Not many people noticed Hu Yan's strangeness.
In other words, the people present no longer have the energy to care about a small criminal official. At this time, they were all immersed in Fang Ping's loud questioning.
Yes, why is the amount of money Xia Yan embezzled lower than the amount of bribes?
In their view, although almost every scholar despises merchants and discriminates against their behavior, who among officials is not good at calculating, and who would do business at a loss?
Corrupt officials are bound to exist.
In this Great Xia Dynasty, if an official had money, he would not only be able to enjoy a sufficient supply of materials while having the status of a master, but also have more opportunities to obtain the resources needed for cultivation, so as to further his cultivation. Then you will get more opportunities to be promoted. After being promoted, you can not only further touch the general trend of the world, help improve your cultivation, but also further seize resources.
This is a virtuous cycle.
Of course, a monk's cultivation is also linked to his own character, talent, and learning. It is not the only way to accumulate cultivation resources through money collection.
Moreover, monks who rely on their own talents and popularity to grow have a more solid foundation, a deeper foundation, and a higher upper limit.
For example, 3,700 years ago, in the Tang Empire, where "nine heavens closed the palace, and all nations worshiped the crown prince", there was an unparalleled talent who relied on his extremely high talent to penetrate the world and became a sub-sage with his poetry. Then He is the legendary poet Li Taibai, the Immortal of Poetry, who left more than a hundred stunning masterpieces for future generations.
But after all, not every monk has the opportunity to pursue the illusory path of the Immortal Saint.
Origin, talent, opportunity, etc. cannot be equal.
Since there is a shortcut, someone will naturally take it.
But they couldn't understand Xia Yan's mysterious operation at all.
The so-called talent and learning refers to talent and knowledge. Xia Yan must not have achieved much in terms of talent. After all, I have never heard of him having any good works. He must not have any talent in poetry, calligraphy and painting, and his knowledge is mediocre. Otherwise, how could he be living in a county? Should the earth be the parent and official of hundreds of thousands of people?
As for the popularity, I don’t know about this, but this person comes from a poor family, and is not a child of a wealthy family, nor a disciple of a famous scholar, and has attracted a group of well-known local wealthy families and wealthy businessmen in Yongchuan to jointly appeal, so the popularity should not be much better. .
Therefore, it stands to reason that he should be a corrupt official.
However, after Fang Ping's reminder, everyone quickly realized that there was something fishy about the case.
No corrupt official would do business at a loss.
Bribing Shangguan is a routine operation, which is not a problem. If he does not bribe Shangguan, Xia Yan will not be the county magistrate for long, and there will not be much chance to make money.
However, the amount of money bribed to the superior is more than what one earns, which is putting the cart before the horse and contradicting itself.
Xia Yan's behavior can't be explained by using the term "corrupt officials".
Because it would do him no good at all.
If you don't do it for the benefit of being a corrupt official, then what else can you do for it? He doesn't owe Shangguan anything.
This is indeed a big doubt!
And after paying so much money in bribes, he hasn't been promoted in six years?
For a moment, everyone began to frown and think.
As the person involved, Xia Yan's expression became increasingly complicated at this time.
He reluctantly raised his head and met Fang Ping's imposing eyes. However, he did not speak immediately to answer Fang Ping's question, but hesitated for the first time.
Yes, hesitation.
When faced with the questioning of Zhao Bingliang and Qian Yiqian just now, he confessed straightforwardly and without any hesitation. However, when faced with Fang Ping's questioning, which was obviously beneficial to him, he refused to speak. , obviously hesitating.
It seemed that he did not expect that Fang Ping's focus was not on whether he had committed corruption or bribery, but on the amount of bribery.
"What? Is this question difficult to answer?"
Seeing that Xia Yan remained silent, Fang Ping was not only not annoyed, but also showed a smile.
"Do you need me to help you answer this?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan knew that he could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb.
He smiled bitterly and said, "Master Fang, why do you do this? Corruption and bribery are corruption and bribery. No matter what the reason is, no matter what the secret is, what the difficulties are, the crimes of corruption and bribing superior officials for personal gain committed by me are facts."
"As the saying goes, the law has no mercy. Since the law has been violated, the punishment must be clearly defined to warn future generations not to repeat the same mistakes. Otherwise, if the guilty are impunity and the offenders are allowed to go unpunished, future generations may follow suit. If you paralyze yourself with so-called hardships and then use it to excuse yourself after the incident, where is the national law? How can the people be safe?"
"Therefore, this case must not be opened, otherwise there will be endless troubles!"
Hearing this, Fang Ping couldn't help but be startled, and then gradually became moved.
At the same time, the smile on his face that had a chance of winning suddenly disappeared, and his gaze on Xia Yan became deeper.
It's amazing that Xia Yan can still say such words at such a time...
Xia Yan suddenly bowed to Fang Ping and said solemnly, "As an official of the imperial court, I am supposed to abide by the law and fulfill my duties. However, instead of being strict with myself, I know the law and break it. Therefore, I should be punished with a higher level of punishment."
"I also ask Mr. Fang to put the overall situation first, not to worry about irrelevant details, enforce the law impartially, and determine the punishment for the crime."
Having said this, he sighed inexplicably, and then glanced at Lu Chen, who was silent, with a hint of apology in his eyes.
After retracting his gaze, he spoke again, but his voice became somewhat depressed for no reason.
"For a person as unforgivable as I am, only the execution ground is the real destination. Mr. Lu, I'm really sorry. I have thought about it for a long time in the past few days, and I still feel that only the death penalty can atone for the sins committed by me. Please give Lu the matter and Mr. Fang to make it happen."
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent.
They had fully reacted at this time.
Xia Yan's case was not as simple as corruption. Fang Ping and Lu Chen were right. There must be something hidden in this case.
If he is said to be a corrupt official, what exactly is he coveting?
money? Not a cent of his corrupt money went into his own pocket.
Power and position? He has been a county magistrate in Yongchuan for the past six years. He was not promoted even one level during the Queen Mother's chaos. Every time he was evaluated, he was average.
Fame and fortune? He and the wealthy gentry in Yongchuan were at odds with each other, and there was no wealthy family to build momentum for him.
Moreover, it was clear that he had a hidden agenda, but he insisted on pleading guilty. Not only did he have no intention of getting out of the crime, but he wanted to die and obey the laws of the country.
What's this?
This is a profound righteousness!
How could such a noble person be the greedy dog official described by those Yongchuan wealthy families?
At this time, even Zhao Bingliang and Qian Yiqian fell silent. Only Hu Yan seemed to have seen a life-saving straw, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
He hurriedly stood up and said in a hurry: "Master Fang, no matter whether there is a secret in this case or not, it is a fact that Xia Yan has been corrupt, accepted bribes, and ignored the national law! What's more, he also colluded with the Demon Queen's gang members to seek personal gain, which is a crime worthy of death! "
"Furthermore, gentlemen, have you considered His Majesty's feelings?"
Gradually, he clarified his thoughts and spoke more clearly.
"The Demon Queen has been in chaos for six years, during which he often humiliated Your Majesty. Fortunately, Your Majesty is a genius and has endured the humiliation and burden for six years. Finally, with the help of the Holy King Cangming, he was able to regain control of the court. Now everything has been restored, and there are no longer any followers of the Demon Queen in the world. If Xia Yan, a person who colluded with the Queen Mother's gang, is given a lighter sentence or even pardoned for his crimes because of the so-called hidden secrets, where will that leave His Majesty?"
After hearing this, Lu Chen, who was already completely uninterested in Xia Yan's case and just wanted to go home and turn his grief and anger into appetite, suddenly brightened up.
yes!
No matter what, Xia Yan's charge of colluding with the Queen Mother's gang was proven true.
If he advocated Xia Yan's acquittal, wouldn't that be offending the empress?
This is a good thing!
Thinking of this, Lu Chen's originally defeated eyes suddenly flashed, and fighting spirit appeared in his eyes again.
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside.
Immediately afterwards, an official wearing a high-ranking imperial uniform walked over, accompanied by several petty officials and government servants.
............
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