Chapter 342: The Fourth Year of Hongzhi, the Storm Rises on New Year's Day

The Minister of Justice was imprisoned in the prison of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and had to eat New Year's Eve dinner in prison. This matter quickly became the topic of conversation among the people of Beijing after the New Year's Eve dinner.

"If he was really a good official, the emperor would not let him eat New Year's Eve dinner in prison!"

"It is said that he does not take a penny, but has he done anything practical for us people in his decades as an official?"

"I don't understand politics. This time it is a retaliation or a punishment for evil and promotion of good. Anyway, I know that Hongzhi is a good emperor!"

...

Faced with the freshly baked heavy news, the people of Beijing did not believe in He Qiaoxin's label of "not taking a penny", and commented as if they had seen through everything.

In fact, there will be wise ministers with various labels in every period of the Ming Dynasty. These wise ministers are like saints who are benevolent to all directions, but the result is that the people of the Ming Dynasty have less and less land, and their lives are getting worse and worse.

On the contrary, Hongzhi, the tyrant criticized by literati, has continuously introduced measures to benefit the people since he ascended the throne, which makes their annual New Year's Eve dinner more abundant.

Perhaps many literati feel sorry for He Qiaoxin, the honest official who "does not take a penny", but they always feel too far away from this wise official, and are getting closer and closer to the Hongzhi Dynasty.

That night, He Qiaoxin, the Minister of Justice, was shivering in the cold in his cell.

That night, the fireworks in the capital were in full swing, illuminating the simple and satisfied faces.

Bang!

As a firework exploded in the night sky, the brilliant fireworks illuminated the entire palace. The third year of Hongzhi had passed, and the fourth year of Hongzhi was coming.

The sound of firecrackers ended the year, and the spring breeze brought warmth to Tusu.

Thousands of doors and windows were bright in the sun, and new peaches were always replaced with old charms.

…

On the first day of the new year, the sky was just getting light.

As the Ming Dynasty held the New Year's Day grand court meeting as usual today, all officials in the capital got up early to wash and put on a brand new official uniform.

Wang Hua, the Earl of Xinjian, the Jijiu of the Imperial College, was the top scholar in the 17th year of Chenghua. He wore the red silk robe of the Earl under the service of his wife Zheng, but his face did not show any joy of the New Year.

Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty court, his current status is the most special. Although he is a new Earl of the Ming Dynasty, he is the only Earl of the Ming Dynasty who holds a civil service position with the title of Jijiu of the Imperial College.

Wang Hua's official power is not strong, but he is more and more like the principal of a top university, and he is also fully committed to the education cause of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, he was only 35 years old when he entered the officialdom. In this era of seniority, it is almost impossible for him to enter the cabinet and become a prime minister.

Now he is the Jijiu of the Imperial College as the Earl of Xinjian. Although he has no chance to become one of the Nine Ministers, it is already the most ideal result.

In fact, he has never been an official fan. His biggest wish was to cultivate his son into a talent. Now the empire has handed over countless outstanding students to him for teaching, so he is very satisfied with his current situation.

It's just that people are not as good as eight or nine out of ten, and now he has also encountered an uncomfortable thing.

He took a sedan chair to the square in front of the Meridian Gate, which was already crowded. Officials were standing in the team in an orderly manner, greeting each other and saying some New Year greetings.

"Xinjian Earl, you have to go over there!" Cheng Minzheng, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was maintaining order. When he saw Wang Hua wearing the Earl's clothes, he pointed to the team of military officials.

Facing this arrangement, Wang Hua couldn't help but frown slightly.

Although he was the Earl of the Ming Dynasty, he was a genuine Wenxun, and even a genuine Imperial College Jiji, so he stood in the team of civil officials.

"Xinjian Earl, do you have any questions?" Cheng Minzheng, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, saw Wang Hua's reaction, but deliberately pretended to be confused and asked back.

Wang Hua has never been a character who likes to argue with others, and looked at Cheng Minzheng deeply.

As early as when he was in the Hanlin Academy, he disliked this official-obsessed scholar. Faced with the sudden exclusion, he seemed to have made a major decision in his heart, and walked towards the team of military meritorious officials without saying a word.

Compared with these hypocritical civil officials who were scheming against each other, he would rather stay with the straightforward military meritorious officials, even if he did not have the mark of a civil official.

Cheng Minzheng saw Wang Hua walking towards the military meritorious officials, and the corners of his mouth could not help but rise slightly.

"Wang Jijiu, come to our side quickly, the position is reserved for you!" Wujing Hou Zhao Chengqing had already noticed the scene just now, and greeted him very enthusiastically.

Because of the successful recovery of Jianzhou and the smooth promotion of Jianzhou's city construction, Zhao Chengqing, as the general of the Eastern Expedition Army, was also promoted.

He was promoted from Wujing Bo to Wujing Hou, becoming a bright new star in the current military meritorious group.

Although the court of the Ming Dynasty has been gradually controlled by the civil official group since the Tumu Fort Incident, the military meritorious group can still occupy a place now.

After all, the court is not controlled by the civil officials, and "I don't want to be a marquis, but I hope the sea is peaceful", so Zhao Chengqing has become a military marquis with considerable weight in the Ming Dynasty with his bravery.

It is said that Zhao Chengqing is favored by the emperor, and he plans to let Zhao Chengying take charge of the military and political power of Datong as the general of Datong after the abolition of the post of governor of Xuanda.

Although Wang Hua admires the knowledge of those civil officials, he also admires the generals who sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty, so he bowed his hands respectfully and said, "Thank you, Marquis!"

Because Wang Hua was awarded the title of marquis for military merit, especially leading the army to attack the royal city of the Le Dynasty, which showed the bloodiness of the civil officials, several military heroes also showed goodwill to Wang Hua.

"Wang Jijiu, do you have any news from the south recently?" Zhao Chengqing's eyes flashed with sadness, but he lowered his voice to ask.

The smile on Wang Hua's face disappeared, and he shook his head gently: "I have asked my family members to get a boat to search the place where the incident occurred, but there is still no result!"

He and Zhao Chengqing can be said to be in the same boat. During the activity organized by the court to come to Luzon to investigate the gold mine, their beloved son disappeared in the storm.

"I'm afraid his kid is not telling the truth. Our search direction has been misled!" Zhao Chengqing looked at Cheng Minde from a distance, and made a judgment in his heart.

Wang Hua also seemed to have an epiphany, and nodded thoughtfully.

During this period of time, what worried him most was his son, whose life and death were uncertain. Although Cheng Minzheng's son Cheng Jin explained the whole story, there were indeed many things worth pondering about this incident, especially Li Yanwen's impression on him was not bad.

Now there has been no news from home, and now he has heard Zhao Chengqing's judgment, which makes him doubt Cheng Jin's words.

"Let me go to the palace with you some time!" Zhao Chengqing suggested seriously.

Wang Hua did not ask Zhao Chengqing about his plan, and nodded happily: "Okay!"

Zhao Chengqing looked at Wang Hua in surprise, but felt Wang Hua's trust in him, and felt warm in his heart, thinking that Wang Hua was worth making friends with.

Just at this time, the bells and drums of the Wulou sounded, and a eunuch shouted: "Officials come in!"

Civil and military officials entered from the left and right gates of the Wumen Gate, led by the cabinet minister Liu Ji and the Duke of England Zhang Mao, and everyone changed into a brand new official uniform.

The view suddenly opened up through the city gate. What appeared in front of them was the huge square in front of the Fengtian Gate, with the five Jinshui Bridges in the center and the Fengtian Gate in front.

Many old ministers couldn't help but sigh, time passed inadvertently, and this was their fourth time to attend the Hongzhi Grand Court Meeting.

The new emperor, who was defined as a weak Confucian, has become a tyrant that everyone fears. Although there are many familiar faces around him, the person walking in the front this time is no longer Wan'an.

Too many things have happened in the past year. Some people have been promoted, and some have lost their jobs and returned home.

In recent days, two major events have occurred. Wan'an, the chief minister of the cabinet, was angry to death, and He Qiaoxin, the Minister of Justice, was locked up in the prison of the Censorate yesterday to celebrate the New Year.

But the former is a thing of the past after all, and the latter is the latest news at the moment, and it is also a major event that may affect their careers.

When the civil and military officials came to the Jinshui Bridge to tidy up their clothes, a small-scale dispute broke out here regarding the experience of He Qiaoxin, the Minister of Justice.

"He Qiaoxin is not greedy after all. This alone makes him better than most officials!"

"Hehe... He is indeed not greedy, but he used ambergris and thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum!"

"A full 100,000 taels of luxury goods. According to his behavior, it is better to let him take some gold and silver!"

...

Facing the continuation of the dispute over He Qiaoxin's merits and demerits, although some people want to defend He Qiaoxin, more voices still accuse this hypocrite.

"If accepting a little valuable is considered bribery, it may not be too harsh!"

"I didn't say that accepting a little valuable is bribery, but 100,000 taels is not okay!"

"If 100,000 taels is not okay, then how many taels can be okay? There is no accurate degree for this matter!"

"If accepting a little valuable is defined as bribery, who among our civil and military officials can be spared?"

...

The matter finally got into the trap set by He Qiaoxin. Although everyone with a discerning eye knew that He Qiaoxin was a huge corrupt official, defining bribery as valuables would make everyone fall into the trap.

If the emperor strikes down officials for this reason, then everyone will inevitably "suffer".

It has nothing to do with loyalty. They just want to protect their personal interests. Even if they cannot create a "political ecology of governing the world with the literati", they are unwilling to become fish on the emperor's chopping board.

That's why many civil officials, out of the need to maintain their personal interests, even though they know that He Qiaoxin is unforgivable, still hope that the Minister of Justice He Qiaoxin will escape the charge of bribery.

Zhang Sheng and Xie Qian heard these voices and exchanged glances silently, but they knew that these officials actually underestimated the emperor's skills and determination.

In these four years, the emperor has been growing up, and anyone who dares to despise him must pay the price of blood.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"

Under the leadership of Liu Ji, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and Zhang Mao, the Duke of England, the civil and military officials came to the Fengtian Hall and knelt respectfully to the newly arrived Emperor Hongzhi.

Zhu Youtang, wearing a dragon robe, is one year older. He has more and more majesty of an emperor, and the few sparse beards under his chin have obviously grown longer.

Zhu Youtang did not have the joy of the New Year on his face when he faced the civil and military officials kneeling at his feet.

The territory of the Ming Empire is too large, and now the tentacles of the Ming Dynasty extend to the east and south. It is destined that the fourth year of Hongzhi will not be a peaceful year.

But he knows that his direction is not wrong. As long as he overcomes the difficulties and kills the enemies who block it, the Ming Dynasty will surely be able to dominate the world.

According to the usual process, envoys from various countries congratulate and present gifts to the emperor, which is called court congratulations.

The Joseon prince Li has been in the Ming Dynasty for a year, and he is more and more yearning for the Ming Dynasty. This time, he obediently presented a generous gift on behalf of Korea.

After the Beishun envoy Tuo Huochi presented a generous gift, the envoys from North Vietnam, Champa and South Vietnam presented gifts one after another, and finally it was the turn of the Haixi Jurchen.

Since the Ming Dynasty formulated the Jurchen foreign policy of being close to the Haixi Jurchens and distant from the Wild Jurchens, the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Wild Jurchen tribes has become very tense, but the Haixi Jurchen tribes have been granted titles one after another.

The Haixi Jurchens are a general term for the Jurchens living in the Great Bend of the Songhua River and the Ash River Basin. They formed the four tribes of Ula, Hada, Huifa, and Yehe, so they are also called the Hulun Four Tribes.

The Ming Dynasty established the Ji Mi Guard, and the leaders of each tribe were granted titles by the Ming Dynasty, and were granted the positions of governor, deputy governor, commander, thousand households, and pacification, and were given seals, imperial edicts, and crowns and belts.

In fact, in addition to these four tribes, there are also three tribes in the Haixi region, namely Xibe, Alechuka, and Emu.

After learning about the situation, Zhu Youtang followed the idea of ​​the Enfeoffment Order and immediately divided the entire Haixi region into seven major parts, so now the leaders of the seven tribes have all been granted titles.

Although this practice has increased the financial expenditure of the Ming Dynasty to a certain extent, compared with the long-term stability and benefits, this expenditure is actually insignificant.

The decline of the Ming Dynasty was largely due to careful budgeting. It was the dynasty that was thinking about cutting expenses everywhere in the later period to feed a group of parasites. In the end, the people became poorer and the officials and gentry became richer.

This year, the seven tribes of Haixi Jurchen sent people here. The envoys of the first four tribes were fine, but there was an accident when they came to the Alechuka tribe.

The person who came from the Alechuka tribe was Kulecha, the Tongzhi of Alechuka Guard. He had a dark face and was not tall, but he was very strong.

It was just very surprising that when he came to the hall, he raised his chin high and looked at Zhu Youtang very rudely.

Facing such a provocative look, Zhu Youtang knew that he still had no time to breathe this year, and trouble came to him on the first day of the new year.

"Kuleca, you are disrespectful to look directly at the emperor. If you don't kneel before His Majesty, you are unworthy of your father. How dare you do that?" Guo Yong saw that the Alechuka tribe's co-governor Kuleca was so rude to look directly at the emperor, and he immediately accused him angrily.

For a moment, the civil and military officials on both sides also noticed this arrogant Jurchen, and immediately started to talk about it.

"You bastard, do you want me to wipe out your Alechuka tribe?" Wujing Marquis Zhao Chengqing immediately scolded. (End of this chapter)