After entering June, the weather really starts to get hot, and it directly breaks into the sweltering heat. The rising wind cannot take away the heat in the air. There are many shirtless men in the docks and warehouses. There are constant guests at tea shops and ice drink stalls in the city. The guard dogs on the streets open their mouths and stick out their tongues. The whole of Luoyang is full of people. Shrouded in a fiery atmosphere, only the imperial city and the temples were still filled with chills and depression.
The door of Zichen Palace was wide open, and a group of officials were divided into two rows and filed in. There were many people, at least more than a hundred people. Everyone had solemn expressions and cautious movements. In the current political environment of the Han Dynasty, the smiles seemed to have changed from the smiles of the court officials. The face disappeared.
There is an ice room in the Zichen Palace to cool down, but it seems to be a bit too cold for the officials who have just walked in under the scorching sun. They lined up one by one according to their rank, stood in order, remained silent, and did not speak. Dare to make any changes, many people's faces showed obvious uneasiness.
Among these officials, there are no nobles from the clan or important ministers of the government. They are all middle and lower-level officials, all selected from the three yamen of the Imperial City, Wude and Judiciary. Many of them have never even met Emperor Liu, and even if they have, most of them have never spoken to Emperor Liu.
Now, they were summoned to the Zichen Palace and received by Emperor Liu in person. Although they didn't know the reason, most people were looking forward to it and nervous. Of course, there was inevitably a trace of fear.
Kou Zhun, one of the supervisory censors of Guannei Road, was also among them. He bowed his head and tied his hands in a respectful posture. His young face showed little expression, but a little dignity could be seen in his eyes.
In the past few months, everyone has been hit hard by the central government's anti-corruption campaign, and Kou Zhun can be said to have experienced the dangers firsthand. After all, in the Metropolitan Procuratorate alone, I witnessed with my own eyes that so many of my senior colleagues were imprisoned, dismissed from office, exiled, and decapitated. For Kou Zhun, who had just entered the official career, this was indeed a rare insight and experience. Normally, there would be no such "opportunity".
Of course, Kou Zhun was also under some pressure. For several months, he continued to face strange looks from his colleagues in the DPRK and China. The news has spread. It was because of the bold remarks made by this person who was ranked second in the new department and spoke nonsense in front of Emperor Liu that he aroused His Majesty's anger and set off this wave of political fury that shocked the bureaucrats all over the world. Even the prime ministers in the political affairs hall and the chief officials of various ministries would inevitably treat Kou Zhun differently.
However, under heavy pressure, Fang showed his true colors. Although Kou Zhun was frightened, he withstood it in the end. He had already formed his own values. He served the country, the public, the king and the people, and there was nothing he could say!
However, the political frenzy set off by Emperor Liu after his face-to-face meeting that day exceeded Kou Zhun's expectations in terms of the magnitude of the movement, the widespread impact, and the severity of the situation. His original intention was just to remind Emperor Liu to strengthen the management of officialdom and suppress local powerful forces. However, he did not expect that Emperor Liu's actions would be so drastic and his methods so ruthless. He would completely overturn the table and destroy his job. .
Of course, Kou Zhun did not dare to think too highly of himself. If Emperor Liu had not had this intention, how could he have made such an important decision in such a short period of time and implemented it quickly. In the final analysis, Kou Zhun was just an insignificant introduction by chance, and the subsequent development of events had no in-depth connection with Kou Zhun.
Staying in the team silently, I also guessed in my heart why Emperor Liu summoned these subordinate officials. No matter what it was, looking at this posture, it was definitely extraordinary.
While I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard a voice singing: "Your Majesty is here!"
Almost as an instinctive reaction, everyone in the hall bent down subconsciously, their expressions and postures were as if they were reproduced, and everyone was in order. Under the peripheral vision of the ministers, Emperor Liu slowly crossed the palace gate, his steps were very slow, and each step was firm. He was followed by three people, Yan Tuo, Wang Jien and Wang Xuanzhen. Perhaps it was an illusion, but Emperor Liu seemed to be a bit older. The gray on his head did not increase, but his twilight state became more severe.
Slowly walked up the imperial steps, turned around and sat down, and all the ministers bowed in unison. Emperor Liu glanced around, his eyes a little cloudy. After looking at it for a while, he said in a deep voice: "Ping Shen!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The arrival of Emperor Liu made the atmosphere in the Zichen Palace even more tense. All the minor officials were trembling with fear and restrained. Simmer a little
After brewing for a while, Emperor Liu ordered: "Serve the wine!"
Yantuo responded, and then waved his hand outwards. Soon, two rows of palace ladies came in carrying trays, and there were several full glasses of wine on each tray. Although everyone was confused, their hands moved very quickly. Each person took a cup and held it in their hands.
Emperor Liu stood up, also holding a glass, and stood on the edge of the Danqi, with his left hand on the railing, looking down at the ministers and saying: "This wine, let me see you off!"
Although Emperor Liu is old, his voice is full of vitality and majesty at this moment. As soon as he finished speaking, there was a crisp cracking sound in the palace, attracting everyone's attention. Among the queues, a figure lay on the ground in embarrassment, kowtowing, and said in panic: "Your Majesty, forgive me! Your Majesty, forgive me!" "
But it was this person who was so nervous that his hands shook and he couldn't hold it. He knocked over the wine glass and spilled the wine on the floor. Seeing this, Emperor Liu narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at this person, and walked down slowly, one step at a time, and each step seemed to step on the hearts of the ministers in the palace.
It wasn't until Emperor Liu came up to him that he stopped kowtowing and said in fear: "I have lost my decency and committed a grave sin. Your Majesty, please spare my life!"
Emperor Liu lowered his head and looked at this person for a while. He was a low-ranking official of the sixth rank. He belonged to an unknown yamen. He was probably in his thirties. However, the confusion he showed was not the demeanor that a Han bureaucrat should have.
Looking at the overturned wine glass, Emperor Liu said calmly: "Don't you think these are poisonous wines?"
"No, no!" The person trembled and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty's majesty, I was deeply shocked. In a daze, I spilled the cup in disgrace..."
However, he couldn't speak anymore, his face became extremely pale, and his body trembled even more. People standing near him noticed something strange, because the pungent smell was really obvious.
Peed...
However, no one expressed contempt or disgust, or even much pity or sympathy. They just paid careful attention to Emperor Liu's face and reaction. Emperor Liu was obviously a little surprised by this man's miserable performance. He even hesitated for a moment before pointing at him and asking Wang Jien: "Who is this? What is his official position?"
Wang Jien's face was very serious. He stared at this person hatefully and said, "Go back to the official house. This is Zhu Bo, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple."
"This is the elite soldier and general you selected for me? With such performance, can he be entrusted with important tasks and bear heavy responsibilities?" Emperor Liu asked.
Faced with Emperor Liu's harsh questioning, before Wang Jien could answer, the kneeling Zhu Bo collapsed to the ground, his face turned from white to red, and he couldn't breathe, as if he was suffocating.
Wang Jien suppressed the disgust in his heart and explained to Emperor Liu bravely: "The official family, I checked the official list and saw that this person has a solid resume and is good at prison, so he was selected for this mission. But he didn't I think that the person is so unworthy. Perhaps he lost his bearings when he met the saint for the first time not long after he was promoted. He lost his etiquette in the palace. It’s because he didn’t know the person well, so he asked the officials to punish him!”
After hearing what he said, Emperor Liu's frown relaxed, and he looked down at Zhu Bo again and muttered: "Am I a hungry tiger who wants to eat people?"
No one answered this question, but the expressions on many people's faces said it all. After all, Emperor Liu did not take action against the dishonorable Si Cheng, but instead ordered to Yan Tuo: "Take this Zhu Si Cheng down to change into robes!"
"Officials, this person is bold and absurd, and has lost etiquette in front of the palace. How should we deal with it?" Yantuo asked softly.
Emperor Liu shook his head: "Importance is true, but boldness is not necessarily true. I have no intention of arguing with you!"
After a small episode, the atmosphere in the palace relaxed a bit. It seemed that Emperor Liu was not very murderous today, otherwise no one would sympathize with him even if he was killed because of the emperor's frightened behavior.
Soon, Emperor Liu continued to talk about business and said to more than a hundred officials among His Highness: "You are all selected officials from the Imperial City, Wude and Three Law Departments, and you are all experts who are familiar with criminal law. Today I will You have gathered together to entrust each other with a heavy responsibility.
After today, you will serve as envoys of the imperial court and go to all the prefectures in the world to investigate the officials and people's livelihood. You have only one task, and that is to give me those corrupt officials who deceive the emperor and the local tyrants and evil gentry who harm the people. Find them out and deal with them one by one.
The big man has too many silverfish
Okay, if we don’t clean it up, the country will be unstable and the common people will be in trouble! Your responsibilities are heavier than Mount Tai, and you should not hesitate to do righteous deeds for the country and the people!
Not long ago, in order to clarify the affairs of the imperial court and punish lawlessness, I lost a princess, but I have absolutely no regrets! Through your actions, I want to tell the people of the world that for the long-term peace and stability of the country and for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, there will be no tolerance for any relatives of the emperor or noble ministers who violate the law!
I have no sworn relationship with those silverfish that are parasitic on the body of a big man and suck his blood and marrow! "
After an unremarkable farewell party, a larger-scale campaign to purge officials has just begun. Compared with it, what happened in Xijing in the past few months can only be regarded as a small fuss.
