After Eunuch He was punished, everyone thought that the punishment should stop there, and they could no longer think of who else in the Yingtian system was responsible.
However, seeing that Chen Hong was holding the imperial edict steadily and had no intention of closing it, it was obviously not over yet and he had to continue.
Everyone couldn't help but wonder, how could there be someone else?! They really couldn't think of who else was responsible.
The next second, Chen Hong gave them the answer:
"When the Yingtian Military Department Director Zhang Han and the Yingtian Censorate Governor Liu Qing reminded Anshun Assistant Zhu Ping'an in Zhejiang that the Japanese pirates in Shangyu were harassing Yingyao, they not only failed to take it seriously, but also impeached Zhu Ping'an for not understanding military affairs, making up rumors, sensationalizing, disturbing the morale of the army and the people, and undermining the stability of Yingyao. They demanded that Zhu Ping'an be punished and removed. The two of them failed to distinguish right from wrong, turned black and white, framed their colleagues, failed to perform their duties, and failed the emperor's grace. Zhang Han was demoted to the magistrate of Yongkang County in Guangxi, and Liu Qing was demoted to the magistrate of Xuanhua County in Guangxi, and fined one year's salary to see the effect."
Zhu Pingan heard this and couldn't help but confirm it. There is such a thing. Zhang Han and Liu Qing actually impeached me to warn me?! It's not good enough for both public and private reasons. You are really shooting yourself in the foot - you deserve it, you can't blame anyone else.
In the crowd, Zhang Chufeng, the assistant judge of Zhejiang Province, broke out in a cold sweat. While feeling lucky, he kept winking at Zhang Han and Liu Qing frantically, fearing that they would expose him in public.
This was because it was he who contacted the two to impeach Zhu Ping'an. He had originally planned to sign the impeachment memorial, as it would be a good opportunity to seek credit from Master Yan. However, in the end, considering that he and Zhu Ping'an were both from the Zhejiang Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office, if he came forward to impeach Zhu Ping'an, people would think that he was destructive, divisive, intolerant, and inward-looking, which would damage his image, be detrimental to his career in the Zhejiang Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office, and would also have a negative impact on his future development.
Therefore, he reluctantly did not sign the impeachment memorial, leaving the credit to Zhang Han and Liu Qing. Of course, he also wrote a letter to Yan's residence to explain the matter and let Yan's residence know his contribution behind the memorial.
Now he couldn't help but feel lucky that he didn't sign the impeachment memorial and escaped the disaster. Otherwise, he would be one of the people who would be demoted to the remote and poisonous area of Guangxi to be the magistrate today.
Although he had escaped the disaster by luck, Zhang Chufeng was extremely nervous at the moment, fearing that Zhang Han and Liu Qing would bite him.
Fortunately, what Zhang Chufeng was worried about did not happen. While Zhang Chufeng was nervous and uneasy, Zhang Han and Liu Qing knelt down and accepted the order with a look of grief on their faces, and did not bite him out, which made him feel relieved.
In fact, Zhang Han and Liu Qing knew that it was a done deal. Even if they could expose Zhang Chufeng, it would not change the fact that they were demoted to the magistrate of Guangxi. Instead, it would only make things worse. It would be better to keep this handle, or a favor, and get a large amount of compensation from Zhang Chufeng. In addition, Zhang Chufeng had connections with the Yan Party. They could be regarded as having contributed to the Yan Party, so the Yan Party had to show some appreciation. The Yan Party was now powerful in the court, and they could cover the sky with one hand. We put pressure on Zhang Chufeng to contact the Yan Party and let the Yan Party transfer them back from the smoky and miasma area later.
Therefore, Zhang Han and Liu Qing did not attack Zhang Chufeng.
After Zhang Han and Liu Qing were fired, everyone thought that this was the end. However, with the experience from the last time, everyone learned a lesson and did not jump to conclusions. Instead, they turned their attention to Chen Hong.
Then, they found that Chen Hong was still holding the imperial edict steadily, as if he was going to continue reading it.
Sure enough, there is... ... Everyone is a little numb.
Chen Hong held the imperial edict in his hand and read it slowly: "Yingtian Prefecture Procurator Luo Jieqing and Commander Xu Chengzong were ordered to guard Moling Pass. They were cowardly and incompetent. When they heard that the Japanese pirates were heading south from Yingtian, they abandoned the pass and fled without seeing any trace of them. Fortunately, the Japanese pirates were annihilated by the Zhejiang Army outside Yingtian City, otherwise they could easily escape through Moling Pass. Considering that the Japanese pirates have been annihilated by the Zhejiang Army and their abandonment of the pass did not cause any adverse consequences, they shall be demoted, stripped of their official positions, beaten with a hundred sticks in the court, imprisoned, and exiled to the border on a certain day. Their property shall be confiscated to pay for military expenses. I decree this!"
"I obey your order and thank you for your grace..."
Luo Jieqing, the magistrate of Yingtian Prefecture, and Xu Chengzong, the commander, were still hoping for a lucky break, thinking that maybe they could escape, because when they abandoned the pass and fled, Zhu Ping'an had actually led the Zhejiang Army to annihilate the Japanese pirates, and there was no harm in their abandoning the pass and fleeing... ... But they would have to pay for what they had done, no matter if there was any harm or not, it could not change the fact that they abandoned the pass and fled. After hearing the imperial edict, the little hope in their hearts was completely gone, and they really did not escape. After hearing the specific punishment, the two of them could not help but collapse to the ground.
Regret!
I regret it so much!
Alas, if I had held on a little longer, I would have received the news that the Japanese pirates had been completely wiped out by the Zhejiang Army. I would not have abandoned the pass and fled, and there would have been no tragedy today.
But there is no medicine for regret in the world, and it is useless to regret.
The factory guards at the side walked forward expressionlessly, grabbed the two men, took off their black hats and official uniforms, dragged them out of the hall by the arms, put shackles and shackles on them, and kept them under strict supervision. After the imperial edict was announced, they were taken to the prison.
Is there anything else
Everyone looked at Chen Hong and found that after Chen Hong finished reading out the punishments for Luo Jieqing and Xu Chengzong, he smacked his lips with a look of unsatisfied feeling, then slowly rolled up the imperial edict reluctantly.
Seeing Chen Hong's face full of unsatisfied feelings, everyone couldn't help but complain in their hearts: Are you a devil? You're still unsatisfied! Do you know how much pressure we've been under
"I have finished reading out the decree of punishment. You gentlemen must take it as a warning and not disappoint the emperor again." After Chen Hong collected the imperial edicts, he handed them to the eunuch behind him and slowly spoke to everyone.
"You have worked hard, sir. We will learn from our mistakes, be loyal to our duties, and have the courage to shoulder our responsibilities. We will never let His Majesty down again."
Everyone spoke up.
Everyone present couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The punishment was finally announced. If it hadn't ended, their hearts wouldn't have been able to bear it.
Everyone silently reviewed the punishments. Because of this Japanese invasion, in the end, one Minister of War, one Right Vice Minister of War, three prefects, one prefectural assistant, one prefectural prosecutor, one prefectural governor, one director of the Ministry of War, one governor of the Censorate, eight county magistrates, four county secretaries, three registrars, and fifty-six military officers were punished. A total of eighty-one civil and military officials were punished.
A total of eighty-one civil and military officials were punished!
After coming to this conclusion, everyone was deeply shocked! From this, we can imagine how angry the emperor was!
Zhu Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly and discovered a situation. He didn't know whether it was a coincidence or intentional, but there were a total of eighty-one people who harassed Yingtian (there were twenty-four Japanese pirates who sneaked into the city in advance and fifty-seven who besieged the city). This time, the imperial decree of punishment also punished eighty-one civil and military officials in total.
It's equivalent to a Japanese pirate punishing an official!
Thinking of Emperor Jiajing's character, Zhu Ping'an suddenly understood that this was not a coincidence, it was inevitable!