After this question was asked, the hall became quiet.
Because this is not a question that needs to be answered at all. Being able to patrol Jiangxi, Zhou Jian's identity is naturally a seventh-grade censor.
However, at that time, Chen Xun was promoted to the title of Minister of the Third Rank and the Sixth Ministry. His original position was a Hanlin bachelor, and he had numerous disciples. At the same time, he was appointed to the Wenyuan Pavilion and was a central cabinet minister.
Although at that time, the cabinet was not as prominent as it is now, but it was still at the level of an important minister, so...
"Your Majesty, when Lord Zhou investigated the case of Chen Shangshu's youngest son invading the land, he was only a seventh-rank censor. There was a huge gap between him and Chen Shangshu, who was already in the direct cabinet at that time, both in terms of rank and status."
Under the gaze of everyone, Qian Shu turned to the emperor and spoke.
"Under such circumstances, Mr. Zhou can still handle the case impartially and punish Chen Shangshu's youngest son. Doesn't it mean that Chen Shangshu is a man of integrity and never abuses the power in his hands?"
As soon as this statement came out, more and more people in the palace were inclined to believe that Chen Xun was an innocent minister.
Although there is no connection between the two incidents, as far as Wang Xuan's case is concerned, Chen Ying played a mediating role in it.
Chen Xun had never been impeached for accepting bribes in all his years in Qingliu. Therefore, after the case was revealed, most people in the court tended to believe that it was Chen Ying who accepted bribes, and Chen Xun was considered to be the one who accepted bribes.
My son was forcing me to do so, and I had already collected the money. If I didn't do something, I might be bitten back, so I acted favoritism.
However, once the example of Qian Shu was cited, this speculation was denied in disguise. After all, they were all his own sons. There was no reason why Chen Xun would compromise because of Chen Ying instead of protecting his youngest son.
You know, because Chen Xun was involved in the original case, many people still knew about it. Chen Xun’s youngest son, Chen Rong, was flogged in public because of that incident. This was not a good thing for someone like Chen Xun who valued face
To say that is probably the most unacceptable thing.
But even so, Zhou Jian was still able to "handle the case impartially." From another perspective, it can indeed be proved that Chen Xun did not intervene in the original case.
Seeing that the people around him began to whisper, most of the contents were beneficial to Chen Xun, Zhou Jian also became a little anxious and said.
"What happened back then, the Chen family also moved out of Chen Xunlai, but I was not moved by it, so..."
"So what Lord Zhou wants to say is that it's not that Chen Shangshu didn't protect his son, but that you, Lord Zhou, are selfless and like the sky?"
Before he finished speaking, Qian Shu interrupted him and continued.
However, these two sentences were obviously not meant to praise Zhou Jian, but rather meant to be sarcastic.
Words of praise are certainly nice when spoken by others, but if spoken by oneself, it may seem a bit shameless.
Although Qian Shu's words were a bit exaggerated, it was obviously what Zhou Jian had not finished.
Therefore, after Qian Shu finished speaking, there was a burst of low discussion below, which was also mixed with a little ridicule and ridicule.
Such a scene immediately made Zhou Jian's face turn red and he pointed at Qian Shudao.
"you……"
"alright!"
At this moment, the emperor, who had never spoken before, raised his voice, which finally relieved Zhou Jian.
As a result, everyone's eyes were focused on the emperor. Qian Shu, Zhou Jian and other people in the palace also bowed their hands and saluted.
"His Majesty……"
Zhu Qiyu held the memorial in his hand and pondered for a moment, then his eyes fell on Chen Xun beside him and said.
"Chen Shangshu, in the final analysis, this matter is related to you. The Ministry of Punishment has submitted Chen Ying's confession. He has confessed to accepting bribes, bullying people, colluding with officials, etc. After all, he is your son, so,
I would like to ask Chen Shangshu, how do you think Chen Ying should be dealt with?"
After the words fell, the palace suddenly became quiet.
This is not easy to answer. After all, he is his biological son. If Chen Xun wants to punish him severely, then, although he is considered a loyal king, he will appear to be too ruthless and will arouse criticism.
However, if he is pleading for his son... Qian Shu just said that Chen Xun has never deliberately protected his relatives and evaded the law. Now that Chen Xun is pleading like this, it can be regarded as a slap in the face to himself.
.
So, faced with this situation, what would Chen Shangshu choose?
Of course, this was only the thought of some courtiers. The important ministers standing at the forefront sighed inwardly when they saw this situation.
This time, I let this old guy escape...
As expected, next, facing everyone's gaze, Chen Xun walked into the hall with a heavy face, knelt down on the ground, and said.
"Your Majesty, I have not been strict in raising my son. Although I am not aware of the things my son has done, if he had not been my son, he would not have been able to escape the investigation of Yousi. He has been at large until now. Now his crimes have been exposed to the world.
As his father, I really have no shame in standing in the court anymore. I sincerely ask your Majesty to allow me to resign and return home."
"My son Chen Ying's sins are so serious that I dare not defend him. However, I sincerely ask Your Majesty to spare his life for the sake of my hard work for the court for many years. I wish you all the best."
As he spoke, Chen Xun took off his official hat, put it in front of him, and then kowtowed respectfully to the ground. His complex mentality of being ashamed but unable to bear to ignore his son was clearly revealed.
Such a sincere and tearful scene immediately moved many of the ministers present. Then, ministers came out of the palace and said.
"Your Majesty, I believe that this matter has nothing to do with Chen Shangshu, and it is all Chen Ying's fault. Chen Shangshu has been an official for many years and has devoted himself to the court. If Chen Shangshu is dismissed from office because of his lax discipline in educating his children, it will probably chill the hearts of both the government and the public. Please, Your Majesty
Think twice.”
This man was a doctor from the Ministry of Finance, named Zhu Hou, and he had a close relationship with Chen Xun.
When he spoke at this time, it was clear that he was thinking of getting a head start. If nothing unexpected happened, many ministers followed him and came out one after another.
"Your Majesty, I also believe that this matter has nothing to do with Chen Shangshu, and we should not be involved at will..."
"Yes, Chen Shangshu has worked hard for the country. Please bear in mind his many years of hard work and forgive Chen Shangshu..."
As a result, public opinion in the court was completely reversed, because this time, not only Chen Xun's disciples, but also many ministers who had nothing to do with the matter began to believe in Chen Xun's innocence and came forward to intercede for him.
Zhu Qiyu sat on the throne and had a panoramic view of everything underneath. With things developing now, he could certainly see clearly what Chen Xun wanted.
Zhu Qiyu knew the details of this case clearly, because Shu Liang had already reported all the details of the trial.
Judging from the evidence, there is indeed no trace of Chen Xun's involvement. As for the reality...whether Chen Xun is really innocent or he left a back-up plan in advance when he first collected the money, for Chen Xun,
It was not difficult for him to solve the matter.
However, he never took action and waited until the Ministry of Punishment concluded the case and finally presented it to the court before taking advantage of the situation.
This series of actions was not just to protect himself, but more importantly, Chen Xun wanted to protect his reputation!
In any case, since Chen Ying was involved in this case, no matter what the final conclusion of the Ministry of Punishments was, the rumors among the scholars could not be stopped.
Although this was not a fatal blow to Chen Xun, who relied on Qingliu's reputation for his livelihood, it was definitely a serious blow to his vitality.
Because this kind of rumor is the most difficult to crack down on. If you want to quell the rumor, generally speaking, you can only rely on time to let everyone slowly forget about it.
However, this means that Chen Xun needs to lie dormant for a long time, act low-key, and be a transparent person in the court, just like Zhu Jian who failed in the previous struggle for the crown prince to leave the cabinet.
But this was obviously not what Chen Xun wanted, so he chose to deal with this matter today and on this occasion.
And so far, it seems that he has tried his best. Not only his most proud disciples have all come forward, but other courtiers whom Chen Xun can influence have also come forward to encourage him.
Such an argument in court would completely clear him of all suspicion. If any rumors spread in the future, they would be scoffed at. Especially in the end, when Chen Xun resigned from his post with such a move, it could be said that the whole drama was derailed.
Reached the climax.
According to the scheduled scene, Zhu Qiyu should sincerely help Chen Xun up in person, tell him calmly that he had nothing to do with it, then enumerate his achievements, encourage him to continue to serve the court, and finally
, give Chen Ying another pardon and bring this drama to a successful conclusion.
Of course, perhaps it was because Chen Xun had never thought about hiding his intentions from Zhu Qiyu, so what he did in this scene was indeed a bit excessive.
Although Chen Ying's crime was serious, in the final analysis, the most he could do was to return the stolen money, and then be stripped of his honors and exiled to the border. Considering that he was Chen Xun's son, he could avoid the pain of exile and change it to a cane or other punishments.
, it’s not impossible.
Chen Xun said to spare his life. On the one hand, he wanted to show his humbleness. On the other hand, he also told Zhu Qiyu frankly that he had no intention of hiding his thoughts from the emperor.
As for why he dared to do this...
Zhu Qiyu sighed, so it can be said that these people in the court are all old foxes. No matter how smart a person is in his position, he will be thoroughly studied by them in a few years.
Chen Xun dared to do this because he knew very well that Zhu Qiyu never cared about the overt and secret fighting among the ministers within the rules.
Struggles in the court are inevitable. Wherever there are people, there will be struggles. Perhaps it is because of disagreements in political opinions, perhaps because of different positions, or even simply because they want to be in power. Various reasons will cause courtiers to
They fight against each other, which is unstoppable.
After all, there are only so many positions in the court. If someone wants to go up, someone has to get down first. It is reasonable for those who have already gone up to use their own methods to keep their positions.
Therefore, as long as Zhu Qiyu's bottom line is not touched, then when everyone uses their own methods, who is smarter will naturally be on whose side Zhu Qiyu will side without taking sides.
Regarding this matter, Chen Xunxuan's timing was very clever, not only in court, but more importantly, he never interfered with the investigation of the Ministry of Justice from the beginning to the end, whether it was out of self-confidence or other reasons.
But this is the fact. Therefore, it was the Ministry of Punishment that had the investigation results first, and then he began to arrange a counterattack. This order is extremely important.
If, on the other hand, Chen Xun directly interfered with the Ministry of Justice in various ways, then no matter what the truth is, just such a method violated Zhu Qiyu's taboo.
Secondly, his method of counterattack was to refute those who impeached him one by one in full view of the public, in front of everyone, without secret bribes, threats or other means. He was upright and with sufficient reasons.
Move within the rules.
Perhaps the most dangerous point is that in this process, Chen Xun used a lot of people to speak for him. This can easily be regarded as a clique, and this is exactly what Zhu Qiyu dislikes the most.
But having said that, if anyone else sat on the throne, Chen Xun might not dare to do so. However, Chen Xuncai was not worried about Zhu Qiyu.
Because he knows very well that the emperor hates cliques. The deep-rooted reason is that once a clique is formed, the execution of specific government affairs will be affected by the party's position. I will agree with what the other party opposes, and I will oppose what the other party agrees with.
Therefore, talking about positions without talking about right and wrong is party struggle. The emperor hates party struggle, but it does not prohibit ministers from making friends with each other.
In other words, if Chen Xun instructs his disciples to criticize Zhou Jian and others this morning, it will naturally be regarded as a party struggle. However, from beginning to end, they only defended Chen Xun, although they must have been angry in advance.
However, it cannot be regarded as a party struggle.
Chen Xun knew very well that just because the emperor hated party strife, the emperor also knew the difference between party strife and ordinary political struggles. It would be too underestimated to judge whether it is party strife only by the number of people who help him.
The emperor.
He was confident that Zhu Qiyu could tell the difference, which is why he was so bold, because all his actions were done in accordance with the rules set by the emperor. If this was the case, then the emperor had no reason to deliberately
Target him...
I have to say that Chen Xun, this old guy, seems to be peaceful and amiable at ordinary times, but after all, he is the one who came out of Qingliu and has stayed in the cabinet for the longest time. This kind of political struggle uses the method of controlling people's hearts.
, it is true that he is very skillful.
It should be said that if there were no unexpected circumstances, his prediction was indeed accurate. Zhu Qiyu did not think that people in the court were black and white. If there was evidence to prove that Chen Xun was guilty, then that would be a different matter. Since there was no evidence, he would not
It is not necessary to demand a so-called real truth.
Chen Ying is responsible for this case, which can actually serve as a warning to the officials in the court. At present, it seems that Chen Xun has no intention of defending Chen Ying. In fact, if necessary, he is very likely to
Will be willing to let Chen Ying be exiled to the border in exchange for his political life and clear future.
Therefore, it stands to reason that Zhu Qiyu should do what Chen Xun expected at this time. But unfortunately, the biggest difference between people sitting in different positions is that they have different information.
Chen Xun did not hide Zhu Qiyu's behavior these days, and Zhu Qiyu did not stop him. He just let him arrange it. Naturally, he also had his own purpose...