Chapter 301: Power is beyond words! In the interstellar era, invading the world of immortal cultivation!
Hai Rui naturally didn't care what others thought of him.
He has two standards for doing things, one is the emperor's standard, and the other is the Great Ming Law, now the Great Ming Immortal Law. And this is also his standard for Hai Rui.
Now that the emperor has asked for his opinion, he will deal with it strictly according to his own standards and the law.
"What do you think?" Jiajing nodded slightly, then looked at everyone in the cabinet.
"How can we exile so many officials?" At this time, Zhang Juzheng spoke slowly, shook his head slightly, and said, "In my opinion, we should exile some of the serious ones, demote some of them, deduct their salaries and keep them in office, and then promote some younger ones."
"No matter what, these officials have made some contributions to the development of the Ming Dynasty. We should not be too harsh on them."
Zhang Juzheng saw some things very clearly.
The emperor let Hai Rui speak, which meant that he wanted Hai Rui to increase the punishment to the maximum limit. After all, that's who Hai Rui is.
The purpose of asking these people is to lower the punishment standard to a controllable range.
We can't really fire all those officials, can we?
This is unrealistic, and if it does so, it will also discourage many people. Although the upper echelons don't care, the Immortal Dynasty is the Immortal Dynasty after all, and it must be decent both internally and externally.
Naturally, you should be nicer to your own people.
After hearing what Zhang Juzheng said, the others nodded subconsciously.
In this way, they can also take the opportunity to sort out and optimize the people under their faction. In other words, they can take this opportunity to absorb some fresh blood.
"I agree with what Mr. Zhang said," Gao Gong cupped his hands and said, "Under the rapid development, it is inevitable that many officials will fail to take the overall situation into consideration. It is not strict to condemn them all."
"As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. If we want to judge the crime, it must be from the top down. If we use torture and exile officials on a large scale, it will inevitably make the people suspicious of the court."
As soon as Gao Gong finished speaking, Zhao Zhenji, Wang Chonggu, Yu Dayou and other cabinet members expressed their opinions.
"This makes a lot of sense. Unity is the most important thing at any time. Policies that are not conducive to unity cannot be considered the best strategy, even if the starting point is good." Yan Shifan also spoke.
As everyone in the cabinet spoke up to express their opinions, the six ministries also followed suit.
Afterwards, Hai Rui's high standards were constantly lowered.
"In that case, let's come up with a set of rules," Jiajing said, motioning Hai Rui to sit down, then looked at Yan Song and said:
"Lord Yan, what do you think?"
When his name was called, the old Yan Song, who had always pretended to be drowsy, raised his eyes, raised his hand slowly to salute, and said:
"Why not start with the provincial governors?"
When they heard Yan Song start with them, the hearts of the governors sitting on the periphery were startled.
Many people stared at the back of the old villain Yan Song, and even the officials of Yan's party had resentment in their eyes.
Lord Yan doesn't care about the lives of those under him at all!
"It is understandable that the lower-level officials cannot see the overall situation, but it is unreasonable if a local governor cannot see it either," Yan Song continued in a submissive tone.
"Each provincial government will confiscate fifty years of cultivation rewards, plus one year of immortal salary, and reward them to the officials who have been in charge of the government affairs during the ten years of seclusion for us, as an encouragement."
When they heard that their “year-end bonus” would be confiscated for fifty years, the faces of all the high-ranking officials, including the provincial governors, provincial judges, and provincial governors, froze.
When the cabinet, the six ministers and others heard Yan Song say this, they looked at Yan Song, a hint of understanding flashed in their eyes, and they immediately understood what this old man was planning.
Rewarding the official who has been in charge of the government affairs for ten years, huh, the meaning of this is self-evident.
During these ten years on earth, apart from the Ninth Prince, the people who presided over the government affairs were the younger generations who stayed behind in the cabinet and the six ministries.
This old man Yan Song wanted to deprive all the officials under the six ministries of their salaries and then reward them to his grandson Yan Shaoting.
However, even though everyone saw what Yan Song was thinking, they would not express any opinions. Instead, they agreed with it in their hearts.
After all, during these ten years in the human world, two generations of each of their families did not enter the Qiankun Realm to practice. If we count the fifty years of cultivation reward that originally belonged to them, plus that of all other officials.
Well, this is undoubtedly a huge, huge reward for cultivation.
Some people who are stuck at the realm barrier and are just one step away from a breakthrough may be able to break through directly.
Suddenly, everyone decided that Yan Song’s proposal must be supported!
"Officials at all levels who have any relationship with any family, sect, or immortal cultivation chamber of commerce will be exiled to the outside world and serve in the spiritual energy factory. Officials at all other levels will have their immortal salary confiscated for half a year."
"Those who should be exiled should be exiled, those who should be demoted should be demoted, and those who should be transferred should be transferred."
"Afterwards, the punishment results will be made public to the entire Ming Dynasty to reassure the people." After saying this, Yan Song stood up and bowed slightly.
Jiajing nodded, motioned for Yan Song to take a seat, then looked at the cabinet's deputy minister Xu Jie and said, "Mr. Xu, what do you think?"
"I second the motion." Xu Jie quickly bowed.
At this point, many provincial governors, although unhappy with the punishment, had no choice but to accept it.
At this moment, among the many provincial governors present, the only ones who could still remain calm were Richard and others who had never experienced the reward of cultivation and the sense of pleasure of direct breakthrough.
After all, they were incorporated into the Ming Dynasty in the 100th year of Jiajing, and these fifty years were no different from the previous ones for them.
Even though other provincial governors described the rewards for cultivation as so miraculous and so cool?
But for them, they had never felt it before, so the feeling in their hearts was just that. The confiscation of the reward of fifty years of cultivation was not a big loss for them.
Looking at Richard and others from the Overseas Provincial Administration Office who had no feelings and always maintained their aristocratic tone and gentlemanly demeanor, the old guns of the Ming Dynasty could not help but sigh that ignorance is really bliss!
For them, after having tasted the sweetness of the reward for cultivation, it is really unbearable for them to go through the hardship of cultivation again.
"Well," Jiajing looked around at everyone and said, "In that case, let's do as Lord Yan said."
"This matter will be handed over to the three judicial departments, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel for supervision." After saying this, Jiajing said: "After talking about the problem of 'political famine and people's corruption' in the past fifty years, let's talk about this human age."
Hearing this, the Ninth Prince's heart trembled.
Even though Prince Ning had won a great victory in the battle for the throne among the Nine Dragons and the Hidden Dragon, and still had someone to rely on, he was still very nervous.
"Zhu Zaichun, Zhu Zaize, Zhu Zairun, Zhu Zaiqing, Zhu Zaihong, Zhu Zaixin, Zhu Zaiyu, Zhu Zaizhao and Zhu Zaixi." Every time Jiajing read a name, a prince stood up.
As the nine kings of the various countries stood up, the overseas governors, who had previously had no idea about the rewards for cultivation being confiscated, suddenly became nervous. After all, the battle for the throne of the Nine Dragons took place in their territory.
The other provincial governors just watched the show.
The battlefield of the Nine Dragons' fight for the throne is not on their side. Even though many of them have connections with the kings, the struggles in the court have already had a bottom line. It doesn't matter as long as the bottom line is not broken.
The Cabinet and the six ministries just stood by and watched, not caring at all, and Yan Song had even begun to doze off.
After all, for the elders in the cabinet, or even the high-ranking officials at the level of the six ministers, the battle between the nine dragons and the latent dragons? Haha, it's just a game between the younger generations.
For them, who had experienced several power struggles and reshuffles at the top of the court, and often fought battles that involved the entire Ming Dynasty, these were just minor fights.
A natural condescending attitude in their mentality really made it impossible for them to have any emotional fluctuations about this minor fight.
In their view, the emperor's action was just a father educating his son, and it was the emperor's family affair.
"You two are fighting against each other and have brought shame upon me!" Jiajing began to scold as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Plop, plop, plop..." The moment Jiajing finished speaking, the nine princes fell to their knees one after another.
Even Prince Ning, who had someone to rely on at the moment, broke out in a cold sweat and was extremely frightened.
He knew in his heart that his achievements were nothing in the eyes of his father. With his father now in the Mahayana stage, his cultivation was comparable to that of an immortal, and he could easily cross the star field in his physical body.
It is easy to find many civilizations in the universe.
And to his father, his status could not even be higher than that of his third and fourth brothers, after all, his background was too shallow.
As a member of the royal family, what my father needs is a prince who can govern the country, not a general who can expand the territory!
To put it bluntly, exploring foreign civilizations is something that only a minister should do. The fact that he can accomplish it alone proves his ability, but he is completely blank when it comes to governing a country.
Even, my father can give birth to another batch of princes at any time.
And precisely because he knew clearly that he might be deposed or even executed at any time, Prince Ning, who had always been very clear-headed, now felt only fear when facing his father.
"I know I was wrong, please forgive me, father!" The nine princes prayed together, with their heads on the ground, not daring to breathe.
"For your own selfish desires, you are willing to disrupt the entire Ming Dynasty. You have no bottom line. You are not worthy of being my sons at all!"
"Boom!" Upon hearing this, the kings suddenly panicked.
Looking at the panicked kings, the elders in the cabinet frowned slightly, and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
They knew that the emperor's public rebuke of the prince was actually a silent warning to them, and it was also a message to those who supported the prince that they should not only support him but also advise him!
Otherwise, if you just want to gain the benefits of supporting the prince and want to run away when you see that the situation is not good, it will not be that easy.
At that moment, the eyes of Zhang Juzheng, Zhao Zhenji and Gao Gong quickly gathered in the air for a moment before moving away. Especially Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, their hearts sank unconsciously.
In fact, the two of them had their own plans in mind, but the emperor's warning made them feel heavy-hearted.
They knew that the emperor was warning them that since they had chosen to stand on the side of a certain prince, they should not think of using the prince to achieve their own goals, and then abandon the prince they supported now just like they abandoned Prince Yu in the past. The prince was not someone they could toy with!
Now they finally saw clearly that this act of scolding the son in public was actually a warning to all officials.
They can use the princes to achieve their own political goals, but if they simply treat the princes as pawns, then the emperor himself will be doomed.
This involves royal dignity!
When we dealt with those officials before, they did not know how to restrain themselves. Now we are warning them not to forget who they are.
Among the officials present, only three were able to remain calm.
These three people were Yan Song and his son, who had no intention of betting on the successor emperor, Zhang Juzheng, who had already bet on the most powerful Prince An, and Xu Jie, who had never taken sides.
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Seeing the emperor saying these harsh words, Yan Song was the first to speak and knelt on the ground on the spot. Seeing this, the others also quickly stood up and knelt on the ground.
How could Yan Song, an old fox, not see Jiajing's purpose? Since the emperor's purpose of warning the ministers had been achieved, he would naturally offer the emperor a way out.
"My Emperor, please calm down..." Seeing this, the others also knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, all the princes are devoted to the Ming Dynasty. At least from the results now, everything is good." Yan Shifan straightened up and bowed, saying, "Now all the spiritual energy factories have been moved outside the domain. The use of spiritual stones is prohibited in the Ming Dynasty."
"Young Lord, what you said is very true." At this time, Gao Gong had suppressed his previous thoughts and said, "Spiritual stone energy is a must for the development of the spiritual energy industry era."
"But it is still extremely harmful. However, Lingshi Energy has long been plagued by problems in the Overseas Administrative Office. It is not easy to eradicate it. Your Highnesses are working together, which is precious!"
"The merits and demerits offset each other, so please forgive your Highnesses, Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng also spoke up.
"Please forgive all of you, Your Majesty." All the ministers knelt on the ground in tacit understanding.
Seeing this, Jiajing's originally furious face softened. He looked coldly at his nine sons kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear. He snorted coldly and said, "For the sake of all the nobles, I will spare you this time. If you do it again, I will punish you severely!"
"Your Majesty, I thank you!" The Ninth Prince heaved a sigh of relief when he knew that his father did not intend to pursue the matter any further.
"Everyone, get up," Jiajing raised his hand, signaling everyone to get up, and then continued to look at the Ninth Prince and said:
"I have already known your affairs through the Imperial Seal."
"During the past ten years in the human world, I have assisted the cabinet and managed government affairs. Although I don't have the title of regent, I am actually regent."
"Prince Gong, Prince An, and Prince Ning, you performed well."
When they heard their father praising the three of them, excitement flashed in the eyes of Prince Gong Zhu Zaichun, Prince An Zhu Zairun and Prince Ning Zhu Zaihong.
They knew that with their father's words in front of all the ministers, it meant that in the past ten years, the nine dragons fought for the throne and the hidden dragons fought, and the final winners would be the three of them.
As for the other six kings, they were completely eliminated after this battle.
Prince Yu and Prince Jing looked at each other, and then turned their gazes to the three newly promoted royal brothers. Including the two of them, the current Ming Dynasty can be said to have "five dragons ruling under one roof."
Well, but these five dragons are just latent dragons.
Before the position of crown prince is decided, anyone may die.
The only thing they can do is to expand the power of their own palace as much as possible and increase their foundation in the future.
In this way, even if the position of the future crown prince is decided and it is not them, they can ensure that they will dominate the area.
At worst, in the future, they can travel to other planets and dominate a world. As long as they don't rebel, they are the foundation of the royal family, and even the future emperor will have to rely on them.
"Thank you, father. I will definitely keep your teachings in mind in the future, learn from previous lessons, and work hard to serve the court!" Prince Gong, Prince An, and Prince Ning said in unison.
"Yes." Nodding, Jiajing looked at Lu Fang, who immediately understood and said loudly: "Next, the six ministries of the cabinet will rate the performance of each provincial governor."
"Afterwards, the Emperor's Seal rated the six ministries of the Cabinet."
After hearing this, the governors were not moved at all.
Well, what to expect? Fifty years of year-end bonuses have been confiscated. Does the rating make sense at this time?
Some quick-witted people heard something fishy from the words of the officials in charge of the court who had just proposed that the confiscated fifty years of cultivation be rewarded to the ten years of human life.
There is no doubt that the cabinet and the six ministers are going to divide up these political achievements and give them to their own people.
"Hmph, watch out. There will definitely not be the phrase 'working on an empty stomach, causing corruption among the people' in our performance rating. Moreover, our rating may even be the first or second rank, a failure..."
(Hmph, just wait and see. In the rating of our political performance, there will definitely be no such phrase as "working on an empty stomach, leading to political chaos and corruption among the people". Moreover, our ratings may all be first or second rank, a failure...)
In the crowd, the Governor of Guangdong was whispering in dialect.
Sitting next to him, the British governor, Richard Sutherland, was stunned by the dialect that was completely different from the official language. After thinking for a long time, he finally said, "What?"
"Go away, you idiot!" The Guangdong Governor rolled his eyes in annoyance and spoke in Mandarin.
This time Richard Sutherland didn't quite understand what was said, but he knew that he was being disliked.
Suddenly, the gentleman's neck turned red with anger, but in order to maintain his demeanor, he could only straighten his official robe.
Seeing this, the Fujian Governor, who was sitting next to the two of them, lowered his head and smiled.
Soon, the performance ratings of each provincial governor were released.
As expected by the Guangdong Governor, the average performance rating of all the governors was second grade.
The elders of the cabinet and the six ministers at the table looked at each other with silence.
It seems like I'm trying to ruin your political achievements right in front of you, and ask you what can you do to me?
It can only be said that at this moment, the elders of the cabinet, the six ministers, as well as Hai Rui, Tang Shunzhi, the five army commanders and other important officials, all behaved in a very elegant manner.
Well, especially after seeing Hai Rui, a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, behave in this way, the desire of all officials to make progress at this moment can be said to be stronger than ever.
Although they were all provincial governors, and they were truly powerful figures outside the capital, they now understood that without connections to the sky, they would ultimately be nothing more than ants.
Only by sitting at that table are you eligible to eat it all!
The beauty of power is realized at this moment, it is truly... indescribable!
From beginning to end, Jiajing just watched quietly and allowed Yan Song and others to divide the cake, because this was his tacit approval.
Otherwise, Emperor Xi would not have failed to investigate the issue of "working in public with an empty stomach, causing political chaos and people's corruption" when evaluating political performance.
With this move, he wanted to tell these officials that it is not easy to be among the immortals and enjoy the immortal salary.
If they become officials in the future and remain like they are now, they will be the ones eating at the upper class table next time!
The provincial governors naturally understood what the emperor wanted to say to them at this moment.
You can allow the upper class to divide up the lower class and hinder the court. Then this time I don't mind letting the tigers and wolves in the six ministries of the cabinet eat you alive.
When they thought of this, the governors began to secretly become angry and decided to go back and give those immortal cultivation families, immortal cultivation companies, immortal cultivation chambers of commerce, and sects a ruthless blow. This is how the world is, the upper class eats the middle class, and the lower class sharpens their knives to attack the lower class.
After a while, the performance ratings of the six ministries of the cabinet came out. As expected, they were all first-class.
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion and I hope you will approve it." At this time, Yan Shifan stood up and bowed.
"Speak." Knowing what he was going to do, Jiajing nodded in approval.
"This time, the six ministries of the cabinet, as well as the two princes, have all entered the Qiankun realm to practice, and have obtained a great opportunity. The fifty years of cultivation reward should be given to the prince who has been in charge of the overall situation in the world for the past ten years," Yan Shifan said with a smile, raising his hand to Prince Gong, Prince An, and Prince Ning, "as well as their younger generations who have performed exceptionally well this time."
"A sect, a family, and a dynasty need inheritance. This will not only demonstrate the benevolence of our emperor, but also allow us, the ministers, to benefit from his benevolence and grace and bring blessings to future generations!"
"It also helps us build our reputation of caring for the younger generation."
After hearing Yan Shifan's words, people from the other six ministries of the cabinet also stood up and expressed their support.
"It's rare that Yan Shifan has this intention, so just reward him." Jiajing naturally didn't care about it.
As he finished speaking, rays of light burst out from the imperial seal and sank into the sky.
In the cabinet in the capital, the younger generations of the six ministries, such as Yan Shaoting and his two sons, Xu Fan's son, the sons of Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and others, as well as Zhu Changluo and his sons from Prince Yu's Mansion, also felt the rewards from their enormous cultivation at the first time.
Afterwards, these people had no time to think, they immediately sat cross-legged and began to concentrate on receiving the cultivation.
Those who need to break through should break through, and those who need to consolidate their cultivation should consolidate their cultivation.
At this point, the plateau political discussion came to an end, and Jiajing also announced the next few major events to everyone.
1. Tell other officials who are unaware of the existence of the immortal world about the things in the immortal world.
Second, inform everyone that the Ming Dynasty will expand its military forces.
Third, starting from this year, all the three camps and the guards under the jurisdiction of the five military governors' offices must be mobilized, and they are required to transfer a group of people to the capital every year.
As for why they had to enter the capital, it was naturally to let these soldiers practice in the Qiankun territory.
However, Jiajing did not tell others about the Qiankun Realm because there was no need. The power tower system was there, and it was not yet the turn of the governors to enter the Qiankun Realm to practice and improve their cultivation!
A year lasts for a total of 365 days.
In the Qiankun territory, that is 365 years, which is enough to support all soldiers to reach the foundation-building stage.
As for resources? Next, he will lead all the high-level combat forces of the Ming Dynasty into the world of cultivation and officially conquer the land.
By then, resources will be continuously available to Qiankun Realm!
This time, Jiajing wants all the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to be in the foundation-building stage!
Well, it's not that Jiajing didn't want to continue to extend the time, but mainly to take a slower and more stable step. Secondly, it was to maintain the Ming power tower system from collapsing.
3. Ming Dynasty is about to enter the interstellar era!
Fourth, it won’t be long before the Cabinet, the six ministries, the Imperial Household Department, and the two kings will all follow him to conquer the world of immortal cultivation!
"The above is the goal that the Ming Dynasty will achieve next. Do you understand?" Jiajing looked around at everyone present.
At this time, the governors were still shocked by the existence of the immortal world, but they reacted immediately after hearing Jiajing's words, and they all bowed and said in a deep voice:
"We, your subjects, will live up to His Majesty's expectations and devote ourselves to the Great Ming until our death. The Great Ming Dynasty will be immortal forever!"
Generals such as Tang Shunzhi, Qi Jiguang, Wang Chonggu, Yu Dayou, and Ma Fang became excited when they thought that the Ming Dynasty would invade a world of immortal cultivation and at the same time invade foreign civilizations, fighting on two fronts.
Of course, the five army commanders were also excited and blushing. Finally, the spring of the military was coming!
"Good!" Jiajing looked at his ministers who were united in purpose, and a look of relief gradually appeared on his serious face.
"Father, I have something to report!" At this time, when everything was almost done, Prince Ning, who had been holding back for a long time, suppressed his excitement, took a step forward and bowed, saying:
"I have opened a passage to an alien technological civilization and built a teleportation array!"
"My Great Ming will soon be able to send troops and usher in the interstellar era!" King Ning said as he took out a photo stone. On the photo stone was recorded everything about the Star Spirits.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
