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Chapter 432 Wanting to impose a crime

"..." The already somewhat solemn atmosphere became even more depressing at this moment. Everyone sat there blankly, looking at their eyes, nose, and mouth, as if they had stopped breathing.

"Look! Look now! After reading it, tell me one by one, if Jianlu chases all the way to Nanjing, where do you plan to move the capital?" The emperor suddenly shouted, like a thunderbolt from the blue.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty..." As the cabinet scholar Weng Zhengchun was the first to leave the table and knelt down to kowtow and confess his guilt, several more important ministers knelt down one after another.

Only Wang Xiangqian, Secretary of the Ministry of War, Zhao Shiqing, Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Fang Congzhe, Minister of Cabinet, Gao Panlong, Minister of Dali Temple, Wang Mingfu, Prince of Yongnian, and Li Mingcheng, Prince of Wuqing, did not move. However, there was no expression of gloating on their faces, and their eyes were full of surprise. Panic.

Some of the texts are correspondence, and some are signed confessions. Two common points can be seen from them. First, they are all related to more than a dozen officials who abandoned the city and fled in violation of the ban; second, the contents all involve a very sensitive topic, relocating the capital.

In the early days of the court, some officials were still a little angry after hearing that the emperor ordered Dongchang and Jinyiwei to arrest more than ten officials and nobles and ransack their homes.

It is definitely wrong to violate the prohibition, and it is not a serious crime. Dongchang and Jinyiwei ransacked their homes and arrested people without even receiving a driving notice from the criminal department. They did not take the Ming Dynasty law and the civil and military officials seriously.

After the dispersion of the dynasty, some Kedao officials made it clear that they would impeach Wang An and Wang Zhizhen for knowingly and illegally breaking the law. Who would have thought that in just half the night and one morning, Jin Yiwei's prisoner would ask most of the confessions, and the situation would take a turn for the worse.

Now it is not clear whether Wang An and Wang Zhizhen knew the law and broke the law. Officials who are found to be related and have close correspondence will definitely be in big trouble.

When the enemy was facing a formidable enemy, as officials of the imperial court, instead of putting aside their old grudges and uniting as one to actively prepare for war, they secretly conspired together to move the capital to Nanjing after the capital fell.

What kind of behavior is this? You must know that the one standing on the top of the city to defend against the enemy is the emperor himself. The emperor has not yet announced his retreat. The ministers have chosen a retreat route and are ready to abandon the emperor and cut off the queen. It is a complete act of having no father and no king, abandoning the country and family, and being treasonous!

The people kneeling on the ground were not interceding for the arrested officials, but were also involved in the conspiracy to move the capital. It can be seen from the confessions and oral confessions that they may have participated in the discussion of moving the capital and held supportive opinions.

If the emperor's personal expedition failed, no need to ask, these people would definitely choose to escape without hesitation, regardless of the emperor and the people of the city. The reason why no action was taken was that the emperor had won the battle, and the emperor had brought them all to the tower, and they had no chance to escape.

"It is human nature to be greedy for life and afraid of death. I know that you don't like the New Deal, but I never expected that you would be so shameless and put the court and the people in dire straits. It is a waste of time to read the sage's book.

Ye Xianggao and Wang Xiangqian, please help me think about how to deal with this matter? I can safely say that as long as it is beneficial to the court and the people, I will keep my words and deeds no matter how wronged I am. "

Looking at the high-ranking officials of the court who fell to the ground and confessed their crimes, the emperor seemed to have followed the ancient saying that the law should not be punished, and he had a hard time making a decision. Let's arrest them all and hold them accountable. Five of the six ministers are gone, plus the general envoy, the censor of Zuodu, and the cabinet bachelor. Three-quarters of the entire court is gone, and it will face paralysis.

If you don't arrest him and hold him accountable, you are too tolerant. Once this is opened, no one will be afraid of the emperor's power in the future. If we encounter difficulties and critical moments again, all civil and military officials must follow his example. The impact will be too bad. Fortunately, the emperor has special privileges, and he can freely push things he can't figure out to his courtiers for help. He can't just do it perfunctorily, but he has to express some opinions, otherwise it will be a crime.

"...I am stupid, it all depends on His Majesty's Holy Judgment!" Ye Xianggao's mind was basically all messed up. In the past, if the emperor wanted to cause trouble in the court, he would give some warning in advance, or at least let Wang An reveal the direction of the incident. , and then it’s easy to cooperate.

But this time it was really an emergency, and the emperor actually handled such a big thing quietly. He, like everyone else, had just learned of the situation. Come up with a stupid solution. If you can cause trouble, you must be able to end it. This kind of shit can't be wiped away.

"I...I thought...Your Majesty said on the tower that he did not want to be a murderous king. At this time, the court is hiring people, so please think twice." Wang Xiangqian's mind was very clear. He didn't understand the emperor at first. Now I fully understand why he took the initiative to win over me. This is a big chess game.

The sudden attack of the Jurchens was just an excuse to launch a chess game. The emperor never worried about the safety of the capital from beginning to end. Instead, he took advantage of this crisis, which was not a crisis, to carefully lay a series of traps, waiting for the civil and military officials of the dynasty to rush into them. .

What is the purpose of doing this? Killing someone with a borrowed knife definitely counts as one. Not to mention the distant ones, Huaiyuan Marquis Chang Yinxu, Taining Marquis Chen Liangbi, and Ningyang Marquis Chen Yingzhao, who had always been close to the civil service group and did not listen to the emperor's greetings, were completely ruined. Those who died in the battle could still keep their family property. Those who are still alive will probably have their families broken up and their families destroyed.

The dozens of officials and nobles who took advantage of the chaos and fled out of the city must also be dead. No one dared to intercede for them at this time. The matter was so outrageous that once it was spread, it would surely arouse public excitement, and a thousand cuts would not be enough.

But then again, if the emperor really wants to clean up the court and eradicate dissidents, he will take advantage of the high reputation after the victory and the empty military strength in the capital to arrest whoever is displeased. The sad drama seems a bit redundant.

Even though ministers are usually more righteous than the others, when they are in prison, they may not be able to resist for even an hour and they have to say whatever they ask and write whatever they are told. Then a large number of old colleagues were involved, and the snowball bit more and more. In the end, no one, not even the officials in the capital or the officials in exile, wanted to stay out of the matter.

As long as he is bitten, he will be considered as plotting against his comrades, and he will definitely not be able to escape if he is confiscated by the army and his house is confiscated. By that time, no one would dare to raise objections in the court. Whatever the emperor said was true.

But there are also big troubles in doing this. Too many officials are lost all at once. Even if they can be replaced, they will not be able to operate smoothly in a short period of time. Otherwise, people will be panicked and the government will be paralyzed.

From the content of the conversation on the tower, combined with the scene happening at this moment, Wang Xiangqian believed that the emperor did not want to catch all the dissidents in the court, and the ultimate goal should be military power. As long as they agree to this request, most officials can save their lives and maybe still have their positions.

(End of this chapter)