After entering June, the weather really started to get hot, and it entered the sweltering heat. The rising wind could not take away the heat in the air. There were many shirtless men in the docks and warehouses, and in the tea shops in the city.
The ice drink stalls are full of customers, and the guard dogs on the streets open their mouths and stick out their tongues. The whole of Luoyang is shrouded in a fiery atmosphere. Only in the imperial city and above the temples, there is still a feeling of chilling and depression.
The door of Zichen Palace was wide open, and a group of officials were divided into two rows and filed in. There were quite a few people, at least more than a hundred people. All of them had solemn expressions and cautious movements. In the current political environment of the Han Dynasty, the smiles seemed to have changed from the smiles of the court officials.
The face disappeared.
There is an ice room in the Zichen Palace to cool down, but it seems a bit too cold for the officials who have just walked in under the scorching sun. They lined up one by one according to their rank, stood in order, remained silent, and did not speak.
Dare to make any unusual move, many people's faces showed obvious uneasiness.
Among these officials, there are no royal family members, nor high-ranking officials. They are all middle- and lower-level officials, all selected from the Imperial City, Wude and Judicial Offices. Many of them have never even met Emperor Liu.
, even if they had met, most of them had never spoken to Emperor Liu.
Now, they were summoned to the Zichen Palace and received by Emperor Liu in person. Although they didn't know the reason, most people were looking forward to it and nervous. Of course, there was inevitably a trace of fear.
Kou Zhun, one of the supervisory censors of Guannei Road, was also among them. He lowered his head and tied his hands in a respectful posture. There was little expression on his young face, but a little solemnity could be seen in his eyes.
In the past few months, under the central government's anti-corruption campaign, everyone has been hit hard. Kou Zhun can be said to have experienced the dangers firsthand. After all, only in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he saw with his own eyes that so many of his senior colleagues were taken into custody.
He was convicted of crimes, dismissed from office, exiled, beheaded. For Kou Zhun, who had just entered the official career, this was indeed a rare insight and experience. Normally, there would be no such "opportunity"
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Of course, Kou Zhun was also under some pressure. Over the past few months, he had been facing strange looks from his colleagues in the DPRK and China. The news had spread, and it was because this second-placed student in the new department boldly spoke out in front of Emperor Liu that his Majesty was furious.
This set off a wave of political uproar that shocked bureaucrats all over the world. Even the prime ministers in the political hall and the chief officials of various ministries could not help but treat Kou Zhun differently.
However, under heavy pressure, Fang showed his true colors. Although Kou Zhun was frightened, he withstood it after all. He had already formed his own values. He served the country, the public, the king and the people, and there was nothing he could say!
However, the political frenzy set off by Emperor Liu after his face-to-face meeting was beyond Kou Zhun's expectation.
, strengthened the management of officialdom, and suppressed local powerful forces, but he did not expect that Emperor Liu's actions were so drastic and his methods were so ruthless. He was completely ready to overturn the table and destroy his job.
Of course, Kou Zhun did not dare to think too highly of himself. If Emperor Liu had not had this intention, how could he have made such an important decision in such a short period of time and implemented it quickly. In the final analysis, Kou Zhun just met by chance.
, it just became an insignificant introduction, and the subsequent development of events has really no in-depth connection with Kou Zhun.
He stayed in the team silently, guessing in his mind why Emperor Liu summoned these subordinate officials. No matter what it was, looking at this posture, it was definitely extraordinary.
While I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard a voice singing: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
Almost as an instinctive reaction, everyone in the palace subconsciously bent down, their expressions and postures were as if they were reproduced, and everyone was neatly arranged. Under the peripheral vision of the ministers, Emperor Liu slowly walked across the palace door with very fast steps. Slowly, he stepped firmly with every step, followed by three people, Yan Tuo, Wang Jien and Wang Xuanzhen. Perhaps it was an illusion, Emperor Liu seemed a little older, and the gray on his head did not increase, but he had a twilight look. aggregated.
Slowly walked up the imperial steps, turned around and sat down, and all the ministers paid their respects. Emperor Liu glanced at him, his eyes were a little cloudy, and after looking at them for a while, he said in a deep voice: "Pingshen!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The arrival of Emperor Liu made the atmosphere in the Zichen Palace even more tense. All the minor officials were nervous and restrained. After thinking about it for a while, Emperor Liu ordered: "Serve the wine!"
Yantuo responded, and then waved his hand outwards. Soon, two rows of palace ladies came in carrying trays. On each tray were several full glasses of wine. Although everyone was confused, their movements were very deft. One cup per person, hold it in your hand.
Emperor Liu stood up, also holding a glass, and stood on the edge of the Danqi, with his left hand on the railing, looking down at the ministers and saying: "This wine, let me see you off!"
Although Emperor Liu is old, his voice is full of energy and majesty at this moment. As soon as he finished speaking, there was a crisp cracking sound in the palace, attracting everyone's attention. In the queue, a figure lay embarrassed. On the ground, he kept kowtowing and said in panic: "Your Majesty, forgive me! Your Majesty, forgive me!"
But it was this person who was so nervous that his hands shook and he couldn't hold it. He knocked over the wine glass and spilled the wine on the floor. Seeing this, Emperor Liu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at this person. He walked down slowly, one step at a time. , every sound seemed to step on the hearts of the ministers in the palace.
It wasn't until Emperor Liu came up to him that he stopped kowtowing and said in fear: "I have lost my decency and committed a grave sin. Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
Emperor Liu lowered his head and looked at this person for a while. He was a low-ranking official of the sixth rank. He belonged to an unknown yamen. He was probably in his thirties. However, the confusion he showed was not the demeanor that a Han bureaucrat should have.
Looking at the overturned wine glass, Emperor Liu said calmly: "Don't you think these are poisonous wines?"
"No, no!" The man trembled and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty's majesty, I was deeply shocked. In a daze, I spilled the cup in disgrace."
However, he couldn't speak anymore, his face became extremely pale, and his body trembled even more. People standing near him noticed something strange, because the pungent smell was really obvious.
peed
However, no one expressed contempt or disgust, or even much pity or sympathy. They just paid careful attention to Emperor Liu's face and reaction. Emperor Liu was obviously a little surprised by this man's unbearable performance, and even hesitated for a moment before pointing. He asked Wang Jien: "Who is this? What is his official position?"
Wang Jien's face was very serious. He stared at this person hatefully and said, "Go back to the official house. This is Zhu Bo, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple."
"This is the elite soldier and general you selected for me? With such performance, can he be entrusted with heavy tasks and shoulder heavy responsibilities?" Emperor Liu asked.
Faced with Emperor Liu's harsh questioning, before Wang Jien could answer, the kneeling Zhu Bo collapsed to the ground, his face turned from white to red, and he couldn't breathe, as if he was suffocating.
Wang Jien suppressed his disgust and explained to Emperor Liu: "In the official family, I checked the official list and saw that this person had a solid resume and was good at prison, so he was selected for this mission. But he didn't. I thought that the person was so unlucky, maybe not long after he was promoted, he lost his bearings when meeting the saint for the first time, and lost his etiquette in the palace. It was because he didn't know the person well, so he asked the officials to punish him!"
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liu's frown relaxed, and he looked down at Zhu Bo again and muttered: "Am I a hungry tiger who wants to eat people?"
No one answered this question, but the expressions of many people said everything. After all, Emperor Liu did not take action on the dishonorable Si Cheng, but instead ordered to Yantuo: "Take this Zhu Si Cheng down to change into robes! "
"Officials, this person is bold and absurd, and has lost etiquette in front of the palace. How should we deal with it?" Yantuo asked softly.
Emperor Liu shook his head: "It is true that it is disrespectful, but it is not necessarily bold. I have no intention of arguing with it!"
After a small episode, the atmosphere in the palace relaxed a bit. It seemed that Emperor Liu was not very murderous today, otherwise no one would sympathize with him even if he was killed because of the emperor's frightened behavior.
Soon, Emperor Liu continued to talk about business, and said to more than a hundred officials among His Highness: "You are all selected officials from the Imperial City, Wude and Sanfa Department, and are all experts who are familiar with criminal law. I am here today." We have gathered you together to entrust you with a heavy responsibility.
After today, you will serve as envoys of the imperial court and go to all the prefectures and prefectures in the world to investigate the administration of officials and the people's livelihood. You have only one task, which is to bring to me those corrupt officials who deceive the emperor and the local tyrants and evil gentry who harm the people. Find them out and deal with them one by one.
There are too many beetles in the Han Dynasty. If we don't clean them up, the country will be unstable and the common people will be in trouble! Your responsibilities are heavier than Mount Tai. You should do the righteous deeds for the country and the people without hesitation!
Not long ago, in order to clarify the affairs of the imperial court and to punish lawlessness, I lost a princess, but I have absolutely no regrets at all! Through your actions, I want to tell the people of the world that for the long-term peace and stability of the country and for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, I will do anything. Relatives of the emperor and noble ministers will not be tolerated if they violate the law!
I have no sworn relationship with those silverfish that are parasitic on the body of a big man and suck his blood and marrow!"
After an unremarkable farewell party and drinking, a larger-scale campaign to purge officials has just begun. Compared with it, what happened in Xijing in the past few months can only be regarded as a small fuss.