Fang Keqin was feeling desperate at the moment.
He really didn't know that this matter was related to Kong Yin, and no one had informed him of this matter beforehand. If he had known in advance that the emperor had discovered Kong Yin's affairs, he would never have stood up at this moment.
The reason why he stood up was fundamentally to protect the interest chain brought by Kongyin.
This is no small matter. The issue of the empty seal involves too many things and is too big. The chain of interests is extremely complicated. No one wants the fine tradition of the empty seal to disappear.
In his opinion, as long as he stood up to advise the emperor, even if it aroused the emperor's anger, soon, more and more ministers would stand up to advise the emperor together and make him take back this idea that he had come up with on the spur of the moment.
Officials only have the final say when things become complicated. If everything is kept simple, how can they have the power?
But when Fang Keqin stood up to explain, His Majesty the Emperor wanted to kill him directly, and gave a reason that no one could refute - the meaning behind his words just now was that either Fang Keqin should be executed, or the matter of the empty seal should be investigated to the end.
This was not stated explicitly, nor did it need to be stated explicitly.
The case of the empty seal involved countless people, and no one wanted the matter to be investigated to the end, so sacrificing pawns to save the king was the basic operation. Immediately, an imperial censor reported Fang Keqin for corruption and bribery involving the empty seal.
At this moment Fang Keqin subconsciously looked towards other people, with a look of seeking help in his eyes, but those ministers who usually chatted and laughed with him now had their eyes slightly lowered, looking calm and composed, and didn't even look at him.
These people obviously knew about the empty seal, and they also knew that the emperor wanted to reform, so they had no intention of standing up from the beginning... Only he stood up foolishly, and then was treated as a pawn!
At this moment, Fang Keqin understood a lot of things. He was being targeted! He was being excluded and targeted by all the ministers at the same time!
These people will use their own lives to put an end to the Empty Seal case!
Although the emperor said that he would let the matter of the empty seal go and not pursue the matter any further, the empty seal had lasted for so long that it was impossible for the emperor to have no anger in his heart. Therefore, many ministers unanimously decided to throw out some abandoned pawns and use their lives to completely let this matter go!
So, Fang Keqin was chosen and became the unlucky guy.
Fang Keqin usually prides himself on being a clean person.
That's exactly what he did.
During the years he served as prefect of Jining, he was honest in his administration and did a lot of good things for the local people.
To what extent is Fang Keqin honest?
He never wore silk clothes. He wore a cloth robe for ten years, which was covered with patches.
The corner of the house he lived in collapsed, but he never thought about moving to a bigger house and just used reed mats to block the wind.
There was nothing in the house except books.
When he interacted with people, he never accepted a gift.
At that time, the governor of Yanzhou sent him two fruits through his servant. When he found out, he beat the servant and returned the fruits.
Once, a fellow villager gave him a wild goose.
As a result, he didn't give the person any face, refused in person, and directly declared that he would break off relations with the person.
Every time when salary was paid, if he found that there was any surplus from the previous month, he would give it to friends or directly go into the government treasury. He never saved any money.
But he was never stingy with his friends. When a colleague wanted to bring his mother to live with him but had no money, Keqin gave him one month's salary directly.
Fang Keqin had a principle when he was an official: "If I don't help the people, what use is there for me?"
His style is: pleading for the people, being indifferent to fame and fortune, and not fearing power!
After Fang Keqin came to the central court, he brought this clean and honest style with him and was entrusted with important tasks by Zhu Yuanzhang. Because everything he did was very much to Zhu's liking, he truly regarded such a clean and honest official as a treasure and believed that he was a model for how to be an official.
However, when Fang Keqin came to the center of power, other officials naturally looked down on such people who were seeking fame and reputation - you are so greedy that you leave no way for us to survive!
It's like a company where there is an employee who takes the initiative to work overtime and never asks for overtime pay. He works harder than anyone else and is quite capable. He even takes the initiative to give money to the company as subsidies. He also likes to shout slogans to the audience, saying that he wants to live and die with the company.
As a boss, of course he likes this stubborn employee very much, and will even let others learn from this example, so that they can build the company together and make it bigger and stronger.
But the other employees naturally don't like this curly dog!
Although the court is not a company, this is the meaning.
No one likes him.
Everyone dug a hole together and buried this guy, and even found evidence of his corruption and bribery.
now.
In the court.
Su Che's expression was a little subtle. He was a little surprised. He always felt something was wrong. He inexplicably had a feeling that he was being plotted against!
Previously, when Fang Keqin was to be executed, all the ministers disagreed and demanded a reason.
And Su Che also gave this reason...
Then no one tried to dissuade him, and even the censor stepped up and presented evidence of Fang Keqin's corruption and bribery, which was exactly the case of the empty seal. Isn't this too coincidental?
Su Che narrowed his eyes, glanced at the desperate Fang Keqin, and then looked at those calm and composed ministers.
Things have come to this point, and it seems that it is neither right to kill nor not to kill.
If he were to kill him, the matter of the empty seal would be completely exposed, and all the blame would be borne by Fang Keqin alone.
But if you don't kill him, it would be a bit disgusting to keep him alive!
But it doesn't matter.
It’s mainly the feeling of being calculated that Su Che doesn’t like.
He is willing to let this go and implement new policies. This is what he means.
It doesn't mean that these ministers can use this matter to plot against him!
Su Che really doesn't like these people's clever and self-righteous behavior!
After several simulations, Su Che's understanding of power and influence has reached perfection.
At this moment he narrowed his eyes and waved his hand.
Seeing this, the guards quickly brought Fang Keqin back.
Su Che looked at Fang Keqin and asked directly, "Do you admit the crime of Kong Yin's corruption?"
Fang Keqin looked ashen, knowing that he had no chance of survival. He lowered his head, did not make any excuses, and directly confessed his guilt!
It is a fact that he embezzled money . No matter what the pretext or reason was, embezzlement is embezzlement after all!
"I ask you a question, and you just answer it." Su Che said coldly.
When these words came out, Fang Keqin was stunned for a moment, then he raised his head and answered honestly: "I plead guilty , I know my crime."
"Okay, it's a great virtue to admit your mistakes and correct them. I will fine you three years' salary and dismiss you from your original position. You will be appointed as the Left Censor-in-Chief and will be responsible for investigating the empty seal case to the end. You will also be in charge of the reforms here." Su Che said seriously.
As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers were stunned, their eyes widened, and their expressions looked as if they had eaten a dead child. They looked at the Emperor in disbelief, then looked at Fang Keqin, and were simply unwilling to accept this reality.
how so?
This guy should have died, so how come he is still alive? Not only is he alive, but he was even promoted to a higher position and appointed as the Left Censor-in-Chief!
The Left Censor-in-Chief was the head of the Censorate, in charge of the affairs of the Censorate, and was a second-rank official.
Although the rank is not full, the power is terrifying.
In the past, this was the Grand Censor, one of the Three Dukes!
This position is responsible for impeaching hundreds of officials, clearing up grievances, supervising all the regions, and being the eyes and ears of the emperor and the official in charge of discipline!
Any minister who is treacherous, any villain who forms a clique, abuses his power and disrupts government will be impeached!
Any official who is corrupt, fraudulent and violates official discipline will be impeached!
Anyone who has incorrect academic ideas, submits memorials to the emperor to change the constitution, or seeks promotion will be impeached!
Such a position is not suitable for an upright person like Fang Keqin, because his favorite thing to do is to be an introvert. Once he takes up this position, he will inevitably cause unrest in the court, and there will be no peace from now on.
At that time, several ministers knelt down, hoping that Su Che could revoke his decision. Since ancient times, emperors must clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. People like Fang Keqin who break the law knowingly should be punished more severely and their three clans should be implicated... Even if Your Majesty is merciful and does not execute the entire clan, he cannot be promoted. Where does this logic come from?
No one wants to see Fang Keqin sitting in this position.
After all, they had offended him before and had tricked him into this state. Fang Keqin was not a fool and he had probably realized that he had been tricked by a conspiracy of the big guys. If he was allowed to turn the tables, how could this be tolerated?
Moreover, from what His Majesty said, he does not intend to let the empty seal case end here, and wants to investigate it to the end - even if there is no punishment now, this matter will be recorded in the little notebook and become a handle that can be used to settle accounts at any time later, which is really too uncomfortable!
No!
This cannot be done!
Many ministers' eyes turned red!
Anxious.
They are anxious!
When Fang Keqin heard these words, he seemed to wake up from a dream. He couldn't help but widen his eyes and tremble all over, just like a dying man seeing a life-saving straw, or a drowning person seeing the arms of a rescuer - is there still a chance for him to turn around?
At this moment, Su Che listened to the ministers' words, but smiled slightly and said frankly: "Fang Keqin has worn the same cloth robe for more than ten years, and he even put patches on the patches. How honest is he?"
"He has been in office for three years, fulfilled his duties conscientiously, and made remarkable achievements. His provincial constitutional examination results are the best among the six prefectures. He can be called an honest official of his generation!"
"He was an honest and upright person. It can be said that he lived up to his ideal of 'loving the people as much as possible and disciplining himself as much as possible.'"
"After much consideration, I still couldn't bear to kill such a loyal and virtuous minister, so I gave him a chance, a chance to atone for his sins."
"But now, you want me to execute him?"
"What is your intention?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers in the court were speechless.
The ministers kneeling on the ground froze in place.
What these ministers like to do most is moral blackmail.
And now, Su Che used his own methods to retaliate and began to morally blackmail this group of ministers, leaving them unable to say anything and leaving them all speechless.
If you dare to say anything, you will have to consider the consequences.
Fang Keqin was already filled with gratitude at this moment. He immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed like crazy, and said in fear: "Your Majesty, I am so humbled and grateful. I am willing to sacrifice my life for you!"
"Get up. I hope you can encourage yourself. At the same time, you must also be diligent in your own cultivation and stick to your original nature." Su Che said lightly.
"Yes, I understand." Fang Keqin had been through the gates of hell and felt that life was precious. He had let go of many things, including his friendship with the ministers. It was fake! It was all fake!
These guys talk nicely, but when it comes to selling people, they are really ruthless and you will be sold out before you know it.
He even has something on him!
At this moment, Fang Keqin escaped death and remembered these people. At the same time, he became a completely isolated minister. After taking the position of Zuodu Yushi, he had to become cold-blooded and ruthless to let these people know the consequences of selling out allies!
Thinking of this, Fang Keqin glanced at the group of people.
This "emotionless" cold look made many people feel uneasy and uncomfortable, and they were all numb.
Why is this happening?
Could it be that... from the very beginning, Your Majesty has been acting with Fang Keqin?
But it doesn’t look like it!
Because this is too real, and the acting is so realistic!
Moreover, His Majesty's style is usually not like this. He is always bold and open, and it is impossible for him to use such low-level means as acting.
With this in mind, there is only one possibility. It is very likely that Your Majesty has guessed that they are plotting against Your Majesty and Fang Keqin, so they changed their original decision!
This directly made all their plans go in vain, and even provoked an enemy. It was really a big loss! !
Furthermore, His Majesty was able to see right through their calculations, react immediately, and swiftly counterattack—this is not something that happens often!
In the past, these ministers plotted against Zhu Yuanzhang, and even if Zhu Yuanzhang realized it, it was too late, and he could only accept it with a pinch of his nose. But today is completely different.
It's really a case of losing both the lady and the army!
After the court session was adjourned, these ministers walked together, each of them with a sad face, and couldn't help sighing. Life would be difficult from now on!
The one with the most complicated expression was Zhan Hui. His position was Left Censor-in-Chief. He originally had great hope of being promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief, which meant he had a bright future. However, Fang Keqin was directly promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief by His Majesty. He didn't know how many years he would have to wait before he could become the Left Censor-in-Chief. There was no end in sight.
As the reform was finally decided and about to be implemented, Crown Prince Zhu Biao also heard what was happening in the court.
As the crown prince, Zhu Biao often attended court with Zhu Yuanzhang, but not every time.
Because he had a lot of affairs to deal with - after Hu Weiyong's death, the position of prime minister was abolished by Zhu Yuanzhang, and a large part of the affairs fell on Zhu Biao, the successor. The government affairs he had to deal with every day were not much less than those of Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, even if he did not attend court, Zhu Biao was still well aware of what was happening in the court.
As the crown prince, he had his own team and confidants in the court, which was also allowed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
If it were any other emperor, he would never allow his unique power to be shared and would easily become suspicious.
Since ancient times, the position of crown prince has always been a difficult one, and many things are difficult to handle.
But there are exceptions, such as Zhu Biao.
Although he never became an emperor in his life and always remained a crown prince, his power was enormous.
Some people even joked that if Zhu Biao wanted to rebel, his father would be happy, thinking that his son Biao was really promising! He would rebel! Come on, come and get our dragon robe - take over as emperor!
Zhu Yuanzhang divided his sons into two categories, one was Zhu Biao and the other was others!
At this moment, when Su Che heard that Crown Prince Zhu Biao wanted to see him, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He may not have much confidence in completely eradicating corruption.
It is still possible to add points in other aspects...
For example, Zhu Biao!
This prince who died young was undoubtedly one of Zhu Yuanzhang's regrets. Perhaps he could have changed the original fate of the prince Zhu Biao? !