Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 1064 Convincing Yu Qian
The meaning of the existence of the so-called law itself is to uphold justice.

What is an axiom?

People's sentiments are justice!

As the common saying goes, paying debts to pay money, and killing people to pay their lives, is justified. This is the simplest truth.

It is true that what Song Wenyi did was a plunder and a violation of the law, but for the tenants in Huangzhuang, he has a reason.

Those gentry and wealthy households whose fields were robbed, their fields were also plundered from the hands of poor people, but their methods were more subtle than Song Wenyi's. , coercion and other means, passed Minglu's 'free trade' in the government.

Therefore, they followed the law, but they did not account for a word of reason.

For those gentry and wealthy households, facing Song Wenyi, an eunuch who relies on the royal family, they are a vulnerable group and can only be bullied and oppressed, but in contrast, in front of ordinary people, they will also become bullying and oppressing others people.

If there is no equality between the two, it will be difficult to talk about justice, as it is between people, and it is the same between countries.

The reason why Song Wenyi was able to bully others was because he was more powerful than these gentry and wealthy households, so these people could not talk about justice in front of Song Wenyi, nor could they buy and sell freely and fairly.

What Yu Qian did was indeed to uphold the law and justice, but this kind of justice was one-sided and incomplete.

There is no reason to only allow the rich and wealthy gentry to oppress the common people, but not the eunuchs to oppress the squire. If you want to uphold justice, you must uphold the justice of all people, otherwise, you will be an accomplice.

This is the reason why the two must be entangled together. It is okay to be the masters for these gentry and rich households, but at the same time, you must also be the masters for the people whose fields have been seized. Otherwise, you are helping these gentry and rich households to oppress the people .

Of course, for a person who abides by the law, such as Yu Qian, it is true that he will not only care about the eunuchs bullying others, but also the squires bullying the people. All the ministers present still have confidence in this.

But this is the problem. Compared with other court affairs that often involve a lot of things, this matter is not involved after all. If the emperor hadn't revealed the inside story at this moment, they would not be clear about it. Yu Qian worked in the Ministry of War. He probably doesn't know the inside story that needs to be investigated in detail.

In fact, this is also a mistake that many censors in the court often make. They only look at the superficial facts and speak out with courage without seeing the whole picture. You must know that in many cases, the facts are indeed facts, but not necessarily the whole truth.

Because of this, most ministers in the DPRK are often very cautious when expressing their opinions. From this standpoint, Yu Qian's move this time is indeed a bit reckless, not like the determination that a minister of the Seven Ministers should have .

At the same time, they also understood why the Son of Heaven had always been perfunctory in this matter, until now when there was such a big commotion and there was no other way, he did not tell the truth.

Because even if it is said, the temper of many ministers who accept death in the court will not give up. In their concept, since both the eunuchs and the squires are at fault, then they should be dealt with according to the law, and should not be mixed. In general, use violence to control violence.

In theory, this is of course no problem, but the fact is that in the specific court affairs, there are some things that cannot be purely reasoned.

As far as this matter is concerned, there is enough evidence for the eunuchs to oppress the squires, and there is enough public opinion. As long as the matter continues to make a big splash, the emperor will probably give in in the end and deal with Song Wenyi. This is not too difficult, but the rest is difficult There are many.

Squires annexing people's land is a long-standing chronic disease, not only in the capital, but also in all parts of the country. Their annexation is different from Song Wenyi's forced buying and selling. It is more of a formal process, under the "supervision" of the government It is a 'voluntary' transaction that is completed under the contract, so it is very difficult to find problems in the process.

These gentry are often powerful in the local area, and they also have connections in the court. Local officials need to rely on them to manage the village, and at the same time, they are also afraid of the relationship between the DPRK and China. Therefore, in most cases, they will not cooperate with their hearts.

In addition, although Song Wenyi is backed by the royal family, he is only one person after all, but there are many gentry and wealthy households. The so-called law does not blame the public, even if it is found out, dealing with so many people at once will inevitably lead to Chaos.

Therefore, under heavy pressure, the court really had no choice but to make concessions.

So, at the end of the trouble, it became the scene mentioned at the beginning. The officials of the court uphold the public spirit and want to uphold justice, but they can only uphold the justice of the gentry, not the common people. In the end, although the eunuchs were punished and the law was upheld But he became an accomplice of the squire in oppressing the common people.

From this perspective, although it is illegal to use violence to control violence, it is not necessarily a solution to the problem.

only……

"Your Majesty, even though this is the case, Song Wenyi's actions violated the law after all. It is one thing to seek justice for the tenants in Huangzhuang, but it is another thing to steal by chance. The other eunuchs have followed suit, although this time there is a reason for what happened, but if it becomes a common practice, it is also a disaster, so I think it still needs to be punished."

Seeing the emperor's emotions gradually subside, several ministers on the side looked at each other, and finally, Yu Shiyue carefully considered his words and spoke carefully.

Strictly speaking, this statement is actually similar to what Yu Qian said above, but in terms of this statement, it sounds much better.

However, after hearing this, the emperor's expression was a little displeased, said.

"You also said that this incident happened for a reason. After all, Song Wenyi was working for me. Since he didn't intentionally bully the people, how could I not protect him?"

Ah this...

Everyone present couldn't help but look at each other, well, to put it bluntly, this is still a matter of face.

After all, Song Wenyi is the emperor's man, if he really committed a heinous crime, it's fine, but now he has to be punished if he has reason, so where will the emperor's face be put?
However, if this is not dealt with...

Chen Xun pondered for a moment, stepped forward and spoke.

"Your Majesty clearly learned that although Song Wenyi was doing things for His Majesty, after all, he acted inappropriately and did not use proper methods. The current situation has caused damage to His Majesty's reputation. This is also a crime."

"What's more, I went to the court early today... After all, the matter has already been discussed. If there is no conclusion, there may be another incident in the court. This is contrary to His Majesty's desire to calm things down. Therefore, I think that it is better to give a small punishment and a big reprimand. , One is to deter the eunuchs, ordering them to act with restraint, and not to act recklessly, and the other is to give an explanation to the government and the public."

Those who can get to their level are all human beings.

Although it is said that Shangyi is unpredictable and God's will is unpredictable, but in the court, who can not guess the emperor's mind?

Speaking of this matter alone, the most important thing is not Song Wenyi, nor Yu Qian, but what the emperor wants.

Whether they really want to protect Song Wenyi, or need a new step, or are hesitant, it all depends on their ability to observe words and demeanor.

So, what did the emperor think?
Not to mention anything else, just looking at the lineup that was summoned, one can guess one or two.

Now present, there are four people present, Hu Wei from the Ministry of Rites, Chen Xun from the Ministry of Industry, Wang Ao from the Cabinet, and Yu Shiyue. This lineup is actually very abnormal.

If it is said that it is a collegiate meeting of important ministers, then it is unreasonable to call only a few of them, and leave aside the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of War and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

If it is said that the yamen involved in the matter discussed it, it is even more nonsense. This matter has nothing to do with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry. I really should look for it. It is Shuntian Fu Yin and the Ministry of Punishment. The Ministry of Finance, of course, considering that it was Yu Qian who made the attack earlier, it is reasonable to call the Lord over.

But the Son of Heaven did not look for these people, but he did. What is his intention?
They have nothing to do with the matter itself, so letting them come over can only value their own value.

Yu Shiyue and Yu Qian have a very close personal relationship, so most of the beatings at the beginning were told to him, and they wanted him to beat Yu Qian on behalf of the emperor.

As for the rest of Hu Wei, he has a deep seniority in the court, and it is clear that the emperor is afraid that he will lose control of his emotions and use it to suppress the situation. The remaining two are Chen Xun and Wang Ao. It seems that they have nothing to do with each other, but they all have a common characteristic, that is, they have a great influence on the officials of the DPRK and China.

Chen Xun served in the Imperial Academy for many years in his early years, and his disciples were all over the government and the public, and he could talk to anyone. Wang Ao was in the cabinet and had the ability to appease the court.

So to put it bluntly, calling the two of them is to let them calm down the matter quickly. After all, besides Yu Qian, many officials have already paid attention to this matter. What Yu Qian did was just put the matter on the table. It's just for the public opinion to ferment further.

For the emperor, in fact, it is no longer possible to deal with it coldly. He can leave Yu Qian alone once, but it is impossible to leave him alone every time.

With Yu Qian taking the lead, if there is no conclusion on this matter, then it is bound to cause even bigger disturbances.

Therefore, to quell this turmoil, one must stop Yu Qian from holding him back, and two, let these important ministers come forward to beat and beat the people under him, so as not to cause trouble again.

This is the goal that the Son of Heaven wants to achieve. If you think about it clearly, many things will be easily solved.

Now that the matter of Song Wenyi has developed to this point, the left and right have to give an explanation, but just like what the emperor said, Song Wenyi is acting for the emperor, and this matter is barely reasonable for him, so if it is important, let the emperor There is no place to put my face.

But thinking about it, the Son of Heaven should also understand that it won't work if he doesn't deal with it, so for Chen Xun, what he wants to give now is a step.

Song Wenyi was going to be punished. After all, the government and the public had to have an account, but the punishment should not be too heavy. Moreover, the emperor had to be reasonable, which is why he just said that.

Sure enough, after hearing Chen Xun's reason, the emperor reluctantly nodded and said.

"Since this is the case, according to the wishes of several gentlemen, Song Wenyi acted recklessly and violated the law, which aroused the court's discussion. He was punished for [-] years and his salary was fined for three months as a punishment. The people involved in this matter included those who beat up the common people. , is also punished according to the crime."

Wynn bowed to accept the order, and several other ministers knew that this was the final disposition.

Song Wenyi wanted to be punished, but the reason was that his methods were wrong. After all, the emperor didn't want to admit that he was responsible for the seizure of the land. Because of this, it was Song Wenyi himself who was punished, and did not order the land to be returned.

I am afraid that many people in the court are dissatisfied with this result, but whether they are satisfied or not, that's all. The next thing is up to them.

Recalling the emperor's attitude when he first entered the palace, everyone also realized something in their hearts. The so-called king's prestige is difficult to offend. It's flat.

With such thoughts in mind, everyone resigned and left, looked at each other at the gate of the palace, and went back to do their own things tacitly...

The next day, the imperial decree was sent to the cabinet. Yu Shiyue looked at the imperial decree for a long time, finally sighed, and gave instructions to Zhongshu Sheren. .

I sent someone to hand over the name card early, so when I got to the Ministry of War, there were already two officials waiting outside. Seeing Yu Shiyue coming, they hurried forward to salute.

"Greetings to Master Cifu, Master Shangshu is already waiting in the lobby, please come with Master Cifu..."

So, under the leadership of two officials, Yu Shiyue entered the Ministry of War, and met several officials of the Ministry of War along the way, but for some reason, he always felt that the atmosphere of the Ministry of War was somewhat different from the atmosphere he had seen in the past.

Entering the lobby of the Ministry of War, he saw Bo Jing'an Fan Guang sitting in the hall, discussing something with Yu Qian who was sitting at the head. Seeing Yu Shiyue coming in, he stood up, bowed his hands in salute, and said.

"I've met Mr. Tsujisuke."

Yu Shiyue also returned the gift, and afterward, Fan Guang did not continue to sit down, but turned to Yu Qian and said.

"Yu Shaobao, then I'll go back first."

After finishing speaking, he saluted the two of them again and left the lobby of the Ministry of War.

Yu Qian got up to send him away, and after turning back, he and Yu Shiyue exchanged salutes and sat down.

After Yu Shiyue sat down, she looked at the thick official documents stacked in front of Yu Qian and said with a smile.

"It seems that I came here by accident and interrupted Yu Shaobao's official duties. However, why is Dudu Fan free to come to the Ministry of War today, but what official business is there?"

Yu Qian gathered up the slightly scattered official documents on the case, and said.

"It's nothing. Previously, the governor was aware of Zhang Yu's impeachment of military officials for corruption. Now there are results. Some of the files involved the Ministry of War, so Fan Dudu came to discuss with Yu. The second assistant came today. What's the matter?"

Since I went to the Ministry of War and didn't go to the private house, it means that it was for official business, not for personal friendship.

Therefore, Yu Qian didn't exchange much greetings, and went straight to the topic.

On the other hand, Yu Shiyue, after listening to Yu Qian's words, looked at the direction where Fan Guang left just now, looking thoughtful, but in the end, he didn't say much.

Hearing Yu Qian's question, Yu Shiyue withdrew his mind and said.

"The day before yesterday you impeached Song Wenyi in the early court. Although there was no result in the court, after the court, His Majesty summoned me, Lord Shoufu, Uncle Dazong, and Shangshu Chen to meet with you. You should know about it."

Yu Qian nodded, so Yu Shiyue continued.

"We were summoned for Song Wenyi's matter. Now that this matter has come to an end, the imperial decree has reached the cabinet, so I'm here to tell you..."

(End of this chapter)