Zhan Zhaoheng, the governor of Southern Zhili, stood solemnly outside the Wenhua Hall, feeling uneasy in his heart. He had not been the governor of Southern Zhili for a long time and had a lot to do. He suddenly received the emperor's order and rushed to the capital immediately. He did not know what it was about.

After thinking carefully, Zhan Zhaoheng still couldn't calm down. The emperor summoned him urgently. It should be an urgent matter. What exactly it was, he didn't know at all. This was very strange.

In the Wenhua Hall, Wu Zongrui looked at Zeng Yongzhong and others with a sullen face.

"You all know about the salt shop on South Street in Bian Town, Yulin. What kind of salt shop? They resell military horses, forcibly sell salt, and make huge profits. What do the rules of the court mean to them? They are members of the Wu family anyway.

, even if I, the emperor, know about it, what can I do? Is it possible to kill people..."

"You don't know if you don't check it. But when you check it, you will be shocked. You are a salt merchant in Yulinbian Town. When you arrive in Dengzhou, you become a cloth merchant. You are also planning to go to Quanzhou, Fujian Province for development. This is a plan to take it all. I, the emperor, sit upright

In the Forbidden City, brothers have done such bold and absurd things, but I don’t know. Does your cabinet know about it? How long are you going to keep it from me..."

"The county magistrate, magistrate, and governor don't know that they usually report good news but not bad news. Could it be that matters involving my Wu family can be put aside lightly? If everyone in my royal family is like this, then

Do you still want this country..."

"You have repeatedly advised me that this matter should not be dealt with publicly and should not be reported to the newspaper. What's wrong? Are you trying to cover up the shame of my royal family? Do you know how the people will think if such things happen repeatedly? With their strength

Why do they believe in the imperial court and the government? They will only think that the world is as black as crows..."

Having said this, Wu Zongrui sighed heavily.

"Sir, Lu Ting, please tell me. Tell me everything you think of. There is no need to be shy..."

Zeng Yongzhong swallowed a mouthful of saliva and spoke with some difficulty.

"Your Majesty, I believe that His Highness Wu Zongqian did not run the business himself, and his family members also acted in the local area under the banner of being masters. As for the matter of not allowing members of the royal family to engage in business, His Highness Wu Zongqian did not do this well.

..”

Before Lu Faxuan could speak, Wu Zongrui sneered and spoke.

"Sir, I never refute you directly, but I don't agree with your opinion."

"How dare I have the courage to say that I don't want local officials to serve as officials? I dare to say that we will mobilize the new Denglai army. Wen Ru, including Wen Ru, dare not just say that we will mobilize the new Denglai army. Those bastard servants actually say such arrogant things. Behind my back

If there is no one to support me, dare I say it? I will not die. Wu Zongqian turned out to be a bit naughty. I will never forget what happened when he returned to his hometown. I thought that after taking him with me and giving him a lecture, I would know how to be a good person.

Oh, who knew that this bastard, who didn’t know how to repent, would do such a big thing behind my back..."

"Princes who break the law are as guilty as the common people. This sentence is not just a saying. It is already a rule of the court. I have said long ago that you must first correct yourself before you correct others. Otherwise, how can you convince the world..."

"How to deal with Wu Zongqian, you just say it. If you think the method I proposed is inappropriate, you also say..."

Lu Faxuan looked at Zeng Yongzhong and spoke bravely.

"Your Majesty, I think it is not appropriate to deprive His Highness Wu Zongqian of all his titles and send him to be imprisoned in the Zongren Mansion. Regardless of his identity, His Highness Wu Zongqian will have to go through a joint trial by the Ministry of Punishment and the three halls of Dali Temple before making a statement. I also think that, This matter should not be published in the Royal Daily. After all, this is an internal matter of the imperial court, no, the royal family..."

Wu Zongrui sighed again.

"I understand what you are thinking. It is nothing more than to retain favor for me, but have you ever thought about it? There is a second time after the first time. My face was saved, but in the end what I lost may be the court's face. Losing it What is important is the support and trust of the people of the world for the imperial court. The dynasty has not been established for a long time. Everything we implement, including many things we plan to vigorously implement in the future, will involve the interests of all parties. If we do it steadily and correctly , then others will have nothing to say..."

"I feel uncomfortable making this decision. Lu Ting mentioned the three-party trial. Needless to say, I also know the result of the trial. If I don't put forward any suggestions, the three-party court will deal with it according to the ordinary merchants' tax disclosure method. , In fact, I still can't bear it. If Wu Zongqian really dared to interfere with the affairs of the Denglai New Army, and really directly interfered with the appointment of local officials, it would be enough to behead him, instead of depriving him of all his titles..."

Zeng Yongzhong looked at Lu Faxuan, gritted his teeth and spoke again.

"Your Majesty, I feel that the punishment given to His Highness Wu Zongqian is a bit harsh. According to the law, it will not be so..."

Wu Zongrui waved his hand.

"Members of the royal family should set an example for the people in the world and must be stricter in their words and deeds. They have enjoyed countless glory and wealth, which are not earned by their own hard work. Therefore, they should be strict with themselves and serve the court at all times. For the sake of thinking, if they can't do it, when handling it, they must not only follow the requirements of the law, but also the strictest standards."

"Okay, the cabinet will no longer discuss this matter. Let Zhan Zhaoheng come in. He has been waiting outside for a while."

...

Entering the hall, Zhan Zhaoheng felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere.

"I pay my respects to the Emperor..."

"Forgive me, Yueru, you should be the governor of Shaanxi for more than two years..."

Zhan Zhaoheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately answered.

"I served as governor of Shaanxi for two years and seven months..."

"Oh, it's been a long time, so let me ask you, when you were the governor of Shaanxi, did you encounter anything that was not dealt with impartially? I remind you to think about it..."

Just when Zhan Zhaoheng was about to open his mouth to defend himself, he saw Zeng Yongzhong and others lowering their heads.

After reminiscing for a moment, Zhan Zhaoheng clasped his fists and spoke.

"Your Majesty, when I was the governor of Shaanxi, there must have been some things that I didn't handle well..."

Wu Zongrui's face darkened and he looked at Zhan Zhaoheng.

"Yue Ru, I'll give you a chance to remember carefully. If you can think of something that wasn't handled well, I won't hold you accountable if you say it here. If you talk nonsense, then you don't have to go to Nanjing. went..."

Zhan Zhaoheng shivered and almost knelt down.

The hall was unusually quiet, and sweat dropped from Zhan Zhaoheng's forehead.

Finally, Zhan Zhaoheng lowered his head and spoke with difficulty.

"I, I have something that I haven't dealt with or reported. It involves the salt shop in Yulinbian Town..."

The look on Wu Zongrui's face relaxed slightly.

"Tell me specifically what the situation is."

Sweat dripped from his forehead and fell to the ground. Zhan Zhaoheng did not dare to wipe it away, so he clasped his fists and spoke.

"Yes, it was reported by Yulin Bian Town, saying that it was a salt merchant. It was probably run directly by someone from the royal family. I saw the document below and thought that someone from the royal family was involved, so I didn't pursue it..."

Wu Zongrui tapped the imperial case gently.

"Oh, if someone from the royal family is involved, you don't want to provoke or deal with it, so as not to offend the emperor, right? Yueru, you are now the governor of Nanzhili. There are more merchants in Nanjing. If someone from the royal family intervenes,

Do you also turn a blind eye to Nanjing's commercial matters and let it go..."

Zhan Zhaoheng knelt down with a plop.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I do have selfish motives and do not want to cause trouble with the royal family. I am a little scared. I believe that family affection is the most precious love in the world. I really do not want to get caught in the whirlpool..."

Wu Zongrui closed his eyes and opened them after a while.

"Yue Ru, get up. I have forgotten this incident. There are too many records in the history books. It is understandable that you are afraid of falling into the whirlpool of royal battles after reading the history books. But have you ever known that if you do this,

Is there any implication of disloyalty to the imperial court? If people from the royal family act recklessly below and local officials ignore them, what will happen in the future..."

Zhan Zhaoheng did not dare to stand up and remained kneeling.

When Zeng Yongzhong clasped his fists and was about to speak, Wu Zongrui waved his hand.

"Sir, there is no need to say anything. I just said that Yueru took the initiative to speak out, so I will not punish you. There are some things that I did not fully explain clearly and did not set iron rules. Yueru, please be free."

Zhan Zhaoheng finally stood up.

"Yueru, you don't need a heavy hammer to play the drum. You should understand what to do next. If a similar situation occurs in the future, you will be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor."

"I used to think that it would be good to leave my family in Jiangxi and let them live a free life without being bound by the royal family. Now it seems that I was wrong. According to the decree, everyone in the Wu family in Xinlongli,

Including the queen and her family, they are not allowed to interfere in any local affairs, they are not allowed to bully the weak, and they are not allowed to act recklessly. If anyone dares to violate the rules, the local government will report it directly, and the cabinet and the court will deal with it seriously without showing any favoritism."

"My father and his family have all come to the capital and are not allowed to stay in Xinlongli any longer."

"All circumstances related to Wu Zongqian's handling will be published in the Royal Daily, and local officials will be reprimanded for not reporting the matter. If such a situation occurs in the future, provincial, state and county officials will deal with it together."

Speaking of this, Wu Zongrui remembered something.

"As for the collection of taxes, the reporting system proposed by Mr. is being implemented. This method is somewhat inappropriate. Large local households can often take advantage of loopholes to evade taxes. We cannot completely eliminate human kindness and power. I think this method needs to be revised.

After detailed discussions between the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs, I suggest adopting a registration system. This may be more troublesome and make it more difficult for local governments to do things, but this can avoid many disadvantages."

"Sir Huang, the Inspection and Inspection Commission must strengthen supervision on this matter and dare to take action. Some things are indeed difficult to do, but we always have to do it. If we do the difficult things, the world will be governed in an orderly manner.
Chapter completed!