Yu Qizhe's eyes moved slightly, but he remained silent at the right time.
Emperor Mingzheng was unwilling to depose Zhu Yu, certainly not out of consideration for the father-son relationship, but simply because he did not want to unbalance the Shen Party, the Qingliu Party, and the Feng Party. He was happy to see a three-way balance of power in the court.
If this case did not involve Zhu Yu but other members of Feng's party, Emperor Ming Zheng naturally would not mind killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. However, if Zhu Yu's position as crown prince was abolished, the harem and the previous dynasty would be ready to make a move and eye the position of crown prince. In addition, Emperor Ming Zheng was also afraid of the military power in the hands of Marquis Dingbei. If the Feng family was forced into a corner, it is not impossible that they would kill the king and usurp the throne. After all, that was how he got the throne in the first place.
Just as Emperor Mingzheng said, "Forget it, let's close the case as you said..."
The chief eunuch Guo Changsheng suddenly held up a memorial and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial here. When Master Cheng left, he asked me to give it to you. Who would have thought that the eunuch in the Imperial Household Department was lazy and forgot to present it."
Emperor Mingzheng took the memorial from Guo Changsheng.
Guo Changsheng quietly raised his eyes and looked at the expression of Emperor Mingzheng. He had kept this memorial in his pocket for some time, but had never found the opportunity to present it. These days, he had been thinking about the words that Cheng Zhangyin said when he gave him the memorial, and finally he figured out the meaning: the Governor did not want His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to have an easy life, and now was a great opportunity to make His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have a hard time.
After reading the memorial, Emperor Mingzheng's expression, which had just relaxed, darkened again. He remembered the expensive gifts Zhu Yu gave to Cheng Ying, as well as the densely packed objects and names on the memorial. Zhu Yu tried to please all the civil and military officials in the court, and it was clear that he wanted to win the hearts of the people before he ascended the throne!
He threw the letter to Yu Qizhe and said angrily, "Zhai Huaiying deserves to die!"
Yu Qizhe picked up the memorial and saw that it was written by the Minister of Rites Song Ling. In addition to denouncing Zhai Huaiying's various evil deeds in Huai'an, he also pointed out that Zhu Yu condoned the evil and protected Zhai Huaiying.
It seems that this memorial has been around for some time. After the Qu family sent a petition to the Dali Temple and it was suppressed by Yang Xu, Song Ling angrily wrote a letter to the emperor. Unfortunately, the memorial was stopped by the Silijian and was sent to Emperor Mingzheng again today. It can be seen that Cheng Ying really likes excitement and will stir up waves even when there is nothing to do.
Yu Qizhe closed the letter, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Mingzheng said impatiently, "Just say what you want to say, why are you hesitating?"
Yu Qizhe took out a stack of papers from his sleeve and presented them to him. He lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know whether I should tell you this."
Emperor Ming Zheng flipped through the papers and his face changed suddenly. On the first sheet of paper was a mineral sketch, and on the rest were the details of the copper coin payouts and the accounts of the money flowing into the private sector.
"What is this?" Emperor Mingzheng's face was more serious than ever.
Yu Qizhe said: "This is a copper mine in Yongzhou, and it has been mined."
"Why have I never heard of copper mines in Yongzhou?" Private mining is not allowed by the people. Any mines discovered must be reported to the court, which will then send people to mine. Copper has always been precious and is the raw material for casting copper plates. Copper is equivalent to money.
Yu Qizhe lowered his head slightly so that no one could see the expression on his face. He said, "This copper mine was not reported to the court. After the local people discovered it, they reported it to the local officials. Later, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent people to dig and mine copper privately and mint copper coins. I sent someone to check and found that the mine had been emptied."
"He is so bold!" Emperor Mingzheng slammed the table in anger, even his breathing became heavier. He said angrily: "I think he is harboring evil intentions. I have tolerated him because he is the crown prince, but he is so disobedient that he even dares to privately mine copper and mint copper coins! Well, I am thinking of the relationship between father and son, so he is filial to me!"
Emperor Mingzheng was so angry that he swept away the teacup on the table. Without any hesitation, he said to Yu Qizhe: "Draft an edict. I want to depose the crown prince!"
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