Kyoto, Imperial City, inside Chengtian Hall.

Careful people finally discovered something was wrong, that is, after Ouyang Jing initiated the impeachment, Luo Ting, the right-wing leader of the civil service, remained silent, which seemed not to be in line with his usual habits.

Ning Huai'an, the Minister of Civil Affairs, did not pay attention. After Shen Moyun retired, he was gearing up and ready to go, preparing to reveal the few clues he had collected about Pei Yue and the eldest prince, and lay the foundation for this long court dispute.

A perfect ending. Under the premise that the second prince is already slightly ahead, as long as it is confirmed that the first prince has bad conduct, it will be worthwhile for the people on our side to wait quietly for so many days.

However, this time he was still beaten first.

Could it be that the dignified Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a high-ranking heavenly official, has been ignored by others again and again? Ning Huaian frowned, but when he saw clearly the old man who went out to ask for a performance, he could only smile bitterly to himself.

Not to mention him, even Luo Ting and Luo Jiyu couldn't compete with this old man.

Because his name is Huang Rentai, an official and a censor.

The head of the Xiantai has always been a very important figure in the court. Thousands of years ago, he could even assist the prime minister in handling national affairs. However, as the years passed, the official system of each dynasty continued to change. In today's Daliang, the imperial censor will

He is only responsible for managing the Yushitai and supervising all officials.

Despite this, Huang Rentai still had a respected status, and he was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Dongfu, but Luo Ting always treated him with courtesy because of his very senior qualifications.

In the Zhengdan Dynasty at the beginning of the sixth year of Kaiping, with the end of the war in the Western Region, the reward of the generals was put on the agenda. Among them, Pei Yue's unintentional killing of Wuwei Hou Ningzhong caused controversy.

However, less than a stick of incense before, in front of hundreds of civil and military officials, he spoke out the words with such force and clarity that those who heard him cried, without leaving any room for error.

Huang Rentai said slowly: "The matter involves a prince and a minister, so I have to act with caution. Originally, I thought it was a frame-up, but after checking some evidence in the past few days, I found that it was indeed the case."

Ouyang Jing had calmed down at this moment, looking at the old man's thin figure and listening very seriously.

Emperor Kaiping said quietly: "I still remember that last year, the three states suffered from a severe drought, and the court's expenses were extremely tight. At this time, some people did not hesitate to use their own money to help the court tide over the difficulties and provide relief to the poor people.

But my prince only thinks about his own property and even misappropriates money from the imperial court, haha."

When Huang Rentai left work, even the high-ranking Kaiping Emperor nodded in greeting.

Huang Rentai firmly advocated severe punishment for Pei Yue, not only to remove him from the post of commander of the Tibetan Front Guards, but also suggested that the Ministry of Punishment should escort him back to Kyoto for trial.

After the words fell, there was a dead silence in Chengtian Hall.

"On the second day of September, the Ministry of Works and Maintenance Department received a sum of twenty-seven thousand taels of silver."

This old man was born in the sixth year of Taihe, Emperor Taizong, at the age of sixty-four. He was only four years younger than Mo Haoli, who returned to his mansion to recuperate, and one year younger than the deceased Princess Qiyang. He could be said to have seen countless vicissitudes of life.

The second prince knelt down, his face as pale as paper. He wanted to ask for mercy but didn't know how to ask.

Under the close watch of hundreds of officials, Huang Rentai said with difficulty: "On July 19 last year, a sum of 43,000 taels of silver quietly flowed out from the Maintenance Department of the Ministry of Industry. After changing hands several times, it was transferred to the Taiping Bank.

Then it was transferred to the name of a merchant named Jin San."

But judging from the current situation, even if Ouyang Jing has not colluded with Pei Yue to join the party, there must be some kind of deal between the two in private. Thinking about Huang Rentai's consistent views on Pei Yue, many people can't help but feel enlightened and think they understand

The reason for the old man's hesitation.

At this moment, the old Huang Rentai finally said: "Just now Xue Shangshu once said that the imperial censor's impeachment must be well-founded, and I deeply believe it. Your Majesty is merciful and gives Xiantai the power to report. This is to express his gratitude to the imperial censor."

Shi’s love and care is also based on the overall integrity of the court. After all, a sword without an edge is blunt. If there are too many constraints and fetters, the Xantai will lose the meaning of its existence."

His old eyes looked at the livid Emperor Kaiping who was sitting on the throne, and sighed: "In other words, Zhulou still owes the Ministry of Industry more than 240,000 taels of silver. Although the amount is not huge, it is not in line with the imperial court after all.

rule."

The ministers nodded one after another.

Huang Rentai looked solemn and said: "Your Majesty, I have an impeachment memorial here. The evidence is relatively complete, and I have to submit it to the emperor."

"On the fourth day of August, a sum of thirty-five thousand taels of silver from the Dushui Department of the Ministry of Industry was pocketed by Jin San according to the same process."

The second prince opened his mouth slightly, his body trembling uncontrollably.

There are rules for how the imperial court's money is used. Although the account transactions listed by Huang Rentai are not an exaggeration, and the more than two hundred thousand taels of silver will not affect the normal operation of the Ministry of Industry, but...

"Similar turnovers have occurred a total of twenty-six times, especially in the first half of December last year, as many as seven times. According to the statistics of the veteran, the big shopkeeper of Zhulou named Jin San took a total of

I have more than 950,000 taels of silver, and I will have more than 710,000 taels of silver when I return."

However, what surprised all the officials was that Huang Rentai stood under the imperial steps and did not speak for a long time. If they had not known that this old man was not dim despite his old age, some people would have accused him of being insane.

If it weren't for Pei Yue's existence, this old man would definitely have come forward to safeguard the dignity of Ouyang Jing and Yushitai.

If it were normal times, he would not have suffered particularly serious consequences if he temporarily embezzled a small amount of money from the Ministry of Industry in order for Zhulou to withstand the pressure from Qinyuan.

Huang Rentai spoke slowly and not loudly, but fortunately most of the important officials in front of the palace could hear him clearly.

Emperor Kaiping was not in a hurry, but looked thoughtfully at Luo Ting, who was still silent.

Huang Rentai's words made the second prince very happy, because the old man almost pointed at Ouyang Jing's eyes and taught him earnestly. Although his words were not sharp and serious, the situation was obviously developing in his favor.

For some reason, the second prince's heart suddenly lifted.

Pei Yue looked at Gu Liang's generous back in front of him.

"On September 27, the earliest amount of 43,000 taels of silver was transferred back to the Ministry of Industry's Maintenance Department. However, the next day, the Ministry of Industry's Yuheng Department transferred another 30,000 taels of silver to the Taiping Bank, following precedent."

Emperor Kaiping's almost lifeless voice sounded in the ears of the officials: "I remember that last year, Qinyuan in Kyoto was opened, and many recreational places were affected. This bamboo building was the only one to support it. Although the income was greatly reduced, it persisted in the end.

At that time, I was very happy that Liu Yun could finally do something."

Emperor Kaiping sneered and said: "Prince? Minister? You might as well tell me carefully."

But what the old man said next made him frown slightly.

Naturally, those ministers in purple clothes would not be so superficial. They just thought that the old man was still hesitating. After all, Xue Ji had just bluntly reprimanded Ouyang Jing, and his words even involved the Yushitai. As the Yushitai, Huang Rentai, if he could not refute it righteously,

, how will you manage the thorny censors under your command in the future?

This has nothing to do with court strife, but a code that must be followed in officialdom.

Although Emperor Kaiping finally chose a compromise strategy, the old man's dislike for young warriors like Pei Yue was self-evident, and even though Pei Yue had risen through the ranks in the past two years and accumulated a large number of contacts among civil servants, he could not

Change Huang Rentai's mind.

"Although he has the power to report matters based on hearsay, the censor cannot trust the situation. Even if the evidence is not conclusive, he still needs to have something to say. This is the code of conduct for Xantai officials."

This brings up another old thing.

Emperor Kaiping narrowed his eyes and asked, "Have you had to?"

The words are still ringing in my ears, and I can't help but feel particularly ironic when I think about it now.

"very good."

He suddenly flicked his robe sleeves, stood up and walked towards the back of the palace.

"Father!"

Liu Yun knelt on the ground and screamed almost desperately, but he couldn't call the supreme leader back.
Chapter completed!