Zhao Guangyi said: "Yesterday, I have discussed the specific matters of the Northern Expedition with the secretary of the Privy Council. There is a recital and it will be reported again tomorrow. ”

Speaking of this, he paused, and then said: "The crown prince is in the middle of Yun Zhang, and the book is in the middle of the sentence. ”

"Wechen is here!" The two of them bowed and bowed.

"You immediately sent an envoy to Goryeo, and told them about the Northern Han Dynasty in person, so that those who knew each other would jointly send troops and fight with me against the Northern Han. Otherwise, I will clean up the Northern Han Dynasty and go back to him to ask for guilt! ”

"Weichen Command!"

Zhao Guangyi said again: "Pan Mei Aiqing! ”

Pan Mei hurriedly stepped forward and bowed down and said, "Weichen is here!" ”

"I ordered you to recruit envoys for the Northern Road. Commander the Northern Expedition to the Northern Han Dynasty! ”

"Weichen Command!"

Leng Yi couldn't help but glance at Pan Mei again, thinking that this Pan Mei really won the attention of the officials and was appointed as the commander-in-chief.

Zhao Guangyi said again: "Gao Huaide, Cui Yanjin, Yin Xun, Li Hanqiong, Niu Sijin, Cao Han, Du Yangui, Liu Yu, Shi Qi, several Aiqing went out with me to crusade against the Northern Han Dynasty!" ”

Gao Huaide and the others stepped out of the ranks and bowed down to receive the order.

Zhao Guangyi said again: "Where is the imperial brother Zhao Tingmei!" ”

Zhao Tingmei strode out: "Weichen is here!" ”

"I will drive the Northern Han Dynasty in person, and you will stay in Beijing as a royal brother." After a pause, he continued meaningfully: "From now on, the affairs of the government and the opposition will be entrusted to you, you are my own brother, I am very relieved of you, and I will definitely be able to manage the people of the court well, what do you think?" ”

After that, Zhao Guangyi looked at Zhao Tingmei with blazing eyes, and there was an obvious sneer on the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Tingmei stood at the forefront, not only because he was the prince, but also because he was the future heir to the throne determined by the Empress Dowager Du's edict, and his children were treated according to the prince and daughter. It is precisely because of this that Zhao Tingmei has always been very low-key, living in a simple house, for fear of leaving the impression of the official Zhao Guangyi who is waiting for an opportunity. The first to hear that the official family asked him to stay in the Beijing Division, he didn't feel anything, and was about to agree, but when he heard Zhao Guangyi's words, his heart suddenly sank, he raised his eyes to look at Zhao Guangyi, and saw the sneer on the corner of his mouth, and suddenly understood in his heart that Zhao Guangyi's true intention was to test himself with this.

Moreover, this time the temptation directly used the highly sensitive word Jiangshan Sheji, which simply made Zhao Tingmei cold from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, and hurriedly bowed down, her voice trembling a little: "The official family is driving the expedition, Wei Chen, as the royal brother of the official family, how can he sit in Beijing and be free, he thinks he is following the official family, and he is willing to be a pawn." Build a bridge for the official family to open the road and meet the water in the mountains! Broken bones! ”

Zhao Guangyi looked at him intently, as if he wanted to know how much sincerity was in his words. The hall was quiet, there was not even the sound of coughing, and no one dared to disturb the thoughts of the official family at this time.

Finally, Zhao Guangyi smiled, first laughing softly, then hehe, and finally laughing loudly, the armrest of the dragon chair snapped and relapped, and said, "Okay!" Since the imperial brother is so resolute, I am not reluctant. You'll follow me out of the Northern Expedition. ”

"Thank you, official!"

Zhao Guangyi slowly moved his gaze to Zhao Defang, and sneered: "Defang, your imperial uncle refuses to stay behind, insists on following me to fight on the battlefield, you have never experienced the battlefield, and your body and bones are not good, otherwise, you will stay for the Beijing division and manage the people of the government and the opposition for me, how about it——? ”

The last sentence dragged out the tone, and the tone was obviously full of ridicule.

Since the last time Huang Zhaoyi happened, Zhao Defang has been avoiding Zhao Guangyi and not daring to see him, the pain of Zhao Guangyi's slap has actually disappeared, but every time he thinks about it, Zhao Defang still feels a hot pain on his face. Zhao Guangyi's sentence "I will keep an eye on you" is lingering in his ears at the moment.

Now, Zhao Guangyi suddenly proposed to let him serve as the Jingshi to stay, he couldn't help but tremble, he knew that if he didn't know how to agree, he was afraid that if he couldn't do it for a day, he would die inexplicably. Although the throne is full of temptation, you have to have a surname to go to Bo, such a simple truth, how can Zhao Defang not know.

He hurriedly bowed to the ground: "Although Erchen is weak and has not experienced battlefield battles, as a descendant of the Zhao family, the first emperor has a great wish, and Erchen is also willing to throw his blood to realize it." Ask the official family to allow the retainers to follow the official family's Northern Expedition. ”

Zhao Guangyi let out a long sigh, with a sad face: "You all want to learn from me, and you don't want to share the complicated affairs of the government and the opposition for me, alas, I can't help you, okay, then I can only entrust others to others." ”

Zhao Guangyi's eyes swept over the faces of the ministers one by one, and these ministers all looked up and hoped that the officials would see them, but they lowered their eyes and made a look of pampering and humiliation, but their hearts were beating unkemptly.

Finally, Zhao Guangyi's eyes fell on Xue Juzheng's face: "Xue Qing! ”

Xue Ju hurriedly stepped out of the ranks, bowed down and said, "Weichen is here." ”

"You have been urging me not to drive the Northern Expedition in person, just because you are worried about my safety, and your loyal heart has moved me very much."

Xue Juzheng was stunned for a moment, slightly felt that something was wrong, and bowed lower: "This is a matter for Wei Chen." ”

"Well, you are very decent in handling state affairs, I am very satisfied, this Northern Expedition to the Northern Han Dynasty, the prefectures and counties along the way requisitioned military rations, recruited the people, and many complicated affairs, I am powerless. In addition, after I conquered the Northern Han City, I faced a lot of complicated government affairs and needed a competent person to deal with them in a timely manner, so ......" Speaking of this, Zhao Guangyi looked at Xue Juzheng meaningfully.

When Xue Juzheng came out of the ranks, he thought that the official family would entrust the position left behind by the Beijing division to himself, but he was secretly happy, but he didn't expect the official family to talk about dealing with the affairs of the Northern Han Dynasty after conquering the Northern Han Dynasty. The implication is very obvious, that is, let him follow him out of the army, coordinate the requisition of grain, mobilize the people and other things, and after conquering the Northern Han, let him help him clean up the chaos of the Northern Han. He is old in officialdom, how can he not know the thoughts of the official, if the official family has this idea, and then wants to change, it will be very difficult.

So, Xue Juzheng lowered his head and arched his hand: "Weichen is willing to follow the official family to the north, recruit people, raise military rations, and control the chaos, so that the official family can use troops with peace of mind." ”

Zhao Guangyi nodded with satisfaction: "It's so good, it's just that your body has always been sick, and it is very tiring and dangerous to fight on the battlefield, so it doesn't matter to your body, right?" ”

"Weichen's body is just a minor illness, so it's okay."

"That's good, anyway, I let the Divine Doctor Hua Shenzun also go with the team, if you have any pain, he can treat you."

"Thank you, official!"

Zhao Guangyi looked at the second prime minister Shen Lun again and said, "Shen Qing! ”

Shen Lun hurriedly lined up, bowed down and said, "Weichen is also willing to follow the official family to go on the expedition." ”

Zhao Guangyi smiled and shook his head: "I'm going to fight, not to write articles, what are you going to do if you're full of knowledge?" ”

All the ministers laughed, their tense faces relaxed, they were really afraid that the officials would take them out on the expedition, in the end, the swords and guns were not long-sighted, and if they lost their lives on the battlefield, it would be miserable. Now that I heard the official family say this, I didn't let Wenchen go, so I put my heart in my stomach.

Zhao Guangyi waited for the laughter to stop, and then continued: "Shen Qing followed me on the expedition, and the heavy responsibility of staying in the capital division will be handed over to you!" Without waiting for him to express his position, Zhao Guangyi called out Wang Renzhen and Chen Congxin, the privy counselor, and said: "Wang Qing, you are deployed as the Great Interior, Chen Qing, you are the adjutant." ”

The three of them glanced at each other, and then they understood that the official family really let them hold these positions, not the temptation just now. Then he bowed and said, "Weichen is grateful." ”

Zhao Guangyi looked at Huang Gong, the secretary of Dali Temple, and Song Qi, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and said: "I heard that some officials in Dali Temple and the Criminal Department are clever and misinterpreting the criminal law, being harsh and mean, and even disregarding people's lives, but is there such a thing?" ”

The two of them sweated on their foreheads, bowed down and said: "The Weichen Imperial Majesty is not strict, please ask the official family to surrender!" ”

Zhao Guangyi said: "Actually, this kind of person is not only your Dali Temple, the Criminal Department, but also the Yamen of other official governments!" Some of them are exposed, and some of them are still hidden. The reason why I deliberately named your two yamen today is not because there are more such people there, but because your two yamen are important departments in charge of criminal prisons, and human life is at stake. ”

Song Qi and the others hurriedly bowed down and said "yes"! But I don't know what the official family did when they suddenly mentioned this kind of thing the day before they were about to set out for the expedition. But the butler must have had a purpose, so he could only listen with his ears pricked up.

Sure enough, Zhao Guangyi slowly got to the point: "Since I ascended the throne, I have always been cautious about the law of punishment and prison, and all death penalty cases must be reported to me for repeated consideration. However, I am too busy to do my job. Zhao Guangyi's gaze slowly fell on Leng Yi's face, "Since Leng Aiqing reviewed the death penalty case for me, I suddenly felt relaxed, Leng Aiqing is proficient in criminal law, especially good at criminal case investigation, and is my right-hand man." I went on the Northern Expedition this time, and I couldn't come back for a year and a half, and I originally wanted Leng Aiqing to shoulder the approval of the death penalty during this time. It's just that he has already been responsible for the construction of Jinming Pond for me, where there are 100,000 people who need him to be responsible, and he is really weak. However, I cannot ignore my right to review the death penalty. Two Aiqing, do you have any good ideas? ”

Suddenly hearing the official ask, Song Qi and the two did not react for a while, and looked at each other. In the end, Song Qi understood that the official family wanted to ask and answer themselves, but in fact, he had already thought of a way, and hurriedly bowed down and said: "The official family is from a high position, and the ministers are stupid, and they dare not judge the holy will of the official family, and ask the official family to show it." Ministers and others follow as one. ”

"Well, I've been thinking about this over and over again in the past few days, but I have come up with an idea, and I don't know if it will work out, you can listen to it." Speaking of this, Zhao Guangyi coughed twice and said, "I am going to set up a new yamen in the forbidden middle school, called the 'Trial and Punishment Yuan', which will be responsible for the review and review of death penalty and criminal prison cases committed by hundreds of officials of the imperial court. After the cases in each prefecture and county are reported to Dali Temple, there is no need to report to the Criminal Department, and they are directly reported to the Criminal Court for verification and punishment. The opinions of the trial court, the Zhongshu Torture Room and the Prime Minister will no longer intervene and directly implement them, what do you think? ”

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, death penalty cases should be reported to the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, then to the prime minister, and finally to the emperor. The power of the prime minister includes the power to decide on prisons. Before it is reported to the emperor for approval, it must first be reviewed by the prime minister, and if the prime minister does not agree to the sentence, the sentence can be directly rejected and changed. This power is very great. Now, Zhao Guangyi wants to set up a new institution, the trial court, and delete the two levels of the criminal department and the prime minister, and directly report to the criminal court after being reviewed by Dali Temple. In this way, the prime minister was deprived of his powers in prisons, and at the same time, the power of the criminal department to review the death penalty was revoked. The Criminal Department has been simplified into a penal prison administrative body.

Zhao Guangyi set the trial court in the forbidden middle, that is, in the imperial palace, which means that this is the emperor's private institution, and it is a private organization that helps the emperor review the prison. In this way, the emperor's control over the prison was strengthened. weakened the power of the prime minister and strengthened the imperial power.

However, Zhao Guangyi's trial court was no longer satisfied with the function of death penalty review, and he expanded it to the Jinyi Wei of the Song Dynasty. It's up to the function of secretly monitoring and investigating hundreds of officials.

Zhao Guangyi said, and glanced at the ministers: "Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think of my move?" ”

Song Qi and the others are all old ministers, how can they not know the intentions of the officials, including Xue Juzheng and Shen Lun, they also understand what the officials are doing. Although Zhao Guangyi said that this was to solicit the opinions of the ministers, this matter only concerned the prime minister and the criminal department, and other officials were not involved. And Xue Juzheng and the others couldn't help but speak.

At the moment, Prime Minister Xue Juzheng, Shen Lun, and Song Qi, the secretary of the Criminal Department, all said that this was a good idea, streamlining the procedures, and at the same time, it could also better play the role of the official and the holy judge.

Zhao Guangyi nodded frequently and said, "Since they all said it's good, then it's decided." In this trial court, there is the former deputy commander of the palace, and the deputy envoy of the third department, Leng Yi and Leng Aiqing, who are also concurrent. ”

Leng Yi hurriedly stepped forward and bowed down to thank him.

Zhao Guangyi said again: "Leng Aiqing is busy with Jin Mingchi, and she still needs a deputy to assist, where is Li Changling?" ”

Li Changling came out and bowed.

Zhao Guangyi said: "You are Leng Aiqing's deputy, and there are several interrogators below you." The specific institutions and personnel are up to you. ”

Leng Yi and Li Changling hurriedly bowed down to receive the order.

Zhao Guangyi also said: "In the past, hundreds of officials in the imperial court violated the law, and they often reported it layer by layer, and all kinds of nepotism took action one after another, bribing them with heavy money, so that those corrupt officials and corrupt officials who formed a party for personal gain and corrupted the government program went unpunished. Even, those who have committed the heinous felonies of rebellion and rebellion have bribed officials to get away with their crimes! If this continues, the country will not be a country! If I knew, I would investigate to the end and never tolerate it, but now that I want to go on a northern expedition and have no time to take care of it, Leng Aiqing will exercise this power on my behalf. - Wang Jien! ”

The eunuch Wang Jien hurriedly came over and bowed down and said, "The old slave is here." ”

"Take my sword!"

"Yes!" Wang Jien took a sword from his side, stepped off the stage, and came to Leng Yi.

Zhao Guangyi said: "This sword is carried by me in the southern and northern wars, and I have drunk countless blood, so I will give it to Leng Aiqing, with this sword, hundreds of officials in the government and the opposition, women inside and outside, as long as they are corrupt officials, forming parties for personal gain, corrupting the government, and being punished according to the law, Leng Aiqing can be killed directly with this sword, and there is no need to repay me!" In addition, when the Qing investigated and dealt with the case, there were officials and people who did not cooperate and cooperate, and even disobeyed orders and resisted arrest, so they were killed! ”

As soon as these words came out, the hundreds of officials in the audience looked at each other, and this power was too great and terrifying.

(To be continued)