Chapter 77 Court Discussion
However, the calls for the liquidation of the eunuch party have been growing louder in the court in recent days, and even some old ministers could not bear the pressure and resigned.

Doesn’t Shi Fenglai know his own situation? How dare he stand up and speak for the people at this time?

Although his target was not Zhu Chunchen, if Zhu Chunchen had really seized the people's property, Shi Fenglai's proposal to make them give it up would have been a serious offense.

Although Qian Longxi was surprised, he was only surprised that Shi Fenglai could not be unaware of his own situation, but still spoke up for the people under such circumstances.

The situation is already precarious, is it worth it to offend a duke who is quite trusted by the emperor?
However, although he was surprised, Qian Longxi knew that Shi Fenglai was not a wicked person, and to some extent he was a good official.

Historically, when Shi Fenglai entered the cabinet, Wei Zhongxian was at the peak of his power. Whether it was for self-preservation or out of piety, it is understandable that he moved toward Wei Zhongxian.

Moreover, according to the information, Shi Fenglai played more of a mediating role in the cabinet. He did not help Wei Zhongxian to do evil, and even did a few good things.

For example, in the second year of the Tianqi reign, Wen Zhenmeng, who had just been appointed as an editor of the Hanlin Academy, wrote a memorial to the emperor, cursing that the Tianqi emperor "was like a puppet on the stage", accusing the emperor of being manipulated by Wei Zhongxian like a puppet and allowing Wei Zhongxian to monopolize power and harm the government.

Tianqi was so angry that he wanted to be beaten with eighty sticks!
If the emperor had been beaten with eighty strokes of the cane in court, an ordinary person would have had almost no chance of survival. However, Shi Fenglai pleaded in court, made secret reports, and even used the example of the Zhou Shunchang case that sparked the Suzhou uprising to convince Emperor Tianqi to pardon Wen Zhenmeng, thus saving this Grand Secretary who even the later Emperor Chongzhen had to give him some respect.

For example, in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, the Huangji Hall, which was renovated under the supervision of Wei Zhongxian, was completed. Wei Zhongxian took this opportunity to lavishly reward his subordinates. According to Feng Menglong's "Yandu Diary", even officials and craftsmen were promoted as many as 965 people, and his nephew Wei Liangqing was even granted the title of Marquis of Suining.

As a member of the cabinet at that time, Shi Fenglai should have been eligible for a title, but he refused to accept it and even brought up the ancestral system set by Zhu Yuanzhang, which stipulated that only those who had made meritorious services to the country could be granted the title of duke or marquis.

Moreover, when Emperor Qi passed away, Shi Fenglai was one of the people who went to Prince Xin's mansion in person to help Chongzhen board the plane.

This is enough to prove that Shi Fenglai is never vague when it comes to major principles of right and wrong.

From this we can see that Shi Fenglai was not a loyal dog of Wei Zhongxian as later generations believed.

The reason why the government and the public thought so was probably because ever since Zhejiang Governor Pan Ruzhen first proposed to build a shrine for Wei Zhongxian, the cabinet headed by Huang Liji and Shi Fenglai at the time not only did not advise against it, but also helped write the inscription for Wei Zhongxian's tomb.

But in history, after Wei Zhongxian's downfall, Chongzhen issued two decrees to investigate the eunuch party, and Shi Fenglai was not on the list of eunuchs.

It can also be seen from the side that even at that time, most people did not think that Shi Fenglai was a complete eunuch party.

Of course, it would be impossible for someone to become a Grand Secretary during the Tianqi period without having compromised with Wei Zhongxian to a certain extent, or even fawning on him.

Opposition groups like the Donglin Party, which were clearly opposed to the regime, basically all had a bad ending.

If one wanted to preserve his life and property in the Tianqi Dynasty, or even advance to a higher level, there were only two options: joining the eunuch party or remaining neutral.

But who has made centrists such a vague political stance? You can be called good or bad.

Left and right, merits and demerits will be judged by future generations...

Qian Longxi's targeting of Shi Fenglai was somewhat due to his hatred, which led to him killing innocent people indiscriminately.

After hearing what Shi Fenglai said, Emperor Chongzhen touched his chin but was still not very satisfied.

Under normal circumstances, this would be a win-win solution. But now, the person who filed the complaint is Chongzhen's "brother", so the situation has become a little different.

If Wang An cannot be given a satisfactory explanation, it is possible that Liu Bowen will become disappointed with the court.

In fact, Chongzhen was also very angry. You know, the two coal mines owned by Wang An were ostensibly purchased with funds from his younger cousin Wang Xin.

But in fact, it belongs to Chongzhen.

Not to mention, Wang An also claimed that Wangji Coal Warehouse was the common asset of the two brothers and the shares were 50-50.

Zhu Chunchen occupied Wang An's coal mine, which was tantamount to a slap in the face of Chongzhen and robbing Chongzhen's money!

How the hell can you tolerate this?

If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Chunchen usually left a good impression on Chongzhen, Chongzhen would have ordered the Jinyiwei to arrest him long ago.

While he was struggling, Chongzhen turned his attention to Qian Longxi.

Qian Longxi had already prepared his argument, and he said, "I think that what the old minister said about the occasional nobles and marquises seizing the people's property is not groundless, but everyone in the court and the country knows that Duke Cheng is loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and he is kind-hearted. I don't think he would do such a heinous thing. Maybe it was a false accusation by the people. We need to investigate the matter in detail."

Qian Longxi thought that his remarks were all-encompassing, and not only did they disgust Shi Fenglai invisibly, but they also satisfied Chongzhen's desire to reuse Zhu Chunchen.

If there is only one victim, it may be Wang An, the "troublemaker" who made false accusations at will.

But since they are all troublemakers, who would care about his life or death?

If this good idea that takes all aspects into consideration had been put forward under normal circumstances, Emperor Chongzhen, who was trying hard to learn the mindset of an emperor, might have had to make allowances for the common people.

But this so-called troublemaker was the little Liu Bowen he loved so much and the brother he always called him!

If Wang An is a troublemaker, then what is Chongzhen?
The leader of the troublemakers?
Chongzhen's face immediately turned ugly, and he slammed the table and scolded: "What nonsense is unreasonable. Wang An is just an ordinary citizen. How dare he accuse a duke for no reason and even come to me to complain?"

"Aren't you afraid that if you commit the crime of deceiving the emperor, your entire family will be executed?"

Qian Longxi shuddered and knelt down, "I have not thought it through, Your Majesty, please calm down!"

While he was apologizing, his mind was working rapidly.

The biggest loophole in his statement is whether Wang An was making groundless accusations.

It is indeed as Chongzhen said. How could Wang An, a commoner, have the motive and courage to falsely accuse a duke of the current dynasty by filing a petition to the emperor?
Qian Longxi understood that this was a bit far-fetched, but he was too confident. He believed that this statement would satisfy Chongzhen, so much so that he would ignore this single loophole.

But unexpectedly, Chongzhen became furious!
(End of this chapter)