The ministers were trembling inwardly. The three main halls were set on fire. Anyone with a normal mind would know how violent this liquidation would be.
It can be predicted how violent this storm will be.
The officials suppressed the fear in their hearts, shouted long live the mountain, and performed the courtesy of the emperor and his ministers.
Unexpectedly, this time, the emperor's "all ministers were equal" was not obtained.
Zhu Di just stood there, scanning everyone with his cold eyes without saying a word.
Usually the emperor sits and all officials stand. Today the emperor stands and all officials kneel.
The Fengtian Palace was extremely quiet today. Everyone lowered their heads and did not dare to raise their heads to face the emperor directly.
After a long time, Zhu Di said coldly: "Take the prisoner!"
After a while, a member of the Jinyiwei Baihu family was escorted in by General Zhandian. This man was caught by Zhu Zhanji in Jinshen Hall. As for the arsonists in Fengtian Hall and Huagai Hall, they committed suicide on the spot because they were not caught in time.
"Your Majesty, have mercy on me, have mercy on me...!"
Hundreds of households kowtowed like garlic, and soon there was blood on his forehead, and he could not see his true face clearly, but he did not dare to stop.
"Who is behind the scenes?" Zhu Di said calmly, "If you tell me honestly, you will suffer less."
"The guilty minister will give an account, all the guilty ministers will confess." Baihu confessed on the spot, "Xiao Yi, the head of the Household Department, instigated the guilty minister to do this. The guilty minister accepted his bribes, and he took a total of..."
"No need to report the account, just tell me the person's name." Zhu Di was too lazy to listen to his nonsense, "What else?"
"No, no more." Baihu continued to kowtow tremblingly, "I only came into contact with him, I don't know anything else."
"The head of the household department is Xiao Yi." Zhu Di's tone was extremely cold. The head of the household department was a sixth-rank official. This was by no means the final source.
The general standing in the hall accepted the order and walked out of the hall. After a while, he came in escorting the head of the household department who was standing outside the hall.
"Your Majesty, spare my life, I was wronged...!" Xiao Yi knelt down and begged for mercy, banging her head but refusing to admit it.
As soon as he begged for mercy, Baihu quit and confronted him on the spot: "Obviously it was you who asked me to do it. I still have the silver coins you gave me at home.
Your Majesty, if you don’t believe me, you can ask someone to check it out, the stolen money is hidden under the bed at my house.”
When the eunuch on duty saw the emperor's wink, he immediately raised his hand and went about it smartly.
Zhu Di sneered and said, "Xiao Yi, what else do you have to say?"
"I... I am aware of my guilt." Seeing that the matter was revealed, Xiao Yi immediately changed the subject, "Your Majesty, I was also coerced and induced, and for a while I was blinded by lard..."
"Who ordered you?"
"Fang Bin, the right minister of the Ministry of War," Xiao Yi said hurriedly.
From Baihu to chief, to minister, and then to minister... Zhu Di's murderous intention became more and more intense.
"Fang Bin——!"
Like thunder exploding, the sound echoed in Fengtian Hall, lasting for a long time and breathtaking.
After no response for a long time, Zhu Di looked up, but Fang Bin was nowhere to be seen.
"Li Qing."
"I'm here."
"Where's Fang Bin?"
How would I know, he didn't ask for leave from me, hiss... Li Qing hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, is this person absconding out of fear of crime?"
"Escape?" Zhu Di smiled, "I want to see where he can escape."
"Someone is coming!"
…
Even the minister fell down, and the ministers were frightened and prayed secretly for fear that they would be implicated.
At this time, Lv Zhen, the Minister of Rites, spoke up, "Your Majesty, the right minister of the Ministry of War has serious suspicions, and the Minister of the Ministry of War cannot absolve himself of the blame."
He stuck his butt out and looked at Li Qing, "Li Shangshu, your subordinate did such a crazy thing, don't you have anything to say?"
Li Qing looked at him deeply, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am not strict with you. I am guilty. Please punish me."
"You are indeed guilty." Zhu Di's face was gloomy, "You will be fined half a year's salary!"
It's not that he doubted Li Qing, he knew who Li Qing was, and the eldest grandson had already told the details. The reason why the arsonist was caught was because Li Qing said hello.
However, the Minister of War was involved, and Li Qing, the Minister of War, was not exempt from the blame. It was also a crime to be lax in serving his subordinates, especially the burning of the three main halls. For such a serious crime, half a year's salary was considered a light punishment.
Lu Zhen felt a little regretful when he saw that the disaster could not be diverted eastward, but he did not dare to say anything.
At this time, it would be useless to say too much, as it would easily arouse the emperor's suspicion.
But Li Qing is not the one who suffers the consequences. With just one word from this guy, most of his salary for the year will be gone. Will he just give up?
Damn it, if you don't let me have an easy time, you won't have an easy time either... Li Qing cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Fang Bin and Lu Shangshu have always been on good terms."
Zhu Di looked at Lu Zhen, and Lu Zhen's face turned pale at that moment.
"Your Majesty, he is spitting blood." Lu Zhen's voice was high-pitched, with a horrified vibrato, as if he was crying, "I have been wronged. What can the formal etiquette between colleagues in the officialdom say?
If a normal greeting or a few words of greeting can be considered a good relationship, then all the officials in this hall will be on good terms with Fang Bin."
There's nothing wrong with what he said. Officialdom is all about personal sophistication, but the bad thing is that he was too emotional.
The trembling tone and pale face made Zhu Di have a suspicion about him.
However, since he was a minister after all, Zhu Di could not accuse him without any evidence.
"My lords, please be patient for a moment. Everything will come to light when the guests arrive."
Soon, the morning court time passed, but Zhu Di did not say goodbye to the court, and no one among the ministers dared to say a word. They all knelt with sore waists and numb legs, suffering unspeakably.
Another quarter of an hour later, Qianhu, the Jinyi Guard who went to arrest Fang Bin, returned, but he was empty-handed.
"Where are the people?"
"Go back to the emperor, Fang Bin..."
"Run away?"
"No..." Jinyi Qianhu replied, "He hanged himself. When I arrived, he was cold."
Dead... Zhu Di narrowed his eyes and said murderously: "Where is the body?"
"Outside the palace."
Zhu Di took a deep breath and said calmly: "Everyone, please get down and follow me."
After a while, all the officials in the palace came outside the palace and saw Fang Bin, who had his tongue hanging out and died in a miserable state.
Zhu Di reached out and touched it. Sure enough, it was completely cold.
"Suicide out of fear of crime?" Zhu Di smiled, "Do you really think that if you die, it will be over? How can there be such a good thing?"
"Come here, hang him up and whip his corpse!" Zhu Di glanced at the ministers coldly, "Watch carefully."
Not long after, the dead Fang Bin was hung up, and his body was whipped with a whip with iron spikes. The Ouchi guards took turns taking turns, and the human form disappeared in just half an hour.
Finally, the body was cut into two parts, and the officials looked pale.
Zhu Di's tone was cold: "Instruction: Fang Bin, the right minister of the Ministry of War, conspired to rebel and kill the nine tribes!
The accomplices are Xiao Yi Lingchi, the head of the Household Department, and the Yi tribe!
The accomplice Wang Qiang of Jinyi Baihu and the Yi tribe!
The accomplices are Liu Gang, Li Hai, Bian Shi, and the Yi tribe of the Jinyi Hundred Households!"
Finally, another sentence was added: "The punishment is revealed and the people are invited to come and see it."
…
After delivering the holy metaphor, Zhu Di glanced at the silent ministers and said calmly: "In order to prevent treacherous rumors, treachery and evil, and foreign ministers' favoritism, I have decided to establish the Dongji Service Factory from now on and set up internal ministers and admirals.
;
The commander of the Jin Yiwei and the admiral of the East Factory control each other and control each other internally and externally..."
As a result, in addition to the Jin Yiwei, the officials had another layer of surveillance.
The ministers felt bitter in their hearts, but they dared not speak out.
At this juncture, no one dared to offend the emperor.
Zhu Di established the Dongji Office because Jin Yiwei could no longer trust him completely. If Jin Yiwei couldn't trust him, who else could he trust?
The answer is eunuch!
Eunuchs are the emperor's domestic slaves. Everything they have is given by the emperor, and they can only be loyal to the emperor.
No matter how powerful they are, it would be useless if they left the emperor.
"Disband the court!" Zhu Di flicked his sleeves and left angrily, regardless of what the officials thought.
The ministers were filled with sorrow, but there was nothing they could do.
…
Li Qing lamented that history was happening again, and the Dongchang organization was finally established.
The famous eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian, were all Dongchang Changgong, and this institution was notorious.
However, for now, there is nothing wrong with Zhu Di establishing the East Factory.
A series of measures such as moving the capital, sailing to the West, and spreading the land among the people have seriously harmed the interests of the officials and gentry. They even dared to burn down the three main halls of the palace. If they are not suppressed, there will be even greater chaos.
However, once an interest group is formed, it is difficult to remove it.