Chapter 27 Crowd's verdict
A very stupid and hilarious play is over.Empress Wu's private life was much to criticize, but her rule is now less brutal.The gang of illiterate censor Zhongcheng and cruel and treacherous executioner has disintegrated, and the policy of terror is a thing of the past.Only Lai Junchen is still alive, and he has fallen out of favor and been relegated to the outside world.Ever since she framed Wang Zidan, Empress Wu hated Wu Chengsi and lost her temper whenever she saw him.Wu Chengsi was vulgar and humble, arrogant and ignorant, flattering and lacking in skills, and was extremely unpopular. Empress Wu's dream of the Great Zhou Dynasty coming to ruin was fully revealed in such a nephew of the Wu family.Empress Wu gradually noticed another nephew, Wu Sansi.
Empress Wu is now seventy-three years old, still clear-headed and in good health.She now thinks of those ministers whom she admired selfishly before, but now they are all relegated to various parts of the province.For example, the upright and selfless censor Xu Yougong, the loyal and frank Wei Yuanzhong, and the shrewd and capable Di Renjie are all in their sixties.Empress Wu has always been well aware of the loyalty and integrity of these people, but in those years when she was blindly lewd and debauched, she banished them all from Beijing.Now as decisively as when she had relegated them, she would call them back to the court.
It is true that Empress Wu could have been a great empress had she not been too ambitious.Due to the appointment of cruel officials such as Suo Yuanli and Lai Junchen, she appeared cruel and ignorant, but she knew in her heart that she was using them as tools.She knew what she was doing.If the devil can help her achieve her ambition, she will also form an alliance with the devil.She had a pink incident with the monk Feng Xiaobao. She thought she had the honor of an emperor, which was her emperor's privilege.She doesn't want to improve the government, but just wants to do evil.As a queen, she is lewd and evil, and she will have more pink incidents than the crazy monk Feng Xiaobao.She chose to stay old and not die, doing evil things, drinking and having banquets day and night, enjoying the honor of the emperor, having fun with the nephews of the Wu family, and her lover all day long--that was exactly what she expected.As for the court, as for the country, she has always been too lazy to bother, and she has ruled like this for many years.She only wants to hand over the honest and obedient people to the hands of upright and virtuous courtiers to govern, and that's fine.What else?
Xu Yougong has been recalled, and he is an official censor doctor.He was an upright official, dared to fight against Empress Wu, and would never convict Concubine Dou, the wife of Prince Zhe, who was eventually murdered by Empress Wu secretly.Wei Yuanzhong is like a big tree that has survived a hurricane without breaking. It has passed through it three times in total, and now it is back, and the official residence is Yushi Zhongcheng.
Empress Wu asked Wei Yuanzhong: "Why do you always get into trouble?"
Wei Yuanzhong said: "The minister is like a deer. Lai Junchen and Zhou Xing both want to kill the minister to make deer soup."
Di Renjie is now the governor of Youzhou. He is good at caring for the people, and the hearts of the people are allied to him.In the first year of Empress Wu's holy calendar, Empress Wu recalled Di Renjie to the court, worshiped Luantai Minister as an official, participated in the pivot, and became Empress Wu's right-hand man.Empress Wu appointed talented people, and in the court, it seemed that the long night had passed and the dawn was about to break.Although Empress Wu knew people well, she didn't realize that the reuse of Di Renjie was the beginning of her decline.She probably forgot that Di Renjie said when he was on trial: "Renjie is a loyal minister of the Tang family, and he is willing to die."
The appearance of Di Renjie is like a huge comet with a brilliant cloud behind it, and many small lights are attracted by him.Empress Wu obeyed Di Renjie.Di Renjie has a drooping beard, a melodious voice, and a gifted eloquence. He can understand the secrets of things and speak sharply and decisively.Whenever he recommended talents to Empress Wu, Empress Wu readily accepted them.There have been twenty or thirty people who have been recommended by him as officials in the court.Yao Chong was promoted by him, and Song Jing was already in court.The political style has changed.Di Renjie himself promoted virtuous and upright people.Some people saw that Di Renjie promoted so many ministers with his own hands, and those ministers were extremely loyal to him, so they paid compliments to Di Renjie.
Di Renjie replied: "This is a blessing for the country, not for Renjie himself."
Di Renjie now concurrently holds the position of Doctor Yushi.Du Jingjian and Xu Yougong (see Chapter 30) were famous for their incorruptibility when they came here and claimed power for a while.In Yushitai, Xu Yougong and Wei Yuanzhong are Yushi Zhongcheng, and Di Renjie is the Yushi doctor. Wu Chengsi can no longer use Yushitai to kill virtuous people like in the past.
After Xu Yougong waited for the censor, the first person he impeached was Lai Junchen, the great executioner who was hated by all people and feared by all people.Lai Junchen has come back, but his official position is humble, and he is no longer the Yushi Zhongcheng who held great power back then.Villains have always gathered for profit and divided for profit.Now the collusion between Lai Junchen and Wu Chengsi has disintegrated, and they have turned against each other.Lai Junchen threatened to impeach Wu Chengsi, but he was at a disadvantage because Princess Taiping was involved.Lai Junchen has always been ambitious, and he is still trying to make a comeback.He is still extremely rich now, with many beautiful wives and beautiful concubines. Although he is hated by others, he is becoming more and more illegal and unscrupulous.The actions of Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping have caused more than tens of thousands of discussions.Let’s take one example, Wu Chengsi once forcibly snatched someone’s concubine, and the concubine committed suicide. Her husband wrote an elegy for this concubine, and this poem has been widely read.This kind of thing is passed around in teahouses and restaurants.Lai Junchen actually spread such gossip, especially when Princess Taiping was involved here, Lai Junchen was extremely wrong.Princess Taiping is a mature and calculating person, so she is not easy to mess with.So he secretly instigated people to accuse Lai Junchen of many crimes-such as extorting confessions, accepting bribes, perverting the law, and seizing wives and concubines.
All the ministers in the court opposed Wu Chengsi and Lai Junchen.On the day when Lai Junchen was put on trial, the whole city of Luoyang was elated.Everyone is waiting to put Lai Junchen to death, eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.Lai Junchen killed hundreds of innocent people and ruined thousands of families, which is really hated by thousands of people.The crimes he committed are so serious, it is not difficult for Xu Yougong and the other censors to judge the several crimes he was accused of this time.
The verdict was submitted to Empress Wu for approval.Empress Wu put the verdict on the table without approval for three days.Thousands of people are waiting outside
I am very nervous, and I am eager to know whether and when Lai Junchen will be executed at any time.Among Empress Wu's guards was Ji, who was almost killed by Lai Junchen in the past. On this day, Empress Wu was driving in the imperial garden.
Ji said: "Why hasn't Your Majesty approved Lai Junchen's verdict? All the people in the city are waiting to hear the news."
Empress Wu said: "He has contributed a lot to the court, and I haven't made up my mind what to do."
Ji said: "Lai Junchen's crimes are as high as mountains, and his subordinates are full of ghosts. All the officials in the court are very excited, and they all look forward to His Majesty's approval."
Now Lai Junchen is on his way to the execution ground with a wooden ball stuck in his mouth.Luoyang is full of thousands of people, vying to see the execution of the last big executioner.As soon as his head fell to the ground, the crowd cheered thunderously, and swarmed forward, like crazy and irresistible.The crowd wanted to see, to look closely at this executioner who was famously feared by everyone, who kept thousands of people up all night with terror.At this time, it seems that the animal nature of human beings is unstoppable.The crowd seemed to bite his flesh with their own teeth.It's such a rare opportunity.The crowd scrambled to grab the corpse.It was a spectacle through the ages that all the crowds came together to fight for this spoil. The corpses were dragged apart, their limbs were torn apart, and they were kicked and trampled by the crowd until they turned into rotten flesh and blood.Some people gouged out an eye, and some lost a wrist.The crowd also forgot why, and later threw it on the ground in disgust.
That night, Luoyang residents said at home: "Now I can sleep in peace."
Only then did Empress Wu understand how much the common people hated her as a murder tool.So she made another gesture, ordering that Lai Junchen's family be exterminated to appease the public's anger.As a result, Lai Junchen was the murderer, and Empress Wu was the emperor who enforced the law like a mountain.