Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 222: Shi Weibude, Violating Tianhe

The immortal procession moved to Pingle, and the rainbow flags gathered on Lan. Suddenly, a thousand cavalrymen came together, and then six battalions were surprised.

The golden drums are played with great vigor, and the imperial carriage is set up in front. The light clouds support the green canopy, and the bright sun shows the red pole.

……

After the archery review, the Minister of War knelt down to report that the review was over. The emperor then slowed down his chariot and asked the troops how they had worked.

As the official from the Honglu Temple reported the imperial edict, all the officials knelt and kowtowed. The gongs, drums and other musical instruments all started to play. The soldiers on horseback retreated to the left gate of Chang'an and respectfully escorted the emperor to his sedan chair.

Amid shouts of "Long live the emperor" one after another, the grand review ceremony in the first month of the eighth year of the Wanli reign came to a successful conclusion. The subsequent ceremonies such as the Ministry of War's report to the emperor in the next two days, as well as the emperor's reception of the winners and rewards to the soldiers were purely ceremonial.

The ceremony is over, but its influence remains.

Perhaps because military and civilians were invited to watch, this grand review, which came after a ten-year absence, sparked an unexpected wave of discussion both inside and outside the government.

In teahouses and taverns, those talking all praised the country's might and their faces were beaming; old men in the streets all recalled the glorious years with deep emotion; scholars in the literary circles composed poems and lyrics, singing praises of the country; peddlers and hawkers clapped their hands in celebration, hoping that the foreign enemies would restrain themselves and not invade the capital again.

From private schools to Buddhist temples and Taoist temples, everyone praised the grand occasion of the review.

People at that time said that the emperor personally wore armor and selected 120,000 soldiers. The capital was crowded with people from near and far to watch. The grandeur of the army was rare in modern times.

As the days passed, the heated discussions showed no sign of abating.

This attracted the literary leader Wang Shizhen to personally write an article to comment on it.

"Dragon banners shine like the sun in Yan and Ji, rainbow flags blaze like lightning in Hutuo. Pixiu line up in battle array, tigers ferociously stand in the clouds."

"The gleaming swords and spears reflect the cold green of the western mountains; the blasts and cannons split the sky, shaking the towering walls of the northern palace..."

"Alas! Remember the long-standing shame of the civil engineering and encourage military power, the Xuanqiong will prosper for thousands of years; beware of the sudden change of Gengxu and strengthen the army, the phoenix will prosper forever for hundreds of generations!"

Leader Wang has always been given special standards when writing articles.

This time, he directly criticized the Tumu Rebellion and the Gengxu Rebellion, and I wonder how many scholars and common people were thinking about it.

In addition, he would occasionally release gossip in the Yanzhou Daily.

For example, introducing some new weapons and equipment during the military parade, announcing some punishments for incompetent generals, and even the emperor stopping all business activities of the army in order to favor the soldiers.

After a few fires, the public response became more and more enthusiastic.

Of course, some criticisms were inevitable.

For example, criticizing the imperial court for wasting people's money and resources, and performing fancy moves just to make the people believe that they are protected.

Or maybe this display of military might is just a way of intimidating the people as there have been many people plotting rebellion in recent years.

There are even reports that the emperor disregarded the laws of his ancestors and engaged in war just to squeeze taxes from the provinces and suppress disobedience at any time.

In such situations, the imperial court in the past would either arrest some unlucky people to establish its authority, or believe in the idea of ​​opening up the channels for communication and just endure the anger.

Today’s style of doing things is very different.

The Ministry of Public Security immediately started its propaganda machine and, for the first time, invited a scholar from the Hanlin Academy to be a special commentator, who wrote long comments in both classical and vernacular Chinese in the Xinbao Newspaper.

in short.

The Hanlin Academy believed that since the proliferation of Yangming's followers, the image of our army had been damaged, national consciousness was low, and national identity was distorted.

The Hanlin Academy pointed out that political rituals are tools of norms, procedures, and symbols, and are only judged by the quality of their effectiveness, not by whether they are good or evil.

The Hanlin Academy stressed that this grand review would provide value for money for the people.

In terms of function, it displays the appearance of soldiers in the Beijing garrison, builds national identity, and creates collective memory.

In terms of governance, the people's consciousness was integrated to form political identity, so that the implementation of major policies could be extended to more people, thereby promoting the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world to move towards a more distant future.

Finally, the Imperial Academy also responded to concerns about militarism.

The Hanlin Academy stated that Emperor Xuanzong's original strategic contraction was based on the backdrop of heavy taxes across the country. Now, after years of recuperation, taxes have improved significantly and the treasury is becoming increasingly full, so it is naturally not possible to generalize.

Using the example of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to look for the sword on the boat is a one-sided argument, an isolated perspective, and a subjective mentality. It is recommended that you study logic for two years before making mischief.

As such.

It seems that they have begun to compete for the high ground of public opinion.

While the war of words was still intense, on the 26th of the first lunar month, the emperor issued two more pardons.

"There is a loyal and obedient wife of the Tumed Wanhu, Nayanchu Zhonggen Hatun, who is in charge of the military, stopped the war, built the Hancheng, and managed the tribute market. Now the two tribes are talking about trust and friendship, and their relationship is like that of father and daughter, which will never change."

"She is pardoned and conferred the title Princess Yongning, given the name Zhu Xuanji, and given a city!"

"We have the great king of Joseon, Yi Sun, who reveres Confucianism and Taoism, is sincere and filial, has guarded the border for 200 years, has paid tribute to the country for 14 generations, and has never changed. Now, the two countries are neighbors, and the love and affection of the superior country is deep."

"Lift the maritime ban on Korea and grant Laizhou Port access to trade!"

After the imperial edict was issued, the Korean envoys went to the palace to express their gratitude and then left Beijing in a hurry.

The third lady followed closely and received a simple enthronement ceremony at the Huangji Gate. She accepted the imperial decree, expressed gratitude, and called the emperor "father".

At the same time, the astute wealthy businessman immediately smelled the scent of silver.

In particular, the families of the Grand Princess, the King's Uncle, the Duke of England, and others successively sent business managers to Guihua City and Laizhou. All the wealthy merchants heard the news and flocked to them.

Inside and outside the court, military and political affairs, vassal states, scholars and merchants, all took turns to become the focus, and the battle was in full swing.

that's it.

The whole capital city was bustling with activity and the New Year ended without stopping.

……

The sixth day of the second month in the eighth year of the Wanli reign.

There is always something to do before and after the New Year.

Having just finished a package of tasks including the grand review, the enthronement of the princess, and the opening of trade with Korea, it is time to prepare for the Spring Examination on the ninth day of February.

After discussing all matters concerning the Talent Selection Ceremony, it was time for Prince Lu to leave the palace and go back to his residence. The Ministry of Works did not work very fast, and the Fifth Princess's residence was only half built. However, Prince Lu urged them all day long and supervised the construction personally.

Therefore, Zhu Yijun had to skip his lunch break, take some time out to fulfill his brotherly duty, and personally escort the boy part of the way.

"Over the years, I have successively conferred titles on the two Holy Mothers, the Empress Dowager, the Nine Concubines, as well as you and the Five Princesses. Not to mention the various gold, silver, blue and red gems, the materials used for the pieces totaled 87,000 taels, and there is not much left in the inner treasury."

"In addition, Suzhou and Hangzhou were damaged by disasters, and the riverbanks were lost. I have already asked the Imperial Household Department to reduce the weaving production by half, so there won't be much to make up for this year."

"What I mean is that you will only be thirteen next month. You are still young, so don't rush into getting married. Stay in the capital for two years first."

Zhu Yijun covered his mouth and yawned repeatedly.

His younger brother wants to get married, which will cost a lot of money.

Although it was not as it happened in history, where the inner court was emptied, 900,000 taels of military funds were embezzled, and Zhang Juzheng's house was raided, it was not done in a grand manner.

But Empress Dowager Li is still alive, and it is not good for Zhu Yijun's brothers and sisters to marry too carelessly. A decent regulation must be guaranteed.
The inner court’s budget for this year has almost been spent, so all we can do is “definitely next time.”

Prince Lu lagged behind by half a body length, following closely beside the emperor and listening attentively to his instructions.

After the emperor finished speaking, Prince Lu carefully continued: "Your Majesty, I don't ask for many pieces of jewelry. It's just that Yuanyang has been restless recently and I covet beautiful..."

Before he could finish his words, a slap came from the back of his head with five fingers full of wind!

"You are defiling yourself! What the hell! Who taught you these nonsense?" Zhu Yijun grabbed Prince Lu Houjin by the collar and cursed, "You look so stupid, I must be crazy to suspect you!"

Empress Dowager Li was invited to live in the Western Garden at an early age. After entrusting her son's education to the court officials, Prince Lu smoothly passed through his rebellious period.

Of course, it is always easy to go too far in correcting a wrong.

I don’t know whose credit it is, but Prince Lu’s cautious behavior is now almost catching up with that of the Chu vassal.

He went out of the palace all day to tease women and invite playboys to gamble.

He was only thirteen years old, but he already started to prepare for a rainy day and petitioned for the country's vassalage!
In response, the ministers such as Shen Shixing who followed behind him did not look away and calmly reminded him: "Your Majesty, please pay attention to your manners."

Zhu Yijun snorted coldly before loosening Prince Lu's collar.

Prince Lu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and said submissively: "Your Majesty is right, your Majesty is right."

When the emperor's expression eased a little, he smiled bitterly and explained in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm afraid of my brother. It's really that Liu Yingjie was plotting rebellion last year and used me as a cover, which really hurt people a lot!"

After all, Prince Lu was still young, and seeing that the emperor was thinking about their brotherly love, he felt aggrieved and simply told the emperor all his difficulties.

Ever since the Liu Yingjie incident, court officials came to criticize him every now and then.

That was fine, the Confucian scholars were reasonable after all, and they became much more restrained after he agreed to leave the palace.

The most annoying thing was that there were always sons of nobles inviting him to ride in a donkey cart, the imperial guards wanted to teach him axe skills, and the eunuchs always came to his bed in the middle of the night and asked him if he was ready to make any big plans when he was drowsy. Everyone was willing to follow Prince Lu.

Afterwards, these people could always be seen in the Jinyiwei and Dongchang.

In such a chaotic situation, it is only natural for people to want to return to their fiefdom as soon as possible and live a peaceful life in their fiefdom.

Prince Lu bowed with his hands clasped, his face full of bitterness.

After hearing this, Zhu Yijun turned his head to glance at Zhang Hong, Shen Shixing and others, and opened his mouth to speak.

I saw these people smiling innocently, but they didn't say anything when the words were on their lips.

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, shook his head helplessly, slowed down his tone, and comforted Prince Lu: "If you don't live in the palace, it will be quiet. The court officials are still reasonable, and other people will not come to cause trouble."

Upon hearing this, Prince Lu naturally expressed his gratitude profusely.

He even did not forget to smile and bow to Shen Shixing, Zhang Hong and others.

"Don't listen to your close ministers, who are always doing nonsense."

Zhu Yijun said earnestly: "You are still young now. You have time and energy. Learn more from Li Chengming and do something you like."

"Don't think your reputation is unimportant. When you become the head of your own family in the future, your image as a prince will be the image of the Lu branch. I don't want to see the words 'Prince of Lu' in the imperial censor's memorial."

Although the clan salary has been cut now, the Lu clan is still far from being reduced to commoners for seven generations, so further reduction will not hinder the prince from enjoying his life.

Being a rich and idle person, it is really bad to act like Li Chengming, cultivate some legitimate hobbies and enjoy your retirement in peace.

Prince Lu secretly observed the emperor's expression and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his brother was truly sincere.

"I am grateful for your advice." He said quickly, "When cousin Chengming recovers from his injury, I will invite him to my house to study with me."

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, and asked curiously: "Hasn't Li Chengming been fiddling with the Mohist mechanism with Deng Shaoyu recently? What happened? Did he pinch his finger?"

He did not require Li Chengming and other close relatives and children of nobles to do anything.

Only after they were forced to take math and engineering courses and strictly prohibited from having bad hobbies, these children of nobles naturally began to develop their curiosity and tinker with some useless but interesting things.

Upon hearing this, Prince Lu looked confused and obviously didn't understand either.

Zhu Yijun turned his head again and cast an inquiring look at Zhang Hong.

"Your Majesty, Captain Li and the son of Marquis Dingyuan were studying the mechanism a few days ago. They accidentally added too much gunpowder and were scratched on the shoulder by the splashing iron pieces."

The one who answered was Li Jin.

After all, he and Li Chengming are cousins, so he knows more about these things than Zhang Hong.

Zhu Yijun frowned. No wonder this guy hadn't been seen recently. "Is he okay?"

Seeing this, Li Jin hurriedly stepped forward and explained, "Your Majesty, the doctor has examined him and it is not serious. He just burned down the workshop and scared away two craftsmen."

In order to avoid being scolded by Empress Dowager Li, Li Chengming specifically instructed not to tell anyone in the palace.

But now the emperor asked him in person.

Zhu Yijun nodded slowly, and then asked, "Why are they playing with firearms?"

Li Jin paused, considering how to explain.

After a moment, he explained: "Your Majesty, it is not a firearm."

"Previously, Liu insisted on the view that 'force is the reason why the form is excited', but in recent years, he felt that there were some contradictions, so he asked Lieutenant Li and the son of Dingyuan Marquis to do some experiments."

Zhu Yijun subconsciously hummed from his nose.

Of course he knew what was going on.

The so-called "force is the reason why the shape is excited" was said by Mozi, and it was also one of the foundations of Liu Dunkai's summary of the laws back then - the object itself is still, and only when it is subjected to force will it move.

That's certainly not true.

But Zhu Yijun did not take the initiative to explain to Liu Dun what uniform linear motion is.

So-called science is the evolution of relative truth, and self-correction is an indispensable part of it.

After absorbing Western knowledge, Liu Dunkai could be said to have mastered both Chinese and Western learning.

Now it seems that he has realized that something is wrong.

"After finishing the experiment, Captain Li got inspired by something and kept talking about 'power' all day. He bought a workshop and tinkered with waterwheels and other mechanisms."

"Last month, a craftsman offered a suggestion, saying that after watching the military parade of firearms and the events of Wan Hu, he was inspired to believe that gunpowder could be used as a 'power source'."

"So, Lieutenant Li went to find the son of Marquis Dingyuan, intending to use gunpowder to drive the mechanism..."

Needless to say, there is no need to say more about what happened next.

The fate of Wan Hu's attempt to fly into space on a rocket was still fresh in people's minds. The explosion of Li Chengming's small workshop was normal. After Li Jin finished speaking, he quietly retreated.

Prince Lu followed the emperor and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing the emperor's serious eyes and twitching mouth, he thought something was wrong and carefully slowed down his pace, fearing that the emperor would vent his anger on him.

There were no words for a moment.

The emperor and his ministers walked down from the platform of the Huangji Hall and arrived in front of the Meridian Gate.

"Okay, I will send you to the Meridian Gate. You can take care of yourself in the future."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling Prince Lu to leave.

Prince Lu took three steps back and bowed, "I will remember this."

Zhu Yijun nodded gently: "Remember to go to the palace to greet the Queen Mother on the first and fifteenth day of every month."

After saying that, he turned around and left without any hesitation.

Only Prince Lu was left alone, bowing respectfully on the spot.

A group of court officials and guards surrounded the emperor and walked back ostentatiously.

Shen Shixing took advantage of the opportunity and quickly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, General Wen is still waiting in the Wenhua Hall. Should we wait for Your Majesty to take a rest in the warm room before summoning him?"

She said she wanted the emperor to rest for a while, but in her heart she was trying to stop the emperor from going back to the West Garden to sleep.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Tell him to wait at Donghua Gate. I need to leave the palace for a while, and we will talk on the way."

"Ah?" Shen Shixing looked up in surprise.

Just about to say something more.

The emperor quickened his pace and headed to Donghua Gate in a hurry.

……

When Zhu Yijun arrived at Donghua Gate, Wen Chun was already waiting there.

When the latter saw the emperor's procession, he hurried forward to salute.

Zhu Yijun reached out his hand to support him and said straight to the point: "Have the people from Bozhou gone back?"

There are so many things to do, and the affairs of Bozhou cannot be brought up on the table right now, so I just leave them to Wen Chun to deal with.

Wen Chun stood up and followed the emperor's steps: "Your Majesty, what Wang Ning, the governor of Guizhou, reported was totally untrue."

Zhu Yijun had already changed into the Taoist robe he wore when leaving the palace.

When he heard Wen Chun's words, he couldn't help but look at Shen Shixing.

Last year, Yunnan started a war. Wang Ning, the governor of Guizhou, reported to the court that the Yang family of Bozhou was ready to make a move and had close contacts with the rebels in Longchuan and Yueyang, and there might be some conspiracy.

The road ahead is long and the sky is high. Now, more than half a year has passed and there is finally a conclusion to this matter.

However, judging from the meaning, it is obviously different from Wang Ning's report.

Wen Chun took out a memorial from his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, for many years, Sichuan and Guizhou have been competing to send Bozhou's foreign soldiers."

"In the 42nd year of Jiajing, although the local soldiers of Bozhou were assigned to Guizhou, the relationship between Bozhou and Sichuan became more friendly, so that Guizhou had many prejudices against the Yang family."

"After Yunnan was invaded last year, Yang did not report it to the Guizhou governor's office, and sent 6,000 Miao people to help Yunnan without authorization."

"The Miao people were lawless and plundered many counties in Guizhou. Wang Ning led an army to investigate but to no avail, so he impeached Yang Yinglong for arbitrarily mobilizing troops and secretly crossing the border to plot evil."

After saying this, he handed the memorial to the emperor with both hands.

Zhu Yijun stopped, took it, and asked casually while flipping through it, "So clear and certain?"

Guizhou is remote, but it is strange that the matter was investigated so clearly.

Wen Chun paused after hearing this, and then slowly replied: "Your Majesty, Bozhou is full of Han people and is prosperous. Guizhou government offices, big and small, all believe that it is time to change the native system to Han people."

"An official from Guizhou has sent me a private letter, hoping that I can help with the Bozhou issue and complete the seven hundred years of achievements."

Having said this, he bowed again.

The unfinished meaning is tacitly understood.

The reform of the southwest to unite the natives was not something Wen Chun decided on a whim. Such a major event, in addition to being necessary for strategic central governance, often also involved tactical considerations, the maturity of the timing, and the common demands of countless officials of all ranks.

For example, the reform of Bozhou's aboriginal system was an achievement that Guizhou had longed for.

Nowadays, any official who hopes to achieve achievements in expanding territory will come to Wen Chun to pay his respects.

Therefore, it was not because of their strong investigative capabilities, but because the officials from Guizhou simply told everything.

Zhu Yijun lowered his head and read the memorial, without making any comment.

He handed the memorial to Shen Shixing who was standing beside him, and said thoughtfully, "Mr. Wen's plan to change the natives into officials will inevitably involve Bozhou first. Tell me what you think?"

When it comes to the greatest chieftain in the world, it must be the Yang family of Bozhou.

Tusi Tusi is not a savage with feathers and camouflage.

The Yang family had been the local emperor in the southwest for 700 years. They had a population of hundreds of thousands and a foot soldier of 100,000. They controlled the entire southwest's timber export business and also had side businesses such as tea and rice. Foreign officials who visited the area were all amazed that "the roads were accessible, the residents were prosperous, and it had the atmosphere of the south of the Yangtze River."

At the same time, his wealth and the geographical location where he could access the Yangtze River via the Chishui River were sufficient to ensure that he could establish a network of relationships that spanned the entire world.

Half of the goods related to officials were sent every year - "Every year, the workers were gathered to cut more than 10,000 pairs of flower fir boards, half of which were sold to officials, and the other half were sent to Suzhou and other places to be sold."

The relatives in the marriage alliance were either Zhang Tianshi of Mount Longhu or members of the royal family of the Tang vassal state. Occasionally, they would marry the nieces of a few high-ranking officials.

Even the Bozhou Yang family and the Taiyuan Yang family had long since merged to become the largest branch of the Yang family. Nobles such as the Marquis of Yingyang and the Marquis of Changping even had to call Yang Yinglong "uncle".

He has money, soldiers, and deep-rooted connections.

If not for this, Guizhou would not have been drooling all the time, and never dared to directly petition to change the state of Tu to Liubo.

Wen Chun lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Bozhou has not seen the light of day since the Tang Dynasty. After the Yang family came to power, they opened up the mountains and caves, recruited local leaders, established schools and nurtured scholars, and changed the local customs. The population has grown from 2,000 to no less than 100,000 households today."

"I am not discussing the unprecedented achievements of the Yang family, but only saying that the Yang family admires the fundamentals of China."

"Before this, the stronger the branches, the weaker the trunk. That's why Yang was so carried away that he dared to say such a rebellious thing as 'The emperor has the might of ten thousand armies, and I have ten thousand mountains.'"

"Now that the chieftains have been transformed, we only need to strengthen the core and maintain the trunk, and prune the branches and leaves at the right time. Those people will judge the situation and resign from their positions as chieftains."

The Yang family is different from other chieftains. They have not only been completely assimilated into the Han culture, they simply consider themselves to be Han people. Chieftains with this mentality and the same appearance are no different from the Han people.

Obviously, Wen Chun's ideas are very different from those of Guizhou.

Wang Ning hopes to flatten Yang Yinglong's territory.

Wen Chun, on the other hand, advocated appeasement, which meant waiting for Yang Yinglong to recognize the current situation and cooperate with the court in changing the system of natives to officials.

Of course, Zhu Yijun did not ignore the premise of Wen Chun's proposal, and asked: "Let's not talk about strengthening the roots and nourishing the trunk, but how do we start pruning the branches and leaves?"

This is also a self-evident truth.

When the Yuan Dynasty occupied the land of Bozhou, the Yang family didn't dare to say a word. When the Ming court weakened, Yang Yinglong dared to massacre Qijiang County.

Now Yang Yinglong has an army of 100,000. If we don't weaken him, how can we "surrender with courtesy"?
Wen Chun had no extra expression on his face, and maintained a respectful bowing posture: "Your Majesty, since Yang Yinglong took over the Xuanwei Office, he has been young and energetic, and has acted toughly. In addition, the customs of the two peoples of Han and Tu are different."

"As a result, there were two pacification offices and six chief offices in Bozhou, a total of eight offices. Five of them had a bad relationship with Yang Yinglong and robbed, assassinated, and set fire to the Yang family... In just ten years, they were already sworn enemies."

"The seven families of Tian, ​​Zhang, Yuan, Lu, Tan, Luo, and Wu in the state were Yang Yinglong's confidants, helping him to gain power. Now they have written to me to expose Yang Yinglong's misconduct."

"There is a lot of discord among those chieftains, and this is a good opportunity for us to intervene."

Shen Shixing was listening quietly nearby.

He didn't know what he was thinking about. He opened his mouth to speak and looked up to meet Wen Chun's gaze.

The latter shook his head slightly.

Shen Shixing glanced at the emperor, hesitated for a while, and finally did not speak.

The emperor did not answer for a while, as if he was still thinking. He walked slowly and walked out of Donghua Gate unknowingly.

A group of close ministers followed closely behind him.

After a long time, Zhu Yijun slowly spoke: "I understand what Mr. Wen means. In a nutshell, divide and disintegrate, and then accept him as a dog."

"However, it seems that Guizhou Governor Wang Ning is unable to take on this important task. Does Mr. Wen have anyone suitable to recommend?"

Wen Chun quickly stepped back and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is the one who makes the decision. I dare not speak nonsense."

The Censorate is not in a position to interfere in personnel appointments.

The normal procedure should be that the Ministry of Personnel nominates, and Wen Chun casts a vote during the court recommendation. If the emperor wants to use the person, he will naturally choose the person according to his vote.

but.

The emperor never plays by the rules.

"In that case, how about Lord Wen go there in person?" The emperor's voice rang in everyone's ears.

Wen Chun looked up in surprise.

The emperor had a gentle expression and showed no extra emotion.

Shen Shixing looked back and forth between the two of them.

He paused for a moment, then bowed cautiously to the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, is it not too much for the Chief Censor to concurrently serve as the Governor of Guizhou..."

Zhu Yijun interrupted Shen Shixing with a amiable look: "The Censorate has buried talents for Mr. Wen, and is not what a famous official should do."

"If Wen Qing can do this job well, he should have a better place to go."

"As for the Chief Censor...let Hai Rui finish his work on the farm and come back as soon as possible!"

As he spoke, Zhu Yijun brushed the hem of his Taoist robe and said, "That's it. I'm going to visit the Imperial College and the Academy. Shen Qing, please send Governor Wen off for me and report this matter to Wang Qing from the Ministry of Personnel."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eunuchs and the secretaries quickly occupied the seats behind the emperor and left in a crowd.

Only Shen Shixing and Wen Chun were left standing there to see them off respectfully.

Shen Shixing looked at the emperor's back, thinking: "What does your majesty mean?"

The transfer of the Chief Censor to the position of Governor was naturally a demotion, but the emperor's words also seemed to pave the way for Wen Chun to enter the cabinet.

It's hard to guess clearly between ambiguity.

Wen Chun looked straight ahead: "Your Majesty's mind is unpredictable. It's useless to overthink."

This attitude clearly shows that he doesn't want to talk more.

Shen Shixing did not let Wen Chun go, and sighed to himself: "What does Jingwen mean? Why did you lie to Your Majesty about the matter of Bozhou?"

Addressing someone by their courtesy name is like the way they talk in private.

Shen Shixing knew a lot about Bozhou.

Wen Chun told the emperor all the facts, except for concealing Yang Yinglong's crimes.

Why were the Five Officials and Seven Surnames at odds with Yang Yinglong?
To put it bluntly, Yang Yinglong was exploiting his subordinates - "Anyone who received a memorial had to have the seal of the Xuanwei Division before he could deliver it, and he often demanded bribes without satisfaction."

That would have been fine, but he was brutal and cruel, killing people at will. He also loved to humiliate girls in front of their fathers, rape wives in front of their husbands, cut off ears and pick noses, and castrate people to become eunuchs... There were many other things he did, too numerous to count.

When the people knocked on the gate and complained about their injustice, Yang Yinglong sent his subordinates to capture and kill them secretly, and even massacred their entire families afterwards.

To cover up Yang Yinglong's crimes and tell the emperor about them is naturally reversing cause and effect.

Wen Chun shook his head, his expression a little cold and hard: "Among the several surnames in Bozhou now, only the Yang family claims to be Han people. When pruning branches and leaves, there is also a hierarchy."

"If you leave the Han and keep the soil, you will get half the result with twice the effort; if you leave the soil and keep the Han, you will get twice the result with half the effort."

"As for Yang Yinglong, he is such a heinous criminal. Now that he is weak, it is time to punish him according to the law and calm the people's resentment!"

Wen Chun now clearly doesn't care about right or wrong.

What they valued was Yang Yinglong's cruelty and tyranny, and his tendency to massacre families and people at will.

He was determined to let Yang Yinglong go and instigate internal conflicts among the chieftains. When Yang Yinglong had done enough harm to the local natives, he stepped forward to uphold justice for the people, killed Yang Yinglong, and took the opportunity to transform the chieftains into commoners.

Shen Shixing remained silent.

Naturally, he had seen through it a long time ago, otherwise he would not have hesitated for so long in front of the emperor and not exposed it.

"There is dry heaven and earth."

Shen Shixing sighed again, expressing his inner friction.

Wen Chun nodded without hesitation: "So, please don't embarrass your majesty. Know me and judge me, and let future generations judge."

Shen Shixing put his hands behind his back, sighed, and turned back to Donghua Gate: "Don't I feel embarrassed? I wonder if His Majesty has noticed something..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Chun looked up again and looked in the direction where the emperor left.

"Hard to say."

(End of this chapter)