Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 292: Capture
Zhu Houzhao's meaning was very clear: the behavior of the Inspector General Hu Shi was tantamount to treason.

However, the Left Censor-in-Chief Jin Xianmin was also very surprised at Zhu Houzhao's view of Hu Shi. He did not expect that the Emperor would think that Hu Shi was equivalent to treason.

However, Jin Xianmin did not dare to plead for Hu Shi at this time. He knew that the emperor already viewed Hu Shi in this way, and if he pleaded for Hu Shi again, he would only implicate himself.

No matter what, Zhu Houzhao was still the emperor of the Ming Empire, and his words were still effective. Shortly after Zhu Houzhao issued the decree, the East Factory Inspectorate sent a special person to Nanzhili to ask Hu Shi to explain the problem.

At this time, Hu Shi, the Inspector General of Nanzhili, did not know that the Emperor Zhu Houzhao had found out about his murder of Xiong Jia. He continued to inspect the prefectures in Nanzhili under the guise of the Inspector General.

The emperor is far away from Beijing, and many affairs in the south are already managed by officials in Nanjing.

Therefore, relying on the support of officials from various departments in Nanjing, Hu Shi continued to unscrupulously exercise his power as the Inspector General when inspecting the prefectures in Southern Zhili, completely forgetting that Zhu Houzhao had already stated that the power of the Inspector General had been changed.

Jurong County, Nanzhili.

The inspector Hu Shi had just walked out of the county office with the magistrate of Jurong County, chatting and laughing. Just as they were about to get on the sedan chair, a special agent from the East Factory Inspectorate appeared in front of Hu Shi:
"Hu Shi, the Southern Zhili Inspector, right? We are from the East Factory Inspectorate. Come with us!"

Hu Shi couldn't help but stand there in a daze. Although, in that era, information was often difficult to convey in a timely manner, he could guess that it was not a good thing for the people from the East Factory to come to him.

Hu Shi immediately panicked and asked, "May I ask why this happened? What did I do wrong?"

"This is His Majesty's decree!"

The people from the East Factory Inspection Office did not answer Hu Shi, but only showed the East Factory approval document. Immediately, a senior official from the East Factory Inspection Office ordered, "Take him away!"

then.

This Hu Shi was pulled down by two officers from the Eastern Depot's Inspectorate, and their arms were clamped before they led him into the carriage.

The magistrate of Jurong County and other officials were all dumbfounded.

Even the Inspector Hu Shi's entourage, staff, and even officers and soldiers were dumbfounded.

The Inspector General Hu Shi, who had been showing off his power throughout the entire Southern Zhili and did not take any local officials seriously except the governor, was taken away by three people from the East Depot!

No one dared to question anything, and no one could question anything. After all, Nanzhili was still the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Hu Shineng could be arrogant in front of Xiong Jia, but in front of the people sent by the emperor, he was like an ant.

At this time, Hu Shi was sitting in the car, his whole body was cold, his heart was aching, and he felt as if he was about to stop breathing. However, his mind was still working rapidly, wondering what had happened and why he was taken away by the people from the East Factory Inspectorate.

"Wait, please review the official document from the Censorate!"

At this time, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came. When Hu Shi heard that it was an official document from the Censorate coming to look for him, he suddenly opened his eyes and excitedly took the reply document in a hurry. However, he saw that it was Jin Xianmin, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, who asked him to produce evidence to accuse Xiong Jia of partiality and abuse of power.

Hu Shi understood everything at once. He knew why he was suddenly taken away by the people from the Eastern Depot. He knew that his handling of Xiong Jia according to the instructions of Nanjing Minister of Works Zhou Yong had angered his superiors.

But Hu Shi had never expected that a local fourth-rank official who was also the deputy envoy of military preparation and the prefect could actually attract the attention of his superiors. He could only be sure that the so-called Jinyiwei had reported the news. Hu Shi regretted it very much now. He regretted that he was only concerned with satisfying the demands of Nanjing Minister of Works Zhou Yong to take revenge on Xiong Jia, but completely forgot that there were still the omnipresent Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty.

"My dear eunuchs, I didn't want to do this. I had no choice! Nanjing Grand Marshal Zhou asked me to do this. He wanted to take revenge on Prefect Xiong!"

"My dear eunuchs, please speak up for me in front of His Majesty. I really have no other choice. I can give you gifts. As long as you are willing to help me, I will give you whatever you say!"

Hu Shi spoke in a panic, sometimes pushing his own responsibility onto Nanjing Minister of Works Zhou Yong, saying that he was wronged and had to obey the order. The next moment, he tried to bribe the people in the East Factory Inspectorate with money and beautiful women.

The people from the East Factory Inspectorate ignored Hu Shi and did not dare to accept his bribe. After all, the capital had just dealt with a cabinet minister who had accepted bribes from them. What's more, His Majesty had directly classified Hu Shi's crime as treason. Naturally, they did not dare to be implicated by Hu Shi and did not even dare to say a word.

At the same time that Hu Shi was taken away, officials from the Ministry of Justice also brought a team of officers and soldiers to the residence of Zhou Yong, the Minister of Works in Nanjing.

Although the Nanjing Minister of Works has much less authority than the Minister of Works, it does not mean that he is really a powerless official. After all, the six ministries in Nanjing are also in charge of some affairs in the south, and he, the Nanjing Minister of Works, also has some powers. At least his status is not low, not to mention that he has many students and former officials.

Nanjing Minister of Works Zhou Yong never thought that someone in his position would be severely punished for some trivial matters. After all, he did not commit treason nor go against the Emperor.

But what Zhou Yong overlooked was that the Ming Dynasty was no longer the same as before, and the current Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao did not want the law to become a dead letter in the empire.

However, what was unexpected was that when the officials from the Ministry of Justice arrived at Zhou Yong's mansion, the doorman did not let them in, but asked them to bring a note and even a door bag.

The officials from the Ministry of Justice did not hesitate and directly ordered the soldiers to break in and directly grab Zhou Yong from his concubine's bed.

Zhou Yong did not expect that he would be arrested suddenly, and he yelled hysterically: "What are you doing! I am the Minister of Works of Nanjing. You have brought troops in without permission. I will report it to His Majesty!"

"This is the decree of His Majesty agreeing to arrest you! You are now dismissed from your post and formally arrested for allegedly bribing the cabinet's chief minister, Wang Qiong. The Censorate has opened a case, Wang Qiong has confessed, and has provided physical evidence of your bribery!"

The official from the Ministry of Justice shouted, "Take him away!"

After hearing this, Zhou Yong raised his head in astonishment: "Impossible! Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! The Prime Minister has always been favored by the emperor, how could he be charged with corruption! His Majesty would not do this. You are fake, fake officials of the Ministry of Justice. Besides, even if I am guilty, it is not your turn to be arrested. It should be the Censorate or the Imperial Guards!"

The officials of the Ministry of Justice were too lazy to argue with Zhou Yong and directly ordered his men to lock him up and take him out of the mansion. After all, Zhu Houzhao had issued a strict order that corrupt elements like Zhou Yong who took the initiative to offer bribes were the most unforgivable people and must be arrested and brought to justice within three months.

Zhou Yong roared for a long time, but it was useless. Finally, he had to stop and started talking to himself: "Why is it like this? Why is it like this? Since when will corruption be punished like this? The law of the country is very strict, the law of the country is very strict!"

In Zhou Yong's worldview, corruption was nothing, and giving gifts to officials in Beijing was also an unwritten rule in officialdom, but he never expected that he would be convicted for this one day.

As a result, after Zhou Yong was escorted to the capital, he directly said that if he was to be sentenced to death, then most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty would have to be sentenced to death.

"No matter how he shouts, everything will be handled according to the law. Since the evidence is conclusive, it doesn't matter whether he pleads guilty or not. As the Minister of Justice, you can directly pronounce the verdict!"

Zhu Houzhao hated people who committed crimes but felt that they should not be punished because others had committed the same crime. So he did not listen to Zhou Yong's sophistry and directly ordered the Minister of Justice Lin Jun to sentence Zhou Yong to death immediately.

So, not long after, Zhou Yong was officially sentenced, beheaded in public, and skinned and stuffed with straw!
For the officials of the imperial court, this incident shocked them greatly. Some officials could not accept this way of governing the country by law. They felt it was too cruel and prepared to resign. In their view, accepting benefits from subordinates and giving benefits to superiors were normal things in officialdom and there was no need to deal with it so severely.

However, some officials applauded this loudly, believing that it would help to clean up the bureaucracy and avoid the deterioration of moral conduct.

This is the result of the parallel development of the old and new education in the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the officials who received new-style education came from humble backgrounds. They were also exposed to the ideas of nationalism and the welfare of the people. In addition, influenced by Zhu Houzhao's own idealism, these officials highly respected the idea of ​​governing the country by law.

However, there were also many officials who, influenced by the Confucian idea of ​​benevolence and virtue, had an instinctive sympathy for people of the same class, and were concerned about the stability of the Ming Dynasty, and did not advocate governing the country with harsh laws and severe punishments.

"Laws can be changed, but I think that laws should be strict, that is, stricter, in order to eliminate corruption and encourage people to be good. At least before the people are enlightened, the Ming Dynasty cannot reduce the severity of the law," said Tang Bohu, Zhu Houzhao's mouthpiece, in a speech on how to change the law at the Imperial University of Peking. Immediately, a Confucian scholar Xie Zhen asked back: "May I ask how people's wisdom is enlightened? And do you know that the second emperor of Qin died because the law was too strict?"

"When the people no longer kneel in front of the government office to cry out for justice, when the people can spontaneously resist the tyranny of a certain official, when the people can know how to organize and negotiate with the government instead of enduring it until they can no longer endure it and then rise up to tell the government that it has gone too far," Tang Bohu said, and then said, "As for the demise of the second Qin Dynasty, although it was due to the strict laws, the laws of our Ming Dynasty are not strict to begin with. You can compare them. The laws of the Ming Dynasty will not punish people for missing work. Moreover, I believe that the Qin Dynasty did not die because of the strict laws, but because of the tyranny. The laws of the Qin Dynasty had been implemented for a hundred years, not just for the second generation!"

After hearing this, the Confucian scholar Xie Zhen just smiled and continued to argue with Tang Bohu.

Zhu Houzhao did not control this. Whether or not the laws of the Ming Dynasty should be changed and how to change them was a matter for the entire world. He did not mind these people arguing. In his opinion, this would at least allow people all over the world to have a sense of participation in the Ming Empire, and with this sense of participation they would truly develop feelings for the country.

No matter what the laws will become in the future, at least they will be in line with the interests of the majority of people in the world. In that way, most people in the world will realize that they are participating in the governance of this country and that they are the masters of this country. Only then will they have a sense of belonging and national sentiment to this country, and will they take the initiative to abide by the laws and rules of this country. After all, they participated in the changes and formulation of these laws, and if they do not abide by them, wouldn’t that be denying themselves?

Zhu Houzhao believed that if all the people in the world could really discuss and come up with a code of law that was suitable for the current national conditions of the Ming Dynasty, even if foreign forces invaded in the future, it would arouse resistance from all the people of the Ming Dynasty, because once the empire became a country that they participated in governing, they would never want it to be taken away by foreign forces.

but.

Zhu Houzhao had to admit that this seemed difficult. The scholars of the empire were clamoring and giving speeches and holding forums everywhere, but they could never reach a consensus. Ordinary farmers and workers seemed to have no intention of participating in this activity. Officials did not dare to express their opinions for fear of being pulled down from the political arena.

Even the representatives from various provinces who were ordered to come to Beijing were bribed by some people with ulterior motives, and their identities were exposed by the Jinyiwei, and then they were punished, which made the entire Ming Dynasty scholar community extremely angry and disappointed.

Zhu Houzhao could also see that if things continued like this, it would be impossible for the people of the empire to allow him, the emperor, to successfully change the laws of the Ming Dynasty in decades. First, you have to establish a system to prevent representatives from being bribed, and secondly, you have to get those who are arguing to reach a consensus.

Despite this, Zhu Houzhao was still willing to accept it. After all, whether the law was changed or not would not have much impact on him as the emperor.

However, there were also many selfish officials who hoped that Emperor Zhu Houzhao could act like an emperor and use his imperial power to forcibly change the laws, or take the lead in not abiding by the laws, or not strictly abiding by the laws, or at least not punish corrupt officials. But they could not tell the emperor clearly that he should not take the laws seriously, and should act like the master of the world and treat us as his slaves, and should be more tolerant to the slaves. They could only say that the emperor should rule the country with kindness.

As a modern man, Zhu Houzhao's belief in the rule of law is far greater than that in the rule of man. He was asked to abandon the rule of law and become the master of millions of people, and then turn the entire Ming Dynasty into his private property, and the people of the Ming Dynasty into his slaves, and then divide the slaves into different levels, with the higher-level slaves enslaving the lower-level slaves. Zhu Houzhao could not do it. He was not the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, and he did not want to treat the Ming Dynasty as his private property.

But because of this, Zhu Houzhao knew that there must be big bureaucrats and landlords who wanted to obtain the privilege of "no punishment for officials" who could not tolerate an emperor like him and wished he would die soon.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao knew that he could not let his guard down at any time. He had to continue to popularize universal education so that more people could get rid of ignorance and pursue the most basic dignity. At the same time, he had to continue to accumulate the wealth of the empire so that more people could have more interests in other aspects in addition to meeting their living conditions.

However, the entire Ming Empire is now very complicated, and many political and economic activities can only be handled by Emperor Zhu Houzhao. Therefore, no one really dares to risk the world's condemnation and frame Zhu Houzhao. Moreover, the princes are still young, and no one wants to change the emperor at this time.

Because of this, Zhu Houzhao was still able to sit firmly on his throne as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Empire continued to advance rapidly because he was still at the helm. Although legal changes would not produce results for a while, the idea of ​​governing the country according to the law began to take root in the hearts of the people.

Xiong Jia's suspension arrangement was declared invalid by the Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel, so Xiong Jia continued to be in charge of Songjiang Prefecture. After he resumed his power and freedom, the first thing he did was to continue to make decisions for the people. He arrested Zhou Jiansheng and sentenced him to immediate execution! After all, Zhou Jiansheng was guilty of murder.

When Zhou Jiansheng was pushed to the execution ground, his whole body was shaking. It was the first time he felt the fear of death, but the people outside the execution ground were excited. It was the first time they felt the government upholding justice.

At this time, Xiong Jia looked at the time and ordered the execution.

Then, with a snap, Zhou Jiansheng's head fell to the ground!

For the vast Ming Empire, the execution of a student might not mean much, but in Songjiang Prefecture, during that historical period when the emergence of steam power led to a split between the gentry and the common people, the execution of a student meant that the era of gentry controlling the government was gradually coming to an end, and for the first time, the people began to defeat the gentry in the struggle for interests.

You should know that in history, this kind of situation where the working class and peasants relied on government support to defeat the gentry only appeared after the 20th century AD. The reason why this phenomenon can occur in the Ming Dynasty today is, firstly, because the empire did not experience three hundred years of slave rule by a certain dynasty; secondly, it is the result of Zhu Houzhao's promotion of universal education; and thirdly, the people of Songjiang Prefecture are already highly educated and have the attributes of a modern citizen class.

Luo Xiang's new weaving bureau, like a ferocious beast without natural enemies, devoured the entire textile market in the Jiangnan region and rapidly expanded the foreign textile trade market.

A year later, when Luo Xiang reported on his work, he brought two million silver dollars to Beijing. This caused a sensation in the entire Ming court. No one had expected that a new weaving bureau founded by Luo Xiang could bring such huge profits.

at the same time.

Luo Xiang also proved his strength to Zhu Houzhao. At the same time, Zhu Houzhao himself was secretly glad that he did not listen to Wang Qiong's advice and choose to change generals at the last minute.

However, coming back to the topic, although a series of incidents involving Jiangnan officials and gentry were caused by the use of the most advanced steam technology to open a new weaving bureau in Songjiang Prefecture, Zhu Houzhao also had to deal with the corruption problem involving the military in Xuanhua.

Although the Ming Dynasty began to gradually emphasize civil affairs over military affairs in the middle and late periods, the military generals of the Ming Dynasty were not always pure and honest. It was common for them to eat empty salaries and even to support the enemy for their own benefit. Using military soldiers as serfs was a malpractice of the Ming Dynasty's military system.

If Zhu Houzhao had not been worried about forcing the military landlords who treated military soldiers as serfs to rebel, he would have abolished the military system at the beginning of his reign. Now the corruption problem in Xuanhua has undoubtedly provided Zhu Houzhao with an opportunity.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty has basically become fully armed with firearms, and the production of standard firearms and gunpowder is controlled by the court. Zhu Houzhao only needs to block the firearms and ammunition and no longer has to worry about abolishing the military system and forcing these military landlords to rebel.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao decided to take advantage of the corruption issue in Xuanhua to achieve his goal of reforming the military system.

Zhu Houzhao issued an imperial edict, requiring the Xuanhua border army to conduct a one-month military exercise, in which all officers and soldiers must participate, and live-fire training must be conducted to maximize the consumption of the Xuanhua border army's logistical reserves.

At the same time, Zhu Houzhao asked the Ministry of War to temporarily supply firearms, ammunition, cold-proof winter clothing and even medicines to the Xuanhua border troops on the pretext of building a cement road from Xuanhua to the capital. He also ordered Duke of England Zhang Lun to lead four divisions of the Guards north to Zhangjiakou Fort in the name of coordinating border troops' military exercises and approaching Xuanfu Town.

This military exercise was commanded by General Wang Shouren.

Wang Shouren decided to use a combination of real and fake tactics and, according to the military exercise method that Zhu Houzhao had told him before, he directly ordered the border troops under the Xuanfu General Pingjiang Earl Chen Rui and the Guards under the Duke of England Zhang Lun to be enemies of each other. The Guards played the role of foreign invaders and were transferred to the outside of Zhangjiakou Fort, responsible for attacking Zhangjiakou and Xuanfu in order to improve their offensive capabilities, while the border troops continued to defend Xuanfu and Zhangjiakou Fort and train their defense.

Chen Rui, the general of Xuanfu, was a little skeptical at first and felt that something was wrong. After all, he did not expect the court to suddenly organize a military exercise. But when Wang Shouren only asked him to defend Xuanfu and other places, and said that the Guards went north only as an imaginary enemy of foreign invaders and would not enter the city, he did not think there was anything wrong. He could only follow Wang Shouren's arrangements and prepare for defense with peace of mind.

However, after the main forces of the four divisions of the Imperial Guards began to form a siege on Xuanfu and other castles, Wang Shouren suddenly summoned military officers such as Chen Rui, the general of Xuanfu, and civil officials such as Song Bin, the censor who inspected Xuanda, and Pu Quan, the censor of merit, to discuss the arrangements for defending the city for this military exercise.

Chen Rui and others did not think there was any fraud, and they all thought that Wang Shouren was one of their own, so they believed it and came to Wang Shouren's gate to discuss the matter.

Wang Shouren had already ambushed the crossbowmen. As soon as Chen Rui and other officials sat down, Wang Shouren launched an attack and took out the imperial edict: "According to the order! Xuanfu General Pingjiang Bo Chen Rui... Censor Song Bin, Censor Pu Quan... and other officials are suspected of corruption and bribery. They mixed sand into the gunpowder and colluded with the inner court officials to increase the military expenses of the Moutu Empire! They are culpable! Take them to Beijing immediately and interrogate them strictly!"

Chen Rui was shocked and stood up and asked, "Director Wang! What are you doing?!"

Wang Shouren smiled coldly: "Of course I am arresting you by order!"

Wang Shouren waved his hand as he spoke, and immediately a team of archers rushed out, aiming directly at Chen Rui and other officials.

Chen Rui's officials were all horrified. They had never thought that the senior official Wang Zongzhi, whom they had worked so hard to win over, would actually harm them. Therefore, Chen Rui became very angry and laughed out of anger: "You want to arrest me! Why do you dare to arrest me? Aren't you afraid that I, Chen, will take the opportunity to organize soldiers to revolt?!"

"The court has temporarily stopped shipping food, firearms and ammunition to Xuanfu. The four divisions of the Imperial Guards have now all replaced their ammunition with real ones and have surrounded the three major powers in Xuanfu. General Chen, may I ask, is the court worried about your rebellion?!"

Wang Shouren asked back.

(End of this chapter)