Chapter 364 Conspiracy! The aristocratic familys counterattack!
"Absurd! Absolutely ridiculous!"
In a mansion in the capital, several people were gathering together, discussing with serious faces the matter of the Confucian scholar being imprisoned.
One of the middle-aged officials was extremely excited. He stood in the hall with his face flushed and his words gushing.
"He is just a prince!"
"How can you cover the sky with one hand?"
"You actually do this to a Confucian student! You are in vain!"
This person is the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and behind him stands a powerful northern noble clan.
At this time, he became particularly angry at Zhu Gaojie's actions and kept condemning him. After all, hundreds of Confucian scholars were thrown into the prison together. This fact was too shocking.
Where does this put Confucianism’s face?
The faces of the scholars and great Confucianists were completely lost!
"The prince's move is simply an act of cruelty! All the scholars and scholars in the world will be ashamed of this!"
The left minister of the Ministry of Rites was out of breath. When he talked about his anger, he wanted to slam the table repeatedly.
Several other people on the side quickly tried to persuade him, and then he was able to maintain the situation.
"What Mr. Cui said is indeed reasonable."
Those present are all important officials of the court, and the one sitting in the middle, stroking his beard and meditating, is the Minister of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Zhi!
After he finished saying this, he turned his gaze to the other side and asked:
"Mr. Pei, what do you think?"
The person who was called was the head of the Criminal Department, who also came from a wealthy family.
This time, hundreds of Confucian scholars were imprisoned for violating the Academy of Arts, and they happened to be under his jurisdiction.
"Replying to Wang Shangshu, in my opinion, His Highness the Crown Prince may be really angry this time..."
Chief Pei shook his head slightly, with a heavy expression on his face, and said slowly:
"Originally, I received the notice, and we had a plan beforehand, so the Confucian scholars were imprisoned, but they did not suffer any crime, and each made their own arrangements."
"But then the East Palace sent people, who were called supervisors but actually took over the disposal of these Confucian scholars. Even the personnel of my Criminal Department were all kicked out."
Having said this, he glanced at Wang Zhi at the head of the throne and said slowly:
"Confucian scholars have never seen many storms, so I'm afraid they may not be able to withstand the torture of those hawks and dogs..."
"He dares!"
The left minister of the Ministry of Rites on the side slammed the table hard and said angrily:
"By putting the Confucian scholars in prison, he has risked the world's reputation. Could it be that he still dares to torture these Confucian scholars?"
"You must know that the scholars and scholars of the Ming Dynasty will never give up!"
"Alas," Boss Pei shook his head speechlessly and said to him:
"Shilang Cui, this is wrong."
"You must also know that the prince ordered a Confucian scholar to be shot dead at the scene."
"Then why would it be difficult to torture these Confucian scholars and get them to identify the masterminds behind the scenes?"
"It should be noted that the attack on the Academy of Arts and the beating of the Minister of Household Affairs violated Ming law, so it is normal for him to be dealt with strictly."
Wang Zhi rubbed the teacup with his hand, his face uncertain.
This time the Confucian scholars made a big fuss in the Academy of Arts and attacked Xia Yuanji by name, which was indeed premeditated.
The students in the liberal arts college are all from poor families. If the princes are allowed to be trained one after another and participate in official circles in various places, then the advantages of the wealthy families will be greatly reduced before long.
High-ranking nobles, famous families, these intertwined forces will be dealt a huge blow by those from poor families!
If this is the case, what will the children of these big families do in the future?
Do you have to fight hard for the same position as those from poor families? Just like a dog?
This is absolutely impossible!
Therefore, these aristocratic families in the north almost stood on the same position and began to plot how to attack the Academy of Literature and weaken the power of the poor children. It would be best to drive them all away!
In the world of the Ming Dynasty, scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, and scholars are always ranked first, and it is not the turn of a bunch of idiots to fight for them!
"No need to worry."
Thinking of this, the official minister slowly spoke:
"The prince may not dare to make things happen."
He looked around with a strong confidence in his tone:
"Confucianism is the Ming Dynasty, and scholars and scholars are the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. He is just a prince and has not yet ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. How can he dare to go against the scholars in the world?"
"After all, this world must be governed by civil servants like us. He doesn't dare to make mistakes."
"Shilang Pei, go ask the Kong family again and ask them to contribute their efforts and add fuel to the fire. Let everyone in the world know that the current prince seems to have some disrespect for Confucianism!"
When Wang Zhi said this, his tone became a little serious:
"Since he has already made a mistake and shot a Confucian student, we have to strike while the iron is hot and add jealousy to make him understand the truth."
"The affairs of the court are not so easy to handle!"
"He is a child with a bad mouth. He always wants to stir up troubles because of his strength in the army. This time, we must teach him a lesson."
Wang Zhi stood up and stared at everyone:
"Otherwise, when he really ascends the throne and becomes emperor in the future, will we still have the right to speak to this Ming Dynasty?"
…
Inside the prison.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice who were originally relatively friendly were kicked out by the guards of the East Palace.
They dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out, because the entire prison was surrounded by troops and was heavily guarded. Not even a fly could escape.
Imprisoned here are not only the Confucian scholars who attacked the Academy, but also the generals of the guard who were arrested under Zhu Gaojie's order.
In the dark and humid sky prison, mosquitoes were flying and the smell was terrible.
This extremely harsh environment immediately caused many Confucian scholars to collapse.
Most of them come from aristocratic families and have been pampered since childhood. How have they ever suffered like this?
In addition, since they were arrested and imprisoned, they had never seen water or rice at all, were cold and hungry, and the Confucian scholars were already miserable and miserable.
In the lobby of the Criminal Department, Zhu Gaojie stood high above him, listening to Shen Qingyu's report with no expression on his face.
"A bunch of trash..."
He said softly, and then asked:
"Have you recruited those guard generals?"
"Who gave them the order to stand still and not save them until death?"
Shen Qingyu's face was slightly sweaty and she whispered back:
"Your Highness, those people refused to explain. They all said that they had not received the warning, so they could not come to rescue in time..."
"Ha," Zhu Gaojie heard this and sneered slightly:
"They are quite obedient and know that great disaster will happen to those who reveal their parentage."
"Maybe they still have the idea of waiting for someone to rescue them."
Hearing Zhu Gaojie's words, Shen Qingyu didn't dare to raise his head, broke out in cold sweat, and whispered:
"Your Highness, if you hold such a humble position and torture yourself, these people will be forced to confess truthfully!"
Zhu Gaojie waved his hand and said nonchalantly:
"never mind."
"Let's first talk about the behind-the-scenes situation you investigated."