Jiajing Chengming

Wang Yangming was not wrong. As long as this major case involving treason was reported to the court, the court would have to send people to investigate and force Wang Yangming to suspend his power.

Even the emperor could not break this rule just because he trusted Wang Yangming subjectively.

After all, this is to prevent future local military commanders from taking advantage of such loopholes when they have rebellious intentions.

But as long as Jiangxi Provincial Inspector Cheng Qi Chong delayed the report for a few months, it would not affect the court's rebellion plan.

But Cheng Qi Chong didn't do that.

In this case, to put it mildly, this matter means that Cheng Qi Chong is not flexible enough and is stubborn. To put it seriously, this matter means that Cheng Qi Chong has the intention to help the rebels.

But unless Cheng Qichong admitted in person that he wanted to help the rebels, the court would not be able to accuse Cheng Qichong of helping the rebels.

And Cheng Qichong actually did have such thoughts.

Because he was also a member of the ritual protection faction and an important follower of Yang Tinghe in the past.

It is only because Yang Tinghe has lost power that he is now only a seventh-rank imperial censor.

In fact, it was because he had always been good at downplaying the label of "Yang Tinghe's cronies" and was focused on doing good things as a local county magistrate that he was able to become a provincial inspector.

Therefore, Cheng Qi Chong pretended to be stupid and immediately reported it to the emperor after receiving the report.

When Cheng Qichong learned that the court had ordered Wang Yangming to be temporarily suspended from his post and sent people to investigate, he sighed and said to himself: "Fang Zining, I can only help you up to this point."

"Master, Mr. Fei wants you to come over."

But just as Cheng Qi Chong was talking to himself, Fei Hong, who had retired and returned to his hometown, suddenly sent someone to invite Cheng Qi Chong to his house for a chat.

Cheng Qi Chong couldn't afford to neglect him, so he had to come to Qianshan.

When Cheng Qichong saw Fei Hong, Fei Hong asked him: "Why don't you keep the complaint for a few more days? Do you have to let more innocent people die in the rebellious areas before you will stop?"

"I really don't understand what you said, Elder."

Cheng Qi Chong pretended to be stupid.

Fei Hong sneered and said, "Is it necessary to cover up like this in front of me?"

Cheng Qi Chong did not answer.

"I know that you must be trying to take advantage of Wang Yangming's close relationship with Zhang Fujing and Gui E, and Yang Yiqing's intention to exclude dissidents, so that Wang Yangming can't suppress the rebellion."

"But you should also understand that this unpopular rebellion can be put down even without Wang Yangming!"

Fei Hong then took the initiative to speak again.

Cheng Qichong suddenly couldn't help but ask back: "Why is it unpopular? Are those who flatter and flatter in the court popular now?"

"Of course they are popular!"

Fei Hong replied.

Cheng Qi Chong sneered: "The junior can't see it."

"You can't see it because you are blinded by one thing and have a biased view of the world's situation. You insist that the will of the scholars is the will of the people in the world. But in fact, the scholars in the world have never been united, and they cannot represent the will of the people in the world!"

"People all over the world, regardless of whether they are noble or humble, prefer peace to war!"

Fei Hong suddenly spoke sternly to Cheng Qi Chong.

Cheng Qichong was still unconvinced and said, "Even if what you said is right, why did Emperor Taizong succeed in his campaign to quell the rebellion? Don't people in the world dislike war?"

"That's because Emperor Jianwen went against the people's desire not to have wars, and he was too hasty and too harsh in reducing the power of the feudal lords! He didn't consider whether the rebellion caused by this would affect the people of the world."

"And the current emperor has always considered the demands of the majority of people in the world first. Because he knew that the untouchables were dissatisfied with the court, he abolished the untouchable system forever. Because he knew that most artisans were dissatisfied with the status quo, he reformed the artisan system. Because most royal family members were dissatisfied with the status quo, he reformed the royal family system. Because he knew that military households were dissatisfied with the status quo, he reformed the military households."

"Do you think that His Majesty is comparable to Jianwen?"

Fei Hong then asked about Cheng Qi Chong.

Cheng Qichong then asked Fei Hong: "Does the Lord sincerely hope that Your Majesty will be a true sage ruler of the restoration of the country?"

Fei Hong smiled.

then.

Fei Hong said to Cheng Qi Chong: "I said I sincerely hope, but you naturally don't believe me." "But you should know that your majesty has used the profits of the grain transport to make me willing to sacrifice my son's life to do my best for the emperor's great cause of rejuvenation."

"So, this is no longer something I want or not, but something I can only agree to and cannot refuse."

After Fei Hong finished speaking, Cheng Qi Chong frowned and clenched his teeth.

Afterwards, Cheng Qichong said, "I will take the initiative to plead guilty to the crime and plead for Wang Yangming. Anyway, this job is meaningless."

Fei Hong knew that Cheng Qi Chong said that being an official was meaningless because he was tired of the current official environment where officials had to cater to the emperor's will and do practical things for the people in order to get promoted.

But Fei Hong did not reprimand Cheng Qichong, but only asked: "Did you do this under the instruction of Yang Tinghe?"

Cheng Qichong was stunned for a moment, then quickly denied it: "Absolutely not!"

"But you are Yang Tinghe's disciple. Just because you say no, doesn't mean His Majesty thinks so!"

Fei Hong said.

After hearing this, Cheng Qi Chong turned pale and took a few steps back.

……

……

Royal study room.

Zhu Houcong also asked Yang Yiqing and other ministers of the Imperial Study because of Cheng Qichong's impeachment of Wang Yangming: "Do you think this matter is related to Yang Tinghe?"

"Your Majesty, I don't think Yang Tinghe would do such a thing."

Yang Yiqing replied.

Zhang Cong said, "I think it is possible, because even if this is done, the court will not only blame Cheng Qichong for believing the complaint and acting rashly, but it will be difficult to punish a censor who has done his duty and reported important intelligence in a timely manner. However, the benefit is that the court will have to suspend Wang Yangming and give the rebels a chance to breathe."

Zhu Houcong nodded after hearing this.

then.

Zhu Houcong suddenly smiled and said, "Forget it! Whether it exists or not, it doesn't matter."

By the way, Yang Tinghe didn't know yet that Zhu Houcong began to suspect that he was secretly helping the rebels.

At this time, Yang Tinghe, on this day only, called his servant Anfu, whom he had always trusted, to his backyard garden.

Then, Yang Tinghe asked Anfu: "Anfu, it seems that your son also passed the imperial examination this year, right?"

"Thanks to the master's kindness, he was allowed to go out of the palace to study. Now he has been selected as a tribute student and recently won the 109th place in the Shuntian Prefecture's provincial examination."

Anfu replied.

After hearing this, Yang Tinghe smiled and said, "Great! Starting from your son, your family will no longer have to be a slave, but will also start to become a noble family."

An Fu knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This is all due to the master's kindness! The master gave him this opportunity because he saw that my son loved reading since he was young. Otherwise, with his limited luck, he would never have made it this far."

"Since you have always known that it was me who helped you settle down, why did you betray me and keep watching over an old man like me for His Majesty?"

At this moment, Yang Tinghe suddenly asked about An Fulai in a very serious tone.

Anfu was slightly startled, then smiled awkwardly: "Master, what are you talking about?"

"There's no one else here, so don't hide it!"

"I won't do anything to you. I just want you to tell the truth so that I can know the truth before I die!"

As Yang Tinghe spoke, he suddenly started coughing.

Anfu did not answer.

Yang Tinghe continued to ask: "Isn't it that the decades of care I have given you and the affection we have had since we were young together are not as good as the promise His Majesty made to you?"

"Anfu, I won't hide it from you! I already know that I don't have much time left, so I want to hear the truth from you before I die!"

"Don't let me leave with regrets!"

"I won't do anything to you. Besides, you are His Majesty's man, what can I do to you?" (End of this chapter)