Chapter eight hundred and forty second: Ren Houye's popularity
A few days passed by in a flash, and it was morning.
Following the usual routine, the elders came forward one by one to make arrangements, but most of them were trivial and boring matters.
This is what an ordinary morning court looks like. A group of ministers were listening to the construction drawings of the palace presented to them by the Ministry of Works. They counted down three times in their hearts. As expected, they heard the Ministry of Household's cry for poverty.
The two ministers were arguing about everything from materials to rituals, manpower to construction period, which really made the listeners a little bored.
This process has been going on every morning for a little over half a month. At the beginning, everyone thought it was fun, but later on, after hearing it more, it became uninteresting.
Looking up at the sky, a group of ministers were thinking silently in their hearts. The six ministries, including the Inspectorate, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Ministry of War, had all finished their work. The Ministry of Rites had nothing major to do recently and was very leisurely. Looking at Da Zong Bohun
His drowsy look showed that he was looking forward to going to court more than they were.
Over at the Metropolitan Procuratorate, all the energy is focused on rectifying the military settlement. It has been a long time since there has been any trouble in the court, and probably nothing will happen this time.
As for the Ministry of Punishment, the old minister Jin Lian is still in Ningxia and has not yet returned. There is only one minister guarding the ministry, and he has never had any sense of presence in the court.
If nothing else goes wrong, the Ministry of Industry's performance will be over and the morning meeting will be almost over.
After arguing for a long time, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs did not come up with a complete charter. However, the elders are used to it. As for court affairs, everyone has their own position. There is no rush to build a palace or something.
Seeing the two ministers throwing away their sleeves and returning to their respective positions, the elders became energetic and finally welcomed the dawn of breakfast.
Then……
"Your Majesty, I have this report!"
The ministers followed the call and saw Zhou Xuan, the Minister of Punishment, stepping forward steadily, holding his hands and speaking.
Ministry of Punishment, are there any major cases recently?
The elders frowned, no, the recent major case of the Ministry of Punishment should be the Ningyuan Hou Renli's land invasion case. However, isn't the Minister of Punishment still investigating this case in Ningxia?
What was Zhou Xuan doing out at this time?
As if feeling the gazes of the surrounding ministers, Zhou Xuan took out a memorandum in his hand, handed it to the chamberlain, forwarded it to the imperial case, and said.
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Punishment, in accordance with your Majesty's decree, has joined with the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Dali Temple, and Jin Yiwei to try the case of Marquis Ning Yuan's appointment. The results are now available. Your Majesty, please review it."
What?
Is this really the case?
The ministers below immediately stirred up a stir and there was low discussion.
They thought that the Ministry of Punishment came forward at this time for this matter, but such a big case had to wait until Shangshu Jin Lian returned to Beijing to try it.
What's more, even if there is a trial, after all it involves a marquis, why is there no news at all?
Looking at Du Ning, the minister of Dali Temple, and Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, who were standing aside, he saw that neither of them looked surprised.
Obviously, Zhou Xuan had discussed it with them before presenting the memorial.
After a while, the emperor finished reading the memorial presented by the Ministry of Punishment, his face was as sinking as water, and he waved his hand, indicating to the chamberlain to open the memorial and read.
"I would like to report that Zhou Xuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment..."
"Ningyuan Hou Renli committed three serious crimes."
"First, they embezzled military land and bought and sold privately cultivated land. After investigation, it was found that the border land under the name of Ningyuan Marquis Mansion totaled 568 hectares, of which 432 hectares were obtained from concealing military land.
In addition, when Ren Li was serving as the commander-in-chief of Gansu Province, he oppressed the people on the border, bought and sold by force, and allowed his subordinates to commit misdeeds. Detailed evidence is attached."
To everyone's surprise, the first piece of evidence listed by the Ministry of Punishment was actually related to the military settlement, which was more than 500 hectares, which was not much compared to some established families.
However, this made many ministers, especially the many military ministers present, realize a question, that is, what on earth was Jin Lian doing after staying at the border for so long?
If it is just to investigate Ren Li, it seems that it should not take so long...
Could it be that he has other errands at the border?
All the ministers were confused, but they could only continue to listen.
"The second is to kill good people and pretend to be meritorious, and to be daring enough to intercept and kill tribute envoys privately. In the eighth year of Zhengtong, the former commander-in-chief of the Chijin Mongolian Guard, Qi Jin, lost his prosperity and sent envoys to Beijing to request the imperial court to allow the Chijin Mongolian Guard to move to Suzhou, and
After presenting evidence of Ren Li's crime of occupying military fields, he arrived in Ningxia and was intercepted and killed by Ren Li and his subordinates He Hao and others. None of the 142 members of the envoy returned alive."
"Afterwards, Ren Li lied about the invasion of bandits and led his troops to destroy them. He received numerous rewards from the court and committed the crime of deceiving the emperor."
As soon as the words fell, the palace suddenly became silent.
Except for some ministers who knew the inside story in detail, almost all the other ministers gasped in unison.
Is this guy so exciting?
The biggest reason why Ren Li was imprisoned in the first place was because Yang Hong uncovered the Xuanfu assassination case. However, this assassination case has not been mentioned until now. Instead, such a big old case was revealed.
After reacting, many ministers turned their attention to Asu who was aside.
Logically speaking, although Asu has an official position conferred by the Ming Dynasty, the status of the Seven Guards of Guanxi is special and cannot be treated as a minister. Therefore, he does not normally have to go to court.
But today, Asu came. The ministers originally thought that it was because Asu was about to leave the capital, so they came to say goodbye.
But I never thought that there was such a big case hidden behind it.
There were many ministers present who were familiar with the situation on the border. If they remembered correctly, Asok's father Qie Wangsuga died in the ninth year of Zhengtong. Before that, he had repeatedly reported that the pressure on the border was huge.
He wanted to move his tribe to Suzhou, but was blocked by Ren Li.
If there is such a section hidden in the middle, then I'm afraid there must be some connection between the two.
However, no matter what the reason is, killing a tribute envoy without authorization is a serious crime!
What's more, the person Ren Li killed was the tribute envoy of the Seven Guards of Guanxi who had always submitted to the Ming Dynasty!
Strictly speaking, what he did was even more serious than the assassination of Yu Qian by the Xuanfu. After all, the latter was still an internal matter of the Ming Dynasty. However, once the former happened, it was likely to cause the Seven Guards of Kansai to rebel against the Ming Dynasty.
The Seven Guards of Kansai are in a critical position. Once they defect, the Western Region Passage will inevitably fall into the hands of Ye Xian. By then, Ye Xian will be able to obtain a steady stream of supplies, thus threatening the Ming Dynasty.
This Renli is really... audacious!
All the ministers looked at Asu silently, but saw that he had no expression on his face, and they didn't know what he was thinking.
At the same time, the superior voice continued to sound, saying.
"Third, hiring murderers to assassinate important officials of the imperial court. In the first year of Jingtai, Shaobao's Minister of War, Admiral Yu Qian, the Minister of Military Affairs on both sides, was ordered to go to the border to investigate the case of reselling weapons by Luo Tong, the deputy capital censor. When passing through Gansu, Gansu was found
Ren Li was afraid that Yu Qian would be impeached after he returned to Beijing because of evidence of the crime of embezzling military garrison. He sent an order to Lieutenant General He Hao to select three elite men from the Gansu camp and report them as dead because of the epidemic. In fact, he ordered them to sneak into Xuanfu City and plot an assassination.
"
"The three major crimes have evidence and can be verified: Ren Li embezzled military villages, regarded the court's laws as if they were nothing, privately rewarded the court's official weapons indiscriminately, killed good people and took credit for their merits, deceived the emperor and ignored his superiors, and was audacious, openly plotting to assassinate important officials of the court. The crime must not be pardoned!
"
"The Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple, after collaborating, petitioned Your Majesty to remove the title of Marquis Renli Ningyuan, take back the hereditary iron certificate, demote him to a commoner, and sentence him to execution. His family property will be confiscated, and everyone in the government will be exiled to Tieling.
Pardon or not."
"Deputy General He Hao helped Zhou to perpetrate his crimes. He hoped that if he confessed voluntarily, he would be sentenced to death and his property confiscated. He would not offend his family. The other persons involved in the case would be punished according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty."
"Zhou Xuan, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, Chen Yi, the imperial censor of Zuodu, and Du Ning, the minister of Dali temple, would like to report this."
As Huaien's voice fell, there was a burst of low discussion below. At the same time, Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, who had not spoken in the court for a long time, stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, the evidence of the crime in this case is conclusive. The crime of disrespecting etiquette is a heinous crime. Please allow your Majesty to kill this beast!"
Immediately after, Zhou Xuan and Du Ning also stepped forward and said.
"Please give me your Majesty's permission to kill this beast!"
Ah this...
The elders looked at each other. It should be said that according to the crime Ren Li committed, it would be cheap to kill him.
However, it still needs to be said that Yiyi Renli is a marquis after all, and he has military exploits. Moreover, his military exploits, whether it was the long-distance attack on Adai Khan or the later battle of Zijin Pass, were great victories and were crucial to the Ming Dynasty.
Important battle.
No matter how serious a crime he commits, he must take this into consideration.
Moreover, although the attitude of the Third Division is firm, ministers who are familiar with the punishment are keenly aware of one thing, that is, the evidence listed by the Third Division is indeed very clear, but the most critical piece is missing, Ren Li
confession.
Without this, there will always be some shortcomings in killing a prince.
Even the minister who was not familiar with the name of punishment had a strange feeling at this moment. This case was so closely related that it had to be tried several times, just like the case of King Zhennan last time, which caused a stir in the whole court.
Paying attention is normal.
But now, the case is closed so quietly, without any movement?
I always feel like something is wrong...
Just when all the ministers were confused and hesitant to step forward to question, they saw Azu, the leader of the Chijin Mongolian Guard who had been standing there, slowly stepped forward, came to the palace, and said.
"Your Majesty, among the tribute envoys who were intercepted and killed by Ren Li, there was my wife and brother, who had saved my life on the battlefield many times. I sincerely ask your Majesty to allow me to kill my enemies with my own hands!"
Asu is not some pampered nobleman in the capital, but a fierce man who was truly born on the grasslands and grew up on the battlefield.
These words were filled with murderous intent. Standing next to him, you could feel a strong chill coming over you, making you unable to help but feel chills on your back.
Yes……
Finally, someone with a bright mind connected all the things at once. Whether in the hearts of the court or the emperor, there is no doubt that the importance of the Seven Guards of Kansai is far more important than the rites.
As soon as the case of intercepting and killing the tribute envoy comes out, Ren Li will definitely die!
Otherwise, the separation between the Seven Guards of Kansai and the imperial court would be an absolutely unacceptable consequence for the Ming Dynasty.
If this is the case, then the details of the invasion of military fields and the subsequent assassination of the minister are actually unimportant.
The important thing is to give the Kansai Seven Guards an explanation!
Asu's stay in the capital was not short, and since he entered the capital, he had repeatedly shown his loyalty to the court, even risking his life and coming to challenge Bodu.
Therefore, before Asu leaves the capital, this case must have a result.
Everyone's eyes stayed on the emperor, but they saw that the emperor glanced downwards for a week, his eyes wandering around the bodies of the nobles.
At this time, Cheng Guogong Zhu Yi stood up, but what he said surprised everyone.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the merits of the imperial court are not something that can be done arbitrarily. The merits of the court are meritorious. The imperial court bestows official titles, rewards, and honors, which are sufficient rewards for merit. You must not forgive your crimes because of your merits. Therefore, I would like to invite your majesty.
Kill Ren Li to set the record straight!"
After the words fell, a group of ministers felt as if they were hallucinating.
Is this really what Xungui should say?
You know, although Ren Li has committed a crime, he is still a member of the noble family. Even if there is any grudge before, if you want him to die, that is another matter.
After all, just as the tacit struggle between civil servants does not involve the clan, the nobles also have their own rules, one of which is to protect the privileges of the nobles.
Any honorable person is either an ancestor or someone who has made great contributions to the country. Therefore, no matter how serious a crime you commit, you should be lenient and lenient if you can.
And, more importantly, the battlefield is different from studying. Studying only requires studying the scriptures of saints and traveling thousands of miles at most. However, if you want to be a general with illustrious military exploits, you need to hone yourself countless times on the battlefield.
Therefore, any honorable person is precious to the Ming Dynasty, especially the first-generation honorable person like Ren Li.
Except for the special reasons during the Hongwu period, when many nobles were wantonly implicated, other dynasties basically held a lenient attitude towards the crimes committed by nobles. Under normal circumstances, the most serious one was to be reduced from rank to exile, and under special circumstances, even
Allow him to make meritorious deeds.
This is the tacit understanding that the nobles have always maintained, but now, as the top noble of the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Guogong Zhu Yi actually takes the initiative to kill Ren Li?
For a while, many ministers felt that they could not understand.
But, something more magical is yet to come.
As Zhu Yi came out of the queue, Ningyang Hou Chen Mao hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, I think what Duke Cheng Guo said is reasonable. The merits achieved on the battlefield are not used for pride. Ren Li is so audacious and has no regard for the laws of the court. Even if he has the title of Marquis, he cannot indulge in it."
Immediately after, Yang Hong, the Marquis of Changping, also spoke.
"The crime of neglecting rituals cannot be pardoned. Please allow Your Majesty to kill this beast!"
Honorable men and women came out one after another, including Feng Guogong, Jing'an Bo, Chong'an Marquis, Xining Bo... and Zhang Shi from the British Duke.
They all stepped forward in unison and asked the emperor to deal with Ren Li.
With this look, it didn't look like Ren Li had assassinated Yu Qian, but rather like he had assassinated them.
So much so that many ministers present could not help but have the same question in their minds...
How did Marquis Ningyuan manage to have such bad popularity?