The seven days passed in an instant.
In summer, the sun rises very early.
On this day, the common people got up early as usual and started working on their own livelihoods. The silent capital slowly revived as the sun rose.
At the same time, outside the Jinshui Bridge, civil and military officials lined up early, and when the palace door opened, they filed in.
In the Fengtian Hall, all the ministers shouted long live, and after completing their salutes, the emperor followed his instructions.
"In recent days, rumors have spread throughout the government and the public because of the arrest of members of the mission by the Jinyi Guards. Many officials have come to inquire, hoping that the details of the trial can be made public as soon as possible. Because the matter is so important, I will not allow it."
"Seven days ago, seventeen distinguished ministers gathered outside the palace to impeach Jin Yiwei, and the British Duke Zhang Mao and others beat the drum to avenge Zhang Fu and others."
"Taizu came to hear that the drum system was in place, and the ministers' material discussions were heated up here. Although I consider that the matter is of great importance, I am also afraid that public opinion will ferment and the court will be turbulent. Therefore, I have agreed to the invitation of the British government and will bow here today at Fengtian Hall. case."
"Jin Yiwei is responsible for the entire trial of the case. Therefore, today's court ceremony will be presided over by Jin Yiwei and assisted by the Three Law Departments."
In just a few sentences, the whole story was explained clearly.
Under the imperial steps, Zhang Xi glanced at Jiao Jing, which means, you see what I said is right.
Arriving at Fengtian Palace, the emperor still pretended to be forced to agree with Tingju.
Generally speaking, the people participating in Tingju are similar to those in ordinary morning court, except that people related to the people involved in the case can also be allowed to attend the court.
But this time Tingju was exceptionally different.
Again, no matter how the seventeen noble ministers were beaten, they petitioned together outside the palace, which had spread the impact of this incident to the entire court.
Therefore, in this court ceremony, basically named relatives, officials of the fifth rank or above of the imperial court, as well as ordinary Yushi Kedao officials in Beijing, were all allowed to come to the palace together.
Of course, this does not include the seventeen noble ministers.
That morning, all of them were beaten to pieces, and 80% of them fainted. In just seven days, most of them could not even get out of bed.
Jiao Jing's face was expressionless in response to Zhang Min's glance, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Then, as the emperor's words fell, Lu Zhong, the commander of the imperial guards in flying fish robes, moved to the palace, first bowed his hands towards the emperor, and then said.
"Today, Tingju, I, the commander, have been ordered by the Holy Spirit to preside over the trial. As for what you have been questioning, why the Jinyi Guards suddenly arrested everyone in the mission and what the charges are. Today, I, the commander, will give you an answer."
With that said, Lu Zhong took out a wax-sealed envelope from the thick pile of case files placed on the side of the imperial staircase that had been prepared long ago, and said.
"Let me talk about what you are most concerned about first. There is only one reason why the Jin Yiwei arrested the mission. A month ago, the captain of the Jin Yiwei who accompanied the mission discovered that during the negotiation process, the mission leaked the defense situation near Shawo. Then he also decided to lead the troops and raid the sand nest first."
"This is a copy kept at the Ministry of War. It is signed by an official of the Ministry of War. The Justice Department can inspect it."
Regarding this court ceremony, it should be said that the most nervous person is Lu Zhong.
He knew in his heart that this was an opportunity for Jin Yiwei to clarify himself.
All along, in the eyes of the courtiers, the Jin Yiwei were arrogant, domineering and wanton, and were a weapon used by the emperor to suppress the courtiers.
As a result, as long as Jin Yiwei does something, the courtiers will subconsciously start to impeach Jin Yiwei.
Including this time, they didn't even understand why Jin Yiwei arrested people, so they swarmed up to impeach him.
This made Lu Zhong feel very aggrieved.
Although it was Jin Yiwei's duty to take the blame for the emperor, Lu Zhong still wanted to see if these Qingliu ministers would dare to impeach Jin Yiwei for nothing in the future after the truth was announced.
It can be said that this time, in addition to convicting Zhang Fu and his gang, Tingju also had another purpose, which was to respond to the many controversies the courtiers had about Jin Yiwei in this case.
Therefore, when the emperor asked him to preside over Tingju, he stayed busy for several nights and went through the entire case process in detail.
Being able to sneak into the position of commander of the Jinyi Guards, Lu Zhong is also a first-rate expert in criminal cases, and he is not the kind of torturer who only knows how to use torture.
After the words fell, except for a few people who already knew the inside story, more ministers suddenly took a breath of cold air, and low voices of discussion suddenly sounded from the quiet hall.
Although they had long thought that if the emperor could directly order the arrest of the envoy, something big would happen.
But he never expected that it would be such a big deal as leaking border military reports.
Amid a burst of discussion, Yu Qian, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Chen Yi, Yushi of Zuodu, stepped forward and jointly opened the wax-sealed military report. After careful inspection, Yu Qian spoke.
"Yes, this is indeed a copy of the military report sent a month ago. It has the signature and seal of the clerk of the Ministry of War."
Then, Chen Yi also said: "There is no error in the content. It is indeed about the leakage of the Shawo Military Report."
The joint endorsement of the two bosses can at least prove that this military report was not temporarily forged by Jin Yiwei.
So, Lu Zhong continued to speak amidst the low voices of discussion.
"After the Jin Yiwei received the report, on the one hand, the general reported to Datong and asked Datong's chief military officer Guo Deng to take strict precautions. On the other hand, he rushed to the capital and asked the emperor to make a decision."
With that said, Lu Zhong turned around and looked at the emperor on the throne.
Zhu Qiyu spoke cooperatively and said.
"After I got the report, I summoned Yu Qian to the palace for discussion, and ordered Guo Deng to take advantage of the plan and ambush him first. On the other hand, I ordered the Jin Yiwei to continue the detailed investigation. At the same time, I asked Lu Zhong to carry out my secret edict and go to the Xuan Mansion to send the envoy on his way back. He will be detained first and escorted back to the capital to await trial."
Well, the emperor himself endorsed it, and the officials had nothing to question.
Since it was not without reason and the arrest was under a secret order, the elders reluctantly accepted that the Jin Yiwei had to obey the authority urgently.
Moving their eyes away from Jin Yiwei, the ministers refocused their attention on the mission case itself.
As one of the co-examination officials, Du Ning, the minister of Dali Temple, spoke up at this time.
"What Commander Lu just said, if it is true, then the matter of being good at catching the envoy can be exposed. However, I have two questions. Please ask Commander Lu to clarify my doubts."
"First, during the negotiation process of the mission, how and why the border military information was leaked? Was it voluntarily leaked, or was it accidentally tricked? I wonder if Commander Lu has ever found out the details."
"Secondly, although the crime of leaking military information is serious, it is not a matter that needs to be kept secret. It involves high officials of the imperial court and attracts the attention of the entire court. Regardless of whether it is ultimately found to be true or false, the interrogation and investigation progress should be announced. Why is Jin Yiwei so late? Are you unwilling to announce the facts of the case?"
In the final analysis, this is the reason why many ministers in the imperial court are full of resentment towards Jin Yiwei.
Among the envoys were second-rank civil servants, Qingliu Fengxian, and important ministers from the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.
With such a heavyweight lineup, Jin Yiwei just arrested people without saying a word, as long as Jin Yiwei could come up with enough reasons.
After all, the bosses are not unreasonable enough to say that a second-grade official cannot be caught even if he commits a crime.
But you were arrested and didn’t even give you an explanation.
The officials turned a deaf ear to the memorials, inquiries, and impeachments. This indifferent attitude made the old man feel very uncomfortable.
Of course, it sounds more reasonable.
For such high-ranking officials, Jinyiwei arrested them without announcing any reason, and did not take into account the court officials' inquiries. Wouldn't everyone in the court be in danger in the future?
As a result, everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Zhong.
But this time, the commander was a little hesitant and hesitantly turned his gaze to the emperor above.
Seeing this, the emperor also sighed and said.
"Since you are Ting Ju, you should make it clear during the interrogation. Although the matter is of great importance, there is no need to hide it. Just tell it truthfully."
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