Chapter 171: Severe Times Call for Severe Laws

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's question, Wei Zhongxian hurriedly said, "Yes, Your Majesty. These people harbor treasonous intentions—they are utterly unworthy of being ministers! Your Majesty, let me have them all arrested. People like this should all be put to death!"

Zhu Youxiao quietly watched Wei Zhongxian's indignant speech, his face betraying no expression.

For Wei Zhongxian, he needed to establish his authority at this moment, needed to make an example of these people, so he was eager to kill.

But for Zhu Youxiao, the matter was actually not that important. Even if people ran to the Meridian Gate to kneel in remonstrance, it was really of no consequence. If you want to go, then go—that would actually be the perfect time to let Wei Zhongxian take the lead.

For Zhu Youxiao, things had reached this point, and there was no longer any need to beat around the bush.

"Enough, I know." Zhu Youxiao nodded, waving his hand to signal Wei Zhongxian to withdraw, clearly having no intention of continuing the conversation with him.

Though deeply unwilling, Wei Zhongxian could see from his master's indifferent demeanor that the Emperor did not wish to discuss this further. If he pressed on, he would surely incur his master's displeasure.

So Wei Zhongxian kowtowed respectfully and retreated backward with a bowed posture.

After Wei Zhongxian left, Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Chen Hong standing to the side and asked coldly, "What exactly is going on?"

Zhu Youxiao would not believe what Wei Zhongxian had just said—it was far too colored by personal motives.

So Zhu Youxiao had not immediately agreed to let Wei Zhongxian kill people to establish authority, because he could not do that—he absolutely could not let Wei Zhongxian go stir up trouble right now.

"In reply to Your Majesty, the news first came out of the Censorate." Seeing Zhu Youxiao's question, Chen Hong knew he could not smuggle in his own agenda like Wei Zhongxian had, so he answered honestly, then recounted the whole affair from start to finish—from Yu Maoheng and Cui Chengxiu, to Li Mao—laying out the entire matter clearly and completely.

Zhu Youxiao nodded, lightly tapping the armrest of the dragon throne with his fingers, his face expressionless. He was thinking, thinking about what he should do.

Clearly the matter had evolved into a struggle between two factions, no longer just the Donglin Faction's own affair. Sun Shenxing had not only dragged this emperor into the fray, but had also pulled in many more who had been standing on the shore watching.

Things had reached this point, and the contradiction had been intensified. On one side was the Taizhou School led by Xu Guangqi and others—that is, Li Zhi's School of Mind philosophy—and on the other side was the traditional School of Principle.

Originally Zhu Youxiao had only wanted to proceed step by step, slowly—first strike down the Donglin Faction, then deal with the rest.

But Sun Shenxing clearly did not want Zhu Youxiao to do that, so he had stirred up that affair, intensifying the contradiction, pulling the entire School of Principle into it, and even dragging in all the scholars under heaven.

Under such circumstances, Xu Guangqi and his people became the target of universal criticism, appearing somewhat isolated and weak.

Zhu Youxiao naturally could not sit by and do nothing about this. After thinking it over, he said to Chen Hong, "Have the Embroidered Uniform Guard speed things up. Why haven't these cases been investigated and resolved yet?"

Though Zhu Youxiao spoke of several cases, in truth it was just one—the Donglin Faction's corruption case. It just happened to implicate the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works. A batch had been dealt with previously, but another batch remained untouched, especially on the Ministry of Works side.

"Go to the Embroidered Uniform Guard in a moment and have Luo Sigong produce a result quickly." Zhu Youxiao's words were already full of contempt—the Embroidered Uniform Guard's efficiency was truly abysmal.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hurriedly acknowledged with respect.

Chen Hong felt he needed to remind Luo Sigong that his work methods required more initiative, that he should learn more from Wei Zhongxian. If he kept going like this, Luo Sigong's position would likely not be secure.

Zhu Youxiao nodded. He did not know what Chen Hong was thinking, and even if he did, it would not have mattered anyway.

"Oh, right, one more thing." Zhu Youxiao thought of something and spoke again: "I recall the Embroidered Uniform Guard is still holding some scholars who caused disturbances? Is that right?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, that is indeed the case." Chen Hong answered.

"Have the Embroidered Uniform Guard deal with them as well. Release the men, strip them of their scholarly titles, and send them all to Liaodong to serve in the army." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand expressionlessly, as if shooing away a swarm of flies.

This rather surprised Chen Hong. Was the punishment really this severe?

Stripping them of their scholarly titles was one thing, but sending them all to Liaodong to serve in the army as well?

But Chen Hong dared not ask further—this was not something he could interject on—so he quickly said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand again, urging, "Enough, go handle it immediately!"

As the saying goes, severe times call for severe laws. At a moment like this, one must strike hard—there was no other way.

Dealing with those troublemaking students was essentially a deterrent, to warn the other scholars in the literati not to cause more trouble—otherwise, they would not only lose their scholarly titles but also be directly exiled to military service.

Zhu Youxiao did not think many of them were acting out of conviction and moral backbone. Most were doing it to build a reputation—in modern terms, to pick a fight for attention or ride a wave of hype.

As for what they sought, it was nothing more than fame and profit. If anyone truly acted out of conviction and moral backbone, Zhu Youxiao did not care either.

The more conviction and moral backbone they had, the more Zhu Youxiao felt he needed to punish them. The reason was equally simple: if you are not on my side, then the more outstanding you are, the more I need to take you down. There was nothing strange about that.

Ever since the Donglin Faction's conspiracy case had been dealt with, the court had not enjoyed even a few days of stability before it became turbulent once again—and more severely than last time, with a growing intensity, full of the portent of a storm about to break.

Many mid- and low-ranking officials had already begun looking for ways out.

Officials with connections immediately chose to be posted to the provinces. It looked like the capital would not be stable for years to come, so going out to serve elsewhere was necessarily the best choice.

But at this time, getting an out-of-capital posting was somewhat difficult—those without particularly strong connections could not manage it.

Minor officials with no backing whatsoever and no connections simply resigned outright. Poor health, returning home to care for aging parents—all sorts of excuses were used.

For them, giving up office was acceptable, but they could not leave their lives here. How many people had been executed in the last case?

The people from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue—except for a few vice ministers and ministers still under interrogation—had all been beheaded with a single stroke.

How many people was that?

All of their households were to be confiscated, and their families all sent to Liaodong for military service. Who would not be afraid?

On top of that, the Ministry of Works people would soon be dealt with as well. That morning, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had arrested the Ministry of Works' Right Vice Minister, and people were saying the Minister of Works himself could not protect his own position. The entire Ministry of Works was in a panic—at that moment, who was not afraid?

Add to that the scholars arrested in recent days, who now finally had a verdict: all arrested scholars holding scholarly titles were stripped of them and collectively escorted to Liaodong for military service. This was truly the harshest of measures.

For a time, public opinion was in an uproar, and many scholars fled the city.

One must understand that so many scholars had gathered in the capital, most of them for next year's imperial examinations. Now seeing that the capital was too dangerous, they thought, let's get out of here for now.

Though the court's actions frightened some people, they also enraged others—namely the officials led by Li Mao.

They believed the court was acting against the will of heaven and the people, and that His Majesty's ruthlessness was not the way of a benevolent ruler.

This phrase "not the way of a benevolent ruler" was already a very serious accusation.

Because in Confucianism, benevolence is the highest principle. If you are not on the way of a benevolent ruler, then you have nothing to do with benevolence. And there was an even harsher accusation above that—not being on the way of an enlightened ruler.

If not an enlightened ruler, then what? Only a fatuous ruler.

Shout aloud that he does not cultivate virtuous governance, that he recklessly slaughters the innocent, then curse him as a fatuous ruler—and the image of a loyal minister is thus established. Though one might be beaten to death afterward, one would surely be remembered in history.

Most people thought they would not die, embracing the mentality that the law cannot punish the masses, and chose to take a gamble. These people kept gathering in greater numbers, continuously planning a kneel-remonstrance at the Meridian Gate—they just needed a leader.

And so these people began searching for a suitable figure to serve as their leader.

Sun Shenxing and Gao Panlong were already gone, Han Kuang and Zhao Nanxing were traitors, Xu Guangqi and Huang Kezuan could not be relied upon, and of the Grand Secretaries in the Grand Secretariat, only Sun Chengzong remained—so people began contacting Sun Chengzong.

Besides fixing their gaze on the Grand Secretariat, these people also cast their eyes elsewhere, hoping to find a suitable candidate.

Soon they settled on another target—this person was the newly appointed Vice Minister of Revenue, Zuo Guangdou.

They felt that Zuo Guangdou was an old hand in the Donglin Faction, and now that he had become Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he was just the right person to push forward. In truth, they were forcing Zuo Guangdou's hand.

Because rumors had already spread outside that the reason Zuo Guangdou was able to become Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was that he had thrown in his lot with Xu Guangqi, the Second Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat.

And the relationship between Xu Guangqi, the Second Grand Secretary, and Chen Kedao was naturally easy to investigate—now it was known throughout the court and the realm.

Many people believed that Xu Guangqi was backing Chen Kedao in the trouble he had stirred up. Quite a few felt that Chen Kedao was the fuse for this whole affair—it was precisely because of his existence that things had come to this state.

Cui Chengxiu and his ilk were also championing Chen Kedao's doctrines, so everyone went to find Zuo Guangdou, intending to use public reputation to suppress him. If Zuo Guangdou refused to comply, then his reputation would be ruined in the streets.

In fact, Zuo Guangdou was one of the few pragmatic officials in the Donglin Faction—the kind who could actually get things done rather than just talking big.

The news soon reached deep within the imperial palace. Zhu Youxiao understood what was going on and felt somewhat helpless.

Originally, Zhu Youxiao had not planned to intervene in this matter. He wanted to let these people make a scene at the Meridian Gate, then have Wei Zhongxian act while the Grand Secretariat made its stance clear, thereby demonstrating his own attitude.

But now it seemed that would no longer work—they were using outside public opinion to pressure the court ministers.

Originally, the court ministers did not need to take a stand; they could simply play the ostrich and hide their heads, and none of the subsequent affairs would implicate them. Once the matter passed, they would still be themselves. His not forcing them was also part of the bond between ruler and minister.

But now the court ministers were being pressured by public opinion—who knew whether they might make decisions that displeased him. When that happened, he would certainly have to punish them, so he had to put a stop to this matter.

Zhu Youxiao was about to make his move.