Even though the breeze at this time was carried with a bit of strong autumn mood, which made people shiver, Chu Zheng still stood in front of the door of the Regent's Hall and spread his arms to feel the humidity in the autumn wind, he probably never felt that such an autumn breeze would make people have such a pleasant moment.

"Your Majesty, now, the third rice just planted in the south of the Yangtze River may have a good harvest, although the rain in Bianzhou comes a little later, but as long as the taxes in Bianzhou are exempted this year, the harvest of the common people can barely make them last until the beginning of spring next year, the only thing we need to worry about now is the two states of Yuling and the border of Liaodong, according to the old slave, it is time for the emperor to relax." ”

"Hmm..."

Faced with the deep concern in the words of Wu Cicada behind him, Chu Zheng didn't pay attention to it, he agreed and then closed his eyes, letting the wind blow through his body.

Wu Cicada, who was standing behind Chu Zheng, took this opportunity to stare at his back carefully for a while, very abruptly, he saw a few strands of white hair in Chu Zheng's black hair, and at this time he remembered a very important thing: The Great Chu King in front of him is already fifty and fourteen years old, not young!

Although Wu Cicada has always stood behind Chu Zheng, he has not looked at Chu Zheng carefully for a long time, and after following him for decades, he seems to have never found that Chu Zheng will be tired.

It's just that when he looks at it carefully, he actually found more and more gray hair in Chu Zheng, and the longer he looks at it, the more distressed he becomes, it turns out that this king who never shouts tired is not old!

"Your Majesty, you have never been back to the palace since the drought came, should you go to see the queen and the eldest princess today. ”

His eyes gradually became sour, and Wu Cicada knew that he shouldn't make a noise at this time, but he still took the risk to come forward to comfort him, probably feeling the tremor in Wu Cicada's voice, Chu Zheng didn't blame him, but he didn't agree to Wu Cicada's proposal to go back to the dormitory.

"The drought has passed, but the insect disease on Da Chu's body has not been removed, and I am still uneasy!"

Wu Cicada knew very well in his heart what the insect disease Chu Zheng was talking about, except for those dog officials who crawled on Da Chu's body to suck blood, what else could be said by Chu Zheng to be the disease of the entire Great Chu?

"Your Majesty, hasn't the fate of those pests already been decided, as long as you give an order now, the six doors can immediately arrest them, and within half a month, they can all be beheaded to show the public, so as to comfort the people. ”

Chu Zheng remembered the fate he had set for those corrupt officials, it seemed that those who embezzled thousands of loads needed to be executed, but then he remembered that those corrupt officials took out those dirty silver to sell food to the people after discovering that the disaster was uncontrollable.

Although some officials guessed that he would settle accounts after the autumn, although some officials always felt that they could still hide from the world and not change their nature, but no matter what, Chu Zheng at this time felt that the punishment he had before was a little too heavy.

"Let's wait until tomorrow morning to discuss this matter with the ministers before making plans!"

......

"Now that the drought is over, it's time to talk about what to do with the corrupt officials, and what are the plans of the ministers. ”

After going through all the etiquette that should have been done in the early court, Chu Zheng threw this question out, and then he sat quietly and looked at the officials below looking at each other.

It's not that the ministers don't want to speak, but they are afraid that they will mistake Chu Zheng's meaning, and what is now in front of the ministers is nothing more than two roads.

One is to strictly enforce the law, kill those who should be killed, and the other is that Chu Zheng is probably a little unbearable in his heart, and wants to excuse those corrupt officials, just wait for one person to stand up and plead, but no one will stand up before the situation is clear.

In the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, Su Wangxiang practiced the closed-mouth meditation as usual, as if it was none of his business, and Cheng Yijie was the leader of the three chiefs, although he was also talking to each other at this time, no one knew what he was actually talking about.

Although Su Ruyu added a strong touch to Chu Zheng's heart through his last words, none of those bigwigs spoke at this time, and he would definitely not pretend to be smart and stand up.

Military generals are not familiar with civil affairs, so when there is no war, the Shang Dynasty is a good time for them to doze off, and Chu Zheng will not control them anyway.

After all the calculations, it seems that there is only one person who can speak at this time, Taishi Lu Xiangrui!

He didn't talk to anyone, he looked straight ahead, he didn't know what he was thinking, but his expression was very sad.

Slowly, the eyes of the courtiers converged on Lu Xiangrui, no one who can stand here is a fool, this matter is inseparable from the academy that Master Lu is bent on running, if he doesn't open his mouth, who dares to stand up and say anything before he speaks.

Shaking his head and smiling bitterly, Lu Xiangrui knew that all the ministers and Chu Zheng were waiting for him, and he walked out of the ministers slowly, and no one dared to urge him in this process, Chu Zheng dared, but he wouldn't do that.

"Your Majesty, what the minister wants to say is still that sentence, reading is always right, and those who read, the old minister recently understood a truth called wealth moves people's hearts, from poverty to sudden wealth, I think few people can withstand such a temptation, everyone present is not, so am I!"

With that, he took two steps forward.

"Your Majesty, the old ministers don't mean that those people shouldn't be killed or can't be killed, no matter what the reason, if they make a mistake, they will make a mistake, and the emperor will not complain about how to deal with them. It's just that the misfortune is not as good as the wife, and I hope that the emperor can have some benevolence towards them. ”

At this moment, the courtiers set their eyes on Chu Zheng again, although Lu Xiangrui did not intercede explicitly, but the fool knew that the sentence that would not cause trouble to his wife and child was already a plea.

Chu Zheng touched his beard, and quietly sighed in his heart that he was old, and at the same time, he also rethought how to deal with those corrupt officials.

"Those who embezzle more than 100 quintals will be punished unchanged; those who embezzle more than 100 quintals but less than 1,000 quintals will be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, and those who embezzle more than 1,000 quintals but less than 10,000 quintals..."

Speaking of which, the courtiers all stretched their necks, the front was nothing, and the next was the point.

"Those who are less than 10,000 loads... Those who are exiled for 3,000 li and embezzle more than 10,000 taels but less than 100,000 taels will be decided, and those who embezzle 100,000 quintals will be executed, and all their family property will be confiscated, and their children and heirs will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination for three generations!"

Old tears flowed, maybe other people don't know the specific meaning of this word, but looking at Lu Xiangrui at this time, they can more or less comprehend a little.

Chu Zheng's punishment was a little more lenient than he had imagined.

"The old minister is here to thank the emperor for his kindness for those uncompetitive scholars!"

......

Mansan-gun.

The county guard Liu Shenyu and the master were still thinking about how to crack down on the business of the Qian Bao Chamber of Commerce in Wanshan County after the disaster, but he didn't know that the people from the six doors had already come to his door.

"What are you doing! What are you doing! I am an official of the imperial court, what right do you six doors have to arrest me!"

was caught off guard by the six doors that suddenly rushed in, Liu Shenyu still shouted, and Master Chang Huan saw it more clearly than him.

"Poor master, although the little one is the master of Wanshan County, but there is no such position in the official position system of Da Chu, although the small one will give some ideas for the county guard, but it is mainly the decision of the county guard!"

Liu Shenyu looked at Chang Huan incredulously, he didn't expect this person to betray him so easily, and tried to get rid of himself.

No wonder he was greedy for food without mercy, no wonder when he said that he wanted to take out all the embezzled money to buy food, this master did not agree to live or die, it turned out that he had already found a way out for himself.

"You..."

"Hehe, you see, I don't have an official position, so I can't be considered corrupt, this... Didn't you catch the wrong person?"

Just as Liu Shenyu was about to speak, Chang Huan seized the opportunity to open his mouth in front of him and asked him to swallow it all back.

Chang Huan, who thought that he could rely on this to win a catastrophe, obviously miscalculated, what he could think of as a little master, where would those people above who were smart and cunning to the bone not think of it.

"Hehe, it's a coincidence, this time according to the emperor's will, you really can't run away, the holy decree says, anyone who stretches out his hand and is greedy for food, whether you are an official or a civilian, all of them will be dealt with according to the law!

"What! This is impossible, there has never been such a law for hundreds of years, and if you dare to falsely proclaim the Holy Decree, you will not run away from your head!"

The head catcher of Wanshan County, who has the strength of the four grades, laughed when he heard the words of this master, as if he had heard the biggest joke in his life.

"I'm not going to lose my head without distraction, but I know your head is going to fall off soon. ”

Then, he looked at Liu Shenyu again, different from treating his master Chang Huan, the general arrest of Wanshan County could actually see that although this scholar was a little greedy, he probably still had some kindness in his heart.

At the beginning, Chang Huan was reluctant to spit out the silver to buy grain, but he still quietly took out most of the dirty silver he was greedy for ink to buy the high-priced grain of the Qianbao Chamber of Commerce.

"Liu Shenyu, the county guard, embezzled more than 9,000 quintals, exiled 3,000 li according to the law, and sent Liaodong to fill the army!"

"What!"

To say that Chang Huan was already disheartened just now, but at this time, a nameless fire rose from the bottom of his heart.

"Why! He's the county guard! I'm going to be beheaded, why is he just exiled for 3,000 li! I don't accept it, I want to see the emperor, I want to sue the emperor, I don't accept it..."

"Don't accept it? I don't know more or how much do I know about the six doors? Come on, plug his mouth and take him down, don't give him food, just drink a few sips of water every day and hang on to his life, Lao Tzu wants him to taste the taste of being hungry." ”

"Woo~woo!"

Chang Huan, who was covered in his mouth, was still very excited, but he couldn't move under the clamp of the two six-door catchers.

Before leaving, the head catcher of Wanshan County glanced at Liu Shenyu.

"Give you a day to say goodbye to your wife and children, and come to the six doors and yamen every morning to confess your guilt. ”

Liu Shenyu stood up in despair, he should have guessed that there would be today's result when he reached out to be greedy for that batch of taxed grain, but it was too late to say anything at this time.

The Great Chu Dynasty cut off no less than 300 heads in the autumn of the thirtieth year of Fu Rui, nearly 500 people were exiled, and more than 700 people were dismissed and imprisoned, and this was still under the condition that Chu Zheng deliberately released water.

All of a sudden, the government and the opposition were all over the country, but the cruel disease still needed a ruthless medicine, no one thought that there would be anything wrong with doing so, and the people applauded it.

......

"Your Majesty, this year's imperial examination has ended, because of the great drought, so the scholars who rushed to the capital from all over the country are less than one percent of previous years, and in the list, the academy candidates occupy ninety percent of the places!"

In the early days of this day, Qi Baihe, the official who occasionally won the honorable position, stood in the main hall and told Chu Zheng the details of this year's examination after dealing with the imperial examination.

When they heard that the candidates of the academy occupied ninety percent of the Jinshi list, all the ministers trembled, and they had to say that the students who came out of the academy were indeed much better than the scholars in other places, but... After managing the matter of this drought, will the emperor still believe them?

"Everything follows the old law. ”

"Ahh Forehead... Yes, Wechen obeys. ”

Qi Baihe, who had already been scolded for a stinking meal, felt that it was too incredible, and the courtiers even exploded all at once, only Su Wang and Cheng Yijie, the old foxes, were still calm, and they felt that only this result was in line with Chu Zheng's style of doing things.

But Lu Xiangrui, who heard the news, couldn't be happy, he also guessed this result, but he also knew that this was Chu Zheng's last chance for the academy.

If those stupid guys still only knew how to put money in their pockets, then Chu Zheng would not waste any more energy on the academy.

After retiring from the dynasty, Lu Xiangrui was in a daze, and he didn't know why he had come to the academy by ghost.

The water pavilion and pavilions, this academy built at a great cost is exactly the same as when he first came.

Wandering around the academy, Lu Xiangrui unconsciously came to a square, according to the course arrangement, the students who had graduated were going to hold their last thinking class in the academy today.

"My generation of readers, if they only have the knowledge in books and have no own opinions, then no matter how hard they read, they can only be regarded as a book reader rather than a reader..."

"Three thousand avenues, one of the heavens! Scholars cultivate themselves and cultivate morality and preach, if they can accommodate a hundred schools of knowledge, they may be able to get a glimpse of the way of heaven..."

Along the way, Lu Xiangrui heard a lot of scholars expressing their own high-minded speeches, and even after he heard some incisive words, he couldn't help but sink his mind and think about it.

On the high platform, Cao Huabin, the head of the academy, seemed to have specially found a place to bask in the sun, and did not pay attention to the academy students who were arguing fiercely below the square.

Lu Xiangrui walked to the high platform step by step, looking at the many students in the audience, he seemed to remember when he was young. At this moment, he felt that he really had no reason not to choose not to believe in such a group of scholars.

"Everyone!"

The originally noisy scene quickly quieted down with Lu Xiangrui's shout, and the people under the high platform quickly recognized this as the only Taishi of the dynasty, but they didn't know what this Taishi, who had never appeared in the academy, was going to do.

"I came here today, I have to see all of you to know that I am not alone, I am very relieved, but the last drought has made the world all over the world look down on us scholars, here today, I might as well tell you the truth that offends people, leave the academy, look around the government and the opposition, I feel that the road ahead is vast, my road is very lonely!

Speaking of which, this imperial master who could not salute when he saw the emperor faced hundreds of students of Jinghua Academy to the end.

"I beg you to correct the name of my generation of scholars!"

Many students under the high stage reacted immediately, and the top students of this year's scientific examination who sat in the front row immediately got up.

"At that time, I went to the world with this body, not to mention that I could bear the high hopes of Mr., but I would never let Mr. feel like no one else on the avenue!

Then, all the scholars got up together and shouted loudly.

"I'm not alone!"

On the high platform, Cao Huabin, who had opened his eyes at some point, smiled and bent his eyebrows, he didn't make a sound, but if anyone could see his slightly moving lips, they would know that he also said:

"I'm not alone!"