Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

26. The Five Ministers:

If you are an official and do not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes.

~

The boss slammed his chopsticks on the table, excited and angry:"Loyalty? You and I are both martial arts practitioners. We have learned martial arts while practicing martial arts. You should be the same, right? Sincerely? If you are sincere, you should be loyal. Martial ethics, eradicating violence, and serving the country. Think about it, when he first joined the army, he was not a passionate person who wanted to be an upright person, but now he has become a sneaky assassin, bullying the weak, killing innocent people indiscriminately, and killing upright and kind people. People have done dirty things. We have taken the wrong path. We have done so many heartless things and we will get retribution sooner or later."

The boss took another sip of wine and sighed:"We shouldn't go on like this."

Everyone said I became sad, thinking about the teachings of my master, the upbringing of my parents, and the care among the villagers. I also recalled the things I did in the past, one by one, and I couldn't help but pick up the wine glass, one glass after another, and even shed tears. Come, cry, like a group of lost children regretting.

In their grief, they reflected on each word and blamed themselves. In the midst of the self-blame, they realized that they hated themselves so much. After letting go of their hearts, they drank heavily and ate. They ate and drank almost as much, and they blamed themselves enough. One of them asked:"Boss, where should we go next?"

"How about running away? said another

"We should have known from the beginning that once we set foot on this road, it is not up to us to turn back. Run away! Where to escape? We have done so many shameful things for them and want to escape, will they let us go? This place is all under their control unless you die like them."As he said that, the boss turned around and looked at the corpses of his companions beside him. He couldn't help but get up and kicked them aside hard. Kicking them felt more like kicking himself.

"They insist on going their own way, and they bring it upon themselves."One person sighed.

The boss lay on the table and said to himself:"I really hope I can live an upright life. I don't know if I still have a chance."

A few people became sad again, looking at the heads on the plate, from shock to fear to disgust, then to calm acceptance, and finally to regret. They were glad to be alive, although they didn't know what would happen in the future, since there was still wine, and Meat, then eat full first and then get drunk again

"Boss, we listen to you."

Everyone is a little drunk. The boss also drank a lot but his mind is still sober:"We haven't had much choice. For the time being, we stay in the house and dispose of their bodies and wait for the man in black."

"Who are the men in black? asked another

"Not like us anyway."Boss

"Boss, will he harm us?"Another asked again

"How else can it harm us?"Boss

"That is, if you want to kill him, you have already done it."The first one said.

Everyone thought that they could only do this first. After eating all the food, they drank the remaining wine and began to clean up the heads and corpses on the plate. The next day, the boss reported to the Minister of War that the ambush had failed and the assassination failed. , the Minister of War was furious, but he did not ask for too many details. Thinking of the generals who died earlier, he did not punish them too much. When the Minister of the Ministry of Industry learned about the failure, his face changed drastically. They realized that these people were indeed difficult to deal with. , there was a powerful role among the farmers and workers, so the ministers were gathered together

~

The accusations against the governor of Chenzhou spread in the streets and alleys of Chenzhou, arousing dissatisfaction among the people. The news spread to the Eastern Capital, at the foot of the royal city. The courtiers had long heard about the wanton actions of the governor of Chenzhou, but when they were listed one by one, Still shocking.

The 13 accusations were blatantly posted on the streets of Chenzhou. The Minister of Household Affairs was very angry. He knew that the farm workers in Tianpu Society alone could not know these, so he secretly investigated the people behind them and arrested several communicators one after another, but nothing was found. , he could only try to prevent further spread, but it was too late. Someone actually started to openly challenge them. It was the first time that he felt so passive.

Immediately, the Minister of Rites received a letter, which contained the charges. In the court, the Minister of Rites read out 13 charges, all of which could be capital crimes, and requested the court to investigate and verify. After hearing this, the courtiers all bowed their heads and remained silent. For fear of being avoided, the Minister of Hubu looked around for a week and everyone's eyes were avoiding him, so he defended:

"These are all rumors. The spread of rumors is a precursor to rebellion."

"Since ancient times, officials have forced the people to rebel, but the people have never forced officials to rebel. Why are there rumors? If they are rumors, why not investigate first before making a conclusion?"The Minister of Rites

"They openly slandered the imperial officials. These people have sinister intentions and should all be killed."The Minister of War has always wanted to eradicate those people.

"Nowadays, people everywhere are talking about this matter. The Minister of War wants to kill them all. I wonder if he wants to kill all the farmers and workers in Tianpu Society? People in Chenzhou? Or the people of Dongdu? The dignified Minister of the Ministry of War, with military power in his hands, how can he be tempted to kill?"The Minister of Rites

"Of course, those who create and spread rumors will be killed."Minister of the Ministry of War

"What if it’s not a rumor?"The Minister of Rites

"Regardless of whether it is true or not, inciting unrest and undermining stability violates the laws of our country, and you must be killed."Minister of the Ministry of War

"Since it is according to the law, it is necessary to verify the origin of the rumor first. If it is really slander, the court will not let it go. If the accusation is true, will the Minister of War kill the governor of Chenzhou according to the law?"The Minister of Rites.

The Minister of War was speechless. He knew in his heart that most of this was probably true.

"Should the Minister of Household Affairs be investigated or should not? King Dongfu asked.

The Minister of the Ministry of Finance did not answer and glanced at the Minister of the Ministry of War. At this moment, he was the only one who spoke for himself. King Dongfu asked:"The Minister of the Ministry of War, do you really want to use your soldiers to kill people?""

The Minister of the Ministry of War did not answer. King Dongfu turned around and asked again, his tone gradually getting stronger:"The Minister of the Ministry of Industry, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, how about you? Don’t you talk a lot on weekdays?"

From the expressions of these three ministers, King Dongfu noticed that the opinions of the five of them were not completely consistent.

Seeing that they were silent, the Minister of Rites stepped forward and said:"Your Majesty, after getting to know me these days, the governor of Tianpu Society is drunk. Later, he beat farm workers in the fields and accidentally fell off his horse and died. The governor was the brother of the field supervisor's wife. Instigated by his concubine, the field supervisor took his servants to the field community to lynching the farm workers, which aroused resistance. The field supervisor was also the natal brother of the governor of Chenzhou, so the governor of Chenzhou asked his brother, Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance, for help, and they sent out the Dongfu Army. The soldiers could not bear to kill the poor people and abandoned their weapons. Thousands of people have risen now. If more troops are sent, there will be tens of thousands or even more. Once their resentment breaks out, it will not be so easy to keep them quiet. Even if the Minister of War gathers all the Dongfu troops, This fear cannot be suppressed, this is one of them. Secondly, even if troops are sent to suppress it, there will be no harvest for a year, and unrest will inevitably break out again during the winter when there is hunger. This was originally a trivial matter, but it was handled improperly by the Ministers of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Finance. If they continued to suppress it, it would be difficult for the Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, Criminal Affairs, and the Ministry of Works to stay out of the matter."The Minister of Rites

"Matters in the DPRK have always been discussed and decided by the six ministries together, and then discussed again."King Dongfu

"As the saying goes, if you rely on power to dominate others, if you are defeated by power, you will bully me. If you chase a dog in a poor alley, a dog will bite you in a poor alley. Your Majesty, in my opinion, we should go and have a talk."The Minister of Rites

"Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, what do you think?"King Dongfu

"Well, maybe it's time to talk."At this moment, the Minister of Civil Affairs has his own plan.

"Well, we can talk."Shang Shu of the Ministry of Punishment

"That makes sense."The Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

The Dongfu Army abandoned its armor before the battle, which has disgraced the Minister of the Ministry of War. Half of the assassins in the mansion were killed. The Minister of the Ministry of War felt like his teeth had been smashed but he could only swallow it. He knew that there were powerful characters among the farmers and workers. It was hateful. What's more, I don't know who they are. Although the Minister of War is no longer as arrogant as before, this tone is really hard to swallow. He just wants to send troops to find those people and cut them into pieces. I planned to kill the woman who took the lead first. Once The Tianpu community had no leader, so they could divide themselves from within and rescue their younger brother. But now they have failed, and they still have to negotiate with them. Naturally, the Minister of Household Affairs is not willing to accept it.

"How can we negotiate with the rebels? Troops should be sent immediately to encircle and suppress them."The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance was very angry.

"The only option is to kill the rebels. Your Majesty should immediately send out the Imperial Guard to put down the rebellion together."The Minister of War was still thinking about His Majesty's imperial guards.

The other three ministers looked at the Minister of Hubu and the Minister of War. They obviously disapproved. After all, it was none of their business and they didn't want to be affected. King Dongfu noticed that the other three The minister had a different idea and asked:"How long will it take for the two ministers to fight like this to kill them all? Secretary of the Ministry of Finance? Minister of the Ministry of War?"

The two of them glanced at each other, thinking that there were powerful characters among the farmers and workers. Their younger brother was still in their hands, and their general was killed with one arrow. They didn't even know how many powerful characters there were. If they were cornered, they would kill his brother. After thinking about it, they were not completely sure.

Seeing that they didn't answer, King Dongfu asked again:"In that case, who is willing to appease these people?"

"Minister of official affairs?"

"Minister of the Ministry of Justice?"

"Minister of the Ministry of Industry?"

King Dongfu asked the three of them first. They looked at me and I looked at you. King Dongfu's eyes fell on the Minister of Rites.

"Why doesn't anyone want to go?"

"I am willing to go."The Minister of Rites.

The voice of the Minister of Rites was particularly harsh. The other five ministers looked at him with complicated emotions.

"Minister of Rites, do you have any objections to this?"King Dongfu

"you? I don’t know how the Minister of Rites can talk about it?"The Minister of the Ministry of War looked doubtful and didn't believe he could solve it.

Several ministers couldn't help shaking their heads. It's no wonder that the Minister of the Ministry of Etiquette is responsible for court etiquette, sacrifices, banquets and some schools and other trivial matters in Dongfu State. And the Ministry of Household Affairs The Minister is in charge of the money and food of the Dongfu Kingdom, and his meridians are in his hands. He has been forming factions for a long time, and there are people loyal to him in every state and county. He is amassing money wantonly and can be said to be as rich as the enemy. The Minister of the Ministry of War holds nearly 100,000 Dongfu troops. Guarding the four directions, it can be said that the safety of Dongfu State is under his orders. The power of the other three cannot be underestimated. The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the appointment and assessment of officials, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment is in charge of judicial trials, and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry is in charge of the construction of pavilions, pavilions and rivers.. In comparison, the Minister of Rites has no real power at all. In the eyes of the other five ministers, he only has the name of Minister. This is why they have not paid attention to the Minister of Rites. The

Minister of the Ministry of War has not even regarded the Minister of Rites. Take it seriously and ask aggressively:"What should I do if I don't handle it properly?"

The Minister of Rites replied unhurriedly:"If the negotiation fails, it will not be too late to let the Minister of War deal with it."

In the past, when the government was discussing politics, the five ministers headed by the Minister of Hubu formed a group and suppressed King Dongfu and the Minister of Rites. The five ministers had already become brothers of the opposite sex in private, and the Minister of Hubu was the elder. Among them, the eldest brother is the most powerful, followed by the Minister of the Ministry of War, the second brother, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the third brother, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, the fourth brother, and finally the youngest Minister of the Ministry of Industry.