Zheng Yuan's sudden departure did not bother his father-in-law. The elderly minister was more or less feeling unwell.
After watching Zheng Yuan leave, the father-in-law shook his head helplessly, then turned around and entered the main hall, preparing to inform Su Xuanyong of the situation.
At this time, as many ministers entered the main hall again, a criticism of Su Qi'an began again.
As Su Qi'an had expected, this time they were not targeting Su Qi'an for the three major crimes.
Instead, they demanded that Su Qi'an be punished on the grounds that the deaths of Li Kang and Tang Feng were not in compliance with the laws of the Great Liang.
According to the law, even if a local state pastor commits a crime, he must not be killed privately as Su Qi'an did. If so, what will happen to His Majesty the Imperial Court? Where is the law? Without rules, wouldn't Great Liang be in chaos?
If big things become trivial and small things become trivial, what will other state pastors think? Isn’t it true that everyone is in danger?
This statement was supported by the two princes on Longtai.
When Zhao Cheng, Sima Yue and many other officials attacked Su Qi'an for this reason, the two princes also spoke one after another.
"Father, I think what Duke Zhao Guogong, Sima Guogong, and other ministers say is reasonable. Our dynasty governs the country by law. As far as I know, Dongshan Marquis and the two state ministers, Tang Feng and Li Kang, are all There are enemies, but this is not the reason why Dongshan Hou can kill people."
"My son admires the talent of Marquis Dongshan very much. During the conversation, he also discovered that this person is very talented. However, after all, two state pastors are involved, so I hope that my father will think twice about the ministers' suggestions."
"Father, what the second brother said is reasonable. If you say it, two state pastors will die after all. If we don't handle it well and give an explanation to the other state pastors, I'm afraid it will lead to other changes. I hope my father will consider it carefully. How to deal with Dongshan Hou’s crime.”
Su Zhe and Su Tai were indeed the two most powerful princes in the court. When they spoke, they were completely thinking from the perspective of Da Liang. Their arguments were well-founded and there was no hint of any suspicion of favoritism.
Especially the last sentence is very thought-provoking. Whether he wanted Su Xuanyong to think carefully about punishing Su Qi'an or how to punish him? There was a hint in his words, leaving him room to respond.
The speeches of the two princes strengthened the confidence of many officials below. As if they were ready, they stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and spoke in unison.
"I also hope that your Majesty will severely punish the Marquis of Dongshan and give justice to the officials in Daliang."
In the hall, the voices of many officials echoed. Su Xuanyong, who was sitting on the dragon stage, looked past the two princes and looked at the officials bowing under the stage.
After thinking for a while, he then said, "I feel your loyalty to Great Liang, but I have something to ask you about the issue of dealing with Su Qi'an."
"Your Majesty, please tell me. I will tell you everything I know."
Su Xuanyong nodded and said, "Since you all agree that Su Qi'an should be punished severely, I would like to ask, do you have no selfish motives in your heart?"
"As far as I know, neither Tang Feng nor Li Kang seems to have much interaction with you. Many of them have some grievances with these two people. Why are they all suddenly replaced at this time? The two of them spoke, do you dare to touch your conscience and swear that you are just thinking about the future of Great Liang and are definitely not avenging private revenge?"
Su Xuanyong's words were not only spoken to the ministers under the Long Platform, but also to the two princes beside him.
These words seemed to be asking, but in fact they were forcing them to make a choice. Do they dare to answer truthfully? This was equivalent to Su Xuanyong's questioning of them.
They knew very well that if they showed such awe-inspiring righteousness, they would probably have a difficult time in the future as Su Xuanyong would keep staring at them.
But if they could get Su Qi'an down and convict him at this time, even if they would have a little trouble later, it would be worth it.
Everyone's eyes flashed, and it was the two leading men, Zhao Cheng and Sima Yue, who finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, I hope..."
Just when the two of them were preparing to endure the troubles Su Xuanyong would cause them in the future, suddenly, a hurried voice sounded outside the door.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I feel unwell and went to the toilet. I wasted some time. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
Zheng Yuan trotted all the way, ran in with an apology on his face, and quickly knelt down to Su Xuanyong and begged for forgiveness.
Regarding Zheng Yuan's behavior, Su Xuanyong waved his hand to indicate that he stood up, saying there was no need to do this, and expressed his understanding.
Zheng Yuan nodded repeatedly, apologized, and stood up.
Zhao Cheng and Sima Yue, who were standing next to them, had obviously unhappy expressions on their faces.
If they were not sure that Zheng Yuan was on the same side as them, based on his current behavior, the two of them would doubt whether Zheng Yuan had betrayed him and did it deliberately.
With the momentum they had finally gathered, they could make Su Xuanyong convict Su Qi'an at the last step. But at this time, by coincidence, Zheng Yuan broke in carelessly.
Interrupting their words directly, the momentum that had finally been gathered was shattered at this moment. It would be impossible for anyone else to look good.
Zheng Yuan acted as if he hadn't seen it and asked what happened during his absence so that he could understand the situation.
Su Xuanyong signaled and asked a chamberlain to tell him what had just happened.
Zheng Yuan nodded thoughtfully, pondered for a while, then clasped his fists and said solemnly.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I am different from other ministers. I don't know whether to say it or not."
Su Xuanyong raised his eyebrows and said with some interest in his eyes, "Oh, what other different opinions does Zheng Zaifu have? Let's hear it."
Zheng Yuan cleared his throat and then said, "Through the discussion in court just now, the old minister suddenly has a different view of Dongshan Hou."
"Yes, according to the laws of the Great Liang, Dongshan Hou's murder of two state pastors is punishable by death. But if you carefully understand the causes and consequences, you will find that Dongshan Hou is not only innocent, but actually meritorious."
"According to the historical tax, population, and military data compiled by the veteran and the cabinet members during this period, the veteran found that there seems to be some hidden data in the two states."
"For this matter, the old minister specially checked with several ministers such as the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, and found out that it is unusual. The tax revenue, population, and military strength of these two states have all decreased by about 30% compared with before."
"The past few years have not been years of great disaster, and it is impossible to have dropped so much. Why did the two state governors hide it? Therefore, the veteran has a bold inference. Li Kang and Tang Feng withheld this tax and used it for training. My own private soldiers are suspected of trying to separate the two states and split them."
"This inference, I have no substantial evidence for, and I didn't intend to say it originally. However, after being prompted by Marquis Dongshan just now, I am more and more convinced that Tang Feng and Li Kang have disloyal intentions."
"Dongshan Hou led troops to counterattack and finally killed two state pastors, which indeed verified the suspicion of the old minister. Therefore, Dongshan Hou not only had no fault but also made merits. Two ministers, do you think what I said is reasonable?"
Zheng Yuan's 180-degree reversal made everyone in the hall stunned for a long time.
Especially the ministers who just wanted to put Su Qi'an to death were confused by Zheng Yuan's operation.
What's going on? It was only a quarter of an hour late and they went to the toilet. After they came out, they turned against each other. This not only caught them off guard, but also left them speechless for a long time.
But for those who can sit in a high position like Shangshu, no matter how confused they are, they can still tell that Zheng Yuan is helping them.
The two ministers who were named pretended to ponder, then recovered and nodded.
"Yes, Master Zaifu did check with us on this matter, but because we had no direct evidence at the time, we were unable to make a final judgment."
"Now that Master Zaifu has said this, there is indeed a lot of unusualness in this. It seems that behind this is probably what Zaifu said. The two state pastors had disloyal intentions and were discovered by Dongshan Hou. In the end, Dongshan Hou fought hard Next, kill them both."
"If this is really the case, then Dongshan Hou is indeed not only innocent, but actually meritorious. I hope Your Majesty can investigate this matter and clear Dongshan Hou's name."
The two ministers spoke righteously, making Zhao Cheng and Sima Yue want to scold their mothers.
When did Zheng Yuan and him discuss this matter in private? This is really outrageous.
The two princes looked at each other, their eyes flashing, and as they were thinking about how to deal with this matter next, Su Xuanyong's voice rang in their ears.
"Oh, there is such a thing. I really need to send someone to investigate carefully. By the way, did you just accuse Dongshan Marquis? Are you still going to continue?"
"It seems that only Zhao Guogong and Sima Guogong have opinions at present. Since you have opinions, let's talk about it over there."
The two princes suddenly came back to their senses. When they heard their names being called, they knelt down and said, "I have no objections to Marquis Dongshan's accusation. As Zaifu said, Marquis Dongshan is indeed not guilty of doing this. Removing two scourges for me, Daliang, has done a great service."
"So that's it? Father, my father was confused and blinded by his temporary remarks, which made Marquis Dongshan feel wronged. I am guilty and I hope my father will punish me."
"In this way, I have really wrongly blamed Dongshan Hou. I am also willing to be punished, but before being punished, I ask my father to agree to give Dongshan Hou a reward. With Dongshan Hou's current contribution, it is more than enough to be promoted to a first-class marquis. "
The two princes Su Zhe and Su Tai on the dragon stage also reacted quickly. They first apologized, claiming that they had wronged Su Qi'an by mishearing the rumors, and asked Su Xuanyong to punish him. Then they proposed to reward Su Qi'an.
Su Xuanyong's eyes flashed and he looked at Su Zhe and Su Tai with a look of relief. He said something in their ears and motioned for them to get up.
Then, looking at the ministers kneeling below, he said, "What about you? What do you think of what the two princes said?"
"We request that you be promoted to the first rank of Marquis of Dongshan."
Everyone shouted in unison, which made Su Xuanyong very satisfied and nodded with a smile.
It seems that this matter has been determined. In order to protect the safety of Great Liang, Su Qi'an eliminated two scourges that deserved to be killed for the imperial court.
The change in everyone's attitude was so rapid. Just now they were verbally criticizing Su Qi'an, but after a while, they directly changed their request and requested that Su Qi'an be awarded the title of first-class marquis.
This change was so rapid that even Wenxuan and others were stunned for a while.
