Chapter 44: Grand Academic Criticism And Corruption Exposure Scene! Seeking Monthly Tickets
“Bold! You are all bold!!”
Before Old Zhu’s wrath could erupt, Liu Sanwu couldn’t contain himself first.
He was shaking with anger, pointing at Shen Lang and other low-ranking capital officials, and unleashed a torrent of abuse:
“You scoundrels! Like street ruffians! How dare you commit such disgraceful acts in the Hall of Supreme Harmony?”
“Demand salary?! Pig’s head meat?! Where have you placed the court’s authority?! You have trampled on the dignity of scholars and officials!!”
“You, you are unworthy to be subjects.”
The more he scolded, the angrier he became, feeling a blockage in his chest and his vision darkening.
His reputation for integrity throughout his life, his utmost respect for propriety and rules – this farce of a collective salary demand was a blatant trampling of his lifelong beliefs.
Moreover, what kind of day was it today?
It was a grand day for establishing the Crown Prince!
It was an important day when the Emperor finally decided to establish the Imperial Grandson!
It was a sacred day for his political career to reach its pinnacle!
How could such a momentous occasion be ruined by these trivial matters?!
However, the moment he paused to catch his breath and recover, Shen Lang’s voice suddenly rang out:
“Scholar Liu, you are noble, you are amazing, can you scold us now?”
“Back then, your five brothers all served the Yuan court; two were killed by rebels, and you sought refuge everywhere, supported by the people of Guangxi. Have you forgotten?”
“Now you stand in the Imperial Court, shouting loyalty! Is your loyalty about sucking up to the powerful and ignoring the lives of your colleagues?”
“You are truly misreading the books of the Sages! Are you worthy of those poor people who supported you? Are you worthy of your two deceased brothers?!”
“You, you, you!”
Liu Sanwu’s eyes snapped open, seemingly taken aback by the resurfacing of past events, he was so angry he couldn’t speak.
At this moment, Zhao Fengman added:
“Censor Shen speaks the truth! Scholar Liu was recommended by Chang Ru to enter the court at the age of seventy-three. The preceding decades were truly lived in vain! Little do they know, while the wealthy feast on meat and wine, the poor freeze and starve on the roadside!”
Rumble!
Liu Sanwu felt as if struck by lightning!
It was as if his soft spot had been hit, and he was completely stunned. Finally, he stammered, “You, you are disgracing classical learning!!”
“Heh, saying we are disgracing classical learning?”
Shen Lang sneered, “Alright! Then we shall cite classics!”
“I report to the Emperor!”
The Director of the Ministry of Personnel, Wu Nai Da, held his tablet and bowed, his voice loud and resonant, each word crisp and clear:
“Your subject has heard the Book of Songs say: ‘Great rats, great rats, do not eat my millet. Three years you have fed me, but you have not cared for me.’ This is by no means an empty statement. Your subject observes that today in the Imperial Court, how many worms and great rats there are!”
Having said that, he forcefully pointed the tablet in his hand towards the nobles’ ranks, his voice suddenly rising, like the explosive crack of a striking block:
“The noble families have received the nation’s grace for generations and share its prosperity.”
“However, they annex farmland, seize people’s property, exploit military households like slaves, and claim mountain forests as their private treasuries.”
“Their actions are no less than, and even surpass, those of great rats.”
“What is more, they collude with salt smugglers, privately trade in salt and iron, and fill their own pockets with what belongs to the court.”
“This is undermining the foundation of the Great Ming Dynasty and severing the lifeline of the state.”
“Your Majesty! If such worms of the state are not eliminated, how can popular indignation be appeased? How can court order be rectified?!”
Whoosh!
The entire hall erupted in an uproar!
Chaos, immense chaos, the situation was almost out of control.
There was a commotion in the nobles’ ranks.
Several veteran nobles were so angry their faces contorted.
Damn your mother, Liu Sanwu!!
Are you deflecting blame?!
You were fine with them scolding the Emperor, what’s your problem?!
Now you’re scolding us, are you satisfied?!
You old bastard!!!
However, before these nobles could counterattack, from the Hanlin Academy ranks, Editor Li Mo stepped forward: “Your Majesty! Your subject seconds the motion of Director Wu!”
His voice was clear and resonant, citing classics with practiced ease:
“The Zuo Zhuan says: ‘Those who eat meat are base and cannot plan for the distant.’ Your subject observes that today, many high officials in the Six Ministries are merely occupying their posts without doing any good.”
“The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money and grain, yet its treasury is empty, and it has been delaying the salaries of officials for seven months, forcing a respected seventh-rank censor to pawn his jade pendant just to buy half a pig’s head to survive. Propriety is collapsing, and classical learning is being trampled underfoot, never has it been worse.”
While speaking, he shifted his tone and pointed directly at the ills of officialdom:
“In the Ministry of Personnel’s selection of officials, bribery is rampant. Charcoal tribute and other fees are numerous.”
“Three thousand taels can get you a Tongpan; five thousand taels can secure a Prefect.”
“With such rampant selling and buying of official positions, how can the virtuous advance? How can the wicked retreat?!”
“Your Majesty! This is the disease of officialdom, the poison of the state. If this continues, the state will cease to be a state.”
“Your subject seconds the motion! Your subject is grief-stricken!”
Sun Gui, the Department Director of the Armory Department of the Ministry of War, with a voice like a thunderclap, smacked his official robe:
“Your Majesty! Look at this official robe of your subject; it appears bright and clean on the outside, but it is rotten on the inside. This is not the shame of your subject, but the shame of the court, the disgrace of the state.”
“The Book of Rites says: ‘If one’s attire and bearing are not proper, the guests will not be solemn.'”
“We of the pure stream are barely clothed and cannot fill our stomachs, surviving daily on pickles and thin congee, while the idle rich nobles flaunt their wealth, engaging in cockfighting and horse racing. The cost of a single banquet exceeds a hundred gold coins. This trend of extravagance, what difference does it have from the wine pools and meat forests of King Zhou?!”
“If this continues, public trust will be lost, and the foundation of the state will be shaken, Your Majesty!”
“Your subject seconds the motion—!”
One after another.
The high officials of the Six Ministries, including Personnel, Rites, and War, were stunned upon hearing these seconding motions.
It’s not us, brothers, it’s that bastard Liu Sanwu who scolded you!
We are on the same side!
However, this group of low-ranking capital officials, their eyes red with fury, did not care who was who, and attacked indiscriminately.
Some, in their ferocity, even targeted their own relatives serving in the court.
Liu Sanwu’s remark about disgracing classical learning was like igniting a chain of landmines.
They no longer limited themselves to demanding salaries from Old Zhu, but instead cited classics, transforming into ‘super trolls’ who had undergone professional training, unleashing their full firepower.
They cited the Book of Lord Shang, denouncing the privileges of nobles, their monopoly on salt and iron, and their competition with the people for profit.
They cited the Analects, criticizing local clerks for their extortion and layered exploitation.
They cited Mencius, “The people are the most important, the state is second, and the ruler is the least important,” directly pointing out the official salary system as a wicked policy that oppresses officials and shakes the foundation of the state.
Some even cited the Book of Han Feizi, implying that certain Princes holding significant military power harbored ill intentions and needed strict vigilance.
Their voices were loud and full, citing classics with ease, and their use of parallel sentences and rhetorical questions was masterful.
Saliva flew across the hall, and belches rose one after another, forming an extremely absurd yet incredibly oppressive wave of sound.
The extravagance of the nobles, the corruption of officials, the collapse of officialdom, and the hidden dangers of the Princes were peeled back layer by layer like an onion, laid bare and bloody before Old Zhu and all the assembled civil and military officials.
The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony had become a –
Grand scene of academic critique and corruption exposure, filled with sentences from the books of the Sages, yet permeated with the smell of pig’s head meat!
The nobles’ faces turned ashen, their bodies trembling with rage, but for a moment, they were rendered speechless by the dense barrage of classical citations.
The high officials of the Six Ministries looked ashen, cold sweat trickling down their faces. The accusations of bribes, charcoal tributes, and buying and selling of official positions whipped their faces like lashes, stinging painfully.
Old Zhu sat on the Dragon throne, his face turning from green to red, then from red to black.
These remarks struck his sore points, and pierced his heart with every word.
He wanted to roar, he wanted to unleash a massacre, but his heart was filled with confusion.
These bastards, did they eat bear’s heart and leopard’s gall today?! How dare they be so presumptuous?!
Is my Old Zhu’s blade not sharp enough?!
Wait!
This familiar feeling, why does it resemble…
Could it be that young brat Zhang Biao is behind this?!
Upon thinking of this, Old Zhu’s wrath surged like a volcano!
Damn it!!
If not for the dignity of the Emperor, he truly wanted to stand up from the Dragon throne, stomp his foot, and shout:
What a disaster!!!
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