Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 632: Court Discussion
After the Shangyuan Festival is over, the New Year's Day is really over. After several days of adaptation, the various yamen have begun to operate normally.

At the same time, the rectification of the army, which has been fermenting for a long time in the ruling and opposition parties, is finally about to be discussed by the court.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, when the sky was just getting bright and the snow on the banks of the Waijinshui Bridge had not yet cleared, a crowd of civil and military officials in official robes gathered outside the Meridian Gate and stood in line.

When the time came, the heavy palace bell rang, and the left and right gates were slowly pushed open, and the officials followed the ceremonial officials to enter, and when they reached the Fengtian gate, the east and west were separated.

As the impact of the Civil War gradually dissipated, all aspects of the court were returning to normal.

Take the early dynasties as an example. The Ming Dynasty has always had a tradition of hearing government from the imperial gate, that is, the early dynasties were held in the square outside Fengtianmen.

However, after the Civil War, the ministers couldn't get together, so they were often held in the Wenhua Hall and the Wuying Hall.

Now after more than a year of repairs, the selection and circulation of officials has returned to normal, and naturally, the imperial court has been restored.

With the sound of the whip, all the officials bowed their heads and knelt to greet him, shouting long live.

On the high imperial steps, the emperor sat peacefully and was greeted by his courtiers.

There was a decree earlier, and today the imperial court decided to rectify the army, so all the officials are waiting for the Ministry of War to leave the squad.

However, what people didn't expect was that Yu Qian did stand up, but he didn't directly mention the memorial to rectify the army, but took out a new memorial and handed it up.

"Qizou Your Majesty, the case of reselling military weapons by the censor Luo Tong, the former deputy capital of the left, has been concluded between the minister and Jin Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment. After investigation, it was found that in the fourth year of Zhengtong, when Luo Tong was a doctor of the Ministry of War, Wang Ji, the Minister of the Ministry of War, patrolled the border at any time. , went to Gansu to rectify border affairs, and took advantage of his position, Luo Tong gave and received privately, and resold armor, a total of 570 pieces of military equipment."

"At that time, Wang Ji investigated it and reported it to the imperial court in secret. The imperial court was about to take Luo Tongsuo back to Beijing and ordered Wang Ji to conduct a detailed investigation. After Wang Ji reviewed the investigation, he reported to the imperial court again that Luo Tong was corrupt and prostituted, and he was never guilty of reselling military weapons. The imperial court was generous and demoted Luo Tong to the gate officer. Later, because of his talents, he was promoted to a member of the Ministry of War as Wailang during the Civil Engineering War. He guarded Juyongguan. Luo Tong was daring, entangled in gathering crowds, instigated courtiers, and wanted to do something wrong, so he was locked up and questioned in prison."

"In the spring of last year, because Wang Ji was afraid of avoiding war, Pingyue was besieged, and the army and civilians in a city were in dire straits. The imperial court dismissed Wang Ji from his post as commander-in-chief and returned to Beijing to question his crimes. Wu Cheng, the head of the Ministry of War, checked the old year's case files. Suspecting that Wang Ji was protecting Luo Tong, concealing major crimes with minor crimes, and deceiving the imperial court, this subject is ordered by His Majesty to go to Gansu to investigate the case in detail."

"The evidence of the crime is all here. Luo Tong secretly sold arms, embezzled prostitutes, and escaped a catastrophe by chance, but he didn't want to repent. Wang Ji, who failed to investigate and deliberately shielded Luo Tong, should be investigated together."

"Furthermore, Wang Ji was ordered to suppress the Miao rebellion. He was afraid to avoid wars, so he ignored the soldiers and civilians of Pingyue. He supported his troops and lost their duty as a minister. He should be severely punished. Please learn from your majesty."

As for the case of Luo Tong, it has been delayed for a long time.

He was arrested by Jin Yiwei as early as last spring during the mutual market incident, but later because Wang Ji was involved, there was no verdict for a long time.

In this year's time, there are turbulent winds and clouds, and there are all kinds of turmoil in the court. Everyone almost forgets about this person.

As a result, it was brought up at this time.

At that moment, a servant presented the memorial to the emperor, the emperor looked at it carefully, and said immediately.

"Although the chaos in Miaodi was peaceful, I still keep every word in Pingyue's blood book. Wang Ji led his troops to crusade against the disobedient ministers, but he could not calm the people down. This is not dereliction of duty, but dereliction of duty. Thousands of innocent souls are in trouble, thinking that Wang Ji has made great contributions to the country, and passed the decree to cut Wang Ji's title of Earl of Jing'an, dismiss one of his official positions, and exile Tieling to guard the border.

Wang Ji's result was already doomed.

A blood letter from Pingyue was sent to the capital. It doesn't matter whether Wang Ji is threatening himself or not, or whether his strategy is wrong or not.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were forced to change their sons for food, and they were stabbed out in the court hall. The court wanted to give an explanation no matter what.

That is to say, Wang Ji still has the title of Uncle Jing Yuan, otherwise, he might not even be able to save his life.

In the current situation, saving his life, stopping the crime on one person, and not implicating the family is already a good result.

Therefore, even the ministers who had friendship with Wang Ji, no one stood up and said anything at this time.

So, Yu Qian surrendered and took the order.

Immediately, the Son of Heaven spoke again and asked.

"Ministry of Punishments, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, how should we deal with the case of Luo Tong?"

It's actually a bit ridiculous to say that the matter of Wang Ji made such a big fuss, but in fact, just relying on Ping Yue's blood letter, at most his title will be cut off, and he will be dismissed as a citizen, and he will not be exiled.

Because, no matter how serious the incident is, it is still within the political scope of court games, and it cannot be regarded as a serious crime.

What really caused Wang Ji to be exiled to Tieling was his crime of shielding Luo Tong and deceiving his superiors and subordinates. This is clearly written in the Daming Law.

Therefore, the emperor directly decided on Wang Ji's treatment, but when it came to Luotong, he needed to ask the Ministry of Punishment about his attitude.

As for this matter, it was obvious that the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment were in agreement, and Jin Lian, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, strode forward and handed over his hand.

"Your Majesty, the facts of Luotong's arms reselling case are clear. According to the law, selling arms privately is regarded as collaborating with the enemy and rebelling against the enemy. Since Luotong has made great contributions to the country in the first battle in Oirat, the Ministry of Criminal Justice intends to sentence the autumn sentence, but the family can be forgiven. young and old."

He did not confiscate his family, did not exterminate his family, and only killed Luo Tong. It should be said that this was considered a light sentence because of Luo Tong's contribution.

The emperor nodded and said.

"According to the Ministry of Punishment, Luo Tong was beheaded, his family members were not guilty, and all other criminals were involved, and they were all punished."

"The minister leads the order."

Jin Lian cupped his hands and retreated into the distance, but Yu Qian still stood firmly in the middle of Dan Chi.

The north wind roared in, and the dragon flag fluttered.

This case, which has been postponed for more than a year, has finally come to an end. Although I had already expected this in my heart, when it was actually announced, the scene was still full of chills.

Today's Holy Majesty has always been lenient. Even when Wang Zhenyu's party was pursued at the beginning, except for Ma Shun who was beaten to death by the party, he basically did not use the butcher's knife.

The only time may be the case of the mission. Zhang Fu and others falsely preached the Holy Order and leaked the border military situation without authorization, so that Tianxin was furious and sentenced to beheaded.

Besides, it's Luotong!

Thinking about it this way, the only two beheadings of court ministers were actually related to military affairs. It can be seen that although the emperor is lenient, he still can't rub the sand in his eyes when dealing with military affairs...

The elders present were in a state of confusion, some of them were clever, and already vaguely understood why the emperor wanted to deal with the case of Luo Tong at this time.

If there is no accident, it is paving the way for the next rectification of the army...

Among the crowd, Zhang Min's expression was a bit complicated, and he lifted his foot forward, but he never took that step.

When Luo Tong knocked on the que, the situation was complicated. Although Luo Tong made the proposal at the beginning, in the end, he was indeed forced to take action.

A large part of the reason why the British government forced Luo Tong to knock down the que was to prevent the mutual market and ensure the safety of Zhang Fu and others in Oala.

From this point of view, the British government actually owed Luo Tong, so, in fact, it was to delay time and find a way to save Luo Tong, so the old case from that year was involved.

He thought that after welcoming back the Supreme Emperor, he could use this merit to rescue Luo Tong, but in the end, something happened to Zhang Fu and others, and Zhang Fu couldn't even take care of his own family, so he naturally forgot about Luo Tong.

Now hearing his name again, there is a feeling as if it has been a lifetime away.

He wanted to say a few more words of love for Luo Tong, but thinking of what he had prepared today, Zhang Xiang finally took back his steps and stood where he was without moving.

So, in a chilling atmosphere, Yu Qian spoke again, and finally started today's topic, Taoism.

"Your Majesty, I have learned from you that I was ordered by the emperor to inspect the border and investigate the case of Luotong reselling arms. During the process, it was found that the border towns have been abandoned for decades, and the border generals have invaded and occupied the military fields. Cultivating private fields and enriching private pockets, so that the drills are not good, the discipline of the army is corrupted, and there are frequent escapees and refugees."

"In the long run, the border of our Ming Dynasty will be riddled with holes and will be repeatedly harassed by captives and thieves."

"Therefore, the Ministry of War, together with the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, together ask Your Majesty to perform a thorough investigation of the military settlements in the border towns, clean up the rules and regulations, and revive the border troops again!"

This matter has been fermented for so long, so naturally it was not fermented in vain.

Following Yu Qian's words, Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, Jin Lian, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Shen Yi, Minister of the Ministry of Households, plus Li Xian, Duke of Feng, Fan Guang, uncle of Jing'an, and several important officials of the court moved out of the line almost at the same time. road.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation of the military camps as played by the Zhunbing Department!"

Although it has been known for a long time that the emperor is very concerned about the rectification of the army, many ministers present did not expect that this court meeting will be so violent from the very beginning.

Originally, there were still a small number of ministers in the court who criticized the Ministry of War for making such a big move.

However, Luo Tong, Wang Ji and the others laid the groundwork for their fate, and now there are so many big bosses standing up together, all expressing their attitudes, and these people wisely kept their mouths shut.

Looking at the group of crimson-robed ministers kneeling below, the Son of Heaven spoke with a calm expression.

"I have clearly issued the memorandum of the Ministry of War to rectify the military settlements, and all kinds of matters need to be coordinated by various departments. It has also been stated in it. Does each government have any objections to the measures?"

This is for the ministers present to express their views further.

Therefore, the yamen involved were the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Rites first, Otsuka Prime Minister Wang Wen and Da Zong Bo Hu Wei stepped forward at the same time and said.

"Returning to Your Majesty, the Ministry of Officials has already begun to prepare for the selection of officials from the Hanlin Academy and the Chunwei Mid-term Examination. We only need to wait for the order of the imperial court to ensure that all officials can take up their posts in time."

Xiao Ying from the Imperial Academy did not speak, but silently stepped forward and fell to his knees.

Then, the cabinet Wang Ao, followed by Yu Shiyue, said.

"Your Majesty, it is of great importance to rectify the military settlements. It requires the concerted efforts of the whole court. The ministers must do their utmost to cooperate with the Ministry of War to clean up the discipline of the border troops and rebuild the border towns!"

As waves of ministers came out, led by Yu Qian, more and more ministers knelt in the middle of Dan Chi.

Therefore, for a while, it seemed to be a matter of everyone's expectation to straighten out the army.

Ren Li stood where he was and took a deep breath. He knew he couldn't wait any longer.

It has to be said that today's situation, from the very beginning, was somewhat beyond Ren Houye's expectations.

You know, according to the experience of the previous court meetings, the emperor would read the content of the court meetings first, and then ask each yamen one by one about their attitudes. The whole process is relatively peaceful and free.

Only in this way can all the ministers fully express their opinions, which is the original intention of the court discussion.

But this time, the emperor first used Luo Tong's case to shock the officials, and then Yu Qian led the crowd to ask for it.

With such a big momentum, if they didn't know that the emperor was behind the rectification of the army, they might think that they were about to force the palace.

However, this also shows that the emperor has long been prepared.

He was so aggressive at the beginning, if Ren Li hesitated for a moment, I am afraid that this matter will be passed directly by an overwhelming advantage.

"Your Majesty, I think it's wrong!"

In the eyes of everyone, Marquis Ren strode forward and stood still in the middle of Danji. Among the ministers who were kneeling on the ground, he was particularly conspicuous.

The scene fell silent in an instant, only the roar of the wind remained in front of Fengtian Gate, and the eyes of all the ministers were focused on Ren Li in an instant.

Immediately, the voice of the emperor Yuyin came down, and the voice was indifferent.

"Oh? Ren Hou thinks, what's wrong?"

Ren Li turned his body sideways, glanced at the relatives standing behind him, cupped his hands and cupped his fists, fell to his knees, and said.

"Your Majesty, this performance by the Ministry of War, one is to clean up the army, the other is to clean up discipline, and the third is to severely punish lawbreakers. It seems to be beneficial to the country, but it is not."

"For many years, there have been many abuses in the military settlements, and there have been many involvements. The frontier troops have been circulating for many years. The military and civilian fields have long been difficult to distinguish. The Ministry of War wants to clear the rules and punish them severely. First, it consumes a lot of manpower and is in vain. Unstable, the three officials heard that the border has been looted frequently recently, and the thieves are staring at them, so if they move the frontier troops rashly at this time, they are afraid of catastrophe."

Among the ministers, Lord Ren Hou said with a sonorous and forceful voice and awe-inspiring righteousness.

"Your Majesty, after the Civil War, the frontier army suffered heavy losses and has not yet recovered. All the people and subjects of the world look forward to the imperial court recuperating and recuperating. Fang Ding, the Ministry of War wants to rectify wantonly and disturb the frontier army, which is really wrong."

"Besides, Yu Qian, the former minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, recommended private individuals to seize power and self-respect. Today's court meeting, before the ministers even opened their mouths, they coerced the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Households to force His Majesty to remonstrate. Your Majesty must investigate, so I ask Your Majesty to reject this report from the Ministry of War, so as to reassure the court!"

What I said was quite tragic, like everyone is drunk and I am sober. For a moment, all the officials present were in a daze, as if at this moment, Lord Ren is not a noble general, but a minister Qingliu who is admonishing for the country and the people. .

The scene suddenly became quiet. On the throne, the Son of Heaven looked calm, as if he was waiting for something.

The other ministers, including Yu Qian, did not immediately stand up and refute.

After Ren Hou Ye finished speaking, his eyes involuntarily glanced behind him, as if he was also waiting for something.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Wuchen Liezhong made his voice again.

"Your Majesty, my minister Changping Marquis Yang Hong, I have a book to play!"

(End of this chapter)