Of course Han Du knew this truth, and he was sure to kill Qitai based on the evidence.
But the resentment in Han Du's heart could not be eliminated. Firstly, it was because he rashly went to sea, which was equivalent to indirectly killing Lan Yu; secondly, seeing Qitai, the person who personally killed Lan Yu, he couldn't help it at all. The murderous intention in my heart.
But Han Du has no regrets and will accept the result no matter what. Now evidence has been found that Qi Tai deliberately withheld grain and grass at Jiayuguan and smuggled military rations. Even if he was accused by thousands of people, Zhu Biao would not kill him.
That's great, just remove yourself from the rank!
Using a title to avenge Lan Yu, Han Du felt it was worth it!
"This is the evidence of Qi Tai's crime. It is irrefutable. I ask my father-in-law to forward it to the emperor."
Wang Yue stood holding the fly whisk, without reaching out to pick it up, and glanced at the confession.
The bitter smile on his face became even stronger, "Since I can find out the evidence of Qi Tai's crime, why do I have to kill him in advance? Could it be that I can't even wait for a few days? In this way, I will give him an advantage." .”
Wang Yue's words are reasonable. If Han Du finds out the evidence of Qi Tai's crime first, Qi Tai will definitely lose if he is convicted according to the Ming Dynasty law, or even... Nine tribes were exterminated.
But Han Du killed Qi Tai first, and now even if the crime is discussed, Qi Tai deserves it at most.
Seeing that Qitai was already dead, the emperor might just let the incident go unanswered.
"If I don't kill him, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in my heart!"
Wang Yue had no choice but to talk and said calmly: "You should give these to the emperor in person. Please enter the palace immediately without any delay!"
Han Du came to see Zhu Biao with the confession.
After saluting, Han Du lowered his head and held the confession in both hands, "Your Majesty, Qi Tai colluded with Xu Yingtai, the left minister of the Ministry of War, Niuzeng, the right minister of the Ministry of War, Zhou Yuan, Qin Kui, Xia Zhishan and other thirteen ministers, and the evidence is conclusive that they intercepted grain and grass and smuggled military rations. , please ask the emperor to take a look.
Zhu Biao glanced at the confession helplessly, and sighed with a wry smile: "If you can give these things to me first and let Qitai plead guilty and commit suicide, it will be nothing even if you kill him yourself. But now... Why are you so reckless?"
Han Du raised his head, his eyes were red, and there were tears in his eyes.
"If I don't kill him, I won't have the face to face the orphans and widows of Liang Guogong."
Seeing this, Zhu Biao had to be silent. After a moment, he sighed: "The Duke of Liang sacrificed his life for the country to mark the history. I will never forget my uncle's contribution. When Lan Chun comes of age, I will let him succeed the Duke of Liang."
With Zhu Biao's promise, Han Du finally settled his worries.
Zhu Biao looked at Han Du and couldn't help but sigh: "There is news from Tang Ding that he is stuck in a quagmire in the Japanese country and his progress is slow. Otherwise... just go to the Japanese country and leave overnight!"
Is the progress of Japan slow? How can this be!
Han Du immediately didn't believe it. He still knew Tang Ding's abilities. Regardless of whether it was a naval battle or a land battle, those Japanese who still used branches and bamboos to make spears were not even qualified to fight Tang Ding head-on.
Still getting stuck in the quagmire? What a liar!
After pondering for a while, Han Du looked at Zhu Biao and said solemnly: "The emperor wants to separate me from the Ming Dynasty, right?"
"I know I can't hide it from you, but it is indeed the best way for you to leave Daming now." Zhu Biao sighed slightly.
Han Du couldn't help but be moved, "If I leave, then the emperor will be the only one to face the troubles among the officials..."
Zhu Biao put his hands on his thighs, straightened his back, and said with a relaxed smile: "I am the emperor. The officials may be dissatisfied, but they don't dare to do anything to me yet."
Han Du shook his head and said, "What's the point of asking the emperor to shoulder the trouble for me? If any of the officials are dissatisfied, they can just come to me to settle the score."
"You really don't want to leave?" Zhu Biao asked in surprise.
Han Du looked determined, "Why do you want to leave? Not only did I not leave, but I also wanted to expose Qi Tai's crimes in front of all the officials. He withheld grain and grass and smuggled military rations, which led to the destruction of Jiayuguan Pass and the death of Liang Guogong... One after another heinous crimes are more than enough to kill all nine of his clans!"
"You..." Zhu Biao shook his head, not knowing what to say.
The news that Duke Zhen Guo directly killed Qi Tai, Minister of War, was like a huge thunder falling into the capital, instantly spreading throughout the city.
Although the common people are usually very interested in the infighting and intrigues among senior officials of the imperial court, every time there is such news, the common people talk about it and gossip over and over again.
But what happened this time shocked even the people's gossip hearts!
Directly killing a cabinet scholar, a minister of the Ministry of War, and a second-rank official of the imperial court in full view of everyone... Even the Duke of Zhen Guo would do this. Big* trouble?
They didn't dare to talk nonsense and watched the development of the situation quietly.
When the officials heard about it, they exploded instantly! Especially those officials who didn't deal with Han Du were clamoring for Han Du to kill someone to pay for it!
...
Morning next day.
All the officials walked across the Jinshui Bridge in silence. Whether they were officials who were preparing to risk their lives to impeach Han Du or officials from the academy, all of them remained silent, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn.
Wang Yue stood at the door of Fengtian Hall and watched this scene. He couldn't help but sigh secretly. He had been on duty here for so many years and he had never seen such a tense situation.
He raised his head and glanced at the horizon, but didn't see any light, and his heart couldn't help but feel heavier.
Zhu Biao did not wait for all the officials to arrive as he usually did. Today he sat on the dragon chair early and quietly watched the officials walk in from outside the palace gate.
Chen Di was walking in front, and he saw Han Du standing under His Majesty Dan on the right, with his back to him.
"Han Du! You, a murderer, still have the nerve to stand in this Fengtian Palace. I am ashamed to be in your company!"
Chen Di used to be a little close to Qi Tai, but later he gradually became alienated from Qi Tai. He was regarded as an impartial party among the bachelors.
But Han Du's move to kill Qitai was too challenging the court's bottom line. Even if a cabinet scholar, war minister, or second-rank official is really guilty of a crime that deserves death, he can only be executed if there is solid evidence and the emperor orders it.
The trouble with this matter is that Han Du's actions are equivalent to bypassing the court and the emperor and directly using lynching.
Such disrespect for the court and the emperor is absolutely unacceptable.
As the Minister of Rites, Chen Di attaches great importance to etiquette, so of course he will stand up and accuse Han Du.
Han Du took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Chen, is this your etiquette if you don't bow to the emperor when you see him? Even if you want to accuse me, you should do it after you pay homage to the emperor, right?"
Zhu Biao couldn't help but his expression darkened. Baiguan's actions were simply challenging the imperial power.
"I pay my respects to the Emperor, long live my Emperor..." The officials from the academy immediately bowed down, but those officials standing behind Chen Di still stood motionless, and the two sides were clearly separated.
Chen Di didn't care about the officials who were shouting "Long Live the Mountain", he raised his hands and said to Zhu Biao: "Please put Han Du in jail, and then you will be punished!"
Zhu Biao was angry, glanced at Chen Di and others coldly, and said, "What? If I don't agree, will you stop worshiping me?"
Chen Di and others stood silently. Even if they didn't make a sound, their meaning was clearly revealed.
Han Du took a step forward and faced Chen Di, "Qitai deliberately concealed the news and intercepted grain and grass, which led to the destruction of Jiayuguan and the death of Duke Liang in battle. The evidence is irrefutable. Even if he died ten thousand times, he would still be unable to forgive his crime. I Kill him because he deserves it!"
Chen Di glared and retorted: "Qi Tai is innocent until he is tried and convicted by the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Supervisory Office. What qualifications do you, Han Du, have to kill him?"
Han Du directly presented the evidence, "Qitai's guilt is irrefutable. Even if I kill him, it is not wrong to kill him!"
Chen Di snorted coldly and glanced at the evidence in Han Du's hand, "I heard that these evidences of yours were all found when Qitai died. It was found out later. Who knows if you deliberately framed Qi Tai, but now that Qi Tai is dead, you can frame him at will without any evidence, right?"
"enough!"
Zhu Biao stared at Chen Di sternly before Han Du could speak.
He said in a deep voice: "Qi Tai ignored the people of the world because of his personal grudges, which led to the destruction of Jiayuguan and the death of Duke Liang in battle. Not only did you not accuse such a heinous person, but you instead accused Han Du of killing him. What do you want to do?"
Chen Di did not retreat at all, and immediately said loudly: "Even if Qi Tai deserves death, he must be convicted by the court and the emperor. Although Han Du is the Duke of the country, he cannot overstep his authority!"
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"Of course Han Du was wrong for overstepping his bounds, but Qi Tai deserved death. If you can tolerate Qi Tai without even looking at the evidence, can't you tolerate Han Du making a small mistake?"
Zhu Biao shouted angrily.
Chen Di suddenly raised his head and replied with his hair and hair flaring: "It's not allowed by etiquette!"
When Zhu Biao heard this, he became furious instantly.
He suddenly grabbed the paperweight on the imperial desk and threw it in front of Chen Di.
"The Ming Dynasty is a world of common people, not a world of etiquette and law!"
Zhu Biao, a kind-hearted person, was also angered by Chen Di and others' move to force the palace. At the same time, he also understood that he could not give in at all today, otherwise the emperor would be forced by these civil servants again and again and countless times in the future.
Depending on where you are, your feelings will be different. Zhu Biao now finally understood why his father was so angry that he killed people when someone shouted in front of his father, "The emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats share the world." He even shouted, "The Ming Dynasty shares the world with the people!"
These civil servants are pushing forward every step of the way, and they are really greedy.
In recent years, Zhu Biao disapproved of his father's killing methods. Therefore, he was tolerant of hundreds of officials, and even the ministers of various ministries changed from the frequent changes of the Hongwu years.
Zhu Biao thought he had given enough preferential treatment to the officials, but he did not expect that in the end, he would make them think that he was weak and act in such a coercive manner!
"Pass the decree! Qitai's crimes are extremely heinous and the nine tribes must be destroyed!"
"Han Du killed him to eliminate evil for the country, and he was not guilty!"
Zhu Biao issued two decrees in succession, which directly became an ironclad decision.
