Emperor Zhengde of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 9 Shocking Greedy Ink

Inside the Baihua Building in Beijing.

A group of women singing, dancing, dancing and wearing heavy makeup walked upstairs and downstairs, which was very lively!

There was the sound of finger-guessing and all kinds of bad laughter!
In the wing room on the second floor, a few middle-aged men who claimed to be elegant and refined were bragging to each other!

"Above the imperial court, in terms of intelligence, Brother Li is number one! Even the emperor dares to reprimand him without using any curse words. What a master!"

The person in charge was flattered, so he quickly waved his hands: "Brothers have praised Li, Li is just discussing the matter, how dare you call him a master? Haha!"

"If it wasn't for the secret support of the Mongolian prince, brother Li wouldn't dare to have such a fat waist?"

"Where is it? A few days ago, it almost succeeded. It's just that the prince's subordinates were eager to make contributions, so they missed it. Hush! Let's not talk about it."

In Baihualou, the people drinking were obviously a group of officials in Yushitai, and the one sitting in the main seat was Captain Li Liangcheng of Yushi.

This person is a Jinshi in the 11th year of Hongzhi and has been an official in the capital for many years.

At this time, most of them had almost drunk, and it was the time when they were in high spirits.

Li Liangcheng drank two more cups, feeling a little flustered, and continued: "Don't say that the prince supports me, even if he doesn't support me, I dare to reprimand the current prince. He has just registered, and I regard him as a three-year-old child!"

In addition, several scholar-bureaucrats who were together also praised each other: "Master Li is world-class in martial arts and resourceful. He is the backbone of my Ming Dynasty. If there is no such person as Master Li, my dynasty may have collapsed long ago. Master Li is really my Great Ming." To the top beam!"

Outside the pavilion, a talented man in a brocade robe recorded what everyone said just now.

However, when the skirt is revealed, the brand of Xichang is revealed.
"It's such a big tone. It seems that Liu Jin's death did not deter the civil servants of the court. It is really arrogant to regard His Majesty as a three-year-old child!"

This West Factory spy recorded the chats of these scholar-bureaucrats in detail
When Li Liangcheng and the group of Jiangnan scholar-bureaucrats got drunk, the Xichang spies left quietly.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Zhu Houzhao scolded Li Dongyang and Xie Qian severely, and the anger in his heart subsided a little.

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were enlightened at the same time, sobered up a lot, and immediately sent people to carry all the memorials of the cabinet to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, without any details.

They have realized that the emperor is no longer a child, and the emperor's consciousness of imperial power has been awakened. They can no longer regard the emperor as the boy who only liked to ride horses and fight.

Zhu Houzhao got up, drank a bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus seed soup that had just been delivered, and began to read the secret book sent by Jin Yiwei.

When Zhu Houzhao opened the first secret book, his eyes were full of killing intent.

Jiangnan scholar-bureaucrats dare to talk about the emperor in Baihualou!

He even uttered wild words!

He also secretly communicated with foreigners to assassinate me!It’s so bold to wrap your head!
The next morning.

Under the service of the court lady, Zhu Houzhao changed into the court clothes.

The rule of three days and one dynasty is the rule set by Emperor Zhengde on the day he ascended the throne.

He wants to be a good emperor who is diligent and caring for the people like his father, Emperor Hongzhi.

He always reminded himself to be diligent, otherwise the throne might not be kept!
Morning time.

All civil and military officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate early!

woohoo--
The horn sounded and the Meridian Gate opened wide.

Civil and military officials lined up to enter the court, walked across the Jinshui Bridge, and when entering the palace, all officials were not allowed to make noise or cough, and there were special supervisors beside them to record this matter.

In the court hall, all civil and military officials bowed their hands in worship: "See Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

"Everyone who loves you is free from courtesy!"

Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon chair of the Qianqing Palace, looking down at the civil and military officials in the hall.

The eunuch next to him stepped forward and proclaimed loudly: "Today there is a book to play, and there is no book to retreat!"

As soon as the eunuch's words fell, Yu Maosheng, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, came out and said: "Long live, I have a book to play!"

Zhu Hou looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and said, "Quick play!"

"Qi Zuo Your Majesty, the eunuch Liu Jin, the third-rank eunuch who used to be the eunuch of the ceremonies, has surrendered the law, but not all the people who worked with him have not. Copied 15 million taels of silver, 900 taels of gold, and thousands of rare treasures, antiques, calligraphy and paintings."

"Liu Jin worked as a palm seal eunuch in the first four years of the first emperor. In the past 14 years, there have been 43 cases of corruption and bribery and murder of Zhongliang. The minister has recorded all of Liu Jin's crimes in the memorial!"

As soon as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments finished speaking, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were excited, and many Yushitai spoke out to join in.

Above the main hall, Zhu Houzhao's face became more and more gloomy. Of course he knew that Liu Jin was greedy for ink, but he never imagined that this person was so ambitious, and the number of greedy ink and silver was so huge that it was shocking!
You must know that during the reign of my father, Emperor Hongzhi, he ruled the world with simplicity, and the annual tax was only 400 million. The real money and silver finally deposited into the treasury, after deducting the annual military pay, disaster relief, and construction, was left behind. Less than 100 million taels of silver.

Liu Jin's corruption was equivalent to the entire Ming Dynasty's nine-year fiscal revenue!
For an ordinary family of five, with 20 taels of silver, they can barely make ends meet.

Most people living in this era have never seen fifty li silver in their entire lives.

900 million vagrant silver is enough to support the northwest and build a stronger defense line in the northwest!
"Your Majesty, the ministers and others suggest that Liu Jin and other people who harm the country and the people should be completely eliminated!"

Above the court, all the officials were filled with righteous indignation!
Zhu Houzhao's face turned livid, he raised his hand, and the eunuch nearby announced on the spot: "Quiet!"

In the hall, it suddenly became quiet.

He knew that it was useless to kill people. His first emperor, Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang killed so many people, but he still didn't kill all the corrupt officials in the world!
This is not a human problem at all!

"Present the memorial!"

"According to the order!"

The eunuch in attendance walked up to the Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, took a rectangular tray, placed the memorial in the tray, and presented it to Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao opened the memorial of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and rows of shocking corruption figures made Zhu Houzhao's anger burn even more!
One eunuch's name after another appeared in his mind!
Snapped!
Zhu Houzhao threw the memorial heavily on the dragon table in front of him.

"Where is Liu Jin's greedy money?"

"Your Majesty Qizuo, all are sealed up in the treasury in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Punishment!"

"Well, temporarily seal it up, Liu Jin's remaining crimes can be arrested and brought to justice!"

"According to the order!"

At this time, all the civil and military officials in the main hall were silent, and everyone felt a huge sense of oppression.

Because those who are standing, there are inevitably people who have made friends with Liu Jin.

Li Dongyang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, Liu Jian, the second assistant, and several other ministers all raised their voices. This time, the memorial of the Ministry of Punishment was approved by the cabinet.

Since Liu Jin was cut in half, they all saw His Majesty's determination to punish the eunuchs, so they wrote this memorial.

In their view, Emperor Zhengde was more determined than Emperor Hongzhi, and he was decisive in killing.

Judging from the beheading of Liu Jin, Emperor Zhengde was able to make great achievements.

In this matter, they seem to have seen that the Ming Empire will continue to be glorious in the hands of Emperor Zhengde!
This is just the beginning, the real storm is yet to come
(End of this chapter)