The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Early in the morning, Yan Mansion.

Yan Chengjin ran quickly across the grass bridge. The water flowed under the bridge and the air was fragrant and pleasant.

Next to her, Li Qing'e led Qianlong and Chunxiao to cut buds and plant cucumbers in the shed.

He Neng trotted in and said, "Master, Mr. Li is here."

Li Dongyang had already walked into the courtyard with a gloomy face, looking at Yan Chengjin from a distance. "Change and go to court!"

"The lower official has asked Fang Xue to inform the Supreme Emperor. With permission, he will take a day off."

Li Dongyang glanced at Li Qing'e, then turned to look at Yan Chengjin, his voice lowered several times: "If something happens, I need you to come to the palace!"

Yan Chengjin had to go back to his room and change into regular clothes, and couldn't help but think about it.

A quarter of an hour later, the cabinet.

When Xie Qian saw Yan Chengjin's figure, the anger in his chest seemed to explode.

"The Xie family has lost its farm, farmland and winery, and Mr. Xie's younger brother has been imprisoned. Mr. Xie can scold him if he wants. I understand."

"You...you!"

This guy strikes first and shows his magnanimity first. If he scolds him later, he will appear to be narrow-minded, not to mention that he is a highly respected veteran minister.

This guy is really vicious!

Suddenly, Xie Qian became even more angry.

Jiang Mian and the others were not closely involved in Jiangnan's affairs, and at this time, their faces were gloomy.

Yan Chengjin looked at Li Dongyang and wondered: "Why do you think the cabinet is different from yesterday?"

"Master Yan didn't come yesterday either." Jiang Mian reminded.

"..." Yan Chengjin.

Cui Yan took out a book of notes and began to read to Yan Chengjin.

"Wan Fu, the prefect of Jinhua, Bao Zhang, the prefect of Suzhou, Han Ling, the prefect of Suzhou, Ma Long, the chief envoy of Jiangxi, Yuan Bin, the governor of Jiangxi, Zhao Liang, the commander of the Jinyi Guards of Jiangxi, Guo Jian, the prefect of Fengyang, Liu Zhong, the prefect of Anqing... They all bribed Uncle Ping Jiang with more than 30,000 taels of silver."

"This is Uncle Ping Jiang's confession."

After Pingjiang Bo Chen Xiong was sentenced to ransacking his home, he confessed to thirty-seven officials in prison.

There are also some officials who don't come and go often, and they need to check the government's account books to know their names.

This number far exceeded the expectations of Li Dongyang and others.

The Jiangnan area is quite stable. These are officials in power and have some soldiers.

Once caught, it will cause a stir.

"Now that the news of Uncle Ping Jiang's imprisonment has been announced to the world, it will soon spread to Jiangnan. Even if the imperial court wants to punish these officials privately, it cannot do so." Jiang Mian said.

Cui Yan put down his notes and said, "Wan Fu and others will definitely not sit still and wait for death."

Chen Xiong committed a capital crime and all his descendants were beheaded.

In anger, he revealed all the officials who had bribed the palace over the past few generations in one breath, hoping to make the officials in Jiangnan panic.

Yan Chengjin raised his eyes: "It is my duty to monitor the government and the opposition. If I don't arrest Jiang Bo, I will be lazy and derelict in my duty.

If the princes secretly blame me and force me to do so, then I will no longer write bullets. "

Xie Qian raised his eyes: "Seriously?"

"Well, I won't write if I say I won't."

Cui Yan hesitated: "Then the Supreme Emperor will ask?"

"I can only tell you, and I promised Xie Gong not to write bullets anymore."

"..." Xie Qian.

After a while, Li Dongyang sat at the head of the desk, and the other cabinet ministers also sat down one after another.

After some discussion, it was decided to imprison all the officials in Jiangnan.

…

Fengtian Temple,

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi said seriously: "Did Uncle Ping Jiang personally confess to these thirty-seven officials?"

When he read the roster, he already had the answer in his mind, but he was still shocked that the number of people was more than twenty more than those found by the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

"Water transportation is a high-paying job. It is not surprising that Ping Jiangbo has supervised water transportation for several generations. However, the inspection by the Metropolitan Procuratorate has made mistakes, and now it is difficult to get off the tiger." Wang Hao was worried.

Being imprisoned is a capital crime. How can an official be willing to be arrested and beheaded by the court?

But if he is not arrested and imprisoned, the precedent of people not being held accountable will spread.

"I dare to ask Mr. Wang, beforehand, did you know who Ping Jiangbo was corrupting?" Yan Chengjin thought for a while and asked.

Wang Hao glanced at him angrily, "Of course I didn't know. If you knew and didn't report it, wouldn't it be a serious crime? You can't even think of trying to trick me."

"Master Wang doesn't know, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate naturally doesn't know either. Now that they know, it'll be fine. They can all be put in jail."

Wang Hao glared: "Your Majesty, think twice and don't listen to this man's nonsense."

"I exposed the case, and Mr. Wang protected Uncle Ping Jiang and Jiangnan's accomplices."

"..." Wang Nao.

"..." Li Dongyang.

"..." The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi.

Wang Hao did not dare to say any more, so he could only give Yan Chengjin a deep look, as if to say, "You are cruel, please wait."

There was silence in the hall for a moment,

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi sighed, "Do the cabinet ministers have any votes? How should this matter end?"

He didn't mean to blame the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he was just forced by how the matter ended.

Zhu Houzhao wanted to stop this matter. It was too easy for him to arrest people. After arresting him, he could still count his merits.

Yan Chengjin saw this guy about to take a step and said first, "Master Wang said there is no protection, why not order the Ministry of Punishment to arrest all these officials?"

Zhu Houzhao blinked and saw that the momentum was wrong, so he retracted his legs.

Wang Hao was stunned: "Why the Ministry of Punishment?!"

"I remember well. Mr. Wang Hao's native place is Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province. His family is prosperous. Mr. Xie's family is also implicated in this matter. Why can Mr. Wang stay out of the matter?"

"You...what do you mean?"

The Supreme Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows slightly. Master Wang's father, Wang Wan, once served as the local magistrate.

Two generations of ancestors also came from prominent backgrounds.

The faces of all the gentlemen are different.

Xie Qian became serious. As far as he knew, the Wang family had a prominent family background in Jiangnan. Wang Ao's great-grandfather Wang Yanxiang was a big merchant in Huaixi.

His grandfathers Wang Kui and Wang Wan both served as the parents of the rich land.

Wang Ao naturally felt the strange atmosphere.

"This matter is investigated by the Ministry of Justice, and I will not refuse!" Wang Ao said in a deep voice.

The retired emperor Hongzhi looked at the cabinet: "Do you really want to arrest so many officials?"

Yan Chengjin opened his mouth and said only one sentence: "Forgive me for speaking frankly, if it were the Emperor Gao, he would definitely not be lenient."

If Zhu Yuanzhang were here, these officials would probably be made into straw men.

Because he was born a beggar, Zhu Yuanzhang hated corruption the most. One of the causes of Lan Yu's death was corruption.

Although there are many officials in Jiangnan, arresting them is just a pain.

There are many new Hanlins in the Hanyuan, waiting for the pit position to start work.

After leaving the palace, Yan Chengjin was full of apology: "Please forgive me, Lord Wang. I just want to be loyal to the court. My words are not good, but they are not directed at Lord Wang."

Just now in the palace, why didn't you apologize to me?

Wang Ao glanced at him coldly, "Tell me! Have you read my family files?"

"No less than a hundred times."

"???" Wang Ao.

"I just said it casually, Lord Wang, don't be nervous."

Putting away his relaxed expression, Yan Chengjin said seriously: "If they are arrested, they will die. Officials in Jiangnan will not be arrested obediently.

Lord Wang should pretend to appease them first, and then secretly arrest and imprison them after stabilizing people's hearts..."

First like this, then like this, and then like this... He talked to Wang Ao.

"You think I am Wang Qiong, and I don't need your guidance!"

"..."Wang Qiong.