The Minister of War resigned, and this was approved by Zhu Yunwen. Naturally, the emperor would not object to it.
Having read the history books, Zhu Yuanzhang had long lost any appreciation for Qi Tai. He had been thinking of getting rid of Qi Tai from his official post, and now this was the perfect opportunity.
After the position in the Ministry of War became vacant, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Zhu Yunwen and asked him if he had any suitable candidates.
Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"When the Ministry of War is handed over to civil officials, there are always many areas where cooperation is not good. You should also know about the shortcomings of civil officials, Your Majesty."
Therefore, sometimes it not only fails to harmonize the military commanders, but may even lead to extremely slow efficiency and a lack of mutual understanding between the two sides.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"So you mean..."
Zhu Yunwen spoke up: "What I mean is, it might be better to find a military general to serve as the Minister of War."
"oh?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Do you have any good talents to recommend?"
In fact, there have been quite a few instances in history where military generals served as Minister of War. Although some military generals holding the position of Minister of War might lead to them wielding great power and hoarding military authority, as long as the right person was chosen, the problem was not too serious.
Then Zhu Yunwen said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"I thought we could give this position a try to Duke Feng Sheng of Song!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat surprised, as he had originally thought that Zhu Yunwen would give the position to Lan Yu or the Chang brothers.
After all, these three were his relatives, but he never expected that Zhu Yunwen would actually give the position to Feng Sheng.
It should be noted that although Feng Sheng was a military general, he also showed considerable support for Zhu Yunwen.
But after all, he had no kinship with Zhu Yunwen. In fact, Feng Sheng's in-law was Zhu Su, the fifth prince of the emperor, who was enfeoffed in Kaifeng.
So Zhu Yuanzhang never expected that Zhu Yunwen would appoint Feng Sheng as Minister of War.
You must understand that the Minister of War holds a high position and wields great power. If you can't appoint someone you trust to the position, things could easily go wrong.
Although Feng Sheng also supported Zhu Yunwen, he had no family relationship with Zhu Yunwen after all. In addition, his in-laws were the emperor's fifth son. If his in-laws wanted to rebel in the future, wouldn't this Minister of War, who was promoted by Zhu Yunwen, be easily defected?
Seemingly sensing Zhu Yuanzhang's worries, Zhu Yunwen smiled and said:
"Grandfather seems to have some reservations."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and then spoke:
“Yun Tong, you need to think this through. This Feng Sheng may not be close to you.”
Clearly, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Zhu Yunwen wanted to establish his own power, and he cooperated with Zhu Yunwen in this regard.
After all, the throne had been decided to be given to Zhu Yunwen, so it was understandable that Zhu Yunwen wanted to build his own power and consolidate his future position.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang wanted him to be the crown prince and the future emperor, he naturally had to give him his full support.
We cannot follow the example of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, who, despite making his son the crown prince, harbored various suspicions and suppressed him, ultimately leading to a dismal end.
Zhu Yuanzhang, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Once he decided who he wanted to be in that position, he would naturally give his full support.
One should not be suspicious of one's own son and grandson.
But Zhu Yunwen said:
"Although Feng Sheng is related to my fifth uncle by marriage, he is a cautious and discreet person and has always kept a low profile."
Needless to say, such a person would be a great help if properly utilized.
As for the threat he himself poses, it's no longer a concern. His grandson is confident he can completely control him in the future.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Yunwen with some surprise, clearly not expecting Zhu Yunwen to be so confident.
Of course, since Zhu Yunwen was so confident, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally couldn't discourage him, so he nodded and said:
"Alright then, let Feng Sheng take this position for now. If anything changes in the future, we can make other plans later."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself that he could still live for a few more years, and as long as he was in power, he could still see many things, so he didn't really need to worry about so much for the time being.
Thinking of this, he immediately had a eunuch write an imperial edict appointing Feng Sheng as the Minister of War.
After the problem was resolved, Zhu Yunwen originally wanted to leave.
At this moment, Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, went to the imperial study, bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen, and then spoke:
"Your Majesty, I have received news that Yang Jing, the Minister of Justice, has handled many wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice, and has even accepted bribes, wrongly accusing many innocent people. Furthermore, corruption and bribery within the Ministry of Justice are becoming increasingly rampant."
All of this is inextricably linked to the Minister of Justice. This Minister of Justice not only embezzled money himself, but also allowed his subordinates to privately modify many case files in the Ministry of Justice in order to accept bribes.
In severe cases, they even directly threatened wealthy families of criminals, forcing them to bribe officials in the Ministry of Justice to find scapegoats. Those who should have been guilty went unpunished.
After Jiang Huan finished speaking, he handed a booklet to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at it, then his expression changed drastically. He slammed his fist on the table and roared:
"That bastard! How could he have fabricated so many wrongful convictions? How could there be so many cases of bribery? Does Yang Jing have a death wish?"
As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he handed the booklet in his hand to Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen took it and looked at it, his brows furrowing.
The booklet clearly recorded the wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice reviewed by the Ministry of Justice. It even detailed the reasons why some cases were deliberately fabricated and the amount of bribes received.
Each of these points was shocking and extremely serious, no wonder Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry.
Zhu Yunwen, however, said to Jiang Huan with some surprise:
"How could it have been discovered so suddenly?"
Jiang Huan said, "Your Highness, someone secretly reported us, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and provided several valid names. We immediately followed the clues to investigate and discovered a series of problems."
Zhu Yunwen immediately thought of Yang Rong, whom he had previously told him to give a task: to bring down the Minister of Justice.
Unexpectedly, news came so quickly that there was such great progress.
It seems that Yang Rong is indeed very capable, giving Zhu Yunwen a big surprise.
Zhu Yuanzhang said to Jiang Huan:
"Immediately arrest and interrogate the people involved. Make sure these cases are thoroughly investigated. Once the investigation is complete and it is confirmed that the Minister of Revenue and some officials are indeed guilty, then do not hesitate to convict them and punish them severely without leniency."
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Yuntong added:
"In addition, we should sort out those wrongful convictions and see if we can restore justice to some of them. Those who were released through connections or bribery should also be brought back to justice."
Jiang Huan nodded:
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I obey your command."
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