Chapter 136 Zhu Yuanzhang’s decisiveness will never fade away because of favors.

In the Kunning Palace, Liu Jizu, Marquis of Yihui, who had already rushed to the capital, was now kneeling at the gate of the Kunning Palace.

There was heavy snow all over the sky, but there was not even a eunuch holding an umbrella.

Poor Liu Jizu, he was old and frail, kneeling in the snow and shivering.

It’s just that there must be something hateful about every pitiful person.

Zhu Yuanzhang in the inner hall listened to Wang Jinghong's report with a cold look in his eyes.

If a person comes to the capital to beg for mercy, then as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, should he do it or not?
A dignified Marquis En, but he does not know how to restrain his descendants, but instead helps the tyrant to commit atrocities and harms the people. Isn't this hateful?

That's it? He can still lick his ass and beg for mercy for his son?

"Your Majesty, Marquis En sent someone to Prime Minister Hu's residence and delivered 50,000 strings of precious coins, hoping to calm Prime Minister Hu's anger."

"But Prime Minister Hu will have all these 50,000 strings of cash handed over to the Imperial Guards to present to His Majesty."

Wang Jinghong's voice still rang out.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression remained unmoved. Instead, he sneered and said, "Liu Jizu is indeed from a wealthy landlord family. He gave out 50,000 strings of banknotes as he said. He really doesn't feel bad at all."

There was a lot of sarcasm in the words.

The imperial court cracked down vigorously on corrupt officials and was merciless towards the gentry and powerful.

Liu Jizu showed up again at this time. No matter which move he made, it was wrong to the end, and he had no remorse at all.

After all, if Liu Jizu came to apologize today, Zhu Yuanzhang would not blame Liu Jizu for his kindness and would only execute the main culprit.

But as soon as Liu Jizu arrived, he knelt at the gate of Kunning Palace, pretending to be pitiful and pleading for his son.

However, it is not Zhu Yuanzhang's fault that he never mentioned a word about his own favoritism, fraud, corruption and abuse of power.

Besides, face has been given and kindness has been shown, so let’s leave the rest to fate.

"Go out and tell Yihuibo that I have been feeling unwell recently, and I am now leaving the country to the Crown Prince. If he has any questions, just go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"We can't make decisions for him, nor can we absolve him of his guilt."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head again and said softly.

Although the words did not explicitly punish Liu Jizu.

But this call of Yi Huibo has already made the problem clear.

That is, from today onwards, apart from the Marquis of Merit, there will be no more Marquis of En in the Ming Dynasty.

From then on, Liu Jizu, Marquis of Yihui, was demoted to Earl of Yihui.

This also represents Zhu Yuanzhang's firm attitude. He was unwilling to see Liu Jizu and asked him to go back and wait for his decision.

As for actually going to meet Zhu Biao, one can only say that he is seeking death.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang could still remember the sentiments of his ancestors, but when it came to the hands of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, there was no such sentiment.

"According to the order."

Wang Jinghong had followed Zhu Yuanzhang for many years, so how could he not understand what Zhu Yuanzhang meant? Moreover, he was a smart man, so he walked out of Kunning Palace directly and came to Liu Jizu in the heavy snow.

"General Manager Wang, is His Majesty willing to see this old minister?"

Seeing Wang Jinghong coming out, Liu Jizu's eyes suddenly showed a glimmer of hope.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang is willing to meet him, there is still room for maneuver in this matter.

Otherwise, there is really no way to save the situation.

"Lord Yihui, it's cold and snowy in this cold month, please don't kneel here."

"The emperor loves you, don't hurt yourself because of an unfilial son."

"But the emperor has been feeling unwell recently, so it is inconvenient for him to see guests. In addition, all important tasks of the country are supervised by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"If you have any grievances, just go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Emperor will not ask."

Wang Jinghong stretched out his hand and helped Liu Jizu up, then said with a smile.

The implicit meaning of this statement is exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang meant.

At the beginning, he was named Yihuibo, which meant that Liu Jizu was stripped of his title of marquis.

The so-called heartache and unfilial sons mean that the court will still handle the case according to the law and will never be partial or corrupt.

I was also telling Liu Jizu that there was still some affection between us, and he should not let it fade away.

At the same time, a piece of information was revealed, that is, the relationship between us is not the same as the relationship between us and the prince.

But now the crown prince is the regent, and we can't go back on our word. So don't go to crown prince Zhu Biao. If he is willing to let your unfilial son go, demotion will be the greatest punishment the court can give you.

"Yihuibo."

As soon as these three words rang out, Liu Jizu's face suddenly became three shades paler than the snow in the sky.

This has been made very clear. After all, Liu Jizu is not stupid, and he comes from a powerful family. If he were really stupid, he would not be able to keep such a huge family business.

So Liu Jizu certainly understood what Zhu Yuanzhang meant, and also understood that there was no room for maneuver in this matter.

Even if he leaves now, he is still an earl in the court and can continue to maintain his loyalty.

But if Liu Jizu insisted on doing so, Zhu Yuanzhang would not care about this little bit of affection.

After all, in order to gain the world, Zhu Yuanzhang had the ability to weigh the pros and cons and to kill people decisively.

And think about it, could Zhu Yuanzhang, who could shout that generals could be dismissed but the empire could not be destroyed, really be a good person?
So, can Liu Jizu's kindness really be used to morally blackmail Zhu Yuanzhang?

"Uncle."

Wang Jinghong spoke softly again.

"Old minister, please retire."

Liu Jizu finally came to his senses, but he still nodded with a blank look in his eyes, and then walked out of Kunning Palace.

He didn't even express his gratitude, which immediately made Wang Jinghong's eyes flash with contempt.

You can't even grasp such a tremendous favor. Liu Jizu is destined to be a landlord in this life.

Moreover, he doesn't even understand the current situation. Even as a subject, he dares to be so disrespectful to the grace of God. He deserves it.

After all, a new emperor appoints new ministers. If you can save your life today, is it possible to survive tomorrow?
What this means is that if Zhu Yuanzhang could let Liu Jizu go, could Zhu Biao let Liu Jizu go later?
"Your Majesty, Lord Yihui has left."

Wang Jinghong shook his head and returned to Kunning Palace, reporting to Zhu Yuanzhang: "But Earl Yihui did not thank you and left directly."

It was naturally impossible for Wang Jinghong to hide anything from Zhu Yuanzhang, and this was in line with the relationship between a ruler and his subjects.

Even if it is you, Liu Jizu, who wants your son to die, or the imperial court who wants him to die, as a subject you still have to thank God for his great grace.

But Liu Jizu didn't care at all. He was already wrong according to etiquette.

"deliver an imperial order."

"Liu Jizu, the Marquis of Yihui, despised the great grace of heaven and did not think of being loyal to the country. However, considering his kindness to the country, he was demoted to the rank of Earl of Yihui with an annual salary of 200 dan." "Also, the law that his son Liu Qi committed, multiple crimes were punished together, those who were wronged were redressed, and those who were vengeful were avenged. The Imperial Censorate was ordered to go to Fengyang for an investigation."

"If the Yihui Marquis's mansion really wants to atone for his sins, the Yihui Marquis' eldest son Liu Ying will be ordered to wear mourning clothes and mourn for him. For one person who dies, the period is three years."

"From here on, there is no upper limit. As for compensation for the families of the deceased, Yihui Bo can come up with 50,000 strings of treasure notes, so he is naturally very wealthy and does not lack this little silver."

"All the families of the victims, every household, every person who has been bullied or insulted, shall be compensated with 50,000 strings of precious coins."

"Also, we need to retrieve his hereditary certificate. The relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Liu family started with him and will end with him."

"The imperial edict should be written like this. Tell the Censorate and Liu Jizu exactly what I want to say. The laws of the Ming Dynasty must not be violated by anyone."

"Even if you are a benefactor, the glory and grace given by the Ming Dynasty are more than enough to repay you. You cannot blame others."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face remained calm, without any anger. Instead, he said softly, "Then make this imperial edict and the guilt of Liu Jizu's son known to the world. Our Ming Dynasty will not be ungrateful, but we will not tolerate Sha Shuo either."

"According to the order."

Wang Jinghong bowed again, left Kunning Palace and went to the Censorate to convey the imperial edict.

In this case, first the Jinyi satellites broke into Fengyang at night and arrested people for interrogation, and now the Censorate has intervened. It goes without saying that all the crimes of Liu Jizu's family will be exposed one by one.

The compensation alone would be enough to bankrupt Liu Jizu.

After all, this decree is for a comprehensive investigation. Liu Jizu has been entrenched in Fengyang for so many years, how could his background be clean?

In addition, Liu Jizu's eldest son had to mourn for the people for three years. According to reports from spies, even if Liu Qi did not do it personally, more than a dozen people died because of him.

Moreover, they were all women, and they were all forced by Liu Jizu, thus losing their innocence. Unable to bear the rumors, they chose to commit suicide.

This is equivalent to more than 40 years, but Liu Ying has entered his prime and has been in mourning for more than 40 years. I am afraid that his son will have to take over his burden.

"This Liu Qi really deserves to die, and he can't be allowed to die so easily."

After Wang Jinghong left Kunning Palace, a gloomy look flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's face again.

"Chun Tao, go to the imperial study and tell the Crown Prince and Prince Jin not to let Liu Qi die too easily."

"More than a dozen young women died because of him, so how could he just die and get away with it?"

"After he confesses to all his crimes, we will take him back to Fengyang and execute him in front of the people of Fengyang and the people he has harmed, one by one, by cutting him into pieces."

Zhu Yuanzhang's brutality was always directed at this group of bastards. Since their crimes could not be redeemed by death, he would just torture them to death and cut them into pieces to make the people happy.

The people of Fengyang must also understand that Zhu Yuanzhang will never be partial or corrupt. Even if he is the son of a noble, he must die, and even if he dies, he will not die so easily.

"According to the order."

After Chun Tao bowed, she left Kunning Palace.

Chuntao was also one of Empress Ma's trusted maids. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang never hid anything from Empress Ma, so she knew the ins and outs of the matter very well.

As for Liu Qi, she hated him to the core. Chun Tao would not think it was too cruel to cut him into pieces or to execute him by slow slicing. Instead, she would feel it was extremely satisfying.

Because Chuntao was also from Fengyang, it was natural that she could not have any mercy on this evil bastard.

"They have done us a favor. Dealing with them this way is like giving them a chance to survive. We won't blame them."

Others did not understand Zhu Yuanzhang, but how could Empress Ma not understand him? She slowly came to Zhu Yuanzhang's side, took Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, and comforted him softly.

The calmer and more indifferent Zhu Yuanzhang appeared, the angrier he was inside.

So Queen Ma naturally had to comfort her husband.

"We have repeatedly warned them not to act recklessly, but they just won't listen. They continue to do as they please, totally disregarding the court's laws and regulations."

"Didn't we give enough?"

"Compared to these officials in the court, they hold multiple positions and their accumulated salaries are extremely high."

"Then we are sorry to the court officials, but we are not sorry to these old brothers."

"But they are all giving us problems. We finally found that the group of people who were contented, this Enhou from our Zhu family, has come forward again."

In response to Empress Ma's comfort, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed softly again, but his eyes were full of indignation.

"You can't be too impatient."

"Just like your old brothers, aren't they keeping to themselves now?"

"He was completely subdued by our two sons and has kept a low profile in the court."

"As for Liu Jizu, his favor has been exhausted. What the court has given him is more than enough to repay his parents for their kindness. The court does not owe him anything."

"Whether he has a way to survive or not depends on his own luck."

"You don't have to worry too much. After all, we will all grow old and die."

"Even if you don't punish them severely, will Biaoer forgive them when he ascends the throne in the future?"

"Don't forget, the two sons in the Zhu family who look most like you are our eldest son and our third son."

"Moreover, they started from a higher level than you, so they can only be more ruthless than you, but they also value friendship and loyalty. They have done their utmost to be kind to these uncles."

"Are we really going to leave a mess for them to clean up?"

Empress Ma continued to comfort Zhu Yuanzhang in a soft voice.

"That's right. The thing I'm most proud of in my life is not that I conquered the world as a commoner."

"On the contrary, the two good sons you gave birth to us, as well as our second and fourth sons, have also grown up."

"Also, the affection between the brothers is beyond all previous dynasties. Just for this reason, my life is worth it."

"Brothers are friendly and respectful to each other, and they are devoted to their country and their family. Sister, our son is so good and filial. He always considers our feelings."

"How could we not understand?"

"The reason why they didn't punish Liu Jizu severely is because of me, so how can I make things difficult for them?"

"And since we are going to delegate power, let's delegate it completely and let them do whatever they want. If it doesn't work, we can just act like an emperor and keep things under control for them."

A smile also appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, and he took Empress Ma into his arms.

"Aren't you afraid that your imperial edicts won't be heard outside Kunning Palace in the future?"

Empress Ma leaned in Zhu Yuanzhang's arms, but a teasing smile appeared on her face.

"Will not."

"In this life, my thoughts may be a little extreme, but there is one thing I am not wrong about."

"That depends on the person, especially our son, so we can rest assured. Otherwise, how can we give the important task of supervising the country to Biao'er and put the third son in the position of assisting the country?"

"After all, we have never thought of using the third child as a whetstone for the eldest child."

"And if I don't know how to judge people, how can I marry a virtuous wife, how can I conquer the world?"

A hint of pride flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes again.

(End of this chapter)