Mu Hai wrote,"
"Your Majesty, you have won the battle thousands of miles away. The Japanese pirates and Tartars all knelt down and begged for mercy. Now that the empire's military is mighty and their morale is high, we should gather 100,000 troops and destroy Jiaozhi in the south. I am willing to be the vanguard and open up new territory for Your Majesty.”
Zhu Houjin looked at the memorial and decided to put it aside for now. Li Chengliang was currently on a western expedition, and the empire's energy and financial resources were to be used on the Western Regions.
Jiaozhi would not be washed away by the sea, so it could not escape!
After the empire completely recovered the Western Regions, they would send an army south to destroy Jiaozhi. It would be like training in the jungle.
After putting down Mu Hai's memorial, he was about to read the other memorials.
At this moment, a eunuch quietly came in to report. Your Majesty, Eunuch Cao is waiting outside for an edict. He wishes to see you."
"Summon him in." Zhu Houjin said.
"Yes!"
After a while, Cao Zhengchun walked in. He bowed and said,
"Your Majesty, Shen Yishi confessed everything, but…"
"But what? Speak."
"Your Majesty, Iron Gut Divine Marquis Zhu Bujue is silent. He is a lord of a vassal state. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, we have no right to punish him. After he recovered his strength, he disappeared.”
Cao Zhengchun was terrified as he bowed and reported.
"Cao Zhengchun, it's rare for you to make a mistake. This time, I'll let your sins go. If you can't catch Zhu Bujue, I'll punish you for all your crimes!”Zhu Houjin said with a gloomy expression.
"This lowly one obeys the decree and thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness. This lowly one will definitely capture Zhu Bujue. Your Majesty, can the merciless blade and spear allow this lowly one to directly kill Zhu Bujue?”
"However, there is no ancestral system that can protect anyone who objects to me, no matter who it is.”Zhu Houjin said coldly.
Zhu Houjian would not punish Cao Zhengchun for letting Zhu Bujian escape because he was a sharp blade in his hands. He would not leave Cao Zhengchun for even a moment.
However, Cao Zhengchun didn't think so. He was afraid that the Emperor would punish him. If the Emperor wanted to punish him, he would only need a word or a piece of paper.
Back then, Liu Jin and the Eight Tigers were extremely powerful. Not only did they control the Second East and West Factories and the Embroidered Uniform Guards, but they also took over the command of the three battalions.
However, if Emperor Zheng De really wanted to do him, it was just a piece of paper, not an official imperial edict.
"I understand." Cao Zhengchun said carefully.
"How is Shen Yishi now? What did he say?"
"Your Majesty, Shen Yishi is desperate to survive. Without being tortured, he has already confessed to the wealth he stored in other places. Another 500 land deeds have been found, totaling 2.6 million mu of land, 5 million taels of silver, 1 million taels of gold, and the rest of the treasures have not been counted. I have already sent them to the national treasury.”
Hearing Cao Zhengchun's words, Zhu Houjin was slightly satisfied.
When Shen Yishi fell, many officials in the court were uneasy and could not sleep at night.
He had bribed at least a thousand court officials because he had records of them all.
The bribery book recorded the date of the bribe, the rank of the official, the purpose of the bribe... and so on, without missing a single detail.
"I don't quite understand. Why did he bribe so many people? There were many small officials who were not worth bribing.”Zhu Houjin said in surprise.
"Your Majesty, I think this Shen Yishi wants to rebel!”
Zhu Houjin waved his hand and said," That won't happen. He doesn't have the guts. In my opinion, the corruption of the officials in the previous dynasty was too serious. Even a big merchant like Shen Yishi had to bribe them everywhere."”
"If he didn't manage his business from top to bottom, he wouldn't have monopolized so many industries.”
"After bribery, those officials of all sizes will become a community of interests with him. This is the combination of government and business.”
"Your Majesty is wise, and this lowly one admires you greatly!”
Zhu Houjin shook his head and said,
"You don't need to flatter this one. Sometimes this one likes to listen to flattery, and sometimes not.”
"I understand, Your Majesty."
In Zhu Houyi's heart, other than bribery, Shen Yishi's ability to do business was quite outstanding. He was not the only businessman in the Ming Empire, and he was not the only one who knew bribery.
However, he was the most successful. Now that the empire was vigorously developing business, Zhu Houjiu would not kill a person with business talent like him for a while.
After thinking it through, Zhu Houjian said to Cao Zhengchun,"
"Go and treat Shen Yishi's injuries. Don't let him die. Zhen wants to summon him and see if he really has the ability.”
"Your Majesty, Shen Yishi's injury is not serious. The main injury was in the tunnel of his mansion. After arriving at the East Chamber, he confessed all his wealth and provided a list of officials who bribed, so he was not severely punished. Your Majesty wants to see him.”
Zhu Houjin nodded and said,""I want to ask you, how many people do you have to protect Hai Rui every day? Is there anyone preparing to assassinate him?"
"Your Majesty, there are 20 people protecting Sir Hai, and they are all in casual clothes. There is currently no information on assassinating him. Your Majesty, please rest assured. Sir Hai is currently presiding over the reform of the aristocratic families in the country and has offended countless people. This lowly one will make strict arrangements and will not let Sir Hai's life be in danger.”
Zhu Houjin looked at Cao Zhengchun and said," Alright. I need Hai Rui to lead the charge for my reform. His safety must be ensured. There is one more thing I need to tell you."”
"Please speak, Your Majesty."
"Xuan Huang Tian Di is one of Zhu Bujue's men. I want to test their loyalty. We can send the four of them to capture Zhu Bujue. At the same time, we can send the experts of the palace to secretly monitor them. If we find that the four of them have any connection with Zhu Bujue, we will kill them immediately!”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You may leave." Zhu Houyan waved his hand.
Cao Zhengchun bowed and left.
——————
The day before the exam, Zhu Houjian gave the new exam questions to the Minister of Rites, Wang Yong.
The new question was a huge touchstone.
The new question was " Eliminate the Old and Transform."
For those pedantic scholars who were lucky enough to pass the provincial examination, they didn't know how to write an essay.
How could these Confucians write?
This was because the war was waged by the old ideas of the pedantic scholars in their minds.
It was the Four Books and Five Classics, a conservative way of thinking.
It was a closed country…
Even the rules and regulations of the ancestral system…
Only those examinees who accepted and supported the emperor's reform.
Not only would he not resist, but he would also become excited.
This topic was the emperor personally blowing the charge of reform!
——
The next day.
The exam was officially held in the examination hall in the southeast of the inner city. The Ministry of Rites presided over the examination, set up four examiners, known as the total load.
To Jinshi origin of the Grand Secretary, Shangshu below the deputy censor above the officials, by the Ministry of all please send to fill.
Those who pass the exam are called Gongshi, and the first name is Huiyuan.
There was no fixed number of students, only about 300. They were divided into three regions: the south, the north, and the middle.
The number of people admitted to each province was determined by the number of candidates, the size of the province, and the population.
After the announcement of the results, the Chinese candidates should take the palace examination next month, or they could take the palace examination immediately. Everything was decided by the emperor.
The process of sealing, transcribing, proofreading, marking, and filling in the list was the same as the provincial examination.
Those who participate in the examination should be re-examined first, and those who are far behind can be re-examined after the examination.
The exam was divided into three sessions, one every three days.
The first match was on the ninth day of the lunar month.
The second match was on the 12th.
The third match was on the 15th.
Everyone's examination venue was very small, called a single room.
In ancient times, this single room was called a number. It was five feet long, four feet wide, and eight feet high.
Before entering, they searched the room and gave each person three candles. After entering, the door was immediately sealed.
The examinees would answer the questions inside and rest there at night.
The chief examiner, Minister of Rites Wang Yong, arrived at the examination hall early in the morning. The other deputy chief examiners found that this time was obviously different.
Why is Eunuch Qian from the West Hall here? And he even brought so many armed Xichang barbarians. What was he doing?
But they didn't dare to ask casually because the West Chamber was under the direct command of the Emperor. They were definitely on a mission for the Emperor.
Actually, the head examiner Wang Yong didn't know why Qian Ning had come.
In the chief examiner's office, Wang Yong asked curiously:
"Eunuch Qian, what are you doing today?"
Qian Ning took out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Wang Yong:
"Lord Wang, this was personally written by His Majesty. Immediately go and find this single room and call that examinee here.”
Hearing that it was the Emperor's personal letter, Wang Yong didn't dare to neglect it and hurriedly took a look, then arranged for one of the deputy examiners.
Not long after, an examinee was brought into the government office. After he entered, he asked,
"May I know why you have summoned me?”
"Take him down!" Qian Ning looked at the man and shouted.
In an instant, more than ten musketeers rushed in from outside the government office and aimed their black muzzles at the examinee.
Soon after, the West Chamber natives brought over the black iron chains they had prepared and tied him up like a dumpling.
After the binding, Qian Ning walked up to him and said word by word,"
"Tang Yin, don't think that everything you've done is flawless. I might as well tell you that the emperor guessed it was you a few days ago!”
Boom!
The examinee's eyes widened in shock, and an expression of disbelief and shock appeared on his face."How did the Emperor know?"
"Take him away!"
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