Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 122: The Imperial Army is dispatched! Killing three birds with one stone [Please subscribe]

The tenth day of December.

It happened to be the day of the ordinary court.

At five minutes past the hour of Mao, all officials filed into the Forbidden City from the Meridian Gate.

At 7: a.m., several imperial censors came out of the palace with imperial decrees, called for horses, and rode away.

At the same time, teams of the emperor's personal troops also came out from the large military camp in the northwest of the inner city, with the clanging of weapons and armor, rushing towards different neighborhoods in the capital.

The sun rises late in the dead of winter. Even though the people in the capital have developed the habit of going to bed early and getting up early due to the years of curfew system, many people have just left the house at this time.

Of course, most businessmen open their shops to welcome customers before dawn, after the curfew ends.

At this time, some restaurants and teahouses are almost full, and there are people queuing up in front of the street-side breakfast shops that are doing good business.

In a teahouse, two members of noble families who were accustomed to having breakfast here started chatting while eating and drinking.

"Brother Zhou, do you know that something extraordinary happened yesterday?"

"I know that Brother Li is always well-informed. Tell me quickly, what's the big deal?"

The man glanced outside the compartment and, seeing no one approaching, lowered his voice and said, "The King of Qin and the King of Jin returned to the capital yesterday. As a result, the King of Qin was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the palace that afternoon."

"Shocked!" Zhou was so shocked upon hearing this news that he almost stood up. Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Is this true? Everyone knows how much the current emperor values ​​the princes. And the Prince of Qin is the empress's legitimate son, so how could he be demoted to a commoner?"

"Who knows? He must have done something extremely treasonous. Otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't have taken such a drastic action against the prince."

"High treason..." Zhou Mou became even more curious upon hearing these four words, speculating, "Could it be that the Second Prince has some improper ambitions for the throne?"

"The Ming Dynasty has only been established for a dozen years. Although the crown prince was established early and has a reputation for virtue, he has not yet ascended the throne. It is normal for the other princes to have some unreasonable aspirations."

"I heard that the current emperor has spies everywhere. This Second Prince must have been planning something but leaked the secret..."

Just as the two were gossiping and making bold guesses in low voices, they heard an unusual noise coming from far away on the street.

Then, teams of the emperor's personal soldiers, wearing helmets and armor, rushed through the street in front of the teahouse with thunderous steps.

Although the emperor's personal army was strictly disciplined and did not harass the people, they had no time to do so at this moment, so the people on the street still hid far away and remained silent.

After all the emperor's personal troops had run over, people began to buzz about it.

"What's going on?"

"Who knows?"

"It seems to me that some corrupt official has been exposed, and the imperial guards are following the orders of the Hongwu Emperor to arrest him!"

"It's really possible. Look, isn't that the residence of Minister Wang of the Ministry of Justice?"

"Master Shilang? This is a high-ranking official!"

"The bigger the corrupt official, the more hateful he is. Great job, Hongwu Emperor, for catching him!"

"···"

Hearing the discussions on the street, Zhou and Li looked at each other in surprise.

"Another incident involving corrupt officials? Why didn't I hear any rumors before?"

"That's right... I wonder if it will affect my family. Brother Li, let's meet again another day. I'm going home first."

"Such a frightening scene, I'm afraid the case is not small. I can't eat anymore, I'll go back and check the situation."

The two people who were gossiping about royal secrets just now suddenly lost their appetite and left the teahouse together and went home.

···
noon.

Liu Kuan returned home to have lunch.

During the meal, Zhu Huilan couldn't help but ask, "I heard from the purchasing servants that the imperial guards were arresting people everywhere today, and many officials' homes were broken into and ransacked. What major event happened in the court?"

Maids like Xia He and Tao Yao who were serving on the side pricked up their ears when they heard this.

To be honest, these women shouldn't have been concerned about court affairs.

However, Liu Kuan's way of managing his family was different from that of people at that time. In his spare time, he not only taught people in the government to read and do math, but also talked about some principles of government. As a result, his family members gradually became concerned about state affairs.

Liu Kuan said, "Guo Huan's corruption case has been exposed."

"Guo Huan?"

"This man is the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue..." Liu Kuan immediately gave a brief account of the Guo Huan case.

While narrating the story, Liu Kuan was still filled with emotion when he thought of the scene this morning when Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly exposed the Guo Huan case and erupted in fury.

Speaking of which, it has been a month since he told Lao Zhu about the "Guo Huan corruption case".

Old Zhu now controls the Jinyiwei, the East Factory, and the West Factory, and he already knows Guo Huan as the core figure. I'm afraid he would have already thoroughly investigated this group of parasites.

But he kept the case in his hands and kept silent.

He had been asked to keep it a secret, and he thought that Old Zhu would have to wait until next year to have an attack.

As a result, yesterday the King of Qin was demoted to a commoner. Some court officials were supposed to report this matter to the court this morning, but Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly brought up the Guo Huan case, and immediately all the attention in the court was diverted.

Although Liu Kuan did not go to the streets to investigate, he thought that the public opinions were similar.

This made him sigh that Lao Zhu really knew how to seize the opportunity, and his moves were accurate and ruthless.

It was clearly a corruption case, a very bad thing, but Zhu was able to kill three birds with one stone and make full use of it.

Liu Kuan could only admire but not envy this kind of natural political talent.

Zhu Huilan and others were shocked when they heard Liu Kuan's account of the general circumstances of the Guo Huan case.

"Father has always severely punished corruption. The Empty Seal Case has only been five or six years ago. How many people were executed or exiled then? How could Guo Huan and his companions dare to commit such a massive corruption case? Don't they fear death?"

Zhu Huilan's pretty face was full of confusion.

Although the massive corruption case had been solved, Zhu Huilan felt that, given her father's hatred for corrupt officials, he must have been furious once again—he was already over fifty, and being constantly angry couldn't be good for his health. Liu Kuan sighed, "These people are blinded by greed—as long as greed exists in people's hearts, these pests of the state will never be eradicated."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Huilan couldn't help but ask, "Even with the advanced technology of later generations, can't they solve this kind of problem?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said nothing.

After lunch, Liu Kuan took a short nap at home and asked Dongmei to give him a head massage.

This girl wasn't as good at calligraphy and painting as Qiuyue and Chunlan, nor was she as proficient in household chores as Xiahe. She was also a little lazy and greedy, but she could learn the massage technique quickly and became proficient in it very quickly.

Liu Kuan felt a little guilty when he did this at first, worried that Zhu Huilan would be jealous.

As a result, Zhu Huilan was not jealous. Instead, she invited a nanny (this term was not created only in the Qing Dynasty, it was a term for middle-aged and elderly women) who was good at massage from the palace to teach Dongmei the skills.

Otherwise, even if Dongmei had a talent for massage, she wouldn't have made such rapid progress...
After resting for more than half an hour after lunch, Liu Kuan went to the Ministry of Works.

Not long after he sat down in his office in the Science and Technology Department, an eunuch came to deliver a message.

It was said that Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him into the palace and asked him to bring a memorial on the reform plan of the six ministries.

"Old Zhu's movements are fast, and he likes to use combos, not giving people time to react. Luckily, I was prepared long ago, otherwise I'm afraid the coordination wouldn't be good."

With this in mind, Liu Kuan took the memorial with him and entered the palace as a eunuch.

He was not worried about whether the content of the memorial was appropriate.

Because he had shown it to Lao Zhu and discussed it half a month ago. He just polished the text according to Lao Zhu's instructions and kept it in his hands for the time being, without sending it to the cabinet for process.

When he arrived at Fengxian Hall, Liu Kuan found that there were quite a lot of people there.

Not only were there two Grand Councillors Li Shanchang and Xu Da in Beijing, but there were also several cabinet ministers.

As for Zhu Biao, he was naturally there too.

After Liu Kuan bowed, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Let's discuss what you want to report later. Let's listen first."

"Yes."

Liu Kuan responded and stood obediently at the last seat on the right.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and walked to the side of the imperial desk. He said with his hands behind his back, "The officials involved in the Guo Huan case are Zhao Mao, the Vice Minister of Rites, Wang Huidi, the Vice Minister of Punishments, Wang Zhi, the Deputy Minister of War, Mai Zhide, the Deputy Minister of Works, and if you count Guo Huan, the Deputy Minister of Revenue, well, all six ministries are involved!"

"That's not all. The local officials who accompanied Guo Huan in his corruption also spread across the eleven provincial governments of the Ming Dynasty!"

"From the time this man first committed corruption, in just two or three years, he has caused the Ming Dynasty to lose tens of millions of dan of rice. This is simply shocking!"

"What is Guo Huan up to? He's weaving such a massive web of corruption. If we hadn't discovered it early, would they have secretly devoured the entire Ming Dynasty?"

Old Zhu spoke calmly at first, but later he became more and more angry and couldn't help but shout.

Inside Fengxian Hall, everyone from Xu Da and Li Shanchang to the little eunuchs and imperial guards in the corner were silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Guo Huan and the others deserved no pity for being skinned alive. But what does it mean that these woodworms were able to weave such a massive web of corruption right under my nose?"

"This shows that the Six Ministries, the Censorate, and even the eleven local provincial governments all have serious systemic loopholes!"

Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang sat back on the dragon throne and spoke more slowly, saying, "The land of China has been ravaged by the barbarians for a hundred years. Rites and music have collapsed, people's hearts are in chaos, and the system no longer exists."

"We, the people, can be said to have built the Ming Dynasty on a pile of ruins. Everything had to start from scratch, including the imperial system."

"In every dynasty, the imperial system has borrowed from the previous dynasty, taking its essence and discarding its dross, and creating something new."

"The Han and Tang dynasties were indeed great, but they were 1,800 years apart from the Ming Dynasty. The world has changed, and their systems are difficult to verify and are not worth following."

"Therefore, our Ming Dynasty system was largely modeled after the Zhao Song and Hu Yuan dynasties. In addition to the Six Ministries and the Censorate, we also originally established the Secretariat."

"What's the result? The Prime Minister abuses his power, deceives his subordinates and deceives his superiors, and even attempts treason. So why keep it? So we abolish the Prime Minister and the Secretariat together."

"Now that the six ministries have come together to create such a massive corruption case, they're simply playing us and the people for fools. What's the point of this? In my opinion, we should just abolish the six ministries and establish a new system!"

Several cabinet ministers were terrified when they heard this.

I thought to myself: Is this guy really going to abolish the six ministries? Without the six ministries, how can the court function?

Cabinet minister Liu Zhongzhi, the most impatient, stepped forward to offer his advice, "Your Majesty, corrupt officials and parasites have existed throughout every dynasty. They are a chronic disease of officialdom and have nothing to do with the six ministries."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned upon hearing this and said, "Liu Zhongzhi, are you old and deaf? What did we say earlier? If there were no problems with the Six Ministries system, how could Guo Huan and other parasites run rampant like this?"

Liu Zhongzhi asked, "Your Majesty, if the Six Ministries' system is deficient, it can be rectified. Why abolish it?"

Seeing that Liu Zhongzhi had opened up the "situation", the other cabinet ministers followed suit and began to persuade him.

"Yes, Your Majesty, if there are malpractices in the six ministries, they must be corrected."

"Without the six ministries, how can the imperial court function?"

"Your Majesty, the six-ministry system has stood the test of time, having survived the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. It is more trustworthy and must not be abolished!"

"···"

Seeing this, Liu Kuan felt that it was his turn to take the stage.

Seeing Zhu Biao secretly gesturing at him, he no longer had any doubts and immediately stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the system of the six ministries, I do have a few suggestions that may be of some help in eliminating the malpractices of the six ministries."

After saying this, he took out the prepared memorial.

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang acted naturally, "Since you have the memorial, please present it."

Li Gui immediately walked over in small steps, took the memorial and brought it to the imperial desk.

Upon seeing this, several cabinet ministers suddenly realized that Zhu Yuanzhang had just taken advantage of the situation and said that he wanted to abolish the six ministries, most likely to induce Liu Kuan's memorial to reform the six-ministries system.

After coming to their senses, some people felt that the six-department system was mature and could not be easily changed, but it was ultimately easier to accept than abolishing the six ministries.

Moreover, they all knew that Liu Kuan had a mysterious origin and a special identity, and they also wanted to hear what suggestions Liu Kuan had.

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)