Chapter 459: Never Repent (2)

In the early years of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, after the court was held on the 16th day of the first lunar month, the first thing that had just opened the yamen was to go to the Jinyiwei to bring Wei Zhongxian, who had been detained for half a month, and to judge him. In today's morning court, without waiting for the ministers to make a decision, the emperor had already issued an order, ordering the Ministry of Justice to convict Wei Zhongxian in a serious and quick manner. There was a thirty-year-old saying that was full of murderous intentions, and now he proposed to deal with Wei Zhongxian more seriously. The officials of the Ministry of Justice could be sure that the emperor was going to take action against him. So after the court, they immediately ordered people to mention Wei Zhongxian.

The Jinyiwei cooperated very well this time, and they quickly sent Wei Zhongxian to the Ministry of Justice. However, as the minister of the Ministry of Justice, hesitant, did not dare to interrogate Wei Zhongxian in person. After hesitating for a while, he finally decided to go to Gao Wenbao, who had tried Tang Feng on the same day and tried the murder of Keshi, to come and ask about the case. Although Gao Wenbao's status in the Ministry of Justice was not low, he did not achieve his current high position by currying favor with the eunuch party, and he was not afraid of being criticized.

After a group of yamen runners brought Wei Zhongxian into the lobby, Gao Wenbao slapped the arbor: "Who is the one who is standing down? He dares to be so arrogant in the lobby of my Ministry of Justice. He stands without kneeling. Could it be that being an official cannot cure you?"

After being taken out of the prison of the Jinyiwei, Wei Zhongxian felt relieved. In his heart, only Tang Feng and his subordinates were afraid, because since they dared to be enemies with him when they were covered with their own hands, they naturally had no scruples at this time. But he didn't take the rest of the court seriously. In his opinion, these people were all seated with their help, so who dared to be disrespectful to him? So when he arrived at the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, he stood up proudly, without any awareness of being a criminal.

Hearing Gao Wenbao's stern scolding, Wei Zhongxian just sneered: "Your people from the Ministry of Justice have the courage to scold us, even our family dares to denounce us. Aren't you afraid that our family will say something?" He stood as firm as Mount Tai.

The yamen runners below were all despised when they saw this. If it weren't for the lobby and their identities were too humble, these people would have come forward to teach the prisoner a lesson. Although the senior officials of the Ministry of Justice were afraid of Wei Zhongxian for some reasons, the people below just despise the eunuch. Although under the hatred eyes of these people, Wei Zhongxian still looked at Gao Wenbao leisurely and provocatively.

"Bold!" Gao Wenbao's face darkened, and after slapped the gavel again, he ordered: "Since someone is so stubborn, don't blame me for being ruthless! The person comes, I'll be punished!"

"You dare!" Before Wei Zhongxian's words fell, two water and fire sticks had already been lit at the bend of his legs. He felt his legs numb and he fell to the ground. Because of his unpreparedness, his knees hit hard on the bluestone ground, making him so painful that he let out a painful hum. Then, several water and fire sticks crossed around Wei Zhongxian, and he could only lie on the ground and be tortured.

Two strong yamen runners walked up at this time, swung the stick in their hands and hit Wei Zhongxian's back and buttocks, making a muffled "bang". The nine thousand-year-old Eunuch Wei, who had always been in awe of five points, finally was in the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, and was tortured in full view of everyone.

"Bang bang bang..." After ten sticks, Wei Zhongxian almost screamed in pain, but for some reason, he did not snort, but stared at Gao Wenbao, who was sitting on the top of him with resentful eyes. It was not until this time that he believed Tang Feng's words, and he seemed to be really finished. The phoenix with wings falling from the ground was not as good as a chicken, and Wei Zhongxian was not a phoenix at all. After falling from the halo above his head, the situation was even worse. He had already seen clearly that the officials of the Ministry of Justice who dared to punish him were not those who had been following him to flatter him, which made him realize the facts more clearly.

Gao Wenbao watched Wei Zhongxian being severely punished in court. Although he had no expression on his face, he was very excited. For many years, he had been waiting for such a day. Today, everything finally came. After hitting ten sticks, he spoke again: "Kneel down and report your name."

"People violated Wei Zhongxian!" After suffering, Wei Zhongxian, who knew the situation, had to surrender and answered in a regular manner.

"Do you know your guilt?" Gao Wenbao felt relieved when he saw that the other party was convinced and continued to ask.

"Our family... confessed!" Wei Zhongxian didn't want to suffer this flesh and blood anymore, and he had already told everything in the Jinyiwei, and was not afraid of telling him the last time here again.

After a satisfied smile, Gao Wenbao ordered people to read the confession Wei Zhongxian had asked in front of him. After confirming it again, he said: "If all this is true, please sign and seal it."

Without any hesitation, Wei Zhongxian immediately pressed his handprint on his new confession. He knew that he had finished it completely. He only sent the officials of the Ministry of Justice to ask the case, which means that these people wanted to abandon themselves as the leader. After the emperor had such confessions, he would convict himself as quickly as possible, and then sentenced him to the extreme. But he was unwilling to just finish it like this. Those who used to be respectful to him now abandoned themselves like this, which made Wei Zhongxian more resentful and even more afraid.

So after pressing the handprint, Wei Zhongxian suddenly said, "Sir, we still have some information to report."

"Oh? Let's talk about it." Gao Wenbao also had a thorough understanding of the situation in the court. He knew that such a large eunuch party could not be completely punished by Wei Zhongxian. If he could really find more people, he would have made great contributions in front of the emperor, so he asked hurriedly.

At this time, in the palace, Chongzhen, who was full of hesitation, was looking at Tang Feng with inquiring eyes: "Tang Qing, now that the Dongchang is destroyed, Wei Yin is restrained, and Gu Bingqian, as the chief assistant, has handed over the memorial to resign and retire. What do you think I should deal with other eunuchsmen?" When he just launched an attack, Chongzhen made up his mind to eradicate all eunuchsmen officials in the court. But at this time, victory is already in sight, and he hesitated a little.

Tang Feng could also understand the emperor's concerns. In the past, Chongzhen was actually just suppressed by others, of course he wanted to remove all those people and strengthen the king's sect, so he would have fewer concerns. But now the situation is different. All the ministers in the court are all lying in the head. If some people are executed in this way, the emperor will worry about the vacancy of the court and thus miss the government. This is not what he hopes to see, so he has such hesitation.

After thinking for a while, Tang Feng did not express his opinion, but said: "The emperor is wise and wise, everything will naturally be cut off by Your Majesty. Is the thunder and rain the dew the king's kindness? I think no matter how the emperor deals with them, these people dare not complain."

"Tang Qing, I ask you now out of trust in you, so don't say these clichés. There are not many people in this world who can truly trust, you are one of them. Now there are only you and me here. Just say whatever you have. No matter what you say, I won't blame you." The emperor saw Tang Feng's concerns and perfunctoryness and said righteously.

"Thank you for your trust in me." Tang Feng hurriedly saluted: "If the emperor must let me say what I say, I think these eunuch party officials have done a lot of evil over the years, and it is time for them to pay back their debts over the years."

"In your opinion, they should be convicted?" the emperor asked hurriedly.

"Yes, this will make the people convinced and give a warning to those who come later!" Tang Feng looked at the emperor and saw that he was listening carefully to his words, he stopped hiding: "Over the years, the eunuch party has been suffering, and the people in the world have suffered all their exploits. It is not an exaggeration to say that they can't eat their flesh and sleep with them. Now, the emperor finally wants to eliminate these traitors, and of course the people want to eliminate evil. If the emperor is kind and let these people go, what will the people think? This is one. Secondly, those officials who have been unwilling to join the eunuch party will also watch all this. If these people have been greedy and end up with a good death, these people will doubt their original ideas. At that time, corruption will become a trend, and it will hurt the root of my Ming Dynasty. So excluding these people is not only for the present, but also for the future of my Ming Dynasty."

"Kill one to warn a hundred!" Chongzhen understood what Tang Feng meant and nodded, "You are indeed right. These people are not enough to calm the anger of the public, and death is not worthy of mercy! But in this way, more than half of the people in the court will be implicated. I am worried that this will be very unfavorable to the normal operation of the court."

"Your Majesty can relax. Although the eunuch party is spread throughout the court, we can also treat it differently. For example, Gu Bingqian and other eunuch party backbones cannot be kept. However, some people who are low-ranking and do not do much evil do not necessarily have to remove their official positions. As long as they are punished, they will be a kind of attitude. In this way, they can satisfy the people and other officials, and will not hurt the vitality of the Ming Dynasty. As for some positions that will be vacant, there are many competent people in the court, and then there will be those who can take over. Moreover, this year is the first year of Chongzhen, and the emperor can open an imperial examination and become an official. At that time, there will be many talented people used by the court. Why should the emperor worry about these?" Tang Feng explained again.

"What Tang Qing said is very much. In fact, you are a good person to govern the country. I am too careful."
Chapter completed!