After the words fell, Chen Xun himself closed his eyes.
He knew very well what these words meant, but he had no other choice.
Regardless of his own situation, this case is too big. Judging from the secret edicts issued by the emperor to Yu Qian and Zhu Jian respectively, the emperor is determined to pursue the case. If he protects Duning at this time, not only will he not be able to protect his
, and also involve himself in it.
However, he couldn't understand why Du Ning would get involved in this huge matter. You know, with his understanding of Du Ning, he didn't dare to say anything else. At least, he knew very well that this student was definitely not
People who are greedy for money.
There were many doubts in my heart, but I heard that the emperor had already spoken.
"In this case, let's do as Chen Shangshu said. The cabinet immediately drafted an order and ordered Lu Zhong, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, to personally lead the Tiqi and escort Du Ning back to the capital to await trial."
"As for Chen Ying's case..."
At this point, the emperor's tone paused, which made Chen Xun's heart rise. Fortunately, the emperor then said.
"Since this matter has nothing to do with Chen Shangshu, you don't have to blame yourself too hard. What the ministers said is reasonable. You are worried about state affairs. If you are dismissed because of this matter, I am afraid that everyone in the world will complain about you..."
"According to the decree, Chen Xun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was not strict in educating his children, which resulted in his son Chen Ying accepting bribes and colluding with officials to oppress the people. He was demoted half a grade but still held his original position as a punishment."
"Although his son Chen Ying has committed a serious crime, he still believes that Chen Xun has made great contributions to the court, so he can be lenient as appropriate and order him to pay the stolen money in full, have his fame removed, and never be hired again, as a warning to others!"
After the words fell, Chen Xun finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, the other ministers in the palace had different expressions, especially Zhou Jian and others, who were obviously unwilling.
In this case, nothing was found against Chen Xun. Therefore, Chen Xun's punishment was just a downgrade, which was not an accident.
However, it was really hard for them to accept that Chen Ying, the culprit, did not receive the punishment he deserved.
In their view, Chen Ying's crime would have resulted in exile at the very least, but now, just being dismissed from his job title and never being hired is really too light.
Therefore, after hearing these words, Zhou Jian frowned and immediately wanted to step forward to express his objections, but was grabbed by Liu Cheng's sleeve next to him. Zhou Jian looked back at him dissatisfied, but
Liu Cheng shook his head at him cautiously.
Then, Zhou Jian looked in the direction indicated by Liu Cheng, and saw one of the important ministers at the front looking at them with a frown.
So Zhou Jian hesitated for a moment and lowered his head.
Indeed, now is not a good time to speak. The reason why Chen Xun's case was able to achieve such an easy result this time was, to put it bluntly, because Chen Xun gave up on Du Ning in exchange for a light pardon for his son.
At this time, if he spoke rashly, he would have destroyed the tacit deal. In addition to facing Chen Xun's anger, more importantly, he would also make the emperor unhappy...
Now that the matter has come to this, it would be pointless to pursue it any further. After much hesitation, Zhou Jian gave up and continued to move forward.
Thus, this thrilling morning court came to an end. Of course, the turmoil caused by this morning court was far from over.
Especially when the case of harboring Japanese pirates came out, it almost shocked the entire government and the public, making the already turbulent court even more chaotic...
After breakfast, Yu Shiyue felt a little unsatisfied...
This morning, too many things happened.
Chen Xun's case was finally settled, but it led to a bigger case. People in Fujian were now arrested, but for the court, this was just the beginning, definitely not the end.
The first thing to bear the brunt is that the seriousness of these people's crimes needs to be verified one by one. After all, colluding with Japanese pirates is a serious crime. Even if the evidence written in Zhu Jian's memorial is conclusive, it cannot be taken lightly.
Moreover, depending on the situation, this case, like Liu Yi's previous case, must involve some officials from the capital. Therefore, to what extent it will be investigated, to what extent it will be tried, and to what extent it will be sentenced, are all big questions.
The emperor acted so secretly this time, which shows that he has made great determination. However, even Yu Shiyue was not sure how far this determination would go.
Since the beginning of the new year, there have been a series of major cases in the government and the public, and many officials inside and outside the capital have been arrested one after another. Not to mention anything else, the number of people in the recent morning court alone has been much less.
Some were imprisoned and interrogated because of their involvement in the case, or even had their official positions removed, while others were transferred out of Beijing to clean up the mess because many officials were arrested during the plan.
Now, something like this has happened in Fujian, and no one knows how many people will be involved. In addition, after these people were arrested, the officialdom in Fujian was almost completely empty. At this time, many more officials had to be added.
If the commotion really gets bigger, half of the court will probably be empty. I don’t know what the emperor is thinking...
In addition, in this morning court, whether those who jumped out to impeach Chen Xun or those who spoke for Chen Xun, there must be political connections behind them. Who is hiding behind them, and what are their respective purposes?
, each one is worthy of careful consideration.
So many things came flooding in at once that Yu Shiyue had been sitting in the public room for a long time, but his mind was still very confused and he couldn't bring up the interest to deal with the memorial in front of him.
Just when Yu Shiyue was upset and simply put down the memorandum in front of him, which he hadn't read a word of, and wanted to go out for a walk, someone from Zhongshushe suddenly came to report the news, saying.
"Sir Ci Fu, the decree just came from the palace, asking the cabinet to draft a decree to transfer the household department to Mr. Lin Cong, who is in charge, and transfer him to the magistrate of Daxing County."
"What?"
Yu Shiyue sat back on the chair, frowning.
There were so many things going on in the morning that he forgot that there was such a thing.
Before Chen Xun's case, Lin Cong took the lead and impeached the mining tax eunuch for stealing the private property of the people, but was suppressed by the emperor at that time.
After that, because of the case in Fujian, all the officials ignored the case, but apparently the emperor had not forgotten it.
At this moment, Lin Cong is transferred to Daxing County to be the county magistrate. Is it possible that he is wanted to investigate this case?
But, this is not right!
Daxing County is under the jurisdiction of Gyeonggi Province. Since the complaint has been filed, it should be tried by Shuntian Prefecture in the end. Of course, it involves the mining tax eunuch, so it is not impossible for Jin Yiwei or Dongchang to intervene.
However, Daxing County, a mere county magistrate, may not be able to fight the mining tax eunuch...
After pondering for a moment, Yu Shiyue asked.
"Did you hear clearly? It's a transfer without any other official title?"
Daxing County belongs to the Gyeonggi Province, so according to the convention, the county magistrate is the sixth rank, and Duge Shizhong was originally the seventh rank. However, during the previous Kedao reform, the emperor raised his rank by one rank, and it was also the sixth rank.
From this point of view, it is a fair deal, but everyone knows who is more important, the one responsible for verifying the imperial edict, Shi Zhong, or the magistrate.
Therefore, this transfer order can actually be regarded as a relegation...
"My lord, it's true that there is no such thing. That's what the decree says."
So, Yu Shiyue fell silent and frowned tightly.
If the emperor wanted Lin Cong to investigate the case of the mining tax eunuch, then he should at least be given a higher rank, or even let him directly investigate the case as a Taoist official by imperial decree.
It’s not impossible, and it’s even more justified.
However, the emperor didn't say anything now, and just issued a decree to transfer Lin Cong to Daxing County. Is this really because he wants to investigate, or is he trying to beat Lin Cong, or...
A trace of thoughtfulness flashed in Yu Shiyue's eyes, and his mind suddenly calmed down inexplicably. He waved for everyone else to get down, and he sat back down at the desk again and began to deal with the memorial he had just put aside.
The snow is falling one after another. I don’t know why. There are rarely sunny days in the capital this winter. There is heavy snow in the sky. Of course, it is covered in silver and the jade trees and branches turn the entire capital into a snow-white world.
However, it also caused the price of charcoal firewood in the capital to skyrocket.
"Your Majesty, the price of charcoal in Beijing has increased by nearly 50% compared to last winter. Not only the common people, but even some officials' families have begun to be unable to afford charcoal. If this continues, this winter, I am afraid someone will
so cold……"
In the Wuying Hall, Shen Yi, the Minister of Household Affairs, frowned and looked quite heavy.
It should be said that it has been almost a year, and Shen Shangshu's brows have hardly opened. In less than a year, his hair, which was originally gray, has basically lost its black color. It can be seen that during this period, he
How much pressure is there.
Regarding the continuous heavy snowfall this winter, it should be said that, with the reminder from Qin Tianjian, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Affairs was fully prepared. However, it was only when the disaster actually arrived that Shen Yi realized that he had taken it too lightly.
Although the Ministry of Revenue and Huangdian had made every effort to reserve fuel before winter began, the skyrocketing trend still cannot be stopped under the continuous heavy snowfall.
As he said, if prices continue like this, once prices are completely out of control, people may freeze to death.
To put it bluntly, it is no longer a question of whether the court is short of money or not. After Chen Xun's case, the Ministry of Punishment successively closed some cases that had been stagnant for a long time. They raided several mansions and got some more. Money can be used for emergencies. Although this is not a long-term solution, it can still solve urgent needs.
However, the current situation in the capital is that no matter how much money you have, you can't keep up with the skyrocketing prices. Moreover, the money that the court finally obtained is going to feed those black-hearted businessmen. This makes Shen Yi angry no matter what he wants... …
However, what Chen Yi didn't expect was that in the face of such a situation, the emperor seemed very calm, even slightly surprised, and said.
"How could this be?"
"Didn't I already decree that these merchants in Beijing are not allowed to increase prices at will?"
Ah this...
Shen Yi was stunned by the two-sentence question. For a moment, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue didn't know how to answer.
He really didn't expect that His Majesty the Emperor, who has always been wise, would ask such a childish question.
How can this kind of price problem be prevented by a decree?
After a while, Shen Shangshu thought about it again and again with a frown on his face, and then said cautiously.
"Your Majesty, this... you have indeed made a decree, but these businessmen in the capital... they are very cunning..."
Shen Yi paused for a moment after saying this, looking like he was racking his brains, thinking about how to explain the matter clearly without hurting the emperor's face.
"It's like this. Nowadays, many businessmen say that their firewood is not enough, so they have stopped selling food. Even if the government comes, it is impossible to force them to open their doors for business, so..."
"So these people are hoarding money on purpose, thinking that the court can't do anything to them?"
Shen Yi was still thinking about what to say, but the emperor at some point calmed down and continued.
"Ah? Yes...no..."
Hearing this, Chen Yi was stunned again, and for a moment, he stuttered a bit.
Looking at the slightly cunning look on the emperor's face at this moment, he couldn't tell that the emperor didn't know just now. He was clearly pretending not to know.
For a moment, Shen Yi couldn't help but feel speechless. He was so anxious, but it turned out that His Majesty still had the heart to joke...
With a grimace on his face, Shen Yi turned his head and stopped talking a little angrily.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu smiled and said.
"Sir, please don't worry. I see that your husband has been too worried about matters in the capital recently, so I made a little joke. I hope you don't mind..."
As a result, Chen Yi's expression softened slightly. The emperor had said so. He had no choice but to take this step, but he was still a little angry in his heart and said.
"I thank your Majesty for your concern, but Your Majesty, now that the people in the capital are suffering from heavy snow and severe cold, I really have no intention of joking..."
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu restrained his smile and said.
"Don't worry, sir. I have known about this matter for a long time and have a plan to deal with it. Please wait a moment, sir. There will be news later."
He said this with so much confidence that even Chen Yi was a little suspicious.
What can the emperor do about the current situation?
Is it possible...
A ridiculous thought flashed through Chen Yi's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Your Majesty should... not do this...
Immediately, he saw an internal servant coming to report, saying.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Shu Liang wishes to see you."
Hearing this name, the feeling in Chen Yi's heart became stronger and stronger. Not long after, Shu Liang walked into the palace dressed in wind and snow, with a usual fake smile on his face. After saluting, he said.
"Reporting to your Majesty, I have been ordered to go to various parts of the capital to purchase firewood. Except for Daxing County, we have collected 300,000 jins of firewood and 500,000 jins of charcoal. We are escorting them to Dongchang. Here are the details, please. Your Majesty’s Royal View.”
As he spoke, Shu Liang ignored Shen Yi's surprised eyes, took out a memorial from his sleeve, and handed it over respectfully...