The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The meeting ended.

Although it was not yet noon, the sun was still blazing. When Zhu Youtang came back from Fengtian Gate, he looked up at the sky and said with emotion, "I don't know when it will rain. It's been too hot lately."

Chen Kuan said, "Your Majesty, the rain this summer is quite good, and there is no news of drought in the north."

"Oh."

Zhu Youtang nodded, but quickened his pace to cross the sunny land, but seemed to have forgotten that there was someone holding an umbrella behind him.

Finally arriving at the Qianqing Palace, he waved his hand and said, "Have someone bring a basin of ice."

"Yes." Chen Kuan quickly arranged people to do it.

When Zhu Youtang arrived at his seat in the Qianqing Palace and sat down, a palace maid came over to fan him.

Zhu Youtang said with a faint smile: "Today, all the ministers seemed to have something to ask, but they just couldn't ask it. Haha, I feel for them."

Chen Kuan seemed helpless and said, "Your Majesty, all the ministers should want to ask about the East Factory's investigation."

"Do you want to ask too?" Zhu Youtang glanced at Chen Kuan.

"I dare not." Chen Kuan said, "But as far as I know, some people in the court have criticized this matter. They said that it was the East Factory that investigated the case, but it seems that Duke Cai was behind it. There are many officials who were convicted, and even their families were captured by Duke Cai. Some are still criticizing... saying that Duke Cai has selfish motives."

Zhu Youtang said calmly, "I never asked Bingkuan to be a loyal official in the eyes of civil officials. In fact, what Bingkuan has done is more upright than that of a loyal official."

Chen Kuan lowered his head and didn't dare to respond.

Zhu Youtang said: "If everything Bingkuan does can be recognized by them, then Bingkuan will be the same as them. As for the families of those criminals, I have ordered them to be exiled to Binhai City for service. Since they all say it is a good thing, why do others dare to criticize it?"

Now Chen Kuan felt like he might have stirred up a hornet's nest.

"Now they are just some small fish and shrimps." Zhu Youtang said, "The big prey has not yet appeared, and the people in the court can't stand it? I want to use Bingkuan's power to pacify the grassland and establish the majesty of the court. Is it so difficult? Everyone calls Bingkuan a traitor and says that he is doing evil, but when it comes to grabbing money, they are no less."

Chen Kuan said tentatively: "Those who behave improperly are a minority after all."

Zhu Youtang said: "If it is a majority, then it will be bad, and the court will be in a mess. Even now, I feel that there is a tendency to expand, and it must be stopped."

"Yes." Chen Kuan said.

Zhu Youtang saw a basin of ice being carried by several people. He walked forward and sighed, "Bingkuan has been very busy recently, so don't cause him trouble. I have tried my best not to bother him with court affairs, and I will not let him into the palace at will. There is no need to let him come to the recent court meetings."

"Yes."

Chen Kuan knew that this was because Zhang Zhou was also attending court that day and the emperor was feeling distressed.

But the problem is, all ministers need to attend court, even Your Majesty needs to attend court. You only feel sorry for Bingkuan, and not for others and yourself?
……

……

Zhang Zhou and other ministers were walking on the way out of the palace.

Many people also wanted to come and ask Zhang Zhou about the progress of the case, but now everyone in the government and the country already knew that it was related to mining, and it involved some malpractices in the Beijing camp and the army. Most people were afraid that they would be involved.

What’s even more frightening is…

Framed by Zhang Zhou.

Today, Zhang Zhou seems to be a powerful official who is capable of doing all kinds of evil. At least in the eyes of many ministers, this guy is too powerful and it is better not to mess with him.

Lin Han accompanied Zhang Zhou out of the palace.

"Bingkuan, I'm not talking about you. If something has happened, you should tell others clearly and don't let people guess." Lin Han sighed, "I already know that the East Factory has been investigating the mines in Xishan and Yongping Prefecture recently. I heard that many people have been convicted, some of whom are from the six ministries, and even your Ministry of War. As a minister, shouldn't you speak out about everything? Only by speaking out can you avoid suspicion."

Zhang Zhou shrugged and said, "When the East Factory investigates a case, even if I sometimes provide some advice, it's not me who investigates it, so why do you put the blame on me?"

Lin Han was speechless after hearing this.

Because even Lin Han knew that this matter was decided by Zhang Zhou, and Yang Peng, the commander of the Eastern Depot, was just doing odd jobs for Zhang Zhou in this case.

Zhang Zhou said, "Mr. Lin, are any of your students or old friends involved in this?"

"No, don't think about it." Lin Han said, "Even if there is, I will definitely cut off all ties with them. If they do something illegal, they must be punished by the court. I'm not saying that you can't investigate, but when you investigate, it's best to explain it to everyone in the court, so that others don't think you are taking revenge on someone else."

"Revenge? What do you mean?" Zhang Zhou frowned.

Lin Han came over and said, "Xie Yuqiao's incident was the beginning. Everyone says that Xie Yuqiao was convicted because of your wanton involvement."

Zhang Zhou said, "Lord Xie was convicted because he secretly obstructed the imperial court from mobilizing money and grain for war preparations, and he maliciously slandered the soldiers on the front line. What does this have to do with me? I don't think I was involved at the time, right?"

"How is he now?" Lin Han asked with concern.

Zhang Zhou thought for a moment and sighed, "He is still in prison. He was seriously ill a few days ago, but I found someone to diagnose him and he has basically recovered. He is now working in Binhai City and his life is... quite comfortable."

"Nourish? What kind of word is that?" Lin Han himself came from a teaching background, so of course he couldn't accept Zhang Zhou's new words.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "After all, he lives a relatively quiet life in Binhai City, and no one bothers him. In a few days, His Majesty may allow him to return home. He may even return to the court to serve."

Lin Han frowned and said, "You are not joking with me, are you?"

"Mr. Lin, you don't think I will do anything to Mr. Xie, do you? He and I have no personal grudge, so does he have a grudge against me? I know that many people don't like me, but most of the time, I know how to endure more than them. Do you admit this?"

Lin Han couldn't find any fault with Zhang Zhou's words.

Considering some of Zhang Zhou's behaviors after entering the court, it can also be said that Zhang Zhou has a good temper.

When civil officials talked about Zhang Zhou at will, Zhang Zhou chose to avoid it most of the time. Even in the cases of Xie Qian and others, Zhang Zhou hid in the background.

But he had the emperor and a group of supporters to help him.

Lin Han said: "You should have done this. I don't know what to say to you now. If you want to investigate the case, you'd better be more restrained... It's nothing for officials to be convicted. It must be made public."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Is there ever a time when the East Factory investigates cases fairly and openly? But don't worry, Mr. Lin, those who have been arrested now have all been proven guilty, and there is certification and physical evidence. They were not obtained through torture. You can rest assured about this."

Lin Han frowned and asked, "Really?"

Obviously, Lin Han didn't think that the East Factory would be so gentle in investigating the case.

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "It was only the son of Master Jiao who was tortured at first, but after he spoke up and confessed some people, everything became much easier. Recently, the silver and money recovered from these people alone is probably more than 100,000 or 200,000 taels..."

"That's a lot." Lin Han took a breath. "Just the tip of the iceberg." Zhang Zhou smiled.

"What?"

This is another word that Lin Han doesn't understand.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "It means a drop in the ocean."

Lin Han said, "How can a mine really have such a huge loss? How much money is involved behind this? Bingkuan, you must restrain yourself. I never want to persuade you to stop, but you must remain restrained."

Zhang Zhou nodded, smiled and joked: "Everyone thinks that you, Mr. Lin, have boarded my pirate ship. It is unreasonable for you to ask me to stop. As for restraint, aren't you afraid that this ship will sink?"

Lin Han's old face was dark as he said, "I don't know what you are talking about. As the Minister of War, you still speak so frivolously. It's really... Honest words are unpleasant to the ear, so you better take care of yourself."

……

……

Zhang Zhou looked relaxed.

When he was leaving the palace, Lu Wan, Wang Qiong and others came to greet him, but what they talked about was not about the East Factory's investigation, but the development of the war situation in the northwest.

Zhang Zhou deliberately called Wang Qiong over and reminded him, "The court may be a little turbulent recently. It's hard to say it directly. It may be related to the illegal activities of officials in the court. The Censorate may need to help."

Wang Qiong glanced sideways at Lu Wan who was looking over here, and seemed to not understand why Zhang Zhou wanted to talk to him intentionally and seemed to be distancing himself from Lu Wan.

"The case has not yet been brought to the Third Court." Wang Qiong reminded, "There is no trace of any case file."

Zhang Zhou said, "It will be soon. Then there is the list of new officials to be appointed to the Shangting Office. Your Majesty and I have discussed it and it is likely that you, General Wang, will be the first."

"what?"

After Wang Qiong returned to Beijing, he kept saying that he would be assigned to the Shangting Office, but nothing happened.

But he was already the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, ranked among the Seven Ministers, and he did not have any extravagant demands for this. After all, he had served in this position before and did not feel any difference from the past.

Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty originally wanted me to join the Shangting Office and even assigned me a specific task, but recently, Your Majesty said that I am busy here and can put this matter aside for now. I will trouble you, General Wang, with the matters concerning the Shangting Office."

After saying this, Zhang Zhou didn't even talk about the specific military affairs in the northwest. He just smiled and walked towards his sedan chair.

……

……

Jinyiwei, Fusi, Beizhen.

As the reserve commander, Wang Shi is still only in charge of the Northern Pacification Office. Knowing that Zhang Zhou was coming, he had arranged the reception matters long ago. As Wang Mingshan's father and Zhang Zhou's father-in-law, he fully demonstrated the shameless spirit of the Wang family and flattered Zhang Zhou to the utmost.

"Eunuch Yang has been waiting for you for a long time. He is still inside to investigate the case. After the case was transferred to the Jinyiwei prison, more than a dozen officials involved in the case were arrested, as well as their implicated family members. Currently, someone has embezzled too much money and has been reported to His Majesty by the East Factory. He has been sentenced to execution in the West Market."

Wang Shi also explained the current situation to Zhang Zhou in detail.

Zhang Zhou said, "The case hasn't been fully investigated yet, but you're going to execute him?"

Wang Shidao said: "Some people really must be killed. It is really...sensational. When it comes to local mining and other matters, they bully men and women and do all kinds of evil. It is against the ethics of the court officials."

"Oh."

Zhang Zhou nodded.

Then the two of them went into the backyard of the Northern Pacification Office together, and Yang Peng hurried out and met Zhang Zhou.

"Sir, you've come at the right time." Yang Peng smiled and handed over a list. "Now that we have found so many criminals, the next step is to consult His Majesty. We may have to deal with some tough bones in the court. These people have mountains behind them to support them."

Zhang Zhou took it and looked at it, and sure enough, he saw that they were starting to target people at the minister level.

Yang Peng didn't seem to be afraid of making things worse. As for how Li Zhang stepped down, he didn't care, because Yang Peng felt that the situation was now under control.

"Then let Eunuch Yang report to His Majesty and see what His Majesty thinks." Zhang Zhou said.

Yang Peng smiled and said, "Among the officials we have arrested, the highest-ranking one is only a doctor from one of the six ministries. There are also many people in the inner court. Some of them have made a lot of money. Recently, we have seized dozens of jars of silver alone."

Zhang Zhou said: "You don't need to tell me these."

Yang Peng said: "As for the families of the criminals, they have all been taken care of and can be escorted to Binhai City at any time. There is another group of people... I don't know where to send them."

"Oh." Zhang Zhou then looked at the list that Yang Peng handed over and nodded, then he understood what Yang Peng meant.

"Sir, this time, we are entirely dependent on your power. Otherwise, if we just make this case bigger, we will be criticized by the government and the public." Yang Peng said with gratitude.

What he meant was that as a eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, he couldn't handle this case and it was all thanks to Zhang Zhou's face.

Zhang Zhou smiled and asked, "Does that mean that now everyone thinks I did it and points the finger at me?"

"I don't understand the reasoning either." Yang Peng said, "Logically, His Majesty hopes that you... can stay out of it. After all, you were asked to avoid the previous cases. But this time, maybe your experience is needed to solve the mystery, so he let you... get involved."

Zhang Zhouxin said.

The emperor's mentality is different from before.

In the past, they were afraid that I would be excluded by the civil officials, and they hoped that I could get along well with them.

But now the emperor is afraid that I will get too close to the civil officials, so that I will be restricted and unable to help him wholeheartedly.

So...in the past, the emperor tried his best to keep me from getting involved in the disputes in the court.

Now it seems like they are eager for me to get involved in the dispute so that they can distance themselves from those civil officials... and then if I don't get the approval of the civil officials, I will have no choice but to work for the emperor to the end.

"The crime does not apply to the old or the young. Let's send the old and the young back to their hometowns first." Zhang Zhou said.

Yang Peng asked curiously, "Should you ask His Majesty for instructions?"

Zhang Zhou said: "Since the people are under my control, is there any problem with me doing this?"

Yang Peng said: "No, no..."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Of course, not everyone will be pardoned. After all, the silver was not embezzled by those officials for themselves, but for their families or clans. This is the law of the court, and I can't say anything. Except for the old and the young, the rest... will be exiled according to the previous decision." (End of this chapter)