In the square outside Dali Temple, there are several tin speakers.
The people of the capital gathered here at dawn.
"Brother, I saw in the newspaper that Dali Temple held a public trial for Su Erniu and his family today.
I really didn't expect that the high-ranking Gonghou family would one day be tried like a prisoner.
This is not an ordinary prince, Su Erniu is the second uncle of His Majesty the Emperor.
His family accompanied the emperor to conquer the world and made great contributions."
Someone lowered their voice and whispered: "How can the founding emperor be easy to get along with? Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, killed heroes like chickens.
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang almost killed all the nobles.
Our emperor is a relatively open-minded person.
All the nobles were driven overseas, leaving them to fend for themselves.
The rest are just three or two big cats and kittens. These people dare to touch the emperor's bottom line.
Even if he is a biological brother, he will not let him go.
What's more, if it's separated by another layer, it will definitely become the chicken that kills the chicken and scares the monkey."
"Brother, I can see clearly that a high-ranking official in this position was directly removed from his post.
He definitely didn't really commit any crime, he just offended someone.
Didn't the newspapers say some time ago that during the mourning period for the Queen Mother, other clan members were very honest, but Su Erniu's family was the one causing trouble.
Isn't this just a slap in the emperor's face? They can do these things, and the emperor will not save face for his second uncle."
"The second son of Su Erniu is not the minister of Dali Temple. All of Dali Temple belongs to him. How will this case be tried?"
"Brother, you only read half of the newspaper.
It has been said in the newspapers that Cabinet Minister Wang Yanhu will temporarily act as Minister of Dali Temple and will be fully responsible for hearing this case."
"Wang Yanhu is only in charge of trying the case, while Huo Qidao, the censor, is really famous all over the world for this case.
He single-handedly brought the top nobles to justice.
I still remember Huo Yushi’s ironclad words.
The laws of the Great China Empire are the highest, and princes who break the law are as guilty as the common people.
I heard that he is from the Legalist family. What kind of legalist family is that? Isn’t his surname Huo?”
People only learned about the case from newspapers.
They discussed the case with each other, there were plenty of rumors to talk about, and they were never bored at all.
The time soon came to eight o'clock in the morning, and Wang Yanhu, Huo Qidao, He Zhisheng and other officials from the Three Laws Division entered Dali Temple one after another.
The loudspeaker in front of Dali Temple soon reminded me of Wang Yanhu's majestic voice.
"I have obtained the order from His Majesty the Emperor to personally interrogate the case of Su Erniu.
The criminals Su Erniu, Su Ying, Su Yan, and Su Que were deprived of all their noble titles, expelled from the family tree, and demoted to common people."
This sound followed the loudspeaker and spread throughout the Dali Temple Square.
"The emperor is serious about this. I thought they were just being demoted.
When the emperor calms down, these people will have a chance to rise again.
Now it seems that the emperor wants to beat them to death completely.
Removal of nobility was a severe punishment, and they were also expelled from the clan.
The clan is different from small families like ours.
A commoner in the clan enjoys invisible welfare benefits, which is better than that of a wealthy and famous family.
Children can go to school with princes and princes' sons.
Even if there is no salary like the previous dynasty, the connections accumulated through invisible benefits can benefit this person throughout his life."
"It is indeed the case. The sons of clan members and princes, under the same conditions, will receive extra care.
I tied for last place with a son of a certain clan in the last provincial examination.
Just because he is the son of the clan, he became the official, and I went to lose my reputation."
After Wang Yanhu announced the opening of the trial, a sound would sometimes come from the loudspeaker, but most of the time it would be turned off.
"What's going on? Is the new technology of the Royal Academy of Sciences so unreliable?
I heard that this technology has been used for many years, and the shortcomings that should be optimized should have been optimized."
"I asked, did Dali Temple turn off the sound on purpose?
Thinking about the identities of these people, they may have committed some crimes and are not suitable to be disclosed!"
"Shoot! Su He must be shot. It turns out that the vicious Black Tiger Gang is supported by this guy. He is the mastermind behind the scenes.
In the clan, there are always things like this, and that is when the people are really in dire straits.
I never thought that a young man could be so evil."
"It's not just Su He, Shuntian Mansion is also derelict in their duties, and those people in Shuntian Mansion should be dismissed from office."
The loudspeaker sounded again, and Huo Qidao read out Su He's charges, which immediately aroused the anger of the people.
They are far away from Su Erniu's family, but very close to the Black Tiger Gang, and everyone can relate to it.
The people were eating melon seeds and listening to the sound coming from the loudspeaker.
There are also many capable people among the crowd who explain to those who don’t understand the crimes committed by the Su family brothers.
"The Duke Su Ying actually formed a clique in the army for personal gain and usurped the military merits of the children from a poor family.
What did he want to do? No wonder he was caught by the emperor. It was really abominable.
Joining the army and working hard is already the easiest way for children from poor families to cross social strata.
He actually stepped in and interrupted this ascending channel.
Even if it is for the millions of soldiers across the country, the emperor will definitely let Dali Temple impose a heavy sentence."
“I miss the public trial so much, I hope there will be heroes like this in the future.
Su Yan is really good at playing. I can see clearly the methods of these high-ranking people.
If you say you are guilty, you are guilty, and if you are not guilty, you are guilty.
If you say you are not guilty, you are not guilty, and if you are guilty, you are not guilty.
With such corrupt officials in high positions, justice will definitely not be served.
Ordinary people commit petty theft and are exiled for three thousand miles.
A powerful man brutally killed his younger brother and was exiled for three thousand miles.
The law is fair, but how can we maintain fairness when we encounter officials who interpret the law crookedly?"
The people were lamenting Su Yan's crime. When Su Que's crime was exposed, it immediately caused an uproar in the whole place.
There is no need to work, and the people who come to watch in front of Dali Temple are all people with few assets.
Among the crowd, small businessmen account for the largest proportion.
"The imperial court's commercial taxes are already heavy, but we still encounter people who collect taxes indiscriminately.
My second uncle's taxation was a bit weird before. Others paid three million in tax, but he had to pay five million in tax.
It turns out that the enemy got involved in the Su family, I really feel unworthy of my second uncle."
"Trash, Shuo Shu.
The existence of such people in the empire is a tragedy for all our people.
I saw the news in the newspaper that the business tax revenue exceeded 100 million last year.
We businessmen still have no status at all."
As the case went on trial, people outside the court became furious.
In Dali Temple, Su Erniu's family also welcomed the final sentencing.
The cabinet minister and Dali Temple Minister Wang Yanhu solemnly announced: "Everyone stands up and the verdict is pronounced in court."
Everyone stood up and waited for the Dali Temple Minister to pronounce the verdict.
Su He, whose legs were already weak, was forcibly lifted up by someone's arms.
"According to Article 47, Article 83, and Article 169 of the Criminal Law of the Great China Empire.
Su He is sentenced to death and will be executed immediately."
Su He was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and shouted: "Mother, save me, I don't want to die."
The officials of Dali Temple ignored Su He's cries and dragged him outside.
In front of tens of thousands of people, Su He was shot to death.
Wang Yanhu looked serious and continued to pronounce the sentence.
Su Ying was sentenced to 678 years in prison and exiled to Tumu Prefecture in the westernmost part of Ili Province.
Su Yan was sentenced to 56 years in prison and exiled to Edo, the Governor-General's Palace of East Japan.
Su Que was sentenced to 1,234 years in prison and exiled to the Governor-General's Mansion in East India.
Su Erniu and other family members who had not committed any crime were demoted to common people and sent back to their hometown of Sujia Village, Baoji Prefecture.
A total of 105 officials were implicated in the Su Erniu case.
Coerced by others, officials with minor crimes were dismissed from office, and other officials were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of several years to hundreds of years, and all were exiled to the frontiers or overseas governor's offices.
This case, which shocked the whole country, ended with one person being executed, one duke and two marquises exiled, and hundreds of officials dismissed and exiled.
The people gathered outside the gate of Dali Temple, shouting slogans of long live the festival and cheering until night.
…………………………
At the residence of Marquis Su Wuniu, the housekeeper kept reporting on the punishment Dali Temple had imposed on Su Erniu's family.
He looked at his son and son-in-law and reprimanded him in a stern tone: "Please be patient from now on. Don't think that your father, an old man like yours, can get you back.
I'm going to say something ruthless here, if you really commit a crime, I will never fish it out.
Our whole family cannot be involved because of one person."
Su Lin said with a playful smile: "Dad, our family is full of scholars and businessmen, and there are not many officials.
If you don't hold a high position, even if you want to make a big mistake, you won't have this opportunity."
Su Wuniu immediately kicked Su Lin in the butt.
"You little brat, if you hadn't committed a crime and hit His Majesty's gun, I would have sent you to prison.
Looking like this today, he is probably your boy."
Su Lin said with lingering fear: "Dad, I was mentally ill and caused you trouble.
Looking back now, if you weren't ruthless, I would still be a dandy and would probably bring disaster to our family."
In his heart, Su Lin wanted to thank his father for his decisiveness.
His second uncle, Su Erniu, doted on his son too much. Not only did his son lose his life, but the whole family was demoted to common people.
These relatives did not even dare to provide relief in the future, and could only let the family fend for itself.
Su Lin looked at Su Wuniu and said with lingering fear: "Dad, will your Majesty use this excuse to be cruel to the clan?"
Su Wuniu kicked his son again and scolded: "You were so smart just now, why are you so stupid now?
Your uncle's family is the most powerful, but they are no longer in the empire.
Your second uncle's family is just like a snake swallowing an elephant.
I'm jealous of your uncle's family. They also want to be as wealthy as your uncle's family.
I have no ability, so I want to form a clique and suck the blood of the empire.
By doing so, they have touched His Majesty's bottom line and will naturally be targeted by His Majesty.
Our family abides by the law, is self-aware, and will never reach out randomly.
At most, he would only be reprimanded a few words, and no big trouble would occur.
But other distant relatives who are not very honest, they will probably be cleared."
After Su Wuniu finished speaking, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his children.
He said with emotion: "The most important thing for a person is to have self-awareness. He knows how much he weighs and how much he weighs. If you shouldn't reach out, you should never reach out."
We don’t reach out randomly. With our status, even if others want to frame the fault, they will not be able to do anything."
…………………………
Emperor Su He looked at the moon in the sky in the back garden.
Not long after the Queen Mother passed away, she immediately dealt cruelly to the clan.
He could already imagine that his reputation among the clan was already stinky.
Queen Wang Wenjun saw Emperor Su He admiring the moon alone.
She came over and comforted her softly: "Husband, you did the right thing.
Any force that digs into the empire for its own power is working against us.
They are like locusts lying on the empire sucking blood, abscesses growing on the empire.
Get rid of these people and the clan will become purer.
We do not want to erode the imperial clan, they have no loyalty to the empire.
We must be able to grow together with the empire and become a clan that is the pillar of the empire."
Emperor Su He held Queen Wang Wenjun's hand and said happily: "Wenjun, you are right.
We cannot want the moths in the clan, we most need the pillars of the clan.
Only by clearing away the moths and guiding the clan’s children to the right path can this be my ideal clan.”
When Queen Wang Wenjun heard what Emperor Su He said, she asked with concern: "Husband, there is not much power in the clan anymore. Do you want to continue to clean up the clan?"
Emperor Su He said seriously: "Scraping the bones to cure the poison cannot be done in one go.
As long as I relax my vigilance, the clan will hatch even worse forces.
Only one hand holds the stick and the other holds the carrot.
Only in this way can the descendants of the clan be correctly guided to the right path.
I will order the Metropolitan Procuratorate to keep a close eye on the clan members. Once they violate the law, they will be dealt with immediately and without mercy.
Only such severe treatment can maintain the power of the royal family and maintain the dignity of the law."
Emperor Su He looked at Queen Wang Wenjun and said in a serious tone, "Not only the clan, but also relatives and children of powerful people, I will also deal with them strictly.
I can even be cruel to my own second uncle.
Not to mention some relatives and children of powerful people."
When Queen Wang Wenjun heard what Emperor Su He said, she suddenly became nervous.
He then relaxed again. His eldest brother and second brother's family were all in North Africa.
They will never be affected by this incident.
She might as well worry about the Fujian defense line being breached by the Ottoman Empire and her eldest and second brothers being harmed.
Queen Wang Wenjun immediately replied: "Husband, I will strictly restrain the concubines in the harem.
Let them control their relatives and never cause trouble to His Majesty."
Emperor Su He held the queen's hand with a happy face, but it was the queen Wang Wenjun who understood him.
…………………………
At the residence of Prime Minister Wei Shiming, he summoned faction members to actively discuss the situation in the court.
Wei Shiming looked at the officials of the faction and said in an excited tone: "The opportunity you have been waiting for has arrived.
Whether you can seize this opportunity depends entirely on your ability.
In the case of Su Erniu, hundreds of officials were arrested. Among them, we were able to get involved in the three major government agencies: Dali Temple, Taxation Bureau, and Shaofu.
These three yamen are also extremely important yamen. We must control at least some of the official positions.
Let's discuss it internally first, and I will submit the recommendation list to His Majesty.
There must be no internal strife, we must concentrate our efforts to compete with other factions for these official positions."
Wei Shiming selected officials close to him to compete for vacant positions.
Other forces in the capital are also gearing up and keeping an eye on these vacant official positions.
This is a big fat piece of meat that absolutely no one wants to let go of.
There are also some people who use various means to add fuel to the flames. They want to expand the emperor's power.
Crack down on clan and noble forces, creating more job vacancies.
People like them benefit from it, and they can also attack the noble group that has always refused to deal with the civil servants.
