It was one step too late after all.
Hundreds of meters away, Lan Yu and others watched Song Zhong enter directly under the escort of the palace guards.
He knew that allowing the palace guards to escort him in was definitely a major case.
"Brother, what should we do now?"
Cao Zhen asked, panting.
Upon hearing this, Lan Yu began to ponder.
What he could be sure of was that the palace guards were dispatched to avoid the time for reporting, so the case must be of great importance.
The key point now is what the situation of this case is.
Thinking of this, Lan Yu said bluntly: "Let's go to the Jinyiwei prison."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately understood and quickly turned around and left.
Soon, the group arrived at the imperial prison.
In fact, according to the rules, Duke Liang is not qualified to come to the Jinyiwei.
However, Zhu Ying recently issued an order to let the Jinyiwei, the Public Security Bureau, and the Bingmasi work together.
So Lan Yu had an excuse.
In the Jinyiwei, since Song Zhong was not there, no one dared to stop them.
In the imperial prison, under the pressure of Lan Yu, the jailer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not hide anything and had to tell what happened when Song Zhong interrogated Cao Zixing.
Cao Zixing was brought out for trial again.
"The guilty minister Cao Zixing pays homage to the Duke of Liang."
Cao Zixing, covered in blood, bowed.
"Tell me what you told Song Zhong just now. Repeat it to me again."
Lan Yu didn't have a good tone and gave orders directly.
Upon hearing this, Cao Zixing bowed and then stood there, pretending not to hear anything.
Civil officials and military generals are natural enemies, so Cao Zixing was too lazy to tell the story again. Besides, his own affairs were not a good thing either.
Lan Yu frowned.
boom!!
Cao Zhen, who was standing next to him, had no time to hesitate and kicked Cao Zixing hard in the chest.
The enormous force penetrated Cao Zixing's body and slammed heavily against the wall of the imperial prison.
Large mouthfuls of blood kept gushing out of Cao Zixing's mouth. The whipping for several hours made Cao Zixing feel painful, but Cao Zhen's kick almost took half his life.
"You dare to pretend in front of us? I think you don't want to live anymore." Cao Zhen scolded.
Cao Zixing wanted to get up, but he had no strength left, so he just lay on the ground, opened his bloody mouth, and said with a smile: "After entering this prison, I never planned to get out alive."
Cao Zhen sneered when he heard this: "You are doomed, but if you offend our brothers, do you think there is still a way for your clan members to survive?"
"When a certain letter reaches Shanxi Wei, I will slaughter your entire clan!"
"I want to see if you can still laugh."
Cao Zixing almost choked to death on a mouthful of blood, and his originally pretentious expression turned into a tearless one.
What the hell is going on? Why do they come one after another and always want to wipe out the entire clan? Can't they give us some chance to survive?
He didn't dare to gamble, but at the same time he believed that the guy in front of him could definitely do it.
The military generals and nobles from Huaixi were well-known in the Ming Dynasty. Even His Majesty knew that they were troublemakers and had done many things like massacring cities and exterminating clans.
If you really compare them, they are much more ruthless than the Jinyiwei.
Cao Zixing knew that he had hit a wall and could only explain the matter again.
"Bah, you coward!"
Before explaining, Cao Zhen even cursed. Did he really think this guy had any backbone?
After the explanation, everyone's expression changed, including Lan Yu's.
"No wonder this kid ran so fast. Such credit was taken away by him."
As Cao Zhen spoke, he glared at Cao Zixing viciously, scaring Cao Zixing so much that he curled up in a corner, buried his head and dared not move.
He was not afraid of being beaten to death, but he was afraid of angering people like Cao Zhen. If he died, his son would be buried with him.
I finally saw a glimmer of hope. If it is destroyed at this moment, I will never be able to rest in peace in the afterlife.
Naturally, the names of the accomplices were also honestly disclosed.
"Brother, why don't we take a step ahead and capture these people?" Cao Zhen suggested.
Lan Yu frowned and said, "No, it's a foregone conclusion. We brothers don't lack these merits. We just want to win the eyes of the Crown Prince. If we offend His Royal Highness by snatching the merits, it will be more trouble than gain."
People like Lan Yu no longer care about merit.
If you want something, just take it on the battlefield. The key now is to gain the trust of the crown prince.
"Then brother, what should we say now?" Cao Zhen asked again.
Lan Yu looked at Cao Zixing and said, "Now that we know about these conspiracies, things will be much easier. We should do our job well and continue to arrest the Shanxi merchants. Those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be tried should be tried."
Now, Lan Yu actually has no other desire but to make enough contributions to the Crown Prince and gain his full trust.
Only by risking his life for the Crown Prince can he maintain his own power in the future.
Now that we are fighting against Japanese pirates, suppressing Liao, and redressing rebellions, the situation in many places is turbulent, and these generals have found a place to use their skills again.
In Lan Yu's heart, he was more afraid of the Crown Prince than the Emperor.
As for Your Majesty, you have been working with me for decades and have made many contributions and efforts.
But as for the Crown Prince, he had learned his lesson and had really fallen into the trap without even realizing it.
After a series of tricks, he killed people without leaving any blood, and all his military power was taken away inexplicably, and the power of his brothers was also greatly weakened.
Besides, everyone in the army praised him, so no one could get angry.
I was unaware of this tactic while I was in it, but when I think back on it after it's over, my back is soaked with sweat.
Only after Lan Yu and others left did the Jinyiwei members breathe a sigh of relief.
The current Jinyiwei is not as powerful as before.
In the past, let alone the Duke of Liang, even a vassal king would not dare to intrude privately.
However, the situation is somewhat unclear with the Crown Prince currently in power, and no one knows which government office His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be favored.
The reason why the Jinyiwei is so powerful is because of your majesty's trust in them.
…
In the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying were discussing arrangements after the Spring Festival.
"It's not that the official newspaper you mentioned is not good, but I think the effect is minimal. However, the method of using copper characters is quite good."
After listening to his eldest grandson's ideas, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke.
Just now, Zhu Ying revealed to the old man that he wanted to publish a private newspaper, which would be semi-official.
In addition to some information that can be made public in the court, the rest, such as introductions to local customs and some fresh and interesting things, can be published.
Naturally, there will be personnel to strictly control the above details.
In order to better print the court bulletins, or to expand the sales of the court bulletins, Zhu Ying proposed to reform movable type printing.
Since Cai Lun improved paper production in the Han Dynasty, writing materials have become lighter and more economical than the oracle bones, bamboo slips, metal and stone, and silk used in the past. However, copying books is still very labor-intensive and is far from meeting the needs of society.
By the Xiping period at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, methods of copying and rubbing stone steles appeared.
The movable type invented by Bi Sheng during the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty marked the birth of movable type printing.
Wang Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty successfully created wooden movable type and invented the rotary typesetting machine.
Now Zhu Ying proposes copper movable type, which can be more durable and convenient to use.
Most of the popular type in the Ming Dynasty was wooden movable type. The only disadvantage was that it was often soaked in ink, and ordinary wood was easily corroded and damaged, and needed to be replaced frequently.
Good wood is too expensive.
If it is made of copper, it will be much better in terms of durability.
Hearing that the old man was not very interested in the official bulletin, Zhu Ying pursed his lips.
In fact, as far as the current market is concerned, the role of the court bulletin is indeed not that big.
Firstly, only a minority of people could read and write, and the audience was too limited. Eighty to ninety percent of the people in the Ming Dynasty were illiterate. Even though Zhu Yuanzhang had already introduced compulsory education, very few people could actually read.
Eating is a problem, who cares about reading and writing? Just stay alive first.
Coupled with the invasion of Mongolian culture and the destruction of most of the aristocratic families, Han culture was about to be broken. In the north, there was not much difference between those who knew Mongolian and those who knew Chinese.
Another reason is that it is more difficult to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against the river.
Zhu Yuanzhang was no exception.
Control over public opinion is very strict. Although there is no literary inquisition, there are still many people who are convicted for their speech.
At least in the case of Hu Weiyong, many people were convicted for their words, and this was also the main crime that the Jinyiwei arrested civil officials for.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang was not very interested in the large-scale development of official newspapers.
Fortunately, it was the eldest grandson who proposed the idea, so Zhu Yuanzhang did not raise any explicit objection.
"Grandpa, in fact, the biggest advantage of the official gazette is that it controls public opinion. With official endorsement, most people will definitely choose to believe the content of the private gazette."
"It is a powerful tool for propaganda in the court and control of people's hearts."
"Although not many people are literate now, my grandson plans to set up a large school and also arrange some people to tell the contents of the court bulletin like storytellers."
"Since ancient times, the people have been afraid of military service, and often have to be forced to serve. We can use the court bulletin to publicize the glory of soldiers, such as some heroes who are loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and promote them."
"Under this situation, conscription will naturally be much easier than before, and once soldiers join the army, it will be easier for them to develop faith and loyalty."
"The only national affairs that the common people can learn about are from the court reports, which naturally have a deeper understanding of the people's minds."
In Zhu Ying's mind, this official newspaper is definitely a very good thing for controlling public opinion.
As things stand, the official gazette is naturally the only government-run publication, and then it is printed in large quantities and quickly distributed across the country at a low price.
Why there was a saying in the past that imperial power did not extend to the countryside? It was because the common people were illiterate and could not understand the proclamations from the court. In addition, generally speaking, they seldom left their own land.
This also leads to them believing whatever the gentry and landlords say.
The official reports were different. First of all, they were definitely full of positive energy, mainly promoting loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and thoroughly inspiring the concept that every citizen has a share of responsibility for the rise and fall of the country.
In addition, they create a heroic character, such as sacrificing oneself for the country, blocking the knife for brothers, going to the grassland alone, and killing enemies thousands of miles away.
These little stories continue to emerge, and over time, they have a great effect on shaping public opinion.
Don’t underestimate these heroic characters. From the perspective of those in higher positions, the influence of these heroic characters on the people, especially the young and middle-aged, is enormous.
Those who have great strength, want to create a future, and have ideas.
Joining the army and becoming a hero of the Ming Dynasty is the best choice.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care much at first, but as he listened, he became more and more serious.
As the saying goes, heroes are made by the times. The collapse of the Mongols was closely related to their tyranny against the Han people and their constantly suppressed anger.
Zhu Yuanzhang once called on the people of the world to follow him in the name of reopening the Song Dynasty.
He saw a different perspective from his eldest grandson, which was to use the official newspapers as a guide to manipulate public opinion on a large scale, or in other words, the people's will.
Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally very clear about the principle that people can carry a boat, but can also overturn it.
That is why he established Confucianism as the mainstream and vigorously promoted the ideas of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
For a unified country, not only the form and system are important, but also the ideas.
Many of the Four Books and Five Classics and Confucianism of the Ming Dynasty were revised by Zhu Yuanzhang himself. Concepts such as "the people are more important than the emperor" had long been removed.
When the content of the imperial examination was strictly limited, studying for the examination was to actively cater to the unified ideology. If you did not cater to it, you would be a servant for the rest of your life.
In contrast, all official and private schools only taught the Confucian "Four Books and Five Classics".
This is the effect brought about by the eight-legged essay system.
The alternative path to the imperial examination that Zhu Ying opened up did not, in principle, shake the eight-legged essay system for selecting scholars.
Because what Zhu Ying gave was mainly focused on official duties, life, and skills.
The salary is generous, but there is little power. If you really want to be an official, you still have to learn the current orthodox Confucianism.
Zhu Yuanzhang realized that the cheap official reports proposed by his eldest grandson were intended to control the thoughts of the people of the Ming Dynasty from a more in-depth perspective.
It has a great impact not only on scholars, but also on ordinary people.
The key here is the price.
The price of the court bulletin that the eldest grandson had just proposed was only three cents per copy.
This price was affordable even for the landlord's permanent and temporary workers, or even for the tenant farmers.
If you think about it carefully, these official reports as books may even bring literacy to more people.
If Ming Dynasty wants to learn to read, it is inevitable to purchase books, but the price of a book is often very expensive.
Even the most enlightening books were priced in guanchao.
This makes it very difficult for ordinary people to learn to read, because the chances of them even seeing words are slim.
Once the court bulletin came out, the concept became different.
First of all, the content of the court reports will undoubtedly be deepened and influenced by the people in the process of learning.
There is a saying in later generations that when a sentence is mentioned every day, it will be engraved in the mind.
The loyalty of these people who have become literate through studying official reports to the entire Ming Dynasty will become extremely strong.
And in the future, whether we are recruiting more talents, it will be more convenient and faster to train them.
"We must do it, and we can't do it in a small way, we have to do it on a large scale. Let's see, we have to formulate rules for the court report, and no one can hinder the dissemination of the court report. We have to make sure that even the people living in the border areas can get the court report."
Zhu Yuanzhang figured it out, and after thinking it through, he spoke loudly.
If you think about some of these things, they are completely aimed at stabilizing the entire Ming Dynasty, which is more important than the imperial examination.
This also means that it is very likely that when the Ming Dynasty is in trouble, as long as we raise our arms and call for help, people from all directions will respond.
Such public sentiment can be of great use.
"Grandson, what's wrong with your brain? Throughout history, there have been many talented people, but no one has ever proposed to truly control the people's hearts. Instead, they have been on guard against it."
"When it comes to my eldest grandson, he has come up with all these tricks."
Zhu Yuanzhang praised.
Official gazettes have existed for a long time. They were quite popular during the Song Dynasty, but no one has ever said that official gazettes could be used to influence public opinion.
This way of thinking is truly novel.
Zhu Ying smiled.
This is the difference in perspective. In later generations, as the times progressed and people's wisdom became more open, people attached great importance to propaganda.
The Ming Dynasty was no exception. The Song Dynasty was weak, its policies were bad, and the people at the bottom were like cattle and sheep, suffering terribly. Even if there was some impact, it was of little use.
Even the emperor's edict made it difficult to leave Bianjing.
Although movable type printing existed at that time, it was not taken seriously. Even the official reports of the Ming Dynasty were not printed but mainly hand-copied.
This caused a price difference, and it became popular only among gentry, officials, and noble families.
As for the Mongols, there is no need to mention them.
When taking control of the Central Plains, they have always mainly used military suppression. Would any of the Mongolian nobles care what the people think?
If you don't obey, you will be whipped.
It is disrespectful for slaves to have their own ideas.
Until the Ming Dynasty, grain production was high and the treasury was full. Zhu Yuanzhang had previously established compulsory education, and now Zhu Ying School appeared.
In addition, the movable type printing technology matured, the papermaking industry prospered, and the price of paper was low.
Finally, the prosperity of novels in the Ming Dynasty led to the emergence of a large number of storytellers who made a living from this, which helped to strengthen propaganda.
A series of conditions are met, so this can be achieved.
This would have been difficult to accomplish in any previous dynasty.
All Zhu Ying did was to propose the right arrangements at the right time.
"Grandpa, the dignity of the Ming Dynasty lies in its strong army. The imperial reports are only auxiliary. As the saying goes, a weak country has no diplomacy. If you want the Ming Dynasty to prosper and rule for a long time, in my grandson's opinion, it still needs to be protected by force."
"So, my grandson should think that the mainstream content of the newspaper is to promote soldiers and convey the concept of defending the country."
Zhu Ying said along the way.
Zhu Ying has always been opposed to suppressing military men.
Naturally, from the source, Zhu Yuanzhang's suppression of military men did not refer to the entire military, but to the military generals and nobles of the Ming Dynasty, as well as their military power.
What Zhu Ying needs to do is to build a truly powerful Ming army, a strong army with its own ideas.
They always take it as their responsibility to protect the safety of the Ming Dynasty. Even if their generals want to lead a rebellion, they will be tied up by their subordinates.
The military academy that Zhu Ying is now founding is intended to train a large number of middle-level officers to support the backbone of the Ming Dynasty's soldiers and weaken the influence of the commander-in-chief.
So far, the effect is still very good.
Not to mention the local situation, at least in the vicinity of the capital, the soldiers who came out of the Xuanjia Guard continued to enter various garrisons, eroding the military power of the former veteran generals.
Their entry was like a nail, buried deep inside.
If the commander of a garrison has any ill intentions, it will certainly be difficult for him to achieve his goal.
"Defending the country, what a great way to defend the country!!!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up and he praised loudly.
In the current Ming Dynasty, or in the past, there is no such term as defending the country.
Zhu Ying was also stunned when he heard the old man's praise.
This idiom, which is almost known to everyone in later generations, did not exist in the Ming Dynasty?
This is Zhu Ying's ignorance. The idiom "defending the country" comes from the famous poet Bing Xin in later generations, and it is not an ancient idiom.
Just when Zhu Ying wanted to take this opportunity to have a good chat with the old man about strengthening the army, increasing military pay, and improving the military security system.
The eunuch outside the gate came to report: "Your Majesty, Jinyiwei Zhenfu Envoy Song Zhong has an urgent matter to ask for an audience."
Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat displeased.
In this cold winter, the grandfather and grandson are having a lively chat here, and the topic is about important matters concerning the future of the Ming Dynasty.
If there is nothing important, Song Zhong's impression points will be greatly reduced.
"Let him in."
"As you wish."
Song Zhong came in and saw that His Majesty and His Royal Highness were both there. He was delighted and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said calmly: "Stand up and talk, there is something important this time."
Song Zhong hurriedly said in a serious tone: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have arrested the Shanxi household registration according to the order. Cao Zixing, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, went to the imperial prison for interrogation and found that the Shanxi merchants were guilty of treason."
After giving a brief account, Song Zhong quickly presented the file.
Liu He stepped forward, took the file, and then handed it to His Majesty for inspection.
Zhu Yuanzhang was already feeling a little unhappy, and after seeing the details in the file, he was completely furious.
"Treason! Treason! This is to steal the foundation of our Ming Dynasty and destroy the Ming Dynasty."
"They are colluding with foreign tribes and hiding in the capital. What a big scheme. These Shanxi merchants should be killed one by one with all their clans!!!"
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't expect that the rumor case would involve a shocking conspiracy.
The layout of Shanxi merchants was too far-reaching. It was far away from the capital and difficult for imperial power to reach. They also sold large quantities of ironware to the grasslands.
What's worse is that almost all the officials in Shanxi were bribed. In the past, corruption cases were thoroughly investigated, but they rarely occurred in Shanxi. Zhu Yuanzhang thought it was a good thing and the political situation was clear.
Now it seems that they are all from the same nest, and even the capital has made plans.
In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt that this method was somewhat familiar. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be similar to the method used by his eldest grandson to layout Goryeo.
In just a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger dissipated, and murderous intent emanated from his half-closed eyes.
When encountering big things, anger is useless. In fact, most of the time, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger was for others to see.
As the founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang had long developed the habit of dealing with every matter calmly.
After deep thought, Zhu Yuanzhang began to feel indifferent.
If this trend is allowed to continue for a long time, the future Ming Dynasty might very well be destroyed by these Shanxi merchants.
This speculation is based on some of the methods used by Da Sun in the past.
This is actually true.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, these Shanxi merchants controlled power and embezzled military pay in the nine border areas, especially in Shanxi. They ate up as much silver as the court gave, like a bottomless pit.
The rise of the Qing Dynasty was due to the extensive trade with Shanxi merchants.
The biggest advantage of the Central Plains dynasty over foreign races was its leading military equipment.
The Shanxi merchants sold arms on a large scale, which greatly increased the Qing Dynasty's combat power. Coupled with the fact that the Ming Dynasty was plagued by disasters at that time, this became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
It is said that the Ming Dynasty was abolished by Li Zicheng's peasant uprising, but in fact, the Qing Dynasty was involved in a lot of Ming Dynasty's military forces.
The nine important border towns are home to the Ming Dynasty's most powerful soldiers.
If it was really just Li Zicheng who rebelled, it would be hard to say.
After Zhu Yuanzhang figured it out, he did not express his opinion immediately. Instead, he waved his hand and asked Song Zhong to leave.
His Majesty's reaction was beyond Song Zhong's expectations, but as someone who often dealt with His Majesty, he understood that this incident would probably cause a huge uproar.
"Grandson, come and have a look too."
Zhu Yuanzhang handed the file to Zhu Ying and said.
Zhu Ying took the file and started looking through it.
Good job.
Zhu Ying knew before that Shanxi merchants had some transactions with grassland tribes, but he didn't expect that it was so exaggerated at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
After all, many merchants in border areas, including Peking and the Western Regions, are involved in smuggling transactions to some extent.
The huge profits make many people willing to take risks, and we can only strengthen the suppression, but it is difficult to eliminate it.
But what no one expected was that these Shanxi merchants had already started planning this in the early Ming Dynasty.
It is normal to have people in the capital, but it is not normal to have so many people.
The list attached to the file involves more than 300 people!
It may seem that there are not many of them, and their ranks are not very high, but each of these people is an important official of the court, scattered among the six ministries, especially some seemingly insignificant minor officials.
No wonder these Shanxi merchants had been secretly accumulating wealth without being noticed during the nearly three years hundred of the Ming Dynasty.
Until you are strong enough to conquer the whole country.
The relationships are complex and complicated, and this is a list that was only leaked by Cao Zixing, so there must be others hidden.
"Shanxi is no different from a rebellion, and it is even more insidious than an open rebellion. Many officials who went to Shanxi were probably cannibalized."
"It seems that this place in Shanxi needs to be cleaned up thoroughly to wash away all the dirt."
Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was very calm, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
If Empress Ma or Crown Prince Zhu Biao were still alive, if they heard this voice, they would understand that this was a manifestation of Zhu Yuanzhang's extreme anger.
The beginnings of the three major cases in the past were all like this.
Although Zhu Ying had never seen it, the feeling was also very strong.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Grandpa, it seems that the first thing to do in the spring is to redress the injustices of the army and clean up Shanxi thoroughly."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.
…
In the past two days, it seemed that no imperial edicts had been issued, but during the morning court sessions, many officials found that there were suddenly many empty seats around them.
There were approximately five hundred civil and military officials in the Fengtian Hall.
In just one day, hundreds of civil officials were arrested.
The ministers naturally knew about this obvious thing, but no one dared to ask what was going on.
Everything was normal in the court, except that there was a sense of emptiness among the officials who came later.
Compared with the imperial court, the situation in the capital city was changing rapidly.
It was okay for the Jinyiwei to capture civil officials, as it had almost no impact on the common people.
But Lan Yu followed the clues and first arrested the members of the Shanxi Merchants Gang. Then, during the interrogation, all those involved were arrested and brought to justice.
The cells of the Public Security Department and the Military Department have long been full, and even the dungeons can no longer accommodate people.
All the people who were captured now were sent to the military camp.
While arresting people, a large amount of goods and money were also taken back as dirty property.
"Brother, this is... too much."
Looking at some of the confiscated money in front of him, Cao Zhen swallowed and said with difficulty.
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