I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 52: The Blame-Taking Emperor Xiao Wanli: Is the fault of all the people the same as mine? (Long Chapter)

Outside the cabinet duty room.

After the censors had been shouting for a full quarter of an hour, Zhang Juzheng walked out with an expressionless face.

The noise stopped abruptly.

The censors all retreated at the same time, leaving Chen Zan, the highest-ranking second-rank Left Censor-in-Chief, at the front.

Zhang Juzheng looked around and spoke slowly, "The cabinet has submitted a memorial regarding the bribery of the Marquis of Wuqing at a banquet to the Imperial Palace. I will go there now to press for an outcome. Are you willing to come with me?"

Swish!
The censors tacitly stood on both sides of the corridor to make way.

"Your Excellency, please go ahead. We will just wait for the result." Chen Zan bowed.

Immediately, Zhang Juzheng strode forward.

The censors looked at Zhang Juzheng's back and let out a long sigh.

Their mission was accomplished.

Zhang Juzheng said that if a result is reached today, then a result will definitely be reached in the next meeting, and it must at least be a result that everyone can accept.

The current duties of the censors.

It does not mean that all important political affairs can be supervised reasonably, legally, fairly and impartially, but that they can be justified in terms of etiquette, law, morality and system.

Beneath the surface, there is a space where privilege runs rampant.

As for the Forbidden City, none of them wanted to go there.

The censors were right and impeached the heavens and the earth, but they were afraid of the two people in the palace.

One is Feng Bao and the other is Empress Dowager Li.

The former has too many shady tricks and likes to trip others up secretly. If you are not careful, you can easily ruin your reputation.

As for the latter.

Just a trick of looking like a pear blossom in the rain and saying "You only know how to bully us orphans and widows" can make them kowtow and apologize.

In the court, the only one who could check and balance them was Zhang Juzheng.

This is the main reason why Zhang Juzheng sat firmly at the top of the civil service and no one could disobey him.

……

Wenhua Hall is located on the north side of the Cabinet Duty Room, about a few hundred steps away.

now.

The winter sun has not yet fully emerged from the clouds.

Zhang Juzheng was wearing a bright red official robe and walking very quickly, constantly stroking his black beard that reached his abdomen.

A moment later, in the side hall of Wenhua Hall.

Empress Dowager Li sat behind the curtain, and Feng Bao stood below.

The two men knew that Zhang Juzheng was coming to see the emperor, and they also knew what the matter was, so they waited there.

Zhang Juzheng walked to the center of the hall, bowed and saluted Empress Dowager Li, and then asked, "Why doesn't Your Majesty come?"

Feng Bao replied, "Your Majesty is not suitable to listen to such matters."

Wu Qingbo's banquet that night was indeed inappropriate for children.

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "Your Majesty, please come here!"

"Lord Zhang, His Majesty is young, this matter..." Feng Bao was interrupted by Zhang Juzheng before he could finish his words.

"Your Majesty, please come here!"

Zhang Juzheng said with a serious expression and glaring eyes, his voice as loud as thunder.

In his eyes.

Since the young Wanli was here, Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao could discuss state affairs with him justifiably.

Feng Bao looked up at Empress Dowager Li behind the curtain. Seeing her nod, he invited young Wanli over.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the young Wanli.

"Your Majesty, have you read the memorial regarding the Marquis of Wuqing's banquet and bribery?"

"I have."

"How should the punishment be based on the Great Ming Code?"

The young Wanli hesitated for a moment before answering, "Any official who accepts bribes will be punished according to the amount of corruption. If there are bribe-givers who abuse the law, and the bribes belong to different owners, the full penalty will be imposed. If the bribes exceed 80 strings of cash, the offender will be hanged. If the bribes do not violate the law, the full penalty will be reduced by half. If the bribes exceed 160 strings of cash, the offender will be hanged."

"Wu Qing Bo accepted bribes but did not violate the law. If he accepted bribes exceeding 160 strings of cash, his name would be confiscated and he would be expelled and hanged."

After hearing the word "拗".

There was a "bang" sound from behind the curtain. Empress Dowager Li lost her composure and knocked over the teacup beside her.

That was her biological father, and she was the only one who felt sorry for him.

Feng Bao quickly said, "Your Excellency, you are too serious! This isn't a case of accepting bribes. Wu Qingbo was celebrating the Empress Dowager's birthday, and some merchants spontaneously sent gifts. The Empress Dowager has already ordered Wu Qingbo to return all of them. It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

"Misunderstanding? Such an explanation would be unsuccessful in convincing the court officials, and would even make Your Majesty bear the infamy of favoritism!"

Suddenly, Empress Dowager Li behind her could no longer sit still.

"Lord Zhang, my father was wrong in this matter. He had no knowledge of etiquette and acted recklessly and ostentatiously!"

"However, he is already over sixty years old. If he is severely punished, I... I... Your Majesty and I will... truly become orphans and widows. Please, Lord, make a decision and punish him lightly. I... will definitely reprimand him severely and ensure that it won't happen again!"

Empress Dowager Li started crying as soon as she said she would, and sobbed in an instant.

She cried.

This made the young Wanli's eyes red.

Apart from Empress Dowager Li and his eight-year-old brother Zhu Yiliu, the person closest to him was his seemingly honest and loyal grandfather.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his long beard and said slowly, "Of course we can't kill him. If we want to give him a light punishment and make all the officials agree, we can only transfer the crime."

"Who should be blamed?" Feng Bao asked.

"Transfer the blame to the Queen Mother!"

Zhang Juzheng bowed and continued, "The Marquis of Wuqing invited the skinny horse to a banquet, but his moral character is flawed. His master's crime is bribery."

"If we're to go after the charge of accepting bribes, we can only say that the Empress Dowager ordered him to host a birthday banquet at home. Wu Qingbo didn't know the etiquette and accepted money and property, intending to present the birthday gifts to the Empress Dowager. When the Empress Dowager found out, she angrily rebuked him."

"In that case, all we need to do is have Wu Qingbo return the stolen goods and write a letter admitting his fault, and then we can give him a lighter punishment. The Queen Mother can then confine him to self-reflection."

"As for the Queen Mother, you need to write an imperial decree to admit your father's mistakes!"

Upon hearing the final decision, Empress Dowager Li, young Wanli, and Feng Bao all changed their expressions.

Writing an imperial edict to admit mistakes is equivalent to the emperor writing an edict of repentance.

This was absolutely unacceptable to Empress Dowager Li, who was very concerned about her reputation.

Feng Bao hurriedly said, "Lord, this... isn't this punishment too severe? According to what you just said, it was just Wu Qingbo who misunderstood. Why do you have to implicate the Queen Mother?"

Zhang Juzheng puffed out his chest and said sternly, "Don't the officials in the court know that this is our excuse? If we don't punish minor offenses severely, how can we convince the public? How can we justify it? This is better than the punishment that Wu Qingbo suffered!"

"Prince, this punishment is too severe!" Little Wanli on the side couldn't help but speak.

At this time, Empress Dowager Li stood up from behind the curtain.

"Forget it, forget it! I am willing to admit my father's mistakes! However, after I admit my mistakes, I will no longer be able to rule the country from behind the curtain. From now on, all court affairs and your majesty's studies will rely entirely on Zhang Ge Lao!"

What Empress Dowager Li said was obviously out of anger. She was waiting for Zhang Juzheng to come up with another good plan.

Suddenly, the hall became quiet.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and said, "The acceptance of bribes by an imperial relative is a serious matter. If it is not in accordance with etiquette and laws, the officials will surely impeach him again, and the common people will also have many complaints."

"If the Queen Mother is unwilling to confess her guilt, I have another solution."

"Prince, tell me quickly! Tell me quickly!" Little Wanli said excitedly.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the young Wanli.

"Your Majesty is here before me. How can you let the Empress Dowager write an edict to admit her fault? I think that after the Empress Dowager accepts the blame, Your Majesty can take the punishment in your mother's place."

"If the blame for this matter is shifted to Your Majesty again, Your Majesty does not need to write an edict of apology. You only need to write an imperial edict, in the name of the emperor, severely condemning Wu Qingbo and speaking up for the Empress Dowager. Afterwards, warn all the royal relatives and out-of-laws not to abuse their power to violate the law."

"Afterwards, Your Majesty can recite this edict before the late emperor's spirit tablet, punish yourself and reflect on your actions, and then allocate funds from the imperial treasury (the emperor's treasury) to support border defense as a demonstration of your sincerity."

"In this way, Your Majesty can be known as a benevolent and filial person, and the ministers will no longer impeach Wu Qingbo!"

When they heard this plan, Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao's eyes lit up.

Some crimes are serious if committed by relatives of the emperor's wife, but minor if committed by the empress dowager, and then as light as a feather if committed by the emperor.

Under Zhang Juzheng's operation.

Wu Qingbo's "huge bribery" was transferred to Empress Dowager Li, becoming "the fault of mistakenly allowing my father to accept birthday gifts." Then, it was transferred to the young emperor, becoming "taking the blame for my mother, all my fault." Crime became a fault, and fault became a mistake.

There are no loopholes in etiquette, law, morality and system.

Empress Dowager Li suddenly smiled, her mood like a roller coaster.

She once again felt that Zhang Juzheng was the most powerful supporter of her and her son, and a capable minister who could solve various difficult and complicated problems for the Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, little Wanli was a little confused.

suddenly.

He understood the meaning of the sentence "If all the people are guilty, the fault lies with me."

He once thought that the emperor was the most powerful in the Ming Dynasty and that any crime would be borne by his subjects.

I just understood it today.

There are some crimes that are most worthwhile to be charged on him.

He didn't do anything, yet he wants to admit his mistake.

Not only did he have to kneel before the late emperor's spirit tablet, but he also had to hand over some of his already limited private money.

Of course he was unhappy.

He really wanted to say: That's my money, but he didn't have the courage at the moment.

Seeing the empress dowager's joyful expression, the young Wanli could only force a smile and said, "The prime minister's plan is very good. I am willing to share my mother's worries!"

in fact.

This series of strategies were all thought out by Zhang Juzheng in advance.

First, he used the "Great Ming Law" and the anger of the officials to panic Empress Dowager Li, and then he took careful steps to solve the problem with the least punishment and the greatest satisfaction of the officials.

This is Zhang Juzheng's ability.

It was also a helpless measure he took in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the new policy and not to offend Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao.

The only one who was wronged was the young Wanli.

But for now he's just a kid.

Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng did not realize at all that he also needed face.

……

Soon, Zhang Juzheng drafted a document and informed the officials.

Wu Qingbo accepted bribes at the banquet because Empress Dowager Li mistakenly ordered Wu Qingbo to host the banquet. The Empress Dowager will reprimand him, order him to return the birthday gift, and put him under house arrest for a month.

The Marquis of Wuqing entertained prostitutes at banquets, which brought disgrace upon the royal family. Empress Dowager Li originally wanted to write an imperial edict to punish herself, but the emperor, out of kindness and filial piety, pardoned her guilt. Instead, she drafted an edict to take the blame for her mother and had it read aloud before the late emperor's spirit tablet. She also allocated money from the treasury to cover military expenses on the border.

As soon as this document was released, officials submitted memorials one after another, praising the emperor for his benevolence and filial piety.

……

Hanlin Academy, Review Hall.

When the reviewers learned that Wu Qingbo had accepted bribes, they all burst into laughter.

No one expected this result!

It was not a light punishment, after all, the emperor had admitted his mistake on behalf of his mother; it was not a heavy punishment either, as Wu Qingbo still lived in his mansion, and his title and rewards were all intact.

"You are worthy of being the Prime Minister. You have done a great job. Not only did you save face for the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Wuqing, but you also enhanced Your Majesty's reputation for benevolence and filial piety!" Liu Chuxian was Zhang Juzheng's number one flatterer.

No matter what Zhang Juzheng did, he thought it was a brilliant plan.

Wang Zudi and Zhao Yongxian were somewhat dissatisfied. This was obviously a way to absolve Wuqing Earl Li Wei of the blame.

But they did not submit another impeachment petition.

Because they knew that Zhang Juzheng did this for the sake of the new policy.

present.

Once conflicts arose between Empress Dowager Li, Feng Bao, and Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty court would soon be in chaos.

Take the overall situation into consideration.

Anyone who can understand these four words knows how extremely important they are.

Shen Nian also smiled helplessly.

He admired Zhang Juzheng for coming up with such a good strategy of "everyone is good, you are good, only the young Wanli is not very good."

He had no objection.

Yesterday, he said that the court's punishment was too light and was going to submit an impeachment petition because he knew that Wuqingbo Li Wei would do something even more absurd and even outrageous in the future.

Shen Nian hoped that Wu Qingbo would learn from this experience and be more restrained.

……

At night, Tsinghua University, lobby.

Wu Qingbo looked at Feng Bao.

"What? Your Majesty, you're asking me to pay for twenty thousand taels from your treasury. Why? Do you know how much we spent that night? After I returned the birthday gifts, I've already lost money!"

Feng Bao opened his mouth to speak, but held back.

He couldn't reason with Wu Qingbo. If what he said didn't please the other party, he would start cursing at him and even dared to take out a tile knife from the house to hit him.

Twenty thousand taels is not a lot of money for the imperial treasury.

Empress Dowager Li ordered Wu Qingbo to go out because she wanted to teach him a lesson.

Feng Bao knew that the other party was an old Pixiu. After thinking about it, he decided to pay out of his own pocket to solve the matter.

Afterwards, he just found a roundabout way to let Empress Dowager Li know.

……

Another day, near noon.

The daily lecture ended and all the lecturers dispersed, but Shen Nian was kept by the young Wanli and called to a side hall for tea.

This is also common practice.

Most of the time, the little emperor would ask the lecturer for advice on his academic questions.

"You guys get out first!"

Young Wanli waved his hand and ordered the two young eunuchs serving beside him to stand outside the door.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing...?"

This action of the young Wanli was obviously not in accordance with etiquette.

But when he did this, Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng turned a blind eye.

Little Wanli looked at Shen Nian and whispered, "Shen Review, I have a question for you."

"Your Majesty, please speak!"

"I heard that the cost of Wu Qingbo's private garden was one million taels, and his annual salary was only about a thousand taels. Where did he get the rest of the money?"

This question stumped Shen Nian.

"Maybe... maybe... I did some business!" Shen Nian could only answer this way.

If you accuse him of corruption, you must have evidence, otherwise it would be a false accusation against a royal relative, and the other party is the grandfather of the young Wanli.

Little Wanli gave Shen Nian a blank look.

"Don't lie to me! He must have gotten it through corruption and bribery. I've heard that every official is corrupt. Are you corrupt?"

Shen Nian puffed out his chest.

"Your Majesty, my family is well-off, and my father-in-law is even richer. There is no need for me to embezzle money. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you can send the Imperial Guards to investigate!"

"Don't be nervous. Why would I investigate you? My dear friend, tell me there are only two kinds of officials in this world: Hai Rui and corrupt officials. Being corrupt doesn't matter. As long as you do practical things for the country and can help relieve my worries, that's all that matters!"

"what?"

Shen Nian didn't expect Feng Bao to teach little Wanli in this way.

He paused, thought about the current situation of officials, thought about Zhang Juzheng's fate, and was worried that someone might be eavesdropping at the door, so he decided not to guide the young Wanli in the right direction for the time being.

"I will do my best to share your majesty's worries in the future!" Shen Nian said something meaningless, but little Wanli would definitely like to hear it.

"Shen Jiantao, you comfort me deeply!"

Little Wanli smiled brightly, and the gloom in his heart from the past two days was swept away.

(End of this chapter)