The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 180 Drag it down and chop it down

The next morning, at about 1 a.m., just as the sky was getting light, bursts of orderly footsteps suddenly rang out inside and outside the imperial city.

Countless neatly-organized columns rushed out from Xi'an Gate, Chang'an Right Gate, Jinyiwei Yamen, the parade ground in the Beijing Camp, and other places, and quickly gathered towards the Xidan Archway.

Soon, both sides of West Chang'an Avenue, Xidan Pailou North Street, Xuanwumen Inner Street and Tongzi Hutong were filled with soldiers from the Jinyiwei, Beijing Camp and Shenjiying.

The people of the capital also heard the news and flocked to the scene, soon filling both sides of the streets, except for the square in front of the Sanfashi Yamen.

This time the young emperor was personally conducting the interrogation. There might be many people in the capital who had seen the current emperor, but few had heard his voice, let alone the current emperor personally trying the case. That would be more interesting than any play.

So almost all the people in Beijing who could come came here, and many of them had no place to squeeze in, so they even climbed up the big trees on the street, or even the eaves of other people's houses!

Civil and military officials had arrived long ago. The square in front of the Sanfasi Yamen was reserved for them. At this moment, they were lined up in two long squares facing the platform, just like they were waiting outside the Meridian Gate to enter the palace.

As the hour of Chen arrived and the sun began to rise, rows of eunuchs poured out of the right gate of Chang'an.

Then there was a burst of whip cracking sounds.

All the civil and military officials to the west of the Xidan Archway immediately threw themselves on the ground and shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor!"

Wanli came out of the right gate of Chang'an on his dragon chariot amid the cheers of the people.

Behind him was the rising sun, which set off the dragon chariot, as if forming a huge halo behind him, which looked extremely majestic.

Son of Heaven.

This is the real Son of Heaven!

The light of the sun and moon both highlight its majesty.

When the people on both sides of the street saw this, they fell to the ground like waves and knelt on the ground.

Wanli certainly knew that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so he specifically chose to exit from the right gate of Chang'an instead of going through the Xi'an Gate.

The road from Chang'an Right Gate to Xidan Archway is not short, only two or three miles. Even if dozens of eunuchs carried the dragon chariot at a fast pace, it would still take a quarter of an hour.

It didn't matter to the common people, as there was no censor from the Inspectorate watching them. If they felt uncomfortable kneeling, they could move around.

Those officials suffered a bit. They were not allowed to move when welcoming the Emperor. No matter how much pain their knees hurt, they were not allowed to support themselves with their hands or stick out their buttocks to relax.

After Wanli stepped onto the platform, he deliberately scanned the area carefully before slowly sitting on the dragon throne and loudly called out to the loudspeaker, "Stand up."

Wow, what a loud and powerful sound, just like a dragon's roar!
The common people were deeply shocked. They had never expected that the emperor's voice was so deep and powerful, and like the sound of a bell, it could be heard from far away.

However, all the civil and military officials knew long ago that this was just a loud speaker like a bronze bell.

Wanli waited until all the people stood up before he said loudly, "Bring the prisoners."

Soon, two runners from the Ministry of Justice brought Shen Jing up.

The Ministry of Justice didn't even dare to put handcuffs on this guy.

This guy was really arrogant during the joint trial by the three judicial departments, and he refused to kneel.

However, at this time he was facing the current emperor, so he had to kneel even if he didn't want to.

He even knelt down and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, your humble servant."

What I mean is, I am not kneeling because I have broken the law, I am kneeling because I am here to see the emperor.

Wanli said coldly: "I dare not accept a minister like you, and you even teach me how to do things."

you!
Shen Jing was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He was a well-known official for his diligence and integrity, and the little emperor actually said that!

But he didn't dare to contradict the little emperor in front of so many people. He could only grit his teeth and pretend not to hear.

Seeing this, Wanli said sternly, "Shen Jing, do you admit your guilt?"

The trumpet mouth was facing him. Although it was covered with a curtain, the sound waves could not be blocked.

Shen Jing was so shocked by the harsh shout that his ears were buzzing.

He was stunned for a moment before he said with a stiff upper lip: "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. I don't know what crime I have committed."

You still say this, right?
Wanli simply asked: "How did your family get the two thousand acres of land?

I won't tell you how much the officials' salaries are, but the land in your hometown is 25 taels of silver per mu, so 2,000 mu is 50,000 taels of silver. Where did you get so much money?"

This was a gift from someone else. How could I have gotten so much money?
However, you can’t say it was a gift from someone else.

Shen Jing was naturally aware of this.

He said very straightforwardly: "Those lands are owned by the gentry of my hometown in my name, not mine."

This guy is suspected of deceiving the emperor, otherwise he wouldn't be so straightforward. Surrendering is not a glorious thing.

It's obvious that this guy is choosing the lesser of two evils.

Wanli pretended to be curious and asked, "Why did the gentry in your hometown register their land in your name?"

This one.

Shen Jing could only bite the bullet and say, "This is called a donation. It's very common in the local area."

Wanli continued to pretend to be curious and asked, "What do you mean by surrender?"

You're asking even though you already know the answer, right?
Shen Jing could only bite the bullet and explain, "Submission means that the gentry register their land in the name of someone with a high honor. This way, they don't have to pay land tax on the land registered in our name." Wanli actually asked, "Then what benefits do you get? How much money do they give you?"

This can't be about money.

Shen Jing simply lied, "They don't need to give me money, just a few dozen stone of grain will be enough."

Wanli continued to ask, "How many dan?"

you!
Shen Jing said helplessly: "It depends on the harvest, roughly around fifty stones."

Upon hearing this, Wanli snorted coldly, "You are quite cunning. Two thousand acres of land should have a minimum tax of 200 dan at a rate of 20 to 1. You collected 50 dan, and those lands are exempt from tax. The court won't receive a single dan of grain. You are clearly corrupt and perverting the law, aren't you?"

I!
I didn't take the lead in making this donation. In the court, how many people who didn't have so much land didn't accept the donation?

Why do you keep hounding me?
Didn’t I just submit a petition to establish a crown prince?
Just take advantage of this opportunity to mess with me.

Is this a serious crime?
Okay, I accept it. Anyway, they all said that as long as I don’t die, I will definitely be reinstated in the future, and even promoted step by step.

Shen Jing simply kept silent, which was considered as his agreement.

Seeing this, Wanli pretended to be angry and said, "You Qingliu are very cunning. You pretend to be incorruptible in the court, but behind the scenes you are actually embezzling and corrupting the law for your own benefit. The people are being kept in the dark by you."

What are you talking about ordinary people?

Many upright people couldn't help but blush when they heard this.

Because they are the kind of fake clean officials that Wanli talked about. There are many people who appear to be incorruptible on the surface, but secretly accept donations and even annex land in their hometowns.

The slap on the face was really loud.

The problem is that they don’t dare to jump out and say anything.

Shen Jing was caught red-handed and was left speechless when questioned. If they jumped out, it would be clear that they were protecting each other.

If it happened in front of ordinary people, it would be fine for officials to protect each other, but playing the game of protecting each other in front of this extremely rebellious young emperor is tantamount to seeking death.

Qingliu could only take the slap, and no one dared to say a word.

Seeing this, Wanli snorted coldly, "Let's stop here for now on the matter of embezzling public funds for personal gain and perverting the law. Shen Jing, I want to ask you, why did you submit a petition requesting the establishment of a crown prince?"

You're still asking this?

The Ming Dynasty laws do not state that submitting a petition requesting the establishment of a crown prince is a crime.

Shen Jing put on a righteous look and said in a loud voice: "The Crown Prince is the foundation of the country. I submitted a petition to establish a Crown Prince in order to stabilize the country's foundation."

There seems to be nothing wrong with this.

Wanli suddenly shouted angrily: "You clearly accepted a bribe of 2,000 acres of land, and then submitted a petition to establish a crown prince. Are you still trying to stabilize the foundation of the country?
The eldest prince is only three years old. What do you mean by being so anxious to appoint a crown prince?
Is Queen Wang infertile?

Princess Rongchang was born to Queen Wang.

If you are in a hurry to submit a petition to establish a crown prince at this time, what will happen if Queen Wang gives birth to a legitimate prince?
Will the eldest son be deposed and the legitimate son be enthroned?
You are deliberately disrupting the government!"

This!
Shen Jing's head was buzzing from the sudden roar, and he didn't know how to argue.

Wanli continued to roar: "And you, the clean stream, each of you speaks better than you sing.

What's the point of you all writing memorials to Shen Jing to say good things? Just because you call yourselves upright, do you think I should listen to you? If I don't listen to you, you will make trouble, right?

I was about to lead my army to conquer the Northern Tartars, but you are disrupting things from behind. You are bringing disaster to the country and the people!"

His Majesty is indeed going to lead his troops to fight against the northern barbarians. So many troops are heading north, and the people in the capital all know it.

This group of clean officials are actually making trouble behind the scenes!
When the people around heard this, they couldn't help but "buzz" as if a pot of boiling water had suddenly exploded.

"You are a bunch of beasts who bring disaster to the country and the people."

The secret guard in the crowd roared at the right time and threw a rotten egg at Shen Jing.

Then, rotten eggs, rotten vegetable leaves and other things rained down on Shen Jing.

When the people around saw this, they couldn't help but get anxious because they didn't bring any rotten eggs or vegetable leaves.

Fortunately, however, many people went to buy vegetables early in the morning.

They didn't care about the quality of the eggs or the vegetables, they all rushed to throw them at Shen Jing.

This bunch of Qingliu are such scoundrels. His Majesty conquered the Northern Tartars so that everyone could live a peaceful life, but this bunch of Qingliu are making trouble behind the scenes!
Shen Jing was stunned.

When the upright officials in the court saw this, their expressions changed.

They make a living by their reputation, and now the little emperor has made them look like rats crossing the street!

When Wanli saw that the people around him had thrown away all the food in their hands, he shouted sternly: "Come here, drag down this traitor who is harming the public for his own benefit, taking bribes and perverting the law, disrupting the government, and bringing disaster to the country and the people!
If there are any of you who are still out there who want to bring disaster upon the country and its people, please stand up and I will chop them all off!"

That's what I said.

Who wants to bring disaster to the country and the people?
Upon hearing this, no one in the court dared to stand up and speak.

Shen Jing was chopped to death just like that.

The reputation of Qingliu was also ruined.

(End of this chapter)