I am the king of the dead

"Your Majesty, the front line is using grain and grass as bait, isn't it more eager to win?" He Zhang said in horror after reading the complete pond newspaper.

How can such a trifling matter be such a heavy supply of food and grass?

When Zhu Qiyu heard He Zhang's question, he smiled and said, "Ah, I know about this. The Eastern Route Army has a total of 90 shi of food and grass, which is more than 30 shi required, even 20 shi is more than enough for bait."

"Nine... 90?" He Zhang trembled. He knew that the Ming army had a lot of food and grass this time, but he never expected that there would be as much as 90 shi. With so much food and grass, he took out a quarter of it to make bait, no wonder.

"He didn't deserve to lose in the battle of Ara Zhiyuan." He Zhang couldn't help but laugh, he had never seen such a battle, using his own grain and grass as bait, this kind of warfare can be described as using money hit.

Shen Yi stood up in high spirits, raised his head and said, "Why, is Mr. He very surprised? Our household department is paid by His Majesty's salary, not just for free. In the past, it didn't exist, so it was a little stretched. Now Today, the funds of the Ming Dynasty can still support His Majesty's Northern Expedition."

Shen Yi's words were full of confidence. These years, Hu Bu was in court, and he could be described as proud and elated.

"Duke Ming was joking. At the end of the 13th year of Zhengtong, the Beijing officials of the Ming Dynasty went to the Ministry of Households to receive their salaries. They originally made up for the 24 shimi owed this year. As a result, the Ministry of Households folded [-]% of the banknotes that year. In the past, the Ming Dynasty was short of money. The old situation is still vivid in my mind like yesterday, so I am naturally surprised." He Zhang said hastily.

At the end of the 13th year of orthodoxy, this year is coming to an end. The salary of the officials in the capital has not been paid for a year. If it is a corrupt official, it will naturally look down on this salary. With this salary for the New Year.

The imperial court has been saying that it will make up the owed salary. After talking for a year, the officials received two shi of Lumi when they arrived at the yamen of the Ministry of Households. The children on the street all sing, Xue'er in the twelfth lunar month, and the pockets of Beijing officials, are white and clean.

"Yeah, there really wasn't one at that time. If I could figure out a way, I wouldn't be able to discount [-]% of the money. The majestic Beijing officials have to go to brokers and compradors to borrow money during the Chinese New Year, alas." Shen Yi didn't care about He Zhang. It seems that there is any impatience in revealing the short words, and even a little bit of embarrassment back then.

At the beginning, Shen Yi also lined up to get Lumi but didn't get it, so he finally asked the brokers and compradors to borrow a sum for the New Year.

Shen Yi was not leaking, but he didn't have the guts to exchange his banknotes for money, so he could only live in poverty.

If Shen Yi was corrupt, Mu Yang Bo Jin Lian would not let Shen Yi be his second official. Jin Lian did not recommend Shen Yi because he was afraid that he would become powerful if he became corrupt. I lost my life.

"I've never heard of what the two lovers said. What's the matter?" Zhu Qiyu was quite surprised when he heard the words of the two courtiers of the Ming Dynasty in Fengtian Hall. Of course he knew that the salary owed was serious at that time, otherwise he would not In order to tighten his belt for anti-corruption, he will also pay a real salary, but he never expected it to be so serious.

Shen Yi hastily bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, what I said is true, among all the civil and military officials in the court, there are many people from back then, and I dare not deceive the emperor."

Standing on the Fengtian Hall and talking, His Majesty watched, Shen Yi didn't dare to make nonsense, what happened back then, it has only been 11 years, there are a lot of people from that time in the court.

"Yu Shangshu, is there such a thing?" Zhu Qiyu looked around, and saw Yu Shiyue, the only Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment who hadn't moved in 11 years.

Yu Shiyue just came out, and after a moment of stupefaction, he bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, the minister's family is quite prosperous, so I wouldn't go out to borrow money, but at the end of the 13th year of Orthodoxy, [-]% of the banknotes were discounted to make up for the salary. It is true that the child laughed. I lent Yu Shaobao two or three coins. At that time, Yu Shaobao had just returned to Beijing, and after renting the house, he had no money left. Later, Yu Shaobao sold some books and returned the money to me."

Yu Shiyue did borrow the two or three coins at the beginning, but later Yu Qian sold the book and repaid the money.

Otherwise, Yu Shiyue has been able to sit in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice for so many years. He knows the world and the world. To Yu Shiyue's family, two or three coins are nothing more than a drop in the bucket, but this good fate is not two, two or three. Money is so heavy.

Zhu Qiyu has never blamed Yu Shiyue for sending his family to the south after the civil engineering change. Xu Youzhen did the same. Zhu Qiyu always believed that Xu Youzhen and Yu Shiyue, the two southward migration factions, just sent their wives and children away. If he stayed and lived with Da Ming, he would be worthy of Da Ming.

On the contrary, Yu Shiyue often worries about gains and losses, for fear that after his death, he will be published in the biography of treacherous officials.

"Nonsense! It's just... nonsense!" Zhu Qiyu was dumbfounded when Yu Shiyue added the details. He shook his sleeves and only said two nonsense.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty who ate carbon jing and ice filial piety went in and out of Taibai Building and Yanxing Building all day long, with silk and bamboo in their ears and beauties beside them, and their food and clothing were all extravagant. Respect and filial officials of the Ming Dynasty need to borrow for the New Year.

Even if Zhu Qiyu asked himself, can he balance in his heart?

He can't balance, if he seizes the opportunity, he wants to eat delicious food and drink spicy food!

This is how clean and honest officials are wiped out in such a systematic way, and the edges and corners of this person are wiped away bit by bit in the ordinary things of eating, drinking, and messing around.

Zhu Qiyu has always admired Yu Qian who is a man of integrity and integrity. Zhu Qiyu asked himself that he is definitely not such a person of high moral character. Wang Ao, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, often lamented that His Majesty owed it to the emperor. If he was an official, he would be a giant beetle of the country.

Zhu Qiyu can't expect all the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty to be people like Yu Qian, so he gave enough salary and settled the salary.

"Your Majesty." Hu Jin wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, because he knew that His Majesty would not agree to what he said.

The chaos of the orthodox dynasty is more than that. The four words of the court are dark, but the four words of heavy, if Hu Wei is allowed to speak openly, then the time for this court discussion will be too short.

Hu Wei found that His Majesty may not be very aware that he has received extensive support among the bureaucrats, leaving aside the broad words of Jiangshan Sheji, from the perspective of personal use.

The official residence looks like a prison cell, but its luxurious appearance, food, clothing, housing and transportation are all provided by His Majesty according to the standards of the Great Tomorrow Dynasty Shang Dynasty. It is not a simple luxury that can be described, it is graceful and luxurious.

His Majesty seems to have been in trouble for being an official all these years, and he is not used to the scholar-bureaucrats, but everyone is in the court. What does it look like to be an official, it's not like everyone has experienced it , the status of bureaucrats has been rising steadily over the years.

This fixed salary and full salary seem to be small things, but they can't hold these small things piled up one by one, so that the officials can stand up and make officials, standing officials and kneeling officials, It's totally two different things.

Hu Wei often said that the officials of the Jingtai Dynasty were a little naive, which is what His Majesty is used to.

"I know what Hu Shangshu wants to say. I don't want to talk about the past." Zhu Qiyu waved his hand to signal Hu Wei to return to the list.

Hu Wei often suggested that Zhu Qiyu criticize the chaos of the orthodox dynasty more. The big mouths in the province said every day that His Majesty was usurped, even if it was usurped, so what?

Zhu Qiyu didn't intend to make a total denial, so naturally he would end what he said.

For example, this time He Zhang and Shen Yi mentioned that the orthodox owed salary to make up for the salary, all the officials were like this, and the status of Qiu Ba in the Ming Dynasty was far inferior to that of the scholar-officials, what should the treatment be like.

Not to mention the luxury of using grain and grass as bait, even if you can eat enough, you have to burn incense and worship Buddha.

Jingtai achieved great victory on April 11, 26, and Ming should win.

Chapter 875 The tribute courtyard was on fire, and the ninety tributes were all ashes

Above the court, the Dukes of the Ming Dynasty heard about state affairs, and Zhu Qiyu issued the disposal opinions that had been drawn up long ago. The court meeting has always been a place to announce decisions, and the court meeting is a small meeting for quarrels. There is harmony, but this court meeting has never had half a day of peace.

For example, Huang Zhenzuochen, a pawn with a crown in Zhejiang Province, added torture tools such as sticks in the big and small yamen to torture the soldiers and civilians. To, should be severely punished.

For example, the governors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the governors of the left and right, the inspectors of the left and the right, and the officials who proposed to study jointly petitioned for the establishment of the Maritime Hall. After the toss is clear, Yao Kui, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, will play again, and Zhu Qiyu's edict will arrive.

"Fengtian carries the emperor, and the edict said:"

"Since ancient times, the emperors have taken the promotion of talents as their top priority. The rise and fall of schools is related to the rise and fall of talents, and the rise and fall of governance. At the beginning of my ascension, Jian Xue practiced veterans, conferred constitutional duties, specialized in maritime schools, and practiced more than nine times. In the past year, it has been quite effective. Now that culture and education are revived, all scholars should do their duty and set an example. People must first do their own work, and they must follow strict rules and regulations. To call it simple."

"Chin this."

After Xing'an finished reading the imperial edict of the Ming Dynasty, the matter of setting up maritime halls in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other southern yamen prefectures was settled.

The reason why the local governors, parents and officials jointly petitioned for the establishment of the Maritime Hall was naturally because the Ming Dynasty’s official ships and official trade attracted a large number of sailors, resulting in a shortage of local sailors. The guests of each household, many of them are pretending to be numbers, bluffing and deceiving during their stay.

This is not an easy task, it is a highly professional job. Many alchemists who specialize in deception saw the opportunity and joined this blue ocean market. After the money, it disappeared without a trace.

For a time, the maritime trade on the entire Jiangnan surface was greatly affected.

What kind of boat master can ensure that the ship can reach the destination smoothly at sea?Can you bring the boat back again?Are there any standards for this?For this strange chaos, talent cultivation has become an urgent need.

In particular, the desire for standards has become a consensus on the ground in Jiangnan.

Who will set this standard?

The sailors who have graduated from the Maritime Hall have a solid reputation in the Jianghu, and the powerful and influential people of the Ming Dynasty have the same enthusiasm for the sailors in the Maritime Hall of Songjiang Prefecture as if they were arrested by the son-in-law outside the Donghua Gate.

The marine master who graduated from the Maritime Hall has become the standard. This is a spontaneous choice of the people, and it is not bound by the government's decree.

The expansion of the Maritime Hall has become the content of the court's discussion. Zhu Qiyu found out that it was not easy at all when he started to build a school for culture and education. They can be built everywhere.

To build a school is to establish a context, and the context of each place has long been monopolized. If you want to establish a school in a local area, it is also the eighteen bends of the Yellow River, which bends and bends.

For example, the local academics hope that their professors and academic officials will go to Songjiang Prefecture Maritime Hall to study, return to their hometowns to run schools, and the imperial court will take care of them; The halls are all maritime halls of the imperial court.

This is just a sketch of the power struggle. There are so many contents in the court discussion, otherwise it can't be delayed until April, such as the school building, where does the land come from, but all the positions occupied by the Maritime Hall are all superior places; for example The construction of this observatory is a waste of money, and an observatory is not something that can be landed with [-] to [-] silver coins; for example, where does the boat come from and so on.

There is always a struggle for power. After all, it is people who steer the boat. Whoever controls the output of talents will have a voice in sea power.

This also caused a certain degree of lag in government orders. Power needs to be distributed, and distribution requires struggle and compromise. This takes time. The imperial court has always been slower than the private sector, which is one of the reasons.

Due to the strong demand for talents, the expansion of the Maritime Hall was finally done with the will of the court.

There are still a lot of court discussions surrounding official ships and official trade. Some of them will naturally be announced at the court meeting, and some will be directly ordered from His Excellency Wen Yuan to the local supervision.

This sea trade matter is taking up more and more time in the court proceedings, which is roughly comparable to the recent Northern Expedition.

"Your Majesty, there was a fire in the Gongyuan yesterday, the door was locked, and more than [-] scholars were burned to death." Yao Kui, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, finally stood up when the court meeting was about to end. A major event well known to everyone in the capital.

"Yesterday, when I climbed up the Wenhua Building and looked far away, I saw the flames in the direction of the Gongyuan, burning so many people to death?" Zhu Qiyu's tone was somewhat gloating.

If there was a fire in the Gongyuan, Zhu Qiyu would have to be heard by the Minister of the Ministry of Rites to know, and he wouldn't have to be the emperor anymore.

In fact, after the Gongyuan caught fire yesterday, Zhu Qiyu asked Lu Zhong to visit and investigate. Before going to court, Lu Zhong presented the results of the preliminary investigation to Zhu Qiyu.

Things are simple, but they are actually a bit complicated, but they can be explained clearly in a few words.

It's all caused by inviting teachers to banquet.

After Chun Wei unveiled the list, the candidates who spent a lot of money to invite masters failed to win the list. Naturally, they were a little emotional. The masters accepted Shuxiu but failed to do anything. Naturally, they were ashamed. These candidates who invited teachers Most of them were arranged by the teachers and fathers to enter the Imperial College as graduate students to prepare for the next imperial examination, which is also the usual practice in previous years.

Originally, inviting a teacher was just a matter of one willing to fight and one willing to suffer, what you love and what you want, but you are not capable. Could it be that you are expected to be trained as a Jinshi from the master-student relationship that is less than a month old in Beijing?

But there was a thorn in this year's examination. This thorn united with a group of students who hadn't made it to the list, and they made a fuss. what!So he locked the door of the Gongyuan to prevent troubles among the eunuchs.

As a result, the Gongyuan ran out of water, and all the students of Xiaoju were burned to death.

More than 90 people were reduced to ashes in the flames, and Lu Zhong didn't know how to record the tragic scene.

The reason why Zhu Qiyu took pleasure in other people's misfortunes was probably related to his consistent views. He was not happy that this kind of ethos of a teacher would cause a mess of smoke everywhere in the court. He had always opposed the spread of this kind of atmosphere very clearly. What happened? , he naturally held an attitude that he saw that the funeral was not a big deal.

"Jiao Xian, the censor of the capital, you locked the door." Zhu Qiyu waved his hand to signal Yao Kui to return to work, and Yao Kui would not mention this matter, he would also deal with it.

Jiao Xian immediately stepped out, knelt on the ground, and said tremblingly: "Minister, I have locked the lock, I don't even know that there are still people inside."

Zhu Qiyu was furious, and said sharply: "Jiao Xian! You came in front of me with your mouth open, and the lesson learned by Qian Pu, a scholar of the Hanlin University, has passed for less than a month. Jiao Xian, you have forgotten so quickly? You really don't know what's inside Is there anyone?"

Zhu Qiyu was annoyed by this the most. He knelt down as soon as he got out of the queue, seemingly obedient, but he lied every time he spoke. It seemed that he couldn't speak unless he told a few lies.

When Jiao Xian was locked, he even got into a shoving with those Juren, how could he not know there were people inside?

"I deserve death for my crimes." Jiao Xian originally planned to make a fool of himself and deal with it later, but it seems that His Majesty has already investigated it clearly, so he can only plead guilty.

"Okay, since you deserve to die, then send him to Jieyuan." Zhu Qiyu sneered, he had never seen such a strange request.

In other eras, it was just an empty finger, a cliché to plead guilty, but in the Jingtai period, the crime deserved ten thousand deaths, that is, the person in the elegant seat of Jiejieyuan, who is truly dead but not alive.

"Your Majesty is merciful, Your Majesty is merciful, I did lock the door, but I didn't set fire to it, so please be merciful to me." Jiao Xian was so frightened, he just said that, and it turned out that His Majesty really did.

Hu Yi looked at it and continued, Jiao Xian was really sent to Jieyuan, hurried out of the line and bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, the imperial censor of the capital is locked up according to the regulations. Xie Jieyuan, he is a useless scholar, not enough."

"There is also Jiao Xian, you can say whatever your Majesty asks. Your Majesty has a clear understanding of the future. You did it. You can't hide it even if you quibble. It wasn't you. , became a scapegoat! I know that you were shocked and panicked, but in front of His Majesty, you are deceiving the Holy Spirit with your nonsense, and you deserve death. What's wrong with sending you to the court? "

Zhu Qiyu saw that Hu had smoothed things over, so he said, "Okay, stop scolding Hu Shangshu, I didn't really plan to send him to Jieyuan, and it wasn't him who did it, so this is just a quick word. Well, when I asked him, he would lie all over his mouth, and I just got angry at him for his sophistry, okay, okay, Hu Shangshu is old, so don't get angry."

"If you lose your manners in front of the palace, you will be fined for half a year."

Jiao Xian didn't do it, Zhu Qiyu just asked, but this guy was lying when he opened his mouth, no wonder Zhu Qiyu wasn't annoyed.

At this time, the evergreen tree of the Ming Dynasty and Hu Ming, who is extremely good at mixing mud, played a role, and Jiao Xian escaped a catastrophe after this disturbance.

Compared with Hu Wei, Liu Ji is still lacking in enthusiasm.

In fact, Hu Mei and Jiao Xian had no personal relationship, and this was an outspoken statement. He stood up and seemed to be scolding, but he was actually defending.

"Jiao Xian, this is what the person who set the fire wanted. I know that you are too timid to stand up to big things. You will offend me and be the scapegoat. Do you understand?" Zhu Qiyu looked at Jiao who was kneeling on the ground. Xian continued: "After leaving the court, go to the Jinyiwei yamen and explain this matter clearly from beginning to end."

Xing'an glanced at His Majesty's face, then shook his whisk and said, "Start playing if there is something to do, and leave the court if there is nothing to do."

"Retreat!"

Zhu Qiyu stood up and walked at the end with Hu Wei. Hu Wei wanted to drive to Tai'an Palace in his car, and Zhu Qiyu also had something to say to Hu Wei.

"What does Hu Shangshu think about this matter?" Zhu Qiyu looked out the window and said with frowning.

After thinking for a while, Hu Wei said with certainty: "It's not that the tribute courtyard was on fire. It was obvious that someone deliberately set it on fire. Otherwise, the tribute courtyard would be empty, and there would be no survivors left, and none of them could be burned? Obviously, it has passed. Elaborate arson."

"In the seventh year of Zhengtong's reign, there was also a fire at the Renxu Kegong Court, which killed more than a hundred candidates. Thinking about it, this time is not too different from that time."

Zhu Qiyu was taken aback for a moment, and said strangely: "The Gongyuan also caught fire in the seventh year of orthodoxy?"

Hu Wei said with a lot of emotion: "Yes, that time it was Wang Zhen who presided over the investigation of fraud in the Renxu examination room. These more than a hundred people were regarded as witnesses. Before they gave a confession, they were burned to the ground."

Wang Zhen wanted to investigate the fraud in the examination room, not for the sake of fairness and justice in the examination room, but to take the opportunity to fight for power, or to say that this is the most heartless scholar, and directly set fire to more than a hundred people. Here comes There is no proof of execution, and this case of fraud in the examination room can only be let go.

Zhu Qiyu said with a puzzled face: "But this time Shangren presided over the imperial examination, I have never heard of any fraud in the imperial examination, nor have any students sued it, and I have not asked anyone to supervise it, so why did this cause murder? "

Hu Wei said with a look of reluctance: "These students probably know too much. Sometimes, knowing too many secrets may not be a good thing. Obviously, once the secrets these students know are exposed, they will be worse than a fire in the Gongyuan." The consequences are much more serious, so I took the risk."

Zhu Qiyu asked again: "Who could it be? Anyway, it's not Jiao Xian. That guy knows that he can't even kill a chicken. It's better to let him kill him than to kill him."

Killing a chicken is not an easy task, grabbing the neck of the chicken and stabbing it, if nothing else, even catching the chicken, Jiao Xian can't even catch it in a Confucian robe.

Apparently someone hoped that Jiao Xian would be able to resist the pot and cover up the matter.

"Your Majesty, I'm not Dudu Lu, I'm not good at judging cases." Hearing His Majesty's question about who is the culprit, Hu Wei replied helplessly.

Zhu Qiyu said with a smile: "Isn't this just chatting? Hu Shangshu has no doubts in his heart?"

As soon as the case happened, Hu Wei probably guessed who it was. The old fox had a clear mind, but he just held back and refused to say.

Hu Wei thought about it seriously, then shook his head and said: "Yes, but I can't say it. There is no evidence. I talk nonsense. It's the way of a courtier who sows dissension. I can't do it."

"Then write it down, and wait until I find out to see if it's true." Zhu Qiyu didn't make things difficult for Hu Mi anymore, but chose a compromise method.

Setting fire in the capital is equivalent to breaking ground on the emperor's head. If you can set fire in the Gongyuan today, you can set fire in Tai'an Palace tomorrow. Will the emperor still sleep?

Lu Zhong led his people to thoroughly investigate the case last night, and when His Majesty came to court, the preliminary results came out. At dusk, Lu Zhong investigated the case clearly and asked for an order to arrest him.