King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 782: Loyalty to the Emperor and Selfish Pursuit

From the Fengtian Hall to the Chongzheng Hall for worship, and then to the Qianqing Palace, another half an hour had passed.

Even after so much time had passed, one could still hear the thunderous cheers of "Long live" outside. These were the shouts of the people who were watching and paying homage outside the Daming Gate.

The Ming Dynasty has lasted for more than 340 years. In terms of time alone, it has no rivals except the powerful Han Dynasty. However, in terms of the depth of its rule, it is much stronger than the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, even if a pig sat on the throne, it was sacred in the eyes of ordinary people, let alone a person like Zhu Jinghong who had made great achievements.

He had just accepted the congratulations in the Chongzheng Hall, and now he was about to return to the Qianqing Palace, where all the concubines were already there waiting for his arrival.

The imperial robe is the attire worn by emperors of all dynasties in their portraits. Zhu Jinghong had seen it many times when he offered sacrifices to the Taimiao and the spirits, but today he also wore this attire.

Compared with the majesty and solemnity of the crown robe, the imperial robe is more gorgeous and noble, which can easily dazzle people.

When Zhu Jinghong entered the hall, he saw all the concubines, who had already taken their seats according to their ranks and were already wearing their respective dresses.

Everyone has not been canonized yet, but their levels have all been determined, and granting priority in clothing is just a matter of a word from Zhu Jinghong.

After all, if one were to dress according to one's current official attire, it would indeed appear somewhat shabby.

The Empress Baochai wore a bright red Juyi, and the other concubines were dressed according to their ranks. At this moment, they were all waiting outside the main hall of the Qianqing Palace.

The happiest person at the scene was Yang Jingting, as she finally secured her position as imperial concubine.

It was just because her last name was Yang that it was awkward when people called her that, and it made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

If I could become the queen, everything would go smoothly... Yang Jingting thought so.

Beside her was Daiyu. At the moment, Daiyu didn't have so many thoughts. Her eyes were always focused on Zhu Jinghong, watching him approach from far away outside the palace gate.

The person is still the same person, but there are always some differences.

But when she met Zhu Jinghong's eyes and the latter smiled knowingly, Daiyu knew that at least between the two of them, nothing had changed.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong approaching, Baochai took the lead in bowing to welcome Zhu Jinghong.

"No need to be polite, no need to be polite!" Zhu Jinghong smiled brightly.

Afterwards, he and Baochai walked into the Qianqing Palace, where there was a more formal court ceremony, which required the guidance of the ceremony by the female officials of the Shanggong Bureau.

The process was very cumbersome and lasted about ten minutes. After that, everyone became more casual and came to greet Zhu Jinghong one after another.

"Your Majesty, I want to ask for mercy!"

This is Xiangyun. She is still so straightforward and goes directly to Zhu Jinghong to ask for things.

"What kind of grace is it?" Zhu Jinghong asked with a smile.

Xiangyun said, "Yong'an Palace in the northwest corner is closest to Tianyin Palace. I want to live there!"

There are a total of twelve palaces, including the East and West Palaces. As the imperial concubine, Xiangyun can naturally enjoy one of them alone.

Zhu Jinghong smiled and replied, "Well... I need the Queen's approval!"

Having said that, Zhu Jinghong looked at Baochai, who was talking to Baoqin at the moment.

"Your Majesty, what you said is true. If Sister Yun likes it, you can just give it to her. Why are you making fun of me?"

"Okay, your sister Bao has agreed, so it's settled!"

Xiangyun nodded, and just as Zhu Jinghong was waiting for her to express her gratitude, the girl turned around and looked at Baochai and said, "Thank you, Sister Bao!"

Seeing Zhu Jinghong's astonished look, Daiyu on the other side burst out laughing, but then covered herself with a round fan, looking as if nothing had happened.

"Girl Lin, come here, I have something to ask you!"

Then Daiyu came closer, first bowed to Zhu Jinghong, and then looked at him waiting to ask questions.

Zhu Jinghong also looked at him, because he had nothing to say and called Daiyu over just to chat.

After a few breaths, Daiyu finally couldn't help it, so she said, "If your majesty is at a loss for words, I will take my leave. I have something else to do!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and said, "Something? What's more important than talking to me?"

Daiyu smiled and replied, "If Your Majesty wants to use his power to suppress me, then of course there is nothing left. If you do not want to bully the weak, then there is and more!"

Although Zhu Jinghong is approachable, among the many women present, only Dai and Chai can think of no third one who dares to accuse Zhu Jinghong of abusing his power. At most, Xiangyun can be considered half a culprit.

Of course, everyone present was not surprised when Daiyu said this, because she has always been like this.

The only one who felt uncomfortable was Yang Jingting. After all, as a royal concubine, she did not have such treatment and had always lived cautiously.

After hearing Daiyu's words, Zhu Jinghong laughed twice and said, "Of course I don't like to use power to oppress others. Everyone knows that I win people over with virtue!"

Daiyu teased, "That's right. Your Majesty boasts of his martial virtues, so he will surely play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses to win people over with virtue!"

"Hahaha!"

The atmosphere was joyful. Everyone had lunch together and then went their separate ways.

Zhu Jinghong read the memorials and met with some vassal envoys, especially those from the countries of Xin'an and Southeast Asia, all of whom were summoned by Zhu Jinghong.

The reason is that the establishment of the two Xingdusi in Annan and Nanyang is closely related to the vassal states in these places.

Two months ago, the Ministry of War had made a deployment plan and completed the setting of official grades accordingly, which had been submitted to the Ministry of Personnel for review and approval.

Five days ago, Zhu Jinghong reviewed the proposals from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War respectively, and the plan for setting up two mobile commanderies was finalized.

Now, the five Qinglisi of the Ministry of War in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangzhou, Fujian and Zhejiang have respectively cooperated with the local dusi to start recruiting soldiers.

Of course, this recruitment is different from the other recruitment. The recruited soldiers will be transferred to military households and then centralized and deployed.

The current plan is that the Annan Xingdusi will directly command three guards with 10,000 combat troops, and the Nanyang Xingdusi will directly command two guards with 8,000 combat troops.

After meeting with the countries in the southwest and Southeast Asia, some unexpected situations occurred when meeting with several Mongolian tribes.

"Your Majesty, there have been many border troops impersonating horse thieves and robbing herdsmen. In the past five years, various departments have reported more than 200 cases. There is evidence to prove this... Please, Your Majesty, make the decision for us!"

"Your Majesty, please make the decision for us!"

The last envoys to be received were basically princes and nobles from various Mongolian tribes, most of whom had dispatched troops in recent years to cooperate with the imperial army in battle.

Therefore, among these envoys, some were known to Zhu Jinghong and had participated in battles under him.

This shows the significance of the emperor asking Zhu Jinghong to read more memorials when he was the crown prince.

There had been impeachment memorials before about border troops acting as bandits and robbers and plundering the people. Zhu Jinghong vaguely understood the cabinet's opinion and asked the military supervisors in the areas involved to conduct a thorough investigation.

And then... nothing happened to this matter!
Obviously, this phenomenon has not been effectively curbed, which has made these tribes and alliances unable to bear it any longer and choose to come directly to him to file a complaint.

There are indeed too many injustices in this world. Zhu Jinghong cannot be omniscient, let alone uphold justice for all.

Now that this matter has reached his ears, he must take care of it, otherwise no one will follow you.

"I will investigate this matter thoroughly!" Zhu Jinghong promised.

The herdsmen’s cattle, sheep, and even the people themselves can all be sold for money.

It is not uncommon for some daring people in some border garrisons, including the rotating Beijing garrisons, to do such things in order to make extra money.

We must investigate. If an army becomes corrupt, it will greatly damage its combat effectiveness.

So this time, Zhu Jinghong was going to conduct a serious investigation, at least to reassure the hearts of the various allied khanates, otherwise it might be difficult to lead the team in the future.

After these envoys left, the reception was originally over for today, but Zhu Jinghong summoned the generals of the Five Military Commandery. Zhu Jinghong was going to give a banquet to all the officials in Wuying Hall tonight, so the generals of the Five Military Commandery were all there, and they soon gathered in Qianqing Palace.

"Everyone, tell me...how much money is considered a lot?"

"For a few dozen or eight taels of silver, the government troops robbed the herdsmen. Is this right?"

Inside the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, all the senior generals knelt on the ground, listening to Zhu Jinghong's rebuke.

Walking among the generals and looking towards the throne, Zhu Jinghong stood with his hands behind his back and continued, "Today, the Mongolian envoys cried in front of me about the herdsmen being plundered. I listened... and felt embarrassed!"

"It's shameful, it's really shameful!"

The emperor said that he had brought shame upon himself, and it happened on the day he ascended the throne, which was undoubtedly a very serious matter.

In fact, this matter was indeed very serious, because the Mongols had no choice but to risk angering the emperor by giving advice.

"The people below did such a thing, they should be punished according to the law, but are the generals and commanders who command the troops guilty? Are the generals of the various military commanders guilty?"

"If the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. Speaking of which... you have old friends all over the world. How many of them are your disciples?"

"Do you... have any responsibility?"

After hearing what Zhu Jinghong said, the senior generals present kowtowed again and pleaded guilty, not daring to say a word in their defense.

Zhu Jinghong had military merits as a foundation and enjoyed high prestige in the army, so he was able to summon all the senior generals to give them a lecture without having to worry about these people harboring resentment.

"To build a strong army, we must strictly enforce military law. The Military Supervisor, the East Factory, and the Northern Pacification Office will all investigate this matter, but I hope that the generals below can take the initiative to admit their mistakes and rectify the lawlessness!"

"The soldiers in the army fought for the country. I am not someone who doesn't remember their past. As long as they turn over a new leaf... I can show some mercy!"

The generals present all responded in agreement. They could actually understand that Zhu Jinghong's rebuke meant he did not treat them as outsiders, so none of them felt any resentment in their hearts.

Of course, if the monarch did not have enough prestige, such as Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Jingyuan, although everyone would not dare to talk back on the surface, they would make up a few words in their hearts.

But no matter what, the generals of the Governor's Office have all been scolded, and the investigation this time will be much more severe, and a group of people will definitely be dug out and punished.

After meeting with all the ministers, Zhu Jinghong only rested for half an hour and then went towards the Wuying Palace.

Today is the day he officially ascends the throne, so a banquet for all the ministers and envoys is essential, but it is also a ceremonial occasion.

Words of praise and flattery echoed in his ears all night long.

The next day, the Ministry of War officially submitted a plan to reorganize the border troops and proposed to suspend the rotation in the fourth quarter of this year.

The so-called rotation does not mean that the troops will be rotated in a concentrated manner at a certain time, but that they will be rotated successively.

For example, this winter, only two guards are involved in the rotation, so the suspension will not have much impact.

The reason for the suspension is to better carry out the investigation, and the rotation will be resumed when the case is closed.

In addition to this matter, the Ministry of Rites planned to hold the ceremony of enthroning the empress on the eighth day of September, and reported the specific process of the enthronement in the memorial.

The draft opinion was approved and Zhu Jinghong drew a circle on it.

It took Zhu Jinghong an hour to finish reading the memorial, and then it was his leisure time.

He had been planning to go to the harem to relax, but just as he was about to leave, Yu Hai came into the palace and reported that Jia Yucun wanted to see him and apologize.

"He's finally here to apologize!" Zhu Jinghong sighed.

Jia Yucun's business of shielding the Jinling officials was about to get out of control due to his own clever cover-up.

Zhu Jinghong had been waiting for him to come and apologize. If he didn't come before the truth was revealed, it would mean that this person was not fit for duty and would be demoted to be a prefect or county magistrate.

"Let him in!"

After a while, Jia Yucun entered the Qianqing Palace and was led to the east warm pavilion to meet the emperor.

Except for cabinet ministers, the six ministries and nine officials, and the governors of the Five Military Commanderies and above, other officials were rarely summoned by the emperor, and Jia Yucun, the vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, was no exception.

A new emperor appoints his own ministers. Zhu Jinghong has the idea of ​​adjusting the officials of the current ministries and agencies, but it has not been implemented yet.

He planned to wait a little longer. After all, he had just ascended the throne and it would not be good to start a war and cause a stir. The replacement of personnel had to be done slowly.

After paying respect to Zhu Jinghong, Jia Yucun said, "Your Majesty, I am here to kowtow today to apologize for my crime!"

"Tell me about it!" Zhu Jinghong asked calmly.

Seeing the emperor so calm, Jia Yucun knew that he had come to the right place. If he delayed any further, he would be doomed.

"The land survey in Nanjing involves the ownership of land, which involves huge interests, so it is inevitable that some officials will..."

In fact, the situation is not complicated. To put it simply, some officials in Nanjing who were responsible for land surveying colluded with the landlords to engage in illegal transactions.

Wang Pei'an was implicated when he came to investigate, and after a lot of manipulation, Jia Yucun used his position to cover it up.

But it is very difficult to do something like this perfectly. Eventually, someone discovered the clues and traced back, which led to the current situation.

Of course, while admitting his mistake, Jia Yucun also indirectly defended himself, saying that these people were absolutely loyal to the emperor and had to take expedient measures to complete the land survey, and then they were trapped and put on the pirate ship.

Zhu Jinghong certainly didn't believe such an explanation, but since Jia Yucun was still useful, he didn't expose these lies.

Although Jia Yucun is not a good person, he is indeed a man who gets things done, much better than those who are stupid and bad.

"Tell me... in the cases investigated in the past two years, how many people were involved? Did they allow officials who should have been punished to go unpunished?"

Seeing that the emperor changed the subject, Jia Yucun knew that he had passed the test, so he felt at ease.

However, this question is really difficult to answer.

He could use his position to exempt people from punishment. There were many people in the court who had higher positions than him, so naturally he could do these things.

In addition to the imperial court, local government offices and even the various thousand-household offices of the Northern Pacification Office were also likely to engage in "official protection of each other". What the emperor asked was a complex account that was difficult to settle.

"I... dare not speak nonsense!" Jia Yucun kowtowed.

"Forget it. It seems that this position of the Minister of Justice is not suitable for you. You should go to be the Minister of Works!"

Jia Yucun actually wanted to compete for the position of Minister of Rites. The emperor's arrangement made him want to refuse, but then he kowtowed and agreed, because he knew he had no right to be picky.

"The late emperor wanted to restore the two capitals system. I had already explored it when I went to Nanjing. You go to Nanjing to preside over the reconstruction of the various ministries and departments!"

The Minister of Works was sent out of the capital, which made Jia Yucun even more upset.

"I accept your order and thank you for your grace!"

Jia Yucun left in despair. Although the result was better than he expected, he was not happy at all. It shows that human hearts are the hardest to satisfy.

Yesterday's border army riots and the bad things happening in Nanjing all show that there is actually no difference between civil and military officials, and they are both willing to break the law for the sake of profit.

As an emperor, it seemed that he had the world under his control, but his minions who controlled the world could actually deceive him.

Loyalty to the emperor and pursuit of personal gain are not contradictory, but are well integrated together, with you in me and me in you.

Can this kind of thing be stopped?
Zhu Jinghong laughed when he thought of this problem. It is impossible as long as people have selfish desires.

In fact, if you think about it the other way around, people like Jia Yucun and Sun Shaozu were guilty of serious crimes and deserved the death penalty, but he reused them, which was essentially a crime.

Zhu Jinghong himself is not much better than others when he says that others are crooked at the top and crooked at the bottom.

(End of this chapter)