vrcanaries Chapter 78 The Great Prison
Chapter 78 The Great Prison
In Wanchao, ordinary people would often gather in large groups during their midday free time to discuss what Lin Ke had said.
After all, they had never met high-ranking officials or emperors, yet now a group of people were laughing at anecdotes from another dynasty. Who wouldn't marvel at how strange it was!
The live stream on the screen continued...
"If Cai Que during the Xining era appeared to be merely an upright censor, then by the Yuanfeng era, his ruthless side had also surfaced over time."
"In the first year of the Yuanfeng era of Emperor Shenzong of Song (1078 AD), a long-standing case resurfaced in Xiangzhou, Hebei."
"Here's what happened. During the Xining era, three men were robbing and plundering together. They then killed an old woman, and as a result, the three were sentenced to beheading by the Xiangzhou government."
"However, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, influenced by figures like Wang Anshi, legal thought rarely advocated for executions."
"According to the judgment at the time, the mastermind in this case should have been beheaded, not the three individuals. Therefore, an official named Zhou Qing noticed this error and submitted a memorial to the court."
"But the Court of Judicial Review rejected this request. Zhou Qing and the Court of Judicial Review then went back and forth several times, which eventually brought the issue to Emperor Shenzong's attention."
A Ming Dynasty soldier: I think the Dali Temple's rebuttal was excellent!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: During the Northern Song Dynasty, people seemed to be relatively mild-mannered; the worst they could get was demoted or exiled.
"The unrest that occurred in the early years led Emperor Shenzong to strengthen the power of the Imperial City Guard and order them to patrol the capital city of Tokyo. And it turns out that this case led them to uncover something quite interesting."
"The official who presided over the case was named Chen Anmin. He was related to the veteran official Wen Yanbo and the prime minister Wu Chong. At the time, Wen Yanbo's son, Wen Jifu, was working at the Dali Temple. Therefore, Chen Anmin bribed officials at the Dali Temple to suppress the matter."
"What he didn't expect was that the middleman pocketed the money and didn't actually do the job. Even more unexpectedly, the Imperial City Guard discovered this."
"We were going to be quiet, but the whole place went bust!"
Chen Anmin of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...I'm speechless!
"This matter has become serious. Vice Chancellor Wang Gui and Cai Que have learned of it, and Wang Gui, due to his political disagreements with Chancellor Wu Chong, wants to use this incident to oust him."
"On the other hand, Cai Que has just ousted Kumamoto and gained the position of Minister of Agriculture, bringing him closer to both the central and local governments. Therefore, these two are colluding to pull off something big!"
"At Cai Que's suggestion, Wu Chong's son Wu An and Wen Jifu, who had been framed by their relatives, were arrested, as were a large number of officials from the Court of Judicial Review."
"Cai Que used torture instruments to frighten these people. Chen Anmin was the first to succumb to this mental torment and admitted that he had contacted Wen Jifu beforehand. Subsequently, the two of them informed Emperor Shenzong of this matter, but because Emperor Shenzong valued Wu Chong highly, he did not take any action against him."
Shangguan Jun and Deng Runfu, who were investigating the case together, were both moderates and disliked Cai Que's style. So they submitted a memorial impeaching him for using torture to extract confessions. However, after Emperor Shenzong sent people to investigate, there was no evidence of torture to extract confessions, so the two were demoted.
Shangguan Jun: ……
Deng Runfu: ……
"This long-running case has finally been ruled a miscarriage of justice. Wang Gui's constant meddling and stirring up trouble has ultimately amounted to nothing, leaving him stagnant."
"Meanwhile, Cai Que, another key figure in the scheme, became the biggest beneficiary, rising to the position of Acting Censor-in-Chief."
"I'm starting to suspect that Cai Que was just making empty promises to Wang Gui! Then, Cai Que continued his efforts and fabricated the Imperial Academy Case."
"This brings us to when Old Wang established the Three Dormitories System at the Imperial Academy, stating that if one could rise to the upper dormitory, they could be appointed to an official position without taking the imperial examination. Therefore, many people took advantage of this and bribed the academy officials."
Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty: I had no such intention when this was first established!
A renowned Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty: It's a pity that he doesn't use his intelligence for the right things!
"One of the students, Yu Fan, couldn't stand it and reported the matter to Kaifeng. The official who handled the case was Xu Jiang, a member of the New Party."
"Xu Jiang believed that the Imperial Academy had not made a mistake, but Yu Fan disagreed and filed a complaint against Xu Jiang as well. After Emperor Shenzong of Song learned of this, he sent Cai Que, He Zhengchen, and others to investigate."
"Many of them were just students from the Imperial Academy, so Cai Que treated them without any leniency. As a result, many of them were tortured to death."
"Xu locked the officials and jailers together, monitoring them day and night. Cai Que mixed all the prison food into a large basin, stirred it with a spoon, and fed it to the students and officials like pigs."
A Ming Dynasty soldier: Isn't this guy a bit of a pervert?!
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Shenzong of Song spent all his time dealing with the infighting among his ministers!
A poor scholar from the Ming Dynasty: That's a bit much!
"Among these people, those promoted by Wang Anshi, such as Shen Jichang, were all purged, while Cai Que seized this opportunity to successfully squeeze into the high leadership ranks, achieving his long-desired position as a councilor in both the central and local governments."
"However, although Cai Que didn't have to do the work of interrogation and torture, the overall atmosphere in the court was not good. For example, the famous Wutai Poetry Case happened during this period."
A scion of a prominent family during the Ming Dynasty: Su Shi!!!
A student from the Tang Dynasty: So, in order to get promoted, they go to great lengths to cause trouble!
A Tang Dynasty official: Isn't he afraid of someone retaliating against him?