As for Jiao Fang, Liu Jin didn't want to pay attention to him at first.
But he made himself angry again and again.
His own son had no ability and failed to pass the Jinshi exam, so he insulted Liu Jin behind his back. He had a bad mouth and would dare to scold anyone. Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, and everyone in the six ministers were scolded by him.
Even though I was so good, I was so insulted by him, I was so angry that I was so angry.
Through the topic, Zhang Cai and Zhang Cai attacked and slandered him, hoping to make him his mortal enemy.
Now he claims that he took bribes and engaged in malpractice for personal gain. If he were to be labeled as such, it would cost him his life. Fraud in the examination room was a really big case. Even if the minister was implicated in it, he would at least be labeled as one.
This happened again and again, no matter what the means, and Liu Jin became angry.
You said I was bribed, okay, let's investigate together and tell you clearly about accepting filial piety.
Originally, Liu Jin didn't want to talk about this matter. It was all old rules in the officialdom. Breaking the rules was not a good thing and would be disliked by others.
But if you, Jiao Fang, want to do this, then let’s investigate together.
"Your Majesty, the second son of Liu Jin is talking nonsense. I have always been upright and clean. How can I accept bribes? On the contrary, it is Liu Jin who has a family fortune of hundreds of millions. He has countless business houses, workshops, factories, plantations, and breeding farms. He is rich.
But in the enemy country, where did his money come from? If it wasn't for collecting bribes, how could he have such a huge property? He was originally from a poor family."
Jiao Fang was anxious and hurriedly proved her innocence while criticizing Liu Jin.
"That's enough~"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Jiao Fang, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
He didn't have a good impression of Jiao Fang because Jiao Fang had always been a mad dog who bit people randomly.
He attacked, abused and impeached Liu Jian and Li Dongyang, and put all kinds of labels on Xie Qian. It didn't matter that the three cabinet ministers were not on the same level as him, but now Liu Jin was put on the label.
How did Liu Jin get his huge wealth? Who in the court didn't know?
From the emperor to ordinary officials, don't everyone learn from Liu Jin now?
Factories, workshops, trading houses, plantations, etc., everyone in the government and the public learned from Liu Jin, and Liu Jin's huge wealth came from this.
Without Liu Jin, there would be no huge wealth of Emperor Hongzhi and the Crown Prince. How could he receive such a huge wealth by taking bribes? Would he spend millions of taels of silver every year on education?
When you attack Liu Jin, you also find a better place to attack. Attacking in this area is simply a fool's errand. The key is that it also affects other ministers above the court.
If you want to check it, everyone is checking it. Who doesn’t have a few industries?
There is also the matter of collecting filial piety. How can one be an emperor and not know about it?
In the past, ministers had a hard time, and some things would pass if they just turned a blind eye.
Now that Liu Jin has said this, if it is found out by then, will your life, Jiao Fang's, be easier?
Other ministers may have to lose another piece of income in the future.
What was originally just a matter of imperial examinations has escalated into a situation of mutual attack.
This was also the case in the previous court. The most common thing ministers did was attack each other, form cliques, do nothing, and put all national affairs aside. Every morning court was just like a vegetable market.
Liu Jin was a man of hard work, and the same was true for the imperial examination. There is nothing to say.
Although Jing Yang's articles are beautiful, they do not have any substantive content, and it is normal to fail. Although Jiang Wannian's articles are vulgar, they do mention the problems faced by the Ming Dynasty, and high school is also acceptable.
Jiao Fang, this troublemaker, is too unscrupulous to get promoted.
The matter of selecting scholars through the imperial examination was also troubled again and again. Officials like this would never be able to live in peace in the future if they stayed in the court.
"Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Zhang Mao, Xiao Jing~"
Emperor Hongzhi read out the names of five people one after another.
"I'm here~"
After hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words, several ministers stood up at the same time, while Xiao Jing stood aside respectfully.
"The five of you should work together to investigate whether Liu Jin and Jiao Fang have accepted bribes, filial piety, etc. You must investigate this matter strictly and clear the innocent people."
Emperor Hongzhi glanced at Jiao Fang. With Emperor Hongzhi's generous character, he originally didn't want to do anything to Jiao Fang, but you can't blame others for seeking death yourself.
Among the five people, except Zhang Mao and Xiao Jing, the other three cabinet ministers were scolded, attacked, and slandered by Jiao Fang. Among them, Xie Qian was scolded the worst.
Jiao Fang, a dignified cabinet minister, speaks freely, abuses and attacks arbitrarily. If you ignore him, he will think you are easy to bully.
Now let them investigate Jiao Fang, it is clear that they are going to kill Jiao Fang.
The reason why Jiao Fang in history wanted to seek refuge with Liu Jin was, on the one hand, that he had no foundation and could not stand firm without seeking refuge with others, and on the other hand, it was because he had offended too many people.
The three ministers in the cabinet were all offended, and the six ministers were also attacked and abused by him. Although Jiao Fang did some things secretly, everyone still knew that he did it.
Everyone above the court was offended. If he didn't take refuge with Liu Jin, he wouldn't be able to gain a foothold at all.
But it's different now. Emperor Hongzhi is not Zhu Houzhao. Zhu Houzhao is too playful and doesn't like governing the country. Emperor Hongzhi is a competent emperor who focuses on governing the country.
Jiao Fang offended the ministers so many times and continued to act randomly that Emperor Hongzhi couldn't stand it anymore.
If such a troublemaker stays in the court, there will be no peace in the future. This is not what Emperor Hongzhi wants. What he wants is ministers like Liu Jin who can do things, not ministers who only play tricks and fight among themselves.
.
"Yes~"
After hearing what Emperor Hongzhi said, several people quickly agreed.
Everyone knew what Emperor Hongzhi meant. The investigation of Liu Jin was just a matter of course. The key point was to investigate Jiao Fang and put him to death.
Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, and Jiao Fang have all offended each other. They didn't want to deal with him before, but now they can justifiably investigate you. It would be weird if they don't kill you. They are not saints.
As for Zhang Mao, he wears the same trousers as Liu Jin. If you ask him to check Liu Jin, he is not checking his right hand with his left hand.
Xiao Jing is the knife in the emperor's hand. He always only listens to the emperor's words. How could Xiao Jing not see the obvious meaning of Emperor Hongzhi?
When Jiao Fang heard this, she immediately became anxious. Big beads of sweat kept pouring out from her forehead. There was cold sweat on her back. Her face was bloodless. It was over now.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty~"
"I am dedicated to the country, loyal and have absolutely no selfish motives~"
"This time it's just for the imperial court's honor ceremony and to express grievances for the students who failed the exam."
"Your Majesty has no reason to let me investigate thoroughly. I can only die to prove my innocence."
After saying that, he pretended to hit the pillar of Jinluan Palace. While he was hitting it, he looked around, hoping that someone would pull him up.
However, something happened that disappointed him.
Not only did no one come up to pull him, but everyone got out of the way and watched his performance.
He was immediately on the verge of death. If he bumped into him, his head would definitely hurt. Moreover, he didn't really want to hit him to death, it was just to make Emperor Hongzhi take back his order.
If he continues to investigate, he will definitely find many problems.
Not to mention accepting filial piety, he also accepted bribes.
Otherwise, he was born in a poor family, and to be able to rise all the way to where he is now, he would have used all kinds of methods.
In order to get Li Xian to recommend him, he not only served Li Xian as a servant, but also asked his wife to serve Li Xian. Only then did he win Li Xian's favor, recommend him as a scholar, enter the Hanlin Academy, and become an editor.
Only then did he achieve rapid success.
You must know that in the Ming Dynasty, if you want to be a high-ranking official, you must start from the Hanlin Academy. It is an unwritten rule that non-Hanlin people are not allowed to join the cabinet.
The promotion speed among the Hanlin Academy members is very fast. If he had not entered the Hanlin Academy, he would never have been able to become the Minister of Rites.
"Ouch~"
No one stopped him, so Jiao Fang hit the pillar, but for the sake of his own life, he only hit it symbolically, and then he covered his head in pain, pretending to be innocent.
At the same time, I also look around from time to time to see if anyone can speak for me.
However, his character was not good, and he only offended many ministers in the court. Almost all the big bosses were offended by him, and no one was willing to stand up and speak for him. I have to say, it is very sad.
Even the Hanlin Academy members were not willing to stand up and speak for him.
When he was recommended to the Hanlin Academy by Li Xian, Jiao Fang did not have much talent and was always jealous of the talented Peng Hua and others. Every time he gave lectures to the emperor, he would always find faults in people's books.
A place like the Hanlin Academy has always respected literary talents. The bachelors of the Hanlin Academy all felt that Jiao Fang was not only ignorant and unscrupulous, but also had a vicious personality. He also liked to talk behind people's backs and slander others. Everyone disliked him.
I don't want to associate with him.
Although Liu Jin carried out many reforms and was impeached many times by the Hanlin Academy, these Hanlin officials still admired Liu Jin. After all, Liu Jin was the number one scholar, talented and upright, despite his political conflicts.
, but it does not hinder the admiration for him.
Jiao Fang is completely different. There are really too many people who don't like him.
At this moment, everyone was watching Jiao Fang as if watching a play. Hey, hey, he was performing, and no one came out to say a word for him.
"Shilang Jiao seems to be seriously injured~"
Liu Jin looked at Jiao Fang acting and said with a smile.
"It looks like it's not light. After all, it hit the pillar and it seems to be bleeding."
Zhang Mao also followed suit.
"Tsk, tsk, it looks like the injury is serious."
"There's nothing I can do about it. Jiao Shilang wanted to hit him. He probably thinks he's old and has lived too long."
"Isn't that right~"
The others immediately started laughing one after another, especially the officials who had been scolded and attacked by Jiao Fang for no reason before. They were even more happy to watch the fun.