Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 127 Officials are furious

The memorials to impeach Zhang Guoji from all officials were handed over like snowflakes, and the cabinet was also quarreling over the matter. Xu Guangqi, the chief minister of the cabinet, naturally sided with the emperor and supported Zhang Guoji. Xu Guangqi even criticized some people for their radicalism. The remarks express personal opinions.

"Marquis Taikang will not kill me, but if one day I violate the laws of the court and the emperor's order, and Marquis Taikang wants to kill me, I will never complain at all!"

But who doesn’t know that Xu Guangqi is a trusted minister of the emperor, so he naturally speaks for the emperor’s people, so even if he says such words, it is difficult to convince the public, especially Qian Qianyi, who is the most fierce in the cabinet. , claiming to seek justice for the dead magistrate.

But even though Qian Qianyi is the second assistant, only Qian Longxi and Liu Hongxun are willing to support him. Lai Zongdao and Zhou Daodeng both "don't worry about matters that have nothing to do with themselves." In order to retire and return to his hometown as soon as possible, he acted confused all day long and didn't care much about the affairs of the court. Let alone participating in this kind of struggle with the emperor, he had already stayed away.

But even if the situation in the cabinet is like this, Qian Qianyi cannot have the upper hand, but the vast majority of ministers in the court are on Qian Qianyi's side. With so many people following Qian Qianyi to make trouble, Zhu Tianqi cannot He was willing to completely ignore this matter, but Zhu Tianqi's method of dealing with this matter was just one word - procrastination!

The cabinet could not come to a conclusion for a long time on the impeachment of Zhang Guoji by hundreds of officials. It can even be said that everyone has great differences. However, the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government also made a fierce fuss over this matter, so this matter must finally be discussed to reach a conclusion. , to give everyone an explanation, therefore, Zhu Tianqi invited all six ministers of the cabinet to the Palace of Qianqing to discuss this matter specifically.

Among the six cabinet ministers, except for Xu Guangqi, the other five were rarely summoned by Zhu Tianqi, especially when they were summoned to the Qianqing Palace to discuss matters. So now that they came to the Qianqing Palace again, they couldn't help but recall the previous visit. This was the first time they witnessed the terrifying experience of the emperor summoning the "Heavenly Soldiers" in this palace. Everyone was frightened and involuntarily glanced around the palace in fear, as if to confirm whether there was any hidden danger.

It was precisely because they "revisited their old place" today and remembered this "horrible" incident that Qian Qianyi, who was originally very tough and confident, became a lot more frightened for a while.

Zhu Tianqi was not aware of these details. He first gave a few people seats to sit down, and then asked Wang Yuanbao to serve tea to them one by one. Then he said: "The affairs of the country's abbot are very serious now. Your cabinet So far, no suitable solution has been proposed, so I will first share my thoughts.

The abbot's purchase of grain was originally for the imperial court, and it was his duty to do so. Moreover, when I gave the abbot Shang Fang the sword, I had already said it in front of all the ministers, and those who dared to stop the abbot from collecting grain were , the head of the state can be beheaded first and then reported. This was heard by the civil and military officials of the dynasty at that time, but now there are still people who want to test the law by themselves, so I think that this person's death was not unfair at all, and he still deserved to die! "

Although Qian Qianyi and the others knew Zhu Tianqi's attitude, and they all knew that Zhu Tianqi would definitely protect Taikang Marquis Zhang Guoji, they never expected that Zhu Tianqi would be so "partial", with such a tough attitude, and would not show any mercy to everyone. Children stay.

So Qian Qianyi immediately stood up and saluted, and said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is not that simple. The person Taikang Hou killed was the head of the government, a fourth-rank court official. Taikang Hou killed him in the street." What will the people think of beheading? And where is the majesty of the local officials of the Ming Dynasty?" "Majesty?!" Zhu Tianqi couldn't help but smile contemptuously after hearing this, and said coldly: "Qian Qianyi, you have figured it out, the head of the country. He is a first-rank official of our court and a Marquis whom I personally conferred. A fourth-rank petty official has violated the law. Can’t the head of state be beheaded? He, a small prefect, was beheaded by a marquis in public, which makes you feel ashamed. Have you offended the local officials and smeared their faces?”

Qian Qianyi was at a loss for words, but he didn't dare to argue, so he could only bow his head and apologize: "Your Majesty, forgive me, I didn't mean it this way!"

Seeing that Qian Qianyi was speechless, Qian Longxi stood up and saluted, and said: "Your Majesty, Master Qian means that although the court has strict laws, it still has to pay attention to methods when dealing with specific matters. Saint It is said that 'a punishment cannot be compared to a doctor', so Taikang Hou was indeed a bit too impulsive to execute the imperial officials in public!"

What Qian Longxi said was very skillful. It was not as harsh as what Qian Qianyi said just now, but it was well-founded. This "sage's words" alone were enough for these civil servants to occupy the moral high ground. .

The so-called "punishment cannot be punished for officials" does not mean that scholar-officials who break the law can be exempted from punishment, but that officials must retain their dignity and cannot directly punish them in a vulgar way, because this will damage the official's reputation in the minds of his subordinates and the public. Impairing the official's image damages the official's dignity, and damaging the official's dignity is equivalent to damaging the monarch's dignity.

This statement has a certain truth, but it must be analyzed in detail. During the period when this statement was raised, the monarchs and scholar-bureaucrats who were the ruling class were basically related by blood. Everyone was one family, so naturally When one is prosperous, both are prosperous; when one is lost, both are harmed.

But times have changed now. The Ming Dynasty was a legal society. Officials all passed the imperial examination to become officials. They were workers under the emperor. If the workers committed a crime, couldn't the emperor, as the boss, follow the company's rules and regulations? Process it?Will it affect the boss's dignity after handling it?Not really!
So Zhu Tianqi just smiled and shook his head at Qian Longxi's words, and said: "Qian Longxi, I remember the saint also said something, which is called 'the emperor breaks the law and the common people are guilty'. Our Ming Dynasty has laws, no matter it is Princes, generals, ministers, or ordinary people, as long as they break the law, they must be punished.

I don’t need to maintain the dignity of local officials. This dignity should be fought for by themselves. If they are loyal to their duties and love the people like sons, they will naturally be praised and admired by the people. If they are corrupt, bend the law and harm the people, no matter how dignified they are, The common people still poke their spines behind their backs!
What I need to protect most is the laws of our Ming Dynasty. If the laws of the court are strict, the people will abide by the laws. If the laws are not followed and the law is not enforced strictly, then the majesty of the court will be lost! "

When Qian Longxi heard this, his face suddenly showed a look of astonishment. After being stunned for a long time, he had to bow his head and salute, and said: "The emperor is wise, but I am ignorant!"

Both Qian Qianyi and Qian Longxi were silent. Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit solemn, Zhu Tianqi smiled, looked at Zhou Daodeng, and asked: "Mr. Zhou Ge, please tell me what you think!"

(End of this chapter)