Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 423 How To Avenge
In the Wenhua Palace, following the emperor's order, dozens of Jinyi guards swarmed up and escorted out more than a dozen honorable officials in the palace.

The court rod first started in the Han Dynasty, but it really became a system in the Ming Dynasty.

From Hongwu to Zhengtong, except for Emperor Taizong who was busy with the Northern Expedition and did not use the court staff much, in Xuande and Zhengtong dynasties, ministers received court staff in both dynasties.

Especially during the few years when Wang Zhen was in power, the reason why the courtiers were frightened by the news was the punishment of the court staff.

At that time, not to mention ordinary ministers, even if they were ministers, Wang Zhen could still beat them.

So in Daming, admonishing is a rather risky thing, and it is really something that one has to risk one's life to dare to do.

Of course, people are forgetful.

Following Wang Zhen's death in civil engineering, when today's son came to the throne, he was kind and gentle, and his ministers had made many people forget what the consequences of offending the imperial power would be.

Seeing Shu Liang, the admiral of Dongchang who hurriedly came from outside the hall, leading the order to go out for prison, the faces of the elders present were quite complicated.

The scene in front of them really made them wonder what emotions to use to deal with it.

From Hongwu to Xuande years, the court staff had no political significance. It was just a punishment for courtiers who made mistakes like foot restraints and fines.

But starting from the orthodox years, because Wang Zhen often used the court staff to suppress speech and punish the courtiers who impeached him.

Therefore, the court staff began to be gradually regarded by the courtiers as a symbol of sacrificing for the country and daring to speak out. As long as the ministers who received the court staff did not die, their reputation among scholars would suddenly increase.

However, now, the same reason they were admonished by the imperial court, the target was a large group of nobles, which made the elders feel that this world is quite fantastic.

Usually at this time, there must be many ministers to intercede, but this time, the bosses looked at me and I looked at you, but they all chose to sit on the sidelines, only silently feeling sympathy for these nobles in their hearts.

Obviously, this time the emperor was really angry.

Now among the eunuchs under the Son of Heaven, Cheng Jing Zhongzheng is peaceful, but Shu Liang is just the opposite, with ruthless methods and honeyed words.

When this Eunuch Shu first took charge of the East Factory, there were rumors about the method both inside and outside the court.

This time, if Cheng Jing was imprisoned by the imperial staff, he might have raised his hand, but Shu Liang came to imprison...

The bosses can only say that they hope that these nobles are in good health and can hold on.

The emperor didn't say that he would drag out the Meridian Gate, so Eunuch Shu directly ordered people to fight on the square outside the Wenhua Hall.

The court hall was surprisingly quiet, and after a while, there were bursts of screams outside the hall, and at the same time, there were shouts from the servants in charge of counting.

The voice of counting was not in a hurry, but as the number became larger, the sound of screaming gradually became smaller.

When the counting servants counted to ten, a servant from outside came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Marquis Anyuan, Uncle Anshun, and Uncle Wu Jin couldn't bear the punishment and passed out."

Seeing this situation, in the sequence of military officials, Feng Guogong Li Xian sighed and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, it is inappropriate for all the honored officials to gather outside the palace to make noise, but after all, the honored family is the hero of the country. Many of the honored officials outside are due to civil wars, and their fathers and ancestors died in battle. Your Majesty, please read that since they are young and ignorant, they should be punished a little, so as to set an example to others."

Following behind, Changping Hou Yanghong also spoke.

"Yes, although these people's words and deeds are inappropriate, they must have known their mistakes by now. If they continue to fight, it will be good or bad. I'm afraid the outside world will talk about your majesty, but it's not good. I beg your majesty to be lenient and temporarily pardon everyone crime."

Both of these two were celebrities in front of the emperor, and the officials thought that if they interceded, the emperor would just go down the steps.

After all, that was nearly half of the nobles in the capital. If these thirty rods were really beaten hard, these people would be half disabled if they didn't die.

However, unexpectedly, the emperor did not listen to the advice as usual, but instead asked the servant who had just come in to report.

"What did the doctor say?"

In order to prevent people from being beaten to death with the court stick, the imperial physicians are always waiting by the side.

The servant had obviously been ordered to come in, without much hesitation, he said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial doctor said that the few of you are only injured on the skin, and there is nothing serious about it. I'm afraid they were frightened for a while and passed out just now."

The elders were a little silent at the moment.

These imperial doctors are used to serving the nobles, they are all good people, they speak in a very cryptic way, but the ministers present are not simple people.

In just one sentence, I understood the meaning of the imperial physician.

These people are pretending to be dizzy!
So, under the pity eyes of everyone, the emperor said again: "Since there is no serious problem, let's continue the execution!"

Nei fulfilled his will and left the palace regardless of other matters.

Immediately, the sound of counting outside the hall sounded again, accompanied by bursts of muffled cries, not loud cries, but low and muffled cries from the pain of being tortured.

Another ten sticks of time passed, and the humming outside the hall gradually disappeared.

This time it was Shu Liang who came in, the Da Dang entered the hall and said.

"Your Majesty, Uncle Guangning, Uncle Xing'an, and Uncle Yongshun received sticks of seventeen, nineteen, and twenty respectively, and fainted from exhaustion. After examination by the imperial physician, the counts were weak, and if they continued to beat, they would hurt their internal organs. It is up to His Majesty to decide whether to continue or not."

The implication is that this time it is true!
Now, even Wenchen couldn't sit still.

Suppressing Xungui is one thing, but if it really kills people, it will be a big game.

Therefore, Jin Lian, Shangshu of the Ministry of punishment, came out and said.

"Your Majesty, punishment is the most important thing, and it should not be excessive. Since you have already been punished, you may wish to write it down for the time being. It is better to continue to use punishment after you recover from your injuries. Otherwise, if a minister dies because of the imperial staff, he will violate His Majesty's order to repent. I hope your Majesty will learn from you."

Then, Dali Temple Minister Du Ning and Zuodu Yushi Chen Yi also spoke out to persuade them.

People from both civil and military sides were persuading him, and the emperor's expression finally softened.

After a while, Lun's voice came down from the imperial steps and said.

"Since that's the case, these three people will be sent to the imperial hospital for the time being to recuperate from their injuries. The others will continue to be tortured. If there are those who faint due to lack of strength, please note them down and beat them next time."

Eunuch Shu nodded respectfully and said yes, then turned around and left the hall neatly.

Bosses, you look at me and I look at you. It feels like something is wrong, but I can't tell.

Then, the counting sound outside the hall sounded for the third time. This time, it counted up to thirty, then stopped for a moment, and continued until it stopped at 42.

Afterwards, Shu Liang's figure appeared in the hall again, said.

"Your Majesty, the imperial staff has been executed, and the ministers have come to reply."

"Ningyuan Hou Renli received 42 sticks and fainted. The rest of the nobles, Guangning Bo, Xing'an Bo, and Yongshun Bo received 25 to [-] sticks. Ten sticks."

"After being diagnosed and treated by the imperial physician, none of you adults have hurt your lungs or organs. You only need to cultivate for a period of time to recover."

Shu Liang said it lightly, but the elders present couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

In the past, even if there were court sticks, most of them were formal, and the ministers who were tortured put on a few sticks and pretended to be dizzy, and no one was too concerned about it.

Of course, this was mainly because the emperor didn't think about beating people to death, otherwise, the imperial staff could really beat people to death alive.

But this time, even if the thirty sticks were not beaten to death, it was obvious that they had really been beaten.

Among the large group of censors and officials standing in the back of the hall, some people couldn't help but sweat coldly when they thought of the kowtow organized by Luo Tong a few days ago.

Fortunately, Mr. Zongxian stopped them at that time, otherwise, they would be the ones who were punished.

In any case, the imperial staff was over, and the oppressive atmosphere in the hall was finally a little lighter.

The Son of Heaven waved his hand, signaling Shu Liang to back down, and then set his sights on the pale-faced Zhang Mi and the British uncle and nephew, his tone still gentle.

"I have read your complaint, which says that Zhang Fu was wronged by Jin Yiwei, and you want to appeal for him. Now that the Dengwen Drum has been played, I will ask you how you want to redress your grievances?"

(End of this chapter)