The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 126: Abandoned from fame? This must not be the first of its kind!
The capital is calm.

Since a large number of officials from the Ministry of War were dismissed and investigated, there has been no news from the court.

Tang Hao originally thought that Li Dongyang would have to clarify whatever he said, either by going to court to speak out for his party members, or by inciting all his party members to come forward in unison.

However, he did nothing.

The entire Huguang Township Party seemed to be stuck in an instant, allowing the Metropolitan Procuratorate to trace the evidence of the crimes of these Ministry of War officials, and then completely prove their crimes.

In short, these Ministry of War officials were simply abandoned.

Li Dongyang is indeed a smart man. When he was frustrated by Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, and saw the situation in the court clearly, he chose to endure and give in.

As Tang Hao expected, this old Yinbi is not so easy to deal with.

Even during court discussions, Li Dongyang has not shown up for several times. It is said that an old illness has recurred and needs to be nursed back to health.

In this regard, Tang Hao and the little emperor very much hoped that this old Yinbi could die by himself, instead of having to do it themselves.

They all saw the fate of He Tianqu and others, and no one dared to challenge the ruthless methods of the Grand Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion!

The second true king is naturally Ma Wensheng, the Heavenly Official. This veteran of the Five Dynasties dragged his sick and disabled body to the official department and firmly controlled the most powerful organization in his hands!
The third true king is none other than Zong Xian Zhang Fuhua. He is also a veteran of the Five Dynasties. His qualifications and prestige are not inferior to Ma Wensheng. Now he is in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate with the power of investigation and has become the third dynasty feared by all officials. The true king of Tangzhen is as powerful as the two in front of him.

This time, there were more than 56 Ministry of War officials involved in the case, and almost all the Ministry of War offices were emptied.

Therefore, the final big fish stopped at these two Qing officials. The next step is how to punish the criminals.

Even if some people are very vigilant, such as the two officials of the Ministry of War, with their positions of authority, they don't have to go out of their way to take bribes. Officials below will send money directly to their arms. There is no evidence of guilt. Easy to find.

It's easy to understand that it's self-interest, everyone's bottom is dirty, and with just a casual search, you can easily trace evidence of corruption and bribery.

To put it bluntly, a confession is a confession, but your life is the most important.

And to put it bluntly, even if they really confessed Li Dongyang, what would happen?

The main content of this day's court meeting was the handling of the officials involved in the case from the Ministry of War, as well as the measures proposed by Han Wen, the minister of household affairs, to solve the shortcomings of the grain payment and reimbursement.

Until now, there has never been a scandal like this in which government officials were collectively dismissed for crimes!

Zhang Fuhua is a veteran minister. He knows very well how bad the impact of this incident is, so he did not take it upon himself to convict these corrupt officials. Instead, he reported the matter to the court for discussion!
Liu Jian took Zhang Fuhua's memorial and recounted the case and the truth discovered by the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Li Dongyang only needs to say "false accusations and criticism" to clear up the matter. Trying to use this to bring Li Dongyang down is tantamount to wishful thinking.

This time, no one questioned or refuted.

First, the first article is about the officials involved in the case from the Ministry of War.

After the unremitting efforts of him and the little emperor, the current civil servants and gentry have been successfully separated!
Today's civil servants and gentry can be roughly represented by the four forces, three true kings!
The first true king was Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet. By virtue of his status as the chief minister of the cabinet and the advisor to the emperors of the two dynasties, he firmly occupied the top spot.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate changed its thinking and started with these middle- and lower-level officials, tortured and traced the whereabouts of the stolen money. In the end, it could only point to these two doctors. Either they confess truthfully and receive leniency, or they refuse to plead guilty and resist harsh punishment.

After all, this is Zhang Fuhua’s memorial!
Who is Zhang Fuhua?
A veteran of the Five Dynasties!
The four gentlemen of Nandu!
His name as a "gentleman" is different from Liu Daxia's "Three Gentlemen of Hongzhi"!
The so-called "Three Gentlemen of Hongzhi" are the reputations attached to officials and scholars from both the government and the public!
Zhang Fuhua's name of "gentleman" comes from the people in the Jiangnan area. As long as the name "Zhang Fuhua" is mentioned, everyone will praise and praise him. This is the real people's aspiration!
Therefore, even if someone wants to raise questions, they must first look at their identity and status before questioning such a virtuous veteran!

This case was defined by Zhang Fuhua as "forming cliques for personal gain"!
It is easy to understand why they formed a party. After all, they are all members of the Huguang Township Party. Although the few officials are not from Huguang, they are just people who actively attached themselves to the party by handing in certificates of voting. There is nothing to say.

Seeing that their elders were all expelled from the court, while the other one remained silent, these two officials still didn't understand that they had been abandoned and could only confess honestly. However, Li Dongyang, Liu Daxia and Xiong Xiu were not mentioned at all in the confession.

Looking at the silent court, Tang Hao just felt funny.

As for the last force, it is Lao Yinbi Li Dongyang who has taken a medical break and the Huguang Township Party that he has worked so hard to manage. They are also the unlucky ones who are being strangled by the three true kings at this moment!

Seeing that no one spoke, Tang Hao liked to be this villain the most.

"Isn't this simple?"

"The country has its own laws and regulations, just punish crimes according to the "Da Ming Law"!"

"Decapitate those who deserve it, decapitate those who deserve it, exile those who deserve it, and exile those who deserve it. What else is there to say?"

In terms of criminal law, the "Da Ming Code" originated from the "Tang Code", with flogging, rod, imprisonment, exile, and death as the five punishments, which are the so-called main punishments. Others include miscellaneous criminals, beheading, hanging, relocation, exile, and shackles in the regulations. Some of them were inherited from previous dynasties, some were created by the Ming Dynasty, and some were created by the Ming Dynasty. Generally speaking, they are relatively strict.

After all, the "Da Ming Code" was formulated by Emperor Hongwu by summarizing the experience and lessons of the implementation of laws in previous dynasties. Emperor Hongwu was born in the grasslands and was well aware of the sufferings of the people. He especially emphasized "the use of heavy codes to govern troubled times" and severe punishments to eliminate corruption and bribery.

Just because it was too strict, and after the Civil War, civil servants and gentry controlled the government, they naturally began to think about modifications. However, Emperor Taizu Gao strictly prohibited his successors from "making chaos into law", so these guys did not dare to change their minds and changed their minds. When encountering cases that are unfavorable to them, they will issue edicts or formulate regulations to assist them.

For example, in the 13th year of Hongzhi's reign, Article 279 of the "Regulations on Punishment" were enacted. Under the banner of "following the ancestral system", various regulations were promulgated. Cause and effect are used to deceive, and examples are used instead of laws, and the importance is arbitrary, which directly greatly reduces the practicality of the "Da Ming Law".

Officials no longer base their decisions on prison sentences and cases on the basis of the Ming Dynasty Code, but on the established examples of these auxiliary laws. To put it bluntly, it is to fully benefit the civil servants and gentry. This is undoubtedly a trampling on the painstaking efforts of Emperor Taizu Gao.

The most disgusting thing is that these civil servants and gentry are still shouting about "the ancestors made the law" all day long, and they don't know who the "ancestors" they are talking about are!

At this moment, upon hearing that Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao was going to use the "Da Ming Law", the expressions of many courtiers present began to change.

After all, these fifty-six people are not just cats and dogs, but serious elite bureaucrats who have successfully entered official careers after passing the imperial examinations and studied politics in the Sixth Ministry, Hanlin Academy and other places. They are out-and-out elite bureaucrats. How could the reserve army of civil servants and gentry be abolished like this!
According to the previous handling methods, the worst possible outcome would be to be demoted and sent away. Maybe there will be a chance to make a comeback in the future!

You damned Marquis of Zhongshan, you want to be killed and crippled if you disagree with me. You are not a general or military officer, so you don’t feel bad at all, right?

At this moment, even Tianguan Ma Wensheng and the chief minister of the cabinet Liu Jian were hesitant, thinking about whether to take advantage of these officials.

However, before they could speak, the little emperor on the platform spoke directly.

"What are these corrupt officials still doing?"

"In May of the 30th year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu Gao re-promulgated the "Da Ming Code", and also stipulated the abolition of other articles and prohibitions. The prison sentence will be based on this, and he also strictly ordered the heir to "change chaos into law"!"

"This "Da Ming Law" is still in use today. I think you have all forgotten it. Instead, you like to use some auxiliary laws to establish the rules!" "What? Is this how the ancestral system of Taizu Gao Emperor has been trampled on by you?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell into silence.

Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, immediately fell to his knees, followed immediately by Heavenly Official Ma Wensheng and General Secretary Zhang Fuhua.

The three true kings in the court all knelt down to apologize. Naturally, the other courtiers did not dare to look at them and immediately stood up and knelt on the ground.

Only the Marquis of Zhongshan, Tang Hao, was sitting well and had no intention of kneeling down to apologize.

The blame he got for asking has nothing to do with him anyway, and he was the one who just advocated the implementation of the "Da Ming Law". That was a sign of respect for Emperor Taizu Gao!
Praise Comrade Zhu Chongba!
"If you answer the guilty officer, you will be punished according to the "Da Ming Law"!"

"Corrupt people should be severely punished. Only in this way can all officials be deterred and clean themselves up!"

"In addition, these fifty-six thieves will all be expelled from their jobs and will never be hired again!"

The little emperor's voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting the minds of the court officials present so hard that they almost fainted with stars in their eyes!

what?
Get rid of fame? !
How is this possible?
Even the three true kings of the court, Liu Jian, Ma Wensheng, and Zhang Fuhua, were also a little panicked at this moment.

What is fame?
This is the foundation for scholars to settle down and live a life!
Even if these fifty-six were dismissed from their official positions, their fame and reputation would still be there, and they could still return to their hometowns and become wealthy gentry masters.

And once they are expelled from their honors, these fifty-six people will be nothing!

Han Chuang studied hard all his life, but in the end he ended up in vain. He couldn't even support his family. How could they live?
What’s more serious is that we must not set a precedent like this!
Otherwise, if the little emperor is dissatisfied with someone, he will immediately dismiss his official position and remove his title. Then aren't they going to follow in the footsteps of these fifty-six people?

Fame is the bottom line for scholars!
The courtiers present, except for Tang Hao, were all scholars, so naturally they couldn't accept it!

Liu Jian, the chief assistant of the cabinet, was the first to speak and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, think about it again. It is not easy for a scholar to study hard for more than ten or twenty years. Once the fame is removed, it means that all the previous efforts and contributions have been wasted. This... …It is tantamount to killing them!”

"Your Majesty, this is not allowed!" Heavenly Official Ma Wensheng also made a rare statement, "Removing the title will harm your Majesty's name of benevolence and righteousness. Please think twice!"

General Secretary Zhang Fuhua was a little hesitant, but he was still a scholar after all, so naturally he could not watch the little emperor take this initiative.

"Your Majesty, scholars serve as officials in the court and as gentry in the countryside. They are the cornerstone of the court. You must not be so... harsh!"

The three true kings have taken a stand, and the other court officials will naturally not sit back and watch. After all, this is a matter of great concern to them!

As a result, all the courtiers in the imperial court touched their heads to the ground and knelt down to beg the young emperor to take back his life, not to set a precedent and to be deprived of his fame!

Seeing this situation, Zhu Houzhao immediately laughed angrily.

He didn't bother to take the hammer lesson anymore, so he walked directly down from the platform and looked at the courtiers coldly.

In fact, Tang Hao taught him the damaging move of getting rid of his fame.

The two of them, the monarch and his ministers, came to a unanimous conclusion regarding the handling of the officials of the Ministry of War, that is, they would directly give the Huguang Township Party a severe blow and expel these fifty-six people from their positions for life!

Otherwise, if they are expelled from the court this time, as long as Li Dongyang is still in the court, they will have the opportunity to return to the court. Isn't that just disgusting?
Of course, the young emperor also understood that fame was the bottom line for these civil servants and gentry. This was a conclusion drawn based on the He Tianqu incident.

In fact, after Tang Hao thought carefully afterwards, assuming that he agreed to He Tianqu's conditions and kept He Tianqu's official status and reputation, would He Tianqu have the courage to directly report and expose Li Dongyang?
However, Tang Hao didn't think deeply about it at the time. He just felt that He Tianqu was too stupid to be an official. He was already a prisoner and was about to be executed. He still wanted to keep his official status and his fame. He just wanted the fame and not the fame. Life!
Then it turned out that He Tianqu wanted fame rather than his life!
Since Li Dongyang can't keep his reputation even if he reports it, what's the point of living without his reputation?
So He Tianqu simply hit his head against the wall and died in front of Tang Hao!
This is the true portrayal of scholars in Ming Dynasty!
Fame is more important than life!
Want fame rather than life!

Zhu Houzhao also learned this truth from Tang Hao.

But now he just wants to see if all scholars in the Ming Dynasty are like this. For the sake of academic fame, they can ignore the great plans of the country and the country!

"Is that what you all think?"

Zhu Houzhao sneered: "There are fifty-six of them, and there is conclusive evidence that they form a clique for personal gain. They are out-and-out corrupt officials!"

"I just want to get rid of their reputations and prevent these fifty-six thieves from continuing to invade the interests of the country and continue to return to their hometowns to be gentry. Is this wrong?"

"This honor is not for you scholars, but is given to you scholars by the imperial court. The reason why the imperial court treats scholars so favorably is to cultivate scholars and cultivate talented officials who are loyal to the country, rather than a group of corrupt officials. , the borers and rice bugs who form cliques for personal gain!”

"If that's the case, then why can't the court take back their honors? Does the court still have to spend money to raise these borers and rice bugs?"

"Gensuke, Soken, and Otsuka Zai, the three of you tell me, what kind of truth is this?"

The three of them were startled when they heard this and looked at each other without saying a word.

reason?

It doesn't make sense!

Everyone knows that you are right, but they just can’t set a precedent!
Tang Hao laughed out loud when he looked at the scene in front of him.

"Tsk, tsk, Han Chuang has been studying hard for more than ten years, and he sounds like it's really hard work!"

"Since this scholar has gained the title of scholar, he no longer has to bear taxes and corvee. He can be a teacher and receive tuition fees, right? Since he has gained the title of scholar, the tax exemption has increased to 400 acres. Just this exemption The taxes are enough to feed and drink the whole family!"

"So that means that scholars only need to study for a few years and pass the scholar examination, and then they can start making money. If they can still be successful in high school, they will be serious country squires. They can use various means to embezzle and annex With four hundred acres of land, I can still house several concubines if I have nothing to do!"

"What kind of hard work is this?"

"Why don't you ask those farmers and farmers who are facing the loess and turning their backs to the sky?"

"Why don't you ask those craftsmen who have worked thousands of miles to do coolies?"

"Why don't you ask those humble merchants who are busy doing business?"

"Hard work? If this is considered hard work, then you scholars should stop taking the imperial examination and let the farmers, industry and merchants do this job, okay?"

(End of this chapter)