Above the main hall, there were originally some noisy civil and military officials, but as the voice of the green willow fell, there was no sound.
All the ministers looked at the gray-faced Shi Pu and Jin Ying in the hall, with incomparable shock and anger in their eyes.
Giving and receiving bribes is nothing unusual.
Although the court has repeatedly issued bans, since Renxuan, the exchange of favors has become inevitable.
However, when you reach the third level and above, these things become much less common. Giving gifts to each other is more out of etiquette.
After all, every third-grade official is considered a very important person, whether in the court or in the local area.
To promote such an official, there must be solid political performance support.
Gold, silver, wealth and silk are at best the icing on the cake.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if an official of third rank or above is found to have committed bribery, his foundation will not be shaken.
Fines and reprimands are the most common thing. If the commotion is quite big, and the person is dismissed from office and returns to his hometown to reflect on his past, it is not impossible to reinstate him after a few years.
But who cares?
Qiqing is the most important minister of the country and the top among civil servants.
As the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Shi Pu not only bribed a eunuch, which made a group of courtiers angry.
This is also the reason why Shi Pu and Jin Ying tried their best to deny that they had ever met in private.
During this court ceremony, Yu Shiyue first confirmed the fact that Shi Pu had sent gifts to Wang Zhen.
Although there is no evidence to prove it, it was for the purpose of seeking the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry.
But similarly, Shi Pu's so-called land invasion case may not win everyone's trust.
However, before the case was settled, Shi Pu bribed Jin Ying again.
As Yu Shiyue said, there is indeed no evidence from the Sanfa Department to prove that Shi Pu gave gifts to Wang Zhen in order to seek the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry.
However, Luliu's testimony is here that Shi Pu bribed Jin Ying in order to preserve his position as Minister of the Ministry of Industry.
This is a definite fact!
Yu Shiyue turned around, bowed to the throne, and said.
"Your Majesty, the case of Shi Pu, Minister of Industry, bribing Wang Zhen is still unclear, but the facts are clear that he bribed Jin Ying in order to suppress dissidents and preserve his official position."
"It can be deduced from this that since Shi Pu was able to bribe middle-ranking officials to protect his official position, it is very likely that the property he donated to Wang Zhen was also used to seek the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry."
"Shi Pu, as an official of the imperial court and an important minister of the Qing Dynasty, secretly befriended middle-ranking officials, colluded internally and externally, engaged in bribery, and interfered in the imperial election."
"I obeyed His Majesty's will and presided over the court interrogation. However, Shi Pu stood majestically in front of the emperor, spoke eloquently and deceived the emperor several times without any intention of repentance."
"Now that the truth of this case has been revealed, I request your majesty to remove Shi Pu from his official position and send him to prison. He will order the three judges to examine his crime in detail and determine the punishment to set the record straight."
Therefore, it is beneficial to not try cases entirely according to the law.
According to strict judicial procedures, Yu Shiyue's so-called "backward reasoning" is undoubtedly dereliction of duty.
But the biggest advantage of Tingju is that it can maximize the role of the imperial court in the trial.
At this moment, Yu Shiyue did not need to bother to find evidence from Shi Pu to seek bribes from the Minister of Industry. He only needed to prove that he bribed Jin Ying to protect his official position.
Then the courtiers would naturally recognize his "inference".
As long as there is approval from the court, then this is the irrefutable truth regardless of whether there is evidence or not!
At this point, Tingju is on the court, and the work of the Three Law Divisions has come to an end.
Now that the truth has been found out, the next step is the stage for a bunch of bosses.
The first person to come forward was Zhang Gu, the current official in charge of Li Ke, and this matter involved the fairness of the election, which was within his jurisdiction.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the facts of this case are clear and the evidence is sufficient."
"Shi Pu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, colluded with the internal ministers, first bribed Wang Zhen, and then married Jin Ying, regarded the imperial government's official assets as personal use, arbitrarily interfered with the selection of the seven ministers, and disrupted the imperial system. It is an unpardonable crime."
"I will be removed from my official position, my property will be confiscated, and I will be exiled for three thousand miles to serve as a warning to everyone in the court."
As soon as he finished speaking, on the other side, the censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate were not willing to lag behind and stepped forward.
"In addition to Shi Pu, the eunuch Jin Ying, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial department, made friends with foreign ministers, interfered in court affairs, accepted bribes, beguiled the Holy Listeners, and manipulated the appointment and dismissal of the seven ministers. How are these thieves different from Wang Zhen?"
"The civil engineering matters are a lesson to me. I sincerely request your Majesty to severely punish his crimes."
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
Countless courtiers came forward, prostrated themselves on the ground, and shouted.
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!"
"The internal ministers are messing with the government, and Yin Jian is at the forefront. Your Majesty, please punish them severely!"
"Your Majesty, please punish these two severely!"
In just a few moments, at least half of the courtiers from top to bottom of the court requested severe punishment.
Zhu Qiyu sat on the throne, a smile flashed between his eyebrows.
As expected, this is where the courtiers' rebellion lies.
Now that Taizu's dynasty is no longer in power, giving and receiving bribes will not cause any big trouble.
When you reach the third rank or above, especially if you are an important minister of the Qi Qing, these things can be big or small.
What will really make the courtiers feel angry and vigilant is the appearance of the second Wang Zhen.
As a second-rank minister, Shi Pu sent gifts late at night to Jin Ying, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, just to keep his official position.
It’s hard not to think of Wang Zhen, the last eunuch who could manipulate the appointment and removal of Qiqing!
Based on this alone, the courtiers would not let Shi Pu go.
What's more, during this court battle, the Sanfa Division completely blew up the previous involvement between him and Wang Zhen, and it was impossible not to let anyone connect them.
It should be said that Jin Ying's feeling was not wrong.
In this court battle, Shi Pu is just the introduction, Jin Ying is the real target!
But it's not easy.
After the Battle of Tumu, people were in panic. It was Jin Ying who was the first to speak out and stop the southward migration. Later, it was he who assisted King Tan, who was not yet prestigious at the time, to stabilize the situation in the court.
After all, Jin Ying is different from ordinary eunuchs.
He has deep qualifications, many connections, strong abilities, and is experienced and thoughtful in handling government affairs. He is highly praised in the foreign court.
This is his talisman.
After all, the ceremonial supervisor has now become an indispensable part of the operation of government affairs.
The courtiers all hope that there will be an internal eunuch who can always bear responsibility, be cautious, and will not act recklessly to connect with the external dynasty.
He has both qualifications and merit.
Even if he was a slave of the emperor for no reason, Zhu Qiyu couldn't do anything to him.
Although there were previous memorials impeaching Jin Ying for condoning domestic slaves, smuggling salt and iron, accepting bribes, and interfering in the appointment and dismissal of military attachés.
But after all, it's all a small fight.
In order to completely kick him out of the court, these courtiers must be convinced that Jin Ying is no longer suitable to continue serving in the central government.
The best excuse is for the eunuchs to directly interfere in the appointment and dismissal of the Seven Ministers!
Although Jin Ying only took the money and didn't actually do anything, it was enough...
With a slightly complicated look on his face, Zhu Qiyu spoke.
"Shi Pu, Jin Ying, do you still have room to defend yourself against the charges brought against you two by the Sanfa Division?"
Shi Pu's face turned gray and he was already desperate. He knelt on the ground and remained silent.
In contrast, Jin Ying had anticipated his situation very early, so he was calmer and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that the ministers have indeed accepted gold and silver from Shi Pu, but they never dare to interfere with the appointment and dismissal of important ministers of the seven ministers for personal reasons."
"I know that I am guilty, so I would like to ask your majesty to remember that I have served the late emperor for many years and still have some hard work. If you forgive me a little, I will be grateful for God's grace day and night."
