When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but sneered. If he didn't do business all day long, he would know how to talk and use big principles to suppress him!
It's just a pity that now he will no longer be fooled by them!
Now the military power has not been reorganized, and the palace is still being reorganized. It has not reached the conditions like Taizu's time. Otherwise, these officials would have been dealt with!
With this in mind, he ordered: "No, let them do whatever they have to do!"
After Fang Zhenghua heard this, he hurried out to deliver the order.
However, what I didn't expect was that not long after, Fang Zhenghua hurried back again, with a worried look on his face, and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live my lord, all those civil servants are not leaving. They gathered at Zuoshunmen and knelt down.
Please long live the Lord to release the arrested civil servants, cancel the West Factory, severely punish the East Factory, and give up competing for profits with the people."
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately sneered and said: "Is this threatening me? If you want to kneel down so much, then just kneel down!"
Afterwards, he continued to review the memorial and was busy with his own affairs.
However, not long after, there was faint movement outside, and it became louder and louder. If you listened carefully, it seemed that someone was crying.
No, it’s not someone crying, it’s a large group of people crying!
When he was confused, Fang Zhenghua hurried over again and said that the ministers were crying at Zuoshunmen, crying that they were incompetent and could not let the emperor become a holy king, and begged the emperor to punish him!
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly remembered. Isn't this a scene from the Great Etiquette Dispute during the Jiajing Emperor's period?
At that time, Emperor Jiajing finally issued an order, ordering the Jinyi Guards to arrest the eight leaders and send them to prison.
As a result, others began to go too far, prompting Emperor Jiajing to order 134 officials below the fifth rank to be imprisoned and tortured, and 86 officials above the fourth rank to be suspended pending trial.
So many officials were arrested, and the Jinyiwei did not dare to do anything to them. However, Emperor Jiajing directly issued an order that officials above the fourth rank should have their salaries suspended, and officials below the fifth rank should be held accountable.
In the end, a total of sixteen people died due to the imperial staff.
Then, everything went quiet.
It's such a pity that the imperial army has just been wiped out, bandits are raging in the pass, the king's bandits from the north are attacking Kaifeng and other places, and the eight kings' bandits from the south are attacking Chu. There is chaos everywhere, which is not what Emperor Jiajing would have done.
situation.
Did they decide that they did not dare to deal with so many officials in such an environment?
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen sneered and said: "What is the grade of the participants?"
"Your Majesty, all of them are officials of fifth rank or above, and most of them are deputies to the heads of various government offices!" Fang Zhenghua listened and answered cautiously.
"Haha!" When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but sneer again. Sure enough, he guessed correctly. When he learned the great etiquette debate, he wanted to force himself to change his mind, and then he was afraid of death. This time, all the people who came were fifth grade or above.
official!
While he was thinking about it, Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony and the governor of the East Factory, also rushed over. He was sweating on his forehead and looked anxious. He reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "The chief minister of the cabinet heard the news and went to ask questions, and then joined them.
The queue of people, please summon the emperor and don’t do anything that will disappoint the people of the world. Otherwise, if you despair of the emperor and the situation of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger!"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Emperor Chongzhen. After a little hesitation, he knelt down and said again: "Long live my lord, it was the slaves' fault that they provoked them to attack in groups. Otherwise, you punish the slaves and give them a
Explain it?"
Wang Dehua ransacked Chen Yan's house, arrested Wuchang Shi, and expelled and arrested some scholars including Imperial College Students. These things offended the civil officials. Therefore, a large part of the trouble this time was directed at Wang Dehua.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen ignored the request. After thinking about it, he ordered: "Let them go to Wenhua Hall, and then summon the remaining officials in Beijing who are above the fifth rank. I will be there soon!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Dehua was like a thunderbolt hitting his forehead, and he was immediately stunned.
Just now, he actually used retreat as an advance and led Emperor Chongzhen's army.
The first is to show loyalty, and the second is to get a clear message from Emperor Chongzhen that he will not be punished. In this way, even if Emperor Chongzhen wants to go back on his word in the future, he will consider the consequences of not following through on his words.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen did not want to summon those officials as he expected.
Now, is he really going to be thrown out as a scapegoat?
Wang Dehua felt like he had shot himself in the foot, and he felt extremely regretful. Why did he say this?
However, the words have been said and the deal is done, what else can be done?
Thinking of this, he was naturally unwilling to give in. A flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he immediately said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live my lord, I had some clues when I interrogated Wu Chang. He colluded with Dong Tingxian, the aide of Zhou Yanru, the chief minister, to accept bribes.
The amount is huge.”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately snorted coldly and stared at Wang Dehua, obviously asking him to elaborate.
"Whenever you seek help from the governor or general of the army, you must first bribe the court and then obtain it."
"If someone is listed in the South Fields, he will be bribed if he is not a relative."
"..."
To put it simply, if you want to send out governors, generals, etc. with real power, you send money to Dong Tingxian, which is actually to Zhou Yanru, and then Zhou Yanru will induce Emperor Chongzhen to make a decision.
The scientific examinations in the south are also based on favoritism, instructing the examiners to either admit their relatives or give money to their candidates.
No matter what the matter was, Emperor Chongzhen was furious. It was just as Liu Weichao said, bullying the subordinates and concealing the superiors, manipulating power, and being lawless!
It seems that I have lived like a dog before, letting them do whatever they want without knowing it, and being led by the nose by them, I thought I was wise and powerful!
Now that I think about it, the reason why the chief assistant changed Qinhui one after another was not just to listen to them. The most important thing was not to follow their own wishes, but to directly follow their wishes.
The only difference is that whichever party is easier to persuade you will listen to!
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen blushed a little and was also angry.
But at this time, he did not get angry. Instead, he took a deep breath and even closed his eyes.
After a while, his demeanor returned to normal and he asked Wang Dehua to do as he asked.
Not long after, hundreds of people gathered in the Wenhua Hall, and some even stood outside the door.
These civil servants of rank five or above were all extremely excited. The emperor promised to see them. This was a feeling of winning!
While waiting for the emperor, they whispered to each other, hoping to get the emperor to agree to their request.
"The emperor has arrived!"
With a long-drawn shout, Emperor Chongzhen arrived. The civil servants in the Wenhua Hall were all high-spirited and prepared to fight Emperor Chongzhen.