Huangming

Chapter 121 The Gentry Scheme, the Clash of Titans

China has a history spanning five thousand years, and there are countless lessons to be learned from the past.

Although Zhu Youxiao was the emperor, he lived deep in the palace for a long time, and news from the outside world needed to be relayed by someone.

Being misled can lead to poor judgment and flawed decision-making.

Just like the story of Yuan Shikai.

Yuan Shikai was undoubtedly a remarkable man, but living deep within the palace, the news he heard was mostly from his subordinates, such as his son Yuan Keding, who deliberately passed on messages.

Those under his command who aspired to a higher position all said: "Everyone in the world wants him to become emperor and ascend the throne."

Yuan Shikai believed it to be true and actually ascended the throne as emperor. However, he only reigned for eighty-three days before dying in fear amidst internal and external troubles.

With the example of Yuan Shikai's silver dollar in mind, Zhu Youxiao would never listen to just one person's opinion.

He needs to compare information from all sides before making a judgment.

Now, having heard the news witnessed by Wei Zhongxian, Luo Sigong, Wang Sheng, Luo Yangxing, and others, Zhu Youxiao had obtained the information he wanted.

He looked at Wei Zhongxian with a cold expression and said, "Have the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrest all the civil officials who collude with Shanxi merchants and embezzle funds from the Beijing Garrison and send them to the Imperial Prison. At the same time, have Gu Bingqian and the others prepare the content for the second issue of the Imperial Daily!"

Since the Huangming Daily was able to stir up public opinion.

Then let's get started!
He wanted to see whether the civil servants were more eloquent or his newspapers were more capable of stirring up public opinion!
"I obey your orders!"

Wei Zhongxian had long wanted to deal with those self-proclaimed upright officials.

Those pedantic scholars, seeing him constantly calling him a castrated dog.
Who do you scold?
I'd like to see if these people will still dare to curse me like this after they get to the imperial prison!

Donglin Guild Hall.

Liu Yiju, the second-ranking official of the cabinet, Zhou Jiamo, the minister of personnel, Gao Panlong, the left censor-in-chief of the Censorate, Wang Ji, the left vice censor-in-chief of the Censorate, Sun Wei, the vice minister of the Ministry of War, and others were drinking tea and discussing matters in the hall.

The tea is good tea.

It is Songluo tea, produced in Songluo Mountain, Xiuning, Anhui Province, and was praised by Gu Xiancheng, the leader of the Donglin Party, as "the finest tea in Jiangnan".

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, and the maids in green robes who served them were all exceptionally graceful; in the Imperial Music Bureau, they would be considered top-tier courtesans.

Now they are just maids serving them tea.

Surrounded by beautiful women and served fine tea, the expressions on everyone's faces were quite unpleasant.

The reason was the Huangming Daily in everyone's hands.

"This matter has truly broadened my horizons!" Upon seeing the contents of the Huangming Daily, Liu Yizhu knew what this newspaper represented.

Since the current emperor ascended the throne, a series of actions have kept these civil officials busy.

Now they've come up with something like the Huangming Daily.

Public opinion throughout the land will be controlled by the emperor.

Zhou Jiamo was also filled with emotion.

"Your Majesty, your methods are truly extraordinary."

Wang Ji, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, had a gloomy expression. He thought of many bad things from this Huangming Daily.

"The Huangming Daily must absolutely not continue printing. This is just one person's opinion, and it may be used by unscrupulous people. If it is used to attack dissidents, and it is published in the daily newspaper, wouldn't that person be ruined?"

Manipulating public opinion used to be a skill of these Donglin Party members.

Even emperors sometimes feared this ability of theirs.

Faced with the public opinion they manipulated, the emperor sometimes had to give in in order to quell the public outcry.

结果
Now the emperor has taken away his rice bowl?

He absolutely would not allow this to happen!
Sun Wei, the Vice Minister of War, was particularly worried about the impact of the Huangming Daily.

His Majesty
This is digging up the roots of their civil service!

boom!
He immediately slammed his hand on the table, looked around at everyone, and said sternly, "Gentlemen! This matter is no small thing! The Great Ming Code is an ancestral system personally established by Emperor Taizu, which clearly states that 'all decrees of the court must be reviewed by the Six Ministries and promulgated by the Office of Transmission before they become law.' Now, the Directorate of Ceremonial has published the Imperial Daily without court deliberation, using woodblock printing to privately convey the Emperor's will. This is an act of usurping ancestral rules and disrupting the order of the court!"

He grabbed a teacup from the table and slammed it down, ignoring the tea that splashed onto his sleeves, and continued loudly: "In the past, when Emperor Chengzu established the Grand Secretariat, he still needed to discuss state affairs with the Six Ministries; during Emperor Wuzong's reign, although there was the 'Leopard Chamber's Red-ink Approval,' he dared not openly use private reports to replace the law of the state! If this precedent is tolerated today, one day the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs can dismiss ministers with just a daily report. What face will we civil officials have to stand beneath the Imperial Ancestral Temple?!"

The struggle for the right to speak is a struggle for power.

The emperor, however, sought to seize their voice and their power.

"Your Excellency, even if His Majesty is torn to pieces, we must stop the Directorate of Ceremonial from carrying out such an act that violates ancestral rules!"

He dared not directly target the emperor.

But they still had the audacity to target the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Wang Wei looked at Liu Yijun, hoping he would take the lead in causing trouble.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yiju felt a strong sense of alarm and immediately said, "Haven't you all seen what happened to Yu Chen?"

Han Kuang is still on his way to Hainan. His official career is over, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he has no chance of making a comeback.

The worst part was that his family could not hold official positions for five generations. Liu Yiju dared not follow in Han Kuang's footsteps.

Wang Ji immediately said, "If the Grand Secretary doesn't take the lead, how dare we go to the Meridian Gate to kneel and remonstrate?"

Must we kneel and plead?

Liu Yiju's hand, hidden in his sleeve, trembled slightly.

Do you really think His Majesty wouldn't dare to kill someone?
Based on Liu Yiju's understanding of the emperor, if they dared to do such a thing, the emperor would definitely kill them.

His Majesty will absolutely not be lenient in this matter!
At that time, the capital will be ravaged by bloodshed.

And Liu Yiju's official career will also be cut off, which is definitely not the scene he wants to see.

"Kneeling and pleading is useless. His Majesty now commands the army, and I'm afraid his methods will be even more ruthless than when I knelt and pleaded outside Zuoshun Gate."

Liu Yiju looked around at everyone and advised, "We are His Majesty's ministers, and we should share His Majesty's burdens. If we kneel and remonstrate at the Meridian Gate, the court will be empty, and treacherous officials will occupy the positions. Wouldn't that be even more detrimental to the Ming Dynasty?"

Wang Ji disagreed, saying, "The fact that the Directorate of Ceremonial publishes the Imperial Daily shows that His Majesty still cares about his reputation. If he really dares to kill us, wouldn't that make the people of the world feel disheartened?"

Wang Ji was a key figure in the Donglin Party, and he and Zou Yuanbiao were known as the "Two Outstanding Critics".

He had a great influence among scholars, and his students were all over the world. Even today, there are many students in the Imperial College who are his students.

Seeing his appearance, Liu Yiju knew that he had never experienced the emperor's iron fist.

"Does Imperial Censor Wang think that His Majesty killing you would chill the hearts of the people?"

Wang Ji nodded and said, "Of course."

"Hahaha~"

Liu Yizhu threw his head back and laughed loudly, saying, "I bet that if His Majesty kills you, the people of the world will not only not be disheartened, but will applaud and cheer!"

Wang Ji frowned and asked, "Why?"

Liu Yiju picked up the Huangming Daily and said, "This is the one."

The Second Grand Secretary surveyed the crowd and slowly said, "His Majesty only needs to state the reason for killing you. If you deserve it, he can write your crimes in the Imperial Daily and present them to the world. At that time, what if the Embroidered Uniform Guard kills you? Will the people of the world be disheartened or applaud?"

Wang Ji was somewhat indignant and immediately said, "I am completely innocent. Does Your Majesty intend to kill me on trumped-up charges? I don't believe that right and wrong are turned upside down in this world!"

"clean?"

Liu Yijing shook his head and sneered, "Gentlemen, are you all truly innocent?"

Upon hearing this, the hall of the guild hall fell silent.

How many of them can truly claim to be innocent?
Who doesn't have some dirty secrets?

Even Wang Ji, who seemed to be a paragon of virtue, was not entirely clean himself.

He once accepted 10,000 taels of silver from the Kang family of Pingyang and helped the Kang family do a lot of business.

Thinking of this, Wang Ji's tone softened somewhat, but he was still unwilling.

"Are we just going to let His Majesty manipulate us?"

How could they stand by and watch the emperor take away the power that belonged to the civil officials?

"The proper order of ruler and subject, father and son—what's there to be concerned about?"

“If one is truly devoted to the country, one can still realize one’s ambitions. But if one is thinking of forming cliques for personal gain, I’m afraid His Majesty, given his temperament, might not be able to resist taking action.”

Liu Yiju's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads.

"Gentlemen, please refrain from discussing state affairs at the association hall in the future, lest someone overhears you."

After saying this, Liu Yizhu patted his sleeves, got up and left.

but.
Some gave up the resistance, but others did not.

As Wang Ji left the Donglin Guild Hall and was about to get into his sedan chair, Sun Wei called out to him.

"Imperial Censor, please wait."

Wang Ji turned to Sun Wei and asked, "What does Chunyu have to teach me?"

Although Sun Wei is very old, his fighting spirit is as strong as that of a young man, like a newborn calf that is not afraid of tigers.

"Grand Secretary Liu has completely lost his edge and become a lackey of the eunuch faction. With the publication of the Huangming Daily, the eunuch faction is bound to dig up our roots. This must be stopped!"

Wang Ji's eyes lit up, but he sighed and said, "So what? If people are not united, kneeling and pleading outside the Meridian Gate is just courting death. It will not achieve anything and will only bring us infamy. What can we do?"

Wang Ji did indeed want to rebel against the emperor.

However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't find a solution!

Sun Wei, however, appeared confident and said, "Wei Li, I have a way to make this Huangming Daily completely worthless!"

(End of this chapter)