Chapter 436 The Beginning of Chaos
Because Sun Shaozong spent some time talking to Miaoyu, it was already dark when he returned to the Criminal Law Department.
He was just about to call Sun Chengye to go back home, but he received news that Han Anbang and Jia Yucun had been summoned to the palace to discuss matters an hour ago.
No wonder there was such a commotion in the house of confinement, but no one from the government office came to inquire about it - the prefect and the chancellor were not at home, so who would dare to interfere in the affairs of the "Third Master"?
Since he went to the palace to discuss matters, he must have an imperial decree to convey when he returns. In this case, it would be inappropriate for him to leave the government office at will now.
After asking Sun Chengye and seeing that he had no intention of returning home first, Sun Shaozong sent someone home to report the news, and at the same time ordered the kitchen to prepare a standard meal of eight dishes and two soups, and set it on the table in the outer room for the uncle and nephew to drink and chat.
The two men first speculated on the impact of this solar eclipse on the political situation in the court, but because there was no precedent in this dynasty, they could not get to the point after guessing for a long time.
So he changed the subject and started talking about private matters around him.
The first thing to be discussed was, naturally, Sun Chengtao's transfer to another place. Since there were no suitable positions vacant in Zhejiang, they had to settle for the next best thing and found him a job as a seventh-rank county magistrate in Raozhou Prefecture, which was on the border between Jiangxi and Zhejiang.
Secondly, the house purchased by Sun Chengye and Yu Qian has been almost renovated. According to Sun Chengye, they plan to move in at the beginning of next month to avoid causing trouble to their two cousins.
"I'm afraid there will be something wrong at the beginning of next month."
Sun Shaozong shook his head and said, "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. Why are you moving out all of a sudden? Let's wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival is over."
Sun Chengye thought about it and agreed to Sun Shaozong's suggestion, planning to postpone moving out until the end of August.
"That's right."
Sun Shaozong suddenly remembered something, picked up the wine pot, and filled Sun Chengye's glass with wine. He asked, "I've been busy with the review of the autumn finals recently, and I forgot about Tingyi's acceptance of a disciple. I wonder what he thinks now, will he accept or not?"
Sun Chengye raised his buttocks and bent his body until Sun Shaozong put down the wine pot, then he sat down again and said, "I have to accept him, but since the meeting that day, Rongguo Mansion has not made any progress, and Tingyi has just been appointed as an editor of the Hanlin Academy [rank 7], so it is not good to rush to accept the nephew of Concubine Xian De as an apprentice."
Tsk~
This is the fault of the Rongguo Mansion. Although it is not necessary to visit the thatched cottage three times to find a teacher for a child, if Yu Qian does not take the initiative to ask for consent this time, and accepts Jia Lan as his disciple, wouldn't he be seen as a sycophant in the eyes of others?
However, Rongguo Mansion has been in a turbulent time recently. First, Baoyu offended Prince Zhongshun, and then Jia Zheng was fighting with Mrs. Wang over his intention to take Aunt Zhao away. Therefore, it is not surprising that no one cared about the "trivial matters" of the orphan and his widow for a while.
"How about this, I'll find an opportunity to discuss this with Duke Cun Zhou [Jia Zheng], and try to finalize this matter before he leaves the capital for an assignment."
I'm afraid Jia Zheng is the only one in Rongguo Mansion who truly values Li Wan and her son. If he were to be sent out of Beijing, this matter would probably be delayed.
As the two were eating and chatting, they heard hurried footsteps outside coming closer and closer. Soon, a minor official came in to report that Han Fuyin and Jia Fucheng had returned from the palace and summoned Sun Shaozong and the three judges to discuss matters.
It was impossible to hold the meeting in the pavilion in the backyard at this late hour, so the meeting was held in the inner hall as usual.
When Sun Shaozong arrived at the inner hall of the government office, he saw that Han Anbang and Jia Yucun had already taken the first seats. Not only Fu Shi, Zhao Liben, Chen Zhichuang and others had already arrived, but even Daxing County Magistrate Wang Qian and Wanping County Magistrate Xu Huaizhi were also present.
"Greetings, Lord Prefect."
Sun Shaozong stepped forward and bowed slightly, and briefly explained that Wei Ruolan was currently supporting the envoy sent by the emperor and had no time to leave. Just as Han Anbang signaled him to sit down on the right side of the desk, he heard Han Anbang say loudly: "Everyone, today there are strange phenomena and the people are in turmoil. In this troubled time, you and I must be more diligent and loyal to your majesty and live up to his majesty's high expectations!"
Hearing him mention "Your Majesty's high hopes", Sun Shaozong hurriedly raised his buttocks again, bowed and sang a fat "Yes" with everyone.
After everyone sat down again, it was Jia Yucun's turn to speak. He didn't say anything nonsense, but got straight to the point: "In order to prevent lunatics from taking advantage of the opportunity to rebel, from now on, the government office and the county office will increase the number of personnel to patrol the streets day and night, and the chief officer must be stationed in the office at all times."
"In view of the shortage of patrol officers in our prefectures and counties , the cabinet has approved a proposal to order the Wucheng Military Command to draw some officers and soldiers from the city defense camp and patrol camp to assist Shuntian Prefecture in maintaining public order in the capital."
Patrolling day and night, and drawing on officers and soldiers to assist, etc., are not so bad, after all, there are precedents in the past - but the four words "rebellion" are not to be used lightly!
Could it be that someone actually wants to take advantage of this opportunity to usurp the throne? !
Isn’t this too exaggerated?
You have to know that Emperor Guangde has been on the throne for eleven years, and the imperial power in his hands has long been consolidated. Even if there is an emperor emeritus above him, it cannot be shaken by a mere astronomical phenomenon.
Or...
Is there any other hidden story behind this?
Sun Shaozong was just speculating wildly when he saw Jia Yucun turn around, clasped his hands across the desk, and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Lord Sun to communicate and coordinate with the Five Cities Military Department. Make sure to transfer some steady and capable soldiers to avoid any unnecessary mistakes."
Now the son of the deputy commander of the Five Cities Army is working under Sun Shaozong, so naturally this mission belongs to him.
Soon after, others also led different branches. In addition to maintaining public order in the capital, controlling public opinion was also a top priority.
However, it is not Shuntian Prefecture that will take the lead in this regard - if nothing unexpected happens, Emperor Guangde will issue an edict of repentance in the next two days and then announce a general amnesty.
During the entire meeting, except for the meaningless nonsense at the beginning, Jia Yucun was almost the only one in command. Han Anbang sat behind the desk, like a clay or wooden sculpture, with no intention of competing with him at all.
It seems that he has probably realized that he can't hold the position of prefect for long, so he simply gave up "resistance".
After Jia Yucun had laid out the prevention and control tasks in detail, Sun Shaozong finally spoke up, "Sir, since His Majesty is going to grant amnesty to the whole nation, what should we do with the list of names that have been reviewed for the autumn sentence?"
Han Anbang curled his lips and said sternly: "Just ask the Prime Minister Jia."
This city...
I guess even if I get to the local level, I may not be able to get anything good!
"Autumn Finals List?"
Jia Yucun frowned and asked in surprise, "Didn't Lord Sun send the list of executions to the Ministry of Justice this morning?"
Sun Shaozong spread his hands and said with a wry smile, "They sent it back again, saying that our Shuntian Prefecture has now been transferred to Zhili Province, and the list of autumn executions should be submitted to the Office of the Chief Justice."
After hearing this, Jia Yucun paused for a moment and said, "In that case, Lord Sun, why don't you put the list on hold for now? You can't leave the capital in the next few days. When the solar eclipse is over, if the court doesn't issue an order to re-clear the cases, it won't be too late for you to send the list to Jinmen Prefecture."
