Chapter 573

The general of the Embroidered Uniform Guards escorted Ye Xiaotian to the Zuoshun Gate. Before he reached the gate, he discovered that many officials and petty officials had surrounded the entrance. The general couldn't help but stare blankly. This kind of scene was rare. When San De Zi saw this, he hurriedly rushed forward. "Oh! Daren, what's going on? "

An Feihan, the Vice Minister of Examinations of the Ministry of Appointments, turned his head to take a look and recognized the Imperial Companion. He hurriedly said, "Oh, Imperial Censor Liu is kowtowing to the palace to ask for orders from His Majesty."

San De Zi frowned. Although he was the Imperial Companion, he didn't have the prestige of Feng Bao and didn't dare to reprimand him. At this time, he saw Liu Hengyi kneeling there in tears. Liu Hengyi was complaining to the surrounding officials with snot and tears running down his face. Because he was too engrossed, he didn't notice San De Zi's arrival.

San De Zi secretly sighed. Not only was the Emperor afraid of these Imperial Censors who refused to let go, the other officials were also afraid. In reality, they, the eunuchs, were also quite disgusted. He could only pretend not to see and politely said to An Feihan, "Daren, please make way. I have orders from the Emperor to use the cane!"

"Huh?"

Imperial Censor Liu, who was engrossed in his speech, immediately heard it. The word "cane" was too sensitive. He had been an imperial censor his entire life, and his dream was to be able to receive a cane in his lifetime. Unfortunately … it wasn't that easy to receive a cane. Even though later generations had made the cane of the Ming Dynasty quite famous, the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty rarely used it.

When he suddenly heard the two words' caning ', Censor Liu immediately stopped crying. He did not have the time to tell the surrounding officials about the' history of blood and tears'. He stared with his eyes wide open, wanting to know which lucky person would actually have the opportunity to receive a caning that would instantly make him famous throughout the world.

Ye Xiaotian was handcuffed and shackled by the general of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The officials stood to the side and continued to watch. Imperial Censor Liu wiped his tears and stood up. He temporarily stopped complaining and stretched his neck to join the crowd.

Sixteen generals stood outside the Zuoshun Gate, eight on the left and eight on the right. Eight eunuchs in robes stood to the left and right of San De Zi. Xu Boyi stood at the rear of the right wing with a sinister smile on his face. His head was slightly lowered, and his eyes were glued to his curly-brimmed hat as he stared coldly at Ye Xiaotian, who was pinned to the ground.

San De Zi stood solemnly and announced, "Ye Xiaotian, Censor Liu, San De Zi," Emperor Censor Liu, "" Ye Xiaotian has no respect for the Emperor and spoke. San De Zi said, and Censor Censor Censor.

The general of the Embroidered Uniform Guard gave a shout of acknowledgment. Four men extended their staffs in a practiced manner and pressed down on Ye Xiaotian's head and legs. Another two men walked forward with dark red punishment staffs in their hands.

When Liu Hengyi heard the three words' Ye Xiaotian ', his body suddenly shook. Teng Hui, the Right Secretary of the Office of Transmission, had told him that the fiancé of the woman the Emperor loved was a senior official in Guizhou. His surname was Ye and his name was Xiaotian. Without a doubt, this was the person in front of him.

Ye Xiaotian clenched his teeth and waited for the cane to fall on his body. He had heard of the cane. During the Jiajing era, the Emperor and the civil officials fought for three years to decide whether or not to have the Emperor recognize his father as his own. In the end, all the civil and military officials gathered at the Zuoshun Gate to complain. It was like forcing the Emperor to abdicate. The Jiajing Emperor could no longer bear it and used his powerful weapon, the "cane".

In that storm, one hundred and forty-two officials below the fifth rank were imprisoned, eighty-six officials above the fourth rank were suspended from their duties, and sixteen people were executed by caning. The next day, no more officials objected to the ceremony. The Jiajing Emperor, Zhu Houyi, won. In this struggle, whether or not to have the Jiajing Emperor change the orthodoxy of Emperor Xiaozong was only a facade. The true struggle was between the Emperor and the civil officials, led by Yang Tinghe, for the right to speak.

In that contest, the steel-hearted Jiajing Emperor won. However, in the Ming Xianzong era, the hundreds of officials cried in front of the Wenhua Gate and argued with the Emperor about the burial ceremony of Empress Dowager Ci Yi. Either the east wind prevailed over the west wind, or the west wind prevailed over the east wind. In general, after Yongle, the civil officials had the upper hand most of the time. Although most of the Ming Emperors had their own personalities, when faced with the powerful civil officials, they had no choice but to pinch their noses and admit defeat.

Two dark red canes were raised high in the air. The general of the Han Dynasty gave a shout and the cane heavily struck down. They had already seen San Dezi's signal. The cane was divided into "beating with the heart" and "beating with the heart". As for the method of punishment, it was up to the supervisor to decide according to the Emperor's wishes.

If the supervisor opened his feet, then it was "beating with the heart" and could lead to disability. If the supervisor closed his feet, then it was "beating with the heart" and the subject would die without a doubt. San Dezi's feet were closed at this moment. The general of the Han Dynasty knew that the Emperor wanted Ye Xiaotian to die.

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

"Bang!"

"Ah ~ ~ ~"

Two heavy canes and two miserable cries. The first one was rather short, but the second one had a tremble to it. Ye Xiaotian's eyes widened in shock and he turned his head. He didn't feel any pain because there was a person lying on top of him. The two heavy canes had hit that person's body.

The two generals of the Han Dynasty raised their canes in shock. They couldn't react for a moment. When they raised their canes high and heavily struck down, Imperial Censor Liu suddenly rushed out from the crowd and pounced on Ye Xiaotian's body like a hungry dog. The two heavy canes hit his buttocks, causing his skin to split open. Dark red blood quickly dyed his clothes red.

"You guys … don't touch him! Don't touch him! "

Imperial Censor Liu received the caning as he wished. Even though he had been accidentally injured and the effect was far less than if the Emperor had directly ordered him to be beaten, it was still a caning. In the future, when he retired and returned to his hometown with glory, it was also a qualification that he could flaunt.

Ye Xiaotian looked in shock at this old man who was in so much pain that his white beard was trembling. He was at a loss. Why is this old man protecting me like this? Could it be that he wants to put on a melodramatic show of 'child, I'm your real father'?

Imperial Censor Liu shouted loudly, "Everyone! This person is the Ye Xiaotian that I mentioned just now! How is His Majesty punishing someone who has broken the law? He's clearly using public power for his own personal gain, intending to put him to death! Aiyo, it hurts! It hurts so much … "

An Feian and the others hurriedly went forward to help him up, but Imperial Censor Liu refused to get up from Ye Xiaotian's body. "No! Colleagues, colleagues, you must protect Ye Xiaotian and stop His Majesty! If anything happens to Ye Xiaotian, it will be a disgrace to the empire! It will be a disgrace to the Emperor! It will be a disgrace to us officials! "

Just as Imperial Censor Liu was shouting loudly, there was a sudden commotion from afar. Everyone looked over and saw a large group of dark green official robes fluttering over. They were all Imperial Censors dressed in green robes. The Imperial Censors collectively went berserk!

Almost every man had the complex of a hero saving a beauty. These Imperial Censors, who had always considered themselves as the emissaries of justice, all had this fantasy before. Now, everything they were doing could not only satisfy their fantasy of being a hero saving a beauty, but also in line with their mission as Imperial Censors. How could they not respond?

The person charging at the very front was Li Boxian. As Li Boxian walked, he raised his arms and shouted loudly. What he shouted was not a slogan, but a 'battle declaration' — —

"The ruler is the ruler of all things under the heavens. As the ruler of all things under the heavens, he has the greatest responsibility. The world is His Majesty's home. There is no one who does not care about his home. All the people under the heavens are His Majesty's relatives. There is no one who does not love his relatives. Today, His Majesty has broken the laws of the ancestors. He has destroyed his family, used the country's weapons for his own personal use, lusted for women, and forced the officials to work. This is harming his relatives! "

Li Boxian's voice was loud and clear. He raised his arms and shouted loudly. Suddenly, he saw the situation in front of Zuo Shun Gate and was stunned. Imperial Censor Liu was...

Liu Hengyi struggled to prop himself up and shouted loudly, "Colleagues, you have come at the right time! Brother Boxian, you have come at the right time! His Majesty conspired against this official's wife and wanted to beat her husband to death. Fortunately, this old man protected him! How is His Majesty's actions different from those of a cruel ruler? How can we sit back and watch? We will work together to correct the Emperor's ways! "

Liu Hengyi had snatched the credit of Li Boxian's initiative and felt somewhat ashamed. Fortunately, he had arrived at Zuo Shun Gate just as Ye Xiaotian was being brought out to be beaten. He went forward to stop them and seized the best opportunity to take two hits for Ye Xiaotian. In this way, there was no need to snatch Li Boxian's credit.

Therefore, he rushed to shout first. The meaning behind his words was that this credit still belonged to Li Boxian. However, he had arrived first and saved Ye Xiaotian who was about to be beaten to death by the Emperor. No matter what, he could not escape from this major event that would go down in history. Seeking fame and fame, achieving one's great wish, there was no need to be so clear about it.

Only now did Li Boxian understand that he had taken the lead. Fortunately, the old Imperial Censor Liu was tactful. Since he had already been beaten and saved Ye Xiaotian who was about to be killed by the Emperor, he had already made a great contribution. He returned the credit of being the initiative to Li Boxian. Li Boxian's mind reacted quickly and he immediately responded to Liu Hengyi's words.

"Everyone, have you all seen it? How is His Majesty's actions different from those of a muddle-headed ruler? We have been rewarded by the Imperial Court. How can we sit back and do nothing? Motivated by loyalty and indignation, we do not avoid the cauldron cauldron. Only then can we uphold the Emperor's way and the duties of an official and seek the rule of the world! Today, at this Zuo Shun Gate, we will kneel and kowtow to ask the Emperor to repent for his sins! "

The imperial censors responded one after another, "We will kowtow to Your Majesty and repent for our sins!"

A few of the civil officials who were bursting with a sense of justice also joined in and shouted with righteous indignation.

Xu Boyi saw that all the officials had gathered and the crowd was surging with anger. He felt somewhat apprehensive. He was apprehensive because he was worried that with so many officials kowtowing to the palace in protest, the Emperor would give in and let Ye Xiaotian escape another calamity. However, the scene that followed shocked him. The Emperor's Third Eunuch San De Zi, the Third Eunuch, had actually run away!

When San De Zi saw Imperial Censor Liu lying on the ground with his bloody buttocks raised, it was as if he was waving a red flag to fight. He angrily and proudly complained, while Li Boxian led a group of Imperial Censors who were full of fighting spirit and had faces full of excitement, they immediately ran away. He was not the only one who ran away. The group of eunuchs and the Embroidered Uniform Guards all ran away.

"This … this …"

Xu Boyi did not understand what was going on at all. Fortunately, there was an acquaintance among the group of Embroidered Uniform Guards, General Xiong Wei. When General Xiong ran in front of him, he anxiously shouted, "Eunuch, why are you still standing there in a daze? Quickly run!"

Xu Boyi was so angry that his entire body trembled. It's one thing for the eunuchs to run away, but you guys are soldiers, why are you running? Facing a group of defenseless scholars, you guys are all wearing armor and swords, yet you guys still have the nerve to run? You guys don't even have this bit of courage. If you guys were to go to defend the country, wouldn't you all have to raise your hands and surrender?

Xu Boyi entered the palace halfway and did not have any godfather. He lacked guidance and was promoted like a rocket, so he did not know that there was a very special rule in the Zuo Shunmen, which was that if a civil official killed someone here, they would not have to pay with their life. This was the only place in the Great Ming territory where people could be killed without paying with their life.

The Zuo Shunmen was originally an ordinary palace gate and did not have the right to be exempted from the death penalty. However, in the 14th year of the Ming Dynasty, civil officials killed three people here. From then on, a special rule was established here, which was not recorded in the law. "Civil officials who killed someone here are not guilty!"

This special rule was created by Wang Zhen, the chief eunuch during the time of Emperor Yingzong. Wang Zhen persuaded the Emperor to personally lead the army. As a result, in the battle of Tumu Fortress, the Great Ming Dynasty suffered a great loss and Emperor Yingzong was captured. The Empress Dowager issued an edict and appointed Emperor Yingzong's eldest son, Zhu Jianshen, as the Crown Prince. At that time, Zhu Jianshen was only two years old, so she appointed Prince Cheng, Zhu Qiyu, the younger brother of Emperor Yingzong, to act as the Crown Prince.

At that time, all the civil and military officials in the imperial court submitted petitions to kill Wang Zhen and his henchmen. Prince Cheng did not dare to make the decision and asked the ministers to wait outside the palace. The ministers were greatly disappointed and cried bitterly in the Zuo Shunmen, insisting that the decree be issued immediately. Ma Shun, the commander of the Brocade Guards, wanted to drive them out of the palace, which angered the ministers. The ministers swarmed up and beat Ma Shun and his two henchmen to death.

The Brocade Guards guarding the palace gates were enraged when they saw this. They rushed forward aggressively, wanting to avenge their superior. If they really let the Brocade Guards kill them, none of the ministers present would be spared. At the critical moment, Yu Qian rushed to the front of Prince Cheng and suggested, "Your Highness, please announce to the ministers that Ma Shun should be killed and those who killed Ma Shun are not guilty."

Hearing his words, Prince Cheng loudly announced the decree. Then the Brocade Guards did not dare to kill them and the tragedy of the Palace Gate disappeared without a trace. From then on, there was a rule in the Zuo Shunmen that even the Ministry of Justice had tacitly agreed: if the ministers killed someone here, they would not be investigated according to the previous rule.

The eunuchs and the generals of the Great Han Dynasty all ran away, but Xu Boyi was one step late. Therefore, he was in a tragedy. Seeing that Imperial Censor Liu's buttocks were bleeding, the civil officials were enraged. When they saw that the eunuch had not escaped, they immediately rushed forward and surrounded him …