A month later, Yumen went to court early.
Civil servants of the sixth grade are eligible to participate in the imperial court. Liu Wentai, the judge of Taiyuan Hospital, is also included in this list.
Chang Feng studied hard until midnight last night and was so sleepy that he couldn't even open his eyes.
There is no way, the emperor is a workaholic and never stops working. The ministers must get up early every day to come to Fengtianmen.
Xiao Jing, the chief ceremonial officer, shouted at the top of his lungs: "Discuss!"
Liu Wentai was the first to go out: "My lord, the Taiyuan Hospital has ruled that Liu Wentai has his own merits!"
Although the imperial court judge is qualified to participate in the morning court, according to the established rules, this official only stands in the morning court to show his appearance.
There has never been any precedent for a court to issue a court ruling early in the morning.
All the eyes of the civil servants and generals were focused on Liu Wentai.
Emperor Hongzhi was also a little curious, what could the imperial court judge do?
Then Emperor Hongzhi said: "Come here."
Liu Wentai said righteously: "I, together with a total of 246 officials from the capital and local government, jointly participated in the impeachment of Wang Shu, the Minister of Personnel, for the third major crime."
As soon as Liu Wentai said this, the courtyard in front of Fengtian Gate was in an uproar!
A small court judge actually got involved in the official affairs department!
Chang Feng also pricked up his ears. Today, Wang Shu reported illness and did not attend the morning court. This is Liu Wentai’s shameless sneak attack on the 70-year-old Lao Wang! Is this good? This is not good! ap.
Liu Wentai said loudly: "Wang Shu is guilty of three major crimes! During the Chenghua Dynasty, when Wang Shu resigned from office and lived in his hometown, he asked someone to write his biography and have it printed."
"In the biography, Wang Shu used his fame and reputation to compare himself to Yi Yin and Zhou Gong, and slandered the king! This is a grave crime."
"Wang Shu disturbs the rules of official selection and will dismiss or demote anyone who does not adhere to it! This is the second major crime!"
"During the previous dynasty, Wang Shu also kept the memorials sent by his ministers to Lord Xianzong. He always said that the palace would not respond and fabricated lies that Lord Xianzong refused to remonstrate. This is the third major crime!"
"The total number of signatures of those who jointly participated in the impeachment of Wang Shu is 246. I ask the emperor to remonstrate with the ministers and punish Wang Shu severely, so as to strengthen the rule of law and bring peace to the spirit of the late emperor!"
Next, Liu Wentai read the tens of thousands words of the impeachment memorial.
Chang Feng, who was standing under the front courtyard, had the same idea as Emperor Hongzhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne:
First, Liu Wentai has a backstage. Otherwise, how can a small imperial court unite more than 200 officials to raise discounts together?
Second, Wang Shu was in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs for six years and offended too many people. I am afraid that most of the officials who signed the petition had been demoted by Wang Shu.
The removal of mediocre officials was actually the will of Emperor Hongzhi. Wang Shu was attacked by officials on behalf of Emperor Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi asked: "Is your participation in the impeachment based on hearsay or based on evidence?"
Liu Wentai said: "There is Wang Shu's biography as evidence. Submit it together with the memorial!"
Xiao Jing presented Liu Wentai's memorial and evidence to Emperor Hongzhi.
Sure enough, the officials who signed the name were basically sixth- and seventh-grade junior officials. Almost all of them were dealt with by Wang Shu.
In the "Biography of Wang Tianguan", all the words that slandered the late emperor have been marked by Liu Wentai. They are all treasonous remarks.
Hundreds of officials were always involved in the impeachment, and Emperor Hongzhi had to express his stance.
Emperor Hongzhi thought: This matter must be investigated. Let Chang Feng investigate and clear Wang Shu's name.
Liu Wentai seems to have guessed this. He said loudly: "Your Majesty, Wang Shu will conduct a thorough investigation. But we cannot let the factory guards investigate."
"Wang Shu is on good terms with the governor of the East Factory, Mr. Qian. Although Mr. Qian is loyal to the country, he will never show favoritism. But if the factory guards go to investigate, there will definitely be gossip that Mr. Qian is partial."
Emperor Hongzhi thought for a while and said, "I ordered the Ministry of Punishment to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Peng Shao, the Minister of Punishment, came out and said, "I accept the decree."
Chang Feng went off on a business trip and returned to Fusi, Beizhen, to check in.
Qian Neng and Qian Ning, father and son, walked in angrily.
Qian Neng picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then spit out the tea and smashed the tea cup into pieces with "Kuacha"!
Qian Neng cursed: "The warriors below are too ignorant!
The tea is so hot, it wants to burn me to death! "
Chang Feng knew that Qian Neng was angry because of Wang Shu's involvement. He quickly said: "Eunuch Qian, please calm down."
Qian Neng cursed: "Calm down, how can I calm down? Who dares to impeach a famous official of the Ming Dynasty?"
"Chang Feng, arrest him! Arrest Liu Wentai and punish him severely!"
"If you dare to slander the prince, see if I don't squeeze out his yolk and feed it to the flies!"
Qian Ning agreed: "Yes! My godfather is right, Liu Wentai should be arrested and subjected to all kinds of torture using the memory recovery technique!"
Chang Feng said: "Absolutely not!"
Qian Neng's expression changed and he glared at Chang Feng: "Chang Feng, why are you turning your elbows outward? Don't forget, the prince and your godfather, Eunuch Huai'en, are close friends!"
"When the prince was transferred from Nanjing to the capital as Minister of Civil Service, it was because of your godfather's recommendation."
"Liu Wentai's participation in the impeachment of the prince is a slap in the face of your late godfather!"
Chang Feng calmly gave Qian Neng an analysis: "Eunuch Qian, there are three things Liu Wentai cannot catch."
"How could he, a small court judge, be so bold as to conspire with more than 200 officials to impeach the Minister of Civil Affairs? There must be a backend."
"I have guessed who is behind him."
Qian Neng asked: "Who is it?"
Chang Feng replied: "If I guess correctly, it is Qiu Jun, the new member of the pavilion. Qiu Ge and Wang Butang are incompatible with each other."
"Last month, our eyes and ears discovered that Liu Wentai visited Mr. Qiu Ge at night and gave him a box of Song-printed books as a gift."
"The emperor temporarily needs Qiu Ge Lao Pei in the cabinet to calm the hearts of scholars in the world. In other words, Liu Wentai's backstage cannot be defeated."
"A rat-throwing weapon, this one cannot be caught."
Qian Neng said: "Isn't Jin Yiwei good at kidnapping? Liu Wentai can be secretly arrested and interrogated."
Chang Feng explained: "Everyone in the world knows that Mr. Qian, who is in charge of the factory guards, is on good terms with Wang Butang. If Liu Wentai impeached Wang Butang, he would immediately disappear mysteriously."
"Everyone in the world knows that you ordered the factory guards to kidnap Liu Wentai. It will be detrimental to Wang Butang's reputation."
"Behind Liu Wentai stands Qiu Jun, and behind Qiu Jun stands all the scholars in the world. By doing this, you are offending all the scholars in the world!"
"Don't catch these two."
Qian Neng calmed down and thought about Chang Feng's words carefully: "Yes. Those scholars with chicken necks and eggs are not easy to mess with."
Chang Feng continued: "The emperor issued an edict in the morning in front of all the civil and military officials. The Ministry of Punishment is responsible for this case. If we, the Jin Yiwei, arrest Liu Wentai, wouldn't it be a rebellion against the edict?"
"These are the three things you can't catch!"
Qian Neng praised: "Chang Feng, you are still thoughtful. But, do we have to stand by and watch this matter?"
"Are you just watching the female minister frame Zhongliang?"
Chang Feng smiled slightly: "My subordinates have already figured out a way. Jin Yiwei and the Ministry of Punishment are both in charge of the prison. The current Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, Peng Shao, is an experienced and experienced criminal."
"I will ask your Majesty to go to the Ministry of Punishment to observe the government. I will learn how to handle cases from Peng Butang."
Qian Ning on the side heard the clue and raised his thumb: "Master Chang, you are so smart! The emperor did say that the punishment department should investigate this matter. But the punishment department is composed of one individual."
"You are temporarily going to the Ministry of Justice to observe the government affairs. Can't you justifiably intervene in this case?"
Chang Feng said: "That's right. Eunuch Qian was right just now. We Jinyiwei can't just watch the female officials frame Zhongliang!"
Qian Neng sat on the chair and asked Lux to serve him a cup of tea. He calmed down and said, "Actually, everyone understands. It's just that the prince has offended too many people by eliminating mediocre officials and redundant personnel over the years."
"These people have joined forces to seek revenge against the prince this time."
Chang Feng sat opposite Qian Neng. With his current power, he can already sit against the Chief of Ceremonies.
Chang Feng said: "Eunuch Qian's words are insightful! Scholars all over the world have this idea. As long as you study hard and get a name on the gold medal, you can ensure that you will be an official for a lifetime."
"However, after Wang Butang took charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he broke the rules. Any official who has mediocre abilities, does nothing, or does things randomly will still be demoted and dismissed from office, even if he has a top-notch background."
"Scholars all over the world naturally regard Wang Butang as their enemy!"
"Qiu Jun, a master of Neo-Confucianism, is the general backer of scholars in the court. It is not surprising that he instigates attacks on Wang Butang."
Qian Neng stood up and said, "Without further delay, let's go. I will take you into the palace to meet the emperor."
Half an hour later, in the main hall of Qianqing Palace.
Emperor Hongzhi was looking at the impeachment report with concern.
Liu Ji used to be Emperor Hongzhi's substitute in the cabinet. Isn't Wang Shu the substitute placed by Emperor Hongzhi in the Ministry of Personnel?
It was the will of Emperor Hongzhi to eliminate mediocre and redundant officials. Wang Shu is just the executor.
Now that the substitute is impeached, the reason still lies with Emperor Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi did not want a loyal and good minister like Wang Shu to end well.
However, the "Biography of Wang Tianguan" as evidence was placed in front of him!
This is Wang Shu's autobiography, which contains two thousand words of content that slanders the late emperor.
If Emperor Hongzhi did not punish Wang Shu, wouldn't he be indulging his ministers in insulting the late emperor?
Qian Neng walked in: "Your Majesty, Chang Feng wishes to see you."
Emperor Hongzhi said: "I am just looking for him. Let him come in."
Chang Feng entered the main hall, kowtowed to Emperor Hongzhi, and expressed his intention to temporarily go to the Ministry of Punishment to observe the government.
After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi slapped Long An: "Wonderful! In this way, you can help Wang Qing clear his grievances without violating my will. Officials and scholars all over the world will not be able to find fault!"
"Chang Feng, everyone in the court says you are young and immature. I think you are cunning and calculating!"
Chang Feng said: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. When I went to the Punishment Department, I did go to learn the name of punishment from Peng Butang. It has nothing to do with Wang Shu's case."
Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said: "Yes, yes. I have never ordered you to go to the Ministry of Punishment to participate in Wang Shu's case."
The next day, the lobby of the Ministry of Justice.
Peng Shao, the Minister of Justice, held a book in his hand and read it eagerly.
He was sixty-two years old, but his body looked like that of an eighty-year-old. Sickly.
He was famously fond of learning in the court, and kept reading books in his spare time from official duties.
Chang Feng walked into the lobby and explained his purpose to Peng Shao.
Peng Shao loves reading, but is not a nerd. He immediately understood Chang Feng's intention.
Peng Shao had a violent cough and drank a cup of tea to stop the cough.
He asked Chang Feng: "You came to the Ministry of Justice for the time being. Is it the emperor's order? The purpose is to investigate the impeachment case of Wang Laobu Tang of the Ministry of Personnel, right?"
Chang Feng smiled slightly: "No. I am here to learn the knowledge of criminal names from you with an open mind."
Peng Shao took another sip of tea: "Everyone understands this. I am old and in poor health. I cannot investigate the case myself."
"The Wang Butang impeachment case should be thoroughly investigated by Yang Yiqing, a doctor in the Northern Zhili Qing Dynasty."
"Yang Yiqing is very capable in his work. You should learn from him."
Peng Shao is an old official. He knew that the essence of the case was a battle between cabinet minister Qiu Jun and the official minister Wang Shu.
He didn't want to get involved. Simply designate a subordinate official to top the tank.
Not long after, Yang Yiqing was called into the lobby.
When Chang Feng saw the thirty-eight-year-old Yang Yiqing, he thought to himself: Oh my God, how come this man is even uglier than a tiger?
Zhang Cai is the most handsome person in the entire capital officialdom. Then Yang Yiqing is the ugliest person among the officials in the capital.
Because of his ugly appearance, he should be ranked among the top ten on the gold list based on talent and learning, but he was ranked among the top three and ninety-fifth by Master Xianzong.
Because of his ugly appearance, he had been an official for nineteen years, but he was just a scholar of the fifth rank. To put it bluntly, he is a ghostwriter who writes edicts.
This year, with great difficulty, I was transferred to the Ministry of Justice as a full-time doctor.
Peng Shao introduced Yang Yiqing to Chang Feng. Instruct him to investigate Wang Shu's impeachment case.
Peng Shao then sent the two of them away.
"You go to the Northern Zhili Police Department to study this case. Oh, take the physical evidence with you."
The Ministry of Punishment is divided into thirteen Qing officials divisions according to provinces. The Northern Zhili Qing Li Division is one of them.
After entering the check-in room, Yang Yiqing said bluntly: "I don't like the people in Jinyiwei. I especially don't like you, Chang Zhenfu."
Chang Feng was stunned.
With his current status, the doctors in the six departments scrambled to curry favor with him.
But when they met for the first time, Yang Yiqing directly said that he didn't like him?
Chang Feng said calmly: "Mr. Yang, I have never offended you before."
Yang Yiqing said sternly: "Jinyiwei is above the law. We can arrest all officials if we want, torture them if we want, and kill them if we want. This Yamen should not exist in the Ming Dynasty!"
"You are a regular governor and have a bad reputation throughout the capital. Relying on the emperor's favor, you are actually a butcher."
"I am not ashamed to associate with butchers."
Yang Yiqing is so courageous! He actually called Chang Feng "the butcher". This was far beyond Chang Feng's expectations.
Chang Feng said: "You say I am a butcher, but I tell you, I kill all the people who deserve to be killed!"
"There are too many people who deserve to be killed in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. I can only bear the reputation of a butcher."
Chang Feng was actually worried that Yang Yiqing was a corrupt scholar. He was not allowed to participate in the investigation of Wang Shu's impeachment case.
Then his visit to the Punishment Department was in vain.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yiqing said sternly: "If I don't like you, I don't like you. I will still cooperate with you to clear the grievances of a generation of famous ministers."
Chang Feng said: "Mr. Yang also thinks Wang Butang was wronged?"
Yang Yiqing replied: "Anyone with a discerning eye knows what's going on. Wang Butang is upright and upright. In his six years in office, countless mediocre officials have lost their high positions."
"Those people are taking revenge by co-signing this note!"
Chang Feng praised Yang Yiqing: "Brother is a wise man!"
Yang Yiqing opened the so-called "evidence of crime" - "The Biography of Wang Tianguan".
This is an autobiography by Wang Shu. Officials writing autobiographies is not unique to modern people. It began in the Song Dynasty.
Chang Feng and Yang Yiqing carefully read "The Biography of Wang Tianguan". It was found that there were indeed many treasonous and treacherous words in it that slandered the late emperor.
For example, the late emperor was addicted to intravenous surgery, and Wang Shu repeatedly advised him.
He said that the late emperor was stupid and used villains more often. Wang Shu tried to dissuade him many times.
What's more, it is said that the late emperor had a chronic illness and loved to take health-enhancing drugs. Wang Shu wrote a letter urging the late emperor to stop taking health-enhancing drugs and take care of his body.
Long live! To directly say that the emperor is soft... is a typical act of treason.
Chang Feng said: "Mr. Yang, I don't think Wang Butang is so confused. Write these stupid words in his autobiography."
Yang Yiqing said: "I also think this "The Biography of Wang Tianguan" is fake."
Chang Feng added: "I listened to Liu Wentai read an excerpt about the impeachment of Wang Butang during my early court visit. The excerpt uses sharp words, and every word is like a knife."
"The writing does not look like it was written by someone who has been in the hospital for a long time. It looks more like the handwriting of an old censor."
Yang Yiqing said: "Let's do this. Let's go to Wang Butang's house first and ask about the authenticity of this autobiography."
Chang Feng said: "Okay. Let's leave now."
The two came to Wang Shu's mansion.
The seventy-six-year-old Wang Shu was already suffering from many illnesses. I had a big fight with Qiu Jun last time, and his condition became even more serious. Now he is bedridden.
Chang Feng and Yang Yiqing came to Wang Shu's bed and explained their intention.
Wang Shu was so sick that he couldn't see clearly, so he had to ask Chang Feng to read the autobiography to him.
Chang Feng read for two full moments.
Wang Shu said: "This autobiography is false! When the female officials of the previous dynasty were mediocre in politics, I briefly reported illness and returned to my hometown."
"When I returned to my hometown, I asked a good friend from my youth to write a biography."
"But where are those treacherous words in it!"
"Seventy percent of what you read is the original text of my autobiography. The other 30% of the rebellious words were added by others!"
Chang Feng blurted out: "Sure enough!"
Liu Wentai's mansion.
Liu Wentai was celebrating with his good friend, the imperial censor Wu Zhen, drinking and having fun.
Liu Wentai smiled and said: "Brother Wu, you are still good at writing articles about participation and impeachment! I read it aloud at Fengtianmen this morning, and it shocked all the civil servants and generals!"
Chang Feng's guess was right. The impeachment report was not drafted by Liu Wentai, but by Wu Zhen.
Wu Zhen said angrily: "Originally, I was the fourth-rank censor of Youqiandu. When Wang Shu took charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he demoted me to the bottom and made me a minor seventh-rank censor!"
"It is not a gentleman to not avenge one's vengeance!"
Liu Wentai said: "Yes! Originally, it was certain that I could be promoted to the Sichuan Salt Tea Transport Envoy. I would earn at least tens of thousands of snowflakes in three years' service!"
"But Wang Shu, that old guy is stumbling upon me! He's blocking my way to make money!"
"Destroying someone's wealth is like killing one's parents! How can one not avenge one's father and mother?"
Wu Zhen was a little worried: "It's just that I'm always worried about lying in my autobiography."
Liu Wentai smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry! I have found out everything. Wang Shu's true autobiography was only printed in 300 copies in his hometown of Sanyuan Prefecture, Shaanxi Province, and distributed to relatives and friends."
"This time I spent a lot of money, spending two thousand taels of silver in my savings, and printed five thousand copies of my fake autobiography. I put it in almost all the bookstores in the capital!"
"There are more fakes than real, and the fakes have become real!"
Wu Zhen was surprised: "Two thousand taels? Brother Liu really spent a lot of money!"
Liu Wentai talked about business: "Being an official is like doing business. Without investment, how can there be any return?"
"I spent two thousand taels. If I can defeat Wang Shu and become the Sichuan salt tea envoy, the reward will be at least five times!"
"When you are doing big business, how can you care about small capital?"
