Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 257: Unbecoming of a monarch, forging memorials!
The reckless behavior of the literati in the Ming Dynasty clearly showed that they were unwilling to submit to the court and submit to the emperor.

In this case, even if Hai Rui went to look for famous and good teachers himself, it was not certain that they would come out to teach those young children knowledge.

I would rather grow old in the mountains and forests than work for the Ming Dynasty, the emperor, and the people.

Using poetry to express one's aspirations is ruthless and unrighteous.

The atmosphere at the banquet at the Riyuexing Restaurant was chilly, and Hai Rui felt unprecedented pressure.

For thousands of years, scholars have never thought of letting the common people sit at the table.

Otherwise, how can one demonstrate one's status?
Hu Zongxian, Hai Rui, Zhu Heng and Yan Jing all found this silent struggle difficult and troublesome.

But just as he was frowning, an urgent report from the Governor-General of Yunnan, sent over eight hundred miles, was delivered to the Ministry of Public Security.

However, Yunnan is located in the border area, and Gao Yi, the envoy of the Ministry of Public Administration, thought that it was the local chieftain who was rebelling, so he did not dare to neglect it at all and immediately had someone send the person to Yuxi Palace.

When the emperor opened the memorial, he was immediately furious and urgently summoned the four cabinet elders and the Minister of Justice Pan En to meet him.

Hu Zongxian left the table early before finishing the meal, but before leaving, he paid for the meal.

The shopkeeper surnamed Wang of Riyuexing Restaurant wanted to refuse the money, but he could not refuse the order from the elder, so he could only accept the money with tears.

Hai Rui, Zhu Heng and Yan Jing, realizing that something big had happened, lost interest in the wine and food in front of them and got up and left.

The shopkeeper surnamed Wang looked at Hai Rui eagerly, hoping to get a piece of calligraphy from him and change the fate of the restaurant. Unfortunately, he was greatly disappointed.

Hai Rui was willing to lend a hand to save Liubiju simply because the pickles there tasted good and were reasonably priced, and in the capital city, it was hard to find anything better.

At the Riyuexing Restaurant, a meal could cost several hundred taels of silver, which is the spending money of ordinary people for several years or even decades. It is like a den of luxury. Although the food and drinks taste good, it is inseparable from the extraordinary ingredients.

There is no shortage of luxurious restaurants in the world, such as Riyuexing Restaurant. It’s no pity if it is destroyed.

……

Ok Hee Palace.

Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang, four cabinet ministers, and the only Minister of Justice, Paine, came to the audience together.

In the hall, poems were scattered everywhere. The line "The swallows of the Six Dynasties come year after year, and the flowers by the Vermillion Bird Bridge do not bloom. There is no need to worry and ask Wang Xie, has Liu Lang ever returned?" was clearly seen by several people.

The emperor obviously knew about the protests of the intellectuals in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, and he had known about it a long time ago.

But why did you suddenly get angry today?
Before the ministers and officials could kneel down and pay homage to the emperor, the eunuch Lu Fang, who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, came over and asked to see something.

It was none other than the memorial sent urgently by the Governor of Yunnan over a distance of 800 miles.

After reading the memorial from the Governor of Yunnan, the four ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to breathe.

When the Minister of Works, Paine, read only two lines, he fell to his knees and said in horror, "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

This is the content of the memorial.

In the name of the Minister of Works Paine, the emperor was openly accused of dereliction of duty and foolish handling of affairs, and the cabinet ministers were even more confused. The emperor's "five incomprehensions and ten major faults" were also listed.

But Paine had never submitted such a memorial, yet it spread and even reached the remote southwestern border areas.

This forged memorial had two main contents. The first was to oppose the emperor's practice of Taoism and to believe that the emperor's large-scale construction projects, such as the Wanshou Palace and the Yongshou Palace, were a waste of money and manpower.

Second, it expresses dissatisfaction and condemnation of the emperor's purge of officials, which implicated countless people and resulted in the unjust killing of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of innocent people, and it also expresses dissatisfaction and condemnation of the innocent people who were killed.

It also points out that the emperor has repeatedly launched literary inquisitions, massacred court officials and royal family members, persecuted scholars and writers, and required officials and gentry to pay taxes and serve as officials together.

To sum it up in twenty words.

So ambitious!

Greedy for money and lustful!

Cruel and inhumane!

I don’t know either civil or military affairs!

Not like a monarch!

Through secret investigations by the Imperial Uniform Guard, it was discovered that forged memorials were circulated in the two capitals and thirteen inland provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and were also widely circulated among the chieftains of Yunnan and Guizhou.

No wonder His Majesty was furious. This was a denial of His Majesty's rule as a monarch for the past forty years. His Majesty absolutely could not accept such rumors spreading in the country.

Paine's teeth were almost broken. Anyone who wanted to submit a memorial could do so. Why would they have to forge a memorial in his name? Wasn't this destroying him?
Damn it, that son of a bitch.

"Please stand up, Lord Pan. The emperor knows that it was not your fault. He summoned you here to reassure you." Lu Fang stepped forward and supported him.

The Imperial Guards and the Eastern Depot could all see this obvious frame-up. The emperor was furious, but he would not kill a pillar minister on a false charge.

There were "anti-poems" and forged memorials everywhere. The emperor was suspicious of the literati and, of course, the civil servants, but Paine was not among them.

The current Minister of Works was a narrow-minded and kind-hearted man who easily got stuck in a dead end. The emperor summoned him just to tell Paine not to worry too much and not to feel any pressure.

Paine was helped up trembling with fear. He could not even stand steadily. Lu Fang had no choice but to help him and asked the young eunuch to bring an embroidered cushion, and then he slowly sat on it.

Such slander against the emperor's reputation had occurred in the world. As the chief minister of the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng exchanged glances with the ministers and stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, there are rebels who have forged the memorials of the ministers and spread rumors to confuse the people. I request a thorough investigation of the world. Anyone who spreads rumors and slanders the court will not be tolerated."

In this forged memorial, the cabinet ministers were also among those who were scolded. Zhang Juzheng wanted to remove the emperor from the list to appease his anger.

However, the raging anger could not be extinguished by just one or two basins of water. A holy voice came from the abode, saying: "Order the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple to jointly investigate, and the governors of Nanzhili, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and other provinces to secretly investigate and prevent the relevant people from escaping.

We must capture the first rebel to show our grace!"

The sky is above and the underworld is below.

The person who forged the memorial must be found, the real culprit behind the scenes, the main culprit, no one can escape. The Royal Factory Guard, the three judicial departments of the court, the governors of the two capitals and thirteen provinces acted together, which shows the determination of the emperor.

Soon, the northern expeditionary army will return triumphantly, and the former surrendered northern and eastern barbarians will arrive in the capital. At this historic moment, the Ming Dynasty has also invited many envoys from neighboring countries to Beijing to watch the ceremony. Now, even if the envoys of various countries have not arrived in the capital, they have all set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty. However, such a thing has happened that does not bring honor to the emperor and the Ming Dynasty, so it is understandable that His Majesty is making such a fuss.

"In addition, no one is allowed to keep any manuscripts. If you want to keep them to gain fame, if they are discovered in the future, you will no longer be able to protect your position as leader."

The holy sound descends again.

All contents related to forged memorials, whether historical books or private manuscripts, must be burned, and any retention or dissemination is prohibited.

Otherwise, you will die and your clan will be destroyed!
"The minister obeys the order!"

The four cabinet ministers and one minister shouted, "I am following your orders."

The six ministries and nine officials of the cabinet would work together with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to do the work.

Lu Fang picked up the scattered "anti-poems" and "anti-essays" on the floor and put them neatly into the brocade box on the imperial desk.

It was a wooden basin, made of newly cut and dried pine wood, not painted or even coated with tung oil, and was white. The half at the bottom was about one foot high, and the half with the handle was two feet high. There were two round holes chiseled on the two-foot wooden board, so that the person who was rubbing his feet could put his hands in through the holes.

A large copper kettle was burning on the stove in the passage. Lu Fang closed his eyes and reached out to touch the edge of the copper kettle. He knew it was just the right temperature. He picked up the kettle with his right hand and reached his left hand into a round hole in a wooden basin. He carried the pots and basins one by one and walked towards the temple.

The wooden basins for His Majesty to wash his feet are all made of freshly planed pine boards. They are not allowed to be painted or oiled because His Majesty likes the smell of wood when hot water is poured into the pine wood.

His Majesty believes that it can soothe the mind and heal the heart.

Over the past forty years, Lu Fang often served and washed the emperor's feet when he was angry, to comfort him.

So, Lu Fang specially went to pick out a new wooden basin today, intending to wash the emperor's feet again.

This wooden basin can only be used once. Without the pine scent the second time, it will no longer have a healing effect on the emperor. When the emperor is pleased, he will reward it to the eunuchs in front of him or those who hold positions in the palace.

In the monastery, Zhu Houcong was still wearing the same loose casual robe, sitting cross-legged on a cushion. The thick Songjiang cotton robe covered his crossed legs and the entire cushion. Seeing Lu Fang walking in with a pot in one hand and a basin in the other, the coldness on his face gradually broke.

Lu Fang placed the bottom of the wooden basin in front of Zhu Houcong's futon and deliberately raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty, pine and cypress are evergreen! The pine scent is rising!"

As he shouted, a thick line of hot water from the copper kettle shot out along the circumference of the wooden board inside the wooden basin, and the hot water stirred up a woody fragrance.

Zhu Houcong exhaled the air in his stomach, then slightly closed his mouth and took a deep breath through his nose. The pine fragrance of new wood soaked in hot water slowly entered his internal organs and traveled throughout his dragon body.

Zhu Houcong repeated this process over and over again, taking several long breaths, until the fragrance of the pine wood gradually faded. Then he stopped breathing and slowly opened his eyes.

Lu Fang then squatted down beside the wooden basin and said, "Your Majesty, warm your feet!"

After shouting this, he reached out his hand and gently pinched the robe in front of Zhu Houcong and lifted it towards himself. The whole robe just covered the foot basin and rested on the edge of the wooden basin which was one foot higher.

Lu Fang squatted, put his hands into the two round holes on the high wooden board, and began to rub Zhu Houcong's feet by pressing the acupoints in his robe covering the wooden basin.

Zhu Houcong had never looked at anyone like this before. He looked at Lu Fang like a country master looking at his decades-old servant.

The anger finally died down temporarily, and Zhu Houcong's expression gradually relaxed. He began to speak out his true feelings, which he usually never said. He said, "Lü Fang."

"I'm here." Lu Fang replied in a very relaxed tone while rubbing his feet skillfully.

"Tell me, who wrote the forged memorial in the name of Paine? And who spread it out?" Zhu Houcong gradually calmed down.

"Your Majesty, you are asking questions even though you already know the answer." In the whole world, only Lu Fang dared to respond in this way. He lowered his head to find the acupuncture points, rubbed his feet, and answered casually.

However, he didn't look at Zhu Houcong, but Zhu Houcong kept looking at him and said, "Slap your face. Why do you ask questions when you already know the answer?"

Lu Fang didn't slap his mouth obediently, but continued to press the acupuncture points and said: "In the forged memorial, all the major and minor government affairs were judged, even several national policies were judged in the same way. The people mentioned and the details revealed all proved that the forger of the memorial was either a senior official of the court or a provincial governor. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to know so much about major and minor matters."

Lu Fang displayed the wisdom of an old ancestor in the inner court for more than 40 years, and said slowly and calmly: "Combined with the anti-poems that have arisen in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, this is obviously a deliberate attack on the reputation of Your Majesty, and the participants are definitely not just one or two people.

Not to mention anything else, the fact that so many governors and provincial governors from inland provinces did not submit memorials, but the governor of Yunnan, who came from the border area of ​​the Ming Dynasty, submitted a memorial, explains a lot of problems.

If a governor or provincial governor of an inland province did not submit a memorial, it could be explained by saying that he was busy with government affairs and did not notice the abnormal public sentiment. If two or three governors were forced to explain it in this way, it could also be explained away.

However, more than a dozen governors and provincial governors remained indifferent and claimed that they were ignorant of the matter. I am ignorant and cannot find any reason to explain to the provincial governors.

The governors and provincial governors may have known about the rumors in the forged memorials long ago, and they may have been cautious or had ulterior motives. In short, they allowed the rumors to spread in their jurisdictions.

Just as Zhu Houcong said when he met Hai Rui, in the current Ming Dynasty, the emperor does not trust his subjects, and the subjects are afraid of the emperor, and the emperor and the subjects are holding each other accountable.

When the emperor is not feeling well, he can relieve the depression in his heart by killing people, but his ministers, especially those high-ranking officials in the court and provincial governors, have no way to relieve the depression in their hearts.

Every time His Majesty relieves a bit of his depression, the officials of the court and the governors will feel more depressed.

This memorial forged in the name of Minister of Works Paine, no matter who the forger was or how it was circulated, after such a long period of time, even if there were many flaws, they have been almost completely hidden and it is impossible to trace its source.

On the contrary, the governors and provincial governors were quite interesting. They tacitly chose to collectively sit idly by and watch the rumors and the emperor's reputation being slandered. Whether these provincial governors agreed with the forging of memorials was another matter, but it was true that they took the opportunity to relieve the depression in their hearts.

His Majesty has ordered so many people to investigate, but in fact, apart from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, the Three Judicial Departments, governors-general and provincial governors-general will not do their best and are waiting to embarrass His Majesty.

In Lu Fang's opinion, this matter will most likely end in vain by bringing in a few scapegoats.

Zhu Houcong just smiled a little, but then he stopped smiling and looked at Lu Fang, saying, "You are quite smart. Tell me, why did I let so many people investigate when I knew this?"

"Even if there is no one wiser than Your Majesty, I cannot guess this." Only then did Lu Fang raise her head and look towards Zhu Houcong without avoiding or evading his gaze.

It's not that it's impossible to guess, but that it's impossible to guess. The emperor has only relaxed some of the strict laws since the beginning of this spring. Even Yang Bo, the leader of the Jin Party who had committed a crime, was released with great courtesy.

But in the blink of an eye, all the high-ranking officials of the imperial court and provincial governors began to flatter the Emperor.

Perhaps His Majesty wants to give the governors and governors of the provinces one last chance...

(End of this chapter)