After Mu Bin withdrew, Emperor Hongzhi pondered. kudu

Eight years ago, when Emperor Hongzhi was determined to rectify the salt affairs and was implementing a new law, the Lianghuai Salt Division reported that some businessmen took advantage of the opportunity to buy grain for the government to steal and sell smuggled salt. Emperor Hongzhi was trying to vigorously reform Yanli at that time, how could it be easy for such a thing to happen, so he approved a strict investigation and punishment, no matter which official was involved, he would not slack off!

Soon after, the Lianghuai Salt Division reported that Yu Sheng, the magistrate of Yancheng County, had colluded with illegal businessmen to smuggle more than one million catties of salt in the past few years.

Hongji was furious and immediately approved the decision!

Now that I think about it, I think there are many details that are questionable. I credulously believed the investigation results of the Huai'an Mansion and the Lianghuai Salt Division, and easily approved it just by relying on their performance.

While pondering, the eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, the three elders are waiting outside to see you." ”

"Invite them in." Emperor Hongzhi came back to his senses and immediately commanded.

After a while, the three elders walked in together. Monarchs and ministers have worked together for many years, and they see each other almost every day, so there is no need for too much etiquette. After the three of them briefly greeted Emperor Hongzhi, Emperor Hongzhi brought a soft stool and asked them to sit down and talk.

Liu Jian saw that Emperor Hongzhi was tired, and said to the emperor with concern: "Your Majesty, you should pay attention to the dragon body, the Ming Dynasty is all on Your Majesty's shoulders, don't be tired." ”

Emperor Hongzhi changed his sitting posture and said, "It's okay, I'm in good health." Before the noon dynasty arrived, the three pavilion elders braved the snow to come, there must be something important to report, right? ”

Li Dongyang replied: "The emperor once said that the twists and turns related to Juzhou should be reported to the emperor as soon as possible. Today, Lao Chen received a memorabilia, which was a recital from the Huai'an Branch of the Huai Salt Division and Yue Bingqian, the governor of the Huai Salt Division, who said that the last time he impeached Liang Wensheng, the governor of Juzhou, for smuggling salt by the grain ship, the ins and outs of the matter have been ascertained, and it was a pure misunderstanding. The old minister discussed this matter with the first assistant, and they all felt that this matter was a little strange, so the three of us came together and asked the emperor to decide. ”

Xie Qian took over the conversation and said, "Your Majesty, before I came, the old minister also looked at the setback. Lao Chen felt that this seemingly ordinary twist and turn actually contained many suspicious things. ”

Emperor Hongzhi took the fold from Li Dongyang's hand, opened it and glanced at it casually, plus the report of Commander Mu just now, he already understood seventy-seven eighty-eight in his heart. At this time, I can't help but greatly appreciate the judgment of the three elders, and it is precisely because of the dedicated assistance of the three elders that I will be able to handle government affairs with ease. Therefore, the tiredness on Emperor Hongzhi's face has subsided a lot, and the frowning brow has also eased a little.

At this time, he also wanted to hear the opinions of the three elders on this matter, so he asked Liu Jian: "Elder Liu, let me tell me how strange this matter is." ”

"The old minister respects his life." Liu Jian then cleared his throat and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, there is less than a month between this piece of the Huai'an Branch and the Zhiyue Bingqian's report and the previous one, but the attitude towards the case of smuggling salt from the grain ship in Juzhou is very different. The difference in attitudes is so big that it is really suspicious. ”

When Emperor Hongzhi heard Liu Jian say this, he nodded slightly and did not speak.

Liu Jian continued: "Also, Your Majesty issued an order to ask Su Jiangeng, the two Huai Patrol Salt Imperial History, to pay attention to this case, and someone in the DPRK and China immediately jumped out to impeach Su Yushi and asked him to resign and apologize. It was clear that he wanted to prevent Su Yushi from investigating the case, and the old minister felt that Yue Tong was the same

The same is true of the purpose of this recital. All three of us agreed that there was a force from the DPRK to the Lianghuai Salt Division that was preventing the investigation of the case. ”

Xie Qian added: "Your Majesty, the salt tax is an important source of tax revenue for the imperial court, and the Lianghuai Salt Division accounts for six or seven tenths of the national salt tax. So I will continue to investigate this case! ”

After listening to the narrative of the three of them, Emperor Hongzhi nodded again and said, "Elder Pavilion, just now, Commander Mu came to report, and this case is probably more complicated than your analysis. ”

"More complicated?" When Liu Jian heard this, his heart moved. In fact, he had already guessed this in his heart. It's just that there is no empirical evidence, so it's inconvenient to say.

Emperor Hongzhi took a long breath of turbidity, and then said to Liu Jian: "Elder Liu Ge, do you still remember the salt smuggling case reported by the Lianghuai Salt Division in the fifth year of Hongzhi? ”

Liu Jian thought quickly about the case at that time, it was the first year of the trial implementation of the Kaizhong Salt Law, and Emperor Hongzhi attached great importance to the salt affairs of the two Huai. At this juncture, the salt smuggling case in Yancheng was exposed, and Emperor Hongzhi Long Yan was furious, and in order to implement the smooth progress of the salt reform, he approved a strict investigation and punishment, and the officials involved were severely punished. At that time, he was not ranked in the cabinet, and Liu Ji was the first assistant of the cabinet at that time. He had different opinions on this case, but at that time, the cabinet was controlled by Liu Ji and insisted on handling it strictly. Under his influence, Emperor Hongzhi made a reply to the strict investigation and punishment.

"Of course Lao Chen remembers that in that case, more than a dozen people were beheaded, and the Yancheng magistrate was confiscated by the whole family, and I remember that a total of more than 70,000 taels of silver were copied at that time." Liu Jian struggled to recall.

Emperor Hongzhi sighed and said, "Don't hide it from you, just now Commander Mu reported to me the news of this case that he had heard these days. I feel that there are many similarities and suspicious things about this case and the Yancheng case eight years ago. I was too young and too hasty to do things, which may have led to an unjust case. ”

When the three pavilion elders heard this, they immediately knelt on the ground: "Why did the emperor say this, even if there is a mistake in this case, it is also the fault of the ministers, and the emperor is wrong!" ”

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the three cabinet ministers kneeling on the ground, and hurriedly said: "Cabinet elders quickly calm down, this case has nothing to do with you." It's my fault, and since it's wrong, I'm going to correct it. It's not too late to make amends. ”

Next, Emperor Hongzhi recounted what Mu Bin had just reported.

After listening to Emperor Hongzhi's story, all the pavilion elders were silent for a while. If Jinyiwei's information is correct, nine times out of ten, the case of Yancheng Zhixian is an unjust case. But this case is a big case approved by the emperor, the relevant people who should be killed are killed, and those who should be copied have also been copied, this case has become an iron case, and now this case is turned out, saying that the judgment was wrong and needs to be retried, how to maintain the majesty of the emperor? How do the families of the relevant criminals pay for them?

The cabinet of the three elders of the Hongzhi period was the strongest cabinet team in the Ming Dynasty in addition to the "Three Yang" cabinets in the orthodox period. At that time, it was known as "Li Gongmou, Liu Gongju, Xie Gongyou Kankan". So if you want to talk about strategy, it's still Li Dongyang.

After being silent for a while, Li Dongyang was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, if the case of Yuzhi County in Yancheng was an unjust case, then who is the real criminal?" Who is behind this case? Lao Chen believes that in order to find out who is the real criminal, it is still necessary to see who has the greatest benefit from this case now, and who is most likely to be the real criminal. Whoever is most afraid of re-investigating the case is most likely to be the mastermind behind the case. ”

Emperor Hongji was pleased

Nodding his head, he said: "What Li Gong said is reasonable, if you want to say that it is profitable, Yue Bingqian of the Huai'an Branch has benefited the most, he has risen from a sixth petty official in a salt field to the current four Tongzhi in a few years. There is also the Yangzhou Lu family, from a small salt merchant to one of the top ten salt merchants in Yangzhou now, and the two of them have benefited the most. ”

The three elders said at the same time: "The emperor is sage! ”

Then, Li Dongyang said: "Since it is suspected that the Lu family and Yue Bingqian are involved, and the case of the Juzhou grain ship is also related to the two of them, it is completely possible to investigate the two of them without turning over the case of salt smuggling in Yuzhi County, Yancheng, as long as they are found to have committed illegal and criminal acts, they can also be punished." In this way, it not only maintains the emperor's holy prestige, but also punishes the criminals, isn't it ......"

Hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi shook his head again and again and said, "Li Gong's words are wrong. In this way, how can the dozen or so people who were unjustly killed in the case of Yuzhi County in Yancheng be revealed? ”

When Li Dongyang heard Emperor Hongzhi like this, he quickly knelt down and said, "The old minister is guilty!" ”

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Li Dongyang, who was kneeling on the ground, sighed and said, "Li Gong get up, I know that Li Gong is thinking about me." But I can't let the wronged people be wronged all the time. ”

This is Liu Jian coughed and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that the two Huai salt affairs are complicated, and there are many local and court officials involved. The case of salt smuggling in Yuzhi County, Yancheng has been going on for several years, and most of the witnesses of that year are no longer alive, many of the exhibits have also been destroyed, and the case file is probably incomplete, so it is difficult to re-investigate the case. And now that the case is being re-investigated, it is bound to startle the snake. As for the case of the grain ship in Juzhou, since the case of the Huai'an Prefecture has been closed, it is now being re-investigated, and there is also a move to startle the snake. Su Jiangeng, the current Lianghuai Patrol Salt Imperial Shi, has been in office for nearly a year, and will be transferred soon. Therefore, it is better for the imperial court to send capable officials to replace the current Lianghuai Patrol Salt Imperial History, and secretly investigate and collect evidence when the other party is not guarded, as long as evidence is found, arrest them and bring them to justice, and then interrogate them by the Criminal Department. The two cases of Yancheng and Juzhou will definitely be able to come to light. ”

When Li Dongyang heard Liu Ge's words, he hurriedly said to the emperor: "The emperor's ministers think that the first assistant is a stable strategy for the elderly, and this method is feasible. ”

Xie Qian got up and said, "The old minister seconded the proposal!" ”

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, his brows suddenly relaxed, and he said happily: "Since the two pavilion elders agree to the policy of the first assistant, they will investigate according to this policy." As for the imperial history of the two Huai patrols, do you have a suitable candidate? ”

At this time, Xie Qian said: "The old minister is here to watch the government of the household department, he is a member of the Bingchen branch in the ninth year of Hongzhi, and he has served in the household department for many years. ”

Emperor Hongzhi had an impression of Zhou Fulai, and Hongzhi originally planned to appoint him as the young Zhan Shi of the Zhan Mansion and leave it for the prince to use in the future. At this time, Xie Qian recommended this person, and it was inconvenient for Hongzhi to refute it in person, after all, where was this person's ability.

It was the other two people in his department: "What is the opinion of the two elders?" ”

Just now Xie Qian agreed with his plan, Liu Jian naturally reciprocated the favor, and also agreed with Xie Qian's recommendation, so he said first: "The old minister seconded the proposal!" ”

Li Dongyang also immediately said: "The old minister seconded the proposal!" ”

Hongzhi thought in his heart, it is not impossible for him to go to the place to experience a year, if he makes achievements, it is not too late to be promoted to a young James, so he said: "Okay, then appoint Zhou Fulai to Yangzhou to serve as the imperial history of the two Huai patrols." ”

(End of chapter)

The little people of the Ming Dynasty

The little people of the Ming Dynasty

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