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Chapter 489 Development and Pollution

While at the naval base, the emperor not only participated in a target shooting competition, but also took a walk around the shipyard. While visiting and expressing condolences, the emperor gave on-site guidance on the transformation of several auxiliary equipment. For example, gantry cranes with complex pulleys and fully enclosed steam boxes heated with mixed oil.

With the assistance of these equipment, the assembled hull can be hoisted to the keel piece by piece, saving a lot of laying time. Fumigating large-volume wood is no longer a luxury. Curvature that was previously unobtainable can be easily achieved through steam fumigation, directly replacing the process of splicing small pieces of wood into curves.

Just as Hong Tao was immersed in the vanity environment that all the shipbuilders regarded as a god coming down to earth, the arrival of a team of royal guards brought him back to reality.

Yesterday, the third day of February, nearly a thousand candidates gathered at the gates of the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple, and jointly signed a letter imploring the court to severely punish the murderer and to clear the name of the candidates.

Ordinarily, the trial is a matter for the Ministry of Justice. Even if there is a problem with the trial result, it will still be reviewed by Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It has nothing to do with the emperor directly. Why would the Jin Yiwei come so far to report it specifically?

This starts with the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty. Starting from becoming a scholar, the candidates, Jinshi, and Gongshi will gradually enjoy certain privileges, such as exemption from corvee, exemption from taxes, official service, etc. One of them is exemption from punishment.

If a person commits a crime, in addition to the treatment of not kneeling before the official, he cannot be tortured to extract a confession. That is to say, when judging a person, you can only be reasonable, you cannot hit or scold, and you must treat each other with courtesy.

If the crime committed by Juren is too serious, there will be no punishment at all and a verbal warning will be enough. Even if you commit a serious crime, such as murder, you still have a chance to obtain a pardon from the emperor.

So here comes the problem. The judge tries to reason with the suspect and treat each other politely. Unless there is particularly conclusive evidence, there is a high probability that the truth will not be revealed. If you want to punish a juren, you must obtain the emperor's approval, and you must first deprive the juren of his status.

The Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Dali Temple wanted to severely punish the murderer in the face of the excitement of the prosecutors, but the arrested prosecutors unanimously refused to admit their guilt. Faced with this situation, we can only report to the emperor for instructions on how to deal with it.

The cabinet received the petition from the Three Law Departments but could not approve it. After consultation with the Secretary of Ceremonies, they had to rush 600 miles to send the title book to the naval base for the emperor to see first.

"What do you two beloved ministers think of this matter?" After reading the joint report from the three judicial departments, Hong Tao did not rush to a conclusion. Instead, he called Wang Xiangqian and Zhao Shiqing, who were accompanying him, to listen to their advice first.

"I think it is best to find out the murderer and get the crime punished as soon as possible. We cannot let this matter affect the examination." Wang Xiangqian gave his handling opinions without much thinking, but it was almost as if he didn't say anything. It was all nonsense.

"I have heard a little bit about this matter, but I don't know why it got to such an extent. Killing people to pay debts and repaying money is a matter of course. Is it possible that there is no conclusive evidence?" Zhao Shiqing also expressed his opinion later. He was not as irrelevant as the Minister of War. Gao Gao hangs up, directly questioning the ability of the Three Law Divisions to handle cases.

"Yeah, I don't know the whole story, so I'll go back and discuss it later. You can return to Beijing first, and I'll stop by Haihe Machinery Factory and Tongzhou to have a look, and I'll be there soon."

After hearing the statements of the two important ministers, Hong Tao felt somewhat relieved. He didn't take out the question book of the Three Laws Division just now, he just talked about it orally, just because he wanted to hear what these two ministers had to say. If what they said was similar to what was stated in the question book, and they also advised themselves to be deprived of the merits of the officials involved in the case according to the list of the Ministry of Punishments, it would mean that they had prepared in advance and were probably part of a gang that wanted to use this incident to suppress the New Deal.

At present, it seems that the two ministers are not involved, which is in line with their usual style of not taking sides, and they are worthy of the important task entrusted to them. Then there is no need to rush back. Three or two of the six ministers can be left to support the appearance. Even if the rest are taken over, the court will not be paralyzed.

"I heard that Xu Zixian and Wang Liangfu have psychic powers and are very good at organizing. Factories in various places rely on the equipment they make to operate normally. I also want to admire your majesty's power and learn more about it." Hearing that the emperor was going to Haihe Machinery Factory, Wang Xiangqian He was immediately interested and offered to accompany him.

"Shangshu Zhao, would you like to come with me?" Wang Xiangqian's words had a clear sour taste. He was complaining that the dignified Minister of the Ministry of War would be blocked by the machinery factory, let alone patrolling, not even allowed to get close.

Hong Tao heard it and knew why, but he didn't say anything. It is very troublesome to explain this kind of thing. People may not believe it yet, so I simply won’t say it. I am the emperor and have this privilege.

"I am old and frail. I heard that there are fireworks and bells and drums ringing all day long in the machinery factory. It is better not to cause trouble." Zhao Shiqing was more tolerant. As long as the emperor did not interfere too much in the work of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he would not cause trouble. The emperor is upset, and it is best for everyone to be in peace.

10 miles upstream from the Dagukou Naval Base along the Haihe River is the Haihe Shipyard, and another 50 miles further is the Haihe Machinery Factory. It has been more than eight years since the establishment of the factory was started in the second year of Jingyang. The factory area has gradually expanded from dozens of acres to now being spread over three miles on the west bank of the Haihe River.

There are endless tall waterwheels and huge factories. Smoke of various colors can be seen dispersing in the sky from a few miles away. The sound of metal collisions comes one after another, and there is a strange and pungent smell.

"Your Majesty, I have something I don't know whether to say or not." Since the distance was not far, Hong Tao did not choose to take a carriage, but stepped on a navy transport boat upstream. Before he could see the chimney of the machinery factory clearly, Wang Xiangqian came over.

"But it doesn't matter."

"I took a careful look along the way. The water in this river seemed abnormal. There seemed to be a layer of oily flowers floating on it. The vegetation on the bank was also a little black and had a strange smell. I wonder if someone did it on purpose? "Wang Xiangqian pointed to the shore and shrugged his nose, a little confused.

"Well, I'm asking the right person about this. No need to guess, it's 100% the fault of the machinery factory. Some of the materials used there are toxic and will be discharged into the river along with the wastewater. Over time, it will kill fish and shrimp. It makes the grass and trees wither, and people and animals will get sick after drinking it.”

Speaking of industrial pollution, Hong Tao is also deeply touched. There was nothing unusual the last time I came here for inspection. In just four or five years, the water quality in the lower reaches of the Haihe River has deteriorated significantly, and the scale of the machinery factory is still expanding.

If this trend continues, in less than ten years, the dozens of miles of rivers from the machinery factory to the estuary, as well as the sea area near Dagukou, will become stagnant water areas, with no fish or shrimp, no grass, and a terrible smell.

(End of this chapter)