Things were getting complicated. Even without considering the possibility of indirect criticism , Zhao Jiu knew from the beginning that things were getting complicated.
The reason is simple.
First of all, based on the fact that Hu Yin was almost drowned by his parents when he was born and then adopted by his uncle Hu Anguo, as well as his bad temper, the impeachment content in this memorial is 99% true... It is impossible for Hu Mingzhong to treat his biological parents as his own parents and take good care of them.
Considering that this guy is already thirty-five or thirty-six years old, there must be countless experiences and excuses between him and his parents that cannot be concealed at all, and these excuses have long been widely known in the countryside of Fujian.
Secondly, filial piety these days is very strict, especially for officials. Hu Yin's case will certainly be tolerated by public opinion in the future because of his experience, but at the moment, it is impossible for it to be recognized by public opinion... or to go further, it can be said that it is directly illegal.
You must know that even Emperor Zhao had to support three empresses dowagers at once.
Find someone to go to Shaolin Temple to interview Emperor Taishang Daojun, and Emperor Taishang Daojun will certainly say that he is only grateful to the government.
He had to ask a few more questions and, with tears in his eyes, tell about the tragedy in Wuguo City which he was embarrassed to mention in his memoirs, and then point out how filial and touching it was that Emperor Zhao brought him back to be influenced by Buddhism.
To be fair, thinking of this, Zhao Jiu roughly felt that this matter was probably not just a veiled criticism, but was probably an impeachment against Hu Yin.
After all, to put it bluntly, who on earth was he afraid of now? Who among the domestic opposition forces could still speak up in front of him?
Although Zhao Jiu knew that due to his experience as an official in the court and the organizational form of private schools, as well as the fact that the local people in Jiangnan, as a major tax-collecting area, naturally disliked and opposed the Northern Expedition, an opposition faction did exist in the southeastern region of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, he could not throw all the dirty water on them.
That group of people had not yet evolved to the level of the opposition parties of later generations.
What else?
Who is the leader of this Taoist-Jiangnan-retired officials faction?
Li Gang, or Liu Dazhong? It can't be Xu Jingheng, right? In fact, Xu Jingheng, Lu Haowen's old partner and a great contributor in the early Jianyan period, had a much stronger influence in the southeast than Liu Dazhong.
Xu Jingheng is doing this to himself at this time?
Moreover, who will provide stable funding for this opposition faction?
How to maintain transportation networks?
Has the Southern Daily News, which has been making a lot of noise for so long, finally come out?
What do these people want to achieve by provoking me at this time?
What’s more, there is Lu Yihao!
Even if there was such a person who secretly invested and instigated this incident, and was really making indirect accusations, it was very likely that he did it alone...similar to the case with Wang Ciweng, a lone wolf.
Therefore, the key to this matter actually lies in how to save Hu Yin.
It should be known that Hu Yin, as the Minister of Works, had long been regarded by Zhao Jiu as a minister without any regard for him due to the lack of financial resources for large-scale construction projects in the court. Then he actually became the general person in charge and contact person for the preparations for the Northern Expedition.
All surplus money and grain were given directly to the Ministry of Industry. He was responsible for the expansion and distribution of military equipment production capacity, the construction and investment of warehouses, the repair and connection of roads, and the arrangement and adjustment of mobilization plans for troops and civilians.
If it was still okay at this time last year, when there was no money at all and Hu Yin had no job at all, if something like this really happened, it wouldn't hurt to just replace someone... Chen Gui, Liu Ji, Lin Jingmo, they could all do it.
But now, with the court's financial prosperity gained from almost exhausting all resources, a lot of work has already been done. Is it just a problem for Hu Yin alone to let him go at this time?
In early summer, the weather was not too hot. Zhao Jiu sat in the stone pavilion until dusk fell before he got up... In fact, he had made up his mind from the beginning. It didn't matter if Hu Mingzhong advanced or retreated for a while. It didn't matter if he was criticized. He had endured it for so many years. But the problem was that he would never allow this incident to shake or affect the overall situation of the Northern Expedition, whether it was deliberate or accidental.
However, Zhao Jiu also knew that this matter was really difficult to handle, because Hu Yin would face the pressure from the entire society, and even someone with a stubborn personality like him might not be able to withstand such a tough situation.
"Thank you, Zhengfu. Please give this to Hu Mingzhong, and then tell him..."
After Zhao Jiu stood up, he handed the complaint document to Yang Yizhong who had appeared beside him at some point. But halfway through his words, he felt that he had done something unnecessary, so after a while, he could only sneer. "Just give this to Hu Mingzhong, he will understand."
Yang Yizhong bowed slightly, took the document, folded it without even looking at it, then stepped back, turned around and strode out - as the Minister of Works, Hu Yin had long since acquired a house in Jingyuan in the north, where Hu Anguo and his son, as well as Hu Anguo's wives and concubines who came later, all lived together.
It would be convenient to leave the palace and go home at this time.
Just like that, without mentioning Zhao Jiu's thoughts, Yang Yizhong arrived at the Hu Mansion. As expected, Hu Yin had just returned from the public housing in the south. The two of them greeted each other and were allowed to come to the hall. Then, without any extra polite words, Yang Yizhong handed over the document:
"The emperor asked me to pass this item to Minister Hu."
Hu Yin took it under the lamp, opened it in his hand, and with a quick glance, he completely woke up, but his expression did not change at all, he just pondered in silence.
After a while, seeing that the other party had nothing to say, Yang Yizhong also stood up and said, "The emperor's order has been delivered. I will take my leave."
Only then did Hu Mingzhong raise his head and asked seriously, "Excuse me, Commander Yang, does the emperor have anything else to say to me?"
"Just tell Minister Hu to give this item to him, and he will understand." Yang Yi Zhong bowed in response.
Hu Yin nodded and stood up, but he held the document with both hands and handed it over directly: "Tell the emperor for me that I already know about this matter."
Yang Yizhong was stunned for a moment, but still took the document, said yes, and then, with full of doubts and regardless of the lateness of the night, he went back to the palace to return the document.
Without mentioning how Yang Zhengfu handed over the documents to Emperor Zhao again, let's just say that Hu Mingzhong returned the documents. He knew that he might encounter the biggest setback in his life, but he still didn't show any emotion. He first returned to the study, wrote a few simple letters, asked someone to send them out, and then went to have a leisurely meal. During this time, he did not mention it to his adoptive father and brother.
After finishing his meal, he went straight back to his study to continue dealing with the official documents he had brought back from the public housing.
The next day, there was nothing unusual, and he calmly went to the public housing opposite Xuande Building to handle official business.
However, no matter how determined Zhao Jiu is, or how aware Hu Yin is, what is coming will eventually come...those things cannot be covered up, because even if the documents are given to Emperor Zhao, the people who filed the complaints are still alive and well. Moreover, since this kind of thing has already taken the path of impeachment, those who filed the complaints will also exchange information with their fellow villagers and friends early on to build up public opinion backup.
Therefore, even though Emperor Zhao tried to cut off the matter directly from the Ministry of Justice early on that day, he was still unable to stop the related words and impeachment content from gradually spreading between the officialdom and the Imperial Academy.
Three days later, as the details of Hu Yin's unfilial behavior were gradually confirmed by Fujianese in Beijing, even the people were in an uproar... Everyone knew that the government had been deceived, and that the Minister of Works Hu Yin was a shameless person, how could he hold such a position?
In such a fierce atmosphere, almost everyone wants to be the Minister of Justice!
At this time, Zhao Jiu also received an official report from the Ministry of Justice. Those who wrote the letter were indeed the same people who sued the Fan Temple last time. They were all scholars in Beijing who had connections with Fujian.
The source of the specific materials they used for the appeal was also very clear. It was a Jianzhou native named Liu Mianzhi... This person was a true fellow townsman and old friend of Hu Yin and his father Hu Anguo, and a famous young Neo-Confucianist in Fujian. He also had a good relationship with Liu Ziyu's second brother Liu Ziyi. Such a well-known figure had witnessed with his own eyes that Hu Yin refused to pay homage to his biological parents in his hometown in his early years. At that time, he publicly accused Hu Yin of wrongdoing in his hometown and almost broke off his friendship with the Hu father and son... But Hu Yin later went to Taixue and became a high-ranking official, and Hu Anguo also came to Tokyo. Liu Mianzhi happened to be a true Neo-Confucianist who hated the imperial examination and was devoted to studying, so the matter was left unresolved.
Then, about a few days ago, someone participated in a daily social gathering among Fujian folks, and someone talked about the best among the Jianzhou folks. He first mentioned Hu Anguo and Hu Yin, father and son, and then naturally someone mentioned Liu Mianzhi.
Unexpectedly, some people then said that Liu Mianzhi could have entered the capital and become an official. Lu Benzhong, a popular figure around the emperor, had recommended him. The reason why he was still a commoner was all because of Hu Yin...Then other people remembered the past entanglements and changed the topic, which immediately aroused the serious dissatisfaction of one of the people who had participated in the Imperial College's Fuque Incident, so that they started a discussion on the spot, which directly led to the Kaiyuan Gate Fuque Incident.
In other words, Ma Shen's meaning was very clear. This incident was a spontaneous and sudden incident in Tokyo. It was an accident and had nothing to do with Jiangnan, Taoism, those resigned officials, the Emperor Taishang Daojun, or any other indirect criticism... Please do not speculate or implicate others without authorization.
In this regard, Zhao Jiu did not speculate too much about the meaning of involvement. He had had similar guesses a long time ago, but at that time he guessed from the perspective of the court situation and the size of the opposition forces and whether they were well organized. The information submitted by Ma Shen verified his idea from another perspective - judging from the date and the circle of contacts of these people, it was indeed a group of Fujianese in Tokyo City who caused trouble, and in terms of time and interpersonal relationships, they had nothing to do with the opposition in the southeast.
Moreover, Zhao Jiu also vaguely remembered that Lü Benzhong had indeed recommended this person publicly, because he felt that this person was truly a scholar and could be transformed into the original school of thought. However, Liu Mianzhi did not know whether it was because of the school's problem or he really did not want to become an official, but he directly refused.
Of course, even if everything was correct, Zhao Jiu still ordered Yang Yizhong to follow up and verify it again, and then carefully waited for the development and changes of the event itself.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice issued a formal document to clear the complainants and let them move freely... There was nothing that could be done about it. There was no reason to implicate innocent people. Even though Zhao Jiu was furious at these people, he had to admit that they were innocent... But in doing so, the authenticity of Hu Yin's unfilial behavior was verified from an official perspective.
The remarks relayed in the complaint, namely the criticism of Hu Yin's unfilial behavior by the great scholar Liu Mianzhi, could stand the test of the imperial court's judicial organs.
Then, in a slightly depressing atmosphere, a day later, Chief Censor Li Guang took the lead and almost all the censors in the Censorate formally wrote a letter to impeach the Minister of Works Hu Yin for being involved in the case, accusing him of being unfilial and demanding an explanation from Hu Yin.
This is also a matter of course, Li Guang and his subordinates are performing their duties.
Not only that, after finishing the case files, Ma Shen also reported the matter to the Ministry of Justice in the name of the Ministry of Justice. It is worth mentioning that this was also Ma Shen fulfilling his duties.
For a time, impeachments came one after another and reached the emperor.
Next, according to political rules, Hu Yin should submit a petition to defend himself and at the same time request to resign to prove his innocence.
This was the situation that Zhao Jiu was most worried about at the beginning... No one had done anything wrong, and there was no major political conspiracy. On the contrary, it seemed that almost everyone involved in this matter was performing their duties according to political and moral rules, and even those who had come forward to file a complaint seemed blameless. However, Hu Yin, who was equally innocent, had to pay a political price for it, even though it might affect the court's preparations for the Northern Expedition.
This has nothing to do with political confrontation. It is the confrontation between the ethical laws of the feudal era and human nature.
However, Hu Yin did not resign or defend himself, but just kept working.
But this caused even more anger among the court, scholars and even the common people, because lingering on was the most taboo thing for scholar-officials in those days, and it was itself a moral dilemma second only to unfilial piety.
For a time, even the students of the Imperial College, who had only discussed the matter privately before, began to widely accuse the imperial gazette of shielding senior officials and not publishing relevant memorials publicly. They even began to post notices in the Imperial College, directly questioning Professor Hu Anguo... But at the same time, Emperor Zhao still maintained an extremely strange silence.
This seems to explain why Hu Yin was so fearless.
In the next few days, perhaps because they sensed Emperor Zhao's attitude, and because the horse head was still being passed around from gate to gate for public display even though it had already gone stinky, people at court were somewhat cautious.
The impeachment letters gradually became scattered.
It seemed as if things would end there.
"This matter should have ended long ago!"
In mid-May, south of Xuande Tower, because the government moved the capital and the Privy Council into the palace, the original two east and west offices actually became the public pavilion and the six ministries. At noon that day, the weather was unbearably hot. Under the corridor of the Ministry of Works, the left assistant minister Gou Longruyuan was still sweating profusely after drinking a bowl of takeout ice porridge, but suddenly slammed the table in public, his expression anxious and angry. "Ethics are nothing more than human feelings. These people are not unaware of the beginning and end of Minister Hu's matter... It must not be them who almost drowned that day, but they are just talking nonsense! It's like sitting in the shade, but you presumptuously despise the takeout deliveryman who spilled the soup under the sun!"
This is the Ministry of Industry, so once these words were spoken, there was naturally a lot of agreement.
However, although everyone agreed with him, they couldn't help but despise him in their hearts... The ability of this Minister Gou Long was impeccable. He was the one who learned the new numbers and large tables assigned by the government the fastest and promoted them the most effectively. But his character was also famous.
Not to mention the two times he flattered the emperor before, but now he is actually flattering the chief of the Ministry of Works?
Just take the photos, everyone takes the photos, but the problem is, looking at his expression, it seems that he really treats Minister Hu’s affairs as his own... To put it bluntly, you will feel better only after Minister Hu is gone, right?
What are you pretending for?
It looks just like the real thing.
On the other hand, Gou Longruyuan saw that the officials around him were so perfunctory. He knew what they were thinking, but he had so much on his mind that he couldn't tell them at all. He just shook his head, stomped his feet, and prepared to go back to work.
However, just as Gou Longruyuan turned to enter the public house, there was a commotion on the Imperial Street ahead, which startled the Minister Gou Long so much that he shuddered and quickly turned back:
"What happened?!"
The clerks on both sides had already rushed out to see what was happening. A moment later, one of them came back sweating profusely. As soon as he entered the courtyard of the Ministry of Works, he hurriedly announced, "Something big has happened! A group of Fujian students went to Xuande Tower to surrender. The provincial government is asking for severe punishment for our Minister Hu!"
Gou Longruyuan's face turned pale, he was stunned on the spot, then he staggered and almost fell in the corridor of the public housing...which also made everyone in the surrounding Ministry of Works stunned for a moment.
They really didn't know whether the Left Vice Minister was really worried about Minister Hu, or whether he was just acting so well.
Gou Longruyuan came to his senses, stood up straight, sighed, and shook his head repeatedly. Without saying a word, he hurried into his public housing, closed the door and went to work.
At the same time, in the Ministry of Industry, although the door of the public housing in the middle was wide open, there was no movement at all.
The other officials of the Ministry of Works, including the newly appointed Right Vice Minister of Works He Zhu, looked at the main door of the public housing where Minister Hu was, and then looked at the door of the room where Left Vice Minister Gou Long was imprisoned, and felt bored. They could only look at each other, then quickly finished their snacks and went back to work with their own thoughts.
Originally, Emperor Zhao almost wanted to rely on his prestige as the emperor for seven years to deal with the matter coldly. However, the group of students was very lively. Once they became dissatisfied, they directly submitted petitions to the palace, making it impossible to avoid the matter... Even Emperor Zhao had to take the matter very seriously after experiencing the injustice of Chen Dong.
The effect of the Imperial College students' kneeling in front of the emperor was indeed immediate. On the second day, Hu Yin formally issued a statement of self-defense in two copies, which he submitted to the provincial capital and the Privy Council at the same time. The former was for his superiors and for officials to see, while the latter was routine and needed to be forwarded to the emperor by the Privy Council.
At the same time, Hu Anguo also posted his own signed reply behind the screen wall of the Imperial College, but he explained the matter from his own perspective.
However, even the responses from the father and son seemed very intense, and there was no intention of compromise at all.
According to Hu Yin, his fellow countryman, the great scholar Liu Mianzhi, accused him of not being able to be "harmonious" with his "stepmother" at home, which was true. But the problem was that "harmonious" was something that should only happen between mother and son. He was abandoned at a young age and had his own parents brothers (referring to Hu Anguo's family). How could he be harmonious with his "stepmother", that is, the third sister-in-law of his father Hu Anguo?
A lot has been said, and there is definitely more to it than this, but the most important one is this - Hu Yin fundamentally denied that he was the son of his biological father and biological mother.
At the same time, although Hu Anguo's reply to the Taixue students was much more tactful, he also pointed out that when he adopted Hu Yin with the permission of Hu Yin's grandmother, he was only 25 years old and had a wife and concubines, so it was impossible that the adoption was carried out for the purpose of continuing the offspring... but it was an adoption of an abandoned baby after Hu Yin's biological parents abandoned Hu Yin.
In other words, Hu Anguo also supported Hu Yin's remarks. He also believed that Hu Yin was a child abandoned by his biological parents. The two parties had no direct relationship from the beginning. The new relationship was the relationship between "father, mother" and "nephew" established from him.
However, this explanation, which only sorted out and explained what everyone knew and then publicly presented it, could not convince the public...because essentially, what everyone cares about is Hu Mingzhong's behavior of not treating her as his biological mother even though he knew she was his biological mother, rather than abandonment or adoption.
Do you really think Liu Mianzhi is so close to the Hu family that he doesn't know the twists and turns?
What's more, Hu Yin still did not mention any resignation, not even a nominal resignation to avoid suspicion.
Therefore, the explanation was handed over to the capital province, which was in a dilemma. The public opinion was heated up when the public document was passed to officials and students, and even some officials were angered by Hu Yin's attitude. On the other hand, after the Privy Council handed the memorial to Emperor Zhao, it was ready for Emperor Zhao to privately convene the prime ministers for discussion. However, Emperor Zhao had a bad temper like Hu Mingzhong, and he did not even meet with the prime ministers. He only said that the matter would be formally discussed in the court in a few days.
Of course, not meeting is also an attitude, just like not making any statement before. Everyone has already seen that Emperor Zhao is determined to protect Hu Yin at all costs, and this move may also be intended to put pressure on the ministers.
It is said that ever since this matter first came out, Emperor Zhao's attitude has been like a shadow hanging over everyone in the court... and to be honest, Hu Yin's background is indeed excusable... Therefore, let alone people like Zhao Ding and Liu Ji, even Ma Shen, Li Guang and others are just doing their duties at this point and don't want to bite the bullet.
As for Zhang Jun's group, there is no need to say more... That is Liu Ziyu. His two younger brothers, one is a close friend of Liu Mianzhi, and the other is a close friend of Hu Yin. They are a little cautious at this time.
But the problem is that the root of this matter is not in the court, but in public opinion. Emperor Zhao cannot stop the people from talking, otherwise how could the students come to kneel down in protest?
In fact, compared to the tense atmosphere in the court, the Imperial College was unusually lively for several days. Many students who drank too much plum wine wrote articles to refute Hu Anguo and support the Fujian students' move to correct the original source.
This is understandable, because not everyone can encounter the same experience as Hu Yin and survive, so they cannot empathize with Hu Yin.
And the younger you are, the more vigorous your blood is, and the more you enjoy the pleasure of challenging authority!
How satisfying it is to be able to control a great scholar like Hu Anguo, an important minister like Hu Yin, and even the entire court and the emperor from a distance, and yet the entire court and the emperor, and even the two parties involved, cannot respond easily?
Just like this, for several days in a row, public opinion was clamoring, but Emperor Zhao remained silent, and Hu Yin and his son only published an article each and did not discuss it any further... But the matter would eventually have to be explained one day, and on May 21st, during the height of summer, the court held a grand court meeting in the Wende Hall, and all officials from the prime minister down were present.
Of course, the court had plenty of things going on. Even though Hu Yin was the Shangshu and even though this matter was a hot topic, it was not possible for a grand court meeting to be held once every ten days specifically for him.
Sure enough, after the court meeting began, the issue of military expansion was discussed first. Since the court's finances were slightly more affluent, it was natural to continue to expand the army according to the original plan. It would be best to directly maintain the scale of 300,000 imperial camp troops... Even if it could not be done for the time being, it had to move in that direction.
However, this matter still caused some disputes. The key issue was whether it was east or west... The last time the army was expanded, most of the troops were given to Guanxi and the cavalry. This time, many people wanted to add troops to the central army and the east of Beijing out of the instinct of balance.
As for Zhao Jiu, although he had made up his mind that if possible, he would further tilt the quota to the Guanzhong direction to ensure that he could quickly concentrate superior forces to open up the situation after the Northern Expedition, he was also a little worried that there might not be enough troops left for Yue Fei... So, this was destined to be another major event that would have to be discussed many times.
In the end, the discussion lasted for a long time, and the vast majority of people did not hide their concerns about the excessive weight of the Kansai direction. This result forced Zhao Jiu to think further.
This matter could not be solved for the time being, but the next thing was simple. After the hostages sent last year had mastered a certain language and were familiar with military discipline and local customs, they should be sent to learn martial arts and join the army. No one was willing to send these Tangut, Tibetan, Mongolian, and even Japanese nobles to any general. They all insisted that the imperial guards who stayed by the emperor's side were the most appropriate.
Zhao Jiu had nothing to say.
Then there is the issue of Goryeo - the scale of Goryeo's re-export trade is getting bigger and bigger, and things can no longer be concealed.
Neither side could hide it, neither the Song Dynasty nor the Jin Dynasty could hide it.
The top leaders of the Great Jin Kingdom were not stupid. They certainly knew that engaging in such transactions at a time when gold and silver were extremely scarce in the south was aiding the enemy.
Therefore, Yanjing immediately issued a ban, but the problem was, how could such a thing be banned? Moreover, it was border trade between Liaodong, the outer region of the Great Wall, where Yanjing had the weakest control, and Goryeo?
Moreover, to put it bluntly, as the two largest and possibly the richest countries in the world, the trade potential between the two countries should have been an astronomical figure, and there is indeed a huge demand for trade... Historically, the two countries have fought and made peace with each other, and the Huaihe River basin became a mess because of Du Chong's breach of the Yellow River, but it did not delay Xia Cai and Shouchun from developing directly into a city model similar to Budapest because of trade... It can be seen that the trade potential between the two countries is huge.
With a trade of this level, not only would the Song Dynasty court be reluctant to do so, even the powerful people of the Jin Dynasty would be reluctant to do so. The Koreans had only enjoyed the profits for a few months, so they would probably be even more reluctant!
Therefore, after the ban in Yanjing came down, Goryeo nominally stopped exporting silk and porcelain to Liaodong, but a steady stream of silk and porcelain still left the port of Jingdong, then appeared from the other side of the Yalu River inexplicably, and were finally sent all the way to Hebei.
It's impossible to stop it.
Therefore, Yanjing quickly changed its strategy and began to put direct pressure on Goryeo. Now, after being threatened, Goryeo immediately asked Tokyo how to respond?
The result of the discussion was also very direct. The Goryeo people were afraid of the Jin Dynasty, but not the Song Dynasty? Moreover, you Goryeo nobles... no matter if you were the Kaijing nobles or the Xijing nobles... didn't you get your share of this trade?
Therefore, after a brief discussion with the court, the result was to maintain a high-pressure stance and demand that the Koreans continue to maintain trade unconditionally!
However, in addition to this, some people have suggested considering smuggling directly from Jingdong, northern Shaanxi, or even from Liaodong by sea.
This is certainly possible.
However, this is a strategy that should not be adopted unless it is absolutely necessary, because once it is adopted, only the army can be used, and doing so would be equivalent to actively opening up financial resources for the army, which would have a severe impact on the army's combat effectiveness.
The matter of Goryeo was settled in such a fierce and rapid manner.
After this incident, there was some discussion about continuing the rotation in the second half of the year...and there were many other discussions.
But no matter what, after discussing several things one by one and finally running out of things to say, it finally came to the point that was actually not a big deal, but that everyone wanted to avoid, and yet no one could easily avoid.
At this point, the originally fiery Wende Hall gradually became quiet... Several ministers and people from the Censorate were actually feeling a little guilty. They knew very well that they could not defeat Emperor Zhao in this hall, and no one wanted to fight Emperor Zhao to the death.
Therefore, as long as Emperor Zhao showed some attitude, Hu Yin would actually be protected today.
But the question is, even if he is granted protection, can it influence public opinion?
Unable to influence public opinion, will Hu Mingzhong have to continue doing his work with the reputation of being unfilial?
Wouldn’t this affect the increasingly busy daily operations of the Ministry of Industry?
Besides, Bao’s attitude is too ugly. What do you think other officials will think?
Is Hu Mingzhong really worth this much?
Sometimes, making appropriate trade-offs seems to be beneficial to the overall situation.
However, those who are familiar with this official know that he is usually tactful and tolerant, but when it comes to the time when he needs to be fierce and persistent, no one can control him.
"What do you have to say about the Imperial students kneeling in front of the emperor to impeach the Minister of Works Hu Yin?" Seeing that no one spoke, Zhao Jiu, who was sitting on the throne, slightly turned sideways and took the initiative to ask, causing the hard wings on both sides of his hat to vibrate continuously in the air.
"I have already submitted a written defense to the provincial government." Hu Yin stepped out, speaking crisply and with a firm attitude.
The whole room was silent, with only the faint sound of heavy breathing... Helplessly, the Prime Minister of the capital province, Zhao Dingxian, sighed slightly in his heart, then gritted his teeth and stepped out, ready to respond.
However, before Prime Minister Zhao could speak, Emperor Zhao, who was sitting above him, suddenly took out a piece of silk from his arms and opened it in public, causing everyone to be puzzled.
"Prince Zhao, wait a moment." Zhao Jiu spread out the silk, revealing the dense handwriting on it, but he spoke first without panic. "What a coincidence, just yesterday, I received a document from Shaolin Temple, written by the Supreme Dao Emperor, which was sent from Shaoshi Mountain a few days ago when the Imperial College was refutation of Hu Qing's unfilial behavior was the most intense... The Supreme Dao Emperor said that everything else about him in Shaoshi Mountain was good, but it was a bit lonely, and he blamed me in his heart for not visiting him for a long time, and that I was not filial... What do you think?"
In an instant, the hall became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and even the sound of breathing was gone - there were countless people who were stunned, and there was no telling how many people suddenly realized.
Even Hu Yin, who had always been as resolute as a rotten stone, raised his head in a daze and stared at Emperor Zhao on the throne.
Hu Yin was not the only one staring at Emperor Zhao. From Zhao Ding onwards, countless people were staring at the Emperor in a daze.
Besides, Minister Lin did not need to think about this matter carefully, and even the other imperial elites in the palace realized it in an instant:
You must know that, although other things are unclear, there is only one thing that everyone knows very well, and that is that the Emperor Taishang Daojun of Shaoshi Mountain simply cannot have the courage to write such a document and send it directly to Emperor Zhao!
So, why does such a document exist?
Of course, someone forced him to write it.
Who has the ability to force him to write such a thing without worrying about being fed a pound of arsenic one day?
Of course, it was Emperor Zhao who was sitting on the throne with an indifferent expression.
Then I would like to ask if Emperor Zhao is crazy? He has nothing better to do than to label himself as an unfilial person?
Of course he wasn't crazy, because only if Emperor Zhao personally took the initiative to take the place of the dead could his trusted confidant, Minister Hu, escape.
To put it bluntly, they are just taking advantage of their own face to make fun of others and take the blame on themselves... Didn't you say that someone is unfilial? It doesn't matter, I am not filial either! Are you blaming the emperor? Is there any conspiracy? Are you making indirect accusations?
If this madness is unleashed, given the absolute authority of the current official, I'm afraid that both the students and the literati will immediately shut up, while the common people who don't know the inside story will happily continue to mock Emperor Zhao in secret.
But no matter what, Hu Mingzhong was saved.
The advantage of doing this, as opposed to directly using the royal power to force the ministers to come forward and protect Hu Yin, is that the public opinion against Hu Mingzhong will disappear and be diverted, and the ministers will not be blamed.
The downside is that Emperor Zhao’s reputation is likely to be damaged again.
But it was obvious that Emperor Zhao didn't care.
Moreover, if it were Hu Yin and a few other gentlemen, they would probably also be grateful to the emperor.
Just like this, the hall was silent for a long time. Everyone's minds were racing, some like Lin Jingmo and Qu Duan, some like Zhang Jun and Liu Ziyu, and in the end, even Wang De could sense something was wrong.
But no one dared to speak easily.
Finally, it was the Minister of Justice Ma Shen, who knew that this matter had nothing to do with the Emperor Taishang Daojun, who stepped forward and angrily broke the silence: "Why did the emperor go to such lengths?!"
"Yes, why is it so?" Zhao Jiu fiddled with the silk in his hand and sighed. "I am almost dead from exhaustion here for the Northern Expedition. He is practicing in Shaoshi Mountain, but he despises me for not visiting him... It's as if he is the emperor, and he has the final say in filial piety? What is the greatest filial piety? Didn't I risk my life and fight so many battles to get him back? But you are not satisfied with getting him back, and you still want to do this? I won't tolerate this injustice! In my opinion, we can post this matter in the court newspaper and ask people all over the world to judge... Ask the students and the civil and military officials of the country, whether I am filial or not? Then, put Hu Mingzhong's matter up there, and let people all over the world judge together with me!"
This is as close to open admission as any.
"Your Majesty...I..." Hu Yin bowed his head, but he felt mixed emotions and was unable to continue speaking.
Soon, Emperor Zhao's next words frightened Hu Mingzhong, who was deeply moved, "If these people still want to say that I am unfilial, then I will have no choice but to acknowledge Emperor Zhezong as my father... and not suffer this injustice!"
Hearing this, Minister of Revenue Lin Jingmo, who had already guessed Emperor Zhao's intention, was the first to react. He was about to step forward and make a statement, asking Emperor Zhao to smooth the wall for him who had done such a disgusting thing.
However, in a flash, someone reacted a moment slower than him, but his actions were much faster.
"Your Majesty!" Gou Longruyuan, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, hurried out of the line and confronted Lin Jingmo sternly. "I don't think these two things can be so coincidental. Maybe someone did it on purpose. The previous attacks on Minister Hu were probably in response to this incident... I am in the southeast, and I have heard that the ministers who have resigned from the government in the southeast are resentful and often dissatisfied with the central government's policies. It is possible that there is a lunatic like Wang Ciweng among them! Your Majesty, Liu Mianzhi is a well-known Taoist scholar in the world!"
"Official!" Ma Shen reacted and glared at Gou Longruyuan fiercely, then angrily folded his hands. "How can you implicate innocent people?"
"Don't implicate the innocent, just let the world judge." Zhao Jiu responded calmly, the hard wings on both sides of his head swayed until only shadows remained. "Besides, with Shangshu Ma in the Ministry of Justice, how could he implicate the innocent?"
Ma Shen wanted to say something else, but when he heard Emperor Zhao promise not to get involved, and met the emperor's slightly mocking look, he finally became discouraged and could only bow his head in silence.
The ministers around him also came to their senses at this time and came forward one after another. Most of them agreed with Gou Longruyuan and urged the government to conduct a thorough investigation to prevent anyone from alienating the royal family.
Among them, Zhang Jun, Lu Zhi, Qu Duan and others were the most intense, but that was also expected.
The next day, the imperial gazette issued a small-scale supplement, which included the Emperor Taishang Daojun's accusation that the emperor was unfilial, the remarks in the initial document accusing Hu Yin of being unfilial, the emperor's own defense of filial piety (finally, he did not include Emperor Zhezong's words), and Hu Yin's defense of himself.
As soon as the supplement came out, the Imperial College immediately became quiet, and several Fujian scholars packed their bags and prepared to return home.
As for the reply sent by the Emperor Taishang Daojun the next day, in which he said he had "suddenly realized" after seeing Emperor Zhao's explanation, no one paid any attention to it.
Although this incident caused a lot of uproar, it was finally easily resolved after Emperor Zhao personally stepped forward to protect his subjects.
Things seemed to have a perfect ending.
"Official, that man confessed."
May 25th was the day when Mongolian, Tibetan, and Tangut hostages, as well as Taira no Tadamori's son Taira no Kiyomori and others officially joined Liu Yan's Red Heart Team. Zhao Jiu personally came to the martial arts school and issued swords to these foreign noble sons one by one. Just after the ceremony, Zhao Jiu climbed up Xinggang, ready to use his monocular telescope to take a peek at the scenery of Tokyo, when Yang Yizhong, who had hurriedly come from somewhere else, also climbed up to the post, but he said something inexplicable as soon as he came up.
"What do you mean that person confessed? Who is that person?" Zhao Jiu put down the telescope and looked back in surprise.
"It was the person who mentioned Liu Mianzhi at the gathering of fellow townsmen that day, and then said that Liu Mianzhi's bleak career was all due to Minister Hu!" Yang Yizhong bowed his hands in a serious manner. "After this person finished speaking, he did not participate in the imperial court, and no one paid attention to him... Until two days ago, I found that among the Jianzhou scholars in Beijing who hurriedly packed up and returned to Fujian, there was a person who was not on the record, and this person deliberately did not go with those who were mourning the emperor. I felt strange and sent people to stop and interrogate him, but as soon as I asked, he was frightened and then he told everything."
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, and finally realized what was happening while holding the telescope: "Is there really a mastermind behind this?!"
"yes!"
"who?"
"According to this person, it was Gou Longruyuan, the former governor of Quanzhou and the current left vice minister of the Ministry of Works!" Yang Yizhong still looked at him seriously. "According to this person, Gou Longruyuan asked him to run around and facilitate the Quanzhou Fan Temple's ambush that day... and the latter incident was a sudden idea of ​​Gou Longruyuan after he came to the capital."
Zhao Jiu stood there in shock... After a long while, he asked again: "Why did he do this?"
"Your Majesty." Yang Yizhong was speechless for a moment, but could only bow his head. "He had wasted more than ten years in the prefectures and counties before, and after coming to the capital, he became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works..."
"For promotion...?"
"It should be."
"Was it deliberate the first time?"
"yes."
"Did you get an advantage the second time and couldn't help wanting to do it again?"
"It should be."
"You are pretending to be ridiculous and flattering in front of Xuande Tower. Are you trying to test my attitude towards this matter?"
"Maybe..."
"In the end, I didn't expect that I would protect Hu Mingzhong to the death. So I regretted it right after I did it. Instead, I tried my best to protect Hu Yin, fearing that I would be exposed?"
"This is not something I can know."
"I'm going to kill this guy." Zhao Jiu blurted out, and then he realized that the anger was burning in his heart and lungs, and he could no longer suppress it. "I'm going to kill this villain!!!"