The twenty-sixth day of the first month of the first year of Tianqi
Today is the first court meeting after the New Year. Although Zhu Youxiao doesn't want to go to court, he has to come. Today will officially change the court structure of the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to officially launching a war against those Donglin Party members and Jiangnan gentry!
Although many officials have been killed on a large scale several times, these interest groups have great undertakings, and the death of a few people will not hurt them at all.
The smokeless war with them is the most difficult and the most energy-consuming. If you are not careful, you will be backlashed. The difficulty coefficient is very high, even more difficult than annihilating Nurhachi.
"How are the preparations for this year's mutual market going? Have all the grassland ministries and merchants in the pass been notified?"
Zhang Ruitu, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites sent officials half a month ago. They must have arrived on the grassland by now, and merchants in the pass have also begun to purchase tea, cloth and other supplies!"
Zhu Youxiao looked at Wang Xiangqian again:
"What's wrong with Tobe!"
There has been a vacancy in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. In the past few months, Wang Xiangqian has been working part-time in the Ministry of Revenue.
"The Ministry of Household Affairs has started to mobilize from the government warehouse, and other shortages have been purchased from the private sector!"
"Mutual trade is very important. It is related to whether our border can be smoothly transitioned this year. Try to prepare as much as possible. It is better to solve the needs of both sides in a peaceful way than to go to war!"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Zhu Youxiao stood up from the dragon chair, picked up a memorial on the imperial case, looked at the officials below, and said slowly:
"This is a report from Jin Yiwei. The Second Assistant to the Cabinet, Liu Yisui, was nepotistic, suppressed dissidents, took bribes and perverted the law. Previously, Yuan Yingtai, Zhang Heming and others conspired to frame Xiong Tingbi and also participated. My dear friends, take a look at it. I also hope that Master Liu will give me a explain!"
Liu Yishen was completely stunned. He didn't expect that His Majesty would have surgery on him at the first court meeting of the new year, regardless of his old friendship and civil servant dignity!
"Your Majesty, I am wronged. How can your Majesty believe the factory guards' words? The factory guards are like wolves and tigers. Your Majesty is so gullible that you fear that our Ming Dynasty will be in danger of subjugation!"
Other officials from the Donglin Party who were friends with Liu Yishen also came forward and knelt down to persuade him, saying that Liu Yishen had been wronged.
"Master Liu, Jin Yiwei has reported all the charges against you and presented the evidence. How can you be unjustly accused?"
Liu Yishui knew that he could no longer stay in this court, so he simply imitated Fang Congzhe and knelt down and said:
"Your Majesty, please allow me to take up my official post!"
Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly, becoming an official was a beautiful thought.
"Jinyiwei, send Liu Yishen to prison and interrogate him carefully to see if anything else has slipped through the net!"
As soon as this statement came out, some people immediately went crazy.
"Your Majesty, even if Mr. Liu is guilty, he will be tried by the three judicial divisions. The factory guards will definitely beat him to death. Mr. Liu is old and his life may be in danger!"
"Your Majesty, our ancestors could not control the punishment of the scholar-bureaucrats, but now your Majesty wants to send Mr. Liu to prison. Is it possible that your Majesty must violate the laws of our ancestors?"
The civil servants of the Ming Dynasty liked to use the ancestral system as an example. As long as the emperor touched them, they would use the ancestral system to deal with it. However, the emperor was courageless and did not even dare to fight in court battles, which made these people more and more arrogant. He became more and more arrogant, even reaching the point where he was proud of criticizing the emperor, and the emperor's authority was completely lost.
"You still beg for mercy for him, think about how to save your own lives, Wei Zhongxian, make their crimes public!"
Wei Zhongxian opened the scroll and read loudly:
"After investigation, it was found that 21 people including Shangbao Sicheng Wu Ercheng, Shaoqing Huang Zhengbin, He Lang, the head of the Rites Department, Gu Xichou, a member of the Imperial Academy, Zhou Shunchang, a foreign minister of the Rites Department, and Zhang Guangqian, colluded with Zhang Yuan and others to frame the feudal officials. Taking bribes and perverting the law, oppressing the people, and forming cliques for personal gain!"
These people basically included all those who had just pleaded for Liu Yishen. When they heard that the emperor wanted to take action against them, several of them broke out in cold sweat.
Zhu Youxiao looked at them like this and said that they really had no character at all. With these people in charge of the government, it would be strange for the Ming Dynasty to survive.
"Since you mentioned the ancestral system, then according to the ancestral teachings of Taizu Emperor Ming, officials who corrupt ink worth more than sixty taels of silver will be stripped of their skins! In addition to other crimes, their homes will be confiscated and their families will be exiled!"
"No, your Majesty. How is your Majesty's behavior different from that of Shang Zhou? Even if your Majesty insists on punishing someone, you should not inflict such torture. Moreover, Liu Yishen is also the second minister in the cabinet. Please think twice!"
Although Wang Xiangqian was from Zhu Youxiao, the criminal law of peeling off the skin and eating the real grass was really unacceptable, whether it was this era or the era of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang punished harshly and deeply hated corrupt officials, the only person who could do it was Lan Yu, and he still conspired to rebel.
When all the officials saw Wang Xiangqian coming forward to remonstrate, they became more confident and stepped forward to agree.
Wang Zaijin also stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, what Yuan Fu said is absolutely true. It is too cruel to peel off the skin of the real grass. Moreover, this action will harm your Majesty's reputation. What will the scholars in the world think? Your Majesty, for the sake of the world, please think twice before you act!"
Zhu Youxiao could understand them. After all, Confucianism was too serious, and the Ming Dynasty had not yet reached this point. Zhu Youxiao also transferred them to Lingchi, and no one asked for mercy this time.
Liu Yisui's whole body was paralyzed, and two Tiqi carried him out of the main hall. Unexpectedly, I had been a great scholar in the cabinet for three dynasties, but now I was in danger of losing my life.
The palace was quiet, no one dared to say a word, for fear that they would be beaten up by the emperor again.
After all, people are afraid of death. No matter who they are, they cannot change human nature. For these civil servants who are full of benevolence, justice and morality, they must kill a group of them every once in a while to let them understand their status and who is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
"There is another matter today. There are many vacancies among officials in the DPRK and China, and they need to be filled. I have discussed it with the six cabinet ministries, and we will announce it today!"
Wang Chaofu took three steps forward with the imperial edict and said loudly:
"His Majesty's decree!"
"The emperor, who is destined to be the emperor, decrees: King Shaowei will be promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhou Yingqiu will be appointed to be the Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Chen Qiyu will be appointed to be the Right Minister of the Ministry of Personnel!"
"Xue Zhen is the minister of the Ministry of punishment, Yan Mingtai is the governor of Shuntian, the minister of the left of the Ministry of punishment, Ni Wenhuan is the censor of Zuodu, Huo Weihua is the minister of Taichang Temple, Liang Menghuan is the young minister of Taichang Temple, Xu Zhiji is the chief of Dali Temple, and Wu Chunfu He is the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Yang Sichang is the right minister of the Ministry of War!"
The positions of fourth grade and above have been basically filled. Zhu Youxiao doesn't have to worry so much about the other positions. It's not very important now. Zhu Youxiao only needs to firmly control the top management. As for the people below, he can't control them at all in a short time. The Ministry of Civil Affairs only needs to submit a list for approval.
"I would like to add one more person to the cabinet as an assistant minister. I want the Minister of War, Wang Zaijin, to add a bachelor to the cabinet as an assistant minister. What do you all think?"
How can anyone here dare to say no? Who dares to offend the emperor?
"Since you all have no objections, let Wang Banban draft the decree. Xu Guangqi will be promoted to the position of Second Assistant, and Wang Zaijin will be appointed as the Assistant Minister of the Cabinet!"
Wang Zaijin didn't expect that he had just been promoted to Minister of War in less than two months, and now he was in the cabinet again. He quickly stepped forward to thank him, and Zhu Youxiao finally completed his initial plan. The six cabinet departments were basically reorganized, and he wanted to do something in the future.