The sixth day of June is the day of the court meeting.
It was also the day when Li Shouzhong officially took over as the Minister of Rites.
In the Taiji Hall, all the princes lined up.
Officials of the sixth rank and above in Beijing were required to attend the court meetings of the Wei Dynasty.
Other serving officials may also participate if they have something to report.
Therefore, the number of people is not fixed, but the etiquette department is responsible for registering it in advance.
At this time, there was a palace official in the palace reading an imperial edict:
"I heard that Li Gongshouzhong passed down the poetry and etiquette to his family. He performed his duties conscientiously, was a decent man, restrained himself and restored etiquette..."
After a long paragraph of praise, it is really useful.
"Now I will promote him to the Ministry of Rites and receive the title of Minister."
After hearing this, Li Shouzhong prostrated himself and said:
"Your Majesty, Li Shouzhong, appreciates the Lord's grace and will do his best to be loyal to the country!"
"but……"
He just thanked me and hadn't finished speaking yet.
Someone came out to interrupt.
It was written by a royal censor of Lantai Temple.
"I report to Your Majesty that my impeachment of Li Shouzhong, the former Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, is contrary to etiquette and law and embarrasses the great responsibility of the Minister of Rites."
The first step in the discussion between Li Shouzhong and Feng Yibo was to plead guilty.
did not expect.
Before he could start, someone took the lead.
Li Shouzhong didn't know who this censor was.
But many civil and military people in the Manchu Dynasty knew it.
He is a disciple of Liu Shunjun, the Minister of Household Affairs.
Li Shouzhong was transferred to the position of Minister of Rites, blocking his way to the cabinet.
It seems that this is going to give Li Shouzhong a show of strength.
Emperor Jingshun's face was expressionless, but dissatisfaction rose in his heart.
When the censor heard about the incident, he naturally could not punish him.
But he didn't wait for Li Shouzhong to take office either sooner or later.
Was this to embarrass him as the emperor?
The most outrageous thing is that he just appointed Li Shouzhong as Minister of Rites.
You impeach him for not obeying the law.
This is tantamount to pointing at his nose and saying that he does not recognize people!
Fortunately, the censor also understood the current situation and shouted:
"I have heard that Li Shouzhong knew that the Holy One had given Feng Yuan a marriage, and he also made a marriage contract for Feng Yuan in the south of the Yangtze River in the name of his mentor. He wanted to trap the Holy One in an unjust way, and he is worthy of death!"
This time it's a do-or-die affair.
At this moment, he didn't care about other people's eyes and once again raised the notebook in his hand high.
Fortunately, he was not stupid enough to draw the fire to Emperor Jingshun.
Emperor Jingshun was noncommittal upon hearing this.
After hearing this, it was considered as an attempt to defend him and suppress his anger a little.
Li Shouzhong bowed after hearing this and raised the memorial in his hand above his head.
"To report to Your Majesty, I am preparing to plead guilty for this matter. Please ask Your Majesty to take a closer look."
The two memorials were sent to Emperor Jingshun together.
Before he could look at it, another person came forward with a notebook.
"Your Majesty, I impeach Hanlin Academy editor Feng Yuan for deceiving the emperor!"
The person who impeached Feng Yuan was a science and education official.
Not many people know who he is.
This person's official position is not big, and he doesn't even have to go to court on weekdays.
The three memorials were sent to the imperial case, and Emperor Jingshun read them one by one.
Good guy!
The three people were obviously talking about the same thing, but they all insisted on their own opinions.
The first one basically said:
Li Shouzhong knew that the emperor had granted him a marriage, but still engaged Feng Yuan, which was an injustice to the emperor.
This censor had indeed heard about the incident, but he didn't understand the order of events.
The second copy belongs to Li Shouzhong.
He expressed that he did not know that the emperor granted the marriage.
But the hasty engagement to Feng Yuan unintentionally embarrassed the emperor.
So please forgive me.
The third one says:
Li Shouzhong got engaged to Feng Yuan earlier than the emperor granted him the marriage, so Feng Yuan was deceiving the emperor.
This person did enough research and even knew the time very well.
Emperor Jingshun was actually a little dissatisfied, but he still kept his expression.
Originally, today was a happy event, but in the end, these ministers started to engage in partisanship and against dissidents.
"Is Feng Yuan here?"
His voice was not loud, but someone in the palace immediately repeated it.
"I'm here!"
It was rare for Feng Yuan to go to court today because he wanted to apologize.
When he heard someone calling him, he immediately got out of the queue.
Emperor Jingshun said expressionlessly: "This happened because of you, what do you have to say?"
"Your Majesty, my mentor Li Gong took pity on me because I lost my father alone, and arranged my marriage in Jinling!"
Feng Yuan responded after hearing this and said:
"This is the same as the sage's compassion for his ministers. I feel deeply moved by this!"
After flattering him for a while, he said:
"Actually, if you look at the date of the marriage certificate, you can tell at a glance that there is a misunderstanding. It is not that the teacher intentionally disobeyed the order and resisted the ceremony!"
Having said this, he bowed and saluted again:
"But since this matter originated from me, please ask the Holy Master to punish me!"
This was the first step in his discussion with Li Shouzhong.
Use retreat to advance.
The two of them scrambled to apologize and take the blame for themselves.
Avoid drawing fire to Emperor Jingshun.
As long as Emperor Jingshun understands that even if he is slightly dissatisfied, the punishment will not be too severe.
What's more, Feng Yuan's words were full of gratitude.
If the courtiers stop here, Emperor Jingshun may follow the trend.
Give me three drinks as a penalty or something.
But Li Shouzhong is about to take office as Minister of Rites, so naturally many people are dissatisfied.
"Your Majesty, whether this is a misunderstanding or not, it cannot be solved simply."
The censor who had previously impeached Li Shouzhong immediately stepped forward and said:
"It involves 'etiquette' and needs to be discussed with 'etiquette'!"
Aren't you the Minister of Rites?
Then I'll say hello to you.
As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Li Shouzhong and Feng Yuan and said:
"As the saying goes: The reason why mortals are more noble than animals is because they are polite."
It has to be said that this censor has a few tricks up his sleeve.
A few words escalated the incident.
Originally, it was just a small punishment but a big warning, and it was just a matter of withdrawing from one discipline.
Now it has become a matter of "etiquette".
"Your Majesty, this is exactly the case. No matter how you handle this matter, it is inconsistent with etiquette!"
I booked two engagements, and they really didn’t match.
Na Ke Dao Speaker stepped forward and said:
"As the saying goes: if the superiors are rude, there is nothing to do to the inferiors; if the inferiors are rude, there is no way to serve the superiors."
This is a scholar.
If nothing else works, he has two tricks to blame.
This was told to Emperor Jingshun:
If you allow your officials to be rude, no one will obey you.
"So no matter whether it's right or wrong, just talking about the word 'property', this matter must not be let go easily!"
As soon as Ke Daoyan finished speaking, someone else came out to speak:
"This is the right principle! Confucianism uses "Poetry" and "Li" as its foundation. If the rites are discarded, there is no need to study!"
This one is more ruthless.
It is directly stated that not following the "rituals and laws" is to cut off the roots of Confucianism.
This shows that Li Shouzhong still has no party members in the court.
Because the master and the disciple are now under siege.
At this time, someone else immediately agreed:
"Exactly! When studying, you must first understand the etiquette. The Analects of Confucius says: Use literature to win me over, and use etiquette to invite me."
This is what the person above said next.
The meanings are quite different and complement each other.
"How can one be an adult without the restraints of etiquette and law?"
Then the censor continued:
""Poetry" says: 'If a person is rude, he will die without courtesy.' Proper etiquette is indispensable."
"..."
At one time, there were five or six people impeached.
But no big shot came forward.
They are all miscellaneous officials of the seventh rank.
They took turns, quoting scriptures one by one.
It's all considered polite and respectful.
But after all, there is one central idea:
Li Shouzhong was disrespectful and unworthy of being the Minister of Rites.
