Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 54: Drag him out of the Meridian Gate and chop him off

At this time, the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng began to preside over the consolation ceremony, and all officials paid their respects to Zhu Houzhao in an orderly manner according to the etiquette.

Zhu Houzhao sat in the upper seat with a serious expression, his hands placed on his knees. After the ceremony was over, he raised his hands and said, "Stand up!"

Then, the Minister of Rites Zhang Sheng stepped out from the left-hand column and faced the officials sideways: "Stand up!"

All the officials then stood up, holding the ivory tablet in the center, and looked up at Zhu Houzhao who was sitting on the osmanthus fragrans.

Not only the three elders of the cabinet, but also the nine ministers of the six ministries and other court officials have noticed the changes in the eunuchs. They are all puzzled and waiting for Zhu Houzhao to announce what happened.

Many times, accepting the consolation ceremony of all officials at the Fengtian Gate was just a ritual, but something naturally happened when Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao gave the consolation ceremony.

Zhu Houzhao looked at the question marks on the faces of all the civil and military officials in the court, so he stood up, waved his long sleeves with a solemn expression, and brought up a gust of wind, which made the umbrella sway slightly. Seeing this, the civil and military officials below lowered their heads, wondering why the emperor looked more solemn today?

"My dear ministers, you should have noticed that today is different from the past. That's right, the inner court eunuchs Wang Yue, Lu He, Zhang Zhao and others are suspected of treason and have been detained. Logically, this is a matter of the inner court, and the outer court naturally has no right to interfere. However, matters involving guilt naturally need to be handled by the Ministry of Justice, Minister of Justice Min Gui!"

At this time, Zhu Houzhao personally explained the reasons and mentioned the name of the Minister of Justice Min Gui.

Min Gui, who was already over 70 years old, stood up tremblingly and replied in a faint voice: "I am here!"

"Wang Yue and other traitors are suspected of treason. They should be executed by slow slicing, their property confiscated and their clans exterminated. No leniency will be shown. You, the Ministry of Justice, should draft a memorial for execution from today and prepare the executioner. Once the Jinyiwei have finished their review, you will be the ones to carry out the execution!"

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he sat back on the dragon throne, waiting for the Minister of Justice Min Gui to answer.

Perhaps the Minister of Justice Min Gui was too old, or perhaps he, like the other officials present, was still immersed in the surprise of the rebellion by Wang Yue, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and others, so he did not come to his senses and respond to Zhu Houzhao's order in time.

However, this gave Dou Ding, the official in the Criminal Department, a chance. Dou Ding stood up, first glanced at Xie Qian, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and then held up the ivory tablet and said, "Your Majesty! Eunuch Wang of the Imperial Household Department has always been loyal and honest, and he is respectful to the wise and humble. He can be said to be a model for the ministers. How could he commit treason? There must be injustice, and he may be harmed by treacherous people. I refute your Majesty's argument and ask your Majesty to order the Censorate or the Embroidered Uniform Guard to conduct a strict investigation! Lest the virtuous be wronged and the treacherous gain benefits!"

The censors of the six departments have always been low-ranking officials with great power, and they have the right to refute or reject statements. Dou Ding, the Censor of the Criminal Department, refuted Zhu Houzhao's claim that Wang Yue was plotting treason and wanted Zhu Houzhao to send someone to re-investigate. His purpose was naturally to see if he could turn the current situation around a little.

Of course, his rejection could not be regarded as criticizing the emperor. At least that was what he thought. He felt that he was a censor and was just exercising his power legally in accordance with the system.

After saying this, Dou Ding, the Censor of the Criminal Department, looked at his mentor Xie Qian again. The purpose of doing this today was actually to show his mentor that he was courageous. At the same time, it was also to improve his reputation in front of the officials and show that he was a minister who dared to speak out.

Dou Ding, the Censor of the Criminal Department, was waiting for Zhu Houzhao to get furious and then be unable to do anything to him, or Liu Jin might suggest that he be dragged out and beaten in the court, so that even if he could not get Emperor Zhu Houzhao to change his decision to execute Wang Yue, he could still gain some fame.

However, what Dou Ding, the Criminal Department Secretary, forgot was that the so-called power granted to him by the system was actually the power granted to him by the emperor. Zhu Houzhao now controlled the most powerful violent agency in the empire, so he could naturally transcend the system and even break the constraints of the system. Although Zhu Houzhao was still a 15-year-old young emperor, as a time traveler, he was already mature and had gone through a turbulent coup last night. He had long since become less cheerful and his heart was even colder. At this moment, he was just staring at Dou Ding, the Criminal Department Secretary, like a tiger, with a smile on his face.

"Guo Rong! Take your men and drag him outside the Meridian Gate and chop him up! After the court is dismissed, take your men and confiscate his property!"

Zhu Houzhao gave the order in a very calm tone, and it seemed that only Guo Rong in front of the steps could hear his voice, but the shock it caused was more shocking than a thunderous explosion, making all the civil and military officials in the court dare not believe their ears.

Dou Ding, the official in the Criminal Department, looked at Zhu Houzhao in astonishment, his thin lips moving, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am just giving advice. If what I say is unreasonable, Your Majesty can choose not to listen or reprimand me. Why do you want to kill me? What crime have I committed?"

"I was talking to the Minister of Justice Min Gui, why did you interrupt? This is really disrespecting the emperor's authority, which is the first crime! You confuse right and wrong and intercede for Wang Yue and other traitors, which is the second crime! As an outer court official, you intercede for the inner court officials, which shows that you are colluding with the inner court, which is the third crime! The judgment of Wang Yue's crime was not the opinion of the Cabinet Silijian, but my opinion. You dared to refute it, which is treason, which is the fourth crime! Just based on these four points, it is enough to kill you, drag you away!"

There was no hesitation in Zhu Houzhao's tone. In the eyes of the court officials, the emperor in front of them could no longer be treated as a simple 15-year-old boy.

At this time, Guo Rong, who had been serving in the hall, came in with two soldiers. One of the soldiers was the general flag Liang Ze. Liang Ze hooked one of the arms of Dou Ding, the official in charge of the criminal department, and dragged him directly out of the hall. Dou Ding, the official in charge of the criminal department, was obviously not as strong as Liang Ze and others, and was dragged two steps away in a moment.

"Your Majesty! I have something to say!"

Dou Ding, the Criminal Department's Censor, was filled with regret at this moment.

He thought that all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were the same. Even if they pointed at his nose and scolded him, they would still forgive him and at most give him a beating with a stick, just like the previous emperor. As long as he pretended to be righteous, even if he scolded the previous emperor, if the previous emperor thought it was reasonable, he would reward him, and even ask him to reflect on himself.

And since the new emperor ascended the throne, it seemed that he was governing by doing nothing and did not punish his ministers easily. However, he did not expect that today, the emperor would want to chop him off over a disagreement!

Dou Ding, the Censor of the Criminal Department, really wanted to say to the Emperor that you cannot do this, as it goes against established precedent, but he knew that if the Emperor wanted to chop him off, it would be okay, after all, if the emperor wants his subjects to die, they have to die. He really wanted to make a few excuses at this time, but he didn't know how.

Moreover, before he could even finish his words, he was dragged out of the hall.

"Oh my God! Why is it happening so suddenly? I don't want to die! My dear teacher, please save me! My colleagues, please save me! Your Majesty, please punish me with a stick instead! Don't chop off my head! Beating me to death is better than chopping me to death. At least let me have an intact body, wuwu!"

When the emperor wanted to execute someone, he would usually behead him outside the Meridian Gate. So, at this time Liang Ze and another soldier dragged Dou Ding towards the Meridian Gate. The shouts of Dou Ding, the Censor of the Criminal Department, could be heard all the way from Fengtian Gate to the Meridian Gate.

Thanks to the book friend 201811116204935102 for the 500 starting coins reward. Thank you to the book friend Mushouzhongsheng for the 500 starting coins reward.

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(End of this chapter)