Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Purgatory

When he received the news that Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong, Zhou Chaorui, Yuan Huazhong, and Gu Dazhang had been arrested and imprisoned, Gao Panlong had just returned to Donglin Academy. The emotional ups and downs caused by the complicated personnel disputes and the fierce struggle before and after dismissal have not completely calmed down, and the hard work of the journey all the way back to the south has not been completely eliminated. He is actually exhausted physically and mentally and mentally. So I decided to resume lecturing immediately. I originally hoped that by returning to the lecturing career, I would forget everything in the officialdom, regain my spiritual support, and heal my spiritual wounds. Unexpectedly, the new blow came so quickly. Just follow.

Holding the letter from afar in his hand, he read only half a page before he was so shocked that he almost fell to the ground... The novice disciple still didn't know the changes he experienced in the court, nor the content of the letter, but he already guessed that it was "bad news", so he rushed to take care of him and helped him to his hometown. Lie down on the couch, brought hot tea, and even discussed privately: "Should I ask the doctor to take a look?" His complexion had turned gray and black, and everyone was afraid that he was ill; his old servant also rushed in after hearing the sound, but after seeing the situation, he guessed that it was a "heart disease", and he was afraid that there would be too many people talking. It would be inconvenient for the doctor to come, so he said to the group of young scholars: "Young masters, please go back first! Mr. Rong rests for a few days—when he resumes his lectures, the old slave will—report the letter!"

And when all the disciples of Donglin walked out, he closed the door, approached Gao Panlong, and asked, "Master, let me invite the doctor!" However, Gao Panlong shook his hand and said, "No need—" As he spoke, he told him: "In the next few days, there will be important letters coming, you should pay more attention, don't miss any one, and bring it to me!" After the old servant answered "Yes", he said again: "You go down first!" The old servant was worried, hesitantly said: "The master's complexion is not very good, please leave me to wait in the room!"

He was noncommittal, but even if the old servant stayed by his side, he didn't want to talk, so he slowly closed his eyes, and only tremblingly squeezed out a silent mournful cry in his heart: "Almost all the people in Donglin have been dismissed from office. Going back home doesn’t interfere with Wei Zhongxian’s affairs at all, why would he build prisons and arrest so many people—what would he do?” The letter he received was from Wei Xuelian, the second son of Wei Dazhong. When Wei Dazhong was arrested, his eldest son Wei Xuehuai followed him all the way to Beijing. It details the charges that Wei Dazhong was framed for, the situation before and after his arrest, and the list of all arrested and imprisoned.

The charges are still written by Wang Wenyan... He thought about the matter thoroughly, and when he was full of emotions, he began to mutter to himself repeatedly: "Donglin reused Wang Wenyan and made friends with Wang An, which is a major reason for being able to govern; Classical Chinese prospers the prison—is this the saying that 'all good and evil come from one person'?" Wang Wenyan was originally just a county magistrate, but Yu Yuli sent him to Beijing to assassinate him because he saw his ingenuity and skill, and gave him money as a prison student; Wang Wenyan really did his best for Donglin. However, the power of the three parties is still very weak, and they are often attacked by Wang Wenyan's cleverness; then, clever and dexterous, he observed that Wang Anxian, who was still a "student in the East Palace" at the time, knew the book and was a trusted confidant of the crown prince. There is no room for development, so he wholeheartedly accepts it, and builds a bridge for Donglin to connect with the harem.

The case of "moving the palace" was undoubtedly the most important reason for Donglin to enter the court, but it originated from Wang Wenyan's friendship with Wang An; however, after Wei Zhongxian killed Wang An, Wang Wenyan's situation took a sharp turn for the worse. First, Shao Fuzhong, the prime minister, impeached Wang Wenyan and disqualified him as a student supervisor. After he left Beijing, he was arrested for questioning. After his release, Ye Xianggao deliberately defended him and appointed him as the cabinet secretary; Unfolded, he became the first ghost under the sword, and was used by Wei Zhongxian to frame Donglin, even Ye Xianggao couldn't protect it.

The first plan of Wei Zhongxian’s party members was to order people to impeach Wang Wenyan, and then send Wang Wenyan to prison, trying to use the method of "beating into tricks" to make Wang Wenyan implicate Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others in his confession; no, Wang Wenyan is a tough man , although he was tortured, he refused to falsely claim; on the contrary, the whole situation continued, which led to Ye Xianggao's resignation. Then, Zhao Nanxing, Zou Yuanbiao, Yang Lian and others all resigned from office. All the boxes were vacated, and were immediately filled by Wei Zhongxian's henchmen.

These people—including Gao Panlong himself—were thinking to themselves when they left the capital: "Would Wei Zhongxian be satisfied when we all go out?" At that time, no one expected that Wei Zhongxian would not give up just because none of the Donglin people in the court had been driven out... Wei Zhongxian, who has become "nine thousand years old", will think of the useless attitude he suffered in the past every night when the people are quiet. People with smart nature can even more clearly remember every word that the Donglin people scolded him, and every time they gave him. A look, especially when he felt inferior in front of Rong Qingfeng and was so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head up, his memory became clearer and deeper, and his desire for revenge became stronger.

And now that he has power, his party members will carefully figure out his thoughts and plan ways to purge Donglin—even those who have been dismissed from office and returned to their hometowns will be arrested and brought back to the capital for questioning. So, again, they used the matter of Wang Wenyan as an excuse to send Wang Wenyan to prison first, and then sent Captain Jinyi to arrest Yang Lian and other six people on the grounds that they were related to Wang Wenyan. Actually, what is the real reason?Gao Panlong sighed dejectedly: "It's all just to offend Wei Zhongxian!"

He is close friends with all the arrested people, and Wei Dazhong is his disciple, and he was an official in the court together, what is there not to understand?The six people are all honest and gentlemen, they all hate evil like hatred, they all rejected members of the three parties, they all spoke out against Wei Zhongxian, and they spoke out against power-gathering later; There is only one thing I don't understand: what kind of charges will Wei Zhongxian use to punish them?What kind of charges will they be charged with?What kind of punishment? Wei Xuelian, who wrote to him, was his grandson, and the tone of the letter was almost begging him to try to save his father; but after reading the letter, although he was very worried and wished he could replace it with himself, he couldn't think of a specific one. using that method to……