Wu Yizong, Wu Huaidao and other Wu clan members; Su Qingjie, Li Siwen, Zhuge Sanyuan, Lou Shide and other Wu clan members all came forward to second the proposal.
Dai Zhide, the minister of Zhongshu, Hao Chujun, the minister of civil affairs, Qi Feng, the general of Qianniuwei, and other members of the East Palace party all looked at Cen Changqian, hoping that he would intervene to stop him.
Cen Changqian turned a blind eye and said nothing.
At this moment, a serious voice was heard.
"I think it's inappropriate!"
The ministers followed the call and saw an old man coming in with help from outside the door. It was Zhongshu Ling Liu Rengui.
Liu Rengui pushed away the person who was supporting him, walked over step by step, glanced at the ministers one by one, frowned angrily, and said loudly:
"What did the late emperor say when he was dying, asking you to help His Majesty and assist His Majesty? Now that the late Emperor's Lingshu is still in Hanyuan Hall, you have begun to bully the new emperor. When you die in the future, how will you go to see the late Emperor?
"
Su Dingfang said coldly: "Mr. Liu, the late emperor also said before his death that if there are any major military and political affairs that are not decided, the Queen Mother will handle them."
"But the late emperor never said that the queen mother would hold a court meeting!"
Su Dingfang hummed: "How many words could the late emperor say when he was dying? Doesn't he have to cover everything?"
"Su Dingfang, you are so messy!"
Su Dingfang was furious and was about to retort when Li Ji stopped him and said with a smile: "Mr. Liu, you said that the late emperor did not allow the queen mother to hold a court meeting, so the queen mother cannot hold it, right?"
Liu Rengui said proudly: "Not bad."
Li Jidao: "According to what you said, the late emperor did not ask your majesty to establish another queen, so your majesty cannot appoint a concubine as a queen."
Liu Rengui said in a deep voice: "Yes, I am also opposed to Your Majesty establishing another queen."
Li Jidao: "Then Duke Liu thinks it was wrong for His Majesty to appoint another queen?"
Liu Rengui hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."
Li Jidao: "Then His Majesty insists on having his own way, what should we do?"
Liu Rengui raised his head and said: "Naturally, I will fight to the end!"
Li Ji said coldly: "Will remonstrance be useful if we die? And we only have one life. If the remonstrance is dead this time, what will happen next time if your majesty does something that violates the rules?"
Liu Rengui gritted his teeth and said, "If we can remonstrate hard, we will definitely be able to persuade His Majesty to take back his life!"
Su Dingfang sneered and said, "Liu Rengui, did you say this with your conscience?"
Liu Rengui was stunned and did not answer.
Li Ji said coldly: "Mr. Liu, if Her Majesty the Queen Mother does not come forward today, who can be sure to persuade His Majesty?"
Liu Rengui looked at Li Hong. He had tried to persuade Li Hong to drive away the Turkic woman many times, but Li Hong refused to listen.
It can be seen that if Li Hong wants to insist on other things, he may not be able to stop it.
He was a magnanimous man, and after thinking through his thoughts, he was unwilling to say anything against his will, and said, "Yes, I cannot persuade your majesty."
Li Ji asked: "Does Mr. Liu still object to this matter?"
Liu Rengui was silent for a long time and said to himself: "Li Ji, hold on to my words. If you object again, I will be the one causing trouble." He sighed and said, "I have no objection, veteran."
Li Hong said anxiously: "Lao Zhongshu!"
Liu Rengui gave a bitter smile and said: "Your Majesty, if you had listened to the old minister's advice and driven away the Turkic woman, what would have happened today!"
Wu Mei smiled and said: "Come here, give Liu Qing a seat."
Liu Rengui sat down opposite Wu Chengsi, and the court meeting continued.
The ministers discussed the intervals between the Queen Mother's court meetings. After some debate, Wu Chengsi finally decided that the court meetings would be held every nine days, and the court meeting would be held on the day before the monthly Mu holiday.
Yesterday's court meeting broke up in a hurry. There were many major issues that had not yet been decided. One of the most important ones was the transfer of officials.
After Li Zhi passed away, according to the old court rules, the old minister had to take the initiative to resign and could only stay if the new emperor persuaded him to stay.
If the new emperor doesn't want to stay, he will have no choice but to move his butt and give it to others.
This is the principle of an emperor and his ministers.
Liu Rengui, Li Ji, Su Dingfang, Zhuge Sanyuan and other elderly officials came out one after another to resign to the emperor.
Before Li Hong could speak, Wu Mei said: "All the ministers are the pillars of the country. Now that the new king has succeeded to the throne, he needs your full assistance. How can you resign and just enjoy your own happiness? I don't allow it!"
One sentence left all the old ministers here.
Wu Chengsi saw that the important matter had been decided, stood up and went out to the court and said: "Your Highness the Queen Mother, I have completed all the investigations you asked me to investigate, and the stolen property from the treasury has been returned to the treasury."
The Taifu Qing then followed the list and said: "Last night and this morning, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou transported a total of two sums of money from outside the palace to the Zuozang Treasury, equivalent to 4.6 million copper coins."
All the ministers were shocked, and even Li Ji and Su Dingfang looked at each other. They had never heard Wu Chengsi say anything about the theft of the treasury.
Wu Mei nodded and said to the ministers: "All the ministers must be very confused about this matter."
Su Dingfang was surprised and said: "Your Highness the Queen Mother, has the national treasury really been stolen?"
Wu Meifeng looked around, nodded and said:
"That's right. This matter started in the middle of the year. At that time, I was preparing for the conferment of Zen on Mount Tai. The Ministry of Revenue proposed a memorial to me. Li Shangshu, please explain the content of the memorial to all the ministers."
Li Chongyi stepped out and said: "Yes."
He turned around and faced the ministers:
"Due to the Battle of Liaodong last year, the national treasury was unable to make ends meet and there is not much left over. If we carry out the Taishan Consecration this year, it will cost a lot. After the consecration, the national treasury will probably have less than one million dollars left."
All the ministers looked at each other in disbelief. Recently, there have been rumors in the government and in the public that the treasury has been depleted due to continuous wars. Many people did not believe it at first, but they did not know that it was true.
What’s even more surprising is that the reason why the treasury was depleted was actually due to theft, and judging from King Zhou’s tone just now, it seems that he has been secretly investigating the matter!
Li Hong was shocked and doubtful, and immediately asked: "King Zhou, I heard that you ransacked the Xiao Mansion and the Wei Mansion yesterday. Is it because of this?"
Wu Chengsi was about to answer when Wu Mei said: "Your Majesty, don't be impatient. Let Li Chongyi speak slowly first."
Li Hong responded dully.
Li Chongyi continued: "After I reported this matter at that time, Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother ordered our Ministry of Revenue, Taifu Temple, and Shaofu Superintendent not to publicize this matter to the outside world."
Liu Rengui said in a deep voice: "Your Highness the Queen Mother, the national treasury is empty, it is related to the country's foundation, and all aspects of the court's strategies need to be adjusted accordingly. Why do you want Li Shangshu and the others to hide it?"
Wu Mei said calmly: "Because I suspected that someone had stolen the treasury at that time, and ordered them to keep quiet so that I could send people to investigate secretly."
After a pause, she said coldly: "It's a pity that the investigating official was so useless. After a few months, he actually told me that there were no problems in all the government offices and that the treasury was not stolen!"
"I didn't believe it. After King Zhou returned to Beijing, I immediately asked him to investigate. King Zhou did not disappoint me. He quickly confirmed that the treasury was stolen and found out the mastermind behind it."
Li Hong asked: "Did the Xiao family and the Wei family do it?"
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Yes. Let me explain this matter again. When my aunt asked me to investigate this matter, I happened to be investigating another matter."
"What's the matter?" Li Hong asked hurriedly.
"At that time, I was investigating some crimes committed by the King of Han and the King of Yue, so that I could bring justice to the wronged people."
Wu Chengsi panicked and concealed Yang Xuan's existence.
"After some investigation, I found that someone was secretly bribing the King of Han and the King of Yue to let them promote the Battle of Liaodong!"
The ministers were talking a lot, it was unbelievable that someone was behind the Liaodong battle.
Li Hong asked urgently: "Who is it?"
Wu Chengsi was about to answer when he suddenly noticed a familiar person standing behind Li Hong.
As soon as I thought about it, I remembered that the man was the mustache that followed Yaruo when he went to Wei Mansion that day.
It's just that the area under his nose became so clean that I didn't recognize him for a moment. He must have been a eunuch.
Li Hong pressed: "Who is it?"
Wu Chengsi said: "The person who bribed them was a businessman named Cai Yang, who was a member of a secret organization."
Li Hong frowned and said, "What does this matter have to do with the treasury?"
Liu Qixian said: "That secret organization must have some relationship with the Xiao and Wei families."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "The leader of this secret organization is the Xue family, and there are three major families who stole the treasury. In addition to the Xue family, there are also the Xiao family and the Wei family!"
Li Hong was surprised and said: "Xue family? Are they also involved in this matter?"
Li Ji's eyes flashed and he squinted and said:
"No wonder the Xue family in Furong Garden deliberately framed His Highness King Zhou. They must have known that His Highness King Zhou was investigating them."
Wu Mei said coldly: "Not only Chengsi, they know that it was me who asked Chengsi to investigate them, so they want to kill me too!"
The officials all changed their colors.
Zhuge Sanyuan's heart was moved. He heard Nie Ziyun and Zhuge Nan report about the Great Ci'en Temple, and he always suspected that the mastermind of the assassination of Empress Dowager Wu was someone else.
It turns out that the masterminds were these three families.
Su Dingfang said: "Your Highness the Queen Mother, so it turns out that it was not the Tubo people who assassinated you in Da Ci'en Temple, but them?"
Wu Mei said coldly: "These are the traitors!"
He turned to Wu Chengsi and said, "Chengsi, have you brought those three traitors?"
Wu Chengsi replied: "Everyone has been escorted, and they are outside the palace."
"Let them in!"
Wu Chengsi said loudly: "Bring Wei Xuanzhen, Xiao Kai and Xue Hui into the palace!"
Not long after, several Qianniu guards escorted the three people in.
Although Xue Hui was the most embarrassed, his expression was calm and he seemed to be indifferent to life and death. Wei Xuanzhen's face was pale and she lowered her head and did not dare to look at others.
Xiao Kai's face was as dark as water. He looked around and saw that the officials who were usually close to him were avoiding their eyes, as if they were afraid of being dragged into the water after meeting his eyes.
In addition to these people, Liu Rengui had a stern look, Li Ji looked very busy, and Su Dingfang tilted his head as if he didn't bother to look at him.
Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan whispered to each other without looking at him. Liu Qixian's eyes flashed with anger.
Wu Chengsi's expression was calm, while Wu Meifeng's eyes were full of power.
Finally, he looked at Emperor Li Hong, who, like those officials who were worried about being dragged into the water, had his eyes averted.
Xiao Kai sighed secretly, knowing that there was no chance of any change.
However, Wei Xuanzhen refused to give up and knelt down on the ground, saying: "Your Majesty, in order to seize our property, Wu Chengsi led the Jinwu Guards to raid our two mansions. Your Majesty, please make the decision!"
Li Hongzheng was in a dilemma. Dou Wenming next to him said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Wei Xuanzhen is your father-in-law. You must help him at this time, otherwise it will chill the hearts of other ministers."
Li Hong nodded and said: "King Zhou, you said that the three of them were plotting to rob the treasury. Do you have any evidence?"
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "If they hadn't stolen the national treasury, where would the three of them have gotten so much money?"
Wei Xuanzhen said anxiously: "This money has been accumulated by our family for hundreds of years. Your Majesty knows it for sure!"
Li Ji smiled and said: "Your Wei family and Xiao family have a hundred years of accumulation, but the Xue family does not. Why does the Xue family also have so much money?"
Wei Xuanzhen gritted her teeth and said, "Then I don't know. The Xue family's affairs have nothing to do with our two families."
Li Ji smiled and said: "Master Xue, Mr. Wei said that you have nothing to do with their family. Can you please give me an explanation?"
Xue Hui glanced at Wei Xuanzhen, his eyes full of contempt, and said coldly:
"Mr. Li, your differentiation strategy is very clever! It's a pity that I don't follow your tactics. I don't know why I have so much money."
Liu Rengui said sternly: "Since you can't give a reason, you can't escape the crime!"
Xue Hui's mouth was sarcastic, without any fear.
At this moment, Xiao Kai suddenly said: "Yes, it was our three families who stole the treasury. All the money is from the treasury."
Wei Xuanzhen said angrily: "Xiao Kai, are you crazy?"
Xiao Kai said calmly: "Brother Wei, we have already lost, and there is no point in struggling anymore. As the heads of the Xiao and Wei clans, you and I, even if we lose, we cannot lose the dignity of the old clan."
Wei Xuanzhen was shocked and angry, and shouted: "You bastard, idiot, idiot, bitch-" The more he cursed, the more filthy he became, and his demeanor was crazy and ugly.
Xue Hui laughed loudly and said: "Mr. Xiao, how can you and I be invincible when we are planning to work with such a person?"
Xiao Kai's face was dull and his eyes were staring into the void in front of him, as if he was reminiscing about the past.
Wu Meifeng's eyebrows had already been raised, and she said coldly: "Drag all three traitors down and kill them in the West Market at three quarters at noon tomorrow!"
Wei Xuanzhen trembled all over and said: "Your Majesty, help me, please take care of my daughter..."
Before he finished speaking, one of the officials on the left suddenly came out, kicked Wei Xuanzhen in the face, and said coldly: "You have committed such a heinous crime, and you still have the nerve to beg for mercy!"
Wu Chengsi looked at the man, and it turned out to be Cen Changqian, the Qianniu Guard general. He interrupted Wei Xuanzhen, obviously wanting to save Concubine Wei Shu.
Wu Mei is not that easy to fool. At first, she could not bear to tell anyone about the assassination because of Li Zhi. Now that Li Zhi is gone, she no longer has any scruples.
Anyone who wants her life, she not only wants their life, but also wants to eradicate it without leaving any future troubles.
"According to my decree, all the members of the Xiao, Xue, and Wei families will be exiled to Lingnan. Concubine Wei Shu will be deposed as a commoner and will also be sent to Lingnan!"
Li Hong was shocked and said: "Mother, this matter has nothing to do with Concubine Shu!"
Wu Mei said coldly: "She became your concubine after I was assassinated. How can you say it has nothing to do with it?"
As soon as Li Hong caught her gaze, he immediately became timid.
Liu Rengui said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and you have issued an order to depose Concubine Wei Shu. If the people of the world find out, they will think that the royal family is at odds. Please think again!"
Wu Mei said nothing with a cold face.
Liu Qixian, Pei Yan and Li Jingxuan also followed and said: "Your Highness the Queen Mother, please think twice."
Wu Mei was angry in her heart, but she was very good at forbearing. After a while, she slowly said: "Then let's put Concubine Wei Shu into the cold palace for the time being."
When the ministers saw that the Queen Mother had given in, they did not dare to push forward, so they all agreed with their hands.
Liu Rengui: "His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, please explain to everyone how the Xiao, Wei and Xue families stole the treasury."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "It is more appropriate for another person to explain this matter."
As he spoke, he raised his hands to the steps and said, "Aunt, why don't we let Gu Feng come into the palace to explain this matter? What do you think?"
Li Hong asked: "Who is Gu Feng?"
"He is the son of Gu Yuzhang, who was in charge of the Textile and Dyeing Department ten years ago. Gu Yuzhang was framed because he refused to join the Xiao, Wei and Xue families."
Hearing Gu Yuzhang's name, the officials murmured again. Although he was just a weaver and dyer, he had a great reputation in Chang'an City back then.
Wu Mei said: "Yes!"
Xie Yaohuan said loudly: "It is said that Gu Feng has come to the palace to see you!"
As soon as Gu Feng entered the palace, all the ministers' eyes lit up. Li Ji stroked his beard and smiled and said, "Well, what a handsome young man. He deserves to be the son of Gu Yuzhang."
Gu Feng had endured for ten years, and today he was finally able to vindicate his father. He was so excited that he couldn't express it in words, and he said loudly: "Gu Feng, a common man, please pay homage to Your Majesty, and pay homage to Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother!"
Li Hong smiled and said: "Get flat."
Wu Chengsi said: "Gu Feng, please tell me how the Xue family framed your father and how the three of them stole the treasury."
Gu Feng loudly agreed, starting with Xue Hui's collusion with Princess Nanyang, and falsely accusing his father of practicing the "cat ghost technique".
Immediately afterwards, the three companies took advantage of the soaring prices in Chang'an City and increased the price of cloth supplied to the royal family several times. Bit by bit, they took out the money from the treasury openly.
After hearing this, all the ministers were astonished.
Liu Rengui said solemnly: "This matter involves more than just Xiao, Wei and Xue. The new Weaving and Dyeing Department officials and all the officials in the province will not be able to escape the blame!"
Su Dingfang said coldly: "They are not the only ones. The imperial court purchased gray cloth at such a high price. The Taifu Temple, the Shaofu Superintendent and the chief of the household department were all unaware of it, and they were also guilty of dereliction of duty!"
The young eunuch hurriedly came out and said: "I also thought the price was too high, so I sent people to investigate outside the city, but the top-quality fabrics in the cloth shops in the city are indeed priced at this price!"
Gu Feng said loudly: "Those high-priced cloths are deliberately displayed by Weijia Cloth Store to confuse people. No one buys them at all!"
The Shaofu Supervisor saw Wu Mei looking over coldly, and said with a pale face: "I don't know, I really don't know!"
The Taifu Qing and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue came out together, knelt down in the tunnel and said: "I am guilty, please punish the Queen Mother, please punish me!"
The young eunuch hurriedly knelt down and said: "I am guilty, please forgive me, your majesty, and please punish me by the Queen Mother!"
Wu Meihan said in a loud voice: "Both the Taifu Qing and the Minister of Household Affairs are guilty of negligence. You two will be fined one year's salary and subsidized the state treasury."
The two of them raised their hands together and said, "I am willing to accept the punishment!"
Wu Mei added: "The young eunuch knew that something was wrong, but he just let it go. He is incompetent and should no longer hold an important position. Remove him from his post and go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to replace him as a county magistrate."
The Shaofu prisoner was dumbfounded.
It was obvious that all three of them had neglected their duties, so why was he the only one who was demoted to another place and demoted to the county magistrate? He said tremblingly: "I, I have received the decree."
Wu Mei added: "Gu Yuzhang was of upright character. He immediately rehabilitated him when he came to Dali Temple and was posthumously named the governor of Quzhou. His son Gu Feng was granted the title of son of Nanyang County and was appointed as the weaving and dyeing director. The current director was demoted to the director. .”
Gu Feng cried with joy and said loudly: "Thank you, Her Majesty the Queen Mother!"
Hao Chujun, the Minister of Civil Affairs, came out and said: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, the director who participated in this case was demoted to another place and died of illness a few years ago. The current director is not involved in this case."
Obviously it means that if someone is not guilty, he cannot be demoted one level without reason.
Wu Mei said coldly: "There is such a big problem in the Dyeing and Dyeing Department. He has been in charge of the department for several years, but he has not found any clues. Isn't this dereliction of duty?"
Hao Chujun raised his hand and returned to the queue.
Wu Mei continued: "The follow-up investigation of the treasury case will be handed over to Dali Temple. All officials involved in this matter must be found out, and no one can be spared!"
Zhuge Sanyuan came out and said: "Old minister, I obey the order!"
Wu Mei stood up and said, "Retreat from the court." She led the people and left towards Ermen.
Wu Chengsi saw Li Hong standing up as if nothing had happened, with a somewhat relaxed expression on his face, and had to admire his broad-mindedness.
He probably didn't realize that he originally had the capital to compete with Wu Mei, but he lost everything in this court meeting.
But having said that, he is the emperor after all, and if he is allowed to sit in this position for a few years, he may not be able to bring the disadvantage back.