Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 1173
It was very quiet in the hall, except for the voices of the punished elders thanking them, none of the officials dared to take a breath.

Anyone with some political sensitivity knows very well that in the current situation, the punishment of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is just the beginning. Although the full picture of this case has not yet been seen, there are so many officials in Fujian alone. It can be seen from the involvement that this case is not a small one.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a big commotion. From the current point of view, the emperor should have been aware of this case long ago, so he made a lot of preparations in advance.

In this way, many things that have been difficult to understand in the court recently became clear. As an important minister in the court, Zhu Jian suddenly parachuted to Fujian as governor. The original governor neglected his duties, but he was only demoted to the chief envoy. Other than that, In addition, the Japanese pirates have been wiped out, but the Japanese army still has no intention of returning to the country.

All of this is due to this shocking case. Japanese pirates have proliferated all along the coast and have been difficult to eradicate for many years. The reason behind this is that these Japanese pirates have penetrated into the entire officialdom, and even the governor's yamen are working for them. They cover up.

The entire officialdom is in such a bad state that a capable minister must be sent to clean it up. Zhu Jian's hometown is in Quanzhou, so it is more convenient to investigate. More importantly, Zhu Jian has not returned since he became an official in Yongle's early years. After returning to his hometown, he spent most of his time as an official in the northern border passes, so he was not deeply involved with the local area.

In addition, he has the merit of welcoming back the Supreme Emperor, his status in the court is not low, and he is courageous and resolute. It is most suitable for him to pry open the Fujian officialdom.

And such a big case must involve a wide range of things. Over the years, local officials will definitely not all be complicit. However, once the interest chain is formed, whoever dares to destroy it will inevitably become the enemy of the entire Fujian officialdom. And since this group of people dare to collude with Japanese pirates, there is nothing they dare not do.

Therefore, if you want to investigate this case, you must firstly keep it secret, and secondly, you must have sufficient strength, but the problem is that, with such a wide range of issues involved, no one can be sure whether there are officials from the local guard and command department involved. Therefore, the only ones who can control the situation are the officers and soldiers transferred from other places.

However, mobilizing officers and soldiers for no reason will inevitably arouse the vigilance of these officials. Once the criminal evidence is destroyed in advance, it will become more difficult to investigate the case, and the arrival of the Japanese army has filled this gap.

Before this case appeared, everyone felt that this time the campaign against Japanese pirates was no different from usual. If there was any difference, it was because the admiral was Yu Qian, a well-known important minister in the DPRK. Therefore, I am afraid that in the eyes of some Fujian officials Come, this time we are going to suppress Japanese pirates as usual. We will hand over some Japanese pirates so that the army can communicate with them, and then lie dormant for a period of time. When the army leaves, we can do whatever we need to do.

Unexpectedly, apart from suppressing the Japanese, the more important purpose of the army's departure was to assist Zhu Jian in investigating officialdom in Fujian.

and……

The most surprising thing in this memorial is that the former governor and current chief envoy Jia Xiuping forged military orders and mobilized troops to encircle and suppress the governor's Yamen.

From this incident, at least two points can be seen. One is that the local commander Si Yamen must also have interests in it. Otherwise, Jia Xiuping, the chief envoy, would have forged military orders and wanted to Mobilizing officers and troops is not easy.

In addition, the second and most important thing is why Jia Xiuping did this, besieging the governor's office, which is tantamount to conspiracy. Even if he succeeds, I am afraid he will not escape death. Of course, if he sees the opportunity quickly, considering that he If it has something to do with Japanese pirates, it may be more likely that he will turn into a pirate, but the question remains, why would he do this?

The eyes of all the important ministers in the palace fell on the memorandum in the emperor's hand. If nothing else, the answer...should lie in the contents that Wynn had not finished reading.

In the silence, the emperor gently placed the memorial on the table in front of him, then turned sideways and gave instructions.

"In this memorial, in addition to the chief envoy Jia Xiuping, some other things were also found. According to Zhu Jian, the reason why Jia Xiuping was so mad was because in addition to the Fujian officialdom, there were also ministers in the DPRK. I won’t say more about the other people who colluded with him, but one of them has a close relationship with Chen Shangshu..."

This last sentence immediately caused everyone in the court to focus their attention on Chen Xun below.

At the same time, many ministers also suddenly realized why the emperor had just tried Chen Xun's case and suddenly turned to the military report of the Ministry of War.

In addition, I have some clues about the question just now. Jia Xiuping besieged the governor's Yamen. If nothing else, it was to destroy the evidence of the crime. As for why he was willing to take such a risk to do so, I am afraid that this Among the criminal evidence, the people involved are closely related.

For Jia Xiuping, even if he deploys troops to besiege the governor's Yamen, there is still a glimmer of hope that he can be turned into a bandit. However, if these evidences are not destroyed, then the people behind him will never let him go. of.

However, judging from what the emperor said, the person behind this should not be Chen Xun. If this is the case, then...

A look of surprise flashed through the eyes of all the important ministers in the palace. So much information gathered together made a name appear in their minds at the same time.

Chen Xun's favorite protégé, former minister of Dali Temple, and now the governor of Shaanxi Province, the censor of Youdu... Du Ning!
As the most promising person after Chen Xun to carry the banner of Qingliu, although Du Ning is not in the capital now, he not only inherited almost all of Chen Xun's connections, but more importantly, before that, Du Ning was deeply involved in Highly regarded by the emperor, he once took charge of a palace examination fraud case. After being transferred to the governor of Shaanxi, he also achieved great results in the confrontation with several royal palaces, and successfully completed the follow-up matters of reorganizing the military camp and rebuilding the imperial village.

It can be said that no matter in terms of qualifications, ability or reputation, he is almost the most promising candidate to compete for the Qi Qing in the future.

If there is a person who has a close relationship with Chen Xun and is capable of becoming Jia Xiuping's backer, then it must be Du Ning!

After the emperor's voice fell, he handed the memorial to Wynn beside him. After that, Huai walked down the imperial steps and handed the memorial to Chen Xun.

After getting the answer, all the important officials stared closely at Chen Xun's face. Not surprisingly, after Chen Xun opened the memorial, his face soon became extremely ugly.

Seeing this situation, the important ministers nearby seemed to have some time to take care of themselves... This is interesting!

After the Son of Heaven came to the throne, he intentionally or unintentionally launched a series of blows to Qingliu. The two pillars of Qingliu, Chen Xun and Gao Gu, were transferred to the Ministry of Industry, which was incompatible with Qingliu, and the other was directly thrown into the Nanjing elderly care.

Among the talents of the next generation, the most promising talents such as Peng Shi and Shang Ren were also implicated in the high valley and were thrown to unknown places.

As for the Hanlin Academy, the stronghold of the Qing Dynasty, the so-called scholars were transferred one by one. They were either thrown out of the capital to serve as supervisory censors in various places, or they became local officials safely.The bachelor in charge of the academy is Yi Ming, an old minister of Prince Tan's palace who has nothing to do with Qingliu. You must know that although this Lord Yi Ming comes from a family, he is not from a scientific examination, but by recommendation. Entering officialdom.

Therefore, these elites who relied on the imperial examinations naturally had no sense of identification with him.

In addition, starting from the last session of Enke, those who were awarded the first grade of Jinshi no longer entered the Hanlin Academy, but went to various ministries to follow the ministers in charge to observe politics. Among them, there were outstanding ones, such as Wang Yue , Yu Zijun, was finally noticed by the ministers of various ministries and took them directly with him. This is much better than the old days when the Jinshi fought to get a place as a common scholar, but had to stay in the Hanlin Academy for several years. .

The old strength was gradually drained away, and the new strength could not be replenished. Their own base camp was also controlled by other factions. It can be said that the Qingliu forces that had emerged since Sanyang had basically declined.

However, the centipede insect is dead but not dead. No matter how depressed Qingliu is, at least the fundamentals are still there. Chen Xun is still there. He had been in the Hanlin Academy for many years, and his disciples were all over the government and the public. However, from this case, It can be seen that he still has a strong influence in the court.

But under the current situation, this force can basically only be regarded as Chen Xun's personal resources. Chen Xun is already 67 this year. In ten years at most, he will definitely leave the court. By then, Qingliu will be there His status in the court will inevitably decline completely with his departure.

Duning is the only hope!
From the current point of view, with Du Ning's age, qualifications, ability and reputation, there is great hope that he can succeed Chen Xun and become the leader of these new leaders.

If Du Ning can take over, then although Qingliu's power cannot be re-inflated, it is still possible to maintain the status quo.

After this year, Du Ning has just turned 50. He is in the prime of life. As long as he can maintain the situation and exert a subtle influence on the East Palace, there will still be hope for Qingliu to recover decades later. After all, today's East Palace Among the officials, there are still many people who were born in Qingliu.

But now, something happened to Du Ning...

The main hall was still quiet. Chen Xun was holding the memorial in front of him, slightly dazed. His expression was full of disbelief, with a trace of disappointment in it, and his expression was extremely complicated.

The chamberlain on the side saw that he had finished reading, so he stepped forward to take back the memorial and returned it to the imperial desk. The emperor gently pressed the memorial into his hand, and then his voice fell.

"Yu Shaobao and Zhu Jian claimed in this memorial that Jia Xiuping and Shaanxi Governor Du Ning had colluded for a long time. Thirty percent of his smuggling proceeds over the years had been given to Du Ning. After being interrogated, Jia Xiuping was an aide when he was the governor. We have obtained letters and account books between him and Du Ning over the years, which can prove that Du Ning has long known about Jia Xiuping's collusion with Japanese pirates."

"What is Chen Shangshu's opinion on this matter?"

The tone was calm, without any hint of fireworks. However, the more it was like this, the ministers who were familiar with the emperor knew that this was a critical moment. At this time, a wrong answer could lead to an abyss.

Of course, the situation is now basically clear, and there are actually two paths before Chen Xun.

One is to protect Du Ning. After all, everything now can only be written in this memorial, and the accusation against Du Ning only comes from Jia Xiuping's staff. Although the account books and letters can be used as evidence, they are not There is absolutely no room for argument.

As a minister of the Seventh Qing Dynasty, and there were quite a few powerful forces in the court, if Chen Xun wanted to protect Duning, there were many things he could do.

But having said that, the emperor chose to expose this matter in public at this time, probably to prevent Chen Xun from doing so.

You know, Chen Xun's own case has not been settled yet!
Although it is said that everyone from the Ministry of Justice to the officials are now leaning towards the fact that Chen Xun is innocent and that Chen Ying is just greedy for money, the question is, is this really the case?
Everyone has their own opinion. At this stage, we can only say that there is not enough evidence.

If the emperor does not relent on this case, the case will not be closed for a day. Even if the emperor will not directly say that Chen Xun is guilty, it is always possible to let the department continue to investigate. If he is determined, this case It may not be impossible for the presiding authority of the case to be transferred from the Criminal Department to Jinyiwei.

Jinyiwei is different from other yamen. There is no evidence that they cannot find, and there is no evidence that they cannot create.

Although Chen Xun now has the advantage, it can be seen from the debate in the court just now that he not only has political opponents in the court on the surface, but also people who secretly covet his position.

Once the emperor comes to an end, as long as he shows the slightest intention to deal with Chen Xun, then...

"Your Majesty is aware of this. It was only after I saw this memorial that I realized that Governor Du was so bold. He dared to collude with Japanese pirates, accept bribes, and even engage in various crimes such as forming a party for personal gain. If such evil ministers stand in court again, It may be a great disaster for the society."

Of course, Chen Xun could understand this situation. He closed his eyes slightly and his old hands trembled slightly in his sleeves. But after a moment, he opened his eyes again, his eyes were already flashing with light, and his face was angry, and he said.

"In such a serious case, I sincerely request your Majesty to immediately send a royal guard to arrest Du Ning, lock him up in a prison, and investigate his crime in detail!"

In the palace that had been quiet for a long time, there was finally a ripple again. The faces of the ministers were different and their expressions were a little complicated.

This Chen Shangshu is really decisive!

Although I don’t know what is written in the memorial, but with Du Ning’s identity, I am afraid that the evidence found from Jia Xiuping alone is not enough to convict him. At least some of the same things must be found on Du Ning’s side. Confirmation is the final judgment.

However, when Chen Xun opened his mouth, he directly accused Du Ning of colluding with Japanese pirates, accepting bribes and other major crimes, and directly proposed to send Jin Yiwei to arrest people. This attitude is almost self-evident...

(End of this chapter)