In the Wenhua Palace, following the emperor's order, dozens of imperial guards swarmed up and escorted a dozen honorable ministers out of the palace.
The imperial stick first began in the Han Dynasty, but it truly became an institution in the Ming Dynasty.
From Hongwu to Zhengtong, except for Emperor Taizong who was busy with the Northern Expedition and did not use the imperial staff much, in the Xuande and Zhengtong dynasties, all ministers received the imperial staff.
Especially during the years when Wang Zhen was in power, the reason why he was able to scare the courtiers was the punishment of the imperial staff.
At that time, let alone ordinary ministers, even the Minister of Secretariat, Wang Zhen could hit him without fail.
Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, admonition was a very risky thing, and it was something that one had to risk one's life to do.
Of course, people are forgetful.
With Wang Zhen's death in civil engineering, when the emperor ascended the throne, he was kind and gentle, and virtuous to his ministers. Many people have forgotten the consequences of violating the imperial power.
Seeing the Dongchang Admiral Shu Liang rushing from outside the palace to receive the order and go out to prison, the expressions of the elders present were quite complicated.
The scene in front of them really made them don't know what emotions to use to deal with it.
From the Hongwu period to the Xuande period, the imperial rod had no political significance. It was just a punishment for erring courtiers like grounding and fines.
But starting from the Zhengtong period, Wang Zhen often used the imperial staff to suppress his speech and punish the courtiers who impeached him.
Therefore, the court staff began to be gradually regarded by courtiers as a sign of sacrifice for the country and speaking out. As long as the ministers who received the court staff did not die, their reputation among the scholars would suddenly increase.
However, now, the same people were punished because of their admonishment, but the targets were a large group of nobles, which made the elders feel that this world was quite strange.
Usually at this time, many ministers would inevitably appear to intercede, but this time, the bosses looked at me and I looked at you, but they all chose to sit back and watch, silently feeling sympathy for these nobles in their hearts.
Obviously, the emperor was really angry this time.
Among the several eunuchs under the emperor today, Cheng Jingzhong is upright and peaceful, but Shu Liang is just the opposite.
When this Eunuch Shu first took charge of Dongchang, there were rumors about his methods both inside and outside the court.
This time, if Cheng Jing was the prisoner of the imperial court, he would probably be arrogant, but Shu Liang came to prison...
All the elders can say is that they hope these honorable men are in good enough health to be able to hold on.
The emperor did not say that he would be dragged out of the Meridian Gate, so Eunuch Shu directly ordered people to start fighting in the square outside Wenhua Hall.
The court hall was surprisingly quiet. After a while, there were bursts of screams outside the hall, and at the same time, there were shouts from the chamberlain in charge of counting.
The counting sounds were slow and steady, but as the numbers got louder, the screams gradually became quieter.
When the number of chamberlains reached ten, a chamberlain from outside came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Marquis Anyuan, Uncle Anshun, and Uncle Wu Jin could not bear the torture and passed out."
Seeing this situation, among the military ministers, Duke Feng Li Xian sighed and stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, it is certainly inappropriate for all the honorable ministers to gather outside the palace and make noise and trouble, but after all, the honorable ministers of the noble family are the heroes of the country. Many of the honorable ministers outside were killed in the civil war and their fathers and ancestors were killed in the war. They just ascended the throne. Please, Your Majesty, consider that they are young and ignorant, and give them a little punishment to serve as a warning to others."
Following behind, Yang Hong, the Marquis of Changping, also spoke.
"Yes, although these people's words and deeds are inappropriate, they must have realized their mistakes by now. If they continue to fight and really do something bad, I'm afraid the outside world will also talk about Your Majesty, which is not good. I ask Your Majesty to be merciful and temporarily pardon everyone. sin."
These two people were both popular people in front of the emperor. The ministers thought that if they came forward to intercede, the emperor would just go down the steps.
After all, that is nearly half of the nobles in the capital. If these thirty sticks are really hit hard, these people will be half disabled or not dead.
However, unexpectedly, the emperor did not borrow the donkey from the slope as usual, but instead asked the chamberlain who had just come in to report.
"What did the doctor say?"
In order to prevent people from being beaten to death, the imperial doctor always stood by for things like the imperial staff.
The chamberlain had obviously come in under the order, and without much hesitation, he said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial doctor said that the injuries on several of them were just superficial injuries, nothing serious. They may have been frightened for a moment and just fainted."
The elders were a little silent at the moment.
This group of imperial doctors are used to serving noble people, and they are all talented people. They speak in a very cryptic way, but the ministers present are not simple people at all.
In just one sentence, I understood what the imperial doctor meant.
These people are pretending to be faint!
So, in the pitiful eyes of everyone, the emperor spoke again: "Since there is nothing serious, let's continue the execution!"
After serving the will, he left the palace without caring about anything else.
Immediately, the counting sound outside the hall sounded again, accompanied by waves of muffled screams. They were not loud screams, but low muffled groans that were truly caused by the pain of being tortured.
Another ten sticks of time passed, and the muffled hum outside the hall gradually disappeared.
The person who came in this time was Shu Liang. The big man entered the hall and reported.
"Your Majesty, Uncle Guangning, Uncle Xing'an, and Uncle Yongshun received the cane at seventeen, nineteen, and twenty respectively. They were exhausted and fainted. After examination, the imperial doctor said that the bones of the several earls were weak, and if they continued to be beaten, their organs would be injured. Your Majesty, please decide whether to continue or not."
The implication is that this time it’s true!
Now, even the civil servants couldn't sit still.
Suppressing nobles is one thing, but if it really involves killing people, it will be a big deal.
So Jin Lian, the Minister of Punishment, came out and said.
"Your Majesty, the main purpose of punishment is punishment. It should not be excessive. Since you have not been punished enough, you might as well write it down for the time being and wait until you recover from your injuries before continuing the punishment. Otherwise, if an honorable minister dies due to the imperial staff, he will violate your Majesty's order and repent. Please let your majesty know what you mean."
Then, Du Ning, the minister of Dali Temple, and Chen Yi, the censor of Zuodu, also gave advice.
There were people on both the civil and military sides trying to persuade him, and the emperor's face finally changed.
After a while, Lunyin came down from the imperial steps and said.
"In this case, these three people will be sent to the Taiyuan Hospital for the time being to recover from their injuries. The others will continue to be tortured. If there are any who are weak and faint, write them down and beat them next time."
Eunuch Shu nodded respectfully, then turned around neatly and left the palace.
Bosses, you look at me and I look at you. I feel like something is wrong, but I can't tell.
So, the counting sound outside the hall sounded for the third time. This time, it counted to thirty, then stopped for a moment, continued to start, and stopped again at forty-two.
Later, Shu Liang's figure appeared in the hall again and said.
"Your Majesty, the execution of the imperial staff has been completed, and the ministers have come to reply."
"The Marquis of Ningyuan was appointed and received forty-two sticks and fainted. The remaining nobles, Guangning Bo, Xing'an Bo, Yongshun Bo and other nine people received seventeen to twenty-five sticks and fainted. Chong'an Marquis, Taining Marquis, Yangwu The Hou and other five people received thirty sticks."
"After diagnosis and treatment by the imperial physician, your lungs and lungs have not been injured. You only need to cultivate for a period of time and you will recover."
Shu Liang said it lightly, but the elders present could not help but swallow their saliva.
In the past, even if there was a court staff, it was mostly a formality. The minister who was being tortured would hold up a few staffs and pretend to be stunned, but no one would pursue it too closely.
But this time, these thirty sticks were obviously struck for real.
Among the large group of chief censors and ministers standing at the back of the palace, some thought of the knocking ceremony organized by Luo Tong a few days ago, and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Fortunately, Mr. Zong Xian stopped him at that time, otherwise, they would be the ones who would be punished.
In any case, the imperial staff is finally over, and the oppressive atmosphere in the hall has finally relaxed a bit.
The emperor waved his hand and signaled Shu Liang to step back. Then he turned his attention to the pale-faced Zhang Shi and the British uncle and nephew, and his tone was still gentle.
"I have read your complaint. It states that Zhang Fu was wronged by Jin Yiwei. You want to avenge him. Since you have beaten the Dengwen drum, I will ask you, how do you want to redress your grievances?"
