In the cabinet conference room of the Wenhua Palace, Zhu Youzhen held his chin with his right hand and listened expressionlessly, and more than 30 officials in front of him expressed their opinions. When he received the news from the envoy sent by the cabinet and hurriedly returned to the capital, the court became lively.

On the first day after returning to the capital, he listened to the opinions of the officials of various ministries and chose to hold a court meeting at Qianqingmen to listen to the government. Officials in Beijing, clansmen, and relatives were summoned to listen to their complaints about King Qing's accusation of rebellion against the Han and Qin domains in Shaanxi.

When the report letter written by King Qing was sent to the capital, he was still crying out for the Han and Qin domains, believing that this was the official who colluded with Jin Yiwei and Yang He to frame the two powerless and courageless vassal kings, and soon lost his voice.

Although their sanity told them that the rebellion of the vassal king, who had no guards and was not supported by the army of local officials, was no different from committing suicide. King Han and King Qin neither had outstanding talents, nor did they have the reputation to be praised by the people of the feudal state, let alone the support of some officials in the court, and the officials with a little insight could not believe that they had the capital to rebel.

If there is no evidence to prove that the two feudatories are rebelling, the officials of the DPRK and China naturally do not mind taking charge of this case, and use this case to crack down on Jinyiwei, who is becoming more and more active, and maybe even implicate Yang He in the case. After all, after the establishment of the State Council, the position of the governor of Shaanxi was no less than that of the six books.

Upholding justice can kill three birds with one stone and gain so many benefits, so it is natural that there will be officials who will stand up and uphold justice. However, a whistle-blowing letter from King Qing immediately dispelled this idea of many officials. No official wanted to confront a vassal king to prove that the information in his possession was false.

Of course, there are still some officials who have persevered. Although they could not overturn the evidence provided by King Qing, they quickly took a step back, from crying out for the two feudatories to demanding that the ancestral system be invoked to reduce the punishment of the two feudatories. These officials believe that the king of Han and the king of Qin can be sent to Fengyang to guard the tomb in the central capital, and other serious clans involved in the case should also be sent together, but those clans that have nothing to do with the rebellion case should still stay in their hometowns.

Some officials from Shaanxi Province had been silent about the rebellion of the two feudal lords, but with the appearance of King Qing's unmasking letters, although they did not fall into the trap of the two feudal kings, they were obviously very dissatisfied with the punishment plan of putting the clan in place and guarding it.

These officials from Shaanxi Province soon proposed that since the rebellion case was true, then these clans should move them out of Shaanxi in accordance with the proposal of Yang He and others, so that the Shaanxi fathers and elders who had been affected by disasters many times could recover some vitality.

The speeches of nearly 1,000 officials at the court meeting did not make Zhu Youzhen hear many meaningful remarks, except for making him dizzy. Therefore, on the second day, Zhu Youzhen moved the venue of the meeting to the Wenhua Palace, excluding the middle and low-level officials, leaving only the cabinet and the senior officials of the six ministries, as well as the King of Fu, the King of Shu, and the Marquis of Fengcheng, the number of which was less than 40.

After eliminating those middle- and low-level officials who were open-mouthed and extremely utilitarian, the officials who participated in the meeting in the Wenhua Hall finally showed some reserve. Even though there were conflicts between these officials, they managed to preserve their personal qualities in front of the emperor.

But even so, the debate has been going on for two days, and the officials present are divided into three positions. The party with the largest number of people is still the officials from the south, the vassal kings, and the relatives. Their argument was that the rebellion of the two vassal kings was too strange and that they should be sent down again to investigate.

In addition, even if the rebellion of the vassal kings is really true, seeing that they have the blood of Taizu flowing in their bodies, they should be punished lightly. And those clans have lived in Shaanxi all their lives, and now they want to move them out of Shaanxi because of a crime that has not been clearly investigated, which is also not appropriate.

The smallest part of the number is still officials from Shaanxi, mixed with two Shanxi officials such as Han Yi. They believed that the crimes committed by the two feudatories and the clan should be punished lightly. However, they also believed that if the vassal clans in Shaanxi could move out of Shaanxi, it would undoubtedly be a great good governance for the people of Shaanxi, who had been repeatedly affected by disasters.

The neutrals, who were somewhere in between, waited for the emperor's statement. The seemingly silent neutral faction is actually divided into two parts, some people want to follow Chongzhen's position to speak, and some people want to see the emperor's position before deciding their own speech.

Zhu Youzhen, who had endured these officials' quarrels for three days, heard Liu Zongzhou mention again: "... The matter is in Zhouli: one is said to discuss the relatives, and it is said that the royal family is guilty; Second, it is said that the old is the same as the king; The third is said to be virtuous; Fourth, it is said that there are Taoist artists; Fifth, it is said that there are great meritorious servicers; Sixth, it is said that the noble person commits a crime, that is, the doctor or above; Seventh, it is said that the discussion and diligence are discouraged, and the country is also haggard and worried; Eight said that the guests of the council are not subordinate..."

Finally, I couldn't help but interrupt him and said, "I already know what the gentleman said. According to Zhou Li, these eight discussions are to discuss relatives and nobles... In the final analysis, isn't it: the punishment is not the doctor, and the courtesy is not the same. Gentlemen and Zhu Aiqing, do you all think so? ”

Although Liu Zongzhou stopped, his face was very flat. Whether it is the emperor or those officials who want to punish the clan, after all, they still can't cross the sage avenue. After all, these eight discussions not only protect the privileges of the clan relatives, but also protect the privileges of the scholars, no matter how much these officials hate the clan, they will not raise objections on this point, otherwise they will put themselves in the position of the public enemy of all the scholars, except for one Haigang Peak, the Ming Dynasty has not had a second such wonder.

As Chongzhen bluntly pointed out the key points that Liu Zongzhou repeatedly emphasized, except for Yuan Keli, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and Sun Chengzong, the chief of the General Staff, whose faces remained unchanged, the other officials all admitted the emperor's statement.

Looking at the group of officials below who tried to blur this scene with silence, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but sneer and said: "Your sage books are really good, if my Taizu Emperor Gao is resurrected underground, and I hear that you have exonerated these disobedient and unfilial sons and tarnished his reputation, I am afraid that I will have to die of anger again." ”

Hearing Chongzhen's big hat buttoned down, the officials in the palace all changed their faces, and they knelt down to justify themselves to the emperor: "Taizu's martial posture, sweep away the crowd, calm the world, and open the foundation of my Ming Dynasty." The ministers admired inexplicably, and they only had respect and admiration for Taizu, how could they dare to speak out to tarnish Taizu's reputation.

It is precisely because the ministers are in awe of the deeds of Taizu that they dare not impose punishment on the pro-vassal clan who inherits the bloodline of Taizu. ”

From the gossip at the beginning, to the unison of everyone later, looking at the kneeling officials below, Zhu Youzhen understood what it meant to be alone.

However, since he had already started, he naturally had no intention of backing down. If it can't be broken, "the punishment can't be inflicted on the doctor, and the courtesy can't be inferior." This unspoken rule in the hearts of Ming officials made it impossible for him to do anything to the clan, his relatives and the gentry, and land reform became an unattainable dream.

Zhu Youzhen also knew that if he debated the scriptures with these officials to deny this unspoken rule, it was estimated that any person below would be able to make him speechless. Therefore, he did not hesitate to bring out Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang to suppress these officials.

“… The courtiers of the Yuan, who do not follow the ancestral teachings, abolish the Gangchang... Lady Monarch, the suzerain of the people; The court is the foundation of the world... So that I, the people of China, the liver and brain of the dead are smeared, and the flesh and blood of the living are not protected... Expelled Hulu, restored China, established Chen Ji, and relieved the people. Zhu Youzhen recited most of the "Oracle" in one breath, and when the kneeling people were thinking, Zhu Youzhen was already angry.

"My Taizu Emperor Gao, Ben Huai's right cloth, because of the tyranny of the Northern Yuan, seeing that the people were in chaos, he resolutely raised troops and resisted the tyrannical Yuan with my Han heroes. When Taizu raised his army, he only had the idea of chasing Hu Lu from the north, saving the people from misery, and restoring the prestige of the Han officials.

It is the Central Plains that the soldiers are coming, and the people should not avoid it. The order is serious, there is no offense, those who belong to me will always be in China, and those who carry me will run outside the plug. Cover my Chinese people, and heaven will command my Chinese people to be in peace, and how can they be governed! I am afraid that the Middle Earth will be filthy and bloody for a long time, and the people will be disturbed, so he will lead the heroes to fight to clear up, aiming to chase away the Hulu, eliminate the riots, and make the people get their place, the shame of China, and the people's body!

My Emperor Taizu Gao is: I am determined to chase away the Hulu, eliminate the riots, and make the people get their place. I just got the bell of destiny and created my Ming Dynasty. No, it is the mandate of heaven to raise troops, so that there is this world.

You all open your eyes and see the good things that these clansmen have done, robbing the people's daughters, robbing the people's property, killing and injuring people innocently... In addition to finding a good time when these people were reincarnated, what qualifications do they have to be called the descendants of Taizu?

As the son and grandson of Taizu, he ignored Taizu's ambition to build the country, but instead learned the way of tyrannical cruelty to the people, isn't this the biggest disobedience and unfilial piety?

If someone has not kept filial piety according to the etiquette system for three years, you will say that this person is a beast that does not care about human morality. And today, for these clansmen who openly trample on the ambitions of Emperor Taizu Gao and tarnish the reputation of Taizu, you have to intercede for them.

I really don't know, what is your moral standard? I don't know what kind of governance the country is that you talk about every day. ”

After Chongzhen's shouting stopped, there was still silence in the Wenhua Palace, but unlike just now, the silence of these officials now was a panicked helplessness, rather than a confident confrontation.

Liu Zongzhou, who was in the spotlight, stopped talking several times, but he still didn't say anything after all. He's a bit pedantic, but he's not that stupid. When the emperor moved out of Hongwu Taizu's remarks against the Eight Discussions, any defense would only damage his reputation.

Since the emperor did not answer by his name, Liu Zongzhou, who cherished feathers, naturally would not jump into this pit. Liu Zongzhou, who was regarded as a moral benchmark in the court, refused to speak out, and other officials were even less willing to refute the emperor.

After all, the officials who participated in the meeting in the Wenhua Hall were already veteran bureaucrats who had been trained for a long time, and they would not openly collide with the emperor for the sake of impulse. In particular, it is difficult to argue whether this issue is good or bad.

Zhu Youzhen waited for a while, seeing that everyone in the hall was still silent, and then continued: "Since you don't want to speak out, I won't force you. I will go to the apse now to rest, and you will discuss and come up with a conclusion for me, if the discussion does not produce results, or the conclusion violates the instructions of the Taizu, no one will want to go back today..."