Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

Emperor Jingsheng ignored Xiong Cilu and instead asked Li Guangdi, a cabinet minister standing beside him:

"Li Qing, what's your opinion?"

Upon hearing Emperor Jingsheng's summons, Li Guangdi's expression turned solemn. He stepped forward, glanced at Jia Jing, and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty! I believe that what Grand Secretary Zhang and the other officials said is all reasonable, but none of them are entirely reasonable."

"As Grand Secretary Zhang said, in times of chaos, harsh punishments are necessary to deter evildoers; as the officials said, benevolent governance is based on leniency and harmony, and people's hearts should be won over with kindness and righteousness."

"The two seem to be opposites, but in fact they are two sides of the same coin, both for the long-term stability of the court. However, whether to use severe punishment or leniency, the degree of severity and urgency is not up for our debate, but rather to be decided by Your Majesty's own wise heart."

"Therefore, I believe that skinning them alive and stuffing them with straw is acceptable, since they are all guilty of crimes punishable by death; showing mercy beyond the law is also acceptable, Your Majesty should spread benevolence throughout the world."

"How to carry out the execution is entirely up to Your Majesty. As your subjects, we should only obey orders and dare not presume to comment on the severity of the punishment."

That's a rather evasive way of putting it; it implies that no decisions are made, and rewards and punishments are all imposed from above.

He also provided Emperor Jingsheng with several additional arguments.

If they are skinned alive and stuffed with straw, it is because they all deserve to die, not because of indiscriminate killing in anger. If they are not subjected to cruel torture, it is also due to the emperor's benevolence!

The general meaning is: Your Majesty, whatever you do, I will support you!

Jia Jing glanced at Li Guangdi and thought to himself, "Li Guangdi's words seem like a clever way of flattering, but deep down he still supports strict governance of officials."

After all, Emperor Jingsheng had already made his intention clear beforehand; it was the emperor himself who proposed the "peeling the skin and stuffing it with straw," not Zhang Tingyu.

Therefore, this euphemistic way of putting it was simply to avoid offending the officials too obviously.

As I said before, once you reach the position of a cabinet minister, the head of the civil service, there is no room for you to please both sides.

Trying to be a fence-sitter and offend neither side will only result in offending both!

Emperor Jingsheng clearly understood Li Guangdi's meaning. As a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet and Minister of Justice, Li Guangdi held considerable influence in this matter. He nodded and said:

"Minister Chen, you are the Grand Secretary, what do you say?"

Chen Tingjing stepped forward and said:

"No one is more wise than Your Majesty, and I humbly await Your Majesty's decision! If Your Majesty is determined to punish severely, I will draft an edict; if Your Majesty wishes to show leniency beyond the law, I will draft a decree, and I will have no objection."

Chen Tingjing has recently submitted a memorial requesting to retire, preparing to hand over the throne to Zhang Tingyu. Naturally, he would not oppose Emperor Jingsheng at this time!

Moreover, the current political situation is turbulent and unpredictable. The emperor clearly intends to tighten the administration of officials. Listening to the opinions of important ministers at this time is likely just a formality, or a way to lure out the enemy and plot against them. We must be cautious!

At this moment, Xiong Cili frowned deeply. These two high-ranking officials of the court were always so eloquent and obsequious, just like Zhang Tingyu!

Not only Xiong Cilu frowned, but Kong Ying and the others also frowned!

Grand Secretary Chen Tingjing and Grand Secretary Li Guangdi of the Wuying Hall both supported the Emperor's decision. With the addition of Second Grand Secretary Zhang Tingyu, three out of the four cabinet members were completely obedient to the Emperor's orders. Wouldn't this matter still depend on the Emperor's will?

Emperor Jingsheng nodded indifferently. Seeing that none of the ministers stepped forward to offer advice, he said in a deep voice:

"Some of you are advising me today to show leniency beyond the law. I ask you this: if someone has rotting flesh on their body, would you cut it off, or would you apply a layer of fragrant ointment and pretend you can't see it?"

"Cutting flesh hurts, but once it's done, the wound heals. Applying ointment doesn't hurt, but the rotting flesh will fester deeper, until it rots into the bone. The same principle applies to the governance of officials in my great Han Dynasty!"

"When I read history books, I saw that wise rulers of past dynasties dealt with corruption with varying degrees of leniency and severity, depending on the times. Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu used severe punishments because the country was newly established; Emperor Chengzu and later emperors practiced leniency and benevolence because the people were loyal and the country was able to recuperate."

"But now the time has come again when I have no choice but to use severe punishments to crack down on corruption! It's not that I want to be strict, it's that the world is forcing me to be strict."

"If I am not strict, a hundred years from now, history will record my role in the downfall of the nation!"

Emperor Jingsheng paused here, then said resolutely and coldly:

"My mind is made up regarding the punishment of Fang Congzhe and the others! Draft an edict according to the original decree: those who deserve execution shall be beheaded, and those who deserve to be skinned alive shall be skinned alive! From now on, anyone who dares to embezzle will be punished according to this example, severely and without leniency!"

The officials below felt a chill run down their spines when they heard the cold judgment from Emperor Jingsheng. So many people were to be skinned alive, and this was to be the norm from now on. How could this be allowed?

"Your Majesty! You mustn't!"

"Your Majesty! Heaven cherishes life!"

"Your Majesty! The Sage said..."

"Your Majesty! You must not kill indiscriminately out of anger..."

……

Kong Ying, Li Ruyue, Peng Peng, and more than a dozen others, their faces flushed, stepped forward again and shouted to stop them.

It was as if they would not give up until Emperor Jingsheng retracted his decree!

Emperor Jingsheng, his patience completely exhausted as he looked at Kong Ying and the others kneeling below, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he said in a chilling voice:

"Obama!"

"This servant is here!" Xia Shouzhong, who had been standing to the side with his head bowed, quickly responded upon hearing the voice.

"Read aloud the contents circled by my own hand in these booklets to everyone." Emperor Jingsheng handed several booklets from his desk with a gloomy expression.

Emperor Jingsheng originally did not intend to announce the officials' conduct at this court meeting.

Firstly, the chain of evidence is incomplete. The records of officials' conduct are mostly unilateral records from the Ren family. Although they are detailed and corroborated, they are not irrefutable evidence.

Secondly, it would easily alert the enemy. Emperor Jingsheng wanted to achieve the effect of either remaining still or striking decisively to wipe them out.

However, Kong Ying and others repeatedly defied his authority, pretending to be loyal and upright officials, which disgusted him!

Xia Shouzhong understood, stepped forward, took several booklets from Emperor Jingsheng, opened the folded pages, and cleared his throat.

The hall fell silent, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the few thin booklets, wondering what the emperor's intention was in having Xia Shouzhong read them aloud at this time.

Xia Shouzhong's voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp and clear, each word piercing the ear like a needle:

"Kong Ying, a senior official in the Ministry of War. In the fourth year of the Jingsheng era, Kong Ying, in his hometown of Qufu, Shandong, seized more than 4,300 mu of farmland under the pretext of sacrificial land. Local farmers were dissatisfied and went to the county government to file a complaint. Kong Ying ordered the complainant, Zhao Dazhu, to be arrested and flogged. Zhao Dazhu died from his injuries."

"In May of the same year, Kong Ying allowed his servants to collude with bandits in the Yanzhou area to seize so-called 'unclaimed wasteland' for themselves. Tenants who resisted rent were arrested and sent to the government on charges of 'colluding with bandits,' resulting in the deaths of seven people in prison."

"In the sixth year of the Jingsheng era, Kong Ying was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of War. Before going to the capital, he registered 12,000 mu of the land he had seized under the name of his brother-in-law to cover his tracks..."

At this moment, Kong Ying, who was kneeling in the center of the hall and feeling quite proud, was struck dumb after hearing what Xia Shouzhong read out. His eyes widened, and the heat in his heart instantly cooled down. The more he listened, the more shocked he became.

What's going on?

This……

How did all these old secrets of mine get dug up?

Could it be that the Emperor secretly ordered the Imperial City Guard to investigate me?

But didn't the Imperial City Guard decline after the time of the retired emperor, when the magistrate was beaten to death by officials in the palace?

What exactly is going on?

For a moment, regret and fear filled his heart!