The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 561: The Law Does Not Punish the Masses
Meeting in Donglin!

This naturally could not escape the eyes of the secret guards.

The next morning at about noon, Wanli had just brought little Zhu Changxun to the imperial study when Luo Sigong came to ask for a meeting.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, Luo Sigong cautiously said, "Your Majesty, last night at about three quarters past dusk, the court and the Donglin clan gathered at the residence of Li Sancai, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. They held a secret meeting for about half an hour before dispersing."

Donglin gathering!

This kind of thing seems to be a rare event for those silly young people.

However, it was not a good thing for the emperor of the time.

These guys must be gathering at this time to deal with him, the emperor!

Wanli frowned and then asked, "What are they discussing? Have you found out?"

This was not discovered.

Luo Sigong said with some shame: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, our main focus is on Han Yu.

As for Li Sancai's residence, we have people inside, but they are not Li Sancai's confidants, so we can't get close to the hall where they hold meetings, and we haven't been able to find out what they are discussing."

Han Yu.

Li Sancai!
The remnants of the three major families in Puzhou are too shrewd.

They must have guessed that Han Yu was being targeted, so they asked Li Sancai to preside over the Donglin gathering, or in other words, to control the Donglin in the court.

Li Sancai's hometown is separated from Puzhou by a river, and the influence of the three major families in Puzhou has long extended to Guanzhong. This guy is very likely to be trained by the three major families in Puzhou, just like Han Yu!
Wanli frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "Who are the people attending the party? Have you kept an eye on them all?"

This is no problem.

Luo Sigong said without hesitation: "The only people attending the party this time are Han Yu, Gao Panlong, Ye Xianggao, Zhang Wenda, Zhao Nanxing, Cui Jingrong and others.

I have already identified these people and have sent people to secretly monitor them."

That is not bad.

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "Were they sneaky or secretive when they went to Li Sancai's residence?"

This is indeed a bit strange.

Luo Sigong was quite puzzled and said, "When they went to Li Sancai's residence, it was just like a normal visit. They went there openly and blatantly without any concealment. I didn't expect them to be so bold."

This means it's an open conspiracy, right?
What other conspiracy can Donglin play?
In other words, what other tricks can Han Yu and Li Sancai drive Donglin to play?

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while before asking, "You've been investigating for so long. Have you found any problems with the other Donglin clans besides Han Yu and Li Sancai?"

How to say this.

Luo Sigong couldn't help but say with shame: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Apart from Han Yu and Li Sancai, the other Donglin officials have not found any problems."

This is not surprising.

The other Donglin members simply wanted to take advantage of the Qingliu to gain power, while Han Yu and Li Sancai wanted to use Donglin to commit evil.

Now that the other Donglin members have no power under his deliberate suppression, they naturally can't accomplish anything.

Since these guys can't do anything, there's nothing to be afraid of.

You can come up with any open or secret schemes.

I want to see what else you can do!

Wanli thought about it carefully, then waved his hand and said, "Order your men to keep a close eye on them and see what they are up to."

Upon hearing this, Luo Sigong hurriedly bowed and took his leave.

Seeing this, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, how can these guys be so bold? The Zhejiang Party has been wiped out, and they still dare to gather and discuss openly."

This question is a bit complicated.

Wanli thought for a moment, then patiently explained, "Xun'er, your father once told you that there is no such thing as pure loyalty, treachery, good, or evil in this world.

Among the current Donglin, perhaps only Han Yu and Li Sancai have something to hide. The other Donglin members may think that they have done nothing and are not treacherous ministers, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

They did not commit any corruption or crimes. If they had done these things, they would have been discovered by the secret guards long ago.

In other words, they haven't violated a single Ming law, at least on the surface. What do you think they have to be afraid of?"

What do they have to fear?

Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun pondered for a long time, still somewhat puzzled, "Father, there's clearly something wrong with Han Yu and Li Sancai. Can't they see it?"

Maybe they really didn't see it.

Wanli shook his head slightly and continued to explain: "Li Sancai hid it very deeply, and they probably didn't see anything at all.

As for Han Yu, this guy is keeping a low profile now and has done nothing at all. What can they see?
Even if they knew that Han Yu was related by marriage to the three major families in Puzhou, so what?

The incident of the three major wealthy families in Puzhou happened many years ago. We have only been investigating it secretly over the years. On the surface, we pretended that nothing happened and did not say a word at all.

They probably all thought that the three great families of Puzhou had long since vanished into thin air, so what did it matter if Han Yu was related to them by marriage?

Can't these people see anything?
After hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun thought about it carefully and asked in confusion, "Then what are they discussing together?"

This is indeed a bit strange.

The fact that they suddenly gathered together so blatantly to discuss something was problematic in itself.

Hasn’t the Zhejiang Party cut enough?
Aren't they afraid at all?

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then suddenly realized: "Han Yu and Li Sancai just want us to know that they are gathering to discuss!

Their gathering this time seemed to be discussing an open conspiracy, openly and aboveboard, but in fact, this gathering itself was a conspiracy.

Han Yu and Li Sancai are dragging other Donglin members into this!

The other Donglin people might think that gathering to discuss something was fine, but Han Yu and Li Sancai had something to hide.

Han Yu and Li Sancai must have been scared. They were afraid that their father would suddenly throw them into prison and execute their entire family like he did to the Zhejiang Party.

Therefore, they deliberately and blatantly invited other Donglin members to gather and discuss.

They want us to think that the other Donglins are in cahoots with them!" Why does this sound a bit confusing?
Little Zhu Changxun was still puzzled and asked, "They are all from Donglin, so aren't they accomplices?"

Donglin is not a monolithic entity either.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then patiently explained: "Which partner we are depends on what we do together.

It is true that they are all Donglin. They formed a clique for personal gain and power. In general, they are indeed accomplices.

However, while the other Donglin clans mostly fight for power, Han Yu and Li Sancai are motivated by profit. The three great families of Puzhou want to seize the interests of the entire Ming Dynasty!

Is there any difference in this struggle for power?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun fell into deep thought.

At this time, Luo Sigong actually came again to ask for a meeting.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Luo Sigong said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, I have received several secret reports.

These guys didn't sit in their own duty rooms early in the morning. They all went to other duty rooms in their respective yamen. Those duty rooms are full of clean officials."

Clear stream?

After hearing this, Wanli vaguely understood.

Now he is cleaning up the corrupt officials in the court. After the corrupt officials are cleansed, the only people left in the court except the newly recruited officials are the royal party and the clean officials.

As for the old-established aristocratic families, many of them also consider themselves to be the clean stream.

If these guys encourage all the upright people to submit petitions, it will be really troublesome.

It turns out that these guys just want to play the game of not blaming the crowd with him!

This is the old routine of Qingliu.

In other words, the upright officials could easily be instigated by those civil servants with ulterior motives to desperately submit memorials or even force the emperor to abdicate.

This is also an absurd thing unique to the Ming Dynasty.

The Qingliu would often gather a large number of officials to submit petitions or even run to the imperial city to force the emperor to abdicate.

Their reliance is still on the principle that the law does not punish the masses.

In other words, most of the upright people rely on the principle that the law does not punish the masses.

There is also a small group of people who are just pure rookies.

They don't need anything to rely on. They are not afraid of death. Whether you beat them with a stick, exile them, or even behead them in public, they are not afraid at all.

These young fools couldn't resist being provoked, and when they got angry, they even dared to curse the emperor.

Qingliu is very good at this.

Their routine is that everyone attacks together first to see whether you, the emperor, will listen to the so-called "advice". If you don't listen, the young and reckless people will come forward, block the door, stop the emperor's carriage, or even directly scold you, leaving you with no way out.

The Ming Emperor really had no way to deal with this trick.

At least, the Ming emperor in history had no way of doing that.

In history, Emperor Wanli was forced to avoid court for decades because of this trick.

At that time, he really had no other choice. He tried beatings in court, exile, and even beheading, but nothing worked.

Those young and foolish people in the Qingliu faction were not afraid at all. They just wanted to make trouble and it would never end. They made the whole government and the country restless. What could he do?

It’s not that he has no solution at this moment.

He is quite good at playing pranks on people, and even the most upright people are afraid of him.

The problem is that if we want to make it so serious that even the clean streams are afraid, we will have to punish a lot of people or even cut off a lot of them.

Can he catch Qingliu and kill him now?

He is currently cleaning up corrupt officials, and the court is already short of people. If he punishes or even kills a large number of upright officials, there will be no one left to use.

Han Yu and Li Sancai really know how to pick the right time.

At this moment, Qingliu probably really dares to play the game of not blaming others, because he really cannot blame others in the current situation.

He was frowning in thought when little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, what's wrong? What are they planning to do?"

You will definitely have to face this in the future.

Wanli sighed slightly, then patiently explained: "They are planning to play the game of not blaming others.

After being instigated by them, the upright officials in the court will certainly desperately submit petitions to the emperor. In the name of persuasion, they will make requests that will make us very uncomfortable.

If we don't do what they say, they will make trouble, and they will make trouble wherever we go.

Even if we stay in the Qianqing Palace and don't leave, they will kneel outside and force us to abdicate.

They just want to make us extremely annoyed, unable to handle state affairs, and even unable to live a normal life.

You will definitely encounter this in the future, Qingliu likes to use this trick."

what?
Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask with a hint of fear: "Father, what should we do then?"

How to do?
This question really deserves careful consideration.

He is simple and brutal in playing tricks on people, and he can even make the clean officials afraid of him.

The problem is, Qingliu is not a fool.

These guys just attack when it’s not possible to do anything. What can he do?

For example, now.

He is cleaning out corrupt officials. Can the clean stream clean out the corrupt officials together with them?

If this purge is really carried out, the court will be completely cleared out.

There wouldn't be enough officials from the imperial court in the capital, let alone at the local level.

How to do it?

(End of this chapter)