The sun was setting in the west, and it was cold in the capital.
As soon as Wang Wencheng walked out of the living room, he saw the servant who had returned from beating the horse.
Sitting in the carriage with my hands in my sleeves, I didn't know whether it was the cold or the strong wind, but I was crying all the time.
Wang Wencheng walked up hurriedly: "How is it? Have the two of them ever frozen to death?"
The servant slipped out of the carriage and wiped his nose with his sleeve: "The two people at the bottom of the ditch looked livid and their bodies were stiff. They were already freezing to death."
"That's good. Where's the secret letter? Has it been sent?"
"The secret letter has been sent before leaving the city." The servant replied, covering his cheeks that were already red from the cold with his hands.
"The situation has changed, please go and recover the secret letter as soon as possible."
"Ah? I'm afraid the secret letter has been sent away."
"Hurry up and chase him. No matter what, you have to chase him back." Wang Wencheng said angrily.
The servant untied the horse from the carriage with some sadness. He didn't even have time to install the saddle, so he jumped on the horse's back, reined the horse in place, and rushed out of the gate.
The next day, in the cold wind, all the officials entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony in an orderly manner according to the instructions of the etiquette eunuch.
After all the officials had entered and stood, the side door of the Hall of Supreme Harmony slowly opened. Ming Chengzu was wearing a dragon robe, with his hands behind his back, and walked in with a majestic look. He glanced at the officials in the middle, and walked up to the
The steps hold the dragon chair, the symbol of the highest power of the Ming Dynasty.
"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!" Seeing Ming Chengzu sitting down on the dragon throne, all the officials shouted and began to kneel down.
"Your Majesty, please be equal." With a gentle expression on his face, Ming Chengzu waved his hand gently downward.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Watching the officials stand up, Ming Chengzu's eyes slowly swept across each person's face.
"In recent days, my dear friends have made a lot of comments about the murder of Cang Cheng, the Minister of Etiquette, by the purple-robed captain at the Meridian Gate Execution Ground. The reason why I have not given you an answer is to give you enough time to think about it.
How to deal with it. Today, the first thing in the morning, let me hear what is your opinion on this matter after careful consideration. Don't worry, just speak freely."
Ming Chengzu looked at the officials with a smile on his face.
A figure stepped out of the queue and stood in the center of the hall. It was Qiu He, the Minister of Rites.
"Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty law clearly stipulates that all death sentences must be reviewed by the Ministry of Punishment, reviewed by Dali Temple, and then submitted to the Emperor for approval before the execution can be carried out. Xiao Chen, the purple-clothed captain, used the punishment privately in public, and what's more, the punishment was
The target is still a second-rank official of the imperial court, the official minister of the Ministry of Rites. He neither submitted Mr. Cang to the Ministry of Punishment for review, nor submitted it to Dali Temple for review, nor reported the emperor's decision. Wearing the purple clothes given by the emperor, he should set an example and abide by the imperial court.
Law. And Xiao Chen not only ignored the laws of the imperial court, but also despised the imperial authority and used lynching to execute Mr. Cang. I beg the emperor to deprive Xiao Chen of the unicorn purple clothes given by the emperor and hold him accountable for his contempt for the laws of the Ming Dynasty and his contempt for the holy authority.
sin."
Standing in the center of the hall, Qiu He bowed his hands with a righteous look on his face and spoke plausibly.
Ming Chengzu smiled lightly: "Qiu Aiqing is right. Under normal circumstances, the laws of the Ming Dynasty should be obeyed by everyone, from the emperor's relatives to the common people."
Immediately, he glanced at the main hall again: "Is there any other Aiqing who agrees with Qiu Aiqing's point of view?"
The sound of "wow" sounded, and all the officials stepped out of the queue and stood next to Qiu He, the minister of etiquette.
"I sincerely request the Emperor to deprive Xiao Chen of the imperial gift of purple clothes and to hold him accountable for defying the laws of the Ming Dynasty and the majesty of the Holy Spirit."
The voices of the officials echoed in the court hall and could not be dispersed for a long time.
Ming Chengzu did not answer, but turned his attention to the few remaining people in the queue.
"Jiang Aiqing, as the Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, you are in charge of the highest supervisory agency of the Ming Dynasty, but you do not stand with everyone. Do you have a different view on this matter?" Ming Chengzu stared at Jiang Qianxiao with an expressionless face.
asked.
When all the officials heard the emperor's roll call, they all turned and looked behind.
"Jiang Qianxiao pretends to be noble, but he can't tell right from wrong at critical moments. I really don't know how he became the censor of Zuodu."
"Didn't you see that the people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate didn't move? This Jiang Qianxiao really wants to kill the entire Metropolitan Procuratorate."
"Then Youdu Censor Wanqing has no idea. Jiang Qianxiao insists on going his own way. Doesn't Wanqing know how to lead the people from the Duchayuan and stand with everyone? Alas, I think the Duchayuan will be completely destroyed this time.
.”
"Looking at the emperor's face, he is clearly dissatisfied with this. I wonder if I have a chance to fill the vacancy in the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
"Today, let's go to the official department to sit down together?"
"..."
Staring at the people in the Metropolitan Procuratorate who were out of tune with everyone else, the officials began to whisper among themselves.
In the eyes of everyone waiting to watch the fun, Jiang Qianxiao waved his sleeves, stepped out of the queue, bowed his hands, and looked at Ming Chengzu with a serious face.
"All the officials are accusing the purple-clad captain of abusing lynching, but I think he did not use lynching. As we all know, the so-called lynching is to use the power in your hands to torture others in a hidden space. I want to ask you, everyone
Is the eye-catching guillotine at the Meridian Gate considered a hidden space? All the officials of the lower court were present at the scene. Did any of them see the purple-clothed captain insult Cang Cheng or torture him to extract a confession?"
Looking sideways at the officials, Jiang Qianxiao's eyes were bright, waiting for everyone's answer.
This sentence stopped everyone in their tracks.
From the beginning to the end, it was Cangcheng who criticized Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen always obeyed and respectfully.
There was silence in the main hall, and no one dared to stand up and argue. What Jiang Qianxiao said were all facts. How to argue in the face of facts?
Seeing that everyone was silent, Jiang Qianxiao looked at Ming Chengzu again and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I don't know what the other adults saw at that time. I only saw that it was Cangcheng himself who climbed up the guillotine and asked the purple-clothed schoolmaster
The captain chopped off his head. The purple-clothed captain also tried to persuade Cang Cheng for a long time, but he still could not persuade Cang Cheng. In my opinion, Cang Cheng felt that he had no face to face the emperor because he missed the execution time of Liao Xianghe.
All the officials in the court have to die to apologize. What does this have to do with the purple-robed captain?"
Jiang Qianxiao's loud voice hovered in the hall, which was particularly harsh in the ears of the officials, but they could not refute it.
At that time, it was indeed Cang Cheng who was lying on the guillotine, shouting, "Kill me, kill me." Xiao Chen tried to pull Cang Cheng several times, but he could not pull Cang Cheng off.
This was witnessed by all the officials, and no one could deny it. Moreover, there were tens of thousands of people from the capital watching in the audience.
A smile appeared on Ming Chengzu's expressionless face.
"According to what Jiang Aiqing said, there is no way for Xiao Chen, the purple-clad captain, to be held accountable?"
Jiang Qianxiao straightened his back and said categorically: "The Colonel in Purple Clothes made no fault, and of course there is no blame to be pursued."
