Naturally, Liu Mingzhi was not qualified to follow the emperor from the harem to the Jinluan Hall, so he could only go around Linde Hall and then go to the Jinluan Hall.
Glancing at the quiet palace, Liu Mingzhi planned to take out Huyan Yunyao's letter to him and read it.
No matter what the result is, I have to give someone an answer, but I spent a long time digging around under my arm and still couldn't find the letter.
I thought I had put the cuff in the wrong place, but I searched carefully on the other side and couldn't find any trace of the letter.
Young Master Liu thought about it and was a little surprised: "It was broken. Could it be that the letter was returned to the emperor with the banknote?"
Liu Mingzhi's face looked a little strange. It would be a disaster if the content of the letter was really what he thought.
Mr. Liu rubbed his cheeks and looked at the sky in confusion: "What is the crime of writing a love letter to the emperor and teasing the emperor?"
After thinking for a long time, Liu Mingzhi was relieved that there seemed to be no crime in this regard in Dalong Law.
He staggered around the two palace gates and rushed towards the Jinluan Palace.
When Liu Mingzhi arrived at the Jinluan Hall, it was almost overcrowded. Even the officials of the seventh rank came. All the officials in the capital of the Great Chaohui had to go to the Hajj. The place where Liu Mingzhi used to be at the end of the crane was filled with officials serving in blue. Many people Liu Mingzhi
Never seen it before!
"Your Majesty is coming to court!"
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
Li Zheng sat on the dragon chair with a majestic expression: "No courtesy, enter the queue!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The officials began to find their seats and knelt down. When the ordinary court suddenly turned into a large court, something terrible must have happened.
"Senior brother, why is your dignified Dr. Yinqing Guanglu sitting so far back?"
Young Master Liu glanced at Huyan Yunyao on the right: "That's your lord. I went to court to see the official position. The member of the household department is not much higher than you, the sixth-grade Hanlin bachelor. Why don't you sit here?"
"That's right, come on, senior brother, I hope that one day you can be ranked among the best in the world!"
"Thank you for your good wishes!"
Liu Mingzhi glanced around and finally saw a few classmates from Jiangnan. Qin Bin, Yan Huaian and others seemed to be on duty at the Hanlin Academy!
"I have received a secret report from the border. There is a big problem in the mutual market. Tens of millions of dollars are worth it. One-third of Dalong's annual tax revenue. I am opening up trade routes to enrich the people, not to let you and others line their own pockets.
Aren’t you afraid of dying if you have ten thousand pieces of silver?”
Emperor Lei Lei looked at the civil and military officials below angrily, his tone trembling.
"Ten million taels of silver? How is this possible?"
"Nothing is impossible. It is possible as long as you are brave. Do you know how much money the Ministry of Accounts has received in more than three months just from taxation? Twelve million taels!"
"My God, the tax is only 10 million taels. According to what Your Majesty just said, the amount of money they have enriched is worth four times the tax!"
"Isn't that tens of millions of taels of silver?"
"I didn't expect these merchants to be so rich. I didn't even know it if I didn't open a business channel. Once I opened a business channel, I realized that the tax revenue collected by these merchant families for a few months is equal to half of Dalong's tax revenue in a year!"
"His Majesty!"
Li Zheng looked at Xia Gongming, the imperial censor who was coming out, and nodded: "Xia Aiqing, please speak!"
"Your Majesty, if it is true, as your Majesty said, that the officials of the mutual market raised prices privately to enrich themselves in the name of imperial business, I suggest setting up a three-law division to investigate the case. Tens of millions of taels of silver will damage not only Dalong's tax revenue but also the people.
Benefits!"
"What Xia Aiqing said makes sense. Once the price rises, the merchants will raise the price, and the small merchants will be squeezed out of the border trade market. Once the price is raised, the price of the things shipped back to Dalong by the merchants will also increase. People will sell them for five taels.
The goods purchased with silver cost ten taels of silver, and the people are asked to cut off their flesh to make up for the remaining five taels of silver?"
"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!"
"Sage? I am not a saint at all. The border guard officer is only a fourth-grade official, but when he plays tricks, he actually plays with me and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty. I am very clear and understand that all the dear ladies here are under mutual guard.
There are quite a few people who have money from officials. Without your support, how could they dare to do whatever they want!"
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, many officials looked a bit resentful. It was obvious that the emperor had hit the mark!
The emperor slowly walked down the steps and looked at the civil and military officials with different expressions: "Since I came to the throne, I have always emphasized benevolent governance, following Emperor Taizu's instructions and putting the people first, but you are all ministers ranked in the second class.
, that one is not a marquis who was killed in a sea of blood, that one is not a general who is about to gain fame! There are also a few ministers who are not two-ranked Jinshi, you can ask your conscience, since I came to the throne, have I ever used heavy methods!"
"But you? Do you think that because I am too kind, you can be lawless? It's not that I don't dare to use heavy laws, but I don't want to use heavy laws. If once an investigation is carried out, all of you here, princes, princes, and clerks will
, the first-rank official issued an order to the ninth-rank minor officials, how many of you are clean, according to the laws of Dalong, you will not regret dying even if you are killed by the Yi tribe!"
"Your Majesty, I am aware of my guilt!"
Liu Mingzhi looked at the civil and military officials around him who were kowtowing on the ground and quickly lowered their heads. He wondered if this young master had ever done anything untoward!
"Twenty-seven years have passed since the death of the late emperor, and it has been twenty-seven years since I inherited the great treasure. During the twenty-seven years, I have abolished the six cruel punishments of chariot breaking, lingchi, and cannon burning.
After the incident, I also abolished it. In addition to beheading in public, the most severe punishment seems to be confiscation of the home and exile!"
"I originally thought that you could follow my benevolent government with compassion, apply benevolent policies to the people under my rule, work diligently and love the people, even if it is in vain, but you have repeatedly provoked my face and provoked the royal family.
Dignity, defy the Dragon Law, a small fourth-grade official dares to embezzle tens of millions of taels of silver, are you, these first-grade officials, planning to change the dynasty? You will not be punished!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down and I will admit my mistake!"
Li Zheng's body was trembling as he rested on the guardrail above the dragon steps and coughed several times.
"Prepare the decree!"
Manager Zhou stepped forward cautiously: "Yes!"
"From now on, we will resume the car-breaking, torture, cannon-burning, implicating, beheading, quartering, embezzlement of 2,000 silver coins, car-breaking, and embezzlement of 5,000 Lingchi and dereliction of duty, quartering!"
"Your Majesty, you can't!"
"I originally thought that one person's crime should not be blamed for his family, but in troubled times, severe punishment should be used. You talk about me every day, but I know that if this continues, Dalong will really become troubled. The six hundred years left by Emperor Taizu
The foundation is also destroyed, the punishment of Yi San Zhu Jiu is reinstated, and the Dali Temple of the Ministry of Punishment will issue the law to the Dalong state capitals!"
All the civil and military officials looked at each other speechlessly, and even looked at each other with horrified expressions, knowing that the emperor was really angry this time, and no one dared to speak out and remonstrate!
"Your Majesty, please take back the punishment of Yi San and Zhu Jiu!"
Xia Gongming came out of the queue and looked at the emperor with a sad face.
"Your Majesty, although Yi San Zhu Jiu can serve as a warning to all civil and military officials, it is too cruel for one person to commit a crime and implicat the whole family. Ignorant children are young and ignorant. To be punished because of their father is not in line with the teachings of the late emperor!"
"Xia Aiqing, I respect you as a veteran of two dynasties. I have always been tolerant to you because I respect your character. You are upright and strict in self-discipline. But can you guarantee that the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty are as upright as you?"
"This, I am incompetent! But I never want your Majesty to repeat Yi San Zhu Jiu's law!"
Liu Mingzhi glanced at Xia Gongming who was kneeling on the ground and slowly came out of the queue: "Your Majesty, I think that Your Majesty and Mr. Xia should each take a step back, and Yi San Jiu will be included in the conspiracy to usurp the throne!"