Before we knew it, another day of court proceedings had begun.
After the morning court began, Emperor Deqing's expression seemed a little gloomy, and he asked directly: "Where is the Ministry of Rites, Sanfa Division?"
As Emperor Deqing finished speaking, officials from the Three Law Departments and the Ministry of Rites came out one after another.
Then, Emperor Deqing asked Lin Wei, the Minister of Rites, "I asked the Ministry of Rites yesterday to investigate the matter of the expulsion of Guo Mingtai, the direct grandson of Young Master Guo Tang, from the Imperial College. Has there been any result now?"
Nowadays, the relationship between "Shen Party" and "Zhao Party" is getting closer, so Lin Wei will naturally not deliberately favor the "Prince Party". After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Lin Wei replied loudly: "Your Majesty, The matter has been fully investigated! In order to maintain his reputation, Guo Mingtai, the direct grandson of Guo Shaofu, has been using money to purchase articles and poems by other supervisors of the Imperial College in recent years, and signed his own name and submitted them to the Imperial College. This is indeed an act of deceiving the world, stealing his reputation, and defrauding Chinese studies. , According to the imperial law, the Imperial College does have the right to remove Guo Mingtai's status as a supervisor. The Imperial College even needs to report this matter to the Ministry of Rites, further removing Guo Mingtai from the title of civil servant. Therefore, I believe that the Imperial College's decision to expel Guo Mingtai is not wrong. "
At the same time, after Li Zide, the Imperial Wine Festival official at the Imperial College, finally made up his mind when the situation became clear, he couldn't wait to jump out and reported to Emperor Deqing: "Your Majesty, after I returned to the Imperial College yesterday, I also investigated this matter in detail. The general situation is no different from what Lin Shangshu said! The Imperial College is an official school of the imperial court, responsible for managing the students of the world. The ministers and colleagues feel that they have a heavy responsibility and never dare to neglect it. They have always been conscientious and cautious. This matter is completely It was a fair decision, and there was absolutely no intention to target Mr. Guo. Your Majesty, please be clear about it!"
Emperor Deqing ignored Li Zide's report, but turned to several officials from the Sanfa Department and asked: "So, is there any news about Shuntian Prefecture's seizure of the 'Sitong Trading Company' and the arrest of Guo Min's brother Guo Min?" The result? Did Shuntian Prefecture wrongfully accuse Guo Min?"
After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhang Bochong, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Du Bai, Censor of Zuodu, and Fang Shiwen, Minister of Dali Temple, looked at each other. Finally, Zhang Bochong reported to Emperor Deqing as the representative: "Your Majesty, this is The matter has probably been found out. 'Sitong Trading Bank' has been secretly involved in the smuggling business over the years. It has evaded court taxes every day. It has evaded nearly one million taels of silver in taxes so far! In addition, 'Sitong Trading Bank' The crime of bribing court officials has also been proven... As for whether "Sitong Shipping Company" has bullied the market, it remains to be further verified, but in any case, Shuntian Prefecture closed down "Sitong Trading Company" and arrested Guo Min. any problem."
After hearing the reports from the Ministry of Rites and the Three Law Departments, everyone in the "Zhao Party" looked happy, while everyone in the "Prince Party", especially Guo Tang himself, looked gloomy.
Everyone knows that this time the "Zhao Party" still won the battle! And the "Prince Party" was not only completely defeated, but Guo Tang was about to encounter even greater trouble!
On the other side, Zhao Junchen sneered.
In the case of Guo Tang, if the "Prince Party" secretly wrestles with the "Zhao Party" and confronts each other privately, then Prince Zhu Heyu may still be able to win by using his influence, but the "Prince Party" thinks that virtue Emperor Qing would support them this time and bring the matter to light, so it's no wonder they failed.
Then, Zhao Junchen winked at the "Zhao Party" officials, indicating that the opportunity to beat the drowned dog had come!
After all, this is already the third day. Zhao Junchen once secretly vowed that Guo Tang would be worse off than dead within three days and lose everything! Now is the chance to fulfill his vow!
Following Zhao Junchen's secret signal, "Zhao Party" officials rushed to express their opinions before Emperor Deqing expressed their opinions.
Among them, Zhan Shanchang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had a sad face, as if he had suffered a great injustice. He kowtowed to Emperor Deqing and said: "Your Majesty, please make the decision for me! Since I left the Ministry of Rites, although I went to work in the Ministry of Household Affairs,
He was still concerned about the Imperial Examination and Chinese Studies, and often went to the Imperial College. However, he did not expect that his sincere heart would lead to unwarranted accusations! Some people even blamed Chen for Guo Mingtai's expulsion from the Imperial College.
I am trying to please Mr. Zhao Junchen and take revenge on Mr. Guo... I am really unjust. Now the truth has been revealed. Guo Mingtai's expulsion from the Imperial College was entirely his own fault and had nothing to do with me. I hope that your majesty can uphold justice for me and return my favor.
Innocent!"
Then, Huo Zhengyuan also looked serious and slowly reported: "Your Majesty, the truth has now come to light! What I did was indeed to enforce the law impartially and wholeheartedly uphold the laws and disciplines of the court! But what chills me is that,
Just for arresting a relative of a dignitary in the court, he was ostracized, pressured, and even slandered by many officials! Your Majesty, if a minister encounters such a situation just because he upholds the laws and regulations of the court, all officials will still do it in the future.
How dare you herdsmen in accordance with the law? I hope your majesty will take the opportunity to bring order to the chaos and set things right!"
The words of Zhan Shanchang and Huo Zhengyuan almost repeated the expressions expressed by the "princelings" yesterday, so the faces of the "princelings" became even more gloomy.
However, things are not over yet.
As the situation became clearer, the censors who had originally planned to impeach Guo Tang, but had backed down due to the intervention of Prince Zhu Heyu, now also firmed their stance, found opportunities, and made statements one after another.
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"Your Majesty, I believe that as the young master of the dynasty, Guo Tang did not want to set an example. Instead, he allowed his relatives to violate the laws and regulations of the court. After being exposed, he did not want to repent. Instead, he united with his cronies to suppress dissidents, avenged personal vendettas, interfered with the laws and regulations of the court, and even
You are confusing right and wrong in front of Your Majesty and deceiving the emperor! All kinds of crimes are shocking. I hope that Your Majesty will severely punish Guo Tang and set the right course for the government!"
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Guo Tang prides himself on being incorruptible, but he lives a luxurious life. All expenses in the house, property purchases, daily expenses, etc. all come from the 'Sitong Trading Company'! Now it has been proved."
All the money of Sitong Trading Company comes from illegal smuggling and evasion of court tax money, so Guo Tang's family property will naturally be unclean! I implore your majesty to immediately order someone to seize the Guo Mansion and confiscate all the Guo family's property.
Only in this way can the imperial court’s losses be restored!”
"Your Majesty, what Guo Tang has done has repeatedly violated the laws and regulations of the imperial court. Therefore, I believe that Guo Tang is no longer suitable to be the young master of the imperial court! Your Majesty, please remove Guo Tang from office and serve the people as a punishment!"
"His Majesty……"
As the saying goes, when a wall is knocked down by the crowd, officials will become particularly excited and perform very enthusiastically whenever they are put into trouble.
As the situation becomes clearer, everyone knows that Guo Tang is going to be in trouble. As a result, not only the officials of the "Zhao Party" are rushing to impeach Guo Tang, but also some of the "Shen Party", "Zhou Party", and neutral factions Officials from around the country also made statements one after another, requesting Emperor Deqing to severely punish Guo Tang.
However, Emperor Deqing's idea of changing the crown prince is now known to only a few people. Therefore, when most officials impeached Guo Tang, they carefully avoided the prince Zhu Heyu, and even the "princeling party" was not affected by it. Big impact.
However, although the officials did not dare to talk about the role played by Prince Zhu Heyu and the "Princeling Party" in the Guotang incident, Emperor Deqing would not give up this opportunity.
After the impeachment of hundreds of officials came to an end, Emperor Deqing did not immediately punish Guo Tang, but slowly glanced at Prince Zhu Heyu and other Qingliu officials.
Seeing Emperor Deqing's attitude, Prince Zhu Heyu's heart sank again.
Then, Emperor Deqing slowly spoke: "Cheng Yuandao, the elder of the palace, Lu Chunxiao, the censor of the right capital, Bao Wenjie, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Jia Xiuquan, the censor of the left deputy capital, Cao Zhen, the censor of the left capital... come out!"
Emperor Deqing read out the names of more than ten officials in one breath. These people were all from a clean background and were die-hard supporters of Prince Zhu Heyu. Yesterday morning, it was these people who had a fierce confrontation with the "Zhao Party" and accused them. Zhao Junchen deliberately retaliated against Guo Tang.
As Emperor Deqing's words fell, everyone in the "princeling party" felt something bad in their hearts, but they did not dare to go against Emperor Deqing's will, so they came out one after another and lowered their heads to wait for Emperor Deqing's reprimand.
"You people, who always claim to be honest and fair, speak up about the court's laws and keep your mouth shut about being selfless, why do you change your appearance when it's your turn? I know that Guo Tang has a close relationship with you, but if it's just Because of some personal friendships, you have given up your past stance, favored others, covered up crimes, and even slandered court ministers. What use do I need from you, clean officials? How dare I entrust you with the responsibility of supervision? What can I do? Do you still dare to believe in your selflessness? I am very disappointed with your behavior!"
Emperor Deqing's tone was solemn, and every word was heart-breaking!
Then, Emperor Deqing's tone slowed down slightly and said: "However, I think you may have been deceived by Guo Tang, and may not be intentionally seeking favoritism. I will not punish you heavily this time, but will suspend you from office." Three days, reflect on yourself carefully, and pay a year's salary as punishment!"
After hearing Emperor Deqing's reprimand and punishment, the expressions of the more than ten Qingliu officials changed drastically.
Suspension from duty and a fine of salary is nothing more than a serious punishment, but because of this incident, especially Emperor Deqing's reprimand and evaluation of them, once word spreads, their own reputation will definitely suffer a great loss! And A clear reputation is often the foundation of a clear official!
It can be said that Emperor Deqing's punishment may seem innocuous, but it has already damaged the vitality of the "princeling". I am afraid that the "princeling" will not be able to straighten his back for a long time. Speak in the temple!
Then, Emperor Deqing turned his eyes to Prince Zhu Heyu and said again: "Prince...come out!"
After Prince Zhu Heyu was silent for a moment, he also stepped out of the queue, bowed his head and said: "My son is here!"
Emperor Deqing's eyes were a little complicated. After staring at Prince Zhu Heyu for a moment, he finally said: "I just asked you to think about it behind closed doors for ten days. I thought you would make some progress, but I didn't expect that you are still arbitrary and rash, doing whatever you want.
Believing in Guo Tang's confusion of right and wrong, he even vowed to slander the court ministers in front of all the officials in order to protect Guo Tang, and blatantly interfered with the court's laws! It seems that I only punished you to shut up for ten days, which was only ten days.
It’s hard for you to think clearly about your own shortcomings! In this case, I will punish you to shut up and think about it for ten days again! In the next ten days, you should not participate in the court meeting!"
Upon hearing Emperor Deqing's decision, Prince Zhu Heyu turned pale, with a trace of anger flashing in his eyes.
Although Guo Tang was at fault in this matter, it was clear that Zhao Junchen was deliberately retaliating. Prince Zhu Heyu's actions were also conducive to maintaining the authority of Emperor Deqing, but he did not expect that Emperor Deqing still favored Zhao Junchen and ruthlessly
How could Prince Zhu Heyu not be angry when his reputation and that of Qingliu were severely damaged?
But in the end, Prince Zhu Heyu forced himself to endure it, lowered his head and replied: "My son... I obey the order!"
Seeing that Prince Zhu Heyu did not react violently, Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed with complex emotions. He seemed a little relaxed, a little guilty, and a little disappointed.
But in the end, Emperor Deqing turned his eyes to Guo Tang and slowly said: "Guo Tang, get out of the queue!"
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Well, the second update today. There will be another double update tomorrow!
In addition, I hope everyone will try their best to support the genuine version, thank you!