Li Qing's eyes narrowed. He knew that the little emperor wanted to kill someone, but he didn't expect it to be a brutal killing.
After thinking about it, I felt that maybe it was not the little emperor's intention. After all, Dongchang and Jinyiwei were always known for being ruthless, and this was just to please the emperor.
Not only the ministers are good at figuring out what is best, but the people in the palace are also good at it, even the maids are like this to the concubines.
Even servants from wealthy families will try to please the master and his wife and fight secretly with each other.
It's just a way of survival.
Li Qing glanced at the woman and saw that she was well-dressed and only had a gold and jade hairpin on her head, which cost her no less than twenty taels of silver. Obviously, this was not the standard of living that a family from a high-ranking official should have.
Every gain must come with a loss, Li Qing sighed endlessly.
He didn't add insult to injury, but he couldn't feel sympathy either. He just gave a few symbolic words of comfort, then got on the donkey and left.
If you do some things, you may not be punished, but if you are punished, you can't blame anyone.
…
After returning home, Li Qing got off the donkey, took out the fodder and fed the donkey, talking at the same time.
"Brother Donkey, why do you think this person is so greedy?" Li Qing asked.
Donkey: "..."
"Brother Donkey, why do you think there are so many corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty?" Li Qing said bitterly, "Why is this?"
The donkey was still speechless. It was a donkey. If it wasn't for two people to eat, it would have to run away from home.
Unknowingly, Li Qing finished feeding the fodder in his hand, patted the donkey's head, and said, "Go and have a rest."
The donkey was relieved and happily hid in the wooden shed without even daring to raise its head.
Li Qing sighed: "It's still a peaceful beast, with no worries."
"Dang Dang Dang...!" There was a knock on the door, followed by Yu Qian's voice, "Is Mr. at home?"
"Yes." Li Qingyang replied, "The door is ajar, just come in."
"Squeak~" Yu Qian pushed the door in and locked the door behind him. Then he quickly stepped forward and said anxiously: "Sir, things are going to be serious this time!"
Li Qing smiled easily, "The soldiers will stop us, the water will cover us, and the soil will cover us. There is nothing to worry about."
"This time is different." Yu Qian said solemnly, "Sir, do you know how Yan Guan was treated?"
Li Qing nodded: "I saw one on the way back, and he was cut into pieces by the Jinyi Guards."
"It's not one," Yu Qian said in a deep voice, "It's nine, nine lives, and they were all tortured. Not only that, the other officials were also covered with wounds. None of them could leave. They were all carried out of Zhao Prison. .”
He couldn't hide the shock and anger on his face: "Based on my understanding of the emperor, it is possible to kill someone, but I will never use such a cruel method. This is definitely what Wang Zhen instructed the Jin Yiwei to do."
"Is there any difference?" Li Qing shook his head, "Whether it's Wang Zhen or the Emperor, it doesn't matter anymore. The facts have been established. What's the use of saying this?"
"What a big deal!" Yu Qian frowned and said, "This matter is so bad that it can be said that it has never happened before. Not even Taizu... has ever treated Yan Guan like this."
When he was peeling off the skin, you didn't see it... Li Qing rolled his eyes, "Even if they don't kill Yanguan, they will still make trouble, and the result will not be much better;
If the mouth of the official is not sewn shut, the emperor's determination will not be reflected, and the national policy will only reach a deadlock and continue to be conciliatory;
This matter can only be faced head-on, and there is no room for improvement. "
"Have you ever thought about how they will fight back?" Yu Qian said: "I remember that Mr. Taizong once said that in the past, during Taizong's reign, there was a fire in the Weaving Bureau, the turmoil in the canal, Tang Saier's uprising, and the three main halls were almost burned down... It was all written by them, now...how do we know they won’t come back again?”
"This has been expected." Li Qing nodded with a smile and asked: "With the war going on, can you, the Minister of War, stabilize the logistics supply?"
Yu Qian was stunned for a moment and said in surprise: "Sir, did you expect this situation from the beginning?"
"This is bound to happen, so it is natural to make arrangements in advance." Li Qing said, "From the moment I entered the court, I was preparing for today;
The current civil service group is no longer the civil service group two years ago;
The imperial court has fired so many recommended officials and abolished guarding ministers. Now they are no different from tigers with their teeth pulled out. Li Qing smiled and said, "The situation is serious, but it's not as bad as you think." "
Yu Qian felt relieved, and after thinking about it carefully, it was really like this. He couldn't help but admired: "Sir, you are really far-sighted."
"Haha...that's right." Li Qing was not modest at all.
Yu Qian breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Looking at this situation, sir, maybe you have already discussed it with the emperor?"
"Yeah." Li Qing smiled, "However, your burden is very heavy. War supplies and logistics are the top priority, so you can't hold back."
"Yu Qian will do his best." Yu Qian said solemnly.
Li Qing thought for a while and asked, "How about Wang Ji?"
“I haven’t had much contact, so I don’t know much about it yet.” Yu Qian said thoughtfully, “Actually, in the officialdom, it’s not all black and white;
Although many people have problems with their style and even... behave badly, the vast majority of people and in most cases, officials are still willing to work for the court and do not want the Ming Dynasty to weaken. "
Yu Qian said seriously: "It's not that I am a civil servant and I am speaking for civil servants. This is indeed the true situation;
However, most of them think about themselves first and then the court. "
Li Qing nodded: "This is reasonable. After all, they are eating from the Ming Dynasty, especially those high-ranking officials. Their descendants can enjoy the favor and directly enter Chinese studies, one step ahead of others;
It can barely be called an indirect hereditary. Naturally, they will not do things that harm the public and benefit themselves. However, they do not seldom do things that harm the public and benefit themselves. "
Yu Qian sighed: "That's true."
"However, I still think it is necessary to fight for Wang Ji." Yu Qian suggested, "At least it is worth trying. The civil servants cannot offend all the officials. At least some should be left, even a little bit."
Li Qing pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Yu Qian did not dare to stay for a long time, so he stood up and said: "The story of the torture and murder of Yan Guan has probably spread. It will cause a sensation in the government and the public today without tomorrow;
The six ministries and nine ministers, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Cabinet... they will definitely make trouble and make a big fuss. I have to go and see. "
After a pause, "Sir, do you want to come with me?"
Li Qing thought for a while and said with a smile: "Sure, you can't miss this great excitement."
Yu Qian: "..."
Seeing that Li Qing was riding the donkey again, Yu Qian had no choice but to say, "I'll go there first."
The donkey was too slow. Yu Qian had no time to wait. He hurriedly cupped his hands and left in a hurry.
Go home, get on your horse, and rush to the palace.
Li Qing was not in a hurry, there was no point in being anxious, and no one listened to his advice.
It is inevitable that things will get worse, and this cannot be changed.
Anyway, we have already dealt with the worst outcome, so what is there to be anxious about?
Li Qing walked to the donkey shed and shouted: "Brother Donkey, let's go and watch the fun."
It's not easy to feed you two mouthfuls of fodder... The donkey walked out of the wooden shed and came to Li Qing.
Li Qing got on the donkey and said, "Drive~"
…
Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Qizhen frowned deeply after learning the details, "Wang Zhen, did you instruct Jin Yiwei to do this?"
"Slave..." Wang Zhen felt a little weak. He was furious at the time. Thinking about it now, he couldn't help but regret it, and he quickly knelt down, "Your Majesty, it was my slave who gave me the instructions, but... I really can't bear to hear them scolding the Emperor."
There was no way to conceal this matter, and Wang Zhen could only express his loyalty and pretend to be pitiful.
He burst into tears and cried, "Your Majesty, you don't know how unpleasant they are scolding you. When I hear them scold you, my heart will feel so painful."
Wang Zhenna said with sincerity, tears streaming down his face, and his nose swelling and shrinking, "Your Majesty, tell me...what bad thoughts can this slave have?"
This servant is really dedicated to the emperor! "
While he was crying fiercely, a man from the small yellow door hurriedly came in and exclaimed: "Your Majesty, something serious has happened, Your Majesty."
Zhu Qizhen asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"
"Six Ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Cabinet... there are a large group of civil servants kneeling at the gate of the palace, asking the emperor to give them an explanation." Xiao Huangmen swallowed his saliva and said with difficulty, "There are hundreds of people, it looks like it can penetrate people. ”
Wang Zhen's heart trembled, and his face turned pale: Damn it, this time it's a big deal.
~
Li Qing rode a donkey and entered the imperial city leisurely. All the way there, he saw a large number of heads at the entrance of the palace, and he couldn't help but said happily:
"Hey, are you all kneeling down?"
