Chapter 291 Fortunately, Nanjing (15) The Duke pays homage to the Duke
The joint investigation between Dongchang, Jinyiwei and the Metropolitan Procuratorate has been launched vigorously. The reason why it is said to be vigorous is that compared with the previous investigations of corruption cases, this investigation is very dynamic. Both the factory guard and the Metropolitan Procuratorate
The hospital and relevant investigators travel without any cover-up, and even appear to be deliberately putting on a show.
In this state, it is as if they have actually obtained inside information in advance and have determined that the emperor or Yuan Fu has made a decision and who must be captured. Everything they do now is just a formality, they just need to show off their momentum.
.
However, this is just an appearance. It was Gao Pragmatic who instructed Tian Yi to let them do this, because the investigation by the factory guard and the Metropolitan Procuratorate was just to repair the plank road.
Also under Gao Pragmatic's instruction, some news began to spread quietly in the city of Nanjing, saying that Yuan Fu had obtained tangible evidence that some officials had been corrupt and perverted the law during the palace renovation process. These rumors and rumors were like catkins in spring, seemingly
It was light but pervasive, and soon spread throughout the streets and alleys of Nanjing.
Two days later, the emperor went to visit Xuanwu Lake, while Gao Pangshi was quietly listening to Gao Qi's report in the study of the side hall of Chunhe Palace. He knew that these rumors in the streets of Nanjing were exactly what he wanted.
The desired effect. What he wanted was to make some people in Nanjing's officialdom panic and then throw themselves into disarray.
This move is of no use to Shen Yiguan, and Gao Pragmatic knows this very well. Shen Yiguan, an old fox, has the fatal leverage in his hands that originally planned to assassinate Gao Zai and his wife, but he still dares to confront him on the Nanjing Palace renovation project
Singing a different opera has fully explained what this person is thinking.
Although Shen Yiguan is an extremely selfish person, he obviously knows one truth very well: no one can betray his own class - or to put it slightly less, no one can betray his own interest group.
After the Confucius Temple Incident, although the prestige of the Practical School has once again surged, "the effects of force are mutual" and there is already a consensus within the Xin School that "success or failure depends on this battle", that is, whether the Xin School can continue to become a dynasty.
An important force in China depends entirely on the battle of Nanjing.
If the Practical School succeeded in setting off a wave of deposing Xinxue officials through the palace renovation project, then it goes without saying that even if Xinxue as a school would not be cut off, its power in the court would disappear, and there would be no hope of regaining its prestige for many years.
And if the Xin School succeeds in preventing Gao Pragmatic from causing this turmoil and makes him achieve nothing in this matter, then the Xin School can stabilize the fundamentals of Jiangnan, hide its capabilities and bide its time, waiting for the opportunity.
What are you waiting for? Of course, he is waiting for the day when he will regret his pragmatism.
Yuan Fu Jingguo Gong, what kind of script is this? Isn’t this Li Shanchang’s script!
Yes, the emperor is very trustworthy and pragmatic at the moment. The two of them were not only friends when they were young, but also helped each other grow up. Finally, they have achieved the prosperous age of Wanli Zhongxing today. The relationship between monarch and minister is so close. However, Emperor Taizu
Is there a lack of bond between you and Li Shanchang? Isn’t the decades of comradeship precious? Doesn’t the marriage between children mean anything?
However, Taizu still killed Li Shanchang in the end - even two iron coupons to avoid death could not save him!
Why? Is it really because Li Shanchang participated in the Hu Weiyong case and had the intention to rebel? What a joke, he has been a highly respected minister for many years, and he had already served as an official at home. What did he want to do when he participated in the Hu Weiyong rebellion case? Just to change the emperor, and himself
Continue to be a minister? What a disease!
If we really want to talk about the reason, it is actually very simple, that is, Li Shanchang, who is over seventy years old, is still the leader of Huaixi Group even though he is working at home.
If the prince Zhu Biao at this time was a "second generation emperor" like Li Shimin, and his military achievements were undeniable, then Li Shan would probably have died a good death. Unfortunately, Zhu Biao was not Li Shimin, he was too kind.
He has the most standard appearance of a saintly king under Confucian education, but he is not strong enough; he has an excellent reputation, but he may not be able to deter the Huaixi Military Group.
Zhu Yuanzhang seems to respect Confucianism, but in fact he only uses Confucianism to help him stabilize his rule. He will never be a person who truly believes in Confucianism - don't listen to what he says, but watch what he does.
So, what would such a person, a founding emperor, worry about when he gets old? Of course he is worried that the prince cannot control these founding heroes! Do you think everyone has a good life like Li Yuan? His second son can control them in turn.
Now that he is the father of an emperor, what else in the world can he not control?
It was under this circumstance that Zhu Yuanzhang began to look at Li Shanchang more and more inappropriately. At this time, Zhu Biaoren's monarchy style had become more obvious. Zhu Yuanzhang became increasingly worried that he would not be able to suppress the Huaixi Military Group in the future, so he simply decided to do it himself.
Be this bad guy and leave a peaceful and stable world for the prince.
In Shen Guanyi's view, today's Gao Pragmatic is simply the reincarnation of Li Shanchang. Even from the emperor's point of view, he is even more difficult to deal with than Li Shanchang.
Although Li Shanchang is regarded as the core of the Huaixi Military Gong Group, this is because Chang Yuchun and Xu Da have passed away successively. Only Li Shanchang has the most respected status among the Huaixi Military Gong Group. In fact, Li Shanchang is a little far behind.
Not as pragmatic as Gao - he has no direct military exploits! His status comes from Xiao He, who is regarded by Zhu Yuanzhang as the Ming Dynasty!
This is not the case with Gao Pragmatic. He can also be regarded as a figure like Xiao He without a doubt, but he is not just Xiao He, he is also Zhang Liang and Han Xin. He is a real general and omnipotent!
The current emperor may not be worried about such a figure because of the many years of bond between the monarch and his ministers, because of his pragmatic prudence, because of the majesty of the Emperor Zhongxing Sage, and because the Ming Dynasty's orthodoxy has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, no more than at the beginning of the founding of the country.
But what about the future? The Crown Prince is still in his infancy, while Gao Pragmatic is already a very popular minister, with a reputation that is unparalleled in the world. Then it would not be surprising at all if the Emperor takes the lead in the future, even now.
There are signs.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Others don’t know the inside story about the emperor’s last coughing up blood. Shen Yiguan is one of the people involved. Doesn’t he know the emperor’s current situation? Normally
It seems that the emperor is in good health, but suffers from occasional foot ailments (gout), but Shen Yiguan knows the real situation all too well...
In contrast, I haven't heard of Gao Pragmatic suffering from any disease in so many years. This guy's body seems to be in better shape than many military generals! Although military generals practice martial arts, they are often prone to all kinds of strange old injuries. Although Gao Pragmatic has only retained some basic exercises, his living habits are very good, and he has regular physical examinations from Jinghua Medical College, and his health is ridiculously good.
In short, Shen Guangyuan is completely sure that as long as there are no accidents with Gao Pragmatism, the emperor will definitely go ahead of him, and this time may not take too long...
When the emperor realizes that he may not die soon, his perspective on thinking about the problem will most likely change. Shen Guangyuan thought about this a lot, and finally came to the conclusion: Either, the emperor's thoughts will be like Taizu's view of Li Shanchang in his later years. , regard it as the biggest threat to the prince in the future; or, the emperor will simply regard Gao Pragmatism as "the Duke of Zhou today" and believe that he has the virtue of a gentleman who has "seven years to govern".
In Shen Guanyi's view, both possibilities exist. Although judging from today's situation, the emperor is more likely to choose the second approach, human nature cannot withstand the test. For this reason, the emperor should also I understand, so... until that moment, no one can guarantee it. Even what the emperor himself says now, whether he can stick to it by then is still unknown.
Therefore, Shen Yiguan dares to gamble. Betting on high and pragmatic will eventually lead to regrets. Anyway, there are not many left in the Heart School, so what if he doesn't gamble? As for Shen Yiguan personally, he also has a reason to gamble.
The fatal clue has been in Gao Jingshi's hands for some time, but Gao Jingshi has been holding back, which shows that Gao Jingshi does not actually want to put him to death, at least not right now.
Shen Yiguan did not dare to determine what the reason was, but he vaguely felt that Gao Pragmatic himself was also worried that Kang Long would have regrets, so he would rather put Shen Yiguan in the position of such an opponent so that the world would think that he was Gao pragmatic. He did not control the government, but there were still people in the government who opposed him and could oppose him.
In this case, Shen Yiguan became bolder - if you want to keep me to prove that I am not alone in the government, then if I play the role of an opponent well, you will not kill me because of this, right? Otherwise, As if the Nishin School is half-dead like this, if I are defeated by you again, where can you find an opponent who at least seems to have some weight to deceive the world and the Holy One?
For these reasons, even though Gao Pragmatic made a huge noise, Shen Yiguan still suppressed some timid voices seeking peace within the Xin School, and forcibly united Jiangnan Xinxue officials, responding in silence, watching indifferently between the factory guards and The investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Procuratorate is quite like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water.
However, Shen Yiguan also had some oversights: the Xin School could only unite around him, but the nobles did not dare to pretend to be dead.
Are you kidding me? We are all high-ranking officials who share the same status with the country. We don’t have any bullshit ethics to maintain. As long as we are sure that our interests are threatened, we will kneel down. What a big deal? You guys from the Heart School want to pull us together. Why should we fight against Gao Wushi, who holds the Emperor's Sword? Shen Yiguan, don't forget, Gao Wushi is now the Duke of Jingguo, and we are on the same path as him!
As expected, it didn't take long for some guilty nobles to start secretly activities. Either through connections or directly sending people, they wanted to contact Gao Pragmatic, hoping to reach some kind of agreement in private.
Gao pragmatic was prepared for this, and it can even be said that this was his intention. He did not reject these contacts, but he would not meet the guests easily. He let the news out through Gao Qi, saying that he was willing to listen to their explanation, but the premise was
They must be sincere and have nothing to hide.
On this day, Tian Yi, the Nanjing garrison eunuch, quietly came to Chunhe Palace. Although he was from the inner court, this investigation involved nobles, so he naturally wanted to ask Gao pragmatically what he meant. For example, who can touch,
Who cannot move, if they have to move, to what extent...etc.
"Master Guo, we have some news here, which may be helpful to Duke Guo's investigation." Tian Yi's attitude was more respectful than before.
Gao pragmatic nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"The Duke should know that although the nobles were deeply involved in the renovation of the palace, it was still several important officials from the Xin School who really took the lead in this matter.
They hide behind the scenes, but push the nobles to the front, and use their influence to commit corruption. Although the nobles also have some responsibilities, such as taking a share of the pie, in the final analysis... they are just accomplices, and even some
Maybe he was deceived." Tian Yi said slowly.
Of course, Tian Yi is a discerning person. At this moment, it is not obvious that Gao Jingshi does not intend to break up with the nobles, but clearly wants to control the nobles through this matter. However, Tian Yi does not know Gao Jingshi either.
To what extent it should be achieved, so there are a lot of holes left in the words.
Gao Pragmatic pondered for a moment and asked: "Do you know who the inner guard is?"
Tian Yi took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Gao Pangshi: "Master Guo, please take a look. These are the results of our family's investigation. They should be indistinguishable."
Gao pragmatic took the list and glanced at it. There were seven or eight officials' names listed on it, including many prominent figures in Nanjing.
"Very good, this list is very useful." Gao Pragmatic nodded, and then asked: "Dear nobles, is there any news about the internal defense?"
Tian Yi smiled slightly and said: "The nobles are naturally anxious. They have sent people to our family many times, hoping to plead with the Duke of Guo through our family."
"When the child dies, you know it's breastfed, and when the mucus reaches your mouth, you know it's gone." Gao Pingshi sneered: "But since they came to the door on their own initiative, we might as well take advantage of it."
He thought for a while and then said to Tian Yi: "Guard Lao Nei sent a message to those nobles for me, saying that our cabinet is willing to meet them. However, Chunhe Palace is not a good place to meet, and our cabinet will make other arrangements.
The place where we met. In addition, now that the matter is over, I don’t want them to hide anything."
"Yes, our family understands." Tian Yi responded.
In the afternoon of the next day, Gao pragmatically went to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to "understand the case", and afterwards went to the Nanjing Household Department with a full guard of honor. This was Gao pragmatically's job, so no one doubted it.
However, in the small house in the backyard of Jinghua Trading Company where Gao Qi was conducting the investigation a few days ago, two special visitors quietly arrived. They were Wei Guogong Xu Hongji and Chengshan Bo Wang Yunzhong.
The former is the nominal leader among the nobles of Nanjing. Although he is not a garrison minister in Nanjing because of his youth, the name of Wei Guogong is here, and he is the representative of the nobles of Nanjing.
As for Chengshan Bo Wang Yunzhong, who was a distinguished garrison minister of Nanjing at that time, some people may wonder how a mere uncle could be a garrison minister? Well, his identity is rather complicated.
The title Chengshan Bo comes from Wang Tong, but Wang Tong is not self-made. He is the son of Wang Zhen, the general who served under Chengzu during the Jingnan Campaign. Wang Zhen died in the Jingnan Campaign. Zhu Di’s evaluation of him is:
"If you fight as hard as a king, you will succeed! If you don't die, your merits will be the highest among all the generals." Therefore, he was posthumously granted the title of Marquis of Jinxiang. When Renzong arrived, he was posthumously granted the title of Duke of Ning, worthy of the imperial court of Chengzu.
Even so, Wang Zhen died too early after all, and he still had some influence on his son, but it was not as good as the living noble Yu Yin who could get the throne. After his father's death, Wang Tong was not able to ascend to the title of Marquis of Jinxiang, but was reduced to a lower rank.
He was named Wu Yibo. Later, because he was responsible for the construction of Changling, he was renamed Chengshan Bo. During this period, he went on many expeditions to Mongolia.
After Renzong ascended the throne, Wang Tong served as the governor of the Houjun Dudu Mansion, and was granted the title of Prince Taibao. When he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Jiaozhi, he was defeated and abandoned the city. He was impeached, demoted, and imprisoned. During the Zhengtong period, he was released and deposed as a commoner. Emperor Zhu Qiyu succeeded him.
After he ascended the throne, he served as the governor of Qianshi and participated in the defense of Beijing. He also performed meritorious service in the resistance. He was promoted to the governor of Tongzhi and was stationed at Tianshou Mountain. He returned the family property. In the third year of Jingtai, Wang Tong passed away and his son Wang Cong succeeded Chengshanbo. The lineage of Chengshanbo began with
This spread.
In other words, the lineage of Cheng Shanbo was actually not the Nanjing nobles of the founding family, but the Jingnan family. His appointment as Nanjing garrison minister also represented some invisible suppression by the imperial court on the founding nobles.
Let’s not talk about these for now. At this time, the two parties were seated separately. Xu Hongji’s face showed a trace of worry. He cupped his hands and said: “Dong Jingguo, we are here today to discuss with you the renovation of the palace.
misunderstanding."
Gao Jingshi nodded slightly, glanced at the faces of the two people, and then slowly said: "Wei Guogong, Cheng Shanbo, you are all nobles of the imperial court. It is said that you have contributed a lot to repairing the palace this time, and the emperor has done the same.
I know. However, if there is anything inappropriate in it, you should also understand that it is our responsibility to get to the bottom of it."
Xu Hongji called Gao Jingshi the Duke of Jingguo, but Gao Jingshi called himself the cabinet minister. The attitudes of the two parties were obviously a bit subtle.
A trace of panic flashed across Wang Yunzhong's face, but he quickly calmed down: "Jingguo Gong Mingjian, we have absolutely no selfish motives. Everything is for the sake of the court and the emperor."
Gao pragmatically nodded noncommittally. There was a problem in the palace renovation project. It was obvious that it was a lice on a bald man's head. However, how big the problem was, who made the problem, whether it was proactive, intentional, or a momentary oversight, then
It was up to him, Gao Pragmatic, the chief assistant of the imperial envoy to supervise the case, to set the tone.
"This cabinet believes in the loyalty of the two nobles and even other nobles involved in this matter to the emperor. However, it seems that a lot of the money for repairing the palace has gone missing, some prices are wrong, and the materials used in the project are also missing.
Many of the numbers on the submitted forms cannot be matched, and so on... I wonder what you two think?" Although Gao's pragmatic tone was calm, even soft-spoken and elegant, there was an undoubted majesty in it.
The faces of Xu Hongji and Wang Yunzhong became a little ugly. They knew that Gao Pragmatic was giving them an ultimatum. If they could not give a satisfactory answer, severe punishment would be waiting for them.
"Mr. Jingguo, it seems that there are indeed some problems in this matter, but we have also been deceived. The two of us, as well as all the nobles involved in this case, are willing to fully cooperate with Duke Jingguo's investigation. I only ask that Duke Jingguo
Can you say a few kind words for us in front of the emperor?" Xu Hongji said sincerely.
Gao pragmatic frowned, thinking undecided, but secretly shaking his head in his heart: This Wei Guogong is really young and ignorant, and he is not very good at being an official, but he is still confident, and he still thinks that he can rely on Wei Guogong.
Can you get through with a golden sign? Having said all that, you still don’t know that you should make a quid pro quo?
Seeing that Gao Pragmatic was silent, and even looked a little gloomy, Chengshan Bo Wang Yunzhong, who was originally reluctant to come forward, had to speak: "My lord, what Wei Guogong means is that no matter what my lord is going to do next, he and Nanjing Xun
You will cooperate fully without making any excuses."
He must be a sensible old man. Gao Pingshi felt relieved, turned to Xu Hongji and asked, "Oh? Is this what Wei Guogong meant?"
Only then did Xu Hongji react. He nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, yes, my country...well, this is exactly what I mean."
"Okay, okay." Gao Pragmatic finally showed a smile and nodded: "In that case, your Majesty, our guild will explain it to you."
Xu Hongji felt that "telling the truth" was not strong enough, and he was a little worried, so he glanced at Wang Yunzhong subconsciously.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Wang Yunzhong is much more knowledgeable than this young novice Duke. As soon as he heard that Gao Pragmatic called himself "the Duke" this time, he knew that the matter was settled.
He quickly stood up, bowed his head to Gao Pingshi, and said respectfully: "Then I will leave everything to the Duke. From now on, if the Duke gives you orders, we will not dare to resign."
When Xu Hongji saw this, he quickly learned to do it again and said: "The same goes for juniors."
Gao pragmatic smiled, stood up and said: "I don't have much to say for the time being. You two can just wait for the good news. As for the future...since we are all nobles, there must be a day to have fun. Okay, my Lord comes out.
It's not convenient to go there, so I'm going back to the palace to recover. Goodbye, you two."
"Yes, sir, please go slowly." Wang Yunzhong bowed slightly and said.
Xu Hongji seemed even more urgent and said: "As long as the Duke is free, I will sweep up the couch at Mochou Lake Shengqi Tower to welcome you."
Gao Pragmatic smiled and walked away calmly.
Mochou Lake is a good place to go. Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Mochou Lake to the Xu family. This favor was truly remarkable. However, I wonder if I will have the chance to go... The emperor may not be happy to see it.
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