Chapter 322 The Emperor's Common Problem
Rulan said that it was her own idea, but Zhao Xing didn't believe it at all.
However, Zhao Xing was not averse to his woman's little tricks.
They tried some tricks to please him, but Zhao Xing didn't care. He was the one who enjoyed it anyway.
As long as they don't try to harm each other and just do some small things, it's fine.
Rulan came back to her senses and felt Zhao Xing's hand playing tricks on her chest. She buried her head in Zhao Xing's arms in shame.
Although she had been serving Zhao Xing together with Minglan since she entered the palace, she had also served with Yu Yanran, Shulan and others.
But that was all on the bed, and even if there were maids serving in the room, at least there was a curtain between them.
But at this time, there was not only Shulan in the hall, but also their respective maids.
"You're shy already. Later..." Zhao Xing leaned close to Rulan's ear and whispered a few words.
"Ah."
Rulan's ears turned red when she heard this, but she still nodded.
"Get up and help me bathe." Zhao Xing said, retracting his hand.
Rulan got down from Zhao Xing's arms and hurriedly straightened her messy clothes.
…………
"We have to change the time of the morning court later."
Zhao Xing yawned, glanced at the dimly-lit night sky, and pondered.
It's nonsense that an emperor has to get up earlier than a chicken.
However, changing the time of the morning court session is not that easy.
Since ancient times, court sessions have always been held at an early hour, as if only in this way could the emperor's diligence be shown.
While daydreaming, I came to the back hall of the Daqing Hall.
After the eunuch brought him breakfast, Zhao Xing ate some. When he learned that all the officials had entered the palace, he went to court.
"His Majesty has arrived!" the eunuch in charge of the palace shouted.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects to you!" All the officials bowed.
"Stand up!" Zhao Xing came and sat on the dragon throne, waving his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After all the officials thanked him, the eunuchs in charge of the palace sang along: "If you have anything to say, please report it as soon as possible!"
The morning court officially began.
First, several officials reported some trivial matters, which made Zhao Xing sleepy.
Zhao Xing looked at Yan Kuan. This tool man seemed a little dishonest. He hasn't come out yet. What is he waiting for?
As if he had sensed Zhao Xing's evil intentions, Yan Kuan stepped out of the queue, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"
"Okay!" Zhao Xing sat up straight and became more energetic.
"Your Majesty asked me, the Minister of the Supreme Court, and the Chief Censor to jointly investigate the Minister of Personnel Peng Qingzhong and the ministers who received the Liao envoys. Now the investigation has been completed."
"I have not found any evidence that Minister Peng and the ministers who received the Liao envoys defected to the Liao Kingdom," Yan Kuan said.
"Where did Peng Qingzhong get the money to buy the land and shops?" Zhao Xing frowned.
"Your Majesty, I have conducted a careful investigation and found that during his tenure as an official, the Minister of Personnel Peng Qingzhong used various means to embezzle and accept bribes, totaling hundreds of thousands of taels. The specific number still needs to be verified! In addition, several other ministers were also found to have embezzled and accepted bribes during the investigation, and the amounts were not small," said Yan Kuan.
"boom!"
Zhao Xing pretended to be furious and patted the armrest of the dragon throne. He said with an unpleasant face: "The court salary is much higher than any other dynasty. The reason why Emperor Taizu set such a high salary is that he wanted to maintain integrity with high salaries! These officials actually dared to embezzle. It's really hateful!"
Upon hearing this, all the officials in the hall bowed and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, calm down!"
"Calm down? How can you ask me to calm down? My Lord, tell me, in all the dynasties, has there ever been a dynasty with a higher salary than the Song Dynasty?"
"Your Majesty, throughout history, no dynasty has had higher official salaries than the Song Dynasty. The salaries are not even half of those of officials of the same level," Han Zhang bowed.
"Is the salary enough for officials to support their families?" "More than enough!"
"Since it is more than enough, it means that these people are corrupt and accept bribes for no other reason than greed!"
Zhao Xing said angrily: "Yan Kuan, you are the Minister of Justice, tell me how to deal with these people according to the law!"
"Your Majesty, according to the law, all of them should be executed and their families should be confiscated by the Music Bureau!" Yan Kuan said.
Abandoning the city is a type of beheading. In TV dramas, beheadings are often seen taking place at Caishikou.
In fact, most beheadings are not carried out in public. Only those with extremely heinous crimes will be beheaded in public, also known as abandoning one's head in public.
Everyone knows that Zhu Yuanzhang was cruel to corrupt officials. Skinning and pulling out tendons was not a big deal. He also had the executed officials buried underground at the gate of the government office, allowing officials to walk in and out and trample on them. This was both a humiliation and a deterrent.
However, Emperor Taizu also used harsh methods to deal with corrupt officials. Although not as extreme as Zhu Yuanzhang, he would directly choose to execute officials by throwing them into the market.
When all the civil and military officials in the court heard Yan Kuan's words, their heads buzzed.
There were no telling how many people were watching the three-court trial, and they all knew what Yan Kuan had found out.
Therefore, no one pleaded for Peng Qingzhong and others. After all, the evidence was already conclusive and there was no way to plead for them.
They thought Yan Kuan would say that those people should be exiled to the frontier, but they didn't expect Yan Kuan to actually say that they should be executed.
"His Majesty!"
Hu Zhongyan stepped out of the group and bowed, saying, "I think what Minister Yan said is too much. Although Minister Peng and his men are guilty, their crimes do not warrant death. They can be exiled to the frontier."
"Yes, Your Majesty, God is merciful and kind, and must not impose such harsh laws."
For a time, most of the officials in the court stood up to oppose it, and many officials even criticized Yan Kuan and asked Zhao Xing to dismiss Yan Kuan.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly and shouted, "Silence!"
Only then did all the officials gradually quiet down.
"It's so disgraceful to have such a commotion in the main hall. What do you think this place is?"
"We are guilty, Your Majesty, please calm down!" Everyone bowed and apologized quickly.
"Considering that these are first-time offenders, anyone who has just spoken out will be fined half a year's salary as a warning to others!" Zhao Xing said calmly.
Although the officials were heartbroken when they heard this, they did not dare to refute.
Zhao Xing looked at Yan Kuan and said, "My dear Yan, all the officials in the court oppose your words, which shows that what you said is very inappropriate. What do you have to say?"
"Your Majesty, what I said is based on the laws of the Song Dynasty. I have carefully studied the "Song Dynasty Criminal Code", "The Edict Against Corruption" and "The Law on Beggars in Granaries". According to the crimes committed by several ministers, such punishment is already light." Yan Kuan said.
Zhao Xing looked at Han Zhang and asked, "I don't know much about the law, but I heard that you know a lot about it. Tell me, is what Minister Yan said true or false?"
"Your Majesty, what Minister Yan said is true!" Han Zhang bowed.
Zhao Xing nodded upon hearing this, and looked around at everyone, saying, "It seems that you, my dear ministers, are just like me, and don't know much about the laws of the Song Dynasty. Sanshui, after the court session, give each of the court officials a copy of the laws of the Song Dynasty."
"Yes!" Sanshui replied.
"Since there is a law to follow, let's do as Lord Yan says!" Zhao Xing said calmly.
"Your Majesty, no!"
A sixty-year-old minister stepped out and said, "Since our ancestors, we have never lightly killed our subjects. How can we destroy such a great virtue so easily?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, Emperor Taizu once said that scholars and officials should not be killed. How can Your Majesty go against Taizu's words?" Hu Zhongyan said.
"Minister Hu, are you deceiving me by not knowing what our ancestors said? Taizu said that officials who speak out should not be killed, so how come you said that scholars and officials should not be killed?"
Zhao Xing looked at Yan Kuan and said, "What is the difference between misinterpreting Taizu's words and falsely conveying the imperial edict? My dear Yan, what is the crime of falsely conveying the imperial edict?"
The founding emperors of every dynasty had a common problem.
Thinking that their dynasty would last for thousands of years and fearing that future emperors would not live up to their expectations, they would set up many rules and regulations to regulate future emperors.
(End of this chapter)