Beijing, Wenhua Hall.

The Wenhua Hall used to be called the side hall. Emperors Tianqi and Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty handled government affairs here. The Jiyi Hall and Bunren Hall on the left and right in front of the Wenhua Hall were temporarily used by civil and military ministers who were waiting for the emperor to summon them.

The resting and waiting place, the Main Jing Hall behind the Wenhua Hall, is where the emperor and cabinet ministers discuss important matters.

The Wu court still followed this rule. Zeng Yongzhong, the chief minister of the cabinet, originally planned to abolish these rules and establish new rules to show the differences between the Wu Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. However, Wu Zongrui did not agree. He believed that there was no need to care about these aspects.

, the main concern of the imperial court was to unify the world and appease the people.

Zeng Yongzhong, Shi Kefa, Hong Chengchou and others hurriedly arrived at the Wenhua Hall.

It had only been five days since the emperor returned to the capital, and he had been busy all the time. Naturally, Zeng Yongzhong and others had no way to rest. They were also worried and busy, implementing many specific matters. They were very relieved to do things. There was no impeachment for no reason.

After hearing the report, they can concentrate on many government affairs.

The emperor abolished the imperial examination and the imperial censorship, and Zeng Yongzhong was temporarily in charge of many matters of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. This also put Zeng Yongzhong under great pressure. You must know that the corruption and laziness of officials have been a problem for thousands of years.

These officials must be controlled by systems and rules to ensure the smooth flow of government orders. Moreover, the imperial court is vigorously promoting the major policy of integrating officials and gentry into serving errands and paying taxes, so the integrity and efficiency of the official team is even more crucial.

The Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate has always been vacant. How should the role of the Metropolitan Procuratorate be brought into play? The emperor said that the detailed regulations are still under review. What is more important is the role of the local inspection agency.

Zeng Yongzhong and others did not have specific provisions on how to establish it, nor could they think of it as far-reaching.

The situation in Houjin in the north has stabilized. Zeng Yongzhong and others believe that this is not a big deal, but the emperor attaches great importance to it. Zeng Yongzhong and others attach great importance to this provincial examination, but the emperor does not seem to be too concerned about it.

This time, something happened before the Southern Zhili Provincial Examination. Lu Faxuan specially wrote a secret note, which attracted the emperor's attention and made Zeng Yongzhong and others breathe a sigh of relief.

Entering the main hall, Zeng Yongzhong, Shi Kefa and Hong Chengchou saluted Wu Zongrui at the same time.

Wu Zongrui waved his hand to everyone and pointed to the secret fold on the table.

"This is a secret letter written by Lu Ting. Qian Qianyi, Chen Mingxia, Fang Kezhuang, Huang Zongxi and others are preparing to cause trouble in Nanjing. Moreover, Qian Qianyi wrote a special letter to Longwu Emperor Zhu Yujian, expressing his willingness to submit to Longwu.

It's a pity for the imperial court. Qian Qianyi is the leader of the Donglin Party, Huang Zongxi is the leader of Fushe, and Ruan Dacheng, the left servant of the Longwu court, is a sworn enemy of the Donglin Party. If Qian Qianyi makes trouble in Nanjing

Some things happened, and he made great contributions to the Longwu court. When he arrived in Fuzhou, he got Zhu Yujian's important help. With Huang Daozhou's help, wouldn't he want to crush Ruan Dacheng, so Ruan Dacheng wrote a high-density letter to Lu Ting..."

Zeng Yongzhong and others only shook their heads after hearing this.

"Okay, you all have a look at this secret memorial. Sir, just read the memorial."

"After sir, after reading the memorial, you all should express your views, especially your views on the Donglin Party members and Fushe. Just say so directly."

Zeng Yongzhong took the secret fold, opened it, and began to read it. Shi Kefa and Hong Chengchou listened carefully with their eyes wide open.

...

Putting down the memorial, Zeng Yongzhong thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Mr. Lu's suggestion is feasible. Measures must be taken against Qian Qianyi, Chen Mingxia, Fang Kezhuang and Huang Zongxi to prevent them from disrupting the provincial examination in Nanzhili. This imperial examination is conducted by the imperial court.

The purpose of the first imperial examination is to recruit talents for the imperial court and to better govern the world. We must attach great importance to it..."

Wu Zongrui smiled and looked at Zeng Yongzhong and spoke.

"How to punish Qian Qianyi and others is the most critical. Letting the Denglai New Army arrest Qian Qianyi and others will not have much impact. Besides, Qian Qianyi still wants to defect to the Longwu court. If he is caught

Qian Qianyi caused a bad influence and caused some people to be confused and defect to the Longwu court. The gains outweighed the losses. Lu Ting must have thought of this, so he wrote the secret."

"I think this is a good opportunity. If it is planned properly, Qian Qianyi and the others will be exposed to their true colors, which will severely blow the arrogance of the Donglin Party members and Fushe, and let more scholars understand. Only then will

It’s the best choice.”

After Wu Zongrui finished speaking, Zeng Yongzhong looked at Shi Kefa and Hong Chengchou and shook his head.

"Your Majesty, I have not thought so much for the time being, especially how to attack the Donglin Party members and Fushe. I feel that in the previous dynasty, Wei Zhongxian suppressed the Donglin Party members, which had a very bad impact. If the imperial court suppresses the Donglin Party members again,

The Lin Party members and Fushe are also afraid of causing bad influence."

After Zeng Yongzhong finished speaking, Wu Zongrui nodded slightly.

"Sir, your reminder is very good. I'm afraid Master Xianzhi and Mr. Hong think the same way, so I'll tell you."

Wu Zongrui stood up, walked slowly, and stopped when he came to Zeng Yongzhong.

"As you all know, the Eight Gentlemen of Donglin, they require officials to be honest and serve their duties, to revitalize the administration of government, to open up the channels of speech, to eradicate the accumulated abuses of the government and the public, and to oppose the corruption and perversion of the law by the powerful. These proposals sound very good no matter when and where they are.

of."

"What a pity. When these Donglin Party members took power, everything changed."

"Now let me talk about the three major crimes of the Donglin Party and Fushe."

"First, intensify party strife. Parties agree with each other and attack those who are different. They do whatever they can to make those who obey me prosper and those who go against me perish. The fight between the Donglin Party members and Wei Zhongxian and others is also the fight between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party. I will not say more about it.

, the Donglin Party members were able to control public opinion very well and gained a great reputation in this struggle, so much so that you all thought that the Donglin Party members were correct. However, after the demise of the Eunuch Party, the Donglin Party members

You all know what the party struggle is like. They not only ruthlessly suppressed those so-called heretics, but also had a lot of internal strife. Yuan Chonghuan was affected, and Ruan Dacheng's rebellion is an obvious example."

"Second, the Donglin Party members and the Fushe asked others to be loyal to the emperor, serve the country, and support the country's justice. However, when it was their turn to contribute, they were completely different and put their own interests above the country. This is extremely hypocritical and selfish.

An example of this is the abolition of trade taxes. On the one hand, Donglin Party members and merchants colluded with each other to make a lot of money from trade transactions. On the other hand, they were unwilling to pay a penny of taxes. This time, the imperial court implemented the system of officials and gentry working together as servants and paying taxes.

Matters, including the previously implemented matter of collecting trade taxes, have infringed on the interests of these Donglin Party members, so it is strange that they do not object."

"Thirdly, most of the Donglin Party members and those who returned to society have great ambitions and limited talents, and regard themselves as moral guardians. They entered the court as officials and did not make any practical achievements, but their biggest task was to attack their colleagues. They felt that they were

He is a good minister who governs the world. In fact, he cannot destroy the Eight Banners Army of the Later Jin Dynasty externally. He cannot quell the civil uprising of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong internally. Economically, he does not have the means to enrich the country and strengthen the people. Militarily, he does not have the ability to destroy the enemy and bring peace to the world. In the end, he just relies on his mouth.

, and relied on this mouth to gain power."

“Let’s take a look at the Donglin Party’s proposition that officials should be honest and dedicated to the public affairs, revitalize the administration of officials, open up the channels of expression, eradicate the accumulated abuses of the government and the public, and oppose corruption and perversion of the law by the powerful. Have they achieved it themselves? They have not achieved it at all.”

It was extremely quiet inside the main hall. Zeng Yongzhong, Shi Kefa and Hong Chengchou listened very carefully.

After Wu Zongrui finished speaking, they were still thinking and did not react for a while.

When Zeng Yongzhong clasped his fists again, Wu Zongrui waved his hand.

"Sir, just as I just said, you draft a document and tell Lu Ting the main meaning, and let Lu Ting follow this idea to deal with the Donglin Party members and the people who restored society, so that their faces will be completely exposed.

come out."

"The Donglin Party and Fushe used to rely on the desire to control public opinion, but now we are treating them the same way as they do, not giving them any chance to confuse the people and suppressing them completely."

"Behind the Donglin Party members and Fushe are some scholar-bureaucrats and businessmen in the south. These people are quite powerful, and we must fundamentally shake their foundations."

"You all must remember that what we are attacking is not just the Donglin Party and Fushe, we are attacking an ideology, which means shouting slogans, demanding others with a moral stick, and disrupting the situation.

, do not do practical things, but are greedy for pleasure, unwilling to contribute, and extremely selfish thoughts. Such thoughts must not spread and must be eradicated from the root."

Wu Zongrui finally finished speaking.

Zeng Yongzhong finally spoke.

"The emperor is far-sighted and far-sighted, and I can't wait for it. I thought that the emperor had already pointed out the solution to the problem of the rural examination in Nanzhili, and then Mr. Lu carried it out smoothly."

Wu Zongrui pointed to a document placed on the desk.

"This is the solution I thought of. You can discuss it with me. Once you decide it, send it to Nanjing as quickly as possible. If it rains, it will rain. If you want to get married, it will always come.

Come on, let's just let Qian Qianyi and others show their true colors, and then take off their masks..."

After Zeng Yongzhong and others left the hall, Liao Wenru came in.

Wu Zongrui looked at Liao Wenru.

"Wen Ru, please remind Liu Ning appropriately not to be impatient. Some things should be done slowly. A sudden adverse change in the situation is not a bad thing. It is like an abscess on the body. Sometimes the abscess appears on the body.

Once the sore is broken, it is easier to treat. Another thing Liu Ning must understand is that you can conquer the world on horseback, but you cannot rule the world on horseback."

Liao Wenru cupped his fists and spoke.
Chapter completed!