White-robed Minister

Chapter 142 0140 [Someone went to the government office to plead for justice]

The Lantern Festival holiday is not over yet, and the lantern festival is still ongoing.

When Ouyang Xiu visited Han Qi's house, after dismissing everyone else, he immediately launched into a tirade against Fan Zhen.

By comparing Han Qi to the Duke of Zhou and Huo Guang, Fan Zhen's move was 100% intentional.

Fan Zhen was a top scholar in the imperial examination; would he make such a basic mistake?

Moreover, it doesn't make logical sense. Fan Zhen belongs to the "Imperial Uncle Faction," which doesn't usually express its opinions, yet he suddenly and shamelessly kowtows to Han Qi, the leader of the "Imperial Father Faction," in the imperial edict.

Definitely a skewer!

"Uncle Yong, don't worry." Han Qi's smile was calm and serene.

Ouyang Xiu said, "How can you still sit still?"

Han Qi smiled but remained silent.

Ouyang Xiu grew increasingly anxious; he was under even more pressure than Han Qi.

Because Han Qi consistently avoided directly responding to the impeachment memorials. Other officials in the Emperor's faction were either not good at arguing or lacked sufficient influence.

Thus, Ouyang Xiu took on the responsibility of engaging in verbal battles. For the past six months, he has been fighting against various censors on his own.

Seeing that Han Qi wouldn't join the argument, the censors felt like they were punching cotton, so they simply turned their fire entirely to Ouyang Xiu. Especially in the last month or two, Ouyang Xiu had been denounced as a "treacherous villain."

Ouyang Xiu had his own set of theories.

He discussed etiquette and kinship separately:

First, honoring the Prince of Pu as "Imperial Father" demonstrates the emperor's personal respect for his biological father. This aligns with ancient rites.

Secondly, in order not to violate the rites and legal system, a temple was to be built only in Puyuan for the King of Pu, and no temple was to be built in any other place. Moreover, the imperial court would not personally offer sacrifices at this temple; instead, other descendants of the King of Pu would perform the sacrifices for generations.

In this way, both family ties and social etiquette are taken into account.

Ouyang Xiu expressed his speculation: "I feel that Wang Gui orchestrated Fan Jingren's (Fan Zhen's) actions."

"Wang Gui doesn't have that ability yet," Han Qi said, shaking his head. "Fan Jingren (Fan Zhen) is probably exhausted, so he decided to escalate the matter himself so that both sides could settle the score sooner. He then took the opportunity to leave the capital, unwilling to get involved any longer."

Because of the controversy surrounding the Puyi Incident, Fu Bi had broken ties with Han Qi. Fu Bi resigned for several consecutive months and claimed illness to stay home and not go to work. Last year, he was successfully transferred to a post outside Beijing.

Fan Zhen's situation was similar to Fu Bi's, but his approach was more radical.

Countless old friends gradually severed ties with Han Qi. Especially when Fan Chunren was eliminated, Han Qi really couldn't hold back; he had always regarded Fan Chunren as a nephew.

Ouyang Xiu was the same; a large number of his old friends became his enemies.

Han Qi said, "Just wait patiently."

"At a time like this, what other solutions are there?" Ouyang Xiu thought of Han Qi's various outrageous actions in the past.

Han Qi smiled but remained silent.

Several days later.

Lü Hui submitted eleven memorials in succession, each one more vehement than the last.

The emperor was clearly at his breaking point, but he was determined not to admit defeat and was hesitating about whether to publicly support Han Qi. Before this, Zhao Shu had not made a clear statement, but had been observing the whole process as a referee.

Zhao Shu sent a eunuch to summon Han Qi and asked, "Does Prime Minister Han have any other ideas? I intend to issue an edict honoring the late Emperor."

Han Qi said, "How can His Majesty handle this matter personally? Not only can His Majesty not issue an edict, but he must also humbly decline this title on behalf of his biological father."

Zhao Shu asked again what the solution was.

Han Qi remained silent.

Another day later, rumors began to circulate in the court and among the people: it had been decided to honor Prince Pu as the late emperor.

Ouyang Xiu found Han Qi: "Did you spread those rumors?"

Han Qi said, "You've come at the right time. Quickly draft two imperial edicts."

Although Ouyang Xiu did not understand his meaning, he still chose to believe Han Qi and drafted two edicts based on Han Qi's oral account.

That noon, an eunuch from Empress Dowager Cao's side brought a signed and stamped imperial edict to the Hall of State Affairs and handed it to the prime ministers.

Ouyang Xiu took a look and saw that it was the edict he had written that morning, only now it had the Empress Dowager's signature and seal!

Although Empress Dowager Cao relinquished power, her treatment remained extremely high. Apart from minor differences such as not cracking whips, her ceremonial status was equivalent to that of the emperor.

Moreover, as the late emperor's first wife, Empress Dowager Cao had a decisive influence on the Puyi debate.

Empress Dowager Cao had previously opposed it, but had not issued a public edict. Now, she has actually signed and agreed?

Although Ouyang Xiu and the other ministers did not know how Han Qi had persuaded Empress Dowager Cao, they all breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.

No one knows why Empress Dowager Cao changed her attitude.

However, it is absolutely certain that Han Qi had private dealings with several eunuchs serving the Empress Dowager. Rumor has it that Empress Dowager Cao was drunk and signed and stamped documents in a daze.

The grand and dramatic Puyi was handled by Han Qi in such a childish manner.

The methods remain simple and unadorned.

Didn't Ouyang Xiu write two edicts? Empress Dowager Cao has already signed one; the remaining one will be sent to the emperor immediately.

When Zhao Shu saw the Empress Dowager's edict, he was overjoyed and quickly signed and affixed his seal.

Upon hearing the news, Lü Hui immediately submitted a memorial requesting to resign.

Lü Dafang and Fan Chunren also submitted memorials, and they stayed at home instead of going to work. They claimed that the prime ministers had been colluding with eunuchs to plot against the Empress Dowager, and if the court did not punish them severely, they would resign and return to their hometowns.

Zhao Shu tried to persuade them to stay, but then demoted them to the position of prefect.

From the moment Fan Zhen started causing trouble, the two sides became completely irreconcilable. It was either me staying and you leaving, or me leaving and you staying; there was no third possibility.

The position of censor was thus left vacant, and Zhao Shu took the opportunity to have Jiang Zhiqi and others fill the vacancy, finally firmly extending his reach into the censorate system.

Han Wei, who had previously served as a tutor to Prince Zhao Xu, was now appointed as a drafter of imperial edicts, and Ouyang Xiu bypassed him to draft the edicts.

Having suffered a double insult to his beliefs and position, Han Wei also resigned.

Sima Guang also resigned.

A large number of people, including Lü Gongzhuo and Zhao Ding, resigned.

Zhao Shu's decision to send all these people out of the capital shocked the court and the public. His close associates came to persuade the emperor to consider the impact on public opinion, so Zhao Shu kept Sima Guang in the capital.

Sima Guang repeatedly requested to resign, but the emperor refused.

A series of news kept coming out, and the official gazette was published every few days.

The local officials were all dumbfounded.

Upon receiving news of his father-in-law's demotion, Zhuang Gongyue was so enraged that he cursed Han Qi as a treacherous villain in his study. After much deliberation, he unexpectedly went to drink with Wang Yirou.

Wang Yirou, however, refused to see any visitors and pretended not to know anything.

Gong Dingchen also invited Xu Lai over for drinks.

"Xingzhi, have a couple of drinks with me." Gong Dingchen didn't mention Puyi.

Xu Lai filled his wine cup: "Thank you for your continued care, Lord Prefect."

-

Gong Dingchen smiled wryly, raised his cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

The situation changed too quickly, completely unexpected by Gong Dingchen, who was quite critical of Han Qi's actions. Was it proper for a prime minister to be secretly associating with eunuchs and scheming against the Empress Dowager?

Once or twice, it can be considered a temporary measure.

This has been done repeatedly, and it has already created a path dependency.

Gong Dingchen stopped talking and drank one cup of wine after another in silence.

Xu Lai and Gong Fugui's attempts to dissuade him failed, so they could only drink with him and chat about other things.

Regardless of what happens in the imperial court, local officials still have to continue their work as usual.

In February, a white rainbow pierced the sun.

On the fifth day of the third lunar month, a comet appeared in the constellation of Shi.

On March 17th, a comet reappeared. The emperor avoided the main hall and conducted his business in a side hall, reducing his meals.

On March 28th, a comet appeared in the Pleiades, as bright as Venus, and measuring fifteen feet in length. The emperor issued an edict, urging reflection on past mistakes!

This document, which resembled an edict of self-reproach, kept local officials busy.

The conscription plan for the first half of this year needs to be revised. Efforts should be made to minimize disruption to residents; all projects except for flood control and military facilities will be suspended.

Xu Lai was particularly busy with work.

He had to lead his subordinates and officials, following the instructions of the imperial edict, to dig out all the files from recent years.

Check if there are any wrongful convictions.

I started by flipping through the case files of the previous judge.

At the same time, notices were posted in the seven counties of Yingtian Prefecture, allowing ordinary people to appeal to the government for redress.

A boy of fifteen or sixteen stood hesitantly outside the government office.

After a long while, he finally mustered up his courage, but he was stopped before he could even enter the government office.

"What do you do?"

"Shout—shout out for justice!"

"Where's the complaint?"

What kind of complaint?

7

"To appeal for justice, one must have a written petition. Either one must find an official or a scholar to write the petition, or one must find a bookstore authorized by the government to write it. Without a written petition, one may not appeal for justice."

"I came here after seeing the notice. The government said I could appeal my case."

"Fine, I'll give you a suggestion since you're in such a pitiful state. Chongwen Hall and Wenlin Bookstore in the prefectural city can both write legal documents for you."

A regular lawsuit costs a couple hundred coins, but a murder case requires at least ten coins.

"Ten strings of cash?"

"Ten strings of cash is just an ordinary murder case. If it involves someone of high standing, even dozens of strings of cash might not be enough to hire someone to write it. Which county are you from?"

"Yucheng County?"

"What are you doing at the prefectural government office, you resident of Yucheng County? Go back to the county office and plead your case; do not appeal to other jurisdictions!"

'

The boy turned around in a daze and stood on Yaqian Street, not knowing where to go or what to do.

The boy stood there from morning until afternoon, and finally came to his senses.

He can actually write.

The boy bit his finger and wrote the character "冤" (wrongful accusation) crookedly on the wall of the government office.

When the bleeding stopped while I was writing, I continued to bite my finger until it bled.

By the time he finished writing the character "冤" (wrongful conviction), he had already attracted several passersby to watch.

He stepped back a few paces and said to the onlookers, "My name is Chen Xiaoyi, from Guantang Village, Guishan Township, Yucheng County. My family's land was seized by the Wang family, and my parents-in-law were driven to their deaths. I have no money to hire someone to write a petition, so I ask you all to be my witnesses. After I die, please help me go to the magistrate's office to appeal to Judge Xu for justice!"

After saying that, he buried his head and rushed towards the wall, intending to kill himself there to attract the attention of the authorities.

The onlookers gasped in surprise.

Having drunk a little wine at the tavern and inquired about public opinion, Bu Chao rushed forward as soon as the other party uttered the word "death."

Chen Xiaoyi had only taken two or three steps when Bu Chao kicked him to the ground.

Bu Chao said, "Why don't you go to someone else? Why do you specifically go to Judge Xu to plead your case?"

Still a bit dazed from the fall, Chen Xiaoyi subconsciously replied, "I heard that Judge Xu is known as Tiger Xu. He specializes in dealing with wicked people and isn't afraid of powerful clans."

"Hahaha!"

Bu Chao burst into laughter, helped him up, and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see Judge Xu."

Chen Xiaoyi, who had just stood up, immediately knelt down upon hearing this: "Thank you so much for your help, benefactor!"

"What did you say your name was again?" Bu Chao pulled him up again.

Chen Xiaoyi replied, "My name is Chen Xiaoyi."

Chen Xiaoyi is also known as Chen Xiaoyi, or Chen Da.

If ordinary people do not have a formal name, the government will write "小一" as "小乙" when registering names.

At this time, in order to prevent the character "一" from being altered, the contract or account book was often written as "乙".

The establishment of "壹" as the official capital numeral dates back to the Ming Dynasty.

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