After the Minister of Justice was investigated, he was quickly arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Minister of Justice, imprisoned in jail, confessed to all his crimes.
The Ministry of Justice suddenly became a department without a head official.
The next morning at court, Zhu Yuanzhang announced the crimes committed by the Minister of Justice, which surprised the officials.
Everyone involuntarily looked at Zhu Yunwen, after all, the Minister of Justice hadn't been in trouble earlier or later, but of all times, trouble had broken out at this moment.
The day before, the Minister of War had retired to his hometown, and the next day the Minister of Justice was investigated.
If you said this wasn't Zhu Yunwen's doing, no one present would believe it.
At the same time, this made a group of civil officials feel extremely terrified. After all, not long ago, four ministers from the six ministries had been dismissed, beaten to death, or investigated.
Only the Minister of Works and the Minister of Personnel remained, but these two had long since realized the situation and knew that Zhu Yunwen had no chance of turning things around, so they were extremely respectful to Zhu Yunwen during this period.
They feared they would become Zhu Yunwen's next target to wield the butcher's knife.
Therefore, it can be seen that Zhu Yunwen had effectively taken control of the Six Ministries.
In the imperial court, the Six Ministries are mainly responsible for some important political affairs. If Zhu Yunwen controls all of them, it is equivalent to Zhu Yunwen controlling half of the imperial court.
Those officials with ulterior motives have already realized that Zhu Yunwen's position is now unshakeable.
His methods are also very ruthless. It is basically an inevitable trend that he will forcefully ascend to the supreme position in the future.
The only options now are to either comply or defy them and court death.
Everyone knows how to choose.
However, a very small number of officials were still somewhat unwilling to accept this.
This is useless.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Yunwen:
"Who should be given the position of Minister of Justice?"
This was also a deliberate attempt to elevate Zhu Yunwen's status in front of all the civil and military officials, to make everyone understand that Zhu Yunwen had a great deal of influence in the transfer and appointment of officials in the court.
Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment, then smiled and said:
"General Lan Yu is capable of this position."
These words shocked the imperial court!
Zhu Yuanzhang was also somewhat surprised and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Nan Yu is a military general. Would it be inappropriate to put him in charge of the Ministry of Justice?"
Zhu Yunwen said, "Lan Yu's leg has been injured for so long, and although he has recovered a lot, it is still difficult for him to go to the battlefield. We can't let him be idle. This position in charge of the Ministry of Justice is a good fit for him."
This statement implies to Zhu Yuanzhang that Lan Yu is currently unable to go to the battlefield, so it doesn't matter if Lan Yu is given a certain amount of power.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Lan Yu's main threat lay in his control of the military.
If Zhu Yunwen had suggested giving Lan Yu some military power, Zhu Yuanzhang would have refused outright.
However, it would be much safer to put him in charge of the Ministry of Justice.
In fact, this was also a way for Zhu Yunwen to protect Lan Yu. Lan Yu's leg was almost healed. If his leg healed, would he continue to be a problem that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to get rid of?
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried that Zhu Yunwen would not be able to control Lan Yu in the future. So, in order to protect Lan Yu, Zhu Yunwen gave him a civil official position.
Over time, he might be able to eliminate some of the threats that Zhu Yuanzhang posed to him as a military general.
Zhu Yuanzhang respected Zhu Yunwen's ideas, so he said:
“What you said makes sense. Talented people cannot be left unused. Since he is injured and cannot go to the battlefield, he can be used in other places. Let him be the Minister of Justice.”
Zhu Yunwen cupped his hands and said:
"On behalf of Lan Yu, I thank my Imperial Grandfather."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Tell the officials about the land redistribution order you are going to implement, and tell them exactly how to carry it out."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and looked at the civil and military officials below, saying:
"For more than twenty years since the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty, we have always adhered to the principle of putting the people first and strengthening the country through agriculture."
Therefore, some unreasonable policies that have been implemented in the past will be officially abolished today.
For example, land annexation, which had the most significant impact, has been completely abolished today.
Upon hearing this, the officials below immediately erupted in excitement, discussing amongst themselves with expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Some were even quite angry.
After all, this land annexation also benefited many officials present, and many of them were granted land as a reward.
Then, they controlled a large amount of land, both in the capital and in their hometown in the east.
The officials in the imperial court can be considered the pinnacle of the scholar-official class.
Some of them even owned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, or even more; those who held noble titles owned even more fertile land.
This even includes some farmland that they have illegally occupied.
Therefore, these are all in their interests, and Zhu Yunwen's proposal to abolish land annexation at this moment undoubtedly threatens the livelihoods of these officials.
Immediately, an official stepped forward and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Your Highness, this land annexation has been practiced for over a thousand years, and it has always been perfectly reasonable. Why do you suddenly want to abolish it?"
Another official spoke up: "I also oppose this matter. I urge Your Majesty and Your Highness to reconsider."
Many officials spoke out, as this affected the interests of the majority, forcing them to step forward.
Even among some military generals, some stepped forward.
After all, the land they control is a major source of their income.
Zhu Yunwen frowned and said coldly:
"I am determined to abolish this land annexation policy. If you have any objections, you must keep them to yourselves. As I just said, the Ming Dynasty prioritizes the people and strengthens the nation through agriculture."
Unfortunately, most of this fertile land is controlled by you nobles, officials, and landlords. You are all incredibly wealthy, living a life of plenty. But should the common people at the bottom of society be your slaves?
Anyone who objects to my proposal today to abolish land annexation is opposing me. I will remove all obstacles and implement it forcefully. I hope that everyone present will not become a stumbling block to this policy.
After Zhu Yunwen finished speaking, all the officials present looked at each other in bewilderment.
Although they were very resentful, they still had a certain fear of Zhu Yunwen in the imperial court.
In particular, four out of the six ministers were brought down by Zhu Yunwen.
This gave them reason to believe that if they opposed Zhu Yunwen, they would not only gain nothing, but also suffer a terrible death.
If we lose this lucrative piece of land annexation, it's just a matter of taking one less bite.
If you lose your life here with Zhu Yunwen, then you'll have nothing left.
After some deliberation, the officials all fell silent.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled. He glanced at Zhu Yunwen beside him and knew that Zhu Yunwen was already displaying domineering aura and beginning to show signs of imperial power.
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