Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 14 Catch this guy!
On the morning of the first day of May, six officials, one red, three blue and two green, came to the Liangxiang Posthouse in the southwest of Beijing.

Inside the inn, a man in a black Taoist robe hurried out and bowed to the ground as soon as they met. "How could Dewan have the honor and ability to trouble you all to come all the way to greet me?"

There was only one person wearing a scarlet official robe, and he helped the man up first: "Zichun has always been known for his honesty. Now that he has been reinstated to the Ministry of Works, I will speak frankly: the situation is dire, and I need Zichun to speak out for justice!"

"…Minister, you are too kind. I have been sick and staying in my hometown for three years. The officials in the court are all wise and upright. Why would they need a mere seventh-rank official like me?"

"How can you belittle yourself?" The minister turned and pointed at the others. "Among them, some are familiar to De Wan, and some are new. Come, I will tell you one by one. Let's go into the city together, and I will explain the current situation to De Wan on the way."

Among these people is Xie Tingzan.

He looked at Wang Dewan, who had been the chief censor of the Ministry of Revenue and was now the chief censor of the Ministry of Engineering, with expectation in his eyes: "I have heard of your great name for a long time!"

The person who led the way to welcome Wang Dewan back to his post after his "recovery" was Yao Jike, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

The other two people in green robes were Zhang Sicheng, the director of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Works, and Huang Hui, the lecturer of the emperor's eldest son and the Right Zhongyun of the Right Spring Office.

The two eighth-rank green-robed officials, one of whom was the chancellor of the Imperial College, began to flatter Wang Dewan when they met, saying that the students of the College still tell the tales of how Wang Dewan dared to speak out and remonstrate frankly in the past and how he wrote dozens of memorials in half a year.

If Zhu Changluo knew about Wang Dewan's deeds at this time, he could give him an evaluation of "Kedao Gatlin".

The other is the Ministry of Personnel, who will be in charge of Wang Dewan’s report.

As they traveled together into the capital, they mainly talked about the current situation.

"The treasury is empty!" Yao Jike said bitterly, "The Ministry of Revenue is not thoughtful enough, and the memorial has caused controversy in the court. I have already made this clear to Yue Ke and others. If not, they would have filed a memorial to impeach the Ministry of Revenue today."

Xie Tingzan bowed his hands helplessly when he heard this: "How can such a major national event be neglected? If Minister Yao hadn't stopped me, I would have submitted my memorial."

Yao Jike waved his hand and said, "First, your majesty ordered the repair of the Dagaoxuan Hall. The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the eunuchs reported that the dragon boats in the Western Garden are already quite damaged. This year, we may not be able to participate in the dragon boat race in the Western Garden. Your majesty was displeased and ordered the Ministry of Works to start the dragon boat race. Now that the two palaces are just being completed, if the three halls and three gates are not built quickly, when will your majesty be able to attend the government?"

Wang Dewan walked slowly and remained silent.

The Dagaoxuan Hall was built by Emperor Sejong, and there were rumors among the court and the public that the emperor and Concubine Zheng made an oath in the Dagaoxuan Hall to make their son the crown prince.

Why did the emperor suddenly order the renovation of the Dagaoxuan Hall at such a critical time in the struggle for the country's foundation?

It's still there, how can it be as important as the three halls and three gates that have been burned down?

Yao Jike also pointed out a very important point: the three main halls that were rebuilt in the 40th year of Jiajing's reign were now burned down again. If they were not rebuilt, the emperor would seem to have one more reason not to attend court to govern the country.

"Mr. He was demoted to Taizhou, and now there is still a vacancy for a Langzhong in the Construction Department. I am a small person in charge of the three palaces and three gates, and my words are not taken seriously."

After hearing Zhang Sicheng's words, Wang Dewan glanced at him.

He Shengrui knew about it. He was in charge of the reconstruction of the two palaces. He only spent 680,000 taels out of a budget of 1.6 million taels to complete the project. This was the "crime" for which he was demoted.

The Ming Dynasty had to spend money on too many things, and those who could save money became the target of public criticism.

The Ministry of Revenue made a mistake in a hurry based on the actual situation and was almost criticized by "honest ministers" such as Xie Tingzan.

"Don't worry, Minister." Wang Dewan said with great sorrow, "I am ill and living in Xichuan. Although I know the hardships of heavy wood, heavy taxes and heavy military preparations there, the construction of the three palaces is a great sight and the people's expectations. We must not postpone it any longer!"

There is only so much money, so priority should be given to rebuilding the three halls and three gates. Naturally, it should not be used to repair the Dagaoxuan Hall and the dragon boat.

This is also a corner of the national capital dispute!
Huang Hui and Wang Dewan have been friends for many years. At this moment, Huang Hui said worriedly, "The last time I gave lectures to the eldest prince was last year. I learned from his companion eunuch Wang An that the queen has been ill for a long time, and many people around her are secretly thinking that the queen will die and the imperial concubine will take over the throne. This is a major national event, and it is unpredictable at any time. The history books say that there is no one in the court."

Wang Dewan sighed upon hearing this, and bowed to Yao Jike again: "Minister, you are right, the situation is indeed dire!"

Several people took the opportunity of the welcoming ceremony to unify their ideas, and just as they returned to the capital, they heard a new and explosive piece of news today.

Zheng Guotai requested the three rituals for the fifth time, but this time his request was different from the previous one.

Following the fallacy in the Ministry of Revenue's memorial, Zheng Guotai showed sympathy for the financial difficulties and suggested that only the wedding be held first, and the enthronement and enfeoffment of the kings could be postponed.

Xie Tingzan was furious: "You are twisting your words and going against the imperial will. This may cause endless disasters to the country! Brother Zichun, you and I should impeach him!"

Wang Dewan also had a gloomy face: "The foundation of the country is not yet established, and there are many bad policies! The treacherous and corrupt officials have come to this point! As a censor of the six departments, I should strongly advise Your Majesty to correct the problem!"

It is said that a new official will start with three things when he takes office. However, Wang Dewan, who had just reported to work that day, quickly recovered his former energy and drafted five memorials within half a day.

One of the memorials was about the suffering of the people he had witnessed in his hometown of Xichuan: previously, when the two palaces were rebuilt, large timber had to be taken from Xichuan, and the people suffered greatly from corvee labor; now, the mining supervisors and tax collectors levied additional salary taxes on top of the local regular taxes, and the people suffered greatly from the heavy taxes; and in order to suppress the rebellion in Bozhou, the people of Sichuan suffered greatly from the large-scale military preparations.

The second memorial was about when he passed through Huguang on his way to Beijing. He saw the Huguang Tax Supervisor Chen Feng poisoning the local area, and listed his four major crimes: deceiving the emperor, stealing the country, abusing scholars, and harming the people!
He said he was mining in Qingshan, Zaoyang, but he damaged the dragon vein of Xianling, which is the mausoleum of your great-grandfather and great-grandmother!

Did you know that the eunuchs you sent out were digging up your ancestral graves?
The third explanation is, are the Great Gaoxuan Hall and the Dragon Boat more important than the three halls and three gates? Chu and Shu have the remaining large wood to build the Great Gaoxuan Hall, but it is not enough to just rebuild the three gates first. How can the accumulated silver in the treasury be enough to build the Dragon Boat for other things?

Three halls and three gates, the symbol of the imperial court!
What on earth are these things, the Great Hall of the Mysterious God and the Dragon Boat? Are they worthy of being ranked before such an important matter?

The fourth memorial expressed his feelings about current affairs and gave advice on eight things to be cautious about in managing finances: strictly follow the principles of justice and profit, understand the friendship of unity, understand the principles of family and country, maintain a reverent heart, understand the importance of self-improvement, broaden the scope of vision and hearing, be cautious of opportunities for safety and danger, and correct the mistakes of harsh collection. There are also seven things to be cautious about in employing people: the envoys who collect mining taxes should be removed, the arrested ministers should be pardoned, the ministers who are in charge of the government should be appointed exclusively, the appointments should be made immediately, the exiled ministers should be employed, the disaster relief should be carried out, and the requests for assistants should be urgent.

This fourth memorial is a suggestion on the overall government affairs. It may sound abstract, but it also contains practical facts.

Wang Dewan knew that the emperor would probably not ask, and at most he would reply with an "I know", but he wanted to say something.

Because he didn't know what consequences the fifth memorial would cause, so he made so many practical suggestions as soon as he took office. Especially the fourth memorial which expressed his concern for the country and the people, which would surely be praised throughout the world and make his reputation even greater.

It was supposed to be the first day of the lunar month for a court meeting, so naturally, no court was held.

Shen Yikuan looked at the memorials that flooded the cabinet, and heard the news from the Ministry of Public Security about the number of memorials submitted today, as well as various secret revelations and high-profile revelations of unknown content, and he felt terrified.

At this time, another official from the Secretariat brought a piece of paper: "Lord, there is a notice outside Chengtian Gate..."

Shen Yikuan's heart sank after reading it.

The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon. Can't the emperor be allowed to spend the festival in peace and feel better before starting fire?
At night, in the newly renovated Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yijun looked at the exaggerated number of memorials, petitions, and notices in front of him.

You have to spend some time every day to look at state affairs.

But listening to Tian Yi reading the summary, Zhu Yijun gradually became so angry that veins popped out.

"Huguang Circuit Inspector Wang Lixian impeached Chen Fengming Qianhu Xie Yingkui and others for exploiting merchants and civilians..."

"Jinyiwei veteran Qian Yi'e spoke highly of the cruelty of Chen Feng, Cheng Shouxun, Sun Chao, etc...."

"Zhili Provincial Governor Ying Chaoqing impeached Chen Feng for arbitrarily setting up a tax factory blocking the river, blocking the import of salt, and defrauding various merchants..."

"Fengyang Governor Li Sancai said that mining taxes are causing trouble and people are unemployed..."

Zhu Yijun's mouth twitched, and he whispered, "This is outrageous... This is outrageous..."

The Ministry of Revenue said it had no money, so why did the officials from both top and bottom in the capital suddenly, as if they had made an appointment, so collectively impeach the mining supervisors and tax collectors he sent out to collect taxes and increase revenue?

Even among the Jinyiwei, there are people who are disloyal?

Tian Yi took another memorial, looked up at the emperor, and said, "Wang Dewan, the chief censor of the Engineering Department..."

"It's him again?" Zhu Yijun was furious. "We just hired him. How many books has he taken today?"

"Your Majesty, the fifth one." Tian Yi paused and said, "It's the unveiling letter."

The so-called posting is public, and I'm afraid there are also several copies posted in other places.

Zhu Yijun gritted his teeth and said, "I want to see how he can be loyal to the country and be diligent in his duties!"

Tian Yi calmed himself down and prepared to kneel down.

"Your Highness Wang Dewan advises you to die: The emperor and the empress are like the heaven, earth, sun, moon, yin and yang, parents. The earth and the heaven are on the same level, if the heaven does not communicate with the earth, the universe will be destroyed; the moon and the sun are on the same level, if the sun is not beautiful, the day and night will be resting; the yin and the yang are on the same level, if the yin and yang are not in harmony, the cold and the heat will be irregular; the mother and the father are on the same level, if the father does not care for the mother, the family will be in ruins."

"Your Majesty is the father of all nations, and the Empress is the mother of all nations. Your Majesty is intelligent and kind-hearted, and the Empress has long been known for her good fortune. However, as soon as I entered the capital, rumors spread on the streets that the Empress only had a few servants, and that she was worried that her relatives were taking medicine and could not protect themselves. I was terrified..."

Zhu Yijun was furious: "This is outrageous! This is outrageous! He dares to discuss the private affairs of the palace?!"

What's wrong if the emperor doesn't favor the queen?
He actually said that the queen was in danger and couldn't protect herself...

"Quick!" Zhu Yijun was furious, "Catch this guy, don't let him get away!"

Now that there was a clear first target, the imperial guards entered the palace late at night.

"According to the imperial decree! Wang Dewan, the director of the Engineering Department, made irresponsible remarks about the imperial palace, which is extremely disrespectful! He is to be taken to the imperial prison and interrogated for his crimes!"

"Since you know that I will have unpleasant words to say, why did Your Majesty appoint me to this post?"

Wang Dewan, who had just taken office, was filled with grief and indignation. He was thrown into prison before he could even sleep a night in his old house in the capital.

Duration of this term: half a day.

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Note: In history, Wang Dewan still worked for more than half a year, and these memorials were submitted one after another. But in this book, because the eldest son of the emperor was "making trouble", Zheng Guotai's request for a wedding was brought forward, so changes were made. It is both a butterfly effect and speeds up the plot rhythm.

Thanks to the 10000-point reward from West Lake Yuyu Tianwang. West Lake Tianwang’s new book “My Grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang” has been published and you can go and buy it.

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(End of this chapter)