I started with Dragon Elephant Prajna, and I pushed forward with my skill points.

Chapter 61: Death by hitting a pillar, a document ruins the plan
Wan'an is the prime minister, so naturally he cannot take the lead.

He just gave a look, and Huang Zhao, the right judge of the Dali Temple, stood up.

At this moment, Huang Zhao's face was filled with righteousness and awe. "Your Majesty, we are going to impeach Jinyiwei Commander Su Qing. He is bringing disaster to the country and the people, and will destroy half of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Destroy half of the Ming Dynasty? Huang Zhao, you are so bold!"

Wan An pretended to be furious and immediately scolded him.

“I’m not very courageous.

Even if Your Majesty wants to punish me for my offense, I will still speak out.

As a loyal minister, even if I die, I will rid the country of this traitor!"

Huang Zhao's loyalty to his country resonated with many students, who couldn't help but shout in unison: "Teacher, you are so righteous!"

As if moved by Huang Zhao's sincerity, Wan An's anger subsided a little: "Your Majesty is the Holy Emperor.

Now, it is only for a short time that we have been blinded by some flatterers, so we should speak up for justice.

Don't always say alarmist words.

As for punishment, the Ming Dynasty will not punish people for their words, and it is absolutely impossible to punish you."

Wan'an and Huang Zhao sang the same tune, and first said that there would be no punishment for speech in the Ming Dynasty, in order to shirk the blame for Huang Zhao.

Then, a sentence about being deceived by flatterers labeled Su Qing as a flatterer.

Wan'an is a veteran who has been in the officialdom for decades and does things flawlessly.

"Your Majesty, Commander Su Qing acted recklessly, killing innocent people to claim credit.

He allowed his men to rob women and even collected a 15% commercial tax from merchants, which was a disaster for the country and the people.

He killed a good person and took credit for it.

What crime did the fishermen killed along the coast commit? They actually became his capital for advancement.

Rape women?

The parents of the victims gathered in the capital.

How miserable they must be to have their daughter, whom they have raised for decades, ruined like this?
As for collecting commercial taxes, Your Majesty may feel that it is a bit too much to say that it is harming the country and the people just by collecting taxes from merchants.

Many things can be said to be closely linked.

Take silk merchants for example.

From raising silkworms to reeling silk to printing and dyeing and then weaving silk, every link requires a large number of workers.

Where do these workers come from?
In the final analysis, they are all ordinary people who make a living by working. Workshops at all levels have to pay taxes, and silk merchants also pay taxes to local officials when purchasing.
Previously, the commercial tax was only 130 yuan, and merchants could make money, so they would not over-exploit workers.

And they have to pay 15% tax, which ultimately falls on the common people. Isn't this definitely competing with the people for profit?"

Lin Sheng, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, was originally from Fujian.

He listed Su Qing's strengths in detail and criticized him for all his shortcomings.

"Killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes is a crime that should be punished by death.

Allowing his subordinates to rape women is an even greater crime.

Competing with the people for profit is something that will shake the foundation of the country.

You evil villain, you are going to destroy the Ming Dynasty!
Simply putting him in jail will not redeem his sins.

Only by being cut into pieces and executed by slow slicing can the people's resentment be appeased."

When Huang Zhao shouted from a high place, many officials and students immediately echoed him.

"Cut into pieces, and be executed by slow slicing!"

"Cut into pieces, and be executed by slow slicing!"

"Cut into pieces, and be executed by slow slicing!"

……

Among them were some truly naive students who were ignorant of the ways of the world and had no idea that they were being used by Wan'an.

He really thought he was pleading for the people, and actually banged his head against the Meridian Gate, making a loud bang. The blood from his forehead kept flowing down his face.

Seeing this, Zhu Jianshen's face became even uglier.

Wantong was naturally very proud in his heart.

The reason why Ming Dynasty officials and students dared to confront Zhu Jianshen directly was also related to the system of the Ming Dynasty.

A civil official who has never been caned in the court is an incompetent official.

They are now forcing the emperor to abdicate, seemingly dancing on the edge of a knife, actively provoking the emperor, and are almost kneeling down to beg Zhu Jianshen to give them a beating in the court.

This is the spirit of dying for one's integrity and righteousness, which will surely be recorded in the history books and known throughout the world. This reputation of integrity will spread throughout the universe!

Scholars all over the world will regard him as a role model.

Whenever he went to a local place, from the governor and provincial governor to the prefect and county magistrate, everyone treated him with respect.

Zhu Jianshen could either ignore the opinions of his ministers or act arbitrarily and stubbornly.
Because this is the divine right of kings, it is natural.

But he couldn't sit idly by and watch so many students die in front of the palace gate.

Even if this matter was originally the fault of Prime Minister Wan'an, once the matter spread throughout the world.

All officials and students of the Imperial College made a name for themselves and their reputations will be recorded in history forever.

And what about Zhu Jianshen?

Who in the world would not call him a cruel and foolish emperor?

Wan'an, who had already seen that Zhu Jianshen was getting a little restless, decided to make a final attack. He looked at Liu Daxia in the crowd and nodded calmly.

Liu Daxia understood what he meant.

Immediately, a student who had been kowtowing continuously jumped up and rushed directly towards the pillar.

Damn it!

This is to use death to drag Su Qing to hell.

boom!
The student hit the pillar and died on the spot.

The students, civil and military officials, and even the common people around them began to get excited, and the mood was surging.

Seeing this, Zhu Jianshen couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

This scholar is too cruel. With just a few words, he can persuade others to die bravely. This method is too terrifying.

Even if it was just a student who died by hitting his head against a pillar, he could imagine that civil officials would deliberately smear him a hundred years later.

This time, he really couldn't sit still!

At this moment, another man in official robes arrived.

"Your humble servant, Wang Yue, the Right Censor-in-Chief, wishes to impeach the Prime Minister, Wan An, for forming a private clique and excluding dissidents. He claims loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, but is actually corrupt and embezzling money.

Jinyiwei Commander Su Qing collected 15% commercial tax for the sake of the country.

However, Wan'an colluded with those maritime smuggling groups, obtained 20% of their profits, and was willing to act as their umbrella.

Yunhe is the silver ingot casting factory of the Ming Dynasty.

It was discovered that the official silver minted in Yunhe was mixed with lead, which was also controlled by Wan'an behind the scenes.

Those who harm the public interest for their own benefit shall be safe!

Those who form cliques for personal gain, long be safe!

May peace befall those who deceive the holy ears!

Your Majesty, please execute the Prime Minister, and may peace reign!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers were shocked and angry, and shouts and curses broke out one after another.

“Nonsense!
Who doesn't know that Wan'an University Scholar is dedicated to the public?

Even when his official robe was torn, he would mend it. His reputation for diligence and thriftiness was known throughout the world.

How could you slander him like this? "

"The Prime Minister's heart is as bright as the sun and the moon, and his ambition is clear to the world.

"You are a role model for our scholars." "Mr. Weining, I used to admire you, but now it seems that since you are in cahoots with those flatterers who kill innocent people and take credit for it, I'm sure the heads you beheaded to defeat the Yuan Mongols were also the product of killing innocent people and taking credit for it!"

"good!
Not only did he have an ambiguous relationship with the fawning Jinyiwei commander, he also flirted with the eunuchs from the Western Factory. He is simply a disgrace to the literati."

……

Facing the abuse from the crowd, Wang Yue remained calm.

"Since you have it in your hearts, the Prime Minister's heart is as bright as the sun and the moon, and Zhanbo can clarify his ambition.

I have a document signed by the Censorate here, you can sign it to guarantee Prime Minister Wan.

As long as more than 50% of the people sign the guarantee, I will resign from the position of Right Censor-in-Chief and ask Your Majesty to take away my earldom.

However, if you sign the document, you will be guilty if Wan'an is investigated.

how is it? "

There was excitement in the eyes of many students.

Their death outside the Meridian Gate was enough to make them famous.

If Wang Yue, the Right Censor of the Censorate, was removed from office and stripped of his title of earl, how glorious would it be if it were made known to others?

Many people came forward to sign their names.

However, some students showed hesitation on their faces.

They found that except for the students, the court officials who had just been with Wan'an seemed to have taken root and no one stepped forward.

Others may not know, but Wan'an's followers don't know what kind of person Wan'an is?
Wan'an is definitely a huge corrupt official.

What will be the outcome if you commit the same crime as Wan'an?
It is impossible for them to link their own life and death with Wan'an.

Seeing this, Wan An's heart skipped a beat: "What a Right Censor-in-Chief, what a Weining Earl! Just a piece of paper actually broke him out of the predicament."

For Wan'an, it would be nothing even if someone confiscated his property.

Confiscate all the money he embezzled.

He controls the literati and public opinion, so he can say that it was a frame-up by others.

However, this move of signing the document and committing the same crime broke their alliance.

Seeing this, the students who were about to sign the documents also stopped.

"Huh! I thought Prime Minister Wan's party was as solid as a rock and unyielding, but this is it?

I am so disappointed!"

Da da da!
A young man in a purple robe, with fair skin and sharp features, walked over.

He has a handsome face and a tall and straight figure.

He was handsome and gentle as jade, as if he appeared just for him.

Purple robe and flying fish suit!
He is none other than Su Qing, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
Many people saw Su Qing for the first time. They did not expect that the ferocious and vicious hawk-dog in the legend would actually look as gentle as jade.

Almost at the same time, more than one hundred Jinyiwei wearing Feiyu uniforms and holding embroidered spring swords came.

The Jinyiwei came one after another with horse-drawn carriages, and there were dozens of carriages in total.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, all the boxes on the carriages were opened.

The dazzling golden light, intertwined with the luster of silver, could even reflect the Meridian Gate into gold and white.

"From Wan'an's mansion, the Jinyiwei and I found over 200,000 taels of gold, 6 million taels of silver, and various porcelain and antiques worth no less than 3 million taels."

Although Zhu Jianshen had learned from the History of Ming Dynasty that Wan'an had a hobby of raising goldfish in the pond, he had not expected that there was so much corruption.

Although it is really easy for the Jinyiwei to fabricate charges, using tens of millions of taels of real money to frame them?
No fool would do this.

When cartloads of real gold and silver were displayed before the civil and military officials, numerous students, and the onlookers, the officials remained silent, while the students were furious.

What should have been recorded in history has become a stain in their lives that can never be washed away.

For a moment, the scene became silent.

Sometimes, a brief silence is just the beginning of a more violent outburst.

It is said that in order to completely discredit Su Qing, many civil servants deliberately planned his "various evil deeds" for several days, and then came up with today's massive palace coup.

The common people who do not know the ins and outs of the matter will be angry and curse Su Qing for killing innocent people to take credit, not governing his subordinates strictly, resulting in the rape of women, and competing with the people for profit and other evil deeds.

At this moment, they realized that they had been deceived and played by others. They were angry and furious amid the applause.

In addition, since ancient times, the people have had a zero-tolerance attitude towards corrupt officials.

As much as they resented Su Qing before, they now resented Wan An and the civil servants as much.

“Although I am not very educated, I do remember a law from Lord Hongwu.

Anyone who embezzled 60 taels of silver would be sentenced to death. He would be publicly skinned in the "Pichang Temple" and stuffed with hay to make a "human fur doll" which would be hung in the court to warn his successor.

This is a very good law, I hope Your Majesty can enforce it!"

"Yes! We must not let these parasites of the country go."

……

The purchasing power of silver in the early years of Hongwu was set at: 1 tael of silver could buy 94 kilograms of grain, enough for a family of four to survive the famine.

The purchasing power of sixty taels is quite impressive.

This is also the reason why Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that anyone who embezzled 60 taels of silver would be skinned and stuffed with straw.

Of course, even though the purchasing power of silver is somewhat volatile at this time.

Tens of millions of taels of silver, what a concept, it is equivalent to the silver income of the court for three to five years.

At the same time, an idea arose in the minds of many people.

There is so much corruption in Wan'an, and the Jiangnan wealthy families are closely related to the maritime merchants.

In addition to the commander-in-chief, he was able to obtain tens of millions of taels of silver just by raiding four families in Fujian.

In this case, isn’t it a problem in itself that merchants make huge profits while paying low taxes?

The sentence "embezzling sixty taels of silver and being skinned and stuffed with straw" made many civil and military officials feel a chill and subconsciously wrapped their clothes tightly.

What made some students look even uglier was that the Jinyiwei came forward and put shackles on many students.

"My dear, what is this?"

Seeing this, Zhu Jianshen immediately asked.

"Your Majesty, although the Ming Dynasty has a tradition of not punishing people for their words.

However, the Ming Dynasty governs the country according to laws, and as law enforcers, what we, the Jinyiwei, have to do is to abide by the law and obey the law.

These students are in cahoots with Wan An and are willing to share the same crime. I am simply fulfilling their wish."

The scholars who left their names on the documents turned pale, broke out in cold sweat, and collapsed to the ground.

At this moment, in their eyes, Su Qing was no different from the devil.

“I don’t want to die!

I don’t want to die! I don’t want to be skinned and stuffed with straw, nor do I want to be cut into pieces!”

"I was wrong!

I know I was wrong!
Your Majesty, please forgive me this time!"

……

The students of the Imperial College had never seen the world before, and just hearing the specific operation of skinning and stuffing with straw was enough to terrify them out of their wits.

Everyone was wailing, some begging for mercy, some pleading, all the various aspects of life were clearly displayed.

Zhu Jianshen was somewhat moved and softened.

Su Qing naturally saw through this, but he transmitted his message in secret: "Your Majesty, the reason why the students are so unscrupulous and the officials dare to force the palace is nothing more than relying on not punishing people for their words.

After this incident of killing the chicken to scare the monkey, they will learn their lesson in the future.

It will never happen again.”

I also know that Your Majesty, besides being soft-hearted, may also be worried about the manipulation of public opinion by civil servants. In fact, I already have a way to deal with this."

(End of this chapter)