Chapter 480 The demise of the old era of the Jiajing Dynasty!
Sun Kehong!
Inside the Wanshou Palace Hall, there is a person few people know.

The main reason was that Sun Kehong did not look like a human at this moment, and even Xu Jie took a long time to recognize him.

Not to mention that Sun Kehong was originally only the prefect of Hanyang. There were nearly 200 such officials in the two capitals and 13 provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Not everyone in the court knew him. At most, they had heard that there was such a lucky prefect who was suddenly promoted to the transport envoy of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.

Not to mention the prefects of the fourth rank, in Beijing, a brick could kill several of them. Even Sun Kehong, the third rank transport envoy, was as numerous as dogs in Beijing.

This is no joke.

After all, there is such a saying.

The third-rank assistant minister is a dog.

Only from the third rank.

Worse than a dog!

But no matter what the relationship between Sun Kehong and the dog was, it did not prevent him from being dragged into the hall by the Jinyiwei cavalry dressed in flying fish uniforms and embroidered spring swords, causing the civil and military officials present to be stunned and surprised.

And outside the palace.

There were also several shrill screams.

It goes without saying that there are some low-ranking prisoners being held outside the palace.

Is this a big case?

Basically, only a handful of people in the Wanshou Palace knew the truth, and ninety-nine percent of people just thought that a serious crime had occurred somewhere.

As the weak and dejected Sun Kehong was escorted into the hall, Xu Jie, who was already kneeling on the ground, felt cold all over.

Although it was still unknown why Sun Kehong was arrested by the Jinyiwei from Yangzhou to the capital, the secret business of the Xu and Sun families alone was enough to make him fall into the mud. And just looking at Sun Kehong's appearance today, there might be another hidden story.

It's over!

Xu Jie's mind went blank in an instant.

Zhu Qi, who was escorting Sun Kehong into the palace, had a solemn expression on his face.

To the hall.

Zhu Qi bowed and clasped his fists, "Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei investigated the illegal activities of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner's Office. The evidence is conclusive. Sun Kehong, the transport commissioner of the Lianghuai Salt Commissioner, was in charge of the Salt Commissioner's Office. He broke the law knowingly, used public property for private purposes, colluded with his subordinates, and tried to cover up his crime. He took human lives lightly, and his behavior was brutal. He had no respect for the emperor and the moral code. The Jinyiwei Beiping Division, the personal army, has already arrested the criminal and his accomplices and brought them back to the capital. The confession is presented to Your Majesty for your review and judgment."

Sun Kehong, whose soul had been shattered, was thrown to the ground dejectedly by the Jinyiwei cavalry.

Zhu Qi took out the confession from his sleeve and held it up with both hands.

Jiajing glanced at Xu Jie who was kneeling on the ground, and then snorted, "Present it."

Lu Fang walked down the steps, took the confession from Zhu Qi's hand, and quickly presented it to the emperor.

Although he already knew what was written on the confession, Jiajing still opened it carefully and looked at it carefully.

Inside the palace.

Minister of Personnel Guo Pu glanced at the unrecognizable Sun Kehong and exclaimed, "Sun Kehong, the transport envoy of the Lianghuai Salt Administration... Is this person from Songjiang and the former prefect of Hanyang?"

Zhu Qi replied: "In reply to Minister Guo, it was him."

Guo Pu nodded.

No more words.

Ouyang Bijin, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, immediately widened his eyes and shouted in a deep voice: "Sun Kehong is the transport envoy of the Lianghuai Salt Administration. What crime did he commit? Why didn't the Jinyiwei report it to the court first and arrest him? How come the officials of the Censorate only know about this today?"

Ouyang Bijin’s words are very interesting.

From a positive perspective, the Left Censor-in-Chief who was in charge of the Censorate was impartial and asked about the procedures of the Jinyiwei's work from the perspective of the imperial court and the Censorate.

But it also silently pointed out that Sun Kehong must have committed a very serious crime, so the Jinyiwei did not report it to the court first, but brought a third-rank Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner to the capital.

Then.

What kind of crime did Sun Kehong commit to make the Jinyiwei act like this?
After Ouyang Bijin asked this.

While the emperor was still pretending to review the confession, the civil and military officials in the palace were already becoming curious.

Zhu Qi did not disappoint people.

He spoke directly, "A few years ago, Jinyiwei officials were working in Jiangnan and other places. At that time, the prefectures and counties in Jiangnan were cleared out, and the gentry and common people all rose up to report the illegality of the Xu family in Huating, Songjiang Prefecture. The Jinyiwei was granted special permission by the emperor to investigate the local situation on their own. Therefore, our department sent people to Songjiang Prefecture to verify the rumors, and unexpectedly learned that the Xu family in Huating and Sun Kehong were secretly in collusion."

As soon as Zhu Qi opened his mouth, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly changed.

Even the Minister of Rites Yan Ne, who had been arguing for Xu Jie earlier, immediately shut up.

The crime committed by Sun Kehong was actually related to Xu Jie.

At this time, when everyone in the hall looked at the emperor on the throne, their eyes became somewhat ambiguous.

Even though the emperor is still pretending to review the confession.

But who is the fool in this hall?

The emperor must have known about this matter in advance.

The Censorate may not have known about this beforehand, but the Emperor must have known about it!

Then.

Now things become clear.

Xu Jie can't escape this disaster!
Zhu Qi's voice did not stop, but continued: "Sun Kehong and his family came from Songjiang Prefecture. In the early years, they merged and donated land with the Xu family. They used the donated land together with people from Songjiang Prefecture and conspired with the Xu family to open the Zhu's cloth shop, selling Songjiang cotton cloth for personal gain. The income was countless."

When the words "Zhu's Cloth Shop" came out, the officials in the hall all looked amused.

Although Zhu's cloth shop seems to be unknown, in Beijing, if anyone wants to buy a batch of Songjiang cotton cloth, they will definitely have to go through this Zhu's cloth shop.

It’s not that there is no other place to buy Songjiang cotton cloth, but only the Songjiang cotton cloth sold by Zhu’s Cloth Shop is the most exquisite, best made, and of course the most expensive.

Now it was revealed by the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division that the Xu family was behind the Zhu's cloth shop, and everyone was secretly angry again.

God knows how much money the Xu family has made over the years from the Zhu’s cloth shop.

The last time Hai Rui impeached the Xu family for occupying farmland, although the court impeached them for a while, no one actually took it too seriously.

After all, it's not about occupying a few acres of land in my hometown, right?

But the Xu family actually secretly controlled a Zhu’s cloth shop!
The mentality of hating the rich has already taken root in people's hearts.

Zhu Qi continued, "In the autumn and winter of last year, the trend of clearing land in the twelve prefectures in Jiangnan was prevalent. Officials from various departments in Nanjing were brought to justice for illegal corruption and abuse of power for personal gain, and have been investigated in Beijing. Many people in Songjiang Prefecture who had been oppressed and exploited by the Xu and Sun families in the past all complained with resentment. There was also a man named Gu Shao who wanted to go to Beijing to file a complaint with the emperor. He went north along the Cao River to sue the Xu family for deceiving and delaying the transportation of pigments and silver in the 43rd year of Jiajing, and for occupying his family's land and property, which caused his mother to die of rage."

All right!

Now a murder has occurred!
Xu Jie already felt as if he had a thorn in his back, and he lowered his head even lower.

Even Yan Ne couldn't help but take two steps back, as if he wanted to show that he was drawing a clear line between himself and Xu Jie.

Finally, Zhu Qi said in a deep voice: "Gu Shao, a native of Songjiang, traveled along the Caohe River to Xuzhou. When he encountered the Caohe sluice, he was suddenly stopped by the Lianghuai Salt Administration and soldiers to board the boat. Gu Shao was convicted of smuggling salt for private sale, so he was arrested and put into a prisoner's car. He was to be taken back to Yangzhou to be sentenced to death and to silence him. We investigated in advance and searched along the way. We finally stopped the criminal Sun Kehong from committing evil deeds and saved the person who reported him, Gu Shao. Now, we have completed the interrogation and verified everything. We have presented the witnesses and evidence."

The case of Sun Kehong is now completely clear.

The land is occupied excessively.

Exploiting the people to death.

Using public resources for personal gain can harm others.

Wantonly disregarding human life.

Any one of these charges is enough to sentence him to death, let alone so many of them put together.

And what about the Xu family, which is connected with the Sun family?
There is also Xu Jie, the head of the Xu family.

But don't forget, according to the Jinyiwei, Gu Shao was going to go to Beijing to report the Xu family.

Sun Kehong and the Sun family stepped forward to stop them and wanted to sentence them to death.

Even if the Xu family didn't know, Xu Jie couldn't escape the blame.

Not to mention, Xu Jie might know about it.

There is no way to escape the charge of being a traitor!

Although the emperor had not yet spoken, the holy words were spoken.

But people already know it.

Xu Jie is finished.

The Xu family is also doomed.

Although the palace was silent at this time.

However, people only felt the roar of raging waves in their ears and bursts of thunder in the sky.

A turning point concerning the change of power in the court seemed to have arrived so quietly.

at last.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, a soft sigh broke the silence of the Wanshou Palace.

Jiajing sighed silently and put down the confession in his hand.

He didn't speak.

Xu Jie was already prostrating himself.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..." "Your Majesty, I plead guilty..."

at this time.

All excuses are futile.

Only by pleading guilty can you have a chance of survival.

Alive.

Better than dead.

Better to live rottenly than to die well.

Yan Shifan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who had been acting very calm today, finally stood up with an angry face.

The young cabinet minister did not blame Xu Jie.

Instead, he turned around and glared at Sun Kehong who was lying on the ground.

"Your Majesty, Sun Kehong has received great favor from the Emperor. He was promoted from the prefect of Hanyang to the transport commissioner of the Lianghuai Salt Administration. However, he did not know how to serve the Emperor. Instead, he colluded with the Xu family, oppressed the people, took human lives lightly, and disregarded the law. His crime is unforgivable. The Ministry of Justice requests that the criminal be executed immediately!"

Ouyang Bijin also spoke up immediately: "The etiquette and laws of our dynasty do not tolerate treacherous people, and the Censorate has also requested that he be executed immediately."

Immediately afterwards, the Dali Temple Minister had no choice but to stand up and second the motion.

The three judicial officials have already made their positions clear; it no longer matters what the other officials present think.

Jiajing just sighed silently again, then looked up at Sun Kehong and snorted coldly: "Allow! Drag him out of the palace and behead him at the market gate! Accomplices will be beheaded!"

This was truly implementing the principle of immediate execution. Sun Kehong would not be given a chance to live any longer. On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, Sun Kehong would be beheaded in the market as a public display.

What's more, the emperor did not even question the accomplices in the case and sentenced them to immediate execution.

However, the bold people of the capital will probably have another heated discussion.

With the emperor's words, the two Jinyiwei guards who had detained and escorted Sun Kehong directly dragged him out of the hall.

outside the temple.

However, there were accomplices in the case, such as the head of the Lianghuai Salt Administration, who, after learning of the emperor's verdict, loudly protested their injustice, and their voices frightened the civil and military officials in the palace.

And inside the temple.

Xu Jie already looked as pale as death.

Sun Kehong was executed.

No matter what, he will probably not have a good ending.

But at this moment.

Yan Song slowly stood up again.

The eyes of all the officials in the hall tightened instantly.

Is it possible that the Prime Minister is going to launch a final and brutal attack on Xu Jie at this time?
But Yan Song did not do as these people wished.

Old Yan just stood up tremblingly, walked to the front of the emperor, bowed, and apologized: "Your Majesty, Sun Kehong was originally the prefect of Hanyang. At that time, Yan Maoqing was the Lianghuai Salt Commissioner. He was convicted of illegal activities and the position of Salt Commissioner was vacant, so I recommended Sun Kehong to be promoted to Lianghuai Salt Commissioner. Now Sun Kehong is convicted and sentenced to death. I, the old minister, did not recommend him clearly and my crime is unforgivable. For the sake of the government, I would like to resign."

The unexpected.

Yan Song actually took the initiative to bring up the matter of recommending Sun Kehong, and wanted to take the blame for the unclear recommendation on himself, and resigned again.

Everyone looked at the emperor.

This time.

The emperor did not continue to refuse the prime minister's resignation, but his expression was complicated, with reluctance in his eyes. He turned his head to look to the side and said softly: "Approve the prime minister's resignation, grant him the python robe, retain his official rank and grade in the court, and all his honors remain the same. The court is discussing the new policy, and the prime minister can report to me directly when he returns home, and the officials are not allowed to stop him."

at last.

The emperor granted Yan Song's request to beg for his remains.

But in the same way, Yan Song was only asked to resign and return home, but everything else remained the same, and Yan Song was even given the power to report directly to the emperor.

This is already a great honor.

however.

Xu Jie was kneeling on the ground with a deathly pale face and sweat pouring down his face.

Yan Song finally resigned and returned home, not because of the various reasons he had given before, but because he recommended Sun Kehong but failed to judge people, and his resignation was granted due to his guilt.

What about yourself?

I am deeply involved in the Sun Kehong case...

At this moment.

When Gao Gong heard that Yan Song had finally received permission from the emperor to resign and return home, he was suddenly filled with excitement.

Prime Minister!

Now that Yan Song is gone, he will be the undisputed Prime Minister of the Cabinet!
Although there was no one to take the lead, the prestige and power of the Prime Minister fell into his hands.

This is what we say and think.

Before, he hoped to have Yan Song in the front so that he could do his work more conveniently, but when the position of Prime Minister really fell from the sky, even Gao Gong was no exception.

Gao Gong was no exception and naturally could not let this hope go unfulfilled.

He immediately ignored everything and stood up.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister resigned for failing to identify people. However, in the Sun Kehong case, Xu Jie and the Xu family were deeply involved. The authorities have already investigated it. Today, there are witnesses and evidence from the Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division. Is Your Majesty going to delay the decision?"

"The Prime Minister said that he didn't know people well and took the blame on himself. However, how could the Prime Minister's contribution to the court be affected by such a matter of recommending officials? The Prime Minister is wise and can't bear to see the emperor go against his will, so he let him resign today. However, Xu Jie has extended the emperor's grace, and his father and son are in the court, and the family is glorious, but his evil deeds are numerous and cannot be listed! If we don't remove him, it will not be enough to appease the people!"

It's already this time.

Lord Yan's resignation on the grounds of guilt was approved.

In addition, Gao Gong, who was bound to become the next prime minister of the cabinet, came out to criticize Xu Jie.

In the main hall.

Suddenly, the sound emerged.

They all asked the emperor to severely punish Xu Jie.

This is what is meant by "when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down".

The emperor's voice also descended like the sound of heaven.

"Xu Jie committed a crime, and was stripped of his official title, stripped of his meritorious service, demoted to a commoner, and his relatives were convicted. All the Xu family's official positions were stripped, and officials confiscated the Xu family's property. Three generations of the family were not allowed to raise their children, and they were exiled to Leizhou Prefecture."

There was a bang.

Xu Jie's entire family was demoted to commoners, and three generations of his family were not allowed to take the imperial examinations. They were also exiled to Leizhou Prefecture, thousands of miles south.

Leizhou Prefecture.

It is across the sea from Qiongzhou Prefecture.

Xu Jie fainted and fell to the ground, unconscious.

And inside the temple.

It was also silent.

But people know it clearly in their hearts.

The old era of the Jiajing Dynasty is rapidly fading away tonight.

A new era is coming quietly.

The emperor's voice was still loud and firm.

"Summon all the ministries and departments in the imperial court to discuss the new policy."

"All civil and military officials, both inside and outside the government, can speak of this."

"If there are good laws and good policies, I will approve the new policies to make the country prosperous and strong, and to make the country prosperous for generations to come!"

at last.

When Prime Minister Yan Song was allowed to resign and return home, Xu Jie and his entire family were demoted and exiled, and the emperor finally revealed his intention to implement a new policy.

Would anyone object?

Of course there were, but at this moment tonight, no one dared to object.

because.

A new era has arrived.

The court political situation in the new era has not yet been adjusted, and the struggle for power has just begun, leaving them no room to think about opposing the new policies.

but.

The new era has arrived just like this...

…………

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(End of this chapter)