"Xiang Su Mao and Meng Shaoyu, this matter is left to your Ministry of Punishment and Ministry of Etiquette, with the assistance of the Jin Yiwei. I am not unkind. It will only take three years to investigate.
After investigation, first, the scholar and the person he concealed and protected will be rewarded with ten military sticks, and they will be returned ten times within a month's time limit. Those who fail to complete the task within the time limit will be permanently removed from the title of scholar and will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination for life;
Second, members of the sheltered person's family are not allowed to take the imperial examination for ten years.
Third, after a Gongsheng graduates from school, it will be recorded by the Department of Civil Affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs that he will not be granted any official position within three years and will not be promoted within three years after being appointed. "
The Gongsheng students at the scene were all in disbelief.
The reason why they are superior to others is because of their status as Gongsheng. Without the protection of this status, the people they used to scold would probably kill them.
Money is easy to handle, and it's not a problem for friends to lend it to each other.
But you are not allowed to be appointed or promoted within three years. This is equivalent to wasting six years. How many six years can you have in your life? This is equivalent to their efforts over the years being in vain.
"As for these people..."
Chongzhen turned around and looked at the hundreds of troublemaking scholars and Gongsheng students kneeling on the ground, with a sneer flashing at the corner of his mouth.
"As for these people, all titles will be permanently removed and they will be permanently banned from participating in scientific examinations."
"After finding out, the leader will be exiled for three thousand miles with twenty batons!"
"The rest of the people, please give me twenty military sticks each!"
The people watching at the scene cheered instantly and shouted long live His Majesty.
As for the reason for cheering, it might be pure jealousy, it might be that these people are usually too annoying, or it might be His Majesty's justice.
The hundreds of scholars and tribute students who gathered to make trouble felt like they were mourning for their heirs.
The ministers of the Donglin Party looked extremely gloomy, as these hundreds of people were just finished.
After completing their studies, these tribute students were appointed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to serve as county magistrates, county magistrates, edicts, and other official positions. Although their ranks were low, they had their backers in the court. With proper operation, they would be promoted faster than others.
A minister stood up and said: "Your Majesty, is this punishment too severe..."
"Is it heavy?"
Chongzhen sneered: "Now I am just a Gongsheng student and can incite hundreds of people to gather and make trouble. If I wait for either party in the future, wouldn't it mean that people will gather to rebel?"
If you can make a fortune by taking advantage of your privileges now, wouldn't it be considered extremely greedy if you become an official in the future?
Rather than waiting to harm the people later, it is better to avoid future troubles now. "
Some ministers who still wanted to plead for mercy immediately gave up their thoughts.
His Majesty has even spoken out about rebellion, and if they try to plead for mercy, they will probably be dragged out and executed by His Majesty.
"Su Maoxiang and Meng Shaoyu, if there is no result within a month, you can go home and retire."
"Also, after a thorough investigation, the Ministry of Rites will make a plan for local prefectures and counties to push scholars to enter the Imperial College. Don't put anyone else in it. If such a messy thing happens again, don't blame me for killing you!"
"I accept the decree!"
The two of them bowed in response. Normally, they would have had a headache because they couldn't use torture. Now that His Majesty has spoken, it will be much easier.
Gather these Gongsheng together, pick a few to be stabbed and receive various punishments. Others don't need them to extract confessions, and the Gongshengs will rush to confess.
If everything goes well, if you torture in the morning, you can finish the work in the afternoon, and you can go home in time for dinner in the evening.
"Don't blame me for being ruthless, just blame these overfed and troublemaking Gongsheng students!"
Everyone at the scene immediately screamed. The emperor's words completely betrayed this group of troublemaking Gongsheng students. After today, this group of people will be regarded as enemies by scholars all over the country.
After Chongzhen once again glanced at the tribute students in the Imperial College and the common people present, he turned around and got into the dragon chariot.
Today's behavior is a kind of test for the scholars in the world. He really wants to take this opportunity to abolish the privileges of scholars established by Taizu, but it is a pity that it is not the right time.
A group of nearly 600,000 scholars regardless of age across the country has kidnapped most of the people.
To put it bluntly, they control most of the direction of public opinion. In this era of low cultural level, scholars are high-level intellectuals to ordinary people, and their words can often be believed by the people.
Secondly, it is not a matter of wanting to abolish something set by Taizu. If he insists on doing it, he will probably be scolded by the ministers.
He will be labeled as being treasonous, disrespectful, unfilial, cowardly, tyrant, etc.
It would be great fun if the Confucius family from Qufu came to guide us.
"Wait, I will do it within one year at the latest! If you dare to object, you will be killed directly."
"Not only are the privileges of scholars, but I also want to reform the imperial examination system and talent selection!"
Chongzhen thought silently in his heart.
After returning to Huangji Hall, Chongzhen continued to ask: "Shi Fenglai, as an assistant minister of the cabinet, how should you solve the civil uprising and disaster in Shaanxi?"
Shi Fenglai left class immediately. With the buffer from the students causing trouble, he now also had a countermeasure.
"Your Majesty, I believe that if we want to completely solve the problem in Shaanxi, we can adopt a policy of both appeasement and suppression, supplemented by Master Guo's proposal as the main one, and suppression by Duke Cheng Guo's proposal as the main approach."
"Master Shi is good at summarizing!"
Faced with the ridicule of others, Shi Fenglai did not refute and continued: "Five thousand elites were deployed from each of the Fourth Army towns such as Datong Town, Shanxi Town, Yansui Town, and Guyuan to encircle Baishui, the main civil commotion area. The four towns totaled 20,000 elites.
To put some pressure on the uprising team, either surrender, or I will kill you directly, choose one of the two,
Under such pressure, combined with His Majesty's imperial edict not to pursue any charges, and measures such as opening warehouses to provide food relief, as long as these people are not stupid, they will definitely lay down their weapons and accept surrender. "
"Master Shi, where did the food come from? How do you solve the gap in the account settled by Chengguo Gong?"
"Put aside the issue of food for now and solve the problem of civil unrest first.
Otherwise, more and more people will gather for the uprising, and what should we do when it sweeps across Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi? "
"Without food, you can only drink poison to quench your thirst. Once the food for disaster relief is gone and civil unrest occurs again, it will be a useless effort."
"We are also deploying troops from the border town. What if foreign enemies find out and take the opportunity to invade the border? Can you afford the loss of the border town?"
"Haha, when Duke Cheng Guo just said to mobilize troops to kill directly, why didn't you ask where they mobilized troops from? Now you are questioning me?"
"I agree with Mr. Shi's suggestion. First of all, please appease him. You can't eat rice all the time, just drink porridge. This should be able to solve it, right?"
"Second opinion, the grain distribution in Jiangnan is a bit slow, but we can buy some from the homes of the local gentry in Shaanxi. If the national treasury cannot solve the problem, then we can borrow some first and pay it back later."
"The court wants to borrow food from an individual? Let's not talk about whether it can be borrowed. Does the court want the face? Do you want the royal family's face?"
"Rebellion is a major crime against the nine tribes at any time. Even if it is an imperial edict issued by the imperial court to let things go, do they believe it? Do they think it is a delaying tactic to settle the score later?"
…
After arguing for half an hour, neither party could convince the other, and the Huangji Hall was in chaos.
"Your Majesty, please judge!"
Suddenly Shi Fenglai shouted loudly, and the noisy Huangji Hall fell silent instantly, and then the crowd all knelt down: "Your Majesty, please judge!"
Chongzhen stood up from the dragon chair, walked to the edge of the platform, and stared at the courtiers: "Theoretically, I agree with Shi Aiqing's proposal."
Seeing that several courtiers wanted to stand up and ask questions, Chongzhen waved his hands and continued: "I just listened to the arguments of all the dear ministers. They were nothing more than focusing on where to mobilize troops, where to ration food, and whether there will be a civil war if there is not enough food. What should the people do if they believe it or not?"
"These problems are not unsolvable."
