After Liu Ji, the ministers of civil and military affairs also expressed their pleas for mercy.
Everyone was not necessarily begging for Dang Renhong's mercy, but because Li Chengqian had the dignity of an emperor and could not bear to kill for meritorious deeds and would rather cry in public without regard for his dignity, they were filled with indignation at Dai Zhou's unkindness.
A king who has reached this point is already a rare benevolent king in ancient and modern times. Why do you need to be aggressive in order to achieve your own reputation of loyalty?
Dai Zhou was also sweating a little. He found that His Majesty's crying had aroused public anger and became the target of public criticism.
It seems that ministers like him, who have been in charge of Dali Temple for more than ten years, have their own principles and ideals in their hearts. They do not care about the emperor's anger. At worst, they will be dismissed from office and retire. They are absolutely unwilling to lose their principles in order to please the emperor and become a sycophantic minister.
That would be worse than killing them.
But now, faced with a mountain of pressure and a lot of abuse from the court, he suddenly felt that it was necessary for him to persist so much?
How can a king go so far as to turn a blind eye and only care about his own principles and ideals?
The noise in his ears continued, and the sky filled with boiling. Dai Zhou was silent for a long time, suddenly took a breath, and said: "Your Majesty is kind and kind, which is rare in the ages. How lucky are you, your ministers, how lucky are all the people, how lucky is the country! Since your Majesty is a party,
Renhong pleads for mercy, how can I make Your Majesty lament and get what he wants? However, the evidence of Dang Renhong's crime is conclusive, he can avoid the death penalty, but cannot escape the crime of living. He should be deprived of his title, dismissed from his official position, recover the stolen money from his past corruption, and then be exiled to Qinzhou. Of course.
, I also let Your Majesty know, just this once, and it will not be the same in the future!"
How lucky is it that the king is so benevolent?
Seeing such an emperor crying and asking for mercy in front of him, Dai Zhou found it difficult to insist on it, so he might as well break his principle once and fulfill the emperor's wish.
Such an emperor deserves to do this...
Li Chengqian: "..."
He was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue and looked at Dai Zhou in disbelief.
The original discussion with Fang Jun was to make Dai Zhou continue to be tough, as if he was pleading for mercy for the meritorious minister and not willing to bear the burden of killing the ministers who protected Emperor Taizong, so that all the infamy would be attributed to Dai Zhou.
As an emperor, Li Chengqian would rather have his reputation damaged by being refuted and rejected by his subordinates than to shirk all the infamy.
In this way, not only the case of Dang Renhong was solved, but when the case of Feng Deyi was discussed later, who would blame him for killing the heroes of the Zhenguan Dynasty?
But now Dai Zhou didn't know what medicine he had taken wrongly, but he actually changed his past behavior and agreed, making Li Chengqian sit on the wax immediately.
If you plead for Dang Renhong's mercy, Dali Temple will forgive Dang Renhong's death penalty. Then, when we discuss the crime of enfeoffing Deyi later, do you still need to plead for mercy?
If Yushitai also takes a step back, wouldn't he become an emperor who takes the lead in breaking the law?
If a hero commits a crime in the future, will he still ask for mercy?
Too sloppy...
Fang Jun was also a little speechless. Dai Zhou, who was always selfless, could actually be accommodating?
Could it be that I took the wrong medicine?
Li Chengqian naturally didn't have time to ask Fang Jun what to do at this moment. In fact, Fang Jun's bad idea didn't work very well...
He could only say with a look of relief: "Good! Dang Ai Qing should use this to encourage himself to change his ways. When the world is amnesty in the future, he may not be able to return to Chang'an."
Dang Renhong burst into tears, choked and thanked him. He originally wanted to fish in troubled waters while everyone's eyes were fixed on Feng Deyi. Maybe he could pick it up and put it down gently, but he was so clever that he trapped himself in a cocoon.
, it turned out to be such an ending.
Fortunately, I saved my life. Although I was exiled to Qinzhou, I still had a lot of billions of family property left after excluding the confiscation. I can live in peace and be a rich man in my later years, which is not bad.
As the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, he had an extremely wide network of contacts. Many of the military commanders and generals above were Paoze who fought alongside him in the past. Even if he was exiled to Qinzhou, it would not be difficult to find a place to settle down...
When Dang Renhong was taken away, the Tai Chi Hall became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Xiangdao, the imperial censor.
Liu Xiangdao's expression remained unchanged, he stood out from the crowd, bowed and said loudly: "I impeached the Duke of Miguo for his treacherous behavior, deceiving the emperor, and subverting the country... Please deprive him of the Duke of Miguo."
position, all official positions during his lifetime were removed, and his posthumous title 'Ming' was changed to 'Miao'!"
The ministers were in an uproar.
That's all. Why should Feng Deyi's original posthumous title "Ming" be changed to "Miao"?
What is "Miao"?
The name and the reality are both beautiful and the name is Miao. The name is beautiful but the reality is hurtful.
His name and integrity are inconsistent with reality. Although his name is handed down from generation to generation, he actually does all sorts of wrong things behind his back...
This is to discard all his achievements during and after his lifetime, leaving him with a reputation that will last for centuries.
The severity of the punishment is extremely rare...
What makes everyone even more puzzling is that Liu Xiangdao is His Majesty's confidant at the Censorship Station. He is the emperor's "minion" who always acts according to His Majesty's will. Anyone in the government or the public who is dissatisfied with His Majesty's new policy will be criticized by the Censor.
Taiwan's severe crackdown.
Now advocating severe punishment of Feng Deyi would put His Majesty in a position of "disloyalty and unfilial piety". Is it possible that this Liu Xiangdao is still a critic like Wei Zheng?
I usually can't tell...
Li Ji, who usually did not express his opinions very much in the Chang Dynasty, could not help but frown, looked at Liu Xiang with slight displeasure and said: "Feng Lun was deeply favored by Emperor Taizong during his lifetime, and he was also a meritorious minister to Emperor Taizong.
Since all of his crimes were exposed after his death, such a punishment would be too harsh. His official position does not need to be deprived of him during his lifetime. He can only recover his gifts as a warning to others."
The implication is very clear. Feng Deyi is a favorite minister of Emperor Taizong. Now you advocate severe punishment, even withdrawing the official position granted by Emperor Taizong and changing the posthumous title. Doesn't this mean that you are asking your Majesty to deny Emperor Taizong?
It doesn't matter how guilty Feng Deyi is, but where do you place His Majesty?
Unexpectedly, Liu Xiangdao was completely unafraid. He stood in the palace and spoke loudly and sternly: "Your Majesty's words are wrong! It is precisely because Feng Deyi was favored by Emperor Taizong during his lifetime that he did such disobedient things, so he should be severely punished! If he even did that A thief who is like a snake and a mouse, and who has been favored by his superiors all his life, can still be safe and sound after his death, so where will this loyal man who has been with His Majesty through life and death be placed?"
Today he is trying to establish his "upright" persona and get rid of the bad reputation of "the emperor's minion". I think Liu Xiangdao comes from a famous family, is upright, and has been impartial and selfless since he entered the official career. Of course, although he cooperates with His Majesty to suppress officials who oppose the New Deal, he also has the country at heart. , is definitely not a flattery, how can you bear the name of a sycophant?
Not only did he not care about His Majesty's reputation, he even criticized Li Ji.
Anyone who stands up to refute him at this time will be criticized by him.
Love so and so.
Li Ji was so angry that he puffed his beard and stared. Although he usually kept quiet, his prestige was extremely high. How many people in the government and the public dared to be so arrogant in front of him?
But he also saw that Liu Xiangdao was too excited today, so he wisely chose to keep silent.
Although he is still the head of the Prime Minister in name, the status of the Yushitai is special. If everyone is really united, even the emperor may not be able to change his will.
We can’t just depose everyone from the Yushitai to the Censorship...
Sure enough, as soon as Liu Xiangdao finished speaking, Li Qianyu, the chief censor, stood next to him and said impassionedly: "The Yinggong is the prime minister of the country. He is polite to all officials and governs the world. He may have overall considerations. But the duty of the censor station is to inspect all officials. Officials, clean up the rules and disciplines, only have the national law in their eyes, and nothing else. Feng Deyi is treacherous and flattering, they are both snakes and rats, and the national law will not tolerate it!"
The rest of the Yushitai officials also came out and said in unison: "The principles and disciplines of the country cannot be desecrated, but if they are violated, no mercy will be tolerated!"
The Tai Chi Hall was silent for a moment.
In any case, Liu Xiangdao's actions are impressive. Is there another criticizing minister like Wei Zheng in the court?
Li Chengqian had a headache. He didn't care whether Feng Deyi would be deprived of the gift or change his posthumous title. Since Daizhou suddenly changed his usual style and opened up to Dang Renhong, the situation was completely out of his original plan. , this is very self-esteem-breaking and dangerous enough for an emperor.
He didn't want to care about Feng Deyi's final fate, he just wanted to end this out-of-control court meeting as soon as possible.
He looked around and said, "Dear ladies, do you have any objections?"
As soon as these words came out, even the ministers who wanted to win leniency for the emperor and grant Deyi all shut up. Everyone also felt that the unusual behavior of Dai Zhou and Liu Xiangdao made the emperor uneasy. Naturally, I won't be entangled any longer.
Even if this may bring about criticism of His Majesty's "disloyalty and unfilial piety" both inside and outside the court, it is far less important than the loss of control in the court...
Li Chengqian asked Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Rites, "Do you think it is in line with the system to change the posthumous title of De Yi to 'Miao'?"
Xu Jingzong said: "Yes."
Li Chengqian stopped talking and made the final decision: "Then let's do it according to the advice of the Yushitai."
Feng Deyi, a famous official of his generation, revealed his past sins after his death. Not only were all his official positions removed during his lifetime, but all his posthumous gifts were deprived of him, and even his posthumous title was changed.
The posthumous title system originated in the pre-Qin period and was gradually improved during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with strict standards and procedures.
The posthumous title before Feng Deyi was "Ming", which means "Ming" when the results of thinking are far-reaching, "Ming" is the name of "sincerity and self-knowledge", and "Ming" is the beauty of beauty.
After the change, the posthumous title was "Miao", and the name and the actual meaning were both beautiful and the name was Miao. The name was beautiful but the actual meaning was harmful.
The determination of the posthumous title is the "final conclusion of the coffin", covering his life. However, when Feng Deyi was alive, he probably never thought that his coffin had been closed after his death, and many years later, the nails in the coffin were pulled out and nailed again.
Read it again.
"Here."
Liu Xiangdao bowed and accepted the order.
Yushitai won a great victory in the game with the emperor today. He took off the infamy of "Emperor's Eagle Dog" from him. He felt completely enlightened and satisfied with his ambition.
Of course, he also knew that his move had caused serious dissatisfaction to His Majesty and would cause endless consequences, so he had to do everything possible to remedy it.
As for whether Feng Deyi's spirit in heaven will resent him, that doesn't matter.
It is already ridiculous for a thief who enjoyed all the honors and favors during his lifetime to receive incense and incense offerings from the community for many years after his death. Not digging the grave, crushing the bones and scattering the ashes is considered an extrajudicial favor, so what else is there to complain about?
Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the throne, didn't even bother to ask, "If you have something to do, leave the court if you have nothing to do," he stood up and left. When had the ministers in the Taiji Hall seen Li Chengqian like this? They suddenly looked at each other.
There is no doubt that the two consecutive cases today have made His Majesty very embarrassed. His two big bosses in charge of the judiciary are disobedient, which must have caused a serious crisis for His Majesty.