"Those who have a country and a family are not worried about being few but about inequality; they are not worried about poverty but being uneasy." [The Analects of Confucius·Ji Shi]
Shangshu Ling Yang Zan fainted from heatstroke so suddenly that the emperor seemed to be caught off guard: "Since Shangshu Ling is not in good health, let him put down what he is doing and rest at home for the time being. These days are indeed full of affairs and tiring all the officials.
Okay, I hope you will take good care of your health and work hard to eat more meals. Don't let the court lose its talents due to the lack of paperwork."
Hearing the emperor's caring words, Ma Rixi and others all agreed.
This summer's severe drought is like a fire starting a prairie fire, intensifying. Even in the Qingliang Palace, which is ventilated to relieve the heat, the emperor can't help but often ask Mu Shun to wipe the sweat from his forehead for him. It is difficult to say whether there is any driving force behind the civil unrest in Anmen this time.
, perhaps to interfere with the court's major relief work, or perhaps to divert the court's attention from something.
After comforting the ministers with kind words, the emperor sent someone to summon Fa Yan from the side hall again. Although he already knew the whole story, he still had to go about his routine in front of Ma Rixi and others.
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After listening to Fa Yan, whose face softened slightly, retell the incident word for word, the emperor said: "The refugees are fighting and making noise, and such things are happening in the land of the capital! And it is still at this time, we must not take it lightly.
So, since you all know the whole story, you might as well express your opinions."
At this time, the first person who couldn't sit still was Taiwei Dong Cheng. He took the lead and said: "The refugees robbed the porridge shed and trampled several people to death. They should not be refugees, but thugs. I thought that in front of the Ministry of Punishment, I thought that in this matter, Tingwei
Disposal by law.”
"That's what the Lieutenant said." Shangshu Pushe Wu Shuo said, fearing that others would not know that he would always be attached to Dong Chengji: "Your Majesty's North and South Imperial Guards are located in Chang'an. Although these refugees can't do anything, they will still cause trouble.
Moreover, if we do not strictly enforce the rules at this time, other refugees will commit minor crimes when they see them, and who will still obey the rules of relief?"
If this matter is to be dealt with strictly, Jingzhao Yin Hu Miao will be the first to bear the brunt, and Hu Miao has previously divided responsibilities with Shi Hou Wen, the censor of grain supervision, and Hou Wen is responsible for relief and other matters. This is what the two of them confirmed to the imperial minister.
Passed. So Wu Shuo seemed to be selfless and wanted to investigate Hu Miao, but in fact he was targeting Hou Wen.
According to human connections, Hou Wen belonged to the late Situ Wang Yun, a faction of Guandong scholars. Nowadays, the censor, Cheng Huan Dian, has great power, and the scope of his authority involves many interests. Many people are looking forward to making mistakes, openly or secretly.
Among the servants, Yang Qi, the official secretary, was a little anxious. After all, in his opinion, this matter, both public and private, seemed to have nothing to do with Hou Wen: "I think it is wrong. This matter seems to be caused by uneven distribution of porridge."
The reason for the rise is actually because the refugees have come from afar, and due to the climate, the resentment in their hearts has been settled early..."
He originally wanted to take the opportunity to accuse Jingzhao Yin and Hu Miao of not doing a good job in public security, but after thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate. Doing so would easily push the blame back and forth and put it on Chang'an Commandery Wang Ling. He still couldn't figure it out yet.
Under the circumstances of what the emperor's attitude towards Wang Ling was, Yang Qi felt it was better to say less and focus on the main points: "According to the confession of the Tingwei, the refugees had no intention of rebellion and only committed crimes in a moment of impatience.
These are troubled times, so in my opinion, we might as well treat him leniently to calm the people's minds."
Wu Shuo did not dare to argue with Yang Qi, and sat aside honestly with his head lowered, handing the situation back to the real ministers like Dong Cheng.
"It's so easy to forgive these unruly people." Dong Cheng was proud of his power and had always respected but not feared Yang Qi, Ma Rixi and other loyal ministers. He sneered and said: "Then where is the law of the court? The drought is getting worse every day.
, If the imperial court does not use this to establish its prestige, if the number of refugees increases in the future, how can it restrain them?"
"The lieutenant's words are reasonable. Convicted people should not be treated lightly. Otherwise, where would the law be? But Yang Gong is also right. In extraordinary times, extraordinary things should be done." The emperor deliberately muddied the waters, and said both implicitly and externally.
When he reached this point, he paused for a moment. He looked at another servant sitting near Yang Qi, Xun You, the Minister of Public Affairs. His eyes became as solid as a matter of fact, and he said again: "Mr. Xun, where is your opinion?"
Situ Ma Rixi and Sikong Zhao Wen, who had been silent and observing the situation, immediately reacted and turned around to look at Xun You, who had a clear face and sharp eyes behind them.
Xun You smiled bitterly. He had just returned to the court with the army not long ago. Before he could clarify all the things inside and outside the court during his absence, he encountered such a big event, which made him unable to relax for a while. Not to mention the imperial palace that had been carried out vigorously and vigorously in the past two days.
Shi Linjun, said that the incident of refugees robbing the porridge shacks happened yesterday afternoon. As soon as he heard about it, he immediately realized that this matter was extraordinary. He discussed it with his secretary Ling Xun Yue for half the night and went to bed at dawn.
In his opinion, the refugee riot was a very serious accident, and if it was not handled properly, it would cause disaster. The emperor must have had the idea of pardoning him for a long time, but he could not mention it directly, but had to change it to someone else.
The way the emperor was satisfied.
Even Zhao Wen, who is good at figuring out the Holy Will, may not know the emperor's true intentions better than Xun You. This is determined by innate intelligence, rather than the experience gained through hard speculation: "May I ask Your Majesty, what is the city's intention?"
After the captain of the gate school has finished his retreat, can I read the memorials of Shi Hou Wen, the imperial censor, Hu Miao and others in Jingzhao?"
The emperor nodded and said: "After the princes reviewed it in Chengming Hall, they sent it here early in the morning."
Xun You pondered for a while, tried to straighten his waist, and then said: "Their memorials talk about their respective approaches to this matter. Your Majesty must be aware of this. What I want to say here is how to deal with it."
This matter, if the Taiwei's wishes are followed and the refugees are severely suppressed, it will inevitably trigger a civil uprising."
"For a few refugees who have committed crimes, Mr. Xun is certainly taking things too seriously," Dong Cheng said coldly.
"Otherwise." Xun You shook his head decisively, raised his brows, and said succinctly: "After yesterday's incident, I specially sent my disciple Cang Tou out to find out some real facts among the refugees, and I knew that it was far from being caused by the scorching sun.
Fire makes people irritable and they rob and smash porridge sheds."
"What's the reason for that?" Zhao Wen interrupted and asked. His words were not redundant, but were deliberately intended to elicit what Xun You was going to say next.
Xun You suddenly became serious, his eyes were frightening, and he said word by word: "Although these refugees come from different places and don't know each other, their situations are generally similar. For example, there was a refugee from Duling who said that he died of drought this year.
Seedlings and fields will have no harvest. The government suppresses grain and grass and refuses to provide relief, and wealthy merchants in various counties are driving up prices. He has no choice but to sell his property and fields in exchange for a little surplus grain to support his wife. Even so, there is no livelihood at all, so the refugee has no choice but to sell the wheat
He left his wife and children to live while he came to Chang'an to beg for food."