After Liu Ji, the ministers of civil and military affairs also expressed their pleas for mercy.
Everyone was not necessarily begging for Dang Renhong's mercy, but because Li Chengqian had the dignity of an emperor and could not bear to kill for his merits and would rather cry in public without regard for dignity, they were filled with indignation at Dai Zhou's unkindness.
A king who has reached this point is already a rare benevolent king in ancient and modern times. Why do you need to be aggressive in order to achieve your own reputation of loyalty?
Dai Zhou was also sweating a little. He found that His Majesty's crying had aroused public anger and became the target of public criticism.
It seems that ministers like him, who have been in charge of Dali Temple for more than ten years, have their own principles and ideals in their hearts and do not care about the emperor's anger. At worst, he will be dismissed from office and retire, and he will never lose his principles in order to please the emperor and become a sycophantic minister. That would be worse than killing them.
But now faced with a mountain of pressure and a lot of abuse from the court, he suddenly felt that his persistence was necessary?
How can a king go so far as to turn a blind eye and only care about his own principles and ideals?
The noise in his ears continued, and the sky filled with boiling. Dai Zhou was silent for a long time, suddenly took a breath, and said: "Your Majesty is kind and kind, which is rare throughout the ages. How lucky are you for your ministers, how lucky are all the people, how lucky is the country! Since your Majesty is a party Renhong pleads for mercy, how can I make Your Majesty sigh with regret? What you want? It's just that Dang Renhong's crime is conclusive, he can be exempted from the death penalty, and he will not be able to escape the crime. He should be stripped of his title, removed from his official position, recover the money stolen from him in the past, and then be exiled to Qinzhou. ! ”
How lucky is it that the king is so benevolent?
Seeing such an emperor crying and asking for mercy in front of him, Dai Zhou found it difficult to insist on it, so he might as well break his principle once and fulfill the emperor's wish.
Such an emperor deserves to do this...
Li Chengqian: "..."
He was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue and looked at Dai Zhou in disbelief.
The original discussion with Fang Jun was to make Dai Zhou continue to be tough, as if he was interceding for the hero and unwilling to bear the burden of killing the minister who was protecting Emperor Taizong, and all the infamy would be attributed to Dai Zhou.
As an emperor, Li Chengqian would rather be refuted and rejected by his subordinates, causing his reputation to be damaged, than to shirk all the infamy.
In this way, not only the case of Dang Renhong was solved, but when the case of Feng Deyi was discussed later, who would blame him for killing the heroes of the Zhenguan Dynasty?
But now Dai Zhou didn't know what medicine he took wrongly, but he actually changed his past behavior and agreed, letting Li Chengqian sit on the wax immediately.
If you plead for Dang Renhong's mercy, Dali Temple will forgive Dang Renhong's death penalty. Then, when they discuss the crime of granting Deyi a title later, do you still need to plead for mercy?
If Yushitai also takes a step back, wouldn't he become an emperor who takes the lead in breaking the law?
If a hero commits a crime in the future, will he still ask for mercy?
Too hasty...
Fang Jun was also a little speechless. Dai Zhou, who was always selfless, could actually be accommodating?
Did you take the wrong medicine?
Li Chengqian naturally didn't have time to ask Fang Jun what to do at this moment. In fact, Fang Jun's bad idea was not very easy to use...
He could only say with a look of relief: "Good! Dang Ai Qing should use this to encourage himself and change his ways. When the world is amnesty in the future, he may not be able to return to Chang'an."
Dang Renhong burst into tears, choked and thanked him. He originally wanted to fish in troubled waters while everyone's eyes were fixed on Feng Deyi, and maybe he could pick it up and put it down gently, but he was so clever that he trapped himself in a cocoon. , it turned out to be such an ending.
Fortunately, he saved his life. Although he was exiled to Qinzhou, he still had a lot of billions of family property left after excluding the confiscation. In his later years, he could be a wealthy man with peace of mind, which was not bad.
As the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, he had an extremely wide network of contacts. Many of the military commanders and generals above were Paoze who fought alongside him in the past. Even if he was exiled to Qinzhou, it would not be difficult to find a place to settle down...
When Dang Renhong was taken away, the Tai Chi Hall became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Xiangdao, the imperial censor.
Liu Xiangdao's expression remained unchanged, he stood out from the crowd, and after bowing, he said loudly: "I impeach the Duke of Miguo for his treacherous behavior, deceive the emperor, and subvert the country... Please deprive him of the Duke of Miguo." position, all official positions were dismissed during his lifetime, and his posthumous title was changed from 'Ming' to 'Miao'! ”
The ministers were in an uproar.
That's it for the rest, but you actually want to change Feng Deyi's original posthumous title "Ming" to "Miao"?
What is "Miao"?
The name and reality are both refreshing, and it is called Miao. The name is beautiful but the reality is hurtful.
His name and integrity are inconsistent with reality. Although his name is handed down from generation to generation, he actually does all sorts of wrong things behind his back...
This is to discard all his achievements during and after his lifetime, leaving him with a reputation that will last for generations.
The severity of the punishment is extremely rare...
What makes everyone even more puzzling is that Liu Xiangdao is His Majesty's confidant at the Censorship Station. He is the emperor's "minion" who always acts according to His Majesty's will. Anyone in the government or the public who is dissatisfied with His Majesty's new policy will be punished by the Censor. Taiwan's severe crackdown.
Now advocating severe punishment of Feng De Yi would put His Majesty in a position of "disloyalty and unfilial piety". Is it possible that this Liu Xiangdao is still a critic like Wei Zheng?
I usually can't tell...
Li Ji, who usually didn't express his opinions much in the Chang Dynasty, couldn't help but frown, looked at Liu Xiang with slight displeasure and said: "Feng Lun was deeply favored by Emperor Taizong during his lifetime, and he was also a meritorious minister to Emperor Taizong. Since all of his crimes were exposed after his death, the punishment would be too harsh. He did not need to be deprived of his official position during his lifetime, but could only recover his gifts to serve as a warning to others. ”
The implication is very clear. Feng Deyi is a favored minister of Emperor Taizong. Now you advocate severe punishment, even withdrawing the official position and changing the posthumous title given by Emperor Taizong. Doesn't this mean that your Majesty is going to deny Emperor Taizong?
It doesn't matter how guilty Feng Deyi is, but where do you place His Majesty?
Unexpectedly, Liu Xiangdao was completely unafraid. He stood in the palace and spoke loudly and sternly: "Your Majesty, your words are wrong! It is precisely because Feng Deyi was favored by Emperor Taizong during his lifetime that he did such disobedient things, so he should be severely punished! If Even if such a thief, who had both sides of the fence and relied on his superiors to gain favor all his life, could still be safe and sound after his death, then where would he put this loyal man who had been with His Majesty through life and death? "
Today he is trying to establish his "upright" persona and get rid of the bad reputation of "the emperor's minion". I think that Liu Xiangdao comes from a well-known family and is upright. He has been impartial and selfless since he entered the official career. Although he cooperates with His Majesty to suppress officials who oppose the New Deal, he has his heart in mind for the country. He is by no means a flatterer. How can he bear the name of a sycophant?
Not only did he not care about His Majesty's reputation, he even criticized Li Ji.
He will criticize anyone who stands up to refute him at this time.
Love so and so.
Li Ji was so angry that he puffed his beard and glared. Although he usually kept quiet, his prestige was extremely high. How many people in the government and the public dared to be so arrogant in front of him?
But he also saw that Liu Xiangdao was too excited today, so he wisely chose to keep silent.
Although he is still nominally the head of the Prime Minister, the status of the Yushitai is special. If everyone is really united, even the emperor may not be able to change his will.
We can’t depose everyone from the Yushitai to the Censor...
Sure enough, as soon as Liu Xiangdao finished speaking, Li Qianyu, the chief censor, stood beside him and said impassionedly: "The Lord Ying is the prime minister and assistant of the country. He must be courteous to all officials and govern the world. He may have overall considerations. . But the duty of the Yushitai is to supervise all officials and clean up the rules and disciplines. They only have national laws and nothing else. Feng Deyi is treacherous and flattering, and the national laws do not tolerate it. "
The rest of the Yushitai officials also came out and said in unison: "The principles of the country must not be desecrated, but if they are violated, no mercy will be tolerated!"
The Tai Chi Hall was silent for a moment.
In any case, Liu Xiangdao's actions are impressive. Is there another criticizing minister like Wei Zheng in the court?
Li Chengqian had a headache. He didn't care whether Feng Deyi would be deprived of his gifts or his posthumous title. Since Dai Zhou suddenly changed his usual behavior and opened up to Dang Renhong, the situation was completely out of his original plan. , which is very self-esteem-breaking and dangerous enough for an emperor.
He didn't want to care about Feng Deyi's final fate, he just wanted to end this out-of-control court meeting as soon as possible.
He looked around and said, "Dear ladies, do you have any objections?"
As soon as these words came out, even those ministers who wanted to win leniency for the emperor and grant Deyi all shut up. Everyone also felt that the unusual behavior of Dai Zhou and Liu Xiangdao made the emperor uneasy. Naturally, I won’t be entangled any longer.
Even if this may bring about criticism of His Majesty's "disloyalty and unfilial piety" both inside and outside the court, it is far less important than the loss of control in the court...
Li Chengqian asked Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Rites, "Does Ai Qing think it is in line with the system to change the posthumous title of De Yi to 'Miao'?"
Xu Jingzong said: "Yes."
Li Chengqian stopped talking and made the final decision: "Then let's do it according to the advice of the Yushitai."
Feng Deyi, a famous official of his generation, revealed his past sins after his death. Not only were all his official positions dismissed during his lifetime, but all his posthumous gifts were deprived of him, and even his posthumous title was changed.
The posthumous title system originated in the pre-Qin period and was gradually improved during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with strict standards and procedures.
The posthumous title before Feng Deyi was "Ming", which means "Ming" when the results of thinking are far-reaching, "Ming" is the name of "sincerity and self-knowledge", and "Ming" is the name of "Rong Yi Shen".
After the change, the posthumous title was "Miao", and the name and reality were both beautiful and the name was Miao. The name was beautiful but the reality was sad.
The determination of the posthumous title is a "final conclusion" that covers his life. However, when Feng Deyi was alive, he probably never imagined that his coffin would be closed after his death. Years later, the nails would be pulled out and re-nailed. Read it again.
"Here."
Liu Xiangdao bowed and accepted the order.
Yushitai won a great victory in the game with the emperor today. He took off the infamy of "Emperor's Eagle Dog" from him, and he felt full of clarity and contentment.
Of course, he also knew that his move had caused serious dissatisfaction to His Majesty and would cause endless consequences, so he had to do everything possible to remedy it.
As for whether Feng Deyi's spirit in heaven will resent him, that doesn't matter.
It is already ridiculous for a thief who enjoyed all the honors and favors during his lifetime to be offered incense and incense for many years after his death. Not digging the grave, crushing the bones and scattering the ashes is considered an extrajudicial favor, so what else is there to complain about?
Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the throne, didn't even bother to ask, "If you have something to do, if you have nothing to do, leave the court." He stood up and left. When had the ministers in the Taiji Hall seen Li Chengqian like this? Suddenly they looked at each other.
There is no doubt that the two consecutive cases today have made His Majesty very embarrassed. The two big bosses in charge of the judiciary under him are disobedient, which must have caused a serious crisis for His Majesty. What an eventful time.