Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 118 Let you, Li Mengyang, be scolded by the world
Ma Wensheng was indeed almost having a heart attack because of what Li Mengyang said. He was completely hopeless. But now that Zhu Houzhao happened to appear and patted him on the shoulder, his mood eased a little: "Your Majesty!"

However, Ma Wensheng didn't know what to say at this time, because he couldn't seem to find an answer to convince himself why he was betrayed by the entire Shilin community. At the same time, he became confused, thinking that it was wrong to make decisions for the people of the world. Otherwise, why was he hated so much, even more hated than the ministers who killed the king.

Zhu Houzhao also knew that Li Mengyang's words completely exposed the selfish nature of the gentry group, which could also be said to be the nature of human nature. It also shook the confidence and courage of the reformist civil servants to oppose the literati. Now he had to give these reformists the confidence and motivation to continue to persevere.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Mengyang who was stunned. "You said that scholars in the world today will scold Ma Wensheng for the rest of his life. Even scholars a hundred years or even a thousand years later will call Ma Wensheng a traitor, right? And the common people who should really be grateful to Ma Wensheng will forget Ma Wensheng and don't even know who he is, right?"

"I will tell you today that I want to make all the common people in the world become scholars during my lifetime. You scholars and officials are just relying on fooling the people and controlling history and the world with your pen and ink. But if I let all the people read, from peddlers to emperors and generals, all will be scholars. I don't believe that all the people in the world will be blind and will only listen to your slanders and not be able to distinguish right from wrong!"

When knowledge is in the hands of a few, it becomes a means of enslaving others; when knowledge is in the hands of everyone, it becomes a tool to safeguard human rights.

Therefore, the reason why the literati of Zhu Houzhao's era could be so arrogant was that they controlled the right to speak. What was good for them was good, and what was not good for them was bad. However, the elites of this era may not know that one day in the future, they will be supervised by the whole people after the whole people receive education. Public opinion will no longer be a tool for these elites, but a shackle that binds them to enjoy privileges! The pressure of public opinion will make them extremely uncomfortable! They will hate public opinion very much.

And a hero like Ma Wensheng will not be fighting alone! There will be a class of people behind him cheering for him!

Li Mengyang also understood what Zhu Houzhao meant, and even threatened Zhu Houzhao directly: "But Your Majesty, if you do this, you will also harm yourself! Because if you do this, you will not only be supervised by the scholars, but also by the people of the world!"

"What am I afraid of? Do you think I am as greedy and selfish as you? If the world can make it impossible for hypocritical and arrogant villains like you, Li Mengyang, to survive, then what does it matter if I don't become the emperor?"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Ma Wensheng was so frightened that he bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please don't say that. The world cannot be without a king, and the country cannot be without a master!"

"I just said this, what are you afraid of?" Zhu Houzhao said.

At this time, Li Mengyang laughed directly: "Okay, since Your Majesty is so frank, I don't want to say anything more. Please sentence me to death!"

"Are you anxious to death so soon? I haven't finished what I want to say yet."

Zhu Houzhao then ordered: "After returning to the palace, draft an edict. A hundred years after my death, if any ruler in the future dares to redress the treacherous villain Li Mengyang, the people of the world can kill him. Such a ruler is not worthy of inheriting my throne! If any minister in the future dares to restore the reputation of the treacherous villain Li Mengyang, he will be charged with treason. Such a minister is not worthy of being a minister of the Ming Dynasty!"

When Li Mengyang heard Zhu Houzhao's words, he felt like he was slapped in the face. His confidence now lay in the hope that future monarchs and ministers would restore his reputation and add a posthumous title to his name. But now, Zhu Houzhao's actions had shattered his dreams.

Li Mengyang was extremely shocked and unwilling: "Your Majesty! You are trying to make me die without a burial place! I am just impeaching a traitor, why are you treating me like this!"

"In addition, this imperial edict is placed in the Fengtian Hall and engraved on the golden throne of the Fengtian Hall! As long as the Ming Dynasty has not fallen, Li Mengyang will never be known as a loyal hero!" Zhu Houzhao ignored Li Mengyang at first and continued to give orders. Soon after, he said to Li Mengyang: "You are willing to be a running dog of the gentry and scold my loyal ministers. You intend to cut off my heart to reform the Ming Dynasty and the road to self-renewal. You want my Ming Dynasty to have no way back, so I will make you die without a burial place first!"

Li Mengyang began to feel fear at this time. He did not expect Zhu Houzhao to protect Ma Wensheng so much.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao continued to order: "Issue an order to escort the three clans of Li Mengyang to Beijing, confiscate their family tree, demolish their ancestral tombs and burn them together. After being escorted to Beijing, the relatives must spit on Li Mengyang and change their surnames and be exiled to Dongfan Island. Otherwise, they will be killed for disobeying the order!
Before that, Li Mengyang was first arrested and ordered to be cursed by all officials, and to be cursed in writing. The curses were engraved on a stele and inscribed on various Confucian temples in the capital!
"The emperor issued an edict to the whole country, saying that anyone who submits an article that criticizes Li Mengyang will be rewarded with 10 shi of grain and his entire family will be exempted from labor service for one year! The Imperial Ming Newspaper will select and publish the best articles! The Hanlin Academy will compile them into a book to be passed down to future generations! Any article that sympathizes with Li Mengyang will be copied and burned!"

Li Mengyang was even more frightened after hearing this, and hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, why are you so cruel! Why!"

"You want to destroy the eternal foundation of my Ming Dynasty, so I will destroy the eternal foundation of your Li family and let you be infamous for ten thousand years. I don't believe that hundreds of years later, people in the world will really think that you, Li Mengyang, are a loyal minister." Zhu Houzhao said:

"You are allowed to fabricate. There is no need to investigate whether it is true or false. The most important thing is to write about the shamefulness of the content. Adultery, collusion with the enemy, incest, chaos in the country, money-making, murder, and despicable things are all included!"

Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.

Li Mengyang couldn't help but tremble with anger, shivering: "Your Majesty, you, you!"

"Don't worry, I will let you die, and I won't let you live beyond this year! And I will let you die heroically, to satisfy your wish, be beaten to death, torn apart by a chariot, torn into pieces by five horses, or to be tortured to death, it's your choice! I give you the right to choose!"

Zhu Houzhao then said, "Aren't you still worried about Ma Wensheng? Aren't you worried that he will be scolded by scholars all over the world? I will now order scholars all over the world to praise him. I will issue an imperial decree to the whole country. All students and above must submit a petition praising Ma Gong's virtue! Anyone who disobeys will be stripped of his official title! All local officials must build a shrine for Ma Gong in their government offices. There must be as many shrines for Ma Gong as there are Confucius Temples in the world! Those who submit excellent petitions must be included in the genealogy of the writers, and they are not allowed to disobey my order. I will also grant them 10 shi of grain, and the whole family will be exempted from labor service for one year!"

"In addition, the reasons for Ma Wensheng's meritorious service under the system of examination and evaluation shall be written on a stone tablet and placed in the Wenhua Palace and the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel for the future generations of monarchs and ministers to see! From now on, the daily records must be reviewed by me before they can be passed down. Those that fail to pass the review will be burned! Anyone who dares to slander Ma Gong or even the new policy will have their official positions and achievements revoked, demoted, and exiled 3,000 miles away. Commoners will also be exiled 3,000 miles away. Those who report it will be rewarded with 10 shi of grain and exempted from corvée for one year!"

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Li Mengyang was really dumbfounded. On the contrary, Ma Wensheng couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, if you do this, won't it block the mouths of the scholars and people of the world, and will it lead to a literary inquisition in the future?"

"No problem! I just don't allow them to slander my loyal ministers, not to discuss the affairs of the world, nor to prevent them from impeaching others, nor do I take their lives. I just protect your reputation, my dear. This is your right. This is called the right to reputation. Maybe one day in the future, everyone in the entire Ming Dynasty will have the right to reputation, and no one will slander or defame them at will!"

Zhu Houzhao then asked Li Mengyang: "Well, what do you have to say now?"

Thank you book friend Liuxiang for the reward of 100 Qidian coins

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(End of this chapter)