The New Deal was implemented on Jiangnan East Road, and the government and the army wanted to arrest and kill powerful officials. There was a sudden uproar and folk rumors spread. Several ministers who participated in the political affairs hurriedly came to the Jinling Lecture Hall, and everyone was worried.
From the bloody beginning of his ascension to the throne, every step the emperor takes is shocking, and this time is no exception.
The punishment is not good enough for the scholar-officials, let alone the death penalty for so many scholar-officials.
"Your Majesty, if I am punished by torture, I am afraid that it will not be easy to write history books. Your Majesty, think twice!"
Prime Minister Xue Ji looked sad and tried to persuade Zhao Hong to come.
Hundreds of officials have been arrested, and according to anti-corruption laws, at least dozens of them will be sentenced to death. Such large-scale arrests and killings can be described as shocking, and the farmyard fertilizer is sprayed wildly.
"Your Majesty, our court has set a precedent and cannot punish a scholar-bureaucrat, let alone his head in the East Market. Arresting so many important members of the court at once, including one-parent officials such as Tongsuan, Zhizhou, and Zhifu. I am afraid it will cause turmoil in the government and the public, and make people uneasy. ah!"
The emperor's master, Zhen Dexiu, was also worried and spoke out to persuade him.
Among the arrested officials were Gu Song, the magistrate of Jiankang Kangtong, Huang Rucheng, the magistrate of Ningguo Prefecture, Du Shi, the magistrate of the Guangde Army, Hu Yuanfeng, the magistrate of Jiangning County, Xu Hai, the magistrate of Ningguo County, etc. These are all scholars who obtained the imperial examination. Once dealt with If it is inappropriate, I am afraid it will make everyone in the court panic.
Among the rural eunuchs who were arrested, there were also many scholar-bureaucrats who became officials. The emperor has only been on the throne for more than half a year, so he must not mess up his position.
"Your Majesty, since the founding of our country, except for the Zhenzong Dynasty, which has executed county magistrates and chief registrars for corruption, not a single official has been executed for corruption in hundreds of years. This dynasty is founded on Confucianism, and your Majesty must not engage in mass killings. .Please be careful, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, the family law of our ancestors prohibits the killing of scholars and gossips. Your Majesty, think twice!"
Xuan Zhen and Hu Ju spoke out one after another.
None of the four participating ministers agreed to punish criminal officials.
Do not kill officials or people who write letters and comment on matters. If any of your descendants exceeds this oath, God will surely kill them.
The inscriptions of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin seemed to be floating in Zhao Hong's ears.
It's a pity that those who are not in line with the times and go against the trend of history will be ruthlessly eliminated by him, Zhao Hong.
If any of your descendants exceeds this oath, God will surely kill them.
It's a pity that he, Zhao Hong, is not Zhao Kuangyin's filial son and grandson.
"The Zhenzong Dynasty was more than 200 years ago. In more than 200 years, no official has been executed for corruption. It is really a good court and a good law!"
Zhao Hong laughed and turned to Wang Gang, the envoy of Jiangnan East Road.
"Wang Qing, how do you think this case should be handled?"
In the early Northern Song Dynasty, there was no death penalty for official corruption, but there were also penalties such as rod spine, tattoo, and exile to deter official corruption.
But under the rule of Song Renzong Zhao Zhen, he only needed to be beaten with a stick and sent to other places.
As for the sentence "You can't punish an official", it means that during the Shenzong period of the Song Dynasty, officials were corrupt and were simply exiled. Just like the famous Su Dongpo, he was also cool and comfortable when being criticized.
The exile continued into the Southern Song Dynasty. Shi Miyuan was in power, and the administration became more corrupt. Official corruption was no longer mentioned, let alone punished.
The fundamental thing now is that the offending officials are not only corrupt, but also guilty.
What are these ruling ministers worried about?
In other words, why do they want to protect these dog officials?
"Your Majesty, this is a serious matter. If the punishment is too strict or too lax, I'm afraid it will cause commotion. If it's too harsh, I'm afraid it will destabilize people's hearts. If it's too lenient, I'm afraid it won't be effective in clarifying the administration. Your Majesty, think twice and Qiankun can make your own decision."
Wang Gang's answer was tepid, but given its general meaning, it seemed inappropriate to delve deeper into it.
Once the several ruling ministers arrived, Wang Gang seemed to be much weaker in momentum, and his attitude towards severe punishment and law enforcement seemed to be less resolute.
"Song Ci, how do you think these criminals should be dealt with?"
Zhao Hong smiled coldly and looked at Song Ci, the executioner on Jiangnan East Road.
All the civil servants and officials were opposed to severely punishing corrupt officials, so Song Ci had no choice but to take the stand.
"Your Majesty, if we want to implement the New Deal, we must use thunderous means to hold those corrupt and powerful officials accountable to the law. Otherwise, how can we implement the New Deal? Did those court officials who were beaten to death die in vain?"
Sure enough, Song Ci's answer was decisive, and his dark and hard nature was clearly revealed.
What the emperor has decided cannot be changed by the persuasion of a few ruling ministers.
"Song Ci, if this is the case, I'm afraid things will get serious. Aren't you afraid of causing a civil unrest?"
Zhen Dexiu was shocked and scolded his disciple with a straight face.
It doesn't matter how many officials are dealt with. If this happens, where will the dignity of the scholar be?
"True Lord, you killed my court officials, destroyed their official offices, and openly defied the court. If you can't punish them according to the law, how can you implement the New Deal? Who will the parents, wives, and children of those court officials who were killed go to redress their grievances? In this way, , Where is the dignity of the imperial court? Where is the majesty of the emperor? Should the New Deal be implemented?"
Song Ci did not back down and went up against the bull with his mentor Zhen Dexiu.
"You are so stubborn..."
Zhen Dexiu was speechless for a moment and turned around with a puff of sleeves.
This stubborn disciple really doesn't know how to adapt at all.
"Song Ci, have you ever thought about it, if you arrest officials like Gu Song and Huang Rucheng and put them in prison, wouldn't you violate the ancestral system and chill the hearts of the world's scholars?"
Hu Ju asked seriously with a grimace on his face.
"Hu Gong, if you chill the selfishness of a few scholar-bureaucrats, you will warm the hearts of the people all over the world."
Song Ci directly attacked Hu Ju without mercy.
"If the officials are all corrupt and bend the law without punishment, wouldn't it be a great chaos in the world? If you enrich the officials, you will suffer the people of the world, and it will not be of any benefit to the Song Dynasty. Mr. Hu, I heard that your ancestral home in Jiangxi covers an area of fifty It’s so luxurious to have so many acres!”
Hu Ju's face turned red and he quickly replied:
"This official is the savings of my ancestors, not the result of greed. Song Tixing, you are like a soldier."
Seeing the reactions of Hu Ju and Song Ci, Zhao Hong was startled and happy.
There are also ups and downs about Hu Ju's corruption. It seems that some of the rumors are not groundless.
This Song Ci is really fierce for daring to confront the ruling minister head-on.
"Your Majesty, you should think twice before acting. This matter is of great importance, and you must not act hastily and risk the disapproval of the world."
Xue Ji still refused to give up and asked Zhao Hong for advice.
When it comes to dealing with the scholar-bureaucrat, he doesn't want Zhao Hong to insist on it and even kill him.
"Your Majesty, think twice!"
"Your Majesty, think twice!"
Zhen Dexiu, Xuan Zhen, Hu Ju, Wang Gang and others bowed together and said.
Zhao Hong glanced at the several ministers participating in the political affairs and felt secretly disappointed.
I thought I could get their support in implementing the New Deal, but I realized that they were all stubborn and not as practical as Song Ci.
"Erudent scholars, do you know the story of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty Liu Xiu and Great Situ Ouyang She?"
Zhao Hong said slowly, all the ministers were shocked.
During the reign of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ouyang She, the great situ and leader of the world's literary circles, accepted huge bribes and committed huge corruption due to false claims of "transferring land". Despite the pleas of thousands of imperial students and countless ministers, Liu Xiu still did not pardon Ouyang She. She eventually died in prison.
It goes without saying that the emperor wanted to take action on Gu Song and others.
"Collusion between officials and businessmen, horizontal bribery, and powerful officials concealing their household registration and land, evading state taxes and labor, all the money went into private pockets, but the court and the people suffered."
Zhao Hong sighed with emotion, looked at Xue Ji, and suddenly asked:
"Xue Xiang, I heard that this Gu Song was deeply appreciated by you and became a learned man. I heard that you have a copy of "Han Wu Shooting Jiao Picture" by Zhang Sengyao in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, which was given by Gu Song. .Is this the case?”
"Your Majesty, I know that I am guilty! I have failed to bear the divine grace!"
Xue Ji was startled, his heart was pounding, and he quickly replied in a trembling voice.
The emperor even knew his own secrets. Needless to say, Gu Song did everything.
At this time, it is better to tell the truth.
"Xue Xiang, do you know that in order to obtain Zhang Sengyao's famous painting, Gu Song falsely accused the original owner and imprisoned him, and took the painting as his own. Now the original owner died of illness in prison, and his family was ruined. Do you think such an official can be forgiven? ?"
Zhao Hong stopped hiding and went straight to the point.
He has made it known beforehand that all previous corruption will not be investigated. This was also the reason why he didn't say anything bad to Xue Ji.
"Your Majesty, the thief Gu Song has acted so boldly and his crime is unforgivable. I would like to return this painting to the original owner's family immediately so that Your Majesty will not worry. I really did not know this, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"
"Xue Xiang, you really don't know about this. If Gu Song hadn't been imprisoned, the family of the victim would not have dared to appeal. On behalf of the original owner, I would like to thank you very much."
Zhao Hong turned his head and glanced at Xuan Zhen.
"Xuanqing, Huang Rucheng, the prefect of Ningguo, worked with you in Quanzhou. He was your official. When he went to Ningguo, it was you who advised the court."
Zhao Hong looked at Xuan Zhen, who was embarrassed, and his expression became solemn.
"Xuanqing, Huang Zhendong, the powerful uncle of Huangjiazhuang and Huang Rucheng's uncle, owned more than 60 hectares of private land, but only more than 20 hectares were recorded in the tax rolls. Officials from the Jingjie Office went to Ningguo County to clear out the land, but Huang Zhendong beat him to death and injured two people. There are more than ten people, and Huang Rucheng is the magistrate of Ningguo Prefecture. For such a big event, not one person was arrested, but..."
Zhao Hong said it was enough. Some words had already reached their meaning and there was no need to say any more.
"Your Majesty, Huang Rucheng, the magistrate of Ningguo, engaged in personal corruption and committed serious crimes. He violated the law. Please punish him severely. I recommended him improperly and I am guilty. Please punish me!"
Zhao Hong looked calm, but Xuan Zhen was frightened and quickly continued what Zhao Hong said.
Huang Rucheng and Xu Hai once gave him money and gifts. Don't force the emperor to talk about these things that cannot be brought to the table.
Seeing Zhao Hong glance over, Hu Ju quickly smiled apologetically, nodded and bowed.
"Your Majesty, the house that Gu Song sent me to the Qinhuai River was a gift from the summer of the year before last. I almost forgot about it. I immediately handed over the house to the Zhishi Yamen, so that Your Majesty wouldn't bother. As for Gu Song, the law of the country He is strict and should be punished according to law, His Majesty Qiankun is arbitrary!"
Several ministers who participated in the government surrendered one after another. Zhen Dexiu was stunned and speechless for a moment.
He really didn't know, should he continue to speak?
Gu Song revealed so many things, and the Anti-Corruption Department deserves a lot of credit. I don’t know if I have some leverage in their hands?
