"They're starving and starving, their bodies still haven't been dug up, and in many places, bodies still haven't been buried. If this continues, an epidemic is likely to break out. These local officials won't do anything except make money!"
Xu Guangqi grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, and continued with some resentment, "The gentry in the city took advantage of the situation to seize the people's land, hoard grain, and drive up grain prices, leaving the people with nothing to buy. The people had no choice but to sell their land, their fields, and even their children. These gentry deserve to die!"
Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi and said, "The local officials determine the local atmosphere. Zhang Shun is corrupt, and others will naturally follow suit."
"During a disaster like this, the people are like pigs and dogs. If the court officials could impose restrictions, crack down on hoarding, selling children and land annexation, these people would dare not do anything."
"But when officials take the lead in corruption, they naturally follow suit. I have never considered relying on their conscience. Although they usually talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality and read the books of sages, when faced with such an opportunity, all they care about is money."
After hearing this, Xu Guangqi felt more and more depressed. He found that his thoughts seemed to have changed, and he began to think seriously about Xunzi's thoughts.
Human nature is evil, and the desires in people's hearts are greater than the constraints of morality. It seems impossible to rely solely on morality to restrain the desires in the heart.
Etiquette and laws may work at certain times, but they seem to be ineffective most of the time. Zhang Shun was an official of the imperial court, and a Jinshi who passed the imperial examinations in three categories and two lists, which was also achieved through reading the books of sages.
I used to think that Confucianism could not save the Ming Dynasty, so I turned to Catholicism. Now it seems that the situation is worse than I imagined.
Xu Guangqi couldn't help but look up, and when he saw His Majesty, he felt a little shocked.
Your Majesty is so insightful in seeing people's hearts at such a young age. It's truly remarkable!
Zhu Youxiao didn't even notice Xu Guangqi's admiration for him, as he wasn't thinking about that at the moment.
Glancing at Xu Guangqi, Zhu Youxiao said, "Let's also call Huang Kezun to discuss this matter. I believe he has a lot of things to do and a lot to say."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi agreed quickly.
In fact, many things are obvious. As long as we arrest the ringleaders and then investigate the lower levels, the matter cannot be concealed at all.
The key question is whether you want to check?
Can you check?
Do you dare to check?
If you send a minister to investigate, there will be a lot of trouble. First of all, there will be criticism. These people will cause trouble for the minister, dig up dirt on him, spread rumors about him, and do whatever they can to discredit him. There are also people in the court who protect them and destroy evidence. There is nothing you can do.
However, these common routines in officialdom were of no use when facing the emperor himself. He did not play by the rules and directly arrested the person and then investigated.
No one could restrict the personal freedom of officials, but the emperor himself could. As for those who spread rumors about him, he didn't care. If they were really pushed to the limit, they could even kill the imperial envoy to achieve their goal.
Don't say this kind of thing is uncommon in official circles. In fact, when faced with life and death, anyone would choose to take a chance. They had killed imperial envoys before, and then put any accusation on them, even if it was due to acclimatization or death due to illness, any reason would be fine.
Even during the Wanli reign, an imperial envoy sent by the Wanli Emperor was killed. The reason given was simple: the envoy oppressed the people too much, and the people beat him to death out of righteous indignation. Local officials did nothing to stop him, and such incidents occurred repeatedly.
Zhu Youxiao didn't believe that this matter was so simple. How could ordinary people dare to do such a thing? It was impossible to say that there were no local officials fanning the flames behind this.
Without the intervention of local officials, how could the people dare to attack and smash the imperial envoy? Even if they dared to attack the imperial envoy, could the local officials not protect his life?
In fact, it was the local officials who were so ruthless that they just found a crime to accuse people of.
But when he, the emperor, came, no one dared to do such a thing. Anyone who dared to incite the people to riot would be rebelling against him.
Moreover, after he arrived at the place, he redressed unjust cases, punished corrupt officials, and opened granaries to distribute food to disaster victims. Under such circumstances, even if someone spoke ill of him and instigated the people to cause trouble, no people would make trouble with them.
If anyone makes a fuss, they are a rebel with ulterior motives and should be killed immediately.
Huang Kezun arrived soon.
Huang Kezun was also furious at this time. When he saw Zhu Youxiao, he said directly: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"Alright, excuse me." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "There aren't so many rules when you're out and about. Sit down and talk. Have some tea."
After Huang Kezun also sat down, Zhu Youxiao said, "It seems that my dear minister is also very angry."
"Your Majesty, the prisons in Jeju are full, reportedly filled with rioters. My investigation has revealed that these individuals are victims of the disaster, unwilling to be exploited by the gentry. They have come to the government office to file complaints, and have all been arrested. Some have even sustained injuries, including broken legs."
"Zhang Shun's urgency in persecuting the people is simply outrageous! Officials like him should be executed by slow slicing! Your Majesty, please issue an order, and I am willing to carry out the execution."
Zhu Youxiao looked at Huang Kezun with some helplessness, then said softly: "You two are cabinet ministers, there is no need to be so angry. Didn't you come here this time to resolve this matter?"
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