Chapter 131: The Empty Seal Case, one of the four major cases in Hongwu, begins to show signs of clues.

"From a first-rank minister of government, our old man is really generous."

"In this way, the situation in the court will be reversed in an instant, and Hu Weiyong will have to treat Uncle Li with caution."

After the banquet, the three brothers left Kunning Palace. In the carriage, Zhu Biao spoke softly again.

"Just be content. Uncle Li is able to serve as an official, so he must be assisting you in governing the country."

"And now the old man has lost his power and is like an old farmer, wandering around the harem all day long."

"Power is either in your hands or in mine. If it were in other dynasties, our old man would have been sidelined."

"But the old man still doesn't care, allowing us to play power games and add fuel to the fire, as for Uncle Li's grace."

"Uncle Li also needs to understand that it was the old man's idea to add a first-rank assistant minister."

"But we also need to clearly distinguish who we are working for."

"Besides, Uncle Li is the Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, one of your teachers. There will be no problem for him to assist you wholeheartedly."

"Moreover, Li Qi is also a promising talent. In the future, he can not only inherit Uncle Li's title, but also become a pillar of the country."

"All the Korean officials will be at your disposal, so be content."

Zhu Gang said softly while flipping through the book.

“So what kind of power should be given?”

"If he is merely a regent, I'm afraid it would be a waste of his talent."

Zhu Biao thought it made sense, so he nodded, but at the same time a hint of distress arose in his heart.

"Power is not something that can be grasped, but also something that cannot be grasped."

"Uncle Li's regent is an official position that can be big or small."

"When you are useful, you will have great power in the court, bear all the storms for you, and maintain the balance of the court."

"When it's useless, Uncle Li will understand and just go along with it and serve the country wholeheartedly."

Zhu Gang shook his head again.

The power of the regent is not real power.

It also represents a symbol of identity and status.

It represents the absoluteness of its right to speak.

It also assists the imperial power.

This is what a good regent minister is, and this is the role of Li Shanchang.

At the same time, it can also check and balance Hu Weiyong in the Secretariat to reassure him.

After all, the imperial court did not take any action and wholeheartedly supported Hu Weiyong, which was really fishy.

Therefore, the necessary actions are essential.

At this time, the person in the court who could most easily restrain Hu Weiyong was the current Duke of Korea, Li Shanchang.

This was also a contest between civil officials, and how could the little fox Hu Weiyong possibly defeat the old fox Li Shanchang?
"Right."

"At the same time, we must also make some arrangements for East Zhejiang. Otherwise, the resistance will be too intense, and I'm afraid Hu Weiyong alone won't be able to control the situation."

Zhu Biao also nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes."

"At the same time, you can transfer your eldest cousin to eastern Zhejiang to assist Hu Weiyong in implementing the land tax system in eastern Zhejiang."

"After all, my cousin has also been in eastern Zhejiang for a few years, and he has also demonstrated his ruthless and benevolent way of governing the people."

Zhu Gang put down the book in his hand and laughed softly.

Li Wenzhong, a former provincial governor.

He once served as the left chancellor of Zhejiang Province, responsible for the military affairs of Yanqu and Xinchu states.

Therefore, with this person helping Hu Weiyong, and since he is also a family member, the land tax can be implemented more quickly.

As long as the land-based tax system in eastern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu was resolved, and officials and gentry paid taxes together, and the system was promoted and implemented throughout the country, there would be no need for Hu Weiyong anymore.

Then we can reach out and deal with the problem of Hu Weiyong and his cronies, and thus clean up the court.

"Transferring my eldest cousin to eastern Zhejiang will indeed help implement the equalization of land tax rates more quickly, so that officials and gentry can pay taxes together."

"But have you ever thought about who will be in charge of the Grand Military Governor's Office and the Imperial College if your eldest cousin is transferred away from the capital?"

Zhu Biao nodded first, but then shook his head.

It was indeed a good idea to transfer Li Wenzhong to eastern Zhejiang.

But Li Wenzhong also held an important position in the court. His identity was not only Duke of Cao, but also the unofficial head of the Grand Marshal's Office.

After all, he is a relative of the royal family and the legitimate son of Princess Zhu Funu of Cao State.

With Zhu Yuanzhang's reliance on him, the Imperial College was also under the control of Li Wenzhong, so by transferring Li Wenzhong to eastern Zhejiang, the situation in the court would be reshuffled.

Therefore, Li Wenzhong must not be moved rashly, at least until a candidate is found, Li Wenzhong must not be transferred to eastern Zhejiang.

“Rebuild it.”

Zhu Gang thought about it before turning to look at Zhu Biao.

"Renovation?"

Zhu Biao was slightly stunned, and then blurted out: "Rebuild the Grand Military Governor's Office, or the Imperial College?"

"It's not the right time to rebuild the Imperial College yet. As for the selection of personnel, let me take the responsibility."

"I can take charge of the affairs of the Imperial College. After all, I want to do something in the Imperial College."

“As for the Grand Military Governor’s Office, it will be rebuilt into the Five Military Governor’s Office.”

Zhu Gang pondered for a moment before looking at Zhu Biao and said.

"Five Military Commandery?"

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Gang in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"

“Strengthen centralization of power and prevent excessive concentration of military power.”

"So the Grand Military Governor's Office was changed to the Five Military Governor's Office."

"That is, it is divided into five parts, namely the Central Army Commandery, the Left Army Commandery, the Right Army Commandery, the Front Army Commandery, and the Rear Army Commandery."

“Thus, the power is divided one by one, and the five parties work together. In this way, the army can fight effectively, and at the same time, power can be dispersed and the imperial power can be strengthened.”

Zhu Gang thought about it and spoke softly again.

The change of the Grand Marshal's Office into the Five Military Marshal's Office was originally a national policy proposed by Zhu Yuanzhang in the 13th year of Hongwu, which was used to strengthen the imperial power.

But there are also drawbacks, and what Zhu Gang has to do is to solve these drawbacks.

After all, although power is too dispersed to prevent generals from becoming autocratic, it may also complicate the military decision-making process and reduce response speed and execution efficiency.

At the same time, it conflicts with the powers of the Ministry of War. The former holds the power to command troops, while the latter holds the power to mobilize troops. Although this setting can restrain each other, it often leads to overlapping and conflicting powers, affecting the unified command of military operations.

There was also the decline of the hereditary military system, which was the military hereditary system of the garrisons associated with the Five Military Commanderies, and especially the hereditary military system (a system in which soldiers and their families served for generations).

Moreover, as time went on, due to land annexation, reduced treatment and other reasons, soldiers deserted and their combat effectiveness weakened.

Therefore, these drawbacks had to be eliminated one by one, but the biggest problem was still Zhu Yuanzhang's household registration system.

All the painstaking planning in the early stages was aimed at reforming the household registration system and eliminating these disturbing factors one by one at their root.

"good idea."

"In this way, power was divided and the imperial power was strengthened."

"It will not lead to a power transition and a life-and-death struggle within the party just because someone suddenly resigns."

After hearing what Zhu Gang meant, Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Who should be in charge of the Five Military Commandery?"

After a pause, Zhu Biao asked again.

"It's just like the Secretariat and the Grand Military Governor's Office. Each office has a left and right military governor who are responsible for commanding military affairs. They are the highest officials of each office." "Because the Five Military Governor's Office can only be controlled by the emperor, not the ministers."

Zhu Gang naturally already had a detailed plan, so he just spoke softly.

"Each person performs his duties, and only then can the imperial power be strengthened."

"I understand."

Zhu Biao also nodded thoughtfully.

So who should be the next left and right governors?

There was no need to ask this question at all, as Zhu Biao already had a candidate in mind.

"Then why do you want the Imperial College?"

After solving the problem of Datong Governor's Office, Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Gang curiously and asked.

"This is a place that scholars all over the world yearn for, so we can't rush to rebuild it, we can only do it slowly."

"Then I will take the lead and start reforming the Imperial College."

Zhu Gang did not hide it either.

"Also, do you think our uncles can really behave themselves?"

After thinking for a while, Zhu Gang asked Zhu Biao again.

"After all, I come from a humble background. Even if I can suppress my impulses, I will still be taken advantage of by others."

"So sometimes I feel a headache. After all, it's a trap set by someone, but if I don't deal with it, it's against the law of the country."

Hearing this, Zhu Biao let out a long sigh.

The Huaixi nobles only care about food and not about punishment. They may be able to live in peace for a few years, but after a few years, they will pop up again.

There is no need to think about this, after all, this is what they did when they followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world.

Otherwise, why do you think Zhu Yuanzhang kept a notebook?
"The reason is that they have never been educated and have been fighting all their lives. They only have morality in their hearts, but no courtesy or righteousness."

"How can I restrain myself?"

"This is also the shortcoming of coming from a poor background and gaining the world."

"After all, if you want to rely on these people to govern the country, then no matter how good they are at fighting, when they die, the country will still perish."

Zhu Gang also nodded slightly.

"So they are supported by high-ranking officials and generous salaries, and can be used when fighting for the country."

Zhu Biao did shake his head helplessly.

To put it bluntly, they can recognize words, but their cultural literacy is not high, and they still believe in fighting and killing and the code of conduct.

Therefore, they would never put themselves in the shoes of the country and think that as long as these old brothers were around, the Ming Dynasty would still be the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, they lived in poverty in the first half of their lives, and now that they can finally enjoy a peaceful life, they naturally want to be extravagant.

This is why the later Huaixi nobles made many mistakes, and each one was more outrageous than the last.

Ultimately, no one taught them.

"So, this is why I will use young generals to conquer U-Tsang."

"Firstly, we can allow these young generals to grow one by one and eventually become the backbone of the empire."

"Secondly, we should keep these arrogant and brave generals in the capital and give these uncles a good training."

"Otherwise, even if you can achieve great military exploits, you will still cause a lot of trouble."

"Especially according to the investigation of the Royal Guards, there are still some uncles like us who are drawing salaries without doing anything."

"But according to the investigation, the empty salaries they took were not all for themselves, but also for the soldiers and generals who died in battle."

"Should we punish him or not?"

"As far as emotions are concerned, they deserve the sacrifices made to the fallen soldiers. This is a brotherhood of life and death."

"If it were me, I would probably do the same."

"But logically, they are being unfair to the country. They have inflated the numbers, which has added a lot of expenses to the national treasury, and the losses are huge."

"It's difficult."

Zhu Gang lay down on the recliner and sighed again.

"This matter has actually been discovered a long time ago, but the third brother has been suppressing it and has not reported it to the old man."

"Because under the eyes and ears of the Jinyiwei, more than 70% of the empty salaries were used to provide pensions to the families of the fallen soldiers."

"Of course you will say that the court gives a lot, but food, clothing, housing and food, and filling your stomach, how can it be that easy?"

Zhu Chong also raised his head and sighed.

"Then there is still 30%?"

A moment of silence passed across Zhu Biao's face, then he raised his head and said.

"Yongjia Hou Zhu Liangzu, Jiangxia Hou Zhou Dexing, and Hu Weiyong."

"They took up 30% of the money, and they pocketed it all. To this day, the amount they have embezzled is shocking."

"And Hu Weiyong is extremely smart. The Jinyiwei only found a clue after much persuasion."

Zhu Chong clenched his fists again and said.

"Three people, one cent each, do you really think the Ming Dynasty's treasury belongs to them?"

Zhu Biao's face darkened and he spoke in a cold voice.

"You are wrong. All the Huaixi nobles have some advantages, but they are just taking advantage and muddling through."

"Hu Weiyong alone accounts for the largest share, and the reason why I have not disclosed this matter until now is because he is still useful."

"Although Jiangxia Hou Zhou Dexing and Yongjia Hou Zhu Liangzu were suspected of taking empty salaries, they were only a small part of Hu Weiyong's account."

"As for why they are put together, it is because they are already tied together."

"Especially Zhou Dexing, who has completely attached himself to Hu Weiyong, is why he was singled out."

Zhu Gang patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder.

"Then what do you mean?"

Zhu Biao turned his head and looked at Zhu Gang again, asking what he meant.

"We should suppress it temporarily. The money will come back soon. Besides, if we arrest Hu Weiyong, we will be able to make up for the loss of the national treasury."

"After all, Hu Wenyong is already a huge corrupt official, and some things have already been confirmed. Once they are found out, he can be convicted directly in the future."

A hint of cruelty flashed in Zhu Gang's eyes.

"Besides the crimes that have been proven before, what other crimes does Hu Weiyong have?"

Zhu Biao felt that he could no longer suppress his anger, so he spoke in a deep voice.

"I'm asking you, local officials need to report their financial accounts to the Ministry of Revenue on a regular basis."

“If the accounts don’t match, do they need to be filled out again?”

Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Biao and pondered.

As he spoke, Zhu Chong, who was standing beside him, took out a memorial from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Biao.

“It does need to be filled out again.”

Zhu Biao took the memorial but did not read it. Instead, he looked at Zhu Gang and said, "It must also be stamped with the official seal of the original place for it to be valid."

"That's right, but because the journey is long, these officials would stamp their official seals on blank documents in advance and bring them to the capital for convenience, so that they can fill in and correct any errors in the accounts at any time."

"If there is no corruption or abuse of power in this, do you believe it?"

Zhu Gang slowly raised his eyes and spoke softly.

(End of this chapter)