Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 245 The three major powers of ministers in the Ming Dynasty
Knowing that his handling of Wu Biao might cause controversy, Zhu Youjian did not expect that this matter would cause so much controversy.

After the dispatch of the garrison was issued, Yao Shishen, the Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple, wrote a letter to express his opposition:

"Tian Ergeng is in charge of the Jin Yiwei, Xu Xianchun is in charge of the Fusi, and Ni Xiancao is in charge of human life. They are all by the hands of two people."

"Tian Ergeng was a member of the bodyguard, a close friend of his, and a traitor to his friends. He was killed many times unjustly and more than deserved to die."

"Xu Xianchun inflicted many tortures in the imperial prison. In accordance with the instructions of the traitor and the unjust death of loyal people, it is appropriate to correct the punishment."

"Cui Yingyuan, Sun Yunhe, and Yang Huan met Ni Jun, used cruel torture, and killed many people. They should be punished according to the standard."

"The sins of these five people cannot be pardoned, and they should be punished according to the law in response to the sign from heaven."

This memorial clearly stated Wu Biao's crimes and his opinions on how to deal with it, which aroused the support of many officials and made Zhu Youjian very passive.

Because the Dali Temple in the Ming Dynasty was responsible for careful punishment, and those who could abide by the law were regarded as competent.

After Zhu Youjian reorganized the Dali Temple, he set up the punishment department as the General Administration of Punishment, which was responsible for the review of death sentences, redress of punishments, etc. Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple was in charge.

Now, Yao Shishen, who is in charge of punishment, believes that Wu Biao's crime cannot be pardoned and is unwilling to reduce their crime. Zhu Youjian wanted to reduce their charges. In what name could he use it?

Coupled with the previous lunar eclipse, it is considered to be a sign of failure. If Zhu Youjian did not follow the law and sentenced Wu Biao to death, wouldn't it really be a sign of failure to execute the sentence and trigger criticism from the government and the public?
Therefore, after Zhu Youjian received this memorial, he felt troubled and felt that if he had to downgrade Wu Biao's punishment from death to garrison, his reputation might be damaged.

This was really unacceptable to him, who was committed to winning the hearts of the soldiers and easing the relationship between the emperor and his ministers:

"Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are the four people of the country. 』

"The scholars at the front are the most powerful, and they cannot be separated from the imperial court. 』

"Wu Biao killed too many people, and it is too difficult to save them. 』

Sighing about this matter, Zhu Youjian did not change his mind about how to deal with it. Because it would be even more inappropriate for him to convict Wu Biao of death as suggested by Yao Shishen and others.

In the final analysis, the Jin Yiwei is the executive agency, and they act in accordance with the will of Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian. When Zhu Youjian took over the Jinyi Guards earlier, it was also because of this that he promised to exile Wu Biao and others, and even arranged for them to serve in the Dongning Guards to seek wealth for future generations.

If they were killed according to the opinions of the civil servants, what would Jin Yiwei think of him? Who will dare to deal with civil servants in the future?

Therefore, Zhu Youjian still tended to send Wu Biao to garrison. Instead of killing them and using them to please civil servants.

But there needs to be an explanation on how to reduce Wu Biao's crime. It is foolish to use the emperor's will to suppress people. Not to mention the "lack of punishment" astrology corresponding to the lunar eclipse, some civil servants may still pursue him, question or even overturn his policy of dealing with the eunuchs.

Therefore, after Zhu Youjian saw the memorials of Yao Shishen and others, he felt that it was difficult and was very embarrassed about it.

Angry in his heart, Zhu Youjian summoned the top brass of Jinyiwei, threw the memorial in front of them, and cursed:

"Look at what you have done, you are still dragging your feet in getting charged."

"It's okay now. The civil servants say that Wu Biao can be killed. If he doesn't kill him, he will not be punished. What do you have to say?"

Throw the hard questions on them and see what they have to say.

Zheng Shiyi, Liu Qiao, Qi Changguo and others read the memorial and understood why the emperor was angry.

The emperor's policy for dealing with Wu Biao was set after he overthrew the eunuchs last month and asked them to do it quickly.

As a result, out of favor, they allowed Wu Biao to stay in Jinyi Guard Prison and did not convict him in time.

Now that it has been dragged on like this, the civil servants have caught on to the matter.

Zheng Shiyi and others were moved that the emperor did not break his promise due to pressure from civil servants, but they also felt a little regretful and felt that this matter should not be delayed. So much so that it embarrassed the emperor and made the civil servants keep an eye on Jin Yiwei.

After a long silence, Liu Qiao, the admiral of Jinyi Weixi Sifang and Weiwei Temple Qing, who was still a descendant of Wenyin and knew more about civil servants, said: "The matter has reached this point, and even the results of the joint trial of the three law divisions cannot be changed."

"I thought that the court ceremony should be held and the court ministers would be responsible for the verdict."

Ji means to interrogate, and Tingji means to interrogate in the court.

The prison court was one of the three major powers of the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and it was tied with the court conference on major affairs and the minister's court recommendation.

Tingjing's resolution is higher than the joint trial of the three legal divisions. Now that Dali Temple has decided to execute Wu Biao, one way to overturn their decision is to hold a joint trial of the Three Laws Division. But Dali Temple is one of the Three Dharma Divisions, and it would be difficult for the three Dharma Divisions to overthrow Dali Temple in a joint trial. Therefore, Liu Qiao suggested to do it in one step and directly hold court trials and try them in the court:
"According to the old system, the court can be interrogated in front of the Meridian Gate by the Three Laws Division, or the other nine ministers can be added, the royal guards can also be added, and the six chief officers who must participate."

"I think your Majesty can let Jiu Qing, Liu Ke, and Jin Yiwei join the court to interrogate Tian Ergen and others."

This was a method that Liu Qiao came up with. He believed that given the current situation of the court, it was more likely to reduce Wu Biao's crime by holding a court trial, but they would still definitely die if they held a three-law trial.

Zhu Youjian also felt that if he wanted to overthrow the results of Dali Temple, holding court trials would be a good way. However, he was not sure that he could control Tingji's decision, and he did not dare to vouch for it anymore, saying:
"When the results of Tingjiu come out, there will be no room for change."

"What if Tingjiu's results are not as you expected?"

what to do? Of course it's served cold. Liu Qiao's previous position as Beizhen Fusi was succeeded by Xu Xianchun. Of course, his relationship with Wu Biao was not a good one, so he immediately said:

"Tian Ergeng and others deserve death, but His Majesty is magnanimous and wants to spare them the death penalty."

"Even if Tingjiu's results are not satisfactory, they should still feel deeply about it."

It means just try your best and don’t be demanding about the results.

Zheng Shiyi and Tian Ergeng had a good relationship, and of course they did not want Wu Biao to be sentenced to death. But it is those people who brought the matter to its present state. Zheng Shiyi could not defend himself and could only say:

"I think the other criminals who should be executed should be executed together."

"Strive to behead a few rebels and exile the rest."

Tingjiu, who seemed to agree with Liu Qiao's proposal, tried to get Wu Biao's crime to be lighter by throwing out several death row prisoners.

Zhu Youjian listened to their suggestions and nodded slowly. Regardless of the outcome, this method was proposed by Jin Yiwei and would not make them harbor dissatisfaction.

So he followed suit and said:
"Then according to your wishes, on the regular court on the 19th, Jiuqing, Liuke and Jinyiwei will hold a court ceremony."

"No matter what the outcome is, it must be implemented!"

After confirming the matter of Tingjun, and in order to show his attitude of protecting Jin Yiwei, Zhu Youjian continued:
"You all need to know who Tingjiu is, what charges he should be convicted of, and the relevant case files."

"You can also read Wei Zhongxian's confession document."

"Let him bear more of the eunuch's crimes."

Show them the confession document that Wei Zhongxian was ordered to write.

This document was exchanged by Zhu Youjian and Wei Zhongxian to save the lives of other people in the Wei family. Many of the crimes committed by the eunuch before were all borne by Wei Zhongxian. Now it finally comes into play to alleviate Wu Biao's charges.

　"History of Ming Dynasty":
　　All major matters discussed by the court, ministers' court recommendation, and major prison court meetings were all planned in advance.

　　"The Northern Strategy of the Ming Dynasty":
　　Yao Shishen joined Tian and Xu
　　Yao Shishen, the minister of Dali Temple, and others reported: Tian Er cultivated the royal guards, Xu Xianchun controlled the Fusi, and Ni Xian was responsible for killing people. They were all at the hands of two people.

　　That is to say, he was sent to prison to await execution, but he was executed in his own home, which made the world happy. Li Yongzhen was beheaded, and Liu Ruoyu was long-term.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)