The new king's first morning court after he succeeded to the throne has come to an end, but the impact of this morning court has just begun.
After the dynasty was dismissed, Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Dali Temple who was in charge of the trial, took Jiang Yuan, the Minister of Punishment, to the Yamen of Dali Temple.
You should know that although it is said that it is a joint trial of three departments, the Metropolitan Procuratorate usually only supervises judicial matters to ensure that there are no improper actions during the trial, and the real work is done by the Ministry of Criminal Affairs and Dali Temple.
Because of this, the three law departments, Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment have relatively close contacts and good relations.
Generally speaking, if it is an ordinary serious case, the Ministry of Punishment is usually responsible for the trial and judgment, and the Dali Temple will review the case. If a review by the three departments is required, the Dali Temple will preside over the case.
But this time, due to the special circumstances of the case and the absence of the head of the Criminal Department, Zhu Qiyu directly designated Dali Temple to take charge.
The two of them sat down in the government office and served refreshments. Yu Shiyue didn't ask any riddles and spoke directly.
"Shilang Jiang, to tell you the truth, I am a little unsure about the Emperor's decree today, and I would like to discuss it with you."
In fact, the position of Minister of Dali Temple is still very embarrassing.
To put it bluntly, it’s neither up nor down.
Speaking of being noble, according to the imperial court's regulations, the Minister of Dali Temple is one of the Nine Qings, and should be a big boss in the court.
But in fact, despite the court regulations, only the Qiqing, composed of the six ministers and the censor of Zuodu, will be recognized in the court.
But to say that the status is not high, it is not.
As a punitive institution that reviews criminal cases, Dali Temple is the highest judicial authority in the country and has considerable real power.
Yu Shiyue, the Minister of Dali Temple, was one level weaker than the Qi Qing, but he was one level higher than the Six Ministers.
Just stuck in the middle!
Therefore, he did not dare to discuss it with Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, so he could only drag Jiang Yuan, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment.
Jiang Yuan and he had known each other for a long time. He smiled bitterly and said.
"To be honest with Yu Siqing, I am also confused now. Originally, the emperor said that they would be dealt with according to the law. I thought he was going to let them go, but looking at the emperor's appearance before the end of the dynasty, it didn't look like...
"
Yu Shiyue moved his cheeks, looking like he had a toothache.
Who says it’s not?
Apart from anything else, the Jinyiwei have always been directly subordinate to the emperor. This time, the emperor even sent the Jinyiwei to coordinate with them. He didn't seem to be trying to calm down the trouble.
Wait a minute...
Jinyiwei?
Yu Shiyue felt as if a flash of lightning had passed through his mind, and his whole body was trembling.
"Shilang Jiang, you said that this case has already been concluded. Even if it needs to be retried, it will just be a new trial and a new punishment. Your Majesty... why did you send the Jin Yiwei here?"
Jiang Yuan is also a veteran of criminal punishment, so he subconsciously responded.
"Of course we have to arrest him..."
After saying half of the words, Jiang Yuan couldn't sit still anymore.
What do Jin Yiwei do? Of course they arrest people!
The criminals in this case are all in jail, is there any need to arrest them?
Now Jiang Yuan couldn't sit still anymore, stood up from the chair, frowned, looked at Yu Shiyue, and lowered his voice.
"What the Lord of the Temple means is that the Emperor wants to implicate you?"
This implication does not refer to the implication of the nine clans, but to the scope.
You must know that Wang Zhen was very powerful before, and many officials in the court, regardless of whether they were civil or military, were involved with Wang Zhen.
Maybe they were forced to do so, maybe they were taking advantage of the opportunity, but in short, if you really look into it carefully, you will find that there are many, including some who are in high positions.
You know, although most of the officials who were good friends with Wang Zhen were taken away during this personal expedition, but the court is so big, there will always be a few who didn't go.
Not to mention anything else, they could not afford to offend Mr. Jingyuan Bo, the Minister of War and the Minister of Dali Temple, Wang Ji, who was currently supervising the army in the southwest.
But no one in the government or the public knows that when Mr. Wang was impeached for his crime, it was Wang Zhenli who kept him safe and sound.
Many other officials, large and small, were also more or less involved with Wang Zhen.
These things can be big or small.
To put it mildly, it was an act of desperation due to circumstances.
At a more serious level, if you really want to use the topic to your advantage, it is not possible to kill them, but it is not necessarily impossible to dismiss a large number of people from office.
All in all, if one were to investigate based on his involvement with Wang Zhen, it would be enough to cause an earthquake in the officialdom.
Because of this, although they imposed heavy penalties this time, they basically did not involve any named officials from the court.
Those who were sentenced to death were either Wang Zhen's best friend, a confirmed person, or a small person who was favored by him but had a low official position.
The reason was to avoid any trouble, but who would have expected that things would inexplicably develop like this...
Jiang Yuan's head broke out in waves of sweat, and he couldn't help but cry in his heart. Why did this matter that was once a sure thing suddenly become a hot potato?
Yu Shiyue also stood up and walked back and forth in the room, trying to recall every move the emperor made in the palace.
After a long while, Yu Shiyue sat down on Jiang Yuan's shoulders and said slowly.
"It doesn't have to be like this for now, or maybe you and I are overly worried. There are so many officials in the court. Even if the emperor really wants to punish them, he won't choose this time."
Although Yu Shiyue's words don't seem so confident, people are often more inclined to believe what they want to believe at such times.
So Jiang Yuan also composed himself, nodded.
"That's right, now that we are faced with a huge enemy, the capital should focus on stability. Furthermore, when the new emperor takes over, I'm afraid he won't be too involved."
Yu Shiyue also said: "That's true. What's more, the emperor said that all cases will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. In other words, your majesty does not intend to really make a big deal out of the matter."
If you are involved with Wang Zhen, you should also consider the circumstances.
There were indeed people in the imperial court who took refuge with Wang Zhen and became his minions.
But most of them wanted to use Wang Zhen's power to speak well for themselves in front of the emperor.
There is actually no way to say right or wrong about this kind of thing. After all, at that time, Wang Zhen was in control of the court affairs.
It is difficult to clarify whether the friendship with Wang Zhen was due to official business or something else.
It would be fine if the emperor didn't say that the matter should be handled in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty, but since it must be handled in accordance with the law, there must be sufficient evidence.
After all, there is no provision in the Ming Dynasty Laws that normal official dealings will be punished, even if the person doing so is a traitorous official.
The two comforted each other and finally calmed down temporarily.
However, after a while, Jiang Yuan frowned again.
"Master Si Qing, if the emperor does not intend to make things worse, then why does he go to war so violently?"
Yu Shiyue pondered for a moment, looked in the direction of Miyagi City, and said meaningfully.
"Shilang Jiang, logically speaking, if it targets court officials or ordinary people, all it takes is the Shuntian Mansion or the Ministry of Punishment to come forward. But this time the emperor dispatched the Jin Yiwei, I'm afraid, it's not just to show that he attaches great importance to this matter, right?"
Following Yu Shiyue's gaze, Jiang Yuan also looked towards the direction of Miyagi City. After trying to understand the underlying meaning of Yu Shiyue's words, he couldn't help but start sweating on his head.
If this is true... I'm afraid the turmoil will not be small!
What evil has he done!
Sighing, Jiang Yuan smiled bitterly and said: "In the past, when the old minister was here, I always felt that these ministries were easy to handle. Now that the situation is difficult, I know the benefits of having the old minister in charge."
If Lord Shangshu were in the capital, how could it be his turn to handle such a difficult matter for one of his ministers?
This matter needs to be dealt with by the Minister, who has already entered the palace and asked the emperor directly.
There's no point in guessing here?
Now he is just a minister, he can't afford to offend this one, he can't afford to offend anyone, he is worried about this and that, and he is always on tenterhooks every day.
During these days, among the six ministries, only the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Industry did not have a minister in charge. When the Ministry of Punishment encountered such a major case, it would not be easy for Minister Jiang.
After thinking for a while, Yu Shiyue asked: "Mr. Jin is coming back soon to supervise the army to suppress the rebellion, right?"
Jiang Yuan nodded, his expression finally getting better: "When the incident happened a few days ago, Yu Shangshu went to admonish the emperor and recalled Ningyang Hou and Lord Shangshu. Calculating the days, it will only last three or two days.
, it’s time to arrive in the capital.”
The atmosphere in the room finally became a little more lively. Yu Shiyue smiled and said: "It is said that the suppression of the rebellion went smoothly, but the smog in the southwest has made the boss suffer."
"Indeed, it is said that the boss was not in good health a few days ago. Now he has been recalled urgently. He has been traveling and traveling all the way. I am afraid he will have to rest for a while when he arrives in the capital."
Sighing, Jiang Yuan smiled bitterly and said: "It seems that I can't escape the task of joint trial by the three departments."
Regarding Jiang Shilang's experience, Yu Siqing said that it turns out that when you see others who are worse off than yourself, you will feel that you are not so miserable. It is indeed true...