All the officials looked stern, knelt down and shouted long live.
The emperor actually came to court again, which is rare!
It's so good that you sent the person out. Today, in front of all the officials, I must ask for an explanation.
Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon chair, waved his hand and said: "Everyone is equal!"
All the officials expressed their thanks and stood up.
"I am reporting to the Emperor that Tang Xinggu, the Procuratorate of the Imperial Court, has impeached Qintian Supervisor Beilin. This person killed the people in Yulin Mansion, causing thousands of people to leave their homes and become homeless. I beg the Emperor to punish him severely and eliminate the harm for the people!"
The other imperial censors were also prepared, but unfortunately they were overshadowed by Tang Xinggu, so they had to come out later.
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
Seven or eight people came forward in succession, all for the purpose of impeaching Beilein.
Tang Xinggu is full of confidence, and the time has come to show his face.
As a censor and a Qingliu, the first priority is impeachment.
Whoever you don’t like, impeach first and then talk about it.
At the beginning, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once established an ancestral precept that when the emperor came to the court, the officials should take turns to be on duty. If they found anything unreasonable, they should directly remonstrate without any scruples. Regardless of the army or the people, regardless of the system or officials, everyone should be punished.
In other words.
If the emperor is deceived and does not reflect on himself, then he will ask his officials to sacrifice their lives to criticize, and he will not hesitate to criticize the evil scales and stroke the tiger's beard!
As a result, these scholar-bureaucrats developed the habit of criticizing the emperor.
Zhu Qizhen knew very well that behind what seemed like a simple impeachment was a head-on confrontation between himself, the emperor, and the scholar-bureaucrats.
"Tang Qing's family reported that Beilin killed people in Yulin Mansion. Is there any evidence?"
Tang Xinggu's face did not change and he replied: "There is a memorial from Yulin Mansion as proof!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and continued: "When the Qing family saw the memorial from Yulin Mansion, did they go and check it personally?"
"Back to the Emperor, we are going to Yulin Mansion now. It will take several days even if we work hard. I don't have time to check."
"Since there is no inspection, the Qing family is not afraid that the impeachment will be wrong and a good person will be wronged?"
However, Tang Xinggu spoke eloquently: "I am the censor, and the censor's duty is to catch the wind and report the matter. As for the facts, the six yamen and the Jin Yiwei will deal with it. I am only responsible for reporting the matter."
As for the evidence, I’m sorry, it’s not up to me!
Zhu Qizhen looked at the indignant expressions of these officials, and he knew very well that impeachment and eliminating harm for the people were just to gain a reputation for himself.
Emperor Taizu did leave a legacy, and the officials could report it based on what they heard. That is to say, as long as they heard the rumor, there was no need to verify it at all and they could report it directly.
Moreover, these Qingliu boasted about Wei Zheng all day long, pretending to be loyal to the country every day. Even though they knew that Beilin was personally sent by the emperor, they still dared to impeach her.
If you don’t accept it, hit me!
Zhu Qizhen glanced around and asked: "Cao Qing's family, what do you think?"
Cao Nai was the chief minister of the cabinet and knew that he could not escape the relationship, so he said: "I think that since the Yulin Mansion has reported it, the court should immediately issue an order to recall Beilin and hand it over to the Jinyi Guards for a thorough investigation."
After hearing what Cao Nai said, Tang Xinggu felt even more confident.
He doesn't care what Beilin did, or what kind of harm the people suffered. Today he just wants to gain a reputation, even if he contradicts the emperor, he will not hesitate.
Of course Zhu Qizhen knew it, but in the face of these people's blatant challenges, as an emperor, he could not use force and had to fight wits and courage.
If we say that these censors received a cane because they offended the emperor, it was a spanking. Even if they were beaten to pieces, they were not afraid at all. Some of them were even proud of receiving the cane!
In fact, this is the mentality of scholar-bureaucrats "seeking fame".
According to the traditional Confucian concept, a minister who dares to speak his mind must be a loyal minister of the country, and this has been passed down through the ages.
For people like Tang Xinggu, to put it bluntly, his profession is to find faults.
And because of his status as censor, to a certain extent, everyone has to pay attention to the faults he picks.
If you beat him today, more censors will line up to beat him tomorrow. The more you beat him, the more excited he will be.
Thinking of this, Zhu Qizhen was also confused, mainly because he didn't know whether the earthquake predicted by Beilin was accurate, and he was unsure!
The current situation is that I have knowledge and wisdom beyond this era, but in front of this group of scholar-bureaucrats, I still have nothing to do.
Difficult!
At this time, another voice came from below.
"Your Majesty, I am very old. Recently, I have become increasingly powerless and anxious all day long. I would like to ask for my bones!"
I saw Li Shimian lying on the ground, crying.
A man in his seventies, who has assisted four generations of emperors, was beaten by an unknown junior. The emperor didn't care after it was over, no matter who could bear this grievance!
Seeing Li Shimian resigning in public, bursts of sighs suddenly came from the hall.
Even Zhu Qiyu couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, what Beilin did in Mizhi has aroused public resentment. In my opinion, it is better to recall her back first and then make any plans."
Zhu Qizhen glanced around again and asked: "Do you all mean this?"
Tang Xinggu hurriedly said: "This person harmed the people in the name of the emperor, and his crime deserves to be punished!"
This move will undoubtedly push Zhu Qizhen into a desperate situation. If you don't kill him, you will be ordered to abandon the pawn to save the chariot or abandon the chariot to save the pawn. You have to choose one, right?
Zhu Qizhen suddenly looked at someone and asked: "Yu Qian, what do you think?"
Yu Qian was stunned and thought, what does it have to do with me?
I am from the Ministry of War. If you want to take this matter to the Qintian Prison, or the Ministry of Personnel, or the Ministry of Rites, or the Ministry of Punishments, what do you ask me for?
Under the gaze of everyone, Yu Qian said calmly: "Back to the emperor, this matter has nothing to do with the Ministry of War. I don't want to make any rash comments."
Everyone couldn't help but show contempt. They are cowards and have no integrity. How dare they say that they are disciples of a saint?
Zhu Qizhen did not want to let him go, and said: "How come it has nothing to do with the Qing family? The Qing family is now one of the cabinet members. How can you stay out of such a big event?"
Yu Qian had no choice but to say: "I believe that there is no conclusive evidence for Beilin's speculation. It is indeed inappropriate to go to war over a baseless speculation."
"You said Belin was just guessing?"
Zhu Qizhen seemed to have found a breakthrough and continued to ask: "I would like to ask, who can prove that his guess is wrong? And who dares to guarantee me that there will be no earthquake in the northwest region?"
Yu Qian had no choice but to say: "I don't understand celestial phenomena, so I don't dare to make any comments. I just think it's inappropriate, that's all."
At this time, Li Shimian, who was kneeling on the ground, rubbed his sore knees, raised his head with difficulty, and said: "Your Majesty, the earthquake is a warning from heaven. Your Majesty has not done anything immoral. How could you..." Boom!
While Li Shimian was speaking, suddenly, there was a muffled sound from the ground, the entire Fengtian Hall was shaking, and the doors and windows were clanking.