On May 11, the much-publicized case of the drowning and murder of Kang Zizhen, the prefect of Hangzhou by Liang Wang Guo Bing finally came to a final conclusion amidst the uproar. Prior to this, it was determined that Kang Zizhen had behaved inappropriately, and it was reported that Guo Bing accidentally killed Kang Zizhen after he lost control.
It has long been known to everyone in the court. This actually caused a great shock in the court.
Many people believe that classifying it as manslaughter deceives the world and insults the intelligence of the court. This case is absolutely impossible to be manslaughter. Therefore, the calls for review of the case have also increased. But in fact, this call did not come from
As for the reformists Yan Zhengsheng, Fang Dunru and others, there is another force adding fuel to the flames.
In fact, on the morning after the Lin family members bravely broke into Yushitai Yamen, Guo Chong summoned Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsu. According to the news from the palace, the emperor and two important ministers had a long talk in the imperial study.
For a long time, both Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsheng had a look of relief on their faces when they finally withdrew. After that, there was no further statement on the case. The entire Ordinance Department and important figures in the reform faction also remained silent and did not make any further announcements about the case.
Any excuses.
Obviously, some people did not want the case to be settled like this, so they kept fermenting the topic and reported to the court to raise questions. However, Guo Chong showed a resolute attitude towards the case. He handed over a stack of memorials in public on the morning of the ninth day of the lunar month.
Showed it to the ministers. Those memorials were all sealed and had not been opened at all. In other words, Guo Chong did not read the memorials about this case at all. But when he saw the memorials about this case, Guo Chong was shocked.
Throw it aside and ignore it.
Although the ministers were dissatisfied, there was nothing they could do about it. No one could shake the authority of the Holy One, and no one could change the Holy One's decision. Even though the memorials were full of emotion and emotion, they demonstrated how much damage this case had done to the court's laws and regulations, and how serious the consequences were for the officials.
The psychological impact was so severe that Guo Chong ignored all requests to find out the truth.
Those officials who had taken advantage of it did not dare to come out and publicly report it in the court. Originally, their intention was to use this case to provoke a conflict between the royal family and the reformists, and to bring down the King of Liang while causing confrontation and hatred between the two parties.
Now Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru have no objection at all. If they openly speak out, wouldn't they reveal their own agenda?
Of course, Guo Chong also said that even if it was a manslaughter, he would severely punish Guo Bing, King of Liang, for his actions this time. But in this case, everyone did not have expectations for the upcoming punishment of Guo Bing. Many people
I believe that the crime of manslaughter will not be severely punished, but it is just a formality. The prince is still a prince, after all, he and the emperor are brothers, and it is not surprising to cover up and condone. Even killing an official of the imperial court can be regarded as manslaughter.
What kind of severe punishment could there be? But some people think that in order to make Yan Zhengshu and Fang Dunru shut up and accept the loss of being dumb, the emperor must have promised Yan Zhengshu and Fang Dunru something. He must have given them enough.
appease.
On the morning of the 11th, the mystery was finally revealed. Guo Chong announced the final investigation results and punishment for the case of King Liang. The final ruling on the case of King Liang's drowning of Kang Zizhen was determined to be impulsive manslaughter.
Guo Chong gave three major punishments for Guo Bing's misconduct, lynching of court officials without authorization, and the manslaughter of officials.
One is to seize the title of Prince of Liang and demote it to the title of County Prince. This punishment is surprising, but it is reasonable. Prince is the first-class title, which can only be awarded to close relatives of the royal family. County Prince is the second-class title.
It is not exclusive to the royal family. Ministers with outstanding merits can also be entrusted with the title of county prince. The meaning of seizing the title of Prince Liang is intriguing. In addition to the reduction of one's title, there is also a feeling of being close and alienated.
Second, Guo Bing was dismissed from his position as the commander-in-chief of suppressing bandits and assumed the power of Hangzhou. Guo Bing was ordered to move to the capital and was not allowed to live outside the capital.
As soon as this punishment came out, many people suddenly felt enlightened. For those who knew the inside story, although Guo Bing escaped a more severe punishment this time, compared with seizing the title, this punishment was more fatal.
When the late emperor was still alive, in order to protect Liang Wang Guo Bing, he appointed him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Unsuppressed Bandits in Hangzhou and allowed him to establish a government office in Hangzhou. This was a great grace. Guo Bing was able to stay safe and sound for so many years because of this.
Tao amulet. This is something that Guo Chong has always been worried about. He has always wanted to transfer Guo Bing back to the capital, and wanted to abolish the late emperor's decree, but he has never been able to make up his mind and has not found an opportunity. Especially the Hangzhou pirates have been
Under such a rampant situation, it was impossible to find a reason to do this. But now, Guo Chong finally found this opportunity and seized Guo Bing's mistake.
Guo Bing lost the qualification to establish a foothold in Hangzhou, and the Liangzhe Road he had been operating for twenty years was finally in vain. From then on, he could only stay in the capital, under Guo Chong's eyes. Any inappropriate behavior on his part would be punished.
If caught, there will be nothing to hide. This undoubtedly solves Guo Chong's most secret worries. It is more appropriate to control Guo Bing in his own hands than to kill him or exile him to Xixia, and the reason is
It is sufficient and will not be criticized by others.
Third, he was fined one million taels of silver and deposited into the state treasury. He was ordered to pay back the auxiliary silver with an interest of 350,000 taels.
This article seems to be just a fine, and in fact, people who know the financial situation of Prince Liang’s family also understand that this 1,350,000 taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket for Prince Liang’s house. But in fact, there is a purpose hidden under the surface of the silver fine.
The key point is the 350,000 taels of service silver. Guo Bing refused to pay it before, and Guo Chong has never interfered. After all, this is a matter in the implementation of the new law. Guo Chong cannot order every official and royal family to do so.
To pay the auxiliary money. This is not in line with Guo Chong's ideas. Regarding the new law, although Guo Chong's attitude is to support it, it is impossible for him not to leave room for himself. He wants to leave room for himself to move, and he will never personally
to interfere with specific matters in the implementation of the new law. Because in Guo Chong's mind, he is not yet completely sure whether the new law will succeed. If the new law fails, he must have room to retreat and the possibility of passing the blame. He will not take all the responsibilities
Take it upon himself. Therefore, he must exercise restraint.
But using punishment to make Guo Bing hand over the assistance money sent a signal to everyone. Guo Bing could not avoid paying the assistance money, and even had to pay interest, and others could not get away with it.
The officials, including Lu Zhongtian, immediately understood the meaning, and they finally understood why Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru were so calm about this matter. It turned out that they finally got the progress they wanted.
The significance of having Guo Bing pay the auxiliary silver is not the 350,000 taels of silver, but to completely break the deadlock and speed up the implementation of the new law. Since such a goal has been achieved, why bother worrying about Kang Zizhen's murder?
When the punishment for the prince reached Lin Jue's ears, Lin Jue was stunned for a long time, and sighed and said: "I admire it, I admire it. It's such a blessing. The emperor really knows how to take advantage of the opportunity, and this time his heartache is gone."
Your Excellency and Master Yan should also be satisfied."
Lin Jue was actually quite satisfied with such a punishment. At least he would not lose his life and would not overturn Prince Liang's Mansion. Although when he went to see Guo Kun at the Old Prince's Mansion in the afternoon, Guo Kun was indignant and resentful and said a lot of excessive things. But Lin Jue
What Jue was thinking was: What else are you dissatisfied with? It's just your father who acted too recklessly, and it was self-defeating. This result was the result of a lot of effort, even threatening Concubine Rong and using the Queen Mother.
If you still feel that such a punishment is severe, you can imagine what the result would be if nothing was done.
In any case, the matter finally calmed down and did not lead to more serious consequences, which is already a good result. Of course, the loss to the Liang Prince's Mansion was huge, and Liang Wang Guo Bing lost the opportunity to stay in Hangzhou. For him,
It was indeed difficult to accept his words. He was also depressed by being forced to support the reformists and pay a helping hand. But no matter what, the matter was a near miss. No one except Lin Jue was imprisoned, so it was considered a success.
subsided.
Guo Chong was satisfied, Yan Zhengsu and Fang Dunru also agreed, and the Liang Palace could reluctantly accept it, which was the best result. However, for Lu Zhongtian, Wu Chunlai and others, this result was something they did not want to see. They absolutely did not want to see it.
Unexpectedly, things would actually go in this direction. Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsheng were advantaged in vain, but Prince Liang could not suffer the disaster. If he had known this, he should have adopted the first plan and defended Prince Liang with a clear-cut stand.
Then it is possible to draw the King of Liang to his side. It is really a mistake.
Fortunately, Lu Zhongtian has a long-term vision. Although he is frustrated, he is not as obvious as Wu Chunlai. Lu Zhongtian knows that this matter is not actually the most critical thing. The most critical thing is the fight for the position of the prince. That matter is the real thing.
Failure is not allowed, but all previous failures are acceptable and tolerable.
…
To celebrate the prince's acquittal, the Lin family's mansion held a banquet that night. The little princess personally held a cup and toasted Lin Jue, thanking her husband for his hard work on this matter. The little princess knew what was good and what was wrong, and she knew things better than Guo Kun.
The key point was that she knew the danger of the palace this time, and knew that if she did not deal with it properly, the palace would probably be destroyed this time, so she was extremely grateful to Lin Jue.
In the middle of the banquet, it was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected incident. An oral order came from the palace. The person who conveyed the oral order was Qian Delu who delivered the order in the Yushitai Yamen that day. This oral order was an oral order of rebuke. It was exactly
To reprimand the young princess for her behavior of rushing into Yushitai Yamen that day.
"The emperor has something to tell the princess. As the princess of the royal family, you should think twice about your actions. How can you ignore royal decency, disregard national laws, be reckless and reckless, and ignore the consequences. There are no serious consequences this time, so I will not impose heavy penalties. Again.
If there is any improper behavior, I will not be lenient. From today on, the princess must be careful in her words and deeds, and think about her mistakes behind closed doors. After three months, she will write a memorial to tell me how she has thought about her mistakes, so that I can review them. Don't be perfunctory."
After Qian Delu repeated Guo Chong's words with a serious face, his face changed to a smile.
"Princess Princess, Lord Lin, that's what the Emperor said. Well... don't be too depressed. The Emperor still loves the Princess, otherwise he wouldn't have reprimanded him like this for such a big matter. Our family is just a messenger.
, you must not hate our family."
Lin Jue laughed and said: "What Eunuch Qian said, the emperor was right in reprimanding me. I even scolded the princess a few times when I came back. I'm sorry, Eunuch Qian is here for a run. Come and have a glass of wine and some home-cooked food."
Guo Caiwei smiled and said: "Yes, yes, father-in-law, please come to the table and have some."
Qian Delu hurriedly waved his hands and said: "I don't dare. I have to serve the emperor at night. How dare I drink alcohol and make a mistake and lose my head? I'll take my leave now."
Lin Jue, the young princess and others had to be sent out of the mansion. When leaving, Lin Jue stuffed a wooden box and gave it to the accompanying young eunuch. Qian Delu saw it but pretended not to see it. On the way, Qian Delu called.
Inside the box were neatly stacked two rows of gold ingots, as many as a hundred taels. Qian Delu chuckled, nodded and said, "Lin Jue, this kid is still on his way, and our trip is not in vain."
