When the memorial was submitted, Emperor Wanli was indeed enraged. I have asked you to stay so many times, why are you still singing the opposite tune? Don't you take me seriously? !

He immediately ordered Feng Bao to send out the imperial guards to arrest Deng Yizan, Xiong Dunpu, Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao.

Feng Bao also hated these bastards who dared to humiliate his dear Onii-chan, and finally tore off the gentlemanly mask of his usual friendship with the civil servants. He specially ordered his lackey Xu Jue to lead the Jinyiwei to rush into the Donggongsheng Gate and arrest people at noon when there were many people around.

The spiked boots of the five hundred Jinyi Guards stomped on the bluestone pavement in the same rhythm, creating a huge reverberation through the East Gongsheng Gate. It was like huge hailstones hitting the ground, making people's scalps numb.

The Jinyiwei were also guarding the various government offices. When they saw the commander-in-chief leading a large army in person and approaching with great momentum, they immediately removed the gates without asking any questions.

A large group of imperial guards marched in. Officials who were blocking the road were roughly pushed aside by the imperial guards, regardless of their rank or position. Even the sedan chair of the Minister of Revenue was almost overturned because it was unable to dodge.

The solemnity of the six ministries was trampled to pieces in an instant.

Xu Jue, wearing a bright red flying fish suit and leaning on an embroidered spring sword in both hands, stood proudly on Ministry Street, looking down coldly at the officials from various ministries who had heard the noise and rushed out to watch the excitement.

He deliberately did not take action first, waiting for all the people from various departments to come out. The more people came, the better, so that killing the chicken to scare the monkey would be effective.

It was not until both sides of Ministry Street were filled with officials in various official robes that he cleared his throat and ordered in a deep voice: "Go to the Hanlin Academy first, and then to the Ministry of Justice!"

"Yes!" Five hundred Jinyiwei responded in unison, shaking the entire street.

"Get out of the way!" The Jinyiwei were about to separate the crowd, preparing to cross the alley between the Ministry of Works and the Honglu Temple and charge towards the Hanlin Academy.

"No need to trouble you." Someone said loudly.

"That's right. The Hanlin Academy is the country's place for nurturing scholars. How can we allow you to corrupt the culture?" another person continued.

Before he finished speaking, two officials stepped out from the crowd. They were Deng Yizan and Xiong Dunpu, who had written a letter to the teacher the day before to persuade him to observe mourning.

"Who are you?" Xu Jue stared at the two of them fiercely and asked with a dark face.

"Hanlin Editor Deng Yizan!"

"Hanlin reviewer Xiong Dunpu!" The two men introduced themselves.

"Catch him!" Xu Jue shouted in a low voice.

A dozen Jinyiwei rushed forward, pressed the two delicate Hanlins to the ground and rubbed them roughly. It was not enough to put shackles and handcuffs on them. They put long chains around their necks, and with a click, they put on a big copper lock; then they passed the chain through the handcuffs and shackles, and with another click, they put on two big copper locks.

This thing is called a tiger and wolf trap, and the government uses it to restrain powerful bandits or extremely strong criminals. However, Xu Jue used it on a weak civil servant, purely for the purpose of humiliating him.

The two officials were chained and led forward by the Royal Guards. They could only hunch over and move in small steps, like old women. It was a shame to open the door to shame. It was shame to the extreme.

Xu Jue looked at the two of them and was very satisfied with the effect. When he looked up to check their expressions, he was stunned.

It was not the fear, despair, and shame he had expected. On the contrary, their faces were full of pride and arrogance, as if they were wearing medals instead of chains, and were going to the podium instead of the imperial prison.

The officials who were watching the excitement did not become frightened monkeys as Xu Jue thought. Instead, their faces were full of envy, jealousy, and hatred, as if they wished they could take the other person's place.

Officials are of course envious, and countless people write letters to the emperor every year to express their opinions. But writing letters alone will not make you famous. You must be convicted for your words to become famous all over the world. For the vast majority of officials who have no ability and no connections, this is their shortcut to success!

If I could be beaten with a stick again, my name would go down in history, and my life would be completely perfect!

However, this is not the Jiajing period anymore. In the past ten years, few people have been convicted for their words. How many years have the factory guards not caught trolls? Only last year, they caught Liu Tai, but he still didn't get a caning. Although it's not perfect, it's well-known all over the world, and there's a lot to look forward to in the future! It's enough to make all officials envious and crazy.

"Hahaha, we can't let you two enjoy the glory alone!" Before we slowly reached the Donggongsheng Gate, we heard someone else say loudly.

"That's right, the Ministry of Justice is an important judicial institution and must not be tarnished." Another person echoed, "We are here to turn ourselves in too!"

"It's an honor!" The officials made way for the two men and bowed to them as they appeared in front of the Jinyiwei.

"Who are you?" Xu Jue was a little confused.

"Ai Mu, the Deputy Director of the Henan Qingli Division of the Ministry of Justice!"

"Shen Sixiao, the head of the Shaanxi Qingli Division of the Ministry of Justice!"

"Fuck, this job is getting easier and easier." Xu Jue touched his head and scolded his subordinates: "What are you standing there for? Catch him!"

He was actually a servant of Eunuch Feng. His success brought prosperity to the whole family. He had only been the commander of the Imperial Guard for a few days, and he obviously did not understand the conduct of Ming officials...

The Four Remonstrants of Yuezhong, the Three Sons of Wuwu, and Lord Hai were all captured in chains like this!

We all yearn for it!

~~

Zhaojia Hutong.

Zhao Liben has been in Beijing recently, paying close attention to any developments in the government and the opposition, and has also made a lot of small moves to help Zhao Hao keep a close eye on the dynamics of the Jiangnan Gang.

Zhao Hao was also at home today, discussing with his grandfather what to do next, when he heard the news that four people who wrote a letter to the emperor to express their opinions were thrown into the imperial prison.

"I didn't expect you to say it!" Zhao Liben was surprised by the emperor's or Zhang Xianggong's reaction. He held the cigar between his fingers and waved his hands, saying:

"There are already thousands of petitions from the two capitals, six ministries, five temples, and the six departments of the Censorate requesting that they be kept. Isn't it just a few noises? Why is your father-in-law so angry? If he doesn't want to listen, he can just not send the imperial copy and keep it in the palace! Why arrest him? How will this end?!"

"Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. The only option is to punish him with a caning." Zhao Hao said with a bitter smile, "If not, how can one stone stir up a thousand waves?"

He knew that his father-in-law would be enraged and then act irrationally. He had seen through this before the great comet arrived - character determines destiny.

Liu Mianhua had encountered the same situation in the past, but he pretended not to hear anything. It's enough to get the inside, why bother with the face? Since you're a whore, you don't expect to be a saint. Let them play if they want, playing makes it harder.

However, an extreme idealist like Mr. Zhang is naturally narrow-minded and will not allow his ideals to be tarnished. He holds the highest power and is not constrained at all. The only thing that can restrain him is Schrödinger's sense of morality.

As the saying goes, when you have a sharp weapon, you will naturally want to kill...

However, this is exactly what Zhao Hao hopes to see.

After failing to scare his father-in-law with the big comet that day, he decided to use force.

It takes three steps to put an elephant in a refrigerator, and it also takes three steps to make Mr. Zhang give up his love - the first step is to make things worse, the second step is to remove the fuel from the fire, and the third step is to reconcile and compromise!

But so far, he hasn't even taken the first step.

In fact, over the past month, although Mr. Zhang seemed to be facing the overwhelming public opinion, he did not actually feel any real pressure.

The reason is simple: the higher up one is, the darker the situation will be. There are too many people around him, and these people will filter out information that is not beneficial to him.

The fact that Prime Minister Zhang was in mourning would obviously harm the interests of everyone around him, so all the information transmitted to him was conducive to the seizure of love.

In addition, even if Mr. Zhang was sent home, the emperor, Empress Dowager Li and the eunuch Feng Bao were still there. Because these people were determined to seize the love of the emperor, most of the officials, either out of pressure or to curry favor with their superiors, submitted petitions to retain Mr. Zhang.

Therefore, from Zhang Juzheng's perspective, it was clear that the whole country was working together to retain him. Even if there were some noises, they would not make the whole thing work, so the situation was still very optimistic.

Although the appearance of the great comet was a heavy blow, Zhao Hao also saw through this incident that Zhang Xianggong was not really superstitious. Instead, he was pragmatic about it - I would believe it if it was beneficial to me, and I would not believe it if it was not beneficial to me.

Therefore, the appearance of the comet only caused Zhang Xianggong's fine steel to bend for a moment, but it immediately returned to its original state. It was far from reaching its yield limit!

As long as Zhang Xianggong, the pillar of heaven, can be kept stable, there will be no chaos in the palace and among the love-stealing factions around him.

So Master Zhao must demonstrate his real skills.

Although Mr. Zhang is both a father-in-law and an idol, he will not show any mercy when it comes to taking action.

Although he was not the one who started the fire in the forbidden area on the sixth night of the Lunar New Year, the Empress Dowager's Buddhist temple was deliberately neglected by Xi Wa, who he had ordered to put out the fire...

There were also big-character posters all over the streets, which were also posted by the Special Operations Department people.

He had even asked his grandfather to write an impeachment and arranged people, ready to fill the gap himself if Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian were not in the capital and the impeachment of the prime minister could not be triggered.

Fortunately, the civil service group never disappoints when it comes to stirring up trouble. Deng Yizan and Xiong Dunpu filled in at the right time, and Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao arrived as expected. They urged Zhang Juzheng to get out as his students and fellow townsmen.

Create an illusion that even the people around you can't stand, and deal a precise and heavy blow to Mr. Zhang's heart, which is already somewhat suspicious due to the changes in the stars!

Not many chess pieces were sacrificed, but the effect was amazing!

As expected, Prime Minister Zhang fell into the trap and threw the four men into the Imperial Prison, preparing to cause a bloodbath at the Meridian Gate!

This played into what those people wanted. They took advantage of the star changes and carefully selected four people to submit a petition, with the aim of creating an issue that would allow everyone to express their opinions safely!

The officials were very hesitant to persuade Prime Minister Zhang to mourn. Although everyone envied Hai Rui and Yang Jisheng, how many of them had the courage to endure the imperial caning, dismissal, exile, and military service? Most of them were just like Ye Gong who loved dragons.

But it would be much safer if we speak out to rescue the four people who are about to be beaten with sticks in the court.

It's not against the law for me to ask you to let them go, right? This way, I can disgust Mr. Zhang without worrying about being retaliated by him. Why not do it?

Only when this topic can be safely discussed can the true attitudes of the officials come to light. Only then can Zhang Xianggong understand what it means to not offend the public anger!