Chapter 5011 Severe Punishment
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the central government treated the aristocratic families in Shandong, Henan, and Jiangnan very favorably. The aristocratic families represented by the "Five Surnames and Seven Hopes" even openly despised the royal family and suppressed the royal majesty by "not marrying the royal family." At the same time, his reputation spread throughout the country.
However, since the end of Zhenguan, there have been several mutinies and rebellions. All the families have been defeated in the face of the powerful force of the central government. Their foundations have been damaged and their strength has been greatly reduced.
Tens of thousands of Youweiwei troops were stationed in Stone City and were on alert. Navy ships were cruising on the Yangtze River, using the Yangtze River as a boundary to intimidate Jiangnan. If a sudden attack was made, the Jiangnan nobles would be unable to resist, so even if each family secretly intended to sabotage the imperial examination , maintain the political strength of each family, and continue the political pattern of "Jiangnan belongs to Jiangnan people", they can only put pressure on the court in this way, but they dare not resist openly.
Now Gao Kan was full of murderous intent, and it seemed that the wolves and tigers of the Youwei army were about to start a killing spree with a wave of his hand. Who wouldn't be frightened?
Looking at the candidates who looked high-spirited but were actually anxious, Gao Kan looked sternly and shouted: "Where is the supervisory censor?"
Sun Chuyue maintained order in the examination room and finally calmed down the restless candidates. Then he heard Gao Kan's cry and trotted closer.
As the newly-emerged "star censor" in the Yushitai, he naturally has to shoulder heavy responsibilities, so Liu Xiangdao arranged to go to Jinling, the weightlifting place in Jiangnan. As long as he can successfully supervise the imperial examination, he will definitely make further progress in the Yushitai.
However, Jinling is the center of Confucianism in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also the territory where the gentry of the south of the Yangtze River has been entrenched for hundreds of years. It has always been outside the central government. The policies promulgated by the central government are difficult to achieve in the south of the Yangtze River. It is almost impossible to have smooth sailing and a smooth journey.
As expected, the more afraid something will happen, the more likely it will happen.
And as soon as something happened, it was such a big thing that they directly stopped the examination and even criticized the imperial examination questions...
"I'm here. I wonder what the general's orders are?"
Sun Chuyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and panted.
Gao Kan said: "You are the supervisor of the censor, responsible for observing the conduct and discipline of the examination room. How should you deal with this situation if you don't know it?"
Sun Chuyue took a deep breath and said: "When I came to Jinling, the Central Committee expected that someone would ignore the laws of the empire and national policies, so His Majesty and the Central Prime Minister formulated a method of dealing with them."
Watching Sun Chuyue take out a bright yellow scroll from his arms, it was clearly an edict...
Even the candidates who were ambitious and persevering just now will inevitably become nervous.
The reason why they dared to cause trouble like this was that, on the one hand, they had the support of the Jiangnan nobles, and on the other hand, they were betting that Gao Kan would not dare to ignore the stability of Jiangnan and kill them ruthlessly, causing the entire Jiangnan to fall into turmoil and chaos.
Even though Gao Kan was bold enough to arrest all the candidates, Jinling was thousands of miles away from Chang'an. It would take a long time for Gao Kan to report to the central government and then the central government would make a decision, enough for the Jiangnan nobles to operate and calm down the situation.
But if Sun Chuyue has an edict, he can immediately make a decision on the troublemaking candidates.
The edict was promulgated and the whole country followed it, leaving no room for change.
Sun Chuyue first held the edict high and looked around. Everyone bowed to listen to the edict.
Then, he unfolded the edict and recited it aloud: "My disciples: Since I came to the throne, I have been working hard and diligently, striving to unify the four seas and the emperor. All the people of my empire will bathe in the emperor's grace... …The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for promoting talents in the empire. It is dignified and respectful and must not be desecrated. If there is any attempt to disrupt the order of the examination room or attempt to Those who violate the imperial examination will be severely punished. Their immediate family members who are three generations or above will be expelled, their writings from their birth will be destroyed, and their writings will make the Supervisor aware. The other accomplices who are three generations or younger will be canceled from the imperial examination. If there are no bad deeds within three years, the qualifications can be restored..."
All the candidates looked confused at first. Many of the punishments in the order were unheard of. When they came to their senses, their expressions suddenly changed.
Reciting the edict, Sun Chuyue broke out in a cold sweat. This punishment was too harsh, and he had no regard for the interests of the scholar group.
Punishments such as "removal of names and suspensions" and "destruction of written records since birth" are unprecedented punishments, and they are targeted at civil servants. In the past, if a civil servant made a mistake, as long as it was not a major crime such as treason, he would be fined with three drinks and asked to serve, and then the matter would be settled. Return to your hometown to raise your hopes and wait for the political situation to change. Once the situation is favorable, you can come back again.
"Execution does not go to the doctor" may give rise to many interpretations, but it is an indisputable fact that officials and scholar groups enjoy privileges.
But now, all kinds of privileges are gone forever, especially the final "three generations of immediate family members to destroy the writings since their birth", which is equivalent to destroying all their official status, promotion records, and service evaluations, directly expelling the scholar class, and no longer being able to enjoy such things as becoming an official. , tax exemptions and other privileges.
Furthermore, people under the third generation are not allowed to participate in the scientific examination, which is enough to cause a prosperous family to fall off a cliff in an instant, with no hope of recovery.
Sun Chuyue wrote the edict and asked: "Do you want to check the authenticity of the edict?"
The candidates headed by Lu Yanyuan were shocked and in disbelief. They thought there would be severe punishment, but they never thought there would be such severe punishment that would directly cut off a family from taking the imperial examination!
Although they are making trouble and boycotting the examination questions, everyone knows that the imperial examination is irreversible and will inevitably become the only way to select talents for the country. Now "chasing and destroying three generations" and "cancelling three generations" means that a family's path to the imperial examination is completely cut off.
Then there are prosperous families and clans, but no one has been in office for decades. How can they protect their own interests?
Not only that, if you lose the status of controlling interests, not only will you not be able to keep your current family business, you will even be divided and cannibalized by other clans, and your bones will be wiped out...
"Of course you have to watch! Your Majesty is the benevolent master of the world, how can you inflict such cruel punishment?"
"It must be you who are treacherous and sycophantic, deceiving the emperor, neglecting the superior, and falsely delivering the edict!"
The candidates clamored one after another, especially Lu Yanyuan, whose face was full of shock and disbelief. At the moment, the so-called mastermind was none other than him. The punishment according to the edict would not only make his achievements in vain in this life, but also have to trace back more than three generations and destroy the writings since his birth. , delaying it for three generations, and canceling the qualification for the imperial examination, for a scholar with lofty ideals and a noble family that thrived in Jiangdong, it was ten or a hundred times more serious than beheading!
He glared at him angrily, with blood filling his pupils, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "This must be the traitor Fang Jun who bewitched Your Majesty and caused trouble in the court, and used this to strangle our Lu family in Wu County! I think that my Lu family in Wu County started in the Spring and Autumn Period and has flourished to this day. Preserve the Chinese heritage and protect the soil and water. Our ancestors have been loyal to the country and spread their virtues all over the world for generations...but they were killed because of Fang Jun. All their main branches were slaughtered, and their blood lineage was almost cut off. Today, you are even more threatened and persecuted by such means, but you are indiscriminate and helping the oppressor. Why am I, Mr. Lu, dissatisfied?”
When Sun Chu asked him to see that he was in a state of excitement, he frowned and said: "Before the exam, I have given you detailed instructions on the rules of the exam room. You all know them very well. The exam questions are made by the central government, which gathers the central prime ministers and the world's great scholars. It is not arbitrary for one person to do it. What do you have? Can Protest? Since it is the work of the central government, it is a custom made by the state. How can it be canceled and deposed because of the noise made by people with ulterior motives? The decree is issued and should be followed. How can it be changed day by day because you complain about injustice? "
Lu Yanyuan's chest heaved, his heart was filled with fear, and he was speechless.
He Mo, Zhu Yuan and others came forward to check the edict.
Sun Chuyue glared angrily: "You have no merit and fame, and now you are disrupting the examination room and boycotting the imperial examination. How can you be qualified to check the imperial edict?"
He presented the edict to Xiao Yu with both hands. With Xiao Yu's identity, status, and prestige, he could naturally verify the edict on behalf of these candidates.
Xiao Yu bowed slightly, took the edict with both hands, and unfolded the ten lines. After reading it, he sighed, but his eyes were not much disturbed. He calmly said to several candidates: "Your Majesty's edict is formulated by Zhongshu, reviewed by the disciples, and regulated. Correct, detailed and cannot be changed. ”
Gao Kan glanced at him, wondering whether he was involved in the current matter, but it didn't matter. With the help of Xiao Yu's tablet, it was enough to overwhelm the Jiangnan nobles.
Lu Yanyuan's face looked ashen. Could it be that he no longer had any hope of becoming an official and could only stay at home and study calligraphy?
He Mo, Zhu Yuan, Zhang Zheng and others were also pale and trembling. At first, who could have imagined that they would face such a serious punishment?
Gao Kan waved his hand: "Come here, cancel the names of Lu Yanyuan, He Mo, Zhu Yuan, and Zhang Zheng from the examination book, remove Lu Yanyuan's green eyes, expel him from the examination room, and send him back to his place of origin!"
"Here!"
Several soldiers rushed forward and ripped off Lu Yanyuan's green collar. Lu Yanyuan showed no resistance and was like a walking corpse. Then he was escorted out together with several other people, and officials sent him back to his place of origin.
Sun Chuyue stepped forward to discuss a few words with Xiao Yu and Gao Kan in a low voice, then looked around the examination room and said loudly: "Due to an unexpected incident, the exam has been postponed for an hour. I hope all candidates can calm down and concentrate on the exam! ”
A group of examiners returned to the examination room and scolded him repeatedly to stabilize the examination discipline.
……
In the official room, Xiao Yu looked gloomy. He read the edict again and again, and then asked Sun Chuyue: "The crimes in this edict are unheard of, and its severity is unprecedented. I think it came from Fang Jun." Right? ”
Fang Jun's acting style is most unconventional and unconventional.
Then he sighed, put down the edict, and said with a solemn expression: "It's just that once this edict spreads, it will definitely cause shock and discussion in the world."
The three words "scholar" not only represent status, but also mean privilege. From ancient times to the present, aristocratic families who control educational resources have pushed their children into officialdom, Monopolize the way to work.
Even if you are dismissed or retired due to making mistakes, taking sides, etc., you can still lie dormant, wait for the opportunity, and make a comeback.
The world is the world of scholars and the world of clans.
However, as soon as this edict came out, the "talismans" on the scholars were completely stripped off. Whoever dared to disobey the central government's orders and private places in the future would be punished by "the destruction of the writings since their birth". Naturally, the world was boiling and the whole country was in an uproar.