The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 329: Zhongshan Hou Loses Power
"Save one by one's sword——"

Yang Tinghe shouted in a pretentious manner.

Then Tang Hao took action. He drew his sword and swung it down. The man's head flew up and Li Dongyang died completely in his hands.

This time, Tang Hao took action personally, even if immortals and gods came it would be useless!
The common people and scholars cried out in surprise, and then subconsciously made way!
Zhang Yong and Yang Tinghe slowly walked up from the crowd and looked at the headless corpse in silence.

The former is silent because there is nothing to say.

This is the result he wants, or rather, what His Majesty the Emperor wants to see.

As for accusing Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao of abusing lynching, it would be better to leave it to Yang Tinghe. After all, Yang Tinghe is more suitable to be the villain, and he, as the chief minister of the cabinet, also needs to be the "villain".

The latter remained silent for a very simple reason: in a sense, Li Dongyang was his...predecessor.

Li Dongyang entered the officialdom through the imperial examination, then entered the Hanlin Academy to hone his qualifications, and then entered the Eastern Palace to become an old official. After the Eastern Palace ascended the throne, he was promoted smoothly until he entered the cabinet to participate in the affairs of the government, and became a grand scholar and a leader in the literary world.

Yang Tinghe also took the same path, the only difference was that Li Dongyang had Liu Jian who was superior to him throughout his life, but Yang Tinghe had no Liu Jian.

He is the teacher of Emperor Zhengde and also the Prime Minister of Zhengde today!
It's hard to describe this feeling.

The only mistake Li Dongyang made in his life was that he failed to see the general trend of the court and failed to retreat while the storm was at hand, so he ended up like this!

After a long silence, Yang Tinghe finally came to his senses and shouted, "Zhongshan Hou, how dare you act like this?"

"Even if Li Xueshi is guilty, he is a veteran of three dynasties and should be tried by the court. How can you abuse the punishment and behead him in public?"

Tang Hao shrugged indifferently.

"The Ren Ben Hou has been killed, what are you going to do?"

"Li Dongyang has just admitted his crime in public, and all the people at the scene can testify to this!"

"I am not abusing lynching and disregarding the law!"

Yang Tinghe snorted coldly and then looked at Zhang Yong.

Seeing that the food was almost cooked, Zhang Yong waved his hand.

"Come here, capture the Marquis of Zhongshan!"

Well, they are responsible for cleaning up the mess.

Tang Hao gave up resistance and was taken away obediently.

After Li Dongyang's death, there was nothing more to watch and the onlookers left one after another.

Li Zhaofan came up to the stage with tears in his eyes, and bowed to Tang Mu and said: "General, please show mercy and allow me to collect my father's body."

"This is human nature. Do you need help?" Tang Mu nodded solemnly.

Now that the person is dead, the hatred is over. There is no need to continue to make things difficult for them.

What's more, "rest in peace" has always been the tacit consensus and moral ethics of the Chinese people.

"Thank you, General!"

Li Zhaofan walked forward while sobbing.

First, they kowtowed three times respectfully to Li Dongyang's body, and then they collected the bones.

There was no one else in the audience except an old man and a young boy.

"Grandpa, why are you crying?"

The young man looked at the old man in confusion.

The old man had burst into tears without knowing when, and his wrinkled face was full of pain and regret.

"Child, you must never enter the government in this life!"

The old man solemnly pulled his grandson over and warned him: "Don't become an official!"

"This Zhengde Dynasty is the end of the gentry!"

"Don't ever enter the government!"

The young man nodded as if he understood, and kept these words firmly in his mind.

In the seventh month of summer in the seventh year of the Zhengde reign, Li Dongyang died at the hands of Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao and was beheaded in public at Caishikou.

On the same day, Liu Daxia witnessed the tragic death of his good friend, and died of grief and anger day and night.

There was a court meeting the next day.

The Minister of War Yang Yiqing openly impeached Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao, accusing him of disregarding the laws and regulations of the court and abusing punishment to execute criminals. His actions have caused bad influence and the court must punish him severely.

Although Yang Yiqing could not stand Li Dongyang and Liu Daxia forming a clique for personal gain, the three of them were classmates and friends after all, and Yang Yiqing's career was repeatedly recommended and promoted by the two of them. Now that the two friends had died one after another because of Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao, even a clay man would be angry.

All the officials and gentry from the six ministries and hundreds of departments submitted memorials and made suggestions. If Marquis Zhongshan was not severely punished, the laws of the Ming Dynasty would become a laughing stock. Without laws and regulations, wouldn't the people of the world be able to do whatever they wanted?
Even if Li Dongyang was guilty, he should not be executed privately by a military hero like Marquis Zhongshan!
Tang Hao not only slapped the faces of civil officials and gentry, but also slapped the faces of the laws of the imperial court. Without the majesty of the imperial court, how could it rule the people?

The ability of civil officials and gentry to make extremes has always been comprehensive, and their skill points have long been maxed out.

Emperor Zhu Houzhao was also helpless about this. After all, Tang Hao was obviously trying to vent his anger this time, so he disregarded the laws and regulations of the court.

This time, the fault lies with him, the Marquis of Zhongshan, and there is nothing to say.

Moreover, what the civil officials and gentry said makes sense. If the laws and regulations are not correct and the regulations are not clear, how can the people of the world abide by them voluntarily?

You, Tang Hao, Marquis of Zhongshan, can kill veterans of three dynasties and famous people in the world just to vent your anger. Then why can't we just kill our enemies directly to take revenge?

Who will follow the laws of the court, who will go to the government?
Therefore, severe punishment must be imposed!

Zhu Houzhao sat high on the dragon throne and decided on the punishment.

“First, deprive Marquis Zhongshan of his hereditary imperial title!” This was the emperor’s usual tactic against those with military honors.

The hereditary imperial edict was revoked, which meant that Tang Hao, the hereditary marquis, became a temporary marquis. If he did not make any meritorious contributions in the future, his marquisate could not be passed on to his descendants.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is of no use.

As long as Tang Hao is still in charge of the Beijing Army, he will have plenty of opportunities to make military achievements in the future, so this punishment is not painful at all and has no effect on Tang Hao.

When Yang Yiqing and Fei Hong heard this, their faces turned pale and they were ready to continue speaking out their advice.

However, the Emperor's next words instantly caused an uproar and left the two speechless.

"Second, remove Zhongshan Hou from his position as the commander of the Beijing Army!"

Marquis Zhongshan has lost his power!

This was the first reaction of all court officials!

Removing Marquis Zhongshan from his post as commander-in-chief of the Beijing Army is equivalent to depriving him of his military power!

The true foundation and lifeblood of military honors lies not in titles or salaries, but in military power!
A military honor that holds real power and can mobilize the army is a real military honor with real power. It is very popular and no one dares to underestimate it!
For example, why did the previous rebel king Zhu Chenhao bribe and befriend the Marquis of Zhongshan at all costs?
Isn’t it because Tang Hao commands the Beijing Army and is undoubtedly the Ming Dynasty’s number one military hero?

Once Tang Hao really chooses to collude with Zhu Chenhao, then the capital may really change!
As a result, now, His Majesty the Emperor directly took away Tang Hao's military power in the capital, and silenced everyone.

After all, this Marquis of Zhongshan has been in charge of the Beijing army since he came to power.

The Beijing army soldiers, who had been increasingly decadent, regained their powerful strength in his hands. Ten thousand Beijing army soldiers swept across the entire territory of Japan. Such terrifying strength was far beyond the reach of other Ming army.

To be honest, the soldiers of the Beijing Army were "brought back to life" by this Marquis of Zhongshan.

Therefore, no one had ever thought that His Majesty the Emperor would be so cruel as to directly take away Tang Hao's military power!
Even Yang Yiqing was a little dazed and looked at Tang Hao with a blank face.

This seems to be different from what they discussed...!

Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor has developed a fear and suspicion of Marquis Zhongshan because of the mutiny by Tang Mu and other generals of the Beijing Army?
Many court officials were somewhat frightened and subconsciously looked at Marquis Zhongshan.

Yang Tinghe was also puzzled and didn't understand what had happened between Marquis Tang and His Majesty.

He tried to find some clues from Tang Hao's face, but the Marquis of Zhongshan kept his eyes closed in deep thought, as if everything had nothing to do with him.

Just at this moment, a voice came from the dragon throne again.

"Third, remove the post of Left Commander of the Central Military Commandery of Marquis Zhongshan and demote him to Deputy Commander of the Central Military Commandery, temporarily in charge of the affairs of the five prefectures!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole court was in an uproar!

Deprive the hereditary title!

Remove the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Army!

Demoted to deputy governor!

This time, the Emperor's punishment of Marquis Zhongshan really exceeded everyone's expectations!
According to the degree of favor enjoyed by Marquis Zhongshan, the ministers originally thought that His Majesty the Emperor would find ways to protect him this time, and the so-called punishment would be nothing more than a lot of thunder but little rain, lifting him high and then letting him down lightly.

But none of the court officials expected that His Majesty would be so cruel this time and directly take ruthless action against Marquis Zhongshan!

His military power was taken away and his official position was demoted. The once popular Marquis of Zhongshan has now become an ordinary military hero!
Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor really felt fear and suspicion of him?

No matter what, all the ministers understood one thing, that is, Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao had lost his power!

No longer blessed by the Holy One, reduced to being an ordinary person!
"What do you think, my dear ministers?"

His Majesty the Emperor asked again, and the ministers were so shocked that they immediately came to their senses and knelt on the ground in unison.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Tang Hao also stepped out and knelt on the ground, saying loudly: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Marquis Zhongshan spoke in a flat tone and had no expression on his face, showing no emotion.

The matter was then settled and came to an end.

Zuodu Yushi Fei Hong then mentioned the rebellion of Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao.

Naturally, the civil officials and gentry would not miss this great opportunity and wanted to take the opportunity to expel all the royal family princes from the court!

In the past, the restrictions on the vassal states were strict, so all these vassal kings were well behaved and did not dare to do anything that would overstep their authority.

Things are better now. His Majesty the Emperor has lifted the ban on fiefdoms. Previously, Prince Anhua Zhu Zongqiang rebelled in his fiefdom, and now Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao is plotting a rebellion!

What does this prove?
This proves that the laws established by our ancestors cannot be changed at will, otherwise there will be a big mess!

Fei Hong, Yang Tinghe, Yang Yiqing and others made suggestions one after another, striving to encourage the Emperor to return to the right path.

Zhu Houzhao remained silent, quietly watching these officials and gentry jumping up and down.

After a long while, he said calmly: "This case involves the royal family and vassal states, and will be jointly tried by the three judicial departments, with the Metropolitan Procuratorate presiding over the trial. In addition, the Royal Guards will participate in the jury, and all the results will be reported at any time!"

After saying this, Zhu Houzhao stood up and left, leaving the court officials looking at each other in bewilderment, without giving them the chance to continue speaking.

Tang Hao glanced at Yang Tinghe. This guy probably wouldn’t be able to sleep again tonight.

Yang Yiqing quickly caught up with Tang Hao and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Tang, what's going on?"

"Aren't you going to recommend Qiu Yue? Do you think I can cooperate with you?"

Yang Yiqing: “???”

Is this how you cooperate?

Just quit the job and leave?
How could Qiu Yue, a border general, subdue Tang Mu, Xu Tianci and other generals of the Beijing army?

(End of this chapter)