The crackdown on corruption in the bureaucracy seems to be escalating. Starting with the Ministry of Personnel, other departments have also been targeted, and various acts of bribery and abuse of power have emerged, including the Five Military Commissions. The emperor has been cracking down hard on these cases.
What's most worrying is the Maritime Trade Office and the Bank, two government departments that Emperor Yingzong valued highly, yet they became the two places most rife with corruption. This is probably because these two departments did indeed deal with real money, making corruption all the more natural.
Zhu Yunying was indeed furious, so it was quite normal for him to see some convicted officials being imprisoned or the Embroidered Uniform Guards confiscating their property by imperial decree. In the Jiaosifang area, the families of some convicted officials could no longer live in luxury; they were reduced to slavery, servants, or even prostitutes.
The idea of being soft-hearted or soft-hearted simply doesn't exist for Zhu Yunying. He felt that the greatest act of benevolence was not continuing the practice of skinning people alive during the reign of Emperor Zhu. He was never that kind of 'benevolent emperor'.
Ru Chang was somewhat worried. After returning to his residence, he silently drank. He had been under a lot of pressure lately.
“Father, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is gradually regaining its strength.” Ru Jian looked at Ru Chang and said with concern, “There are all sorts of rumors going around. A few days ago, the Embroidered Uniform Guard went straight into the Imperial Academy to arrest the sons of corrupt officials, which has drawn a lot of criticism from the literati.”
Ru Chang glanced at her eldest son and said, "Don't get involved in these matters. Your status is not ordinary now."
Ru Jian is, after all, Ru Chang's eldest son, and most importantly, he is now the Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant. If we consider seniority, he is even Emperor Ying Shi's uncle. At this point, if Ru Jian were to interfere in court affairs, it would easily cause unnecessary trouble.
Ru Jian wasn't actually opposed to his status as a prince consort; in the Ming Dynasty, prince consorts weren't excluded from the imperial court. Many prince consorts held real power, with Mei Yin, Wang Ning, Guo Zhen, Hu Guan, and Feng Cheng being prime examples. However, considering they all came from military backgrounds, there seemed to be no real comparison.
However, regardless of the circumstances, becoming a prince consort in the Ming Dynasty was not the same as during the Song Dynasty, where becoming a prince consort meant cutting oneself off from the court.
Ru Chang sighed and said, "I never imagined that corruption would be so rampant. In the past, when the Emperor Emeritus was in power, the administration was quite clean and honest. In just a few short years, how many corrupt officials there have become."
Ru Jian immediately said, "It's not that Your Majesty is doing a bad job in rectifying officialdom, but Your Majesty has been making great use of the secret police and imperial guards in this rectification campaign. If this continues, I'm worried that the secret police and imperial guards will become rampant in the future."
Although Ru Jian hadn't witnessed the full extent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's arrogance in its earlier years, their fearsome reputation was truly formidable. However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been lying low for the past few years, so Ru Jian still had some impressions of them, and it was normal for him to feel some apprehension.
“His Majesty has his own plans,” Ru Chang sighed and said, “As his father, I haven’t been able to see His Majesty these past few days. The civil and military officials in the court also find it difficult to see His Majesty.”
During the morning court session, one could certainly see Emperor Ying Shi, and many civil and military officials would discuss matters such as rectifying official corruption or impeaching the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Such actions did indeed occur.
But so what? During court sessions, Emperor Yingshi would certainly dodge the questions and deceive the civil and military officials. Once court was over, Emperor Yingshi would disappear, and Wang Chengen would use various excuses to block the requests of some civil and military officials to see him.
Emperor Ingshi is now using rogue tactics, and it seems that he really has no intention of concealing his actions and intentions.
But what could he do? He was the emperor, and the kind of emperor who held absolute power. No matter how much dissatisfaction and complaints the officials had, they could only obediently suppress them; they simply couldn't think of any other way to resolve the situation.
It wasn't just Ru Chang and his son who were troubled; many civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty were also feeling quite distressed at this time.
The emperor's crackdown on corruption was widely accepted. This was likely because these officials were upright and had nothing to fear; they were not worried about the executioner's blade falling on their heads, and remained the emperor's most reliable and capable ministers.
What these people were truly worried about was the resurgence of the secret police and their growing power. Sometimes it was better to discuss these issues in court than to involve the secret police and their associates. This was tantamount to the emperor distrusting his officials and a clear warning.
At such a moment, no matter how much grumbling there was, there seemed to be no other way. After all, Emperor Ying Shi was determined to rectify officialdom and add another layer of supervision to the civil and military officials.
Their discontent could only be suppressed at this time, since the civil and military officials seemed to be no match for the emperor, and could only silently try to relieve some of the pressure.
Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and laughed as he looked at the memorials. "Since they can't see us now, they can only submit memorials to try and defend themselves. If we keep the memorials in the dark, these people will be at a loss."
Zhu Yunying didn't care about shameless methods at all. He genuinely didn't care whether these methods were somewhat underhanded or not. As long as they brought good results, that was enough for Zhu Yunying. That was the most important thing.
As for other matters, they can really be ignored. There's no need to care too much or be too sensitive about them. He's not trying to be a perfect saint, and he disdains the so-called "perfect old man." Such empty fame is not worth mentioning to Zhu Yunying.
However, upon reflection, Zhu Yunying was also quite pleased, "The foundation laid by my grandfather was truly excellent. Imperial power was highly centralized, so the emperor's will could be best implemented."
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