memorials directly to the imperial study?
This seems to be against the rules.

Memorials should first be sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial for registration and filing to prevent omissions.

Zhu Jue took the memorial, opened it, and understood.

This is a memorial impeaching Wei Zhongxian; these guys are afraid Wei Zhongxian will confiscate it.

Shi Gongsheng, an assistant director of the Ministry of Justice, submitted a memorial to the emperor, and Wei Zhongxian bestowed upon him numerous titles and rewards!

His nephew, Wei Liangqing, was only seventeen years old and had never been on the battlefield. Yet, for the great victory at Ningyuan, he was granted the title of Earl of Suning and given a thousand acres of farmland, as well as countless gold and silver treasures. Later, for the great victory at Ningjin, he was granted the title of Marquis of Suning and given a thousand acres of farmland, as well as countless gold and silver treasures. Later still, for the successful construction of the three palaces, he was granted the title of Grand Tutor and Duke of Ningguo and given a thousand acres of farmland, as well as countless gold and silver treasures!
His nephew, Wei Liangdong, was only three years old and still breastfeeding. He was also granted the title of Marquis of Dong'an and given a thousand hectares of farmland and countless gold and silver treasures because of the victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin. His grandson, Wei Pengyi, was only two years old. He was also granted the title of Earl of Anping and given a thousand hectares of farmland and countless gold and silver treasures because of the victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin.

Wei Zhongxian also bestowed titles upon eleven of his relatives as Left and Right Commanders of the Five Armies Commandery and granted hereditary titles to seventeen Commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in recognition of their merits in the victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin. However, the Liaodong soldiers who fought valiantly on the front lines received no rewards, and Yuan Chonghuan, who truly led the army to victory, was only promoted one rank without any honors.

As a result, Yuan Chonghuan repeatedly submitted memorials requesting to resign, and Wei Zhongxian even forged an imperial edict criticizing him for being "lacking in spirit and causing increasing public criticism," which angered Yuan Chonghuan so much that he resigned his post and left, and the situation in Liaodong gradually deteriorated.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Jue frowned slightly.

He knew that Wei Zhongxian had been corruptly bestowing titles upon his relatives, but this was not Wei Zhongxian's fault; the blame lay with Emperor Tianqi.

This fellow is a truly selfish and despicable person, yet Tianqi allows him to run rampant and turns a blind eye. It's no wonder he's rife with corruption and nepotism; it would be strange if he didn't.

If this fellow only bestowed titles upon his relatives, that would be one thing, but to grant land indiscriminately like this is a bit excessive. A thousand qing at a time may not seem like much, but it is actually a frightening amount. One qing is one hundred mu, so a thousand qing is one hundred thousand mu. Just the land listed in this memorial adds up to five hundred thousand mu!

He frowned and pondered for a while, then said loudly, "Issue my imperial decree to summon Wei Zhongxian to an audience."

Wei Zhongxian was just waiting to be summoned by Emperor Chongzhen, or rather, Emperor Zhu Jue.

He knew very well that staying away from the current emperor meant staying away from power. If he wanted power, he needed the opportunity to flatter the current emperor!
Before long, he strode over, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said solemnly, "Eunuch Wei, are you aware that Shi Gongsheng, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, has impeached you?"

what?
Now, a court official actually dares to impeach me!
Who is Shi Gongsheng?

Wei Zhongxian was taken aback for a moment before shaking his head repeatedly and saying, "Your Majesty, I do not know."

I just want you to know who is impeaching you.

"You can't even read, you wouldn't understand a memorial even if I showed it to you." Zhu Jue simply handed the memorial to Wang Chengen and said expressionlessly, "Read it."

Wang Chengen quickly unfolded the memorial and began to read it aloud.

The color in Wei Zhongxian's face was visibly fading, and beads of sweat were even faintly visible on his forehead.

Tianqi was unaware of all this. Under his misleading influence, Tianqi even believed that Yuan Chonghuan was competing with his relatives for credit!
Now that Shi Gongsheng has brought this matter to light, what should we do?
Is he still trying to fool this young emperor just like he fooled Tianqi?

He probably can't fool this young emperor anymore, because the young emperor left the palace in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign to prepare for his fiefdom. He was outside the palace when the Ningyuan and Ningjin victories were held, and the news was already spreading like wildfire in the capital. It's impossible that the young emperor didn't know the truth.

If he were to deceive the young emperor in the same way he deceived Tianqi, that would be blatant deception of the emperor to his face!
This is something you shouldn't do.

If he did it, the young emperor would probably punish him immediately.

He could only grit his teeth, bow deeply, and say, "Your humble servant deserves to die a thousand deaths. Your humble servant wishes to return the title to the soldiers of Liaodong."

You know that you should just honestly confess your guilt.

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head and said, "This title cannot be returned. It would be better if you didn't return it. If you do, it will confirm that you are causing chaos in the court. If you confirm that you are causing chaos in the court, I will give people a reason to criticize you. Do you understand?"

Ah!
What does this mean?
Wei Zhongxian thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Your Majesty, do you mean we should just pretend this never happened?"

You wish.

Can I pretend this never happened?

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head and said, "Let's put aside the titles you arbitrarily bestowed for now, but you've granted far too much land. What idle land is there in the capital region? Those are all the military farms of the Beijing garrison, aren't they?"

Uh, farmland?

That's over 500,000 mu!
My Wei family's descendants have relied on these fields to enjoy wealth and luxury.

Forget it, if I don't give up the land, I'm afraid I'll be dead, let alone any wealth or honor.

Wei Zhongxian rolled his eyes for a moment, then quickly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I will immediately order those fields to be returned to the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison."

I guess you are interesting.

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head and said, "Don't rush to vacate those fields."

Ah!
What does this mean?
Wei Zhongxian was taken aback for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, I am foolish. When will those fields be returned?"

You can only see the immediate benefits; you are truly dull-witted when it comes to long-term planning.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then patiently instructed, "You should know in your heart how many lawless things you have done. They have already started to impeach you, so they certainly won't stop. When things really get out of hand, you should donate those fields to atone for your sins, and I can take the opportunity to spare you."

So you were thinking of me all along.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was quite moved and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Don't be in a hurry to thank me yet.

Zhu Jue solemnly said, "I have already said that as long as you listen to me and do your job well, I will guarantee your safety. A ruler's word is law, and I keep my word. How are the things I entrusted to you doing? Why haven't you transported any military rations to the border?"

Where will we get food right now?

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian quickly and carefully explained, "Your Majesty, it's already autumn. The grain from last year that was supposed to be distributed to the princes and members of the imperial family has already been distributed. We will have to wait until after the autumn harvest to receive our grain."

Do we have to wait until the autumn harvest to get our grain?

Zhu Jue then asked, "What about the money? Didn't you throw Xu Dahua into prison? Does he dare not hand over the embezzled funds?"

That's not just a small amount of money.

Wei Zhongxian shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, Xu Dahua couldn't withstand the torture any longer. However, most of the money he embezzled was used to buy land. He doesn't have that much real gold and silver in his mansion. He is having his family raise it."

Your efficiency is too low.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and asked again, "Where is that person? It's been several days, and I asked you to summon people from the capital, but we haven't seen a single one yet?"

Do you think people can be sent over by express courier?
Wei Zhongxian quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the people you want to see are not near the capital. The closest ones are seven or eight hundred li away. Even if they can change horses at the post station, they can only travel two or three hundred li a day at most."

The transportation is really inconvenient right now. When will the person he wants to see be able to get here?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue couldn't help but frown slightly.

The Ming Dynasty was truly in dire need of rebuilding.

He also needs to find a way to solve this traffic problem; if you want to get rich, you have to build roads first.

(End of this chapter)