The capital of Great Wei.
With the appearance of two startling rainbow lights, both the Imperial Palace and the Palace of Letters have received news of the South Yufu.
The most intense was the Palace of Literature.
Yan Ru’s article arrived first, and most of the literati were dazzled by its content.
Some angry voices also rang out.
“How arrogant! How arrogant! How dare a mere Confucian student be so arrogant! How dare a mere Confucianist be so arrogant as to destroy our holy will and humiliate us as corrupt Confucians?”
“Since Zhu Sheng, all literati in the world have come from Zhu Sheng, how dare he, Xu Qingnian, be so arrogant as to insult us?
“I thought a great talent had emerged from South Yufu, but I never thought it would be a maniacal student of the ages! What a wild student of the ages.”
“This man has defied the holy will, this is a heinous crime, the literati of the world will not spare him.”
There were roars of anger, all from the scholars in the Palace of Literature, and there were many great scholars among them who spoke out.
But there was also a small group of great scholars who had doubts.
“I have seen Xu Qingnian, he is not such an arrogant person, perhaps there is some misunderstanding here?”
“No one in heaven and earth would dare to say such a wild statement, perhaps it is indeed a misunderstanding.”
Some voices rang out, sort of helping Xu Qingnian, such as Great Confucian Chen Xin, who had met Xu Qingnian and had a good opinion of him.
So he did not think Xu Qingnian dared to be so arrogant.
There were also those who felt that the great genius of the world had an arrogant nature, but even if he was arrogant, he could not slander a saint, and might be exaggerating a little.
But most Confucian students did not think so. After all, the person who conveyed the article was Yan Lei, a great Confucian, a great Confucian who established the will of Zhu Sheng.
At this level, it is basically impossible to target talented people if their ideas are not different and their intentions are repugnant.
This is unnecessary. If this were the case, how else would the literary world nurture new talent?
Confucianism is not the same as officialdom.
Why else would Confucianism be recognised by heaven and earth, but not officialdom?
However, just as there were still some people speaking out for Xu Qingnian, a second shocking rainbow appeared in a flash.
This was Xu Qingnian’s article.
As soon as this article appeared, the entire Great Wei Palace of Literature fell silent.
The Confucian students who had spoken out for Xu Qingnian were even completely silent, and even the Great Confucian Chen Xin could not help but fall silent when he saw this scene.
Half a sound!
“Mad! Mad! How insane! How arrogant! ！！！！ This is really arrogant!”
“Even if Yan Lei is a bit too much, he is after all a great Confucian, a predecessor of the literary path, in 500 years, he may be called a sage by the world, Xu Qingnian’s article is to punish his intention and destroy his name ！！！！”
“A good phrase phase rat has skin, a good phrase phase rat has teeth, a good phrase phase rat has body, these three sentences are enough to nail Yan Lei to the pillar of shame, Xu Qingnian, crazy! Mad!”
Angry voices burst out.
At first, when the crowd saw Yan Lei’s article, they only felt that Xu Qingnian had insulted the sage and was a bit arrogant, but they were not really angry.
But as this article appeared, the crowd could not hold back any longer.
Yan Lei was a great Confucian.
There were also great Confucians among them.
And all of them certainly held Zhu Sheng as the ultimate goal of their lives, that is, people of one lineage who agreed with the Confucian students.
This article by Xu Qingnian was too drastic. A scholar who rebuked a great Confucian was trying to rebel!
“If he is not arrested and imprisoned, the literati of the world will not be convinced.” A great scholar spoke up, asking for a decree to be drafted and sent to the Southern Yu Prefecture, asking the Southern Yu Prefecture to arrest Xu Qingnian.
A great scholar spoke up and wanted to draw up a decree for the Palace of Literature to arrest Xu Qingnian, which was an internal matter for the literati, so they had the power to draw up the decree, but if it were anyone else, they would not have the power.
However, just at that moment.
A voice rang out.
“Report! Great scholars, there is a public discontent in the South Yu Province, raising a clamour in the province and filling the city with people wandering the streets, the South Yu Province has increased its troops by 50,000 urgently.”
A message was sent into the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
The faces of the great scholars, who were still indignant, changed instantly at this moment.
Public discontent, parading through the streets.
This was no small matter, especially for a country where public discontent gave rise to change, and if not properly controlled, would lead to a heinous disaster.
“Xu Qingnian is indeed a scourge, angrily rebuking the great scholars and causing public discontent, it seems that he will have to pay the price for this without my intervention.”
A voice rang out, sounding even angrier, believing that the public resentment came from Xu Qingnian.
However, the next moment, the latter’s voice rang out.
“It’s not …….”
“Back to the Great Confucian, the public resentment in South Yufu comes from Xu Qingnian not bad, but the people took to the streets to seek justice for Xu Qingnian, and now the public resentment in South Yufu is extremely deep.”
“The Heaven’s Information Platform has sent word that these public grievances should not be taken lightly, and Li Guangxin, the governor of South Yu, has burned incense and burnt the dossier.
The man who gave the news did not dare to dislike the great scholars, but that was the truth, and he had to say it.
This statement was made.
All the Confucian scholars in the Palace of Literature froze.
The people’s grievances came from Xu Qingnian? But all of them were seeking justice for Xu Qingnian?
This …… This!
“A gathering of the Palace of Literature.”
It was also at this moment that a magnificent voice rang out, spreading throughout the entire Palace of Literature, and in an instant all the Confucian students all moved, including the great Confucian scholars who also moved.
They walked towards the interior of the Palace of Literature.
In contrast to the fierce reaction of the Palace of Literature, the inner court of the Great Wei was incomparably quiet.
In the Hall of the Nurtured Heart.
The Empress of Great Wei listened quietly to the servant girl’s briefing on the events at the Southern Yu Palace, appearing silent.
“Back to Your Majesty, the whole matter has been investigated by Wan’er.”
“Since the manifestation of Riyi’s article, students from the Tianming Academy went to the South Yu Mansion, wanting to find Xu Qingnian to talk about Riyi, only that Xu Qingnian did not appear and did not receive him in the past few days.”
“For thirty-five years in a row, Tianming Academy had been the most powerful school in South Yu, so Xu Qingnian did not go to the appointment, which led to the anger of the entire Tianming Academy.
“But this made the student even more furious, so he spoke out in all the major restaurants in South Yu, causing the people to be upset, and later, because Xu Qingnian was covered in dust, the people mistook him for being chased.”
“After the misunderstanding, the students of Tianming Academy were besieged by a hundred people, and after this incident, the ruler of Nan Yu Prefecture first took control of the main people, coinciding with the visit of Yan Ru himself to Nan Yu Prefecture, who advocated this matter and acted in strict accordance with the law.”
“So the South Yufu Prefect, arrested all those involved, overnight, the number of criminals increased to four hundred and seventy-two, the people were terrified and everyone was in danger, and then the South Yufu House Banquet was opened.”
“Xu Qingnian, in the middle of the banquet, wrote a thousand ancient ekphrases, and then angrily rebuked the great scholars, saying that he had set up a new idea, and even said that the sky was false as a saint and would destroy the corrupt scholars.”
“Yan Lei, the great Confucian, used the text to angrily rebuke and make it known to the world, but he did not expect that Xu Qingnian also had a literary tool, and the poem of the phase rat scolded Yan Ru to faint to death.”
Wan’er knelt on the ground and told the Great Wei Empress the whole story, carefully.
This was the whole story, she was not taking sides or helping anyone, from the bottom to the top, there was no favouritism whatsoever, she was just stating the facts.
It was a great crime to deceive a sage, and no one dared to play any tricks in it.
On the Dragonlund.
The Empress of Great Wei looked at two articles.
One was Yan Lei’s rebuke of Xu Qingnian.
One was Xu Qingnian’s rebuke of Yan Lei.
The two were almost immortal.
What surprised her, however, was that Xu Qingnian had managed to go this far and reach the heavens.
One must know that Xu Qingnian was only an eighth-grade Confucian scholar.
Just as quickly, the Empress of Great Wei frowned slightly.
Xu Qingnian had set her intention.
This was something she hadn’t counted on at all.
Why did she tell the world that Xu Qingnian’s essay was a perfect essay of intent?
The purpose was to protect Xu Qingnian.
In the Great Wei Dynasty, there is no shortage of ideas, and with Zhu Sheng’s intention, what can be done if there is a new idea?
Even if this intention is a new sage’s intention, what can be done? It was a question of whether it could be pa*sed on and whether anyone would believe it.
Confucianism and Taoism are similar to religions competing for incense, and there are Buddhists and Taoists, so even if a new Buddhist school emerges later, what can it do?
Would it have any impact on the situation under heaven?
No great impact.
Yet does it have an impact on the Buddhist sect?
There is a heavenly influence.
But what business is it of hers, the emperor?
She is the emperor, and she only sees the interests of the country, whether the people will be fed and whether they will live in peace and happiness, that is what she is concerned about.
But she wants peace in the world and the people to live in peace and be happy, do others?
Naturally not.
There is even a group of people in the court who do not want the Wei dynasty to enter a phase of rest.
Why?
Is it not for the sake of profit?
So if she announces to the world that Xu Qingnian’s article is a national policy that can make the Great Wei Dynasty prosperous and make the country rich and strong.
Then Xu Qingnian would be in even greater trouble.
The Confucian scholars would not say anything, but would the dynastic forces allow it?
The conservatives and radicals are the first to oppose it. Which of these officials is not a human tip?
There are those who are committed to the country, and there are many of them, but the problem is that when it comes to the debate over the state capital, these people will have all sorts of concerns, and when the time comes, it will be some kind of pilot test, or they will take their time.
We can wait 30 to 50 years.
Can the Great Wei Dynasty afford to wait? No, it can’t.
So she couldn’t say anything, otherwise Xu Qingnian wouldn’t be facing a Confucianist.
If she fights with the literati and scholars, there is at least one advantage, everything is in the open, as long as she keeps a low profile and says less, these Confucians will not dare to do anything.
If she were to fight with the forces of the court, Xu Qingnian would not even know how she would die if she did not have any background.
She can protect Xu Qingnian, but not for the rest of her life, and a true emperor must also have trade-offs.
If Xu Qingnian really has great talent and can implement the An Guo policy plan, she can escort her.
But what if it’s only on paper?
There are too many details that Xu Qingnian has not mentioned, and too many problems that need to be solved.
She was waiting for Xu Qingnian.
But the way things were going, she couldn’t wait any longer.
As far as the Empress was concerned, Xu Qingnian was just angry for a moment, so she had made the mistake of admitting of her own accord that she had set a new intention, and had made such a scene.
If she didn’t take action herself, she would really be in trouble.
“I, Ming Yi.”
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow at the court.”
The Empress of Great Wei opened her mouth, but just then, a voice sounded outside.
“Report! Your Majesty, the South Yu Province has stirred up public discontent, the people have taken to the streets to march and cry out for Xu Qingnian’s injustice, and Li Guangxin, the ruler of the South Yu Province, has sent an expedited document for Your Majesty to read.”
As the voice rang out, Wan’er, who was kneeling within the Great Hall, immediately rose and took the document, then quickly came before Long Luang and handed the envelope to the Great Wei Empress.
The latter took the envelope and opened it to view it.
A moment later.
She still looked calm and said.
“Retreat, everything will be discussed at the court tomorrow.”
Once this was said, Wan’er retreated, and the Empress was left alone in the Great Hall.
On the Dragon Luang.
The Empress looked at the envelope in her hand, her eyes calm, but she saw through everything in a flash.
“Li Guangxin, in order to protect Xu Qingnian, you have gone to great lengths.”
“If it weren’t for this Xu Qingnian I would have needed, with this behaviour of yours, this ruler would not have been a ruler.”
On the Dragon Luang, the empress pondered in her mind.
With the arrival of the envelope, she understood in an instant what had happened.
This was not something that Xu Qingnian could have done, nor could anyone else have done it, except for the Prefect Li Guangxin.
He used the strict laws of the great Confucians to create fear and discontent among the people, and then, at the critical moment, he provoked them to respond to the call, creating the current situation.
Li Guangxin did this in order to protect Xu Qingnian.
It is no small thing to call out the great Confucianists, but Li Guangxin is using public opinion against Confucianism, which is naturally inferior to Confucianism.
After all, the people are the foundation of the world. Even a sage is not worth a penny if he is abandoned by the world.
But this approach touched the bottom line of imperial power.
At any other time, she would not have spared Li Guangxin, no matter what his motives were.
But it was this matter that she could not really discipline Li Guangxin.
This was because this matter had a great deal to do with her.
But originally, she was trying to protect Xu Qingnian, but fate had a way of changing things.
It was just a matter of time.
The Empress of Wei put the envelope aside and waited for tomorrow’s court meeting.
She knew that tomorrow’s meeting would be a fierce battle.
This day.
Almost everyone in the city was discussing the matter.
In contrast, the people of Kyoto were sensible and did not fully approve of Yan Lei, but neither did they fully approve of Xu Qingnian, although Xu Qingnian had won the goodwill of the people of Kyoto by seeking redress for their grievances.
In any case, those who serve the people win the hearts of the people.
The matter is also being discussed in the major state houses.
Everyone knows that tomorrow morning’s court meeting will lead to a courtroom quarrel.
But most people feel that Xu Qingnian is in danger this time.
The angry rebuke of the great scholars and the establishment of new ideas, both of which will bring Xu Qingnian heavenly trouble.
Meanwhile, more and more people gathered at the South Yufu, who were silent as dark clouds covered the dome of the South Yufu sky and the rain did not stop.
The gloomy dome of the sky was not only in the sky, but also in the hearts of the people.
All the people and the literati, who had fallen silent in the rain, waited for the court to give an account.
All the surrounding provinces had heard of the incident and were all shocked. In the eyes of the people, Xu Qingnian had naturally won many good words as he sought to redress the grievances of the people.
Some thought that Xu Qingnian was indeed arrogant and even incited public opinion, but some thought that Xu Qingnian was a true gentleman who dared to do what he wanted and asked for the people’s lives.
As for the idea of intention, there was not much discussion, after all, it was still an open question whether the idea would succeed.
The world’s literati is not a saint like Zhu Sheng.
Besides, even if Xu Qingnian really succeeds in his intention and rejects Zhu Sheng’s intention, so what?
After all, the saint of five hundred years ago was extremely influential.
But there are still some who believe in other saints, and it is not as if these people would hate Xu Qingnian.
To take a step back, there is no such thing as standing or not standing under the seventh grade, you don’t even have a clear intention, you are not even qualified to participate in this matter.
To put it simply, below the seventh grade of Confucianism, you belong to the readers, there is no camp, even if you have been reading the book of Zhu Sheng since childhood, worshiping Zhu Sheng and setting Zhu Sheng as your ultimate goal in life.
But only when you reach the seventh rank can you officially say that you are a disciple of Zhu Sheng, otherwise you are just a hard rub.
So it is true that you are an enemy of all the literati in the world, but this is just an adjective, if you want to be precise, you should be an enemy of all the disciples of Zhu Sheng.
Therefore, there are many literati who admire Xu Qingnian, but not many of them, and even if they did, they would not show it.
After all, the Zhu Sheng disciples are so powerful that no one would have nothing better to do than to make enemies for themselves.
Inside the South Yufu prison.
Xu Qingnian was still in the midst of his epiphany.
He had said that he would clarify his intention in three days to give himself confidence and to gather his essence.
But it was still an unknown whether he would be able to achieve clarity in three days.
Late at night, the rain stopped.
The great night filled the sky, and the gloom in the hearts of the people of South Yufu did not dissipate.
A few hours later.
The capital of the Great Wei.
As the sun rose in the east, the palace gates opened and the civil and military officials of Great Wei, one after another, entered the palace.
From the palace gates to the Taihe Hall, there are several processes to go through.
From the palace gates to the Golden Bridge, there were imperial officials on guard. Anything wrong with the ministers would be recorded, even whoever walked with whomever.
Once they reached the Golden Bridge, it was a 500-metre walk to His Highness the Palace of Taihe, and they waited until the eunuch spoke before they could walk towards the Palace of Taihe.
And at that moment, the entrance to the palace gates.
A hundred officials poured in, seemingly in one ma*s, but invariably divided into four forces.
Those wearing the qilin martial robes were the first-ranking State Dukes, all of them walking with dragons and tigers, speaking in loud voices, not caring about any image, except that most of them were rather old, while some middle-aged martial officials stood behind them, the martial forces.
The Duke of Zhen is at the head of the group.
The other group, wearing blue and white robes at the bottom, were Confucian officials. The Great Wei Dynasty had different official positions established, divided into military generals, civil officials, and.
Because of the Confucian Way, civil officials and Confucian officials were separate. Confucian officials in Great Wei, at least, had to be of the seventh grade of clear intention, if they did not know their intention, how could they be officials?
Even Confucians.
The Confucian officials at the head of the court were all white haired, but they were in good spirits and did not say a word from the beginning to the end.
At the head of the Confucian officials, Chen Zhengru, the Minister of Justice, was the main one.
There was also a group of the most numerous, in groups of three or five, who were constantly whispering. These were the most powerful civil servants of the Great Wei, and they were the ones who were responsible for all the major affairs of state.
As long as the military generals and Confucian officials agreed, they were the ones who did the work.
Before Emperor Wu’s accession to the throne, they were the most powerful in the court, but now that a new emperor has come to the throne, they are once again united.
There was no other reason for this, but the power of the state was at stake.
If there had been no Northern Expedition, they would have been responsible for all matters of the court, large and small, but the Northern Expedition united the military generals and the Confucian officials, and these two forces coalesced.
Then all matters would have to stand aside.
At the head of the civil officials was Gu Yan, as Secretary of the Da Lisi Temple.
At the same time, the Minister of Household Affairs and the Minister of Penalties, both of whom are also heads of the civil ministers, formed the Dongming Society to advise the state.
The last force was somewhat awkward, with a small number of six or seven people, in contrast to the three forces, and somewhat lonely.
No one supported them, especially the military generals, who would not even look at them.
The Confucian officials and the officials of the Dongming Society would not help, and they did not want to directly offend the martial forces.
There is no need to do so, unless they are involved.
All the officials went to court, and everyone knew that something big was going to happen at the morning court today.
“Begin the court.”
When the hundred officials arrived at Taihe Hall, the eunuch guarding the entrance suddenly spoke up, his sharp voice sounding, and the hundred officials slightly quickened their pace.
Changing their shoes, they walked into the middle of the Great Hall.
The Hall of Harmony was vast and empty, with eighteen pillars carved with dragons and phoenixes standing around it.
The hundred officials stood in their places and looked at the Great Wei empress on the dragon chair, before saying in unison.
“Long live my emperor, long live my emperor.”
A loud voice rang out, this was the basic process.
“All the loving ministers stand at ease.”
The Empress’ voice rang out, and the next moment the hundred officials rose and chanted once again.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
But the process did not end there.
The six ministries spoke in turn, bringing up the current state affairs, and only after some discussion was over did the basic process come to an end.
Regardless of any personal matters or other matters, the first half hour was spent discussing matters of state.
The people come first.
The country comes first.
Even if you hear about someone who has done something vicious, you can’t speak up directly, because these are minor matters, personal issues or local issues.
You can only go on to talk about these things when the national issues are finished.
Finally, just at this moment, someone among the Confucian officials spoke up.
“Your Majesty, I, have this to present.”
As the voice came from the Confucian official, all the court officials changed their expressions, but quickly returned to their normal state and listened quietly.
“Proclaim.”
The empress’ voice was still calm.
“Your Majesty, the 25th day of the 4th month of the 1st year of Wuchang.”
“The mad student Xu Qingnian begged Grand Master Yan Lei for mercy because his friend was in distress, but he was rebuffed and then, at a banquet at the Nan Yu Mansion, he angrily denounced Grand Master Yan Lei and disparaged the saints.
“Even at the banquet, he punched and kicked the scholars, and even incited the people of South Yu to try to create a civil uprising.”
“I beg Your Majesty, for the crime of great disrespect, to send the mad student Xu Qingnian to the frontier, and then to use the power of the Palace of Literature to cut his talent and strip him of his merit, as an example to others.”
The person who opened his mouth was a seventh-ranked Ming Yi Confucian official.
His words were sharp and incomparable, and just three points alone were enough to bring Xu Qingnian to his death.
Disrespect for imperial power! Disrespecting the holy will! Inciting the people!
If anyone else was put under any one of these hats, they would be finished for life.
It can be said that every word kills.
And such words were clearly not the words of a seventh-ranked Confucian scholar, who was naturally someone from the Great Wei Palace of Literature behind the scenes.
But the reason for letting him come forward, rather than the great Confucians, was simple: to let an ordinary Confucian official throw in the towel and see what the emperor’s attitude was, and if the emperor’s attitude was to do with them as they saw fit, then they would follow that.
If the emperor does not approve, then these great Confucian scholars can come out and speak, otherwise it would be easy to make the situation too stagnant at once by having the great Confucian scholars come out at the beginning.
The Confucian official’s voice rang out.
In the middle of the main hall.
The Empress of Wei swept a glance at the other side, while Wan’er presented the zhengfu to her.
After receiving the folding document, the empress almost just swept it and slowly closed it.
This matter was known to all the civil servants of the court, so there was no need to pretend not to know.
“I have known about this matter since yesterday.”
“What is your opinion?”
The empress of Wei spoke.
It was very calm.
She was not angry, nor did she feel any emotion, but simply asked the ministers what they thought.
With these words.
At that moment, one of the civil officials slowly walked out.
“I, Zhao Yan, from the Military Intelligence Office, have a different opinion.”
The figure appeared and slowly spoke.
The empress did not say anything, just looked at the other party.
And the latter also immediately spoke.
“This matter was also known to me yesterday, but I have also received some other news.”
“There are some discrepancies with what Lord Wang Jing Wang said.”
“This Xu Qingnian was not standing up for his friend, but for some innocent people.”
“Furthermore, the matter of angrily rebuking the great Confucian, according to the news coming in, it was the great Confucian Yan Lei who failed to be selfless and was at fault, but of course this Xu Qingnian was indeed arrogant and did make a mistake, but I believe that both sides in this matter are at fault.”
“As for inciting public opinion, it seems even more nonsensical, it’s just that the people don’t know what’s going on and have a misunderstanding.”
Zhao Yan of the Military Intelligence Office spoke up.
He came forward to defend Xu Qingnian, not because he was defending Xu Qingnian, nor because he liked Xu Qingnian.
The reason was simple: he was a military official, and was himself like water and fire with Confucian officials.
This is the way things are in the court, after there is party power, whether you are right or wrong, anyway, what you propose, I must impeach it, it is impossible that whatever you say is what you are, right?
Whether it’s disgusting or P*ssing you off, it’s impossible to let you have your say anyway.
It’s just that when this was said, Wang Jing frowned a little.
“Lord Zhao, this matter is well-documented, the Confucian rebukes the great Confucian, how is it that in your mouth, it has become a mere trivial matter?”
He opened his mouth, somewhat displeased, but also knew that the other party’s existence was to find himself in trouble.
This was normal, civil and military were like water and fire, and they were used to finding trouble with military officials all the time.
“Lord Wang, this matter is just a misunderstanding, no matter how you put it.”
“Your Majesty, I think that Xu Qingnian is a great talent, so it would be better to punish him with a small punishment and leave it at that.”
Zhao Yan spoke up, arguing for a lighter sentence for Xu Qingnian.
However, Wang Jing looked at the empress and continued to speak.
“The fact that he was at fault or not is another matter. Even if he was at fault, there are laws to punish him, but Xu Qingnian was so arrogant as to scold the great scholars and disrespect his elders, which is unfilial.”
“To scorn the saints and disrespect the holy will is unkind! If you have no respect in your eyes, you are disregarding imperial power and disrespecting the emperor, which is disloyal, while the people are not ignorant, but are being seduced, so they are unrighteous.”
“These are disloyal, unkind, unrighteous and unfilial people.”
“They should be stripped of their titles, their talents cut down, and exiled to the border as an example to others.
He continued to speak, with the feeling that he would not rest until he had killed Xu Qingnian.
This disloyalty, unkindness, injustice and filial piety.
Any one of the four major charges could have killed Xu Qingnian, he was really ruthless.
However, the more the Confucian officials want to get rid of the person, the more the military officials want to protect him. As long as the person is not suspected of the worst crimes, they will speak out, and it is definitely good to have a different opinion anyway.
The final decision is still in the hands of the emperor, if he listens to his own opinion, it is good, disgusting to the Confucian officials, if not, it does not matter, he has nothing to lose.
As for the bad blood? We are already at odds with each other, what’s there to fear?
“Your Majesty, it is unjust to exile such a great talent to the border for a mere matter.”
“Furthermore, Xu Qingnian is the first in the new imperial examinations.”
“According to Lord Wang’s words, he is disloyal, ungrateful, unkind and unrighteous, is he insinuating something?”
Zhao Yan opened his mouth, and this sentence immediately caused Wang Jing’s face to change.
“Zhao Yan, you must not spew blood here, I have no such intention whatsoever, I only feel that Xu Qingnian disrespected the holy will and disrespected the imperial power.”
Wang Jing was instantly furious, this Zhao Yan’s words were almost like he wanted to die.
What was he insinuating?
Insinuating His Majesty? Saying that His Majesty was faint? Blindly promoting an unfaithful, ungrateful, unkind and unrighteous man to be the first in the Imperial Examination?
He would not accept such a big hat, nor would he dare to accept it.
But at this moment.
The empress only spoke slowly.
“Indeed, if the first in the dynasty’s prefectural examination was really such an unfaithful and ungrateful person, I am afraid that the whole world would laugh at me, right?”
The empress spoke, her tone incomparably calm.
However, this one sentence scared all the civil and military officials of the court into speaking up.
“Your Majesty, don’t be angry.”
These words were not a joke. How could the Emperor be wrong?
Even if there was a mistake, as long as it was not a major one, basically no minister could say anything about it, but of course those who were not afraid of death could.
After all, it was difficult to admit that the emperor was at fault.
“Your majesty rest in peace, your majesty rest in peace, I never meant to do so, I never meant to do so.”
Wang Jing was somewhat taken aback.
He had no idea that Zhao Yan was actually so sharp, directly forcing himself into a dead end.
For a moment, he did not know what to say.
It was just at this moment.
A voice rang out, rather loudly.
“Your Majesty, Wang Jing’s words are in no way intended. I believe that you chose Xu Qingnian to be the first in the government examination because of the supreme essay.”
“But a superb essay has nothing to do with character, and just because Xu Qingnian can produce a superb essay doesn’t mean he has character.”
“Lord Zhao has also read books, so he naturally understands this, right?”
The voice rang out.
It was a great scholar.
Sun Jing’an.
A great scholar of the Taiwen Court, of extremely high status, and the one who had the greatest hope of being promoted to Grand Confucian of Heaven and Earth within ten years.
Both in the imperial court and among the people, he possessed an extremely high prestige.
When he opened his mouth, Zhao Yan immediately did not dare to say anything nonsensically.
“What Grand Confucian Sun said is extremely true.”
Zhao Yan responded, and then said nothing more.
It wasn’t that he really didn’t dare, but mainly because even Sun Jing’an had spoken up, so he naturally didn’t dare to say anything.
This was the Great Confucian.
Its status was a little higher than even Yan Lei’s, and he had no problem dealing with Wang Jing, but with the great Confucian coming out, he had to retreat.
He couldn’t say no, and he couldn’t dislike him.
At this moment, the great hall was once again quiet.
The Empress’s voice continued to ring out.
“Other loving ministers, what are your opinions on this matter?”
She asked once again, not engaging in the struggle from start to finish, but simply asking.
But this was the art of the emperor.
“Older ministers have some opinions.”
It was also at this moment that an old man spoke up.
Standing third in the ranks of the martial generals, was the Duke of An.
The position of State Duke was so powerful that he was almost under one person and above ten thousand people.
Compared to the great Confucian, he was no match for the great Confucian.
“Your Majesty, in my opinion, Xu Qingnian’s angry rebuke of the great scholars was indeed disrespectful, but the way of the literati and Confucianism, especially the matter of establishing the will, is itself controversial.
“He is not unfaithful to the people, to the innocent, and to the strict law, but he is at fault, but he should have been taught a*siduously, not dealt with by the strict law.”
“The people’s grievances should be the responsibility of officials everywhere. Old Chen would like to ask Sun Ru why the people would rather believe Xu Qingnian than the great Confucian? I don’t want to say that Xu Qingnian has confused people’s hearts, but how can a mere Confucian student confuse people’s hearts? Is it possible that the words of a great Confucian are not as useful as those of a Confucian student? Is this unrighteousness?”
“As for the saying of the holy will, Zhu Sheng has said that he hopes that future generations will produce talents, is it unkind to speak out a different will?”
“Everything in heaven and earth goes around and around, and Zhu Sheng is not the most holy man in the world. Even if a saint is alive, he would like to see more talented people emerge.”
“Are Sun Ru’s words, and Wang Jing’s words, too radical?”
Within the Great Hall, Duke An’s voice was calm, but it defused Sun Ru’s attack and washed clean for Xu Qingnian.
The Confucian officials all frowned, even if one Zhao Yan came out to stir up the situation, I never thought that Duke An would also come out to stir up the situation, these military officials are really despicable.
They could not show their displeasure in the courtroom, so they had to wait for Sun Ru to speak up.
A few moments later, Sun Jing’an’s voice rang out again.
“I can understand the words of Lord An.”
“But no matter what, to contradict the great Confucian, to disrespect the holy will, to disrespect the imperial authority, still cannot be changed.”
Sun Jing’an spoke again, still seizing on these three points and insisting on slamming Xu Qingnian.
However, Duke An shook his head.
“Disrespecting the holy will is a bit of an overstatement.”
“He, Xu Qingnian, is also a scholar. If he really disrespected the holy will, how could he be a scholar? And how could he write a superb article?”
“If Lord Sun doesn’t like it, he can ask His Majesty to draw up an imperial decree, and when he comes to the capital, he can go to the Great Wei Palace of Literature and burn incense for the saint, so as to correct himself.”
“As for the great Confucian, let him apologise in person, and we can all be happy.
“Your Majesty, what do you think?”
Duke An said with a smile.
He had repeatedly spoken out to help Xu Qingnian for three reasons.
One, Xu Qingnian was a great talent, and the Tian Ji Tai had pa*sed on the news that Xu Qingnian was destined to be in charge of the military expedition, so perhaps he could join the military government in the future, which was considered a good seed.
The second is that the emperor does not want to make too much of a fuss, but of course this is only a guess.
Thirdly, it is good to disgust the Confucian officials, who have been angry at the Northern Expedition in the past few years, and are still vividly remembering how many times they have been angry.
So he has been making a big deal out of it, and a small one out of it.
And this court battle is to take a matter out, each come up with their own ideas, do not want to solve, then keep pulling, pulling until you have to solve the point then to solve.
If you want to solve the problem, it’s simple: you take a step back, I’ll take a step back, and the job will be done.
The fact is, the Duke of An is not completely excusing Xu Qingnian from the crime.
He said that he would let Xu Qingnian go to Yan Lei to apologise, so that the big things would be made smaller and the small things would be resolved.
It’s not like the Confucian family lost face.
It was a step backwards.
As for whether to agree or not, it would depend on Sun Jing’an’s intention.
The Empress of Great Wei did not say anything, but merely fixed her gaze on Sun Jing’an.
If he had no objections, he would go by this.
If he had any objections, let’s listen to it.
Sun Jing’an slowly shook his head.
Then he looked at the empress and said.
“Your Majesty, Duke An treasures his talent, I, understand and respect that, only what is the need for the law if an apology is useful?”
“Yan Ru has already been angry to the point of being bedridden, and if Xu Qingnian is allowed to go there again, will it not aggravate his condition?”
“In my opinion, this person should be sent to the frontier, perhaps a little harshly, but for his talent, he should be stripped of his merit and imprisoned for ten years.”
“What do you think, Your Majesty?”
Sun Jing’an opened his mouth, he thought about it for a while, and it was a step back.
As for the An Guo Gong solution, it would naturally not do to try to get it done hastily.
Xu Qingnian had to be punished, and it was an extremely severe punishment.
It was only when this was said.
The An Guo Duke once again spoke out.
“A misunderstanding that has gone so far.”
“Grand Confucian Sun, do you think it is necessary?”
“After the Northern Expedition of Great Wei, there is a shortage of talent, so as long as one has not made a major mistake, one should rightly get over it.”
The Duke of An said so.
But Sun Jing’an slowly said.
“Duke An, a lifetime of conquering, I admire him, but the affairs of the literati, Duke An should not interfere, disrespecting the saints is a matter of great importance to us, not a trivial matter in the mouth of the Duke.”
Sun Jing’an did not want to continue to pull the wool over Duke An’s eyes.
His words were desperate, and even carried some other meaning.
The voice rang out.
Duke An could not help but laugh coldly as well.
“Above the court, it is the court’s business, what distinction is there between the literati and the non-literati?”
“Your Majesty, in my opinion, the strict law is too cruel, it is really not conducive to the development of Great Wei, so I suggest that small punishments be meted out, with teaching as the main focus and punishment as a supplement.”
An Guo opened his mouth.
Since we are not talking properly, let’s continue to bar.
There is no harm for me to win or lose anyway.
“Your Majesty, this matter involves the world’s literati, if we don’t punish them severely, it will be difficult to appease the hearts of the world’s literati.”
“I hope Your Majesty will understand!”
“Punish Xu Qingnian severely.”
Sun Jing’an spoke directly, followed by kneeling on the ground and bowing towards the empress with a resolute attitude.
The next moment, almost half of the Confucian officials came out and knelt on the ground, saying loudly.
“I also hope that Your Majesty will understand.”
They spoke in unison, pleading with the emperor for an order.
As for the half that did not come out, it was not so much that they supported Xu Qingnian, but it was the rule in the imperial court that in any matter, no one could pour out their nest, and in case they really got into trouble, at least some of them could still be retained.
It is not as if the whole army is wiped out.
“Your Majesty the world’s literati are not all disciples of Zhu Sheng, and moreover Xu Qingnian is not a big mistake, just this severe punishment, but will hurt the hearts of the world’s literati, now the Great Wei, seeking virtuous people, extraordinary times, extraordinary treatment.”
“I implore Your Majesty to be merciful and lenient.”
The Duke of An also lost his temper, and after finishing his words, he also knelt on the ground.
Soon a large part of the military officials also knelt down, following the example.
The two sides went straight to war.
But this was the norm, and even when Emperor Wu was alive, there were instances of roughhousing between the two sides.
“Insulting a saint is not even a big mistake in the mouth of the Duke of State?”
Sun Jing’an looked at the Duke of An and said in a cold tone.
“It is true that the saint’s will must not be insulted, but Xu Qingnian is not a disciple of Zhu Sheng, and he is about to make his will clear.”
“To put it bluntly, if Xu Qingnian succeeds in clarifying his intention and it is indeed not the intention of Zhu Sheng, then there will not be any insulting words against the sage.”
“As for contradicting the great Confucian, it is even more nonsense, not Zhu Sheng’s intention, contradicting is contradicting, although I am not a Confucian student, but also read the holy books, seemingly among the world’s group of books, even the saints autobiography.”
“Nor has it been said that the words of the great Confucians are necessarily right, right?”
The Duke of An is also an old fox.
He instantly found a flaw in it and retaliated.
After all, the matter itself was the fault of both sides.
Xu Qingnian had a problem and so did Yan Lei.
It is only Xu Qingnian’s fault for not having the taste of a great scholar and for appearing young and disrespectful to her elders.
But Yan Lei is also at fault for leaning on the old and selling himself short.
I told you nicely, but you didn’t listen, did you?
That’s fine.
So, since we’ve torn our faces off on this matter, we’ve been disagreeing with each other for a long time anyway.
So let’s just talk about it directly, no need to beat around the bush.
Are you saying that Xu Qingnian disrespects the saints? You don’t respect the great scholars?
But if Xu Qingnian does not go with the intention of Zhu Sheng, this argument would not be valid.
Then there would be no punishment.
This statement was made.
Sun Jing’an continued to speak.
“What An Guo Gong said is extremely true, if Xu Qing Ye’s clear intention is not Zhu Sheng, and his intention is not Zhu Sheng, it is indeed empty talk.”
“But how can Duke An know that Xu Qingnian’s intention is not to establish Zhu Sheng?”
Sun Jing’an shot back.
At these words, Duke An was somewhat silent.
But soon, Duke An continued to speak.
“I heard Xu Qingnian say that he would need three days to clarify his intention, three days is not a long time, so why not wait and see if Xu Qingnian can clarify his intention.”
Duke An replied.
Only Sun Jing’an shook his head and said.
“He has just been promoted to the eighth rank, three days to clarify his will is simply impossible, it’s just a momentary nonsense.”
Sun Jing’an said so.
Didn’t think Xu Qingnian could do it.
“And what if?”
“Where in this world is anything impossible? Grand Scholar Sun is a little too conceited, isn’t he?”
An Guo Gong said calmly.
“You are already stirring up nonsense, not with you.”
Sun Jing’an did not want to pay attention to Duke An, but looked at the empress instead and said.
“Your Majesty, Xu Qingnian’s evil is extremely vicious, if not severely punished, the world’s literati will all be unconvinced.”
“Please punish him severely, Your Majesty.”
Sun Jing’an continued to demand that Xu Qingnian be punished severely.
No matter what, he had to be punished severely.
“Your Majesty, I don’t agree. As I said earlier, this is just a misunderstanding, and if it’s not a misunderstanding, then what?”
“He, Xu Qingnian, is not Ming Zhu Sheng’s intention, and all the things he did before are not considered any big mistake.”
“I suggest that we give Xu Qingnian three days to see if he can clear his mind, if he does, the matter will be settled.”
“If not, then we can discuss it again.”
The Duke of An said so, his eyes also looking at the empress.
The two sides were completely at loggerheads.
But it was still up to the emperor to decide what to do.
“Allow!”
Half a sound.
The Empress’ voice rang out.
With just one word, the matter was decided.
“Your Majesty, no, this matter …… concerns the world’s literati and the sage’s authority.”
“I hope Your Majesty will think twice, if you don’t punish Xu Qingnian, what face do we have to face the world’s literati? If we don’t punish Xu Qingnian, how can we face the literati?
“If that is the case, we might as well retire to our hometowns to avoid being laughed at by the world’s literati.”
Sun Jing’an spoke up.
At this point, he directly magnified his move.
Using suing for old age to force the emperor to return to his hometown.
This was also the favorite thing that all Confucian officials had done since ancient times.
“Unbridled.”
At that moment.
The voice of the empress rang out.
With two simple words, the court full of civil servants knelt down in unison, not daring to make a sound.
Sun Jing’an was too aggressive.
To threaten the emperor with this was a bit radical.
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, for the sake of the literati of the world, for the sake of the Great Wei Dynasty, if someone humiliates the sage and goes unpunished.”
“Then the rites and music will collapse!”
Sun Jing’an said loudly.
He was determined to punish Xu Qingnian severely.
The Great Hall was quiet.
The empress was silent.
The officials were also silent.
After half a second.
The Empress’s voice slowly rang out.
“In three days, let’s see if Xu Qingnian can make her intentions clear.”
“If it is clear that Xu Qingnian is not the will of Zhu Sheng, as Duke An has said, the matter ends here!”
“If, after clarifying his will, it is the will of Zhu Sheng, then he will insult the saint and be dealt with according to the law.”
“If it is not clear that it is the will of Zhu Sheng, the matter will be decided after three days.”
“Leave the court.”
The empress spoke, her meaning simple and appalling.
Sun Jing’an wanted to say something else, but he realised that if Her Majesty spoke, he could not force anything further.
“Long live my emperor, long live my emperor.”
The hundred officials chanted, then rose and withdrew from the court.
This time, there was no result of the fight, but everyone knew that the pressure of the sky fell on Xu Qingnian. Duke An had done a lot for Xu Qingnian, but whether or not he could help Xu Qingnian.
It still depends on whether Xu Qingnian can succeed in his intention.
At this moment, when the hundred officials were about to leave the hall door, the empress’s voice, again, slowly sounded.
“If Xu Qingnian’s clear intention is not that of Zhu Sheng, Aiqing Sun, you may indeed consider taking leave of your old age and return home.”
The voice rang out.
The hundred officials froze, and the faces of all the Confucian officials changed.
