At the Bianhe pier, an official ship was waiting for a long time.
Ju Ming arrived in a carriage and boarded the ship with his entourage. He was asked to enter the cabin and was not allowed to move around freely, while his entourage waited on the deck.
About three quarters of an hour later, two more prisoners arrived.
One was named Sheng Sheng. When he was an official in Ningling County, he rented a private house without paying rent and even showed signs of occupying the house. Then he had a conflict with the landlord and asked his entourage to beat the landlord to death. When the landlord woke up, another incident occurred.
The sword stabbed him in the thigh and hit a major artery, causing him to bleed to death.
One was named Li Ke, who was originally the magistrate of Shezhou. As soon as Fang La attacked, Li Ke abandoned the city and fled, all the way across the Yangtze River.
This is how the Song Dynasty treated scholar-bureaucrats leniently.
Sheng Sheng kills people and dominates the house, but the victims are still wealthy.
The rich family members appealed for many years to no avail, but Sheng Sheng was promoted to a Beijing official many times.
It wasn't until Cai Jing stepped down and Wang Fu began to overturn the case, taking the opportunity to squeeze out Cai's party, that the old case was uncovered.
Those who murder and dominate the house do not need to pay for their lives, do not need to be stabbed, do not wear shackles, and do not even need to be disciplined. They are only escorted back to their hometown. This is a deliberate attack by the prime minister of the dynasty, but the punishment cannot be too severe!
A wealthy family in a county will die if he dies, and an official with a Jinshi background will definitely not have to pay with his life.
Li Ke is even more outrageous. He abandoned the city and ran away as a magistrate. In the Ming Dynasty, he might have lost his head.
He was punished because he escaped too far and did not dare to go back.
A large number of officials in Hangzhou also abandoned the city and fled. But they only fled to Jiangdong Road, and they quickly organized rural soldiers to defend the city to prevent Fang La from continuing to expand northward. Not only were they not guilty, but they were promoted.
Wang Fu, the transfer envoy of the two Zhejiang roads, lost dozens of cities within his jurisdiction. Instead of being demoted, he was promoted. He has become the transfer envoy of the capital (the official salary has been promoted to the fifth rank or above).
"Weren't you asked to wait for a few days? Why did you leave early?" Sheng Sheng asked.
The sergeant in charge of the escort said: "There is a key criminal, and the superiors have ordered him to leave Beijing immediately."
Sheng Sheng asked curiously: "Which one is going to commit the crime? How could he allow the official ship to leave early?"
The sergeant kept silent.
Li Ke looked back at the capital, sighed, and followed Sheng Sheng into the cabin.
The three prisoners who were chasing after their birth certificates met in the cabin like this.
Although Sheng Sheng had a frown on his face, he still maintained his demeanor and bowed his hands in greeting: "I am Sheng Sheng, formerly a member of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Li Ke just lay down and showed off, without even using basic etiquette. He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I, Li Ke, the magistrate of Shezhou, was assigned to be in charge of Tanzhou. I know this person, Tanhua Lang Zhu Ming. Our editors are notorious, and Zhu Tanhua's editors are
Good reputation and life experiences are so different yet the same."
Sheng Sheng sighed: "Fortunately, I don't have to manage the borderland. I was ordered to return home and not allowed to enter Beijing again."
While we were talking, another person came in soon.
This person reported his family name: "When I was under Deng, I was in charge of Qizhou and I met all of my colleagues."
Deng Shi was charged with the most serious crime. When he was promoted to minting prison, he not only embezzled public funds, but also secretly minted copper coins. He used to be a member of the Cai Party, but was liquidated by Wang Fu and was directly sentenced to hanging. He was fined copper and paid his life and was changed to a supervisor.
This is the privilege of high-ranking officials. As long as you give enough money, you can save your life.
Privately minting copper coins is a heinous crime. You don't need to be tattooed, you don't need to be exiled, you don't need to wear shackles, you just need to be removed from the list.
Even if Zhu Ming is really sentenced to death, as long as he is not considered a "heinous crime", he can pay for his life and he will not leave the capital.
Otherwise, how could Ju Ming dare to take risks?
During this period, a large number of officials were put under reorganization, most of whom belonged to the Cai Party that was liquidated.
Official ships sailed every few days, and at most, one ship could transport six or seven prisoners.
Zhu Ming thought they were all here, but unexpectedly, another familiar person showed up.
Li Daochong walked into the cabin and saw Zhu Ming. His expression was startled, and then he smiled bitterly and clasped his fists: "Prefect Zhu, we meet again."
Zhu Ming couldn't help but ask: "Why did you enter the prison ship?"
Li Daochong sighed: "I was accused of abandoning the city and fleeing. Alas, it's the same as running away. They can be promoted, but I am removed from my name and suspended from my post. I am in charge of a remote place. The Sixth Prime Minister (Cai You) also doesn't put in a good word for me!"
Deng Shi couldn't help complaining: "I also gave money to Mr. Liu, but he was still sentenced to death and fined copper to pay for his life. Mr. Liu is really cold and doesn't care about old feelings at all."
Sheng Sheng sneered and said: "Sixth Prime Minister has turned against Mr. Cai and his son long ago. Now he is Wang Fu's bastard. How can he speak for us?"
Deng Shi said: "The Sixth Prime Minister is really stupid. He forced Prime Minister Cai to step down. What benefits can he get? It's not as good as before!"
Sheng Sheng said: "It's because the officials hate Prime Minister Cai, and the Six Prime Ministers can figure out the holy will. People are smart, how can they be stupid? Alas, we are the unlucky ones."
Ju Ming sat nearby and wanted to laugh, silently listening to a group of Cai Party members discussing their illness.
Suddenly, the ship's hull shook, and the official ship had already left the shore.
A sergeant opened the hatch and said with a smile, "Everyone can go back to your room."
According to normal treatment, it is naturally impossible for prisoners to live in a single room. The attendants paid money outside.
On the deck, stood the prisoners' personal entourage, as well as large and small bags of belongings.
In addition to Zhang Boring, Li Bao and others also had Zhu Guoxiang's direct disciple Liang Yi.
Liang Yi was previously responsible for managing the charcoal shop and asked about news about Tokyo.
When Ju Ming came to Beijing, he sold the charcoal shop at a low price, exchanged all the copper coins for silver, and was ready to pay the fine and pay for Ju Ming's life.
Ju Ming returned to his bedroom, looked around casually, and asked, "How much did this room cost?"
Liang Yi replied: "It's three hundred strings."
Ju Ming sighed: "It's so dark. How much food do we need to buy?"
Liang Yi added: "We followers were not allowed to board the ship originally. Each person paid twenty guan before he could board the ship and follow him. If he wanted to live in the cabin, he had to pay additional money. Lang Jun lives in one room, and how many of us are there?
It cost more than 600 yuan to live in one house."
Zhang Bor comforted him: "My lord, there is no need to worry. As long as the prince succeeds to the throne, he will be able to call him back to the capital."
Ju Ming smiled, he must rebel before the prince succeeds to the throne!
…
Li Bozong, the minister of Dali Temple who resigned from office, had his whole family on another ship at this time.
He had too much belongings, and his family and entourage numbered over thirty. Yesterday, he only had time to leave the city and hire a boat to carry his belongings aboard. He had to wait until dawn before setting off.
"Da da da da!"
A galloping horse came, searching for traces along the way, and finally met the Li family coming from the inn.
"Why did Uncle Shi leave Beijing in such a hurry? My nephew paid a visit yesterday evening, and there are only a few old servants left in the Li house." The young man got off his horse.
Li Bozong said: "It is impossible not to leave, for fear of being labeled as a righteous man who framed us."
The young man's name is Wang Di. He was originally Wang Anshi's grandnephew and adopted Wang Anshi as his grandson. He is now a minister of Xianmo Pavilion and a close minister of the emperor. Historically, he defended Kaizhou and was killed by the Jin people.
Wang Di asked: "Is that Zhu Chenggong the righteous man?"
Li Bozong took out "Song of Righteousness" and said, "My nephew, please read it."
Li Bozong copied two copies, gave one to the emperor, and kept the other in Dali Temple. He took Ju Ming's original work away with him.
He has an old grudge with Wang Fu, so he will definitely not last long and may be demoted to another place at any time.
When you are old, instead of staying and being humiliated, it is better to take the opportunity to resign and leave a good name for eternity.
"Song of Righteousness" written in Ju Ming's handwriting can even be collected as a family heirloom.
"The heaven and earth are righteous, and they are mixed and endowed with manifolds. Below are the rivers and mountains, and above are the sun and stars. To people, it is said to be vast, and it is so abundant that it blocks the sky..."
Wang Di read it and said with enthusiasm: "You are really a benevolent and righteous man, and you must not harm him. Officials... well, it's okay not to say anything."
Wang Di's current official position is to accompany the emperor in reading and writing.
He also tried to intercede for Ju Ming, but was scolded angrily and did not dare to say anything more.
Li Bozong explained the matter in detail. After Wang Di listened, he asked: "Uncle Shi, please wait a moment. My nephew will make a copy."
Li Bozong said: "Let's get on the boat first."
When the two arrived at the cabin, Li Bozong took out his pen and ink, Wang Di copied it and then said goodbye and left.
When I got home, my cousin Wang Tong was not there, and my nephews Wang Xuan and Wang Jue were studying.
Although they are uncle and nephew, their ages are not far apart.
Wang Huan asked: "Why doesn't uncle go to the palace today?"
"It's not my turn," Wang Di couldn't wait to share Xiongwen. He took out "Song of Righteousness" and said, "Come and take a look."
Wang Xuan and Wang Jue immediately came over and read it once, and were shocked.
Wang Xuan said: "If you read the "Explanatory Meanings of University Chapters and Sentences" first, and then read this "Song of Righteousness", it can be said that fine wine goes with delicacies, and it is a blessing in the world to taste the taste."
Wang Di was not afraid of offending the emperor. Not only did he show it to his two nephews, he also went to visit his friends and spread the article without any scruples.
Brothers Wang Xuan and Wang Jue both studied in the Imperial College, but they usually lived at home.
I didn't even care that I had a holiday today. After copying "Song of Righteousness", I immediately ran to school to make friends.
"Song of Righteousness" spread rapidly from the Imperial College to the Imperial College.
Not to mention students, even teachers are rushing to circulate it.
When Cai Jing was there, there was still Cai Party in Imperial College.
Cai Jing stepped down, and the Imperial College was filled with angry youths.
In order to eliminate Cai Jing's influence, Wang Fu was petitioning Shangshu to reform Imperial College.
That is to say, Taixue students cannot take the exam every year and get the same background as Jinshi. In the future, the Taixue examination will be cancelled, and all students will take the imperial examination and take the Jinshi test to become an official once every three years.
Song Huizong did not reject it face to face, but seemed to be considering it.
The teachers and students of Taixue, no matter which faction they belong to, now hate Wang Fu deeply.
After they got "Song of Righteousness", they immediately spread it around the world and told stories with added details.
The treacherous prime minister Wang Fu framed Zhongliang, wanted to force Ju Ming to death, and ordered Dali Temple to sentence him to beheading. Ju Ming was tortured, but he remained unyielding and wrote "Song of Righteousness" to show his determination to die.
The minister of Dali Temple couldn't bear to kill the righteous man. He tried many ways to plead for mercy but to no avail, so he had no choice but to resign and leave.
There were even jailers who, when they learned that Ju Ming was about to be tried, risked their lives to give him delicious food and cried to see the loyal minister off.
On the one hand, they admired Ju Ming, but at the same time they hated Wang Fu even more. "Song of Righteousness" became a tool for teachers and students of Taixue to oppose Wang Fu.
Chen Dong is still a student in the Upper House, and he has sent away three groups of roommates.
"Now the country is in danger, but the treacherous ministers are still causing trouble in the world," Chen Dong summoned his supporters, "Cai Jing has gone, and Wang Fu has come. The six thieves are still there, and the Imperial Examination is still going to be abolished. Mr. Zhu is in prison.
How can we turn a blind eye to all the humiliation you have suffered? All gentlemen, please follow me to knock on the tower and cry out for injustice!"
"Go together, go together!"
The students responded one after another, not only to plead for Ju Ming to gain fame, but also to oppose the imperial court's cancellation of the Taixue Examination.
