When there was not enough food to eat, they would need to find a new source of food. Liaodong naturally caught Zhu Yijun's attention.
The northeast plains, black soil, and thousands of miles of fertile land!
Beating a deer with a stick, scooping fish with a ladle, and pheasants flying into a rice pot.
Coupled with rich mineral deposits and all kinds of geographical resources, the northeast was a huge treasure trove.
Medicinal herbs, fur, and so on were all good things. Coupled with food, Zhu Yijun could not find a reason not to attack the northeast.
Coupled with the sparse population, it could be developed on a large scale. It would be Zhu Yijun's top priority for the next ten years.
If he wanted to carry out his ideal plan, he had to sweep the grasslands, defeat the Jurchens, and annex North Korea.
However, Zhu Yijun had been waiting for the right time.
After cultivating so many internal techniques, Zhu Yijun was waiting for that day to come.
"It's time for Zhang Weixian to come back!" Zhu Yijun said with a sigh. If he wanted to change Liaodong, he had to change Jizhou first.
After Jizhou was stabilized, he would attack Liaodong. That was the best plan.
After the military reform in Jizhou, Li Chengliang could not do anything. If he did not listen, he would be completely crippled.
At this time, Zhu Yijun would definitely not care about Li Chengliang.
Although his subordinates weren't as valiant as the clouds or as numerous as the rain, they weren't too far off.
When he was done, he would definitely be able to beat everyone. Zhu Yijun was confident.
The military reform in Jiliao needed a suitable person to preside over it. This person naturally could not be Ceng Shengwu, so Zhang Weixian was the most suitable person.
He had status, experience, ability, and youth.
For the military reform in Jiliao, Zhu Yijun was transferred to the Commander-in-Chief's Office of the Five Armies and established the first military division in Daming.
He would completely kick the civil officials out of the Jiliao military region and establish a complete military system.
This was Zhu Yijun's bold attempt to make the Jiliao military division directly under the Commander-in-Chief's Office of the Five Armies.
Return the power that belonged to the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies and create a Daming separation between the military and the government.
The local officials were no longer in command of the army, and the civil and military forces were completely separated.
Zhu Yijun had thought about whether there would be trouble, but he still decided to give it a try, because history had proven that this was the right path.
As for the local generals, with their own armies and the recruitment system, this situation would be greatly reduced.
The position of a military general was no longer hereditary. Instead, it was changed to be the same as that of a civil official, which was appointed once every three years. They could only serve two terms at most, after which they would have to rotate.
The Commander-in-Chief's Office of the Five Armies controlled the rations and armaments in their hands. The army's supplies would also be allocated by the central government instead of being supplied by the local governments. Zhu Yijun had already thought about this many times.
The army will be given full autonomy in combat and will no longer be blindly commanded by civil officials.
Civil officials who could fight could be transferred to military positions, breaking the boundaries between civil officials and military generals, and vigorously employing young graduates of the Martial Lecture Hall.
The first experimental military base of the Daming was to be built in Ji Province, and the person Zhu Yijun had chosen to do this was naturally Zhang Weixian.
In the following days, although the court was chaotic, nothing went wrong.
Shen Li, acting as the Minister of Personnel, quickly sorted out the matters of the Ministry of Personnel. After Ceng Shengwu arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he also quickly stabilized the situation, which made Zhu Yijun heave a sigh of relief.
After everything had calmed down, another matter attracted everyone's attention. The public trial of the case of Assistant Minister Zhao Deqian selling his official position would be held in the Supreme Court, and people could listen in.
There was not a single official or scholar in the capital who did not care about this case.
In particular, everyone wanted to know what was going on with the new system of the Department of Law and Discipline.
On the day of the public trial, many people had gathered in the main hall of the Supreme Court. Everyone was waiting.
At the back of the main hall, Zhu Yijun was dressed in casual clothes and drinking tea with Zhang Jing's help.
In front of Zhu Yijun were all the officials who had participated in this trial. The main judge was Dai Heng, the Chancellor of the Supreme Court.
He was a man in his fifties. He was a little thin and had sharp eyes. He came from the Ministry of Justice and had been in the criminal investigation field for many years.
As the main judge this time, Dai Heng was still under a lot of pressure.
In fact, Zhu Yijun had high expectations of Dai Heng. Otherwise, he would not have transferred him to the position of the Chancellor of the Supreme Court.
After the judicial reform, the position of the Chancellor of the Supreme Court would become very important. If this person was not suitable, it would cause a lot of trouble. Zhu Yijun understood this very well.
On the other side were the people from the Department of Law and Discipline. They were the plaintiffs of this case.
The representative of the Department of Law and Discipline was naturally not Qi Fei, but Qi Bian. The people from the Ministry of Justice were also there. They were in charge of sentencing.
The Supreme Court was in charge of conviction, and the Ministry of Justice was in charge of sentencing. There was not much interaction between the two sides.
"I came here today just to take a look. You can interrogate me however you want," Zhu Yijun said directly as he put down the teacup in his hand.
Although Zhu Yijun said so, everyone was still under a lot of pressure. The Emperor was here. If they did not perform well, they would probably be finished.
Especially Dai Heng. He had participated in the joint trial of the three departments, but this was the first time he was being interrogated like this.
"Alright, go!"
Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "There are a lot of people outside. Don't make any trouble. I will be here."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Everyone answered, turned around, and walked out.
At the entrance of the Supreme Court, many people were watching the show. Most of the people standing at the front were young masters dressed in luxurious clothes.
There were young descendants of nobles and relatives, and there were also quite a few scholars with scholarly reputations.
Most of them were stewards of the officials' families. They were here for a very simple reason. They were here to see what was going on.
No one did not care about this new method of interrogation.
Dai Heng carried his official robe and walked to his seat. He reached out and hit the gavel. He said loudly, "Enter the court!"
The bailiffs of the Supreme Court hurriedly shouted, "Mighty!"
Although they did not know that the Emperor was behind them, they could not embarrass themselves in front of so many people. Otherwise, they would lose their jobs.
Today, the bailiffs of the Supreme Court were dressed very neatly, and their backs were especially straight.
"Plaintiff, please enter the court!" Dai Heng's expression did not change, but he was very satisfied.
Following Dai Heng's words, Qi Bian walked up from below in his official robe.
"Qi Bian from the Department of Law and Discipline. Greetings, Lord Dai!" Qi Bian bowed to Dai Heng.
Dai Heng nodded in return. The Department of Law and Discipline was definitely the most famous yamen in Daming. No one could ignore it.
Sending out two assistant ministers at once was simply too big of a commotion.
Dai Heng reached out and took the stack of complaints in front of him. He looked at the first complaint and said, "Let's try the first case. The Department of Law and Discipline is suing Juzi for money and buying an official position."
"Come, bring Qian He!" Dai Sheng hit the gavel and said loudly.
Not long after, Qian He was pushed up from below. Compared to the high-spirited person he had been when he had first arrived in the capital, Qian He was now in a sorry state.
Although he was not being tortured, he still looked very dispirited.
He was pushed to the main hall by the bailiffs, who forced him to kneel.
Although Zhu Yijun wanted to change the judicial system, he had never thought of giving benefits to the accused or giving them human rights.
Although this would reduce the probability of unjust cases, it was not in line with the actual situation in Daming. Instead, it was easy to cause problems.
The interrogation method was still the same as before, and it was done as it should be.
Dai Heng glanced at Qian He and asked, "Who is kneeling?"
"Student Qian He greets Lord Dai!" Qian He hurriedly said.
Before this, Qian He had also been read the interrogation details to him, so he also knew what his current situation was.
"Qian He, the Department of Law and Discipline is suing you for bribery. Do you plead guilty?" Dai Heng nodded and asked directly.
If Qian He pleaded guilty, the case would not need to be interrogated anymore. He could just sign and put his stamp on it.
Of course, witnesses and material evidence were still needed, which the Department of Law and Discipline had already provided.
Qian He knelt on the ground with a depressed look on his face. Without any hesitation, he said, "I plead guilty."
In fact, Qian He had no choice but to plead guilty. The evidence of him buying an official position was conclusive. Not only was there evidence of him bragging, but there were also officials from the Department of Civil Affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and people from the Heart Questioning House as witnesses.
There was also material evidence, including the antique he had bought from the Heart Questioning House.
Zhu Yijun sat in the back and drank tea while listening to the trial in front of him. As people were brought up one by one, Zhu Yijun's expression did not change.
In fact, there was nothing wrong with the interrogation. The Department of Law and Discipline had done everything in advance.
"Leave someone here. Let's go back to the palace!" Zhu Yijun said lightly. He stood up and walked out.
Zhu Yijun actually did not care about this. He wanted to use these two major cases to push something forward.
If he did not make use of such a major case, then he would not be a qualified emperor.
Today, he came here to show his attitude. In fact, he did not plan to do anything.
Killing a few corrupt officials was not something that Zhu Yijun should be concerned about. These things were not that important to him.
Daming was so big and there were so many corrupt officials. Could he kill them all?
Back in the palace, Zhu Yijun stood by the window and looked at the clouds in the distance. He played with two jade balls in his hands.
These were specially made by Zhu Yijun to relieve stress. They were two small jade balls made of the best warm jade that could be played with.
Zhu Yijun liked to play with these two jade balls when he had nothing to do and think quietly.
Although Daming had a lot of things to do this year, they were all going according to plan.
Now, Zhu Yijun wanted to do something else. It was something that he had to do. It was like a fishbone stuck in his throat.
Glancing at Zhang Jing, Zhu Yijun ordered, "Have someone record the process of the trial and show it to me."
"Yes, Imperial Majesty!" Zhang Jing answered and bowed.
The entire trial lasted for three days. After the trial, it was directly sent to the Ministry of Justice for sentencing.
From the beginning to the end, Zhu Yijun did not interfere. He just watched and waited quietly.
Three days later, the sentence of the case was sent to Zhu Yijun.
Looking at the sentence of the Ministry of Justice, Zhu Yijun sneered and threw the document on the table. These people were really donkeys. They would not leave until they were whipped.
"Summon the cabinet ministers, the ministers of the six ministries, and the assistant ministers."
Zhu Yijun glanced at Zhang Jing and said in a deep voice. His tone was very serious.
Hearing Zhu Yijun's tone, Zhang Jing suddenly shivered. He knew he was in trouble this time.
He guessed it was the Ministry of Justice. But the death of the Ministry of Justice had nothing to do with him. He said hurriedly, "Yes, Imperial Majesty!"
The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and the ministers of the six ministries were stunned. Nothing had happened recently!
Was it about Ceng Shengwu joining the Cabinet?
It was possible. There were four Grand Secretaries in the Cabinet. Shen Shixing was the Prime Minister, Yu Youding was the Second Minister, and the other two were Wang Xijue and Fang Fengshi.
If Ceng Shengwu was allowed to enter the pavilion, there was no doubt that no one would stand up against it.
Not even Shen Shixing, although he did not want Ceng Shengwu to join the Cabinet.
Now he had the final say in the Cabinet. The Second Minister, Yu Youding, had a good relationship with him. Basically, whatever he said was the law.
After Wang Guoguang left, he became even more powerful. Shen Li, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, did not get along with him, but Shen Li was too young and inexperienced to be compared with Wang Guoguang.
If Ceng Shengwu joined the Cabinet as the Minister of Revenue, and Shen Li, the Minister of History, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, it would be hard to say.
Even so, Shen Shixing would not oppose Ceng Shengwu joining the Cabinet. When Ceng Shengwu went to Xuanwu University, the Emperor had said that he would reserve a position for Ceng Shengwu.
The words were still ringing in people's ears. Who dared to let the Emperor go back on his word?
Shen Shixing did not dare!
It might be possible if Ceng Shengwu messed up his work in Xuanwu University. But Ceng Shengwu did a good job in Xuanwu University, so well that no one could find fault with him.
At this time, the Emperor would be crazy to oppose Ceng Shengwu joining the Cabinet.
Many people had the same idea. Anyway, they were here to go through the process, so they were quite relaxed.
But after entering the Grand Hall, they felt something was wrong. The atmosphere was very heavy!
The eunuchs and palace maids around all kept quiet out of fear. Even Zhang Jing stood beside the Emperor with a sullen face.
Seeing this, Shen Shixing's heart skipped a beat.
Damn it!
Zhu Yijun did not care what they thought. After everyone saluted, Zhu Yijun said lightly, "Today, I read the Record of Taizu and want to learn something from him."
"When I saw what the Great Ancestor said, I was very touched."
Damn it!
Taizu's words touched the Emperor. It was definitely not a good thing.
What kind of life did the civil officials have in Taizu's time?
"Taizu once said, 'Corruption is the greatest evil of the country. If we don't get rid of this evil, we can't achieve good governance.' I deeply agree with him." Zhu Yijun's voice was not loud at all, but the people below all trembled.
"In the past, everyone was poor and their salaries were not enough to spend. I could understand that they collected some gifts and used some money."
"But what about some people?"
At this point, Zhu Yijun's voice suddenly became louder. "We live in a big house and a big courtyard. Our concubines marry one house after another. We have tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. Every meal, we have dozens of dishes, but it's not enough."
"They were greedy and wanted to collect. One meal was enough for the people to eat for ten years. Was it rice?
They were drinking the people's blood and sucking their marrow! "