I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1055 It's time for the eunuchs' favorite part again.

History is never a little girl to be dressed up as one pleases, and the victors can never arbitrarily deny the losers, at least not during the Ming Dynasty.

For example, the two last emperors of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Shouxu and Wanyan Chenglin, died within an hour of each other, and the historical records gave them a three-word evaluation: "Worthy of their reputation."

Even now, Akbar hopes that when the Mughal Empire dies, it can at least be done with some dignity.

The writers of the Song Dynasty never humiliated the emperors of these two enemy countries. On the contrary, Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong, who were captured but still alive, were severely criticized for hundreds of years. In comparison, Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong appeared even uglier.

History is a very pure young girl; as long as you are willing to give her an attitude, she will truly like you.

For example, Xiang Yu lost the struggle for supremacy, but from the early Han Dynasty to the present, few people have criticized him. They all believe that Xiang Yu lost because of the general trend of the times, and that the enfeoffment system was obviously not in line with the general trend of history, rather than because Xiang Yu himself had any shortcomings.

Wang Guoguang's posthumous reputation is extremely important, involving the Ming Dynasty's fiscal and tax system, the study of mathematics, the inclusion of mathematics in the Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations, the Dinghai educational system, and so on.

The inclusion of mathematics in the imperial examinations, the universities established under the Dinghai educational system, the five major shipyards, government factories at all levels, and even the Academy of Natural Sciences all grew out of the guidance of mathematics. These achievements are inextricably linked to mathematics.

Zhu Yijun had to do everything in his power to protect Wang Guoguang's posthumous reputation from being tarnished.

Zhu Yijun originally thought that Wang Jiaping came to Huangji Gate to stop him, the emperor, from committing atrocities, but the misunderstanding was cleared up the moment Wang Jiaping took out his imperial warrant.

Wang Jiaping came to complete the formalities.

"No need for formalities." Zhu Yijun had Li Yougong bring over the travel permit. After examining it carefully, he smiled and said, "Minister Wang is indeed a loyal and patriotic man. I was so angry that I forgot about the travel permit."

The emperor can be forgotten, but Wang Jiaping, the Minister of Justice, cannot be forgotten.

"Your Majesty, this matter is not over yet." Wang Jiaping reminded His Majesty to pay attention to the contents of the imperial edict; there was something fishy about this case.

Specifically, this wave of attacks following Wang Guoguang's death was not a random occurrence; rather, it was the result of collusion and conspiracy by certain individuals behind the scenes.

The underlying contradiction is naturally the growing deficit of local government offices after the land tax was reduced due to the celestial changes.

Anyone who has worked in a government office for two days knows that for government offices, cutting expenditures is impossible; they can only try to increase revenue. However, His Majesty does not allow increasing revenue from the people, because if there is any civil unrest, they will really be beheaded.

At this time, local government officials, wanting to make some money, would naturally try every means to bypass supervision and make the money disappear. The construction project could be suspended, but the money in their own pockets could not be stopped.

In the end, it's public money that gets lost, which ends up in their own pockets. As for the treasury being empty, they restore the old laws, abolish Wang Guoguang's new policies, and abolish the court's oversight. Even if the Heavenly King himself came down to investigate, he wouldn't find anything wrong.

"Understood, let's deal with this batch first." Zhu Yijun naturally noticed the contents of the imperial edict. The situation was rather complicated. Let's administer the court beatings first, and then carefully investigate the matter behind it.

Wang Jiaping hesitated, but ultimately didn't say anything. He actually had a pretty good idea of ​​who was behind this.

His Majesty acted too quickly. Give him another seven days, no, give him another three days, and he will be able to find out who is behind this!
There are some things that Your Majesty cannot do personally. Your Majesty's flogging was directed at the minor officials of the Censorate and the State Administration of Rites, which is also a slap in the face of a high-ranking official. This is not just slapping the buttocks of a minor official, but clearly slapping the face of a high-ranking official.

If His Majesty has to do everything personally, what use are these ministers?

According to normal procedures, these memorials angered His Majesty. Shen Shixing stepped forward to offer water, Gao Qiyu exposed their purpose, and Wang Jiaping, the Minister of Justice and Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall, exposed the person behind the commotion.

This process would take at least ten days, enough time for the ministers to get things done.

But His Majesty's unconventional approach caught the ministers off guard. It also indicated that His Majesty was truly angry. His Majesty, who never violated procedures and never punished people for their words, chose to take drastic measures that violated procedures and punished people for their words.

It's no wonder His Majesty is so angry. Aside from rebelling against the Jin Party, Wang Guoguang has almost nothing to question in terms of virtue and governance. Yet he has been slandered so severely. Even the posthumous title proposed by the Ministry of Rites is not approved by these censors.

His Majesty's reaction was entirely reasonable.

"Hit him for me!" Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Zhao Mengyou to strike.

Two imperial guards held Shang Shangzhong's head with batons to prevent him from moving. One of the guards checked Shang Shangzhong's buttocks to make sure there was nothing underneath, and then struck him hard.

The blow made almost no sound, but Shang Shangzhong's face immediately turned red. His mouth was stuffed with his own sock, so he couldn't shout and could only bite down hard.

The Imperial Guards' practice of flogging the Emperor was a highly technical task. If it was done to please the Emperor, they would not stuff socks in the bedding, and they would flog the Emperor loudly, accompanied by screams of pain, to appease him.

If a caning is truly to be carried out, it will be done with socks stuffed inside, so the beating will barely make a sound, but it will definitely hit the target.

Even so, the Imperial Guards only used three-tenths of their strength. His Majesty's decree said they were to be sent to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land. If they were killed, who would be left to cultivate the land?

Even this small amount of force was not something that a weak and powerless scholar-official could withstand.

The reason for taking such a serious action was that Shang Shangzhong falsely accused Wang Guoguang of protecting his relatives and acting out of personal gain, using his position as a minister to promote Tongzhi Wei Zhongjian to Yuntong and Tongpan Yang Zhi to Pingshi. Both of these officials were relatives of Wang Guoguang.

Zhu Yijun was certain it was a false accusation because Li Yougong had investigated and found that both of them had been promoted through the normal performance evaluation system.

The records of the performance evaluation system are kept in the palace. Whether there is favoritism or nepotism can be seen simply by looking through the records. In fact, the promotion and transfer of these two people were subject to more stringent evaluations because of Wang Guoguang's status as a minister.

The second person to be beaten was Zhang Shize, the Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites' Department of Receptions. Zhang Shize falsely accused Wang Guoguang of selling official positions for personal gain, engaging in corrupt practices, and receiving bribes from famous scholars at his home, thus violating his moral character and refusing to be posthumously awarded the title of Wending. This was also a false accusation.

There are a lot of political brokers in the capital who use the names of wealthy and famous scholars to lobby and influence various people.

Everyone knows perfectly well what these brokers are up to in the capital. These low-class brokers think they can even get close to high-ranking officials? They can't even get a glimpse of an official of the fifth rank or higher.

Zhu Yijun specifically instructed the imperial guards to investigate Zhang Shize's claims of officials selling their positions for personal gain and engaging in corrupt practices. Wang Guoguang did indeed meet a Shanxi merchant in July of the 20th year of the Wanli reign, but this merchant came from Yangcheng and was a member of the Wang family's clan.

Serving as an official in the imperial court means you can't even see your family and relatives back home? That's utterly unreasonable.

The remaining forty-one censors and officials submitted almost identical memorials, making false accusations that distorted the truth and reversed right and wrong. If Zhu Yijun did not punish them, false accusations would become rampant in the Ming court, and it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven to correct them in the future.

Just like the opening of the sea for twenty years, which created a huge political inertia, false accusations were made, and everyone would make false accusations in the future. This inertia was so strong that even the emperor found it very difficult to correct.

The Wanli Reforms were achieved through great effort, and the current situation is not something that Zhu Yijun can easily ruin with the help of a few empty talkers.

There were no screams in front of the Huangji Gate. Forty-three officials were beaten until their skin was torn and bleeding. The imperial guards carried these men and examined them one by one in front of His Majesty before taking them back to the Northern Garrison Office.

The accompanying chief physician began to apply medicine to them. His Majesty wouldn't let them die; he ordered them to go to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland. They had no chance of dying even if they wanted to.

The chief physicians did not concern themselves with political turmoil; their only concern was treating the sick and saving lives.

After Zhu Yijun finished dealing with the censors, he returned to Tonghe Palace. He did not let Wang Jiaping leave, but instead inquired about the results of his investigation.

"Where did you hear all this news? Even the elite imperial guards, who are good at uncovering rumors, couldn't catch any trace of these reports." Zhu Yijun asked with some surprise after reviewing Wang Jiaping's memorial.

Wang Jiaping said with a smile, "The son of Duke Wencheng taught me."

"Wang Qian?" Zhu Yijun frowned.

“It is indeed Young Master Wang.” Wang Jiaping explained, “When Governor Wang was in the capital, didn’t he compile four issues of ‘The Romantic Anecdotes of Famous Confucian Scholars’? He had quite a few people in his circle of relatives and friends. When Governor Wang left the capital, he gave them all to me.”

"I see." Zhu Yijun nodded in understanding.

The gossipy relatives did indeed have some advantages in intelligence that the Imperial Guards did not have, a point that Zhao Mengyou also acknowledged.

Sometimes, when handling cases, it is indeed necessary to use these people from all walks of life, and they are very useful.

Most of these forty-three censors and officials shared a common characteristic: they kept mistresses, and these mistresses lived very close to each other. Wang Jiaping used this as a starting point to understand the recent unusual activities of these people.

Since the news of Wang Guoguang's serious illness spread, these people have frequently appeared at the mistress's house, and their interactions have been extremely close.

"Then how about we leave this matter to Minister Wang?" Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and decided to give his minister face.

He originally wanted to have the imperial guards handle it, but if he always had them do it, the ministers would gradually lose their effectiveness. If the ministers were useless and the emperor didn't use them, their power would naturally diminish.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Wang Jiaping breathed a sigh of relief, bowed his head and accepted the order. Finally, this matter was transferred from His Majesty's personal involvement to the normal procedure of having ministers handle it. How could the emperor be sent to the front lines every time something went wrong?

In just seven days, Wang Jiaping found the person behind the conspiracy and presented him to the emperor: Lü Kun, the governor of Shanxi and vice censor-in-chief, who was one of the three great sages of the Wanli era and one of the twenty-four Confucian scholars of all dynasties, along with Shen Li and Guo Zhengyu.

The three brokers he kept in the capital were the main instigators in this conspiracy with forty-three officials to attack Wang Guoguang.

"Send the imperial guards to Datong Prefecture and arrest Lü Kun." Zhu Yijun issued an imperial edict. The facts were clear and the evidence was conclusive. This guy was indeed capable; he got things done while he was in Datong Prefecture.

In the original timeline, during the Wanli era, there were two cases of seditious books during the struggle for the succession, both of which were closely related to Lü Kun. Lü Kun collected the deeds of virtuous women and martyrs throughout history and wrote "Illustrated Explanation of Women's Virtues". A palace eunuch went out on business and happened to buy a copy to take back to the palace.

It just so happened that this book, "Illustrated Explanation of Women's Conduct," was seen by Consort Zheng, who was then vying for the position of Empress and the throne for her son.

Consort Zheng added twelve more people to the list, including herself, and had her uncle reprint and sell "Illustrated Explanation of Women's Virtues" to promote herself and her son, the later Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun.

Everything happened just right, just like Gao Gong's "Last Words on His Deathbed," which appeared right after Zhang Juzheng's death, was brought to the palace by a palace eunuch, and was seen by the hesitant Wanli Emperor. At that time, the ministers in the court were attacking the deceased Zhang Juzheng.

The case of the "demon book" is a typical example of how public opinion can manipulate the government's policies.

Zhu Yijun knew this stuff inside and out, and Lü Kun was clearly an expert in it.

However, because the emperor reacted too quickly, the attacks in the court had just begun and the public opinion had just been stirred up when they were crushed by the Emperor's Crushing Fist.

Before the demon book could even be released, the situation changed in the blink of an eye.

The court officials didn't even have the courage to go to the Huangji Gate to rescue His Majesty. Only Wang Jiaping went to the Huangji Gate and completed the necessary procedures for His Majesty to prevent any controversy.

"This demonic book's methods aren't powerful enough. It thinks it can fight me with this? Doesn't it underestimate me?" Zhu Yijun held a small booklet in his hand, which was one of the ironclad pieces of evidence.

Three brokers had just printed out flyers that hadn't been distributed yet, filled with dubious stories about Wang Guoguang. Most of these stories were vulgar and offensive; these despicable pedants, like dogs, loved to slander people and resort to such tactics.

The lowly scholar, who spends all his time focusing on matters of the groin, naturally assumes that all men are concerned with such matters.

Just by looking at this pamphlet, one might think that Wang Guoguang was a treacherous minister who amassed wealth, flattered his superiors, catered to the emperor's wishes, had an immoral private life, was corrupt, sold official positions, and was a ruthless and treacherous official who could control everything.

To curry favor with superiors and blindly cater to their wishes?
Shit!

When Wang Guoguang was in the court, he often clashed with Zhu Yijun over money. Sometimes, when the emperor insisted on his own way, Wang Guoguang would even threaten him with retirement.

Could Zhu Yijun accept such a threat? He immediately withdrew his order.

“If it were a case of neglecting state affairs, the Demon Book’s methods would be quite formidable. But it just so happens that His Majesty is swift and decisive, so this villain has no chance to take advantage of us.” Li Yougong had something to say about this matter, not that the Demon Book’s methods were not formidable.

Public opinion takes time to develop. If the emperor neglects his duties, coupled with the inherent rigidity of the court, once public opinion takes hold, the political situation can easily be swayed by it.

But now, with His Majesty so diligent in governing, this method seems rather ineffective. It's not that the method is not powerful, but that His Majesty's reaction speed is too fast. Even the cabinet ministers didn't have time to react before His Majesty had already finished administering the court flogging.

These three brokers were caught in a dilemma: whether to distribute the printed pamphlets or not. In the end, they were arrested.

This case stirred up a huge wave in the capital, especially the heated discussions among the public. Such a counterattack was quite common. People like Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Wang Chonggu, who had lived in the capital for decades, had seen and gotten used to these kinds of things.

None of these disturbances were as significant as the commotion caused by the craftsman descending the mountain. When the craftsman came down, the capital garrison remained unmoved, and almost everyone immediately realized that all of this was at His Majesty's behest to protect Wang Chonggu.

The reason this case caused such a huge uproar is that, as the investigation deepened and the details of the case were gradually revealed, the people of the capital, while enjoying the gossip, discovered some common characteristics among these individuals.

Shang Shangzhong, Zhang Shize, Lü Kun and others were all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). Before keeping mistresses, although they could not be called honest and upright, they were not greedy and acted with great discretion. They generally would not trigger the Anti-Corruption Bureau's 50,000 tael anti-corruption threshold.

Fifty thousand taels of silver is a lot, almost a tenth of the size of the late emperor's mausoleum. It's enough to buy pork for a lifetime and still not be enough to finish it.

But once they took mistresses, the alienation they experienced from power, money, and greed became rapid.

However, they risked being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, questioned by His Majesty, and cursed behind their backs for the money they embezzled. They gave it to their mistresses, who then indulged in all sorts of frivolous activities.

For example, Shang Shangzhong's mistress, whose maiden name was Qingxu'er, changed her name to Muruqing after she became his mistress. Shang Shangzhong took the name from the Book of Songs, "Jifu wrote and recited, Muruqing."

However, the investigation by the Secret Service revealed that the three sons born to this mistress to Shang Shangzhong were most likely not Shang Shangzhong's children, but rather the children of several male concubines raised by Mu Ruqing.

This Mu Ruqing kept a full seven gigolos, all of whom were the top performers in their respective opera troupes. The various gadgets confiscated to enhance the atmosphere outnumbered even the torture instruments of the Northern Garrison.

On the thirteenth day of the second month of the twenty-second year of the Wanli reign, Zhu Yijun once again arrived at the Northern Garrison Command. In addition to his close attendants, he was accompanied by Wang Jiaping, who was in charge of this case.

"Really? This Lü Kun is from the powerful Lü family of Ningling. Doesn't he even have this much precaution?" Zhu Yijun said to Wang Jiaping as they walked.

Wang Jiaping looked around and said in a low voice, "This is the first time I've heard of this. I'm also surprised. It's truly an eye-opener."

Zhu Yijun said with a sigh, "Wasn't all of Lü Kun's 120,000 taels of silver just a waste?"

"If he had embezzled the money and indulged in a life of debauchery, now that I have caught him, he has to accept the consequences of his bet, right? He lost, so be it. At least he's had his fun."

"But in order to avoid being investigated by the court and to protect his reputation for promotion, he was extremely cautious and gave all his money to his mistresses. Yet, how could they treat him like this? Two mistresses, four children, and not a single one of them is his?"

Wang Jiaping hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, it's not like that. I don't know if it's his child, because these two mistresses don't know who the father of the child is."

Zhao Mengyou and Li Yougong exchanged a glance. They had already finished consuming this gossip. In short, there were too many people involved, and neither of the mistresses could clearly explain who the father of the child was.

Zhu Yijun finally arrived at the White Tiger Hall of the Northern Garrison Command and had Zhao Mengyou bring Lü Kun to him.

"Lu Kun, I have a question for you." Zhu Yijun flipped through the case files and asked with a serious expression, "You established the Lu Kun Manor, didn't you?"

"Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you!" Lu Kun knelt on the ground, but refused to submit. Instead, he stood up straight and said loudly, "A true man takes responsibility for his actions. It was me who did it!"

Zhu Yijun didn't care about Lü Kun's disobedience at all and continued to ask: "This Lü Kun Manor, was it set up for your two mistresses, Chen Yuyao and Zhao Qinqin, because their names are written on the land deeds, as well as the names of their four sons."

"Yes." Lü Kun also sensed something amiss and asked hesitantly, "Why is Your Majesty so persistent about this matter?"

"With the embezzled silver, you purchased land and, drawing inspiration from Fan Zhongyan's system of charitable land, established the Lü Kun Manor. This manor exists both in your hometown and overseas, totaling 24,000 mu of land."

After confirming the scale of the land with Lü Kun, Zhu Yijun asked uncertainly, "Is your purpose in establishing this manor to bypass the elders and pass on the family property to these concubines and their children?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Although Lü Kun didn't know why the emperor was asking these questions, he already had a bad feeling.

The downside of being born into a large family is that the clan elders won't agree to you leaving your property to someone else. To compensate his mistress and her son, Lü Kun had no choice but to create the charitable fields and estates, and the Lü Kun Manor, to avoid interference from the clan elders.

"It's not convenient for us to bring this up ourselves, so we'll have to trouble Li and Zhang, the eunuchs." As the emperor, Zhu Yijun felt it would be beneath him to say certain things aloud, so he had to let the eunuchs handle it.

Zhang Hong and Li Yougong exchanged a glance. It was time for the eunuchs' favorite part: humiliating the civil officials.

Two eunuchs carried a table over. Li Yougong stood behind the table, intending to be the straight man, while Zhang Hong stood outside the table, intending to be the funny man.

"By order of the Emperor, today we two will have a gossip session about the messy affairs of Old Lü's family. Little Li, you must remember not to spread this outside."

"Old Zhang, what are you saying? Don't you know us? We're very tight-lipped! What's going on?"

"Alas! Now, let's talk about Old Lu's secret rendezvous with his mistress, Chen Yuyao. Chen Yuyao comes from a brothel, and her skills in pleasing men are far superior to those of his wife at home."

"That is."

"That night, it was a night of trembling in each other's arms, where even the hardest steel would soften. I could hardly leave, so you could pamper me as you pleased. But this old Lü was, after all, a figure of official rank, and couldn't stay the night. He left in a hurry, and guess what?"

"What's wrong?"

"Who would have thought that no sooner had Old Lu left than a man crawled out from under the bed! This man had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and was quite handsome. This man was none other than Song Yongsheng, the top performer of the Sixi Troupe."

"Whoa! Master Lü had barely left when he popped out. What does he intend to do?"

"Song Yongsheng then pulled Chen Yuyao into his arms, patted her gently, and murmured, 'Poor wife, you still have to play along with this old man!'"

"Indeed, your skills in coaxing people are truly remarkable!"

"Then, this young lady Chen Yuyao snuggled into Song Yongsheng's arms, bursting into tears, and sobbing as if lamenting: 'Several years with Old Man Lü are not as good as one night of pleasure with Song Lang!'"

"They are truly shameless!"

After Zhang Hong and Li Yougong finished speaking, they looked at Lü Kun.

Lu Kun was dumbfounded and speechless. He didn't think the emperor was bored and came to amuse him. He had nothing to do, and His Majesty was busy with many affairs of state. Where would he find so much free time?

Obviously, it's all true!
"Young Master Song is indeed young and strong. His plaintive words quickly turned into sweet whispers. After a good time, Young Master Song grabbed Chen Yuyao's hair and kept pressing her for answers. 'Old Lu and I are kindred spirits. Who is stronger?' Zhang Hong slammed his gavel and continued."

"It goes without saying, it must be Song Yongsheng, just look at that name."

"Then Chen Yuyao cried and said, 'Song Lang spared my life, of course Song Lang is stronger. Don't you think Lian'er is becoming more and more like you? He's a withered tree, it's hard to say whether his seed can even take root and sprout!'"

"There's such a story?" Li Yougong said in surprise, "Could it be?"

"Hey! It's true! It turns out that this old Lu's illegitimate son, Lu Chenglian, isn't actually his son! This old Lu risked being blamed by his clan, investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and questioned by His Majesty, taking on a huge responsibility, and all the money he got went to this pretty boy in the opera troupe to raise his son!"

"Good guy!"

Zhang Hong and Li Yougong stopped there, signaling two eunuchs to move the table away, because Lü Kun had already fainted from anger.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Excellent work, here's a reward!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Hong and Li Yougong didn't care much about the reward money; what they really wanted was to satisfy their emotional need to humiliate the civil officials. They would have done it even without the money!
Lu Kun was so angry that he fainted. It was a way for him to save face. If he continued, he might really die of anger. So he pretended to faint to avoid the humiliation. A bucket of cold water was splashed on Lu Kun's face, and Lu Kun immediately woke up with a jolt.

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! Your Majesty, if you want to kill me, then kill me. Why humiliate a sinner like this?" Lü Kun argued forcefully, denying everything, but his eyes were not as harsh as his tone. They were full of pleading, hoping that His Majesty would spare him.

Clearly, His Majesty is more trustworthy than his fickle mistress.

Zhu Yijun clapped his hands, and the imperial guards brought up four criminals: Chen Yuyao, Song Yongsheng, Lü Chenggong, and Lü Chenglian.

When the four criminals were brought in, Lü Kun immediately noticed the problem without anyone else having to say anything.

The youngest son, Lü Chenglian, and Song Yongsheng are practically identical, with the same eyebrows, mouth, nose, and even the birthmark on their arms.

"You've realized it too, these two aren't your children at all." Zhu Yijun sat in his armchair, patting his knees before saying, "Why would I have time to tease you? If it weren't true, would I have done this just to humiliate you?"

"I'm just curious, what's the point of all the money you've embezzled and all that you've done? Is it just so that Chen Yuyao and this Song Lang can live a carefree life, and for their son, you even dare to defy the imperial will?"

Lu Kun leaned back in his chair, silent, utterly despondent.

"Do you regret it?" Zhu Yijun stood up and asked Lü Kun.

Lu Kun exhaled a strong breath and answered the Emperor's question: "I regret it, I regret it beyond measure."

"It's late." Zhu Yijun smiled and turned to leave.

When people talk about manual laborers, it seems like they're referring to poor, uneducated people. But what difference does it make after all these years of hard work by Lü Kun?
(End of this chapter)