At the great court meeting, some scholars became more and more excited.
There was Fei Tong, a doctor in the ancestral department of the Ministry of Rites, who knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. He said heartbrokenly: "Your Majesty, Kong Sheng is the most holy teacher, the Wen Sect of the world, and the place of civilization in the world!"
"The Confucius Temple is the best Confucian temple in the world!"
"My army, King Chen, went north to attack Qi and drove out the barbarians. It was originally an army to promote justice, and it was justified. But now, the army of the Northern Expedition burned down the Confucius Temple, which will definitely attract criticism from people all over the world!"
"If you lose the heart of a scholar, you will lose the destiny of the country!"
Fei Langzhong, who is already in his sixties this year, is a veteran of the Ministry of Rites. At his age and still in this fifth-grade position, it will be difficult for him to move forward in this life.
By the same token, the fact that he is still a fifth-rank official at his age means that he is not good at working in the field and is not the kind of official who is dedicated to climbing the ranks.
This does not mean that he is completely a good official, but it at least shows that this person's mind is not that complicated.
To put it simply, he is an honest person.
Moreover, he did not form cliques in the court, and he had no enmity with Shen Yi.
In other words, this kind of honest person is biased by public opinion.
Moreover, he was indeed a good student of the saint, and his respect for the saint was beyond measure, so naturally he would not tolerate the burning of the Confucius Temple.
His Majesty the Emperor silently looked at the gray-haired but angry-faced little old man kneeling in front of him, and frowned slightly.
If this kind of thing is caused by someone who is intentional, then with his current level of control over the court, even the prime minister can easily handle it, but it is difficult to deal with these "honest people".
If they were punished, they would probably become even more excited, and they might even do something stupid like crashing to death in the court.
His Majesty the Emperor closed his eyes, exhaled silently, then opened his eyes and looked at the five silent prime ministers on the left, and said lightly: "My gentlemen, what do you think of this matter?"
Prime Minister Chen Jing stood first on the left. Hearing this, he left the office silently, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed very important. If one of them is not done well, it will damage the state of Chen."
"However, we can't completely believe the rumors."
"I believe that an imperial envoy should be sent north to investigate the matter. After a thorough investigation, the court will deal with it."
Prime Minister Zhao Changping took a deep breath, also left the office and bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, Minister Shen has been reading books about saints since he was a child. He is from a decent background in Kejia and is a disciple of a saint. I think he will never do such a thing. According to the public Rumors cannot be believed."
After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "It is very possible that our Wang division is invincible, so the Qi people deliberately spread rumors in Jiankang to disrupt the morale of the troops on the front line."
The emperor did not speak, but looked at Cui Yu quietly.
Seeing that Cui Yu did not speak, the emperor touched his chin and asked, "What do you think, Prime Minister Cui?"
When the emperor called him by name, Cui Yu could only stand up, lowered his head silently and said: "Your Majesty, I think what Prime Minister Chen said is pragmatic, and we should send an imperial envoy to verify this matter."
When Cui Yu said this, he stopped talking.
In fact, he could have been more cruel, but Cui Xiang was smart after all. Until this time, the emperor would definitely protect Shen Yi, so he did not dare to confront the emperor.
His Majesty the Emperor squinted his eyes, looked at the ministers below, and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Several old scholars stood up, knelt on the ground, and shouted: "Your Majesty, the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court must not go back to protect the frontline soldiers for the sake of the imperial court's face!"
"Otherwise if it spreads to the world, Da Chen's reputation will be completely lost!"
The emperor ignored them, stood up directly, and said: "The council will discuss the candidates for the imperial envoy as soon as possible and send them to me."
"That's all for today's meeting."
The emperor left with his hands behind his back.
"Let's break up."
After the emperor left, only a group of officials of fifth rank or above were left in the Deqing Palace. These officials did not leave, but gathered together and discussed the affairs of Qufu.
Many people gathered around Prime Minister Cui Yu to discuss the matter with Cui Yu. Cui Xianggong squinted his eyes slightly and sighed softly: "If it is true that Shen Yi burned the Confucius Temple, the Confucian Temple of the past two thousand years will be destroyed in one day, and not only will it be destroyed." Let’s talk about what people in the world will think, even if the saint has a spirit in heaven, he will also get angry.”
"When the time comes, it may damage the country's fortunes."
He would not dare to say this in front of the emperor.
However, I was quite brave enough to discuss a few words in private.
Zhao Changping stood nearby and listened carefully.
Even Mr. Zhao, who has a very stable personality and never quarrels with others, became furious when he heard this and cursed: "Cui Yu, the matter has not been finalized, how dare you criticize important officials of the imperial court behind your back!"
"What's your intention!"
Cui Yu's character is bright. In this era, peers usually address him by his surname. Those who are unfamiliar with his official position are addressed by name. This kind of direct name is no different from swearing.
Cui Yu was not afraid, glanced at Zhao Changping, and said coldly: "Zhao Zhi, are you doing this to protect Shen Yi out of public interest?"
"What's your intention?"
Zhao Changping was furious and cursed angrily: "If it is found out afterwards that it was not Shen Qi who did it, I will definitely write a letter to intervene against you and I will not have any relationship with you!"
"Even if it wasn't Shen Yi's fault, the Confucius Temple was indeed burned down under his hands!"
“I never protected the Saint’s Confucian Temple!”
Cui Yu said coldly: "You, the Ganquan Academy sect, deserve to read the saint's books and become his disciples!"
The two prime ministers got angry and cursed loudly in the Deqing Palace. Zhao Changping's face turned red with anger and he almost rolled up his sleeves and started fighting with Cui Yu.
In the end, it was Chen Jing who separated the two people. Chen Xiang coughed and said with a smile: "Don't get angry. The matter has not been finalized. It is too early to say anything."
He looked at Cui Yu and said softly: "Mr. Cui, please calm down your anger and don't hurt your body."
The word "hurt" sounded a bit harsh in his tone.
Obviously, he was reminding Cui Yu not to cause fire and harm himself.
Cui Yu sneered and walked away.
"Those who form cliques for personal gain, Mr. Cui is too lazy to argue with you!"
Zhao Changping was aroused by him again and said angrily: "I will report to the court right now and ask the inner guards and the three law divisions to check you and me to see which one is the one who is forming a clique for personal gain!"
After the two exchanged words, Cui Yu left with his hands behind his hands.
Chen Jing pulled Zhao Changping's sleeve, walked to the side, and said with a smile: "Don't be angry, Prime Minister Zhao. I believe that the court will soon return Shi Lang Shen's innocence."
Zhao Changping took a deep breath and raised his hands to Chen Jing.
"That's what Mr. Chen said."
He put his hands in his sleeves and strode out of Deqing Hall.
Chen Xiang clasped his hands behind his back and watched the couple walk away angrily. The smile on his face grew a little more.
The more powerful the Zhongshu Prime Minister fights, the more secure his position as chief will be.
………………
The back hall of Deqing Hall.
His Majesty the Emperor was sitting on a chair. Eunuch Gao stood carefully next to him, holding a document in his hand. He lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, this is the document that was sent from the front line during the court meeting just now."
The emperor reached out to take it, looked at the signature on it, and frowned: "What a coincidence?"
Eunuch Gao said quickly: "This slave has just received this document."
Without saying anything else, His Majesty the Emperor reached out and opened the memorial.
There are two documents in the memorial, one is Shen Yi's document explaining the situation to the emperor, and the other...
It was a proclamation for the Northern Expedition.
After His Majesty the Emperor read these two documents, the depression in his brows immediately disappeared.
He carefully put away the two documents, put them on his desk, and looked back at Eunuch Gao.
"clever."
Eunuch Gao lowered his head: "My servant is here."
"While checking the news about Jiankang, do one more thing for me."
"Your Majesty orders."
Emperor Hongde yawned and said calmly: "Make the momentum louder."
"It's best to let all Jiankang officials know that Shen Qi set fire to the Confucius Temple."
"Well…"
The emperor seemed to have remembered something and added: "Send someone to the Chongshenghou Mansion to say hello to their family and ask them not to be incited to get involved."
Eunuch Gao quickly lowered his head.
"My slave understands..."
…
Time passed day by day, and soon, Jiankang's public opinion became more and more intense under the guidance of thoughtful people and the emperor's deliberate instigation.
Many more radical scholars gathered at the gate of Gongyuan to make trouble.
There were also people who threw rotten eggs at the door of Uncle Jiangdu's mansion, which made Lu Ruoxi have no choice but to have the door tightly closed and no one could come in.
Emperor Hongde, as if unaware, did not intervene in this matter and allowed the public opinion in Jiankang City to ferment.
He was quietly waiting for the next court meeting.
While the emperor was waiting for the court meeting, Mr. Shen from the north climbed up and looked into the distance, looking at Yanzhou City in front of him from a distance.
At this time, Jining Prefecture had been successfully captured. General Ling Suling rode a fast horse to Qufu and came to Shen Yi's Chinese army for a meeting.
After the meeting, he and Su Ding accompanied Shen Yi to leave Qufu and arrived at a high place near Yanzhou City to watch Yanzhou.
Both of them stood behind Shen Yi, quite well-behaved.
Especially Ling Su.
In the battle of Jining, although Jining Prefecture was captured and the siege was won, the victory was not pretty, which made him feel somewhat guilty.
Mr. Shen stood in front of the two people, looking at Yanzhou City from a distance, and then slowly put down his telescope.