Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, in the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Youjian summoned the cabinet ministers, Jiuqing, and relevant officials from the Sanfa Department and Taichang Temple to deal with the Qian Qianqiu case.

This case was brought up again by Wen Tiren, and Zhu Youjian first asked him:
"Wen Qing participated in Qian Qianyi's bribery and was bribed by Qian Qianqiu. He committed the crime of fraud in the examination room by using the idea of ​​'improving to the sky'."

"Is there any solid evidence for this matter?"

Wen Tiren said without hesitation:
"Every word of Qian Qianyi's crime is true."

Zhu Youjian continued to ask:

"The Criminal Department of Qian Qianqiu's case has been closed. Do you still have any questions?"

Wen Tiren refuted the idea of ​​closing the case and replied:

"The Ministry of Punishment interrogated Jin Baoxuan and Xu Shimin, but Qian Qianqiu escaped and never took office. How can the case be settled?"

Zhu Youjian nodded and agreed with this statement. The main criminal involved in the case escaped, so of course the case cannot be said to be closed.

So he turned to Qian Qianyi and asked:
"Wen Ti Ren Shenqing was bribed by Qian Qianqiu, and he used 'one day to reach the sky' as a link, but is it true?"

Of course Qian Qianyi did not admit this and hurriedly defended:
"I took the imperial examination in Zhejiang Province in the first year of Tianqi. I was said to be a good candidate for a while, but I didn't hear about the money for Qianqiu at first."

"After returning to Beijing, I learned about Qian Qianqiu. I immediately went to the Ministry of Justice to discuss him. The report is now in the Ministry of Punishment."

Zhu Youjian didn't say anything after hearing the reply. Wen Tiren interrupted directly, with an aggressive tone, and asked Qian Qianyi:
"Qian Qianqiu escaped. Xu Shimin and Jin Baoxuan were the middlemen. They personally told the Ministry of Punishments that they were related to Qian Qianyi. How can we rely on this?"

Qian Qianyi continued to argue and replied:

"I don't dare to argue further. The current case is in the Criminal Department."

"Qian Qianqiu's test paper was originally taken by Zheng Luxiang, the official of Zhending Mansion. As the president, I couldn't read it all. I only read seven of his words, and I also looked at his backcourt knowledge, but I didn't see the seven words at the end. I skimmed it for a while. I cannot resign myself to the crime.”

He only admitted the crime of negligence and wanted to get rid of the matter.

Zhu Youjian was certainly not satisfied with this and asked Su Maoxiang:

"What does the Ministry of Punishment have to say about Qian Qianqiu's case?"

Su Mao, the Minister of Punishment, replied:
"This case was tried in the second year of Tianqi. I had not yet arrived at the Ministry of Justice at that time and had never seen the case file."

"Now that the judicial power of the Ministry of Punishment has been transferred to Dali Temple, the case files are also being transferred. It is difficult to find the case files at the moment."

Zhu Youjian nodded secretly, feeling that Su Mao was an acquaintance, and realized that he wanted to use this case to his advantage, so he did not take out the case file——

Otherwise, if the case is settled, there will be nothing to argue about in the court, and how can I use Qian Qianyi to manipulate him?

Therefore, he did not blame Su Mao for not being able to find the case files, and said:
"The transfer of case files is a major event and must be done well."

"Dali Temple should establish a special archives room, classify and number the files, and store these files."

"In the future, all case files will be classified into confidential levels for inspection by people at different levels."

"Except for those that will never be declassified, other case files will be declassified according to confidentiality levels and will be declassified within ten to thirty years, allowing the public to view them. If the printing technology matures in the future, they can be publicly printed and published."

"So Dali Temple must be cautious in deciding the case and it must stand the test of time."

"The Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate must do a good job in supervision and not let Dali Temple and local yamen decide cases indiscriminately."

After warning the Three Laws Division, Zhu Youjian continued to talk about Qian Qianyi and asked the officials:
"Do you think Qian Qianqiu's case is closed?"

Wen Tiren raised the case again, of course not admitting that it had been closed, and insisted:

"Qian Qianqiu has never been in office, so of course the case is not considered closed."

Qian Qianyi denied this statement and believed that the case had been closed:

"Qian Qianqiu has actually become an official. How dare I bully the emperor?"

The two of them insisted on different opinions, and there was no case record to prove it. Zhu Youjian could not tell who was right and who was wrong, so he asked the cabinet minister:

"Did you say the Qian Qianqiu case was closed?"

There is currently no Donglin Party member among the cabinet ministers, and of course they will not be biased towards Qian Qianyi. Instead, they are somewhat dissatisfied with this Donglin Party member who made trouble when he returned to the court, and no one speaks for him. So they said perfunctorily:

"This matter will become clear after the case files are found."

It means putting this matter off until later.

Zhu Youjian also had the same intention. He wanted to use this case to tie up Qian Qianyi and prevent officials who had just returned to the court from taking his lead in opposing the policies he had set a year ago. So he asked other ministers:
"Do you have any other opinions, sir?"

Most of the ministers had no objections. Only Li Biao, the minister of Taichang Temple, as Qian Qianyi's superior, had to defend him and said:
"The fraud in the examination room actually had nothing to do with Qian Qianyi."

Zhu Youjian respected Li Biao, the minister of Taichang Temple, and explained seriously:
"I also hope it has nothing to do with it, otherwise Zhejiang's elites will cause trouble."

"In order to set the record straight, I decided to let Dali Temple re-examine the case. I will investigate the matter thoroughly to avoid misunderstanding by the world."

Then he said to Qian Qianyi:

"Qian Shaoqing, I don't want to target you, but the provincial examination is a big matter and there must be an explanation."

"You don't want to be suspected and have people point fingers from behind in the future, right?"

Qian Qianyi wanted to say that the case had been closed and there was no need for another trial. But I also knew that since Wen Tiren mentioned it, there must be a conclusion——

Otherwise, he will always be suspected and people will think that he was involved in Qian Qianqiu's examination fraud case.

Therefore, he could only admit the emperor's statement and said:

"I am incompetent and made a mistake during the provincial examination due to oversight."

"Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Seeing him accepting the punishment, Zhu Youjian nodded slightly. Since he enabled Qian Qianyi, he never thought about driving this person back to his hometown to cultivate influence. So he ordered:
"You have made some mistakes. You should first pay a salary of three months, shut yourself up and reflect on your mistakes for three months, and review your mistakes."

"In three months, the truth about Qian Qianqiu's case should be revealed."

"Whether the punishment should continue will be determined by the outcome of the trial."

There was no dismissal or other punishment. Qian Qianyi felt relieved, knowing that the emperor was punishing him with a small punishment but with a big warning. When the trial results come out in three months, he would probably be fine. After all, the Qian Qianqiu case has been concluded, and as long as he sticks to his previous statement, he can get out of it.

Wen Tiren was a little unwilling and wanted to beat Qian Qianyi to death with a stick, and reminded:

"Your Majesty, Qian Qianyi is an unparalleled traitor, and he has followers all over the court."

"This person cannot be treated lightly!"

Wen Tiren understands this truth very well. If Qian Qianyi cannot be defeated this time, he will face a counterattack by Qian Qianyi and the Donglin Party in the future. So he ignored the eyes of others and continued to say that Qian Qianyi was an unparalleled traitor. Zhu Youjian ignored it, waved his hand and said:

"How could Qian Qianyi, a mere young minister, arrange for all his followers to be everywhere in the court?"

"It's a good thing for you to have doubts, but you can't be suspicious."

"If Qian Qianyi is said to have formed a party, who are his followers and when did they secretly discuss it? Why is there no solid evidence?"

"There is no need to mention this matter again, I have made my own decision in my heart!"

Not wanting to bring up the matter of forming a party, and not wanting to cause another party dispute in the court, Zhu Youjian put down Wen Tiren's criticism and said to the ministers:
"This matter ends here, do you still have any objections?"

The ministers remained silent. Zhu Youjian was extremely dissatisfied with this phenomenon and said:

"You don't say anything when you ask, but when you step back, you have a thousand words to say. How do you say that?"

Chief Assistant Huang Li was extremely helpless and could only respond on behalf of the ministers:

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true, and I have no objections to it."

Li Biao, the minister of Taichang Temple, was eager to end the matter and said:
"How can I, my ministers, and others, who worked with the masters of Yao and Shun, dare to party?"

The matter of Qian Qianyi forming a party was also put aside.

When Zhu Youjian saw that they all responded, he was finally satisfied and asked the cabinet to draw up a vote. He personally approved it with a red pen and decided on the outcome:

Qian Qianqiu's case was retried, and Qian Qianyi was fined three months' salary and kept in isolation for three months.

At this point, today's meeting came to an end, and the ministers resigned one after another.

Zhu Youjian ordered his people to leave Wen Tiren and Qian Qianyi behind, and first had a private conversation with Wen Tiren, saying:
"I know that Wen Qing is loyal, otherwise I would not have promoted you to the position of Minister of Rites."

"It's just that as a minister of the country, you should tell the truth when doing things, and don't talk nonsense and make some sensational statements."

Thinking of Wen Tiren's "The Straight Haired God", Zhu Youjian couldn't help but want to laugh——

This reminded him of the shocking bodies of later generations, which was really interesting.

In order to prevent his ministers from turning into a shocker, he certainly had to put a stop to this trend so that his ministers would not learn from it.

When Wen Tiren heard what the emperor said, he couldn't help but blush. He originally thought that the emperor was a young man and would be irritated by seeing such a memorial.

Unexpectedly, the emperor had much more knowledge than he expected, and this trick of words could not be hidden from him at all.

Fortunately, he is thick-skinned and knows that many people can see through this approach. Feeling ashamed under the pressure, he pretended to be calm and said:
"I am isolated and loyal to expose this traitor for Your Majesty."

"I heard in the countryside that Qian Qianyi's methods have become more and more aggressive since he betrayed Qian Qianqiu, the civil servant. Every scholar admitted by Wenzong will need 500 taels of silver, and each of those who help will need 300 taels of silver. Those who have passed the imperial examination will need I want two hundred taels of silver.”

"Rely on Donglin, control the party bureau, and control the advancement and retreat of talents based on joy and anger."

"Your Majesty must not underestimate Qian Qianyi. This person is really a traitor who forms factions and deceives the emperor!"

When Zhu Youjian heard what he said, his color gradually changed.

He had heard that the Donglin Party controlled the advancement and retreat of talents, but he did not expect Qian Qianyi to be able to do this. He could even control the number of scholars entering school, the quota for Confucian junior students, and the qualifications to participate in the provincial examination. This made him feel that the influence of the Donglin Party in the local area was too great.

However, these things are unsubstantiated, so punishing Qian Qianyi is a bit arbitrary and cannot cure this kind of behavior. Zhu Youjian could only sigh and said to Wen Tiren:

"Since Wen Qing knows about this matter, he must find a way to solve the root cause and make the imperial examination more fair and the traitors cannot cause trouble."

"This examination is the first time I have been selected since I ascended to the throne. Wen Qing must help me handle it well without making any mistakes."

"My request is only four words: fairness and justice."

“Let people find it impossible to make mistakes!”

After giving Wen Tiren a few words of encouragement, Zhu Youjian even wrote these four words in his own handwriting and gave them to Wen Tiren.

Wen Tiren received the emperor's imperial pen and was so excited that he was speechless. At this moment, he no longer regretted that the emperor did not completely defeat Qian Qianyi, but knew that the emperor had understood his loyalty.

It can be said that from now on, he has the holy favor. As long as the Holy Family lasts, no one can defeat me. There is also a great chance of even joining the cabinet in the future.

In response to Wen Tiren's loyalty with a single word, Zhu Youjian had to give actual rewards in order to reward his merits and asked:
"The additional title of the minister is still the envoy, right? This is inconsistent with the status of the minister."

"By decree, Wen Tiren, the Minister of Rites, is appointed as the second-rank minister in charge of the administration, and represents the Ministry of Rites to attend the Standing Committee Meeting."

"From now on, Wen Qing should pay more attention to the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, and Taichang Temple and other yamen under the supervision of the Ministry of Rites should also pay more attention to them."

The authority of the Ministry of Rites system was fully delegated to Wen Tiren.

Wen Tiren had just returned to the court, although he knew that the emperor had made adjustments to the Jiuqing and Jiuji Temples and changed the distribution of power in the court. However, they did not fully understand the extent of the authority of the Minister of Rites.

At this time, he still used the Minister of Rites as a springboard to join the cabinet, hoping to become a cabinet minister in the future. That’s why he regarded Qian Qianyi as his opponent and wanted to overthrow him——

Because Qian Qianyi, a young minister, would become a minister and a candidate for cabinet ministers.

With Qian Qianyi's reputation in the Donglin Party, this descendant of Gu Xiancheng, a man with a world-wide literary reputation, will definitely gain the support of the Donglin Party and be promoted to the cabinet by them.

That's why Wen Tiren valued Qian Qianyi so much. After Qian Qianyi encouraged him to come forward to question the emperor's policies, he realized that he might be at odds with him and did not hesitate to criticize Qian Qianyi. affect yourself in the future.

But what he didn't expect was that the current situation in the court would allow him to have great power without becoming a cabinet minister. Zhu Youjian also had no intention of disturbing the cabinet to avoid turmoil in the court.

Therefore, Wen Tiren's idea of ​​completely defeating Qian Qianyi is actually unnecessary. His position as Minister of Rites is not just a springboard to the cabinet.

Wen Tiren will gradually understand these things after he goes back to think carefully and understand deeply the power of the Minister of Rites.

His thoughts will also change from being in the cabinet to working in the position of Minister of Rites and gaining greater power.

After encouraging Wen Tiren, Zhu Youjian looked at his leaving figure and sighed in his heart:

"As expected of a treacherous official who will go down in history, he is really astute!" 』

"Qian Qianyi was not beaten to death before, but now he has buried another needle. 』

"Since I have the ability to control the advancement and retreat of talents, how should I use money to benefit myself?" 』

He had always been wary of Qian Qianyi, but Zhu Youjian had underestimated him before, thinking that an official at the level of a Shaoqing could not make much trouble.

At this time, after listening to Wen Tiren's revelation, I realized that the influence of Qian Qianyi and the Donglin Party members in the local area had reached the point of affecting the advancement and retreat of talents. The local scholars should look up to them.

It’s no wonder that as soon as Qian Qianyi became famous, many people followed him. This person's influence is really too great.

Thinking about these things, Zhu Youjian left Qian Qianyi outside for a while after Wen Tiren left. He didn't call Qian Qianyi in until he figured out his attitude towards the Donglin Party. (End of chapter)