Zhangtai Palace, main hall, court meeting.
All the officials were bowing their heads, but no one dared to raise their head. Looking at the front row again, Feng Quji was not among them, and even Meng Yi was nowhere to be seen.
The people standing at the head of the ministers became Feng Jie and Taiwei, the censor of the three princes. There was also one person who, for the first time in history, seemed to have the same status as the two three princes and was also standing at the forefront, that is Zong Zheng.
Even so, no one among the ministers had any objections.
Who is sitting on the throne? In fact, there was no one there. There was only one person sitting next to the throne, a young man, about twenty years old, with a stern look on his face.
He was Hu Hai, who had been imprisoned by the emperor until now. He finally came out and became the crown prince for the first time. I am afraid that even he could not have imagined that he would one day be like this.
The emperor Bintian, the crown prince should go to court.
He glanced at the ministers below, nodded with satisfaction, and then glanced specifically at the throne next to him, showing an unprecedented expression of eagerness to try.
But he still suppressed the impulse in his heart, looked down again, and asked: "Do you have anything to report?"
Since he became the crown prince, this was the first time he met the ministers, the first time he was in a high position in the court, only a stone's throw away from the supreme position.
"I have something to report!" The person who came out was none other than one of the Nine Ministers, Zhi Su Neishi. He was in charge of grain, finance and taxation, and was the economic lifeblood of the country. He walked over slowly, but his steps were natural. Very, not as trembling and frightened as other ministers, and even a little proud.
"Quickly, sir, come on, I" The impatience in my heart caused Hu Hai to make some slips of the tongue, but he quickly corrected himself, "I will definitely live up to your expectations."
"Nuo!" Zhisu Neishi organized his speech, glanced at the ministers without hesitation, especially staying on Feng Jie for a while, and then reported: "I want to impeach two people."
"who?"
"The first person is Shangqing Mengyi."
"Oh! Why did you impeach me?" Hu Hai asked deliberately.
After becoming the crown prince, Feng Quji was idle. Meng Yi led his army back to the palace, but was attacked and defeated by the well-prepared city defense army. He was captured before he could send the news back to Shanglinyuan, and even resisted the rebellion. Mingtou was imprisoned in Xianyang Prison.
"Meng Yi took advantage of the emperor's visit to the empty Shanglinyuan palace to commit treason. This is a serious crime. I will impeach him and plead with him to punish his nine clans and correct my court policy, so as to frighten Xiaoxiao."
Speaking of the last few words, he deliberately raised the decibel level and deliberately turned his head to glance at the officials.
Hu Hai understood what he meant, but when he heard the word "kill the nine tribes", he was stunned. This was the first time he went to court to encounter such a thing, and he didn't know how to react.
Executing the Nine Tribes is not a trivial matter, and Meng Yi is still one of the most favored people of the emperor, and the Meng family has been a hero in several dynasties. No matter how stupid Hu Hai is, he must think twice about it, and he should also seek the opinions of all the officials.
"What do you think?" His eyes fell on San Gongzhi Er and Zong Zheng.
The Taiwei did not speak, and Feng Jie did not stand up. Zong Zheng thought for a while, slightly cupped his hands and said, "I second my opinion!"
The second motion was to agree to the impeachment of Zhi Su Neishi. This made Hu Hai's expression change. He knew that Meng Yi was an obstacle, but he had to be mentally prepared.
At this time, Feng Jie spoke: "Sir, Jie thinks this matter should be discussed in the long term. Why not discuss it again in three days?"
"Yes, yes, we will discuss it in three days. Let's put it aside for now." Someone came to his rescue. Hu Hai breathed a sigh of relief and responded quickly. Three days was enough for him to digest today's experience.
Then he asked Zhi Su Neishi, "There is a second one, who is it?"
Zhisu's internal history glanced at Hu Hai inadvertently, then looked at Feng Jie without any scruples, and then said: "I impeach the right prime minister Feng Quji."
"What is the reason for impeachment?" This is another question knowingly.
In the battle to seize the rightful son, Feng Quji fought hard for his son Fusu and stated all the wrongdoings of Hu Hai. Hu Hai had already hated him to the bone. At this moment, he was just acting.
Of course, others also saw it, but no one dared to tell the truth, including Feng Quji's son Feng Jie.
"I impeach him for suppressing the head of Guizhou and flattering merchants while he was in charge of the country, which has caused the current sharp increase in food prices in Xianyang and widespread complaints among the people. This is a crime that harms the country and should be punished and executed to rectify the city of Qin."
When these words came out, even the trembling and frightened ministers began to whisper.
"It's ridiculous. How can the right prime minister suppress the head of Guizhou, and how can he flatter the merchants? This is just making false claims. The current surge in food prices has nothing to do with it, let alone harming the country. Please tell me a lesson."
Feng Jie was the first to stand up and refute. When it came to his father, he had to stand up.
"Do you have any evidence?" Hu Hai asked Zhi Su Nei Shi.
Jisu Naishi took a step forward confidently and responded: "Of course there is, and everyone knows the evidence."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, as if asking what they knew.
Before everyone could react, Zhi Su Neishi continued:
"Do you remember that on the day of the grand event, Prime Minister Feng had a lot of whispers with Li Zhao, and even sent his granddaughter to his door. Li Zhao is a merchant, or a great merchant of Da Qin. Isn't Prime Minister Feng flattering?"
"On the day of the grand event, Prime Minister Feng was supervising the country. Everyone in Guizhou wanted to see the emperor's face, but they were blocked. Isn't this suppression?"
It seems reasonable, but also seems ridiculous.
Everyone looked at each other again.
"It's nonsense. The conversation between Prime Minister You and Li Zhao is a normal exchange. The granddaughter is the marriage partner given by His Majesty. How could he be flattering? This is obviously a deliberate attempt to embarrass Prime Minister You and slander Prime Minister You."
"What's even more ridiculous is that being isolated from the Guizhou leaders has become a suppression? Do you want these Guizhou leaders to get close to His Majesty and put His Majesty's safety at risk? It's extremely ridiculous."
Feng Jie continued to refute, seemingly very reasonable.
The dispute was evenly divided, but there was no conclusion.
"You are favoring your father and the person who is causing harm to the country. Young Master, please punish the imperial censor immediately and take him into custody." Zhisu Naishi asked with his hand in hand, glancing at him casually.
Hu Hai had encountered such a thing before, and was a little confused for a while.
As soon as he came to court, there were the Shang Qing, the Right Prime Minister, and the Imperial Censor, all of whom were like giants of the Qin Dynasty. He was not mentally prepared at all. Although he wanted all of these people to die, subconsciously he did not dare!
"This, this" he hesitated, not knowing how to respond. Fortunately, someone came to his rescue again.
"Sir, why not do this? We will discuss Prime Minister Feng's crime in three days. We will discuss the price of food first."
This was the voice of the Taiwei. He finally spoke after a rare occasion.
"Yes, the lieutenant is right. We will discuss Prime Minister Feng's matter in three days. Let's still discuss the price of food." Whether he was nervous or out of mind, Hu Hai repeated the lieutenant's words.
Of course, no one dared to laugh.
"I wonder if the Lieutenant has any suggestions?"
The Taiwei smiled and did not speak directly, but pointed to Zhi Neishi. The meaning was obvious. Zhi Neishi was the expert, and he knew the price of grain best.
Hu Hai understood and quickly asked Zhi Su Neishi: "Do you have any countermeasures?"
Zhisu Neishi resented Hu Hai for not doing what he wanted, but he didn't show it. He scratched his head, but he had some opinions and said: "The sudden increase in food prices happened a few years ago. At that time, your Majesty took The strategy is to let Li Zhao sell a large amount of grain, so that those merchants who stock the grain will eventually be unable to stock any more, and the price will naturally drop."
"At this moment, the price of grain is showing signs of the previous one again. There must be merchants collecting grain. Why not order Li Zhao to take action again?"
(End of chapter)
