“皇上...... 臣...... 冤枉啊......”
Hu Zhongzao, a cabinet scholar, didn't understand why a book of poetry would become a sharp blade to kill him until the moment before he was beheaded.
In fact, he didn't understand that it didn't matter, for Emperor Qianlong, the result of executing him was more important.
Because all this is a bureau laid by Emperor Qianlong himself.
So what did Hu Zhongzao do to make Emperor Qianlong take such pains to put him to death?
In August 1735, Emperor Qianlong officially sat on the throne of the emperor.
Although he took over the entire country from his father and became the new master, it is still a bit far-fetched to really want to sit firmly on this dragon chair and control the treacherous court.
It is precisely because of this that the two important ministers of his father, Ortai and Zhang Tingyu, who stayed in the court, became the biggest "reliance" of Emperor Qianlong after he ascended the throne.
In order to encircle the two, in the fifth year after Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he deliberately issued a holy decree: emphasizing that Ortai and Zhang Tingyu were not only ministers entrusted by their fathers, but also old ministers whom they respected and relied on.
As soon as this decree came out, for a time, in the court, a distribution action between Han and Manchu quietly emerged.
It is said that the snipe and the clam compete for the benefit of the fisherman, and the distribution action also gave Qianlong the opportunity to consolidate the imperial power and sit on the throne.
After all, no emperor wants the phenomenon of forming a party for personal gain under his rule.
But for Emperor Qianlong at this time, as long as the open and secret struggle between the two factions does not affect his imperial power, he can still let him stumble, and he can find cronies from it.
Therefore, Emperor Qianlong, who had been waiting for an opportunity, chose to remain silent for a while. Secretly expand his power and install his own henchmen.
As time passed, the secret contest between the two factions gradually spread to the court, and the most unbearable threat to imperial power of Emperor Qianlong was already looming step by step.
So, Emperor Qianlong, who had been prepared for a long time, began his "revenge action".
In order to knock on the mountain and shock the tiger, Qianlong first attacked Zhang Tingyu led by the Han faction, reorganized the Military Aircraft Department, harvested the rights of Zhang Tingyu and the officials involved in the faction, and installed cronies to control it, so as to receive the real power into his own hands.
In addition to taking power, Qianlong also investigated, dismissed, and raided the relevant personnel of Zhang Tingyu and his faction, so that the other party was powerless.
Although everything was still quite smooth, with the death of Ortai on the Manchu side, for a while, Qianlong really had no reason to attack a dead man, which made him very unhappy.
So, Emperor Qianlong, who was unwilling, thought of a solution: the old ones are gone, and the small ones are gone.
Since Ortai's death, Echang, as his own nephew, seems to have become his successor, so if you want to clear the remnants and bring down Echang.
But how to bring down Echang?
After a few thoughts, Emperor Qianlong suddenly remembered a person, who?
This person is Ortai's protégé Hu Zhongzao, who not only has a close relationship with Echang, but is also a member of the Echang faction. More importantly, this person can be regarded as an enemy by the officials of Zhang Tingyu's faction.
As long as Hu Zhongzao is punished, he can not only bring down Echang, but also deter Zhang Tingyu and other officials, which is simply killing two birds with one stone.
In this way, under Qianlong's careful planning, Hu Zhongzao, who was still asleep, was detained and immediately taken to Beijing to await execution.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Emperor Qianlong summoned his courtiers and took the book "Jian Mo Sheng Poems" written by Hu Zhongzao to explain his views to them:
"A handful of heart-to-heart turbidity...... Dare to write the voiced characters in front of the country name, it is simply bold. ”
"Qiansanyao is not like a dragon...... This is sarcasm, saying that I am not the true dragon emperor?"
"There is no sun and moon in a lifetime...... This is a clear desire to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, and I have a grudge against the Qing Dynasty!"
"And this, listen...... The old Buddha is now disease-free, and he can't open the door when he hears it, and he is diligent and unremitting, and this chaotic minister and thief actually says that the door of the court is not open, and this heart should be ......punished."
The questioning and anger between the words are self-evident.
Later, in order to ease the atmosphere, Qianlong first told everyone that you are confused, Hu Zhongzao is so disobedient, and no one has reported it to me.
After finishing speaking, he moved to reason and told the courtiers, "You don't know about it and don't report it!" You don't care, then I can't ignore it! Then how can I take care of it? Then follow the example of the first emperor to deal with the case of the Zha Si Court and deal with Hu Zhongzao.
As soon as these words came out, only the ministers bowed their heads and were silent, and beads of sweat dripping down.
Where do they dare to speak, inside and outside the words, the emperor has clearly told them that he is going to execute Hu Zhongzao with a written case, and they are guilty if they don't report it, so don't speak!
None of the courtiers who can stand in front of the emperor are fools, except for seconding the proposal, that is, death, and they will definitely not choose the latter.
At this point, the ministers have asked Hu Zhongzao to be executed in accordance with the Qing law, and his family members over 16 years old are all executed.
After the originator, Emperor Qianlong, read the recital, perhaps out of "apology", he deliberately emphasized that he would never use words to punish crimes, and in order to show his sympathy for Hu Zhongzao, he and his family were all beheaded.
Before Hu Zhongzao died, he dipped his blood and wrote 5 big words of "injustice", but no one cared.
After Hu Zhongzao was beheaded, Qianlong immediately issued an order to give Echang to commit suicide, and then ordered that Ortaide's bones be withdrawn from the Xian Liang Temple and not enshrined!
After the Hu Zhongzao case, it not only dealt a blow to the court's "standing in line", but also warned the ministers not to collude with private interests and try to challenge the imperial power, otherwise the fate of Zhang Tingyu, Ortai and others will be a lesson for you.
At this point, Emperor Qianlong also achieved his goal and firmly held the imperial power in his own hands.
Therefore, whenever this case is mentioned in later generations, it will be emphasized that in a sense, this case heralds the official beginning of the Qianlong era.