Chapter 593
The Grand Secretary Has Turned Against Him?
They were the Crown Prince's most trusted confidants, and every aspect of today's drama, including their lines, had been rehearsed countless times.
Li Ruolian immediately stepped forward, bowed, and clasped her hands in a fist salute. Her voice was loud and firm, carrying the iron-blooded spirit unique to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
"Your Majesty! Several months ago, the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard did receive a secret report from an informant, stating that the Confucius Family Mansion in Qufu and some of its members were abusing their power and committing many illegal and prohibited acts. Since this concerns the descendants of the sage, I dare not neglect it. I have secretly dispatched capable commanders and elite guards, disguised, to infiltrate Shandong, especially the Qufu area, to conduct a covert investigation."
Preliminary verification has confirmed that many of the allegations in the censors' reports and the Censorate's office, such as the forced seizure of land, disregard for human life, and abuse of the people, are indeed true!
Fang Zhenghua then added in a high-pitched voice, his tone soft yet each word clear and penetrating the hall:
"Your Majesty is wise and insightful, with a vision that extends far and wide. The Western Depot also has spies in Shandong. According to the report from the eunuchs of the Shandong branch, the Confucius family in Qufu, though nominally descendants of the sage, are in reality local tyrants. Their clansmen and servants run rampant with impunity, and the government dares not touch them. The people suffer greatly, and their resentment runs deep. The findings of the Western Depot's spies are largely consistent with the reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Censorate."
boom--!
As their voices fell one after the other, it was like two bolts of lightning striking the dome of the Imperial Palace. The enormous sound waves and chill instantly swept through every corner, freezing every inch of air.
If the Censorate's words still left room for interpretation, carrying the caution of civil officials, then the personal confirmation from the two top henchmen of the Emperor, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Director of the Western Depot, was like a hammer blow to the heart, carrying with it bloodshed and boundless chill, striking everyone hard and solidly, leaving them trembling and chilled to the bone.
What are the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Western Depot?
When they say "it is true" or "it is roughly consistent," it is basically equivalent to "conclusive evidence"!
Finally, some civil servants could not withstand the immense pressure and fear, or perhaps it was out of the instinct to uphold the "orthodox tradition."
An elderly vice minister, trembling, stepped forward. His hair and beard were all white, and his voice was filled with fear, grief, and a final struggle:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please be wise! The lineage of Confucius is the source of all the culture in the world, the origin of rites and music, and the teacher for all ages! Even if... even if there are unworthy descendants who misbehave, you should remember the merit of the sage in educating all people and benefiting all living beings, and educate them with the way of the sage and influence them with benevolence. How can you easily use the secret police and the imperial guards to carry out severe punishments and start a lot of lawsuits because of the mistakes of the descendants?"
This will not only be of no use, but it may also disappoint the scholars of the land and damage Your Majesty's benevolence and wisdom! This matter... this matter concerns the very foundation of the nation, and its implications are extremely grave. I urge Your Majesty to consider it carefully, to deliberate thoroughly, and to be extremely cautious!
"laugh--!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a sneer, undisguised and full of contempt, came from the ranks of military officers.
A burly, bearded nobleman and military general strode forward, his voice booming like a bell, causing the hall to resonate.
"My lord! I don't understand what you're saying! According to you, the descendants of Confucius can commit murder without paying with their lives? They can abduct someone's wife and daughters without having to return them? Just because they are Confucius's offspring, they can be above the law?"
I'm just a simple man, I don't understand all those grand principles. All I know is that His Majesty's "Great Ming Code" must be obeyed by everyone, from princes and nobles to commoners! If Confucius's teachings only produce such lawless and harmful people, then this knowledge is better left unlearned! It's like learning something that's wasted on a dog's belly!
"Hahaha! Well said!"
"That is absolutely right! Even a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner!"
"What does it matter if someone is a descendant of a saint? If they commit crimes, they should be arrested and killed just the same!"
A burst of joyful laughter and cheers erupted from the ranks of the military officers.
Many nobles and military officers who had long disliked the civil service, especially the so-called "pure stream" officials, felt extremely pleased at this moment.
The civil officials were so angered by these crude yet direct words that their faces turned red and white. They wanted to retort, but were speechless for a moment, and trembled with anger.
"Silence! What kind of decorum is this in the imperial court!"
Seeing the emperor frown slightly, Wang Chengen immediately shouted in a sharp voice, glaring fiercely at the laughing military officers.
The court fell silent again, but the tense atmosphere of confrontation between civil and military officials, like solid ice, enveloped the entire hall, making it hard to breathe.
Emperor Chongzhen watched all of this expressionlessly, as if he were watching a farce that had nothing to do with him.
He turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the imperial desk, and gave Wang Chengen, who was standing to the side, a barely perceptible wink.
Wang Chengen understood immediately and bowed forward, taking out a slightly worn letter from an inconspicuous, locked sandalwood box beside the imperial desk.
The letter paper was of ordinary quality, but its style was antique, revealing an unusual aura.
The moment Xue Guoguan, the Grand Secretary who had been standing at the forefront of the civil officials like a clay or wooden sculpture, with his eyes lowered and looking like an old monk in meditation, saw the letter held in Wang Chengen's hands, his body under his wide court robes trembled almost imperceptibly!
His lowered eyelids suddenly lifted, and he stared intently at the letter, his pupils contracting sharply!
Although he couldn't see the details clearly from a distance, he recognized the familiar style! This was the "secret letter" that Crown Prince Zhu Cilang had thrown in front of him and Hong Chengchou last night in the Eastern Palace—a private letter written by the contemporary Duke Yansheng, Kong Yinzhi, to the late Jianzhou rebel leader Nurhaci, with obsequious words that were almost "loyal"!
According to last night's "script" and the Crown Prince's instructions, the Emperor should now open the letter in public and have Wang Chengen read it aloud.
The charges of "colluding with foreign enemies, rebelling against ancestors, and shamelessly serving the enemy" were thoroughly established and nailed to the pillar of shame of the Confucius family.
Then, the emperor could then logically propose a plan under the guise of "punishment," "atonement," and "education," to "relocate a branch of the Confucius family to Liaodong to educate the barbarians with the teachings of the sages and atone for their crimes through meritorious service," thus steer the turmoil onto the predetermined track.
However, just as Wang Chengen held the seemingly immensely heavy secret letter, turned to face his ministers, cleared his throat, and prepared to read it aloud—
"Your Majesty! Wait a minute——!!!"
A hoarse, aged cry, yet filled with a desperate and sorrowful resolve, like the dying howl of a wounded old beast, suddenly exploded in the deathly silent Imperial Palace, drowning out everyone's breathing!
Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan, an elderly man in his sixties who held the highest rank in the court, disregarded all court etiquette and staggered out of the ranks. Under the horrified gazes of the court officials, he stumbled to the center of the imperial road and knelt heavily on the cold gold bricks with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground with a dull thud!
"Grand Secretary Xue?!"
"The Grand Secretary?!"
"Why...why is this happening?!"
The entire court, including Emperor Chongzhen on the dragon throne, was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
Chongzhen's brows furrowed instantly, and a hint of surprise and displeasure flashed in his eyes.
Last night, Zhu Cilang sent someone to report that he had confidently stated that the cabinet had reached an agreement, and that Xue Guoguan and Hong Chengchou were aware of the implications and would fully cooperate today. So why is Xue Guoguan changing his mind at the last minute? What is he up to?
Was his behavior at the Eastern Palace last night all a pretense? And now he's openly defying the imperial decree for the sake of the Kong family?
Only Hong Chengchou, who was standing at the front of the civil officials' line and slightly behind Xue Guoguan by half a body length, felt his heart stop beating the moment Xue Guoguan rushed out and knelt down, and then frantically started beating the drums again!
His back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and his face turned deathly pale.
He knew all too well why Xue Guoguan was doing this!
This former chief minister was, in the end, a role model for all civil officials, a nominal leader of the scholarly community, and the embodiment of the "orthodox tradition" in the court!
He could tacitly approve, or even secretly cooperate, in the specific punishment of Confucius, but he absolutely could not stand by and watch that "secret letter of treason," which was enough to tear the entire "sage" signboard, and even the "orthodox tradition" on which all scholars had relied for their livelihood for two thousand years, to shreds and trample it into the mud, be read aloud in public!
That was not just a trial of Kong Yinzhi as an individual, but a trial of Confucius, a trial of Confucianism, and a trial of the backbone and soul of all the scholar-officials who called themselves "disciples of Confucius and Mencius"!
Once this is uttered, the civil service will be utterly humiliated.
If Xue Guoguan remains silent at this moment, he will surely be nailed to the pillar of historical shame, cursed by scholars for thousands of years, and left with a bad name for eternity!
He had to stand up, even if it was like throwing an egg against a rock, even if he knew he would anger the heavens, even if it would ruin his reputation and even his life, to protect that last shred of dignity that belonged to "civilization" and "tradition," that was crumbling and illusory!
This was his destiny, and also his final, tragic struggle as a leader of the civil service.
Hong Chengchou's heart was in turmoil. He felt a momentary admiration for Xue Guoguan's tragic courage in doing what he knew was impossible, a deep shame for his failure to persevere the night before and his current predicament of having to protect himself, and a chilling sense of shared sorrow and sympathy.
He knew Xue Guoguan was gambling, gambling that the emperor would really show no mercy and trample on the last shred of dignity left for civil officials.
As for Hong Chengchou, there was nothing he could do. He had to clear himself of any wrongdoing. His future position as Grand Secretary and the future stability of the Ming Dynasty could not afford to have the slightest "unwise" or "tainted" actions at this moment.
He could only keep his head down, staring intently at the patterns on his scepter, as if trying to see through them, while cold sweat soaked through his inner shirt.
At the same time, Chongzhen took a deep look at Xue Guoguan, who was kneeling on the ground. His court robe, adorned with crane embroidered patches, symbolizing the highest level of a subject's conduct, was disheveled from the violent movements, and his aged body trembled slightly.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still.
From the old minister's graying temples, his violently heaving shoulders and back, and his resolute posture of touching his head to the ground as if he wanted to embed himself into a gold brick, Chongzhen understood the extreme struggle, despair, and sorrow in his heart.
For the past two years, during the difficult time when neither he nor the Crown Prince were in the capital, this old Grand Secretary has diligently presided over the government and maintained the overall situation. Last night, he was willing to bear the infamy of "persecuting the royal descendant" for the sake of the Crown Prince and the court.
At this moment, however, we must make this final, doomed struggle for that vague yet weighty "literati dignity" and "traditional respect."
He was using the end of his political life, and even his possible life and fortune, to make a final, feeble defense for scholars across the land.
Chongzhen's heart suddenly felt as if something had clenched it tightly. At that moment, a slight crack appeared in his full imperial rage and the script he had rehearsed beforehand.
He thought of Xue Guoguan's years of assistance, which, though not always smooth sailing, had ultimately been diligent; he thought of Xue Guoguan's resolute willingness to take the blame; he thought of how, if that letter were read aloud in public, Xue Guoguan, the "leader of civil officials," would be utterly disgraced, his reputation ruined, and might even be verbally attacked and driven to his death by radical scholars.
Nothing more...
After all, he was a long-time loyal minister who had devoted himself to the stability of the Ming Dynasty.
If we push him to the brink today, the court will inevitably be shaken, and the Crown Prince's next plans will likely encounter unexpected complications.
Moreover, the Kong family's crimes have already been confirmed by the Imperial Guard and the secret police, and the momentum has been established. That letter... perhaps it doesn't have to be made public in such a drastic way at this time and place.
The hall was deathly silent; time seemed to stand still.
All eyes were on Emperor Chongzhen, awaiting his judgment.
Will he unleash a thunderous rage, ordering Xue Guoguan to step back and continuing to read the secret letter? Or...?
After a long, suffocating wait, Chongzhen finally spoke slowly, his voice carrying a barely perceptible, complex weariness:
"Alright, Grand Secretary Xue, get up."
Xue Guoguan felt as if he had been granted a pardon, but it also seemed as if he had used up all his strength. After struggling a few times, he finally stood up shakily with the help of a young eunuch beside him.
He stood with his hands hanging down, not daring to raise his head, his body still trembling slightly, whether from fear, exhaustion, or grief and indignation, it was hard to tell.
Chongzhen then waved his hand at Wang Chengen, who was holding the letter and looked somewhat bewildered, his tone calm yet authoritative:
"Put it away."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Wang Chengen immediately bowed and carefully placed the secret letter, which seemed to have gathered countless storms, back into the sandalwood box, and gently closed the lid.
This turn of events came too quickly, too suddenly, and too unexpectedly.
The entire court was completely bewildered, having no idea what had happened.
What exactly was that letter in the emperor's hand?
Why did Grand Secretary Xue risk his life to stop it? And why did His Majesty suddenly change his mind and choose to concede at the crucial moment when the final mystery was about to be revealed?
Emperor Chongzhen seemed unwilling to explain; he didn't even glance at Xue Guoguan again.
His gaze swept over the still bewildered, shocked, and speculating ministers below, and he spoke in an almost hasty, somewhat weary tone:
"The matter of the Kong family is far-reaching and cannot be resolved in a short time. With the end of the year approaching, Liaodong and Korea have just been pacified, and there is much to be done and many things to be done. The most urgent task is to quickly decide on the rewards for the meritorious officials who have contributed to the pacification of Liaodong and the pacification of Korea, to reward the soldiers, and to comfort the ancestral temple, so as to reassure the army, stabilize the people, and consolidate the foundation of the country. The case of the Kong family... can be discussed later."
(End of this chapter)