Chapter 377: Petition to Storm the Palace

In the late evening.

Dusk spilled from the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City, staining the palace walls a dark red.

The western clouds burned like congealed blood, strands hanging from the eaves as if torn open by something.

At this moment, the square outside the Meridian Gate was not its usual quiet; instead, a dark mass of people knelt there.

Over two hundred officials—censors, remonstrators, Hanlin editors, and Imperial Academy students—either in court robes or plain white caps, knelt before the Meridian Gate, foreheads to the ground.

Kneeling at the front were Ministry of War Langzhong Kong Ying and Censorate Investigating Officer Chen Hongmou.

Kong Ying straightened his back, holding a memorial aloft above his head; his voice hoarse yet resonant, he proclaimed loudly:

"Your Majesty! The New Policies harm the people, violate the ancestral statutes, and run counter to the benevolent governance of our Han dynasty's founder and the century that followed!"

"Gong Dingzi is a treacherous minister and cruel official; in Jiangnan he arbitrarily arrests scholars, coerces officials, routinely confiscates property and dismisses officeholders, his methods brutal, imposing arbitrary levies and harsh taxes, endangering the state!"

"We, risking our lives, petition: please dismiss this villain Gong Dingzi, abolish the corrupt policy of 'equal service equal grain,' and bring peace to the realm!"

Today, countless impeachment memorials arrived from Jiangnan, saying that the current cabinet minister and Governor-General of Southern Zhili, Gong Dingzi, had recently raided the Chen and Huang families, two of the nine great clans of Jiangnan.

He also consecutively dismissed several provincial governors and inspectors of Southern Zhili, senior civil and military officials, acting with cruelty, suppressing dissent, levying without limit, arousing Jiangnan's heavenly wrath and popular resentment, leaving the people unable to survive.

And as the impeachment memorials from Jiangnan surged in, officials in Shenjing likewise rose up in response.

From noon onward, capital officials and scholars began to gather in organized groups outside the Meridian Gate, kneeling to petition.

On the square, as Kong Ying's words fell, the over two hundred behind him responded in unison, shouting:

"Please dismiss the traitor Gong, abolish the corrupt policies, and bring peace to the realm!"

Various voices echoed before the Meridian Gate square, striking the vermilion palace walls and bouncing back, a ceaseless hum.

The Feathered Forest guards stood at the Meridian Gate, hands on sword hilts, solemn and silent.

Meanwhile, in the Qianqing Palace,

not a crow cawed, not a pin dropped could be heard; it seemed a storm was brewing!

Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief Xu Zhuo of the Censorate, Ministry of Works clerk Lu Shengnan, and Censor Xie Jishi, holding tablets, knelt on the cold stone tiles.

Emperor Jing Sheng sat behind the imperial desk, his face grim, his gaze sweeping over Xu Zhuo and the others kneeling on the floor, then continuing to examine a memorial in his hand, his expression cold and severe.

The memorial was an urgent dispatch from Gong Dingzi in Jiangnan to the capital, mainly describing the layered resistance encountered while implementing the New Policies there.

It included officials and gentry secretly colluding, outwardly obeying but inwardly defying, resisting the New Policies, as well as the Jiangnan garrison troops repeatedly ignoring orders.

And subordinates sent to survey land were beaten to death, even a diligent magistrate was buried alive, among other matters.

In the end, the conclusion was drawn: the Jiangnan bureaucracy is utterly corrupt; harsh measures are unavoidable!

This also explains his recent actions in Jiangnan.

Emperor Jing Sheng read the memorial over and over, his eyes growing ever deeper and darker.

Gong Dingzi had Imperial City Guard escorts beside him, with daily secret reports reaching the capital, so Emperor Jing Sheng was well aware of his situation in Jiangnan.

Besides what Gong Dingzi's memorial mentioned, the Imperial City Guard's secret reports added that his entourage was constantly surveilled in Jiangnan and suffered multiple assassination attempts!

Even senior cabinet ministers and imperial envoys have repeatedly faced assassination, showing how frenzied those Jiangnan factions are in opposing the court's New Policies!

In their eyes, there is no law, no regard for this Son of Heaven!

Yet this band of lawless, sovereign-defying villains, after Gong Dingzi merely punished a few and confiscated two households, has somehow united so many officials and scholars in Shenjing to storm the palace and petition!

They not only demand the dismissal of the imperial envoy, but also call for the abolition of the New Policies!

Is this still the realm of the Great Han? It's practically defying heaven!

Emperor Jing Sheng's face turned ashen; the more he thought, the angrier he grew. After a moment's silence, he beckoned Dai Quan beside him and asked in a low voice:

"Have Zi Jie and Zhang Qing not arrived yet?"

Dai Quan hurried forward, respectfully replying in a low voice:

"Your Majesty! I have already ordered someone to urgently summon the Duke of Jingguo and several Grand Scholars; they should already be on their way!"

"Hmm! Let Zi Jie come bearing sword and shoes to the hall; I have a matter for him to attend to!" Emperor Jing Sheng lowered his voice, tone icy.

Hearing this, Dai Quan's heart shuddered; he clasped his hands in assent, then summoned a palace attendant to give a few instructions.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jing Sheng drew a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and, expressionless, sternly questioned the few kneeling inside the hall:

"I have said many times! The New Policies are a good policy that benefits the state and the people, meant for national livelihood and people's welfare."

"Gong Qing's implementation of the New Policies in Jiangnan is also out of concern for state affairs, for the court; do not cause trouble!"

"Why have you now intensified, forming factions and disrupting governance?"

Since Gong Dingzi went to Jiangnan, impeachment memorials against him have never ceased, whether from the court or the localities.

Emperor Jing Sheng, for this reason, has repeatedly convened ministers to speak candidly about the New Policies' benefit to the people, urging them to understand the court's difficulties.

But I never expected they would dare to cause such a commotion as storming the palace to petition.

Xu Zhuo knelt prostrate, hearing this, he responded:

"Your Majesty! Submitting memorials to remonstrate is precisely the duty of us censors; it is neither troublemaking nor disrupting governance!"

Facing Emperor Jing Sheng's oppressive gaze, Xu Zhuo felt a bit uneasy.

But he and his cousin Xu Qianxue have repeatedly received gifts from Jiangnan; at this moment he cannot help but speak up for them.

"Then do you admit to forming a faction?" Emperor Jing Sheng flipped through the memorials on the desk, asking in a cold tone.

"If Your Majesty says it's factionalism, then it is! However, gentlemen have factions, villains do not!" Lu Shengnan's expression tightened as he replied loudly.

Emperor Jing Sheng suddenly laughed, his laugh carrying an indecipherable meaning.

"What spirit! Then the multitude of officials and scholars outside the palace storming to petition must be your secret factional scheming, right?"

Emperor Jing Sheng's voice was cold and hard, each word striking the golden bricks within the palace like a heavy weight.

Xu Zhuo furrowed his brows and said:

"Your Majesty! No, the officials and scholars outside came to petition solely because of Gong Dingzi this cruel official."

"Gong Dingzi in Jiangnan, at the slightest pretext confiscates homes, disregarding circumstances or severity; any shortfall leads to seizure of property, women displaced, the old and young wailing."

"What was once called 'a clean magistrate in three years, ten thousand taels of snowflake silver' still had rules to follow; but now Gong Dingzi's corrupt officials, with just a single order of collection, can cause the two great clans to collapse overnight."

Such harsh policies, even if Zhang Tang and Lai Junchen were resurrected, could not surpass them!

This explanation avoids the main point and focuses on the trivial, completely omitting the benefits of the New Policies and the investigation of deficits, only saying that Gong Dingzi's methods are brutal, causing turmoil among the gentry!

Lu Shennan's face grew solemn, and he said:

'Jiangnan is the land of finance and tax, the foundation of the realm. Gong Dingzi there, pursuing his aims too hastily, levies taxes without limit, the people show pallor, and the fields are full of the starving dead.'

'Recently in the Suzhou and Songjiang areas, the people have gathered to resist taxes, smashing government offices; there are also White Lotus sect members lurking. Although it has not yet become a major rebellion, dangerous signs have already appeared.'

'If we continue to indulge his harsh policies, I fear that Jiangnan's savings accumulated over hundreds of years will all be consumed in a single blaze!'

This means that the places where Gong Dingzi operates are unstable and prone to provoke popular uprisings!

Especially the mention of the White Lotus Sect carries a hidden threat.

Xie Jishi said:

'When the Taizu Emperor first established the throne, he owed much to the assistance of the Jiangnan gentry, having once promised them light corvée and low taxes, to let the people rest; this truly is an immutable law for all ages.'

'Gong Dingzi, with the schemes of a few corrupt officials, hastily altered the ancestral statutes, imposing excessive levies and violent collection, demanding payment of arrears from years past, naming it "investment of deficits," but in fact it is a policy that ruins families.'

'Once this precedent is set, other provinces will follow suit, the realm will fall into turmoil, and the Taizu Emperor's hundred years of benevolent governance will be wiped out completely!'

'Although it appears to be for implementing the New Policies and investigating deficits, it is actually to curry favor with the Emperor.'

'Knowing that equal labor service and equal grain tax violate the ancestral system, yet he persists obstinately, arousing heaven's anger and the people's resentment—such a person is nothing less than a treacherous minister and a cruel official?'

This is directly opposing the New Policies by rejecting the ancestral laws!

'Pa!'

'Great! Finally I've spoken my mind!'

Jing Sheng Di fiercely smashed a piece of dragon-patterned porcelain jade cup onto the ground, on the ground, and roared with thunderous fury!