: The way to be a wise king

Author: Potato Sweet Potato Pie

: The way to be a wise king

In the main hall, all the big shots in the court fell to their knees almost at the same time, as if they had discussed it.

Looking at the kneeling people and listening to what they said, Xia Yuan finally felt that the matter was not simple. The destruction of the temple was definitely more serious than the confiscation of homes and genocide.

He looked at the strong man who was still standing in the hall. At this time, Mou Bin happened to turn his head and look over. The two looked at each other and turned their heads back without showing any trace.

For the sake of the world?

Zhu Youtang sneered in his heart, he had been in the world for fifteen years, he had heard such words too many times, and believed them too many times.

To this day, he still believes that these ministers are really thinking about the world and the Ming Dynasty.

But we are all human beings, and they have selfish motives, and there must be thick and thin between public and private, even for himself.

These ministers will always call this loyalty and justice, and their actions will be called the world. Everyone seems to be selfless, but he knows very well that these ministers just hide their selfishness too secretly.

Hidden in this voice, every sentence of "planning for the world" with great justice.

Hidden under these righteous and majestic faces.

Zhu Youtang never expected that his ministers would all be upright and selfless people. He only asked these people to think about the country and the great tomorrow after satisfying their own selfishness.

This is enough.

And the selfishness of the officials in Lingnan was like a thousand ditches. Even if they poured out all the water from the three rivers and five lakes, they would not be able to fill them. This selfishness sent chills down his spine.

Therefore, he wanted to put an end to this example, draw a bottom line for all the officials in the world, and let the officials around the world know that selfishness must be measured.

Once you touch this bottom line, once you pass this point, you will never be able to stand up again, and you will be cursed by people in your hometown and hated by your relatives.

This is how the purpose of destroying the temple came into being.

He understood even more how serious this decree was, so serious that it touched the bottom line of all civil servants and all scholars.

It's so serious that this decree may not be able to leave this Jinshen Palace.

After all, he is not a dictatorial emperor like Taizu, nor a powerful emperor like Taizong. He cannot even compare with his father.

Faced with the sincere words of so many important ministers who said they were "for the sake of the world", he, who was determined to be a wise king, could only compromise, and he could only compromise.

'.Now that my father is compromising again, you should be very disappointed.'

After taking one last look at the plaque hanging high in the Jinshen Hall, Zhu Youtang slowly turned around, his stern eyes swept over the ministers kneeling on the ground, and over the standing Mou Bin, and finally stopped at

into the corner of the main hall.

Immediately, a look of trance and confusion filled Emperor Hongzhi's eyes.

Why is he still standing there?

Why is he still standing?

Why are there still scholars standing in this hall?

Emperor Hongzhi felt as if his heartbeat had slowed down by half a beat, and an uncontrollable joy surged from his heart, but the joy only surged halfway and then faded away.

This person is just a tribute student, and now he has not received any official position. Even if he has his support, it is of no use.

With this thought in his mind, Zhu Youtang still felt a little excited. He took a deep look at Xia Yuan, then withdrew his gaze and looked at the ministers who were still kneeling and bowing their heads. After a long silence, he slowly said:

“Seniors must not conquer without teaching, and lords must not raise armies out of anger. The order of chaos in the world belongs to me alone.

I just made such a chaotic decision in anger and heart. Fortunately, thanks to your advice, I was able to clear things up. Otherwise, I might have done something wrong.

The matter of destroying the ancestral temple is indeed too harsh and seems to implicate innocent people. It is enough that these edicts come out of my mouth and reach the ears of the ministers. The rest of the extermination of clans, confiscation of homes and other matters shall remain unchanged."

The kneeling court officials all breathed a sigh of relief. After all, His Majesty is still the Holy Lord and Mingjun, and has not walked the path of a tyrant.

But His Majesty has never issued such an order to exterminate clans and confiscate their homes. Once this happens, won’t Your Majesty do the same in the future?

Come on, your Majesty has already taken back the matter of destroying the temple, so it is inconvenient to say anything else for the time being.

The essence of politics is compromise. This truth has never changed since ancient times. Just now Emperor Hongzhi compromised once, and this time it was the turn of these important ministers to make the compromise.

Zhu Youtang took advantage of this opportunity and began to press forward step by step, "The chief envoys in Guangdong were sentenced to death and their homes confiscated. This is to kill the culprit!"

The officials in Qiongzhou Prefecture are punished by the official to set the standard for punishment, and to serve as a warning to others! But in this land of Lingnan, officials protect each other, and the officials from top to bottom are colluding. The officials in other prefectures and counties are also punishable."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youtang paused deliberately and looked directly at the ministers who were bowing their heads to the ground. Everyone suddenly raised their heads, obviously to persuade them. He sneered in his heart and said leisurely:

"Although Guangzhou has been barren since ancient times, there are still dozens of cities and counties under the jurisdiction of the state capital, and there are hundreds of officials involved. If all of them are dealt with, the implication is too great, I am afraid that it will cause turmoil in the world, but if it is not dealt with

, and it is difficult to tolerate it under national law."

".I hope you will teach me about this dilemma."

Faced with this problem, these important officials in the DPRK only had one thing in mind. They must not expand the scope of the attack, and they must not deal with this matter too harshly.

Not only for what Jiangshan Sheji wants, but also for myself.

Your Majesty, who is usually kind and kind, has shown a violent side today. This is by no means a good sign. If this continues, will your Majesty still follow the example of the late emperor?

If we add a new factory to the west, use factory guards to monitor all officials, build large prisons repeatedly, and govern the country with severe punishments, won't we have to go back to the days when we can't breathe anymore?

Each of the ministers is well versed in the art of preparing for a rainy day and making far-sighted plans. Everything they think about is for the future.

The signs of Emperor Hongzhi's tyranny must be suppressed. Even if this tyranny may just be due to anger and impatience, it must be suppressed because it has a cause.

Moreover, this edict must be rejected.

If not, it would undoubtedly have started the trend of arbitrary imperial power in the Hongzhi Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, if the report by the factory guards is true, then the officials in Guangdi must have died hundreds of times, and tens of thousands of deaths cannot atone for their sins. However, what is stated in the report is all based on people's visits and inquiries, and it is all true.

According to what the factory guards heard and saw, there was no evidence of guilt among officials of all sizes."

"Oh?" Zhu Youtang stared at the chief minister of the cabinet who was speaking. "The land is vast and red, and the land is thousands of miles away. Officials, big and small, seek personal gain. Officials and businessmen collude to raise the price of food. As a result, the people have no food to eat. Countless people have died, and the living are suffering from hunger.

Waiting to be killed, the rebellion in Lingnan is only a matter of seconds, and you are not guilty yet?"

Liu Jian's face was calm and his tone was calm: "The old minister did not say that he is innocent, but there is no evidence of guilt yet. In my opinion, the imperial court must send a governor to inspect the Guangdong area and investigate the crimes committed by officials of all sizes in the Guangdong area.

The crime will be detailed, and then based on the size of the crime, supervision will be carried out after trial."

After a pause, he continued: "Furthermore, I think that your Majesty's direct judgment of crime and punishment without any investigation or trial, or such a serious crime as death, confiscation of the family and annihilation of the clan, really violates the strict laws and regulations of the country and is suspected of being arbitrary."

After saying that, Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, kowtowed respectfully and said, "I dare not go against the holy will, but I only hope that your majesty will calm down the anger in your heart and wait until the evidence of the crime has been reviewed and verified before he is convicted and punished. This is the way of a wise king."

"

"There is no wiser person than Your Majesty. What Liu Gong said is a good word to serve the country loyally. I only hope that Your Majesty will learn from it."

The rest Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Ma Wensheng and others also bowed their heads to the ground.

"."

Emperor Hongzhi fell into silence and looked at these ministers quietly, not knowing what he was thinking.

The commander of the Jin Yiwei made Mou Bin's eyes beat uncontrollably, and he looked at the ground with a concentrated expression, staying out of the situation, as if there was something on the ground that attracted him.

Xia Yuan inexplicably felt that the atmosphere in the hall was very depressing at this time, as if there was an unsmellable smell of gunpowder smoke permeating the air, and an invisible flame of war was spreading.

This is a confrontation between the emperor and his ministers, a confrontation between imperial power and ministerial power.

There were no quarrels or strife, no shouting or shouting, only invisible but cold knives hidden in the plain, gentle, or respectful tone.

You come and I go, never giving in.
Chapter completed!