My God, I am the emperor, the lord of mankind.

Chapter 462 Meeting

Not everyone can understand the emperor’s grace.

Yesterday, Liang Chu personally ordered the execution of dozens of relatives of the main lineage of the Liang family at the Meridian Gate, cut off the market in half, and ordered the Sanfa Division to confiscate the family property of the relevant people and sell off their wives and daughters to compensate the imperial court. losses over the years.

"Mr. Liang Ge, today the Sanfa Department reported that the property of the criminals involved in embezzling military camps and selling government land has been accounted for, and it can roughly make up for the deficit of the imperial court. What my colleagues and I mean is that the remaining part of the imperial court can If you reduce or reduce the amount as appropriate, you don’t have to involve too many people, sending the men of the sinner’s family to guard the border and selling the women into slavery..."

Under the guidance of the Forbidden Army, the cabinet and six ministers first waited in the Wanshou Palace to be received by the emperor.

The officials were waiting outside the door for the emperor's edict.

In order to keep away the heat, two ice cellars were added to the Wanshou Palace.

Sitting in each of them is a girl dressed in beautiful clothes.

The woman in red on the left is wearing a samurai red robe, while the woman on the right is in green plain clothing.

The cabinet knew very well that both men were rare masters in the world.

He also has a very close relationship with the emperor, does not participate in political affairs, and is subordinate to the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army.

He was promoted to admiral of the navy, controlling the naval forces of the three southeastern provinces, and his status was only below that of the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army Commander-in-Chief.

In fact, facing an old man who is about to leave the court and leave a vacancy as the first assistant, he is no longer a threat to everyone.

Anyone would show such a concerned look.

Even if the emperor does not remove him as the chief minister, for the sake of his reputation and the future of his family's descendants, he will not choose to stay in office after dealing with his criminal compatriots.

"Thank you for your kindness——"

Cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the country and bring peace to the world——

If you can't even restrain your own clan, then how can the world's scholars believe that you can spread the saint's ideas to the world.

Liang Chu looked at Wang Qiong beside him.

In the eyes of Confucian scholars, a person's moral conduct is deficient, even if it is because his family is implicated.

Liang Chu looked around at the concerned expressions of his colleagues without exception.

This didn't surprise him.

Wang Qiong and the family behind him did not suffer much loss.

Compared with himself, this famous minister of righteousness who was half a soldier still looked more energetic.

Even because of proper handling, Wang Qiong's son received a commendation from the court for his meritorious service in training the navy for the court.

Liang Chu knew in his heart that there was such a big trouble in the same clan in his hometown.

Therefore, he did not shy away from talking about the previous dynasty in front of them.

They have all lost the qualifications to lead the imperial scholar-bureaucrats.

"The national law is the law of the world. How can it be because of my family? Sir Wang, please stop interceding for them..."

And his cabinet colleagues are obviously well aware of this.

In fact, facing these "good intentions", Liang Chu was also secretly observing the expressions of the important officials around him.

Apparently, the imperial court was in the process of checking the northern horse grass.

Liang Chu smiled bitterly and answered with fists in his hands.

"However, the Emperor has said, 'Show the world to serve the public, not for my personal gain!'. The Emperor is sitting all over the world and he still has such a saint's heart. And as ministers, how can we insult the Emperor's reputation?"

Wang Qiong in front of him shook his head and smiled bitterly, while Wang Shouren and Peng Ze not far away were discussing the Eastern Urgent Report that had just been reported by Qin Tianjian.

It probably has nothing to do with these two people.

Liang Chu thought in his heart.

Having served as chief minister twice and working in the cabinet for more than thirty years, he has long developed an extraordinary ability to read people.

Wang Shouren had only been in the cabinet for two years, and Peng Ze had been demoted in the previous dynasty. Both of them were exiled by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and had to retire.

Wang Shouren was almost killed by the Jin Yiwei, but he escaped quickly and lost his life. It is basically impossible to compete with him for the position of first assistant.

Most of the time, the chief ministers of the Ming Dynasty were jointly elected by civil servants and leaders who represented their interests.

Except for a few emperors who were relatively powerful or good at using tactics, the influence of imperial power on the cabinet was not as great as imagined.

Moreover, today's emperor does not have the habit of arbitrarily interfering in the operation of the imperial court's cultural management system.

In addition to letting the civil servants take the blame if anything happens to them, today's emperor can be called a saint of benevolence and virtue.

Liang Chu set his sights on the candidate who was most likely to inherit the position of chief minister after him.

Wang Qiong, this veteran minister of Zhengde who had clearly stood on the side of the emperor and opposed the empress dowager's interference in politics since the emperor first came to Beijing.

His success in clearing Ma Cao in the north made him more prestigious among the government and the public, and his prestige among the northern military garrison was also increasing day by day.

Today's military generals are different from those of the previous dynasties.

Just like the experience of past dynasties, the status of generals will naturally increase during wars.

But now that there have been successive wars, the emperor has arranged for a large number of relatives to enter the governor's mansion of the five armies, which has greatly increased the momentum of the generals.

Moreover, the imperial court was about to conquer Mongolia from the north. With the support of military generals, Wang Qiong's position as chief assistant was almost certain.

So... could it be him?

While waiting for the emperor's imperial ban to arrive, Liang Chu thought in his mind as he looked at the five-clawed golden dragon entwined on the jade pillars on the golden platform in front of him.

Even Liang Chu would not believe that a powerless military household could beg for food all the way from Guangdong to the capital.

Passing through the blockades of the Chief Secretary's Yamen at all levels and the water transport Yamen, he went to the emperor's feet to file a petition.

He sued the Liang family for embezzling the land of the military town, robbing military households of their wives and daughters, forging official documents, and secretly trading with the Western Yi.

Moreover, where the evidence in his hands came from is still a question.

All kinds of thoughts surged in Liang Chu's heart.

With a shrill cry of the emperor's arrival.

While the officials knelt to greet him, he quietly glanced at Wang Qiong beside him.

If he really did it——

Liang Chu thought in his mind.

Then Wang Qiong must pay the price for his actions.

"The ministers are here to meet -"

The bell of the Meridian Gate rang, and the crisp sound of a jade whip hitting the ground was heard next to the Jinshui Bridge.

The waiting officials filed in and entered the Longevity Palace.

Liang Chu keenly noticed that Huang Jin did not stick to the edge of the golden platform as tightly as before, indicating his close relationship with the emperor.

Instead, he is quite reserved and respectfully waits where he should be.

The emperor's left hand hangs down, holding a pen next to the eunuch Lu Fang.

As the ministers came to visit, the Imperial Guards who served on the left and right also knelt down to pay homage to the emperor whom they had not seen for many days.

The Jiajing Emperor seems to be in a pretty good mood today.

On his head was a flower crown made of vanilla, and in his hand was a string of orbs made of unknown precious wood.

A brown robe was worn on his body, covering his feet and any skin except his hands and face.

Emperor Jiajing glanced at his ministers, and the unmoving figure expanded unconsciously in front of Liang Chu's eyes.

An ancient breath came.

It was as if the person in front of him was not the Ming emperor who ruled the world, but a towering ancient tree.

(End of this chapter)