The system of Dengwengu has existed since ancient times.
The original purpose of establishing it was to allow public opinion to reach heaven. Whether the people were making suggestions to the court, having objections to policies, or simply complaining about grievances, they could play music and drums. Once the drum sounds, no matter what the emperor is doing, he must go to court to discuss matters. ①
However, starting from the previous dynasty, tyranny became prevalent. In order to quell the anger and resentment of the people, the previous dynasty did not intend to implement benevolent government. Instead, it raised the threshold for Dengwen drum. Anyone who beats Dengwen drum must first withstand fifty court battles. , let’s talk about other things.
The power of the Fifty Court Battles cannot be underestimated.
If you are a weak person, you may not be able to resist it, let alone complain about your grievances.
Because of this, the Dengwen Drum has been basically useless since the previous dynasty. Although this dynasty abolished the requirement of fifty court battles and followed the previous system, the people's fear of Dengwengu has already formed.
Therefore, although the Dengwen drum has been set up for a long time, no one has beaten it for a long time.
I vaguely remember that the last time the drums sounded was when the emperor first ascended the throne——
A family of bullies took advantage of the fact that their daughter was the concubine of the King of Jin. They dominated the local area, buying and selling land by force, and even forced the parents of a farmer to death and took over his wife and daughter. This farmer was a veteran who had been disarmed. After finally reuniting his family, he ended up with his whole family broken up. He really couldn't bear this breath and was reminded by others, so he begged all the way to the capital and directly beat the Dengwen drum.
At that time, King Jin was very powerful in the court, and the emperor was worried that he would not be able to find any fault with him. This happened at the right time, so he simply used his strength to make King Jin suffer a big loss and also bring justice to the farmer.
"It's weird, after all these years, the Dengwen drum is being beaten again."
When the report was delivered, the emperor was admiring chrysanthemums in the imperial garden, accompanied by Concubine Chen.
Hearing the faint sound of drums outside the palace, he paused and hurriedly called the eunuch to bring him over in a sedan chair.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Concubine Chen was unwilling to do so.
She pulled the emperor's sleeve and said coquettishly: "I agreed to stay with you all day long, but in less than an hour, the emperor is about to leave, and I won't comply."
Although she had given birth to a son and a daughter, and the eldest prince was already educated, she was still squeamish and often behaved like a little daughter, which happened to be the emperor's fault.
"It's not that I won't accompany you, but it's hard for someone to beat the Dengwen drum. I can't destroy the confidence of the people."
He chuckled softly, thought for a moment, and compromised:
"That's all, it's not involved in government affairs. My beloved concubine might as well go with me to see what grievances this drummer has. Isn't my beloved always kind-hearted? This time, I will help me solve the case and see how to make this drummer People are convinced.”
Hearing this, Concubine Chen hummed and said, "The emperor is always good at making fun of people."
But he didn't refute. He took the emperor's hand and went to the imperial ban together.
When the emperor and concubine rushed to the vestibule.
the other side.
At the palace gate at the southernmost end of the imperial city, there was a very open square. At this time, with the sound of the Dengwen drum, the originally empty square gradually filled with people, pointing at the Dengwen drum.
At the front of the crowd, there were still about twenty people of different ages and sizes standing.
The eldest one is already in his twenties, with gray hair and sparse teeth. He walks with a trembling step, but his eyes are very firm. After watching his grandson beat the Dengwen drum with his own eyes, he tremblingly stepped forward and said to the guard on the right side of the prison:
"I heard that once the drum is beaten, it will have to go through fifty court battles first. I have lived enough after living so long, so let's start with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, before the guard of the right prison could speak, the young men behind him started to argue:
"Li Zheng, why bother you? I'm young and strong, let me do it."
"Grandpa, how can your bones hold up? It's better for me..."
"Third Grandpa..."
…
"Okay, you don't have to fight. I'm old, so let me take the fight. Zhuzi, you must remember what grandpa told you. When you come to the Holy Lord, you must make our grievances clear."
After speaking, the old man's hands trembled slightly and he turned to the guard of the right prison, as if he was looking forward to death.
Unexpectedly, someone among the people on the side smiled kindly and said: "Don't worry, old man, the world has changed now, not like the previous dynasty. This Dengwen drum will be beaten as soon as it is beaten. As long as the petition is not malicious, there will be no punishment. "
After the words fell, other people nodded hesitantly.
Although the guard in the right prison still had a straight face, he had a rare reaction and gave the old man a definite answer.
Hearing this, the old man looked very excited, and the young men he brought also cried with joy. While kneeling and shouting long live, they praised the emperor with tears of gratitude as a "wise king".
This scene was recorded by the little eunuch on the side. He lowered his head and hurried into the palace gate to report the matter.
"Oh? Did they really say that?"
The emperor had already arrived at the Qinzheng Hall and was chatting with the three chiefs who had hurriedly arrived. When he heard the report from the chief eunuch, a flash of interest appeared on his face.
Concubine Chen has a very sensitive sense of smell.
She has been favored for many years because of more than just her face.
Seeing that the great eunuch was responding, he hid behind the curtain and said with a smile: "The Holy One loves the people like a son and governs the country well. The people all see it. He is not a wise king."
Following the concubine's praise, the three principals were not to be outdone and knelt down one after another and shouted "Holy Lord, benevolence".
Wear it a thousand times, but flattery never wears it.
The emperor was overjoyed at being praised, and his impression of these people suddenly improved a lot, and he quickly ordered the eunuch to summon them.
Although there were more than twenty people who came to play the Dengwen drum together, it was impossible for everyone to see Tianyan. In the end, only old man Chen went to the temple with two principals with other surnames.
Entering the palace for the first time, especially when he had to meet the emperor later, even though Old Man Chen had lived for more than sixty years, he was still a little nervous.
But when I think of the Luo family who are at ease, and the relatives and fellow villagers who died tragically, no matter how nervous they are, they turn into hatred. Moreover, Old Man Chen still remembered Lord Su's instructions. He caught a glimpse of the young eunuch's pleasant attitude and knew that he would do nothing wrong by following Lord Marquis's arrangements. When he was about to enter the palace, he was no longer nervous.
However, there was still a look of fear on his face.
"The common people have seen the Holy One. Long live the Holy One. Long live the Holy One."
As soon as they entered the palace, the three of them didn't even dare to raise their heads and quickly knelt down to salute.
It wasn't until the emperor called out warmly that they dared to straighten up and take in all the luxury in the palace.
However, when the emperor asked them what grievances they wanted to complain about, the three people who had just straightened up knelt down again. Even the best things were in vain in their eyes, and everything in their hearts was theirs. Injustice and hatred.
"The common people want to sue Cao Guogong's government for harboring fugitives regardless of national laws, and also forged corpses to deceive the court..."
What? ? ?
As soon as these words came out, the bead curtain in the back hall suddenly moved. The emperor and the three chiefs were also very surprised and forgot to react for a moment.
They thought about many possibilities, such as family property being taken advantage of, children being bullied, etc., but they never thought it would be like this.
He actually sued Cao Guogong's government.
Still such a crime!
Several people were stunned, but before the emperor could ask any more questions, Old Chen went on to explain in detail, word for word:
"The wise Lord punished the corrupt official Luo Jinxian a few years ago and gave justice to us Yongzhou people. He also helped us settle down near the capital. The common people were so grateful for this that they specially enshrined the longevity tablets in their homes to pray for the Lord's health and longevity. "
"Unexpectedly, for the sake of their own selfish desires, Duke Cao secretly replaced the second son and the third young lady of the Luo family while the Luo family was in exile, and placed them near the outskirts of Beijing."
"Caomin's nephew happens to be working in Chongwen Academy, and he met Luo Er who had changed his appearance several times. Luo Er thought that no one could recognize him, but little did he know that all of us were ruined because of Luo Jinxian's family. To put it bluntly, we wanted to eat the flesh of the Luo family. Drink the blood of the Luo family. Even if those Luo family members turn into ashes, they will still remember it clearly."
"My nephew was not sure at first, but later I saw that the second son of Xue Mansion would meet with him every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. He also repeatedly mentioned something like, 'All the property my father acquired back then is with me. If you don't do anything to me, Hello, sister, I am definitely disobeying you. Second Young Master Xue was called my cousin, so we were absolutely sure... It was really heartbreaking, so we boldly filed a complaint..."
When he first heard about the background of these people, the emperor's eyelids jumped sharply.
There was nothing he could do about it. The scene where the scholar's blood splattered on the spot was so impactful. It was the only time he had seen it in so many years of his reign. It was hard to forget.
At that moment, even though Old Man Chen kept flattering him, the emperor was a little unhappy.
However--
What did he hear?
Luo Jinxian’s property!
The state treasury has not been rich in recent years.
After two consecutive years of natural disasters, the money spent on disaster relief alone has been depleted, and this year is considered to be a better year.
In addition, affected by disasters, harvests in various places have dropped sharply, and the national treasury can only be withdrawn. The Ministry of Household Affairs has come to cry more than once. But isn't it becoming the emperor's heartache day by day?
Luo Jinxian was severely punished back then. In addition to being unable to withstand the pressure of public opinion and pity the plight of the people in the disaster-stricken areas, the amount of money he embezzled was also an important reason.
But this guy was very tough-talking. He stayed in the Third Division Prison for more than two months and suffered a lot before finally spitting out his words.
At that time, the property was already considered huge, but I didn't expect that Luo Jinxian would still have a back-up plan!
I don’t know how big this sum is.
To be able to hide Luo Jinxian's knowledge so deeply would definitely be no less than before.
Thinking of this, the emperor's eyes lit up.
Yes, although his eldest son was executed along with him, his second son and youngest son were still alive. Luo Jinxian, that old fox, was always cunning, so how could he put everything in the same basket.
"How presumptuous!"
The emperor seemed to be angry and slammed the inkstone. With a loud bang, everyone in the palace knelt down in a hurry.
"Come here, summon Cao Guogong and his second son Xue Jing, as well as Chongwen Academy. Feng Qing, you should bring people there now and capture Luo Er for me!"
