"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Zuo Lanshan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry. Zuo Lanshan is favored by Your Majesty and holds the important position of the Ministry of Industry and is in charge of construction projects. However, Zuo Lanshan has not thought about repaying the favor of the emperor over the years, but has repeatedly Taking advantage of his position to form parties for personal gain, suppress dissidents, engage in corruption and bribery, and secretly withhold public funds for his own use! All these evil deeds have aroused public outrage from both the government and the public. I sincerely request your Majesty to summon the three judicial bureaus to investigate this matter!"
Just as Zhao Junchen expected, at the beginning of the morning court, the "Zhou Party" put on an upright posture, without any cover-up, and impeached Zuo Lanshan of the "Zhao Party".
Moreover, compared with Zhao Zhenghe who impeached the "Shen Party" yesterday, the "Zhou Party" obviously pays more attention to the "Zhao Party" today. When the "Zhou Party" impeached Zhao Zhenghe yesterday, they only encouraged a few censors to appear. When Zuo Lanshan was impeached today, the first person to appear was Du Bai, the censor of Zuodu!
Du Bai is just over fifty now, but he is well-maintained and looks like he is only in his early forties. He is elegant, personable, and well-mannered. He has the appearance of a natural gentleman, and he is the easiest to let go. People have a good impression, and now when he is impeaching Zuo Lanshan, his face is even more solemn, showing compassion and righteousness, which makes people unconvincing.
Du Bai was one of the two officers of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The weight of his personal appearance in the impeachment was naturally very different, and it immediately caused shock among the officials!
At the same time, many officials were secretly surprised and found it inconceivable to see Du Bai taking a clear-cut stand for the "Zhou Party".
On the other side, Zhao Junchen was not surprised when he saw Du Bai's statement. He just looked sarcastic and thought to himself: "Oh? Du Bai finally couldn't help but reveal his true face? I thought Du Bai I will continue to lurk, but I didn’t expect Zhou Shangjing to use Du Bai’s trump card in order to target me. He really thinks highly of me!”
At the beginning, under the joint calculation of Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu suffered a big setback in the preparations for the southern tour. Not only did his own reputation suffer, but also the Imperial Prosecutor Zuo Duyu was implicated. Shi Li Chengru allowed the position of Zuodu Censor to fall into the hands of Du Bai of the "Zhou Party". Since then, the "Princeling Party"'s control over the Metropolitan Procuratorate has declined significantly.
This Du Bai is also a very decisive figure. After he served as the censor of Zuodu, he saw that the various forces in the Imperial Procuratorate were intertwined and the interest relationships were complicated. He was labeled as a "Zhou Party" and was a newcomer, so he would inevitably It was boycotted by all forces, so Du Bai quickly expressed his position in public, saying that "the Metropolitan Procuratorate is in charge of supervision, impeachment and recommendations, and must not stick to factional distinctions, otherwise how can it convince the public", and then He categorically broke away from the "Zhou Party" and never had any active contact with anyone from the "Zhou Party" since then.
Zhao Junchen didn't believe Du Bai's behavior at all. If Du Bai, with Zhou Shangjing's strong support, served as the censor of Zuodu, he immediately betrayed Zhou Shangjing in a clear-cut manner, then Zhou Shangjing would have already begun to take revenge on him. How can he still secure his position as the censor of Zuodu? I'm afraid that Du Bai's various posturings are just expedient measures.
However, although Zhao Junchen did not believe Du Bai's statement, Du Bai's behavior indeed deceived many people and won a lot of praise. This reduced the hostility around him and bought him a lot of buffer time. With space to display, today, Du Bai has finally secured his position as the censor of Zuodu, and has initially won the support of some officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, so he no longer needs to pretend, and can return in an upright and honest manner." Zhou Dang".
Today, Du Bai and other members of the "Zhou Party" impeached Zuo Lanshan, which may be the beginning of his return to the "Zhou Party".
There is no need to mention Du Bai’s past experience for now.
After seeing Du Bai's statement, Emperor Deqing also flashed a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. Apparently, he was also well aware of Du Bai's past pretense.
However, Emperor Deqing looked surprised on the surface. He first looked at Zuo Lanshan, and then asked Du Bai: "Zuo Shangshu is a core minister of the imperial court. It is not a small matter for you to impeach him like this." , do you have any conclusive evidence?"
Du Bai looked businesslike and replied: "Your Majesty, I am well aware of the seriousness of this matter. I have investigated it in detail beforehand and collected a total of twenty-one criminal evidences, involving Zuo Lanshan's suppression of dissidents, embezzlement of public funds, The seven charges of soliciting bribes, withholding local ICBC, etc., please be reviewed by Your Majesty!"
After speaking, Du Bai took out a memorial from his sleeve, held it on his head, and presented it to Emperor Deqing.
After Emperor Deqing got the memorial, he opened it and reviewed it in detail for a moment, then looked up at Zuo Lanshan, and handed Du Bai's memorial to Zuo Lanshan through the eunuch beside him, and said: "Master Zuo, Master Du is interested in your memorial." With all the impeachments, what do you have to say?”
After Zuo Lanshan took the memorial with both hands, he quickly lowered his head and read it carefully to hide the panic in his eyes.
Beforehand, Zuo Lanshan already knew that the "Zhou Party" was very likely to impeach him today, but the target of the "Zhou Party" might also be Huo Zhengyuan after all, so Zuo Lanshan inevitably had some luck and hoped that The "Zhou Party" will first impeach Huo Zhengyuan, and then with Zhao Junchen's counterattack, he can avoid being directly involved in this political storm.
Now, after seeing Du Bai come out to impeach him, Zuo Lanshan's luck was suddenly shattered. Although he was mentally prepared, he was still a little panicked when things came to pass.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to review the memorial, Zuo Lanshan finally calmed down his panic and finally remembered Zhao Junchen's prior arrangements.
So, after returning the memorial to Emperor Deqing, Zuo Lanshan came out and said: "Your Majesty, all the impeachments made by Master Du against me are all groundless, and I will never dare to admit it!"
At this point, Zuo Lanshan changed the topic and turned from defensive to offensive. He showed an impassioned look and said: "Moreover, I suspect that Mr. Du's impeachment today is the result of a certain official in the DPRK. To take revenge on my minister, Mr. Du was either used or driven, so the impeachment was launched!"
As Zuo Lanshan finished speaking, all the officials in Huangji Hall were in an uproar!
Zuo Lanshan would be impeached by the "Zhou Party". This was something that many people expected. After Zuo Lanshan was impeached, he would definitely refuse to plead guilty. This was also a result that officials could guess. However, Zuo Lanshan refused After not admitting his mistake, he refused to give in and fought back. He not only claimed that Du Bai was driven by others, but also vaguely alluded to a certain big shot within the "Zhou Party" to take revenge on him, showing that he was determined to fight against the "Zhou Party". The strangulation posture was beyond everyone's expectations.
You know, even the chief minister Shen Changmao and the "Shen Party" were frightened by the power of the "Zhou Party" yesterday, and they all looked like cowards who "dare not fight back when beaten, dare not retaliate when scolded". How come today? The attitude of "Zhao Party" is so fierce! ?
Except for Emperor Deqing's personal action, how many years has it been that no one dared to offend the majesty of the "Zhou Party"?
Seeing this scene, they were shocked, but the officials had different ideas!
It's time to fight! Can "Zhao Party" escape unscathed? Some officials who have such thoughts are thoughtful and focused!
There's going to be a good show! Some officials who had such an idea looked slightly excited!
The two factions are facing each other head-on, and the temple is about to be in chaos! Some officials who have such thoughts mostly look worried.
After Emperor Deqing saw this scene, a trace of pride flashed deep in his eyes.
Emperor Deqing thought that the reason Zuo Lanshan dared to fight back against the "Zhou Party" was because he encouraged Zhao Junchen yesterday.
Emperor Deqing also wanted to allow the two major factions of the "Zhou Party" and the "Zhao Party" to compete, so after hearing Zuo Lanshan's counterattack, he asked in a very cooperative manner without waiting for Du Bai to refute: "Oh? Zuo Lanshan" Sir, do you think you were impeached because someone was taking revenge on you? What happened? Tell me in detail!"
Zuo Lanshan's expression was full of solemnity. After turning his head to look at Du Bai, he replied loudly: "Your Majesty, I accidentally heard a secret a few days ago. In the West Market of the capital, there is a restaurant called Huaigufang. An antique shop. The various antiques in this antique shop are all fake and shoddy things that are not worth mentioning. They are worth only one or two hundred taels of silver at most. However, these fake and shoddy things are all priced very high, often one piece. Simulated Song Dynasty antiques can be sold for a sky-high price of 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver in this store. The price is much higher than the real Song Dynasty antiques, and there are many people competing to buy them. It is a strange thing. !”
After hearing what Zuo Lanshan said, Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed and he said slowly: "Oh? It is indeed a strange thing. What is going on? Is it possible that so many people are really deceived by counterfeit goods? ?There was no reaction after being deceived?"
Zuo Lanshan replied: "I also find it strange. After all, people who can spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy antiques are mostly wealthy, have profound backgrounds, and are well-versed in the art. It is impossible that all of them are fools. They will also be fooled after being deceived." There was absolutely no chance that there would be no reaction at all, so I sent someone to secretly investigate the matter, only to discover that the owner behind this Nostalgic Fang was a powerful official of the imperial court, who went to Huigu Fang and spent a lot of money to buy those counterfeit items. Most of the guests were local officials. On the surface, they were buying antiques, but in fact, they were using them to bribe the important court official to seek official benefits! And the important court official had been taking advantage of this. Tricks to collect money and use power for personal gain!"
After a pause, Zuo Lanshan continued: "While I secretly investigated this matter, I also collected some evidence. However, I am the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and I am only responsible for the construction of the imperial court's projects. This matter is not within the scope of my responsibilities. Therefore, I planned to hand over this information and evidence to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but I did not expect that the information was leaked. I was also threatened by the master behind Huaigufang, claiming that if I brought this matter to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he would Revenge on me! But I am loyal to Your Majesty, so how could I indulge the giant beetle because of some threats? So yesterday, I handed over all the clues I have to Situ Han, the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. , I didn’t expect to be impeached today, so I believe that this matter is due to a certain court official taking revenge on me! I hope your Majesty will learn from it!"
Hearing this, all the officials in the court changed their expressions, and many officials even looked at Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, intentionally or unintentionally.
Under the attention of everyone, Song Qiwen, who had always had a calm expression, looked serious.
When you reach the level of Shangshu or Pavilion Elder, it is naturally impossible to search for land like local officials, nor can you directly ask for bribes from others. Such an approach is unabashed, but it is too low-key and can easily attract people's attention.
Therefore, when these core officials of the imperial court were amassing money, they also used various schemes and tricks.
The existence of this "Nostalgia Shop" is an open secret in the officialdom. The master behind it is Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs! For many years, Song Qiwen has been collecting bribes and conducting power-for-money transactions through this "Nostalgia Shop"! If local officials want to gain access to Song Qiwen, they must go to the "Huaigufang" in the West Market of the capital to buy an antique. This is also a well-known rule!
Now, after Zuo Lanshan was impeached, the matter of "Huaigufang" was suddenly mentioned, and the meaning was obvious!
Zuo Lanshan is the number two figure in the "Zhao Party", and Song Qiwen is the number two figure in the "Zhou Party"! Since the "Zhou Party" impeached Zuo Lanshan, the "Zhao Party" will impeach Song Qiwen!
All in all, the "Zhao Party" will not give in in this fight!
To be continued. ,, your support is my biggest motivation.
