Chapter 227 Corrupt Ma Zheng
Who can answer His Majesty the Emperor?
Of course it is Yang Yiqing, Minister of the Ministry of War!
He can only say this.
Fortunately, after yesterday's reminder, Yang Yiqing had an in-depth understanding of the current Ming Dynasty's Ma Zheng. To sum it up, there is only one word - rotten!
And it's still rotten to the core, so rotten that people can't bear to look at it.
If it were Xu Jin, he would not say this, but would choose to remain silent.
If it were Liu Daxia, he would not even come forward and directly push the matter to Taipusi Qing.
However, Yang Yiqing was Yang Yiqing. He dared to say this, and he also dared to tell the real reason for Ma Zheng's corruption.
"Your Majesty is clear!"
"There are three reasons why Ma Zheng is corrupt!"
"First, the Zong clan kings and powerful men annexed and annexed horse ranches, which directly undermined the country's horse administration."
"The Ming Dynasty's Ma Zheng was mainly concentrated in the northwest frontier and other places, and in the northwest border, there were many large ranches owned by the Zong clan kings. As a result, the Wangfu ranch and the Mazheng ranch were bordered and intertwined. Many vassals, The powerful and powerful used their privileges to appropriate the pasture and take it for themselves.”
"After investigation, from the fourth year of Hongzhi to the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, in just nine years, more than 2,500 hectares of horse pastures in Shaanxi were invaded and occupied by feudal kings and dignitaries; in the sixteenth year of Hongzhi, the number of pastures in Shaanxi was There are only more than 60,000 hectares left.”
"So, the rise and fall of the horse administration of the country was mainly due to the decline caused by the invasion and annexation of horse farms by feudal kings and powerful nobles. Even the pastures were gone, how could they still raise war horses?"
The price for Yang Yiqing's outspokenness was to arouse His Majesty the Emperor's wrath!
"Where is the Metropolitan Procuratorate?"
General Secretary Zhang Fuhua trembled and immediately went out to listen to the order.
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate immediately dispatched censors to the pastoral supervisors in the northwest to investigate the case of pasture encroachment. No matter which vassal king they are, no matter who the powerful people are, they will either return the pastures obediently, or I will chop off their heads. !”
"A group of unscrupulous bitches have invaded the country and brought disaster to the country and its people. The Jin Yiwei sent Tiqi to cooperate with the actions of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They must find the pasture for me. Do you hear me clearly?"
Tishuai Moubin and Zhang Fuhua nodded quickly.
At this time, no one dared to question it.
Because, don't forget, there is a foreign minister kneeling here!
The Ming Dynasty's political corruption was corrupt. Did the ministers know about this?
They are not blind or deaf, how come they don’t know?
But I know I know it, but I can't say it out loud, let alone prick the abscess directly!
For the same reason as the corrupt salt administration, too many forces have made profits from it, such as the clan lords and the powerful and powerful that Yang Yiqing just mentioned. Those clan lords are easy to understand. They are nothing more than the Ming lords, but the following ones What about the powerful and powerful?
Relatives of the emperor, generals and nobles, civil servants and gentry, local gentry...which one is rare?
Only he, Yang Yiqing, dared to directly open this abscess!
However, just returning the pasture would be too cheap for them.
Tang Hao came directly out of the queue and played loudly: "Your Majesty, in the 16th year of Chenghua, Emperor Chenghua implemented a series of policies to strengthen the supervision of horse management, such as severely punishing derelict officials, personally inspecting by Ministry of War officers, and The Pu Si officials will review the horses, etc., and any horses that are not subject to the seals of the Tai Pu Si Cheng and other officials will not be accepted. They will be guilty of garrisoning with the shackles of the cheaters. When the price of the horses is reduced, the Ministry of War officials will come to see them in person and still hand them over. Count the remaining ones to hear it!”
"However, to this day, there has been such serious encroachment on various pastures, but the Taipus Temple has never mentioned it. There are even a lot of Taipus Temple officials colluding with each other to resell horses and pasture, and accept bribes. Therefore, I hope you will Please imprison all the officials of Taipu Temple and the corresponding officials of the Ministry of War, and torture them severely. The innocent ones will be promoted and the guilty ones will be beheaded in public, so that we can serve as a warning to others!"
As soon as these words came out, the whole court was in an uproar!
Taipusi Qing Wu Tinghuan's face instantly turned pale as paper, and he knelt down on the ground with a "pop".
"Your Majesty, spare your life!"
"Spare your life, Your Majesty!"
"It's not that the ministers are unwilling to report it, but that this horse administration is corrupt..."
Zhu Houzhao didn't understand what Tang Hao meant.
Since we want to clear up Ma Zheng, we must not be lenient. Otherwise, the thunder will be loud but the rain will be small, and local officials will only be more perfunctory. So what is the meaning of all this done now?
"Come here, drag this beast down and throw it into prison!"
"As Marquis Zhongshan said, all officials from Taipu Temple and the corresponding officials from the Ministry of War are suspended for investigation, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs is preparing a by-election list!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Tinghuan immediately collapsed on the ground.
He never thought that today's morning meeting was supposed to be about discussing North Korea, but the fire suddenly burned Ma Zheng and Taipusi, catching everyone off guard!
Don't talk about destroying evidence now. Once the activities they have done are found out, I don't know how many gentry and gentry in the world will suffer because of it!
"His Majesty!"
"Are you acting like this to be a single man?"
Wu Tinghuan suddenly trembled, and then scolded him harshly.
He was betting that this righteous little emperor would not dare to go against the world's gentry!
After all, during the Hongzhi period, it was not uncommon for such abscesses to be opened. Emperor Hongzhi was also furious when he learned about it at first, and then sent the censor to investigate, but the truth was finally found out. Let him throw the rat into a trap, not daring to act rashly, and finally let it go!
This is true for Ma Zheng, and so is Yan Zheng!
So Wu Tinghuan wanted to take a gamble. He believed that the civil servants and gentry had controlled the government for so many years, and the emperor Zhu Houzhao did not dare to do anything to him!
However, as soon as he said these words, all the civil and military officials in the court fell to their knees on the ground.
Xie Qian, Yang Tinghe, Wang Hao, Han Wen and other civil servants' expressions changed drastically, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Tang Hao was also a little confused at this moment, and then he knelt on the ground.
Aren't all the scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty so brave?
A single man!
Along with the "lone husband" there is also a "people thief"!
Specifically refers to those rulers who are cruel and cruel, and who betray their relatives!
This is probably the first time that he, Zhu Houzhao, has been pointed at his nose and scolded in public for being a stupid and unscrupulous tyrant in the long time he has been on the throne!
As expected, Zhu Houzhao was going crazy!
He stared at Wu Tinghuan with blood-red eyes, but suddenly laughed.
"good!"
"very good!"
"It's really good!"
"Come here, escort this evil thief out, and stick his stick at the door!"
"You'd better tell everything you know, otherwise I will kill you with a rod today!"
Following His Majesty the Emperor's order, two Forbidden Army soldiers walked in immediately, and then without any explanation, they took off Wu Tinghuan's official hat and official uniform, and then forcibly dragged him to the entrance of the main hall, where there was a brief silence. In the middle, one could only hear Wu Tinghuan's panicked begging for mercy, but it was of no use.
The next moment, shrill screams rang out.
Taipusi Qing, ranked third in rank, is the highest leading organization in charge of the world's horse affairs, and ranks among the Xiaojiuqing in the court.
Wu Tinghuan was born in a family of officials in Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. His official career was smooth sailing, and he could be said to have risen to the top. His pampered life all year round made him gain weight as expected, and he had never been subjected to such a humiliating punishment.
After just three steps down, flowers bloomed under Wu Tinghuan's buttocks. He cried out and confessed his crime, and no longer dared to question the majesty of the Emperor.
Hearing him calling for help, Zhu Houzhao snorted and waved his hand, indicating that the person should be taken away for interrogation.
Zhang Yong immediately went to make arrangements. He also saw that today, His Majesty the Emperor was going to raise the butcher's knife against the civil servants and gentry again!
In just a short time, Wu Tinghuan received a few more blows on his buttocks, and his flesh and blood were already bloody.
All the officials in the hall were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they did not even dare to express their anger.
There is no way, Wu Tinghuan, this damn idiot, is simply looking for death!
Can His Majesty be compared with the late Emperor?
No matter what the late emperor's temper, even if you call him a "monomaniac thief", as long as someone mediates it, you may not be punished, but you will win a reputation as "outspoken and dare to remonstrate"!
But what about His Majesty today?
It’s the time when you are young and full of energy, and you are very ambitious!
You fucking pointed your nose at someone and called them a tyrant. How stupid do you have to be to do such a thing!
Originally, His Majesty the Emperor might have good intentions and spare your life, but as soon as you curse these two words, the meaning will be completely different!
Which emperor can tolerate being called a tyrant in public!
"Yang Aiqing, keep talking!"
"You just said one of them. If there is one of them, there are two or three of them!"
"I would really like to hear whether I am the only one who is a traitor to the people, or are you, the gentry, corrupt and perverting the law?"
In an instant, Yang Yiqing felt extremely stressed!
Now...can I still say it?
If you say it, wouldn't it be... a revelation?
Han Wen, Yang Tinghe and others gave Yang Yiqing crazy winks and advised him not to speak again.
This matter has become a big deal. Not to mention that the foreign minister Cheng Xiyan is still present. Just because Wu Tinghuan, the damn idiot, said these two words, no matter how generous and merciful His Majesty the Emperor is, he will definitely bring this matter to light. Get to the bottom of it.
This also means that every time Yang Yiqing mentions something, His Majesty the Emperor will investigate it thoroughly. In this way, God knows how many officials and gentry will be implicated!
"Yang Yiqing!"
Zhu Houzhao shouted sharply: "I have always heard that you are upright and dare to speak out. What's wrong? Don't you dare to speak out now?"
Yang Yiqing sighed secretly when he heard this, and then said seriously: "Nothing in the affairs of the state is greater than the army, and nothing in military affairs is greater than the horse!"
"Since His Majesty is determined to clarify Ma Zheng's affairs, what is there that I dare not say?"
"Secondly, the form of horse herding and raising by the people is unsustainable, which has led to the country falling into a crisis in horse administration."
"The Emperor Taizu Gao of our dynasty established the law of raising horses, and ordered the people to raise horses together, and stipulated the number and yield of horses. However, when raising horses among the people, they need to ensure that the horses are strong and healthy, and they must also ensure that they have completed one year of service to the country. Yiju’s mission is to be exempted from hard labor by doing these two things, otherwise the people will have to face compensation!”
"As a result, some households have abandoned agriculture in order to raise horses, and there is even an outrageous phenomenon of "having a horse at home, feeding it day and night, until it is tied up and not allowed to run around for food and clothing", thus going bankrupt, similar to the situation of going bankrupt because of horse raising. It is extremely common nowadays, and this has led to the “harm of raising horses” among the people! ”
"The horse-raising policy formulated by Emperor Taizu Gao was originally a good thing to strengthen the country and enrich the people, but it caused the people to be trapped in herding horses. Some people even passively fed and defaulted on the horses, and were eventually forced to embark on the road of escape. This further made the people The horse administration of the country is in a quagmire of crisis.”
"Not to mention that some powerful people took this opportunity to engage in corruption and bribery. For example, according to the regulations of the early Ming Dynasty, any horse owner who raised horses for the government would be exempted from half or all taxes and allocated to corresponding pastures. But later, It has become a piece of paper. Nowadays, horse farmers are left with only obligations but no rights. There is no tax exemption and no grazing land for raising horses. What else can horse farmers do except flee? "
"What's even more terrible is that once the horses and foals raised by horse breeders, as well as the horses temporarily handed over for foster care by the court, die, the horse owners must unconditionally compensate them. Horses are so expensive, even if these horse breeders sell their horses No one who sells a girl can afford this huge sum of money. Under such harsh conditions, who among the common people would be willing to raise horses for the court? In some places, this has even become a way for officials to kill others!"
"Then there are officials from Taipu Temple and its affiliated institutions who are responsible for branding and inspecting these horses. Obviously, the imperial decree gives them considerable discretion. "Tithes for raising horses are paid for the horses. "The fee is always ten taels." If raising a horse itself requires ten taels of silver, then the bribe paid to officials in order to let the horses pass the inspection will cost at least ninety taels. In other words, the burden on horse owners is equivalent to that of Emperor Taizu Gao. Exactly ten times the period!”
The more Yang Yiqing talked, the more excited he became, until his whole face turned red!
“Official ranches were occupied by feudal nobles, causing the horse administration to be blocked, while private horse breeding was increasingly corrupted due to official corruption and bribery, and even became a major tyranny of the country that harmed the people. Under these two circumstances, the country’s Is there any reason why Ma Zheng is not bad?”
"I have finished speaking, and I would like to ask Your Majesty to make a ruling!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Yiqing touched his forehead to the ground and said no more.
However, he has said everything that should be said and what should not be said.
When he finished saying this, the whole hall was silent.
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he suddenly laughed inexplicably.
"funny!"
"How funny!"
"A corrupt official who accepts bribes actually calls me a lone man and a thief in public in this hall!"
"This is what you have been reading about sages and saints all your life. This is the important minister who has been entrusted with important responsibilities by the country and the court. Have you read into the belly of a dog?"
Facing His Majesty the Emperor's fierce scolding, the ministers did not dare to have the slightest objection. Instead, they scolded Wu Tinghuan half to death in their hearts!
What a damn fool!
Why don't you just crash to death?
And this Yang Yiqing!
He's also a complete lunatic!
Your Majesty asked you to say it, just say it?
Can't you take a look at the current situation?
It's okay now, His Majesty is completely angry, let's all wait to die together!
"check!"
"All the officials of Taipu Temple, including the officials at the Shepherd Ranch!"
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate immediately dispatched to find out all these corrupt officials for me. No matter who is involved, no matter what powerful people are standing behind them, those above the fifth rank will be detained and returned to Beijing, and those below the fifth rank will be sent to local jails. All the officials who committed the crime will be sentenced to life. No pardon, severe punishment!”
Severe punishment!
There will be no pardon for life!
And a comprehensive inventory is required!
This time, everyone saw the resolute attitude of His Majesty the Emperor!
After all, His Majesty the Emperor would not be so angry if it was just because of Ma Zheng. However, because of this damned Wu Tinghuan, I don’t know how many officials will be implicated!
Tang Hao was always watching with cold eyes. This great drama started by him ended with the downfall of all Taipu Temple officials.
Next, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Personnel will be the two busiest agencies.
One has to be busy chasing down these corrupt officials, but this is a great good thing for them, because the Metropolitan Procuratorate has its own anti-corruption system. As long as a corrupt official with solid evidence of crime is uncovered, they can Get a bonus.
Therefore, this collective collapse of Taipusi Huan officials was actually a bloody feast for the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, enough for them to make a lot of money from it reasonably and legally.
But for the officials, this incident was simply a disaster.
There must be thousands of officials in the entire Taipu Temple, from the ministers of Taipu Temple to the small officials in the pasture. Apart from those officials, the Ministry of Personnel will also screen out hundreds of officials to fill these gaps this time. This does not include those officials who may be implicated in the case and imprisoned, and there may even be as many as thousands!
Because as soon as His Majesty the Emperor left, Wang Hao, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Zhang Fuhua, the General Secretary of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, left in a hurry. They would enter a long and busy time.
But Yang Yiqing, who spoke uprightly today, received a lot of unkind looks.
Yang Yiqing didn't care about this at all. He walked and sat upright, and everything he did was for the sake of having a clear conscience.
Yang Tinghe walked to Yang Yiqing and couldn't help but remind him in a low voice: "Da Sima, if you act like this, I'm afraid you will attract too much criticism!"
"It doesn't matter!" Yang Yiqing sneered: "I didn't want to be the Minister of the Ministry of War from the beginning. If they are really capable, they can drive me out of the court and go to the border to be a governor again. I would like to thank them! "
Hearing this, Yang Tinghe immediately smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He finally understood that this person was just like the stone in the latrine - smelly and hard!
After what happened today, Yang Yiqing acted too radically. Those civil officials and gentry will definitely be restless. Next, they will try every means to exclude Yang Yiqing from the court. However, he doesn't care about the position of the Minister of War at all. Doing so will only satisfy his wishes.
So, no matter what, the civil officials and gentry seem to have no way to deal with this person!
Yang Yiqing walked away with his head held high, ignoring those malicious eyes.
But when he passed by Tang Hao, he cursed clearly and clearly.
"Zhongshan Hou, you despicable and shameless dog thief!"
Tang Hao: "???"
What the hell?
Who did you learn this from?
"Why did the Grand Marshal say that?"
Tang Hao scratched his head in confusion.
"After what happened today, the reputation of Grand Marshal Gangzheng will spread all over the world, so you don't need to thank me!"
"Well, I am ready to thank you. I will go back and make your unsightly manuscripts public, so that you, the Marquis of Zhongshan, can also experience this taste!" Yang Yiqing sneered, with a happy smile on his face.
This time, Tang Hao was really panicked.
"Grand Marshal, give me some face!"
"You bastard!"
"..."