In the dim prison, Liao Yongzhong stood like a skeleton, with not many human figures left... No matter what kind of tough guy he was, when he got here, the results were the same. There were almost no tools of torture, just boundless despair, which could completely kill a person.
Swallowed, no residue left.
The sound of footsteps broke the deathly tranquility, and Zhu Yuanzhang took long strides and arrived in front of Liao Yongzhong's cell.
Liao Yongzhong suddenly raised his head when he heard the sound. He narrowed his pupils and looked carefully. It took him a long time to recognize Zhu Yuanzhang. In an instant, the drowning man grabbed the life-saving straw and kowtowed frantically.
"Your Majesty, please spare your life, Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
His head touched the straw-covered ground. Within a few strokes, his skin was already bruised and bleeding, and he was in a miserable state.
Lao Zhu just looked at him like this, not showing any pity, but just confusion.
After a while, Lao Zhu said coldly: "Liao Yongzhong, I want to ask you, how greedy does a person have to be to be satisfied?"
Liao Yongzhong was stunned, and suddenly burst into tears, "The superiors and the guilty ministers were all killed by them! The guilty ministers didn't even need a tael of silver. They kept themselves clean and never dared to violate the laws of the country!"
"Huh!" Lao Zhu sneered, "Lu Zhongheng and Tang Shengzong also said this back then. You don't want to be greedy! But you are greedy more than anyone else! With a family fortune of millions, you are much more comfortable than the emperor! Water!
The entire army has become your private army. At this point, what’s the point of kowtowing and begging for mercy! Let alone you, even people who are ten or a hundred times more important can’t stand up to our national laws!”
Liao Yongzhong was stunned. He realized that his life could not be saved.
After a brief period of confusion, he mustered up his last bit of hope and continued to plead: "Your Majesty, for the sake of the guilty minister's past achievements, please spare the guilty minister's family and leave a bloodline of the Liao family! I beg your superior, please."
!”
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed softly, "Liao Yongzhong, it's too late. Not only did you smuggle countless people, you also communicated with the Japanese, sold weapons and rations, and exchanged gold and silver from the Japanese. If there was no Japanese, how could you save so much money! You should know
, Mongolia's iron hoof trampled on the Central Plains, and China's land was sinking. This is a great shame and humiliation. As a Chinese citizen, a descendant of Yan and Huang, colluding with foreign countries in private is the biggest sin! We dare not forgive it, after all, it will shake the country."
Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was not high, but every word was like a knife. Liao Yongzhong was completely desperate.
Suddenly, he stood up suddenly, stared with blood-red eyes, and roared crazily, "Zhu Yuanzhang! Don't forget, it was me who helped you cross the Yangtze River! The Battle of Hukou was also the work of our navy! You Zhu Yuanzhang!
We have half of the credit for our family's prosperity. Now you are killing the donkey without showing mercy at all. Aren't you afraid of the people in the world talking about it?"
"Zhu Yuanzhang, at least you opened the net and left one alive, which can be regarded as a bit of kindness on your part! Aren't you afraid that one day, your Zhu family will be at the end of their rope and they will be killed?"
Liao Yongzhong was so angry that he said everything, which was really treasonous.
Li Shanchang immediately stepped forward to scold him for his arrogance.
But he was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang, "Mr. Li, since we have done it, we are not afraid of people's comments. We still have this kind of mind, and we also believe that the people will eventually understand what is right and wrong. It is right for us to do this!"
"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liao Yongzhong again and sighed: "If this country only belongs to our Zhu family, maybe we can really be lenient and spare your life. But we are just the emperor. We uphold the wishes of all the people and sit on the throne."
As for the Dragon Throne, we can’t just talk about the friendship between monarch and minister, the righteousness of friends, and the kinship of the clan... We have to be responsible for the people of the world!"
When Lao Zhu said this, he shook his head. After all, he had nothing to say, so he turned around and left. Liao Yongzhong looked at Lao Zhu's back, despairing. Suddenly, he stretched out his palm, rounded his mouth, and slapped his mouth.
Another blow made his cheeks swell and the corners of his mouth bleed!
He beat the railing with his hands again, and within a few times, the skin was torn and the flesh was bloody...
Zhu Yuanzhang came out of the imperial edict, and Li Shanchang followed suit behind him.
Lao Zhu stopped and said to Li Shanchang: "Mr. Li, tell me, why are so many people involved in this case?"
Li Shanchang was startled and said hurriedly: "I think that whether it is Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tonghai, or Yang Xian, they have been in high positions for a long time, and their disciples, former officials, and family members are all over the government and the public. When one person achieves the Tao, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, sometimes they don't want to be greedy.
Their relatives and subordinates will also persuade them to be greedy for money. If they are greedy for money, they must also share it with their families and subordinates. After all, they are actually one, and it is natural and appropriate for the superior clan to punish these people!"
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and suddenly said: "Mr. Li, let me ask you, in the Ming Dynasty, which was more important, national law or human relations?"
Li Shanchang was stunned for a moment. Shouldn't he ask Zhang Ximeng about this kind of topic? I really don't know how to answer.
In fact, what Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to ask was, although he had been emphasizing rules and enacting so many laws since he started the army, how far can they be implemented?
For a long time, the country has been governed by Confucianism and Taoism. The family, the country, and the world have been hiding from each other. The dense network of human relations is far more powerful than the law of the country, protecting and condoning each other.
When one person achieves enlightenment, a chicken or a dog ascends to heaven, this situation of nepotism is taken as a matter of course.
To be selfless is to be unsophisticated and ignorant of human feelings.
In this way, it is natural for one person to be convicted and implicated in countless crimes.
Li Shanchang didn't answer Zhu Yuanzhang's words after all. He felt faintly that his neck felt cold and his heart felt hairy. Why didn't he seem to be able to withstand the test?
When I came to prison this time, was I going to send Liao Yongzhong off or to warn myself?
Li Shanchang fell into deep self-doubt.
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed deeply, "Jiangxi is doing things to change customs. Now we see that not only the people, but also the court! We, the Ming Dynasty, must abide by national laws! We must have stricter rules. Thousands of people like this are implicated.
A big case involving tens of thousands of dollars will never happen again!"
Li Shanchang was shaken up and said quickly: "Old minister, I have written it down."
…
Emperor Hongwu's butcher knife finally fell.
First, Liao Yongzhong and Yu Tonghai, the two major naval families, were all executed.
Hundreds of their old generals also lost their heads.
After this massacre, almost none of the former Chaohu Navy personnel were left, and they were wiped out.
Even worse than them was Yushitai.
From Yang Xian onwards, a total of more than forty censors were killed, and most of the censors were dismissed from office and expelled from the court.
As the Yushitai, second only to Zhongshu and Menxiasheng, it is almost empty and has reached the point where it cannot operate.
What makes people even more speechless is that now there is no one connected to Yushitai.
Because after this battle, Yushitai not only suffered heavy losses, but more importantly, its prestige was lost.
People discovered that the imperial censors, who were supposed to uphold the laws of the country and supervise all officials, actually took bribes and violated the law one by one, enriching their own pockets, and their actions made people even more shameful.
When dealing with these censors, it was actually even more brutal than the navy.
The angry people brought all kinds of things, such as cow dung, stones, rotten vegetable leaves, broken straw sandals... They used these things to completely drown Yang Xian and others.
Before peeling off the last straw, I first experienced a lingering stench.
The new Yushitai must reshape the majesty of the Yushitai, restore people's confidence, and make the Yushitai operate properly, become more efficient than before, and respond to the people's expectations with practical results.
This is by no means a simple matter.
I would like to ask, who in the Ming Dynasty could have this prestige?
Li Shanchang silently made some calculations, and found that there was really only one person left who had passed the test in terms of moral character, reputation and ability.
That’s right, it’s Zhang Ximeng!
Only by letting Zhang Ximeng respond to the situation and take over the mess of Yushitai can people's confidence in Yushitai be quickly restored.
It's just that although this person is suitable, Lao Li has to be wary of the consequences.
Zhang Ximeng has a royal title and is the right prime minister in charge of the province. It is impossible for Zhang Ximeng to be removed from the position of right prime minister and become a full-time censor.
In other words, Zhang Ximeng should be asked to shoulder the responsibility of the two yamen of Menxiasheng and Yushitai.
Needless to say, the horror of the Menxia Province is that all the officials are in the hands of the Menxia Province. If the Yushitai is added, then Lao Li will have no way to play.
But the question is, if Zhang Ximeng is not allowed to take over, will there be a suitable candidate?
Li Shanchang has been thinking hard and there is no more suitable person.
Originally, Zhu Sheng might have been okay, but he was seriously ill and returned home. If there were Wang Guangyang and his ilk, it wouldn't be a big deal if he took over the Yushitai in normal times, but at the moment, they are still too far behind.
Li Shanchang thought over and over again, but he couldn't find this suitable candidate.
He also did not expect that although Yang Xian was brought down in one fell swoop and the Yushitai was dismantled, the commotion was too great and no one else could do it. He could only ask Zhang Ximeng to return to Beijing...
What did I do?
Isn’t this digging a hole and burying oneself in it?
Li Shanchang regretted it so much that he even wanted to die.
But no matter how reluctant he is, things still have to go down. The Yushitai supervises hundreds of officials, the government and the public, everyone is involved in it. The task is no lighter than Zhongshu, and it cannot be stopped for a moment.
Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict and summoned Li Shanchang to the palace to discuss the matter.
Li Shanchang came to see Zhu Yuanzhang with the intention of visiting his grave.
"Mr. Li, there is still time to rectify the navy, but the Yushitai cannot be empty. As the prime minister, you recommend talents for the country, and even your responsibilities, please tell me!"
Li Shanchang had no choice but to say: "If I return to the top, I can restore the reputation of the Yushitai now. Only Prime Minister Zhang is left. The old minister boldly advises me to ask Prime Minister Zhang to concurrently serve as the Yushitai!"
Lao Zhu was startled and said, "He is the right prime minister, and then he also serves as the imperial censor. I'm afraid it's inappropriate!"
Li Shanchang said helplessly: "It is indeed inappropriate, but in emergency situations, we can only do extraordinary things. I hope the superiors can give me permission."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Mr. Li, what you said is beyond our expectation. It seems that you really put state affairs first! We are very happy!"
Li Shanchang's heart bleeds. Sure enough, that's what you think!
It seems that he has no hope of getting rid of Zhang Ximeng's shadow.
But Lao Zhu shook his head, "We also think Mr. Zhang is suitable, but he doesn't agree! He still wants to teach in Peking, and there are more important things to be entrusted to him."
Li Shanchang was very surprised, "If you don't let Prime Minister Zhang take over as the censor, there will be no more suitable candidate."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head slightly, "Actually, there are still some."
"Who?" Li Shanchang asked in shock.
"Xuda!" Zhu Yuanzhang gently spit out a name...
(End of chapter)
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