The eldest prince was sentenced to confinement for one year
Chapter 43: The eldest prince was punished to reflect on his mistakes for a year 2
Zhao Zhengyuan waited until the blood on the eldest prince's knees soaked through his outer robe before speaking: "Your Majesty, please punish this old minister. It is my fault for failing to properly care for the eldest prince, allowing him to commit this heinous crime. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to resign and return home."
"Why do you say that, Lord Zhao? Since you were not aware of this matter, you are innocent. How can I not distinguish between reward and punishment?"
"The Minister of Justice has already started the investigation and will have a result soon. We will discuss it again at tomorrow's morning court."
Wu Yi already knew his fate. His official position was coming to an end. He couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. Besides panic and sadness, he also felt a little relieved that he no longer had to worry every day.
In the Great Xia Dynasty, unless it was a serious crime of treason, civil officials of the fourth rank and above would not be executed, and the maximum sentence would be twenty years in prison. When the new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, he would be released and return home. I imagine the eldest prince would have made some arrangements in prison to prevent him from suffering.
"Quanfu, come in and help the eldest prince up, and send him back to the prince's residence. Also, ask the imperial physician to go to the residence to treat him."
"I obey your command." Eunuch Quan opened the door to the imperial study and walked quickly inside. He stood behind the eldest prince and bowed before helping him up and walking out. As soon as he crossed the threshold of the imperial study, he shouted loudly enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear, "Come and help me support the eldest prince. Can't you see he's injured? You have no sense at all."
"Hurry up and go find Dean Wang at the Imperial Hospital and take him to the Crown Prince's residence first!"
"Come here, quickly bring a sedan chair and take the eldest prince back to the palace."
Soon, the aristocratic families of Fengjing received news: the eldest prince had embezzled official funds to replace inferior cotton clothing for the Zhenbei Army, causing thousands of soldiers to freeze to death. The emperor was furious and punished the eldest prince in the imperial study. It is said that when he left the palace, he was supported by Eunuch Quan, and his legs were bleeding. Wang Zhengyuan, the Imperial Hospital, accompanied him to the eldest prince's residence to treat him.
After receiving the news, the old man of the Feng family snorted coldly. It was such a big thing, it seemed that the emperor still wanted to protect the eldest prince.
The next day, when the court was in session, the imperial censors engaged in heated debates with red faces, demanding that the emperor severely punish the mastermind. This made the eldest prince, who was standing beside him with a cane, look even paler.
Finally, the emperor issued an edict: all officials involved in this matter were demoted and demoted to commoners. The Minister of Revenue Wu Yi, as the official in charge of this matter, was not only dismissed from his official position and demoted to commoner, but also imprisoned for ten years and could not be released without amnesty. The eldest prince was to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion for a year, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the eldest prince's palace.
In the court, all the ministers knelt and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise." But what he was thinking in his heart, only he himself knew.
"Minister Zhong, please prepare a list of vacant positions as soon as possible and submit it to the cabinet for review."
"I obey the order."
"Is there anyone who would like to volunteer to take on this task of remaking 200,000 cotton-padded jackets? It must be completed within a month."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, all the ministers lowered their heads, cowering like turtles. How could this task be completed within a month? Where could they obtain such a huge amount of cotton, and where could they find so many seamstresses to make clothes? Normally, this task would take half a year. Everyone dared only grumble in their hearts, not daring to express the slightest dissatisfaction on their faces.
The emperor also knew that this was a difficult task, but no matter how difficult it was, it had to be completed and sent to the northern border, so as not to let all the soldiers feel disheartened.
"Adjourn the court. You can discuss this matter in private. I want the result at tomorrow morning court." The emperor became angry when he saw the court officials acting like quails. He flicked his sleeves and stood up to walk towards the Qinzheng Hall, leaving a group of ministers standing in the Hongwu Hall staring at each other.
"Does the Prime Minister have any good ideas?" Minister of War Wang Jinzhong was the first to break the silence.
"Not at all." Li Min glanced at Minister Wang and refused directly.
“What should I do…”
“Please don’t let this huge problem fall on me…”
"Who said it wasn't? Time is too tight..."
As Li Min finished speaking, the court officials below began to whisper to each other, and the noise gradually grew louder. Some were anxious to shirk responsibility, while others prayed that they would not be chosen.
"Okay, the five ministers will follow the three of us into the cabinet to discuss the matter. Everyone else should leave the court. It's so disrespectful to make such a noise here." Seeing that the Hongwu Palace was even more lively than the market in the west of the city, Li Min quickly drove everyone away.
After hearing the Prime Minister's words, everyone stopped talking immediately. In an instant, everyone in Hongwu Hall became as quiet as a chicken. Then, those who were not called to stay rushed out of the hall like a tide.
After the cabinet was seated, Han Ge Lao saw that everyone was silent and spoke first: "Now, tell us what you have to say. It seems that His Majesty has no patience to wait this time."
"Where can you find a merchant who has so much cotton in stock now? Cotton cloth is easier to find," Minister Qi added.
"Apart from cotton, who can find so many needlework women to make clothes? To make 200,000 pieces in a month, it would probably take at least 20,000 people. If one person makes ten cotton-padded clothes a month, then apart from taking a short break to eat, the rest of the time is spent on making clothes." Minister Peng did a rough calculation, and the number was frightening.
"Spread the news first. The court is purchasing a large amount of cotton. Whether you are a merchant or a family member who has extra cotton and is willing to buy or sell, you can go to the Ministry of Revenue to trade... How many people are left in the Ministry of Revenue?" Li Min stopped talking and turned to look at Minister Zhong.
"To reply to the Prime Minister, there is only one assistant minister, three doctors, five assistant ministers, and two principals left." Minister Zhong took out the booklet he carried with him, flipped through it, and replied.
"How can such a small number of people be enough? Do you have any candidates for Shangshu and Shilang in mind? Tell us and let's discuss it first. Let him take over the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue temporarily." Li Min put down the teacup in his hand and glanced at Shangshu Zhong.
"I have decided to promote Xu Mingda, the former assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, to the rank of minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and to promote two doctors from the three ministries to assistant ministers. The remaining assistant doctors will be promoted to doctors first, and the remaining vacant positions will be filled by officials of the next level who are evaluated as outstanding in the annual appraisals of each ministry. Other departments will have one or two vacancies temporarily, and they will be transferred or promoted from those evaluated as outstanding by local officials." Minister Zhong had thought of a plan for the transfer of officials as soon as the incident happened.
As for the candidates for excellence evaluation, they will not be able to make it this year. The evaluation results will be announced before the end of February every year. Now that it is the end of the year and the deadline is approaching, we can only give priority to those who were evaluated last year. It is a matter of time and fate.
"Lord Han, Lord Zhao, what do you think of Minister Zhong's proposal?" Li Min looked around and finally looked at the other two colleagues who had worked with him for more than ten years.
"I think it's feasible." Han Zheng paused for a moment and then agreed to Minister Zhong's proposal.
"Okay." Zhao Zhengyuan had no reason to object.
"Well, then, let Xu Mingda temporarily take over the position of Minister of Revenue and lead the production of this cotton-padded jacket."
Hearing this, everyone turned their eyes to the Prime Minister. Minister Peng's eyes were full of surprise. Minister Wang accidentally knocked the teacup in his hand on the table, making a crisp sound. The rest of them had indifferent expressions and no emotion could be seen.
"Okay, that's all for today. Minister Zhong, please inform Lord Xu to get ready. Everyone, please go home." After Li Min finished speaking, he was the first to stand up and walk out.
The other two cabinet ministers left afterwards, and the remaining ministers looked at each other. Minister Zhou was the first to follow the cabinet ministers in leaving, and the last few people went back home in silence.
Late that night.
"Teacher, if you hand this matter over directly to Xu Mingda, can you guarantee that he can complete it successfully? If he fails to complete it, won't that make room for others?" Minister Zhong asked anxiously in Li Min's study.
He had managed to secure Xu Mingda's current position with great difficulty. If he failed to do so, the position of Minister of Revenue would be given directly to the eldest prince or the third prince's men. This would be a rare opportunity for him to bring down Wu Yi, the eldest prince's confidant.
"It doesn't matter, the Third Prince will help him." Li Min's hand, which was painting, paused for a moment.
"Ah...this...Teacher, have you received any other news?" Minister Zhong couldn't control his expression for a moment, and his no longer handsome old face looked a little funny.
"This summer, the Third Prince had his merchants hoard a large amount of cotton. I originally thought he was causing trouble for the Ministry of Revenue, but now I think his people have long discovered that the First Prince was tampering with the cotton clothes and were just waiting for this moment. I just didn't expect his Minister Wang to be involved in this and was demoted. Now he will definitely try to win over Xu Mingda, so you don't have to worry about this matter."
After the final stroke, a vast expanse of mountains and rivers appeared before Zhong Shangshu's eyes. The surging river surged toward him, and in the distance, towering, steep mountains seemed to be shrouded in mist. The teacher's painting skills were becoming increasingly exquisite.
"Yes, teacher, I know what to do." After the teacher explained his doubts, Minister Zhong stood up and bowed to take his leave.
The Third Prince’s Mansion at this time.
"Master, are you sure you want to win over Xu Mingda? He is a student of Minister Zhong and is deeply loved by him. He even married his granddaughter to him." The counselor was puzzled.
"Yes, she is just the legitimate daughter of his third illegitimate son. Shangshu Zhong has many granddaughters. Every famous family in Fengjing has a Miss Zhong in the inner courtyard. This prince also admires Shangshu Zhong's ability to cast a wide net." It was rare for Sun Zehao to evaluate a court official like this, which made his advisers speechless about Shangshu Zhong.
"Master, the woman you asked me to send has now settled in Wangjia Village on the outskirts of the city. The person who is monitoring her reported that Xu Mingda spends one day in that house every month." Another counselor reported.
"Okay, I get it. It's true that old love is hard to forget. If he doesn't go, this prince will have to think about it again. Then things will be easier to handle." Sun Zehao sneered in his heart. He was another man who was tripped up by a woman.
"Master, who is this woman? She is so important to him."
"The Xu and Wang families originally had an engagement with Wang Yuntang's daughter, but later Wang Yuntang was involved in a corruption case and is still in prison. So the engagement between the two families is no longer valid. It's just that they have been childhood sweethearts. The Wang family became poor and lonely after their property was confiscated. This prince was kind enough to have his beloved sent to reunite with him. I think he will thank me." Sun Zehao's explanation was a bit nonchalant. After hearing this, none of the counselors objected.
At the morning court the next day, the emperor did not say a word about the cabinet's arrangements, but tacitly agreed to let Xu Mingda temporarily take over the position of Minister of Revenue and let him deal with this difficult issue.
After the court session, Xu Mingda's former colleagues at the Ministry of Revenue were torn between celebrating his promotion or worrying about the dangerous burden he shouldered. They struggled to speak, but ultimately couldn't. Instead, Xu Mingda patted his shoulders, reassuring him that nothing would happen and there was no need to worry.
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