Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 219: The court officials plead guilty, and the emperor corrects his government affairs!

"Can you please read these thank you articles and confessions before giving advice to His Majesty?"

"Are you so eager to criticize the pilot program to rectify monks and nuns?!"

Because the emperor allowed the court officials to discuss the matter, Zhang Cong, the Minister of the Dali Temple, suddenly questioned Wang Wei and Zou Wensheng at this time.

then……

He held up a stack of thank-you letters and confessions, looked at the two men and said:

"These Confucian scholars' articles and the common people's confessions clearly reveal it!"

"Not only did the temples and monasteries not help the poor because of the privilege of exemption from military service granted by the imperial court, but they took advantage of this privilege to accept donations, seized the land of the common people, hoarded goods in years of disaster, raised loan interest rates, exploited the people nearby, forced them to go bankrupt and become slaves and prostitutes! They even harbored prostitutes and bandits, and spread rumors to confuse the public!"

"Sixteen students from Shishou County School jointly denounced Yuanjue Temple for monopolizing the lending profits of Shishou, forcing a large number of people to sell their children, and even forcing royal relatives to sell their children!"

“No wonder the royal family members also said in their letters of thanks that the low-interest loans also helped them, and they were not competing with the people for profits!”

After Zhang Cong said this, Wang Wei and Zou Wensheng were shocked. They thought to themselves that they did not expect that Yan Song, the treacherous minister, would report the scandals of monks and nuns during his tenure as the envoy to observe customs and rectify social practices in Huguang, and let Confucian scholars and common people expose them.

The two of them couldn't help but rush to get these materials from others and look at them.

Not long after watching it, Wang Wei knelt down first:

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

"I have never been to the local area, so I don't know the people's sentiments and I have taken things for granted. Now, after seeing the reactions of the local clansmen, scholars and common people, I know that the real situation in the local area is very different from what I thought!"

"The same applies to you!"

"I was too hasty in giving advice, and almost made a big mistake. I was suspected of confusing right and wrong and trying to gain a reputation for being honest. I am truly guilty, and I plead guilty!"

Zou Wensheng also knelt down immediately and replied with a painful look on his face.

Simultaneously.

The two men hated Yan Song in their hearts, thinking, "Yan Fenyi, I asked you to observe the customs and practices, but why are you doing it so seriously? When you become rich and powerful in the future, don't you want to build a family temple and use the Buddhist temple to seek welfare for your descendants?"

At this time, the Minister of Justice Zhao Huang secretly thanked his luck that he did not rush to stand up and give advice, otherwise he would be so embarrassed that he had to stretch his neck in front of the emperor for him to chop off, and at the same time slap himself in the face.

But because of this, Zhao Huang decided to use this opportunity to consolidate his favor, so he pretended to be excited and said: "It's outrageous, absolutely outrageous! If it weren't for your majesty's wisdom and the appointment of the envoy to observe customs and rectify habits in Huguang, we, the followers of Neo-Confucianism, would have been kept in the dark!"

"His Majesty!"

"It is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost. I ask that you immediately promote the selection of envoys for observing customs and rectifying social practices throughout the country, and also ask that you immediately rectify temples and Taoist temples throughout the country!"

Zhang Cong glanced at Zhao Huang and said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, I think it's not possible! We can't rush into anything. The better the results of the Huguang pilot, the more vigilant the rentiers in other places will be. Therefore, we must not be careless at this time. We must continue to proceed step by step according to the actual conditions of various places!"

"What Zhang Qing said is absolutely right!"

"The matter of Huguang has not been settled yet, and the new policy for pilot projects has not been summarized and discussed yet. It is too early to say whether it can be implemented nationwide."

When Zhu Houcong said this, he looked at Wang Wei and Zou Wensheng.

Naturally, he didn't believe that these two people really didn't understand the local situation. After all, as third-rank court officials, they couldn't be as naive as the women in the palace.

But it was meaningless for Zhu Houcong to expose the two now, so he just said at this time: "Since you have impeached yourselves and pleaded guilty, I will not blame you too much for not checking the facts, being frivolous and impatient, and I will not punish you severely for your deception. However, you must be punished for your crimes, correct your mistakes, and make up for your omissions!"

"deliver an imperial order!"

"Wang Wei, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was demoted to a post outside the capital and demoted to the position of Tongzhi of Donglai Prefecture!"

"Zou Wensheng, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was also demoted to a post outside the capital, and was demoted to the position of Magistrate of Jin County!"

"The court should focus on using the wealth from the Donglai gold mine to support the people who have moved to Donglai, and help them cultivate land and promote education! This will solve the fundamental contradiction of the world's large population and small land area."

"So I banished you here. I hope you can correct your past mistakes, learn the real situation in the area, hone your abilities, and become important officials of the court again in the future!"

After Zhu Houcong said this, Wang Wei and Zou Wensheng were both trembling with fear, but they could only kowtow to express their gratitude.

However, Zhu Houcong's treatment of Wang Wei and Zou Wensheng did make a number of upright and conservative people dissatisfied.

Because they still felt that the emperor's treatment was too harsh and unkind.

However, the emperor did not kill them, but only banished them to other places, as if to wait and see what would happen next.

But after all, Wang Wei and Zou Wensheng were both Hanlin scholars of the Hongzhi Dynasty, and they were representatives of the upright and honest government!
Such a clear-minded person was demoted to a remote post, fell into the muddy current, and went to a wild place like Donglai, which is even worse than Qiongzhou. Isn't this disrespectful to the ministers of honor?
Shu Fen, who was promoted to Hanlin lecturer, and Censor Lu Qiong wanted to step forward and make suggestions to vent their anger.

But just as they were about to leave, Zhu Houcong asked someone to bring out another type of memorials and related evidence presented by Yan Song, which were about the gentry in Huguang privately compiling unofficial histories to slander the late emperor, the empress dowager, the emperor and ministers, and even satirizing current affairs and defaming court ministers in poems and essays.

"Take a look at these again."

Zhu Houcong pointed at the pile of materials and memorials that he had asked Huang Jin to bring out, and said, "Making up unofficial history to discredit the late emperor, the empress dowager, and even me, the prime minister and the ministers, even if these are just rumors, is this the integrity that a scholar-official who has received the grace of the country should have?!"

"You guys take a look first, and then we'll decide how to deal with these people!"

Zhu Houcong then said this seriously.

The court officials continued to circulate these new memorials and new materials.

"Your Majesty, I request that these gentry be severely punished!"

"What they did was extremely disrespectful to the late emperor, the empress dowager, and Your Majesty!"

"All the books, articles and poems that are related to the rebellion should be burned, and the people are not allowed to keep them privately. If they are found, they should be handed over to the authorities to be burned! Otherwise, they should be charged with the crime of keeping evil books privately." Zhang Cong, the Minister of Dali Temple, stepped out and made a report first.

Zhu Houcong nodded: "We will deal with him severely!"

"deliver an imperial order!"

"Xiang Wending and other gentry heard about the palace secrets and rumors and wrote them down in their notes, saying that they were spread by the eunuchs in the inner court. This is extremely disrespectful and the family tradition is not right. They do not take the basic principles of loyalty and filial piety to heart. It is not excessive to kill them. However, considering that they heard the rumors from others and did not make them up themselves, they will be spared and demoted to a commoner, and exiled to Donglai with their entire clan! If there are officials in the court in the same clan, order them to be dismissed and exiled!"

"As for satirizing current affairs and slandering the court officials, I am suspected of misleading the people and disrupting the government. I will be demoted to a commoner and exiled to Donglai!"

Zhu Houcong stood up and announced his order.

Zhu Houcong did not simply vent his emotions, but tried his best to handle the matter in an objective and fair manner.

After all, he did not really want to destroy the vitality of Chinese culture as a whole. He really wanted to be like the barbaric Qing Dynasty, who, for the sake of cultural despotism, would not hesitate to silence all the literati in the world.

Therefore, he did not choose to kill these gentry and literati, but chose to exile them on the grounds that these people confessed that it was just hearsay and not fabrication. This means that gentry and literati in the world are allowed to carry out relevant creations, but they cannot make up stories or even smear campaigns with strong personal emotions, otherwise they will have to pay the price.

Because if a scholar uses his ability to spread knowledge to slander others or even the country and nation, it is also an act of dictatorship.

Zhu Houcong would not allow the existence of any autocratic ruler other than himself in the world.

However, what the literati wanted was unlimited freedom of power, the ability to vent their emotions in cultural creation and attack people and systems that they were dissatisfied with.

Therefore, even though Zhu Houcong's handling of the matter still adhered to the concept of "the monarch should be upright", it still made some court officials who only wanted the power of officials to be unrestricted very dissatisfied.

"His Majesty!"

The civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were not afraid of trouble. In addition, they all knew that Zhu Houcong was not a tyrannical ruler. Therefore, Lu Qiong, the imperial censor of Fujian Province, stepped out resolutely and said, "I have a suggestion!"

"speak!"

Zhu Houcong felt something was wrong, so he looked at the censor Lu Qiong who was standing next to Yunhe with a serious expression on his face, and said something in a deep voice.

"I request that Yan Song be executed!"

"This man has a vicious heart. He wants to please Your Majesty without regard for the feelings of the people. He should be killed to bring peace to the world."

"In addition, Your Majesty should abolish the post of Observing Customs and Rectifying Morals, and issue an edict to never appoint one again."

"Rumors stop at the wise. Although the gentry have done one or two stupid things, they are harmless. If we blame them too much, or even set up a customs and habits inspection to suppress their words, it will only destroy the vitality of our civilization!"

"Since ancient times, wise rulers have treated their subjects with kindness and forgiveness. I ask Your Majesty to emulate the benevolent rulers of ancient times!"

Lu Qiong bowed his head and said.

Zhu Houcong suddenly became furious.

Zhang Cong asked coldly at this time: "Yushi Lu, you said this is harmless? They slandered the late emperor, the empress dowager, and your majesty, but in your mouth it became a harmless act! You want your majesty to talk about benevolence and forgiveness, but where is your principle of the emperor humiliating his subjects to death?!"

"His Majesty!"

After Zhang Cong questioned him, he stepped out and bowed to Zhu Houcong: "Even if Your Majesty wants to forgive these people, I will not forgive them. I will report it to you and ask for your order to punish them severely! Otherwise, the rules and regulations cannot be maintained!"

"What Zhang Qing said makes sense."

Zhu Houcong nodded, then looked at Lu Qiong: "Mr. Lu, are you still a loyal minister?"

"Your Majesty asked me such a mean question, but I have no answer!"

Lu Qiong replied through gritted teeth.

Zhu Houcong blushed immediately: "You said I'm mean?"

"Your Majesty would confiscate the property of a minister and exile him, even punishing his entire clan, just because he offended them!"

"If it's not meanness and ungratefulness, what is it?"

"Now the Huguang gentry have taken the liberty of adding the false statements they have heard about Your Majesty into their notes and articles. It is because Your Majesty has always been unforgiving and too harsh that they are willing to believe these false statements."

"Your Majesty, after seeing these slanderous words, shouldn't you reflect on why you are being defamed by the gentry and local celebrities?!"

"If Your Majesty follows the example of the Xiao Temple and treats the people of the world with courtesy and kindness, there will be no such words!"

Lu Qiong said in a deep voice.

Zhu Houcong laughed in anger: "They are the ones who are disrespectful, but you want me to reflect on myself. Why don't you let them reflect on themselves? Why do they keep losing their consciences?!"

"In my opinion, what Liu Gong, the former prime minister of the two dynasties, said is right. You all do not believe in the way of loyalty to the emperor and love for the people, and you want to be sinners of the orthodox teachings!"

Zhu Houcong spoke in a deep voice.

"I do not want to deny the way of loyalty to the emperor and love for the people, nor do I want to betray the orthodox teachings. I just ask Your Majesty to rule the world with scholars, not with the people. I ask Your Majesty to treat scholars with courtesy, and not be mean and ungrateful, so that you can become a sage and benevolent ruler!"

Lu Qiong continued.

"presumptuous!"

Snapped!
Zhu Houcong then slammed the table and pointed at Lu Qiong.

(End of this chapter)