Of course, these common people and foremen were not just found randomly on the street. Ma Xianglin spent a lot of effort and invited them one by one under the leadership of the generals who stayed behind.
Since they had received good remuneration at the construction site, these foremen didn't think much about it when they heard it. They immediately agreed and were willing to go to the government office.
These ordinary people would not be so relaxed. If Ma Xianglin hadn't promised huge profits in the end and promised to protect the safety of their family, they would not have dared to come to the court to confront these officials and gentry who drank blood and ate flesh.
Even in their hearts, they were not very impressed by the emperor's arrival.
They were all very surprised that the emperor, who had not been outside the capital for more than a hundred years, actually came to Xi'an.
But now that they have decided to take the initiative and actually see the emperor sitting in the hall, their timidity towards the officials and gentry in the past is not that serious anymore.
The charges that the officials had just imposed on the second general were easily solved by them, which was in sharp contrast to the heinous crime. The officials kneeling in the hall were so angry that their faces turned red.
Everyone was cursing secretly in their hearts, they are really ignorant and cunning people, ruining their great things.
The inspector Wu Hong immediately cursed:
"You are a bold and cunning person who dares to give false evidence in front of His Majesty in an attempt to clear the name of the evil thief. He is an accessory. Do you know that this is a treasonous crime?"
There is no other way. If he doesn't speak up and allows these people to continue talking, it is really possible that the situation will be reversed, and they will be the unlucky ones.
After Wu Hong finished cursing, he did not forget to admonish the emperor sitting in the hall:
"Your Majesty, please immediately punish these unscrupulous people who speak for evil thieves and excuse their crimes to correct the country's laws!"
"My dear friends, you have all heard what the common people said. It is completely different from what you said. It does not match every word. Can you explain to me why the contrast is so huge?"
Faced with the emperor's questioning, they did not intend to give up. Wu Yizhong asked the emperor:
"Your Majesty, may I ask, where did these people come from? And who did they find them?"
Zhu Youxiao said unceremoniously:
"I found them all in the city, do you have any questions?"
"I have no doubts, but I would like to remind your majesty not to believe in slander. How do ordinary people like this know about national affairs? What happened in the city, and how do they know the whole story?"
"They are just hearsay. They are spread by ten people and hundreds of people. They are no different from spreading rumors. May I ask Your Majesty, how can you believe such unfounded statements?"
"Your Majesty, please don't be deceived by such people, please be more careful!"
After saying that, he bowed his head in front of the hall, then straightened his back and cupped his hands and continued:
"What the ministers and others just said are all true. Your Majesty can send someone to investigate and collect evidence to verify it!"
"The common people hate these two people even more deeply, but they are helpless by their power and dare to get angry but dare not speak out."
"Outside the government office, among the people waiting for the result of His Majesty's judgment, there are countless people who have suffered greatly. I hope that Your Majesty will not disappoint the people of Xi'an. The evil deeds committed by the evil thieves must be severely punished and must never be punished.
No tolerance!”
"Of course I mean the same thing. Those who commit crimes, persecute the people, and tarnish the reputation of the imperial court must be severely punished."
The officials thought that the emperor still trusted them and stood on their side. They all showed happy faces. As soon as they waited for the emperor's order, they immediately went through the procedures and got rid of the bad mood in their hearts.
Everyone knelt on the ground and shouted, "Your Majesty, His Majesty is wise. The Emperor clearly understands this."
Zhu Youxiao did not respond to them, and continued to talk to himself:
"I also said that what I said today must be the truth, but if there is any fraud or slander, no matter who it is, I will severely punish them!"
"Since there have been two completely different opinions, we can only rely on evidence. According to what you just said, the disaster in the west of the city is the worst."
Evidence is really unknown to these officials. Since they entered the official career, no matter how big or small, they only need to move their mouths.
"But I just entered from the west of the city. I didn't see the people in dire straits. Instead, they were in a state of prosperity. Some of the residents in the city didn't look too ugly."
"These are things I have seen with my own eyes, so they should be credible, right? Can anyone explain to me why the real scene is completely opposite to what you said?"
"Besides, it's even more nonsense to force strong men to serve as slave grooms for the army. These people are the foremen. Why are they saying that the army recruits craftsmen like them to expand and repair the Xicheng military camp?"
"And I have an account book in my hand, which clearly records the amount of wages paid to each worker, as well as the purchase place and price of all materials, and even the name of the shopkeeper and store name. The total cost
Nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver were sold."
"These actual accounts were recorded by my ministers and imperial guards. Others cannot falsify them. This is very different from what you just said. Why don't you explain it to me again? What's going on?"
The emperor's doubts did not deter them. They knew that once it started, there would be no room for recovery. It was also a serious crime for them to collude with the generals who framed the imperial court.
Wu Yizhong, the chief envoy from the left, has made up his mind. At this critical moment, he must persist to the end.
"Your Majesty, Generals Qin Bangping and Chen Guang have already led their troops out of Xi'an for half a month. Thanks to the efforts of my ministers and others, the chaotic Xi'an City has been maintained as before. When Your Majesty entered the city, it was naturally a scene of prosperity."
"But this cannot cover up the fact that these two people have committed evil in Xi'an. If your Majesty does not believe it, you can go to the streets now and ask anyone for questioning to understand the situation. Your Majesty will know if what I said is true or not!"
"As for the account book, I think we can put it aside and not talk about it for now!"
"Your Majesty, please go to the Xicheng Military Camp now to see if a group of people are imprisoned in the military camp. They are all family members of the local gentry family. The two thieves are trying to extort money through kidnapping!"
"I went to the military camp and talked nicely with them, hoping to release the people. But who would have thought that they actually ordered the troops to fire on us with firearms."
"Your Majesty, they are not only doing evil in the local area and harming the people, they are also secretly rebellious."
"They are only serving as generals now, and they only lead more than 10,000 troops. Yet they dare to be so arrogant and domineering, point their guns at court officials, and dare to open fire."
"Then if they become the general military officer of a town in the future, commanding tens of thousands of soldiers and guarding an important town, wouldn't they dare to point their guns at His Majesty and coerce the soldiers to rebel?"