The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 422 Title Difficult Household

"I have made contributions to the Ming Dynasty and shed blood for it. You can't treat me like this. I want to see the emperor, I want to see the emperor..."

Jiang Li kicked the sturdy man who was hugging his legs and crying, and said impatiently:

"Stop his mouth and drag him away."

Immediately, a Jinyiwei came forward, stuffed a piece of rag into his mouth, and then dragged him away backwards.

"Now I know I regret it. What did I do earlier?"

Jiang Li said this with disdain, then looked down at his wrinkled trouser legs.

Shen Jianxing, a captain of the Imperial Guard who was standing next to him, immediately squatted down and carefully straightened his hair.

Jiang Li was very satisfied, but he said: "I am also a centurion. It would be bad if I was seen doing these things."

Shen Jianxing said: "If there were no commander, I would not be where I am today. I want to serve you for the rest of my life."

Jiang Li kicked his shoulder with his leg and said, "You're getting better. Be more energetic and don't lose your position as a Jinyiwei."

Shen Jianxing stood up and said, "Commander, rest assured. I promise not to embarrass you."

Jiang Li warned: "Be smart when working under Commander Du. He is Chen's tutor. If he really gets into trouble, I won't be able to save face."

Shen Jianxing said quickly: "You know me. I am a simple and honest person. How dare I cause trouble?"

"Honest and simple?" Jiang Li laughed in silence. Are you kidding me?

Shen Jianxing blushed and changed the subject: "Isn't it said that you and Chen Bandu have a very good relationship? Why..."

Jiang Li said, "If Chen Bandu and I don't have a good relationship, can you still be the centurion?"

This is indeed true. The Jinyiwei is such a special organization.

When a new leader takes office, more than half of the core members will be replaced one after another.

The reason he was kept was because he gave face to Jiang Li.

"But Chen Bandu is Chen Bandu, and Commander Du is Commander Du."

"I have a good relationship with Chen Bandu, but I have never dealt with Commander Du. Do you understand?"

Shen Jianxing nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you for your advice, Commander. I know what to do now."

While the two were talking, the final search had been completed.

A general of the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to report that all 87 criminals had been arrested and their money and other belongings had been counted and sealed.

Jiang Li waved his hand and said, "Let's go to the next one."

It was just the end of the new year in February, but Luoyang was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guards joined forces to arrest some of the nobles in Beijing.

In just a few days, more than 300 high-ranking officials were imprisoned.

Similar things were happening where they couldn't see.

For example, King Zhu Gang of Jin captured more than 30 nobles including Marquis of Xiting, as well as more than 600 of their cronies.

Xiting Hou is a new generation of generals who have emerged in recent years. He made his mark during the expedition to Yunnan in the 15th year of Hongwu.

Later, he fought in many battles and made great achievements, and was granted a title of nobility in just a few years.

However, he was a domineering person, had conflicts with many of his colleagues, and allowed his family to do evil in the neighborhood.

When he was granted the title of marquis, he returned home in glory and called over the families with whom he had conflicts in the past and humiliated them.

He has been impeached many times because of this.

Zhu Biao, considering his great contributions, only punished and reprimanded him but did not touch him.

Not long ago, the Embroidered Uniform Guards discovered that his family had caused the destruction of several families in order to seize land.

The local officials turned a blind eye to this.

His name was also included in this great purge, and he was taken down by Zhu Gang.

Zhu Di, Fu Youde and others also took down many people.

This is also the fundamental reason why Zhu Yuanzhang delayed until February this year to take action, which was to require the whole country to take action together to end this incident in a short period of time.

If it is delayed too long, it will affect the court's next plan.
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Even though everyone was mentally prepared, the government and the public were still shocked.

Everyone could imagine that the angry emperor would take severe measures, but no one expected it to be this severe.

The noble group was trembling with fear, and no longer had the arrogance and pride they had before.

No one anymore believed that the court could not do without them and that reform required an exchange of interests with them.

In particular, Crown Prince Zhu Xiongying privately said: "Honor and privilege are rewards given to them by the court, not an exchange of interests."

"You are ungrateful and arrogant, and this is what happens to you."

These words put many problems on the table and made the nobles face the reality.

Not only that, the imperial court was well aware of the importance of public opinion and announced the crimes of these people at the same time as it took action.

The evidence is conclusive and he deserves the death penalty.

The people, who were originally a little scared, became indignant after learning about the situation.

They didn't expect that these powerful and wealthy people who seemed glamorous on the surface were actually thieves and prostitutes behind the scenes.

If you catch someone well, you must punish them severely.

Overnight, public opinion turned from sympathy to hatred.

The other nobles who were not caught also looked like rats during the holiday, and were pointed at wherever they went.

In the past, they would have sent people to beat him up, but now they can only pretend not to hear it.

Not only that, the court also printed the crimes of these people into books and distributed them to the army and bureaucrats.

Let them understand the reasons behind the situation.

The comfort provided previously made the system play a key role again.

The comfort envoys went deep into the grassroots and explained to the grassroots soldiers why the court did so, effectively stabilizing the morale of the army.

More than four hundred nobles were arrested, but in the end there was no unrest in the army.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and others very happy, and they even praised the system for being well-made.

This system must be strengthened in the future.

As for the vacant positions left by these people, they were immediately filled by the people queuing behind them.

Since the implementation of the military merit system, many talents have emerged in the army.

Many of these people are being trained as reserve cadres and can be deployed at any time.

Therefore, such a great chaos had almost no impact on the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

This also once again served as a reminder to the noble group.

They are not as important as they think, and the court can replace them at any time.

With this understanding, the arrogant hearts of the nobles finally calmed down.

Start thinking about how to act in the future.

Faced with this turmoil, the civil service group had mixed feelings. They should have been very happy that the nobles were in trouble.

But faced with such a tough approach, they really couldn't be happy.

Especially for those old ministers, the court's move reminded them of the major case in the 15th year of Hongwu.

Thousands of people were executed, and more than 100,000 people were implicated.

The court was deserted, and the shortage of officials in the country reached more than one-third.

Many of them were promoted to their current positions thanks to that opportunity.

But even so, no one is grateful for the turmoil.

When I woke up in the middle of the night, the bloody scene was all I could think of.

After so many years, they thought they would never experience something like this again in their lifetime.

did not expect……

Although the incident happened to nobles, they still felt the same way.

The ones who were most shocked were the young officials and scholars waiting for the exams.

They thought that by becoming officials and changing their class, they could become superior people and live as decent people.

Some people dream of making a difference after becoming an official.

However, this incident was like a bucket of cold water poured over one's head.

Even if the court announced the crimes of the nobles, it still could not stop them from feeling grief-stricken.

It turns out that being an official is not the end, but the beginning of another life. Nobles can be slaughtered like chickens and ducks, and so can bureaucrats.

If you don't do things properly, you will be the one whose property is raided next time.

Of course, the fundamental reason why everyone is panicking is that they don’t know whether their name is on the list.

So those who have not been caught but have something to hide start to look for connections everywhere.

But at this moment, everyone is busy protecting themselves, who has the time to save others?

The few who are sure it is safe will not go against Lao Zhu at this time.

Either choose to close the door and refuse visitors, or get involved in person.

For example, Tang He, Feng Sheng, Lan Yu and others were all the people who carried out this purge.

Those who chose to stay out included Li Shanchang, Xu Da and others.

Li Shanchang got drunk and accidentally hit his head, so he took sick leave.

It is said that Princess Lin'an was filial and personally took care of her patient at the bedside.

But Li Qi joined the operation and arrested many people.

Just after the Chinese New Year, Xu Da used the excuse of a recurrence of carbuncle on his back to stay at home to recuperate.

Not only him, but even Xu Yungong resigned from the position of commander of the Shenjiying on the grounds of taking care of his father.

When the incident happened, the father and son stayed at home quietly.

Xu Da was calm and composed, as if the ups and downs in the outside world had nothing to do with him.

Xu Yungong became a little restless. After hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but ask:
"We're really not going to do anything?"

Xu Da asked back: "What?"

Xu Yungong said: "At this critical moment, we should at least stand up and express our support for the court, right?"

"Although Duke Hanguo is ill, he has also asked Lieutenant Li to come forward and express his loyalty to His Majesty."

"Will His Majesty be unhappy if we do nothing?"

Xu Da shook his head and said, "Does our family still need to do these superficial things?"

Xu Yungong said: "Some things require an attitude."

Xu Da smiled and said, "You can understand this principle, and you are already a qualified family head."

"But you thought of the first one, but not the second one."

Xu Yungong asked in confusion: "What is the second one?"

Xu Da explained: "The second is Miao Jin. With her in the palace, we don't have to do anything, and we can't do anything."

"The more we do, the more disadvantageous it will be to her. This is why His Majesty agreed to your resignation."

Seeing Xu Yungong still looking confused, he reminded: "Relatives."

Relatives by marriage?

Xu Yungong suddenly realized.

Yes, the emperor was decisive in killing people, and although everyone felt uncomfortable, they would not say anything.

But if you, a queen or your family, are like this, the ministers should be worried.

If the Xu family participated in the purge plan against the nobles, the officials would certainly take action against Xu Miaojin.

Call it revenge or prevention, it is inevitable.

Even if we can't stop her from becoming the Crown Princess, we will still keep a magnifying glass on her in the future.

To put it bluntly, conspicuous relatives are not good relatives.

As a relative by marriage, you'd better behave yourself and not get involved in miscellaneous matters.

As for showing loyalty?
The greatest loyalty of an in-law is for them to be honest and not make mistakes.
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Just as the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Imperial Guards were taking action, Zhu Biao came up with a new reform plan at an early morning court session.

1. Ask the Imperial College to compile a new set of teaching materials for overseas scholars to study.

“This set of books uses spoken language as much as possible and must be easy to understand.”

"After reading it, people should have a clear understanding of the historical context and main ideas of China."

Originally, the officials of the Imperial College were quite happy, as compiling this set of books was a great achievement.

Maybe you can even leave your name in history.

However, when they heard Zhu Biao's request, their faces suddenly turned bitter.

This request is really too much, isn't it embarrassing?

But unfortunately, they did not dare to raise any objections.

The second change was to have the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel compile a set of books on etiquette, responsibilities and obligations.

Zhu Biao directly pointed out the reason. According to the feedback, the status and class of the nobles had changed, but their thoughts had not changed.

Most people don't know how to be a qualified noble.

The court has an obligation to teach them.

He then ordered the Ministry of Personnel to establish academies to train meritorious officials and newly appointed officials.

Emperor Zhu Biao served as the president.

Only after training can one be formally granted the title of lord and allowed to take up an official position.

Not only that, Zhu Biao also specifically emphasized that officials should not always be high and mighty.

We need to change our mindset and have a service-oriented attitude.

Then he talked about what service awareness is.

Although all the officials looked at each other in confusion, no one objected.

Because when you really think about it, the service consciousness is quite consistent with the thoughts of our ancient sages about family, country and the world.

What's more, Zhu Biao only asked them to change their mindset and did not require them to become service providers.

If you still object, you will probably be kicked out on the spot.

Zhu Biao was secretly delighted to see that his ministers accepted the concept so easily, and the first step of the plan was successful.

Then he made further attempts.

The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel were required to incorporate service awareness when compiling books.

The ministers still did not object.

Again, it's just a recommendation, there's nothing to object to.

Of course, the fundamental reason why everyone did not object was that they were scared.

Hundreds of nobles were arrested. Who would dare to go against the emperor at this time?
As long as it is not a matter of principle, it can be tolerated.

Chen Jingke on the side couldn't help but admire Zhu Biao's methods. He really took the boiling frog in warm water tactic to the extreme.
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After the morning court session ended, what happened in the court quickly spread.

Naturally, both the government and the public praised the two decisions of the imperial court.

The scholars, in particular, were extremely satisfied with Emperor Zhu Biao.

Both of these plans are related to education, which is exactly what they want.

As for the murder... that was done by the retired emperor and has little to do with the emperor.

Twenty days later, the arrest operation was finally completed. More than 400 nobles were caught and more than 19,000 people were implicated.

As for the trial process, it was simply omitted.

At Zhu Yuanzhang's order, all the main culprits were executed and the accomplices were exiled to Southeast Asia.

It happened that the results of the imperial examination had just been announced, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered all the successful scholars to watch the execution.

The scene of more than 2,000 people being collectively executed was extremely terrifying.

It is said that the situation was out of control at one point, and many scholars were frightened and fell to the ground, and some even defecated and urinated.

After hearing this, Chen Jingke could only observe three seconds of silence for them.

It is really a great misfortune in life that such a thing happened before I even took office.

But on the other hand, it could also be a blessing.

I believe that after today's experience, this group of people will be more restrained in their behavior after entering officialdom.

So that you can work peacefully until retirement.

The quarrels lasted until April, and the storm finally passed.

It was at this time that Zhu Biao announced the decision to divide the country into smaller pieces.

(End of this chapter)