Chapter 880 0875 [The New Prime Minister Is a Ruthless Voting Machine]

The second secret report was quickly sent to the capital.

It was sent by Jiangxi Commander Gong Xiu, and he wrote it himself, without asking the clerk to polish or write for him.

"Your Majesty, I really didn't take anything, I just accepted the gifts. When I held my 60th birthday party, many people came to give me gifts, some of whom were old subordinates. I couldn't save face if I didn't accept them. Later, someone asked me to do something, and I thought it was not a big deal, so I just casually greeted them..."

"I don't want money, I just want face. Before I followed Your Majesty to start an army, I was also a gold miner, and I still have some savings at home. I don't like women, I just like to drink a few sips of wine, and I like to go out with people following me..."

"Those bastards often invite me to drink, and I agree to help them do things when I'm drunk. I regret it when I sober up, but they are all friends and old subordinates, and it's not easy to turn against them..."

"This time the matter is too big, and Xie Dan and his few birds want to drag me into covering it up. Cover up. How can I cover it up? The garrison troops in Ji'an Prefecture suppressed the rioters and won the battle to report their merits and ask for rewards. The victory report was sent to me, and I kept it for more than half a month. The more I thought about it, the more scared I became..."

"I am guilty. I accepted many gifts and occupied more than a thousand acres of land. I can be exiled, beheaded or confiscated."

"But I have six sons. Four sons followed your majesty to start an uprising in Hanzhong, and one son served in the army in the first year of Hongwu. Until now, one is dead and one is disabled. They are all heroes loyal to your majesty. Please let my sons go..."

"Xie Dan and the others usually look like honest officials and are very skillful in governing. I really didn't know that they messed around when allocating the land tax, and I felt something was wrong when they caused a civil uprising..."

After reading the secret report sent by Gong Xiu, Zhu Ming was angry and helpless.

If you dare to write a letter to surrender, then there must be no big problem. In other words, you will not distort the facts too much, because the court will definitely investigate the case thoroughly.

Gong Xiu was a bandit who dug abandoned gold mines in the mountains of Yangzhou. He brought his four sons and hundreds of young men to join the uprising army of Zhu's father and son. When the fifth son came of age, he also joined the army to fight for the Ming Dynasty.

Five sons joined the army, one died and one was disabled on the battlefield.

A true hero, and a loyal and brave family!

This bastard is committing crimes now, not for money or power.

It's because of the loyalty and face of the rivers and lakes. He forgot his last name after drinking a few sips of wine. After sobering up, he knew it was wrong, but he had made a promise, so he was embarrassed to regret it.

In Gong Xiu's inherent concept, his loyalty, his promise, and his face are greater than national law and military law.

After thinking about it, Zhu Ming still drafted the imperial edict and gave Gong's father and son a break.

Gong Xiu himself will be severely investigated and sentenced as he should be.

Gong Xiu's sons, if there is no problem after the investigation, will be exempted from joint punishment. If there is a crime, it will be sentenced as it should be.

Zhu Ming took the secret report and threw it to Zhu Guoxiang who had just returned from Dongxi Garden.

"Gong Xiu was such a smart man in the past, with brains and means, how come he has become stupid now?" Zhu Ming sighed while lying on the chair.

Zhu Guoxiang read the secret report carefully and said, "He has become arrogant. He is relatively old and made mistakes when leading troops, so he retired from the front-line troops. With such a deep qualification and so many military achievements, he only got a commander-in-chief and an earl. He must be resentful in his heart."

"He lay flat in the local area, and it is difficult for him to continue to be promoted. He only cares about face and loyalty. He also feels that the court has always owed him, so naturally he does not take the national law seriously, and even has the mentality of deliberately trampling on the law..."

Zhu Ming was very sad: "To be irresponsible, with his qualifications and military exploits, who the hell would investigate him as long as he didn't mess around in the army? Even if he accepted gifts and occupied land, as long as he didn't do anything too outrageous, the censor would definitely turn a blind eye. But this bastard still suppressed the victory report of the garrison army in Ji'an Prefecture for more than half a month. He was really afraid that he couldn't suppress it, so he wrote a secret letter to expose the matter. He had the intention of deceiving the court from the beginning!"

There is another point that Zhu Ming didn't say directly, which is also the main reason for Zhai Ruwen to retire.

A prefect of Ji'an and a commander of Jiangxi, did not report the matter through the formal process, and chose the secret report method without any prior agreement.

Because they both knew that the governor Xie Dan was Zhai Ruwen's in-law. So they were afraid that the formal official document would be blocked by someone in the central government, and even worried that Zhai Ruwen was the mastermind behind it.

……

People are refreshed when they are happy, and Liu Yu seems to be ten years younger.

He still dressed very simply, with two sets of official uniforms for changing and washing, which he had worn for several years and had not been thrown away, and even patched.

Liu Yu could not wait to move into the prime minister's residence, with only an old wife, an old concubine, and several servants who had followed him for many years to take care of his daily life.

Each meal was strictly rationed, and meat could not be put in too much, and vegetarian food was the main food on weekdays.

Liu Yu called his wives, concubines, and servants: "I am now the prime minister, and I should set an example. When you go out, you must not be ostentatious, and you must not bully others. Even if you are bumped by peddlers, you must treat them with a pleasant face. All visitors should be politely declined, and gifts should not be accepted. Do you understand?"

"I understand." The wives, concubines, and servants responded quickly.

Liu Yu also wrote letters to his children and grandchildren scattered in other places, warning them not to be corrupt and pervert the law, and to work diligently and loyally for the country.

That night, he also began to write "Liu Family Instructions" to teach his children and grandchildren the principles of being a person and doing things.

After writing till the second watch, Liu Yu went to bed happily.

He was too excited to fall asleep, and was thinking about when to retire.

He was old and had no other pursuits. He considered becoming an official on the first day he became prime minister.

It's definitely not possible to resign immediately, that would be a slap in the emperor's face!

After thinking carefully, Liu Yan decided to apply for medical leave after working for another six months. With three applications and three resignations, it is estimated that he will be prime minister for a total of eight or nine months.

He didn't bother to cultivate cronies to avoid causing trouble.

Of course, after being an official for so many years, I still have basic abilities.

Officially taking office the next day, Liu Yan moved into the Prime Minister's Office and handled various government affairs in an orderly manner.

Moreover, he also knows how to delegate power and let other cabinet ministers do more work. I am only responsible for reviewing, checking and making decisions. I generally do not overturn the opinions of cabinet ministers. If the differences are too big, I will summon the cabinet ministers to vote to resolve the matter.

Harmony, so harmonious!

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the most harmonious cabinet appeared.

Gradually, Liu Yao got a nickname: Clay Sculpture Prime Minister.

After Zhu Ming understood the situation, he wanted to kick him away. I have seen officials lying down, but I have never seen a prime minister lying down like this!

You know, when Liu Yao was young, he was known for his "uprightness".

Liu Yao first opposed the indiscriminate issuance of iron money and offended Tong Guan to death because Tong Guan was using iron money to pay the Western Army.

After being demoted and transferred three times in a row, Liu Yao, as the governor of the state, successfully suppressed the Hebei bandit Zhang Yan. The Shengjie army came to quell the chaos, but because they missed the battle, they directly killed hundreds of villagers and took credit.

The Shengjie Army is Tong Guan's private army and can go anywhere.

Liu Yao ignored all that and ordered the execution of the generals who had harmed the villagers. However, he was impeached and demoted by Tong Guan again.

Such a man who is upright and unafraid of power actually becomes a prime minister when he is old and just wants to work in peace and stability until he retires.

Calling Liu Yao alone, Ju Ming praised him: "Since Liu Qing became prime minister, everything has been in order. I am very pleased."

Liu Yao smiled and replied: "This is all the result of all the ministers in the pavilion."

After praising, it’s time to criticize.

Ju Ming said: "Several assistant ministers were quite distressed. Some unimportant government affairs were also summoned by Liu Qing to discuss voting. At the most frequent time, the cabinet voted four times a day, and nothing important happened that day. Of course, it is necessary to be careful and cautious. Okay, but I’m afraid it will slow down the efficiency of the cabinet’s work.”

The smile on Liu Yao's face froze, and he bowed in fear: "I have not thought carefully and betrayed His Majesty's trust. I must correct it!"

Liu Yan did correct it.

He brought together divergent government affairs and convened a cabinet vote before leaving get off work. The ministers do not need to run back and forth repeatedly, they can vote one by one at once, and then hand over the votes to the emperor the next day.

When Zhu Ming learned the details, he couldn't laugh or cry.

Can't Liu Yanzhen handle those government affairs that require voting alone?

No.

This guy is afraid of something going wrong and doesn't want to take responsibility. So I pulled the cabinet ministers to vote together, and everyone shared the blame for whatever consequences occurred.

It's time for the cabinet to get off work again. Cabinet ministers voted to handle seven government affairs today.

Yes, after the correction, the number of votes increased.

Anyway, there is no need to run back and forth. Just take advantage of the time when you are about to get off work and finish the submission in one go. You can submit a few more times without wasting time.

Qian Chen left the voting venue, looked at Liu Yao's busy figure, shook his head and sighed: "This Prime Minister Liu is really hard to describe!"

"He was very daring when he was young," Li Hanzhang suddenly asked, "Do you think we will be like this when we grow old?"

Qian Chen said: "Probably not. What does it mean for him to be the prime minister? He is just like the clay Bodhisattva in the temple."

Li Hanzhang said: "This person probably won't be able to work for a long time. He may have already thought about retiring. He handles government affairs like this so that trouble won't stick to him. Also, people in the cabinet think he is a loser, which makes His Majesty very dissatisfied. I will wait for a few more months." Resigning, everyone hopes that he will leave quickly and return to his hometown in glory. "

"He can be considered...a very wise person." Qian Chen tried hard to think of an adjective.

Li Hanzhang sighed: "More than wisdom? He has become mature with age. When he returns to his hometown after serving as an official, he will hold literary conferences every now and then and invite fellow scholars to write articles to brag about him. If he is praised for his honesty and selflessness and his lack of love for power and wealth, he will definitely be well-known in the world from now on. . By the way, he was not afraid of power when he was young. This can be a great tribute. A hundred years later, he will become a role model for officials and scholars. "

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Qian Chen couldn't help laughing: "I'm really convinced. Prime Minister Liu has great wisdom. It's a pity that we can't learn this skill."

But Li Hanzhang said with a serious expression: "He can do this because he has the confidence. He walks upright and sits upright. He was upright when he was young. When he is old, he is as honest as water. Anyone who can be as good as a man and an official can be found all over the world. How many can you find?”

Qian Chen also put away his smile, nodded and said, "Indeed."