Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 93: The crime of false assumptions, the punishment of heartbreak

Seeing that he was speechless for a long time, Zhu Changluo said calmly: "Do you not know the pros and cons of political affairs, or do you dare not speak your mind?"

"…Why shouldn't I dare?" Hou Xianchun's face flushed. "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and you are concerned about the country. I know that! I am avoiding the important issues and only hope that things will be settled peacefully. Although the financial situation is difficult now, Your Majesty is willing to make a large allocation of the treasury. Why shouldn't I dare to speak up?"

He knelt straight and bowed: "Your Majesty! The world has been at war for a long time! Grain and salary have been increased, tax collectors are rampant, natural disasters are frequent, and the people are displaced! Your Majesty is on the throne, and the world is praying for your grace. Now there is no exemption, and the common people have no rest; Your Majesty has conferred many honors and honors on bravery, which makes the people worried. The court will continue to use troops and increase taxes. When Your Majesty was regent, you implemented good policies continuously. Why are there so many chaotic orders after Lords Shen and Wang returned to the court?"

Shen Yi Guan cursed: "Hou Xianchun, you are a ruthless person! Where do you want to put me? Where do you want to put Elder Shen and Elder Wang?"

He said that all the previous policies were good, and on the surface he was praising Shen Yikuan, but was that really the case?

The ministers had witnessed with their own eyes that it was actually the emperor who was insisting on conferring titles and reorganizing the Beijing camp.

Hou Xianchun forcibly brought out the differences before and after the "overriding imperial power" incident, making it seem as if Shen Yikuan had really violated the imperial power before, and also making it seem as if Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue suppressed Shen Yikuan after returning to the court, and at the same time acted as yes-men and drafted the edict of ascension to the throne.

Now it is up to the Zhejiang Party leader to make a statement, whether he will speak out on the issue of exemption or not, or whether he will not resist and allow the emperor to move forward step by step.

First take control of the military power, then kill the officials and gentry!
As a result, Shen Yi's reaction was so intense.

"I remind you for the second time: Don't block the way for speech."

Zhu Changluo glanced at Shen Yikuan: What’s the hurry?
Hou Xianchun knew that he had been forced to face the majesty of heaven alone. At this time, he looked at the past one by one: "Your Majesty is particularly aware of the difficulties in financial planning. You have abolished the comprador fees and practiced frugality. The three of you are in the cabinet, but you have no idea how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Can you only not mention exemptions to cope with the financial planning for next year? Your Majesty is wise! The world longs for the emperor's grace like a long drought longs for rain. The three cabinet ministers drafted this edict with a ruthless heart. They must want to make the people of the world upset and control Your Majesty!"

It is not surprising to fire at all cabinet ministers at the same time. This has often been done in the past because the cabinet has always been the scapegoat in some cases.

But Zhu Changluo laughed out loud with joy.

The laughter was so abrupt that everyone outside the Qianqing Gate looked at him uneasily.

Zhu Changluo stopped laughing and sighed: "Is this what you call speaking one's mind? Come, I will teach you what it means to speak one's mind. The edict of enthronement was polished word by word by my handwriting, and then approved by me word by word. Hou Xianchun, don't muddy the waters. A real man, do you dare to explain to me why the world will be in turmoil if you don't say that you are exempted from punishment?"

Hou Xianchun's pupils shrank as he faced the emperor's frank remarks.

Seeing that the emperor was trying to suppress the ministers from speaking and force Hou Xianchun to say something extremely treasonous, Shen Shixing gritted his teeth and disobeyed the emperor's order again, saying in a pleading tone: "Your Majesty! Why do you have to do this? The financial affairs involve so many people, and we can only change things slowly. Hou Xianchun, do you still have a loyal heart?"

"It's the third time." Zhu Changluo said, "Third time is the limit. The elders have done their best."

There was a strong sense of sarcasm in the words. Hou Xianchun looked up at the emperor and saw nothing but disdain in his eyes.

As if she was certain that he didn't dare to say it, but also hoped that he would say it.

Hou Xianchun gritted his teeth and said grimly: "Of course I am loyal! I have a good plan to increase revenue and reduce expenditure! I dare to report to your majesty that the military settlements of the nine border guards are far more dilapidated than the military camps in Beijing; the annual border pay is more than three million taels, and the excessive occupation of labor is far worse than that in the Beijing military camp! At the beginning of the country, the guards could be self-sufficient, but now the border pay is several million taels, and the guards in the hinterland still need to be supplied with food. The Ming Dynasty is in financial difficulties. What is the root cause? Be it saving money, increasing revenue, or military affairs..."

Everyone looked at him as if he was crazy, and Tian Le, who heard this, stood up very straightforwardly: "Hou Xianchun has great ambitions but little talent, and his ideas are a disaster for the country! I impeach the Military Affairs Department's Chief Secretary for not understanding military affairs and deliberately disrupting the morale of the border troops. He should be punished!"

Then Shen Yikuan, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and even more important officials and those who had previously joined Hou Xianchun in refuting Tian Le all spoke up, "I second the motion!"

Now no one paid attention to the emperor's reminder not to block the channels of speech, because they all came out to petition for his punishment.

Those who did not leave the line could not help but feel complicated: Hou Xianchun was forced into a desperate situation like this.

Seeing this situation, Hou Xianchun also laughed, looking crazy.

Then he suddenly stopped smiling and looked stern.

"What crime have I committed? Your Majesty entered school late, and you do not understand the importance of the country! The ministers are ashamed to be in the cabinet, but they cannot give you honest advice! The court is full of rats, and they all follow the wind! What is even more lamentable is that Your Majesty is proud of his talent and mistakenly takes the wrong path as a shortcut! Use culture to control the military, and stop the chaos before it grows. You have experienced countless blood and fire! Respect culture and education, and shepherd the people to live and work, and lay the foundation for a prosperous era!"

He looked straight at Zhu Changluo, his expression becoming calm: "Your Majesty will punish me for my crimes. A hundred years from now, whether the country will prosper or perish, history will have its own judgment."

"I asked you why you didn't say that the world would be in turmoil if the exemption was granted, but you still didn't dare to speak your mind, and you talked about the military settlements in the garrisons. I look down on you. Until now, you have only dared to beat around the bush and talk about controlling the military with the civil, and respecting culture and education. Your mean-spirited mind is clear to see."

Zhu Changluo was equally frank and had no interest in trying to convince this stubborn person who thought he had grasped the truth. "Imperial edict: Hou Xianchun, as a gentry, made a false statement in court that the matter of exemption from punishment involves the foundation of education. He presumed to be the emperor's will, was ambitious but incompetent, and was radical and did not care about the priorities. He provoked the rift between the civil and military officials, and even attempted to stir up suspicion between the emperor and his ministers, shaking the foundation of the country's culture and education. His crime is unforgivable."

Only then did Hou Xianchun confirm that the emperor really understood, and not just didn't understand how great the impact of these things was.

He did have the idea of ​​making the conflict more intense, because he believed that the emperor would not be so naive after seeing the truth.

But if the emperor understood, why was he still so naive?

When the emperor told these charges against him, Hou Xianchun's face turned pale.

What does it mean that he, a gentry, wanted to speak nonsense in court to exempt people from punishment, which involved the foundation of education? Is he the one who stirred up suspicion between the monarch and his ministers and shook the foundation of the country's culture and education?
Zhu Changluo gave his verdict: "I am merciful and will only dismiss you from your post and make you a commoner. I will destroy your official records and change your military status to serve as a frontier soldier. I think you will have a new understanding of what the military commanders are thinking in the future. However, as a civil official, the court has been facing financial difficulties over the years. Hou Xianchun claims to be loyal. Whether he has neglected his duties and embezzled money, and whether his clan members have used their power to evade taxes and labor service, the officials shall investigate carefully."

This treatment caused Hou Xianchun's anger and fear to rise at the same time.

Is this called leniency?

This is tantamount to destroying the heart and the entire clan!
"Is there no one among you who dares to speak out? I am ashamed to serve in the same court with you!" He was completely defeated. "Your Majesty, why do you humiliate a loyal minister like this? I would rather die to show my loyalty!"

"Pass the order, never let a loyal minister die for the country. He is loyal and upright as a minister, and he will definitely be loyal and brave as a soldier."

Zhu Changluo was indeed humiliating him, but when he swept his cold eyes over the civil officials, no one came out to advise him out of grief.

This kind of situation would never have happened in the past. The emperor strictly ordered all his ministers to remain silent and only questioned him, eventually forcing his ministers to abandon him.

The final explanation of Hou Xianchun's crimes has clearly told all the ministers: the emperor knew that if he did not mention pardon, the world would be in turmoil.

But although the emperor was aggressive, did he make his words clear? Did Hou Xianchun dare to make them clear?

Since you haven't taken it out to weigh it, that's easy.

That's just because the financial situation is difficult and the emperor has no choice.

So he took out the treasury to appease the civil officials in the world first, and he also prepared to live a frugal life.

Therefore, he wanted to stabilize the morale of the army by conferring titles, and use future expectations to make up for the shortfall in current reward expenses.

Therefore, he wanted to cut down on the abuses in the Beijing camp, clear up the occupied service, and reorganize the troops, both to save future salaries and food for the soldiers in the Beijing camp and to prevent unrest in the world caused by insufficient exemptions and rewards.

Any questions? The logic is very smooth and reasonable.

Wang Zhizhen, who was here to arrange the imperial guards who were required for the court ceremony, had already taken his men to take Hou Xianchun away.

Listening to the gradually fading voices of "ambitious", "brutal and unjust", and "incompetent and misleading the country", Shen Shixing sighed tiredly.

He could sense Shen Yiquan's intention to leave, and he was afraid that he would be the first to bear the brunt in the future and had to reconcile the upper and lower levels.

Although the new emperor was very aggressive, it was actually not a big deal, because the emperor had originally planned to pretend to be ignorant and take things slowly.

It can only be said that among the ministers, there are always some who do not consider the overall situation and do not know how to turn back.

Shen Shixing remembered this lesson: in the future, he must never let the new monarch directly confront some confused ministers.

Hou Xianchun's curses gradually faded away, and the atmosphere outside the Qianqing Gate became depressing and uneasy.

I don’t know whether it’s because the new king’s court meetings are too difficult or because we haven’t held court meetings for a long time.

Why is it so intense?
(End of this chapter)