met free Chapter 1048 Officials and Gentry Want to Purge the Emperor's Side?
Chapter 1048 Officials and Gentry Want to Purge the Emperor's Side?
As the saying goes, spreading rumors is risky, and one should be cautious when spreading rumors.
When rumors spread that Lao Deng was stealing chickens and training toads in Ningyang County, Lao Deng would only smile slightly.
If rumors spread that Deng Xiaoping and Miss Liu were having an affair, Deng Xiaoping would only curse them with a dark face, and then obediently go to Kunning Palace to be reprimanded.
However, rumors were spread that Zhu Biao and his brothers were not Empress Ma's biological sons...
This offended not only Zhu Biao and Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Zhu Lao Si, and Zhu Lao Wu, but also not just Lao Deng.
Instead, they offended even Empress Ma.
As everyone knows, in the Ming Dynasty, you could provoke Deng Xiaoping or Zhu Biao, but you absolutely could not provoke Empress Ma.
The consequence of provoking Empress Ma is that the civil officials and nobles, who have always disliked each other, and the Jinyiwei, whom all civil and military officials dislike, will find themselves united in purpose and effort.
Civil servants are responsible for fabricating charges from a legal perspective.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was responsible for arresting people as quickly as possible.
The nobles were in charge of beheading people.
Even if Zhen Huan, who was skilled in palace intrigue, went to play a palace intrigue game with Empress Ma, the only outcome would be that her entire family would be wiped out within three days.
If it weren't for the transportation conditions during the Ming Dynasty, it might not have even taken three days.
It is also well known that Zhu Biao was more than just the eldest brother to Zhu Lao Er and his friends.
Just like the Wu brothers in Shi Nai'an's novel.
Even though Wu Da was alive, Wu Song knew to run away after committing a crime, fearing that he would cause trouble for Wu Da.
After Wu Da's death, Wu Song dared to leave his name behind when he killed someone.
Therefore, Wu Da is indeed a three-inch nail, but his nail is the soul-suppressing nail of the Heavenly Demon Lord and the Earthly Tai Sui God.
For Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Zhu Lao Si, and Zhu Lao Wu, Zhu Biao was like Wu Da to Wu Er.
When the urgent letters from Heizhi Tangyuan reached Zhu Lao Er and his group, they were the first to go crazy.
Zhu Laosi, the most audacious of them all, even uttered wild words in the palace: "If they say I'm not my mother's biological son, that's one thing, but why are they spreading rumors about my elder brother?"
Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San echoed each other.
"That's right, it's one thing to spread rumors about the few of us, but how dare they spread rumors about our eldest brother?"
"This time, let's brothers go to Xinghua ourselves and help our eldest brother arrest all those who spread rumors, and chop them into pieces one by one!"
Zhu Xiaowu is a typical example of someone who is ruthless but doesn't talk much: "Chopping them up piecemeal is too lenient for them; I should be the one to deal with them."
Then, the four brothers, Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Zhu Lao Si, and Zhu Xiao Wu, got a beating.
Empress Ma personally handed the rattan cane to Emperor Zhu, scolding him while listening to the screams of the four Zhu brothers.
"Explain yourself! What do you mean by saying you're not my biological child? So you even doubt that you're my biological child?"
"And you two, you've both learned how to chop people into pieces now?"
"And you, Zhu Xiaowu, chopping them into pieces is too lenient for them. So what do you plan to do with them?"
"..."
Just as Emperor Zhu and Empress Ma were reprimanding the four Zhu brothers, Xia Yu was also reporting his recent work results to Zhu Biao.
"All the officials involved with Xu Er have been arrested and brought to justice."
"The source of the rumors about His Highness's background has been traced, and the people involved are being escorted to the capital."
Xia Yu glanced cautiously at Zhu Biao, then at Yang Shaofeng, and tentatively said, "Furthermore, in Zhili, Hubei and Hunan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Fujian, many officials and gentry have colluded to say that the Prince Consort is a treacherous minister who is bewitching the emperor, and have raised the banner of 'cleansing the emperor's inner circle'."
Yang Shaofeng was momentarily stunned.
It looks so familiar.
But something still feels off.
It's not surprising that those officials and gentry raised the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle" (referring to corrupt officials who had served the emperor).
The question is, do you have a fourth child over there?
If it weren't for the fourth prince standing on your side, what kind of "purging the emperor's inner circle" would you be?
Do you really think you can bring your troops to Xinghua?
wrong.
Whether the officials and gentry can bring their troops to Xinghua is not important—with Xu Da, Chang Heitan, Lan Yu, Li Wenzhong, and the local garrisons suppressing them, not only will those officials and gentry be instantly killed if they show their faces, but even if they are lucky enough to bring their troops to Xinghua, Chang Heitan, Lan Yu, and Li Wenzhong can beat them to a pulp.
The important question is, do these officials and gentry lump me together with those idiots like Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, and Qi Tai?
Yang Shaofeng's train of thought veered off course once again, while Zhu Biao scoffed and said, "Purge the court of corrupt officials?"
"There was a rebellion during the reign of Emperor Xiaojing of the Han Dynasty, and another during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty. Which one was successful?"
"Besides, my brother-in-law is not Chao Cuo, and my father is not Emperor Xiaojing."
"They are not feudal lords either."
"What kind of 'cleansing out' of corrupt officials is this?"
"Damn it, they exploit the people to the death, and now they have the nerve to raise the banner of 'cleansing the court of corrupt officials for the country and the people.' It's really hard on them!"
At this point, Zhu Biao turned his gaze to Yang Shaofeng: "Brother-in-law, shouldn't we announce that my younger brother is also in Xinghua?"
Yang Shaofeng snapped out of his daze, considered it for a moment, and said, "Not yet."
After a slight pause, Yang Shaofeng explained, "In fact, those officials and gentry are well aware that what they are doing now is treason, but they are just putting on a show of 'purging the emperor's inner circle'."
"However, having such an outer layer can embolden the officials and gentry."
"If we were to release the news of His Highness's presence in Xinghua now, I'm afraid these officials and gentry would become hesitant and timid."
"It would be best to wait until all those officials and gentry with rebellious intentions have come forward before releasing the news that His Highness is in Xinghua, thus definitively confirming their crime of treason."
Zhu Biao hummed in agreement and asked, "So what do we do next? Just wait in Xinghua County for the officials and gentry to continue their commotion?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and shook his head, "We can't just sit and wait for the officials and gentry to make a fuss."
"We still need to find a way to add fuel to the fire for the officials and gentry—didn't His Highness send someone to bring the opera troupe to Xinghua County?"
"First, arrange for the opera troupe to perform at Xujiazhuang."
"After the song is over, drag Master Xu and the others onto the stage, list their past crimes and misdeeds, and then have the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice make a public judgment on the spot."
"Make a bigger splash."
"Just as Your Highness said, we'll start with Xu Family Village, then gradually expand to Xinghua County, Yangzhou Prefecture, Zhili Province, and then the entire Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Biao nodded and said, "That's good too. At least it lets the people see that while our Ming Dynasty may have cruel and harmful officials, and wicked gentry who exploit the people, it also has an emperor and a court that stand by their side."
"However, we need to make sure we have enough staff for the stage this time, so we don't end up like the previous rehearsals where actors got injured."