I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 34: Group Performance! The Imperial Academy's Heavenly Group Moves Out (Large Chapter)
into the night.

Fusi, the northern town, was ordered to prison.

In a dark, damp and foul-smelling cell.

Shanxi merchant Qiao Wendao's cheeks were so swollen that it looked like two goose eggs were stuffed in them.

Since he was imprisoned in the imperial prison, no one has paid any attention to him.

At this moment, he felt a little scared.

He didn't expect that Shen Nian would ignore the etiquette and moral integrity of the literati, and was not afraid of adding a stain during the selection and examination, nor was he afraid of losing the good job of taking notes and lecturing history in front of the emperor, so he just took action!

But think about it carefully.

Fighting among Ming Dynasty officials had become a common occurrence.

Qiao Wendao dared to threaten Shen Nian.

On the one hand, it was because he had done many similar things to young officials and rarely failed.

On the other hand, he had investigated Shen Nian and knew that the latter had no backers. The three elders of the cabinet, the officials of the six ministries, and the chief officer of the Hanlin Academy had never given him any special care.

Shen Nian's move caught him off guard.

He thought the other party was a little lamb, but unexpectedly it was a tiger cub.

Next.

He could only hope that the big backer behind him would lend him a helping hand.

……

at the same time.

In another corner of the imperial prison, in a clean cell.

After Shen Nian finished writing his confession, he had the special meal provided by the Imperial Guards.

Vegetable porridge, two steamed buns, and a chicken leg.

Cao Wei, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the pacification envoy of the Northern Pacification Office, saw that Shen Nian's mistake was not serious.

Naturally, I won't neglect him.

Just when Shen Nian had eaten and drunk his fill and was about to admire the moon through the small three-inch square iron window, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.

immediately.

He then saw Ma Ziqiang, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, the Chancellor of the Imperial Secretariat and a Hanlin Academician, striding towards him.

Cao Wei accompanied him.

Several Jinyiwei followed behind.

Shen Nian smiled and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant Shen Nian pays homage to Scholar Ma and Commander Cao!"

Ma Ziqiang glared at Shen Nian.

"You, you still have the nerve to laugh! You're fighting in broad daylight! You should know that you're a lecturer in front of the emperor, and your morals must not be corrupted!"

Shen Nian bowed and saluted.

"I feel ashamed of the cultivation you received from me, and I have brought shame to you and our Hanlin Academy!"

Ma Ziqiang stroked his beard lightly and turned to look at Cao Wei.

"Commander Cao, how should Shen Nian be punished for his actions?"

Cao Wei said, "According to the Great Ming Code, the merchant offered no real bribe, and Shen, the inspector, assaulted someone, causing bruises and swelling. He should be flogged forty times. However... however... if there is an order of leniency from above, he can be exempted from the flogging."

What he meant by "above" was naturally Feng Bao.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was directly under the imperial power, but was supervised by the Eastern Depot.

Feng Bao was in charge of the Eastern Depot, and the young Wanli was still young, so the real person in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was actually Feng Bao.

Ma Ziqiang thought about it.

"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so let him go home first. If needed tomorrow, you can summon him."

Cao Wei looked embarrassed.

"Master Ma, this... this is probably against the rules. I will order my subordinates to take good care of Shen Jianchao."

Feng Bao's orders could represent imperial power, but Ma Ziqiang could not.

Ma Ziqiang frowned.

"Why? Do you really want me to drag you to the Imperial Household Department to find Eunuch Feng?"

The reason why Ma Ziqiang broke the rules of the imperial prison and wanted to let Shen Nian go home was that if Shen Nian stayed here for one night, the news of the beating would spread tomorrow.

Until then.

There will certainly be officials who will impeach Shen Nian for his flawed conduct and claim that he is unfit to serve in the imperial court.

He didn't want such an excellent lecturer to lose his bright future because of such a trivial fight.

And he believed it.

The young emperor, Zhang Juzheng, and Feng Bao did not want Shen Nian to lose his assignment of taking notes and narrating history in front of the emperor.

Later.

Ma Ziqiang would go to Zhang Juzheng and ask him to talk to Feng Baoyan to suppress the matter.

At present, Shen Nian is the face of the Hanlin Academy.

Cao Wei smiled helplessly.

"Master Ma, I have reported this to my superiors and will receive a response soon. If they agree, I will personally escort Shen Jiantao home!"

Ma Ziqiang was a person favored by the late emperor.

In the daily lectures in front of the emperor, his status is second only to the three cabinet ministers, and there is a high probability that he will enter the cabinet in the future.

Cao Wei really didn't dare to provoke him, but rules are rules.

If he acts without asking for permission, he will not be able to stay in this position until tomorrow.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard must be subordinate to the imperial power.

Even Zhang Juzheng had to go through Feng Bao to command the Jinyiwei.

Ma Ziqiang's expression suddenly eased a little.

On the side, the Jinyiwei were all surprised.

It was very rare for a third-rank Left Vice Minister of Rites to come to the imperial prison in person to bail out a seventh-rank Hanlin reviewer.

They also knew that Shen Nian had attracted much attention in the court recently, but they did not expect that she was so important in Ma Ziqiang's eyes.

at this time.

A Jinyiwei quickly walked up to Cao Wei and whispered something to him.

Cao Wei immediately put on a smiling face and shouted, "Open the door and send Shen Jiantao home!"

Cao Wei suddenly changed his attitude, obviously Feng Bao had spoken.

"Shen, today's fight is over. I will inform the businessman that I will not pursue the matter. You can leave now. I will personally see you off!"

Shen Nian’s face was not worth Cao Wei’s personal escort, but Ma Ziqiang’s face was.

Click! Click!
The prison door was opened, and two Jinyiwei made a "please" gesture to Shen Nian.

This is the power of the Northern Pacification Office.

When the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Supreme Court arrested people and brought them to justice, they would at least keep case files and conduct level-by-level review.

But the Northern Pacification Office arrested people.

The three major trial offices had no right to interfere, and officials were not allowed to arbitrarily comment on the interrogations and punishments of the Northern Pacification Office.

Because the imperial prison investigation represents the imperial power.

Just when Ma Ziqiang and Cao Wei breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the matter was over.

Shen Nian walked to the door and stopped.

"No, I can't go out. According to the Great Ming Law, I should be flogged forty times. I can't violate the Great Ming Law!"

"what?"

Ma Ziqiang and Cao Wei were both stunned.

In their impression, Shen Nian is not that kind of pedantic person at all.

If the current Ming Dynasty were to follow the Ming Code, even if there were ten imperial prisons, they would still be overcrowded.

Shen Nian looked at Ma Ziqiang.

"Master Ma, can we come closer and talk?"

Ma Ziqiang walked up to Shen Nian with a puzzled look on his face, and then the two of them began to whisper.

At this time.

Cao Wei and the Jinyiwei behind him all felt very uncomfortable.

What they are best at is lying on the wall and stealing information, but at this moment, two people are whispering in front of them.

Or what they want to hear.

They were anxious and had no idea what to do.

Some people stood on tiptoe and some people leaned their heads forward.

There were also people who were good at lip reading and kept staring at Shen Nian, but Shen Nian half covered his mouth and could not make any sense.

What attracted them most was Ma Ziqiang's facial expression.

First he was surprised, then solemn, then excited, and finally a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

Lean slightly.

Ma Ziqiang strode out of the cell and looked at Cao Wei.

"Commander Cao, let Shen Jiantao stay in the imperial prison tonight. Tomorrow, we will handle the matter impartially. He should be flogged forty times, and there is no need for mercy. I will go and speak to Eunuch Feng!"

After saying that, Ma Ziqiang personally closed the prison door for Shen Nian and walked out with a smile on his face.

Cao Wei and others were all confused.

This was the first time they saw someone who was in the imperial prison and was unwilling to leave. They really wanted to know what Shen Nian said to make Ma Ziqiang so excited.

But Shen Nian bowed to Cao Wei and returned to the straw mat bed.

This means seeing off guests.

Immediately, Cao Wei and others walked out of the imperial prison in a daze. After Ma Ziqiang was released from the prison, he went straight to Zhang Juzheng's mansion.

……

About half an hour later, Cao Wei received an order: to carry out the task according to the Great Ming Law, but the punishment must be light.

Cao Wei was puzzled.

Why should such a trivial matter be handled impartially while at the same time being punished leniently despite violating the rules? It would be enough to just let Shen Nian go.

Although he didn't understand, he still had to do it.

Another hour passed.

Just when Shen Nian was about to fall asleep, he received a letter from Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet.

This was the first time Shen Nian received a private letter from Zhang Juzheng.

There was only one sentence in the letter.

After Shen Nian read it, he thought for a long time, then murmured, "That makes sense!"

……

The next morning, Cao Wei personally interrogated the case in the imperial prison.

Shen Nian and Qiao Wendao stood on both sides, with their confessions placed on the desk.

Cao Wei said loudly: "After investigation, the confessions of Shen Nian, the Imperial Academy reviewer, and Qiao Wendao, the businessman, are consistent. Qiao Wendao did not commit bribery and was released on the spot. Shen Nian, the Imperial Academy reviewer, was convicted of assaulting someone and causing bruises. According to the Ming Dynasty Code, he shall be flogged forty times!"

Qiao Wendao was overjoyed after hearing this.

Few people can enter the imperial prison unscathed.

He originally thought that the officials would protect each other and would give Shen Nian a light punishment, and he even thought of many words of defense, but he didn't expect that the case would be decided directly.

He is very satisfied!

I thought it must be the support behind me that was helping me.

He puffed out his chest, raised his face with swollen sides, and looked at Shen Nian with great pride.

He was ready to watch Shen Nian being tortured.

Cao Wei looked at Qiao Wendao.

"Qiao Wendao, what's the matter? Are you still waiting for me to invite you to dinner?"

"I dare not! I dare not!" Qiao Wendao immediately ran out of the lobby.

……

About a quarter of an hour later, Shen Nian took off his pants and lay on a bench.

Snow-white buttocks, slightly cold.

Several people were standing nearby.

There are two executioners, one person to count, and one person to hold a book to record.

The tools used for flogging in the Ming Dynasty were all made of rattan, with the large end having a diameter of 2.7 centimeters and the small end having a diameter of 1.7 centimeters.

Although flogging is light, caning is heavy.

But the buttocks is an extremely soft part after all, so it will definitely hurt if you hit it.

Swish!
At this moment, the bramble suddenly fell down, and Shen Nian quickly closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Snapped!
The sound is crisp and clear.

Shen Nian suddenly opened his eyes and felt no pain.

The force was like slapping mosquitoes off his arms in summer.

"Cough cough..." The person holding the book and recording suddenly started coughing.

Shen Nian was stunned, then suddenly realized.

"Ah!" Shen Nian screamed, pretending to be in pain.

"One, two, three, four, five... twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one!"

"what!"

At this moment, Shen Nian let out another scream.

This really hurts.

"what!"

Shen Nian screamed again.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
The last ten hits were real ones.

But the force was just like when Shen Nian's father hit him with a ruler.

Shen Nian understood that this was for the convenience of recording. If there was no mark on the buttocks, it would be too fake.

He gritted his teeth and quickly got through it.

He understood that with these forty blows on his buttocks, his plan was half successful.

……

Near noon.

Aji, who had been waiting outside the imperial prison for a long time, hired a carriage to take Shen Nian back home.

Shen Nian was imprisoned for execution. According to the rules, he should go home and wait for the punishment from the Hanlin Academy.

……

afternoon.

The Tongzhengsi, which was responsible for receiving, submitting, and refuting internal and external memorials, suddenly became bustling.

Memorials pile up on the desk, and after being recorded and sorted, they will be sent to the cabinet one after another.

Almost all of these memorials were impeachments against Shen Nian.

Shen Nian was flogged forty times, which meant that the crime of beating the people was confirmed.

Less than an hour.

No less than fifty officials successively submitted memorials, impeaching Shen Nian for beating the people and lacking personal moral integrity, and said that such officials were not fit to serve the emperor.

The reason Shen Nian was impeached by so many officials was not because he was unpopular.

Instead, officials in various government offices in the capital, especially censors, were subject to performance evaluation requirements. If they failed to submit an insufficient number of meaningful memorials, they would be punished.

Now, Shen Nian’s assault is proven.

When they submit an impeachment memorial, they will not be on the wrong side, and it will be for the sake of the emperor, and they can also get a performance evaluation.

Why not!
Since the self-examination became a law, all government offices have been very efficient in doing everything, including impeaching colleagues.

the entire afternoon.

Memorials impeaching Shen Nian continued to be sent to the cabinet.

There were even people lining up in the Six Departments Corridor, shouting, "Those with flawed personal ethics must not remain before the Emperor!"

He had the courage to sacrifice himself for the Ming Dynasty.

They wanted to meet with the elder and denounce Shen Nian's mistakes.

But the cabinet did not deal with the memorials or meet with them.

Dusk.

Just as some officials gathered in the Ministry of Public Security, waiting for news from the cabinet.

Ma Ziqiang, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Shen Shixing, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Jiaping, Xu Xianqing, Zhang Wei, Yu Shenxing, and Shen Maoxiao, editors of the Hanlin Academy, Shen Yikuan, Shen Yuan, Huang Fengxiang, Wang Maode, and Gong Jiachen, and Wang Zudi, Zhao Yongxian, Liu Kezheng, and Liu Chuxian, reviewers of the Hanlin Academy, came to the Tongzhengsi.

This kind of situation is very rare, and it is difficult to lose even in a group fight.

Ma Ziqiang strode into the Tongzheng Department, took out a memorial, and shouted, "Officials from the Hanlin Academy jointly submit this memorial: Shen Nian, our reviewer, was threatened by a corrupt businessman because he refused a bribe. To avoid falling into corruption, he assaulted the corrupt businessman. What crime has he committed?"

"Shen Nianshi is a role model for young officials in rejecting corruption. However, some officials have impeached him for his poor personal ethics. This is truly absurd. Officials of the Hanlin Academy, I implore Your Majesty to uphold justice!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Tongzhengsi suddenly became quiet.

Many officials realized that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction.

All the officials from the Hanlin Academy came out together, obviously they had discussed it beforehand, and the angle they found was very insightful.

It seems to be defending Shen Nian.

In fact, the nature of this matter has been elevated to the level of "bribery and corruption in official circles."

This is Shen Nian’s plan.

If the Northern Pacification Office had suppressed the matter after he beat Qiao Wendao, the matter might have passed.

But if Shen Nian was flogged, it would prove that he had assaulted someone, and officials would definitely impeach him.

After his impeachment, things got a little bigger.

Then the officials of the Hanlin Academy came out collectively to speak up for Shen Nian and defined the matter as follows: an official who took action because he refused a bribe should not be guilty!
The core of Shen Nian's plan is to use this incident to crack down on bribery in official circles.

The reason why Ma Ziqiang was excited after hearing this was that if he followed Shen Nian's plan, all the officials in the Hanlin Academy would benefit.

This plan was supported by the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng.

However, Zhang Juzheng adjusted Shen Nian's plan.

The words he wrote to Shen Nian were: "It is difficult to cure greed. It is better to prevent people like Ziheng from falling into greed!"

What this means is——

There are many corrupt officials in the court. If we were to fight corruption with the same approach as the performance evaluation law or the post station regulations, the Ming Dynasty would be overthrown. It would be better to reduce the intensity and focus on how to prevent young officials from falling into corruption.

Shen Nian could understand Zhang Juzheng's helplessness.

In the first year of the Wanli reign, he advocated honesty and punished corruption.

For example, Zhang Minghua, a doctor at the Nanjing Ministry of War, bribed Dong Chuanze, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, with 100 taels of silver, and both were dismissed from their posts. Liu Yingji, the vice censor of Datong, was dismissed from his post for embezzling public funds.

But it is just killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

At present, if we fight corruption comprehensively, it would be equivalent to cutting off the main artery of the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Nian's plan.

It was equivalent to mobilizing all the Hanlin Academy officials, including Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao, and Ma Ziqiang, to act together.

Even if it doesn't trigger a major anti-corruption campaign, it can at least make some bribe-givers and bribe-takers tremble for a while.

Moreover, Shen Nian can turn this stain of beating a businessman into a bright spot in his career.

His goal is clear.

While doing something for the Ming Dynasty, let the people above see his excellence.

(End of this chapter)