This congratulatory banquet suddenly turned into a surrender scene.
That day, he killed three officials in succession.
All the ministers were frightened.
It’s not that the ministers have never seen anyone killed, nor are they afraid of being killed.
What they were horrified by was He Zeng's behavior. He privately took off the clothes of three ministers and beat them to death with a stick in front of the ministers without going through any institutional trial.
This is simply appalling, something that only Dong Zhuo could do.
Of course, Sima Shi also used it, so the officials didn't like him.
The atmosphere in the temple has become very unorganized in these years, and the collapse of etiquette has caused the officials to lose a certain sense of awe. They are also pursuing a sense of detachment from the secular world, but this stick seems to have disappeared again. Knock them back underground.
The ministers looked at the scene in front of them quietly, but no one dared to speak.
When Dong Zhuo was in power, there was still Yuan Shao who dared to draw his sword and confront him, but now, there was no such brave person in the banquet.
There may be some in the temple, but people like that will definitely not come to He Zeng's banquet.
He Zeng asked the soldiers to escort the rest of the accomplices down together, and then he put on a smile and motioned for the officials to sit down.
"You don't have to be afraid. These people dare to rebel. They are going to be executed. I just beat them to death so that they can suffer less."
"Everyone, your Majesty is wise and benevolent today. After he took charge, our country, the Wei Dynasty, ushered in a prosperous age. Now the people are rich, the world is peaceful, and the country of the Wei Dynasty is eternal. Isn't this because of your majesty?!"
"I have deeply received your majesty's kindness. I will definitely serve you with all my strength when I take charge of the Yushitai, and I will show no mercy to thieves. I also hope that you will not forget the way of being a minister, and assist your majesty with peace of mind and make contributions. Otherwise, don't do it." It’s my fault for ignoring my original feelings.”
He Zeng said very cold words with great enthusiasm.
All the ministers dared not speak.
When He Zeng announced that the banquet was over, the ministers stood up tremblingly.
The atmosphere at this moment was very silent, and the Wei Temple seemed to have lost its vitality in an instant.
In the past, ministers were always noisy and enthusiastic. Even when they went to court for discussions, they would always gather in groups, talking and laughing.
But at this moment, no one did this anymore. They quietly got on the carriage and fled here quickly.
He Zeng sat in the upper position from beginning to end and never sent them off again.
At this moment, He Shao couldn't help but walked to his father's side.
"Father! What are you doing?!"
He Shao looked even more frightened.
"Your Majesty gave you the position of Third Duke, yet you do such a horrible thing. Starting today, my family will be extinct from the world!"
He Zeng glanced at him calmly, "Do you think I shouldn't be like this??"
"Does father want to be a cruel official who will be notorious for eternity?!"
"Your Majesty obviously wants to use my father as a knife in his hand. Does my father know the fate of those cruel officials? Either they die in the hands of the ministers or in the hands of the emperor. Which one will die well?"
"If you do these things, one day, His Majesty will get rid of you in order to appease the public anger. By then, our entire clan will suffer from it!"
"I really don't understand why my father would do such a thing?"
Hearing his son's question, He Zeng remained silent for a long time.
He hesitated to speak, and finally his body relaxed. He waved to his son and asked him to sit next to him.
"Shao, tell me, what kind of crime is it for these people to attack the emperor's motorcade, imprison the emperor, and support the new emperor?"
"Kill the Clan"
"Then do you think I was involved in this matter?"
He Shao hurriedly said: "Father, you took the initiative to help expose, how can you be considered an accomplice? It certainly does not count!"
He Zeng smiled and nodded, "Okay, okay, then let me ask you, what kind of crime is this for accepting gifts from others, purchasing real estate in various places, and doing so much in the house?"
"Well, probably exile."
"Then what if the person in charge is Zhong Hui, and the assistants are all people who are at odds with me, and I happen to have a high official rank, which is suitable for me to use it to establish authority for everyone, what do you think will happen?!"
"What kind of crime is it to assist General Wei to harm the emperor?!"
"What kind of crime is it to promote one's own cronies to important positions in the military?!"
"What kind of crime is it to protect your stupid son from punishment?!"
He Zeng spoke faster and faster, but He Shao was unable to answer, and his face became paler.
He once said disdainfully: "You can understand, but I can't?"
"If I am useless to Your Majesty, can you still stand in front of me and question me now?"
"You and I, father and son, have long been dragged out by the Zhonghui and beheaded in public!"
"Who else can protect us except Your Majesty?"
He Zeng asked angrily: "Do you want to die now or later?"
At this moment, He Shao was speechless. He looked a little desperate, "But what should we do next?"
He Zeng snorted coldly, "It's very simple, stop taking other people's things, do things with peace of mind, and don't break the law."
"His Majesty will not kill people who are useful to him. Even if he has to throw away his sword, as long as I do a good enough job, it will only be dismissed."
"As for the revenge of the rich clan, just watch. Ten years later, as long as His Majesty does not die young, these people will not dare to take a deep breath."
He Zeng had already seen the future situation clearly.
Just relying on these insects today, trying to defeat the emperor is simply a fool's errand. If you offend a wealthy family, you will be offended. These people are not worth mentioning anyway.
With the emperor as his backer, as long as the emperor can be satisfied with him, then their entire family will be the safest. Even Zhong Hui would not dare to attack him.
He Shao no longer dared to say anything at this moment.
"His Majesty!!"
Zhang Hua hurriedly walked into the west hall. He hurriedly leaned into Cao Mao's ear and whispered about what he had done in the mansion.
"Your Majesty, this incident has caused an uproar in the whole city. I'm afraid it will spread to all parts of the world soon, and the officials will be extremely angry."
"How could I never be Sikong!"
"Treating officials like this will definitely make the world uneasy."
Zhang Hua was very worried at the moment.
He was originally worried about Zhong Hui, thinking that he might be too radical and kill too many people.
But in front of He Zeng, Zhong Hui was considered a moderate.
He Zeng's cruel killing completely broke his heart and brought the temple directly back to the Dong Zhuo period. After this incident, I am afraid that the entire temple will start to become depressed.
Zhang Hua felt that this was contrary to what His Majesty originally said to allow the scholars to speak.
When Cao Mao heard this, his face was not moved at all.
He looked at Zhang Hua beside him, shook his head and sighed.
"Mao Xian is still young."
"Master Mao, you can't control troubled times without paying great attention to the law."
"Today's Wei Dynasty seems to be peaceful, but the level of chaos is no different from that in troubled times. The collapse of officialdom still occurs from top to bottom. In such a situation, we can only use He Zeng's method."
"Whether you call it cruel or terrifying, as long as the officials know to restrain themselves, that's enough."
"I need a cruel period of time to let the ministers know their fear and make the scholars restrain themselves. This is for the sake of the whole world."
"There is no way to change it through mild means. Yushitai has begun to take the lead in accepting bribes. What effect can mild means have?"
"Let He Zeng continue to take care of it."
"If the ministers are dissatisfied, let them make trouble and kill them if they make trouble."
"If there are vacancies in local officials, then let the meritorious soldiers and generals take their place. First adopt the Qin method, and wait until the scholars have made changes and cultivated talents, and then we can talk about other things."
"If we don't take action now, it won't be so easy to solve these things in the future."
Zhang Hua suddenly fell silent.
Cao Mao picked up the memo in his hand again and looked through it, not worrying about it at all.
And this incident quickly began to ferment in Luoyang. Similarly, the news that Guo Jian arrested the troublemaking scholars also began to spread in various places. The two things were superimposed, and the scholars felt that the sky was about to collapse.
When Cao Mao ascended the throne, they thought it was a benevolent monarch who saved the world.
Who could have imagined that it would become what it is now.
They were very angry and very dissatisfied with the emperor.
However, they no longer dare to take to the streets to insult important ministers because Guo Jianhui will arrest people. Similarly, ministers no longer dare to gather to discuss important matters because He Zeng is still interrogating people.
Cao Mao's reputation in Luoyang declined rapidly, and he became a tyrant close to Dong Zhuo in the hearts of the scholars.
However, those who dare to speak sarcastically on weekdays disappeared without a trace.
Cao Mao felt that he had found a way to deal with these greedy, vicious and cowardly villains.
The ministers did not dare to object anymore, but these confidants under Cao Mao could not bear it at this moment.
Sangong and many ministers from the Chancellery came to persuade him, and they all thought that He Zeng's behavior was inappropriate.
He Zeng should be dismissed.
This does not mean that these people are no longer loyal to Cao Mao, but they still insist on benevolent government and despise this abusive method of corporal punishment.
Those who were dissatisfied with Cao Mao were also gloating at this moment.
They felt that the emperor's behavior this time would undoubtedly cause him a lot of trouble and make him lose "popular support."
With the support of the people, he will undoubtedly lose, and he will certainly not be rampant for too long.
But Cao Mao's understanding of people's hearts seems to be somewhat different from what they know.
"Your Majesty, you have never been so cruel. In these days, he has arrested ministers for various unprovoked crimes, and even framed them. The ministers are terrified and cannot continue like this!"
Wang Chang frowned, extremely dissatisfied with He Zeng's methods.
"My lord, I already know about this matter."
"He Zeng's methods are a bit cruel, but isn't that Tao Qiuyi hateful?! I regard him as a confidant, and he actually wants to commit regicide?!"
Cao Mao shouted angrily.
Wang Chang was speechless immediately.
