Xu Jie had already realized something was wrong at this time.
In his expectation, this edict should be some innocuous instructions, at most a small punishment to turn things around.
But now that Hai Rui suddenly turned against him and took down a right censor, things... probably did not develop as he expected.
Xu Jie's silence was only exchanged for eunuch Wei Chao's urging: "Master Xu, it's time to accept the order."
The former raised his head and glanced at Hai Rui, then looked back at the box containing the imperial edict in the eunuch's hand.
He nodded silently, knelt down and listened to the order.
Eunuch Wei Chao rolled up his sleeves and gently held out the imperial edict.
In the lobby, Hai Rui and Gu Chengguang bowed down to listen.
"Here is a former great scholar of great rank, who is upright, upright and clean, and generous in chronicling his affairs."
"I offer him my life in danger, and I will use his wings to protect the world's temples. I will eradicate evil and evil, return the Lord's majesty and blessings, and bring peace to the world."
"The prime minister's career is handsome and majestic, he has made plans for the temple, he has helped the government, and he has eliminated hundreds of officials and managed the country."
"When it comes to untying the ribbon."
"Early on, he had a reputation as a virtuous person and was written in the imperial court. Later, he was called Zhijie and was heard in the countryside."
"With the practice of the cold years, I sacrificed myself in the turbid current, exposed the corruption of officials, and presented myself with dripping sins before the saints."
"The high moral standards and high ambitions are as high as the blue clouds, but the bright and clean name is as long as the Huai River."
"Therefore, policies should not be avoided with suspicion, and important responsibilities should be assigned to good ministers, who should be promoted to the rank of former university scholar, censor of the right capital, governor of Fengyang, Yingtian and other fourteen prefectures."
"From the evidence cited in the order, search for it according to the picture."
"Handling the case of Southern Zhili, the case of Xu Fan's murder and rebellion, the capsizing of the canal boat, the case of fake broadcasts in Shilin, the case of inciting fools in Taizhou, the case of insulting the imperial envoy in Huai'an... and other eleven cases."
"Since I am an old man, I am specially allowed to take charge of the affairs in the middle. Hai Rui, the censor of Qiandu, will be in charge of the talisman and assist me."
"I have a message to say to you: There is an awe-inspiring and unbreakable heart in this world, and I will encourage you to do so."
…
At midnight, the imperial team boarded a large ship and headed for Yingtian Mansion.
It is now afternoon, and South Zhili is in sight.
Xu Jie was isolated on the deck, holding the edict quietly and studying it carefully.
Since receiving the imperial edict, Xu Jie stayed awake all night, reading the few lines in the edict over and over silently.
Suddenly a voice came from behind: "The rain has just passed and the weather has returned to cold. Master Xu might as well go back to his room and stay there."
Xu Jie didn't look back, knowing that it was Hai Rui who was coming.
He opened his mouth and said, "Who are you going to Yingtian Mansion to deal with?"
The emperor gave him a vacant position, but let Hai Rui hold the talisman on his behalf, just to let him be a spectator and watch what the emperor called "the awe-inspiring and unbreakable heart of the world."
Of course, as a whistleblower and now a nominal case handler, he will certainly receive a lot of hatred.
As for him wanting to use his identity to stir up trouble... the eunuch Wei Chao who followed him clearly had the edict of his dismissal in his hands, waiting to kill him at any time.
Hai Rui walked to Xu Jie and explained: "First go to the residence of Wei Guogong Xu Bangrui and Huaining Marquis Sun Shizhong."
"These two people are involved in the changes in the Huai'an Wei Pavilion, Fei Xiong Wei, and Hu Ben Youwei."
Xu Jie nodded and did not ask further questions.
He turned to look at Hai Rui and asked about another matter: "In the case of Xu Fan's murder and rebellion, does he have to die?"
Xu Fan is Xu Jie's eldest son. Now that the emperor has shown his awe-inspiring ambition, it is time to seize Xu's ambition in turn.
Give him a vacant position, supervise the major cases he reported, and destroy the foundation of his township party.
Supervising the case of his own son's rebellion forced Xu Jie to personally destroy the family he valued most.
He even promised to pardon his other two sons after completing the case to prevent him from committing suicide.
Hai Rui shook his head: "Xu Fan instigated government officials with the intention of killing innocent people. The Jinyi Guards caught him in this matter. Beizhen Fusi has already been convicted, and we are waiting for Xu Shaoshi to extinguish the family."
Xu Jie sighed sadly.
He still doesn't know why the emperor can show such a victorious attitude.
He even had time to kill him in return.
What he exposed was not just people like those in Nanzhili.
From the Queen Mother in the Forbidden City, to the chief assistant of the cabinet, group assistants, six ministries, various monasteries and departments, nobles, and frontier officials, almost everyone was there.
It is impossible for the emperor to deal with everything, he must cover up something, otherwise the court will be empty.
But if he protects his confidants and behaves mercilessly to the outside world, not to mention what unrelated people will think so, what will the people in Nanzhili think?
If this is the case, as long as those few people with knowledge spread the matter, then in the eyes of Nanzhili, this will be naked targeting and insult!
If you worry not about scarcity but about inequality, not only officials, but also scholars, gentry, and common people will be filled with righteous indignation and make noises.
If you are coerced by someone with ulterior motives, you will immediately be in for a huge disaster.
Southern Zhili is the place where the world's tax revenue is produced. Isn't the central government afraid of causing a turmoil here?
He had been thinking hard all night, but he still couldn't imagine what the emperor could do to be so confident.
After Hai Rui said this, he was speechless for a moment.
"It's not like there's no room for it."
A slightly sharp voice sounded.
The two of them looked back one after another.
I saw Wei Chao, the eunuch who was in charge of delivering the order this time, slowly approaching.
He met Xu Jie's eyes with a glimmer of hope, and couldn't help but explain: "Master Xu, don't think too much. Your Majesty doesn't need you to do anything. You can just watch the whole process."
After hearing this, Xu Jie's heart just ignited hope, but in an instant he sank to the bottom again.
If the emperor uses his son to control him, it only means that the emperor still needs him to break the situation, and there may be no room for maneuver.
But it seemed that the emperor really didn't need him to do anything, and he also lost the opportunity to negotiate terms.
Wei Chao looked at Xu Jie with a trace of pity in his eyes and said, "Master Xu, your majesty said."
"The principal and accomplices are determined based on the confessions of Xu Fan and Xu Kun. Master Xu can also make his own decisions."
The emperor said that the principal culprit will be punished by death, but the accomplices will be spared.
As for who is the main culprit... the decision is now left to Xu Jie.
After hearing this, Xu Jie's expression suddenly changed.
He pointed at the Wei Dynasty, and his whole arm could not stop shaking.
Xu Jie trembled, opened and closed his mouth, and said in a dry and frightened voice: "Vicious and vicious! Not like a human being!"
"Even if Shizong is not so vicious, aren't you afraid of Qing Shi Zhaozhao?"
This leaves no room for him.
This was to let him choose his son to kill. This was because he knew that he liked the smart eldest son, so he did it deliberately!
How can such a person exist!
If you are so cruel to your heart, you are completely a tyrant! You are a monoman!
Wei Chao shook his head and said seriously: "Your Majesty knows that Master Xu attaches great importance to his family and cares about his relatives and friends, so he gave him room to change things. How can he still speak rudely?"
His tone turned cold and he said, "Does Master Xu want to put all the accomplices to death?"
Xu Jie's body went cold, he muttered for a while, but didn't dare to answer.
Wei Chao snorted coldly and ignored him.
Xu Jie turned to look at Hai Rui and hissed: "Has the emperor concealed the central government's wrongdoing and only dared to pursue those from Nanzhili?"
"Aren't he afraid of causing a backlash in Southern Zhili by doing this?"
This kind of behavior clearly shows that the party is united and opposed by different parties, and there is no momentum to reform the old and make new things.
Once this was done, the emperor was personally cultivating the soil of the rural party.
Southern Zhili will not be stable for at least several decades!
Just to vent your anger, do you ignore the overall situation!?
Faced with Xu Jie's questioning, Hai Rui finally said: "Master Xu is overthinking. Most of the cases involving the Central Committee have been closed. Your Majesty, there is no cover for this."
"Similarly, Your Majesty will treat Southern Zhili equally."
Xu Jie was startled.
Immediately he said with a toothy smile: "It has only been a while since the case has been closed with so many people involved..."
Having said this, he suddenly reacted.
Xu Jie was stunned, but said in disbelief: "Zhang Juzheng! Is Zhang Juzheng right?"
"The emperor let the cabinet take the blame, forced all those involved in the case to confess, and then used the amnesty to show mercy! Isn't that right?"
"My good student trusts the emperor to this extent?"
Hai Rui disdained lying, but it was impossible to close the case so quickly.
Only by guessing like this can the contradiction be explained.
He had never thought about this before, because according to his experience in running the cabinet, it was impossible for the cabinet to do this for the emperor's temporary whim.
Xu Jie looked at Hai Rui intently, trying to see the answer in his eyes.
Hai Rui looked back at Xu Jie with eyes that seemed to be full of emotion and admiration: "Your Majesty said that if you accept the country's filth, you are called the master of the country; if you accept the country's omen, you are the king of the world."
He paused and said meaningfully to Xu Jie: "Master Xu, do you understand?"
Xu Jie's expression froze. At this moment, he could vaguely grasp some clues, but it was like seeing flowers in a fog.
He racked his brains, trying to figure it out, but couldn't figure it out.
Wei Chao on the side took over the topic: "There were so many people in Huai'an Mansion yesterday that it was difficult to speak clearly, but now I can tell Master Xu."
Xu Jie looked towards him.
On Wei Chao's feminine face, he said with pride: "On New Year's Eve, the abbot Li Wei, deeply grateful for His Majesty's kindness, took the initiative to surrender to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and returned 210,000 taels of dirty silver."
When Xu Jie heard this, he raised his head, thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing more than a pardon and the return of silver coins in secret. You can't deceive the world."
If it is only to this extent, it would be too underestimated for the smart people in the world.
This kind of deceptive thing only adds fuel to the fire.
We can't really bring the father-in-law to justice, then the emperor may have a falling out with the queen mother.
Wei Chao shook his head and said in a tone that was like a summer insect, "Young master Xu is just a villain. All the dirty money of the emperor will be used as military pay for the Guangdong and Guangdong this year."
"At the same time, when the Metropolitan Procuratorate was hearing the case, it was discovered that the Empress Dowager Cisheng was also involved and received twelve thousand taels of dirty money from the father-in-law."
Xu Jie was shocked.
The case has been trivialized, how can it be possible to really trace the case to the Queen Mother? What does this mean!?
Wei Chao glanced at him and continued: "Three Laws and Regulations, according to the law, report to the Holy Sage the 'Eight Discussions', the cabinet vote, and ask the Holy Sage for forgiveness."
"The Holy One did not allow it, and only followed the rules of the 'Eight Discussions'. The crime was reduced by one level, and the state leader Li Wei was exempted from exile and sentenced to a hundred punishments with a cane."
"The Empress Dowager Cisheng, with a staff of forty, the Holy Mother will be punished on behalf of her..."
"In the Fengtian Hall, thirty-seven of those who were punished by the cane and three were flogged in person were carried out by the Empress Dowager Rensheng."
After hearing this, Xu Jie finally understood what the emperor was going to do!
Expansion, this is the essence of enlargement!
He couldn't help but lose consciousness and murmured: "Then the cabinet, feeling the virtue of the saint, voluntarily surrendered?"
Wei Chao glanced at him in surprise and nodded: "Yes, Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet, is grateful for the benevolence and filial piety of the saint, and took the initiative to return the 81,000 taels of ice and charcoal he has received over the years."
"According to the 23rd volume of the Ming Dynasty's official volume, there are eleven items. If you receive money without breaking the law, if you have more than 120 sticks, you will receive a hundred sticks and travel three thousand miles."
"The three magistrates once again asked the Holy One to 'eight discussions', and the Holy One decided to exempt him from exile and give him a hundred rods."
"The first assistant personally received the stick outside the Meridian Gate."
"The dirty silver is used to exempt the nine gates of the capital tax in the first year of Wanli."
"Zhang Juzheng was invited to serve as an official, but His Majesty stayed in the middle and refused to be promoted. On that day, Gaoyi, the second assistant to the cabinet, surrendered and said he accepted eleven coppers from his neighbor, seven eggs, and twenty sticks."
"Qun assists Lu Tiaoyang, and Yang Bo follows closely behind."
At this point, Xu Jie finally understood what the emperor was going to do.
Even Xu Jie couldn't help but feel like he was standing on a mountain.
This is the master of expansion!
He just tried his best to involve all important people in it, so that the emperor would take action.
But the emperor actually dragged everyone down!
When he heard that Gao Yi had been bribed with seven eggs, he understood the follow-up to this move.
What Xu Jie wants is to survive in death.
What the emperor wants is neither destruction nor establishment!
The Wei Dynasty continued to tell him what happened in the center: "The next day, the six ministers and nine ministers, as well as the ministers of Dali Temple, Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, etc., all surrendered one after another."
"Each of you will withdraw your stolen goods and be punished with a stick outside the Meridian Gate."
"Wang Zhigao, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, protected the murder of a parent and his son, and neglected to recruit officials. The old case will be retried by the Three Laws Division."
"Subsequently, it was revealed from top to bottom by Shangguan, and hundreds of officials were involved in corruption cases."
"On the same day, the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported to Li Zaiting, Northern Zhili, the merits of one quarter of the examination, and there were countless corrupt people among them."
"Nearly 90% of officials in Beizhili have been involved in major corruption cases."
Xu Jie no longer needs to listen.
This is not a major case, this is a write-off!
As long as the officials surrender at this time, the events before the first year of Wanli will be wiped out.
In this case, his revelation was of no use.
Adding mud to the mud will not change its color.
The emperor wants to take this pool of mud and break it and then stand up again!
Not only Northern Zhili, but Southern Zhili can also do this. If everyone is treated equally, Southern Zhili will not be able to make any noise.
Moreover, most of the things he tied up on the ship were corruption cases, and the corruption charges were reduced to one level. If he let the past go, he would probably jump off the ship on the spot.
And some people may just be guilty of the crime.
No wonder there wasn't a single case of corruption among the eleven cases he was asked to supervise. I'm afraid they were all treasonous!
Good Holy Emperor, indeed a good Holy Emperor.
The question is, how did the emperor do it!?
Xu Jie murmured to himself: "How is it possible..."
Why would these distinguished officials rather have their reputations damaged than engage in such a drama of neither destruction nor establishment?
Isn't it good to put things to rest?
Yang Bo is about to become an official, why should he suffer this stigma at this time? Just to carry the emperor's sedan chair?
There are also people like Gao Yi who are involved in the crime even if they are not guilty. Is it an honorable thing for even seven eggs to be recorded in history books?
Not to mention what he knew about Zhang Siwei, Ma Ziqiang, and Wang Zhigao. Why should they cooperate with the emperor?
Hearing Xu Jie's murmur, Hai Rui finally couldn't help but interject: "Master Xu, in addition to the overall situation like yours, there is also the overall situation of helping each other in the same boat."
"Your Majesty and the cabinet are the overall situation!"
He naturally knew how difficult it was for the emperor to convince the noble officials one by one.
Relying on the close friendship to coerce the emperor, he reopened China and France to win over the northerners, opened a shipping department to lure nobles, and even used the emperor's political credibility as a guarantee.
He had never seen such a groveling political discussion, which wanted to solve the case without destabilizing the situation in the DPRK.
How lucky you are to meet such a holy king!
The Wei Dynasty took out another edict from his arms - this kind of edict was not just given to a certain person, but was distributed to various places, and several copies would be copied.
"The Holy One walked to pray in the southern suburbs and issued an edict to sin against oneself..."
Xu Jie suddenly reached out and took the edict.
I couldn't wait to look at it for myself.
He wants to recognize this young emperor again!
"I am young and have shallow virtues. I have reached the position of Huanji for the first time and I have not achieved any merit."
"I have only been emperor for only half a year, but corruption has become rampant and corruption has become commonplace. Isn't this my responsibility as emperor?"
"I asked officials who were excellent in the examination, and they all said that they could not make ends meet and had no food to eat. After I sent people to see them, I heard that these people had mulberry households with pengshu, woodcutter and subucuan, their spouses had hairpins and thorns and their skirts were cloth, and their heirs had pig food.
Beggar's clothing."
"After asking for the reason, I learned that the state had been in arrears with their salary for four months, and would use treasure notes, peppercorns and other things to worsen their poverty."
"Is this okay?"
"Dear God and the ancestral temple, official corruption is common, and I am obviously responsible for it. If I didn't take the lead in correcting it, how could I easily punish my subordinates?"
"So I made a decision to abolish the tribute of luxury items such as jewelry, and change my previous mistake of spending too much money on meals, in order to reduce the expenditure of the inner court."
"In addition, I promise that when the examination law is implemented, all qualified officials will receive a full salary, and outstanding officials will receive a performance supplement to make up for the mistakes that the court has done before."
"Similarly, in accordance with the opportunity of amnesty for the world, corruption committed before the first year of Wanli can be reduced by one level and the merits can be made up for as long as the dirty silver is returned."
"As for the pain caused to the people during this period, all the pain should be borne by the emperor himself, that is, me."
"In order to make up for the people, the court will reduce or reduce taxes for a certain period of time based on the stolen money collected."
"At the same time, the opening of China-France will be reopened to supplement food supplies for soldiers on the border."
"As for merchants, the imperial court will re-establish the Fujian Municipal Shipping Department at the turn of spring and summer, and add a new Municipal Shipping Department in Chongming Shasuo to allow ships to go to sea."
"Now that the North and South Zhili are covered by the law, and Fujian has been appointed as the Chief Secretary, I hope to see the officials actively surrender and atone for their crimes."
"When I saw the edict, I understood my thoughts and my ambitions and intentions will not change."
After reading a sinner's edict, Xu Jie's eyes were blank and he was in a trance.
He staggered and fell into Hai Rui's arms.
He pushed himself up with difficulty, looked at Hai Rui, and said in a solemn voice: "It's good to be the country's taint, but it's good to be the country's misfortune."
There will be more later, but it will be very late. I don’t know the specific time.
Chapter completed!