Yu Shiyue sipped the warm tea, while Xiao Yan sat aside and said nothing. He didn't know what he was thinking. Zhang Min sat behind the table and looked at the memorial in front of him. Unknowingly, his brows had tightened.
Wrinkled up.
After a while, Zhang Min finally put down the memorial, raised his head, and asked.
"Sir Cifu, have you read this book?"
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue put down the tea cup in his hand, shook his head and said.
"Never..."
Old fox!
Zhang Min secretly thought to himself, outsiders said that Yu Cifu was upright and sensible, but Zhang Min knew how slippery he was.
Just talking about this matter, Yu Shiyue handled it very smartly.
Not to mention why Xiao Han went to find him, his decisiveness in making a decision on the spot is very unparalleled.
If it were anyone else, even if they knew that the memorial brought by Xiao Yan would be a bit tricky, most people would still choose to read it first before talking about it.
Mastering more comprehensive information before making a judgment is one of the basic principles for standing in court.
But Yu Shiyue did the opposite, pushed Xiao Han out directly, and sent the memorial directly to him.
In this way, not to mention the rift between himself and Xiao Han, this hot potato has been thrown on his own head.
Of course, this matter was so difficult that Zhang Min couldn't really take it on by himself and put the memorial together. He didn't say much, he just ordered someone to hand it over and said.
"In that case, Mr. Tsusuke, you might as well take a look together."
Yu Shiyue didn't refuse. Since he came with him, he naturally wanted to know the contents. Therefore, after taking it, he lowered his head and read it.
After seeing this, Yu Shiyue's brows also frowned.
This is indeed no small matter!
The person who presented this memorial was Li Ke, Shizhong Zhoujian, whose status was not considered to be a distinguished one, but the content of his memorial was quite remarkable.
In this memorial, Zhou Jian impeached Chen Xun's son Chen Ying for colluding with local officials and accepting bribes, and claimed that he had used his father's name to put pressure on the prefect of Ji'an, causing him to bend the law for personal gain and indulge the Chen clan.
More importantly, this memorial clearly states that the prefect of Ji'an wrote to Chen Xun to inquire, which means that Chen Xun himself knew about this matter.
In this way, the nature has changed...
After reading it, Yu Shiyue's face became serious. It involved the Seven Ministers, which was by no means a trivial matter.
After watching him finish reading, Xiao Yan on the side said.
"Sir, First Assistant, Second Assistant, Ji'an Prefecture is my hometown, so according to the usual practice, it is not appropriate for me to draft this document, so I took it over and wanted to ask you two to give me your opinion."
These words meant a bit of explanation, but obviously they could not relieve Zhang Min's grudge against him.
However, this time is obviously not the time to care about this.
Zhang Min and Yu Shiyue looked at each other, and then Zhang Min spoke.
"This matter involves important officials in the court and cannot be ignored. It must be reported to His Majesty immediately."
Yu Shiyue nodded, his eyes fell on Xiao Han, and continued.
"Although this memorial involves officials from Xiao Ge's hometown, Mr. Xiao Ge got it first after all. How about going to the palace with us?"
On this matter, these two cabinet members have reached a high degree of agreement. This matter was brought about by Xiao Han. Now that he is throwing it at them, there is no way for him to survive alone!
On the other side, when Xiao Yan heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and nodded.
Although Yu Shiyue said this as an inquiry, in fact, he was not given the chance to refuse at all.
Therefore, even if he was reluctant, Xiao Yan had to stand up and rush to the palace with Zhang Min and Yu Shiyue...
Although Qianqing Palace was a little surprised that these three people came together, Zhu Qiyu summoned them in without thinking too much.
After the three of them entered the palace and bowed, Zhang Min briefly explained their purpose.
"Chen Xun?"
The chamberlain handed over the memorandum. Zhu Qiyu read it over and frowned slightly.
Although he had expected that the Ministry of Punishment's plan to investigate the guilty officials would definitely affect some high-ranking officials in the court, but the fact that even the seven ministers were involved was really unexpected to him.
If this is true, then Chen Xunqing was guilty of lax discipline. If it were taken more seriously, he might lose his official position.
Moreover, no matter what, if this incident becomes serious, it will definitely have a huge blow to Chen Xun's reputation.
After reading it, Zhu Qiyu slowly put down the memorial, looked around at the people below, and pondered.
"What is the cabinet's view on this matter?"
The question is about the cabinet, so naturally Zhang Min, the chief minister, will take the lead in answering.
However, Zhang Min also appeared to be very cautious when it came to the seven important ministers, saying.
"Your Majesty, I believe that the government is currently in turmoil and should not act rashly. Although this memorial is conclusive, it does not provide evidence. Therefore, I believe that it should not be publicized to the outside world for the time being."
"Your Majesty can first summon Chen Shangshu to inquire, and then send Jin Yiwei to Ji'an Mansion to investigate the matter. After the results are obtained, you can make plans."
This is a safe method, but it is undoubtedly a bit conservative. This memorial is not a secret memorial, so it is not surprising that it will spread to the court soon. Moreover, Zhang Min said very clearly that he wanted to first Call Chen Xun over to inquire.
This action may seem ordinary, but if you think about it carefully, you will know that Chen Xun will definitely not admit this accusation. On the contrary, after being summoned for questioning, if the matter is true, then he will definitely deal with the matter immediately after returning.
Ji'an is Chen Xun's hometown. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Even if the Jin Yiwei comes over, he may not be able to handle this matter faster than Chen Xun.
From this perspective, although Zhang Min said it euphemistically, he actually wanted to reduce the big issue to a trivial matter and give Chen Xun a chance to settle the matter on his own.
However, Zhu Qiyu did not express anything about Zhang Min's remarks.
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue on the side immediately stood up and objected.
"Your Majesty, I think it's inappropriate."
"The Ministry of Punishment has been ordered by His Majesty to investigate a corruption case, which has attracted the attention of the whole court. Now that officials have come forward to give evidence, it should naturally be investigated in detail. Otherwise, if the news spreads, the courtiers outside will definitely question Your Majesty's determination to rectify the administration of officials.
"
"What's more, although this matter involves Chen Shangshu's son, as the First Assistant said, there is no evidence for the time being. In this case, it is natural to investigate it impartially and thoroughly in order to clear Chen Shangshu's name and rectify the people's hearts."
Xiao Yan on the side couldn't help but look a little stunned after hearing this.
Although he has been in the cabinet for a while, this is the first time he has seen the first and second assistants confront each other so directly.
Could it be said that this is the normal state of their private quarrels with the emperor?
But why didn't he get angry when he looked at Mr. Shouxiang?
Thinking like this, the voice of the First Emperor sounded.
"What do you think, Mr. Xiao?"
"You were the first to expose this matter. If that's the case, sir, do you think it should be suppressed temporarily and investigated secretly? Or should it be made public to stop everyone from talking about it?"
So, following the emperor's words, Zhang Min and Yu Shiyue on the side also cast their eyes on Xiao Han.
At this time, Xiao Yan suddenly realized...
He was plotted!
This matter is destined to offend others, and the Ministry of Punishment's investigation of the plan was based on the emperor's order.
Although it is said that important officials in the court are involved, if it is not mentioned, then, as Yu Shiyue said, it will definitely arouse external discussions and damage the emperor's reputation.
But if we want to carry out an impartial and rigorous investigation with great fanfare, we will definitely offend Chen Xun.
This is a dilemma. Even people like Zhang Min and Yu Shiyue are not willing to do this offending thing for nothing.
However, when the matter reached the cabinet, they could not ignore it, so they did the opposite.
First, he used the excuse that Xiao Yan was the first to get the memorial and invited him into the palace together. Then, when they were discussing the imperial memorial, the two of them came to a tit-for-tat confrontation, holding two completely opposite opinions.
Under this situation, the emperor would inevitably ask him, the third person present.
In this way, he became the final 'decisive' force. No matter what the outcome was, he became the one who was hated in the end.
These two people usually seemed to be in harmony with each other, but they never imagined that they would be so tacitly understanding when they were in front of the emperor.
Xiao Han was not good at playing right to begin with. After thinking about this, he felt even more nervous. When he felt the emperor's gaze, sweat broke out on his forehead.
Yu Shiyue and Zhang Min on the side looked at his expression, but had no reaction.
This incident was originally initiated by Xiao Han. The ministers in the cabinet have the same rank. There is no hierarchy, only ranking. Each cabinet minister should have his own responsibilities. There is no reason for them to shoulder this responsibility for Xiao Han.
Xiao Yan went to Yu Shiyue just because he wanted to throw this hot potato away. If that was the case, he had to be prepared to be forced back.
After a while, Xiao Xi hesitated again and again.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that I am from Ji'an and the same hometown as Chen Shangshu. No matter whether I praise or criticize, it is difficult to be fair. Therefore, I dare not make rash comments. However, I believe that with Chen Shangshu's ethics, I am afraid that he will not bend the law for personal gain."
As for his son Chen Ying, I am not familiar with the matter and dare not make any assumptions."
Since no matter which one you choose, you will offend others, then it is better to avoid offending both.
Therefore, Xiao Yan finally gave up his original reason and wanted to stay out of the matter.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu did not continue to question him, but said:
"In this case, let's call Chen Shangshu over first and ask..."
After all, important ministers were involved, and it was not easy to make a decision at the moment, so in the end, Zhu Qiyu decided to call Chen Xun over first.
As for the argument between Zhang Min and Yu Shiyue just now, in fact, if you think about it carefully, you will understand that it is simply a false proposition.
This move can be regarded as one of the favorite tricks of this group of civil servants. On the surface, they are in trouble and each has his own opinion, but in fact, each of them has left a way out for himself.
To put it bluntly, the two of them seem to have great differences, but in fact, the differences between the two plans lie in the direction, not in the specific implementation, but in the specific measures. It is not an either/or relationship at all.
Just like now, summoning Chen Xun to come for questioning does not mean that he must be lenient, but...
"Your Majesty, Jin Lian, the Minister of Punishment, wants to see you!"
The chamberlain who went to summon Chen Xun had just gone out, and within a moment, someone came to report.
At this moment, Jin Lian came over...
The cabinet ministers below looked at each other with serious expressions on their faces.
"Call him in."
The emperor gave an order, so the chamberlain bowed his hands and stepped back. When he went back to the palace, he was followed by an old man in scarlet robes, who was Jin Lian, the Minister of Punishment.
When Jin Lian entered the palace, he found that Zhang Min and others were also there. While feeling confused, he bowed and saluted.
Later, Zhu Qiyu asked.
"Shang Shu Jin wants to see you, but what's the urgent matter?"
Hearing this, Jin Lian glanced at the cabinet ministers next to him and hesitated a bit. However, since everyone was already here, he couldn't tell the emperor to kick them out, so he pondered for a moment.
, Jin Lian still spoke.
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Punishment has just received a complaint, which involves the family records of a court minister, and may be related to this minister. Therefore, I would like to see your Majesty to request an order so that the investigation can continue."
As soon as these words came out, the ministers present looked at each other in confusion, and all showed a hint of thoughtfulness.
You must know that the Emperor has issued an imperial edict before, and the Ministry of Punishment is seeking to make a prudent and clear judgment in this investigation. All officials involved in the case can be questioned.
So in theory, if it doesn't require detention, Jin Lian can make his own decision.
Unless a minister of the same rank as him is involved, in this case, whether it is a question or a summons, you must ask for an order separately.
If that's the case, then it's very likely...
Looking at the secretive Jin Lian, Zhu Qiyu sighed and asked directly.
"Jin Shangshu is talking about Chen Ying, the son of Chen Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, right?"
Ah this...
Jin Lian subconsciously looked at the cabinet members on the side, but saw that there was no look of surprise on their faces.
So, he had no choice but to nod his head and said.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that this is indeed the case."
Afterwards, Jin Lian told what happened...
"Early this morning, Wang Xuan came to the Ministry of Justice during the Like incident and claimed that he wanted to report Chen Xun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, for allowing his son Chen Ying to annex land in his hometown of Taihe County, indulge in slaves and hurt people, and use his father's name to secretly pressure the government
Yamen, escaped from the law, accepted bribes on behalf of his father, abused his power for personal gain, sold his official position, and other eleven illegal things."
"For some of the charges, Wang Xuan brought evidence, including letters between the then magistrate of Taihe County and Chen Ying, the accounting records of prisoner Ji Tong's bribes to Chen Ying, and Wang Xuan's own confession and testimony.
All the evidence has been sealed by the ministers. Wang Xuan himself is also involved and needs further investigation. However, he is an official and I dare not detain him without permission. I have sent someone to send him back to the mansion."
"The specific details have been written down here. Your Majesty, please take a look at them."
While talking, Jin Lian took out a memorial and handed it over...
