Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 742 Neglected key figures
Following the emperor's order, the eyes of all the ministers also turned to the outside of the palace.

At the same time, the expressions of all the important officials in the palace became solemn, and even Hu Wei, who was not affected by the quarrels below and half dozed off, woke up instantly.

You know, Shu Liang, as the admiral of the East Factory, although powerful, is still an eunuch after all, so logically speaking, unless it is similar to the last time he was impeached and was summoned to the palace by a special order to refute, otherwise he is not qualified to go to the palace Played right.

As an eunuch, he either stood by the side of the emperor like Huai En, or he could only wait outside the palace. If there was anything to do, he would report it after the next court.

This is different from the Commander of the Jinyiwei. It is still the same sentence. Although the factory guard is often called together, the Jinyiwei is an imperial government office, which is no different from the Six Ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It is under the jurisdiction of the Jingwei. A serious court official.

As for the admiral of Dongchang, at most he is just a dispatch. Even the 24 yamen of the inner prison are also institutions of the inner palace and cannot be compared with the outer dynasty.

Therefore, for Shu Liang to go to the palace, it was actually a bit of a taboo for him. After all, some time ago, there was a powerful eunuch in the court who caused disasters to the country and the people.

This is different from his usual arrogance and domineering. For eunuchs, arrogance and domineering are not a problem, and eunuchs like Cheng Jing who are upright and cautious are in the minority.

Under normal circumstances, eunuchs would be more or less on the side of bullying, especially for this Eunuch Shu. During the Xuanfu period, relying on the protection of the emperor, he even bullied the Supreme Emperor.

But, after all, it was a battle between the Tian family, Shu Liang was just a spokesperson who was pushed out, and in the end, it was just another eunuch who died.

However, entering the palace to play the right game means that he may directly participate in political affairs. This is something that today's courtiers, even the emperor, have always been very vigilant about.

Therefore, at this time, the emperor summoned Shu Liang to enter the palace, which made it extraordinarily eye-catching.

All the ministers can roughly guess that Shu Liang must have something urgent to come here at this moment, but what kind of emergency is it that makes him take such a risk that he can't even wait for the next court, so he has to do it now Come to play it?

What kind of thing is it that makes the emperor who has always loved Shu Liang so much that he doesn't even care about the eunuch's going to the palace to offend the officials, and at this moment, let Shu Liang enter the palace to answer?
In the eyes of all the ministers, Shu Liang, who was dressed in python clothes, walked into the hall with small steps, without any usual majesty, nor did he have the usual fake smile on his face.

"My ministers see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After Shu Liang came to the hall, the first emperor obviously calmed down a little, sat back on the throne again, and opened his mouth to ask.

"Pingshen, how is the person?"

This question was asked without beginning or end, and all the ministers present couldn't help but feel confused, but a few ministers seemed to think of something at the first time.

Especially Jiang Yuan, who had just made way for Shu Liang and was standing beside him with his head bowed, suddenly raised his head, his expression becoming very ugly.

Shu Liang stood up, still lowering his eyebrows, but he answered crisply, and said.

"Return to Your Majesty. Fortunately, I found out in time. The doctor has already been invited, and now he is giving rescue. It is reported that he has lost too much blood and is still in a coma. The doctor said that if he can survive tonight, he can save his life. If Not quite..."

I didn't say anything later, but the meaning is already very clear.

Then, seeing the emperor frowning tightly, everyone turned around and ordered.

"Wynn, now go to the imperial hospital to pass on my oral order, ordering the imperial physician to rush to Xiao's house immediately, and take another piece of white ginseng from the inner storehouse, and make sure to save Xueshi Xiao's life!"

After hearing the conversation between Shu Liang and the Son of Heaven, all the ministers had already guessed, but as soon as this sentence came out, even the dullest person realized what happened.

As a result, a low voice of discussion suddenly rose in the hall.

Seeing Wynn hurried down the imperial steps to pass the decree to the imperial hospital, there was a commotion among the officials below. After a while, someone from the group of big bosses at the front finally stood up.

This person is none other than Hu Wei, the Minister of Rites with the oldest seniority in the imperial court.

The old man frowned tightly, stepped into the hall, cupped his hands and opened his mouth.

"Your Majesty, the old minister dares to ask His Majesty, but what happened to Xueshi Xiao?"

Guessing is guessing after all. Therefore, when Mr. Hu asked this sentence, the audience suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to the emperor above.

So, they saw the emperor sighed lightly, but did not answer directly, just said.

"Shu Liang, tell me!"

"According to the order!"

Shu Liang bowed his hands to accept the order, then raised his head, turned to the officials below and bowed his hands, said.

"My lords, be courteous. The thing is like this. Today at [-] o'clock in the Yin hour, there was a scholar outside Xiao Xueshi's mansion. He climbed over the wall and entered inside before it was dark. He shouted and cursed loudly outside the courtyard of Xiao Mansion. , but it also alarmed Xueshi Xiao who just got up."

"After this person was expelled, Xueshi Xiao had his breakfast and ordered his subordinates to retreat and rest in the study. However, not long after, the servants guarding the door smelled blood and pushed the door open. After entering, I found that there was a last letter left on the desk in the study room, next to the desk, Scholar Xiao had his veins cut, and blood flowed all over the place."

"The servant hurriedly called Langzhong to rescue him, and he managed to save his life, but it is not known whether he can survive it. After the rescue, his family wanted to send the last letter left by Xueshi Xiao to the imperial court, but There is no way to ask for it, and I don’t know where to deliver it, so I found our house.”

"The matter is urgent. After our family received the report, we immediately rushed to the palace to report to His Majesty with the written letter. This is the whole incident."

Although he had expected it in his heart, when Shu Liang really said it, there was still an uproar in the hall, and a burst of discussion broke out.

At the same time, Jiang Yuan's complexion has already sunk to the extreme.

He finally understood what was the reason for the vague uneasiness that had been inexplicably appearing in his heart today.

In this court meeting, he calculated all the possibilities, but only missed Xiao Yi, the most important person!

In fact, Jiang Yuan couldn't be blamed for this.

After all, although Xiao Yi has outstanding talents and learning, his personality in the court has always been tepid, and he has the willingness to go up, but lacks means and determination. In the past struggles against the court, when Xiao Ying failed, They often choose to swallow their anger.

Just like when reading the papers this time, when Cheng Zong's matter was exposed, it was obvious that Jiang Yuan was pressing Xiao Yi step by step, but Xiao Yi still did not have the courage to die in front of the emperor.

He is such a cowardly person, and Jiang Yuan has already figured this out.

What's more, after the end of the palace examination, the entire public opinion of the ruling and opposition parties is basically doomed. Xiao Yi can't have any resistance. He was even deprived of the power to go to court after being dismissed from office. It is even more impossible to set off any storms.

Therefore, Jiang Yuan subconsciously regarded Xiao Yi as a fish and meat that had already been slaughtered. No matter what the outcome of the court meeting was, this scholar Xiao could only accept it.

However, he overlooked one point, that is, cowardly people are often prone to collapse.

It is true that Xiao Ying did not have the courage to die, but the reason why he did not dare to tell the truth was not only because he cared about his official career, but to a greater extent, he still wanted to preserve his reputation for the rest of his life.

However, this matter is now becoming more and more troublesome. Leaving aside the public opinion in the court, we only talk about the folks. Countless scholars block up the door of Xiao's mansion every day to shout and curse, which made Xiao Yi, who was under tremendous pressure, On the brink of collapse.

Under such circumstances, such an extreme scholar appeared again, rushing in front of him and yelling, how could this old master who had been a clean stream all his life accept it?
At this point, it is a matter of course to declare one's ambition by death!
However, in this way, things became troublesome for Jiang Yuan. Originally, it was difficult for Xiao Yi to have any room to speak out on this matter. The rest was nothing more than a game in the court.

However, if he makes such a fuss, he will immediately attract the attention of the whole court. In other words, it will become very difficult to quickly finalize the nature of this matter.

Thoughts turned quickly in his mind, Jiang Yuan finally managed to think of an explanation.

Since Xiao Ying used such extreme methods, one of the reasons may be that he was full of resentment, but on the other hand, it may not be that the ruling and opposition parties criticized him too much.

If it can be said to be the latter, maybe it will be a good thing, but...

Hesitating for a moment, Jiang Yuan gritted his teeth and was about to speak, but at this moment, Wang Ao, the chief assistant of the cabinet, stepped forward and stood up before him, saying.

"Your Majesty, I think that Xiao Xueshi's actions must have been wronged. There may be other inside stories about the palace examination. I agree with what the President and Du Siqing said just now. This matter should be thoroughly investigated and returned to the scholars of the world. Scholar Xiao, tell the truth!"

Seeing this situation, Jiang Yuan was slightly taken aback, and then, when he raised his head, he caught a glimpse of Wang Ao casting a stern look at him.

The chief assistant is usually not angry, but after being in the cabinet for so long, Jiang Yuan has really experienced his old man's methods.

Therefore, this look made Jiang Yuan calm down immediately, and he clenched his fists, but he didn't continue to move forward.

Since Wang Ao had already spoken out, it was almost time for the other ministers of the Seven Ministers to express their views.

First, Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, said: "Your Majesty, the matter has come to an end. If the matter is not thoroughly investigated, it may be difficult to end. The dignified fifth-rank officials of the imperial court should be punished by the imperial court even if they are guilty. Now the situation is unclear. Blocking insults and forcing people to seek death is really wrong!"

Afterwards, Chen Xun of the Ministry of Industry also said at this moment: "Your Majesty, a scholar in the scholastic community, the most important thing is reputation. I believe that the biggest reason for Xiao Xueshi to do this is not those angry scholars who surrounded Xiao's residence." , but the imperial court's laissez-faire and disregard of public opinion, if the truth of the incident has been found out, and the conclusion is drawn, no matter how much you scold, it is justified."

"However, the situation has not yet been clarified, and Xueshi Xiao was only temporarily dismissed from office and returned to the government for investigation, but it is really unfair to be treated like this. Only by ordering a thorough investigation as soon as possible, can public opinion be calmed, people's hearts will be calmed, and Xueshi Xiao will not be allowed to continue to stay in the future. He was abused and criticized in the midst of his innocence.”

Chen Xun is Du Ning's teacher, and at the same time, he is also the leader of the current Qingliu lineage. Although he has been transferred to the sixth department, his words are still very important when it comes to Qingliu issues.

What's more, for all the important ministers, it has already been clearly seen that this morning, in fact, the cabinet Wang Ao and Chen Xun are fighting each other, and each pushes out one person to fight for the control of the Imperial Academy.

Originally, Jiang Yuan worked every step of the way, creating an image of himself who dared to take responsibility and cared about his colleagues, and gradually gained an advantage in the competition.

However, as soon as the news of Xiao Yi cutting his veins came out, the situation suddenly reversed, making Jiang Yuan's situation extremely embarrassing.

In fact, now that he calmed down, Jiang Yuan also understood why Wang Ao wanted to stop him just now.

You know, just when the news came, he was still pleading for Xiao Ying in front of the officials, and he demanded to share the responsibility with righteous words.

Now that Xiao Ying is being forced to death, if he still insists to settle the matter quickly, it will be difficult to succeed on the one hand, and on the other hand, it will make people doubt his motives instantly.

Just like what Chen Xun said just now, among scholars, the most important thing is reputation!
For Xiao Yi, if he has to bear such a stigma for the rest of his life and cannot repay his innocence, then he might as well die.

However, what Jiang Yuan couldn't figure out was how dare Xiao Yi have such determination?

Is it really a moment of anger?

Mr. Jiang Ge thinks otherwise. If Xiao Yi really wants to die and not bother about his affairs, then there are so many ways to kill himself, and some of them cannot be saved after use. Taking poison and hanging himself are all better than cutting himself The pulse should come quickly and simply.

However, Xiao Yi chose this most painful method, but it was the easiest to be discovered in time. From the opponent's point of view, it was hard for Mr. Jiang Ge not to suspect that Xiao Yi had other purposes.

But, therein lies the problem.

Even if it is a means, it is risking his own life after all. If he is a little careless, his life may really be lost. With Xiao Ying's character, it is really strange that he can make such a determination.

And more importantly, Xiao Yi himself should be the clearest about the truth of this palace test. If it wasn't for his own selfishness, then even if Jiang Yuan had all kinds of means, it would be impossible for him to play a role.

If it is really necessary to thoroughly investigate, Xiao Ying's situation may not be better than it is now. If so, why did he do this?

Jiang Ge's brows were deeply frowned, and he couldn't figure out this part no matter what.

Moreover, not only that, what worried Jiang Yuan even more might be another main reason why Wang Ao stopped him from speaking.

It is the last letter from Xiao Yi that is now on the emperor's case.

No one knows what was written in it, in case...

This early court itself was a battle between Wang Ao and Chen Xun. Then, in this sudden situation, Wang Ao took the lead in bowing his head, and then other people naturally had no other objections. The rest is the final decision of the emperor. .

So, under the gaze of everyone, the Son of Heaven finally opened his mouth and said.

"First order Shuntian Mansion and Wucheng Bing Ma Si to protect the surrounding area of ​​Xiao Mansion and disperse the scholars who don't know the truth. In addition, Dali Temple presided over the palace examination. Understood, repeat it again!"

(End of this chapter)