Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 52: Zong Xian was imprisoned, failure to supervise brought disaster to the country!
The next day.

Hu Zongxian sat upright in the court room waiting to be seen.

Three hours passed in a blink of an eye. Tea and delicacies were served continuously, but Hu Zongxian was extremely tired after traveling two thousand miles on horseback and staying up all night. However, he did not feel hungry at all. He closed his eyes and fell asleep while sitting.

"Master Hu! Master Hu!" A soft call sounded in his ears, and Hu Zongxian's eyes suddenly opened.

Seeing that it was Huang Jin, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Hu Zongxian quickly stood up and was about to bow, "Your humble servant Hu Zongxian greets Eunuch Huang..."

Huang Jin immediately supported him and said, "Master Hu, you are embarrassing me. I am just a servant, and you are a high-ranking official. I am not worthy of you! I am not worthy of you!"

If it was Chen Hong or any other eunuch from the Imperial Household Department, such words would have sounded sarcastic, but coming from Huang Jin's mouth, Hu Zongxian knew that they were sincere.

"Eunuch Huang, the emperor, does he have any opinion on the Zhejiang issue?" There was a hint of pleading in Hu Zongxian's eyes.

It is said that "the boat will naturally straighten itself when it reaches the bridge", but the current capital has changed so much that one can no longer see the bridge or even the shore.

Hu Zongxian was forced into a corner and had no choice but to ask Huang Jin for directions.

Huang Jin looked embarrassed and hesitated for a long time, "I have a piece of advice, I wonder if Lord Hu is willing to listen to it?"

"Eunuch Huang, please speak!"

"There is no way to have the best of both worlds."

After Huang Jin finished speaking, he walked out of the court room. Seeing this, Hu Zongxian hurriedly followed Huang Jin out.

In Yuxi Palace, just like before, Huang Jin led Hu Zongxian in quietly and walked in front of the gauze curtain.

"Your Majesty, Lord Hu is here."

Hu Zongxian knelt down in front of the veil and said, "I, Hu Zongxian, the Governor-General of Zhejiang Province, kowtow to Your Majesty."

In the abode, Zhu Houcong's voice came: "Come in."

Hu Zongxian was stunned and said in panic: "Your Majesty, the Jingshe is the place where Your Majesty cultivates immortality, and outsiders dare not enter."

Huang Jin lifted the veil and said, "Sir Hu, the Emperor said that the Jingshe is not so taboo. Before you, Lord Yan was able to enter. Later, Lord Zhang, Minister Xu, Minister Gao, and the young Lord also entered. They were all able to enter, and someone like you who is truly supporting the Ming Dynasty can also enter. Obey the Emperor's order and come in quickly."

In these words.

I don’t know how much love and compassion it contains.

For the first time, Hu Zongxian felt the supreme favor of his emperor and father, and he could not help but kowtow and said, "Yes."

He crawled into the monastery and saw Zhu Houcong, who looked like a young man, sitting cross-legged on a cushion. He was so shocked that he knelt down again when he was still ten feet away from the cushion.

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhu Houcong looked at him. He couldn't be said to be happy, but he couldn't be said to be angry either.

Hu Zongxian made the utmost efforts within the scope of loyalty to the emperor, filial piety and love for the people.

For this reason, he even killed one of his sons with his own hands.

Merits and demerits are not mentioned.

But Hu Zongxian did work hard.

"Thanks to the emperor's great blessing and the auspicious signs from heaven, and the dedicated soldiers and civilians who carried sand and stones, we were able to repair the breach in the Xin'an River in nine counties." Hu Zongxian gave all the credit to the soldiers and civilians, which shows his sincerity.

"The imperial court is corrupt and Zhejiang officials are extremely corrupt! Is that so?" Zhu Houcong's voice became a little angry.

Hu Zongxian was silent! "I have seen Chun'an County's request for a three-year tax exemption and have approved it."

Zhu Houcong stared at him and said disappointedly, "You are loyal to the country and work hard, these are your strengths, but you are too smooth and unwilling to offend anyone. You allow your subordinates and the people in the court to embezzle and turn a blind eye to it. When something goes wrong, you help to settle it.

You killed a fourth-rank river supervisor and nine county magistrates who were in the right position by raising your hand. What a courage! "

Shen Yishi, the richest businessman in Jiangnan, transported one million dan of grain to Chun'an County for disaster relief. The Jinyiwei had already reported the matter to the capital.

It is not difficult to guess that Hu Zongxian bypassed the court and used the king's order to kill people for the sake of the people of Chun'an, for the one million dan of grain, and for the joint petition for tax reduction and exemption.

But this cannot cover up the fact that Hu Zongxian intentionally or unintentionally destroyed the evidence of the crimes of Yan Song and his son and the Zhejiang officialdom.

Hu Zongxian prostrated himself, his head pressed against the cold gold brick, "Your Majesty, I am a mediocre person, but Your Majesty has not abandoned me and entrusted me with the important task of governing the frontier. However, I am not virtuous and talented enough to do things well.

But everything I do is for the emperor and for the people of the Ming Dynasty. I will not be forced by anyone.

During my tenure, the Xin'an River burst in nine counties. All the blame, in the final analysis, is the fault of me alone and has nothing to do with anyone else."

At this point, Hu Zongxian pulled out a petition from his sleeve: "This is a petition to beg for forgiveness. I beg Your Majesty to approve it."

He held the begging letter with both hands above his head.

Zhu Houcong did not ask Huang Jin to take it. He looked at Hu Zongxian with extreme disappointment and said, "I thought you would give me something, but I never thought you would give me this.

Do you think I don't know what you are thinking? Do you think I don't know what Yan Song and Yan Shifan are thinking?
Ever since you captured Xu Hai and lured Wang Zhi to his death, Yan Song has been trying his best to build momentum for you in the court, saying things like "The Ming Dynasty cannot do without the southeast, and the southeast cannot do without Hu Zongxian."

Just wait until the suppression of the Japanese is over, and then I will push you into the cabinet and become prime minister.

Yan Song and Yan Shifan's stubborn resistance in the imperial prison was simply counting on you outside to rescue them.

You destroyed the evidence of the Xin'an River flood, and you thought that if you said nothing and then begged for forgiveness in front of the emperor, I would absolve the Yan family father and son of their guilt?
absurd!"

Under the Holy Wrath.

Hu Zongxian was trembling as he knelt on the ground.

Zhu Houcong looked at him coldly, "I have one last question for you. Was the Xin'an River flood caused by the river being out of repair or was it a man-made disaster in Jiangnan?"

Hu Zongxian tried his best to calm down his nerves, staring at the ground, not wanting the dragon to see any of his expression, and replied: "Your Majesty, I have inspected the river bank before, but I failed to discover the hidden danger in time. It is my fault for negligence."

Zhu Houcong looked at Hu Zongxian and smiled, a smile that was filled with extreme anger. "What a sharp tongue you have! You even said that the river was in disrepair!"

Huang Jin continued, "Lord Hu, it is the disrepair of the river that has brought disaster to Jiangnan. Do you think that if you don't tell the emperor, he won't know? Haven't you heard that the dragon's eyes are as sharp as torches?"

When he was in the court, he advised Hu Zongxian that one cannot have it all, which means he told Hu Zongxian that Yan Song and Yan Shifan, father and son, could not be saved, and asked Hu Zongxian to save himself. He never expected that Hu Zongxian would rather die than save the father and son of the Yan family.

Hu Zongxian remained silent.

The air in the main hall of Yuxi Palace seemed to freeze all of a sudden.

"It's hard to be a human being, it's hard to be an official, neither is difficult. It's hard to be a good official without being a villain."

Zhu Houcong did not press further, "Yan Song has been very kind to you, and you are unwilling to be ungrateful. This is because you do not want to be a villain. I understand you.

But don't forget that you are an official of the Ming Dynasty, not Yan Song's!
Since you are willing to go to hell with Yan Song and Yan Shifan for the crime of negligence and harming the country, then I will do as you wish!
I will send people to investigate the imperial court and Zhejiang!
Go to jail!"

(End of this chapter)