Above the imperial court, it is actually very difficult to keep any news secret, especially regarding this kind of personnel transfer.
The edict to reward Wang Wen and Wang Ao had just reached the Sixth Section, and everyone in the court knew the content.
There was no problem with the content of the imperial edict, so the Sixth Section quickly signed and approved it, completing the last step of the imperial edict.
At this point, the imperial court finally had a candidate for the undecided position of chief assistant.
At the same time, thoughtful people were also keenly aware of it.
With the transfer of the chief minister, the atmosphere in the court suddenly became tense.
One emperor and one courtier.
A series of things that have happened recently seem to indicate that a large-scale personnel transfer is about to begin.
The next day, go up early in the morning.
Different from the past, this time at the morning court, there were three more people in the forefront of the civil servants.
The cabinet is no longer headed by the second assistant Chen Xun, but by the newly promoted chief assistant Wang Ao.
On the Six Ministries side, Shi Pu, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, finally returned to Beijing the day before yesterday. At this point, the six ministers finally gathered together again.
On the Metropolitan Procuratorate side, in addition to Chen Yi, the censor of the left capital, standing side by side with him was the newly promoted censor of the right capital, Wang Wen.
After yesterday's edict reached the court, some smart people saw the hidden meaning behind it.
But more courtiers were still very surprised by this situation of fulfilling their duties.
So, early this morning, there were a lot of rumors.
Some people say that Wang Wen was good at making opinions at Zijingguan, so he would be promoted openly and secretly.
It is also said that he was originally going to be appointed the first assistant, but was snatched away by Wang Ao's envoy Tiaozi.
Anyway, as long as there is such an undecided matter in the court, all kinds of rumors will always be rampant.
Therefore, when he went to court today, Wang Wen inevitably attracted the attention of many ministers.
Of course, in the face of such attention, Mr. Wang remained calm and expressionless as always.
After discussing the daily government affairs, Yu Shiyue, the minister of Dali Temple, came out and said.
"Your Majesty, I, together with the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, have been commissioned to handle Wang Zhen's case. It is now nearing completion. However, this case still involves a court official."
"Although His Majesty has a previous decree, it is stated that the persons involved in the case, regardless of their official positions, can be summoned by the three divisions. However, since seven important ministers are involved, I still dare not specialize in it. Therefore, please ask Your Majesty to make a special decree and allow the ministers to inquire in court."
Qiqing?
The ministers keenly grasped the key words, and everyone immediately became energetic.
This case in Dali Temple has been delayed and delayed for almost two months, but it has not yet been concluded.
At first, everyone thought that Yu Shiyue was sabotaging his work, but they never thought that he was holding back such a big move.
On the throne, Zhu Qiyu heard the words and asked, knowingly, "Who is it?"
Yu Shi looked pleased and did not squint, and said, "Your Majesty, this is Shi Pu, Minister of the Ministry of Industry."
As soon as the words fell, there was a burst of discussion below.
Mr. Shi Pu, who was standing in the front row, his expression darkened, his gray beard twitched vaguely, and he was obviously a little stunned.
However, Yu Shiyue still didn't look away and said.
"Previously, His Majesty ordered the Third Division of the Jinyiwei Assistant to investigate the case. When Wang Zhen's residence was searched, a calligraphy treasure by Cai Xiang of the Northern Song Dynasty was found. According to the identification of the servants in the palace, it was given to Wang Zhen by Shi Shangshu in February last year."
"According to his confession, Shi Shangshu stayed in Wang Zhen's mansion for a long time that day, and had a secret conversation with Wang Zhen in the room for about half an hour. Shortly afterwards, Wang Xing, the former Minister of Industry, took office, and Shi Pu was recommended by Wang Zhen. Conferred the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry."
"Your Majesty, this matter involves seven important ministers and eunuchs. It is a matter of great importance, so I am bold enough to ask for your help."
The so-called Ting Ju, like Ting Yi and Ting Tui, is the most authoritative form for the court to decide affairs.
Generally speaking, only when important officials of the court are involved or the case is complicated, the Third Division will accept the decree.
Because it is conducted in front of hundreds of civil and military officials, Tingju can be regarded as the most authoritative form of judicial trial.
Therefore, when Yu Shiyue said that he wanted to invite Tingju, many ministers changed their expressions, especially Shi Pu himself, whose eyebrows immediately knitted together.
You must know that even the emperor cannot easily overturn the result of the trial determined by Tingju.
In other words, Yu Shiyue is confident that he can turn this case into a solid case in Tingju!
Otherwise, in full view of the public, any doubt in the case would be enough to impeach him, the presiding judge, as incompetent.
Shi Pu frowned as he looked at Yu Shiyue's determined look.
He really couldn't figure out what the Dali Temple Minister's plan was.
In fact, although Shi Pu has been supervising the army outside this year, he has also arranged for manpower in Beijing.
He basically knows all the public information, big and small.
Among them is the restructuring of craftsmen households that Zhang Min, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, has recently been undertaking.
The first time he heard the news, Shi Pu became vigilant.
Because this is simply not what a minister should do!
Zhang Min is not a reckless person. Since he dares to do it, there must be someone behind him.
Combined with the border repair matters, Shi Pu quickly deduced that it was the emperor who was instructing Zhang Min.
In other words, he, the Minister of Industry, was being targeted!
However, it is not an easy task to win over a senior official at the level of Qi Qing.
Shi Pu thought about it and felt that the emperor could only start from his relationship with Wang Zhen.
After all, the government and the public had long suspected that his position as Minister of Industry was obtained by bribing Wang Zhen.
But in this matter, although what he did was not considered secretive, he did not leave any evidence. It would be difficult to use this to capture him.
Despite this, Shi Pu rushed back to the capital. He traveled around for several days, contacted many close ministers, and made many arrangements.
In addition, he also secretly drove all the servants who knew part of the inside story back to their hometown.
I thought that the Sanfa Division would not be able to find anything, and considering his identity, they could only leave the matter undisturbed.
But I never thought that Yu Shiyue would be so bold and dare to invite Tingju to the court!
The discussion below gradually died down, and the emperor could only be heard asking.
"Shi Shangshu, the Third Law Division suspects that you were appointed unfairly and was suspected of bribing Wang Zhenzhi. Therefore, are you willing to ask the court to take charge of the case?"
Thinking that he had cleared all those involved with Wang Zhen in the past few days, Shi Pu regained his composure.
In fact, Tingju was a good thing for him.
If the case is tried in Dali Temple, even if Dali Temple can't find anything in the end, the whole court will inevitably criticize him. It was he, the Seventh Minister, who took advantage of the situation to pressure the Third Division, so that the Third Division did not dare to try the case.
But Tingju had no such worries.
If Tingju couldn't find anything out of the examination, then no one would make a fuss about this matter again.
Taking a deep breath, Shi Pu cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, it is said that the Qing Dynasty will be Qing Dynasty. I did have friendship with Wang Zhen before, but those were official business transactions and no personal relationship. Since the Three Laws Division wants to invite Tingju, I am willing to cooperate to restore my innocence."
