The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 610 Being Unaware of the Times Leads to Implicates

The remnants of the three powerful clans in Puzhou are plotting a rebellion!

Li Sancai and Han Kuang confessed without hesitation!

By imperial decree, Li Sancai and Han Kuang were to be executed along with their entire families, numbering nine generations, in accordance with the law!
This seems like a perfectly normal thing.

It would be abnormal if the remnants of the three powerful clans in Puzhou didn't secretly plot a rebellion.

The problem is that even though Emperor Wanli issued an edict and the Embroidered Uniform Guard emptied the residences of Li Sancai and Han Kuang, neither Li Sancai nor Han Kuang were taken to the West Market execution ground to be beheaded and displayed to the public, let alone their nine generations of relatives.

This is extremely abnormal.

If it were in Wanli's usual temperament, he would have been beheaded as soon as he caught the suspect.

Why didn't he cut it this time?

Actually, he wanted to see if Donglin knew how to read the situation.

He spared Li Sancai and Han Kuang's lives so that people would think they were still being tried in prison.

As for what will be reviewed.

That was naturally the case of the Donglin Party's plot to rebel.

If Donglin members are pragmatic, they should quickly resign and retire into seclusion.

So, were there any people in Donglin who understood the times?
The next morning around 7 a.m., Shen Li came to see him again, carrying a stack of memorials.

After exchanging greetings with the emperor, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Ye Xianggao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, requests to resign."

This guy knows how to adapt to the times.

Emperor Wanli took the memorial, opened it, and couldn't help but sneer.

Ye Xianggao is only in his forties, yet he claims he is too old to serve in office and wants to retire!

This means that he will retire from public life and never serve in office again.

The problem is, this one isn't enough.

Donglin probably didn't understand what he meant.

After thinking for a moment, Wanli picked up his brush and wrote in red ink: "Have you participated in the rebellion? Do you know what they are plotting?"
After finishing writing, he handed the memorial to Shen Li.

Shen Li took it and was stunned.

Were the Donglin Party members really plotting a rebellion?
That's really unlikely.

Question: What does His Majesty mean by this batch of red?

Does this mean Ye Xianggao is trying to attack other members of the Donglin Party?

Ye Xianggao couldn't possibly implicate other members of the Donglin Party.

Even if you weren't involved, failing to report something you knew about is a capital offense.

Moreover, there was no conspiracy to rebel at all, so why would Ye Xianggao seek death?

Before Shen Li could figure it out, Wanli suddenly raised his hand and waved it.

He had no choice but to take the memorial, bow, and quickly take his leave.

Little Zhu Changxun also peeked out and saw the red annotation. He couldn't help but ask, "Father, what does the red annotation you just wrote mean?"

Instead of answering, Wanli asked, "Do you think we can use fabricated charges of treason to exterminate the entire Donglin clan?"

This doesn't seem like it will work, does it?
Xiao Zhu Changxun pondered and said, "Father, I remember you once said that whether or not to execute someone's entire family depends on how much harm they have caused. If they haven't caused much harm, it's best not to execute their entire family."

Although the Donglin faction was somewhat opposed to us, they didn't seem to have caused any real harm yet, so executing their entire clan seems inappropriate.

Yes, Not Bad.

Wanli nodded slightly, then patiently instructed, "You're right, Donglin hasn't caused any harm yet."

More importantly, there is no basis to distinguish who is a member of the Donglin Party and who is not.

If we really want to exterminate all nine generations of the Donglin Party, then we must nip it in the bud and eliminate any future troubles.

Just think, how many families would we have to exterminate to truly eradicate them completely?

How can we eliminate this problem completely?

It's impossible to tell who is a member of the Donglin faction and who isn't. It's not written on their faces, nor is it recorded in the "Tax and Labor Register." So how can we tell?

Xiao Zhu Changxun thought about it carefully, then slowly shook his head and said, "Your subject feels that this cannot be eradicated completely, because your subject does not even know what constitutes eradicating the root of the problem."

Yes.

Historically, both the Tianqi Emperor and the Chongzhen Emperor carried out massacres, but neither eradicated the root of the problem.

The Donglin Party was just a facade. The Tianqi and Chongzhen Emperors killed pawns abandoned by the three powerful clans of Puzhou. They didn't even scratch the eight imperial merchants who actually sold out the Ming Dynasty.

Wanli nodded slightly, then explained in detail: "The Donglin Party has not caused much harm yet, so it is not appropriate for us to use fabricated charges of treason to exterminate their entire clan."

Furthermore, we have no way of judging what constitutes "cutting off the roots" in killing people, so we cannot take action to exterminate their entire family.

So, we can only see if they are pragmatic enough to retire quickly. If they are, we can let them go.

The Emperor's intention in issuing that imperial decree was actually to have Ye Xianggao show the other Donglin members his opinion, to see if any of them were still sensible enough to back down.

Oh, that’s what it meant.

Xiao Zhu Changxun thought for a moment, then asked, "Father, what about those who don't know when to stop?"

You still don't understand?

Emperor Wanli patiently explained, "Your Majesty's imperial edict is very clear. Those who are not aware of the times will be implicated in the treason case."

While we can't use this to exterminate their entire clan, dismissing them from their official positions and removing them from the register of officials is still no problem. "How do we play this game?"
Xiao Zhu Changxun asked, puzzled, "Father, if we are implicated in a treason case, wouldn't our entire family be executed?"

This is more complicated to explain.

Wanli thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said, "Let's see tomorrow. Now you should study hard with Chang Geng."

The day passed quickly.

The next morning around 7 a.m., Shen Li came to see him again, carrying a stack of memorials.

After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Cui Jingrong, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is also resigning."

When Wanli took the memorial and read it, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Are the other Donglin members all out of touch with reality?
Then don't blame me for being impolite.

He wrote "Approved" on both Ye Xianggao's and Cui Jingrong's memorials, then handed them to Shen Li and waved his hand.

Shen Li quickly took the memorial, bowed, and took his leave.

Wanli then announced loudly, "Summon Yuan Keli, Minister of Justice."

Yuan Keli had already investigated most of the corrupt officials, so he was now relatively free.

However, the Ministry of Justice was not outside Chengtian Gate, and it took him about 15 minutes to arrive.

At this time, Wanli Emperor summoned Luo Sigong.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli raised his hand and handed over the confessions of Li Sancai and Han Kuang.

When Yuan Keli took the confession and looked at it, he was completely baffled.

It seems that Li Sancai and Han Kuang didn't explain anything.

Wanli then asked, "Minister Li, do you see any problems with their signatures and seals?"

What could be wrong with this?
Oh, so you mean can I counterfeit it?

Yuan Keli carefully examined the signature at the end of the confession, then slowly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, there should be no problem."

That'll do.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then carefully instructed, "Don't let anyone see these two confessions."

They also gave a confession stating that they had conspired with Dong Lin of the Central Court to rebel. As for who they conspired with, you can ask Si Gong.

"Arrest and thoroughly interrogate any members of the Donglin faction they confess to."

This means I have to fabricate a confession and then arrest and interrogate Zhong Donglin!
Yuan Keli thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, should such a major case be tried jointly by the three judicial departments?"

Too many people, too many mouths.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "They're all busy, so you can handle the interrogation."

I think I asked an unnecessary question.

However, according to the law, such a major case as plotting a rebellion must be tried by the three judicial departments if not by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

What does it mean that the Ministry of Justice is handling such a major case on its own?

Yuan Keli thought about it carefully for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, is the Donglin faction really plotting a rebellion?"

Does this mean it's really going to be treated as a treason case?

Emperor Wanli said in a serious tone, "Just investigate according to the proper procedures. If you really can't find any solid evidence, then just dismiss them from their posts and remove them from the register of officials."

Oh, so you want to dismiss them from their posts and strip them of their official status.

Then there's no problem.

Yuan Keli nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Actually, there's another problem.

Those were Gu Xiancheng and others.

These guys aren't in the capital, and they don't hold any official positions.

After thinking for a moment, Wanli then instructed, "Gu Xiancheng and the others should not be let off this time either."

After you finish interrogating the Donglin Party members in the capital, send an urgent message to the Ministry of Justice in Southern Zhili, instructing them to send someone to arrest Gu Xiancheng and others and bring them to the capital for trial.

Those without official positions should all be exiled to the frontier. Have the Ministry of Justice of Southern Zhili send people to dismantle the Donglin Academy.

what?
Donglin Academy is going to be demolished!

Doing this will likely draw criticism from the entire community of upright individuals.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Keli gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly and then waved his hand.

Yuan Keli and Luo Sigong quickly bowed and took their leave.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, can an official be dismissed and stripped of his official rank without any real evidence?"

This is actually a small psychological tactic.

Emperor Wanli patiently explained, "They were arrested on suspicion of treason, so they must have thought that their father wanted to exterminate their entire family."

As a result, their father simply dismissed them from their posts and stripped them of their official status, which they must have secretly rejoiced about.

This is also a warning to them: if they don't want their entire family to be exterminated, they'd better behave themselves. If they dare to disobey again, we really will exterminate their entire family.

(End of this chapter)