Chapter 357 The emperor is making a fuss out of a molehill?
Chapter 357 The emperor is making a fuss out of a molehill?
Tana didn't understand the concept behind the emperor's order for Jin Yiwei to send people to conduct a thorough investigation, but the other courtiers in the imperial study were all frightened.
"Your Majesty! You must not do it!" Yang Shen was the first to speak, but his expression remained firm in the face of the furious emperor, "It's true that the wind is blowing, and it's true that there's a disaster! Even though the disaster reported by Suzhou Prefecture is particularly serious, it can't be
It means that there is something hidden! Whatever happened, the Governor Yingtian, the Grain Supervisor, and the Supervising Censor can go and verify it! The Jinyi Guards went south, and they discovered a serious problem even though there was no hidden secret!"
Zhu Houcong immediately stared at him.
The emperor's eyes were very cold. Zhang Fujing couldn't help but look at Yang Shen: He is still as fierce as when he was in Guangzhou...
Yang Shen did not back down and continued: "I know that your Majesty is worried that the grain tax collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs in Beijing this year will be collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs in Southern Zhili and the prefectures in the three provinces. Even so, the State Palace has been established, and the grain tax will be collected.
It is my duty to do this, and I will do it on my own! A mere report from the district government revealed why His Majesty was so aggressive. Even General Assistant Fei, Zhang Guowu and his ministers were summoned to inquire about the matter, and the Imperial Guards were also sent to investigate thoroughly.
You’ve actually decided that this is a major case?”
Fei Hong also looked sideways: Yang Tinghe, your son... his temper is so different from yours. Thinking about what happened back then, is he really his biological son?
Now that Yang Shen has become emperor directly, blame him for making a fuss out of a molehill.
More importantly, there was a vague accusation that the emperor should not interfere so easily in some civil affairs that had been decentralized.
After Yang Shen said these words, the imperial study room became extremely silent. Zhu Houcong's own breathing made the loudest sound.
If there is a reason why other prefectures are not so serious, then it is because Suzhou Prefecture had engineering problems during the previous water conservancy cleanup process. After all, this year's typhoon did not land in Suzhou Prefecture.
"I know." Zhu Houcong finally raised his head and asked after seeing Lu Bing, "Why are you still here? Since the Metropolitan Procuratorate sent people to investigate first, you should go back."
After Huang Jin was the only one here, he asked: "Have I been in a bad mood these past few months, leading to improper handling of state affairs?"
After walking outside the Fengtian Gate, Zhang Fujing sighed: "Your Majesty understands the principles of human nature, how can you not know that this is harshness? There are so few saints. This is what Your Majesty said. Overcorrection must be overcorrected. The Ming Dynasty is too big.
There are too many officials and gentry, so let’s handle this case carefully and establish some rules. Yong Xiu, your Majesty’s words today, the most important thing is that we and the three of us are sure of it.”
Because Yang Shen complained about his emotional instability regarding the Suzhou Mansion incident, Zhu Houcong did not expect this.
After Zhu Houcong finished speaking casually, he still sat there.
"The foundation of a tax-paying country. In the past, I knew exactly who should wear the label of anti-tax and tax evasion that was only pinned on some so-called unscrupulous people! According to the yellow book remade in the sixth year of Jiajing, I also know how much grain should be collected.
Everything is clear. Your Majesty said it will take time, but I still know everything. Starting from the 16th year of Zhengde, from the capital to the localities, from the chief officials to the subordinates, the clansmen, the ministers, the virtuous gentry, how much has changed, I and the government and the public are all clear about how great the changes have been.
Chu!"
Zhu Houcong remained silent.
Zhu Houcong felt a little depressed as he walked.
"I will accept the order..."
Coupled with the invisible pressure brought about by the changes in the situation after Qinghai changed hands, Zhu Houcong has had this knot in his mind in the past few months.
Yang Shen nodded: "Although the report from the Suzhou government only mentioned one sentence, your majesty should have paid attention to it because of his sage. I know that your majesty has always been melancholy because of the incident of the concubine and the prince at the beginning of the year. I deeply admire your majesty's affection.
However, state affairs are complicated and must not be dealt with hastily!"
Although the three of them were extremely dignified when they were in the imperial study room, everyone was actually very understanding. Now Fei Hong actually took the initiative to chat about little gossip about the emperor.
Lu Bing couldn't help but look at the emperor, feeling a little nervous.
In the end, it was Huang Jin who spoke first: "Your Majesty, the beauty Duoyan donated by the three tribes is still waiting to be seen in the backyard."
"...Yes." Lu Bing bowed and took two steps back, then stopped and asked, "Your Majesty, I have made arrangements to see the military team compete for the championship in October. Your Majesty said that all the ladies will go, what about this flower?"
The empress presented by Yanbu, can I also arrange to be escorted by chariot?"
"...Your Majesty, it has been eight years since the new law was tried in Guangdong in the first year of Jiajing. In these eight years, there is no longer any distinction between the old and the new party..."
Thinking of this, Zhu Houcong felt that his mood was a little different.
More of his worries are facing the future - because of the limitations of technology, in his long life, he will probably experience the death of his woman, the death of his children, and the death of his close and trusted ministers.
And it's getting denser and denser.
Zhu Houcong finally understood what Yang Shen meant and looked at Zhang Fujing and Fei Hong.
"According to what you said, maybe Suzhou Prefecture really suffered such a severe disaster?" After a while, Zhu Houcong calmed down a little and asked lightly.
"...It means that I am indeed in a bad mood from time to time, so you should all be trembling with fear." Zhu Houcong sighed.
As I said before, some people enjoy their benefits but do not fulfill their righteousness. How is he any different in this harem?
The beauties in all the palaces are looking forward to his blessings. Zhu Houcong is happy when he is happy. He usually makes everyone happy? Now that he has encountered this kind of thing, he has been in a bad mood for several months. It is too pretentious, just to satisfy his inner feelings about himself.
Some so-called moral requirements?
He doesn't want to give up this kind of happiness. It's like asking those rich officials, gentry and wealthy people to "pay all their dues if they have a correct mind" and not engage in some behind-the-scenes operations. They can't do it either.
When the four were mentioned clearly, Zhang Fujing felt like a huge weight was on his shoulders.
You see, when he was thinking about something just now, because of Huang Jin's reminder, wasn't he a little more curious about that prairie beauty?
It is true to be diligent in governing the country and the people, and it is true to indulge in selfish desires and indulge in royal power.
Huang Jin thought to himself, don't ask me such a difficult question. He looked awe-inspiring: "Your Majesty's sage is rare in ancient times and modern times. How can you handle state affairs inappropriately? Yang Shangshu is really bold. That is to say, His Majesty is very broad-minded. Even my servants think so."
The one who reprimanded him was that His Majesty had instructions on weekdays, and what Yang Shangshu was talking about was state affairs, so I didn’t say anything!"
Zhu Houcong closed his eyes and thought for a while before saying, "Then I'll give you three months."
Zhu Houcong walked smoothly.
"...clean up water conservancy?" Zhu Houcong was a little surprised.
Lu Bing looked at Yang Shen blankly: So brave!
Although I don’t know why, His Majesty has always been worried about An Bin’s death in childbirth. Everyone in the palace knows this, so few people dare to mention it. Now Yang Shen not only mentioned it in person, but also when the emperor himself was furious
I even blamed him for losing his mind and handling state affairs hastily.
After all, unlike people of this era, Zhu Houcong's grief and self-blame seemed to be more intense after experiencing such a thing. After all, she was a woman who had had physical contact with him, only respected him, and was famous and worthy of him.
A son who has never seen a glimpse of this world.
Although it was just a small thing, it became a microcosm.
After a while, he smiled to himself: "I'm no different. Let's go and see her."
Seeing that the emperor's eyes were a little colder, Fei Hong smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, Xiu's words make sense. What is the reality? Although Southern Zhili is not a province, it does not have a capital inspection department. Governor Yingtian and Governor Huaiyang also have
Withdrew, but after all, there are still governor Yingtian and inspectors to monitor. Thirty percent of the crops have been destroyed, so they don’t dare to cheat. In any case, food requisition and disaster relief are two things that need to be done. Let’s continue the investigation..."
Fei Hong quickly added: "Let the Metropolitan Procuratorate conduct verification first before talking."
While walking on the road, Zhu Houcong thought of Yang Shen again.
The three people left the imperial study with heavy hearts.
"It's been the eighth year of Jiajing, who has the guts to be so rampant?" Yang Shen raised his eyebrows without hesitation, "Even if it is not entirely due to natural disasters, this man-made disaster, I am afraid that nothing will be found if we continue to investigate. On the contrary, we will find out the original
Regarding water conservancy issues."
Fei Hong could only mutter in a low voice: "It's strange to say that apart from the queen and empress in the harem, your majesty actually loves the second concubine and concubine Jing more, so he would actually care about the concubine..."
Zhu Houcong's anger before was true, why was Yang Shen so arrogant? Why did he seem to wake up a little when he mentioned his emotional problems? Why did he feel a little embarrassed after careful consideration and found that what he said made sense?
The last harsh words were partly because Zhu Houcong really thought it was time to give him a good beating, and partly to make peace with his previous angry appearance.
Seeing that Zhu Houcong was interested, Huang Jin couldn't help but cheer up and quickly sent someone over to get the beauty ready to meet him.
Zhu Houcong was also stunned for a moment, and then became calmer and remained silent.
Now that the emperor has not spoken, it is not easy for him to just resign and return to Jin Yiwei.
Ma Yong's daughter was adopted as one of the nine concubines for political purposes. After entering the palace, Zhu Houcong was not close to him. Even if she was pregnant last year, the monarchs and ministers were still paying attention to the changes in the situation on the grassland.
Zhu Houcong didn't care too much, at least much less than when Sun Ming and others were pregnant.
Zhu Houcong finally spoke: "Why don't you speak more clearly? Isn't it just that you are in love with me, and I am with you?"
They really can't understand why the emperor is like this. To put it bluntly, in the ordinary gentry family, it is equivalent to the unfortunate death of a concubine... Speaking of the prince, the emperor is not an heir. It is okay to be sad for a while, but he is still emotional after such a long time.
Unstable, unlike the emperors of previous years.
Zhu Houcong thought that after all these years, he actually had the cold-blooded ruthlessness of an emperor. However, he found that some deep-rooted ideas in his heart would still violently impact his emotions under certain circumstances.
Everything will eventually come back to people. The original Xinfa generals have embarked on a stable promotion path. Over such a long time, new friends, new in-laws, new masters and apprentices have interests and entanglements with each other. You know I
I know your dirty information. Yang Shen said that even if there is a disaster, the investigation will always be on the head of the new law general. If something is really found, do you want to continue the investigation?
…
Having had a prince and a daughter in succession, Zhu Houcong was not that worried about her childbirth. It was only after it happened that he felt all kinds of emotions well up in his heart.
"There has been such a big change, but what remains unchanged is the collusion between officials and gentry, trying their best to evade taxes and servitude, changing the soup without changing the medicine!" Zhu Houcong said solemnly, "I have spoken from the front. Many soldiers in the border towns sacrificed their lives, and this was how we defeated the Northern captives.
, so that the provinces in the hinterland can sit back and enjoy peace. The danger from the north is not over, and now is the time for everyone to perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities. If there are still so many people who do not have correct ideas and only enjoy the benefits without fulfilling their responsibilities,
I will teach them how to behave in the next life!"
Fei Hong and others remained silent, while Zhu Houcong continued: "You three have a heavy burden. You have to march to the north, reform the military system, expand the capital, control floods, promote new learning, and you need money and food everywhere. Now that the new law has reached this stage, you all
You want to be on the safe side. But since you know that there may be trouble, you don’t think it’s appropriate to go to war?”
"Let's arrange it."
He knew what the emperor was going to say.
Huang Jin's eyes were slightly red, and he said softly: "Your Majesty, it is fate that Concubine An is not blessed with good fortune. Your Majesty is so sad, and Concubine An would not be able to tolerate it even if she knew it."
"You should investigate and investigate! If there is a disaster, you should investigate and deal with it!" Yang Shen looked at Lu Bing, "I just think that Jin Yiwei's special handling of this case will frighten all the local officials."
Even a well-behaved person like Fei Hong would not want the emperor to intervene personally and leave the Metropolitan Procuratorate to the Imperial Guard to investigate just because of such a trivial matter. This would shake the prestige of the State Council and the Prime Minister and Minister of State.
Lu Bing was even more embarrassed. He was called over. It turned out that the emperor wanted him to send people to investigate the case, but Yang Shen and others persuaded him to go back.
Yang Shen snorted: "Your Majesty, you can be demanding, but as a minister, I still put prudent use of things first. The minister of state is in charge of a certain matter, and Zhang Guowu and I, don't we just have a bad side and a good side? It's easy to handle the case well.
, it is easy to establish rules. However, in the Ming Dynasty, there are now more than 100,000 officials and hundreds of millions of gentry and wealthy households. It is necessary not only to not be lazy but also to keep the people's hearts stable. It is not necessary to establish rules from time to time, which can also be beneficial to stimulate their minds. What else can be done?
?”
Even Zhang Fujing, who was considered the strongest pioneer of the new law, could not easily keep up with the emperor now.
If there were any problems with the cleanup of water conservancy, the water patrol censor sent to Southern Zhili at that time was the first batch of trusted new law officials, and now he has been ranked as the fourth-rank general director of the Ministry of Industry.
Fei Hong was confused: "Since you understand this, why are you so... admonishing Your Majesty today?"
After Yang Shen reminded him, he also remembered that the Suzhou government report did mention something: the typhoon and the wind and waves brought by it in the past two months destroyed some sea and river embankments, and then washed away a lot of fertile farmland. Now
Statistics show that Suzhou Prefecture can only collect 70% of the quota for grain tax this year, and it still needs to provide disaster relief.
Zhu Houcong remained silent and looked at Zhang Fuking again.
Yang Shen said with a straight face: "Your Majesty, the king of the country, why do you behave like a little girl and grieve for a small matter in the harem for so long? Now that you are so angry after hearing the report from Suzhou, it shows that you are in an unstable state of mind. This is not a blessing for the country, and it is even worse than
The matter in Suzhou is important, how can I not speak out and give advice?"
Even Yang Shen, who was the most naive in the past, is no longer a fool now.
If I had known better, I would have prostituted his poem for nothing on a whim, but now I always feel a little guilty in front of him because of the contributions he has made and the historical reputation he has lost.
In the Yangxin Hall, Zhu Houcong was silent for a long time after they left, and neither Huang Jin nor Lu Bing found it easy to speak.
This is human nature, no one is nobler than anyone else.
Is he so tough now because he noticed something after receiving feedback from himself after repeatedly admonishing him when he was punished by the imperial staff?
You won't stick to your nose and face again and become a Wei Zheng-style character, right?
While I was sitting there drinking tea and thinking wildly, I looked up casually after hearing the unfamiliar sound of worship.
Zhu Houcong was stunned.
Tana was kneeling on the ground. Although she lowered her head, she looked like a turtle with its head extended because she was peeking at him curiously from below.