The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 491

"what?"

Cao Pengcheng was dumbfounded.

Signing in?

Before dawn today, he and many colleagues went straight to Zuoshun Gate to kneel and remonstrate; they had no time to sign in.

Wang Zhi glanced at him.

“Today is not your day off, nor did you go to the yamen to sign in. You are absent today, which, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, is punishable by twenty strokes of the cane. As you are in charge of the Censorate, you should be responsible for the absence of all officials, but you knowingly broke the law, so your crime is doubled.”

"and many more……"

Upon hearing Wang Zhi's words, Cao Pengcheng sensed something was wrong and tried to speak, but it was too late.

"Forty strokes of the cane."

Wang Zhi gave the instructions.

"Yes."

The West Depot agents behind him seemed to be there, and soon brought over a long bench and two planks.

Cao Pengcheng panicked when he saw this situation.

"Wait, you cannot use torture on me..."

No matter how much Cao Pengcheng struggled, he was still pinned down on a stool by the West Depot agents, with two West Depot agents holding boards standing on either side of the stool.

In the Ming Dynasty, beating with a board was a common punishment, but there were different degrees of severity, depending on the size of the board.

The small board is about three feet in size and relatively light in weight. When it is used to strike the victim, it causes more physical pain than serious injury to the bones and muscles. It is mainly used for punishment.

The large board is larger in size, about six feet long, with moderate width and thickness. It is heavier than the small board, and when it is used to strike the victim, the force is concentrated over a larger area, which can cause more serious injuries, easily resulting in damage to tendons and bones, and rupture of internal organs. It is often used on prisoners.

Cao Pengcheng was absent for one day, but he didn't need to be punished with a large rod; he was only punished with a small rod.

Even a small sum of forty is unacceptable to Cao Pengcheng.

Physical pain is secondary; he is a court official and a scholar-official, how can he be tortured?

"No, who dares to torture me?"

Cao Pengcheng struggled frantically, and the officials watching could not allow this to continue and tried to rush forward to rescue him, but it was too late.

Bang!

At this moment, the executioner's raised board finally fell and struck Cao Pengcheng.

"what!"

Cao Pengcheng let out a miserable scream.

Bang!

Bang!

Two executioners began the execution, the boards striking Cao Pengcheng repeatedly with dull thuds.

The officials stared wide-eyed at the sight, not expecting the other party to actually dare to do such a thing, and rushed over to try to save Cao Pengcheng.

"Release Imperial Censor Cao."

"You castrated dog, how dare you torture us officials in broad daylight?"

The officials shouted and tried to help Cao Pengcheng out of the predicament, but the agents of the Western Depot were not just standing by and watching. Seeing that the officials were about to disrupt the punishment, they all drew their swords and lined up to block the officials.

"you……"

The officials glared angrily at the agents of the Western Depot, but the agents remained unmoved.

They were all agents of the Eastern Depot before, and were assigned to the Western Depot after it reopened. In the past, they would not have dared to treat these high-ranking officials like this, but in the past few days, under the leadership of their supervisor Wang Zhi, they have arrested countless officials and imprisoned them, which has made them bolder.

Seeing the officials' helpless expressions, the agents of the Western Depot remained expressionless, but were extremely pleased inside.

They had had enough of these officials in the past, but now the tables have turned.

Bang!Bang!

The blows of the paddle struck Cao Pengcheng's body rhythmically, echoing his cries of pain.

After a moment, the two executioners stopped and looked at Wang Zhi.

"Master, the execution is complete."

At this moment, Wang Zhi smiled slightly, nodded, and then glanced at Cao Pengcheng.

After receiving forty lashes, Cao Pengcheng lay sprawled on the stool like a lump of mud, eyes closed and motionless, as if he had fainted, but this did not escape Wang Zhi's notice.

Wang Zhi looked at Cao Pengcheng, who was pretending to be dead, without caring. He said, "What happened today is just a punishment. Although you have been punished, you still have to perform your duties normally today. If you are negligent, your punishment will be increased by three degrees. Do you understand?"

Cao Pengcheng did not respond and continued to play dead.

Wang Zhi waved his hand.

"Send Imperial Censor Cao to the Censorate."

Two agents from the Western Depot carried Cao Pengcheng, stool and all, to the Censorate to report for duty. Cao Pengcheng did not move during the process, as if he had truly fainted.

The officials who witnessed this tragedy were even more furious. They looked at Wang Zhi and wanted to curse him, but dared not utter a sound.

They couldn't win by fighting, and they were afraid the other party would use the sign-in book to punish them by cursing. So they could only stare intently at Wang Zhi, trying to kill him with their eyes.

Stop cursing?

Wang Zhi was somewhat surprised. He hadn't heard enough yet, so why had these officials fallen silent?

Wang Zhi shook his head. The officials of today have far less backbone and spirit than those of the Chenghua era. Back then, even when being flogged, those civil officials would still curse and swear.

However, the fact that the other party is not speaking does not mean that he is about to end the conversation.

"Han Ziyang, Wei Yunyi, Shi Ran..."

Wang Zhi called out names one by one, and the officials whose names were called were dragged out one by one by the agents of the Western Depot and brought before Wang Zhi.

The procedure was the same as before: anyone who didn't sign in at the yamen today would receive twenty strokes of the cane. At this moment, the wails and the sound of the cane hitting the left gate were incessant.

The officials were furious, but powerless to do anything about it.

"Wen Chenghan..."

Wang Zhi called out another name, and another young official was brought up. But this official was different; he immediately gave in.

"Lord Wang, I confess my guilt."

"Ok?"

Wang Zhi glanced at the other person in surprise.

What crime do you plead guilty to?

The young official bowed and said solemnly, "I am the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review. Today is not my day off, nor have I asked for leave. Yet I have left the yamen without permission and come to Zuoshun Gate. This is my first offense."

“I have been an official since the year before last. Although I know that our Great Ming Dynasty has an attendance book, I rarely sign in. Just now, a colleague said that this is the norm. Regardless of whether this is the norm or not, it has already violated the law of the Great Ming Dynasty. This is the second crime.”

“Supervisor Wang was ordered by His Majesty to investigate and handle the case. I was unaware of the truth and followed the crowd to Zuoshun Gate. Although I knelt down to remonstrate, I was actually forcing His Majesty. I have failed His Majesty’s grace, and this is my third crime.”

“What I said above was not an attempt to exonerate myself. Having committed these three crimes, I cannot escape blame. I am willing to accept my punishment.”

Hearing the other party's words, not only were the officials stunned, but even Wang Zhi couldn't help but be taken aback.

"If you know your mistakes and can correct them, there is no greater good."

Seeing that the other party was so sensible, Wang Zhi's expression softened a bit. Instead of mentioning the other party's confession, he said he knew he was wrong.

"Although His Majesty ordered me to handle the absence of officials from various departments, he also left an oral instruction that although this matter was wrong, it had become a common practice, so it is not your fault. As long as you can recognize your mistakes, it is not too late."

"As for this case, I arrested people based on evidence. It is understandable that you did not understand the reasons and were misled. I understand."

Wang Zhi looked at the other party and said, "His Majesty's decree states that as long as an official can recognize his mistakes and will not repeat them in the future, his past actions will not be investigated."

Upon hearing this, the official was moved and knelt down with a thud in the direction of the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty's grace will be remembered by this humble official."

The official burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably.

Chapter 669: Assassination Attack

The officials stared blankly at the scene, seemingly not yet reacting, until a roar erupted from the crowd.

"Wen Chenghan, you actually bowed down to a castrated dog?"

They gathered at Zuoshun Gate today to protest against Wang Zhi's arbitrary arrests of court officials. They described Wang Zhi as a heinous villain who persecuted loyal officials, and they argued that their actions were righteous. However, Wen Chenghan knelt down and listed three major crimes against himself. Wasn't this a betrayal of them?

"How can you have no backbone at all?"

"I am ashamed to be associated with you!"

The officials, realizing what was happening, launched into a tirade against Wen Chenghan.

Wen Chenghan remained unfazed.

"Now that you know you were wrong, I won't make things difficult for you. What should you do now?"

Wang Zhi replied in a very amiable manner.

"This humble official should immediately return to the yamen and take his seat."

Wen Chenghan cupped his hands in greeting.

"Go."

Wang Zhi waved his hand.

Wen Chenghan turned and retreated, leaving amidst the officials' insults and murderous glares.

Wang Zhi looked at the group of officials.

"His Majesty's words are law. As long as you gentlemen can recognize your mistakes, we will let bygones be bygones. If you insist on staying here to press for advice, don't blame me for being impolite."

The officials remained silent.

"very good."

Wang Zhi nodded and continued flipping through the sign-in book to call out names, but after a while a voice rang out from the crowd.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness. I will now take my leave."

An official bowed in the direction of the Qianqing Palace and then hurriedly left.

This official's actions seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with other officials leaving one after another to return to their respective offices.

As the officials left, the remaining officials' expressions changed, their emotions complex. Wang Zhi did not try to stop them.

He knew very well that the civil service group was never monolithic, and that dealing with these people could not be done by simply confronting them; he had to win some over, subdue others, and then strike at the rest. Only in this way could he deal with them.

After only a short while, only a few dozen officials remained in the room.

The officials present were all from the same faction as the three Grand Secretaries, Liu, Xie, and Li.

Wang Zhi looked at the dozens of officials.

"It seems that you gentlemen will not give up until you reach the Yellow River."

Without wasting any words, Wang Zhi opened the sign-in book and was about to call out names. The remaining people's expressions changed, and they looked at the three elders.

"Lord Wang, please wait."

Li Ge Lao, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"This minister, the Grand Secretary, and Minister Xie wish to request an audience with His Majesty."

Wang Zhi said casually, "Your Majesty has caught a cold today and is not in a position to see anyone."

After listening to what the other party said, the three elders fell silent, and after a moment they turned and left.

Seeing that the Grand Secretary had left, the remaining dozens of officials realized that their kneeling remonstrance had been a complete failure, and that there was no point in keeping them around; they would only suffer the same fate as He Zhen earlier. So they turned and left as well.

Seeing that Wang Zhi had easily defused the coup attempt, Zhu Houzhao, who was in the distance, burst into laughter.

"Brother Jiang, what do you think of Wang Zhi?"

Compared to Gu Dayong's performance during the previous kneeling remonstrance by the assembled officials, Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with Wang Zhi's performance.