Chapter 56: The Way of Life in the Officialdom (3)

The disaster that Zeng Guofan caused this time was extremely serious, and the case was very clear, so there was almost no need to do more specific consultations. The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple formulated a punishment for the execution of the crime of great disrespect. Great disrespect is a disaster for the family extermination, and even his family was finalized and reported to the imperial court.

As usual, if there are cases in Beijing with very serious circumstances, the Three Courts must be tried. If the death penalty is imposed, the Three Courts and Six Courts must agree at the same time - this is a bit similar to today's Western jury system - there is a special term called: The Full Hall is Huano.

If there is a need to "exclusive report" for a case like Zeng Guofan, although it was tried by the Ministry of Justice, because the matter involves "big notice", the six departments must be unanimous before the final judgment will be finalized.

The proposed crime was reported to the imperial court, and the emperor summoned two ministers of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Zupei, the Han Secretary and Ale Jinga. After the ceremony, they asked them to stand up. The emperor looked at the memorial of the Thirteen Manchu and Han officials of the Three Laws and Laws, and put it aside, but the topic had nothing to do with the case itself: "Zhou Zupei, Ale Jinga?"

The two of them hurriedly bowed and saluted: "I am here."

"I have always been thinking about one thing these days. Although Zeng Guofan occasionally neglected, he has been diligent in his work since he entered the officialdom and is still cautious in his behavior. If he killed him like this, I can't bear it!"

"The emperor practices the law like a vain and a ping of Heng. In the place of a great master, the ministers who were guilty of Zeng Guofan should be convinced." Zhou Zupei first praised the emperor for a few words, and then said: "In fact, even if the emperor does not say it, the ministers will have two requests!"

Of course, the emperor knew what the two invitations Zhou Zupei meant. The so-called two invitations were roughly like this: According to the court law, a certain crime should be executed, but for some special reasons, or if the emperor wanted to give kindness in his heart, it was inconvenient to speak, so it was a presupposition method.

For example, if a minister is a relative of a concubine, the officials in charge should consider whether they can follow the "partner discussion" item in the "Eight Discussions" to think that the excuse is to reduce it slightly from the end? Of course, the premise of two requests is two quotes (two quotes refer to situations where there are previous examples to follow. Regarding this point, we will introduce it in detail later), and it should be clearly distinguished.

The emperor's words to him attracted interest: "Oh? Since that's the case, I'll listen to your two requests."

"I think Zeng Guofan suddenly entered the imperial side with a scholar. Although he was envied by scholars all over the world, he was also a blessing and misfortune. He always gave him some shortage of experience."

Zhou Zupei's answer was a heart-warming statement! It is true that the arrival of Zeng Guofan is really unfavorable! He should really consider how to deal with him in the future. However, this is not the original intention of the emperor to summon two people to the imperial court today. He will not mention it now: "Let me think about Zeng Guofan's affairs."

"yes!"

"There is another thing that I don't understand. I remember that the decree I gave to Zeng Guofan was brought to Tongzhou on the morning of July 23rd. Is that true?"

Zhou Zupei recalled: "Yes! It was the morning of July 23. When I saw the emperor, I went to Tongzhou to pass the imperial edict according to the emperor's oral order."

"Well, that's wrong. If we calculate this way, why did Zeng Guofan's apology be sent before the same day? Could it be that Zeng Guofan got some ventilation in advance?"

Zhou Zupei was shocked! Since the incident of Chen Fuen broke out, the court officials came to a consensus: what the emperor hated the most was to make friends with foreign ministers with internal court officials! Once discovered, they would immediately use thunder means. He occasionally thought about Zeng Guofan's affairs, and felt that there was a lot of work. It was just a matter of important officials in the Military Affairs Department. He did not dare to make too much advice. This time, he heard the emperor take the initiative to mention it, and immediately became spiritual: "The wise and wise men are not as good as the emperor. When the night is quieter, I occasionally gain something. I also think that the time is not suitable for the tenon, but there is no time to make detailed arguments, so it has been delayed until now."

The emperor's face gradually dimmed, and his voice was dry. He said, "This cannot be considered your fault. A wise man will make a mistake. Hey, I'm afraid there will be Chen Fuen and Akton and others will emerge in the court!"

As the Minister of Justice, Zhou Zupei knew a lot about the major cases of the Qing Dynasty. Needless to mention Chen Fuen, the Akton incident was another major case.

It was in the thirteenth year of Qianlong's reign. Emperor Qianlong led the empress to the eastern tour of the Holy Mother, and when the emperor arrived in Dezhou, Shandong, the empress suddenly died of illness. It was in June. The mother of the country passed away, and this time the eastern tour had to end hastily. After returning to Beijing, he hurriedly dealt with the queen's funeral. Unexpectedly, a major event happened during the mourning for the queen.

The passage is as follows: When the Fujian General Xinzhu came to Beijing to meet, he mentioned that the Governor of the Southeast River, Zhou Xuejian, just finished the mourning of Empress Xiaoxian, shaved his head for himself. When Xinzhu passed by Huai'an, Zhou Xuejian was afraid that he would find out that he was shaving his head, so he deliberately hid out under the name of "Pastoring the River" and avoided meeting Xinzhu.

Xinzhu arrived in Beijing and reported the matter to the emperor. Qianlong believed that Zhou Xuejian was a minister and should abide by the laws and regulations for such matters of importance. Moreover, Xinzhu did not see Zhou Xuejian, but only heard about it, so he did not believe it.

Who knew that not long after, An Ning, who was then the governor of Jiangsu, wrote a note. A copy of all the civil and military officials under the Governor of Jiangnan Rivers - except for the head of Huai Xu Dao Ding, all of them were shaved in violation of the rules! Only then did Emperor Qianlong believe Xinzhu's words, believing that the Governor of Jiangnan Rivers "abandon the usual and contemptuous manners, and the wind is the wind, which is deeply terrifying."

Zhou Xuejian and others were escorted to Beijing and were waiting for investigation by the Ministry of Justice. Akdun, the full secretary of the Ministry of Justice, was the Minister of Justice. He had an old friend named Selen'e, whose official position was the Governor of Huguang at that time. He actually shaved his head within 27 days after the death of Empress Xiaoxian. Not only did he, but also, Yang Xifu, the Governor of Hunan, Peng Shukui, the Governor of Hubei, and officials of the two provinces, all shaved their heads in violation of the rules.

However, Selen'er was very smart and took the initiative to submit a self-punishment. In the comments, he argued that since the 13th year of Kangxi, the provinces of other provinces have not been mourned as usual. They have been in trouble for a long time, and their constraining is unclear, which has led to mistaken breach. Later, after Yang Xifu carefully checked the old examples, he realized that he could shave his hair a hundred days later. He heard Yang Xifu's advice and reported it himself and asked for punishment.

One is secretive, and the other is asking for punishment. In the eyes of Emperor Qianlong, although it was the same mistake, his personality was judged immediately. Naturally, the handling was never the same. Zhou Xuejian was dismissed from his post and his home was confiscated; but Selen'er was only a serious mistake in the Ministry of Personnel.

It was not until later that Emperor Qianlong learned that Selen'er took the initiative to report himself because he received a letter from Akton, which explained in detail what he should do and what he should not do during the mourning of Empress Xiaoxian. He also advised him to take the initiative to submit a letter and submit his own guilt in order to seek forgiveness.

Emperor Qianlong was furious and believed that this was the ironclad evidence that his subordinates formed a clique and played with him in their hands. He immediately issued an order to confiscate Akton's house on the charge of disrespect. Selen'er immediately dismissed his post and took the lock to Beijing, and interrogated the case with Akton. It caused a lot of controversy, which was a major storm in the middle of Qianlong's life.

Today, the emperor mentioned Akton again. Zhou Zupei connected it together and immediately understood that someone in the Military Affairs Office had informed Zeng Guofan in advance. And he knew who this person was without thinking too much. He was about to persuade him, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Just this skill of silence, Zhou Zupei knew that what he thought was too important! He talked about the troubles of his friends, and it was better to be like the Jin people.
Chapter completed!