"Master, master!"
The servants of the left minister of the Ministry of War rushed in and reported to Qi Tai: "I just received news that Prince Consort Ouyang Lun was executed by His Highness the Grand Sun for evading taxes."
"ah!"
Qi Tai was writing, and when he heard the words, he couldn't help but trembled. The pen shook, and the words suddenly deformed, leaving a large piece of ink.
Immediately, he calmed down.
"There is no need to panic. It was Taisun's idea to impose additional business taxes."
"Now that he is supervising the country's governance, he will naturally attack those who dare to go against him."
"Ouyang Lun pretends to be his consort and transports supplies without paying taxes to the court. This is a way to die."
"It's not surprising that His Highness Taisun killed a chicken to honor a monkey."
Ouyang Lun's business affairs were not a secret among senior officials in the capital, and Qi Tai had also heard about it a long time ago.
"While inspecting the supplies Ouyang Lun was transporting, we also discovered that he was hiding Japanese pirates on the ship. One of the Japanese pirates even used a crossbow to assassinate the grandson."
"Fortunately, Xu Miaojin came to the rescue, and His Highness the Grand Sun was safe and sound."
As soon as these words came out, Qi Tai's expression suddenly changed drastically.
"What? Hiding Japanese pirates and assassinating the grandson?"
His blood surged and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Japanese pirate, Ouyang Lun?
Why was Ouyang Lun also involved in hiding Japanese pirates, but he didn't know anything about it?
Chang Mao didn't even mention it.
Qitai suddenly felt a sharp uneasiness.
He still had to ask Zhu Yunwen what was going on?
After all, Chang Mao is not one of our own, who knows if he is playing tricks on him?
Although there are many monitors around King Heng, they are not impossible to avoid as long as they are dealt with properly.
Just as I was thinking about it, someone else came in from outside.
"Sir, the news just came that Huang Zicheng, the former Minister of Dali Temple, has been handed over to the Ministry of Punishment. Taisun sent an order to have a public trial by the Three Law Departments, and all officials from the Sixth Ministry to the Minister of Justice and above went to listen."
Qi Tai was stunned again. He originally thought that Jin Yiwei must be responsible for Huang Zicheng's case to the end, and finally handed over a case file to convict him.
Unexpectedly, it was handed over to the Ministry of Justice.
He and Huang Zicheng had a close relationship, so it was impossible not to listen.
What's more, he is also the left minister of the Ministry of War.
He left the house immediately.
In the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment, almost all the ministers from the court and the central government had arrived.
There are even more people than during the previous dynasty.
Huang Zicheng was imprisoned for a long time, and Taisun had refused to disclose his charges until then.
Unexpectedly, it was launched today and put to public trial.
"I just received news that Zhao Mian, the Minister of Household Affairs, committed suicide together with his wife Liu."
As soon as Qi Taicai entered, a fellow official told him about this.
"Why is this?" he asked in confusion.
"His Royal Highness Taisun paid a private visit incognito and found out that his wife Liu had accepted bribes and issued illegal tax certificates and tax invoices for the bribers."
"Zhao Mian, through his wife Liu, sells his calligraphy works for ten thousand taels of silver each. The buyers are all businessmen with the purpose of bribing them."
"His Royal Highness Taisun paid a private visit incognito, spent 10,000 taels of silver on one, and gave it to Zhao Mian."
"Zhao Mian knew that he could not escape his guilt, so he committed suicide."
Qi Tai said "Oh" and said: "Being an honest and upright official, like Zhao Mian, is your own destruction."
Colleagues nodded repeatedly: "If all officials in the world were like Mr. Qi, it would be a blessing to the people."
"Speaking of which, Mr. Huang is also very honest as an official. Although he is the minister of Dali Temple, his family has no money left."
"I just don't know what crime he committed? His Highness Taisun has never made it clear. Today's public trial will be held. We will watch carefully to see if Mr. Huang has been wronged. We must not make him suffer unjustly."
"What do you think, Mr. Qi?"
These words are actually trying to please Qitai.
Everyone knows that Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai have a very good relationship.
He said he wanted to help Huang Zicheng redress his injustice, just to gain favor in front of Qi Tai.
"That makes sense! That makes sense!" Qi Tai smiled happily.
After a quick glance, he found that King Heng Zhu Yunwen had also arrived, as well as Chang Mao.
Speaking of which, it is not a secret that Zhu Yunwen and Huang Zicheng have a deep friendship.
Of course he would come to Huang Zicheng's public trial.
At this time, Yang Jing, the Minister of Punishment, had arrived. After sitting down, he gave an order and began to go up to the hall and lead the prisoners.
"Huang Zicheng, do you know your guilt?"
Yang Jing was stunned.
Huang Zicheng's hair was disheveled, but his prison uniform did not show any tatters.
He has been locked up in the Zhenfu Division's prison these days, and no one has ever tried him.
I finally went to court today, but I didn't expect that I was not in the lobby of Jin Yiwei, but in the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment, with all the civil and military officials of the court watching.
Huang Zicheng sneered: "I am not guilty."
Yang Jing took out two pieces of paper and said, "Look clearly, here is your handwritten letter to Xu Dongjiang, the prefect of Jiashan, and Xu Dongjiang's confession."
"It is recorded above that you ordered Xu Dongjiang to harm the grandson of the current dynasty, and to achieve your goal, you did not hesitate to disregard the lives and deaths of millions of people in front of you."
"The evidence is all there, do you still want to deny it?"
As soon as these words came out, Huang Zicheng was stunned.
When he was in prison, he thought that it was Xu Dongjiang who leaked the news.
However, his case was never tried, which made Huang Zicheng feel lucky again.
I thought that maybe Taisun had just heard rumors and there was no real evidence.
Unexpectedly, Xu Dongjiang did not burn his personal letter to him.
The officials nearby were also extremely surprised.
Yang Jing waved his hand and ordered Huang Zicheng's autographed letter and Xu Dongjiang's confession to be shown to the officials.
His handwriting is recognized by many people in the court.
And many of them are also masters of calligraphy. Even if someone is fake, it can be easily seen.
When they saw it, it was indeed Huang Zicheng's handwriting, and everyone was so shocked that they became silent.
During this period of time, officials have discussed Huang Zicheng's case in private.
Many people want to try to rescue.
After all, as a scholar leader, Huang Zicheng was extremely popular and had high prestige.
His imprisonment made many scholars very uneasy, thinking that His Highness the Grand Sun was playing with power and bullying officials.
But as soon as the charges were announced today, everyone was so shocked that their eyes dropped to the floor.
"You have worked so hard to frame your grandson, and you have risked the lives of millions of people in the south of the Yangtze River to do this. Huang Zicheng, you deserve to die!"
"You have read so many books of saints and sages that you have such thoughts. Where have you read all your books?"
"Huang Zicheng, I am ashamed to be the same age as you, and ashamed to be your friend. Only today can I see your true face."
…
As Huang Zicheng's charges were announced, the attitudes of the officials present changed drastically.
Many people have also speculated that what Huang Zicheng committed may be related to his attempt to frame his grandson.
But no one thought that he actually wanted to defeat the war against Japan and wanted to dismount his grandson at the expense of millions of people in the southeast.
If this kind of thing spreads outside, the people's spittle will drown him.
Even if some of them approved of this approach in their hearts, they would never dare to admit it.
Otherwise, there would be no need for the court to punish him, and the people in the southeast would curse him to death.
Therefore, all the officials at this time were extremely angry.
The faces of Qi Tai, Chang Mao, and Zhu Yunwen were even more ugly.
Huang Zicheng just wrote a letter asking Xu Dongjiang not to cooperate, to hold him back, and to indulge the Japanese pirates.
After the matter was exposed, it was criticized by thousands of people.
They directly colluded with the Japanese pirates.
Once exposed, the consequences can be imagined.
"Huang Zicheng, can you plead guilty?"
Yang Jing patted the gavel tree again and asked angrily.
"I did these things. I wrote the letter, but I don't know the crime."
Huang Zicheng raised his head, looked at Yang Jing above, and then looked at his former colleagues around him, his eyes looking crazy.
"It is a sign of chaos in the country if the kings are established without direct heirs."
"What's more, he is only seven years old. He is just a little smart, but he is regarded as a genius. Since he took charge of the government, he has adopted various measures and policies. He does not imitate the old but establishes the new. He does not imitate the virtuous but tries to be capable. Although he has seen temporary effects , but it destroys the foundation of all eternity.”
"The life and death of millions of people in the southeast is certainly important, but what matters to me is the hundreds of millions of people in the entire Ming Dynasty."
"If the sacrifice of one person can save a county, then that person should die."
"If sacrificing millions of people in the southeast can save the Ming Dynasty, what about sacrificing millions of people in the southeast?"
Huang Zicheng raised his head and laughed, his face ugly and ferocious.
"I read the books of sages and live up to their words. I have my own ideas in my heart, so why should I fear life and death?"
"The world denigrates me, praises me, and slanders me, so what?"
"It's nothing more than a successful king and a defeated bandit."
"I don't know my sin, I just hate that it didn't happen."
All the officials looked at him blankly, not expecting this man to be so stubborn.
Only Zhu Yunwen's eyes were filled with tears.
As expected, the teacher never failed me!
"Stubborn!" In the inner hall separated by a wall, Zhu Yunzhen shook his head gently.
He stretched out his hand and rubbed his head, which was a little big.
This is the situation you have to face.
He is definitely not the only one with old ideas and stubbornness like Huang Zicheng.
As the Ming Dynasty's revolution begins, such people will only emerge in endlessly.
They think they are right and right.
Someone else is wrong.
Even if his head is bruised and his body is broken to pieces, he still refuses to repent.
Change is so difficult now!
But so what?
In any society, there are far more conservatives than reformists.
Because most people tend to be conservative.
This is human nature.
Just like when the Qing Dynasty fell, most people resisted cutting off their braids.
It's not because of their deep nostalgia and deep feelings for the Qing Dynasty.
It's because once they get used to it, they are unwilling to change and don't want to change.
The pursuit of stability and conservatism are the genes engraved in human bones.
But the wheel of history will not stop because of their conservatism.
The reformists of a small number of people will always ultimately dominate the direction of social development.
Because the development of things never stops, this is an objective law and cannot be deviated from.
What's more, he still holds the highest power.
Zhu Yunzhen gently clenched his little fists.
outside room.
Yang Jing shouted angrily: "It is sad and deplorable that you still don't repent even when you are about to die."
"Huang Zicheng, I want to tell you that you are wrong."
"You are ashamed of the saints, you are ashamed of the court, and you are ashamed of the people of the world."
"I am here to teach you what is right and what is wrong, and I will teach you until you die."
(End of chapter)
