The next day, the application time was in the afternoon.
Under the spotlight, Emperor Deqing's southern patrol finally arrived in Huai'an.
When Emperor Deqing arrived, the various etiquette and welcoming procedures seemed solemn and lively, but they were just the same and there were no surprises, so there is no need to mention them more.
But it is said that after Emperor Deqing arrived at the temporary palace in Huai'an Prefecture, he immediately summoned Zhao Junchen, Huo Zhengyuan, and Bao Wenjie to inquire about the progress of the investigation into the corruption case of Li Xin, the former prefect of Huai'an.
Facing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, the three people did not dare to hide the truth and explained the case to Emperor Deqing in detail.
After hearing the explanations from Zhao Junchen and others, Emperor Deqing thought thoughtfully and said: "So, Li Xin was indeed wronged? Did he really have nothing to arrest him when he was an official?"
Before Zhao Junchen could speak to Huo Zhengyuan, Bao Wenjie was the first to say: "Your Majesty, Li Xin has indeed been wronged. His corruption charges simply cannot withstand scrutiny. During his time as an official, he was also known for his integrity and good reputation among the people, so
I sincerely request your Majesty to overturn Li Xin’s case and restore her innocence!”
After receiving a positive reply, Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed with disappointment, and he remained silent without any response to Bao Wenjie's suggestion.
Emperor Deqing sent Zhao Junchen, Huo Zhengyuan, and Bao Wenjie this time to review Li Xin's corruption case. It was because of Li Jiamin that he wanted to reduce some of Li Xin's charges and save Li Xin from jail, but he never wanted to
The verdict of Prince Zhu Heyu must be completely overturned, because this will affect the reputation of Prince Zhu Heyu!
Therefore, Zhao Junchen and others investigate the case this time. It is best to rehabilitate Li Xin's corruption charges and then find some minor charges from Li Xin. In the end, Emperor Deqing made the next order to avoid the more serious ones -
-Li Xin is indeed guilty, but the prince's sentence was too harsh. Therefore, Li Xin was exempted from prison. In this way, Emperor Deqing not only had an explanation for Li Jiamin, but also maintained the prestige of the prince, which can be said to be the best of both worlds.
, comprehensive.
However, Emperor Deqing never expected that Li Xin turned out to be an upright official without any evidence. Zhao Junchen and others examined it for two or three days, but could not find any crime at all. As a result, he let
Emperor Deqing's wishful thinking failed.
Are you going to overturn the case for Li Xin and let the prince's prestige be damaged? Or ignore Li Jiamin's request, pretend not to know about Li Xin's grievances, and cover up the matter?
Just when Emperor Deqing was thinking about what to do next, Zhao Junchen suddenly said: "Li Xin is indeed an upright official, but it is not necessarily true that he has nothing to hold against. Your Majesty,
When the prince first searched Li Xin's property, he found nearly 100,000 taels of silver, a large part of it. Li Xin couldn't tell the origin at all."
"Oh?" Emperor Deqing looked up at Zhao Junchen, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhao Junchen explained: "What I mean is that the amount of Li Xin's property is very huge, but no one can tell whether it is clean money or the proceeds of corruption and bribery. Even Li Xin himself can't tell clearly, so why not
It is not a bad idea to uphold His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's original verdict on the charge of 'unknown origin of huge amounts of property'."
On the other side, Huo Zhengyuan noticed Emperor Deqing's disappointed look, and combined with Zhao Junchen's reminder, he also confirmed Emperor Deqing's true intentions, so he agreed repeatedly and said: "I mean the same thing! As a local official, Li Xin has a huge amount of money."
Family property, but you can’t explain the origin of all family property, this is not a crime."
Bao Wenjie still insisted on his opinion and objected: "This strategy is absolutely impossible! Your Majesty, I have already found out clearly that Li Xin's ancestors were all merchants, and their business scale was not small. It was not until Li Xin's generation that he began to engage in official career.
, so this amount of money is Li Xin's ancestral property, but Li Xin can't explain or prove it, so how can he use it as a crime? Who among the officials in the world can give the details of every tael of money in his hand?
Are the origins clearly explained? If this case is revealed, I am afraid that all officials in the world will be panicked! What's more, Li Xin is indeed a corrupt official. He was wronged and his case should be overturned. How can he maintain the original charges?
Judgment? Doesn’t this chill the hearts of loyal ministers?”
Huo Zhengyuan shook his head and said: "Master Bao, you have always been close to His Highness the Crown Prince, why don't you understand this? Now it is no longer important whether Li Xin is an upright official or a corrupt official! What is important is that Li Xin's corruption crime was personally judged by His Highness the Crown Prince.
Yes, if the verdict is overturned, wouldn’t it damage the prestige of His Highness the Crown Prince? This is related to the overall situation of the court! Compared with the prestige of His Highness the Crown Prince, Li Xin’s personal honor and disgrace are just insignificant matters!”
What Huo Zhengyuan said was very serious, but Bao Wenjie refused to give in and said resolutely: "The reputation of His Highness the Crown Prince is of course crucial, but the thoughts and thoughts of the officials are also related to the overall situation of the imperial court! If Li Xin claims that 'the source of the huge wealth is unknown'
If convicted, all the officials will inevitably be in danger. No one knows who will be charged with this unfounded crime in the future. What will happen if the situation in the temple becomes unstable?"
In this way, in front of Emperor Deqing, Bao Wenjie and Huo Zhengyuan debated again.
However, just like last night, both of them have their own opinions and no one can convince the other.
However, when the two were debating, Zhao Junchen did not express his views, but secretly looked at Emperor Deqing, while Emperor Deqing did not express his attitude, but was just thoughtful.
In fact, ever since Zhao Junchen raised the charge of "unknown origin of huge amounts of property," Emperor Deqing has diverted his attention and thought of many more far-reaching things!
Since the emergence of the feudal dynasty, "imperial power" and "subordinate power" have been fighting openly and covertly. Sometimes "imperial power" has the upper hand, and sometimes "subordinate power" can win the battle.
In the Ming Dynasty, by controlling the army, setting up factory guards, abolishing prime ministers, etc., the "imperial power" gradually gained the upper hand, but it still could not completely overwhelm the "subordinate power". Over the hundreds of years of the Ming Dynasty, some problems still appeared from time to time.
There are ministers who can compete with the "imperial power", such as Zhang Juzheng, San Yang, and now Zhou Shangjing. Many times, the emperor cannot keep his word and many things require the support of the cabinet, which inevitably leads to constraints.
Emperor Deqing was naturally not satisfied with this situation, so he was always thinking of ways to suppress "subordinate power" and expand "imperial power". This was not only for his own sake, but also for the sake of future generations.
Because of this, Emperor Deqing was very interested in the charge of "unknown origin of huge amounts of property" raised by Zhao Junchen, because the emergence of this charge gave the emperor an additional means to intimidate his ministers, which was conducive to the growth of imperial power.
Therefore, from the bottom of his heart, Emperor Deqing was in favor of Zhao Junchen and Huo Zhengyuan's proposal - to uphold the original sentence of Prince Zhu Heyu against Li Xin on the charge of "unknown origin of huge amounts of property", and then find some excuses at random.
Li Xin was spared from prison. In this way, Emperor Deqing had an explanation for Li Jiamin, and the reputation of the prince was preserved. Most importantly, a "precedent" was formed. Once there was a precedent, "
"Unexplained origin of huge amounts of property" will really become a crime. From now on, Emperor Deqing can wield this "big stick" to threaten all officials in the court!
However, Bao Wenjie's point of view is also very reasonable. Once the charge of "huge amounts of property with unknown origin" appears, officials will definitely be frightened and there will definitely be a backlash. By then, the situation in the court will be unstable. This is something Emperor Deqing will never do.
Would love to see it.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing could not help but hesitate, and he did not express his position on the dispute between Huo Zhengyuan and Bao Wenjie.
Finally, when the debate between Bao Wenjie and Huo Zhengyuan became more and more intense, Emperor Deqing suddenly waved his hand, interrupting the heated debate between the two, turned his attention to Zhao Junchen, and asked: "Junchen, I think that the relationship between the great scholar Huo and
All of Bao Shilang's arguments are reasonable, but this charge of 'huge property with unknown origin' was raised by you after all, and I still want to hear your opinion."
Zhao Junchen lowered his head slightly and said calmly: "Your Majesty, by now, the facts of the case are obvious. Li Xin is indeed not guilty, and it is indeed His Highness the Crown Prince who misjudged the case... Of course, the Crown Prince cannot be blamed for this matter.
Your Highness, the trial that was left to His Highness the Crown Prince was indeed a bit tight, and the factory guards also deceived the superiors and misled the Crown Prince's judgment, so it is inevitable that His Highness the Crown Prince made some omissions."
Emperor Deqing nodded and motioned for Zhao Junchen to continue speaking.
Zhao Junchen continued: "I venture to speculate on the Holy Heart and think that your Majesty sent ministers to review the case this time because you couldn't bear the suffering of loyal ministers and wanted to make up for this omission and vindicate Li Xin. However, in this way, the reputation of the prince will be ruined."
will be damaged, so the situation is a bit of a dilemma. However, I believe that because of some things before and after the southern tour, His Highness the Crown Prince's reputation has already suffered some losses. There must be no more setbacks now, otherwise His Highness the Crown Prince's reputation will be lost in a short period of time.
The impact of the continuous damage inside is really incalculable, so His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s original judgment must be upheld! This is both the premise and the bottom line!”
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Emperor Deqing nodded again in agreement.
On the other side, Bao Wenjie's expression also changed slightly. It was obvious that he had only looked at this matter in isolation before, but now he realized the seriousness of the matter after hearing Zhao Junchen's reminder.
Yes, because of some things before and after the southern tour, the prince's reputation has been damaged one after another, and now there really can't be any more setbacks.
Thinking of this, Bao Wenjie's original position was somewhat shaken.
At the same time, Zhao Junchen said: "However, when Li Xin was an official, he really had no evidence. If he wanted to uphold His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's original verdict, he needed a reason, so I thought of the charge of 'unknown origin of huge amounts of property.' This
It not only upholds His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's original sentence, but also gives Your Majesty a sufficient reason to reduce Li Xin's punishment. Of course, Mr. Bao's concerns are also justified. Once this crime is brought forward, it will inevitably cause concern to all officials, but in my opinion,
Come on, if you just change your words, you won't be in trouble."
…
ps: Due to work reasons, I have not had time to update in the past few days. It is now restored and there will be an outbreak tomorrow.
...(To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!