"He abused his power and bought and sold official titles. Taizu established the imperial examination system as a way to select officials, but Huo Lu used gold and silver to open the way, preventing talented and virtuous people from advancing, and only judging by money. The style of the court has since fallen. This is his first major crime."
"In the sixth year of Hongshun, Luzhou was hit by a flood and the imperial court provided disaster relief of one million taels, most of which went into the purse. Officials did not consider the people's livelihood, but used the convenience of official duties to seek personal gain. This is the second major crime."
“…”
“…………”
"...Jizhou was in a state of emergency, and the army was short of food...Huo Lu arbitrarily transferred funds from the Ministry of Revenue to build towers...He did not consider the safety of the border as his top priority. His thirteenth major crime."
“…”
On the imperial couch, a young man in bright yellow robe suddenly woke up.
He pressed his chest and gasped violently, but the palace eunuchs just stood quietly at their positions, as if they did not dare to step forward, or as if they were accustomed to this scene and knew what to do.
It took a long time for Zhao Jing to come back to his senses from the dream.
As soon as he raised his hand, the eunuchs below, who looked like wooden pillars, seemed to come alive, and someone immediately presented him with a handkerchief. Zhao Jing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and put it down. Someone else took the handkerchief back.
He let out a breath and turned to look at the already elderly eunuch standing beside him.
The old steward bowed and said, "Minister of Personnel Xiao Yu and Minister of War Luo Lu request to see you."
This steward obviously knew which one held a more important position in the emperor's heart, and even the way he reported the names was very particular.
Zhao Jing was so upset by the dream he had just had that he didn't pay attention to these details.
He raised his hand and signaled for the person to come in.
The Minister of War, Luo Lu, is a middle-aged man with an upright and even honest look on his face.
However, after the court purge several years ago, the officials from the previous emperor's period who were still left could obviously not be as simple-minded and honest as their appearance.
But he was indeed cautious enough, even to the point of being a little overly cautious.
The new master on the throne did not like the flattery from the previous emperor, so he did not waste any words and directly stated his purpose.
It’s still about banditry.
It's all old news. The late emperor, and not just the late emperor, but also Zhao Jing's grandfather and great-grandfather worked together to leave behind this mess.
The Zhao family probably has good genes, but their skills are a little distorted.
Some of them are obsessed with handicrafts and aspire to be craftsmen, some are excellent in calligraphy and painting and are praised by everyone, and some are architectural masters who repair their yards every day... Anyway, they have the best resources and the greatest power, and they can always do their best in the fields of their interest.
I just don't do my job very well.
However, those people probably didn't care much about those things.
What should we do if ordinary people can’t survive?
Of course, that means being a bandit.
But life was difficult for everyone at that time. Even the "bandits" had no food to eat, and their fighting capacity was no different from that of refugees. They could even deal with a group of fat and strong guys sent to suppress the bandits, and they could even take advantage of this lucrative job to get some credit.
However, after Zhao Jing ascended the throne, a series of decrees were issued, and the people had a few years to recuperate, and finally people's livelihood was restored. Of course, the bandits who had become bandits also benefited.
This happens every now and then and it won't be a big deal, but we can't just ignore it.
But this has a fixed processing procedure, and it is really not worth reporting it again.
But the Minister of War had come here for a reason. After reporting the matter of the bandits in a serious manner, he casually mentioned at the end, "Second Master Qin, please go."
Zhao Jing was stunned for a moment: "Is it...Shoujiang's younger brother?"
"Isn't he only eleven or twelve years old? I remember he was still a white man, right?"
"Your Majesty, the second son of the Qin family has just turned thirteen this year and does not hold any official position."
Luo Qi was also troubled by this matter. Everyone knew that General Qin and Minister Xiao had been close friends of his majesty before he ascended the throne. And with that incident seven or eight years ago, there were only two children left in the Qin family. General Qin was still in Jizhou, leaving this younger brother in the capital.
In the blink of an eye, he became a senior soldier under his command.
If he hadn't taken a closer look when the bandit suppression organization was being organized, he wouldn't have known that he had a soldier under his command who was even more valuable than him.
Zhao Jing: "He is not yet an adult, right?"
The implication is that even if soldiers were recruited, they would not be able to recruit him.
Luo Chen wiped the sweat off his forehead and replied "Yes", then added: "Yes, yes... my subordinates were negligent."
In fact, there were not many literate people at the recruitment site. They just looked at the appearance of the men, signed their names, put their fingerprints on them and that was it.
No matter what, the Qin family was not so poor that they were not as good as others. Although Qin Er was much younger than others, he was not the smallest. If Luo Chen had not happened to see a captain and his colleagues showing off that they had a capable person, Luo Chen would not have noticed that such a precious person had sneaked in.
Zhao Jing said calmly: "Just do what you have to do. Do you need my instruction?"
Luo Luo was just taking out an insurance policy. He had saved his life over the years by being extremely cautious.
In the past, his former colleagues were either killed or exiled. The new emperor did not hide his attitude towards the old officials of the previous dynasty. Over the years, he had to sleep with one eye open and check whether he had stepped on the wrong place before going out, for fear that he would receive a death order if he made the slightest mistake.
When I saw the gold nugget in the barracks, I immediately guessed that the emperor was planning to find an excuse to take action. My hands and feet became weak, my back was sweating, and I fell to the ground.
But this fall made him sober up. After all, if His Majesty wanted to take action against him, there was no need to beat around the bush. That was why he had the courage to come and seek confirmation.
After he calmed down, he apologized and left.
Now that we have gotten the promise, it will be easier to deal with it.
This kind of thing has happened in the Ministry of War before. After all, it is a place where people can come to make a living, and in years of famine, people are even more eager to rob. If they are not discovered, it is fine. If they are discovered, they will be beaten with military sticks and thrown out.
That is... beating the Second Master Qin with a military stick?
Luo Qi shuddered, thinking of the evil spirit who was not in the capital now.
When General Qin comes back, will he not be beaten with a military stick?
This was the ruthless man who was able to force Prime Minister Huo to be beaten with a military stick when the late emperor was still alive.
Even though no one has even mentioned Prime Minister Huo in recent years.
But during the time of the previous emperor, that person was truly able to "cover the sky with one hand".
After the Minister of War left, Zhao Jing no longer looked like the unpredictable emperor he had just been.
His shoulders slumped, as if he could not support the weight of his body. He leaned his elbows on the table, and his arms pushed forward, pushing all the memorials on the table forward.
Zhao Jing looked at Xiao Yu, who had been a step behind and had not spoken a word, and for a moment he even forgot the reason why he had called him in the first place.
He looked at his friend, but his eyes seemed unfocused, as if he was staring at some empty scenery. His voice was a little unsteady, "Fenggui, I dreamed of him again."
The expression on the face of the gentleman who was as tall as a bamboo froze for a moment, because of these words, the graceful demeanor that was praised by the world seemed to have a crack.
After a long while, Xiao Yu finally replied: "...Really?"
Zhao Jing continued, but unconsciously changed his name: "I am writing down the charges, one by one..."
"I remember using ink, but in my dream I used a red pen instead."
…
…………
"Your Majesty," Xiao Yu interrupted, his voice hoarse, "...you remembered it wrongly."
Zhao Jing looked up, but the expression on his face seemed as if he was still in a dream from which he could not wake up.
Xiao Yu: "That imperial edict was not written by you, it was left by the late emperor."
Zhao Jing suddenly came to his senses: "Yes... it was left by the 'late emperor'."
He said nothing more.
But he knew that he had copied the imperial edict again, no, twice...
【Lingchi】
The ending that man chose for himself.
But Zhao Jing couldn't do it.
He can imitate handwriting, and that person taught him personally...
So he imitated the handwriting of the late emperor, or, more accurately, imitated the handwriting of the late emperor that that person imitated, and copied out the charges one by one, and finally changed it to [Grant White Silk].
There is a drug for fake death in the treasury.
At that time, we only need to replace the "body"...
He has ascended the throne, and he has reached the last step.
You can change your identity, and after a few years, when the situation gets better, you can return to the court...
…
The gentleman is not in good health.
It is indeed time to cultivate myself for a few years...
…
He learned a lot and knew a lot.
He will do well in the next few years, and when Mr. comes back, he will definitely see everything he wants to see.
…
…………
He had a very good and naive idea.
Then the man just looked at him.
The oil lamp in the cell flickered, the light was dim, but it was enough for him to see the expression on his face.
That should be winter.
It is indeed winter.
It’s cold, very cold.
He was so cold from the soles of his feet to the top of his head that even his hair seemed to be frozen. He still clearly remembered the white breath that came out of his mouth.
…
…………
"Must I die?" he asked.
The other person just looked at him like that, his black eyes as always like a bottomless pool, which everyone was afraid of.
But Zhao Jing knew that Mr. had always been a gentle person, who gently protected everything he could in his own way...even at the cost of himself.
For the first time, Zhao Jing realized that this gentleness was almost cruel.
No more words were needed, Zhao Jing understood.
Must die.
And he had to die in front of everyone.
The death was grand and announced to the world.
…
…………
But Zhao Jing couldn't do "Ling Chi" or "Qian Que"...
So, he chose the simplest one -
Beheading at the Meridian Gate and displaying the heads to the public.
…
…………
That winter was so cold that his hands trembled uncontrollably and the ink was covered with a layer of ice.
How did he finish it in the end?
Blood flowed down the broken pen shaft.
It turned out that it was not a red pen.
…It’s blood.
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