When the other party mentioned the word "staff", Hou Yongfeng, the Imperial College's chief academic, interrupted Jiang Gui and said, "Jiang Gui, if you confess your crime to His Majesty now, you can still ask for the grace of exile to Lingnan. If you continue to be stubborn, I'm afraid you will die without a complete body!"
Jiang Gui said with a determined look: "I'll die! I've already prepared myself for death!"
"Your Majesty!" Jiang Gui turned his head and said, "According to the court regulations, all students of the Imperial College who are from poor families can receive one liter of rice per person per day from the government, and fish, meat, salt and vinegar will be provided by the officials."
(This really exists, it’s not made up, don’t think too much about it.)
"Later, the physical goods were changed to silver, and on average, one tael of silver could be received every month."
"The student's family is poor, and he has received money every month before."
"But two months ago, Lord Wang, the director of the Imperial College, sent someone to tell me that my family was not poor enough and I would not be able to receive food from the government in the future."
"After some inquiries, I found out that the student's stipend quota had been taken by someone else!"
"I have nowhere else to turn, so I came to the Imperial City to appeal to Your Majesty for justice. I beg Your Majesty to help me."
Chongzhen narrowed his eyes after hearing Jiang Gui's words.
Wang Chengen knew that the emperor in front of him was going to kill someone.
He always narrows his eyes before killing someone.
Hou Yongfeng, the chief academician of the Imperial College, answered without waiting for Chongzhen to ask: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
"speak!"
Hou Yongfeng swallowed his saliva and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial College currently has 736 students. The Ministry of Revenue allocates 55 taels of silver for food every month, which is only enough for 55 people."
"In order to allow the truly poor to receive the stipend, I readjusted the quota. Jiang Gui did not meet the criteria, so I stopped Wang Gaoming's stipend two months ago."
"Your Majesty, please look into this matter!"
Chongzhen thought for a moment and asked Jiang Gui, "Why don't you report this to the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Revenue, which is responsible for allocating funds?"
"They are all in the same group. Let them investigate themselves. There will be no problem with the result!" Jiang Gui replied.
Hou Yongfeng immediately retorted: "The selection and distribution of the stipends are all in accordance with the court's rules. What could be the problem?"
Jiang Gui shouted loudly: "You and I know whether there is a problem or not, and His Majesty will know it sooner or later!"
Chongzhen became interested: "You all have your own arguments, who should I believe?"
Jiang Gui kowtowed: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the person who took my place usually wears brocade clothes and travels in a sedan chair. It is obvious that he is not a truly poor person!"
"Your Majesty, please look into this matter!"
Hou Yongfeng glared at him and said, "What he wears and how he travels is his own business. What does it have to do with you?"
Jiang Gui's face suddenly turned red.
Wang Gaoming, the director of the Imperial College, delivered a fatal blow: "Your Majesty, after our internal investigation, the student who replaced Jiang Gui is indeed from a poor family. There is no problem in giving him food and drink. As for the cost of the brocade clothes and the sedan chair, they were all funded by relatives."
"Besides, Jiang Gui usually wears brocade clothes and a jade belt."
Jiang Gui opened his mouth and wanted to say something in rebuttal, but he didn't know how to refute, so he could only kneel on the ground in silence.
"Your Majesty, he was left speechless by my rebuttal. He is obviously in the wrong. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly!" Wang Gaoming's mouth corners slightly raised.
Chongzhen frowned.
This matter is much more complicated than imagined.
Based on their confessions alone, it is difficult to tell who is telling the truth. Perhaps the Imperial College's allocation is unfair, or Jiang Gui may have made a false accusation.
"Do you have anything else to say?" Chongzhen asked.
"Your Majesty, no."
“Neither do the students.”
"In that case, I will ask the Pacification Bureau to investigate. Anyone who dares to deceive the emperor will be severely punished!"
Hearing the three words "Zhenfusi", everyone present trembled.
If you are targeted by the Pacification Office, you will be skinned alive even if you don't die.
"Everyone, please leave."
Hou Yongfeng and Wang Gaoming looked at each other.
All back off?
Jiang Gui trespassed into the forbidden area and disregarded the king. He should be detained before the matter is investigated. How can he be released?
Jiang Gui was also stunned.
In his eyes, the Ming emperor was a tyrant who killed people without blinking an eye.
I didn't expect that they would release him today.
"Your Majesty, Jiang Gui trespassed into the forbidden area of the imperial city, and he should..." Hou Yongfeng, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, reminded Chongzhen.
"Shut up!" Chongzhen glanced at him and said, "The students of the Imperial College are my students, and I am their teacher. How can I punish them when they ask me for help?"
After hearing this, Jiang Gui burst into tears.
This gentleman is really good to deal with. He is willing to help when something happens!
"Everyone, leave." Chongzhen waved his hand again to let them leave.
After the three of them kowtowed and bowed, they carefully left the Qianqing Palace.
Chongzhen watched them leave with a worried look on his face.
This problem seems small and minor, but it is actually very big and serious.
As a student of the Imperial College, one should have many ways to protect his rights.
I didn't expect that I would have to alarm the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
If ordinary people encounter injustice, how should they protect their rights?
In this feudal age of information blockage, even if we cannot achieve 100% fairness, we must achieve relative fairness.
Only in this way can we convince everyone and make the government authoritative!
Especially grassroots officials, their words and deeds represent the court.
"Let the Minister of Personnel, the Minister of Rites and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate come here." Chongzhen issued an edict after realizing the seriousness of the problem.
It was already dark when Qiu Yu, Fan Jingwen and Shi Bangyao received the order.
On the way to the palace, Qiu Yu was unsure and asked the other two: "You two, is His Majesty calling us into the palace at this time to punish us?"
Shi Bangyao smiled bitterly and said nothing.
The thoughts of this Ming Emperor are becoming increasingly difficult to guess!
It’s better not to guess than to guess.
Fan Jingwen laughed: "Not necessarily, maybe it's a good thing."
"What? Can you still give us money?"
"What if?"
"Forget it. No matter how rich Your Majesty is, after exempting the country from taxes for two consecutive years, there won't be much money left!"
As soon as the three of them entered the palace gate of the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen handed over three red purses: "Three ministers, these are red envelopes given by His Majesty."
"Red envelope?" The three of them were stunned at the same time.
There was no concept of red envelope at that time.
Chongzhen smiled and said, "The birthday of the emperor and the New Year's Day are coming soon. In order to save money, I have decided not to accept congratulations, offer sacrifices, or hold fasts. The money saved will be distributed to you to supplement your household expenses."
"The banknotes in this red purse are my reward."
Qiu Yu reacted the fastest and knelt down to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"
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