Huo Zhengyuan's worries turned out to be true. Just when Huang Yourong's officials thought they had won and were rejoicing about it, Gu Quan, who had been holding back for a long time, finally spoke out. 【Read full text】
"Your Majesty, I also have something to report!"
Emperor Deqing had already expected the counterattack from Zhao Junchen's group. When he saw Gu Quan's remarks, he was not surprised at all. He just asked: "Oh? Is there anything else? Tell me."
Gu Quan raised his voice and said: "I am impeaching Yan Pengfei, the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, for using power for personal gain and taking bribes! Over the years, in order to extort money and take advantage of his position, he has created many unjust, false and wrong cases. Here is the evidence of the crime I have collected. I hope your Majesty will learn from it. !”
As he spoke, Gu Quan took out a folder from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and handed it to the eunuch who was delivering it.
Then, Gu Quan said a lot in front of the officials, all of which were listing Yan Pengfei's crimes.
After hearing Gu Quan's impeachment, Emperor Deqing subconsciously frowned slightly and sighed secretly.
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In fact, Emperor Deqing's mood was quite complicated and contradictory regarding the partisan fighting between the courts.
If the major factions in the court were peaceful, not fighting each other, or even living in harmony, then Emperor Deqing would subconsciously doubt whether the major factions in the court had joined forces? Will he deal with him as the emperor? I always feel that my throne is not very secure.
Therefore, at times like this, Emperor Deqing would always find ways to make the major factions fight for various interests. Only when the major factions disputed would the emperor's attitude be taken seriously by the officials.
When ministers quarreled, the emperor benefited, and when ministers cooperated, the emperor was in danger. Emperor Deqing, who had a deep understanding of the emperor's mind, understood this truth best.
However, if the struggle between the major factions in the court was too fierce, Emperor Deqing would actually have a headache.
Take this fight between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong as an example. First, Zhao Junchen impeached Huang Yourong's disciple Tang Zheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, for corruption and accepting bribes. Then Huang Yourong impeached Zhao Junchen's Ministry of Household Affairs for harboring filth, and then Zhao Junchen's people impeached Huang Yourong's right-hand man, Yan Pengfei, the Minister of Justice, for using power for personal gain...
As a result, the two factions impeached each other again and again. I don’t know whether Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong would be injured in the end, but in the eyes of the uninformed people, seeing that there were so many corrupt officials in the court, So in the hearts of the people. It is no longer the Household Department that harbors evil and evil, but the entire imperial court!
In fact, Emperor Deqing also knew clearly that among the hundreds of officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in front of him, although they usually appeared to be loyal to the emperor and the country, and selfless, nine and a half out of ten could not withstand strict inspection. Once a strict investigation is carried out, everyone will have committed corruption, bribery, and abuse of power for personal gain. The key lies in whether there is a strict investigation.
However, the partisan struggle and mutual impeachment have torn off the bright appearance of the officials and the court. If it intensifies, the reputation of the court will be damaged. It will also be greatly affected.
Therefore, when the party struggle between North Korea and China became increasingly fierce, Emperor Deqing often subconsciously calmed down the conflict.
Now, although the conflict between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong was only the second day, the attitude between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong was unexpectedly fierce, in the eyes of Emperor Deqing. It already seems to be getting worse and will affect the overall situation.
And just when Emperor Deqing was considering whether to find a way to quell this party dispute, he suddenly remembered Zhao Junchen's remarks yesterday, claiming that if Huang Yourong's power was attacked, it would be beneficial to Emperor Deqing's stability and the prince's benefit. Zhu Heyu stayed in Beijing to supervise the country, but he hesitated again and finally decided to wait and see what happened.
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While thinking about it secretly, the eunuch Zhang De handed over the evidence of Gu Quan's crime to the hands of Emperor Deqing.
Emperor Deqing unfolded it and took a few glances. It turned out that they were indeed some "minor crimes" that "should be punished according to the law but no one usually pays attention to them." Although he didn't take it seriously in his heart, his expression was solemn in front of the officials. Then he handed the book to the eunuch Zhang De, and asked Zhang De to pass it on to the elders for inspection.
At the same time, Emperor Deqing looked at Yan Pengfei and asked slowly: "Shilang Yan, what do you have to say about Gu Yushi's impeachment?"
Yan Pengfei did not expect that after his side's "victory", Zhao Junchen's group, which should have been panicked and demoralized, would dare to fight back, and the target of the counterattack was still himself, which made him a little surprised.
After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Yan Pengfei quickly came out and said: "Your Majesty, the charges against Gu Quan for impeaching the minister are all false accusations and fabrications. I have always been diligent and cautious when working in the Ministry of Punishments over the years. We investigate the cases we are responsible for carefully and never hesitate in the slightest, just for fear that the good people will be wronged and the bad people will be missed, causing the world to underestimate the majesty of the imperial court. I hope your majesty will learn from it!"
Then, Yan Pengfei refuted the various charges Gu Quan listed for him one by one. There was no cowardice in his expression, but he looked calm and upright, not afraid of the shadow.
At the same time, after the initial surprise, officials from Huang Yourong's group also came out one after another to speak out for Yan Pengfei. Some officials from the Ministry of Punishment who were close to Yan Pengfei even said they would testify for Yan Pengfei.
In the morning meeting the day before, the reason why Zhao Junchen's faction was able to quickly defeat Tang Zheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was not only that Zhao Junchen's faction was well prepared and that the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry was Zhao Junchen's territory, but also because of Huang Yourong's faction. Because of being caught off guard.
But when it came to court this morning, the officials of Huang Yourong's faction had already been psychologically prepared for the impeachment of Zhao Junchen's faction. They had also prepared defensive means, and there were close officials testifying against each other. If they wanted to do it as easily as the day before, Succeeding, but it is difficult to achieve.
As a result, the following morning ended with a flurry of words as officials from the two groups debated whether Yan Pengfei was guilty or not, whether the evidence was true, and whether Gu Quan's impeachment was a deliberate false accusation.
In the end, although Yan Pengfei faced a lot of trouble, he still did not avoid official interrogation like Tang Zheng.
Zhao Junchen and others were also mentally prepared for this, and had no delusions of wanting to bring down Yan Pengfei like they had done with Tang Zheng. This impeachment was just the beginning of targeting Yan Pengfei.
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Finally, as Emperor Deqing announced his resignation to the court, between the two factions of officials Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong looked at each other unconvinced, and under the nervous attention of all the officials in the court, Huang Yourong came to Zhao Junchen again.
However, Huang Yourong's expression at this time was different from the resentment and anger last time. He had returned to his usual smiling tiger appearance.
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ps: Well, third update! To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Please go to qidiann 9
