The inside information revealed by Wu Wanfu was confirmed in the first half of the day. The Jiajing Emperor was furious in the Western Garden and issued several edicts in succession. A total of 26 officers from Xuanfu and Datong, including Gao Botai, were demoted and imprisoned. Deputy officers from Daomaguan and Zijingguan were promoted to fill the vacancies in Xuanfu and Datong.
Zhu Pingan and his men felt the wrath of Emperor Jiajing. After a while, the Censorate responded to the spirit of Emperor Jiajing and sent Censor Tian to visit Prince Yu's mansion. He first gave a brief account of the occupation of military farms by officers from the two towns of Xuanfu and Datong, and then began to check and register the land and property of officials in Prince Yu's mansion to see if there were any violations. After the check and registration, Zhu Pingan and his men were asked to sign and confirm one by one.
If there is thunder above, it will rain below.
It has been like this throughout the ages.
The Censorate did this mainly as a formality to show that it had implemented the spirit of Emperor Jiajing's will.
However, when registering other officials, Censor Tian just went through the motions and signed quickly. But when verifying and registering Zhu Ping'an, Censor Tian was extremely serious, to the point of being very meticulous.
If you are serious, I will cooperate with you. Anyway, I have nothing to fear as I am upright... Zhu Ping'an was very cooperative with Censor Tian's seriousness.
"Name? Where is your hometown?"
Censor Tian spread out the booklet and glanced at Zhu Ping'an who was sitting opposite him. He asked questions with a serious face, as if he was interrogating a criminal, even though he knew the answer anyway.
"My name is Zhu Ping'an, and I'm from Xiahe Village, Huaining." Zhu Ping'an replied with a bow.
"Do you have a house in the capital?" Censor Tian asked.
"Ping'an has just arrived in the capital and doesn't have a house yet." Zhu Ping'an shook his head.
"Where do you live now? How much is the rent?" Censor Tian picked up a pen and wrote it down, then asked.
"I'm currently staying at my wife's parents' home, the Linhuai Marquis Mansion on Gonghou Street in Xicheng. Since it's my wife's parents' home, there's no rent to pay." Zhu Ping'an replied.
"Do you have any land in the capital?" Censor Tian asked again.
"I don't have any land in the capital." Zhu Ping'an replied.
"Does my hometown in Xiahe Village have a house?"
"There is a yard in Xiahe Village..."
"How much is the land?"
... ...
Censor Tian verified every detail, and it took him an incense stick of time to verify it. But Zhu Ping'an's family background was too clean. He was born in a remote farming family. Compared with others, his hometown had very little land. After coming to the capital, he had been living in his wife's family. He had no house, only a shop selling pig offal, and the capital for opening the shop was borrowed from his wife... ... To be honest, after Censor Tian verified it to the end, he felt a little sympathy for Zhu Ping'an.
"Haha, Zihou, do you know why Censor Tian treated you with eyes that were not eyes and nose that were not nose just now?"
After Censor Tian left, Yin Shidan stroked his beard, walked up to Zhu Ping'an, patted him on the shoulder, and asked with a smile.
"That's because Censor Tian is serious and responsible." Zhu Ping'an curled the corners of his mouth and revealed a nonchalant smile.
"Zihou, look at my eyes." Yin Shidan pointed at his eyes and said to Zhu Ping'an.
"What's wrong with Lord Yin's eyes?" Zhu Ping'an was stunned and asked.
"Are I blind?" Yin Shidan pointed at his eyes and asked seriously.
Zhu Pingan shook his head.
"You're not blind, right?" Yin Shidan continued to ask.
Zhu Pingan nodded.
"Haha, that's right. Since I'm not blind, I saw everything that Censor Tian did to you just now. It's more like an interrogation than an investigation." Yin Shidan patted Zhu Ping'an on the shoulder and returned to the previous topic, "Zihou, do you know why Censor Tian targeted you like this?"
Zhu Ping'an had no choice but to shake his head again. To be honest, Zhu Ping'an really didn't understand why Censor Tian was targeting him.
This was the first time he met Censor Tian. There couldn't be any grudges between them. Could it be that Censor Tian was also fined in the Taicang case? Or did Censor Tian have a past with a general who occupied the military farm? Or did Censor Tian... ...
"Haha, Zihou, you have taken away the job of the Censorate." Yin Shidan patted Zhu Ping'an on the shoulder and laughed.
"How did I take away their jobs?" Zhu Ping'an was puzzled.
"Haha, Zihou, think about it, what does the Censorate do? The Censorate was developed from the Imperial Censorate of the previous dynasty. It is responsible for supervision, impeachment and suggestions. Its main responsibility is to inspect and impeach all civil and military officials in the world." Yin Shidan said half seriously and half jokingly, "Zihou, you are not a censor of the Censorate. This year, first Zhao Daying was impeached, then the Taicang case involved hundreds of officials, and then Gao Botai was impeached, and dozens of generals were impeached together. Zihou, your record this year is not much worse than the record of the entire Censorate. The more outstanding your record, the more dereliction of duty the Censorate is."
"Well... ... "
Zhu Ping'an was slightly stunned when he heard this. Although Yin Shidan's words were a joke, they did make some sense.
The dog caught a lot of mice, which made the cat look a little incompetent. Of course the cat would be unhappy?!
but
The Censorate should not be so petty, right? Besides, even if it is so, if I encounter injustice in the future, I will still impeach those who should be impeached. I can't just not arrest a mouse just to save the cat's feelings when a mouse enters the granary.
"Haha, Lord Yin, you are joking. The Censorate is responsible for supervising the whole country, rectifying the atmosphere, and safeguarding the country. It has made great contributions. I just caught a few rats. How can I be compared with the Censorate? The world can do without me, Zhu Ping'an, but it cannot do without the Censorate." Zhu Ping'an smiled and shook his head. "I impeached Zhao Daying and Gao Botai just to do my duty. Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of the country."
When Yin Shidan heard Zhu Ping'an say that every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the country, his face changed and he was greatly impressed.
Everyone present was also shocked by this sentence.
"Good, what a good saying 'Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country'."
At this moment, a loud cheer was heard from outside the door, and everyone turned around and saw Prince Yu walking in.
"Meet His Royal Highness Prince Yu."
Zhu Ping'an, Yin Shidan and others stood up and saluted Prince Yu.
"Excuse me, excuse me, please take a seat, gentlemen." Prince Yu smiled and pressed his hand down, inviting Zhu Ping'an and others to take a seat.
"Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country. Zihou said it well."
Prince Yu praised Zhu Ping'an's words highly, and his evaluation of Zhu Ping'an rose to a new level again.
Every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of his country.
This is a classic quote by Gu Yanwu in the late Ming Dynasty that will be remembered forever. It is known to everyone in later generations.
In fact, Zhu Ping'an just said it casually, without any intention of showing off. However, to Prince Yu and others, it was awakening and thought-provoking. This also made Zhu Ping'an, who had no intention of showing off, actually pretend to be cool, and was extremely successful.