Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 622 Deadly Remonstrance

When the people of Songjiang Prefecture heard the verdict on Yang Zhongliang, they were all excited. When Yang Zhongliang was loaded into the prison van and leaving the city, people on both sides of the street held rotten vegetable leaves and mud and waited for the van to pass by.

There were not many real victims among these onlookers. It was just that Yang Zhongliang was rich but unkind in Songjiang, and many people hated him deeply.

The Yang family case involved many people, and all officials in Beijing were shocked. Many officials had no objection to the handling of Yang Zhongliang, but they were deeply worried about the emperor's actions.

The emperor's behavior is like bypassing the court and using the army to forcibly clean up the officialdom, just like the behavior during the chaotic times of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.

After Yang En submitted his petition, Meng Jun did not respond. As for Yang En, Meng Jun planned to deal with him after returning to the capital following his southern tour.

However, the Songjiang case escalated, and Yang En did not receive the emperor's order. He pondered for a long time and decided to write a memorial to advise the emperor that Yang Zhongliang had committed a crime, but he would not say how to sentence him. He could only decide how to deal with Yang Zhongliang. Yang En felt that doing so would cause endless troubles.

Afterwards, Yang En wrote a letter himself and sent someone to deliver it urgently to Songjiang. This time, Yang En did not use the court's post station, but sent his own family to deliver it personally.

The letter said: "Yang Zhongliang violated the law and discipline and should be severely punished. However, your Majesty's actions this time make me worried and I have no choice but to risk my life to make a warning.

Your Majesty has dispatched troops to forcibly arrest officials from Songjiang. This is a circumvention of the proper procedures of the court. This move has made all officials panic. They don't know whether one day in the future the army will rush into the government office and arrest all officials. The officials don't know whether they should act according to the court's laws. In the long run, the officials' duties will be unclear and suspicion will arise between the superiors and the subordinates.

The court has officials with different duties, each with its own responsibilities, and the laws and regulations are clear and complete. Everything should be done according to the established procedures and legal ways to win the hearts of the people. Your Majesty's actions now seem to be a disregard for the laws of the court.

The laws of the court are the foundation of the country, maintaining the order of the world and the orderly implementation of government orders. Your Majesty has violated them. Although you can purge the treacherous for a while, in the long run, it will set a bad precedent. If future generations follow suit and trample on the laws at will, the country will no longer be a country, the order will collapse, and disasters will ensue! "

Officials in the Qian Dynasty were different from those in the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Meng Jun never punished people for their words. Even if someone talked nonsense and made Meng Jun angry, Meng Jun would at most demote that person to Liaodong or the border of Yunnan and Guizhou to do educational work.

As for literary inquisition, there had never been one during the Qianlong reign. Therefore, when the news of what the emperor did in Songjiang reached the capital, all officials were shocked at first, and then many people began to compete to submit memorials to admonish the emperor.

In the minds of many ministers, on the one hand, the emperor's procedure for dealing with officials was wrong, and on the other hand, it was also because the emperor's treatment of his ministers was a bit too harsh. This time, more than 300 officials were dismissed because of Yang Zhongliang.

We helped you sit on the throne of the emperor, and the world belongs to your Meng family. So what if we make some money and receive some benefits?

But of course they couldn't say that, so they could only make a fuss about Meng Jun's wrong procedures in handling the Songjiang officials. However, most of the officials' memorials were relatively peaceful.

Only one censor tried to emulate Hai Rui. He sent his family members back to his hometown, dismissed the servants, prepared a coffin, and submitted a memorial. His words were harsh, and there were many accusations against Meng Jun in the memorial.

The memorial said: Your Excellency Yan Hongtu, in order to speak frankly about the affairs of the world in order to correct the way of the monarch and clarify the duties of the ministers, I risked my life to give such frank advice.

The king is the ruler of all the people and has a heavy responsibility. As a censor, if I remain silent, I will fail your Majesty's kindness and be ashamed of my responsibility as a censor. Therefore, I am writing this memorial with all my heart and soul and at the risk of my life.

In the case of the Yang family, Your Majesty dispatched the army to intervene and forcibly cleaned up the officialdom. Such actions seem to be swift and decisive, but in fact they will cause endless troubles. This disregards the laws of the court. Your Majesty has abandoned this righteous path and used the army to interfere arbitrarily, which has set a bad example of undermining the legal system.

Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and you bear the heavy responsibility of governing the country. Your every move is a model for future generations. If you act like this now, and your descendants follow suit and trample on it at will, then the country's rules and regulations will be destroyed. If the rules and regulations are destroyed, how can the country be a country?

Your Majesty's actions are like those of a dictator. Xia Jie and Shang Zhou abused their power and ignored the law, which led to the destruction of their countries and their own deaths, and they were laughed at by the world. Your Majesty is now bypassing the court and acting alone with force. How is it different from them? Your Majesty treats the people of the world as worthless, and I am afraid that you will lose the hearts of the people and be deserted by everyone and relatives soon.

It's not that I don't fear death, but I just can't bear to see Your Majesty go astray, and even more so, can't bear to see the world in turmoil. I only hope that Your Majesty will repent, return to the right path, follow the laws of the court, and care about the people of the world.

If Your Majesty can listen to my advice and change your ways, I will die with no regrets. If Your Majesty insists on not listening, killing me will only add one more coffin. However, Your Majesty's failure is the failure of the world and a disaster for future generations!"

In fact, Meng Jun did not kill Yang Zhongliang and a large number of accomplices based on his own likes and dislikes when he tried them. Besides, it was impossible for Meng Jun to judge so many people alone.

Meng Jun first asked the Qingluan Guards to collect evidence, and then ordered the three judicial officials accompanying the emperor in Nanjing to conduct the trial. However, there were some procedural irregularities in the arrest of the officials from Songjiang Prefecture.

This is also because Meng Jun was worried that Yang Zhongliang had great power in Songjiang, and that officials from all levels were involved. Meng Jun was also worried that if the matter dragged on for too long, it would affect the people of Songjiang Prefecture and commercial taxes.

After finishing the matter in Songjiang, Meng Jun returned to Jinling. After interrogating Yang Zhongliang, Lu Ping learned that the ring had been given to Yang En. Meng Jun did not say anything after knowing this. As far as national affairs were concerned, the ring was just something Meng Jun wore casually.

Not long after Meng Jun returned to Jinling, Yang En's letter was delivered to Meng Jun. After reading the letter, Meng Jun fell into deep thought.

Ask yourself, when did you start to distrust the court officials? Yang En's vague words about suspicion between the upper and lower levels actually meant that he did not trust the court officials, otherwise why would he use force.

But the thing has been done. Meng Jun recalled what happened and thought that the reason for mobilizing troops might be because he had left the palace. He felt a little uneasy. Only with the army around him could Meng Jun feel at ease. And arresting officials at all levels in Songjiang was also the fastest and most convenient way to use the army.

Afterwards, Meng Jun wrote a letter back to Yang En, the gist of which was that this was just a special case and required special treatment. Moreover, the trial was not decided by his own likes and dislikes, but by the Qingluan Guards and the Three Law Courts.

However, not long after Meng Jun sent out his reply, memorials of admonition from officials in the capital came to Jinling like snowflakes. Meng Jun patiently read through them, but the more he read, the angrier he became. These people, after finally catching one of his mistakes, would not let it go.

Especially the memorial from Yan Hongtu, which almost made Meng Jun furious. It was the first time in so many years that someone accused him of being like Jie and Zhou. This really caught Meng Jun off guard.

Meng Jun was so angry that he ordered Qingluan Guard to rush to the capital to control Yan Hongtu and put him in Qingluan Guard's prison first. He would deal with him later after he returned to the capital.