The news of Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsheng's suicide soon spread throughout the government and the public, leaving many people stunned and stunned.
Some people celebrated with their hats, celebrating the demise of these two political opponents who had stirred up the political changes in the past three weeks and promoted reforms like a thunderstorm. They are dead, and no one can stir up trouble in the court. The court will return to them.
With it under control, many things are much easier to handle.
Some people were devastated. The two upright and resolute officials they admired were no longer around. No one would continue the reform of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they would surely return to their old ways. Those two people were like two bright lights in the dark night.
It illuminates the rugged road ahead. Now that the two lights are out and the road ahead is dark, who can lead the way forward?
What is sad is that people still set off firecrackers on the street, seemingly to celebrate the deaths of Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru. The people could not take the overall situation into consideration. They only knew that the reform had brought harm to them, so this
The death of the two men was a relief for them. Yan Fang and his wife had been reforming for three years and had few friends, but they had countless enemies from top to bottom. How many people cursed them and hoped that they would die miserably.
. Rather than saying that the end of Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru’s political life led to this ending, it is better to say that their endurance has reached the limit. Their deaths are related to the opposition to the reform, insults, curses and slander of their personal conduct in the Zhou Dynasty.
Their behavior is not irrelevant. Although they are open-minded and tenacious, neither of them can bear the thought of serving the country and the people, yet being misunderstood and slandered by their superiors.
Being criticized by your friends, family, and those you fully defend is far more hurtful and painful than being criticized by your enemies.
Guo Chong got the news in the early hours of the morning. He was sleeping soundly after taking the pills. In fact, he slept soundly during this period, his body was getting better, and his mood was also improving. After he made up his mind to stop the new method,
He found that there were far fewer troubles in the court, and he even doubted whether his decision to reform was a mistake. Of course, it was just a thought that occasionally occurred to him. Of course, he knew the importance of reform to strengthen himself, but
He felt that maybe this matter should be left to later generations. Maybe he would be a conservative emperor. If he could hold on to the family fortune, he would be considered a qualified emperor. After experiencing a series of changes and blows,
After that, Guo Chong became less complacent and became more pragmatic. Especially since he was recovering slowly from almost a terminal illness, he believed that he could no longer suffer and that he should enjoy the life of an emperor in the days to come.
However, when the news of Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsheng's suicide was sent to his palace, facing Qian Delu's report, Guo Chong still sat on the dragon bed in silence for a long time, feeling lost.
For him who was very ambitious at the time, the arrival of Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu seemed to bring him a surge of passion. He had sat there many times, listening to Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu describe a big story to him.
Seeing the scene after Zhou Zhongxing, excitement and surging emotions surged in his heart. He knew that if he wanted to change the law, only these two people could help him do it, because they knew Zhou better than he did, and they had to think about Zhou.
.When facing Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsu countless times, Guo Chong felt ashamed in his heart.
This shame came from deep in Guo Chong's heart. Guo Chong wanted to change the law, but he did not want to pay a high price. Guo Chong was not a stupid and ignorant person. He also read poetry and books, and he understood all the principles.
He knew that the reform was not easy and would definitely encounter setbacks. However, he did not expect that the impact of the reform would be so great. In other words, he did not expect that the reform carried out by Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsheng would be so intense.
It will involve such a wide range of areas and affect the interests of so many people.
Since the beginning of the reform, reports about the grievances of people from all over the country have been flying to his dragon desk. Guo Chong was still very determined at the time, and he didn't take it seriously. But when the implementation of the Servitude Law began, Guo Chong realized
The seriousness of the problem has emerged. The interests of the scholar-bureaucrats, officials, gentry and royal family have all been shaken. They make noise every day and complain through various channels, which annoys Guo Chong. Guo Chong can ignore the grievances of the people, but he must
He had to pay attention to what these people thought. He was worried that he would become a loner. After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty was shared by the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats. He understood that if he really offended such a group of people who shared the same interests as him, he would definitely be in big trouble.
Therefore, Guo Chong actually did a lot of comforting work secretly. He even called those noisy and fierce people into the palace and told them privately that he would find ways to make up for their losses and hoped that they would be patient for the time being. Guo Chong
Chong knew that what he did was damaging the authority of the reform and was detrimental to the reform, but he couldn't help but do it. It was in this contradictory and entangled mentality that Guo Chong promoted the reform.
In the eyes of the outside world, the emperor was determined to change the law, but Guo Chong actually regretted it in his heart. Yan Fang and Yan Fang were a little inconsiderate. Guo Chong hinted to them several times not to be so anxious or so drastic.
They didn't listen. They told them some great reasons that made him unable to refuse them. Guo Chong had to agree to their request while hesitating. However, the regret in his heart was accumulating, and even later, when he saw Yan Fang
When the two came together, they were a little afraid to see them.
This feeling of regret reached its peak when Yan Fang and his two men wanted to start reforming the army and the Qingjiao Rebellion. The Qingjiao Rebellion really disturbed Guo Chong's mind. Guo Chong suddenly realized that the reform would really cause big trouble.
Trouble, he also realized that he could not bear the reputation of messing up the Great Zhou Dynasty. He wanted to be an emperor for eternity. If he took a step back, he would have to be a sage monarch. If he took a step back, he would be a futile man.
You must be a monarch. If the country is really in your hands, then you will be the eternal sinner of Zhou Dynasty.
But Guo Chong didn't want to completely deny the reform. After all, it was something he took the lead. He couldn't do anything to slap himself in the mouth. Therefore, he decided that enough was enough, the reform would end here, no longer go in depth, and he would make some improvements to make up for it.
.Although doing this feels like giving up halfway, Guo Chong feels that he can't go on struggling any longer. In addition, his condition is getting worse, and he doesn't want to keep struggling when he doesn't know how long he can live. Da Zhou cannot be stable. He wants to be stable.
It is his duty as the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty to pass on the legacy of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
For Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsu, Guo Chong was actually grateful to them. Guo Chong knew that they were serious people. So when everyone criticized them, Guo Chong decided to defend them one last time. He did not want Fang to
Dunru and Yan Zhengshen were criticized and held accountable. This was the last blessing he could give them as the emperor. Of course, Guo Chong also had other small motives for doing this. He issued the edict to retreat in order to
This is a way to make progress. Although doing so will damage one's holy name, it will also be regarded as a wise act of courageously taking responsibility and facing one's mistakes. The harm of doing so is actually not as great as imagined.
Guo Chong hoped that Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshen would be grateful for his protection and listen to his advice, and the reform would be over. In handling that matter, he had actually deprived the Ordinance Department of many of its powers.
That was already an obvious hint. He hoped to stop the reform from Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu, so that he would not have to bear the reputation of giving up halfway.
But what he never expected was that Fang Dunru actually said such words. Those three deficiencies remarks really frightened Guo Chong. As an emperor, how could he tolerate officials saying such remarks? Whether in private or in private
Such things said publicly are intolerable. But even so, Guo Chong also understood that Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshen were by no means treasonous people. They were actually loyal ministers, but they were too upright and spoke too impulsively.
.
But this incident gave Guo Chong an opportunity to terminate the reform and deal with Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu. Since Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu were unwilling to give up on their own initiative, and used Fang Dunru to make treasonous remarks, he was done with it.
It is not that I am unwilling to reform, or that I gave up halfway, it is that there is something wrong in the minds of those who presided over the reform, and I have to deal with them. Future generations cannot blame myself for this.
Guo Chong had already made plans for how to deal with Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu. Don’t look at the mountains of memorials that were flying in like snowflakes. Everyone wanted to punish Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshu severely, but Guo Chong had no intention of killing them.
He killed Yan Fang and his two men. There was no precedent for killing important court officials in the Zhou Dynasty, unless they were treasonous officials. He could not make such an opening. On the other hand, the talents of these two people were well known to everyone. One was a great scholar of the time, and the other was a great scholar.
He is a capable official who manages the prefectures and counties in an orderly manner, and he is also a good friend of his when he was a boy. Therefore, it is impossible to kill the son of an old minister. It is the last thing Guo Chong can think of to reprimand him for being a state official or magistrate in a remote place.
The best choice. Of course, the premise of all this is that Yan and Fang must admit their mistakes and bow their heads to apologize. Those three shortcomings must not be tolerated, and such remarks that confuse and destroy people's hearts must be curbed. If two
If a person refuses to admit his mistakes, severe punishment is certain. Even if he is unwilling to do so, he must make a gesture.
Lin Jue came to plead for mercy. Guo Chong was very happy to see this. He needed someone to persuade Yan Fang and the two. But Lin Jue's persuasion obviously didn't work. Guo Chong felt annoyed and anxious. These two people were so inconsistent.
It was hard and stupid to give himself a step down, which was really annoying. But even so, killing was impossible. The most he could do was to be demoted to a commoner and exiled for thousands of miles. This was already a very severe punishment. He decided to take advantage of the New Year's amnesty as an opportunity.
Find a place for yourself, forgive the two people's sins, and let them retire and return to their hometown, which not only reflects your kindness, but also punishes them.
As for the Queen Mother who suddenly mentioned how to deal with these two people when she was greeting her one day, Guo Chong understood that this was someone asking for mercy from the Queen Mother. He had no intention of killing these two people in the first place, so Guo Chong naturally did it as a favor.
But now, he, Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshen, actually committed suicide in prison. They didn't even give him a chance to forgive them. Guo Chong felt bad. Looking back on all the words and deeds of Yan Fang and Yan Fang, Guo Chong felt that
Chong deeply understood what he had lost. He had lost two loyal ministers who cared for the great Zhou Dynasty. He had lost good ministers and virtuous officials who could help him become a wise monarch. The melancholy and sadness in Guo Chong's heart could not be suppressed, and he almost fell.
