In the main hall, except for the sonorous voice of the censor, there was silence. No matter which side of the camp, no matter whether the matter was true or not, no one wanted to get involved.
On the throne, His Majesty Li Er's face was as sinking as water.
How could he not understand the purpose of these censors to gain reputation? This is a trick used by censors. Once upon a time, it was Wei Zheng who led these people and took the trouble to launch impeachments against him as the emperor again and again, and he was not allowed to do this. , don’t let him do that, he must cultivate his moral character and be a sage emperor at all times.
This is the duty of the censor and the foundation for their survival.
Abolish the censorship system?
Not to mention how much resistance he would encounter, His Majesty Li Er never thought about it.
Censors represent the way of speech. Throughout the ages, those who can be called saint kings are the ones who open up the way of speech and have the courage to accept advice. Even though these censors represent the interests of aristocratic families and the true wishes of the people at the bottom, they have never and cannot have the opportunity to reach through them. Holy listen.
But blocking one's opinions and making one's own decisions is the way to one's own destruction.
For an emperor, the will of the people at the bottom has never been important. The "water" in "water can carry a boat or capsize it" does not refer to the common people, but to the vast gentry class. The foundation of his rule lies in the noble family and the family, so even if he hates the family members to the core and wishes to uproot them, crush their bones and scatter them into ashes, he has to slow down.
Because he knew very well that if all the noble families and nobles in the world opposed him, then the emperor would be doomed, just like Emperor Sui Yang...
This is necessary to maintain the power of the censor.
Although sometimes the existence of the censor made him, the emperor, feel constrained, but more often, the censor was a knife in his hand, a sharp knife that helped him remove the carrion and cancer parasitic on the empire. , nothing goes wrong.
The corrupt ministers in the court need the censor's knife to eliminate them. Similarly, the evildoers in the royal family also need this knife...
"Xuan Jingzhao Yin Mazhou has an audience with King Huo. The lawsuit will be heard in this hall in front of the civil and military ministers."
His Majesty Li Er ordered.
In this way, if King Huo was framed by others and he vindicated it himself, he would not be criticized, let alone be thought of as protecting the children of the clan. If King Huo is really guilty of an unforgivable crime, he will severely punish him and show his fair and selfless side in front of all officials to serve as a warning to others.
The best of both worlds strategy…
"Here!"
The internal attendants in the palace came and walked out of the hall quickly, called several guards outside the palace gate, and rushed to the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion together.
"My dear friends, if you have anything else to do, please get started as soon as possible." His Majesty Li Er was not too concerned about this case and said calmly to the civil and military officials in the court.
Immediately, several ministers stood up from the train and started reporting matters concerning their respective government offices, asking the emperor to make a decision.
The discussion in the court gradually became more active, but the censors headed by Liu Jie kept silent and said nothing.
An undercurrent seems to be gathering and surging...
Before he arrived, the chamberlain said loudly outside the palace door: "King Huo, Jing Zhaoyin, come to see your majesty!"
The noisy main hall suddenly fell silent, and an official who was about to leave the train bowed his hands and neatly returned to the train.
"Xuan!"
"Here!"
With the sound of footsteps, King Huo Li Yuangui and Jing Zhao Yinma walked into the hall one after another.
"I have an audience with Your Majesty!" The two came to the palace, bowed and saluted, and said in unison.
His Majesty Li Er sat on the throne, looking down from a high position, and said calmly: "Excuse me! Ma Zhou, tell me, how did the trial of King Huo's horse-ramming case go?"
Ma Zhou hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the case is still under trial. After investigation, it was found that the deceased was from Lantian. He was disabled during his lifetime and was not married. He lived with his brother's family and had no heirs. As for the history of the case, Huo The king claimed that the slave was hit because he was unable to avoid it, and was willing to pay double the compensation. However, the captain of the Youtun Guards who was patrolling that night claimed that the person who witnessed the hit was King Huo, and asked the slave to be convicted and intended to destroy the body. The traces were destroyed, Wei Chen just sent people to the scene to investigate, but found that the scene had been destroyed by passers-by and could not be verified."
Has the scene been destroyed?
The ministers subconsciously looked at King Huo Li Yuangui. The first thought in their minds was that King Huo must have done this. Since he could do such a thing as destroying corpses and eradicating traces, he had done bad things in the past and hurt people. To the point of death and tormenting the whole family is like panting for water, so it’s easy to escape the blame for destroying the scene...
Li Yuangui was a man of great insight. He immediately felt the sneer or disdainful looks from all the ministers in the palace. He immediately said angrily: "It's not the king who sent someone to destroy the scene. He just killed the farmer and the right guard." Soldiers fell from the sky, how could I have time to destroy the scene?"
Ma Zhou remained silent and did not express his position.
If there is no evidence from King Huo's side, and there are some fiery words from the guards at Youtun, then let's leave it to the Emperor's Holy Judgment...
Li Yuangui was already aware that something was wrong. He didn't know that a censor had exposed all his evil deeds eight hundred years ago. He just felt that the atmosphere in the hall was a bit strange and felt guilty. He quickly prostrated himself on the ground and spoke. He said sincerely: "Your Majesty clearly knows that when I was young, I did many ridiculous things and did not dare to defend myself. However, since I came to Xuzhou as a vassal, I have never interfered in local military and political affairs. I have been hiding in the mansion all day long, discussing health care with the alchemists." Skills, study the classics and meanings with the great Confucians, cultivate one's moral character, follow the rules, and dare not go overboard in the slightest! Your Majesty, I am a humble minister..."
He had already sensed that the wind was going in the wrong direction. Although he didn't know the reason, as a member of the royal family, his natural sense of crisis made him make a decisive decision. The two powers were harming each other, whichever was the lesser!
Don't say anything. Why don't we admit it?
It's just that Your Majesty, for the sake of your brother's obedience over the years, just give him a lighter punishment...
However, before he could finish his words of pleading, he saw a young censor standing behind Liu Jie and said loudly: "Your Majesty! I am impeaching King Huo for gathering alchemists and cultivating immortals. He is suspected of overstepping his bounds. Please contact us." A great Confucian, who is presumptuous in showing favors to himself, has evil plans!"
Li Yuangui's eyes widened!
I stayed in the Xuzhou mansion all day doing nothing but chatting and drinking with a group of alchemists and great scholars. Is this wrong?
"Your Majesty! This beast has evil intentions and wants to alienate the Heavenly Family. It is truly heinous!"
Li Yuangui hurriedly bit back, fearing that he would be found guilty of this crime.
There is nothing wrong with cultivating Taoism and immortality, but trying to live forever seems to be arrogant. There is nothing wrong with making friends with great scholars. It is the way to learn when knowledgeable people gather together to talk about the scriptures. Wrong, but being labeled as "liaising with great scholars and arrogantly giving favors" would be fatal!
Thank you for your kindness. What do you, a vassal king, want to do by gathering a group of great scholars?
Li Yuangui was frightened...
It's just a farmer killed, why is that?
"His Majesty!"
Liu Jie stood up again and said loudly: "King Huo set his horse to commit murder. After injuring a pedestrian, he not only failed to provide timely treatment, but until the injured person died, not only did he not realize his mistake, but he ordered his slaves to destroy the body and eliminate traces of it. His temperament is so cruel." The tyranny and moral corruption have gone beyond the limit, causing the royal dignity to be damaged and His Majesty's reputation to be greatly reduced. His crime cannot be forgiven! Moreover, in the fiefdom, he has connected with local places and coveted the way of heaven. Is this what a human minister does? I hope Your Majesty will see clearly. , take away his title and salary, reduce his fiefdom, impose sanctions, and avoid past mistakes to avoid future ones!"
As soon as these words came out, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty finally understood that Yushitai was using the same tactics as before, first to ruin King Huo's reputation, and then to discuss the rights and wrongs of the matter.
This trick was very rogue, and it made many ministers who suffered greatly hate it, but they had to admit that in this era when reputation was equal to everything, this trick did work.
You are so heinous, how could you not have done those bad things?
Li Yuangui's face turned pale with fright.
Are you trying to seize the title? !
He stared at Liu Jie, wishing he could bite this mad dog to death. I stole your wife or jumped into a well with your child. How could I be so cruel?
There is absolutely no way to survive...
However, he knows that any excuse at this moment is feeble. These impeachments are basically true. He can't even explain the incident of riding a horse and killing someone. This makes his "bad guy" attribute deeply ingrained. , the charge of making friends with alchemists and communicating with great scholars became "groundless".
"Unfounded" will kill you!
Does the emperor need evidence?
No need at all!
As long as he thinks that you may covet the throne and endanger the imperial power, he can kill you without any evidence!
The only thing Li Yuangui could do was to beg for mercy, hoping that the emperor would keep his past friendship in mind and prevent himself from becoming a target for the crazy dogs in Yushitai to gain reputation...
However, what he didn't expect was that this trend started from Yushitai, but it was not completely controlled by Yushitai. As it blew, it went astray...
