Chapter 390 Treacherous Officials in Power
The next day, Emperor Xiao Wu, who was originally going to the outskirts of the capital, suddenly canceled his planned trip.
It is said that the late emperor appeared to him in a dream, and the imperial family was confiding in their ancestors in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
They'll probably also pray that their ancestors and the heavens will discuss whether it can rain.
Then... the court session on that day was cancelled, but the court session on the next day was held as usual.
This change disrupted many people's plans.
Soon, some people changed their plans.
It was still hot in Kyoto.
On this day in mid-May, all the officials rushing to attend the court assembly were covered in sweat.
Today... it's unusually hot.
The court officials arrived at the main hall early, but Emperor Xiao Wu arrived late.
As soon as he sat down, Emperor Xiaowu looked down at the circle of court officials.
That's right, everyone who was supposed to come has come, and everyone who wasn't supposed to come has also come.
"I see that several old ministers who no longer attend court have come today."
"Is there something important to report?" Emperor Xiao Wu asked calmly.
The ministers looked at each other and lowered their heads.
Lord Shangguan glanced at the several hunched-over old ministers and sighed inwardly.
At such an advanced age, why bother!
Why not just stay home and enjoy a peaceful life? Why do you have to go through all that trouble with everyone else?
"Your Majesty..." Lord Shangguan was about to smooth things over.
"Your Majesty, this old minister has a memorial to present!" The old Hanlin scholar, Lord Yu, suddenly stepped out from among the court officials.
Emperor Xiao Wu squinted at the old scholar.
Another veteran who has served three dynasties!
This Yu Hanlin was the second-place scholar in the imperial examinations. He devoted his life to studying Confucianism, producing numerous commentaries and annotations, but few people recognized his work...
He spent his entire life doing research at the Hanlin Academy.
When the late emperor was alive, reaching the fourth rank was considered the highest one could attain.
Emperor Xiao Wu disliked him very much.
When my mother was being buried, the late emperor wanted to hold the funeral rites befitting a noble consort, but this guy insisted it was against the proper etiquette...
Later, after Emperor Xiao Wu ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to posthumously honor Consort Xian as Empress...
The old man didn't dare utter another word.
"Hanlin Yu! Is there something you want to say?" Emperor Xiaowu asked calmly.
Yu Hanlin hunched over and stepped forward.
Lord Shangguan glanced at him and then retreated.
"Your Majesty, I hereby report."
Since mid-February this year, no rain has fallen in the Greater Chongqing area.
This is a warning from Heaven.
The court in Dayu was in chaos.
The reversal of Yin and Yang, the chaos in the court, and the instability of the state are all caused by treacherous people in power.
The instability of the previous dynasty and the unsettled state of the harem, combined with the instability of the two, were harbingers of the collapse of the century-old foundation of the Great Yu Dynasty.
The people in Chongqing were living in misery, and the social order and system were severely impacted.
If this continues, the Great Yu will repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty!
This old minister humbly requests Your Majesty to severely punish the treacherous officials and restore a bright future to the century-old foundation of the Great Yu Dynasty.
As Yu Hanlin spoke, he held a memorial above his head and then knelt down.
The ministers...
A treacherous official is in power? Who is he referring to? Lord Shangguan?
Impossible! If it were Lord Shangguan, those guys from the Censorate would tear the old scholar to shreds.
Who are they talking about?
Could it be referring to the Duke of Dingguo?
Just now, Hanlin Yu mentioned the instability of the imperial harem? Could he be referring to the Empress...?
The ministers exchanged glances, not daring to utter a single word.
Yu Hanlin knelt upright, holding the memorial in his hand.
Their original plan was to submit the memorial yesterday when Emperor Xiao Wu went to inspect the farmland in the suburbs.
At that time, there were many onlookers, and there were many voices of support.
But... I didn't expect yesterday's schedule to be suddenly canceled.
This forced them to cancel their original plans.
Those who made the arrangements had no choice but to temporarily cease their actions.
Since that's the case, the same applies to court assemblies.
If the emperor dared to have them beaten to death on the spot, he would inevitably be branded a tyrant...
The emperor had been on the throne for less than five years, and everyone knew he couldn't bear such a title...
The court officials remained silent, waiting for the emperor on the dragon throne to speak.
To their surprise, the emperor neither summoned Yu Hanlin nor sent the chief eunuch, Eunuch Hu, to receive Yu Hanlin's memorial.
Yu Hanlin was, after all, quite old, and after kneeling for so long holding the memorial, he was already starting to feel the strain.
Yu Hanlin felt his hands begin to tremble, but the emperor above still did not speak.
He also felt he couldn't hold on any longer.
then......
"Your Majesty, please severely punish the treacherous officials!" Yu Hanlin said again.
After saying this, Yu Hanlin stopped holding the memorial high and instead knelt down, placing it above his head.
Upon seeing this, all the ministers couldn't help but mutter, "That old fox..."
The court fell silent as everyone awaited Emperor Xiao Wu's response.
Should we accept this memorial or not...?
If we accept the order, then we'll need to go through the procedures.
Who is the treacherous official? Who should be tasked with investigating? How should the investigation be conducted? What will happen after the truth is revealed?
A series of things need to be put on the agenda.
"What Hanlin Yu said has shocked me! I have never heard of such a serious matter as the presence of treacherous officials before."
It seems that I still don't have enough control over the court!
"Then... is there anyone else who would agree with Hanlin's words?" Emperor Xiao Wu finally spoke.
Upon hearing this, Yu Hanlin breathed a sigh of relief.
His mission is complete.
"I second that!" an old minister suddenly stood up.
"I second that proposal!" another senior official stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I also second your opinion. Please investigate the matter stated by Hanlin Yu thoroughly, punish the treacherous officials severely, and restore justice to the Great Yu!" Another unnamed old minister stepped forward.
Gradually, more and more people stood up and echoed Yu Hanlin's words.
The people from all six departments were stunned.
These are all people from the Hanlin Academy...
The six departments were completely unaware of these matters.
Minister Xu of the Ministry of Justice, in particular, looked extremely displeased.
These people were either my father's former colleagues or his students...
This matter is inextricably linked to the Xu family...
Lord Xu suddenly realized that his father, who should have been enjoying a peaceful life, had suddenly started receiving many visitors lately...
"What all the officials have said is absolutely right!"
The court of Dayu is indeed ruled by treacherous officials!
I also received and read a secret report yesterday.
The document above also instructed me to severely punish the treacherous officials.
"Come here, Hu Zhouquan, hand this over to Prime Minister Shangguan, and let this big guy read it aloud!" Emperor Xiao Wu laughed.
The court officials were all astonished!
Yu Hanlin...
An ominous premonition enveloped Hanlin...
He felt as if things were spiraling out of his control!
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