Chapter 108 Zhu Bajie said

The emperor presented a letter of national signature signed by the Queen of England, Bonaparte III of France, Isabella II of Spain and others. The emperor didn't read it and put it aside, "Fifth Lao, has it been a lot of hard work in the past year?"

"I dare not deceive the emperor, I am really tired. Especially when I take a boat, you know that I am a land duck and don't have any water at all. I always look at the water on the boat, and I am always afraid of falling down. If that's true, it will become what Zhu Bajie said in "Journey to the West", 'The master's surname is Chen.'"

Chen Futang laughed loudly! The emperor bent down and coughed violently in his throat. Liufu, Jingyu and others were also laughing at King Dun's words, so they hurriedly covered their mouths and laughed, and turned their pink face red, but they didn't dare to stay away, so they had to force themselves to hold on.

After a long time, the emperor's laughter gradually subsided, "You old fifth brother! You haven't seen each other for a year, and you still don't change your true nature! I haven't laughed like this for a long time. Well said!"

Yi Qiong laughed a little, "Your Majesty, I have visited the countries of Britain and France this time, and the kings of Britain and France have repeatedly begged that our Celestial Empire can abandon past grudges and have good friends with the countries. All the unhappiness in the past should be swept by one. I hope that the Emperor of the Celestial Empire will be approved."

"Tell me, let everyone express their opinions." The emperor looked at the military office with a smile, "Tell me."

"Yes." Although Wen Xiang was a backward, he was in charge of the responsibilities of the General Administration Office as a bannerman, and also a cabinet bachelor. Although he was a prime minister (or deputy), he naturally took the initiative to do such things. "The slaves thought that the fifth master said very well. The slaves next to him didn't know, but they just knew that since the Sino-British and Britain had been in trouble since the seventh year of Xianfeng, the United States, the West and Portugal had been running around. The ministers and consuls from various countries came to the yamen, intending to reconcile and help."

He swallowed and said, "I think that there are naturally all the countries themselves in this, but no matter what, it is ultimately a kind of respect and filial piety to our Celestial Empire. Now the United States does not mention this, and if the two countries in Spain and Portugal have such a request, our Celestial Empire should also be correct."

"Well, Weng Xincun, what do you say?"

"I think it is okay to agree to the request of that country, but I am afraid that all countries will be more eager to see the country and will have more requests in the future. At that time,... it will be an unsolvable situation."

The emperor hesitated for a moment, and just when everyone felt a little worried, he lit up again, "Yan Jingming, you are the minister who is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue under the order, what do you think?"

Yan Jingming was a little pounding in his heart. It was obvious that Emperor Yu Weng Xincun was not satisfied with the answers of the comments, and he mentioned the errands of the Ministry of Revenue in his words. Naturally, he hoped to reject Weng Xincun's words through the achievements of the Ministry of Revenue in recent years. However, although he was from the north, Sun Ruizhen had the intention of winning over the military service office since he entered the Military Affairs Office. However, he was really unwilling to get involved in such a battle based on regions, so he repeatedly pushed him. Today, it seems that it is impossible not to offend Weng Xincun.

Thinking of this, he lowered his head and replied, "Since the fourth year of Xianfeng, the emperor has picked up and picked up the responsibilities of the Ministry of Revenue with his colleagues. In the past five years, the tariffs and foreign taxes in various provinces have increased significantly. Taking foreign taxes as an example, I checked the number of exchanges between the Ministry of Revenue in each year. In the second year of Xianfeng, foreign taxes were only more than 6 million taels, but by the sixth year of Xianfeng, it had increased to more than 13 million taels. Especially in the most foreign taxes in ports such as Guangzhou and Shanghai."

He said, "I think that the increase in taxes and silver can be seen as such. On the one hand, our emperor is as wise as the sky, and the people are pure and good. No one dares to have any mistakes in stealing it. On the other hand, we can also see that the sails cover the sky at the ports of various provinces, and the scene is prosperous and beautiful."

"Therefore, I think, if there are several other ports in my Heavenly Dynasty,..." He looked at Weng Xincun sitting beside him and said, "In the future, the tax and silver will increase greatly and the national use will become more and more abundant, and the affairs of the world will be settled."

Weng Xincun didn't speak, but the disapproving smile on his face could not be concealed. He just used the tax and silver as an excuse. Didn't he consider the principle of "a gentleman does not benefit the people"? At this time, although his conscience on China and the barbarians was no longer as strong as before, just like all scholars in the world, the clause cedes Hong Kong published in the contract signed in the 22nd year of Daoguang still made him angry.

Now that the country is becoming increasingly powerful, it is actually necessary to take the initiative to open the border ban so that all countries can live, do business, and trade? Isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?

While he was thinking, he heard Zeng Guofan beside him say, "Your Majesty, I am thinking that all the nations beg us to set up a minister in that country and a consular venue, which is a matter of discussion."

"Yeah, tell me."

"Yes. Logically speaking, Britain, France and the United States have set up stadiums in our Celestial Empire, for the sake of rituals and exchanges, and for the two countries to make good plans, our Celestial Empire should do the same. However, if the people sent personnel to station in foreign countries, they did not understand each other's language and customs, they would be afraid that variables would arise in the future. The emperor is wise and the holy heart has expected it, so this matter must be guarded against."

"Well, if you set up a consular embassy in the future, you need to discuss the candidates. As for the security issues that Zeng Guofan mentioned, you must consult carefully with all countries in China, Wen Xiang,"

"The slave is here."

"In the future, consuls from various countries will be recruited to the General Administration Office, and we will discuss the sincerity and request of our Celestial Empire with it, and submit it back."

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The emperor grew up and everyone stood up, "Lao Wu ran around a long way, and it was so hard that he worked hard. Needless to say, I'll go back to the mansion to rest for a few days, and then go to the court three days later to enter the court."

"Yes. I thank the emperor."

"Stay behind the Military Affairs Office, and the rest - just kneel down."

On the way, Yi Qiong knew that Zeng Guofan went to Tianjin to welcome his group back, and the government had ended in a hurry for several days. Today, there was probably a serious matter to be discussed. He no longer hesitated and led Li Hongzhang and a few others to come out.

The emperor waved, "Come in with me." He turned around and entered the warm pavilion, and Zaiyuan and others followed him in, kneeling on the ground, waiting for the answer.

The emperor picked up a memorial and handed it down, "This is a memorial that Pan Zuyin, Sushun, Peng Yulin and others will hold. The matter in Shanxi is almost over."

Liu Fu took the memorial and handed it to Weng Xincun. The latter had no time to read it carefully. He turned to the last few pages, and the paper was filled with names and official titles. The total number of silver greed in this case of stealing and selling official grain was no less than one or two hundred people.

After a while of silence, Weng Xincun handed the memorial to Zeng Guofan and replied, "Emperor, except for such a major case in Shanxi Province, I am in military affairs and have no idea about the responsibilities of yin and yang. I will first ask for punishment."

After hearing him, Zeng Guofan and Sun Ruizhen took off their hats at the same time and met, "One code is the same, this matter has nothing to do with you. If you want to talk about responsibility, I am the first one to be responsible." The emperor said, "Let's not talk about this matter for now. If you discuss it, how should you convict Wu Yan, Yan Duanshu, Chen Shimei and others?"

"Abandon the market." Zeng Guofan was the first to say that he was in charge of the Ministry of Justice under the order and had the most say. "Chen Shimei did not mention Wu Yan, Yan Duanshu, Heduan and others, after the incident, did not know how to take the initiative to lead the charge, but instead they rushed to deceive each other, intending to shirk the blame for the crime. Not only can the national laws not tolerate, but human feelings cannot be forgiven. The crime should be added to the top to serve as a warning to the people in the world."

"... Therefore, I think that Chen Shimei should be executed by the Marquis of the Superintendent; Wu criminals should be executed immediately." He said, "Other criminals involved in the province will be punished separately for the amount of greed, either killing or demoting."

"As a governor of a province, Chen Shimei ignored the king and father, and did not care about the people. He only thought about his own profit and power, and did not hesitate to steal and sell the official grain stored in the province with his subordinates. It is precisely because of him that the Wu criminals became more and more bold and reckless! In my opinion, such criminals are not an exaggeration to understand the punishment of the rulings." The emperor said, "But after I read the confession reported by the Ministry of Justice, the officer was able to answer truthfully and hand over the proceeds of years of greed to the State Government one by one. There is no need to kill him, but instead commit suicide, he will be executed in prison."

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"Also, the property of all prisoners such as Chen Shimei, Wu Yan, Yan Duanshu, and Heduan was confiscated. All the property of all prisoners in the Shanxi case was investigated!" The emperor was angry and said, "Take these people back to Beijing one by one, kill them, and pass them to the prison and the execution grounds to watch the execution on the spot!"

Zeng Guofan's heart trembled. He could not have imagined that the emperor would be so cruel to such a corrupt official? It was much different from his usual gentle and elegant manner towards his ministers! He thought randomly and agreed.

"The Military Affairs Office has drawn up another clear edict to tell all officials in the world that the ancient saying "The law does not punish the masses" will not work for me! If I think that there are too many people involved, the court will be timid in their actions, so I make a mistake in the plan. During the reign of Wu Zetian, killing ministers was like slaughtering dogs. Isn't the world stable?"

When the emperor said this, he suddenly lowered his head and asked, "King Yi, how much salary can you have in a year?"

Zaiyuan was shocked. His greed was not inferior to Sushun, but many of them were passing gods of wealth. He was a mediocre person. When people around him asked him for his head, most of them just asked him to recommend Sushun. Shiduo and other royal family members valued by the emperor, so they naturally received less money. However, there was also an advantage. He could not control whether he could do it well or not, but he could get a safe deposit for money. He was also easy to talk to, so he was crowded all day long and there was constant exchanges. After several years, he also made a fortune.

Today, the court replied, "He was muttering not to bring the fire to himself. Suddenly the emperor asked, Zaiyuan's big face was so scared that he was pale, "Slave...Slave..."

The emperor stared at him, looking as if he was disappointed. He had known this kind of virtue of the royal family for a long time and had never dealt with it. One was that Zaiyuan, Duanhua, and Huafeng were by his side and could solve it at any time; the other was that it was to make the face of the Tian family, so it was not easy to use all the methods to do it in a timely manner. Seeing that he was so scared that he avoided cats and mice, he was amused, "What's wrong? Do you even know how much money he has taken in a year?"

"Slave, slave..." Zaiyuan stammered for a few times, calmed down a little, and said, "Slave is in the mansion, no matter how much money it is, the wife of the slave is in charge... Please give me a few days to give me a grace to the slave. After returning to the mansion, I asked the wife, and then come to the emperor for the preface, okay?"

The emperor was so angry that he ignored him and asked, "Where are you? Who knows how much salary you get for less than a year?"

Weng Xincun said, "I earn 16,300 taels of regular silver every year. The two ice and charcoal in other provinces are not allowed to wait. There are about 20,000 taels." (There is no formal data in this section, so I have to calculate the salary of the governor and other officials of the border. The amount of regular silver is mixed with the silver).

Zeng Guofan and several others also said that the numbers are not far from Weng Xinshun, and are roughly around 30,000 taels.

The emperor nodded and knew it. With such an amount, there was naturally no problem in maintaining the livelihood of a family in Beijing. But what about the others? Weng Xincun was a senior official of the Military Affairs Office, a first-rank official in the court, his own salary, and the continuous filial piety outside the capital. These were all allowed by the court. What about other officials in the department? What about the so-called "black Hanlin" in the Hanlin Academy?

Do you really need to ask everyone in the world to be as honest as Hai Ruigang? If you have such a mind, why do they still serve as officials? I am afraid that the government of the government must first start with letting the people in the world feel that the money in their hands is enough to spend!

The emperor was silent for a long time, and it seemed that he remembered, "Oh, you guys get up first." He waved his hand and said, "Now, I think, officials of various provinces, governors..."

While thinking, he said slowly, "No. The salary will be increased by 50% below the county government. What do you think?" As he said, his eyes swept across everyone's faces, "Yan Jingming, you are the minister in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Do you think if the salary expenditure is increased, can the court afford it?"

"I think that I can afford it, but I am worried that people's hearts are like a valley and cannot be filled, so it is the increased salary and silver. After these people were grateful for the grace of heaven, they used their old tricks again and asked their subordinates for the sake of the robbery. In the end, the people still suffered."

"I have always been thinking about your concerns. After increasing the salary of officials, how can I ensure that I can avoid any greed in my daily life and daily life?" He smiled bitterly, "What do you think in the end? There is no way! Hey! People's hearts are the most difficult thing to grasp."

Weng Xincun answered silently and calmed down in the warm pavilion.

Shi Liufu brought the stern to everyone and sat down. Jingyu picked up the hot stern, poured the emperor into a cup, and retreated aside. "Tell me, how can you prevent the problem from escalating so that the imperial court's silver will not fall into the empty space?"

“…………”

The emperor suddenly clapped the imperial case at hand and said angrily, "It's all useless things! Did the imperial court spend money to support you, such a group of waste? When the matter is about to come, can't even say a word of auxiliary lord?"

The emperor was furious, and everyone did not dare to speak. He slid half of his body from the sect and knelt down to apologize. "I am incompetent, please calm down your anger."

"If Sushun asked about this matter, he would have come up with three or two methods! I would know that Song Sheng and apologize, will it work?" The emperor leaned his legs and Luo Di stood up, "Get out, I'm too lazy to pay attention to you anymore!"

Zaiyuan and several others met, but the emperor became even more annoyed in the warm pavilion. Originally, there was a way to vent his feelings after all. Now that these people were sent out for themselves, they could be purified and leave the problem to themselves? Damn, so hateful!

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In the Shanxi case, the imperial court executed no less than 36 officials under the severity of law. In addition to Wu Yan and Yan Duanshu, seven prefectures of Pingyang, Puzhou, Luzhou, Fenzhou, Datong, Ningwu and Shuoping; seven prefectures of Guihua, Ningyuan, Saraqi, Fengzhen, Qingshuihe, Toktocheng, and Ningyuan; seven offices of Zhili Pingding, Dai, Baode, Huo, Jie, Zhu, Qin, Liao and other eight prefectures were also tied up and executed on the same day.

The emperor's actions of killing more than 30 people to shock the world's greedy behavior have achieved some effect, but it also caused great controversy. Chen Huai, deputy censor of Zuodu and censor of Gyeonggi Province, was the first to write a memorial saying that even if the emperor violated the law, they would eventually lose all their mercy. It is also in line with the Celestial Censor of the Celestial Dynasty and was incompatible with the ancestral system of treating scholars and officials well.

Chen Huai was a minister that the emperor valued very much. When others thought, the words in the memorials were a little more intense. However, as a censor, he was not afraid of this and could not touch the emperor's heart. Therefore, after the memorial was sealed, he himself, and Yuan Jiasan of the Censorate, did not take this matter seriously.

Unexpectedly, the emperor was furious at the memorial submitted by Chen Huai! "Chen Huai, as you said in your memorial, I and this court official should have thought that this thing had not happened. Did the king and ministers treat the scholars and officials well?" When the military office shouted, the emperor ordered people to pass Chen Huai to the front of the imperial court and asked in public.

"I dare not. I just think that so many ministers have been abandoned together, and it seems to be a little bit of leisure for my emperor's virtue."

"Bah! I think you are so confused!" The emperor spoke without a word, like a rough woman cursing, "In your opinion, is my virtue maintained by Wu Yan and others? Last year, Su Shun returned to Beijing to report his duties, and I asked him, and he said that this matter must be a step-by-step progress like stealing needles and gold. I deeply believe that if there was a person in Shanxi Province who really did for me and the court, he would not have colluded with each other and stole official grain since the fourth year of Xianfeng! Is this kind of bastard, the way of benevolence and forgiveness of saints set for them?"

Chen Huai was denounced to Ai Ai, and he couldn't say a word, "Yes, what the emperor taught is his confusion."

"There are so many greedy and unjust people in the capital and outside the capital. You, Chen Dongmu, have you been killing several criminals who are extremely guilty, and you are rushing out?" The emperor said with a knife and sarcasticted him hard. "On the surface, he is asking for these people, but he doesn't know that you are still taking advantage of the opportunity of a criminal to ridicule me, and even gaining a reputation for yourself? Hey! In this way, your Chen Huai heart is still dirty than those killed criminals!"

Such arbitrary judgment of crimes based on people's hearts is really a wrongdoer from Hei Tian. However, the emperor is the one who speaks. Chen Huai is born to be stupid and can't express his grievances. He must not lose his manners, so he can only kneel there and whimper, "What the emperor taught is that the crime of me should be punished, and the crime of me... should be punished."

Zeng Guofan saw the emperor's jade face flushed and his face gradually distorted. He knew that over the past few days, the Military Affairs Office had never been able to produce any documents on the punishment of greed. The Shengxin was extremely angry. This time, he used the memorial of Chen Huai to make an angry blow. He felt aggrieved for his old friend and couldn't help but take a step forward. Before he could speak, the emperor saw it, "Zeng Guofan, do you want to say something? Before I could tell you, you jumped out first?"

Zeng Guofan was shocked. Why did the disaster lead to him? He hurriedly knelt down, "I, listen to the Hadith."

The emperor smiled coldly, "Heng Ling? I dare not take it!" He didn't know why, but his anger in his heart has become very strong recently. Yesterday, in order to serve Jing Yu's responsibilities, he actually sent Jing Shi's room on the spot and pulled Jing Yu down, almost whipping it for thirty whips. It was still Concubine Jia who was in the pavilion and pleaded with mercy, so Fang Shi let it go.

This time, seeing Zeng Guofan intending to plead for Chen Huai, his anger turned to him, "I know that you are a minister in charge of the Ministry of Justice. For the past year, for your brother's affairs, the Ministry of Justice has been rubbed by you, but he has often spoken good things for Zeng Guoquan in front of me!"

Zeng Guofan was not as clumsy as Chen Huai. How could he do this if he agreed? Therefore, after hearing this, he immediately refuted, "Reply to the emperor's words, I was in charge of the Ministry of Justice, but I never dared to use my own personal power to threaten the officials of the Ministry of Justice. Moreover, the court has a ancestral system, and Zeng Guoquan and I are blood brothers. They should have avoided suspicion. I have been in the official position for many years and never dared to go against the system."

"To put it nicely, you are in the Military Affairs Office and are the minister of the Ministry of Management. If you want to save Zeng Guoquan, do you still need to speak in person? I'm afraid that Zhao Rongfang has already made up his mind and is thinking about how to rescue him!"

Zeng Guofan knelt on the ground, feeling sad and aggrieved in his heart. "What the emperor said is irrefutable, so he can only ask for his resignation from his job, thinking..."

The emperor did not take his words and turned to look at Weng Xinshen, "The Military Affairs Office has drafted an order. Chen Huai was the second-rank censor in the court. When he encountered trouble, he was like a rabies barking. He immediately removed the position of deputy censor of the Zuodu and censor of the Gyeonggi Province. He was transferred to the position of censor of the city."

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"Also, after writing to Shanxi, Pan Zuyin received the imperial edict, he immediately executed the province, and there was no need to wait until he was taken back to Beijing, and there was no need to wait until after autumn!"

Zaiyuan saw that the emperor was in a very bad mood and did not dare to disobey at all. He agreed, "After the slave goes down, he will do as he does."

After this moment of striking, the emperor seemed to calm down a little. "Monday Prince Dun accepted my edict and traveled to European countries for a year, and made contributions to the country. He was awarded the title of prince and the Ministry of Rites Huixiang Zong Mansion. All rituals and regulations were imitated in the old calendar of the prince and reported it."

"Zhe." Zaiyuan touched his head again and said loudly, "The emperor cared for his subordinates and thanked Prince Dun for receiving the order. He should be grateful to the court and the emperor for his kindness."

The emperor gave him a random speech and grinned his teeth, and glanced at several people, "I am a little tired, so I'll kneel down and rest."
Chapter completed!