The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 52 Argumentation in the Palace
Li Qi, holding a tablet in his hand, walked in the procession, the voice of the ceremonial official resounding in his ears, and in accordance with etiquette, he joined the officials in shouting "Long live the Emperor!" three times.

Ascending the white jade steps, one encounters a series of gradually opening windows, allowing sunlight to stream into the hall, where high-ranking officials stand at the front.

At the far end of the field of vision was the high throne, behind which stood the young emperor, shrouded in rising smoke.

The chief eunuch, holding the imperial edict, stepped forward and read it aloud to the assembled officials:

"The Prince of Xiang committed suicide in his palace out of fear of punishment. Although he died, his crimes were unforgivable. Furthermore, because of his outrageous and rebellious words before his death, he was given the posthumous title of 'Li' for not repenting his past mistakes, for not accepting his fate, and for knowing his mistakes but not correcting them."

The people in the hall were immediately shocked. A posthumous title is a record of one's deeds, and a posthumous name is a reflection of one's actions. A posthumous title is a final judgment on a person's life, and "戾" (li) is one of the worst posthumous titles.

Even though they all expected the emperor wouldn't let it go, they didn't expect him to be so ruthless.

The court officials were not stupid; they knew why the emperor treated the Prince of Xiang so harshly—it was all for the sake of the court's reputation. The Prince of Xiang was dead and had no descendants, so there was no one to speak up for him.

Do not!
Perhaps there is one more person!

All eyes of the assembled officials fell upon Li Qi. As expected, Li Qi stepped out from the ranks, holding his scepter. His face remained calm, showing no sign of anger, but everyone knew he was furious. His eyes were like glaciers and swords. Although he was alone, he seemed to be leading a thousand armies!

Who is he going to conquer?

As soon as Li Qi appeared, Zhu Yunwen began to have a headache. He even regretted not kicking him out of the court last time.

"Does Minister Li have something to report?"

Li Qi didn't mince words at all and said directly, "I disagree with giving the Prince of Xiang such a derogatory posthumous title!"
The Prince of Xiang had no children, no private army, and had never been punished by law. He was loyal to the court. Shouldn't such a prince be supported as a model for the whole country?

Yet the imperial court forced such a prince to his death and even bestowed upon him a posthumous title of infamy, ensuring his eternal infamy.

Your Majesty says the Prince of Xiang is guilty and shows no remorse. I ask, what crime has the Prince of Xiang committed? Is this a fabricated charge?

Zhu Yunwen's face was already very ugly. Li Qi showed him almost no respect and was practically pointing his finger at him and cursing him as a tyrant.

"Li Qi, you're arrogant!"

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Fang Xiaoru immediately stepped forward and shouted angrily, "How dare you criticize your sovereign and father like this? You are unworthy of being called the Confucian master of the world!"

Upon seeing Fang Xiaoru jump out, Li Qi's previously composed expression was completely shattered, and anger instantly surged onto his face. He pointed his scepter directly at Fang Xiaoru and roared, "Fang Xiaoru! You old scoundrel, it was you, this treacherous minister, who instigated the emperor to do this, and you still dare to spout nonsense here? Do you really think there are no loyal and upright ministers in the court of my Great Ming Dynasty!"

As the sage said, if all people are guilty, the guilt lies with me!

You have already committed the crime of forcing the Prince of Xiang to his death. Instead of advising Your Majesty to apologize to the world, you treacherous officials have encouraged Your Majesty to make mistakes. Do you think that by throwing all the blame on the Prince of Xiang, the world will be at peace?
You say I am unworthy of being called the Confucian master of the world, but I really want to know, is this how you educate your children—to shirk responsibility, to refuse to admit mistakes, and to lead them down a dark path from which there is no turning back?

Huang Zicheng also jumped out and said sternly, "Li Qi, how dare a subject criticize the emperor for his crimes? His Majesty is above all, without a trace of dust or blemish. How can you be allowed to speak out in the Mingtang?" Li Qi immediately knew that Huang Zicheng wanted to shift the blame to the emperor, hoping to put him at odds with him and then kick him out of the court. But he had already prepared for a final battle today!

He wanted to overthrow the emperor.

He was targeting the emperor.

Following Huang Zicheng's words, Li Qi sternly questioned, his voice echoing throughout the hall, "Does the emperor never make mistakes?"
If emperors are incapable of making mistakes, then are all monarchs of fallen kingdoms without fault?
Are we not allowed to criticize King Zhou of Shang or Emperor Yang of Sui?
If emperors never make mistakes, how could Wei Zheng have become a legend?
If the emperor doesn't make mistakes, he wouldn't need you, Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, and Fang Xiaoru, to consult on state affairs. So what are you rambling on about?
What is the purpose of us ministers speaking frankly and offering advice? Is it to reject the emperor's correct opinions and adopt his incorrect ones?

Li Qi's voice resounded in the ears of every minister. In the Ming Dynasty, where imperial power was supreme and Mencius had been expelled from the Confucian Temple, not everyone dared to say such things.

Li Qi asked sternly, "May I ask Your Majesty, is it really you who instructed the Prince of Xiang to be forced to commit suicide?"

Zhu Yunwen panicked and said in a trembling voice, "Of course not! I grew up with the Prince of Xiang since childhood, how could I possibly force him to his death!"

Li Qi pressed on, "Since that's the case, forcing the Prince of Xiang to his death was a grave mistake, and it's impossible to cover it up. If His Majesty sincerely issues an edict of self-reproach to the world, saying that this was not His Majesty's original intention, but rather due to the machinations of treacherous villains, would the people of the world and the princes really blame the court?"
Throughout history, there have always been treacherous officials in the imperial court!
Your subject requests that Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, and Li Jinglong be executed to set the record straight for the people.

Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell silent. Fang Xiaoru, regaining his senses, shouted, "Li Qi, you are spreading heresies and misleading the public. You have even forced His Majesty to speak and tempted him to question the court's policies!"

Li Qi suddenly turned his head and said, "Wasn't it you, Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru, who proposed punishing Prince Xiang? You encouraged His Majesty to give Prince Xiang a derogatory posthumous title, were you trying to cover up the foolish things you had done? But where do you place the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yunwen also realized that this was no longer a question of whether it was right or wrong to force the Prince of Xiang to his death and give him a bad posthumous title; it involved the debate over the policy of weakening the power of the princes.

Should the reduction of the power of the princes be carried out gradually according to Li Qi's previous idea, or should it be carried out completely according to the idea of ​​Fang Xiaoru and others?

What's done is done, there's no going back!
Zhu Yunwen's expression turned cold, and he said in a chilling voice, "Minister Li, my words are law and cannot be changed. The death of the Prince of Xiang was out of fear of punishment, which is the public's opinion and need not be discussed further!"

The emperor made the final decision!
Fang Xiaoru and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief, their eyes flashing with cold light. This Li Qi, a mere fifth-rank Grand Secretary, had neither real power nor any faction. Yet, with just his words, he could force them to retreat step by step. He had truly encountered the most troublesome opponent.

They probably don't know that there are things called power and things called righteousness in this world.

Although Li Qi had no real power, he came with great influence and righteousness, so he naturally had overwhelming power and grandeur!
only……

The emperor is heaven!

No matter how high the mountain or how deep the sea, it cannot surpass the sky.

Li Qi took a deep breath.

He took two steps back, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Jianwen!
This unusual behavior immediately aroused the curiosity of the court officials, made Emperor Zhu Yunwen anxious, and caused Fang Xiaoru and the other two to frown. What was this imperial son-in-law going to do now?
Li Qi raised his head and looked at Zhu Yunwen. Today, he would step over Zhu Yunwen and bear the name of the sinful clan to become a saint!

(End of this chapter)