manynovel Chapter 1190 How to deal with it
Chapter 1190 How to deal with it
Chapter 1190 How to deal with it
The ministers were all old foxes and knew that the emperor's sudden words must have a hidden meaning.
All the ministers could not help but look around, and no one spoke.
Among the officials from the two governments present, Wang Gui, Cai Que, and Wang Anli were not suspects because they had no experience in dealing with the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia.
Feng Jing, Xue Xiang, Zhang Yue, Lu Gongzhu and Sun Gu all had experience in diplomacy.
The others are Chief Censor Li Ding and Imperial Academy Scholar Zhang Xu, and the possibility of them being suspected is also very small.
Wang Gui, the chief minister, said: "Your Majesty, the ministers in the palace are all loyal and trustworthy. It is well known that the most righteous country in the world is the Song Dynasty. The ministers have absolutely no intention of colluding with foreign countries."
The emperor said, "I just said this suddenly. I often think about the dangers of the country, and I don't want to entrust the wrong people. The ministers in the palace are all trustworthy to me, but Xixia and Liao are constantly infiltrating our dynasty. You are guarding state secrets, can the people around you also be trusted?"
Wang Gui and others all knew that the government often criticized the people below for no reason, but only God knew whether it was for a purpose.
All the officials present promised the emperor that they would keep their families under control.
At this time, Xue Xiang talked about the progress of the reform of the baojia system.
"Originally, there were many thieves in the world, and the court had to enforce heavy penalties on those who harbored thieves. Originally, it was only implemented in Bianjing, but later in Hebei, Jingdong, Huainan, and Fujian."
"After the implementation of the Baojia system during the Xining period, these bandits have indeed become much less numerous. Duke Shu once said that the number of bandits in Bianjing has decreased by 70% to 80% compared to the past."
"This time I have consulted with the provinces of Hebei and Jingdong, and they all say that the Baojia system can be abolished, but what about local public security? What if bandits start to rise again?"
The emperor was somewhat dissatisfied after hearing what Xue Xiang said. It was an indisputable fact that the number of thieves in various places increased sharply after the reform, so he enforced the law to punish thieves.
The baojia system was also established to catch bandits and reduce the military.
The emperor did not show his inner thoughts on his face, but said: "Now that the Liao Kingdom has invaded again, Hebei is also considering abolishing the Baojia system. Looking at these two things together, I am really worried."
Xue Xiang said: "Now it seems that the government troops are indeed ineffective in catching bandits, and only the baojia can be used."
The regular staff could not be used, so only those outside the staff could be used. The staff within the staff were cut, and the money was used to subsidize those outside the staff. After that, the finances became even more difficult, so even those outside the staff were cut.
This is the process of the rise and fall of the baojia system.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I think the Baojia system in the capital and Hebei can be abolished, and the Baojia money can be used to recruit new troops from Hebei."
"The baojia system in other places may not be abolished for the time being, but the system of Shangfan must be abolished."
"As for the newly recruited soldiers in Hebei, they can be trained by the commander. The Zhang Heng and Zeng Bu I mentioned before are both smart and capable, and are not inferior to Guo Jin and Wang Hanchao."
After Zhang Yue finished speaking, everyone looked at the official's reaction.
The official said, "If that is the case, the Secretariat will review it and then proceed."
At this point, the official said, "Speaking of Guo Jin, I can't help but think of him building a house in the north of the city. After the house was completed, he gathered the clansmen and sat together with the civil engineering workers. The clansmen were very dissatisfied. Why did they sit together with the workers?"
"Guo Jin told his workers that this was the one who built the house, and he told his clansmen that this was the one who sold the house. After Guo Jin died, the house was indeed sold by his clansmen."
“How can wealth and honor last forever? Morality can be passed down for more than ten generations, farming and reading are the second best, poetry and books are the third, and wealth and honor can only be passed down for three generations.”
The ministers heard the emperor say this, isn't this just a proverb used by scholars to manage their families? Why are the emperor and the ministers talking about this today?
Cai Que said, "Your Majesty is right. I remember when Guo Ziyi was building a house in Chang'an, he said to the craftsmen, 'Build this wall well and make sure it is strong.' The craftsmen replied, 'For decades, I have built the walls of the high officials in the capital, and I have only seen people sell their houses and change houses, but never see the walls collapse.'"
"As long as the ministers serve the king diligently, Anchou will not be able to pass on wealth and honor to his family for long."
Seeing Cai Que and the emperor singing the same tune, all the ministers had no idea what these two were selling.
However, after hearing these words, it is possible that all the important officials of the two governments present, except Cai Que, felt somewhat guilty.
……
After the meeting.
Cai Que left.
Cai Que used to go to court on horseback, but now he rides in a carriage.
Cai Que had a habit when riding in a horse-drawn carriage. After he got on the carriage, the driver had to pull the horse and move on immediately without any stopping.
Cai Que’s confidants understood.
Cai Que offended many people after handling the Xiangzhou case and the Imperial College case. The last time the Fuyan Road was defeated and more than 100 officials and generals were purged, it was also Cai Que who handled it.
There are indeed many people inside and outside Beijing who resent Cai Que.
Therefore, Cai Que was always watched closely when he went in and out, and his attendants on both sides were on high alert.
As soon as Cai Que boarded the carriage, the experienced coachman immediately pulled up the reins and the carriage drove away. If they stayed a little longer, they might encounter assassins.
When Cai Que saw the carriage moving on the road, he closed his eyes and slightly relaxed the taut string in his heart.
After Cai Que returned to his palace, he received many poems and essays from scholars. Cai Que was famous for his poetry, and many scholars in the capital presented poems and essays to him in the hope of gaining his appreciation.
However, there are very few things that can satisfy Tsai Que.
Cai Que was washing his feet when he heard the report that Li Ding, the Chief Censor, was visiting. Cai Que quickly dried his feet himself and told Li Ding to come in.
"I've met the Prime Minister!"
Cai Que said, "I never discuss official business in my private residence. Why can't you report it to me in the court?"
Li Ding said: "There are many eyes and ears in the court. I am here to investigate the case of the mother's death of Chen Shiru, the son of former Prime Minister Chen Zhizhong."
Cai Que said, "Tell me about it."
The case of Chen Shiru's mother's death was actually not complicated.
Chen Shiru's biological mother, Zhang, had a violent temper. Although Zhang was born a concubine, she was very much loved by Chen Zhizhong.
One day, one of her maids, Ying'er, contradicted her.
Zhang ordered people to strip Ying'er of her clothes, tie her hands, lock her in a dark room, and deprive her of food and drink. It was the coldest time of the year, and Ying'er died of starvation and cold within a few days.
The other two maids spoke up for Ying'er. Zhang ordered her servants to beat the two maids and humiliate them. The two maids could not bear the humiliation and hanged themselves one after another.
This was the case of a concubine killing three maids, which shocked the entire capital.
Other ministers with a sense of justice could not stand this and impeached Chen Zhizhong together. Although Emperor Renzong was biased towards Chen Zhizhong, he could not withstand the pressure from the censors and dismissed Chen Zhizhong.
Zhang not only killed the maid but also humiliated Chen Zhizhong's wife, Xie, who was the daughter of Minister Xie Mi. However, with Chen Zhizhong's connivance, Zhang repeatedly humiliated Xie.
Using a concubine to bully a wife is an act of great treason, especially when it happens in the prime minister's house.
Why is Zhang so domineering?
He gave birth to Chen Shiru for Chen Zhizhong.
Chen Shiru married Li, the daughter of the minister Li Zhongshi.
Li had never gotten along well with her vicious mother-in-law Zhang. After Chen Shiru was appointed magistrate of Taihu County, the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finally broke out.
One day, Li said to her maids that she wanted Chen Shiru to return to the capital to observe mourning. As long as you can do this, I will give you gold and silver if you want, and I will let you get married if you want.
The meaning is very clear.
How Zhang treated the maids and servants was evident from the fact that she beat three maids to death. Everyone in the mansion, from top to bottom, hated Zhang.
But the maids had no experience in killing people. They first poisoned Zhang but failed to kill her. Then they took an iron nail and drove it into the back of her head, killing her.
Finally, the case was reported to Kaifeng Prefecture, causing an uproar among the people.
Even the government attaches great importance to this case.
Zhang was a man of many evil deeds, and his death was not a pity. However, this case was the most intolerable "evil and rebellion" in the Song Dynasty, which ruled the country with filial piety. Moreover, the case happened in the family of a former prime minister.
There is another crucial point in this case, which is that it involves Lu Gongzhu.
Li's mother, Lu, was the daughter of Lu Gongzhu's elder brother, Lu Gongchuo. That night after the case broke out, Lu took her daughter to Lu Gongzhu's house and cried and begged Lu Gongzhu, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, to help her intercede in Kaifeng Prefecture.
At least Li cannot be taken to Kaifeng Prefecture. If there is anything, they can be questioned at Chen Mansion.
Lü Gongzhu said at the time: "The court has the precedent of the Xiangzhou case, where hundreds of people were arrested by the Censorate for interceding."
"If I come forward to save you, I will harm you. What's more, your daughter's crime is not a minor one, but a 'rebellious' one among the ten evils."
After being taken to Kaifeng Prefecture for killing Zhang, she denied that she had killed Zhang. She said that she had only asked the maids to take good care of Zhang and that she would be rewarded handsomely when Chen Shiru returned, and she had not ordered the murder.
In addition, the biggest doubt in this case is whether Chen Shiru was aware of it?
When Zhang died, Chen Shiru was serving as an official outside the capital, so he probably didn't know about it.
But according to Li's confession, after Zhang's death, she cut a foreign character and gave it to Chen Shiru. What message did she convey? Now Kaifeng Prefecture has detained Li and Chen Shiru for the crime of "evil and rebellion".
As Cai Que listened to Li Ding's report, he recalled the many years he had spent in Chenzhou.
His father, Cai Huangshang, was a military officer in Chenzhou. One day in late autumn, when Cai Huangshang returned home and faced Cai Que and his brother Cai Shuo, he suddenly burst into tears.
"Your father can no longer support your studies."
Cai Que was eighteen years old at the time and knew everything about this matter.
From then on, Cai Que and his family lived in Chenzhou with no food to eat, and they didn't even have the money to return to their hometown in Quanzhou.
It was not until he passed the imperial examination that his family's situation improved.
This time, Zhang was nailed to death with iron nails, and it was Cai Que who arranged for her maid to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to file a complaint.
Otherwise, how could this case have been solved?
I may not repay a favor, but I will definitely take revenge! This is Cai Que's character.
When Kaifeng Prefecture was unable to come to a conclusion on whether Li and Chen Shiru had instructed the maids to kill Zhang, Cai Que instructed the Dali Temple to impeach Kaifeng Prefecture. As the case had been unresolved for a long time (more than forty days), it was transferred to the Dali Temple.
Later, it was transferred from the Dali Temple to the Censorate.
Now Tsai’s target is no longer just Chen Shiru.
Li Ding said: "Although Lu Gongzhu was not found to be involved in this case, his nephew, Dali Temple judge Lu Xiya, inquired about the case. At the same time, Chen Shiru's friend's son-in-law Yan Jing inquired about the case. Yan Jing also discussed the case with Sima Kang, the son of Sima Guang."
"In addition, Lü Gongzhu's sons Lü Xiji and Lü Xichun and their son-in-law also inquired about the case."
Li Ding's working style was completely inherited from Cai Que, which was to pick on people everywhere.
"There is no evidence that Chen Shiru has anything to do with instructing the murder. What should we do next? Please let us know."
Cai Que said, "Didn't the emperor make it very clear today in the court? Morality can be passed down for ten generations, but wealth can only be passed down for three generations. As for lack of morality, is there any need to talk about it?"
Li Ding thought to himself, Cai Que is really cruel.
Li Dingxuan added: "Recently, He Zhengchen has heard real evidence that Prime Minister Zhang secretly had an affair with the King of Wei of Liao during the negotiations with Liao, and accepted a box of northern pearls from him!"
"Today I heard your Majesty say that some ministers were colluding with foreign countries, which seemed to be a hint, so I reported it to you. I wonder how to deal with this matter?"