"Your Majesty, something serious has happened. Chen Jing, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, and a group of ministers went outside the palace to plead guilty to his clan brother. They knelt outside the palace and refused to get up. The people outside the palace were alarmed. There were more than a hundred people watching outside the palace. There were still People are constantly being disturbed and gathering around to watch, what should we do?"
Zhao Yizhi was sleeping in a daze when Wang Zhenliang, the chief internal affairs officer, ran to the bed in a hurry, shouting all the way.
"Just say that I'm sleeping, and we'll talk about it tomorrow morning if we have anything to do," Zhao Yizhi turned over and muttered.
The chief steward of the house said anxiously: "If they are willing to listen, the servants will not come to disturb your majesty. If you ignore it, there will be many people watching, which is detrimental to the royal dignity!"
Zhao Yizhi turned around and turned back: "Who is his brother? What did he do? If it's not a big deal, just give him face as the Minister of Punishment and fine him some money to let him go."
"His younger brother is Chen Yu, the governor of Jiangnan. Mr. Chen was just imprisoned by your majesty a few days ago!"
After hearing this, Zhao Yizhi opened his eyes and sat up: "Oh, it seems that I can't do it without getting up. I came here in the middle of the night, I really know how to choose the right time! Who is this Chen Jing?"
"Your Majesty, this Chen Jing is the Minister of Punishment and a disciple of Taishi Li. However, I heard that he and Master Chen Yu have always been at odds with each other. They usually stay away from each other, but I don't know why today..." Wang Zhenliang replied.
"Mr. Wang, please stop pretending to be stupid." Zhao Yizhi said while getting dressed, "When you come up and talk about Taishi Li's disciples, don't you know what you mean?"
After wearing it for a long time, he still didn't put it on. Zhao Yizhi had to call the maid next to him: "It's just that you are still an official in the palace after all, so you shouldn't interfere too much with the affairs of the court. I have my own opinions."
Wang Zhenliang kowtowed quickly: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Okay, let's go. You lead the way. Let's go meet him."
Outside the palace, more than a dozen officials kowtowed to the ground. The leader, an official with a light beard and quite majestic appearance, was wearing white clothes and no official uniform. He kowtowed under the city gate and was neatly dressed in a crane official uniform. The ground is folded in front of him, and the black gauze hat is placed on the official uniform, upright.
"Chen Shangshu, why are you so late at night?" Zhao Yizhi was sitting on a palace carriage. The carriage stopped in front of the officials. Zhao Yizhi jumped down and ignored Manager Wang who was rushing to get the stairs next to him. . Walked straight to Chen Jing.
"To report to Your Majesty, my younger brother has offended His Majesty, and I have come to plead guilty." Chen Jing did not even raise his head, and said to himself, "My younger brother Chen Yu has always been proud of his talents. I have repeatedly advised him and refused to listen to my words. Now I have offended His Majesty. He deserves to die, but fortunately His Majesty is merciful and spares his life. Today I am here to plead guilty on behalf of my brother."
Zhao Yizhi stood in front of him and looked at the people behind him. They were all officials from various departments within the Ministry of Justice, and he understood clearly. Asked: "Then, do you know what crime Chen Yu committed?"
Chen Jing still didn't raise his head, "I don't know, please let me know."
Zhao Yizhi laughed and shouted to the people watching around him: "Everyone, do you know what crime Mr. Chen Yuchen has committed?"
"How do we know?"
"Could it be that money was stolen from the treasury?"
"How can an official steal from the treasury? That's called greed!"
The people who were watching saw that the emperor turned out to be just a young boy with a kind smile. He was different from the mediocre and cruel people who were usually rumored to be. They all started talking boldly.
Zhao Yizhi waited for the people to quarrel for a long time, raised his hand to signal, and the guards on the city immediately beat the gong to signal the people to be quiet.
When everyone calmed down, Zhao Yizhi said: "Chen Yu, as the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, knew about the flood in Anhui City but refused to report it. When I asked about it, he avoided the important matter and ignored the lives of the victims in Anhui City. He committed dereliction of duty and deceived the emperor. , the crime should be punished! I pity his past achievements, pardon his death penalty, and now he is imprisoned in prison until the losses and casualties in Anhui City are reported before he is dealt with. Does anyone feel that it is inappropriate? "
The people started chattering again: "Master Chen knows why he still doesn't report it? If he reports it, won't everything be fine?"
"I'm afraid of being held accountable by the court if I report it. Maybe the flood over there isn't that serious and the matter will be over?"
"If he doesn't retaliate, won't he cause more trouble for him? Fire and water are merciless. Will the people there still survive?"
Zhao Yizhi walked around the crowd of people watching, listened to their conversations, turned around and walked to Chen Jing, who was prostrated on the ground, "Master Chen, do you think my judgment is fair?"
"The Holy Lord's judgment is naturally extremely fair and wise." Chen Jing raised his head, opened his mouth, and replied flatteringly.
"Then why did you come here late at night? Do you want me to...let him go?" Zhao Yizhi asked back.
"I don't dare, I want to..." Chen Jing opened his mouth and found that when he came, he couldn't say a word that Taishi Li taught him. Taishi Li once said that whenever the emperor mentioned the floods in the south of the Yangtze River and convicted Chen Yu of dereliction of duty, he would immediately ask the emperor where the evidence of the floods in the south of the Yangtze River was. This was used to put pressure on the emperor and force him to release the people.
But now that the emperor has killed the floods in the south of the Yangtze River, Chen Yu not only neglected his duties, but also deceived the emperor. How could I dare to say this? If you ask for evidence again, wouldn't you be sending yourself into it?
Zhao Yizhi ignored Chen Jing and asked the officials who were kneeling behind him, "Master Chen pleads guilty to his brother, which shows the deep brotherly love and is very touching. I don't know why you, my dear friends, came here together late at night." ?”
Officials behind you, look at me and I look at you. They were just ordered to build momentum and courage for Chen Jing. Now that Chen Jing is forced to say nothing, what should they say? It stands to reason that one should not blame the crowd... one does not ask the leader, but asks the crowd, how should they respond?
Seeing that the people behind him didn't respond, Zhao Yizhi snorted coldly: "Are you here for business? For private reasons? What crime should you be punished for disturbing the people late at night!"
Chen Jing gritted his teeth and had no choice but to reply: "Back to Your Majesty, my brother once said that there was indeed a flood in Wancheng. It was just a few households outside the city that flooded a few acres of farmland. The government has compensated them. It's not a big deal. Your Majesty, please take a closer look. ."
Zhao Yizhi nodded and said: "Of course it's an investigation. When the detective report comes back, we will find out the situation. If Master Chen Yuchen is wrongly blamed, the court will give him an explanation. Didn't I make it clear in front of the people just now?"
The people watching nodded, but Chen Jing was speechless now.
"You disturb the people late at night, form cliques and cause trouble. As an official of the imperial court, you act absurdly and do not know the importance. How can you live up to the national salary and the people's expectations?" Zhao Yizhi shouted.
The officials kneeling on the ground were so trembling that they didn't even dare to raise their heads.
After Zhao Yizhi asked, he saw that all the officials stopped talking, and then asked: "Is there someone instigating it?"
"Replying to your majesty, there is no one to give instructions." All the officials replied in unison.
"Very good, Mr. Wang. I will convey my decree tomorrow. Today, officials, big and small, headed by Chen Jing, are doing whatever they want late at night and disturbing the people's rest. They are really unruly and have no duty to be officials. They have all been stripped of their official status and demoted to civilians. "After saying that, Zhao Yizhi climbed up the steps and got into the carriage, lowered the curtain and signaled the coachman to turn around and enter the palace.
Wang Zhenliang shouted to the people: "Nothing is going on here. Fellow villagers, elders, and neighbors, please go back and rest early. Tomorrow, those who should work will go to work, and those who should farm, don't miss the time." After finishing speaking, He started trotting behind the carriage.
The people dispersed one after another, and the officials who were kneeling on the ground started talking to each other, got up and left in twos and threes. Before leaving, many people glanced bitterly at Chen Jing who was still lying on the ground, spat, and left angrily.
Chen Jing knelt for a while, got up, and walked towards Grand Master Li Changwen's residence.
In front of the Grand Master's residence, a man who looked like a housekeeper blocked Chen Jing: "Master Chen, please don't disturb the Grand Master when he is asleep."
"The official is here to report the situation to the Grand Master. How can the Grand Master fall asleep if he doesn't know the situation?" Chen Jing asked in confusion.
The housekeeper pulled Chen Jing aside: "Master Chen was dismissed from office and is now a white man?"
"How did you know? Who came to report the letter?" Chen Jing continued to ask.
"Do you still need someone to report the news? After you left, the Grand Master made it clear that he was going to sleep. The villain also reminded him that I don't know whether Mr. Chen will succeed if he goes here... The Grand Master said that he will not succeed. Mr. Chen will go now, Your Majesty. If he is a foolish king, he will let Master Chen Yuchen go; if he is a tyrant, he will kill all of you; if he is a wise king, he will kill you all..." the steward said in a low voice.
"Then...this...Why is the Grand Master like this? What should I do now?" Chen Jing was at a loss for words, grabbed the butler and asked.
The housekeeper held Chen Jing's hand and whispered in his ear: "Master Li has said that if you want glory, you should go to the southwest."
Chen Jing thought for a while, looked at the housekeeper, felt relieved, and bowed: "In this case, please thank the Grand Master on behalf of Chen. Although my brother Chen Yu is at odds with me, I still ask Grand Master Li to try to rescue him."
"Don't worry, don't worry, the Grand Master has his own opinion." The steward nodded.
Chen Jing didn't waste any time, turned around and left home.
"Leaving?" Inside the gate, Taishi Li climbed up the steps and asked the housekeeper who entered the house.
"Let's go. I was quite reluctant to leave Chen Yu when I left, hehehe." The housekeeper smiled. "Sir, you are so smart. How did you know that the emperor would dismiss him from office? Everything is just as you arranged. It's just..."
"It's just that now that you know why you let them go, right?" Li Changwen turned around and walked into the house.
The butler followed behind, "You shouldn't talk too much, but they are all your favorite disciples. So why bother cutting off your own arm?"
"That day Chen Song came out of the palace. He looked very happy and told everyone he met that the emperor had risen from the dead and was extremely wise. I just wanted to test how wise your majesty was. If he was too wise, he would have to let the emperor know how wise he was. You adults should take action earlier. People like Chen Yu and Chen Jing can be trained in as many ways as I want in a year and a half."
"Then Master, what should we do next? Who should we look for to test the situation?"
"No need, any more testing will be in vain. Too much testing will only arouse the emperor's alert. If you send people to find Kong Bao again, you must do it more cleanly. You must take advantage of the person in the capital before he takes action, and have another meeting with the emperor. Let's deal with it." Li Changwen said and walked away. The housekeeper was left alone, thought for a while, and went out without knowing who he was looking for.
"Your Majesty, old slave..." After returning to the palace, Wang Zhenliang followed Zhao Yizhi, but he hesitated to speak.
"Do you want to know why they are asking for trouble like this?" Zhao Yizhi turned around and looked at Wang Zhenliang and asked.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Wang Zhenliang shouted and was about to kneel down again, but was supported by Zhao Yizhi.
"Mr. Wang, you are old, so you should stop kneeling all the time. There are no outsiders here." Zhao Yizhi walked to the table, and the maid beside him immediately came to pour a cup of fragrant tea.
Zhao Yizhi took a sip of tea and continued: "I didn't understand it at first, but when I went out and saw the battle, I understood that you wanted to ask me for an explanation. If I hesitate and can't explain, there are To damage the majesty of the royal family, we have to let Chen Yu go. We have no choice but to kill him in one blow. The floods in Anhui City are serious and we need to kill Chen Jing first."
Wang Zhenliang thoughtfully said: "The flood in Wancheng is really serious, how dare Chen Jing and the others come? This is asking for trouble. If it was not serious, they wouldn't be so scared just now..."
Zhao Yizhi nodded: "Yes, that's the problem. We don't know the situation now. I guess the people they sent haven't come back, and they don't know what the situation is in Wancheng. Eighty percent... This Chen Jing was... Someone sent me to test me.”
"Yes, what your majesty said is absolutely true! They don't know the situation. If your majesty had let slip, they would have known that the flood in Anhui City was not serious, and they would have made it worse. How brave they are! As officials of the imperial court , I don’t understand the sufferings of the people, yet I dare to come to the emperor to inquire about information!”
Zhao Yizhi sighed and thought to himself: "They don't care whether the flood is serious or not. I feel... they seem to be here to test me..."
Wang Zhenliang opened his mouth to ask again, but Zhao Yizhi waved his hand: "Send more people and rush to Wancheng. I must find out the situation in Wancheng clearly. It is best to bring some more refugees back. I want to ask personally."
"Old slave, let's do it now!"
