Hai Rui was not demoted to a commoner, nor was he beaten with a stick in the court... He was only fined one year's salary and was found to be incompetent in the annual performance evaluation. This was a shot in the arm for all the officials in the hall.
Hope rose in the hearts of the officials in the hall. They all had this thought in their minds: If Hai Rui can do it, so can we...
However, their hopes were shattered the next second.
"Shi Ning, the captain of Huizhou Guard, was a coward who feared fighting. He led his army to guard the Huizhou Pass. When the Japanese pirates attacked the pass, Shi Ning was the first to abandon the pass and flee without firing a single arrow or a single gun. His men followed him and made it easy for the Japanese pirates to enter Huizhou and rob Jixi. He betrayed the emperor's grace and had no regard for the people. His crime is unforgivable. He will be escorted to Beijing and executed in the autumn!"
Chen Hong pulled the corner of his mouth, looked down upon Shi Ning, the captain of Weizhou Guard, and read out slowly.
“Mercy, mercy, please, eunuch, please, please, Your Majesty, please, please, please, please, please, say a few words to the emperor and forgive me this time.” Shi Ning, a captain of the Huizhou Guard, collapsed to the ground and begged for mercy loudly.
"General Shi, it's no use begging me for mercy. Wait until we get to the capital before you do so. But I still advise you not to waste your energy. This imperial decree was jointly agreed upon by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice and other government offices, and approved by the emperor. It's useless even if you shout until your throat is hoarse... Don't make the same mistake you made in this life again in your next life."
Chen Hong raised his index finger, shook his head with a sinister smile, waved to the factory guards, and signaled them to take him away.
Immediately, the factory guards at the side pounced on him like wolves and tigers, ignoring Shi Ning's pleas for mercy, they picked him up, dragged him out of the hall, handcuffed him with shackles that had been prepared long ago, and put him in a prison van.
This is a capital punishment. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became suffocatingly tense.
"The magistrate of Jixi County... was demoted to become a commoner"
"The magistrate of Weng County... ...will be fined one year's salary to see the effect."
"The prefect of Ningguo Prefecture... ...will be fined one year's salary and will be deemed incompetent in the annual performance evaluation to see how he performs."
"Qiu Shiyong, the magistrate of Jing County... ...was fined one year's salary and demoted to the position of county magistrate on the spot to see the effect."
"The magistrate of Nanling County should not be a coward and flee without fighting... ... He should be escorted to the capital and executed in the autumn."
"Nanling County Magistrate Hu Guangyao... was demoted to a commoner and exiled three thousand miles."
"Miao Yin, the commander of Jianyang Guard, was incompetent in suppressing the Japanese invaders. He was defeated repeatedly in battles, and he bribed his superiors to cover up his defeats. Considering that he was able to fight repeatedly despite repeated defeats, and was incompetent but not afraid of fighting, he was sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane, fined for three years, and demoted to a centurion to see how he would perform in the future."
"Zeng Ji, a thousand-householder under the Wuhu Imperial Guard, was incapable of resisting the Japanese... He was given a 100-stroke caning punishment and a one-year salary fine to see if he would be effective."
... ...
Every time Chen Hong finished reading a section of the imperial edict, an official met his fate. Those who were demoted to serve the people were dragged out like they had lost their parents, those who were escorted to Beijing were shackled and put on the prison car, and those who were fined and demoted could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. No matter what, they finally saved their political and physical lives... .
Finally, Chen Hong finished reading out the punishments for local officials along the way, and it was the turn of Yingtian, the secondary capital.
The pressure has reached the officials in Yingtian.
As all the officials of Yingtian clique were nervous, Chen Hong continued to read: "When the Japanese invaded Yingtian, Hu Zongxian, the inspector and censor of Zhejiang, volunteered to lead his troops out of the city, sniped the Japanese pirates in the cherry orchard, dug deep trenches, and prepared for battle. However, he did not discipline the army strictly and was not vigilant enough. The soldiers under his command took off their armor and warmed themselves by the fire, which was taken advantage of by the Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates disguised themselves as beggars and attacked. Hu Zongxian's troops were driven into the deep trench and suffered heavy losses... Considering that he volunteered and stood up at the critical moment, he was given a lighter sentence, fined one year's salary, and was rated as incompetent in the annual performance evaluation to see how he would perform in the future."
Hu Zongxian was the first official of the Yingtian clique to be punished. Taking into account that Hu Zongxian was the inspector and censor of Zhejiang Province and had no responsibility to lead troops to suppress the Japanese pirates, but took the initiative to volunteer and stand up when the Japanese pirates were approaching the city, the government showed leniency to him and gave him a light sentence, with only a one-year salary deduction and no punishment in the annual performance evaluation.
Of course, the network of relationships behind Hu Zongxian must have played a big role. Hu Zongxian's family came from the Jinyiwei and had considerable power. Moreover, after Hu Zongxian passed the imperial examination, he observed politics in the Ministry of Justice and had many connections in the Ministry of Justice. In recent years, he has been following the route of the Censor and has many connections in the Censor circle.
Zhu Ping'an noticed that Hu Zongxian did not look surprised when he heard Chen Hong read out the punishment against him, as if he had known about this punishment for a long time.
"I accept the order and thank the emperor. Long live the emperor. I will remember the lesson this time, be ashamed and then be brave, and live up to the emperor's grace." Hu Zongxian knelt on the ground to accept the order and thank the emperor, expressing his firm stance.
After Hu Zongxian, Chen Hong continued to read the imperial edict. Following Hu Zongxian were Zhang Qianchi, the commander of the Zhenwei Camp who followed Hu Zongxian in the attack, and other officers who were drawn from the Beijing Camp to attack. Compared with Hu Zongxian, they were punished more severely. They were all demoted by one level, fined one year's salary, and given fifty strokes of the cane.
It’s now the turn of the Yingtian Military Department.
Zhu Ping'an thought so in his heart, and sure enough, Chen Hong began to read out the next second: "Shi Pengfei, the right assistant minister of the Yingtian Ministry of War, assists the Ministry of War and is responsible for guarding the capital. He ignored the warning reported by Zhu Ping'an, the assistant of the Zhejiang Provincial Criminal Inspection Commissioner, that the Japanese pirates in Shangyu were harassing Yingtian, and also ignored the instructions of Zhang Jing, the Minister of War, to pay attention and arrange for the nearby Beijing camp to be on the lookout for countermeasures. Instead, he regarded it as a joke and laughed about it at the dinner table; he accepted bribes from Miao Yin, the commander of Jianyang Guard, and covered up his defeat... ... Confiscate the bribe of 2,500 taels, confiscate all his property, demote him to a commoner, and never employ him again to serve as a warning to others!"
The bribe of 2,500 taels was confiscated, all property was confiscated, and he was demoted to a commoner and never employed again...
Upon hearing this, Shi Pengfei, the Right Vice Minister of Yingtian Military Department, turned pale in an instant and collapsed to the ground as if he had no bones.
This not only ended his powerful political career, reducing him to a commoner who was at the mercy of others with no chance of turning things around, but also took away the huge bribes he had accepted in fear and trepidation, and confiscated all his property. His heart was not only bleeding, it was broken.
"It's over, it's over, it's all over..." Shi Pengfei cried bitterly on the ground as if he had lost his parents.
The factory guards at the side walked up unceremoniously, grabbed the crying Shi Pengfei, took off his black gauze hat, took off his official uniform, and dragged him out of the hall.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place... Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but curl his lips when he saw this scene.
When he reported the urgent military situation that the Japanese pirates in Shangyu would attack Yingtian, Shi Pengfei was the most active in mocking and opposing, treating his reminder as a joke and not taking it seriously. After listening to the imperial edict read by Chen Hong, it turned out that Shi Pengfei accepted bribes from Miao Yin and embellished Miao Yin's defeat... Such an official was in such a critical position as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War. He was a pig leader who was worse than a pig teammate! At this time, Shi Pengfei was demoted to a civilian, which was a great thing and a great joy for the overall situation of fighting against the Japanese pirates.