Just when Huang Yourong and his group of officials thought they had won and were rejoicing over it, Gu Quan, who had been holding back for a long time, finally came out to speak.
"Your Majesty, I also have something to report!"
Emperor Deqing had already anticipated the counterattack from Zhao Junchen's group. Seeing Gu Quan come out to speak, he was not surprised at all. He just asked, "Oh? Is there anything else? Tell me."
Gu Quan raised his voice and said: "I am impeaching Yan Pengfei, the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, for abusing his power for personal gain, taking corruption and accepting bribes. Over the years, in order to extort money and take advantage of his position, he has created many unjust, false and wrong cases. The evidence of the crime I have collected is here. I hope your Majesty will learn from it."
!”
While speaking, Gu Quan took out a folder from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and handed it to the passing eunuch.
Then, Gu Quan spoke a lot in front of the officials, all of which were listing Yan Pengfei's crimes.
After hearing Gu Quan's impeachment, Emperor Deqing subconsciously frowned slightly and sighed secretly.
…………
Emperor Deqing's mood was actually quite complicated and contradictory regarding the partisan fighting between the courts.
If the major factions in the court were in peace, not fighting with each other, or even living in harmony, then Emperor Deqing would wonder if the major factions in the court had joined forces? Would they deal with him as the emperor? He always felt that
His throne as king is no longer stable.
Therefore, at times like this, Emperor Deqing would always find ways to make the major factions fight for various interests. Only when the major factions disputed would the emperor's attitude be taken seriously by the officials.
When ministers quarreled, the emperor benefited, and when ministers cooperated, the emperor was in danger. Emperor Deqing, who knew the emperor's mind well, understood this truth best.
However, if the struggle between the major factions in the court was too fierce, Emperor Deqing would actually have a headache.
Take this fight between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong as an example. First, Zhao Junchen impeached Huang Yourong's disciple Tang Zheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, for corruption and accepting bribes. Then Huang Yourong impeached Zhao Junchen's household department for harboring filth, and then Zhao Junchen's
People also impeached Huang Yourong's right-hand man, Yan Pengfei, the Minister of Punishment, for using his power for personal gain...
In this way, the two factions impeach each other. I don’t know whether Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong will be injured in the end, but in the eyes of the uninformed people, seeing that there are so many corrupt officials in the court, then
In the hearts of the people, it is no longer the Ministry of Household Affairs that harbors evil and evil, but the entire imperial court!
In fact, Emperor Deqing also knew clearly that among the hundreds of officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in front of him, although they usually looked loyal to the emperor and the country, and selfless, nine and a half out of ten could not withstand strict inspection.
Once a strict investigation is carried out, everyone will have committed corruption, bribery, and abuse of power for personal gain. The key is whether there is a strict investigation.
However, partisan struggles and mutual impeachments have torn off the bright appearance of the officials and the court. If it intensifies, the reputation of the court will inevitably be greatly affected.
Therefore, when the party struggle between the DPRK and China became more intense, Emperor Deqing would often subconsciously calm down the conflict.
Now, although the conflict between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong is only the second day, the attitudes between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong are unexpectedly fierce. In the eyes of Emperor Deqing, it has become more and more intense and will affect the overall situation.
Already.
Just when Emperor Deqing was considering whether to find a way to quell this party dispute, he suddenly remembered Zhao Junchen's remarks yesterday, declaring that if Huang Yourong's power was attacked, it would be beneficial to Emperor Deqing's stability and to the benefit of Prince Zhu He.
Yu Yunyun stayed in Beijing to supervise the country, but he hesitated again and finally decided to wait and see what happened.
…………
While thinking about it secretly, eunuch Zhang De handed over the evidence of Gu Quan's crime to the hands of Emperor Deqing.
After Emperor Deqing took a few glances, he found that they were indeed "minor crimes" that "should be punished according to the law but no one usually pays attention to them." Although he didn't care about it in his heart, in front of the officials, his expression was solemn and solemn.
He handed it to the eunuch Zhang De, and asked Zhang De to pass it on to the elders for inspection.
At the same time, Emperor Deqing looked at Yan Pengfei and asked slowly: "Shilang Yan, what can you say about Gu Yushi's impeachment?"
Yan Pengfei did not expect that after his side's "victory", Zhao Junchen's group, which should have been panicked and demoralized, would dare to fight back, and the target of the counterattack was still himself. He couldn't help but be a little surprised.
After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Yan Pengfei quickly came out and said: "Your Majesty, the charges against Gu Quan for impeaching the minister are all false accusations and fabrications. I have always been diligent and cautious in my work in the Ministry of Punishments over the years.
We investigate the cases we are responsible for carefully and never hesitate in the slightest, just for fear that good people will be wronged and bad people will be missed, causing people in the world to underestimate the majesty of the imperial court. I hope your majesty will learn from it!"
Then, Yan Pengfei refuted the various charges Gu Quan listed for him one by one. There was no cowardice in his expression, but he looked calm and upright, not afraid of the shadow.
At the same time, after being surprised at the beginning, officials from Huang Yourong's group came out one after another to speak out for Yan Pengfei. And some officials from the Ministry of Punishment who were close to Yan Pengfei spoke in support of Yan Pengfei.
In the morning meeting the day before, the reason why Zhao Junchen's faction was able to quickly defeat Tang Zheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was not only that Zhao Junchen's faction was well prepared and that the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry was Zhao Junchen's territory, but also because of Huang Yourong's faction.
Because of being caught off guard.
But when it came to court this morning, the officials of Huang Yourong's group had already been psychologically prepared for the impeachment of Zhao Junchen's group. They had also prepared defensive means, and there were close officials testifying against each other. If they wanted to do it as easily as the day before,
It's possible, but it's very difficult to achieve.
Thus, the next morning ended with officials from two factions wrangling over whether Yan Pengfei was guilty or not, whether the evidence was true, and whether Gu Quan's impeachment was a deliberate false accusation.
In the end, although Yan Pengfei faced a lot of troubles, in the midst of the two factions' verbal spats, he still did not get away with interrogation like Tang Zheng did.
Zhao Junchen and others were also mentally prepared for this, and had no delusions of wanting to bring down Yan Pengfei like they had done with Tang Zheng. This impeachment was just the beginning of targeting Yan Pengfei.
…………
And after Emperor Deqing announced his intention to step down from the imperial court, as Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong looked at each other unconvinced, and as all the officials watched nervously, Huang Yourong came to Zhao Junchen again.
However, Huang Yourong's expression at this time was different from the resentment and anger last time, but he had once again returned to his smiling tiger appearance.
