Chapter 500: The Cui family pleaded guilty
Deng Cui and Zhang Yin made a decision in the Western Regions, but there was no way to inform the imperial court of this decision in time, and the envoys sent out were stopped by the cold winter and the doubts of the countries of the Western Regions, and they could not advance. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info
As the emperor, he had to make a decision as soon as possible, but the disagreement between him and the ministers was not resolved, and now a new one has been added: the emperor felt that the enemy army in the west was a greater threat, but the ministers thought that the Xiongnu in the north were a big problem.
The minister's evidence is very sufficient, the Western Regions is not conducive to the march of the army, the western enemy army does not understand the terrain of Great Chu, but the Huns are the enemies of the Central Plains for thousands of years, and after surrendering to the gods and ghosts, they will definitely lead the enemy south.
There is also a piece of evidence, which is clearly stated in the last official document of Huju City, that Deng Cui once led the army to defeat the Western enemy army, but was defeated by the Xiongnu army, which shows that the Xiongnu are more worthy of prevention.
Han Ruzi didn't have any evidence in his hand, he only knew that the Huns Lao Shan Yu was by no means a timid and fearful person, but he did not hide his fear of the gods and ghosts, and in the end the Huns still chose to surrender.
He sent a number of envoys to Saiwai, including Jin Chunzhong, just to find out one thing, whether the Huns surrendered as a whole or split again, and so far there has been no reply.
After the New Year, Han Ruzi could not wait any longer, and finally sent a decree, asking Deng Cui and Zhang Yin to return to the capital and transfer Huju City to the countries of the Western Regions.
The military department took over all the channels of communication with the Western Regions, and immediately sent people to deliver the holy decree.
Han Ruzi left the Qinzheng Palace, he was always uneasy in his heart, but he had no other choice, the minister's reason was very sufficient, Deng Cui's whereabouts were unknown, it was extremely difficult for Zhang Yin to defend the tiger city alone, the original decision to build the city was not wrong, but unfortunately the time was not waiting, and the enemy came too early.
In Lingyun Pavilion, many of the emperor's advisers gathered again, and they all unanimously supported the ministers of the court, since the Great Chu Dingding, the Xiongnu have always been the most powerful enemy, this concept is deep-rooted, even if the Xiongnu have surrendered to another strong enemy, it is difficult to change the opinion of the Chu people.
The holy decree has been issued, regret is useless, Han Ruzi began to discuss the northern Xinjiang strategy with everyone, he is now in urgent need of a military secretary, but for a while he could not find a suitable candidate.
In the evening, when Han Ruzi returned to the harem, he was in a better mood, and there was an advantage to accepting the minister's suggestion, no matter what the final victory or defeat was, the responsibility was not on the emperor.
This year passed in a hurry, the tenth day of the new year has not yet arrived, there is not much festive atmosphere in the palace, Han Ruzi as usual after greeting the two queen mothers, immediately went to Qiuxin Palace, looking for a moment of peace in the queen and princess.
Princess Rujun didn't know her worries, and every time she saw her father, she always giggled and laughed, which made Han Ruzi feel more pity.
Han Ruzi wanted to stay in Qiuxin Palace for the night, but Cui Xiaojun persuaded: "General Deng's life and death are uncertain, Your Majesty should go to comfort Concubine Shu more." ”
Deng Yun was very concerned about her brother, and she had been restless since returning to Beijing, when the emperor came, she was in a daze with the candle, and even forgot to get up to greet her, and after a while she remembered the rules and hurriedly got up, "Your Majesty ......"
Han Ruzi motioned for her to sit down, but she didn't know how to comfort her, "Deng Cui is good at winning by surprise, he is not so easy to kill, at most three months, he will definitely be able to return safely." ”
Deng Yun smiled reluctantly, "Your Majesty, do you remember the dream I told you?" ”
During the hunting trip, Deng Yun dreamed that his brother was covered in blood, and Han Ruzi nodded, "Dreams can't be taken seriously." ”
"If you calculate carefully, when I had that dream, it coincided with my brother's distress in the Western Regions."
Han Ruzi sat down, held one of Concubine Shu's hands, and said softly: "Even if there is a real accident, don't be too sad, Deng Cui is a general, and he will inevitably encounter all kinds of dangers." ”
"That's what I'm worried about, my brother's temper has always been to know the difficulties, the more dangerous the more he has to rush forward, if he is trapped in the formation, it will be okay, if he is safe, he will definitely not return to Beijing according to the order, and he must fight a few more battles in the Western Regions."
"My will is clear, and he will do it." Han Ruzi is not particularly confident in his heart.
Deng Yun smiled reluctantly, and pressed her other hand on her lower abdomen, "I have it." ”
Han Ruzi was stunned for a moment, and then said with great joy: "Really? ”
"I haven't had menstruation for more than ten days, and the imperial doctor diagnosed it today, saying that I already have it."
"Why didn't you say it earlier? The queen mother and queen don't know yet, right? ”
"I asked the imperial doctor not to reveal it yet, I want to tell Your Majesty in person."
Han Ruzi stood up, "Great, I finally heard some good news, this son is conceived in a time of crisis, it must be extraordinary." ”
Deng Yun smiled: "It may be a princess, I see that Your Majesty prefers princesses." ”
Han Ruzi smiled, "You're not scared, are you?" ”
Deng Yun was once frightened by Concubine Hui Tong Qing'e giving birth to a child, claiming that she never wanted children again, and then said: "I'm a little afraid, but I'm still very hopeful, this child is not only a descendant of the Han family, but also the hope of the Deng family." ”
Deng Yun has always been open-mouthed, and Han Ruzi didn't care, and immediately sent someone to inform the queen mother and queen of the news, and ordered the palace to celebrate and restore a little festive atmosphere.
The joy of the concubine's pregnancy soon disappeared, and Han Ruzi fell into a series of affairs again, and after the Lantern Festival, he decided to solve the Cui family.
The external troubles were imminent, and the ministers thought that the emperor would no longer be obsessed with the issue of private slaves, and Han Ruzi must show his determination to the people of the world.
As long as the enemy has not yet reached the territory of Great Chu, Han Ruzi must first get rid of internal worries.
In the Qinzheng Palace, Han Ruzi showed a piece of music to the prime minister and other ministers to ask for opinions.
The content of this piece is to impeach Taifu Cui Hong, saying that he is a relative, ostensibly a minister, but he refuses to give up the power in his hands, colludes with foreign ministers, and obes on the secrets of the palace, thinking that he is for his own use, and seeks benefits for the Cui family's party, especially the most heinous ones, after the emperor ordered "borrowing slaves to reclaim the famine", the Cui family only released a small number of private slaves to hold them accountable, and continued to conceal a large number of people.
Zhuo Ruhe and others looked at each other, in recent times, there have been more similar concerts, not only the impeachment of Cui Hong, but also the prime minister and other ministers have been blamed from time to time, the emperor has not been investigated, no one expected, just when the ministers thought that the matter had been understood, the emperor suddenly attacked, and the first target he chose turned out to be his father-in-law.
"The month of March has arrived, and the year has passed." Han Ruzi glanced at several ministers in the hall, "It's time to hold accountable, Da Chu can't drag internal worries to deal with foreign enemies, and must first solve the problem of private slaves." ”
The minister was speechless, and Prime Minister Zhuo Ruhe had no choice but to step forward and say: "What Your Majesty said is very true, the problem of private slaves should indeed be solved, but is it too urgent?" Da Chu needs stability, and at this time it will shake the world......"
Han Ruzi said solemnly: "Allowing families to continue to raise private slaves is the only way to shake the world." ”
Zuo Cha Yushi Feng Ju said: "There are hundreds of thousands of private slaves in the world, but there may be more than one million, so many people...... How should I be placed at a time? In the past few years, too many loans have been made, and so far they have not been recovered, and it is difficult to supply them again. ”
Han Ruzi thought about this question for a long time, and said: "The frontier is at the time of employing people, and private slaves can be allowed to join the army, serve for three to ten years, divided into several levels, and allow fields, just when the government takes back the old tools and lends them to the newcomers. ”
"Private slaves are not only men, but also family members." Liu Zeqin, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, reminded.
"Each family has kept private slaves for many years, how much less grain rent do they pay? You can't just let people go, you have to pay a certain amount of money and food. ”
The ministers were dumbfounded, the emperor not only continued to abolish private slavery, but also used more ruthless methods.
"Let's not say so much, what should Cui Hong be guilty of, you have an opinion."
Several ministers glanced at each other, but they didn't dare to speak, the emperor urged again, and finally Zhuo Ruhe said: "Not to mention that Cui Taifu is the father of the queen, just because of his great exploits for Da Chu, the court should also open up to him, the minister thinks that His Majesty should first send a letter to ask, if Cui Taifu is obsessed, refuses to admit his guilt, and refuses to hand over his private slaves, it is not too late to punish him severely." ”
At the beginning of the prime minister, the emperor seemed to approve of it, and the other ministers immediately followed, all expressing their support.
The letter of reproach was drawn up by several ministers on the spot and handed over to the emperor for review, and Han Ruzi proposed three revisions in succession, asking for heavier wording, which was only adopted after noon, and immediately handed over to the prime minister's office, and sent to Cui's mansion by the officials in the palace.
Cui Hong had already heard the news, prepared the incense case and other things, accepted this letter of rebuke in the posture of receiving the holy decree, kowtowed to apologize, and handed in a letter of invitation before nightfall that day.
said that he was guilty of pleading, Cui Hong still defended himself, denied colluding with foreign ministers to listen to secret affairs, and only admitted that he had asked the court for official positions for some friends, as for the private storage of domestic slaves, he said that the Cui family had acted according to the will, and all private slaves were either naturalized or released, if there was still concealment, it was likely that the people below made their own opinions, and the Cui family would immediately conduct a review.
The second letter of reprimand did not go through the Qinzheng Palace and the Prime Minister's Mansion, but was directly issued from the palace, with more strict wording, asking Cui Hong, who is the head of the family, why he is all shirk.
Han Ruzi did not summon Cui Hong, all the questions and answers were conducted in official documents, and after three back and forth, Cui Hong finally pleaded guilty.
The matter is not over, Han Ruzi immediately asked the prime minister and the criminal department to convict, the initial punishment opinion was only to punish and reprimand, Han Ruzi dismissed, and after some tug-of-war, the final punishment was to seize the title, collect the land, and release the slaves, and the Cui family had two marquises, all of whom were cut down, even Cui Teng was no exception.
The punishment should have been heavier, but the emperor allowed the Cui family to use their old merits to atone for their crimes.
When the news came out, the capital was a sensation, and it didn't take long for it to spread all over the world, triggering greater repercussions.
The abolition of private slavery was deadlocked for several months, and it was not until the Cui family was convicted that a large number of wealthy families handed over private slaves.
In the remaining days of the first month and throughout February, Han Ruzi was busy with this matter, pressing the court more and more tightly, and at the same time, he had been paying attention to the news outside the territory.
The Western Regions fell into chaos, and there was no news from Huju City, and the whereabouts of the holy decree sent were unknown.
At the end of February, Jin Chunzhong and other envoys returned to Beijing to bring accurate news that the Xiongnu did not surrender as a whole, but split again, and some of the Xiongnu who insisted on not surrendering asked the emperor for help in the name of Jin Chuiduo, the concubine of Great Chu, and Cui Zhao, the princess of Great Chu.
At about the same moment, several great families who were forced to hand over their private slaves could no longer bear it and joined forces to challenge the emperor. (To be continued.) )