"Everyone, please go sit in the main hall."
The governor slowly walked into the hall, bowed to all the officials, and ordered his clerk to lead them to the hall first. After the large number of people had left, the governor immediately turned around and greeted the people outside the door. The prime minister at that time was Liu Zhennian.
"How's the investigation going? Is there any new progress?" Liu Zhennian asked coldly.
The governor carefully helped him in, bowed and replied: "Prime Minister, after careful review by the subordinates, among the 16 local prisoners, 14 have bribery dealings with the party. As for other interests involved, even more There are countless people; therefore, it is easy to find out the names of many people and record them all in the file. If you are willing, you can name them one by one and accuse them according to the facts. In this case, Su Zongshan will not be the only one who will accompany you today. No one who comes here can escape. Although the ministers may not support you much, this is your family matter after all, and they will not react too much. Please rest assured."
"Have you brought all those files with you, sir?" Liu Zhennian didn't feel excited and just glanced at him.
The governor clenched his fists and his eyes brightened: "I've got them all!"
Liu Zhennian shook his head decisively: "Send someone to take it back."
"This, this is..."
Liu Zhennian deliberately guarded against him, but said sternly: "The Su Clan is so powerful, how can you deal with it casually? The best policy is to proceed step by step. If you dare to act without permission, you will be executed if you reveal Su Zongshan's name." No mercy!"
The governor was very afraid of his authority, so he hurriedly agreed, stuffed the file back to the clerk's office on the spot, and led Liu Zhennian to the hall to discuss matters.
The hall was very spacious, with more than thirty ministers sitting on both sides, but there was still a large open space in the middle. They sat in order, just like the order in the court meeting. Liu Zhennian was sitting in front of the desk, looking at the solemn expressions of everyone, and nodded with satisfaction.
"I am here today just to punish the traitors and bring peace to the government and the public. But if we want to eradicate this evil, we must first eradicate its roots. As you can see, some clues have been found in this major corruption case in Henan. It turns out that these corrupt officials The corrupt officials are not only weak in power, but all of them have interests connected with certain people in the court!... Speaking of which, can you guess who they are?" Liu Zhennian looked around pretending to be mysterious. Officials on both sides.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, no one dared to say anything, they could only lower their heads and wait for Liu Zhennian's explanation.
"I want to know too." A smile suddenly appeared on Liu Zhennian's face, and he lay back relaxedly, "It's a pity that the prisoners are tight-lipped and refuse to confess their benefactors. This does not mean that They are stupid. On the contrary, they know very well that they have a life-and-death relationship with him. Once they are found guilty of being a clique, it will really be a dead end."
He deliberately paused for a moment, hearing that there was still silence around him, and had no choice but to continue: "Of course, I will pursue this matter, but I am old and frail, and after all, I am not as energetic as you. Therefore, I am ready to recommend you to serve as prime minister. I will investigate this matter thoroughly in Yuandai, what do you think?"
"Our talents are mediocre and far inferior to the wisdom of the Prime Minister. I am willing to obey Liu Gong's words!" Gui Fu was the first to stand up and respond, followed by a wave of echoes that echoed throughout the hall for a long time.
Niu Yuan couldn't help the joy in his heart. He quickly pressed the armrests of the chair with his trembling hands and stood up with all his strength. He first bowed to everyone, then turned to walk to Liu Zhennian, knelt on his knees and said with tears: "What a big mistake I made, I have always regretted it deeply in my heart. I never thought that Mr. Liu could ignore the past grudges and return the authority to the position. This kindness is enough to repay him!"
Liu Zhennian patted his shoulder and comforted him repeatedly. The latter just wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and stood up slowly.
"Feng Xiang, can I ask a question?"
Niu Yuan heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and glanced coldly. When he saw it was Ye Yongjia, he suddenly smiled: "Ah, I am taking over this case and need to spend a lot of time to review the official documents. I will not be able to take into account everything. I would like to accept direct advice and listen to the opinions of all the officials. Ye Shangshu just said that there is no harm."
Ye Yongjia coughed twice, frowned and looked straight ahead: "In my humble opinion, corruption and cronyism are two different things. They are different crimes and should not be confused. If one is arrested in the east and the other is tried in the west, Without a certain direction, the trial may get more confusing. Should the prime minister prioritize these two crimes so that this major case can be thoroughly investigated?"
Niu Yuandu suddenly darkened his face. He immediately realized that Ye Yongjia was digging a hole for himself, but he had no way to refute this reasonable plan. Yes, if we only look at it from the perspective of dealing with corrupt factions, if we blindly emphasize the fight against corruption, it will only involve some irrelevant personnel and waste precious time. This seemed to be a good suggestion, but Niu Yuan had something deeper in mind - making such a decision in front of hundreds of officials would undoubtedly make the unstable people's hearts start to falter.
He walked with heavy steps and glanced at everyone's faces with his peripheral vision. He saw that they no longer had the joy they had just pretended to be, but instead became hesitant and suspicious. These subtle expressions were like invisible mountains, pressing down on Niu Yuan. On his frail back, he felt weak all over. The sweat beads one after another almost stuck into lines and seeped out on his forehead. His eyes gradually became panicked and turned around, refusing to focus on one thing. at.
"You need to ask Mr. Liu about this." He stopped and whispered this sentence.
Liu Zhennian, however, was very relaxed. He still closed his eyes and swayed as if he was still rocking on the wicker chair: "What did you say?"
I don't know whether he really didn't hear clearly or he had other thoughts. Niu Yuan didn't dare to speculate, so he had to close his ear and repeat it again: "Ye Shangshu said that corruption and cliques should be divided into priorities. You decide.”
Liu Zhennian still had his eyes closed, but his feet were firmly on the smooth floor, moving back and forth, and he could hear a few "squeaking" sounds.
"Okay, Ye Yongjia is right. Let's prioritize. The problem of cronyism needs to be solved urgently. I think we should put it before corruption."
Niu Yuan originally thought that the old prime minister would have a better idea, but unexpectedly he made a choice between the two. His eyes turned gray, and he replied feebly: "I obey my orders..."
"What about you?" Liu Zhennian pointed to the ministers on both sides and asked.
When Ye Yongjia heard Liu Zhennian suddenly calling his name, his heart skipped a beat, and he was quite surprised; but he immediately adapted to such a title, and responded with the most decisive tone: "I humbly obey my orders!"
