The scene suddenly became stiff.
This scene was quite terrifying for some people who were new to the palace. For example, Mei Li, the newly appointed direct scholar who claimed to be a capable person, had already become confused like paste. His intelligence and logic were all useless and he was just in a daze.
Of course, although everyone was silent, not everyone was as confused as Mei Sheren. For example, several ministers and the Minister of Revenue Lin Jingmo who was standing next to Ma Shen knew the situation well.
Scholar Kobayashi realized what was going on at the beginning, so he did not react this time. It was not because he thought too slowly and did not have time to act, but because he, like other important ministers, was caught in a dilemma of position.
As mentioned before, the three major cases are essentially one and the same, and they point to the government and the imperial camp.
The Yang Zheng case reminded everyone that the imperial camp army that the government relied on still contained a large number of old-style officers. The average moral quality of those soldiers was still generally lower than that of the literati and even lower than that of ordinary people. They could not be renewed by simply changing the skin of the imperial camp.
The pre-sale case of treasury bonds also clearly shows that no matter whether they are new or old dignitaries, no matter who they are, when faced with fame, wealth and status, they will fall.
As for Zhang Zongyan's case, it was more serious than the previous two combined. The previous two could be attributed to personal lack of morality, but this incident clearly showed that after the imperial army had eliminated the malpractice of soldiers not knowing their generals and generals not knowing their soldiers, the thing they were most worried about finally happened... They could actually do as they pleased.
It would have been fine if they had just acted on their own, but they ended up suffering a crushing defeat, which made people all over the world doubt the fighting power of the imperial camp, and the impact of Xixia's grand victory was greatly reduced.
The sudden accumulation of these three cases immediately gave the opposition in the South an excuse to attack the rulers! The Taoists had previously requested the lifting of the ban on newspapers, and Ma Shen's behavior, which was almost like forcing the emperor to abdicate, was vaguely echoing their request.
The ministers in the hall chose to remain silent, and the reason was very simple... Although they were on the side of the government, and not on the same side as Ma Shen and his people, they were not military officials in the imperial camp system... They were traditional scholar-officials!
The Imperial Camp is one with the government, and they are one with the government, but they are not one with the Imperial Camp!
Therefore, when Ma Shen asked this question, even Mr. Kobayashi, who was the emperor's confidant, couldn't help but want to hear the emperor's answer.
Of course, these thoughts seem to be going on for a long time, but they only last for a moment.
In the hall, this confrontation lasted only a moment, and Emperor Zhao spoke decisively: "I know what Minister Ma wants to hear, and I also know why everyone in the palace is so quiet today. In fact, I have already thought about this matter... Besides, I am not willing to hide anything, and I don't like to hide anything... If you want to say something, I will tell you... That is, in my place, generals and prime ministers are on the same level, and controlling officials and important officials of the secret cabinet are on the same level. Civil and military officials are equally important! If the country has never killed prime ministers for a certain crime, it will not kill generals for a certain crime; and if important officials of the secret cabinet also kill my concubine and skin her, I will definitely chop her off and let it go."
There was an uproar in the hall, and it took a long time for the situation to quiet down... This answer was actually expected by many people, but it still made many officials present feel sad.
However, after the audience quieted down and Ma Shen hadn't said anything more, Emperor Zhao continued with a dark face:
"Not only that, I think that people and officials should have a bottom line. If a prime minister or a general also kills and skins my concubine, I am afraid I cannot tolerate it. What should I do then? For the sake of the country's reputation, I will probably lure him to the palace, chop him up with my own hands, and sink him in the fish pond as fertilizer! Then I will tell outsiders that a certain minister or governor slipped and drowned!"
Finally, a slight laugh was heard in the hall... To be honest, they all felt that this kind of thing could only happen to military officials. If a scholar-official really did this and could still become a prime minister, then the country would be in a mess.
"There is more." Zhao Jiu continued solemnly. "I still don't want to hide it from you... I am not the kind of person who hides the good bows when the birds are gone. Let alone the war that the country is going to have now, there will be peace one day. If one or two generals have the ability and qualifications to become a prime minister, it will be normal. And if there is a Jinshi who can fight and becomes the commander of a certain army in the imperial camp, I think it will be fine... Don't make a fuss when the time comes."
The hall suddenly became quiet again.
"I understand." Seeing the atmosphere in the hall becoming increasingly tense, Ma Shen, who seemed to be somewhat regretful, was silent for a moment, but still stubbornly bowed his hands and asked. "One more thing... The imperial camp has its own system and protects each other. I dare to ask the emperor, can the national laws really restrict military affairs?"
"Of course it can be controlled." Zhao Jiu seemed to have opened a floodgate and continued to answer with a sigh. "But soldiers are special, and we can't use the criminal code to control military affairs. Otherwise, wouldn't killing people on the battlefield also be punished by death? There must be a complete military law... The Ministry of Justice can work with the Privy Council to formulate a proper military law for this matter, and the Privy Council and the Imperial Camp General Affairs will be responsible for the review in the future."
"Please tell me clearly what is covered by the criminal law and what is covered by the military law?"
"If Yang Zheng killed his concubine, it will be subject to the criminal code. The criminal code is the basis, and the military law is referenced. If his superiors and subordinates in the army knew about it but did not report it, it will also be subject to the criminal code. If Zhang Zongyan took military action without authorization, it will be subject to military law. Whether his superiors and subordinates knew about it or participated in it will all be based on military law and referenced to the criminal code." Zhao Jiu answered without hesitation, obviously he had been prepared. "Is the Ministry of Justice satisfied?"
"The emperor jokes, makes laws, and maintains discipline, which is what makes the people of the world happy. What does it matter if I am satisfied or not?" Ma Shen was still fearless. "However, the emperor will answer any questions, and I really have nothing to say."
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