Seeing that he was using the so-called ancestral methods as a reason for his opposition, Zhu Youxiao immediately ordered the guards to bring Cao Jixiang over.
When it comes to bickering, Zhu Youxiao knows that he is not a match for these quarrels. The only thing he is good at is the long knife in his hand.
During Cao Jixiang's tenure as a guard, he must have been complicit in their hypocritical talk.
As for Cao Jixiang's downfall, these officials don't know about it now. I really don't know what their expressions will be like when they see the bruised and half-dead Cao Jixiang.
"Don't use your ancestors to oppress me. My ancestors are always better than our ancestors. Do you have the qualifications?"
"I really don't know where you learned this from. It's because of you that the unhealthy tendencies in officialdom have become so serious!"
"I see that you can't recognize who your surname is. Do I need you ministers to make irresponsible remarks about what I want to do? The dynasty has been raising scholars for more than two hundred years, and yet it has raised such blind people as you."
Mr. Jun, you are an unruly and stinky Qiu Ba!"
Faced with the emperor's unabashed anger, the governor of Shanxi did not give in, but became even more excited.
To them, the emperor's anger was not that terrible. On the contrary, they were very glad that the emperor was angry.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were many ways to gain power, but the most effective and fastest way was only one, which was to confront the emperor. It was best to scold the emperor, so that their reputation could be spread throughout the world.
Everywhere.
Especially among the literati, this is something worth being proud of for a lifetime, and they will enjoy the enviable eyes of others and the feeling of being praised.
Even if you were an unknown person before, you may still be regarded as a leader because of your behavior and influence in criticizing the emperor. Even if you are not, your status in the circle of scholars will skyrocket.
The governor of Shanxi today probably had the same mentality. He might have thought that since this was not in the capital, the emperor would have nothing to do with him.
But when Cao Jixiang was carried into the main hall by the guards, all the officials looked panicked, especially the governor of Shanxi, whose eyes were wide open.
Perhaps to him, all this was like a dream. The eunuch guarding the city of Taiyuan, who was standing up to him and covering the sky with one hand, had been captured by the emperor.
A governor who is the top leader in Shanxi and a great eunuch who holds the real power in Taiyuan City, there is inevitably some connection between the two parties.
Although the two of them have little overlap in daily life, and sometimes they may conflict due to overlapping interests and powers, they will also join forces because of their interests.
When Zhu Youxiao asked Cao Jixiang, the four officials who came to announce the edict were extremely nervous and their hearts were raised. At this moment, they could only hope that Cao Jixiang, the fat eunuch, would not betray them.
But Cao Jixiang disappointed them. As soon as the emperor asked him, he said hurriedly:
"Long live my life, please forgive me! Long live my life, please forgive me!"
"This slave is willing to die for Long Live Lord!"
Faced with the fear of death, it was obvious that the psychological defense of Cao Jixiang, the fat eunuch, had been completely destroyed.
"As long as you recruit him truthfully, I can reduce the crime at my discretion, but you have to remember that you can't tell any lies, otherwise there won't be a second doctor to save you!"
Seeing the hope of survival, Cao Jixiang was so grateful that he danced with joy. His body while kneeling on the ground seemed out of control, and even his breathing became rapid.
Without waiting for the emperor to ask further questions, Cao Jixiang took the initiative and told everything he knew about the situation.
"Long live Lord, in the forty-sixth year of Wanli, a large number of military households from the Four Guards of Taiyuan fled. The chief culprit was Zeng Shijin, the governor of Shanxi. In the name of the imperial court, he threatened to organize the military households of the Four Guards to perform corvee service like the common people.
As a result, the families of military households were destroyed!"
"In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, when a locust plague broke out in Pingyang Prefecture, Lord Wanli issued an order to the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate a total of 128,000 shi of grain relief and 35 taels of disaster relief silver!"
"At that time, the money and grain were transferred and stored through Taiyuan Prefecture, but before entering Pingyang Prefecture, less than half of the tens of millions of grain and silver were left. Among them, Zeng Shijin, the governor of Shanxi, was involved in massive corruption!"
"With the governor taking the lead, all officials of all sizes along the Shanxi Province embezzled disaster relief food funds, turning the people who should not have starved to death into bones!"
"The locust plague in Pingyang Prefecture was not very serious at first. As long as this batch of disaster relief grains could be delivered to the people smoothly, everything would be fine. But it was because of these corrupt officials that the population of Pingyang Prefecture was reduced by nearly 100,000.
!”
"Countless people have become homeless and beggars, and some of the young and strong men, under the organization and temptation of caring people, have moved into the mountains and forests to become horse bandits."
"Although two years have passed, the people of Binh Duong Prefecture are still suffering from it. The people of Binh Duong Prefecture have neither rice seedlings nor farm tools to cultivate, resulting in countless deserted fields. The people can only sigh as weeds grow in the fields."
"Due to the last man-made disaster caused by the locust plague, there are more and more thieves and horse bandits in Pingyang Mansion. The people who are already living in extreme poverty are even worse. They have to be on guard against these bandits at any time, which is extremely miserable."
"Your Majesty, all this is caused by this corrupt official Zeng Shijin!"
"At that time, he also intended to join forces with the slave to join him, but the slave refused righteously!"
Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao almost couldn't help but laugh, and refused righteously. He really thought that everyone else was a fool and he was the only smart one.
"During his tenure as governor, he secretly colluded with the local gentry and powerful people to seize the people's fertile land and privately sold official land. Those wastelands and wild fields were coerced by the people to rent and buy them at high prices, while the best fertile fields were sold to the gentry at low prices!"
"The powerful gentry mainly bribed these corrupt officials with gold, silver, antique calligraphy and paintings in private, and of course sometimes they also solicited beautiful women as gifts!"
"Long live my Lord, I must be severely punished!"
Cao Jixiang shouted the last sentence almost with a cry. He wanted to draw the emperor's attention and anger to Zeng Shijin.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zeng Shijin almost spit out a mouthful of old blood. Unexpectedly, the usually domineering person turned into a coward at such a critical moment. It really made him
Very disappointed.
He really regrets now that he was caught by this dead eunuch because of his negligence. Under the threat of irrefutable evidence, he had to take a piece of this dead eunuch's pie.
As a result, now, after a lot of random fabrication, he has become a clean person who is neither corrupt nor corrupt.
His psychological quality is also excellent. In the absence of evidence of guilt, even if he is beaten to death, he will not admit what this dead eunuch said.
He immediately retorted angrily:
"You eunuch, stop spouting nonsense here. You dare to slander important ministers of the imperial court in front of His Majesty, relying on your mortality, and trying to confuse black and white facts. Your intentions are really worthy of death!"
"Since I was entrusted by Emperor Shenzong to patrol Shanxi, I dare not say what achievements I have made, but I believe that I have not made any mistakes. I work hard every day just so that the people can live a stable life!"
"How can you, a eunuch, know how difficult this is?"
"Relying on the power bestowed upon you by the late emperor, you do all kinds of evil in the local area. You only care about enjoying yourself all day long. You don't even spare the people's livelihood and food. You will not die a good death!"
"Your Majesty, I have here the evidence of the eunuch's crime. During the Wanli period, when Emperor Shenzong introduced mining taxes, he used the mining taxes to levy excessive amounts of money, causing the people to complain and a civil commotion almost broke out."
"This is ruining the reputation of the late emperor. They are using the reputation of the late emperor to do whatever they want!"
"But even so, this eunuch is not satisfied. He embezzles nearly half of the mining tax every year, bullying the emperor and harming the people."
Regarding mining taxes, there is no official who is not jealous of this huge profit, not to mention people like Zeng Shijin who regard wealth as life.
Moreover, the weight of this matter is too great. This is robbing the emperor's money, and it is an aboveboard kind. The emperor and the eunuchs who collect taxes are originally on the shareholding system.
Although he is only responsible for Taiyuan's mining tax, it adds up to a large amount of money over time, not to mention that this is an extremely profitable business.
But to his surprise, the emperor was not angry because of this incident, and still looked at the two of them calmly.
Zhu Youxiao was naturally able to distinguish between some of the truth and falsehood. Zeng Shijin had corrupted the people and forcibly annexed the people's fields. He completely believed that this was just the basic behavior of civil servants in this era.
As for the eunuchs snatching money from the emperor, Zhu Youxiao already knew it without him having to say anything. In later generations, anyone who has a little knowledge of it will know what the eunuchs in the late Ming Dynasty were like.
It's impossible for him to take sides just because of one-sided remarks. Both of them are blaming each other, and you can tell a story about a small matter.
"You two each say different things, how can I believe it? How about using the simplest and most transparent method to investigate the case and collect evidence?"
Before the two of them could respond, Zhu Youxiao had already targeted the Taiyuan prefect. The Taiyuan prefect was so panicked that he immediately wrote a warrant and let the army enter the city.
When Governor Zeng Shijin saw this scene and was about to stop him, he saw two guards standing in front of him, ready to draw their swords.
He sighed secretly in his heart, everything was over, the army had entered the city, they could only pray that the emperor would not make a big move, otherwise they would all die without a burial place.
After Xu Xianchun led his army to successfully enter the city, he immediately followed the emperor's instructions and sent sergeants to each city gate to take over the defense and take control of the gate.
Another two thousand sergeants were assigned to control all the military camps and government offices to ensure that no one in Taiyuan City could give orders.
Then he took the remaining sergeants and went straight to the Jin Palace.
When Zhu Youxiao heard the rustling sound of armors clashing in the palace, he knew that what happened today was done.
He handed over all the orders written by King Jin to Chief Qian, and asked him to immediately take people to take over the various palaces of King Jin's palace.
Then recruit young men and women in the city, and first transport money and grain to the Jin Palace.
Time waits for no one, and he cannot stay in Taiyuan for too long, so he must seize any moment to settle everything.
In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and obstacles, Zhu Youxiao also specifically asked King Jin to select his own guides, and let these guides take his soldiers to various warehouses to take over.
He also asked the left and right chief envoys and the Taiyuan prefect to jointly issue several warrants to ensure that the Yulin Army could move unimpeded within Taiyuan.
With the support of the army, Zhu Youxiao became arrogant and bold in both his tone and actions.
He did not ask the opinions of these officials and Cao Jixiang at all, and directly ordered Xu Xianchun to take people to visit these officials' homes one by one, and Cao Jixiang was no exception.
Now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. These people are unprepared. Whether they want to collect evidence or investigate their assets to prepare for home confiscation, they are the easiest to succeed.
Although the emperor did not say it clearly, as one of his most trusted confidants, Xu Xianchun could certainly guess the emperor's true intention.
In the past year, he has raided as many as 80 homes, if not a hundred, and arrested countless officials. He can be said to be the number one person in his generation.
Zhu Youxiao then summoned all the young eunuchs and confronted them face to face. He was going to purge the top officials in Taiyuan tonight.
For a whole night, lights were brightly lit everywhere in the Jin Palace, and soldiers in armor and swords were guarding every corner.
In the Jin Palace, for more than two hundred years since it was built, Jinyi guards or Yulin guards would come in and out from time to time carrying some people.
In the main hall of the palace, there were several times more people kneeling on the ground than before.
Zhu Youxiao's impromptu idea this time had a great effect. Compared with remote control command in the capital palace, this kind of personal experience is really different.
From the towering tree in Taiyuan City, through the two main trunks of Cao Jixiang and Zeng Shijin, Zhu Youxiao dug out a large number of officials and some generals who needed to be cleaned up from top to bottom.
Not long ago, Zeng Shijin, who was speaking righteously and angrily against the emperor, has now completely lost his temper.
His charges and crimes have been fully investigated and all are true.
Cao Jixiang is not much better. He is even worse than Zeng Shijin, but his mentality is very good, and you can even see a smile on his face.
Because of the emperor's previous promise, he had a glimmer of hope in his heart that he might be punished, but he would not lose his life.
Although the Taiyuan prefect was not of high rank among the first five people he met with, he had considerable power, so he was involved in many things.
Moreover, he slightly shocked Zhu Youxiao. As a middle-level civil servant with real power and the top leader in the Shanxi capital, he was actually the godson of the eunuch Cao Jixiang.
For Zhu Youxiao, this was really a new thing. It was normal for civil servants to follow others' influence, but it was unprecedented for a dignified prefect to worship an eunuch as his adoptive father.
Zhu Youxiao inquired carefully with curiosity and found out that he was just born with the same Jinshi class, and he was the last one.
He himself is self-aware and knows that without talent or background, it is very likely that he will not be able to stay in the officialdom. Even if he does stay, he will always be a low-ranking official.