Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 83 When Qingliu learned that he was being severely punished, he was immediately scared!

When Zhu Houcong learned about this, he slammed the imperial desk.

“This is disrespectful!”

"To disrespect the Virgin Mary is to disrespect me, and is tantamount to deceiving the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

Liang Chu hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground.

then.

Liang Chu replied, "The ministers are rebellious and unruly, and should be severely punished! However, they did not follow the proper etiquette, and were not disloyal to the country, nor did they really commit treason. According to the eight arguments stipulated in the Great Ming Code, they should not be put to death, but should be caned or exiled."

"The caning is boring!"

"The more they are beaten, the more they like it."

"Besides, I'm not punishing them to humiliate them or to kill them with a stick. I'm punishing them to save them!"

"After all, he is my subject."

"So, let's exile them to Penghu instead!"

Zhu Houcong said this after Liang Chu answered.

Liang Chu couldn't help but be shocked.

"The scenery there is beautiful, and the sea and sky are far apart, which is suitable for reflection and creative thinking. So we exiled them there to reflect and think well."

"Therefore, the Penghu Inspection Office was re-established and Penghu County was added, but it was not under the jurisdiction of Tongan, but under the jurisdiction of Dongfan. Dongfan was renamed Donglai and established as a prefecture, with the prefecture seat temporarily located in Penghu."

"The three ministers who said they were afraid to pay their respects because they felt guilty because of what the traitor had said were demoted to the positions of prefect, county magistrate, and inspector in Penghu."

"Those who don't even have a reason to go and pay respect to the Virgin Mary will be exiled to Penghu to guard the sea border!"

"They will not be returned even if they are pardoned!"

Here, "not returning when pardoned" is very important.

But Zhu Houcong knew very well that these civil servants dared to be so arrogant.

In essence, he was still dissatisfied with the fact that Zhu Houcong did not recognize Emperor Xiaozong as his father.

He was dissatisfied that the imperial power could not be suppressed by the power of the scholars.

and so.

These people deliberately found excuses not to attend the imperial ceremony in order to challenge the imperial power.

If the emperor gave in a step, they would take a step forward.

Just as the emperor would instinctively try to possess greater imperial power.

It was also instinctive for these scholars to try to challenge the imperial power and expand their power.

But just as Liang Chu only said that these civil servants just did not understand etiquette, Zhu Houcong could not directly break off relations with these ritual-protecting civil servants and say that these ritual-protecting officials were hopeless and actually wanted to control the emperor, and should be directly executed by beating in the court.

Because there have always been conflicts and cooperation between imperial power and scholar power.

Zhu Houcong still relies on the majority of the scholars in the country, the protectors of rituals, to maintain local stability and supervise the advocates of rituals and other forces.

However, for many scholars and officials who valued dignity more than their lives, exile to Penghu was more harmful, although not very humiliating.

Sending them to a remote place separated from the mainland by sea and sky is more cruel than taking their lives!
"When drafting the bill, be sure to mention this."

"I am not guilty of persecuting them, but of saving them."

Zhu Houcong added two more sentences.

Liang Chu was already horrified.

Because he didn't expect the emperor to be so cruel that he would demote these people to such a far place.

To know.

Since the fifth year of Hongwu, when Zhu Yuanzhang issued an order to abolish the Penghu Inspection Office and relocate all Penghu residents to the inland, no one has been in charge there. Only some refugees fled to the sea and became bandits there.

Letting these people go to Penghu is tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

After all, not everyone is Wang Yangming, who can still establish virtues, make statements and achieve merits after being exiled to an area inhabited by natives and bandits with different languages ​​and customs.

But in name, this can indeed be said to be for the purpose of training these ministers and saving these ministers. It is not the humiliation of taking off pants and beating in court, nor the harshness of beheading. Instead, it is an act that seemingly has the intention of training you as a talent.

Therefore, Liang Chu did not say much, but just bowed and agreed, while secretly sighing that the emperor was well versed in the art of playing tricks on people.

They even specifically chose an isolated overseas island that is difficult to communicate with the mainland.

in this way.

This will undoubtedly prevent many domestic scholars from taking the opportunity to contact him, and prevent local officials and gentry from creating a lot of momentum in the local area in the name of inviting him to give lectures, in order to achieve the purpose of getting him to return to the court as soon as possible.

"Exile is certainly better than the caning."

"But how does Your Majesty know about places like Penghu and Dongfan?"

Cabinet ministers Jiang Mian and Mao Ji were also shocked after learning Zhu Houcong's imperial intention from Liang Chu.

What surprised Mao Ji even more was that the emperor actually knew places like Penghu and Dongfan.

You should know that the Penghu Inspection Office has been abolished for more than 150 years.

No one has ever mentioned Dongfan Island, not far from Penghu, before the Emperor since then.

Because the court officials were afraid that the emperor would know about these places, and one day if a minister committed a crime, he would be demoted to these places.

Therefore, during the imperial lectures, civil officials rarely mentioned the sea borders. What they mentioned most were usually the heavy taxes in the south and the serious threat from invaders in the north, and they hoped that the emperor would be frugal and reduce taxes.

But now, the emperor knew that the Ming Dynasty once had a Penghu Inspection Office and also knew about Dongfan Island.

For Mao Ji.

This is naturally very unexpected.

It was also very scary. Jiang Mian was horrified when he heard this, and thought to himself that he should not contradict His Majesty in the future, lest he accidentally end up on an isolated island overseas to reflect on himself.

"Vice-Chief Censor Zhang Lun, Ministry of Works Doctor Xu Shaohua, and Criminal Affairs Secretary Gu Ji used excuses to not go to the imperial court to welcome the Holy Mother. This is extremely disrespectful and unfaithful to my expectations. According to the eight articles of the Great Ming Code, considering that you have extenuating circumstances, I will deal with you as appropriate. Zhang Lun will be demoted to Penghu as the governor of Dongfan, Xu Shaohua will be demoted to the magistrate of the newly established Penghu County, and Gu Ji will be demoted to the inspector of the re-established Penghu Inspection Office!"

"Xing Huan, Ma Li and others did not even have a reason, and simply refused to follow the rituals to welcome the Holy Mother. This is even more disloyal and unfilial, and is not included in the Eight Proposals. Therefore, according to the Great Ming Law, they will be dismissed from their posts and exiled to Penghu to guard the border!"

"You are disloyal and unfilial. I have loyal ministers and filial sons to use. I will ask the Ministry of Personnel to promote someone else to take his place!"

"If pardoned, they shall not be recalled."

"Appreciate this!"

Zhang Lun, Xu Shaohua, Gu Ji, Xing Huan, Ma Li and others were summoned to the cabinet.

then.

They heard the decree issued to them by the cabinet.

Zhang Lun and others were dumbfounded upon hearing this.

"My lord is guilty!"

"I am willing to be killed!"

"Your Majesty, please kill me directly to restore your majesty, and do not be so lenient. Just demote me according to the law, and do not humiliate or kill me!"

Zhang Lun immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed in response.

With a sad face.

Xu Shaohua and others also knelt down.

"I am guilty too!"

"Your Majesty, please execute me directly. I dare not complain. There is no need to show mercy to me so that I can still live in this world!"

For them.

Being executed by the emperor is better than going to Dongfan or Penghu.

After all, being executed by the emperor can be considered a worthy death, and it is a return to one's roots.

What's more.

They dare to do this because they are not afraid of death.

But now the emperor does not want to kill them, but demote them to an isolated island overseas.

To know.

Doing so will result in death by fish or possible being eaten by bandits and barbarians on the island.

How can I be reborn then?

How can we return to our roots?

People of this era, especially the scholar-officials, have a strong sense of homesickness and attach great importance to returning to their roots.

So, they were really scared.

"Your Majesty is a great honor to you. Please accept my order and thank me!"

At this time, Jiang Mian couldn't help but criticize these people.

Liang Chu also said: "Your Majesty is kind and upright. He did not bear any grudge against you for your disrespect and did not follow the law. You should be grateful!"

"Yes, he is a disloyal and unfilial minister after all."

"At this time, you still don't know how to appreciate the emperor's grace, and you are just blindly teaching your majesty how to do things."

"Your Majesty needs you, the disloyal and unfilial ministers, to teach him how to do things?"

Mao Ji also started to teach them a lesson, sneering.

Zhang Lun and others felt very aggrieved after hearing what the three cabinet ministers said, but they had no choice but to follow their advice and thank them.

And then.

Zhang Lun just looked at Liang Chu and asked, "My fellow ministers, I have been banished overseas and will soon be buried in the belly of a fish or on a deserted island. I have brought this upon myself and deserve the punishment. But the discussion of the grand ceremony has ended up like this. Have you really never reflected on this?"

"Especially Yuanfu Liang Shunde!"

Zhang Lun suddenly pointed at Liang Chu and shouted, with tears in his eyes, "Are you so afraid of letting the emperor suffer injustice? Your Majesty is a benevolent monarch. What's wrong with making more contributions for the world and becoming a saint?!"

"That's right!"

"For example, this time, we pleaded for Zhao Jian and others, hoping that His Majesty would pardon their death sentences. Since His Majesty didn't allow us to do so, we didn't want to go to the imperial court to pay our respects. We just wanted His Majesty to know that punishment should not be imposed on scholars and officials, and that this is the way of courtesy for scholars!"

"But you, the ministers, do not speak for the wise, but only make a big fuss. What can the scholars do wrong? Even if they are sometimes rebellious, they are actually loyal in their hearts!"

Xu Shaohua also echoed.

Liang Chu ignored them.

"it is good!"

"If Yuanfu doesn't speak, let's go see the Grand Tutor!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Lun said something in a cold voice.

"That's right, the Master will speak for us!"

Xu Shaohua followed suit and headed towards the Donghua Gate.

"That's right. My death overseas is a small matter, but correcting the great ritual is a big matter. If the Prime Minister doesn't advise the emperor on this matter, the Grand Tutor will!"

Xing Huan and others also echoed, and said that they would go to see Yang Tinghe with Zhang Lun and others.

"Wait!"

(End of this chapter)