Concubine

Chapter 194 The Xu Clan

Yang Qiuchi doesn't know about others, but he still knows about Xu Da. However, most of what he knows comes from Jin Yong's martial arts novels, and most of them are fictional, so he doesn't know that he may become his enemy. What kind of person will be.

Master Jin continued: "During the Battle of Jingnan, although Xu Zengshou had been in Jianwen's capital, he tried every means to quietly report the situation of Jianwen to the emperor, and made great contributions to the emperor's invasion of the capital. It is a pity that Jianwen was in When Nanjing was about to be breached, I finally found out that Xu Zengshou was secretly helping the emperor, and personally beheaded him by the sword."

"After the emperor entered the city, he hugged Xu Zengshou's body and wept bitterly. Then he named him Dingguo Duke, posthumously Zhongmin. Let his son Xu Jingchang inherit the title. Xu Jingchang is the current Dingguo Duke."

Now Yang Qiuchi was dumbfounded, it turned out that the Mi Yuan had such a big backer, no wonder he was so arrogant.Immediately, I remembered Luo Qianhu's expression. As a Jinyiwei Qianhu, this old fox must know all the important people in his jurisdiction well. Of course, he knew that Mi Yuanwai had such a strong backer. He couldn't afford to provoke him. Someone put the top of the cylinder on purpose and pretended not to know.

Master Jin said again in a low voice: "Fortunately, Empress Xu has died of illness in Yongle for five years. The power of the Xu family has declined greatly, but it should not be underestimated."

After hearing this, Yang Qiuchi breathed a sigh of relief. It is not clear whether Xu Jingchang, Duke of Dingguo, the backer outside Miyuan, knew that he embezzled the relief food and incited the hungry people to grab food and riot.If I found out, I don't know how to deal with it, but since I pulled Mi Yuanwai out, no matter how they deal with it in the future, this big backstage will not appreciate me, and maybe even give me small shoes to wear.what should I do?

Song Yun'er was also stunned, he didn't know anything else, but she knew best about Empress Xu, who not only made great contributions to Ming Chengzu's seizure of the throne, but also read poems and books, and personally compiled the must-read book for women after the Ming Dynasty. Twenty chapters of "Teaching" and one "Book of Exhortation to Kindness" were issued to the world.

In addition, Mrs. Xu also personally wrote the preface to the scripture "Dream Feeling Buddha's First Rare Great Merit Sutra". Monks and nuns, good men and believers all recited it with their mouths and hearts. It was not until 30 years after Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty that this sutra was officially proposed as a "pseudo-sutra" and thus excluded from the collection of Buddhist scriptures.

Therefore, Ming Chengzu respected and loved this queen very much, so in the fifth year of Yongle, that is, two years before Yang Qiuchi traveled to the Ming Dynasty, the queen Xu died of illness, and Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was very sad. Linggu and Tianxi two temples listen to the sacrifices made by the officials, and Guanglu is a tool."And since then there has been no queen.

Although Empress Xu died of illness, but Yu Wei is still alive, and with the relationship between the emperor and the Xu family, it is really hard to predict how this case will be handled in the end.

Therefore, with Emperor Ming Chengzu on one side and Xu Jingchang, Duke Dingguo, the nephew of Empress Xu on the other, Yang Qiuchi complained in his heart. Regardless of the outcome of this struggle, neither side would be grateful to Yang Qiuchi.

Seeing Yang Qiuchi's frowning face, Master Jin said in a low voice, "My lord, although Yuanwai Mi has a close relationship with the empress, although Duke Ding Xu Zengshou's family and Empress Xu are siblings, the relationship is very subtle."

"When the emperor made Xu Zengshou the Duke of Dingguo and let Xu Jingchang inherit the title, Empress Xu strongly opposed it during her lifetime. She thought that although her younger brother helped her, she betrayed Jianwen. It was disloyalty, but it was against her father in a sense of righteousness. Xu Da's name of loyalty. Empress Xu has always refused to recognize Xu Jingchang as the Duke of Ding."

When Yang Qiuchi heard this, he immediately became happy: "Are their siblings disagreeing?"

Master Jin nodded: "The crime committed by Mi Yuanwai this time is the collusion between the government and businessmen, embezzlement of relief food, and inciting the hungry people to rob food and rebel. Although it is not known whether there is a remnant of the Jianwen party behind it, it is the emperor who hates it the most." These few items are enough for Mi Yuanwai to drink a pot!"

"The Emperor Taizu hated corrupt officials the most. He once ordered the establishment of leather temples on the left side of the yamen in various prefectures and counties. Here, the skins of corrupt officials were peeled off, stuffed with straw, and placed next to the yamen hall to warn successors. official."

When Master Jin said this, Yang Qiuchi interjected excitedly: "Yes, I've heard of this too, it seems to be called 'peeling real grass', right?"

Master Jin nodded: "Exactly, the current emperor, like Emperor Taizu, also hates corrupt officials. The emperor just took the throne, and ordered Beijing officials above seven ranks, and foreign officials and county magistrates to select one each. If a person commits a crime of corruption, he will be executed together with the master. Therefore, the emperor will never condone adultery."

"In addition, Empress Xu has passed away, and Mi Yuanwai's only backer is Ding Guogong. Although the emperor regrets Ding Guogong's death for the country, he will never be soft on those who dare to rebel. What's more, Mi Yuanwai is just Ding Guogong. The father of one of the Duke's concubines."

Master Jin's words made Yang Qiuchi nod his head again and again, with a firm heart and a smile on his face.Master Jin continued: "Furthermore, my lord's investigation of this case is also the duty assigned by the emperor himself. It is to act according to the order. In order to protect the emperor's country and society, no matter who is found in the treason case, he will be stern and impartial, so that he can win the emperor further." trust."

Yang Qiuchi rubbed his chin, as if he felt that he was a bit of an iron bread man, and he was a little proud, but when he looked back at this case, he didn't know how to deal with it, and asked: "Mr. Jin, what should I do with this case?" How about pushing it to Jin Yiwei Luo Qianhu?"

"Not good!" Master Jin shook his head, "In that case, all the merits of your lord will be taken away by others."

"That's right!" Yang Qiuchi nodded, "Then what should we do?"

Song Yuner's head got dizzy when she heard it, it was so complicated, and she likes to do things simple and straightforward, so she immediately suggested: "Don't think about it, anyway, Empress Xu has passed away, so Duke Ding must not know about it, so we just Pretend not to know the relationship between Mi Yuanwai and the Xu family, and cut this short winter melon with a knife, everyone is clean! You have the power to cut first and then play, what do you use this power for? Who told him to embezzle disaster relief food and instigate rebellion, everyone Get it and kill it!"

Yang Qiuchi's heart moved, and he said: "What Yun'er said is an idea. If it gets too big, it will cause trouble for the emperor. Anyway, he is just the father of a concubine of Duke Ding's son. This concubine is not even a wife. She Father is nothing more, if you kill him, you will kill him, who would stand up for a concubine?"

Master Jin shook his head: "This move is too risky, sir, there is no need to take risks. Although it is not clear whether Ding Guogong knows about Mi Yuanwai's affairs, and whether he will help Mi Yuan out, but the so-called beating a dog depends on the owner. , if your lord kills Mi Yuanwai first and then plays, it means you don’t give Duke Ding any face, and you also don’t give face to Empress Xu who passed away, if Duke Ding doesn’t say anything at this moment, you won’t be assured that there will be a gap.”

"Furthermore, Xu Zengshou was originally a relative of the emperor, and he died for the emperor. , People who have committed heinous crimes such as treason, even if they belong to the scope of the eight proposals, cannot receive special care from the proposal, invitation, and reduction, but they do not look at the face of the monk or the face of the Buddha. In terms of the tragic death, extrajudicial favors are also unknown. Therefore, recklessness is not acceptable."

The "Eight Discussions" mentioned by Master Jin is one of the typical manifestations of inequality before the ancient Chinese law. It refers to the eight types of people who commit crimes. And the system of reducing or exempting punishment in specific circumstances.

These eight types of people are relatives, old friends, virtuous, capable, meritorious, noble, diligent, and guests, including the relatives of the emperor, the emperor's old friends, people with high morals, people with outstanding ruling ability, those who have made great contributions to the country, and upper-level nobles and bureaucrats. , People who have worked hard and made great contributions to the country, the nobles of the previous dynasty and their descendants.

The "Eight Discussions" system originated from the "Eight Disciplines" of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it is a concrete manifestation of the etiquette principle of "Punishment cannot be punished by a doctor" in the application of punishment.It became an important system in the legal codes of later dynasties, and it remained unchanged for more than [-] years until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.However, if a person belonging to the "Eight Disciplines" commits a heinous felony, according to regulations, they generally cannot enjoy the privileges of the Eight Disciplines.

Although the "discussion of relatives" and "discussion of meritorious service" in the eight-discussion system mainly refer to the relatives of the emperor or those who have made meritorious service to the country themselves, the crimes committed by their family members are often included in the scope of the "eight conferences". It is hard for anyone to say whether the father of the concubine of the victim belongs to this category. The meaning of Master Jin’s words just now is that it is best for the emperor to decide, which is the safest way. It would be wrong to kill him first and then play it.

Master Jin continued: "My lord, you have made three great achievements in a row tonight: you resolved the impending riots of the hungry people in Wuchang Mansion in time, and successfully realized the relief of food and appease the hungry people. This is the first achievement; The chief envoy, Tan Zhifu and Mi Yuanwai officials colluded privately and embezzled the relief food. This is the second achievement. It is the third achievement to detect Mi Yuanwai's instigating domestic slaves and inciting the hungry people to rob food and rebel. Your Excellency has already made three great achievements , now there is no need to be greedy for merit and take risks, otherwise not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but if it is not done well, it will cause trouble for the upper body."

Yang Qiuchi's heart trembled. He had done things that were wasted before. It was a great contribution to solve the case of Jianwen's remnant party trying to hijack the emperor's concubine. Not only was all previous work wasted, but he was almost beheaded by Eunuch Li and then played, and the Fa was executed on the spot.The same mistake cannot be made now.

This Mr. Jin is worthy of being in the officialdom for a long time, and he understands the stakes very well. After what he said, even Song Yuner felt that her idea was not very wise, so she stuck out her tongue and said to Mr. Jin: "Hey, you Don't go around the bush, just tell me what to do."

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(End of this chapter)