Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials quickly fell silent and bowed their heads respectfully.
I saw a man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, fair skin, and slender figure walking in from outside the hall.
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
"See Your Majesty!!"
The visitor was naturally the empress Liang Zhao, who was dressed as a man.
Empress Liang Zhao strode onto the dragon chair, waved her hands slightly, and her cold voice spread throughout the Golden Palace:
"All your lords, please live in peace!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
All civil and military officials bowed their heads and saluted again, and then slowly straightened up.
"My dear friends, do you have any memorials to submit?"
Empress Liang Zhao looked around at the civil and military officials and her tone was quite cold.
For some reason, everyone always feels that "Emperor Xuan" seems a little unhappy today?
The ministers looked at each other and lowered their heads, not wanting to cause trouble for the new Majesty at this time.
"Isn't there anything important to start?"
When no one responded, Empress Liang Zhao frowned slightly and unconsciously turned her gaze to the only one in blue among the civil and military officials - the chief minister of the cabinet Zhou Zhenwen.
This person once said that red official robes are stained with the blood of the common people, but I wear blue to keep myself clean.
It was precisely with these words that his father promoted him to the position of Prince's Young Master, and he truly began to dominate the government and became a powerful minister.
Greed for power and wealth, do all kinds of evil!
After thinking about this, Empress Liang Zhao pondered for a moment and then opened her mouth to test:
"Master Zhou, do you have nothing to say?"
Could this little emperor want to take advantage of me... Zhou Zhenwen's thoughts moved slightly, and he came out, holding the court board in his hand, bowed slightly, and said in a deep voice: "I do have something important to report."
"speak."
Empress Liang Zhao looked at Zhou Zhenwen with great interest. She was very curious about what this famous traitor could say.
After seeing the scenes in the Sims, Empress Liang Zhao had other thoughts about the chief minister of the cabinet.
Rather than beating her to death directly, at this moment she thought maybe she could try using it...
"Your Majesty, I want to sue Wen Hongyi, the Minister of Civil Service, for embezzling and accepting bribes, forming cliques for personal gain, and embezzling as much as ten thousand taels of money and food!"
Speaking of this, Zhou Zhenwen glanced at the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel with an expressionless expression, and said in a cold tone: "The salary of the second-grade official is 61 stones per month and 732 stones per year. One stone of rice is equal to ten buckets of rice. In other words, the salary of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is 1 The annual salary is 7,320 dou rice. According to today’s conversion of 30 cents, your annual salary is almost 220 taels of silver.”
"May I ask Lord Wen, how did you save ten thousand taels of silver?"
"According to your salary, you would have to go without food or drink for fifty years to save this money?"
"Did you not eat or drink all these years as an official?"
"But as far as I know, Mr. Wen's family has a lot of expenses, right?"
"Your Majesty, you go to Chunfeng Tower every now and then to get drunk. Madam Ling has a lot of jewelry and rouge. The popular styles have just been released, and within two days, they are in Madam Ling's hands. What a great skill!"
"May I ask Mr. Wen where the money comes from?"
Hearing this, Wen Hongyi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, trembled slightly, walked out quickly, and shouted: "Your Majesty is wronged! I am wronged!"
Empress Liang Zhao looked at this scene, her expression unchanged, and said: "If you have any grievances, tell them as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty, this is an unforeseen disaster!"
"I am fifty-six years old this year. I have a son in my old age. Naturally, I doted on it and neglected discipline, so that I went to Chunfeng Tower to get drunk. This is my fault. As for the money spent by the women in the family to buy rouge, gouache, and jewelry. The veteran minister’s salary is definitely not corrupt, bribery, or clique-based for personal gain as Mr. Zhou said, let alone a huge sum of ten thousand taels.”
"It's unfair! I'm unfairly accused..."
Wen Hongyi, the official minister, knelt down and burst into tears. He wiped his tears with his sleeves and cried out for injustice.
Seeing this situation, Empress Liang Zhao felt a hint of displeasure in her heart: After all, this Wen Hongyi was a veteran of the previous dynasty. When his father was in power, he also held him in high regard. Who would have thought that not long after his father passed away, this treacherous minister would plan to Attack him?
As soon as she thought of this, the empress Liang Zhao wanted to submit the matter to the supervision of Dali Temple for review and temporarily let it go.
But before Empress Liang Zhao could say anything, Zhou Zhenwen had already raised the Chao Ban above her head and said loudly:
"In the third year of Chilong, when he was the head of the Ministry of Rites, he used his authority to hook up with Xu Long and others and sell imperial examination questions, making a profit of three thousand taels of silver."
"In the ninth year of Chilong, when I was serving as a member of the Ministry of Punishment, I cooperated with Jiang Zhen, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment at that time, to deliberately frame Zhao Yong, the right young minister of Dali Temple, and falsely accused him of colluding with foreign enemies, and ransacked his home..."
"In the twelfth year of Chilong, when he was a doctor in the Ministry of Household Affairs, he colluded with Xing Luan from the Ministry of Heavenly Works and Cai Ran from the Ministry of Blacksmithing to sell military equipment, old-fashioned crossbows, old-fashioned artillery, long swords, long guns and other weapons and equipment, totaling 1,980 Sixteen items, a profit of eight thousand taels."
…
As soon as these words came out, the civil and military officials in the entire court were in an uproar and whispered.
Many officials looked at each other with astonished expressions. Apparently they did not expect that this veteran from the former dynasty could be so greedy?
Some officials' legs could not help but tremble, and their breathing became rapid. They glanced at Wen Hongyi secretly, and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look again.
There were also many officials who were good friends with Wen Hongyi on weekdays, who secretly complained in their hearts and buried their heads even lower, for fear of injuring themselves.
On the dragon chair, Empress Liang Zhao's face changed slightly and her eyes became sharp. She stared at Wen Hongyi and asked in a cold voice: "Shang Shu, Mr. Wen, do you have anything to say?"
Wen Hongyi trembled all over and said shiveringly: "I... I know... I know I was wrong..."
"snort!"
Empress Liang Zhao snorted coldly, slapped the dragon chair hard with her hand, and ordered: "Come here, drag Wen Hongyi down and take him to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. He will be interrogated by the three departments of Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. , within three days, I will know all his crimes, every money, every person, and I will never tolerate it!!"
"I obey the decree!"×3
The Minister of Dali Temple, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and the Censor of Zuodu of the Duchayuan came out together and saluted respectfully.
"Ahem!"
At this moment, a cough suddenly sounded.
The expressions of the Minister of Dali Temple, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and the Censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate changed slightly. They all cast their eyes on the figure behind the dragon chair and did not dare to say anything further.
The entire court fell silent instantly.
Seeing this situation, many ministers murmured in their hearts:
What does the Queen Mother want to do?
Is she dissatisfied with the emperor's treatment?
The empress Liang Zhao, who was sitting on the dragon chair, looked a little unhappy. She didn't know why the empress dowager was coughing at the moment.
But the golden words have been spoken. If she goes back on her word, she will lose all prestige as an emperor.
But the empress Liang Zhao also knew that she did not fully control the court at this time. Whether it was for the face of the royal family, her own majesty, or the power in the hands of the queen mother, she could not fall out with the queen mother.
"Mother, are you satisfied with how your son has handled this?" Empress Liang Zhao took a deep breath, leaned back in her chair, and asked in a low voice.
There was silence in the hall. Although Liang Zhao's voice was not loud, some ministers standing in the front row could still hear it.
They all bowed their heads respectfully, as if they were turning a deaf ear.
"Your Majesty has grown up, you can handle these matters by yourself."
"The Ai family doesn't like to get involved..."
A gentle female voice came out from behind the gauze curtain.
Um?
Does this mean you want to delegate power to me?
Hearing this, Liang Zhao felt happy instantly. How could things go so smoothly?
But soon, the Queen Mother's next words made Liang Zhao's joy disappear in an instant.
"Your Majesty, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is of great importance and cannot be suspended. Since Wen Hongyi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is under review, we should first let other people hold the position to ensure the operation of the Ministry of Personnel."
"Queen Mother, do you have anyone in mind?" Liang Zhao had already guessed what the Queen Mother meant, but still asked tentatively.
"Liu Yunqing, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, is an honest official and meticulous in handling government affairs. He may be able to take on important responsibilities." The Queen Mother's voice rang out again.
A thin man stood among the civil and military officials, with a look of excitement on his face.
"Yes, what the Queen Mother said is true..." Empress Liang Zhao was a little unwilling to accept it. She also wanted to support her own people to serve as Ministers of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but she knew very well that the Queen Mother had been in power for many years and had cultivated many confidants. The power above the court is very strong. If he wants to stand firm and truly take over the power, he must get her support.
At this moment, we cannot offend the Queen Mother for a small reason.
As soon as he thought of this, Liang Zhao wanted to accept it and let Liu Yunqing temporarily take over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
But at this moment, the man in blue standing in the center of the civil and military officials raised the board and said in a calm and firm voice:
"I think Liu Yuanqi, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, is more suitable..."
