White-robed Minister

Chapter 167 0165 [Xu Sanlang's Article Decides the Fact]

The Hall of State Affairs.

Zeng Gongliang plopped down: "After being cooped up for two or three months, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Xu Xingzhi really dares to speak his mind; as an imperial censor, he demands to restrain other imperial censors."

"That's truly rare," Zhao Gai nodded.

When Xu Lai made the judgment, he investigated Zhao Gai's clan twice. Once for the change of surname, and once for the Qingtian clan.

But now, Xu Lai has done the prime ministers a great favor.

Previously, all the criticism was directed at the four prime ministers, but now Xu Lai has drawn all the attention to them. Countless officials are attacking Xu Lai relentlessly, with the core charge being "attempting to obstruct the emperor's channels of communication."

Xu Lai has become a new generation of "wicked and treacherous" in the eyes of the censors.

Ouyang Xiu said, "I would like to resign. I am an old man, and my days are numbered. How can I let young people shield me from harm?"

Han Qi quickly stopped him: "You can't resign now."

"Why?" Ouyang Xiu asked.

Han Qi explained, "The Emperor currently dislikes the censors and is biased towards you. If you resign, you will be putting the Emperor in a difficult position, making him feel that you are taking advantage of him. Even if you do resign, it must be after the censors have been demoted."

Ouyang Xiu nodded slowly.

He had made up his mind that, regardless of the outcome, he would never serve as vice prime minister again. There is no greater sorrow than a broken heart; Ouyang Xiu's heart was dead.

Zhao Gai was in a similar situation, and he also decided to resign and retire. If the emperor didn't agree, he would keep writing his resignation letter, as he was too old to bother with any more trouble.

How good was Zhao Gai?

When he was the prefect, one of his subordinates embezzled 30 strings of cash from public funds to buy land and collect rent for profit. Zhao Gai discovered that this man was really poor and was so heavily in debt that he couldn't make ends meet, so he took out his own money to cover the embezzled funds.

When Ouyang Xiu was young, he openly mocked and ridiculed Zhao Gai. When Ouyang Xiu was falsely accused by his brother-in-law, Zhao Gai risked offending the prime minister to defend Ouyang Xiu.

Zhao Gai has clearly become unaccustomed to the political climate of the past few years; there is no room for a nice guy like him to survive.

"If we resign as vice prime minister, this position should be given to Zhang Fangping," Zhao Gai said. "Zhang Fangping is skilled in strategy and finance, and he is mature and prudent. Given time, he will surely become a wise prime minister."

Zeng Gongliang said, "Wang Anshi is also very suitable, but unfortunately he is not experienced enough."

Hearing them say such things, Han Qi felt utterly helpless. Suppressed by the emperor, impeached by censors, and now facing the Ouyang Xiu affair, these prime ministers were all ready to give up their jobs.

They're looking for a successor.

The Censorate.

Peng Siyong questioned Sima Guang: "Why has Junshi remained silent?"

Sima Guang retorted, "What did I say? Did I submit a memorial impeaching you for falsely accusing your ministers?"

“You are an imperial censor,” Peng Siyong said. “Now there are people who are imperial censors, yet they forbid imperial censors from reporting on hearsay, trying to obstruct the emperor’s speech.”

Sima Guang said, "This kind of channel of communication is better off not being used!"

Peng Siyong exclaimed incredulously, "How could you say such a thing?"

-

Sima Guang, too lazy to say more, simply turned and left.

Spreading rumors and making false accusations is utterly despicable, and Sima Guang would never stoop to such a thing.

If he weren't an imperial censor who couldn't attack his colleagues, Sima Guang would have even considered speaking up for Ouyang Xiu. He greatly admired Xu Lai because what Xu Lai did was exactly what he wanted to do but couldn't.

Sima Guang remained silent, but his subordinate censors were firing wildly at Xu Lai.

"This is getting more and more unreasonable!" Zhao Xu was furious as he looked at the memorials.

Apart from Sima Guang, all the censors were impeaching Xu Lai.

Not only was Xu Lai impeached for obstructing free speech, but there were also rumors that he was being abused by the people in Yingtian Prefecture. It was said that his superiors gave Xu Lai positive reviews so that he could abuse the people to gain political achievements.

Their logic is bizarre.

For such a massive project as repairing the southern city wall of Yingtian Prefecture, Xu Lai spent very little money and grain, while conscripting a large amount of materials and laborers. Only cruelty and abuse of the people could accomplish such a feat.

Wang Yirou, who was about to be demoted and leave the capital, surprisingly became upright this time. The censors knew that he had a grudge against Xu Lai, so they wanted to find out about Xu Lai's misdeeds from him.

However, Wang Yirou resolutely refused to speak ill of Xu Lai, and even publicly stated: "I had a misunderstanding about Xu Xingzhi before, and gave him a bad review without verifying the facts. He is a good official and has not done anything evil."

Why is that?

Because Wang Yirou is a die-hard fan of Ouyang Xiu!

This time, Xu Lai risked offending the censors to speak up for Ouyang Xiu, which greatly changed Wang Yirou's impression of him. At the same time, Wang Yirou despised those censors who had gone so far as to spread rumors and frame others; he wished they would all be severely punished.

"Summon Wang Yuanbi of the Imperial Pharmacy to see me," Zhao Xu said.

Before long, Wang Yuanbi entered the palace to meet the emperor.

Holding the impeachment memorial, Zhao Xu asked, "You have a private relationship with Xu Lai? He even wrote poems to curry favor with you?"

Wang Yuanbi quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I was entrusted by Yu Jing to assist in the investigation of the robbery of the salt transport convoy. Xu Lai's good friend Yang Shu was in charge of escorting the convoy in front of the yamen. The Yang brothers killed nearly a hundred salt bandits, but they might have to pay compensation to the point of bankruptcy. I assisted in clarifying the case and promised to help the Yang brothers clear their names. Xu Lai was so happy that he wrote a poem to praise them."

"I see." Zhao Xu nodded.

Wang Yuanbi hadn't dared to speak carelessly before, but after Xu Lai became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he used that poem to gain attention. Therefore, many people now know that Xu Lai wrote a poem praising a eunuch.

As a result, an imperial censor impeached Xu Lai for "clinging to eunuchs and having private dealings with close attendants."

Zhao Xu, already suffering from a headache from the pile of impeachment memorials, decided to clear his head: "What were the details of the robbery of the maritime trade vessels at that time?"

Wang Yuanbi immediately embellished the story.

Knowing that the emperor valued Xu Lai, he tried to embellish the story: "Those salt bandits were all exceptionally fierce, and they even colluded with the patrol officers and soldiers. Xu Lai was so hungry that he was weak and helpless. After being attacked at night, he was forced to flee by the fleeing soldiers. But he was loyal to the emperor and the country, and he persuaded a group of fleeing soldiers to ambush him on the way, even though he was dressed as a commoner. After killing the salt bandits, although he was destitute, he did not keep the stolen silver for himself, but went to the county government to report it to the authorities."

Zhao Xu nodded in praise, saying, "Loyalty, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and integrity are truly rare qualities."

Wang Yuanbi boasted about Xu Lai and then recounted Yang Shu's deeds. He knew even more details about the Yang brothers killing the bandits, since they had demonstrated their martial arts skills to him while telling the story.

Wang Yuanbi said: "Xu Lai's good friend Yang Shu also killed countless bandits. The Yang brothers were both literate and skilled in martial arts. When the salt transport ship was attacked at night, they immediately donned their armor and went into battle—hundreds of salt bandits surrounded them, and Yang Shu alone killed dozens of bandits."

After driving off the salt bandits, they pressed their advantage and pursued them. Meanwhile, Yang Shu drew his bow and nocked an arrow—

"Are there still such valiant men among the common people?" Zhao Xu became interested.

Wang Yuanbi said, "Yang Shu and Xu Lai were both Jinshi graduates in the same year. Yang Shu's elder brother, Yang Xun, was recommended for his meritorious service in killing bandits and is now a military officer in Guangdong."

Zhao Xu smiled: "So you're a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)?"

"The fourth-ranked scholar," Wang Yuanbi said.

Zhao Xu said, "I understand. You may leave now."

Wang Yuanbi bowed and retreated outside the hall, his heart leaping with joy, knowing that the emperor had remembered him.

Zhao Xu planned to find a pretext to promote the Yang brothers. After all, the Yang brothers had risked their lives to fight against bandits in order to protect the imperial order.

He continued reading the impeachment memorials.

He found that the Censorate was alright this time; the officials discussed the matter at hand and only opposed blocking the channels of communication, without taking the opportunity to attack Xu Lai.

After all, both of them served as remonstrance officials, holding special concurrent positions as close associates of the emperor: drafting imperial edicts and recording the emperor's daily activities.

Teng Fu, who is in charge of writing the daily records of the emperor's activities today, is one of the officials in charge of the censorate.

Teng Fu was Fan Zhongyan's cousin, but he was about the same age as Fan Zhongyan's son. He grew up in Fan Zhongyan's house and lived and studied with Fan Chunren.

Zhao Xu asked Teng Fu, "Does everyone in the Censorate think that those censors shouldn't be severely punished?"

Teng Fu replied politely, "Even when officials report on hearsay, they must follow the rules. They must report the facts truthfully and are strictly prohibited from making false or fabricated accusations."

This is where the difficult part lies.

Because the court's rules were too vague, allowing reports based on hearsay while requiring factual accounts, officials would use hearsay as an excuse whenever the emperor wanted to investigate.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel has submitted a memorial."

"Bring it in."

Zhao Xu became increasingly depressed, thinking it was another impeachment memorial.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a memorial written by Xu Lai:

[Your Majesty, observing the Song Dynasty's century-long history, the flourishing of its channels of communication is unparalleled since the Three Dynasties. The censors and remonstrators, upon hearing rumors, were not held accountable for their origins; memorials submitted in the morning were heard throughout the land by evening. Scholars and officials considered daring to speak out as loyalty and courage as competence—truly the profound intention of our ancestors to broaden our horizons and ears. However, the censors and remonstrators today wield increasing power while their responsibilities diminish; their words become more numerous while their substance diminishes. Discipline is gradually loosening, and treachery and deceit are rampant; this is a matter of great concern to me.]

In ancient times, Emperor Yao placed a wooden post for slander, and Emperor Shun erected a drum for remonstrance. This was not to condone slander, but to ensure that the people's true feelings were expressed and that the emperor's intentions were not obscured. The Book of Documents says, "A tree that follows a plumb line becomes straight; a ruler who heeds advice becomes wise." Remonstrance is valued because it is upright; words are weighty because they are truthful. Now, people use hearsay as a pretext and baseless accusations on rumors. In the morning, they attack one person, accusing him of neglecting his duties; in the evening, they impeach one minister, accusing him of forming a faction and committing treason. When the emperor questions the source of this accusation, they claim it was hearsay; when pressed for the name of the person who spread it, they claim to be old and forgetful. Using unverifiable accusations, they inflict the greatest crimes upon ministers. Is this the intention of the sages in establishing officials of remonstrance?

[I have heard of Peng Siyong and Jiang Zhiqi's impeachment of Ouyang Xiu —]

[In the past, Emperor Wu of Han appointed Sang Hongyang, but Bu Shi attacked him based on hearsay. The court did not verify the facts, thus allowing virtuous officials to retire while corrupt officials rose through the ranks. Emperor Dezong of Tang appointed Lu Zhi, but Pei Yanling slandered him based on rumors. The emperor did not investigate the falsehoods, resulting in the demotion of loyal ministers and the rampant spread of treacherous officials. Was this not because the power of hearsay was too great, while the punishment for false accusations was too lenient? Many of the reasons for the chaos and downfall of previous dynasties stemmed from this.]

[His Majesty has newly ascended the throne and is determined to implement reforms, aiming to achieve great things for the world.]

"I do not wish to stifle free speech, but rather to ensure its clarity; I do not wish to punish the censors, but rather to make them cautious. When the channels are not blocked, they will naturally become clear; when power is not usurped, it will naturally be upright. This is the profound meaning behind the former kings' establishment of official positions and division of responsibilities. The Book of Poetry says: 'Those who speak out are not guilty; those who hear them should take heed.' 'Those who speak out are not guilty' refers to their honesty and integrity, not to their falsehoods."

[Your Majesty, I request a clear edict to the world: Reporting matters based on hearsay is an ancestral law that must not be abandoned; punishing false accusations is a sage's instruction that cannot be discarded. If hearsay is true, reward and encourage; if hearsay is false, punish and discipline. Let the censors know where their authority lies and where their responsibility lies; let them know that words spoken easily are difficult to take back. Then those who speak will not dare to speak recklessly, and those who hear will not fear unforeseen disaster.]

After reading this memorial, Zhao Xu couldn't help but exclaim, "This is truly a magnificent piece of writing on state affairs! It should be included in the official gazette so that it may be known throughout the land!"

A well-written article can truly be the deciding factor.

Xu Lai's article is a case in point.

He explained everything clearly, refuting all the officials' sophistry and excuses. If the officials still had anything to say, they could find the answer directly in this article.

Why is Sima Guang so famous? It's because he frequently wrote articles like this, making it difficult for his political enemies to refute him, and allowing his allies to use his writings as weapons.

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