Well, it has finally begun, success or failure depends on this! The courtiers were in an uproar, but Li Xian was extremely calm. He ignored the random comments of the courtiers behind him, and did not look at Gaozong's surprised eyes.
With a wide-eyed face, his gaze was like a knife aimed at the bead curtain on the front porch. Although he could not clearly see the face of Empress Wu who was hiding behind it, he was keenly aware of the figure of Empress Wu who was sitting upright.
Xiao Ming's explanation made a slight stir, and he immediately knew that his unexpected goal had been achieved. A burst of excitement instantly rolled through his heart, and he couldn't help but clench his hands.
"Aiqing...well, is there any evidence for what Aiqing said?"
Emperor Gaozong was obviously stunned by Xiao Ming's memorial. After being stunned for a long time, he asked hesitantly.
"In reply to Your Majesty, I don't dare to deceive you with false words. The current evidence is here." Xiao Ming bowed to his wife without a smile and responded. Then he opened the memorial in his hand and spoke in a high-pitched tone.
It was read out: "According to the investigation, Dali Temple currently has 4,536 backlogged cases, of which 3,321 were old cases before last year, which can be traced back to the property dispute between the three sons of the Pan family in the third year of Xianqing.
The case has been delayed for seven years. The Pan family's wealth has been exhausted, and the case has not been closed. The strange facts in it are difficult to explain in one word. The ministers have verified this matter. Qiu Shenfu and Wang Quan are the chief and deputy judges.
The official accepted bribes from the three sons of the Pan family amounting to thousands of dollars. Furthermore, the case of Liu Wang's murder of her husband has been reported to Dali Temple since the first year of Linde, but the case has not been closed since then. Wei Chen has found out, probably because Liu Wang is the
Wang Quan's sister, whose family is quite wealthy, bribed Wang Quan with thousands of dollars, which delayed the conclusion of the case. As a result, the plaintiff Liu family was ruined. All kinds of evil deeds are common in Dali Temple. Your Majesty must not ignore it.
, I will risk my life to hear about it!"
"boom……"
As soon as Xiao Ming said these shocking words, the courtiers who had just calmed down started making noise again. Countless eyes were focused on the bead curtain on the right side of the dragon bed. Obviously, all the courtiers knew this.
I'm afraid that the court meeting will be an inevitable life-and-death battle between Empress Wu and the Crown Prince. At this point, no one can afford to lose.
"Your Majesty, Dali Temple is an important weapon of the country and is responsible for the punishment of prisons. Now it is in such a state of decay. It is really shocking. I sincerely request your Majesty to issue an edict to investigate in detail!" Amid the uproar, Yan Liben strode out of the queue and shouted loudly.
He echoed.
"Your Majesty, what Yan Shangshu said is true. This sincerity cannot be ignored. I sincerely ask your Majesty to make a clear decision!"
"Your Majesty, the corruption of Dali Temple is really the result of corrupt officials. I think it should be thoroughly investigated!"
"Your Majesty, I believe that such evil behavior is rare in ancient times, so we must investigate it in detail!"
…
Yan Liben was about to come out of the station, and the officials who were close to the prince did not dare to neglect. Although they were not very clear about how Xiao Ming's memorial came about, the necessary response was indispensable.
There was a large crowd of people standing up, and the momentum was huge.
"This, this..."
Gaozong had never been a very independent person, and when he suddenly encountered such a big event, he felt a little panicked. He couldn't help but look back at Empress Wu behind the bead curtain, but he couldn't get the slightest hint from Empress Wu.
, having no choice but to turn around, some people hesitated twice, and for a moment they didn't know how to deal with the mess in front of them - although Gaozong was a little cowardly, he was not stupid, and
How could it be that it was not clear that most of the officials in Dali Temple were Empress Wu's subordinates? Now that the Crown Prince has taken the stance of trying to dig into Empress Wu's foundation, Gaozong would be in an extremely difficult situation if he was caught in the middle. Why can't he conduct a thorough investigation?
Empress Wu was satisfied, but how could she appease the prince? After all, He Lan Minzhi's incident had not yet passed, and this morning Gaozong supported Empress Wu's move to listen to politics behind closed doors. She really felt that she owed the prince a lot. Besides,
Well, if Dali Temple is really as bad as Xiao Ming said, it is really unjustifiable if we don’t straighten it out. Not to mention that the ministers don’t agree, even Gaozong himself can’t stand it anymore. The question is, what should Empress Wu do?
How to deal with it? In such a contradictory situation, Gaozong was really confused.
"Father, I believe that clear distinction between rewards and punishments is the basis for the court to win the trust of the people. Now that Dali Temple has failed in its duties, it is really a serious problem for the court. If we do not investigate in detail, we may hurt the people's hearts. This sincerity cannot be ignored. I hope that
Father, Holy Inquisitor!" Seeing that Gaozong couldn't come up with an accurate idea for a long time, the prince couldn't sit still anymore, so he stood up, turned around, bowed to Gaozong, and reported the report loudly
.
"I respectfully request His Majesty's Holy Judgment!"
As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, Yan Liben and other ministers hurriedly called out the invitation in unison, and the sound surged up and echoed in the hall.
"My dear friends, I, I..." After Gaozong stuttered a few times with a pale face, some of his disciples helplessly looked at the flustered Dali Temple officials in the queue, gritted their teeth and called out: "Yuan Gongyu
, where is Hou Shanye?"
"I'm here!"
Yuan and Hou knew the news that the prince was going to attack Dali Temple in advance, but they never expected that the prince would not act as expected, and the reported data and even cases were extremely accurate. How could it be so?
Unaware of the identity of the undercover Qiu Shenfu who had been sent by the general, he was in a panic. However, at this moment, he could not tolerate the two of them retreating, so they had to bite the bullet and stand up.
"Is what Yuan Qing, Hou Qing, and Xiao Yushi said about impeaching you and others true?" Gaozong looked at Yuan and Hou and asked with a livid face.
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I have always been conscientious in my work and did not dare to make any mistakes. How could I dare to engage in private fraud to this extent? Although there are backlogs of cases, they are not so many. Moreover, the cases tried by our Dali Temple are all major cases.
, how can it be settled lightly? It is common for cases to accumulate a little when there are many cases. As for what Xiao Yushi said about corruption and perverting the law, it is even more groundless. I will ask your Majesty to make a clear decision." There was something calming in Gaozong's words.
What this meant was that Yuan Gongyu immediately cried out, tears streaming down his face, and he looked extremely aggrieved.
"Your Majesty, I have always been loyal to the public, how could I do such a filthy thing? Xiao Yushi falsely accuses people of innocence for no reason, and is really guilty of deceiving the emperor. I sincerely request your majesty to judge." Yuan Gongyu just complained, but Hou Shanye just slapped him down.
You can't admit the account on the spot.
"Your Majesty, all the facts are there. The investigation will reveal the truth immediately. I beg your Majesty to order a thorough investigation!"
When he heard that Yuan and Hou refused to say anything in court, but even beat him up, Xiao Mingke became angry. Without waiting for Gaozong to say anything, he snatched it out from the side and drank loudly.
"I sincerely request your Majesty to issue an edict for a thorough investigation!"
At this moment, it was time to see the end of the day. Yan Liben and other officials from the prince's line could not miss this opportunity to beat the drowned dog, so they started to appeal loudly.
"My father clearly knows that I think this matter is a conflict between two parties. I can't tell the reason by relying on analysis. But I can find out the root cause by looking into it. I am willing to take this position. I sincerely ask my father for your permission!" Looking at Empress Wu Chi,
There was no sound for a long time, and the prince felt that he had taken control of the situation. If he didn't take advantage of the victory and pursue the victory, he would stand up and ask for orders.
"Well, what Hong'er said, what he said..."
Seeing that all the ministers said they wanted to investigate, Gaozong could not help but be moved, but he was worried about Empress Wu and hesitated to make a real decision.
"His Majesty."
Just when Gaozong was about to agree to the prince's request, Empress Wu behind him finally spoke and abruptly interrupted Gaozong's words.
"Ah, what does the Queen think of this matter?"
As soon as he heard Empress Wu speak, Gaozong immediately put back what he had to say, turned to look at the bead curtain, and asked with a hint of panic.
"Your Majesty, I think what the prince said is quite reasonable. It is useless to argue about this matter. A thorough investigation is enough. However, I think that the court's affairs should be done in a way that is not in vain and not indulged. Now that the prince thinks that Dali Temple is corrupt, he will not investigate the case. It is bound to be avoided for fear of being unfair. Furthermore, the case is complicated and confusing, and involves too much. It is difficult for anyone who is not mature and prudent to take on this important task. According to my concubine, the case will be handled by Prime Minister Xu." Empress Wu He talked in a flat voice, and at the end, he strongly recommended Xu Jingzong to be the chief judge, and his intentions were obvious.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to take on this responsibility, and I will definitely live up to the great trust of Your Majesty and the Queen." As soon as Empress Wu finished speaking, Xu Jingzong stood up and asked for orders in a loud voice.
"boom……"
When Xu Jingzong stood up like this, the courtiers were in an uproar again, but no one dared to stand up and say "no" - yes, everyone knew that Xu Jingzong was Empress Wu's loyal confidant, but when it came to qualifications and status, , there is really no one in the civil and military circles who can defeat him, even if they want to fight for the position, they can't fight for it. Even the officials of the prince's line are all very dissatisfied, but they can't help Xu Jingzong's shamelessness. The situation that was originally controlled by the prince was transferred to the hands of Empress Wu.
It's amazing, it's really amazing. All the efforts of the prince were eliminated in a matter of seconds. This old thief is really difficult to deal with. There's nothing we can do. It's time for us to enter the ring! I saw the prince's extremely livid face. From the look on his face, Li Xian already knew that the prince was at the end of his game. If he didn't come on stage, this drama would have come to an end. This was an ending that Li Xian absolutely did not want to see. No matter how reluctant he was, Li Xian would not The only option is to attack in advance!
Li Xian rarely made an appearance in the court over the years, but once he did attack, he was always unstoppable, and he never failed. As soon as he came out, the courtiers who were having a chaotic discussion immediately They all stopped talking, and their eyes were all focused on Li Xian's not-so-tall body. They all wanted to see how Li Xian could resolve this almost inevitable defeat. The atmosphere seemed to freeze for a moment. Normally, there was deathly silence in the huge hall, with only the sound of Li Xian's footsteps, which were not heavy, ringing softly...