The middle-aged man sitting in the upper position is none other than Zhang Zhongen, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment.
In the past, although Zhang Zhongen, the right minister, was only ranked third in the Ministry of Justice, he got along very well with Li An, the minister of punishment, and Fang Qi, the left minister.
I can’t say that I am collaborating with others, but I am definitely venting my anger through the same nostril.
However, since that time when hundreds of officials signed a letter against Xiao Chen, and Li An finally switched sides and leaned towards Xiao Chen, Fang Qi, the left minister, remained neutral and did not lean towards anyone.
The right minister, Zhang Zhongen, was eventually punished for his stubbornness in targeting Xiao Chen and was deprived of his salary for one year.
If it was because of the one-year salary issue, the conflict with Xiao Chen would not have reached the point of adding insult to injury.
The main reason is that Zhang Zhongen's character is very similar to that of Cang Cheng, the former Minister of Rites who was killed by Xiao Chen. He is self-righteous and arrogant.
People are successful because they are persistent and wild. At least they have knowledge in their stomachs.
As for Zhang Zhongen, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, he also had some knowledge in his belly, but these knowledge were covered up by his small belly and chicken intestines, and there was no light at all.
But he doesn't know it, and he always thinks of himself as noble and noble, showing the world that he regards money as dung, and fame and fortune as cold water.
For such people, Li An, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, can accommodate him. For a subordinate who does not always covet his position, staying in the Ministry of Justice at a lower level is still very safe.
Now, Li An was imprisoned in the Supervisory Office by the emperor's decree. Only then did Zhang Zhongen find out that the other party had secretly transferred the prince to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
For a moment, the frustration of being concealed and the hatred towards Xiao Chen came to my mind.
In anger, he summoned several officials who had been punished by the emperor for targeting Xiao Chen and came to this tavern to discuss matters of adding insult to injury.
"Sir Zhang, didn't you know anything about the prince being imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Justice before it happened?" an official asked in a low voice.
This time, even Li An, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was implicated. After all, Zhang Zhongen was from the Ministry of Punishment. Although he had objections to the purple-robed captain, his immediate superior was also suffering. Who knew what his position was.
If something he says is inappropriate, he will definitely remember it in his heart according to his petty personality. If he retaliates against someone accidentally in the future, he will not be able to bear it.
"Haha." Zhang Zhongen laughed self-deprecatingly, "If nothing had happened, I guess I would never have known that the prince was actually detained in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. When did Lord Shangshu transfer the prince, I have no idea at all. Maybe in
In his eyes, I was like air and didn't exist at all."
"Master Zhang is an upright and upright person. I didn't expect that he would be marginalized to this extent in the Ministry of Justice. Li Shangshu didn't tell you about such a big matter. Even if he was afraid of leaking the news, I would like to talk about it in private.
It’s also a sign of respect for you, sir. Li Shangshu’s approach is really a bit inappropriate.” Another official bit his head and said.
In the Criminal Department, although Li An has limited talents and knowledge, he still firmly controls the power in his own hands. No matter whether it is a big or small case, big or small, it cannot be carried out without his permission and nod.
It is indeed a bit tiring to do everything personally, but over time, the Ministry of Punishment has developed a rule that even if it is a big matter, it must be reported to the Minister for decision.
He takes control of all matters of the Criminal Department in his own hands and makes everyone dependent on him. This is also Li An's way of being an official and his shrewdness.
But now, Li An is in trouble because the prince was kidnapped.
Among those who are doing this, except for Zhang Zhongen, who is considered a prominent person in the court, the others are all subordinates of various ministries and do not have much say in the court.
If nothing happened to Li An, no one would dare to accuse Li An even if they had a hundred courages.
But now, everyone can see that the prince was taken away, which is no different from the sky falling. Three days have passed, and all the imperial guards in the capital have been dispatched, but no clues have been found.
This time the prince may be in trouble. Li An, the Minister of Punishment, may also sacrifice his whole family's lives to bury the prince with him.
Therefore, these officials, who are big officials in front of the people but do not have much weight in the court, dare to use some relatively not too unpleasant words to accuse Li An of his inappropriateness, and then in the court.
Zhang Zhongen came forward to express his goodwill.
"Haha, the reason why Master Shangshu did this is naturally because he doesn't believe me. However, I am also a blessing in disguise. Even if the emperor comes back to investigate this matter thoroughly, I will not be implicated in any way. I don't know anything, I am alone
The dignified right minister of the Ministry of Justice was kept in the dark by Lord Shangshu." Zhang Zhongen laughed.
He tried his best to put on a wry smile, but no matter who looked at him, he looked like a villain who had succeeded.
It seemed that his words were a bit too direct and did not match his "high-spirited and upright" image. In order to soften his words, Zhang Zhongen picked up the chopsticks and said: "The dishes are cold, and everyone is moving. Although we spend our own money to drink.
Eat, but these things only come to the table after the efforts of many people. Waste is shameful, so everyone works hard to finish it."
"Eat, eat..."
After hearing his proposal, although some people understood it, they could only pretend to be confused and started talking about things that should not be wasted.
There was a sound of chopsticks hitting the plate, a sound of chewing with relish, and a sound of compliments toasting each other, which filled the private room.
Half an hour later, the table was in a mess.
Except for the plate, it was just some bones and scraps and vegetables.
Even if someone is not hungry, in order to please the fourth-rank official of the court in front of him, he can still pretend to be hungry and work hard to shovel food into his stomach with chopsticks.
Perhaps it was the effect of the old soju, but everyone sitting there had a slightly red face and their eyes were narrowed.
Especially Zhang Zhongen, who took the lead in advising not to waste, ate the most food, and drank all the wine. In his current state, there was no trace of his "high-spirited and upright" image, he was just a passerby who drank too much.
Sitting on the chair, my body was already a little limp, and all my weight was placed on the back of the chair.
"Master Zhang, can you insist? How about my subordinates arrange for someone to take you back home?" an official whispered.
Today, Zhang Zhongen summoned everyone, he must have something to say. But looking at his current appearance, it seems that he has lost his speech, what else can he say.
"Why, do you want to imitate Lord Shangshu and look down on me?" Zhang Zhongen raised his head slightly, rolled his eyes and looked at the speaker.
"No, no, how dare you look down on Mr. Zhang?" The man stood up, poured a cup of hot tea, and brought it to Zhang Zhongen, "Mr. Zhang, drink some hot tea first. If you are in good health, then we will sit here
a while."
"Pour a bowl of hot tea for everyone and let's sit for a while." Zhang Zhongen nodded.
Are you kidding me? I called everyone here today and didn’t say anything about the business. How could I go back? If I didn’t drink some wine and pretend to be tipsy, how could I say those words that were completely different from my previous style?!
The official understood, took the teapot, and poured a bowl for everyone. Then he returned to his seat and sat down slowly.
"All of you who are working on this are all those who were punished by the emperor when you helped Minister Cangcheng seek justice. Now, the culprit has been taken back by the emperor and given the unicorn purple clothes, and has been put on file by the Inspectorate for investigation. If you all
It doesn't matter if you want to let him go. If there is still some resentment in our hearts, then we will unite and beat the drowned dog so hard that he will never get up again."
With his eyes scanning everyone's faces one by one, Zhang Zhongen said incoherently.
"I believe that all of you who do this again have resentment. However, before taking action, we should understand the emperor's intention. Last time, we were all punished because we violated the holy will. This time, we should be cautious
That's better." An official who looked to be about the same age as Zhang Zhongen expressed his opinion in a low voice.
"Master Ma is right. We suffered a loss once, but we cannot suffer the same loss twice. In my opinion, the emperor's handling of this matter is really a bit confusing. Before we fully understand the Holy Spirit,
Before taking action, we still need to proceed with caution."
Another official said softly.
The person called Mr. Ma is Ma Yunshan, the head of the Ministry of Rites.
This Ma Yunshan is an old subordinate of Cang Cheng. Although the current Minister of Rites is Wang Changlian, Ma Yunshan still has a relatively deep affection for Cang Cheng.
First, the two of them had worked together for a long time. But Wang Changlian was recommended by Xiao Chen, and Ma Yunshan felt a sense of rejection in his heart.
But he was repulsed, because he was just the head of the sixth rank. Facing the second-rank minister, he had to nod and bow frequently.
But his hatred for Xiao Chen did not lessen because Wang Changlian was his immediate boss.
Now, the reason why Zhang Zhongen came anxiously to him was because he wanted to use the hatred in his heart to take the lead in throwing rocks at Xiao Chen's body.
"Don't you see that the emperor's meaning this time is very clear?" Zhang Zhongen smiled lightly and began to reassure everyone.
"Oh, Mr. Zhang, if you have any inside information, you might as well tell it and share it with everyone." Ma Yunshan said with a smile.
"Logically speaking, the emperor can just take Mr. Li An into custody, but this time he also detained the purple-clothed captain. The obvious purpose is to prevent him from finding the whereabouts of the prince. This time, the emperor wants to deal with something more than just one person.
Two people, but a group of forces connected by the captain of the Dongchang School."
Zhang Zhongen lowered his voice and began to use his head to figure out the emperor's thoughts.
