Chapter 498 The Great Conspiracy

Author: There are dragons in Nanshan

Chapter 498 The Great Conspiracy

Zhu Qi had no intention of discussing with them. All the main culprits were punished. The only thing to consider now is what is the basis for the division of this tenth clan.

Classmates and friends, these concepts are too broad and there must be a standard for measurement.

Seeing that the emperor's attitude was so firm that he had no room for maneuver, Cao Nai and others could only shake their heads silently.

After this coup, the emperor's sentencing standards for officials will be aggravated, and everyone's life will only be more difficult in the future.

"Your Majesty, I have a word."

At this time, Kuang Ye suddenly stood up.

The three of them went to the palace to meet the saint, and it was Cao Nai and Zhang Yi who were talking. They almost forgot that there was someone behind them.

At this time, he turned his head and looked at it, with a look of praise on his face. Shangshu Kuang was over 70 years old and was the oldest minister in the dynasty. He might have a way to make the emperor change his mind.

Zhu Qizhen still had a calm face and said, "Tell me!"

Kuang Ye said: "During the Jingnan period, I was 16 years old and had just passed the exam for the scholar. I learned from Taihe and the great scholar Wang Jing."

Zhu Qizhen was a little puzzled. What does this old guy suddenly talk about Jingnan?

Could it be that he implies that the emperor was a severe killing?

Damn, Hongwu and Yongle dynasties, one case involved tens of thousands of people. Why can’t I kill you when I come to me?

Just as he was about to have an attack, Kuang Ye continued: "As for Fang Xiaoru's case that shocked the world, I have heard from my mentor that the so-called killing of the ten clans was not the anger of Emperor Taizong, but... there was another hidden truth."

Zhu Qizhen was stunned for a moment, Cao Nai and Zhang Yi were also a little surprised, and looked at Kuang Ye one after another, waiting for him to continue talking.

"After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, Qinzong ordered the Censor Chen Ying, the censor of the Censorate, to be responsible for investigating the remaining party of Jianwen, and his mentor Wang Jing and Chen Ying were classmates. Therefore, the old minister knew a little about the situation at that time."

"Censor Chen Ying repeatedly investigated for several months, and the final list submitted was twenty pages, with a total of 873 people. Most of these officials were related to Fang Xiaoru, and it was far beyond the nine clans and spread to the ten clans."

Zhu Qizhen asked: "What you mean is that it was not because Emperor Taizong asked to kill Fang Xiaoru's ten clans, but because this person formed a clan for personal gain and attracted more than 800 people. In this way, when Emperor Taizong raised an army to calm down and clear the king, were these people who cleared him?"

Kuang Ye nodded and said, "Go back to the emperor, that's right!"

Zhu Qizhen frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked again: "What official position was Fang Xiaoru at the time?"

Cao Nai knew it well and replied: "After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, Fang Xiaoru successively served as Hanlin attendant lecturer and Hanlin bachelor."

"What?"

Zhu Qizhen said in surprise: "Fang Xiaoru is so famous, he is just a Hanlin bachelor?"

Cao Nai nodded and said, "That's right."

Zhu Qizhen felt a little funny and asked again: "How can a mere Hanlin bachelor win over 800 followers?"

Kuang Ye replied: "In the early years of Jianwen, a new policy was implemented and the recommendation system was restored. This suggestion was proposed by Fang Xiaoru, and it was implemented by this person in detail. In just three years, as many as a thousand people were recommended to the court as officials. The 873 people found by the Censor Chen Ying all had direct or indirect relationships with Fang Xiaoru."

Zhu Qizhen was not familiar with these things, and even the veritable emperor of his predecessor would not study the history of Jingnan.

King Zhu Di of Yan raised an army to calm down the crisis and left the name of rebellion. He was too lazy to waste himself. I just rebelled. What's going on?

Later generations accused the fact that their ancestors had rebelled and started their own business, and no longer investigated the details at that time, and it was enough to only know the result.

Kuang Ye continued: "These 873 people actually have one common feature, that is, they all come from Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

Zhu Qizhen immediately discovered the problem and asked: "Isn't it a blatant clique? No matter how confused Emperor Jianwen is, he will never tolerate such a thing!"

Kuang Ye said: "The old minister speculated that perhaps when Emperor Jianwen found that the situation was wrong, he could no longer help."

There is no conclusion on this matter, and we can only rely on speculation. Just imagine that Emperor Jianwen must have made a new policy under the suggestion of Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru and others, and he must have done something.

Who would have thought that the new policy was opened but became a means for these people to form cliques and make private contributions.

The recommendation system can bypass the imperial examination and promote their own people at will. By the time Emperor Jianwen discovered the clue, there were already a thousand more people in the court.

But at this time, his biggest opponent was the King of Yan in the northern border, and he had no time to have internal affairs.

Until the Yan army broke through the city and King Yan Zhu Di succeeded to the throne, this issue was left to the new emperor to deal with.

After Kuang Ye said so much, Zhu Qizhen also understood that when Zhu Di issued an order to kill Fang Xiaoru's ten clans, he was implicated in 873 people. It was not a moment of anger, but he had to do so.

The situation today is very different. Yang Dan's accomplices are all conservative officials and gentry. It is enough to be a death sentence for their participation in treason and there is no need to use Yang Dan's identity to implicate them.

If Yang Dan had a ten clan and the friends he had implicated, his classmates would have become innocent.

Zhu Qizhen was not a deadly tough guy, so he immediately made a concession: "Then kill the nine clans, but we must strictly investigate the accomplices, and do not take lighter!"

Cao Nai and others then breathed a sigh of relief and saluted: "I obey the order!"

Things began to spread, and more than 20% of the officials arrested in the capital alone.

However, their base camp is not the capital, but the south of the Yangtze River!

From beginning to end, the gentry of Jiangnan was the biggest force against the imperial power, but they did not appear normally.

According to Yang Dan's account, as early as the Renxuan period, the smuggling gangs in Jiangnan were already very rampant.

Even the Ming Dynasty ban was created by them. The so-called Japanese pirates, among which the real Japanese were no more than 30%, and most of them were hired by Han people.

Even in the country of Japan, their real combat power was pitifully low. Just one Shiheng, with hundreds of soldiers, obeyed them.

Since the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban, all the huge profits of going out to sea smuggling fell into the hands of the gentry on the southeast coast. As Zheng He's voyage to the West started, the court took away most of the profits. Although these people were unwilling, they could only break their teeth and swallow them in their stomachs when they met Emperor Taizong.

However, with Emperor Taizong's death and Emperor Renzong succeeded to the throne, they regained the right to trade at sea.

It was from then on that time that Jiaozhi gained and lost again and became an important transit point for maritime smuggling. Emperor Xuanzong was preparing to restart his voyage to the West, but found that there were many obstacles and had to be forced to stop.

Suddenly, Zhu Qizhen saw a confession that made him frightened.

This is a huge conspiracy!

Emperor Xuanzong did not die normally, but was preparing to restart his voyage to the West and was murdered.
Chapter completed!