The responsibility of the public speaking officer is to tell the story based on the rumors. They drink and talk. They don't need to be precise in what they say, and they don't need to be responsible for what they say. Whoever bites them will be in trouble.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, according to custom, no matter whether the impeachment was justified or not, once an official was impeached, he had to put down all government affairs at hand, suspend his duties at home, and wait for the court's decree.
This is avoiding the position and waiting for impeachment.
In a situation like Wei Chen's, who was faced with seventeen fatal impeachments, he not only had to avoid his position and wait for impeachment, but he also had to take the initiative to resign from the emperor.
The intention of his future father-in-law, Sheng Hong, was to ask Wei Chen to resign first, saying that he had realized his mistake and asked the officials to be merciful.
In this way, the officials would have reason to give Wei Chen a lighter punishment. Maybe they would fine Wei Chen a few months' salary and let him off lightly.
However, what Wei Chen is worried about is that even if he takes the initiative to write a letter to admit his mistake, the officials will not let him go.
Wei Chen saw clearly that the reason why the officials gathered to impeach Wei Chen this time was that the so-called "bewitching the king with ghosts and gods" was just a pretext.
The real reason is that Wei Chen was promoted too quickly after becoming an official and became too sharp, which aroused the dissatisfaction of too many people.
From Hanlin Compilation, he was selected as the official of Jingyan, and was promoted to Zhan Shizuo Zhongyun due to his merit. In just a few months, Wei Chen completed a journey that would take an ordinary Hanlin at least three to five years to complete.
You should know that the Jinshi scholars who were ranked the same as Wei Chen, such as Sheng Changbai, were still interns in the Hanlin Academy, the second-level scholars were observing politics in Beijing, and the third-level scholars were serving as officials in other places, but Wei Chen had already been promoted to the sixth rank of Beijing. official.
What is the level of the sixth grade?
In the local area, the sixth grade Zheng can serve as the general magistrate of a prefecture. Three years ago, Sheng Hong's position was the general magistrate of Yangzhou Prefecture.
Moreover, Wei Chen is still a sixth-rank official in the capital, and the most distinguished Hanlin official among the officials in the capital. Once it is released, even if it is a flat tune, it will at least start from the fifth level.
This also means that Wei Chen's current level is two levels higher than that of Sheng Hong three years ago, but Wei Chen's age is almost the same as that of Sheng Hong's son Sheng Changfeng.
It can also be seen from this that Wei Chen's promotion speed was astonishing after he became an official.
In addition to his meteoric promotion speed, Wei Chen was also trusted by the emperor, and he played a crucial role in the establishment of the crown prince, which attracted worldwide attention.
Any one of these three items is enough to make officials feel like there is smoke coming out of their ancestral graves.
But Wei Chen had all three.
Such a rapid momentum can be described as flowers decorating brocade and fire cooking oil.
However, Wei Chen was just a newcomer to the officialdom who had been appointed official for just three months.
Being young means that Wei Chen's future has unlimited possibilities, but it also means that Wei Chen has insufficient qualifications and a shallow foundation.
But now, this hidden danger has finally erupted.
Wei Chen used the theory of immortals entrusting dreams to persuade the emperor. Although the results were good, the methods used in the process are still open to question.
After all, scholar-bureaucrats pay attention to respecting ghosts and gods and keeping them at a distance, and the officials seized on this point to make a big fuss and vent their long-standing dissatisfaction with Wei Chen, a "lucky minister".
According to Wei Chen's inference, even if he took the initiative to surrender and wrote to the officials to admit his mistake, they would never give up.
In this case, instead of aggrieved oneself in vain, it is better to confront these officials head-on.
Even if you are likely to lose in the end, so what? The worst possible outcome is to be demoted from Beijing!
Wei Chen couldn't wait to do this!
Don't forget that in order to invite Wei Chen to "act in a play", Han Zhangke still owed Wei Chen a favor.
When Wei Chen was about to be demoted from Beijing, he went to Han Zhang and asked him to arrange for him to go to Yuzhou. Two years later, he became a good man again.
In short, Wei Chen is now barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes. He can just roll up his sleeves and have a battle with the officials. First, he can establish his reputation, then take the initiative to resign, and happily go to Yuzhou to take office.
In the future, all cats and dogs will dare to bully me.
To be honest, although Wei Chen had already expected this impeachment, he still felt a sense of injustice in his heart.
Who would be happy if he was impeached for no apparent reason even if he did a good job?
What's more, Wei Chen successfully persuaded Zhao Zhen to establish a crown prince this time, completing a feat that many ministers failed to accomplish. He was a duly meritorious official both for the imperial court and the country.
As a result, he was subjected to an endless barrage of impeachments from the public officials.
How could Wei Chen swallow this breath?
What’s wrong with being able to perform meritorious service, what’s wrong with being promoted quickly, what’s wrong with being valued by the emperor?
Have you eaten your rice?
You don't like me, right? I still insist on fighting with you today!
What do the officials rely on to live and work in the court? Isn’t it just one mouth and one pen?
Wei Chen is now suspended from work and at home. Of course, it is impossible to quarrel with the officials in the court. They can only exchange memorials through the air.
Speaking of the skill on this pole, Wei Chen has never been afraid of anyone since his debut!
Wei Chen made up his mind, so he went directly to the study, poured water into the inkstone, took another ingot of Hui ink and ground it slowly.
Press hard and push lightly, travel far and close.
While Wei Chen was studying ink, he was conceiving the contents of the memorial for self-defense in his heart.
After a while, the ink melted and turned black and thick. Wei Chen already had a good idea of how to write this memorial.
Wei Chen only felt that his literary thoughts were gushing like a fountain, and he was gushing. He immediately picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, and the pen moved like flying.
"I was provoked by danger and suffered a misfortune from Min. I lost both my parents when I was seven years old. Although I have been living with my neighbors since I was a child and my family was very poor, I have not lost my ambition to study. I never stop in the cold and summer, and study hard by the window. I became enlightened at the age of seven, studied classics at the age of ten, entered the government school at the age of eleven, performed filial piety and integrity at the fourteenth level, passed the first prize at the fifteenth year, and was promoted to the Imperial Academy by His Majesty..."
Although Wei Chen wrote the letter to defend himself, according to the format of the memorial, he must first describe himself and then defend himself.
Therefore, in the first half of the memorial, Wei Chen talked about his academic experience and official career, using plain and sincere language.
This paragraph is only a few lines on paper, but it represents Wei Chen's personal experience over the past five years.
Recalling all the past events, Wei Chen was also filled with sadness, and he wrote this paragraph so heartfeltly that it made people cry.
After writing the autobiography of his life, the next step is the self-defense part. The emotions accumulated while writing the first half of the memorial are now released like a dam bursting.
Wei Chen admitted that he had moral stains in the process of admonishing the emperor to establish a heir (referring to pretending to be a ghost in front of the emperor), and also anticipated that he might be impeached.
But as long as what he does can benefit the people and the country, Wei Chen will not care about personal gains and losses.
Even if everything had to happen again, Wei Chen would still do it without hesitation and firmly believe that he is worthy of his conscience.
"If you want to benefit the country whether you live or die, how can you avoid it because of misfortunes and blessings! I hope that when the coffin is closed, it will be enough to say this for a lifetime..."
In the study room of the Wei Mansion, the lights flickered and there was silence, except for the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper.
Wei Chen moved the pen with his wrist hanging, and the pen moved quickly and smoothly, almost without adding any words, and he finished it in one go, expressing all his anger and grievances over the past few days on the paper.
】
The next day.
After noon, Wei Chen came to the General Affairs Department of the imperial court, which was in charge of memorials, handed in the memorial he had written, and then left.
In full public view, the news that Wei Chen personally went to the General Affairs Department to deliver the memorial quickly spread.
And when the Secretary of General Affairs made this memorial called "Chen Qing Biao" public, it was like a stone that stirred up a thousand waves, and everyone in the court was shocked.
