As soon as these words came out, there was an explosion in the court. ...
Are you kidding me? The Queen Mother's most trusted confidant, the person with the most authority in the court, actually talks to the Emperor?
"Prime Minister Li, you..."
The Queen Mother was anxious and wanted to remind her, but she remembered her previous agreement not to interrupt.
Fortunately, Cheng Zhiyong understood: "Xiang Li, why do you say that?"
"The emperor's words are orders, and I dare not disobey them! If the emperor does not agree to marry the princess to Wala, I will not agree!"
Li Song's answer was emotionless, as if he were a robot being given instructions.
It feels baffling.
"Li Xiang, please think clearly. The princess is marrying Wala, but it is the queen mother's intention!"
Cheng Zhiyong became anxious and took the lead in the showdown.
But Li Song's answer was still the same: "I object to the princess marrying Wala!"
"What an old fool!"
Cheng Zhiyong cursed secretly and set his sights on Xu Liangyan and Qian Qianyi.
"Master Xu, Master Qian, you should say something!"
The two men also walked to the front of the hall with their heads stiffened.
"I also object to the princess marrying Wala!"
…………
Next, no matter how you ask, they only have this answer.
The Queen Mother was dumbfounded, Cheng Zhiyong, Yao Yong and others were so anxious that they just stamped their feet.
"What happened to these three people? It seems like they were given ecstasy!"
"You are really a villain if you change sides in the middle of battle!"
…………
At this time, a chief official named Wang Mingyang said: "Since Prime Minister Li, Shangshu Xu, and Shangshu Qian all support the emperor's decision, it proves that the emperor is right, and we should obey the emperor's will!"
"Yes, a marriage would harm the country. Your Majesty is wise and wise!"
A small number of upright and loyal ministers responded.
In fact, they have been waiting for this day for a long time.
Finally seeing the dawn of hope, we were all excited.
Li Song, Xu Liangyan, and Qian Qianyi were the leaders of the ministers. They all spoke for the emperor, and if others opposed it, they would appear weak.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhao Hao announced: "Dear dear friends, you have also seen that I am not going to go my own way. Prime Minister Li and Xu Shangshu all agree with my decision. Therefore, Princess Chun'an's marriage to Wala has been abandoned. , I will never forgive anyone who dares to mention this matter again!"
At this moment, the Queen Mother knew that she had completely lost this round.
Immediately his face sank, he threw up his sleeves and left the table.
Before leaving, he glared hard at Li Song, Xu Liangyan and the others.
"Your Majesty, if Wala is angry about this and sends troops to Daxia, how should we deal with it?"
Cheng Zhiyong was unwilling to give in and wanted to make things difficult for Zhao Hao.
"Isn't it a great opportunity for Cheng Aiqing to serve the country by sending troops to Wala?"
"snort!"
Cheng Zhiyong was so angry that he left the table.
"I haven't announced my resignation yet!"
Zhao Hao shouted loudly, and those who were about to leave with Cheng Zhiyong all stepped back.
"Hasn't the emperor's goal been achieved? Is there anything else?"
Again, these people were curious.
Zhao Hao took out the booklet given by Shen Lian and threw it on the case.
"Secretary Liu, I have a list here. Come and take a look at it to see if it is true?"
Liu Neng was stunned and didn't know what to do.
He felt that he was a small fifth-rank official, so the emperor should not cause trouble for him no matter what!
He walked to the front of the hall anxiously, and Wang Chengen handed him the booklet.
Upon seeing the above content, Liu Neng turned pale and broke into a cold sweat.
When the other ministers saw this situation and didn't know what was written in the book, they were a little uneasy.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged! This... is completely unfounded."
"Really? I asked Shen Lian, the commander of the royal guards, to go to your hometown Wen County to investigate and collect evidence. Is it true?"
"this……"
Liu Neng finally understood that the emperor was settling scores.
When it comes to greed, everyone in the court is greedy, even more greedy than him.
Why didn't the emperor investigate them, but only stared at himself?
It's because I didn't readily give the emperor some silver last time.
At this time, the Queen Mother was not here, and the Prime Minister and the others had no hope. Liu Neng had no choice but to kneel on the ground and beg the Emperor for mercy.
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen has realized his mistake. Wei Chen will use his family property to replenish the national treasury and beg the Emperor to forgive him!"
"snort!"
Zhao Hao sneered: "Of course I will send people to search your home, but you embezzled two million in silver, occupied thousands of acres of fertile land, and harmed many people. Is it possible that just taking some money will absolve you of your crime?"
"Taizu once made a law that if you embezzle up to five hundred taels of silver, you will be beheaded. If you embezzle up to one million taels, how can I spare you?"
"Come here, drag him down and throw him into death row. Tomorrow his car will be torn apart to show the public, as a warning to others!"
Hearing this, Liu Neng was so frightened that he fainted on the spot.
The other ministers were so frightened that they were afraid that the emperor would call out their names.
Which of the ill-gotten gains they grabbed was not hundreds of thousands or millions of taels?
There are many servants in each house, many wives and concubines, and countless mansions.
If you look it up casually, these things will surface immediately.
The ministers were frightened and prayed in their hearts that the emperor would not be too serious.
"Your Majesty, I have a foolish opinion. I wonder whether I should speak of it or not?"...
At this time, a young censor came out to speak.
He had already seen the emperor's intention to punish Liu Neng, so he followed the emperor's wishes and played a double act.
"speak!"
"Wei Chen believes that the reason why Liu Neng embezzled millions of silver taels is because he has evil intentions. Therefore, the successor of the treasurer must be a person with clean sleeves and high integrity."
This is exactly what Zhao Hao wanted to say. Now that someone is cooperating with him, Jian Shou has a clear understanding.
"Then do you have anyone to recommend?"
"Wang Mingyang, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, is upright and has a noble character. He is qualified to take on this responsibility!"
Wang Mingyang was the first loyal minister who came out to speak for the emperor just now.
Zhao Hao had a good impression of him and agreed immediately.
"Wang Aiqing, you will take over the position of treasurer from now on. If any of your subordinates are uncooperative, please report to me in time!"
In an important department like the inner treasury, everyone from top to bottom usually belongs to the same faction.
Zhao Hao was worried that if a leader was parachuted in, the people below would not listen to the plan.
By saying this deliberately, he publicly stated that he wanted to be Wang Mingyang's backer.
"Wei Chen obeys the order!"
Cabinet bachelor and treasurer are both fifth-grade official positions, which are equivalent to level positions on the surface.
But the duties and powers are quite different, and the treasurer is much more important.
In fact, Wang Mingyang was promoted.
When the other ministers saw that the emperor would no longer pursue corruption matters, their hearts finally settled.
But they became worried again. The emperor did this entirely to eliminate people from the Queen Mother's faction and cultivate his cronies.
This internal substitution may not have much impact on them.
But next time, what about the treasury’s replacement?
I'm afraid it's not that easy to make money.
In the past, whenever there was flooding, drought was a good opportunity for them to make money.
At least half of the disaster relief funds allocated by the national treasury fell into their pockets.
Whether it was for their own benefit or to repay the Queen Mother's favor, they felt they needed to refute it.
Xue Hanyi, the Minister of Justice, walked out of the queue: "Your Majesty, I think that Mr. Wang's scholarly talent is beyond doubt, but he is not suitable for managing the internal treasury, so we should choose someone else!"
Xue Hanyi learned from the lessons of Yao Yong and others before, and instead of directly protesting against the emperor, he started to indirectly exert pressure on the successors of the inner treasury.
