After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Bao Wenjie immediately stopped scolding and scolding, and stared at Li Xun with his eyes slightly nervous.
Bao Wenjie still remembers what Zhao Junchen said when he left Beijing. Now is the time when the situation in the northwest is facing internal and external troubles. It is better to stay still than to move. It is impossible to find replacements for officials in a short time, so the cases in the northwest provinces
If the involvement is too wide, then Zhao Junchen can only punish the first culprit instead of punishing everyone.
Of course, at that time, both Zhao Junchen and Bao Wenjie thought that there were just corruption cases in the northwestern provinces, but it was only now that they discovered that the matter was far more terrifying and complicated than they imagined.
Therefore, Bao Wenjie very much hopes that this matter only involves a small number of high-level officials. Otherwise, according to Zhao Junchen's thinking, most of the officials who committed the crime will slip through the net. This is something Bao Wenjie absolutely does not want to see.
In addition, if most officials from the northwest provinces are involved in this matter, once this matter is exposed, it will inevitably greatly damage the reputation and credibility of the imperial court, and the people will completely lose their trust in the imperial officials.
This kind of blow was absolutely unacceptable to the Ming Dynasty.
Under Bao Wenjie's gaze, Li Xun hesitated.
Li Xun was rapidly considering the pros and cons in his mind, not knowing whether he should tell the truth.
As an old man in the officialdom, Li Xun naturally understands that the law does not punish the public, so if he confesses his accomplices who participated in the matter, then Zhao Junchen will probably be afraid of taking action and punish him casually. But
In this way, Zhao Junchen is likely to choose the method of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey", and Li Xun himself will be the most suitable "chicken".
On the other hand, if Li Xun takes all the responsibility for this matter by himself, then Li Xun himself will no longer have the possibility of escaping the crime, but after Li Xun's accomplices are acquitted, they will be grateful to Li Xun for them.
Enyi, who took the blame, will probably take care of Li Xun's descendants in the future.
Both options have their own pros and cons, so Li Xun naturally has to seriously consider them.
As a result, both Li Xun, who opened his mouth to defend himself, and Bao Wenjie, who was filled with indignation and cursed loudly, all fell silent for a while, and the hall fell into silence.
Seeing the performances of Li Xun and Bao Wenjie, Zhao Junchen naturally guessed the changes in their thoughts.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen slowly said: "Governor Li, you have to understand two things... First, now that I have sealed off the governor's office, you have no chance to collude with your colleagues. If you are still
If you want to hide the truth, it will be exposed soon, which will only make you more guilty and even harm future generations! Second, your plan has not yet begun, you have not sued for peace with the Mongols, and you have not yet
The court's disaster relief food and grass and the refugees fleeing the famine were sent to the Mongols, so how big your crime is, how you should be punished, whether you have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds... and even whether you should report this matter to the court are all decided by this imperial envoy, so
The most important thing for you right now is not to consider whether you want to protect your comrades, but to consider how to obtain the forgiveness of this imperial envoy!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Bao Wenjie and Li Xun were both stunned.
Is it possible that Li Xun still has a chance to escape the crime after committing such a serious crime?
Bao Wenjie wanted to question Zhao Junchen on the spot, but Zhao Junchen stopped him with his eyes.
On the other side, Li Xun saw Zhao Junchen's relaxed tone, and thought that Zhao Junchen himself was also an unscrupulous corrupt official. He felt that things seemed to be turning around, and he couldn't help but feel overjoyed, and his already desperate mood suddenly became alive.
Then, Li Xun no longer considered his comrades, and immediately told everything he knew about the situation, and looked at Zhao Junchen with a more flattering look: "I dare not hide it from the imperial envoy, this plan is
It was jointly presided over by Wang Zheng, the governor of the three sides, Zhang Shengde, the governor of Shaanxi, Wu Min, the governor of Gansu, and the old man. In Shanxi, Yan Cheng and Xu Songhe, the chief envoys on the left and right, Wu Zunzu, the prosecutor and prosecutor, and Zhang Dacheng, the commander-in-chief.
, as well as Wang An, the prefect of Taiyuan, and several of the most powerful local Shanxi merchants were involved. Although Niu Lu, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, was not involved in the matter, he was also aware of it... This is the situation in Shanxi, but in Shaanxi and Gansu.
I don’t know the specific situation, but according to my guess, the chiefs of the third division of Shaanxi and Gansu must also know the same, otherwise this plan will never be carried out smoothly, but it is also impossible for too many people to know the news, otherwise it will be
There is a risk of leakage, and most state officials should just follow orders."
Because he had hope in his heart, Li Xun didn't hide anything and betrayed all his comrades.
Zhao Junchen nodded slightly, with a thoughtful expression, and then asked: "By the way, there is one more thing. Who is the name of the aide next to Governor Wang Zhen of Shaanxi and Gansu who proposed this plan? What is his origin?
"
Li Xun still knew everything and said, "The man's name is Wang Gong, and he is the brother of Wang Ming, a great businessman in Shaanxi and Gansu. It seems that he joined Mr. Wang Zheng after he became the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
But he quickly gained the trust of Master Wang Zheng. Now, Master Wang Zheng is obedient to him. Especially after Master Wang Zheng became seriously ill, this Wang Gong has been handling official affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu on behalf of Master Wang Zheng. Some people even say that this Wang Gong is a talented person.
He is the real governor of Shaanxi and Gansu..."
After saying that, Li Xun looked at Zhao Junchen eagerly, his implicit attitude was very clear that he had cooperated with Zhao Junchen so well, and his attitude of pleading guilty was so good, so he hoped that Zhao Junchen would give him a chance to redeem himself and make meritorious deeds as promised.
After Zhao Junchen thought for a moment, he turned his head and glanced at Bao Wenjie, who was about to speak but hesitated.
Then, Zhao Junchen said to the Jin Yiwei next to him: "Take Governor Li to the side room and wait for a while. I have something to say with Mr. Bao."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, the Jin Yiwei immediately took Li Xun away.
When Li Xun left the lobby, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and Zhao Junchen still called him "Governor Li", which meant that things had really turned around!
*
After Li Xun left, Bao Wenjie couldn't hold it in any longer and asked urgently: "Mr. Zhao, are what you just said true or false? Are you really going to let Li Xun go and let him take credit for his crime?"
Li Xun was willing to sacrifice the lives of 100,000 victims just so that he could retire and return to his hometown safely. Such evil deeds were not an exaggeration even if they were to be cut into pieces by a thousand cuts. How could he let it go so easily?...Also
Mr. Zhao, you said at the beginning that if the cases in the northwestern provinces were not widely involved, all the officials who committed the crimes would be severely punished. Now this case only involves the high-level governors and the chiefs of the three departments in the northwestern provinces. It is exactly what should be severely punished.
No loan, Mr. Zhao, don’t you want to break your promise?”
Hearing Bao Wenjie's barrage of questions, Zhao Junchen shook his head helplessly, and then said: "Master Bao, please be patient and listen to me slowly."
Seeing Bao Wenjie looking at him with suspicion, Zhao Junchen sighed softly and said: "First of all, like you, I hate these governors in the northwest provinces. They are not only selfish and vicious, but also short-sighted. Even if they are cut into pieces by a thousand cuts,
, dismembering the body with five horses is not too much! In fact, I want to have Zhang Xun dragged out and beheaded right now! In addition, I will not let them go easily. I will fully report their plan to His Majesty and the court.
, let His Majesty and the court decide their punishment!... However, under the current circumstances, I still want to give them a chance to redeem themselves and meritorious service!"
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said before, Bao Wenjie nodded repeatedly, thinking that Zhao Junchen had the same idea as him, but after hearing Zhao Junchen's last words, Bao Wenjie's expression changed.
Zhao Junchen still stretched out his hand to stop Bao Wenjie's questioning, but continued: "Mr. Bao, at this moment, I thought that the cases in the northwest provinces were ordinary corruption cases, so I said that the case was not widely involved.
All corrupt officials who commit crimes must be severely punished. People are used to official corruption, and they will only applaud when they see the court punishing corrupt officials. But what is happening now is not a simple corruption case, but the local governors are afraid of the power of the Mongols, so they
We are planning to unite together to sacrifice 100,000 victims for peace. Mr. Bao, you should know how serious this matter is. Once word spreads, it will inevitably shake the morale of the military and weaken the morale of the people! Now is a time of internal and external troubles. This situation is absolutely
It cannot appear, so this matter must be concealed, but after concealing this matter, I will lose the reason to punish these local governors!"
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued: "In addition, Mr. Bao, you think this matter is not widely involved, but in my opinion it is already very involved! The governors, governors, envoys, and inspectors of Shanxi and Shaanxi and Gansu
Envoys, commander-in-chief envoys, some military and town generals, state officials, and many Shanxi businessmen with intricate connections were all involved in this matter! If I punished them all, the entire upper echelons of the northwest officialdom would be wiped out.
empty, there will inevitably be chaos again, but the current situation in the northwest can no longer withstand any chaos...
Of course, I can also punish only a few leaders and let most of the officials involved in the case go. But this matter is too serious. Even if the people who slipped through the net temporarily escape their guilt, they will still worry about the court settling accounts in the future.
, How can they maintain the situation in the northwest with all their heart? Take Shanxi as an example. If I only punished Li Xun, the governor of Shanxi, but spared Yan Cheng and Xu Songhe, the chief envoys on the left and right, and Wu Zunzu, the prosecutor and prosecutor,
The capital commander Zhang Dacheng and others, so after we leave Shanxi and go to Shaanxi and Gansu, these people may flee in fear of crime. By that time, Shanxi's officialdom will be even more chaotic. How can we resist the Mongols? How can we provide relief?
Disaster victims?”
At this point, Zhao Junchen sighed again and said: "Compared with these methods, it is better to temporarily stabilize them, give them a hope, and let them perform meritorious service. In this way, they will definitely take the initiative to do things, whether it is border defense."
Or disaster relief, it will go more smoothly... Since ancient times, superiors have liked to use officials who have handles, largely for this reason. In order to eliminate their handles and prove their worth, officials with handles often
Be more proactive, work harder, and be more obedient than those innocent officials! This is the worst way, but it is also the best way!"
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Bao Wenjie was still a little dissatisfied, but for a while he couldn't find a reason to refute, and his expression was full of anger.
Seeing Bao Wenjie like this, Zhao Junchen knew that he could no longer keep Bao Wenjie by his side and it was time to send Bao Wenjie back to the capital.
…
Well, first update.
The second update will still be relatively late.
I'm in really bad shape lately, so please forgive me.