"I don't think it's right," Liu Zhennian spoke first, "After all, we are sorry for their sincerity. After the matter is over, we still have to kill the donkey? It would be too unjust."
Yan Wen said: "Tinglong has been pursuing reform wholeheartedly and has been working hard for it for many years. If he is placed on the cusp of the storm, not only will his wish be fulfilled, but he will also be able to hone his will and prepare for the next step."
Niu Yuan also took advantage of this plan and quickly echoed: "What Yan Shenzheng said is reasonable. Ye Shilang has always acted according to other people's opinions and has never been on his own. Now if the banner of reforming the government is handed over to him, If you carry it, you can make it flourish, why not do it? As for him, he will understand our good intentions."
Liu Zhennian was a little confused by their few words, so he nodded and said: "It sounds reasonable. It's up to you to do this, but you must not let Tinglong down."
"Yes." After receiving the order, the two men immediately retreated from the hall and arrived in front of the foyer.
"Prime Minister, I have already said that this army cannot be moved now. Besides, what's the point of moving it? You are very ambitious. I didn't intend to dampen your interest. Who would have thought that it would reach this point..." Yan Wen saw no one around him. Man, he stopped and said.
"It's my fault that I'm tired, Mr. Liu," Niu Yuan's apology was obviously stubborn, "but the army is like this now. If you don't pry it, it will really die there!"
"You are so confused!" Yan Wen sighed dejectedly, "What our government urgently needs to solve is internal troubles. Now not only is the national treasury short of money, but the local government can't come up with money. If you bother the Ministry of War in vain, isn't it just an act of militarism! "
"If the army is not in order, the country will not be established. It cannot even defend against the bandits just a short distance away. How can we talk about eliminating internal troubles?" Niu Yuan snorted coldly and disagreed.
"I don't expect Prime Minister Feng to listen to my words," Yan Wen didn't want to argue with him anymore, "but I still advise you: If you don't even know how to reflect on the lessons in front of you, then your talk of reform to save the country will eventually fail. It will become a disaster for the country and the people." After that, he waved his sleeves and walked out of the Prime Minister's Mansion without looking back.
Although Niu Yuan was angry, he was overwhelmed with urgent matters, so he had to restrain his temper and go to the Ministry of War to summon Ye Yongjia. He said happily: "Today's meeting is the time for you and me to reverse the situation. When the time comes, I will take the lead. You will take the opportunity to declare Shi Yiyi's crime to everyone, and take out the Ministry of Household documents to check on the spot. I guarantee that they will be speechless!" "
Ye Yongjia was already prepared, but he was still a little worried: "In that case, can you take a few glances at that official letter?"
"Oh," Niu Yuan smacked his lips dissatisfied, "Why do you keep thinking about this? It's a certainty that Governor Shi is corrupt, so why are you so worried? If you dismantle it, you will be suspected of manipulation, so don't bother with it."
Ye Yongjia did not dare to disobey the order, so he had to say yes. The two of them discussed for a while, and suddenly saw a clerk coming to report that the court meeting had begun, so they all set off in a panic.
"The prime minister has always prided himself on being diligent, but today, why can't he persevere?" As soon as Niu Yuan stepped into the hall, he attracted ridicule from everyone.
"Thank you supervisors," Niu Yuan bowed to the ministers on both sides, "but I am not Yan Qi, but I listened to an adult's countermeasures, which made me have endless aftertaste. Therefore, I don't blame myself for delaying the meeting. That’s it.”
"Master Ye, please tell me again." He turned around and winked, but saw Ye Yongjia walked in calmly, first saluted the prince, and then stood in the middle of the hall. Everyone whispered, and most of them turned pale with surprise.
"Everyone, although there are different opinions and disagreements about the Xuanhua incident, Shi Yiyi has already committed a serious crime, and the border has reached a situation where he must be punished... In short, everyone can stop arguing." Ye Yongjia said firmly.
"Tinglong, you're talking nonsense. There's always evidence for us to see, right?" Jie Wenwu became uneasy.
"As for the evidence, I have it in my hand." Ye Yongjia took out the official document from his arms and dangled it between his fingers. "This is the money that the Ministry of Revenue provided for Xuanhua, of which the cannon-casting fee is the largest amount. According to what I learned from The information received by Xuanhua is that there are only forty artillery there, which is well-documented; and the amount allocated by the Ministry of Revenue is probably far more than this number. Right, Mr. Shangshu?"
The Minister of Hube's face turned pale, he clenched his teeth, and his whole body was shaking: "I...I don't know..."
"I actually don't know," Ye Yongjia held the official letter back in his hand, "If you can, please check it on the spot. When the results come out, everything will be clear."
"Come here," the prince gave the order without waiting for anyone's reaction, "put the official letter on the table, open it, and read out the verification results!"
After saying this, two eunuchs came to Ye Yongjia, took away the official documents and placed them on a fragrant wood table.
The little eunuch began to open the letter, and the officials behind him began to become restless. Many people raised their feet and squinted their eyes to peek at the contents of the letter, and they huddled together in a noisy manner. Some even closed their eyes and prayed, muttering something in their mouths, trying to read the gods and Buddhas of various religions. Please do it again.
After the little eunuch finished reading the letter, he walked up to the prince and muttered a few words. The latter was stunned for a moment and nodded: "Well, let's read the result."
The little eunuch stood on the steps and said in a long voice: "After checking, the cannon-casting fee is consistent with the number of forty guns!"
"Ah?!" Ye Yongjia's eyes widened in disbelief, looking left and right, wondering if he was dreaming. The ministers also did not relax, and the whole audience was in an uproar.
"This result is really unexpected..." Niu Yuan pretended to be surprised.
"Look, Shangshu Jie is right!" Yan Liang took the lead to take advantage of the situation and counterattack, "Ye Yongjia is really just talking nonsense, the evidence shows that Governor Shi is not guilty!"
"Yes, Minister Ye falsely accused Governor Shi of embezzling public funds. His words are absolutely unbelievable! The border patrol should stop immediately!" Everyone quickly changed their positions, and the wave-like wave of anger almost flooded the hall.
However, Ye Yongjia only heard the buzzing in his ears, and could not hear any sounds around him. In a daze, he suddenly stared at Niu Yuan, his eyes filled with endless grief, anger and confusion, which frightened the latter into slowly lowering his head.
"Tinglong, you made a mistake." Then Niu Yuan said these words vaguely.
Ye Yongjia smiled helplessly. The two words 'you and me' that had shown great trust before had all changed back to 'you' and 'me'. He had never felt that the distance between these two words was so far and so distinct.
"I..." He didn't want to admit that the reform was about to fail, but he couldn't say anything if he refused to admit defeat - after all, this earth-shattering border patrol was personally killed by the smug reformer.
"Your Highness, being suspicious without authorization... is the fault of a humble position." Ye Yongjia closed his eyes tightly, "The policy of patrolling the border is really... we can't stick to it anymore."
