At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Page 1419

This kind of problem is gone now, but not long ago, such a rule had already prevailed in the world, and it was the rules and regulations that the Supreme Emperor Guo Peng killed tens of thousands of people to change.

Cheng Yu, who was born in the former Han Dynasty, can only be an official at most, and he will definitely not be an official.

"This is why you are willing to be a knife in the hands of others?"

Zao only still can't understand.

"Isn't that enough? The kindness of knowing you, helping me change my fate, allowing me, Dong'a Cheng, to become a nobleman, isn't that enough?"

Cheng Yu let out a long sigh: "Although it's meaningless now, how could it not be the kindness of the Supreme Emperor for me to come to this day? What's wrong with abandoning this body and being the knife in his hand? You high-ranking officials who are smooth How can my children understand me?"

Zaozhi swallowed, feeling inexplicably guilty, but unwilling to admit Cheng Yu's heart.

"Nevertheless, you... aren't you worried about your family? Are you not worried about your son?"

"do not worry."

Cheng Yu shook his head and said, "I'm not worried at all, why should I be worried? If I'm worried, will you still be afraid of me? I won't worry unless I'm not worried."

Zaozhi was speechless, but he was not convinced.

"In the name of eradicating corruption, it is okay to practice the reality of rejecting dissidents?"

Cheng Yu sneered.

"In the name of the righteousness of the world, to seek personal gain, such a thing, is it okay?"

Zao was surprised.

"I do not have!"

"they have!"

Cheng Yu stretched out his fingers and pointed to the backs of the officials who were taken away in front of him: "Doing despicable things, but still wanting to occupy the righteous name, this is the greatest shamelessness! Such a shameless person is just right for someone like Cheng. The old thief used despicable means to deal with it!"

Zaozhi's breath was stagnant, and he didn't know what allusion to use to refute Cheng Yu.

But he still didn't think he was wrong.

"Even if there are shameless people among them, I will not change my heart! Cheng Zhongde, if you can find out that I have violated the law and discipline, I will commit suicide on the spot! No matter what!"

"Except for you, I'm afraid no one else dares to say that?"

Cheng Yu sneered: "Zaobutang, a group of people who are full of selfishness, even if they have a righteous name, can they really do great things? They are only for their own self-interest. The words emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business are righteous in your eyes. In their eyes, it is profit!

You think you are using them to make knives, but in their eyes, you are the knife, Zaobutang, you said that Cheng is a knife in someone's hand, Cheng knows, Cheng is willing, but you don't know you It is also a knife in the hands of others, do you still think you are the one holding the knife? "

Cheng Yu's words were like a thunderbolt on the ground, and it exploded in Zaozhi's ears.

Zaozhi stood there in a daze, unable to utter a word, his mind blank.

"If Cheng was you, you should ask for your own bones, and bid farewell to the officialdom from now on, in case you are not guaranteed at the end of the year. You should stay clean all your life, and you should do less stupid things, so as not to be ruined without knowing it."

Cheng Yu glanced at Zaozhi with pity, shook his head, and left the office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs with a dagger in his hand, leaving Zaozhi who was standing on the spot motionless at the door.

After a while, Zhuge Jin came out from the official office.

"Butang, they are all gone, the department should come in, there are some things that can be discussed."

Zaozhi didn't move.

"Ministry?"

Zhuge Jin looked at Zaozhi suspiciously.

Zao Zhi looked as usual, nothing strange.

"Ministry?"

Zhuge Jin called out again.

"Tzuyu."

Zaozhi made a somewhat hoarse voice.

"I'm here."

Zhuge Jin agreed.

Zaozhi turned his head to look at Zhuge Jin.

"Do you think I am a knife in the hand, or the person holding the knife?"

"..."

Zhuge Jin was very surprised, not knowing why Zaoyi asked such a question.

"Why do you ask this question?"

Zao only looked at Zhuge Jin for a while.

"It's nothing, I'm just expressing my feelings. Also, I suddenly feel a little envious of Cheng Zhongde."

Zhuge Jin suddenly felt very terrified.

"Mister, are you alright?"

"It's okay, I'm serious, I really envy Cheng Zhongde, he at least knows that he is a sword in the hands, but I don't know what to do, I have been in the officialdom for decades, but I don't know whether I am the person holding the sword or the sword in my hand."

Zaozhi turned around and staggered towards the official office.

Zhuge Jin hurriedly stepped forward to support Zaozhi.

"Butang, what did Cheng Zhongde say?"

"Cheng Zhongde, he..."

Zaozhi looked at the panicked subordinates who came and went like ants on a hot pot in the official office, opened his mouth to say a few words, but he still couldn't.

"Forget it, it's nothing, Ziyu. If I'm not here, you should do it yourself. You must recognize whether you are the person holding the sword or the sword in your hand. Of course, you should continue to oppose what should be opposed. Who dares to do anything to the land? You have to fight him to the end! This can't be wrong!"

Zaoyi firmly held Zhuge Jin's hand, stared at him firmly, and said such words almost through gritted teeth.

Then, he let go of his hand and walked in on his own, his back always looked a little bleak.

Zhuge Jin didn't understand what Zao had heard that made him so desolate.

Zaoyi has always been a very strong person, at least in his opinion.

Of course, what Zhuge Jin never expected was that when Cheng Yu set off a clean government storm that intensified and made the people of Luoyang panic, Zaozhi silently sent a memorial to Emperor Guo Jin to return home, formally begging for bones.

It was the thirteenth day of June in the second year of Xingyuan.

chapter 1576

On June [-]th of the second year of Xingyuan, Zaoyi, Minister of Civil Affairs, formally begged for the bones from Emperor Guo Jin.

He said that he was old, frail, sickly, and lacking in energy, and he was unable to continue to undertake the important responsibilities of the Minister of Civil Affairs.

The minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has a great power, and it is really difficult for him to continue to undertake such an important task by relying on him as an old man.

The Supreme Emperor abdicated due to lack of energy, and gave up the throne to the current emperor. young people.

But he was old and unable to continue to perform his duties. He did not seek glory to return to his hometown, but only asked the emperor to allow him to ride in an ox cart, bring his old wife and servants, and return to his hometown safely for the rest of his life.

If he can do this, he is very satisfied, and he dare not have any other extravagant hopes. He also hopes that the emperor will agree to his request and let him return to his hometown in an old and broken body.

After the news came out, the panic-stricken Luoyang officialdom was shocked.

Zaozhi is a veteran of Yuan Cong. He has been the Minister of Civil Affairs since the establishment of the Wei Empire. For 15 years now, he is a well-deserved leader in the civil affairs and land affairs of the Wei Empire. He is very senior and authoritative.

At the beginning of Guo Peng’s founding of the People’s Republic of China, he did not propose any tenure system. It was not until the end of his reign, Yande ten years, that he proposed to implement a tenure system.

The term of office for such an official position as Shangshu in the central department is seven years. Although Zaoyi has been in office for far more than seven years, it is counted from the tenth year of Yande, and there is no retrospective, so Zaozhi's term of office has not yet expired.

He can wait until Xingyuan four years or so before resigning in a smooth manner. What position to choose, or what official title to add to the honor, is also his own choice, he has a choice.

As a result, he suddenly resigned on his own initiative.

Zaozhi is not too old, only in his 50s, with barely passable energy, and relatively healthy body. There have been no serious illnesses or disasters recently.

Of course, everyone knows that Zaoyi's resignation was not because of his age or lack of energy. The main reason, of course, was the conflict with the emperor.

Because of the commercial crisis in the Northwest, Zaozhi took the lead in exerting political pressure on the emperor. The emperor was very angry, so he used Cheng Zhongde, the ultimate weapon that had not been used for more than a year since he ascended the throne, and set off a storm of clean government, focusing on the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In the first wave, 23 officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs were taken away to "assist in the investigation".

Everyone knows that if we really need to investigate carefully, there are some dirty hands and feet in every department. During the reign of the Supreme Emperor, political storms were set off many times, and the blood of the ruling class was changed, but they still couldn't solve it. The problem of official corruption.

In all fairness, the treatment of the officials of the Wei Empire, especially the central officials, is really good, but people are not greedy enough. Once the power is in hand, it is too easy to get money.

In any case, everyone knows that if Cheng Zhongde doesn't make a move, it's enough. Once he makes a move, he will surely deal a heavy blow to corrupt officials with thunderous force, and add new recruits to the imperial prison.

And everyone also understands that fighting corruption is already a means of repelling dissidents on the emperor's side. .

Of course, it is really not the fault of today's son. Northwest business was decided during the reign of the emperor.

They failed to take advantage of the Supreme Emperor. Seeing that the new emperor was softer, they felt that they could get some benefits from the new emperor.

It just so happened that the economic crisis in the Northwest happened again, and Zaoyi, who had always been famous for his opposition to the business of the Northwest, charged forward. Naturally, the ghosts and snake gods were willing to use Zaoyi as a shield to let him charge forward and shout loudly, and they echoed from the bottom.

Unite to exert strong political pressure on the new emperor, and try the new emperor's bottom line.

It turned out that the new emperor was impatient, and he let Cheng Yu out to make trouble.

In the eyes of some people, Cheng Yu was an obstacle left by the Supreme Emperor to restrain the new emperor, but now it seems that this is more like a tacit understanding between father and son.

Cheng Yu is the dragon-slaying sword left by the Supreme Emperor to the new emperor.

When you feel that you can't control the situation anymore, and I'm not in Luoyang, then let Cheng Yu out, and Cheng Yu will let you know what cruelty is.

Just watch it.

Except for a few alternatives, who of you has nothing wrong with you?

If they were to be arrested, few people would be innocent, and there would really be none of those bruised and skinned people in the prison.

Some of them had the same problem, but because they supported the administration of the Supreme Emperor, they were kept.

Now, the new emperor is just doing the same thing as the Supreme Emperor, trying to fill the vacancy in the prison with those who oppose him.

Obviously, this is just the first step. The Ministry of Civil Affairs has only been hit with 23 people. It is estimated that their hands and feet are frizzy and they did not wipe their butts clean. It was obvious at a glance.

By interrogating them, they can also pull out the carrots and bring out the mud, and find out a series of people who are involved with them.

If the emperor is really determined to kill Zaoyi, he can wipe out his "partners" in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and wipe them out.

Zaozhi himself is clean, but the "partners" are not so clean.

It's not enough for one person to be good alone. Hello everyone is really good.

So people think that Zao only understood the emperor's intentions and found that he could not confront the emperor on this issue, so he chose to retreat and retire on his own initiative to preserve the vitality of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In everyone's eyes, this step is quite heroic. It is so rare for a senior official at the Yuan Cong level to sacrifice himself in exchange for the safety of his subordinates.

Then the emperor dismissed Zaoyi's petition for bone begging and let him continue to be his Minister of Civil Affairs.

Oh, this is also normal, to show respect and to show that you are very important to the court, you usually give three words and three concessions.

It was the same process when Guo Peng usurped the throne. Everyone went through a formality to give each other face and see each other in the future.

Zaozhi probably thought so too, so he quickly submitted a second petition for bone begging.

The emperor dismissed it again and let Zaoyi continue to be his Minister of Civil Affairs.

Then Zaozhi went to the third table and begged for bones again.

The emperor dismissed it again, saying that he could not do without Zaozhi, and let him continue to be the Minister of Civil Affairs.

Well, the process of three words and three concessions is over, and the next step is Zaoyi's fourth form, and the emperor agrees to give Zaoyi a little honor, let him return to his hometown in glory, and complete his mission.

Yuan Cong's veteran Zaozhi bid farewell to officialdom and politics, and returned to his hometown to spend his old age in peace. There will never be any legends about him in the world.

So Zao only wrote the fourth letter, sincerely begging for the bones to express his affection.

Just when everyone thought that this clean government storm would end soon, the emperor unexpectedly rejected Zaozhi's petition again and continued to let him be the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Eh?

This doesn't seem right?

Didn't it end after three words and three concessions?