On October 14, the first year of Qingli, in the midst of the wave of opposition to the new policy in the Manchu Dynasty, a major case suddenly broke out without warning.

When Zheng Jian, the imperial historian, was reviewing Kaifeng Mansion, someone reported to him Feng Shiyuan, a clerk of Kaifeng Mansion, saying that although this person was only a small official, he was extremely well-connected and hid a lot of prohibited items.

Upon learning of this, Zheng Jian arrested Feng Shiyuan, and after an interrogation, he found out that this person was extremely well-connected, and his connections could reach the sky.

He not only did a lot of dirty work for the former three envoys and the current Shangshu Cheng Lin of the Ministry of Finance, but also implicated Lu Yijian's sons Lu Gongxuan and Lu Gongbi, Sheng Du's son Sheng Shenfu, son-in-law Zhang Yuxi and others.

In addition to asking Feng Shiyuan to help collect prohibited items, these people also had some people who wanted to improve, so they found Feng Shiyuan, and Feng Shiyuan found Lu Gongxuan to help dredge up the relationship and go through the door.

Historical records record that "the public is sensitive and talented, and when his father was in power, he was more involved in the invitation, and those who liked to be famous and enterprising flocked to it." Taste the leakage and excretion in addition to worship the city's grace, when the people are compared to Dou Shen. ”

Who is Dou Shen?

In the Tang Dynasty, most of them discussed the promotion, appointment and dismissal of officials, and leaked it to others from time to time, taking the opportunity to accept bribes, and when the incident occurred, the officials were dismissed and exiled to Lingnan.

From here, it can be seen that where is Dou Shen, Lu Gongxuan is simply a small pavilion elder of the Ming Dynasty.

Zheng Jian found out about this case?

immediately rushed to the Lu Mansion and arrested Lu Yijian's eldest son Lu Gongxuan, second son Lu Gongbi, as well as Sheng Du's son Sheng Shenfu and son-in-law Zhang Yuxi.

Although Lu Yijian and Sheng Du were not directly implicated, more than ten people such as Cheng Lin, the secretary of the Ministry of Finance, and Li Zhang, a direct bachelor of Longtu Pavilion, were implicated.

Since these people are in public office, the Goshidai only has the power to censor but not the power to arrest them, and it is necessary to call for the political system.

But Lü Yijian and Sheng Du are both known to the Constitutional Yuan, so Zheng Jian crossed the Constitutional Yuan that day, played the emperor, and asked for the dismissal of Lü Yijian, Sheng Du, Cheng Lin, Li Zhang and a large number of other senior officials involved in the case.

It's a big fuss.

On the afternoon of the 14th, Lu Yijian and Sheng Du got the news, and they almost didn't draw it at that time.

Outside the conference room of the Constitutional Yuan, Zhao Zhen came in a hurry.

At this time, Lu Yijian and Fan Zhongyan were arguing in the conference room, and Wang Zeng, Yan Shu and others were silent.

"The Son of Heaven is guilty of the same crime as the common people, and your son should be punished if he breaks the law, so why do you have to bend the law for personal gain? I'm telling you, don't even think about it. ”

Fan Zhongyan slapped the table and shouted: "The new deal is to reform the rule of officials, see for yourself how great the results have been in the past few months, and how much the efficiency of the government has improved, because of your son, you have to let the new deal be ruined?" ”

Lu Yijian's face stiffened, and he defended: "The old man is not for his son and nephew, but you can see for yourself, how loud the opposition from the government and the opposition is now, I'm afraid it won't be long before criticism spreads, I think it's not supposed to be done slowly, step by step?" ”

"What should it be? Should the new policy be stopped, the imperial court looks at so many corrupt officials and corrupt officials who are found out and does not arrest them, and looks at so many lazy and lazy officials, who do nothing every day, and only take money and do not work, continue to eat and eat the corpses? ”

Fan Zhongyan said with a blushing face: "If this is the case, the officials of the world see that the court treats the law as nothing, then who will dare to do things, and who will do things?" Anyway, if you have to get by every day, it is better to be at ease, even corrupt and corrupt, and continue to cause trouble to the place, have you forgotten that the Great Song Dynasty will perish in a few decades! ”

Lu Yijian said dissatisfiedly: "You don't talk about this point, I'm not blocking the new deal, I'm just telling you not to do things too desperately, and don't go too fast." The so-called no desire for speed, no small profits. If you want to be fast, you can't reach it, and if you see a small profit, you can't do a big thing. Slow down and deliberate. ”

"Slow down and deliberate?"

Fan Zhongyan sneered: "Now is the time when the external troubles have been eliminated and the internal worries are stable, you tell me to slow down?" Wait for the Liao State and Western Xia to attack? At that time, it will still be internal and external troubles, what has changed? ”

"But now there are so many officials involved, tens of thousands of officials and hundreds of thousands of officials in the world, do you have to abolish them all?"

Lu Yijian asked rhetorically.

Sheng Du said: "Yes, more than 4,000 officials were arrested last month alone, and this is only Bianliang, Gyeonggi Road, Jingdong East Road, Jingdong West Road, Jingnan South Road, Jingbei North Road, Huainan East Road, Huainan West Road and other adjacent roads in Bianliang, and tens of thousands of officials have been dismissed and punished, and the books are almost piled up in the Constitutional Yuan. ”

"Huh."

Fan Zhongyan sneered: "Saying so much is nothing more than for your own selfish interests, your son and son-in-law can't hold it back if they are implicated, Han Long is right, you are a group of selfish conservative interest groups!" ”

Hearing this, Lu Yijian was about to turn red, because Zhao Jun had already defined them as sexual, and the reputation of this conservative interest group was really not good.

But now he really can't do it.

Pity the parents of the world, his son committed a crime of corruption and perverted the law, helping others to go through the back door to the official road, although the most important Lu Gongzhu was not involved, but the eldest son and the second son will be imprisoned or even exiled.

At this time, even if Lu Yijian knew that opposition might cause serious consequences, such as making Zhao Zhen and Zhao Jun unhappy, he had to make a choice in this matter.

Otherwise, what about the son?

Therefore, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Yes, you can say that about me, but don't you want to see what is going on outside?" The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are all opposing voices, is it only me who is at fault? I'm just asking you to stop for a moment and talk about it later, isn't that okay? ”

Saying that, Lu Yijian looked at Wang Zeng again and said, "Wang Xiaoxian, don't you also think that with such a loud opposition, this test method can continue to be implemented?" Aren't you afraid that all the officials in the world will be arrested? ”

"Me"

Wang Zeng was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Fan Zhongyan looked at Wang Zeng and said, "Prince, don't waver, you must stick to your heart!" ”

Saying that, he said to Lu Yijian again: "Even if the officials in the world are clean, as long as they are corrupt officials and corrupt officials, they should be dealt with, this is the law of the country!" ”

"If the world is in turmoil, should we also follow the laws of the land?"

Lu Yijian sneered.

Seeing the quarrel between the two, Wang Zeng smiled bitterly.

His son was not implicated, the problem is that many of his protégés and former officials suffered.

Although he had already spread the rumors, he asked his disciples to do their part well, and never be as lazy and lazy as before.

But they have done the work, and their efficiency has also improved, but they can't stand some officials who are doing evil.

In addition, after the implementation of the new law, those officials who were not corrupt officials were also tired enough, thinking that the new law was tossing people and opposing it, which made Wang Zeng also begin to be in a dilemma.

And it's not just him.

Except for Fan Zhongyan, who withstood the pressure and insisted on seeing anyone who came to him, the rest of the prime ministers were affected to varying degrees.

Lu Yijian and Sheng Du didn't say much, and their sons were arrested.

Song Shou and Jia Changchao will inevitably support Lu Yijian, and Zhang Shixun will definitely help his old friend speak.

Yan Shu, Jiang Tang, Li Di, and Cai Qi are also involved in protégés.

The only difference is that Jiang Tang is fairly fair, and he did not accept the pleas of his protégé and old officials, and remained neutral.

Li Di looked at Zhao Jun's face, and he wouldn't speak before Zhao Jun came back.

Yan Shu couldn't speak well on this matter, so he could only support Lu Yijian in his heart, but he didn't dare to express his position openly.

Cai Qi was waiting for Wang Zeng's meaning.

For a time, Lu Yijian, Sheng Du, Jia Changchao, Song Shou, Zhang Shixun and others in the political system put pressure on Fan Zhongyan.

Wang was in a dilemma.

Although the rest of the people did not speak, they did not speak for Fan Zhongyan.

It's quite a bit of Fan Zhongyan's difficulty in supporting alone.

In fact, before harming their own interests, they can objectively comment on the benefits of the law and support the continued implementation of the new policy.

But once the test law harms their interests, even if they know that they shouldn't oppose it, they can only speak out against it.

It's like if someone asks you if you have 10 million and you will donate, you will think, anyway, you don't have 10 million, it doesn't matter if you donate, so you answer decisively and say donate.

But if you ask if you have a cow if you donate, you should think about how to refuse to donate, because you do have a cow.

Everyone knows that donating money is a good thing, but if you cut the flesh on yourself, it will hurt after all.

"What's going on?"

At this moment, Zhao Zhen stood at the door and listened for a while, and when he saw them arguing, he walked in with a frown.

He didn't even want to come in, and it was really difficult for him.

The palms and backs of the hands are full of meat.

But it's not a way to keep arguing like this, and Zhao Zhen can only go in hard.

Seeing Zhao Zhen come in, everyone finally ended the quarrel, and they all bowed to Zhao Zhen and said, "I've seen the official family!" ”

"Alright."

Zhao Zhen walked to the main seat of the conference room, which was where Zhao Jun usually sits.

After he sat down, he originally wanted to say a few words to Lu Yi Jian Shengdu in a more stern tone, but he couldn't bear it when it came to his mouth, so he had to say, "Sit down first." ”

"Xie Guan's family!"

Everyone sat in columns, Lu Yijian and Sheng Du looked sad, as if they were ten years old, which made people look extremely unbearable.

Zhao Zhen couldn't bear to say anything serious, so he had to say: "Duke Lu Xu, Duke Sheng, confused." ”

"Minister"

Lu Yijian was stunned, and then his face became even more sad.

This means that Zhao Zhen may be on Fan Zhongyan's side, and his hope of rescuing his two sons is even slimmer.

Sheng Du was in tears, and couldn't help but say: "Official, minister. There is only one son. ”

"Amount"

Zhao Zhen didn't know what to say all of a sudden.

He's too soft-hearted.

When he was young, Lu Yijian resisted Liu E for him, protected him all the way, and had a deep relationship with him.

Although Sheng Du didn't have such a deep relationship with him, Zhao Zhen really couldn't see such an old man crying bitterly.

So Zhao Zhen looked at Fan Zhongyan and said hesitantly: "Xiwen Gong, otherwise, if you lightly sentence Lu Gongxuan, Lu Gongbi, Sheng Shenfu, and Zhang Yuxi, you will not be guilty, and you will only be demoted?" ”

Fan Zhongyan frowned and said: "The official family can think clearly, Lu Gongxuan committed the crime of selling the official beard, he openly used the name of Lu Xiang to take bribes everywhere to help people get promoted, if such a big mistake cannot be criminalized, then where is the majesty and law of the imperial court?" ”

"This"

Zhao Zhen felt that he had a headache to death, and he was really difficult.

Fan Zhongyan continued: "Officials, the new policy is not to eliminate officials, but to let officials do their part. The officials in the world are inactive, they can't even do their own work well, and even corrupt the law and poison the people, which is destroying the foundation of the Great Song Dynasty, and for a long time, Jingkang is afraid that it will be "

Talking about Jing Kang's shame, Zhao Zhen did not feel alert and worried about the future, but was even more hesitant and hesitant. At the earliest, he still had a sense of crisis, but with the defeat of the Great Song Dynasty in Western Xia and the destruction of the Liao Kingdom, this sense of crisis was actually slowly declining.

After all, crisis consciousness only exists when there is a crisis, but now that the crisis has been lifted, Jing Kang's shame is too far away, which naturally makes him feel more secure.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen looked at Lu Yijian and Sheng Du with a look of anticipation and tears, and could only bite the bullet and say to Fan Zhongyan: "It's not that serious, just continue to implement the new policy, and the law of the imperial court is still there, but for Lu Gongxuan and others, is it good to open the net?" ”

"Today, because of the powerful, they will open up to their children, and tomorrow there will be powerful people who want to open the net, and every day this is the case, the legal system of the court will be relaxed day by day, or it won't be long before the officials of the world will revert to the old state."

Fan Zhongyan persuaded hard: "Official, this mouth must not be opened." ”

"I"

Zhao Zhen looked at Lu Yijian with a sad face.

Lu Yijian immediately said: "The minister thinks that a vote should be taken, and those who support the abolition of the new policy should raise their hands." ”

In an instant, Sheng Du, Jia Changchao, Song Shou, Zhang Shixun and others raised their hands.

Wang Zeng hesitated for a moment, but actually raised his hand, and then Cai Qi and Yan Shu also slowly raised their hands.

In this way, in addition to Zhao Jun's absence, eight people in the entire Constitutional Yuan agreed, including Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng, Sheng Du, Jia Changchao, Song Shou, Zhang Shixun, Cai Qi, and Yan Shu.

The remaining Fan Zhongyan, Li Di and Jiang Tang did not raise their hands.

In fact, Li Di also wanted to raise his hand, after he took the throne, many protégés and old officials came to cling, and this time he also suffered, but he judged the situation and knew that the decision was in the hands of Zhao Jun, so he resolutely planned to wait for Zhao Jun's meaning.

As for Fan Zhongyan's definite objections, Jiang Tang was fair and did not want to get involved in this matter, and in the end, two-thirds of the 12-member Constitutional Yuan demanded the abolition of the new policy.

Seeing this situation, Fan Zhongyan said angrily: "Official, please wait for Hanlong to come back before making a decision!" ”

Lu Yijian knew that if Zhao Jun came back, it would be difficult to deal with it, so he immediately said: "Official, don't be angry, and don't overkill." There are so many officials in the world, once the people are held accountable, the country is bound to be turbulent. ”

"Don't talk about it."

Fan Zhongyan retorted: "Under the Ming Dynasty's examination law, three or four out of ten incompetent officials have been deposed in the past ten years, hundreds of thousands of officials have been dismissed, and politics have been clear for a while. ”

"I"

Zhao Zhen regretted stepping into the conference room of the Constitutional Yuan a little, and finally could only say helplessly: "This is shelved in advance, and the decision will be made tomorrow when the court is discussed." ”

This is the intention to go with the mud first.

If he supported Fan Zhongyan, the pitiful appearance of Lu Yijian and Sheng Du, coupled with the fact that the opposition of the Manchu Dynasty was indeed so loud, and two-thirds of the Constitutional Yuan also recommended that it be abolished, which made him very embarrassed.

But if he supported Lu Yijian, Zhao Zhen didn't dare to imagine what kind of beating Zhao Jun should receive when he came back, I was afraid that Bang Bang would come up with two punches.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen neither dared to support the abolition nor the continuation of the new deal, so he could only drag it.

Play dead first.

Let's wait for the situation to develop on its own.

(End of chapter)