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Qin Mu was not taken to the Southern Pacification Office, but to the Nanjing Garrison Eunuch's residence in Wuyi Lane.
Although the eunuchs guarding Nanjing were not as powerful as the eunuchs in charge of imperial ceremonies in the capital, they were definitely not comparable to the eunuchs in the retirement areas of Zhongdu Fengyang. It was not an exaggeration to say that the eunuchs guarding Nanjing now were the most powerful people in Nanjing and even in the entire Jiangnan region.
Now the country is in chaos, and the capital's supply is almost entirely dependent on Jiangnan. The importance of the eunuch guarding Nanjing is even more prominent. For such a person, it is almost as easy as crushing an ant to deal with a failed candidate.
Han Zanzhou's house was a luxurious one, with tall pavilions reaching up to the clouds. Two tall stone lions majestically looked down at passers-by in front of the door, and the steps in front of the door were paved with smooth white marble. Two rows of soldiers stood on both sides of the gate with swords on their waists, their hands on the hilts, murderously.
Qin Mu was taken to the front hall, where there were two rows of Dongchang guards holding knives, each with a cold look. There were even a few torture instruments in the hall, stained with purple and black blood, which made the timid people shudder.
The hall was more than ten feet long. Inside it sat a eunuch in his forties. He was wearing casual clothes, had a slightly round face, a fair complexion and no beard. Several maids standing quietly behind him served incense and tea.
The leading eunuch who was in charge of bringing Qin Mu here shouted, "Why don't you kneel down when you see Eunuch Han?" Qin Mu had just glanced at him when the two eunuchs from the East Factory behind him instantly kicked Qin Mu in the knee.
Qin Mu would rather fall to the ground than kneel on his knees. He stumbled and fell to the ground. Qin Mu felt pain in his ribs. This fall was really heavy. When he struggled to get up, the two Dongchang guards rushed over again.
"Bang! Bang!" No one expected that Qin Mu's elbows would suddenly strike out and hit the faces of the two Dongchang men who were leaning over. Two screams immediately resounded throughout the hall. The two Dongchang men squatted on the ground, covering their faces with blood and tears, whimpering. It was estimated that their noses had been broken.
This sudden change was something that no one had expected. Qin Mu was a weak scholar, and no one had expected him to dare to resist, and to be able to resist. Even Han Zanzhou couldn't help but let out a light sigh.
Qin Mu jumped up and said to Han Zanzhou, who was sitting at the top of the court: "I have made great achievements, so I don't need to kneel down even if I'm in court. I hope you will understand. And you said I slandered my father and the emperor, but I don't know where this crime comes from. If you want to punish me, you should at least let me know where my crime comes from, right?"
"You spoke nonsense at Jiang Yueguang's banquet, slandering the emperor for abolishing the court and appointing ministers according to his own will, so that all the ministers you got were greedy, cunning, evil and incompetent. If this is not slandering the emperor and father, what is it? Come on, capture him and let him have a taste of the pain of being clamped." The eunuch who brought Qin Mu here shouted sharply.
This time, four Dongchang guards rushed forward with their knives drawn and murderous intent in their eyes. Qin Mu knew that further resistance would only bring more torture, so he simply stood still.
He said to Han Zanzhou in a loud voice: "Eunuch Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang once said that if you use copper as a mirror, you can correct your clothes; if you use history as a mirror, you can understand the rise and fall; if you use people as a mirror, you can understand gains and losses. All wise monarchs never shy away from admitting their mistakes..."
At this time, Qin Mu had been pinned down by the Dongchang guards, with the clamps inserted into his ten fingers. The two men on his left and right pulled him, causing Qin Mu to break out in a cold sweat. However, he still held on with superhuman willpower, still speaking with difficulty: "The court... The six departments of the Imperial Censorate were originally intended to correct the mistakes of the monarch. Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has issued several... self-blame edicts, which shows that the emperor has never concealed his mistakes and dared to admit them. This is the mind that a wise monarch should have. The emperor can do this, which makes him a wise monarch..."
The extreme pain made Qin Mu sweat profusely, his face was grim, and he spoke as if he was gritting his teeth, but he persisted to the end, which moved many people in the hall.
"I... pointed out that the present emperor was guilty out of loyalty. The ministers I mentioned have now... been convicted, and most of them were promoted by the present emperor. The facts are there, and I have not made up a single word to slander him..."
Han Zanzhou finally raised his hand, and the Dongchang guards who were torturing Qin Mu immediately stopped, clasped their fists towards Han Zanzhou, and retreated. Qin Mu's ten fingers were already black and swollen, and his wrists were trembling slightly in pain, but there was no sign of compromise in his eyes.
Han Zanzhou said calmly: "Not bad, at least he still has some backbone."
"I did nothing wrong and I will not admit it. Moreover, today in front of my father-in-law, I will point out another mistake of my master..."
The eunuch who brought Qin Mu here screamed again: "How dare you, come on..." He was stopped by Han Zanzhou halfway through his shouting.
Qin Mu glanced at him with disdain and said with pain: "In the early years of Chongzhen, the current emperor weakened the power of the imperial guards too much, which had a huge impact on the country. This was another big mistake of the current emperor. The imperial guards were a group of vicious wolves..."
"presumptuous!"
"Lü Qi, let him continue. Let him finish what he wants to say today. We want to see what else he can come up with."
Han Zanzhou spoke, and the eunuch who escorted Qin Mu had to retreat in dismay. Qin Mu ignored his scolding and continued, "On the grassland, if horses want to escape the bites of wolves, they have to keep running. The ones who can survive are the strong horses, and those who are weak and not good at running become the delicious meals of the wolves.
Similarly, the imperial court had the group of evil wolves, the factory guards, lurking around, and they could effectively eliminate the corrupt and incompetent officials. Those who could survive and climb to high positions would definitely not be mediocre.
This is also the main reason why the country has not been governed well, but has become increasingly corrupt after the emperor almost uprooted the imperial guards a few years ago. Of course, this cannot be blamed entirely on the emperor. It is really because the imperial guards themselves did not know how to restrain themselves and made their reputation so bad that everyone wanted to kill them.
The Jinyiwei was set up during the reign of Emperor Taizu, and its main purpose was to deal with corrupt officials and traitors. However, the factory guards later relied on their privileges to harm even ordinary people, causing the people to become greedy and treacherous.
This is the biggest mistake of the Imperial Household Department, so that once an emperor like the current emperor ascends the throne, he will feel that the existence of the Imperial Household Department is more harmful than beneficial, and the tragic fate of the Imperial Household Department will be doomed.
In fact, whether it is an individual or a department, the simplest way to deal with the world is nothing more than to fight one gang and pull another gang. The factory guards should fight against corrupt officials, supervise officials, and pull the people. This way, your reputation will not be too bad, and you will have a long-term foundation. No matter what kind of monarch ascends the throne, he will not think that your existence is more harmful than beneficial. "
Hearing Qin Mu say this, Han Zanzhou suddenly laughed and said in a veiled tone, "You were in the civil service seat, and you said that the emperor abolished the imperial court and the imperial edict was wrong. Here in our house, you said that the emperor was wrong to abolish the factory guards. Great, great, you really know how to talk. No wonder you have gained such a great reputation in such a short time."
Han Zanzhou was clearly calling him a two-timing villain, but Qin Mu remained unmoved. He endured the pain in his hands and said, "If you think that I am a flatterer, then you are wrong. In this world, no matter whether you do good or bad things, you will inevitably encounter resistance. So no matter what you do, you must pay attention to certain strategies.
The students said in the civil officials' seats that the current emperor abolished the imperial edict and used the imperial edict to disrupt the hierarchy. This was a real mistake made by the current emperor. It would be beneficial for the civil officials to make remonstrances, so they would naturally be happy to do so.
The student said to the eunuch that it was wrong for the emperor to abolish the factory guards, but he also considered that this matter would benefit the eunuch, and the eunuch was willing to make suggestions. There is no contradiction between the two, and their purpose is to correct the monarch's gains and losses, but they have made some changes in strategy;
On the contrary, if I say to the eunuch that the emperor is wrong to abolish the imperial court and use the imperial edict to disrupt the hierarchy, will the eunuch go to advise him? Similarly, if I say to the civil officials that the emperor is wrong to abolish the factory guards, the civil officials will not agree. Then the student's desire to correct the monarch's gains and losses will only bring him a bad reputation and will not be of any benefit. What the student did is completely different from purely seeking personal gain, flattering and fawning. "
Han Zanzhou looked at Qin Mu seriously and said calmly, "What a pity! What a pity!"
Qin Mu replied casually, "You are too kind, sir."
This seemingly unrelated conversation made Han Zanzhou really admire him. It was obvious that Qin Mu guessed his thoughts and gave this answer. He also felt that Qin Mu had some talent. It was a pity that such a talent, who was somewhat stubborn, was destined to not be able to stay by his side and be used by him.
Han Zanzhou whispered a few words to the maids beside him, and the two maids retreated inside. Han Zanzhou continued, "A few days ago, Mao Xiang and Hou Fangyu recommended you to us, but we didn't think much of you. After seeing you today, I can see that you really didn't disappoint us."
After a while, a maid came out holding a set of seventh-rank official uniform, and another maid came out holding an official seal and a silver note.
"Didn't you claim that you could quell the bandits in Huichang? Now you can go and show off your strategy. Work hard. When you can really govern Huichang well and prove that you are not just a name, we will recommend you to the emperor."
Qin Mu secretly wondered, when did he claim that he could pacify the Huichang bandits
After a moment's thought, he realized that there was something fishy. Huichang bandits, Huichang bandits. It seemed that the two gentlemen Hou and Mao wanted to send him to the bandit's lair to die!
The two of them came to see me that day with extraordinary enthusiasm. Now I can finally figure out the strange thing.
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ps: Late one night in the boys' dormitory, a loud noise woke up everyone in the room.
It turned out that a strong man on the upper bunk fell from a high place and hit his head on the table.
Everyone looked at him with concern. He touched his head and asked, "Who fell down just now? Is he okay?" Everyone fell down.
Only He answered stupidly: "I just saw the loud noise caused by the falling of bills, didn't I?"
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