"Absurd! Absolutely ridiculous!"
In a mansion in the capital, several people were gathering together, discussing with serious faces the matter of the Confucian scholar being imprisoned.
One of the middle-aged officials was extremely excited. He stood in the hall, his face turned red and he was eloquent.
"He is nothing but a prince!"
"How can you cover the sky with one hand?"
"You actually do this to a Confucian student! You are in vain!"
This person is the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, and behind him stands a powerful northern noble family.
At this time, he became particularly angry about Zhu Gaojie's actions and kept condemning him. After all, hundreds of Confucian scholars were thrown into the sky prison together. This fact was too shocking.
Where does this put Confucianism’s face?
The face of the scholars and great Confucianists was completely lost!
"The prince's move is simply an act of cruelty! All scholars and scholars in the world will be ashamed of this!"
The left minister of the Ministry of Rites was out of breath. When he talked about his anger, he wanted to slam the table repeatedly.
Several other people on the side quickly tried to persuade him, and then they managed to maintain the situation.
"What Mr. Cui said is indeed reasonable."
Those present are all important officials of the court, and the one sitting in the middle, stroking his beard and meditating, is Wang Zhi, the Minister of Personnel of the Ming Dynasty!
After he finished saying this, he turned his gaze to the other side and asked:
"Mr. Pei, what do you think?"
The person who was called was the head of the Criminal Department, who also came from a wealthy family.
This time, hundreds of Confucian scholars were detained in the prison for violating the Academy of Arts, and they happened to be under his jurisdiction.
"Replying to Wang Shangshu, in my opinion, His Highness the Crown Prince may be really angry this time..."
Chief Pei shook his head slightly, with a heavy expression on his face, and said slowly:
"Originally, I received the notice, and we had a plan beforehand, so the Confucian scholars were imprisoned, but they did not suffer any punishment, and each made their own arrangements."
"But then the East Palace sent people, who were called supervisors but actually took over the disposal of these Confucian scholars. Even the personnel of my Criminal Department were all kicked out."
Having said this, he glanced at Wang Zhi at the head of the throne and said slowly:
"Confucian scholars have not seen many storms, and I am afraid they may not be able to withstand the torture of those hawks and dogs..."
"He dares!"
The left minister of the Ministry of Rites on the side slammed the table hard and said angrily:
"By putting Confucian scholars in prison, he has risked the world's reputation. Could it be that he still dares to torture these Confucian scholars?"
"You must know that the scholars and scholars of the Ming Dynasty will never give up!"
"Alas," Chief Pei shook his head speechlessly and said to him:
"Shilang Cui, this is wrong."
"You must also know that the prince ordered a Confucian scholar to be shot dead at the scene."
"Then why would it be difficult to torture these Confucian scholars and get them to identify the masterminds behind the scenes?"
"It should be noted that the attack on the Academy of Literature and the beating of the Minister of Household Affairs violated Ming law, so it is normal to deal with it strictly."
Wang Zhi rubbed the teacup with his hand, his expression uncertain.
This time the Confucian scholars made a big fuss in the Academy of Arts and attacked Xia Yuanji by name, which was indeed premeditated.
The students in the Academy of Arts are all from humble families. If the prince is allowed to be trained one generation after another and participate in official circles in various places, then it won't be long before the advantages of the wealthy families will be greatly reduced.
High-ranking nobles and famous families, these intertwined forces will be dealt a huge blow by those from poor families!
If this is the case, what will the children of these big families do in the future?
Are we going to have to fight hard for the same position as those from poor families? Like a dog?
This is absolutely impossible!
Therefore, these aristocratic families in the north almost stood on the same position and began to plot how to attack the Academy of Literature and weaken the power of the poor children.
It's best to get rid of them all!
In the world of the Ming Dynasty, scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, scholars are always ranked first, and it is not the turn of a bunch of idiots to fight for it!
"No need to worry."
Thinking of this, the official minister slowly spoke:
"The prince may not dare to make things happen."
He looked around with a strong confidence in his tone:
"Confucianism is the Ming Dynasty, and scholars and scholars are the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. He is just a prince and has not yet ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. How can he dare to go against the scholars in the world?"
"After all, this world must be governed by civil servants like us. He doesn't dare to make mistakes."
"Shilang Pei, go ask the Kong family again and ask them to contribute their efforts and add fuel to the fire. Let everyone in the world know that the current prince seems to be disrespectful to Confucianism!"
When Wang Zhi said this, his tone became a little serious:
"Since he has already made a mistake and shot a Confucian student, we have to strike while the iron is hot and make him understand the truth."
"The affairs of the court are not so easy to handle!"
"He is a child with a yellow mouth. He always wants to stir up trouble because of his strength in the army. This time, we must teach him a lesson."
Wang Zhi stood up and stared at everyone:
"Otherwise, when he really ascends the throne and becomes emperor in the future, will we still have the right to speak to this Ming Dynasty?"
Inside the prison.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice who were originally relatively friendly were kicked out by the guards of the East Palace.
They dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out, because the entire prison was surrounded by troops and was heavily guarded. Not even a fly could escape.
Imprisoned here are not only the Confucian scholars who attacked the Academy, but also the generals of the guards who were arrested under Zhu Gaojie's order.
In the dark and humid prison, mosquitoes were flying and the stench was terrible.
This extremely harsh environment immediately caused many Confucian scholars to collapse.
Most of them come from aristocratic families and have been pampered since childhood. How have they ever suffered like this?
In addition, since they were arrested and imprisoned, they had never seen water and rice at all, and they were cold and hungry. The Confucian scholars were already miserable and miserable.
In the lobby of the Criminal Department, Zhu Gaojie was standing high above him, listening to Shen Qingyu's report with no expression on his face.
"A bunch of trash..."
He said softly, and then asked:
"Have you recruited those guard generals?"
"Who gave them the order to stand still and do nothing to save them?"
Shen Qingyu's face was slightly sweaty and she whispered back:
"Your Highness, those people refused to explain. They all said that they had not received the warning, so they could not come to rescue in time..."
"Ha," Zhu Gaojie heard this and sneered slightly:
"They are quite obedient and know that great disaster will happen to those who reveal their parentage."
"Maybe they still have the idea of waiting for someone to rescue them."
After hearing Zhu Gaojie's words, Shen Qingyu didn't dare to raise her head, broke out in cold sweat, and whispered:
"Your Highness, if you hold such a low position and torture yourself, you will make these people confess truthfully!"
Zhu Gaojie waved his hand and said nonchalantly:
"never mind."
"Let's talk about the behind-the-scenes situation you investigated first."
