Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 143: Against the Holy Will, the Saint is imprisoned!
The howling of the late autumn wind is particularly harsh.

The cabinet ministers were having heated conversations, thinking about all aspects of the separation of military and politics, and it seemed that the wind was applauding those ingenious ideas.

Gao Gong, who was sitting in the sedan chair, was annoyed by the whistling sound and urged the sedan bearers to hurry up.

Gao Gong, who was pushed back by the emperor's words, did not choose to return to the cabinet, but went straight home.

"Master, why are you back at this time?" Butler Gao Fu asked in surprise when he saw the sedan chair entering the front door.

The master had sent back a message earlier that he might stay in the cabinet for a while longer and come back later to welcome Marquis Jinghai.

But it was only the hour of Hai when the person came back.

Gao Gong went straight into the study without saying a word. As soon as Gao Fu poured a cup of tea, he grabbed it in his hand and smashed it to pieces with a "bang".

"Go and register your family membership!" Gao Gong pointed outside and said angrily.

According to the precedent of the Ming Dynasty, when a minister was impeached, he had to submit a letter of resignation and was not allowed to attend court before the emperor made a decision. If an official was ill and temporarily unable to attend court, he could take a leave to rest at home for a few days. In this case, a piece of white paper should be posted on the door of his residence, which was called a note on the door.

Gao Fu hurried to do it.

However, Gao Fu quickly turned back. This amount of time was not enough to register. Gao Gong, who was trying his best, suddenly became angry and threw the tea bowl at him, cursing, "What's the use of you?"

Gao Fu didn't even enter the house. It was the guest who entered the house who noticed the flying object and subconsciously dodged his head, thus avoiding being hit on the head and bleeding.

"Su Qing, why are you so angry?" Ge Shouli walked in.

Seeing that Gao Gong did not look ill, he thought that Gao Gong was impeached for his membership in the family, and asked in surprise, "What fault has Su Qing committed that warrants his impeachment?"

Seeing his old friend coming, Gao Gong's anger suddenly subsided. He pulled his old friend over to sit down and said in a low voice: "I, Gao Gong, have been in the government for decades. I have always held a principle that no matter what the customs or trends are, I must not harm others or seek personal gain. I am dedicated to the country and reflect on myself three times a day. Naturally, there is nothing worthy of discussion or impeachment by others. I am the Marquis of Jinghai!"

Then he told the emperor about Hu Zongxian's petition for the separation of military and political power, the emperor's agreement, and Zhang Juzheng's support, and said indignantly: "Military men are reckless and vulgar, and they use force to break the law. If there are no scholars to control them, it will inevitably lead to disaster in the future!"

Conclusive words.

This reveals Gao Gong's extreme distrust of the Ming Dynasty's military generals.

Ge Shouli was horrified and said, "Hu Zongxian has evil intentions. He wants to put the Ming Dynasty and all the scholars in the world to death!"

Without the feudal lords, even if the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the civil officials and literati would always have a glimmer of hope as long as they bowed down to the new ruler of the Central Plains.

As the saying goes, 'Learn the arts of literature and martial arts, and sell them to connoisseurs', but this connoisseur can be the royal family of the Ming Dynasty or royal family of other surnames.

But with the establishment of the feudal lords, it is hard to say whether the Ming Dynasty would fall or not, but the scene of scholars being treated worse than dogs is still vivid in our minds.

I would rather imitate the barbarians than be under the military.

This was the consensus of the literati families who had pledged allegiance to the Yuan court.

Many literati families felt very happy to be running dogs of the Yuan court. Some even felt happier than under the rule of Emperor Taizu Gao or the current emperor.

The Taizu Emperor, the current emperor, did not treat the civil servants as human beings at all, but as domestic slaves and enemies. He could kill them at will and imprison them at will.

During the previous cabinet struggle, Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Yan Shifan attacked Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. He, Ge Shouli, Xu Yangzheng, and Liu Ziqiang were implicated and imprisoned and escorted to Beijing for questioning.

With the knife at their necks, Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yan Shifan fell down, only to be rescued by Gao Gong, who then restored them as the Minister of Justice.

Xu Yangzheng became the Minister of Works, Liu Ziqiang became the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Governor of the Granary, which could barely be considered a blessing in disguise. However, Ge Shouli was not very happy about the great fortune that came from this great terror between life and death.

Officials in the two capitals, Zhejiang, and Xishan were killed and purged again and again by the emperor. They were too close to the imperial power, like being surrounded by tigers and wolves. If they were not careful, they would be doomed.

Now in the imperial court, many officials are thinking about it every day, hoping that the emperor will pass away soon so that they can take down the sword hanging over their heads.

But the emperor had not yet passed away, and Hu Zongxian, that traitor among the literati, had actually submitted a petition calling for the separation of military and political power, and was hanging a sword of death over the heads of the literati.

Oh, great heaven, how unkind to us scholars!
"Who said it wasn't?" Gao Gong felt his teeth itching when he thought of the three words "Hu Zongxian".

Damn it, he caused such a big mess just after entering the cabinet.

Ge Shouli originally wanted to ask about the division of power among the six ministries after Hu Zongxian entered the cabinet, but he didn't care about that now. He asked anxiously, "The emperor agrees, Zhang Juzheng seems to support it, and Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin follow the wind. Minister Su, what should we do?"

An autocratic emperor.

Except Gao Gong, the cabinet is of one mind.

The most powerful monarch and ministers in the world are determined to do something. Except for the gods of heaven and earth, except for the saints who come to the world, who can oppose it...

Ge Shouli kept repeating "saint" in his mouth, his eyes getting brighter and brighter. Yes, a saint can oppose the will of the saint. "Su Qing, the Yanshenggong Mansion can help."

The Ming Dynasty will hold the Spring Examination next year. According to the ritual system, the Yanshenggong Mansion, as the contemporary incarnation of Confucius, will go to Beijing six months in advance to pray for the Ming Dynasty and the students.

Tell heaven and earth that the court is seeking talents for the country.

Counting the days, the current Duke of Yansheng, Kong Shangxian, will soon arrive in the capital. According to the new system of the imperial court, titles in the Ming Dynasty cannot be inherited, but the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion is the only duke who can ignore the permanent system.

At this special time, it is not impossible for Duke Yansheng to persuade the emperor in the name of a saint to stop the separation of military and politics and withdraw the imperial edict.

Moreover, after Duke Yansheng arrived in Beijing, he had to meet the emperor once, so he didn't even have to worry about the reason for meeting him.

"Can a kid of sixteen or seventeen do it?" Gao Gong frowned.

Kong Shangxian is the 64th generation grandson of Confucius. He was born in the 23rd year of Jiajing and inherited the title of Duke Yansheng in the 38th year of Jiajing. He is only 16 or 17 years old now. In Gao Gong's eyes, he is not much different from a baby who has not been weaned. Can he play a role in such a crucial matter of state?

"Let's give it our all, or do you have another good idea, Su Qing?" Ge Shouli spread his hands.

That is the divine will.

If Duke Yansheng, who bears the title of Confucius, is not allowed to resist, anyone else will probably be punished by the emperor to establish his authority.

Ge Shouli couldn't help but think of the hundreds of thousands of beheading case files that had appeared in the Ministry of Justice since the beginning of spring, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Gao Gong suddenly felt creepy.

I would rather die than let my friend die. Duke Yansheng has enjoyed the respect and tributes from scholars for thousands of years, and it is time for him to do something for them.

"That's it." Gao Gong agreed.

Just as Ge Shouli was about to leave the house to look for the whereabouts of Duke Yansheng, Gao Fu hurried into the study and said, "Master, Duke Yansheng was arrested when he entered the capital!"

(End of this chapter)