Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 735 On Why The Emperor Likes Factory Guards

The matter of the imperial examination was gradually settled.

Xiao Yi was the worst, and was dismissed from his official position. Although it is said to be under investigation, it is obvious that it is impossible to continue to serve as a Hanlin scholar.

As for the rest of the paper-reading officials, they were demoted to one level and fined half a year. The punishment was not insignificant. What's more, the whole court knew that these people made mistakes in the palace examination after such a commotion. The punishment should be more serious!

After all the examiners left the Wenhua Hall in dejection, Zhu Qiyufang turned his attention to Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu who had been a clay sculpture and woodcarving for most of the day, and asked.

"The President thinks, is my treatment of these people appropriate?"

From the very beginning, Chen Yi never let go of his frown. Hearing the emperor's question, he hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty is benevolent, merciful, and this is the blessing of all officials!"

"En Kuan?"

Zhu Qiyu shook his head, with a wry smile on his face, and said.

"As you can see from the General Constitution, this is not my desire to be lenient, but I really have to be lenient!"

Chen Yi was silent, this was not something he could answer.

However, Zhu Qiyu didn't expect him to pick it up, and sighed slightly, Zhu Qiyu said.

"I know that behind this matter is Jiang Yuan's deliberate calculation. Although Xiao Yi made a mistake, he was not the first one. He should bear the responsibility, but he should not bear the heaviest responsibility."

"But the affairs of the court need to be fair and seek evidence. You can't judge right from wrong based on speculation. Therefore, although I don't want to, I have to be lenient. This is the difficulty of the Son of Heaven!"

It sounded like he was complaining, but, what kind of person Chen Yi was, he immediately understood that the Son of Heaven was not just complaining.

So, he cupped his hands and said.

"Your Majesty's holiness, this handling is taking the overall situation into consideration. This time, all the officials have made mistakes. Although they are not important ministers of the Seven Ministers, they are the backbone of the court. If your majesty is too much responsible, it is true that you are stern and selfless. It will definitely cause turmoil in the court, which is not what His Majesty wants."

"The ancients said that accepting the country's filth is called the Lord of the country, and His Majesty can endure small things for the sake of the overall situation, and he is indeed the sage of the world!"

After reading it from beginning to end, Chen Yi can naturally understand what the emperor's difficulties are.

In terms of the primary responsibility for this matter, it must be Xiao Yi. Although it is obvious that Jiang Yuan made a small move behind the scenes, he did it reasonably and legally, and did not overstep every step. At most, it can only be said that he made reasonable use of the rules. loopholes.

If Jiang Yuan was to be punished, then the other officials who read the papers must be severely punished, but in this way, almost half of the important officials in the court would be punished, which caused too much turmoil.

As the saying goes, three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged officials catch a lot, which seems reasonable, but in fact, it is just a folk fantasy.

Officials who can achieve the third grade or above are indispensable for their qualifications, ability, and connections. Because of their heavy responsibilities, it is by no means that they can be competent by just grabbing a person.

What's more, most of the current group of people were promoted after the civil engineering campaign, so in terms of experience and seniority, they are actually a little insufficient.

Through the imperial examinations, civil servants were indeed infused with a steady stream of fresh blood, but it always took decades for these fresh blood to really grow up and become a person who could take charge of their own.

If this group of people were changed, there would really be no one who could stand up to them now.

However, hearing Chen Yi's compliments, Zhu Qiyu was not only not happy, but could not help but secretly scolded the old fox in his heart.

He didn't believe that Chen Yi would not be able to understand what he meant, but he was just playing stupid.

Today, he purposely left this Zuodu censor to listen to him for a long time. He didn't ask him to be a clay sculpture and woodcarving. After he understands the matter, he will make a couple of testimonials and just do it half-heartedly.

Since Chen Yi didn't take his step, Zhu Qiyu simply spoke up.

"Don't the President feel that this matter is not as simple as it seems?"

Chen Yi bowed his head and asked, "Your Majesty, please clarify!"

So, Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment, and said.

"In this palace examination, there are obviously hidden secrets, but neither Xiao Yi nor Jiang Yuan are willing to tell me the truth."

"But no matter what, some people use the palace test to play tricks and fight secretly. This is for sure. The Metropolitan Procuratorate is responsible for supervising officials. Faced with this situation, should the chief constitution ignore it?"

The meaning of this is actually very obvious.

Out of justice, Zhu Qiyu couldn't end the game to deal with Jiang Yuan, otherwise, the targeting would be too obvious, which would inevitably cause criticism from the government and the public.

However, if you don't do it yourself, it doesn't mean there is no way.

There are many people in Daming who dare to pierce the window paper, the most outstanding of them are the young censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

If this group of people gets active, they will be as crazy as Dongchang and Jinyiwei.

Right now, Zhu Qiyu's intention is very simple, that is, he wants hundreds of censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate to come and explain this imperial examination to the bottom.

This……

Chen Yi looked at the emperor's expectant gaze, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, he was really afraid of something, but since the emperor made everything clear, if he continued to pretend to be confused, he would be making trouble for himself.

So, after pondering for a moment, Chen Yi spoke after deliberating.

"Your Majesty, Fengxian Kedao will not just sit idly by on such a major matter, but there are priorities. At present, many imperial officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are ready to go to the border, supervise the clearing of the land, and cooperate with the Ministry of War to rectify the army. , this is the great government of the country and cannot be ignored.”

"Furthermore, it is inevitable to fight with each other in the court. I know that His Majesty is unhappy, but I still say that this matter should not be a big one. Otherwise, it will involve a lot and disturb the hearts of scholars all over the world. It is inevitable that Xiaoxiao's generation will take advantage of the situation and enter, I implore Your Majesty to think about it."

To put it bluntly, whether it is the emperor or the censors, the final result will be to make things worse.

In this way, none of the ten paper readers can get away with it, which is harmful to the court.

Moreover, the imperial examination is the most eye-catching event for scholars in the world, and any slight disturbance will attract attention, let alone such a major event.

Once it becomes a big problem, scholars all over the world will talk about it, and it will be impossible not to deal with it at that time, and it will inevitably become a situation of riding a tiger.

As for the so-called Metropolitan Procuratorate's manpower being on the rectification army, it's just a reason. The Metropolitan Procuratorate at least said that there are more than 100 people, even if they are sent out a lot, they will not be unable to be dispatched.

What Chen Yi really wanted to say was that the censors were fine, but the court's energy might not be able to take care of them.

There were already many obstacles in rectifying the military settlements. At this time, if there is an incident of palace examinations, the civil servants will be divided internally, which may make the rectification of the military settlements inefficient, and in the end both ends will not be able to do well.

What's more, in Chen Yi's heart, he was actually a little puzzled. He didn't understand why the Son of Heaven was so motivating in this matter. From the very beginning, he called Qiqing to review the papers again, and now he is left alone, holding Jiang Yuan tightly. Waiting for someone to hold on is not in line with the emperor's usual style.

In all fairness, what Jiang Yuan did this time was indeed excessive, but it still fell within the scope of normal political struggles.

Taking advantage of the situation and step by step, as a bystander, Chen Yi expressed sympathy for Xiao Yi's experience, and could understand the helplessness of the emperor after he understood the situation.

However, above the court, this is often the case.

Jiang Yuan did not violate the rules of the court struggle, nor did he use any low-handed means to frame Xiao Yi. When Xiao Yi made such a choice, it was a matter of both risks and benefits.

He didn't see the trap, which only shows that his own political struggle skills are not good enough.

Having been in court for many years, Chen Yi was used to seeing these things, and was already a little numb.

However, facing Chen Yi's euphemistic "admonishment", Zhu Qiyu shook his head and said.

"Don't you know that the chief constitution says that a gentleman is a metaphor for righteousness, and a villain is a metaphor for profit!"

In terms of experience in the officialdom, Zhu Qiyu, who has been a man for two generations, has seen more than Chen Yi.

Although he has not practiced it before, he has seen enough and his vision is wide enough. Moreover, he has also seen a junior who likes to practice with his own eyes, and he has learned a lot of experience.

Political struggle is of course cruel, and in the officialdom, life and death are commonplace.

but……

"Above the government, fighting each other to achieve their goals is a common thing. It is forgivable and unforgivable. If it arises from political opinions, even if there is a fault, it can be forgiven. But if it is self-interested from the beginning, it can be done. There is no mistake, and it cannot be indulged!"

The court struggle is not wrong, but the most critical issue is the reason for the court struggle.

If it is because of different political opinions, for example, during the process of Yu Qian's rectification of the army, he promoted his cronies, took control of the military department, and even intentionally or unintentionally put aside those who hindered the rectification of the army. Although this may not be fair, it is not impossible accept.

However, if it starts from the root, it is to eliminate dissidents and seek personal gain, then no matter how hard to find fault with what you do, or what you do within the rules, it will be different from the former.

Hearing this, Chen Yi was stunned for a while, and thought carefully, but in the end, he didn't speak.

Obviously, he still thinks that the emperor's statement is too subjective!

However, Zhu Qiyu didn't intend to convince him with just a few words. A person of Chen Yi's status already has his own value judgment system, and it is very difficult to change his value judgment.

Right now, what Zhu Qiyu wants is not to make Chen Yi agree with all his ideas, but to let him do things honestly.

Seeing the reluctance of the chief constitutional lord, Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment, then simply released his big move, and said.

"President Xian, this palace examination seems to be accidental, but it is actually caused by the bad habits of the court for many years. Although I did not say it directly in front of all the ministers, when reading the papers of the palace examination, the ranking should not be determined only by talent, but There are many factors to be considered in the selection of candidates, not just this Chunwei."

"The officials who read the scrolls are recruiting scholars for the imperial court, but they can't uphold justice. Instead, they compete with each other for their interests. This is a long-standing malpractice and must be reformed."

"I want to select the officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to be among the deacons in the coming spring to monitor the fairness of reviewing papers. What does the Chief Constitution think?"

Ah this...

Facing the sweetness offered by the emperor, Chen Zongxian was indeed a little moved.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate is responsible for supervision, but in fact, there are not many things that can be done in Chunwei. As long as there are no major events such as leaked test papers and internal and external collusion, there is actually very little room for the Metropolitan Procuratorate to intervene .

However, if this matter can be passed, the Metropolitan Procuratorate can join the Chunwei process and become an official deacon, then the power of the Metropolitan Procuratorate will inevitably be further strengthened.

For a while, Chen Zongxian was about to agree, but in the end, he stopped, hesitated for a moment, smiled wryly, and said.

"Your Majesty has this intention. I will give my best to wait for the integrity of the people. However, now that the rectification of the army is imminent, I still think that it is not appropriate..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the emperor raising his hand.

Obviously, this time the emperor made up his mind that the carrots were not enough, and the big sticks followed.

"President Xian, if the Metropolitan Procuratorate can't do some things, in fact, Dongchang and Jinyiwei can also do it!"

This is pure threat.

To put it bluntly, if the Metropolitan Procuratorate can't investigate this matter clearly, then the emperor will dispatch Dongchang and Jinyiwei.

Seeing the emperor's firm attitude, Chen Yi looked helpless, and could only nod his head and said.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the ministers of science and Taoism have the responsibility of supervising all officials, so they should do their duty!"

After seeing off Chen Yi with a bitter face, Wynn returned to the palace, only to find that the emperor was lost in thought while looking at the test papers in front of him.

Going back to the imperial case quietly and standing there, seeing the frown of the emperor, Wynn hesitated for a moment, and then spoke cautiously.

"My lord, this servant is stupid. I don't understand why you are so entangled with Mr. Zong Xian. Although Commander Lu is not in Beijing, Mr. Shu can call him at any time."

"Although Dongchang has a bad reputation, it is easier to use than the censors. When the emperor has evidence in his hands, it will be much easier to deal with it."

Zhu Qiyu came back to his senses, looked at Wynn's puzzled look, shook his head slightly, and said.

"You think too simple. This matter is not as simple as it seems on the surface. It is not enough to rely on Dongchang!"

In fact, to put it bluntly, there is no evidence to prove that Jiang Yuan deliberately harmed Xiao Yi during the palace examination, and even did not hesitate to bet his reputation in the palace examination.

If you can't solve this point, you can't do anything to Jiang Yuan.

Therefore, Zhu Qiyu used the Metropolitan Procuratorate to investigate, to impeach, to turn over all the details of this palace examination and put them on the table.

Dongchang can indeed do this, but there are some things that Dongchang cannot do, such as...

"Wynn, have you ever thought about why Jiang Yuan targeted Xiao Ying for no reason? Did the idea of ​​this palace test really come from him?"

"This……"

Wynn didn't know how to answer for a while, so he had to be honest.

"Slaves are stupid."

However, what he didn't expect was that the emperor also shook his head slightly and said.

"Don't talk about you, I don't know, but it is precisely because I don't know that I have to let the Metropolitan Procuratorate do it. It is the best way to solve the affairs of the court with the means of the court. Sometimes, let If the factory guards came forward, it would be counterproductive."

"However, if there are no accidents, it shouldn't take long before there will be a result!"

His eyes fell on the test paper in front of him again, the young emperor frowned, sighed softly, and drifted away with the breeze in the middle of the night, not knowing where he would end up...

(End of this chapter)