Chapter 319: The Court Meeting after Zhou Tieyi's Departure
August 1st, Yujing Mountain.

The sun's radiance is like golden scales, leaping out of the layers of sea of ​​clouds.

In front of the Forbidden Palace, a number of simple official carriages stopped and officials in red and purple court robes got off the carriages.

The first thing they did when they got off the carriage was to look at the tall and burly figure in the crowd.

Zhou Tieyi and Zhou Tiege are brothers, and they both wear red robes, so it is natural that they look alike at first glance.

After a moment, all the officials realized from the difference in each other's faces that Zhou Tieyi had really left Tianjing.

In the past few months, Zhou Tieyi has been in the court and has given many "lessons" to the officials, so that they have an instinctive fear of his appearance.

Now that Zhou Tieyi has really left Tianjing, many officials breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other and decided that the next step would be to see if they could keep Zhou Tieyi in the local area.

Either physical means or administrative orders can be used.

The officials in the Ministry of Propaganda looked at each other and had already made a decision in their hearts.

Even if he knew that Zhou Tieyi left two memorials for Zhou Tiege.

Even though we know that there may be countermeasures in the memorial, now that Zhou Tieyi has left Beijing is the best time to take action. Otherwise, there will be no chance when Zhou Tieyi returns to Beijing.

They are afraid of Zhou Tieyi, but not Zhou Tiege.

The morning bell rang, the palace gates opened, and all officials entered the Forbidden Palace from the White Jade Bridge. Under the guidance of the officials from the Ministry of Propaganda, they walked along the central axis through the Cheng'en Hall and arrived in front of the Jinluan Hall.

The eunuch Xue Minghao, who held the seal, responded by singing the praises, and the palace servants played ritual music such as "The Saint" and "The Mandate of Heaven" to praise the emperor's merits.

The Emperor and the Empress ascended the throne, one on the left and one on the right. The pearl curtain rose, and all officials bowed and kowtowed before entering the Golden Palace.

The first day of each month is called "small court meeting".

It is a ceremonial court meeting except for special decrees from the emperor and New Year's Day and other festivals.

Generally speaking, the more formal the court meeting is, the less business is discussed, and the more emphasis is placed on courtesy worship and congratulations.

Unless it was a major military or political matter that really required an immediate decision, all officials would either report to the three courts and request an audience with the emperor to make their case, or postpone the matter to the next court session, and try not to discuss it at the beginning of the month so that everyone could be happy.

However, this small court meeting seemed to be because the emperor had not ascended the throne for three years, so all the officials had forgotten the rules. Even the Confucian officials who were best at writing congratulatory letters and poems did not come out, and the scene became deserted for a while.

At this time, Yulin Army Deputy Commander Zhou Tiege stepped out and bowed to His Majesty and the Empress, saying, "Your Majesty, Mei Juncang, a flag officer of the God-Slaying Division, requests an audience."

Generally, officials below the fifth rank were not qualified to enter the palace. Most of the time, when they had memorials to the emperor, they would submit them through the chief officer of their department.

Of course, in special circumstances, they can report to the emperor's guard of honor, the Yulin Army, in advance. After inspection, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief of the Yulin Army will bring it up at the court meeting, and the emperor will decide whether to summon him or not.

Under the twelve-tasseled crown, the expression of the Great Xia Emperor was unclear, but one could still hear him say with a relaxed smile, "Announce."

While announcing Mei Juncang, the Great Xia Emperor looked at all the officials, smiling, "My dear ministers, do you have no important matters to report today?"

Under the questioning of the Great Xia Emperor, the officials of the Ministry of Speech hesitated for a moment.

Looking at Zhou Tiege secretly, they were very afraid of the two memorials that Zhou Tieyi left with Zhou Tiege, but now the arrow was on the string and it had to be shot!

An imperial envoy stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"explain."

The censor said loudly, "I am suing General Zhou Qinlong for purchasing iron ore, concealing accounts, and evading taxes."

After that, the imperial historian handed over a thick stack of account books, "This is the report from the grain transport bureaus of various provinces, please have a look at it, Your Majesty."

In the Great Xia Dynasty, most commodities could be bought and sold freely.

However, a small number of commodities are strictly guarded and private transactions are prohibited.

Inkstone, wood and steel.

This is an absolute state-owned product.

The Inkstone Division and the Wood and Steel Division are entirely responsible for reviewing, mining, transporting, storing, and distributing these two types of strategic-level materials.

Below inkstone, wood and steel, the only things that can be sold semi-officially and semi-privately are salt, iron, copper and coal.

The mining of the first three materials is the responsibility of the country's salt officials, iron officials, and copper officials, but when it comes to selling them, in pursuit of profit and efficiency, they are handed over to merchants to operate, and the merchants need to obtain transportation and sales certificates from the country.

It is commonly known as salt primer and iron primer.

Each sales certificate is extremely difficult to obtain, and the state directly taxes the holders of the sales certificates.

In addition to salt, iron and copper.

Coal is very special.

Coal itself was not valued in this era and was not a controlled military commodity.

But graphite is a by-product of coal. If you want to mine graphite, you have to mine coal.

But there is too much coal and too little inkstone.

Also for the sake of profit and efficiency, coal mines are contracted to local businessmen and aristocratic families, and officials from the Moshisi are sent to supervise them.

The graphite dug out from the coal mine is handed over to the Graphite Company for transportation and sale, while the coal can be handed over to local merchants to sell themselves.

But there must be something fishy about the mining of this associated mineral.

In many places, graphite was hidden in coal and transported out. This is also the main channel for local and military graphite smuggling.

The central government naturally knew this, but most of the time, as long as the people below did not make too much trouble and could guarantee the mining mission of the Moshi Division and the supply of military supplies for the entire Daxia, the country would turn a blind eye. This was also the secret effort of the Mohist School and the Gongshu School to promote and develop mechanical arts among the people.

After all, the main officials of the Moshisi are from the Mohist school.

After the imperial envoy made the report, the neutral officials first set their eyes on the two men.

The first is Zhou Tiege, the only pillar of the Zhou family in the court.

The second is the Governor-General of the Grand Canal, Li En, a member of the royal family.

Simin Dong Xingshu remained expressionless and stood quietly.

Dong Xiu De wanted to use the Moshi case to bring down Zhou Tieyi.

Dong Xingshu knew that this was impossible, but still allowed Dong Xiu De to do it. At the same time, he asked Dong Xiu De to find out more about the Zhou family. He endured it without saying anything just for this moment.

Use the ink stone case to lure Zhou Tieyi out of Tianjing, and then use other cases to deal with Zhou's followers. By then, even if Zhou Tieyi successfully returns to Beijing, he will have to face the fact that the Zhou family has been greatly weakened.

This is the "geographical advantage" that can cut down Zhou Tieyi.

What was surprising was that the Governor of the Grand Canal would get involved in this process.

Logically speaking, everyone should remain neutral if possible on such matters, and try to avoid taking sides before the outcome is determined.

Unless you are a political enemy of one of the parties!

Governor of the Grand Canal Li En remained expressionless.

A few smart people among the officials have figured out the reason.

Prince, the Steamship Chamber of Commerce!
This is why the Governor of Grand Canal Transport took action!
Royal family members often support the crown prince more than the emperor, unless the emperor has only one son who can be succeeded by a side branch if he dies or is deposed. Otherwise, they prefer a stable inheritance system in which the eldest son inherits.

Because the system of primogeniture is the core manifestation of the patriarchal system, and the patriarchal system is the source of power for the royal family!

The second reason is naturally the Shipping Chamber of Commerce.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the steamships built by the Steamship Chamber of Commerce would profoundly change the entire water transport industry.

However, Zhou Tieyi chose to hand over the Shipping Chamber of Commerce to the fourth prince Li Jing.

When you choose your followers, you naturally choose your enemies as well.

The Great Xia Emperor said calmly, "Present it."

A large pile of memorials was presented to the emperor, but he was not in a hurry to read them.

This is a major case, an important case, and it involves a high-ranking general of the imperial court.

Of course, it is impossible that, as in the opera, the Emperor of Daxia would just take a casual look at the accounts and convict without even checking them carefully.

These accounts will be reconciled by the Ministry of Revenue after the court session. At the same time, the Emperor of Daxia will convene a small court meeting of the three departments to discuss the matter.

The reason why the Censor presented it today is to bring what was done in secret to the surface and let everyone in the world know about it. This is an attitude so that the emperor will not be able to easily make a big deal out of a small matter.

After this censor came out, several more censors came out one after another, all of them accusing the Zhou family and the Zhou family's students and former officials of causing trouble in the local area. In any case, they just kept targeting the Zhou family.

All the officials looked at Zhou Tiege, wanting to see how the eldest son of the Zhou family would handle the current situation.

Zhou Tiege's expression remained unchanged.

After a while, Mei Juncang, led by the ceremonial officer, entered the Golden Palace from the nearby Cheng'en Palace and kowtowed outside first.

The emperor looked at the memorials piled up in front of the throne and said expressionlessly, "What do you want? Are you here to file a complaint today as well?"

Mei Juncang took out a folded article from his sleeve and presented it with both hands, "Today's court meeting, I would like to congratulate you."

Mei Juncang's words surprised all the officials. They looked at the article presented by Mei Juncang. It was a piece of rice paper that was obviously folded over and over again and looked a bit "dirty".

Logically speaking, with Mei Juncang's identity, it would be easy for him to get some green signature paper. Why did he have to submit such "dirty" paper when submitting his article?
The Emperor of Daxia didn't care. He signaled the eunuchs to present the paper.

In front of all the officials, the Emperor of Daxia unfolded Mei Juncang's congratulatory message.

"On the Infallibility of Kings and Fathers".

When he saw this title, he felt refreshed, just like drinking frozen plum wine in the dog days of summer.

This is indeed a congratulatory message.

The whole article is written in gorgeous four-six parallel sentences. Not only the words are gorgeous, but also the words are like a sage, which makes people feel comfortable to listen to.

But when His Majesty the Great Xia read to the end of the article, he saw those four large words written in ink.

Seek benevolence and be benevolence!

In an instant, all the officials could see the emperor's sharp gaze shining through the crown, a gaze as sharp as a knife.

The Emperor of Daxia never had this expression when he saw so many crimes before!
On the throne, the Emperor of Daxia naturally recognized whose handwriting it was.

But why are there words written in running script by Simin Dong on Mei Juncang’s congratulatory message!

There will be four words: "Seek benevolence and you will get benevolence"!
He thought about the whole thing and understood the reason after just three breaths. He then sneered, "I didn't believe that little commoner Li Jianhu sued officials in Tianjing for factional strife, but now it seems that I have no choice but to believe it!"

After that, he handed the congratulatory message to the chief eunuch and said sternly, "Read it once, word by word, so that my loyal subjects can hear why this article has not been sent to me before!"

(End of this chapter)