Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 264: Drink from the golden cup and dismiss all governors and governors!
"The Holy One has arrived!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

In Yongshou Palace.

All the ministers bowed their heads.

The military officer beat up the civil official.

It has not happened since the end of the Hongwu Dynasty for more than a hundred years.

The Yongshou Palace and the Wanshou Palace were located within the Western Garden Palace, which naturally alarmed the emperor.

There was a lot of blood on Wang Chonggu's hands, boots, and body, and the evil spirit from his armor was rising in the hall.

Although there is only one person, he has dominated the literary world.

Shandong Governor Yuan Hongyushun, who was kneeling on the ground, had blood flowing from his mouth, his lips and teeth were broken, and he couldn't stop the bleeding.

Obviously, Wang Chonggu was ruthless.

The palace was stained with blood.

Zhu Houcong, wearing a black golden dragon robe, walked slowly towards the throne in the middle. He did not sit down, but smiled faintly at the people kneeling on the ground and said, "You are all here. The northern expedition army has returned victoriously, and you governors of various provinces have come here in compliance with the imperial edict. It is a great joy for the emperor and his subjects to meet together.

The reason why I am inviting you to a banquet today is to celebrate the victory of the Northern Expedition Army, which is a rare achievement, and also because you are frontier officials of the court and have worked hard in your duties. Therefore, I am offering you two banquets to express my condolences. "

"Your Majesty's grace is so great that we are filled with gratitude." Everyone kowtowed in unison.

"Get up, get up."

Zhu Houcong signaled to all the ministers to stand up. Led by the chief minister Zhang Juzheng, they shouted "Thank you, Your Majesty" before they stood up.

"Take your seat! Take your seat!" Zhu Houcong said again.

All the ministers returned to their seats, but none of them sat down. No one dared to sit down until the emperor did.

"I am meeting with you, the monarch and my subjects. Today, there is no need to follow any etiquette. Otherwise, you will have to kowtow every time I say a word. Well, I am so tired, why would I drink a celebratory wine? Sit down, everyone."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Only after the imperial decree was given did the ministers dare to take their seats.

Everyone looked at the emperor's chest and did not dare to look up at him.

"For such an important banquet, I did not host it in the Qianqing Palace or the Wuying Hall, but in the Yongshou Palace and the Wanshou Palace. You all understand why without me saying it, because these two palaces were built on your petition." Zhu Houcong said with a smile.

There were too many killings last year. Every time a batch of officials were killed in a province or prefecture, the cabinet would submit a petition on behalf of the province, requesting some items to be added to the palace being built, or to expand it by one or two.

This is why the Yongshou and Wanshou Palaces took a year to build despite the endless support of manpower and material resources.

Looking across the capital, the grandeur and splendor of the two palaces are unmatched except for the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City.

In which province, when corrupt officials were killed and their properties confiscated, the cabinet would take a portion of the money and invest it in the construction of the two palaces. It is no exaggeration to say that it was built by all the provinces.

The civil and military officials who had raised their heads slightly could not help but lower their heads a little. It can be said that the more gold and silver a province invested in the two palaces, the more corrupt officials there were and the more embezzlement there was.

The court was full of upright officials, but this was the standard for the Ming Dynasty's eleven dynasties. When the lies were exposed, the "upright" officials could not hold their faces.

"Having said that, the great Ming Dynasty is not short of this little money from your province. I also have enough money in my treasury to build two palaces, but I cannot ignore your kindness," Zhu Houcong continued.

One word, two meanings.

The money used to build the two palaces was taken from the corruption of various provinces to appease the emperor's anger. It was a thoughtful gesture.

Not long ago, a case of forging memorials in the name of the Minister of Justice Pan En was reported. On the day of the emperor's move, the provinces deliberately made things difficult for him. This was also a "thought".

No matter which one it is, it’s hard to say and it doesn’t sound good.

The ministers lowered their heads another four points, and their straight backs involuntarily bent two points.

"This is my first time to come to the Yongshou Palace. It is really great. I appreciate your kindness and spend your money, so I have to express my gratitude in some way. How should I express it?"

At this point, Zhu Houcong looked at the eunuch Lu Fang who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department beside him and said, "Then let Lu Fang, on my behalf, toast each of the governors-general and provincial governors who have shown their sincere interest in the government."

When the holy voice reached their ears, the ministers almost jumped up from their chairs and said in fear, "We dare not!"

"here we go again."

Zhu Houcong looked at the ministers whose waists were almost touching the eight-delicacies banquet, shook his head and said, "Sit, sit, sit."

Wang Chonggu, the cabinet elders, the six ministries and nine officials, the governors and provincial governors looked at the prime minister out of the corner of their eyes. Zhang Juzheng cursed these people who always let his tall son clean up the mess in his heart, but he said in a serious tone: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhang Juzheng sat down.

do not care.

Regarding the case of forging memorials, he asked the cabinet ministers to inform all the governors and provincial governors in advance. Now that things have turned out like this, the governors and governors-general of all provinces are seeking death.

Furthermore, the incident of Wang Chonggu beating up Yuan Hongyu just now was not because he asked Yuan Hongyu to provoke Wang Chonggu, nor was it because he asked Wang Chonggu to do it. It had nothing to do with him.

Even if the emperor pursues the matter, it is only for not managing his subordinates well, a charge that he can handle as the prime minister.

The Prime Minister could hold on, Wang Chonggu could hold on, the three cabinet ministers Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang could hold on, and the ministers of the six ministries and nine departments thought they could hold on too, and they thanked the emperor for his grace and sat down one by one.

The governors and provincial governors had no choice but to bite the bullet and take their seats to express their gratitude, but none of them dared to sit firmly. Their buttocks just touched the surface of the stool, which was more uncomfortable than doing horse stance.

Lu Fang received the imperial order and asked the young eunuch to hold the wine pot and wine glass, waiting for the toast to begin.

"Let's start with Xu Lun first." Zhu Houcong pointed at the Governor of Huguang, who was sitting second on the right, and instructed.

Xu Lun stood up, took the wine glass from Lu Fang, drank it all in one gulp, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

"Xu Lun, you have been in office in Huguang for more than ten years. You are almost seventy years old this year, right?" Zhu Houcong sat down and asked.

Hearing this, Xu Lun hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I am already over seventy years old."

As soon as these words came out.

Many people in the hall who were familiar with Xu Lun were stunned. Xu Lun's father was Xu Jin, the Minister of Personnel in the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties. His eldest brother Xu Gao was the Minister of Revenue in Nanjing before his death. His second brother Xu Zan was the Minister of Personnel in the early Jiajing period and died in the 27th year of Jiajing. Xu Lun was the Minister of War in the 35th year of Jiajing and was later sent to Huguang as the governor. Four ministers in one family were very famous in the court.

Moreover, Xu Lun's three younger brothers also passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi. The fact that there were seven Jinshi in one family was well known to the whole court. Therefore, many people knew about Xu Lun's life. He was born in the eighth year of Hongzhi and became Jinshi in the fifth year of Jiajing.

He is still sixty-six years old, but Xu Lun answered the saint's question, why do you lie with your eyes open?
The four elders of the cabinet, Wang Chonggu, and the ministers of the six ministries and nine officials all had strange lights in their eyes when they looked at Xu Lun.

The Xu family of Lingbao is so amazing and its reputation is well-deserved.

"You have been in office for decades, and your performance appraisals by the Ministry of Personnel have always been top-notch and outstanding. Even in the 40th year of Jiajing, the performance appraisals of the Ministry of Personnel and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were both top-notch. I know that it was not given for nothing." Zhu Houcong praised.

During those major cases during the Jiajing period, Huguang's performance was perfect. Xu Lun personally provided guidance to the Jinyiwei and eliminated most of the corrupt officials and wealthy families in the provincial government.

There is no large family in Huguang, which is something that no other provincial capital can do. It is really admirable.

"This is my responsibility as an old minister," Xu Lun said modestly.

Because his family was a prominent family, he knew the appearance and weaknesses of the prominent families, the gentry, the corrupt officials, and the corrupt bureaucrats better than other officials, so it was very easy for him to deal with them.

"but……"

The word "holy sound" immediately made everyone in the hall nervous. "Some officials are honest all their lives, but when they reach old age, they can no longer maintain their integrity. I think you can set a good example in terms of integrity in old age, right?"

Not long ago, the Huguang Jinyiwei discovered worrying news.

The Huguang Governor Xu Lun had the malpractice of usurpation.

"There are only three rules for being an official: be clean, be cautious, and be diligent."

The "clean" here refers to integrity, that is, officials should avoid "the evil of usurpation", remain honest, not infringe on the interests of the people, and not engage in corruption.

During the Ming Dynasty, river engineering was a "major national policy". In order to ensure the smooth development of river engineering affairs, the imperial court established a systematic and complete management system.

The river management agencies of the Ming Dynasty were roughly divided into five levels: rivers, roads, halls, stations, and forts.

The highest level of the river has six sections, each section has 31 halls, each hall has posts, and each post has a jurisdiction over an area ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of feet. There are several forts under a post, and each fort is about two miles apart.

The overall hierarchical structure is similar to other administrative agencies, which are pyramid-shaped.

The governor of the river was the highest person in charge, selected by the imperial court or even the emperor himself, and was usually a second-rank official. If he was given the title of Minister of War or granted the title of Prince Taibao, he would be a first-rank official.

The headquarters of the Hedu was located in Jining, Shandong. In the 16th year of Jiajing, it was moved to Qingjiangpu, Huai'an, at the intersection of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal in northern Jiangsu.

In the 27th year of Jiajing's reign, the Governor-General of the Jiangnan River was officially established, with his headquarters in Qingjiangpu, and the Governor-General of the Henan and Shandong Rivers was officially established, with his headquarters in Jining. The following year, the Governor-General of the Zhili River was added.

The only official officially appointed by the imperial court in the River Governor's Office was the River Governor. Most of the "non-staff personnel" such as clerks and aides were hired by the River Governor himself to assist him in handling river engineering affairs.

The river governor was also the commander-in-chief of military affairs and had his own troops, called "river governors" or "river camps," who were all involved in "flood control and disaster prevention."

According to the provisions of the Ming Dynasty's administrative code, "Da Ming Hui Dian", river works are mainly divided into four categories: annual repairs, emergency repairs, special cases, and major works.

As the name suggests, annual maintenance is the regular reinforcement and maintenance of river embankments every year; emergency repair is when a river changes its course or floods occur during the flood season, "more materials are prepared, and patrols and rescue are carried out day and night"; new construction or additions to embankments are not included in the annual maintenance and emergency repairs, and are called separate cases; "blocking flood mouths, opening and closing dams, and other things that are not done all the time are called major projects."

Annual repairs and emergency repairs were planned projects, and the funds required were generally allocated in advance by the court. During the Hongwu period, the amount remained roughly at around 500,000 taels of silver per year. It continued to soar after the Yongle period, reaching about 5 to 6 million taels per year during the Zhengde period.

Other cases and major projects were mostly emergencies, and the scale and intensity of the projects far exceeded annual maintenance and emergency repairs. The funds required were huge. In addition to support from the court, they were often temporarily transferred from various provinces, or raised through donations and other means. Initially, the amount ranged from hundreds of thousands to more than one million taels per year, but after the 20th year of Jiajing, the amount was "as much as more than tens of millions, and as little as several million."

In this way, the river government offices and local government offices were able to let go of their greed.

Specifically, the most notable symptom of the malpractice in river engineering during the Jiajing period was the almost ubiquitous "corruption by all".

The river governor and his family, local officials and their families took the lead in accepting bribes and engaging in rampant corruption.

Take Xu Lun as an example. During his more than ten years in office, he embezzled "more than 100,000 gold". In order to prevent the matter from being leaked, he entrusted the money and property he obtained to the Huaiyang salt merchants for operation. "Huaibei businessman Cheng Zhizhong took 20,000 taels of silver from Xu Lun; Cheng Zhizhong's son-in-law Wang Shaoyi opened a pawnshop in Qingjiang and took 40,000 taels of silver from Xu Lun; businessman Cheng Rongde took 20,000 taels of silver from Xu Lun; businessman Cheng Qianyi took 20,000 taels of silver from Xu Lun."

The governor of Hebei Province, Zhou Xuejian, not only abused his position to embezzle and accept bribes, but his relatives and family members also engaged in "illegal activities for personal gain and committed many illegal acts."

When Xu Lun entered Beijing, the Governor of the River Channel Zhou Xuejian had already been arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guards. He entered Beijing almost at the same time as Xu Lun. There was no reason for Xu Lun not to know that his "close comrade-in-arms" was being investigated.

The Jinyiwei's methods of punishment are self-evident. In the imperial prison, Zhou Xuejian confessed all the facts of corruption and waited to be tortured to death, have his property confiscated, and have his entire family exterminated.

And on that account book, Xu Lun's name was on it as expected.

Xu Lun did not take the initiative to embezzle money, nor did he seize the people's money and grain. All the money he earned came from "dividends" from the river.

The Ming Dynasty lasted for 200 years, and the river management was corrupt for 200 years. The superiors followed suit, and countless people were exposed to the corruption. If Xu Lun was killed and the Lingbao Xu family's property was confiscated and their entire family was exterminated, people would inevitably be dissatisfied.

But it would be unreasonable to ignore it, as the more than 100,000 gold coins were clearly there.

Xu Lun was sweating profusely. In just such a short time, his chest and back were soaked. His throat rolled and he said in a hoarse voice: "This old minister will remember the teachings of the Lord!"

The emperor’s reminder, “You are old,” was almost written directly on Xu Lun’s face. In the officialdom, when one is old and weak, it is time to retire.

Xu Lun made up his mind. When he returned to the inn, he submitted a letter of resignation and returned home with nothing, along with the dividend of more than 100,000 gold.

There are so many officials in the Xu family of Lingbao, so this old guy will never starve to death.

"it is good."

Seeing that Xu Lun had understood, Zhu Houcong motioned for him to sit down, looked at the Sichuan governor below him, and said, "Tan Lun!"

"I'm here!" Tan Lun stood up and responded.

Lu Fang offered a glass of wine, and Tan Lun also drank it all. After thanking the emperor for his grace, he stood there.

"You have done an outstanding job as the governor of Sichuan. Your predecessor Huang Shiren collected suppression and training taxes from the people, and it was you who petitioned to reduce the two taxes. Just based on your memorial, a memorial of love for the people, I remember your contribution. So, when someone submitted a memorial to impeach you, I ignored it. The words in the memorial were very harsh, saying that you had several major crimes. Do you want to see it for yourself?" Zhu Houcong asked.

This Tan Lun was the former Chancellor of Prince Yu's Palace. When Prince Yu was exiled, Zhang Juzheng met him and discussed his talents. Not only was he not implicated, but he was promoted to Governor of Sichuan, becoming a high-ranking official.

At that time, a rebellion broke out in Sichuan, and Tan Lun was ordered to suppress the rebellion. However, just as the suppression of the rebellion was making some progress, Tan Lun's mother died. According to the rules, Tan Lun should leave the court to mourn. In civil and family affairs, Tan Lun chose to resist.

In this era where loyalty and filial piety are more important than anything else, there is no need to say much about the memorial impeaching Tan Lun.

Now that the rebellion has been quelled, the rebel leader has been executed, and the local people have returned to peace, it is only right that Tan Lun returns home to end his rule.

(End of this chapter)