The end of the world begins with the king

Chapter 816

Chapter 816

In the first year of Guangwu, the fifth day of February.

The sunny days for several consecutive days, accompanied by the gradual rise in temperature, made many people feel relieved.

Although auspicious snow heralds a good year, if there is still heavy snow in February, everyone knows that something big will happen.

The senior officials of the imperial court relaxed their brows, smiled more on their faces when they met, and their work efficiency improved a little.

Until the order of the emperor's summoning came, it cast a shadow over the hearts of the officials.

For the new emperor, the officials feared more than respected them, even the cabinet ministers and six ministers, every time they met with him, they were sincere and fearful.

It is a normal situation that the imperial power is supreme, but it is just that the civil servants have constrained the imperial power for many years, so that they have forgotten the most duty-bound things.

Now that Zhao Yanxun is reshaping the imperial power, they will feel extremely uncomfortable.

Besides, Zhao Yanxun, after traveling for several days, he saw a lot of things along the way, and when he had seen enough, he returned to the capital.

He gained a lot from this trip, but it was these gains that made him not happy at all.

To sum it up, the officials and gentry colluded to force the common people to a dead end.

In Qian'an Palace, Zhao Yanxun was changing his robes.

"Is everyone here?"

"Back to the emperor, everyone is waiting in the main hall!"

In the main hall of Qian'an Palace, apart from Xie Xiaofang in the south, the remaining three cabinet ministers are all present, and behind them are six officials standing in bowing posture.

Only Zhou Chengping, the capital censor, was completely fearless at the moment, frowning and thinking about several major cases in his hand.

These few days when the emperor is out of the palace, there is no guarantee that he will see some nasty things, which naturally makes the ministers worry.

They know what's going on underneath.

Suddenly being called to discuss matters, everyone was unavoidably nervous at the moment.

The crowd waited for about ten minutes before they heard footsteps coming from the apse, so they became more respectful.

I saw Zhao Yanxun walking out of the screen on the left side, wearing a yellow tuanlong round-neck gown and a black gauze winged crown on his head. His gloomy expression made everyone even more panicked.

Sitting on the dragon chair, Zhao Yanxun glanced at the senior officials.

"The minister waits to kowtow to the emperor!"

After a few breaths of silence, Zhao Yanxun said, "Excuse me!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After everyone got up, Zhao Yanxun said: "In the past two days, I have read the books of the sages, and there are a few sentences that I don't understand. Can you teach me?"

After everyone was silent for a while, it was Wang Tinghe, the first assistant, who said, "I don't know where the emperor is not clear? Even though you are stupid, you should try your best to solve the emperor's worries!"

"Yu thinks that there are drowning people in the world, and let him drown them; Ji thinks that there are hungry people in the world, and let him be hungry, so he is so anxious..."

Zhao Yanxun's gaze was like a torch, and he asked in a deep voice: "Who among you gentlemen can solve my confusion?"

It is not an exaggeration for these people present to say that they are knowledgeable about the past and the present. Of course, such a sentence will not be difficult for them.

The crux of the problem is, what is the purpose of the emperor saying this sentence at this moment?

But one thing everyone can know, today's level is not easy.

Everyone was thinking, including the first assistant Wang Tinghe. Only Zhou Chengping stepped out of the train, and after paying a deep bow, he replied: "Report to the emperor, this passage is from "Meng Zi Li Xia"..."

Zhou Chengping has no selfish desires, so he has nothing to fear, and he can answer calmly right now.

And that magistrate Hu Lizhen, in Zhao Yanxun's eyes, was the trumpet Zhou Chengping.

Although the latter has a small official position and low position, he also has the spirit of forging ahead and sacrificing his life for benevolence.

In the main hall, Zhou Chengping's voice continued to recall.

"It means that when Dayu thought that there were people in the world who were drowning in water, he felt as if he had caused them to be submerged in water; when Houji thought that there were people in the world who were hungry, he felt as if It’s as if I’ve starved them myself, that’s why I’m so urgent!”

After finishing the above paragraph, Zhou Chengping continued: "The emperor's generation of herdsmen, and the ancient sage king as his teacher, is the blessing of the country and the country, and the happiness of all the people in the world!"

The last sentence was Wei Guangzheng, and all the senior officials present immediately started the mode of chanting, feeling lucky for the people all over the world.

After letting everyone stop, Zhao Yanxun asked again: "My dear friends, is Zhou Qing's explanation just now absurd?"

The others were thinking about the emperor's intentions, but Cheng Wenguang stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, Zhou Chengping's understanding is exactly what the sages meant!"

Zhao Yanxun nodded and sighed: "The teachings of the sages, I will do it myself!"

Everyone bowed their heads to listen to the hadith, still thinking about Zhao Yanxun's intentions and how they should deal with it next.

"I am the herdsman of the sky, and you will govern the people on my behalf. This is the truth of drowning your own hunger, and you should never forget it!"

How could the ministers dare to neglect the emperor's instruction, so they all knelt down to accept the instruction.

"Your servants, please remember!"

After laying a lot of groundwork, Zhao Yanxun asked with a dignified expression, "Old Lu Ge, the tax increase in January has been implemented?"

Wang Tinghe was responsible for checking the land in the counties of the Central Plains, and Lu Chaowen made a plan for this task.

Just listen to Lu Chaowen replied: "Report to the emperor, this matter was formulated at the end of the 26th year of Tai'an, and it will be handed over to the feudal officials of various places for implementation, and the Ministry of Households will supervise and audit it!"

Hearing Lu Chaowen's words, Wang Shiwei, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, hurriedly came out and reported: "Report to the emperor, [-]% of the tax increase has been put into the treasury, and it will be fully collected within February!"

Wang Shiwei was originally the governor of Hexi, but only because he returned to Zhao Yanxun in time, he has been reused now and has become the Minister of the Ministry of Households.

Zhao Yanxun asked again: "The grain has been levied, do you know where it was levied from?"

Wang Shiwei quickly replied: "According to the emperor's will, anyone with more than [-] mu of land will be taxed this time!"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yanxun asked back: "Really?"

Is it right? At this moment, Wang Shiwei didn't dare to pack a ticket indiscriminately, so that he froze in place.

"This time I went out to inspect and saw several cases of collusion between officials and gentry to plunder people's wealth. How do you explain it?"

Zhao Yanxun will not lie, Wang Shiwei can only kneel down and plead guilty.

"The household department's supervision is not strict, please punish the emperor!"

At this moment, Lu Chaowen also knelt down and said, "I am also guilty!"

Looking at the ministers in the hall, Zhao Yanxun said in a deep voice: "Officials, the lives of the people are also on the line..."

"You are at the center, and you are politically responsible for the people. Every word you write and every sentence you say is related to the life and death of the people!"

Emotions brewed in place, Zhao Yanxun slapped the table and angrily said: "If you always set the example of the ancestors, and always keep the people in mind, how could such a thing happen!"

Hearing the reprimand, even those who felt that the matter had nothing to do with them, trembled at the moment, knelt down and kowtowed to listen to the reprimand.

As the emperor who has fought the world again, coupled with the approval of the heavens, Zhao Yanxun's authority is unparalleled, how can the officials not be afraid of his anger.

"I just went out in Suyi, and I saw quite a few of them. There are so many prefectures and counties in my Dajin, how many such evil things are there?"

Zhao Yanxun's tone was harsh, and everyone felt like a boat sailing in big waves, and their body was like duckweed, so they dared to defend themselves.

Standing up, Zhao Yanxun walked down the imperial steps slowly, looked at the ministers kneeling beside him, and then asked: "I am drowning in hunger, the poor people have no clothes to cover their bodies, and no food to eat... have you ever taken it to heart? "

"Your Majesty, the subjects are guilty!"

At this moment, Wang Shiwei was already crying, but he didn't know whether he was really crying or pretending to be crying.

With him taking the lead, the rest of the officials also had tears in their eyes to show their remorse and self-blame.

Zhao Yanxun's face sank like water, and he said: "The Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of Punishment, and Dali Temple will investigate this matter strictly. I'm waiting for you to give me an explanation!"

(End of this chapter)