……

……

The next day, in the afternoon.

Under the watchful eye, Emperor Deqing's southern tour finally came to Huai'an.

On the occasion of the arrival of Emperor Deqing, all kinds of etiquette and greeting procedures seem to be solemn and lively, but they are just the same, and there are no surprises and surprises, so there is no need to mention it.

However, it is said that after Emperor Deqing came to the temporary palace of Huai'an Mansion, he immediately recruited Zhao Junchen, Huo Zhengyuan, and Bao Wenjie to inquire about the progress of the investigation of the corruption case of Li Xin, the former prefect of Huai'an.

In the face of Emperor Deqing's inquiry, the three did not dare to hide the truth and explained the case to Emperor Deqing in detail.

After hearing the explanation of Zhao Junchen and others, Emperor Deqing was thoughtful and muttered: "So, Li Xin was indeed wronged? He really didn't have any tricks to catch when he was an official? ”

Without waiting for Zhao Junchen to talk to Huo Zhengyuan, Bao Wenjie had already preemptively said: "Your Majesty, Li Xin has indeed been wronged, his corruption charges cannot withstand scrutiny at all, and he is also famous for being honest and promising during his official period, and he has a good reputation among the people, so the minister implores His Majesty Xià to overturn the case for Li Xin and return Li Xin's innocence!" ”

After receiving an affirmative answer, a trace of disappointment flashed in Emperor Deqing's eyes, and he was silent and did not respond to Bao Wenjie's construction.

Emperor Deqing sent Zhao Junchen, Huo Zhengyuan, and Bao Wenjie to review Li Xin's corruption case this time, because of Li Jiamin, he wanted to reduce Li Xin's charges and save Li Xin from prison, but he never wanted to completely overturn the verdict of the crown prince Zhu and Yu, because this would affect the prestige of the prince Zhu and Yu!

Therefore, Zhao Junchen and others investigated the case this time. It is best to rehabilitate Li Xin's embezzlement crimes, and then find out some crimes from Li Xin that are not light or serious. In the end, Emperor Deqing avoided the next decree - Li Xin was indeed guilty, but the crown prince also had a somewhat excessive sentence. Therefore, Li Xin was specially exempted from imprisonment - in this way, Emperor Deqing not only gave an explanation to Li Jiamin, but also maintained the prestige of the prince, which can be described as the best of both worlds and all-encompassing.

However, Emperor Deqing never expected that Li Xin was really a Qing official without any handle, and Zhao Junchen and others examined it for two or three days, but they couldn't find any crimes, so they couldn't find any crimes. But it made Emperor Deqing's wishful thinking fail.

Is it for Li Xin to overturn the case and let the prince's prestige be damaged? Or do you ignore Li Jiamin's request, pretend not to know about Li Xin's grievances, and cover up this matter?

Just when Emperor Deqing was thinking about what to do next, Zhao Junchen suddenly said: "Li Xin is indeed a Qing official, but to say that he has no handle to grasp, it is not necessarily. Your Majesty, when the prince raided Li Xin's property, he copied out nearly 100,000 taels of silver, a large part of which was silver. Li Xin couldn't tell the origin at all. ”

"Oh?" Emperor Deqing raised his eyes to look at Zhao Junchen, his eyes narrowed slightly, and asked, "What do you mean?" ”

Zhao Junchen explained: "What the minister means is that Li Xin's family property. The amount is huge, but it is not clear whether they are clean silver or the result of bribery. Even Li Xin himself can't say it clearly, so he might as well be charged with 'a huge amount of property of unknown origin'. It is not impossible to uphold the original sentence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. ”

The other side. Huo Zhengyuan noticed Emperor Deqing's disappointed look, combined with Zhao Junchen's reminder, and also determined Emperor Deqing's true intentions, so he agreed and said, "That's what the minister meant!" Li Xin, as a local parent official, has a huge amount of family assets, but he can't tell the origin of all the family assets, which is not a crime. ”

Bao Wenjie still insisted on his opinion and objected: "This strategy is absolutely impossible!" Your Majesty, the ministers have already found out, Li Xin's ancestors were all businessmen, and the scale of the business was not small, and it was not until Li Xin's generation that he began to engage in official careers, so this silver is Li Xin's ancestral family property, but Li Xin has no way to explain and prove it, how can he be charged with this? Who among the officials in this world can explain the detailed origin of every tael of silver in their hands? If this case is opened, I am afraid that all officials in the world will be panicked! What's more, Li Xin is indeed a corrupt official, he has been wronged, and he should have overturned the case for him, so how can he fabricate charges to uphold the original verdict? Doesn't this chill the hearts of loyal ministers? ”

Huo Zhengyuan shook his head and said, "Lord Bao, you have always been close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, why don't you understand this truth?" Now it doesn't matter whether Li Xin is a clean official or a corrupt official! The important thing is that Li Xin's corruption crime was personally examined and approved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and if the case is overturned, won't it damage His Royal Highness the Prince's prestige? This is related to the overall situation of the imperial court! Compared to the prestige of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Li Xin's personal honor and disgrace are just inconsequential matters! ”

Huo Zhengyuan said very strictly, but Bao Wenjie did not give an inch, and said resolutely: "The prestige of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is of course crucial, but the thoughts and thoughts of the hundred officials are also the overall situation of the imperial court!" If Li Xin is convicted of 'a huge amount of property of unknown origin', everyone in the hundred officials will inevitably be in danger, and no one knows who this trumped-up charge will fall on in the future. ”

In this way, in front of Emperor Deqing, Bao Wenjie and Huo Zhengyuan debated again.

However, as last night, the two of them had their own opinions, and neither could convince the other.

It's just that when the two were debating, Zhao Junchen didn't express his opinion, but just secretly looked at Emperor Deqing, and Emperor Deqing didn't show his attitude, just thoughtfully.

*

In fact, ever since Zhao Junchen put forward the charge of "the unknown origin of a huge amount of property", Emperor Deqing diverted his attention and thought of many more far-reaching things!

Since the emergence of the feudal dynasty, the "imperial power" and the "subject power" have been fighting openly and secretly, sometimes the "imperial power" has the upper hand, and sometimes the "subject power" has pulled back a game.

In the Ming Dynasty, through guò control of the army, set up factory guards, abolish the prime minister and other means, the "imperial power" has gradually occupied the advantage, but still can not completely overwhelm the "subject power", the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, there will still be some enough to resist the "imperial power" of the courtiers, such as Zhang Juzheng, such as Sanyang, and such as the current Zhou Shangjing, many times, the emperor can not be a word, many things need the support of the cabinet, inevitably to the constraints.

Emperor Deqing was naturally not satisfied with this situation, so he had been trying to find ways to suppress the "vassal power" and expand the "imperial power", which was not only for himself but also for future generations.

Because of this, Zhao Junchen's charge of "unknown origin of huge wealth" made Emperor Deqing very interested, because the appearance of this crime allowed the emperor to add a means of deterring his courtiers, which was conducive to the growth of imperial power.

Therefore, from the bottom of his heart, Emperor Deqing was very much in favor of Zhao Junchen and Huo Zhengyuan's mention of yì - to uphold the original sentence of the crown prince Zhu Heyu against Li Xin on the charge of "unknown origin of huge wealth", and then find some excuses to save Li Xin from prison. In this way, Emperor Deqing gave an explanation to Li Jiamin, and also retained the prestige of the prince, and most importantly, it also formed a "precedent", and once there is a precedent, "the origin of the huge amount of property is unknown" will really become a crime, and in the future, Emperor Deqing can wield this "big stick" to threaten the court officials!

However, Bao Wenjie's point of view is also very reasonable, once the charge of "huge wealth of unknown origin" appears, the hundred officials will definitely be panicked, and there will definitely be a backlash, and then the situation in the court will be unstable, which Emperor Deqing will never want to see.

Therefore, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but hesitate, and he didn't express his position on the dispute between Huo Zhengyuan and Bao Wenjie.

*

In the end, just as the debate between Bao Wenjie and Huo Zhengyuan became more and more intense, Emperor Deqing suddenly waved his hand, interrupted the heated debate between the two, and turned his gaze to Zhao Junchen and asked: "Junchen, I think that the statements of Scholar Huo and Bao Shilang are reasonable, but this charge of 'huge wealth of unknown origin' was raised by you after all, and I still want to hear your opinion." ”

Zhao Junchen lowered his head slightly, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, now that the matter has been completed, the facts of the case have become obvious, Li Xin is indeed innocent, and it is indeed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who misjudged the case at the beginning...... Of course, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cannot be blamed for this matter, the trial left to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was indeed a little tight, and the factory guards also deceived and misled the Prince's judgment, so it was inevitable that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had some omissions. ”

Emperor Deqing nodded and motioned for Zhao Junchen to continue.

Zhao Junchen continued: "The minister took the liberty of speculating about the Sacred Heart, thinking that Your Majesty sent the ministers and others to review the case this time, because you couldn't bear to suffer from the difficulties of the loyal ministers, and wanted to make up for this omission and rehabilitate Li Xin, but in this way, the prince's reputation would be damaged, so the situation was a bit of a dilemma. However, the minister believes that because of some things before and after the southern tour, His Royal Highness the Prince's reputation has suffered some losses, and now there must be no more twists and turns, otherwise His Royal Highness the Prince's reputation will be damaged again and again in a short period of time, and the impact is really immeasurable, so His Royal Highness the Prince's original verdict must be upheld! This is both the premise and the bottom line! ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen say this, Emperor Deqing nodded again and agreed.

On the other side, Bao Wenjie's expression also changed slightly, obviously he only looked at this matter in isolation before, but now when he heard Zhao Junchen's reminder, he realized the severity of the matter.

Yes, because of some things before and after the southern tour, the prince's reputation has been damaged one after another, and now there can really be no more twists and turns.

Thinking of this, Bao Wenjie's original position was also a little shaken.

At the same time, Zhao Junchen said: "However, during Li Xin's tenure as an official, he really didn't have any handle, and if he wanted to maintain His Royal Highness the Prince's original sentence, he also needed a reason, so the minister thought of the charge of 'unknown origin of huge wealth'." This can not only uphold His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's original sentence, but also give His Majesty a sufficient reason to reduce Li Xin's punishment, of course, Lord Bao's concerns are also reasonable, once this crime is raised, it will inevitably cause hundreds of officials to worry, but in Yichen's opinion, as long as he changes his words, there will be no trouble. ”

……

PS: For work reasons, there has been no time to update in the past few days, and now it will recover, and there will be an outbreak tomorrow.

…… (To be continued......)