When Zhu Ping'an walked into the courtyard, he was checked again by the Jinyiwei standing on both sides of the door. They checked Zhu Ping'an's seal and official documents from the Ministry of Justice before he was allowed to enter.
Entering the courtyard, Zhu Ping'an's attire also attracted everyone's attention. He stood out from the crowd. Everyone else was in official uniform, but Zhu Ping'an was in casual clothes with a cloth bag slung across his shoulder. It was hard not to attract attention.
Just now, when Zhu Ping'an was being checked for identity by the Jinyiwei at the door, everyone had noticed it. Especially when they knew that Zhu Ping'an was one of the protagonists of today's petition, it attracted everyone's attention.
"Are you Zhu Ping'an?"
As soon as Zhu Ping'an walked into the courtyard, an official in his forties came over. He had a long beard and was wearing a third-rank red peacock official uniform. He walked up to Zhu Ping'an with a gloomy look and asked condescendingly.
"Your humble servant Zhu Ping'an greets you, sir."
As soon as he saw the peacock pattern on his official uniform, Zhu Ping'an knew that this was a third-rank official, a vice-ministerial official. So, Zhu Ping'an stepped half a step to the right, bowed his head, and saluted twice to greet him.
In the Ming Dynasty, when a lower-ranking official met a higher-ranking official, it was customary to move to the right, bow twice, and greet. Bowing means putting both arms together and stretching them forward, with the right hand slightly bent, the left hand placed on the right hand, and the arms moving from above the forehead to the chest, and the body bowing 45 degrees while bowing.
Of course, if the difference in official rank is particularly great, and you must go a step further to show respect or flattery, you can also perform a kowtow or a bow. Kowtow and bow are both types of kneeling. Of course, it is not mandatory, it is purely voluntary. If you do it, no one will stop you; if you don't do it, no one will say you are rude.
After Zhu Ping'an bowed, he heard a dissatisfied snort from above his head.
Hearing the cold snort, Zhu Pingan did not wait for the man to respond, but smiled slightly and straightened his back. Anyway, I have been very polite, please do as you please, I am sorry I will not serve you. No matter how respectful I am, I will not satisfy someone who already has a prejudice against me.
Seeing Zhu Pingan stand up, the third-rank official in front of him became even more dissatisfied. He exuded a cold aura, snorted, looked at Zhu Pingan with gloomy eyes and asked, "Who did you learn etiquette from? Why don't you kneel when you see me? Where is the etiquette of the officialdom?"
kneel
Now it is the Ming Dynasty, not the Qing Dynasty with strong remnants of slavery. You are a third-rank official, and I am at least a sixth-rank official with honors and honors. I am not a commoner, so why should I kneel to you like a servile bastard
"I don't understand what you mean, sir." Zhu Ping'an curled the corners of his lips slightly and shook his head.
"According to the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty, all officials are divided into high and low ranks according to their ranks. Those who are two or three ranks lower must bow when they meet a superior. The superior sits and receives the greetings, and kneels when there is something to be said. Moreover, Taizu said: Any subordinate official whose rank is lower than that of the superior must kneel when reporting a matter." The third-rank official stared at Zhu Ping'an with a gloomy look, and spoke slowly. The cold light in his eyes was like the tip of a sharpened knife, slowly exhaling chills.
The third-rank official came like a knife stabbing at Zhu Ping'an, testing his strength.
The confrontation between the third-rank official and Zhu Ping'an naturally attracted the attention of other officials in the courtyard, who all focused their attention on him.
"Thank you for telling me, sir." Zhu Ping'an bowed.
Just when everyone thought Zhu Ping'an had given in, he asked again, "Where is your Excellency's position?"
"I am honored to be the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War." The third-rank official glanced at Zhu Ping'an and replied proudly.
Oh, no wonder you bit me as soon as we met, it turns out you are Zhao Daying’s uncle Zhao Qiu.
"So it's the Lord from the Ministry of War..." Zhu Pingan nodded, then changed the subject, "When I heard what the Lord said just now, I thought he was a superior from the Imperial Academy."
"Um?"
Zhao Qiu looked at Zhu Ping'an.
Other officials shook their heads slightly. This newly crowned number one scholar really didn't know enough about official etiquette. The president of the Hanlin Academy was only the fifth rank, while Lord Zhao was the left vice minister of the Ministry of War. The peacock on his official uniform was very obvious. The peacock uniform was the symbol of a third rank official. How could he be a superior of the Hanlin Academy
"Your Excellency just said that any subordinate official whose rank is lower than that of his superior must kneel when reporting a matter. Your Excellency is the superior of the Ministry of War, and I am a reader in the Hanlin Academy. My department belongs to the Hanlin Academy, not the Ministry of War, and I am not reporting a matter at this time. Therefore, there is no need to..."
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and stopped explaining after he said there was no need. Everyone knew what the rest meant.
No need to kneel.
Taizu's instruction was that all subordinates whose ranks were lower than those of their superiors should kneel when reporting matters; that is, subordinates in the same department should kneel when reporting matters to their superiors. This only applies to the same department. Moreover, Taizu's instruction was not really implemented, just like the "Great Edict" he issued. When Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was alive, every household had a copy, but after Zhu Yuanzhang died, it lost its legal effect and became waste paper.
Zhao Qiu originally wanted to give Zhu Ping'an a warning, so that Zhu Ping'an would be in a bad situation before he even started to petition. He thought that Zhu Ping'an was young and psychologically fragile, and would generally collapse under such pressure. However, he did not expect that Zhu Ping'an's psychological quality was beyond his expectations despite his young age.
I quoted from classics, but I didn't expect that he would use his own spear to attack my shield.
But it doesn't matter. Although it's a little unexpected, it's under control. I still have a backup plan. Zhao Qiu smiled slightly, then looked at Zhu Ping'an again and said slowly: "I guess you came here because you received the official document from the Ministry of Justice. This time, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Jinyiwei, the Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate jointly presided over the petition. I am the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and I came here on behalf of the Ministry of War. I am one of the presiding judges of this petition."
"I believe that Your Excellency will conduct a fair trial." Zhu Ping'an said calmly.
"Of course." Zhao Qiu nodded, and then continued, "I will naturally conduct the trial impartially. I have carefully studied the petition case. You impeached Zhao Daying for killing an innocent person and claiming credit for it, and Zhao Daying also sued you for framing a loyal and good person and taking revenge for personal gain. In order to be fair and just and to enforce strict official discipline, you and Zhao Daying will be temporarily dismissed from your official positions during the petition period. After the facts of the case are clarified, rewards and punishments will be made. So, how should you perform the ceremony when you meet me? I don't need to explain it to you."
Aren't you proud of your achievements and honors and refusing to kneel? Then I will temporarily strip you of your achievements and honors. Don't say it's unfair. Didn't you hear me? I will strip Zhao Daying of his achievements and honors as well. I don't think you have any objections now.
A person without any achievements, when he sees me, won't he kneel down? Zhao Qiu stared directly at Zhu Ping'an, his authority evident without words.
"The laws of our Great Ming clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. We judge crimes and determine punishments according to the Great Ming Code and other laws. There has never been a case of direct conviction and punishment without trial. Now, before the petition has even begun and the guilt has not yet been determined, Your Excellency has temporarily stripped me of my honor. What is the reason and what law is this based on?"
Zhu Pingan glanced at Zhao Qiu and shook his head slightly. Can you just change your reputation? There must be a procedure. In order to show off his power, he even threw away his face!
"There is precedent." Zhao Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly.
There have been precedents, which means there have been examples before. As for whether it was a few years ago or hundreds of years ago, who cares.
Zhao Qiu was not afraid of looking bad when eating. Firstly, he wanted to vent his anger for Daying, and secondly, this was the time to show his loyalty to Lord Yan. It didn't matter if he looked bad when eating, as long as the news reached Lord Yan's ears, it would be worth it.
Okay, this is a bit of a rogue behavior, but everyone can do that.
Seeing this, Zhu Pingan raised the cloth bag slung across his waist, looked at Zhao Qiu with burning eyes and asked loudly: "In my bag, there is a note given by the emperor, and a book written by Confucius. Your Majesty and Confucius are here. May I ask if you would like to kneel down and salute them together?"
"You..." Zhao Qiu looked at Zhu Ping'an, angry and annoyed. Finally, he turned away and the ceremony came to nothing.
The officials in the courtyard couldn't help but look at Zhu Ping'an a few more times.