The meeting ended smoothly according to the procedures.
Emperor Zhou has returned to the side hall first. According to his will, Zhou Mingsheng will be pressed to the imperial court for trial, with a group of ministers as spectators.
While waiting for people in the side hall, Emperor Zhou recalled Zhu Wuwu's words last night.
Although Zhu Wuli's words made sense, Emperor Zhou still believed Yang Qingyuan.
In the three years since Yang Qingyuan left the Hanlin Academy, he has made countless contributions to the Zhou Dynasty.
The granary case was solved and a large amount of stolen official grain was recovered, ensuring the stability of the northern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
He has made outstanding achievements in governing Pingshan County, minimizing the losses caused by blizzards and natural disasters, and greatly developing the economy and people's livelihood of Pingshan County.
The succeeding governor of Pingshan County, Zhao Jianfeng, followed Yang Qingyuan's strategy and developed Pingshan County into one of the largest cities in Jizhou.
The restructuring of water transport greatly increased the court's tax revenue on water transport. Financial pressure has been greatly alleviated.
To govern the Gyeonggi Province, we eliminated a large number of gangs in the Gyeonggi region, which made it possible for a time for the Gyeonggi region not to pick up lost items on the road and not to close doors at night.
All these are due to Yang Qingyuan's political achievements.
Now it seems that Yang Qingyuan is public-minded and almost does not seek personal gain, which is similar to Yu Yanyi.
As for what Zhu Wuwu said last night, Yang Qingyuan targeted both the prince and the King of Chu, although judging from the results, this was indeed the case.
But this was not Yang Qingyuan’s original intention at the beginning.
The reason why he had a grudge with the King of Chu was just because when he was investigating the granary case, the King of Chu's party was found.
The reason for confronting the prince was because the prince's brother-in-law Zhou Mingsheng had done such a dirty thing.
If the King of Chu did not interfere with water transportation and the prince did not favor his brother-in-law, then Yang Qingyuan would not have any conflict with the King of Chu and the prince.
Looking at it this way, it turns out that his child is not living up to expectations.
One is perverting the law and the other is showing favoritism!
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhou recalled what happened last night.
The reason why he felt that Yang Qingyuan wanted to be the emperor's master was because Zhu Wuli's reminder inadvertently led him to this idea.
So was Zhu Wuliang doing it intentionally or unintentionally? !
As my fourteenth brother, I have always been brooding over that woman from the world, so I may not have had my own Xiao Jiujiu in my heart.
Emperor Zhou couldn't help but rub his forehead with a headache after repeated analysis.
This is the difficulty of an emperor. He dare not fully trust anyone.
It’s so cold at high places!
Having said that, what the prince said last night did make sense.
Li Shou's case is now no longer a simple criminal case, but also a symbol of the Zhou Dynasty's clear laws. For Emperor Zhou, the political significance of this case has exceeded the case itself.
If the Dengwen drum sounds once every ten years and an unjust case is brought out, then for ordinary people, the first thing they think about is not that the court will correct its mistakes after knowing it, but that the court will make random decisions and lead to an innocent person. An unjust death.
If the true results of this case were made public, it would have a great impact on the court, especially the prince.
He is now the first heir chosen by Emperor Zhou. If the case is retried, it will also be a huge blow to the prince's prestige.
Although the prince was a bit ignorant in this case, generally speaking, Emperor Zhou was quite satisfied with the prince and had no thoughts of changing him for the time being.
Moreover, the King of Zhao in the North was watching with eager eyes. The prince leaving such a stain would give King Zhao an excuse.
Closing his eyes and thinking quietly, Emperor Zhou kept weighing the pros and cons of this case.
But at Emperor Zhou's level, sometimes the right or wrong of things is no longer the decisive factor.
After a few breaths, Emperor Zhou opened his eyes and had already made a decision.
Emperor Zhou casually asked Cao Zhengchun, who was accompanying him, "Is there anything unusual about the Dali Temple or the East Palace?"
"Long live the return! Everything went as usual in the East Palace last night, but something did happen in Dali Temple!"
"Oh?! What's the matter?!"
Cao Zhengchun replied meticulously, "Last night, Shi Feixuan, the contemporary successor of Cihang Jingzhai, seemed to have gone to Dali Temple, and even made a big move with the masters of Dali Temple!"
"Cihang Jingzhai?!"
Emperor Zhou had an impression of this name. When Taizu was fighting for the world, this sect seemed to have come out to cause trouble.
At that time, it seemed that he wanted to choose an emperor for the people of the world, but what kind of person Taizu was, how could he do this? ! So he ignored them.
Cihang Jingzhai seemed to want to support other princes at that time, but Taizu's destiny was fulfilled, and the princes in the south were unstoppable.
However, Jiannu and Yuanmeng Daqian in the north believed in Tantra and Changshengtian.
Seeing that there was no chance, Cihang Jingzhai had no choice but to disappear.
"How long has this master concubine Xuan been in the capital!"
"This!..." Eunuch Cao paused for a moment. He really didn't find out about this matter. "Back to Long Live, this Concubine Xuan entered the capital secretly. She disguised herself all the way. I really don't know when she entered the capital!"
Emperor Zhou was obviously not satisfied with this answer.
"I handed over the East Factory to you, and you gave me this answer?!"
"Banzai, please forgive me. This slave has neglected his duty and failed to live up to the expectations of Banzai. Please punish me!"
Cao Zhengchun didn't defend himself. After following Emperor Zhou for so many years, he could see at a glance that Emperor Zhou didn't really want to blame, but was irritated at the moment and wanted to vent his anger.
After Emperor Zhou reprimanded Cao Zhengchun for a while, he felt that he had gone too far. It was not too difficult for a Yuanhua realm master who deliberately disguised himself to hide from the eyes and ears of Dongchang's spies without Dongchang paying special attention.
"Then what did Concubine Xuan do after she entered the capital?!"
Cao Zhengchun hesitated and replied, "I'm still investigating the details, but I can confirm that Shi Feixuan is involved with the prince."
After speaking, Cao Zhengchun glanced at Emperor Zhou carefully.
Emperor Zhou sneered, "Prince?! What? This time the destiny belongs to the prince?!"
Cao Zhengchun did not dare to say much about the emperor's family affairs.
"Buddhist people still don't give up! I heard that many monks are supporting the fourth child! I didn't expect that they would find my son now!"
"Send someone to investigate carefully. What is the purpose of Concubine Xuan coming to the capital?! If you find out, report back immediately!"
"yes!"
Cao Zhengchun replied with a low eyebrow.
Emperor Zhou waved his hand and said, "Also, let everyone waiting outside come in!"
No matter what plans Buddhism has, it will all happen later. The most important thing today is to understand the Zhou Mingsheng case.
Under Cao Zhengchun's briefing, Yang Qingyuan entered the side hall with the prisoner, evidence and a group of bystanders.
After seeing everyone arriving, Emperor Zhou spoke.
"My lords, the reason for calling you all together today is actually for one thing. Yang Qing, please tell me!"
Emperor Zhou motioned to Yang Qingyuan below to speak.
Yang Qingyuan also bowed to Emperor Zhou, and then said to the important officials around him.
"Your Majesty, my lords, I have found out that this thief plotted an unjust case to harm the people! He killed innocent people indiscriminately! He should have been punished according to the law, but after all, this thief is the prince's brother-in-law, so today he was specially brought to the emperor for judgment by the emperor. !”
A battle between the prince and Dali Temple started with Yang Qingyuan's words.
Yang Qingyuan then handed over the case files of Zhou Mingsheng's case to the emperor.
In order to facilitate the circulation to the ministers, Yang Qingyuan also prepared five sets of copies. This case file was handed over to the emperor, and the five sets of copies were circulated to the ministers.
Most of the high-ranking officials in the Zhou Dynasty had served in local government. They cannot say that they were proficient in criminal law, but they knew some basic laws and trials.
But when I saw the case file, I was still shocked by the strangeness and bloody nature of the case.
Of course, the section involving the First Emperor's secret collection was omitted by Yang Qingyuan.
The First Emperor's secret treasure is of great importance. Once it spreads, it will lead to a bloody storm. Therefore, until now, only a few people, including Emperor Zhou, know about it.
About a quarter of an hour later, Emperor Zhou said to Yang Qingyuan, "Yang Qing, let's start!"
Yang Qingyuan then turned to the important ministers in the court and said, "My lords, I believe that although you have not looked at the case file just now, you should already understand the general facts of the case."
Zhou Mingsheng, who was kneeling on the ground with one finger, said sternly, "This person is the culprit behind Li Shou's unjust case! Not only that, in order to conceal his crime, this person silenced all the people who knew about Li Shou's case after the case was concluded. Hundreds of people died before and after him, it was really a heinous crime!"
From a purely onlooker's point of view, everyone in the hall felt this way.
Although the scholar-official class has its own arrogance and looks down on ordinary people, these are all real people!
In Dazhou, killing a civilian was a serious crime. There were nearly thirty people dead here, including nearly thirty alive.
Some people have even regretted agreeing to the prince's request. If they had known that what they wanted to protect was such a thing, they should not have agreed to the prince's request at that time!
Zhou Mingsheng's crime was narrated from Yang Qingyuan's mouth. It was clearly organized and the process was clear. If it weren't for Zhou Mingsheng's identity, he would have been convicted long ago!
After describing the crimes in the process, Yang Qingyuan saluted Emperor Zhou again, "I believe that Zhou Mingsheng is guilty of intentional homicide, frame-up, arson, poisoning, endangering public safety by dangerous means, obstructing the execution of official duties, organizing , the crime of leading an organization with an evil nature... several crimes shall be punished together, and the crime shall be executed! According to the law, the whole country should be informed, all illegal gains should be confiscated, and a fine of 100,000 taels should be imposed to compensate the families of the victims!"
The people present were confused by the series of crimes mentioned by Yang Qingyuan. For example, the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, the crime of leading a gangster organization, etc. were all added to the newly revised Dazhou regulations after Yang Qingyuan became the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.
Even so, everyone still felt that Yang Qingyuan was very conscientious.
If this guy wasn't a relative of the emperor, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he would wipe out three tribes of barbarians.
Emperor Zhou did not directly answer Yang Qingyuan's words, but instead asked the question to the other ministers in the palace.
Yang Qingyuan turned his attention to everyone in the hall. He knew that it was not that simple to achieve his goal today. His teacher Qian Muqian had not come to court today. After asking, he learned that his mother was seriously ill and had taken leave overnight. , return to Yuezhou.
At this juncture, Qian Muqian's mother was seriously ill. Yang Qingyuan couldn't believe such a coincidence. Someone must have made a fuss about this matter to distract Qian Muqian and weaken Yang Qingyuan's support.
After a short silence, a man stood up.
Cao Shouzheng, the newly appointed right minister of the Ministry of Justice.
He was originally the prince's confidant, but now that he has been promoted to the position of right minister of the Ministry of Justice, he naturally serves as the prince's vanguard.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the person involved in the case, Zhou Mingsheng, is the prince's brother-in-law and a relative of the emperor. It is recorded in the laws of the Zhou Dynasty that members of the Eight Councils are not allowed to be punished without authorization. They should be handed over to the emperor's holy judgment. Mr. Yang seems to be convicting people without authorization. It seems that Something is wrong!”
Cao Shouzheng's first sentence did not refute the facts of the case or question the authenticity of the evidence. Instead, he took the lead in attacking Yang Qingyuan's procedural irregularities.
The procedure may not seem to affect the case itself, but in reality it is the most important.
In Blue Star, if the case has irreversible procedural problems that may affect the substance of the case, there is only one result - remand for retrial.
Although Cao Shouzheng was not from the orthodox Ministry of Punishment, he had not only become the second-in-command of the Ministry of Punishment.
"Your Majesty, I believe that this case does not fall within the 'eight discussions'."
Yang Qingyuan's words made Cao Shouzheng slightly shuddered, "Although it has not been written clearly in the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, the 'Ten Evils' have not been included in the Eight Disciplines since ancient times. The Taizu of this dynasty inherited our Chinese Taoism and naturally abided by our Chinese etiquette. Zhou Ming committed the 'Ten Evils' in his life." Evil and serious crimes cannot be pardoned by the Eight Discussions."
"Hmph! Then I dare to ask Mr. Yang, which of these crimes did Zhou Mingsheng commit?!"
"Unfair!" In terms of professionalism, Yang Qingyuan didn't take Cao Shouzheng seriously. Although he was the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, his professional level was probably not comparable to that of Zhao Chenzhao, the doctor in the Ministry of Justice.
Immorality refers to the destruction of humanity, such as killing a family of three, but none of the people killed deserved to die; killing people by dismembering them; or using poison to try to poison people to death.
Cao Shouzheng smiled, they had planned this scene for a long time.
Although Cao Shouzheng was not proficient in the criminal laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there was a big boss in the prince's camp today who was proficient in the criminal laws - Wei Donglai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments.
Wei Donglai is not a princeling, and he does not want to get involved in the court struggle. He is over sixty years old, his body and energy have weakened, and he has long wanted to resign. He is not willing to get involved in this kind of court struggle. .
But in this case, he had to side with the prince.
Li Shou's case must not be overturned. Even if the case is already dead, the outcome cannot be changed even after a retrial.
But once he is re-tried and exposed to the world, his reputation will be ruined.
People are so strange!
After being a bad person all your life, if you become a good person when you grow old, you will put down your butcher knife and become a Buddha immediately, and you will even be praised by others.
But if you have been an upright official all your life, but make a mistake when you get old, your reputation will be ruined.
If Wei Donglai were ten years younger, he would support Yang Qingyuan without hesitation, but at his current age, if he makes a mistake, there is no chance to make amends.
He is a good official, but he is also a human being, and a human being will have selfish motives!
Wei Dong has been in charge of laws and regulations for many years, and has almost no unjust, false or wrong cases. When he gets old, he has no pursuits, only a posthumous reputation.
Zhou Ming's life and death has nothing to do with Wei Donglai, but Li Shou's case must not be committed.
So Wei Donglai chose to cooperate with the prince.
"Master Yang is surprised by what he said!"
When Wei Donglai spoke, Yang Qingyuan's nerves became tense.
This big boss has been immersed in the art of criminal law for many years, and is not comparable to someone like Cao Shouzheng.
"I'm afraid Zhou Mingsheng's crimes cannot be classified as unethical!"
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