In the Huangji Hall, the Emperor of Heaven and all the officials were having a court meeting.
The officials in the court now knew what happened in Tianjin, and they were filled with indignation, and one after another they stood up to impeach Li Zhi.
During the incident, the military department held up a dental plaque and sang loudly: "We, the Ming Dynasty, ruled the world with scholars, so that we could have an uninterrupted national destiny for more than two hundred years. Li Zhi massacred the common people and killed their clothes, attacked the governor and imprisoned civil servants, which shook the foundation of our Ming Dynasty. His crime
It cannot be forgiven. If the emperor continues to tolerate it, there will be unspeakable things in the future!"
Li Ke also held up a placard and said: "I second my opinion, Thief Li violated the order to collect taxes, killed scholars, attacked the governor's soldiers and horses, and detained four civil servants. It is really a heinous crime. If the court does not punish such a person, who will do it in the future?"
Do you take scholars seriously? My Ming Dynasty’s dress and dignity were all lost in one day!”
Yuan Fake, the right-hand censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, said loudly: "Last time Li Zhi collected commercial taxes on Tianjin West Road, the emperor should punish him. It was because of the emperor's repeated connivance that Li Zhi was not evil. If it had been then
Then he put Li Zhi in prison. How could there be a tragedy in Tianjin now? The emperor is to blame for this incident!"
Zhu Youjian saw that Yuan Fake had burned himself, and said angrily: "Yuan Fake, do you know what you are talking about?"
The tradition of the Ming Dynasty is not to sin with words, so the officials in the court are very arrogant. However, it is rare to see people like Yuan Fake burning the emperor. This time, Li Zhi collected business taxes, which can be said to have stepped on
The civil servants were on their tail, so Yuan Fake and his ilk were somewhat indifferent, even the emperor did not let him go.
Yuan Fake said loudly: "Of course I know what I am talking about. The emperor should issue an edict to punish himself this time, and at the same time send troops to encircle Tianjin and catch the evil leader Li Zhi!"
Zhu Youjian sneered and asked: "Send soldiers, where should we send them?"
Yuan Fake was stunned for a moment. He couldn't tell where there were troops to send. He stood there feeling awkward for a while.
Seeing Yuan Fake's embarrassment, He Shishou, the Minister of Rites, came out and said: "Your Majesty, this time Li Zhi killed people's clothes, attacked the governor's soldiers and horses, and detained Shangguan. It is really a crime and it is a rebellion."
After a pause, He Shishou said: "I know Li Zhi best. If he is tolerated this time, he will think it is a trick and will do something even more outrageous next time. The emperor is aware of everything and will never let Li Zhi go.
plant."
Huang Shiqiu, the left deputy governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, came out and loudly said: "Li Zhi, a general soldier and a subordinate of the governor, has the courage to lead troops to attack the governor's office and detain the governor. There is no doubt that he is a traitor. This matter still remains
Is there anything to discuss? If we don’t send troops to conquer Li Zhi now, how long will it take?”
He Shishou, the Minister of Rites, said loudly: "I would like to send the Ji Liao army to encircle and suppress Li Zhi. Although the Dong slaves are evil, they also know how to respect the clothes and treat the scholars well, which can be said to be a scabies problem. But Li Zhi has no saints and kills scholars. He is really my Ming Dynasty's leader.
He is a troublesome person. Unless Li Zhi is eliminated, all the scholars in the world will not be able to sleep at night!"
Zhu Youjian took a breath and said nothing.
Huang Shiqiu said again: "I second the proposal! If Li Zhi is not removed, all the scholars in the world will lose their face!"
Zhen Shu, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, stood up and said: "I second the proposal! Li Zhi detained and tortured the court officials without going through the Ministry of Punishments, which is undoubtedly a rebellion. If the emperor does not arrest this evil this time, no one in the world will know the laws of the ancestors and the dignity of the court.
.”
Zhu Youjian looked at He Shishou and Zhen Shu with no expression on his face. He just sat on the throne and said nothing.
He Shishou looked at the emperor and said, "The emperor should make a decision soon and don't let Li Zhi go unpunished!"
After the civil servants had finished speaking, they all looked at the emperor to see how he would decide. For a moment, the court became quiet, and all the officials were waiting for the emperor's words.
Zhu Youjian looked at Fu Zonglong, Minister of War, and wanted to ask if there were any soldiers who could be mobilized to attack Li Zhi. But after thinking about it, Zhu Youjian did not say this.
After thinking for a long time, Zhu Youjian said slowly: "Li Zhi is a loyal minister."
After hearing Zhu Youjian's words, the officials immediately went crazy.
"Your Majesty is confused!"
"How can the Holy One be so ignorant?"
"The emperor was blinded by lard!"
"Absurd! Ridiculous!"
Zhu Youjian waved his hand to signal the officials to quiet down.
Zhu Youjian looked at a eunuch beside the throne. The eunuch took a step forward and said loudly: "This time Li Zhi collected more than 400,000 taels of business tax, not just for personal gain! He wanted to turn over 100,000 taels to the inner treasury. And he collected
We have found irrefutable evidence that the four officials including Dengbei were embezzled and violated the law! The proceeds obtained by these four officials after ransacking their homes will also be turned over to the internal treasury! They can get hundreds of thousands of taels!"
After hearing what the eunuch said, the officials became even more angry.
Zhen Shu, the Minister of Justice, said loudly: "How can the emperor join forces with Li Zhi to amass money? To humiliate Si Wen and violate the law for a little money will definitely plunge the country into chaos!"
He Shishou said loudly: "Li Zhi dug three feet into the ground to search for silver taels, and he did not hesitate to attack Shilin for this. How could the emperor let him go for his hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? These hundreds of thousands of taels are not Li Zhi's silver.
It’s the blood of the scholars in the world!”
Huang Shiqiu, the left deputy imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, said loudly: "If the emperor is so greedy for money, in the future the military attachés from all over the world will swarm to attack the civil servants. Will there be any law in the world?"
Zhu Youjian looked at the excited ministers, took a breath, and was very impatient.
He waved his hand and said: "That's it for today, retreat from the court!"
In the shocked eyes of all the officials, Zhu Youjian abandoned the indignant civil servants and left the Huangji Palace.
####
After leaving the court and returning to the study on the right side of Yangxin Hall, Emperor Zhu Youjian sat in front of the round table and read the memorial sent by Li Zhi again.
Zhu Youjian no longer had the good mood at the court meeting at this time. He glanced at the memorial, his face getting darker and darker, as if he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. Finally, Zhu Youjian couldn't help being angry and snapped.
He slapped his right hand on the table next to him, causing the round table to tilt. A blue and white porcelain teapot on the table rolled off the table, fell to the ground with a clang, and broke into pieces. The tea in the teapot spilled all over the floor.
The room was in a mess.
The eunuchs and maids in the room saw that the emperor was so angry, and they were afraid of causing harm to Chi Yu. None of them dared to go up to clean up the broken porcelain, and they all knelt on the ground. Wang Chengen, the eunuch of Bingbi, looked at the emperor's face, his face turned pale, and he lowered his head.
He lay prone on the ground, not daring to breathe.
After smashing the teapot, Zhu Youjian threw the memorial on the table, stood up angrily, and paced back and forth in the room with his head lowered.
"Rebellious ministers and traitors!"
"Li Zhi, this rebellious traitor!"
Zhu Youjian walked with his head down for a long time. He walked back and forth in the study room at least fifty times before he suppressed the anger in his heart and calmed down. He stood by the window, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
It took a long time before Zhu Youjian opened his eyes. He stood by the window and looked out the window, frowning and saying nothing, not knowing what he was thinking.
