Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 183 I Was Caught Off Guard [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

"???"

Upon hearing this, all the officials of the Imperial Household Department widened their eyes and stared at Yan Maoqing in disbelief.

They simply couldn't fathom how this minister could have such an astonishing idea—that he intended for these court officials who had come knocking on their door to take the blame themselves.
It should be noted that among these court officials outside, at least half are censors and eunuchs who are usually arrogant and self-important.

Among these censors and officials, there was a small number of upright individuals who valued reputation and integrity more than their lives.

To expect them to punish each other with sticks is simply a pipe dream!
But at this moment.

Gao Gong, however, held a different view. He gazed with rapt attention at Yan Maoqing's retreating figure on the ladder, his heart filled with an indescribable anticipation.

"Yes, yes, yes, Brother Jingqing, it feels exactly right! You were in this state back when you were in the Anda Kingdom's court!"

"Back then, Shen Lian and I were in the same state they are in now, dumbfounded, incredulous, and amazed by the incredible."

"But I know you will never disappoint. No matter how incredible your words may seem, they will all come true in the end, turning the impossible into the possible in an instant!"

"This time you must be very confident too!"

"Come on, I'm ready! Shock me, amaze me, conquer me!"

"..."

What the crowd naturally didn't know was that this was not only an atypical "trolley problem" or "two-ship experiment" tailored by Yan Maoqing for the group of court officials outside, but also contained the "broken windows theory" and the "herd effect".

The "trolley problem" or the "two-ship experiment" need no further explanation; in essence, they are a moral test.

These court officials who came to cause trouble were nothing more than two kinds of people: those who were truly righteous and dedicated to the country and its people, and those who were hypocrites who sought fame and justice.

These two types of people frequent the same circles, as long as they don't want to die in that circle.

They could only be forced to take the punishment of a court cane, even if it was a mutual caneing and they had to grit their teeth and bear it.

Once this beating is received, the victim falls into the trap of the "broken window fallacy."

One stroke of the cane is one stroke of the cane, and the two hundred strokes of the cane that Yan Maoqing imposed on them according to the "Great Ming Code" are also strokes of the cane.

In some respects, aside from the difference in quantity, the impact after the news gets out is actually no different.

At least for a considerable portion of these court officials who were hypocritical and sought only to gain fame, there was little difference.

In the minds of these hypocrites, if they could accept the punishment of two hundred strokes of the cane themselves instead of waiting for Yan Maoqing to lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard to beat them, at least they wouldn't kill each other, which would be equivalent to saving their lives. In their eyes, this was definitely a win.

While saving his life, he also managed to obtain the punishment of being flogged in court, which he could use to gain fame and reputation.

They can also gain sympathy by portraying themselves as victims, thus perfectly concealing their own fear of death.

Afterwards, they even had more legitimate reasons to attack Yan Maoqing and to incite public opinion to coerce the emperor into retracting his order!

This is simply a win-win-win situation, something we couldn't ask for!
Therefore, these hypocrites will do their best to make this happen, and they will also try to get more people to accept it with them and gain more recognition.

This is when the "herd effect" comes into play.

Human beings are essentially echoes; as long as someone takes the lead and pushes things, more people will inevitably be influenced and follow suit, just like their disturbance at the Imperial Household Department today.

Especially when faced with life-or-death choices, people are naturally more likely to follow their hearts and act accordingly, tending to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

After all, who would really want to die if they could survive?
of course.

Yan Maoqing also knew that some of these people would rather die than submit.

They could grit their teeth and accept the lash that saved their life, but they would rather die than endure the humiliation of living after two hundred lashes.

But at the same time, he also knew that these people were definitely a tiny minority.

Otherwise, during the previous "Great Rites Controversy," Zhu Houcong would not have been able to achieve a great victory by killing only sixteen people.

When Zhu Houcong insisted on retiring, it was impossible for him to suppress the opposition of the entire court by killing just one person.

For these truly upright and unyielding officials...

Yan Maoqing also tailored another plan for them.

As he just said, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has suddenly taken over the responsibilities of the Western Depot, and its manpower is indeed stretched thin.

He had just asked Zhu Houcong for a manor to advance his plan to gain fame and reputation, and he needed talents like them!

Just as I was thinking this.

"Then, can our two hundred strokes of the cane also be..."

Sure enough, some clever little devils had already walked into the snare set by Yan Maoqing and blurted out the answer without thinking.

He had only spoken halfway when he realized his question lacked "integrity," so he quickly shut his mouth, somewhat embarrassed but maintaining a composed and objective demeanor, as he explained to those looking over:

"I just asked casually, it wasn't because I was afraid of him!"

"However, as you all know, many of us have colleagues with bedridden parents and sickly children."

"While our own lives may be insignificant, we cannot completely disregard the actual circumstances of our colleagues. It would be ungentlemanly to implicate our parents and wives as a result."

"..."

No one commented on the person's remarks; they simply turned their gaze away silently.

A true upright and outspoken minister would not force everyone to uphold their principles regardless of their own circumstances, nor would they want to implicate anyone; otherwise, they could not be called an upright and outspoken minister.

Those who seek fame and fortune or are merely pretenders will only feel that this person has spoken their minds.

They even hoped he could say a few more words on their behalf, paving a wider way for them to gracefully step down.

After all, the more people like them are, the more they value their lives, and the less they dare to gamble on whether Yan Maoqing will openly lead the Imperial Guards to commit a bloodbath tonight, dragging them down with him...

Then Yan Maoqing, while idly picking at his nails, spoke in his usual nonchalant tone:
"If you can punish yourselves with those two hundred strokes of the cane here, it will save me the trouble of going to your door to arrest you tonight."

"However, I will only give you five days to consider. If you start to punish yourselves within five days and can remain impartial, then you may have your choice."

"If it still hasn't started after five counts, then I'll just have to let it be..."

……

Wenhua Hall.

In fact, Zhu Houcong's meeting with Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi could have ended long ago, and he could have returned to the Qianqing Palace long ago.

However, Zhu Houcong continued to ask some irrelevant questions, lingering in the Wenhua Hall and keeping Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi there with him.

He just wanted to know the outcome of this matter as soon as possible, to see what new tricks Yan Maoqing would come up with this time.

At the same time, he also harbored a slight desire to show off his "treasure" to Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi. Even as the emperor, Zhu Houcong couldn't help but display some of the childishness typical of men.
"Hey, hey, hey, how did you three know I've struck gold? I didn't say a word!"

Of course, this also contains some hidden imperial strategies.

The reason he let these three people hear that Xia Yan was coming back was the same reason he wanted them to know that he had struck gold.

The catfish effect... although we don't use that term in this era, that's the gist of it.

"Huang Jin, it's been a while since we've heard any noise outside, hasn't it?" Zhu Houcong was talking to Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi when he suddenly made a gesture as if he had just remembered something, asking the question seemingly unintentionally but actually intentionally.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi kept their eyes down, avoiding any further comment to prevent being offended.

The cabinet is the leader of the court officials and the bridge between the emperor and the court officials. Even if it is not entirely without fault for what happened today, it is still somewhat responsible.

At the same time, they also harbored some doubts.

In their minds, these courtiers' fighting power was far greater than this, and since it had only been a short time, they probably hadn't even really brought out their usual tricks yet. At this point, they shouldn't be so quiet under any circumstances.

This situation is a bit unusual; someone who didn't know better might think they hadn't eaten all day...

"Your Majesty, it is indeed much quieter than before."

Huang Jin naturally knew what Zhu Houcong was asking, and quickly bowed to answer.

Zhu Houcong waved his hand:
"Go and see what the current situation is."

"The slaves obey the order."

Upon hearing this, Huang Jin quickly retreated and jogged all the way to the Imperial Household Department to check.

Actually, he was also quite puzzled at that moment.

Having personally witnessed so many major events alongside Zhu Houcong, he naturally knew the conduct of these court officials.

At this point, these court officials were basically prepared for a protracted war. As long as the unrest started, it wouldn't end until the palace was closed or the emperor resorted to violent suppression.

Moreover, the more kindly you try to persuade them and the more you order them to leave, the more they act like crazy people and become even more like shrewish women.

It was not yet noon, and the Emperor was still in the Wenhua Hall, so there was really no reason for them to quiet down so quickly...

With these questions in mind, Huang Jin quickly walked through the corridor of the main gate of Wenhua Hall, then around the Jingyi Room in the southeast corner of Wenhua Hall, and finally looked towards the small square where the gate of the Zhan Shi Fu and the Huiyin Gate intersected.

This glance is not a big deal.

"Eh?!"

Huang Jin then let out a strange cry, his eyes widening in surprise.

Then he immediately closed his eyes, shook his head, rubbed his eyelids hard, and opened his eyes again.

"Huh?! This, this, this is..."

Huang Jin repeatedly opened and closed his eyes, then opened and closed them again, several times.

The scene before him was so surreal that, even after confirming it repeatedly, he was still worried that he might be seeing things and inadvertently deceive the emperor when he returned to report to Zhu Houcong…

……

A moment later.

"I was just talking to you about Su Shi..."

While waiting for Huang Jin to return and report, Zhu Houcong wondered why he had taken so long this time, while simultaneously putting on airs and making small talk with the three cabinet ministers.

"I recall a few lines from Su Shi's 'On Ministers': 'The order or chaos of the world depends on whether the people's sentiments are clear or obstructed. A minister should serve his ruler with the right principles; if he cannot, he should resign. Now, those above and below deceive each other, and corruption has occurred but no one dares to speak out. Whose fault is this?' What do you three think?"

"Father, please forgive me!"

Upon hearing this, all three trembled and immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty, you are wise and discerning. Although I am foolish and slow-witted, I would never dare to deceive you!"

"Today's events were indeed sudden, and we were also kept in the dark by these people. Otherwise, we would have done our utmost to stop them and reported to the Emperor beforehand!"

The reason Zhu Houcong quoted these words was because they were Su Shi's criticism of court officials for blocking channels of communication and deceiving the monarch, directly pointing to them as the root cause of the chaos in the country.

When Zhu Houcong said such things at this time, it was hard not to think that he was directly questioning their relationship with the current events.

Of the three, the most terrified was naturally Zhai Luan.

Not long ago, when Zhu Houcong mentioned his two sons' suspected cheating in the imperial examinations, he mentioned the brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe. Now that Su Shi is mentioned again, it inevitably gives him the impression that he is deliberately targeting him.

"Eh?"

Zhu Houcong was taken aback when he heard the three men beg for mercy.

He was so distracted by the affairs of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices that he didn't even realize what terrible things he had just said.

After regaining my senses and thinking for a moment, I finally understood why these three people were so frightened. But... as expected of me, even when I was distracted, I could instinctively give them a good talking-to!

Just as I was thinking this in my mind.

"Report——!"

A familiar voice finally came from outside the hall.

Following the sound, Huang Jin rushed into the hall with small, quick steps. He didn't even bother to check why Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi were kneeling; he slid to his knees and, panting, reported:
"Your Majesty, the siege of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices has been lifted, and those court officials are being flogged outside the Court of Imperial Sacrifices!"

"???"

Upon hearing this, Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi were filled with doubt. For a moment, they forgot about the rather heavy blow they had just received and unconsciously looked up at Huang Jin.

What's going on?

Apart from the Emperor, who would dare to order these court officials to be flogged? Wouldn't they be afraid of cutting themselves off from the court?

Could it be Yan Maoqing, who was just granted special privileges by the Emperor to the Western Depot?

That's impossible...

This situation is so serious that it is probably no less serious than the Great Rites Controversy of that year. Even the slightest mistake could cause an uproar in the court and shake the country!
Moreover, the Emperor is currently in the Wenhua Hall. Even if Yan Maoqing has special privileges from the Western Depot, he should not act so recklessly without reporting to the Emperor. Otherwise, he might be suspected of overstepping his authority.

This is not only presumptuous but could also lead to serious consequences; it's practically courting death... Does Yan Maoqing even understand the ways of being an official?

Then they saw that Zhu Houcong was also quite surprised, and immediately stood up and asked in confusion:

"I have not yet ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to deal with this matter. With the limited manpower of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, how can they possibly punish those court officials?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was too hasty and did not explain clearly."

Huang Jin quickly added,

"It wasn't the people from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices who beat the court officials; it was the court officials who took turns using the court rods to punish each other. Minister Yan and the people from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices didn't even open the door; they just stood on the wall to supervise and count the blows."

"What did you say?!"

Caught off guard, Zhu Houcong's voice cracked, losing all composure.

"what?!"

Zhai Luan, Xu Zan, and Zhang Bi also pulled their necks back, momentarily losing their composure and unconsciously letting out a strange cry.

(End of this chapter)