Fang Fengnian couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, didn't Cao Huachun arrest himself before just to collect the money from the families of the two corrupt officials? How can I listen to what the emperor said, what is really dissatisfied with himself is not this?

The fact that he can become an auxiliary minister of the cabinet shows that he is not stupid, but after thinking about it a little, he was shocked in his heart, and he probably understood that the emperor must know his thoughts.

Thinking like this, Fang Fengnian suddenly had a feeling that the emperor had seen through him, which made him feel uneasy when he was interrogated by Cao Huachun. When will Emperor Chongzhen be able to observe the fire of his courtiers?

Still not daring to raise his head, he crouched there and continued to play: "The guilty minister has failed the grace of the saint, please punish Your Majesty!" ”

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him, and he had a feeling of hating iron but not steel.

For Fang Fengnian, accepting bribes and speaking for corrupt officials, this kind of thing should not be too normal at the moment. If they make a big move because of this matter, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty will be terrified, and they will even be forced to do something unexpected, which Emperor Chongzhen does not want to see.

In the past, the eunuchs who killed the king's heart and other imperial horse eunuchs were because they were the emperor's domestic slaves, and it was up to the emperor to decide whether to kill or take them, and no one could say anything. Second, the crimes committed by Wang Zhixin and others seriously affected the stability of the Ming Dynasty, and directly corrupted several pro-armies, which no emperor could tolerate.

In addition, Emperor Chongzhen did not hesitate to cut off the head of the first assistant Liu Yuliang, and that was also because Liu Yuliang committed the crime of bullying the monarch, and dared to lie about the military situation, reversing black and white, greedy for life and afraid of death, but said that success was not small, and attacked meritorious local officials for his own selfishness. No king would tolerate such behavior. Therefore, killing Liu Yuliang will not have a direct relationship with most officials.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen has killed a lot of ministers and generals, if he keeps killing regardless of it, the evaluation of being mean and unkind will not be able to run, for an emperor, carrying this kind of evaluation, not to mention the future generations, it will also have a negative effect on the governance of the government.

At least after such a reputation, there must be some officials with a bottom line who will not be willing to be this official. The so-called monarch chooses his ministers, and ministers also choose kings, which is what it means.

As for the so-called people who are willing to be officials, then the real intentions of these people to be officials must be questioned. In the words of later generations, the monarch is not good, and he still takes a big risk to become an official, is it to serve the people? Obviously, there are more such officials, I am afraid that they have their own selfish needs, right?

If you rely on such officials to govern the world, can you govern it well?

Therefore, the reputation of the monarch is also wanted!

It was precisely for this reason that Emperor Chongzhen decided to treat them differently when he knew that Fang Fengnian had not found out more problems, instead of killing them one by one.

In other words, any person in power with a little brain, in the context of widespread corruption, will kill and kill because of a little corruption. Even in later generations, when Hong Kong was under British colonial rule, black police became a common situation, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption could only be established to arrest the black police led by them and pardon most of the ordinary black police, thus quickly stabilizing Hong Kong's public order. If the British colonists at that time had been arrested regardless of the situation, it was estimated that it would have attracted a riot by the black police and the gains outweighed the losses.

After staring at Fang Fengnian for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen said coldly: "Whether it is being a person or doing things, the most important thing is to be responsible!" Otherwise, even if you become an auxiliary minister in the cabinet, what is the use? When encountering a major event, I am afraid of taking responsibility, I dare not do things, and I dare not offend people, how can I be loyal to the king and serve the country? ”

Cao Huachun, who was on the side, heard this, couldn't help but tilt his head slightly, and glanced at the emperor, he felt in his heart, why did the emperor seem to be talking about himself?

Didn't I have such a mind before, but I was forced by the emperor, there was no way out, and I kept doing things.

When Fang Fengnian on the ground heard this, he confirmed that it was correct at this time, and the emperor saw through the real reason why he was resigned. However, he did not have much remorse, and secretly echoed the emperor's words in his heart: If you, the emperor of the emperor, can distinguish between good and bad, and will not shout and kill your courtiers because others are impeached, then you will not be so worried. I'm afraid that after offending the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, if you listen to slander and punish me, I won't take precautions and think about avoiding the limelight!

Emperor Chongzhen didn't know what he was thinking, and still spoke: "Look at Lu Shangshu, is it a big responsibility to lead the world's soldiers and horses to fight against the powerful Manchu army now?" But as soon as I made a will, he no longer kept his filial piety, and immediately rushed to share my worries. Even if I condemned him before, I didn't complain, and I was still fighting for me. Think for yourself, do you have this responsibility from him? ”

Blamed on Lu Xiangsheng, in fact, it was the pot of the original Chongzhen Emperor, but at this time, he must also carry it.

When Fang Fengnian heard this example, he couldn't help but be stunned. Speaking of which, it's true, Lu Xiangsheng is indeed a responsible person! No one can deny that!

But there are a few Lu Xiangsheng in the world, and there are people like Lu Xiangsheng, which is just an outlier!

In his heart, he was so relieved that he found a reason for himself.

"Also, even Chen Hongxu, the governor of Jinzhou, who was born as a person, is much more responsible than you." Emperor Chongzhen's voice was a little louder, making Fang Fengnian hear as if the emperor hated him very much, "As the parent official of Jinzhou, he guards the pastoral side for me, but under the compulsion of Shoufu, he can still hold on to the bottom line and not let the army of scum like Zu Kuan enter the city, this is another kind of responsibility, do you have it?" ”

"If you were Lu Shangshu and Chen Zhizhou, would your choice be the same as theirs?"

Hearing this, Fang Fengnian was really a little shocked. He knelt on the ground and asked himself in his heart, Lu Xiangsheng didn't say anything, but even Chen Hongxu, who was born as a person, was more responsible than himself? If you were in his position, would you really be able to do the same thing as him in that context?

If it is said that Lu Xiangsheng has no touch on him, because Chen Hongxu is only from a person's background, and those of them who are from Jinshi naturally look down on them. But now, Chen Hongxu, who can't get into his eyes, is doing better than him and has to be more responsible, and this thing shocks him a lot.

Emperor Chongzhen stared at him, looked carefully, and found that Fang Fengnian's body was trembling slightly. He understood that what he said should have hit him.

When he got this conclusion, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, since this is the case, then there is still salvation. So, he said, "Of course, I also know that the lack of responsibility is nothing more than an excuse, and I am afraid that I will punish the person who bears it. It can also be said that it is a manifestation of my lack of faith. ”

Hearing this, Fang Fengnian didn't be silent anymore, his voice was a little low, and he immediately replied: "The sinner doesn't dare, the sinner really doesn't take responsibility, he has the teachings of the saints, and he has the grace of the king!" ”

The king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die, which is a manifestation of the loyalty of the ministers, at least in the mouth of the scholars, which is advocated. However, I believe that there are very few courtiers who can really do this.

Emperor Chongzhen listened, looked at him and said, "At least until you prove that you have the responsibility, the auxiliary ministers are not qualified to do it." I can give you another chance to prove yourself. ”

As soon as he heard this, Fang Fengnian's heart was gloomy, and at the same time, he was relieved, and then he was grateful, and hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty's teachings, the guilty ministers remember them in their hearts, and they dare not forget them." ”

"After the war, you should become the governor of Texas and do a good job in post-war reconstruction."

After Emperor Chongzhen said this, he didn't stay any longer and turned to leave.

He actually knew in his heart that Fang Fengnian wanted to prove his responsibility, and he also had to use specific actions to prove that he, the emperor, would not let the responsible courtiers be retaliated! Only in this way will there be more responsible courtiers under him!