Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 31: The Minister of State Affairs Takes Action
When Zhu Houcong knew it was Xia Yan, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"Xia Yan!"

"Do you know what you're talking about?!"

At this time.

lobby.

The court meeting scene.

Seeing that his benefactor Yang Tinghe was showing displeasure on his face, Qi Zhiluan took the initiative to step forward and shouted at Xia Yan in a stern voice, calling out his name directly.

Among scholars, etiquette has always been very important. They generally do not call their peers by their first names. If they do, it is considered a sign of disrespect for the other person.

Therefore, Qi Zhiluan was already scolding Xia Yan on behalf of Yang Tinghe at this time.

Xia Yan glared at him and said, "I am following the emperor's orders to make suggestions. Are you, Qi Zhiluan, going to use your power to punish me?!"

"What fields are you clearing?"

"What is there to be cleared?"

"There are plenty of wastelands in the capital. After confiscating the rebels' property, we can give the people cattle, farming tools, and seeds and let them reclaim the wasteland. The most important thing right now is to punish the traitors and then agree on a grand ceremony!"

Yan Hong, the Right Censor of the Ministry of Personnel, took the initiative to refute Xia Yan's proposal.

"That's not true. Although there are some wastelands in the capital, most of them are hidden fields owned by the rich and powerful."

"I also learned about this when I was ordered by the Empress Dowager to go to Huguang to welcome His Majesty and was enlightened by Mr. Yuan. I discovered that there are many wastelands in the world that were annexed by powerful people and refused to be rented out."

"Lu Fangweng said, 'What you learn from books is always shallow, you must practice it yourself to know it thoroughly. It is best for you to go out and see the truth among the people, so that you will not say such sloppy words. Those who know will think that you are just a scholar and do not know the truth, and those who do not know will think that you are deceiving the emperor.'"

At this time, someone else stood up and echoed Xia Yan's point of view, and took the initiative to refute Yan Hong on Xia Yan's behalf.

Zhu Houcong then asked Wei Bin: "Who is this person?"

"The Imperial Censor Fan Jizu followed the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War Yang Tingyi to welcome the Emperor to the capital."

Wei Bin came over and replied.

Zhu Houcong nodded and smiled slightly.

If Xia Yan's different opinions made him realize that civil officials were not monolithic, then Fan Jizu's remarks forced him to admit that his use of the excuse of helping refugees along the way to allow Yuan Zonggao, Yang Tingyi and other middle and lower-level officials among the ministers who welcomed the emperor to do the job was still a training opportunity for these middle and lower-level officials. At least this censor named Fan Jizu had changed his political views.

This made Zhu Houcong even happier.

Yang Tinghe frowned slightly.

It was enough to make him upset just because Xia Yan showed up to mess things up. He felt annoyed that his prestige was being questioned.

Now there is another censor.

Although these people did not hold high positions, as censors, they were generally three levels higher than officials in the imperial court, and they gave the emperor a headache.

So, how could Yang Tinghe not be troubled by this?
Yan Hong, who was mocked by Fan Jizu, was furious at this time. He clenched his fists and could only accuse Fan Jizu directly:
"I think you have all accepted benefits from the treacherous officials and villains, so you are cheering for them at this time!"

"Whether or not you have received any benefits, the Imperial Guards of the East Factory can investigate for Your Majesty."

"Our most important task now is to hold a court meeting in accordance with the imperial decree. Since you can no longer refute Qingtian's proposal, please shut up and avoid exposing your shallow and incompetent views here!"

Xia Yan, emboldened by his help, began to refute as well.

Yan Hong's expression suddenly became uglier.

Seeing that Xia Yan was likely to fight two capable generals under his command, Qi Zhiluan and Yan Hong, at the same time, Yang Tinghe quickly gave Mao Cheng a look, asking the Minister of Rites Mao Cheng to stand up and refute Xia Yan.

In any case, Mao Cheng is one of the Nine Ministers and has experienced the ups and downs of officialdom for a long time, so it should be no problem for him to suppress Xia Yan's arrogance.

Mao Cheng then said in a cold voice: "Let's discuss the matter, why bring up the Eastern Depot Jinyiwei!
"If we don't expose the Dongchang Jinyiwei, are we going to let them accuse us of corruption and bribery?"

"In my opinion, what Xia Jijian said is indeed a good idea for the country. Cleaning up the farmland is more suitable for establishing your majesty's reputation for benevolence than confiscating and distributing relief."

"The mighty imperial power is not a tool for you to use to exclude dissidents, but a force to carry out the policy of rejuvenation!"

At this time, the Minister of Personnel Wang Qiong took the initiative to help Xia Yan and Fan Jizu.

There is no other reason.

He and Yang Tinghe are sworn enemies.

He knew that Yang Ting and his gang wanted to punish evildoers and would definitely not forgive him, and might even want him dead.

in this way.

Anyone who opposes Yang Tinghe is naturally his friend.

Naturally, Wang Qiong had to help out.

After Wang Qiong said this, he asked Yang Tinghe directly: "Yang Gelao, you are the Prime Minister. You said that when Your Majesty first ascended the throne and the foundation was not yet stable, you suddenly implemented strict laws and confiscated the property. Is this beneficial to Your Majesty's safety and the country's destiny? Can it be regarded as a policy of revival?!"

"You guys can think of using the method of confiscating property to provide disaster relief and protect the people!"

"If you don't know, you might think that we, the ministers in the court, are incompetent and useless."

Wang Qiong then continued to make sarcastic remarks.

Yang Tinghe's face became even uglier.

Jiang Mian also looked unhappy and angrily left the stage, saying to Yang Tinghe: "The traitor has already stood up!"

"They don't know whether there was any corruption or bribery, but you, Wang Jinxi, are a sycophantic corrupt official. Your corruption and bribery are already known to everyone." "You are not qualified to attend this court meeting."

"Your Majesty's first priority is to deal with you, the traitor, to appease the people of the world!"

Jiang Mian was now on the verge of a showdown with Wang Qiong.

Wang Qiong just sneered.

He knew that if Jiang Bin fell, he would not have a good ending.

Therefore, he had to risk his life to survive, so he admitted it bluntly: "For the sake of my ancestors' country, I did something that was degrading to myself and made peace with the treacherous. You may not understand my willingness to endure humiliation, but what about you?"

"Are you guys that clean?!"

Wang Qiong suddenly waved his sleeves and asked in a stern voice.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help laughing in the back hall at this time: "It's getting more and more exciting, even the cabinet ministers and ministers have finished their work."

However, Zhu Houcong had to admit that he brought more than 200,000 refugees to Beijing in the name of benevolence and righteousness, and asked the bureaucratic group represented by Yang Tinghe to resettle these refugees. Although this did not force Yang Tinghe to make deeper reforms and share the benefits of the powerful and wealthy with the people, it still intensified the internal struggle among the civil servants.

The first court meeting he ordered after ascending the throne was full of tension, and the cabinet ministers and secretaries personally participated in the debate.

Let’s talk.

In the front hall, after Wang Qiong asked this question loudly, Jiang Mian and others became speechless and just gasped with their cheeks puffed out.

Mao Ji saw that Jiang Mian was speechless and blushing after being rebuked by Wang Qiong, so he couldn't help but sigh slightly, and then led the topic to another place:

"But according to the ancestral system, since the 26th year of Hongwu, newly reclaimed land in the north has never been taxed. Once the farmland is cleared, it is equivalent to levying a tax. Otherwise, it would not be fair. However, levying a tax would be against the system and violate the laws established by our ancestors."

It is indeed easy to confuse the issue of corruption.

After all, there are few clean people among the civil and military officials in the court.

Even honest officials would have to use illegal income other than their salaries to subsidize the normal expenses of the yamen in order to maintain the basic operation of the yamen.

This was a common phenomenon after the Ming Dynasty's general public budget shortage.

Therefore, Mao Ji simply mentioned another reason why the fields could not be cleared.

That is the question of whether or not to abide by the laws passed down by our ancestors.

Wang Qiong was now actively opposing Yang Ting and his party, so he continued to sneer and said, "How dare you mention the ancestral system?"

"If we really want to uphold the ancestral system and abide by the laws of our ancestors, then we should restore the ancestral system of skinning and slashing for those who embezzle more than 60 taels of silver!"

"I, Wang Qiong, can be skinned and tortured for this."

After Wang Qiong said this, he looked directly at Yang Tinghe: "Do you dare?"

Yang Tinghe frowned and did not answer, but just looked at the deputy assistant Liang Chu.

But Liang Chu had his eyes closed at this time, as if he had fallen asleep.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help laughing in the back hall. He had to admit that Wang Qiong's fighting ability was still good. He even knew how to use the method of a rolling meat. He had absolutely no decency and etiquette that a civil official should have. He was worthy of being Zhengde's favorite minister.

"Motosuke!"

"I have no intention of provoking internal strife. It is just that after listening to the words of the new scholars, I have gained a lot of enlightenment, so I strongly advocate clearing the fields today."

"As for the policy of combining embezzlement and relief, I think it is indeed not a good strategy to keep the people safe."

When Yang Tinghe did not answer, Xia Yan took the initiative to bow to Yang Tinghe and then expressed his opinion.

"The one who created the figurines has no descendants?"

"Please think twice, Prime Minister!"

"Please think twice!"

"It is easy to confiscate a house, but difficult to clear the land. How can a politician only seek the easy and give up the difficult without considering the future benefits and harms?"

"I have finished what I have to say."

After Xia Yan said this, he stepped back.

After hearing this, Yang Tinghe pretended to be thinking seriously.

Liang Chu, who had been daydreaming and seemed able to fall asleep in such a noisy environment, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Xia Yan.

"This man is a great talent!"

"Let the Dongchang Jinyiwei protect him secretly!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Houcong stood up at this time, gave instructions to Wei Bin, and then struck the bronze chime with a gilded wooden hammer.

Boom!
Suddenly, the bronze chimes rang in the Wenhua Hall.

Clear and sonorous.

Deafening.

The ministers in the court could not help but look towards the screen.

(End of this chapter)