afterglow

Chapter 580 Let’s have a Spring and Autumn duel! A big reshuffle in the court

Inside and outside the enemy? It’s simply baffling! Are you going to have a Hongmen Banquet?

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became stagnant, while Zhou Changfeng looked at the letter and read slowly: "Guangdong elected member Zhang Shenchen, are you here? Someone reported that you had multiple payments of unknown origin that were inconsistent with your normal salary. The external factory has started an investigation. , suspected of accepting bribes from the enemy.”

The congressman who was named was a middle-aged man who looked kind and elegant. He argued angrily: "This is nothing! How could I do such a thing?"

Zhou Changfeng glanced at the footnote about him on the letter paper again, and then said with a smile: "In April, Guangzhou Prefecture paid compensation for a car accident in the southern suburbs of a mansion; in July, a Southern Song Dynasty tea set was sold at an auction in Yangjing County, Shanghai Prefecture. These can be These are all things that can no longer be true.”

Obviously no one will accept bribes directly and take money directly. During this period, various methods will be used to legitimize it.

"No matter what, the truth will be revealed if you investigate carefully whether you are innocent or not."

After Zhang Shenzu finished speaking, he remained silent and turned to look out the window.

There is no way, you can't admit on the spot that you are seeking personal gain.

"Then check it out!"

Zhou Changfeng didn't take it seriously. As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the conference hall was pushed open.

Several smartly dressed agents from the foreign intelligence factory had been waiting outside for a long time. As soon as they came in, they went straight to the target. The two people on the left and right grabbed Zhang Shenzu's arms and dragged him out without any delay in the whole process.

Before everyone could recover, they heard Zhou's voice coming from the front again.

"Peng Yuan, a member of the North Zhili Council, has been found to have more than 100,000 yuan of income from improper sources in the past two years. Last month, he was found to have a tryst with an unidentified Western woman. The suspicion is not small, check it out!"

After being confused, the congressman immediately explained loudly: "Unidentified Western woman? That...that's just a girl who came from Tsarist Russia to escape the war!"

The people from the factory didn't waste any time and forcibly took him away from the scene without any explanation.

"Zhejiang elected member Zhang Xucheng, since you took office, seven unidentified amounts of money ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands have been entered into your account. These..."

Zhou Changfeng muttered and realized that this person was not at the scene, "Where is he? Not here? It turns out that he didn't come with you to investigate. It's okay, he can't run away."

The congressmen originally came to investigate and seek an explanation for the defeat, but they never expected that they would be turned away.

A series of sudden changes frightened them. Some people wanted to leave on the pretext of feeling unwell or busy with official duties, but found that there were more than a dozen agents guarding the meeting hall. Looking out the window, they could also see neatly arranged military police. Watching with eager eyes.

Pan Yi, a member of the Southern Zhili Council and a member of the Ming Dynasty Industrial and Commercial Promotion Association, pushed up his glasses and said calmly: "Zhou Qianshi, is this inappropriate? We have legal immunity and openly arrested many people in the imperial court. Congressman...this is too bad a rule and goes against the Constitution.”

Someone immediately echoed loudly: "The decision of the Consultative Council cannot be influenced by the outside world. The rule of democratic unity is written in black and white in the constitution. Coercion is equivalent to unconstitutionality!"

Like later generations, members of the Ming Dynasty Council have legal immunity - they cannot be arrested, prosecuted, or tried unless they have special permission. This is intended to ensure that they can safely and boldly perform their functions without interference or coercion from the outside.

Zhou Changfeng shook his head slightly and sighed: "There has been stability and peace for too long. You have been coddled by such a comfortable environment and become as innocent as children."

After finishing speaking, he took out another piece of paper with good texture and raised his voice and said: "We are fighting now! How can there be so many rules? According to reliable intelligence, the British and American enemies have bribed many informants in our capital. Your Majesty has made an order The decree declares martial law and the military has the authority to arrest suspects.”

From a legal perspective, the Ming Emperor had the right to declare martial law and even order the army to surround the Consultative Yuan, causing a constitutional crisis without any scruples. However, unless there are extreme circumstances, it is impossible to break up like this. Everyone has always been in tacit agreement. of mutual respect.

However, Zhu Shiyan is Zhu Shiyan, Zhu Lingjing...she obviously dares to create new styles.

Pan Yi remained calm and said without fear: "You are spending so much money just to increase the budget. The failure in the battle is obviously due to the general's incompetence and poor command. What does it have to do with the amount of expenditure?"

He continued to talk eloquently: "As for colluding with foreign enemies and treason for profit, that is even more ridiculous. There is no need to accuse others. We are all suspected in our country. Zhou Qianshi, you even went to Europe. Isn’t it more suspicious?”

Zhou Changfeng stared at the congressman intently, and he discovered something in common - these decent-looking, well-educated, well-dressed people are really easy to deal with, and they have sharp teeth and sharp mouths!

He thought for a moment and sneered: "I'm so talented. From the thirty-sixth year of Zhichang to today, there should be ten or twenty thousand British and American people who died because of me..."

Suddenly he thought of something again and added: "While on an inspection tour in Europe, I shot and killed a member of the British royal family while observing on the front line."

After saying that, he didn't give anyone else room to speak, and immediately slammed the table!
A crisp sound of "pop" startled the congressmen, and Zhou Changfeng asked sternly: "So! Councilor Pan, Mr. Pan, you said that I am suspicious, this is pure slander and rumors! If you are in the military, This is called 'rumors, lies, and lies,' and you will be arrested and beheaded immediately, but unfortunately this is not the army. I can only say that Pan Yi, you dressed-up beast, is talking nonsense!"

Zhou Changfeng threw the saber in his hand, took out the dagger hanging from his right waist, and coldly invited a fight: "Come, let's have a duel like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to hide this slander, prove innocence, and decide between life and death! "

The well-made Yanling knife fell to the ground with a clatter, and a few of the ornaments on the scabbard seemed to have broken off.

How could Pan Yi dare to challenge? The development of the matter was completely beyond his expectation. Even the well-informed congressmen were also confused.

His reaction was not slow, and he said calmly: "This is not appropriate. After Shang Yang's reform, he strictly prohibited private fights among his subjects. This kind of bad old custom is just that. The pillars of the imperial court cannot make mistakes like this."

Considering the disadvantage of being short versus long, Zhou Changfeng thought that if the opponent accepted the challenge, he would just pull out his pistol and shoot twice.

He chuckled and said sarcastically: "You don't have the guts even to think of you. You are selfish, self-protective, and short-sighted! Another interesting thing is that, Mr. Pan, it is said that you have three or four lovers outside? Actors, dancers, police officers, widow clerks, all kinds of tricks. Quite a few, he is indeed a refined and refined scholar."

Having been exposed in public, Pan Yi's face turned blue and white, and she felt that her face had been shattered to pieces.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhou continued to kill without mercy, "Moreover, Senator Pan is sentimental and very particular about food and clothing. When did Senator Daming's salary increase so much? Or is there something fishy in it?" "

"This...you...didn't..." Pan Yi, anxious and annoyed, hesitated and was speechless.

Zhou Changfeng smiled contemptuously, bent down to pick up the saber, glanced sharply at the forbidding congressmen present, and said solemnly:

"This war is closely related to everyone. No one can escape. Don't just sit back and reap the benefits. You don't even want to pay a coin and just wait to eat the hoof in the end? How can there be such a good thing in the world?"

"The soldiers on the front line fought hard and fought to the death with the enemy; the local government implemented a wartime economy, the people lived frugally, and the whole people mobilized and worked together, all for the sake of victory."

"In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken, and illusions must be abandoned. There is no luck. Anyone who undermines the overall situation and holds us back is a spy, and everyone will be punished! Kill all the traitors before we win the final victory!"

Everyone was frightened by such sharp words, and there was a dead silence in the entire hall.

At this juncture, the congressmen no longer dared to be calm and composed. After all, their greatest reliance would not work on the vicious Zhou.

What's more, if we really pursue the investigation, few people will be clean and innocent.

Feeling guilty, they couldn't help but think about the worst, worrying that colleagues who were accused of colluding with foreign enemies would be dismissed from their posts, or even...

For a time, everyone was in danger. Finally, someone couldn't hold on anymore and took the lead in saying: "Only a two-pronged approach can we win the final victory. The soldiers will fight the enemy bravely, and the country and the court will naturally provide full support."

I don’t know who started it first, but slogans suddenly started shouting in the room.

"Work together! For victory!"

"Work together - for victory -"

After a while, the shouts gradually faded away.

Someone said cautiously: "Zhou...Zhou Qianshi, the budget must be carefully negotiated, we just...don't count."

Zhou Changfeng smiled and said: "It's okay, things will change soon."

Except for a few special members of the Consultative Council, a considerable number of the remaining elected members are essentially representatives of major factions, and these factions are inextricably linked to the Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic bourgeoisie, and they are inevitable when making major decisions. Influenced and interfered with.

Democratic elections, popular elections, what kind of citizens have more say? Whoever controls more assets and pays more taxes has more say?
This is a characteristic of a pure capitalist country, which was not the case in the Ming Dynasty.

Although the influence of top businessmen, or in other words, big entrepreneurs and big bankers cannot be underestimated, in the final analysis they are dependent on the nobles and bureaucrats, and they still cannot reach the point of being on an equal footing.

Do you like my Ming-style bureaucratic capitalism?

As for the imperial council members, there is nothing much to say. These people are almost puppets.

After all the hard work, on the surface, the Consultative Yuan will no longer sing the opposite tune.

When Zhou Changfeng walked out of the military headquarters, he felt relaxed and happy.

It's a pity that the scabbard of his saber was thrown out, and the ornaments on it also fell off.

The external situation was properly resolved, and the internal situation was corrected under Zhu Lingjing's instruction.

Except for a few official offices, all major departments of the imperial court have undergone rare large-scale transfers in the past two days. Such frequent personnel changes in a short period of time have led to a decrease in the administrative efficiency of the imperial court.

The original cabinet was dismissed by Zhu Lingjing and a new cabinet was formed.

The person who replaced Gao Qingkui as the new prime minister was Liao Zihe, a member of the Chinese Communist Party. He was an unusual prime minister who was not a Beijing official.

The defense cabinet minister is still Lin Xi, and he is also the only Democrat in the cabinet.

Li Guangyuan, the former finance cabinet minister, resigned due to old age, and his replacement was Yan Peiwen, a member of the Sun and Moon Society.

Gao Zhongnan, the former Minister of Personnel Affairs, was replaced by Chen Kaicheng, a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

The foreign minister is still Yu Shenhua, who is a member of the Constitutional Council.

The cabinet formed by Zhu Lingjing is basically dominated by the Chinese Party, with some members from other factions retained as appropriate.

Although the Ming Dynasty Constitutional Council is loyal, in recent years it has been a mixed bag and its internal opinions have been difficult to reach consensus - a degenerate trend that Zhu Shiyan once criticized by name.

The reshuffle in the court was completed quite smoothly.

"Huh? That's outrageous. Why are you serious about it?"

"It's absolutely true, I'm not kidding."

On this day, Shen Yu informed Zhou Changfeng of a strange situation—reliable evidence that Zhang Xucheng, an elected member of Zhejiang Province, was indeed a collaborator.

Most of the members of the Consultative Yuan are not clean. Although they think they are clever and covert, the foreign police still have a lot of evidence.

Zhou Changfeng randomly named a few of them in public that day, and accused them of being "suspected of collaborating with foreign enemies" to frighten the congressmen. He never expected that some of them would actually be serious.

He asked in surprise: "What happened to Zhang Xucheng? What did he do?"

Shen Yu shook his head helplessly and replied in a tone full of compassion: "The informant paid by the British found him secretly. This informant disguised himself very well. He first asked for help with irrelevant trivial bribes, and so on. I will suddenly show off my cards to him in the future and threaten to expose what happened before if he doesn’t obey orders.”

"Okay, this...ordinary people really can't bear it, and they must have succumbed. What's next?"

"Have him go to several shipyards, both official and private, to inquire about the warship's parameters and project progress in the name of inspection." After saying that, Shen Yu clicked his tongue.

Parliamentarians have this right to ensure that taxpayers' money is not embezzled, so as to prevent the supervision officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate from colluding, because the Metropolitan Procuratorate also belongs to the imperial government system.

"Hey!" Zhou Changfeng sighed, "I tried to guard against it, but in the end I still failed to guard against it."

"This is the dereliction of duty of our outsourcing factories. Of course, many people in those shipyards will be disgraced."

"These British people are really pervasive."

The day.

The cold wind was howling, and the northwest wind in the evening seemed to be unable to block the car windows. After entering the palace, riding in the open-top shuttle bus made people shiver even more.

However, the place where Zhu Lingjing is located is as warm as spring. She only ate a few light dishes tonight and is now tasting the sweet and refreshing milk green tea.

Zhou Changfeng explained to her some changes in the war situation around the world, and finally mentioned the MPs' leaks.

"Your Majesty, we must be more vigilant and make amends before it is too late. And compared to this, I am more worried about the Golden Crow Project. It costs a lot of money and uses a lot of electricity. It is easy for people to question it." He said.

The level of secrecy surrounding the nuclear program is unusual. However, it requires money and electricity. There is no guarantee that someone will take advantage of their authority or loopholes in the regulations to find out. There may even be good intentions that lead to evil, or curiosity killed the cat. Case.

Zhu Lingjing nodded and said: "It makes sense. I will issue an order. No one else is allowed to intervene or interfere with the Golden Crow plan."

Then, she remembered something again, and said with a half-smile: "If you don't tell me, I forgot. You can do some strange things when you go out. How did you kill that British royal family member?"

(End of this chapter)