"Censor Huang," said Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi, who was not panicked, "As a victim, I don't know how others framed me. Am I guilty?"
"Your Excellency Yanshenggong is confusing the public!" Huang Zongxi said confidently, "I'm not asking you to figure out how others framed you, I'm asking you to prove that the evidence is false."
Kong Yinzhi retorted: "You are making trouble!"
"All the six ministries and nine ministers believe that the evidence is true, but you just keep emphasizing that the evidence is false, but you can't tell where it is false!"
"If it's fake, it's fake. There's no need to go to the trouble of proving it's true or not."
......
Huang Zongxi was as brave as a newborn calf and was not afraid of a tiger.
Kong Yinzhi is knowledgeable and shrewd.
The two had a wonderful debate.
They tried every possible means to trap the other party into self-proof, but they all failed.
Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne and watched quietly. Although there was no expression on his face, his thoughts flew outside the imperial city.
If nothing unexpected happens, there is already chaos outside the city.
Why is it so messy?
Because several anti-Confucius students were killed, and it happened on the night when Duke Yansheng came to Beijing.
The man was killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards with the purpose of throwing dirty water on Duke Yansheng.
This method is too low-level and anyone with a discerning eye will find that there is something wrong with it.
But Chongzhen did it anyway.
He knew very well that it would be difficult to kill Duke Yansheng through the officials.
All officials come from educated families.
Confucius and Duke Yansheng were like two sacred mountains in their hearts, and they would never push down these two mountains with their own hands.
One is that I can't bear it, and the other is that I can't push it over.
Unless Chongzhen gave the order himself, no one would sentence him to death even if Duke Yansheng himself admitted that the evidence was true.
The most they could do was strip him of his title and demote him to a commoner.
So Chongzhen wanted to use the people to kill people
How to kill?
Kill with public opinion.
How to arouse public opinion?
kill!
Kill those who are against Duke Yansheng.
The lower class people will not complicate simple things.
Their thinking is simple and crude: whoever has a grudge against these people is the most suspicious.
The Yansheng Duke's Mansion and Yansheng Duke himself were the first to be affected.
Just as Chongzhen was lost in thought, the debate between Huang Zongxi and Kong Yinzhi came to a temporary halt.
They managed to end up in a draw, with neither able to defeat the other verbally.
Then people from the six ministries and nine government officials began to cross-examine.
They just asked some irrelevant questions, which were easily resolved by Yanshenggong Kong Yinzhi.
Seeing that everyone was avoiding the main issue and talking about other things, Chongzhen lost his patience.
He stood up and asked everyone: "Do you think Yanshenggong is guilty?"
"Your Majesty, I think this matter needs to be discussed." Fan Jingwen replied quickly.
On the issue of Duke Yansheng, his principle was to be cautious and to delay it as long as possible.
It would be better to wait until the Ping Liao army recovers Liaodong before dealing with it.
If Chongzhen treated Yansheng Duke leniently, he would continue to serve as the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
If Chongzhen chose to severely punish Duke Yansheng, he might even have to sentence him to death.
He resigned from his post as Prime Minister of the Cabinet and returned to his hometown to retire.
Anyway, the fame he gained from pacifying Liaodong was enough to bring honor to his family and go down in history.
There was no need for him to risk damaging his reputation by dealing with Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi.
Many ministers in the court had similar thoughts, and they all bowed.
"I second the motion."
"I second this motion."
Chongzhen was not angry. He just said calmly: "Since everyone thinks it needs to be discussed, let's discuss it slowly."
"Your Majesty is wise and wise. We will take our leave."
The ministers bowed and turned to leave.
After they walked away, Chongzhen looked in the direction they left and sneered: "It is not up to you whether to discuss it or not!"
As soon as the ministers and Duke Yansheng left the imperial city, they discovered that a large number of people had gathered in the distance.
When they saw the figure of Duke Yansheng, there was a sudden uproar.
The soldiers of the Yongwei Camp stood on the city wall as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Although Duke Yansheng could not hear clearly what the people were saying, he knew that they were not good words.
With a pale face, he asked the imperial guard standing next to him: "Why are these people gathering here?"
"Several murders occurred in the capital last night. They said you were the mastermind behind it, and they all went to the outside of Duke Yansheng's mansion to ask the government to arrest the people. After learning that you came to the imperial city, they followed you here."
"This is an important place in the imperial city. They should be driven away..."
The guard did not answer, but looked towards the wall of the imperial city.
The Governor of the Beijing Camp, Liu Wenyao, was standing there.
"Governor Liu," Kong Yinzhi said, bowing across the air, "Would you mind coming down and talking for a few words?"
"Okay," Liu Wenyao walked down the steps of the city wall and came to the outside of the city.
He first bowed to all the ministers and finally came to the side of Duke Yansheng and asked: "Duke Yansheng, what advice do you have?"
"I dare not say that I am giving you advice. I just want to ask why Governor Liu did not drive the people away from the imperial city?"
Liu Wenyao replied calmly: "The people have not crossed the border, and the Yongwei Battalion has no reason to drive them away."
"Then...how do I leave?" Duke Yansheng looked embarrassed.
There were so many people gathered in the distance that they could not be counted.
If you want to leave, you need to go through the crowd.
Although Duke Yansheng had servants and guards, their number was too small compared to that of the common people.
If people rush forward when you are passing through the crowd, the consequences will be disastrous.
"Yes, how do we leave?" The ministers also asked the same question.
Although the officials knew that the people were here to cause trouble for Duke Yansheng, no one could guarantee that the people would not attack them.
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