Chapter 88 King Jin Zhu Gang, pressing forward step by step!
"Your Majesty, I second this motion."

"Many meritorious officials disregarded the law and occupied the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty. Their crimes must be punished."

"But your majesty, do you remember that in the third year of Hongwu, your majesty conferred titles on meritorious officials and issued red-lettered iron certificates to show their honor and confirm their merits."

After Zhu Gang finished speaking, Zhu Biao turned around and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, bowing slightly.

In response to this, all the ministers had an idea. The iron scroll of immunity from death was issued in the third year of Hongwu.

As long as the crime committed is not treason, they can be spared the death penalty.

In particular, Zhu Yuanzhang personally bestowed two volumes on Li Shanchang, the Duke of Korea, so that he could recite his name and complete his achievement.

But what they asked for was not to be spared from death, but to be forgiven of their sins at their root.

Otherwise, the court would re-investigate the land. Once the land under their names was exposed, it would be determined by Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao that they had disregarded the law and occupied the lifeline of the Ming Dynasty, and they would be punished with death.

Huaixi can be spared, so what should they do?
No matter what, you can't escape the word "death".

But how can I speak now?
The ministers who had once falsely reported the number of acres of land all had bitterness flashing in their eyes.

Faintly, they seemed to have seen the butcher knife from Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Of course I remember."

As for Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting on the dragon throne, he also nodded slightly.

"Then the Iron Scroll of Exemption from Death will exempt the meritorious official from the death penalty."

"But since he cannot escape the punishment alive, he will be fined for three years and ordered to pay back the land tax."

"As for the land inventory, it can be handed over to the Secretariat, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Imperial Guard to jointly supervise it."

"And if anyone dares to conceal the amount of land and fail to report it, the lighter punishment will be exile, and the heavier punishment will be execution!"

After saying this, Zhu Biao showed a gentle smile on his face, and he leaned forward and saluted Zhu Yuanzhang respectfully.

"Your Majesty, I second the motion."

Right Prime Minister Hu Weiyong, Left Prime Minister Wang Guangyang, and Prince of Qin Zhu Chong also bowed and seconded the motion.

"Prince Jin."

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Gang again and called out softly.

"Your Majesty, I second the motion."

In response to this, Zhu Gang thought for a moment before bowing and seconding the motion.

"Who has any objections?"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the civil and military officials below again and asked softly.

"Your Majesty, I second the motion."

The ministers dared not raise any objection, and all bowed their heads in agreement.

The entire court situation has been completely controlled by Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao. Even if one wants to refute, the same question remains: how can one refute?

Isn’t it a capital crime to invade the lifeline of the Ming Dynasty?
The iron scroll of immunity from death cannot save you from death?
These two things are absolutely righteous!

It can preserve the strictness of the Ming Dynasty's laws and also save the lives of the Huaixi nobles. Why wouldn't Zhu Yuanzhang do it?
What's more, they had just pleaded for the Huaixi nobles, so now they stood up to criticize them. Wouldn't that be shooting themselves in the foot?
So it really is the art of reversing fate?

Of course not. How could Jiangnan and East Zhejiang surrender?
The only solution now is to destroy these fields. Although it hurts, I have no choice but to give up these possessions in order to survive.

After all, after the news of the land survey has passed, they can still continue to reclaim land without telling the court, and continue to conceal it and not report it to the court.

"Get up."

Seeing that the court officials had no objection, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand unhappily.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

When the Huaixi nobles heard this, a hint of joy suddenly flashed in their eyes, and they immediately stood up to express their gratitude.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not express forgiveness, who among those present was not a shrewd person?
This is equivalent to the fact that this matter is over and the Huaixi nobles will not have to die.

"If you do it again in the future, there will be no chance of being exempted from death."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted again.

"Your Majesty, rest assured that we will be cautious in our future actions and will never dare to overstep our authority again!"

The Huaixi nobles bowed together again.

And this time, the Huaixi nobles would never dare to commit the same offense again even if they were beaten to death!
After all, the prince hosted a banquet in Jinxiu Pavilion yesterday, and I was scolded in the imperial study early this morning, and there was also this incident just now.

The nobles of Huaixi should understand that if they commit the same mistake again, they would be considered as beasts without moral integrity!
"In this case, the land survey will be supervised by the Secretariat, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Imperial Guards."

"As for where to start the investigation, Jiangnan and East Zhejiang are the important centers of Ming Dynasty finance and taxation, so we should start from Jiangnan and East Zhejiang."

"As for Huaixi, Duke Hanguo is unemployed at home, so let Duke Hanguo investigate and handle it."

"Third brother, after the court session, please go to the Duke of Korea's mansion and greet Duke of Korea on our behalf."

Seeing this, a hint of satisfaction flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, and then he pondered.

"what!"

As soon as these words were spoken, people in eastern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu subconsciously clenched their fists.

Should we start from eastern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu?
Huaixi was only inspected by Li Shanchang himself?

Now, who can not understand what Zhu Yuanzhang meant?
Today's court meeting was not aimed at the Huaixi nobles from beginning to end, but was Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, aiming at Pei Gong.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to use this excuse to thoroughly investigate the land taxes in Jiangnan and eastern Zhejiang, so as to bring the taxes in Jiangnan and eastern Zhejiang completely under the hands of the court.

Moreover, it was they who pushed Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was the one who did the most righteous thing, and they, as his subjects, could only serve as pushers.

But no matter how careful they were, they could not have imagined that this was a carefully planned game within a game.

The first round: Suppress the meritorious officials of Huaixi and make them understand that their great achievements are not a shield for their corruption and abuse of power, and that the reason they are not dead today is because of the iron scroll of immunity from death.

Second Round: Although Huaixi was never severely punished, Huaixi made contributions to the Ming Dynasty both publicly and privately, especially in expelling the Tartars. For this reason alone, people all over the world should remember Huaixi's kindness.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang only needed to write in the public edict that the Tartars would be expelled and a red-lettered iron certificate would be granted to spare their lives, which would be enough to let the people understand the contributions of the Huaixi officials to the world.

In this way, Xun Chen of Huaixi would not have to die, and the strictness of the Ming Dynasty law could be maintained. It would also tell the people of the world that without the red book and iron scroll, nobles who break the law would be punished the same as common people!
Game within a game: This is the key point of this game, to re-investigate the farmland in eastern Zhejiang and southern Zhejiang, and then firmly control eastern Zhejiang and southern Zhejiang.

What a good plan! What a good plan!

With such deep scheming, no wonder you, Zhu Yuanzhang, could become the emperor!
The civil servants who understood the situation all felt a trace of hatred in their hearts, and their hands hidden under their sleeves were trembling slightly.

This time, it is definitely a life-or-death situation for Jiangnan and eastern Zhejiang, so they can only go all out.

"According to the order."

But no matter what the civil officials thought, Zhu Gang still accepted the order and bowed.

"Second brother, after the court session today, you will lead the Jinyiwei to set off. If you encounter any illegal activities, you can act according to your own discretion."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then looked at Zhu Chong and said softly.

"According to the order."

Zhu Chong bowed slightly.

"His Majesty."

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to continue his deployment, the Minister of Revenue, Qie Si, took another step forward, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and bowed.

"Play."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly and waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, the treasury is now empty, and the Ministry of Revenue simply cannot afford to use the extra silver to check the land area."

Qie Si first gave a bitter smile, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said.

As the Minister of Revenue, how could Qie Si not know the situation of the national treasury?
Not to mention the expenses of supporting the land survey, even to maintain the operation of the court, the Ministry of Revenue had to live a tight life.

Moreover, there were still famines in various prefectures and cities in the Ming Dynasty, so the Ministry of Revenue had to allocate funds to help the victims. Where could it come up with such a large sum of money to survey the land?
"Then we can transfer it from our inner treasury."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's brows furrowed even more, but he still said.

"In that case, I second the motion."

In response to this, Wei Si still gave a bitter smile and bowed slightly. Zhu Yuanzhang had already moved out the inner treasury, so what else could Wei Si say? Anyway, as long as it was not an expense for the national treasury, Wei Si would agree with it wholeheartedly.

"Your Majesty, your inner treasury is so important that you cannot move it lightly."

The Minister of Rites Zhang Chou stood behind Qie Si and bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows.

Zhang Chou thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan to avoid excessive expenditure of the national treasury."

"Play."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, you can order each prefecture to first check the status of its own land, and then the court will send a special envoy to review it."

“In this way, we can minimize unnecessary expenses and ensure the rational use of finances to avoid waste and excessive spending.”

Zhang Chou bowed respectfully and spoke solemnly.

"This"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhang Chou and narrowed his eyes. Even Zhu Biao's eyes flashed with an unfriendly look.

Cutting down on treasury expenditures, but you, Zhang Chou, never mentioned corruption.

So what was the real purpose behind this? How could Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao not know?

But the ministers below all had their eyes light up, what a good idea!
After all, no matter how capable Zhu Yuanzhang is or how deep his schemes are, what's the use?

The national treasury has no money, and the inner treasury needs to maintain the expenses of the imperial palace. But once the expenses are too high, won’t the national treasury have to fill the hole?

Therefore, what Zhang Chou said can avoid consumption of both the national treasury and the internal treasury.

Moreover, if everyone conducts a self-inspection, the Jiangnan and Eastern Zhejiang regions would not even have to destroy the farmland, and the matter could be easily covered up. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?
Of course, some benefits still had to be given to Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, if there really were no problems at all, Zhu Yuanzhang would not be willing to do so.

"Who is this Zhang Chou?"

Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Chong beside him and whispered.

"He is from Wuxi, Changzhou. This year he was promoted from Deputy Director to Minister of Rites."

Zhu Chong thought about it and said in a low voice.

"Youthfulang promoted to Shangshu, it's really a quick rise to heaven."

Hearing this, Zhu Gang's mouth curled up with a hint of sarcasm again.

"Zhang Chou, courtesy name Weizhong, was appointed Minister of Rites. His father was Zhang Yi."

"He persuaded Zhang Shicheng's general Mo Tianyou to surrender, and asked Yuzhang Hou Hu Mei not to kill the surrendered generals."

"They are considered a prominent family in Changzhou and Wuxi."

Zhu Chong thought about it again and still spoke in a low voice.

"The Jiangnan gentry, I see."

After saying this, Zhu Gang's sarcasm became even stronger, but he glanced at Zhu Chong and asked, "How did you know that?"

"Nonsense, as the head of the Imperial Guard, I have to personally review all these officials."

Zhu Chong rolled his eyes at Zhu Gang and said, "I just happened to finish reading about Zhang Chou, the Minister of Rites, last night."

"Dutiful."

Zhu Gang quietly gave Zhu Chong a thumbs up.

"Humph."

Zhu Chong snorted lightly, but his eyes were full of pride.

"Your Majesty, the imperial court's land survey is a major plan for the country and the people, and it can also be used to eliminate corruption."

"You can check it yourself. I don't agree with you. After all, if the officials of the prefecture protect each other and deceive the court, how can one official find out the truth?"

"But now the national treasury is empty, and your majesty's inner treasury cannot be touched lightly, so I will pay for this sum of money."

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was frowning in thought, Zhu Gang took another step forward, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, bowed and smiled, "After all, I am not only a minister of the Ming Dynasty, but also your Majesty's legitimate son. For both public and private reasons, I should share your Majesty's worries."

"Your Highness Prince Jin, please be careful with your words."

"The silver needed to survey the land is not a small amount."

Without waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to speak, Zhang Chou looked at Zhu Gang and bowed first.

"Minister Zhang, there is no need to threaten me. My money is cleaner than yours."

In response, Zhu Gang glanced at Zhang Chou coldly again and said.

Isn't the implication of his words that Zhu Gang's money came from an illegal source?

"Your Highness, calm down. This is not what I meant."

"Besides, the salaries of old officials are all paid by the imperial court, so how can they be unclean?"

Zhang Chou's expression changed slightly, but he immediately returned to his original smile.

"Then what do you mean?"

A playful smile appeared on Zhu Gang's lips, and he moved slowly towards Zhang Chou.

"I am just worried that Your Highness will feel burdened."

Feeling the chill coming towards him, Zhang Chou was a little flustered, but this was Fengtian Palace, so he forced himself to calm down and said with a smile: "Delaying the process of land survey is not good for the country."

"That Minister Zhang really works for the country and the people."

Zhu Gang still walked forward with a smile.

"As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, I should consider the country and His Majesty."

Zhang Chou decisively looked at Zhu Yuanzhang who was holding his hands up and bowed humbly.

However, facing Zhu Gang who was still slowly approaching, a sense of panic rose in his heart again.

"Since Minister Zhang has done so much for the country, the people, and Your Majesty, how about I start the investigation from Changzhou and Wuxi?"

Zhu Gang still had a playful look on his face, and he didn't stop walking.

“Changzhou Wuxi.”

Hearing this, Zhang Chou's pupils suddenly shrank, but he still said, "Your Highness, please investigate if you want. I have a clear conscience."

"Then explain to me why the land registered in Changzhou and Wuxi is so different from what we have checked?"

Zhu Gang saw the panic in Zhang Chou's eyes, but he continued walking.

"Your Highness, I have been in Beijing for many years and have not been back to Wuxi for a long time. I don't know about this."

Zhang Chou's eyes were filled with more panic, which he could hardly conceal, so he bowed quickly.

"Why are you panicking?"

At this time, Zhu Gang had already stepped in front of Zhang Chou, leaned over slightly, put his hand on Zhang Chou's shoulder, and said in a calm voice.

The sound was not loud, nor did it have a trace of power, but it could resound throughout the Fengtian Hall, like the faint roar of a dragon, piercing through the clouds and causing every heart present to tremble.

"Your Highness, I am not panicking."

A thin layer of sweat was faintly seeping out of Zhang Chou's forehead.

"Prime Minister Hu, is he panicking?"

Zhu Gang slowly released his hand on Zhang Chou's shoulder and leaned his body slightly to the side.

"Reporting to Your Highness, I'm panicking."

Hu Weiyong said without hesitation.

In response, Zhu Gang nodded slightly and waved to the guard standing at the door.

(End of this chapter)