Huangming

Chapter 59 The Emperor Rebukes His Ministers, But He Has No Choice of His Own Will

Wang Tiqian hurriedly entered the East Warm Pavilion, knelt on the ground, and shouted, "Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Han Kuang of the East Pavilion, leading nearly two hundred officials from the capital, is kneeling outside the Zuoshun Gate to remonstrate!"

Zhu Youxiao remained calm and composed, even having the leisure to read Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica". He couldn't completely trust the imperial physicians in the palace; if he were to die from a minor illness, he would have nowhere to turn for help.

Zhu Youxiao looked up and glanced at Wang Tiqian. He had heard Wang Tiqian's voice outside the East Warm Pavilion while he was inside.

"Who is there?"

Wang Tiqian looked up and said, "Han Kuang, Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, Zhou Jiamo, Minister of Personnel, Yang Lian, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and nearly two hundred others."

Zhu Youxiao put down the medical book and asked, "How many people are there, nearly two hundred? Write down the list of officials."

At this point, Wang Tiqian started stammering.

Seeing so many officials kneeling and remonstrating at Zuoshun Gate, he dared not look closely and hurriedly ran back.

"They didn't write a joint memorial either?"

Zhu Youxiao scoffed; this kneeling remonstrance was rather unprofessional.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tiqian was so shocked that his whole body went numb.

No, the court officials went on strike and knelt down to remonstrate at Zuoshun Gate; this is a matter of utmost importance.

If this gets out and is written into an article by someone with ulterior motives, Your Majesty, wouldn't you be branded as a tyrannical ruler?
Your Majesty, why aren't you in a hurry at all?

"Your Majesty, I was in a hurry and didn't look closely."

Just then, Wei Chao rushed over and said, "Your Majesty, this is a joint memorial from the Directorate of Ceremonial."

Wei Chao slid down to his knees before Zhu Youxiao, raised his hands above his head, and presented the memorial to the emperor.

Zhu Youxiao opened the joint memorial and found that there were indeed quite a few names on it, a total of 192 people.

Zhu Youxiao had a good memory; this list included not only members of the Donglin Party but also members of the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party.

And most of them were either carrying impeachment memorials or had close ties with the perpetrators.

"Take a look."

Wei Chao and Wang Tiqian knelt on the ground, staring intently at the marble floor, and said, "Your Majesty, what is written here is nothing but arrogant and absurd words. We servants do not bother to read it."

Zhu Youxiao did not force them, saying, "It's fine if they don't want to see it; let them kneel then."

Do you like kneeling?
Then kneel a little longer.

I'm tired of kneeling, I'll go and have a go at them again.

"Your Majesty, shouldn't we do or say something to them?"

Wei Chao felt uneasy and asked.

Zhu Youxiao had already picked up the Compendium of Materia Medica again. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Wei Chao out of the corner of his eye and asked, "What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Chao immediately kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.

"This servant has misspoke; please punish me, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao did not punish Wei Chao. He tapped his right index finger lightly on the table, his expression calm.

"Wang Tiqian".

"This servant is here." Wang Tiqian crawled forward a step, supporting himself with his hands, and slightly raised his head to look at the throne, not daring to directly contradict the emperor.

"In an hour, go to Zuoshun Gate and convey my oral decree: If you are truly subjects of my Great Ming, then do not neglect state affairs. If you leave now, I will forgive your past mistakes. If you remain obstinate, do not say that I did not warn you!"

Zhu Youxiao saw some talented people like Sun Chengzong inside, and he did not want to punish capable ministers because of this matter.

Zhu Youxiao was well aware that the Donglin Party was not a monolithic entity; it contained both eloquent but incompetent officials and capable ministers. How to extract the essence and discard the dross would test his political skills.

Wang Tiqian immediately replied, "This servant obeys." After Wang Tiqian left, Zhu Youxiao pointed to the impeachment memorials and asked, "Among these, it seems that some of the people involved have been found guilty, but is that so?"

Zhu Youxiao pointed to several of the names.

Wei Chao immediately nodded.

"These censors from the Censorate have all received benefits from the Shanxi merchant Wang family. The merchants have all confessed in the imperial prison, and there are witnesses and physical evidence."

Zhu Youxiao's lips curled slightly; he already had a plan in mind for dealing with these kneeling officials who were offering their advice.

And the other side.

The white marble steps outside Zuoshun Gate gleamed blindingly under the blazing sun, while the scarlet robes of more than two hundred court officials formed a sea of ​​red.

Han Kuang knelt at the very front of the line, the blue ribbon hanging from his three-beam court hat soaked with sweat, yet he stubbornly raised his head and stared straight at the tightly closed palace gate.

Suddenly, the vermilion-lacquered door with copper nails creaked open, and Wang Tiqian strode out, holding a bright yellow imperial edict.

"His Majesty's decree—" A shrill voice pierced the sweltering air, causing the knees of several young censors in the front row to tremble involuntarily.

"If you are subjects of my Great Ming, then do not neglect the affairs of the state. If you leave now, I will forgive your past mistakes."

Wang Tiqian's gaze swept over Yang Lian's tense nape, deliberately emphasizing the last eight words: "If you remain obstinate, do not say I did not warn you!"

A ripple immediately spread through the crowd.

The official tablet of Zhang Fengxiang, the Vice Minister of Works of Qi, clattered to the ground, its dusty insignia rising and falling violently with his rapid breathing.

He was the official who had been impeached, and he knew in his heart that he was innocent. He was torn by inner turmoil.

If he retreats now, will His Majesty spare him?
Zhang Fengxiang is not alone in sharing this view.

Suddenly, the sound of fabric rustling came from the back row. The three officials from the Six Ministries were about to get up, but Han Kuang's sudden turn of his head made them freeze in place.

"Have you all forgotten the bloody remonstrance at Zuoshun Gate during the Zhengde reign?" Yang Lian suddenly shouted, his forehead slamming heavily against the bluestone slab, blood beads meandering down the stone's texture into thin streams.

"Our heads may be severed, but the backbone of the Ming Dynasty shall not be broken!"

Before he could finish speaking, the official in charge of personnel selection in the Ministry of Personnel had already staggered back into the shadow of the corridor pillars.

Wang Tiqian squinted as he watched the cracks gradually appear in the crowd, noticing that Liu Tingyuan, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, quietly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

A sudden west wind arose, causing the cloud and goose patches on Sun Chengzong's official robe to flutter loudly.

His expression showed great struggle.

Leaving would offend colleagues and political allies, and even if given a high position, there would be no room for maneuver.

If we stay, we risk angering His Majesty and being beaten to death.

Sun Chengzong sighed deeply. Factional strife, who can escape this vortex?

Wang Tiqian noticed that some of the officials had stood up and then sat down again, realizing that the timing was still a little off.

He was filled with worry.

I wonder what other tricks Your Majesty has up your sleeve. Otherwise, if you let these court officials kneel and remonstrate, the pressure on the inner court will only increase.

Zhu Youxiao quickly unleashed his attack.

Wei Chao and a group of Imperial Guards walked out from outside Zuoshun Gate.

Wei Chao flicked his python robe, revealing golden sleeves, and pulled out a green memorial from a brocade box, which unfolded with a rustling sound.

Sixteen Imperial Guards filed out from both sides of the corridor, the sound of their flying fish-patterned armor scraping against the stone steps causing a sudden commotion behind them who were kneeling.

In front of the kneeling officials, Wei Chao said, "Fang Kezhuang, Censor of Yunnan Circuit, Liu Chongqing, Censor of Shanxi Circuit, and Xia Zhiling, Censor of Henan Circuit, you have all accepted bribes from the Wang family of Shanxi merchants. The evidence is overwhelming. Yet you dare to gather a crowd and cause trouble outside Zuoshun Gate. His Majesty has ordered that these scoundrels be punished with eighty strokes of the cane in the previous court and then imprisoned in the Imperial Prison as a warning to others!"

(End of this chapter)