Under the watchful eyes of all the officials, Xiao Chen slowly walked into the Golden Palace.
He took three steps forward, raised his arms, slapped them left and right a few times, flicked his arms, put his right hand on the ground, and knelt on the ground with one knee.
"Xiao Chen, the captain of the East Factory, meets His Majesty the Emperor."
"Ping Shen." Ming Chengzu's voice sounded in the hall.
All the officials looked at the majestic Ming Chengzu quietly, and no one dared to whisper anymore.
He glanced at the officials in the hall, and finally rested his eyes on Xiao Chen's face: "Xiao Chen, more than a month ago, I handed the prince to you, and now you have handed the prince back to me.
The twists and turns, let it pass or should we discuss it in detail?"
Xiao Chen frowned slightly, and for a moment he didn't know what to answer.
If you lose the prince, it is your fault for being beheaded. To find the prince yourself is also a great achievement. Regarding this matter, what does the emperor mean by saying this?
Does the emperor want to balance merit and demerit, neither punishment nor reward? Or is it that the emperor is still worried about the prince's kidnapping and cannot stop caring about the prince's return?
All the officials in the court also stood there one by one, not daring to make a sound.
The officials who had originally remained neutral, seeing the emperor's expectation for the prince to return to the capital, had secretly made up their minds and prepared to stand by the prince's side.
And since the purple-clothed captain has made a great contribution in retrieving the prince, he will definitely be rewarded by the emperor, and his reputation will be even greater than before.
But with the emperor's current tone, why does it seem that he wants to hold Xiao Chen accountable?
Among the crowd, Wang Changlian, the Minister of Rites, looked forward with a calm expression on his face.
The emperor asked this question because he wanted to find a way to get off the stairs.
After all, the prince was kidnapped, which was a great shame for the court. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, if he did not punish those responsible, where would the dignity of the Ming Dynasty be?
Whether it was imprisoning Li An and Xiao Chen, or stripping Xiao Chen of his purple clothes, this was the punishment they deserved. Not beheading them immediately, implicating the nine clans, was already a particularly merciful thing for the emperor.
Even though the prince has now returned safely, the whole country is celebrating, and the whole court is happy. However, the mistakes made by Dongchang and the Ministry of Punishment have to be discussed in the court.
To make up for one's faults is originally a perfunctory rhetoric. A merit is a merit and a fault is a fault. Treating the two separately is the wisest decision for the ruler.
"This time, Dongchang found out the whereabouts of the prince from various clues and sent him safely to the capital. This is Dongchang's responsibility. But before, Dongchang was responsible for the safety of the prince, but let people go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
, kidnapped the prince in broad daylight, this is a shame that Dongchang can never erase, and it is also the biggest mistake in Dongchang's history. I beg the emperor to give Dongchang the due punishment." Xiao Chen lowered his head,
Said loudly.
"Dongchang made a mistake, what about the Punishment Department? Does the Punishment Department also count it as a mistake?" Ming Chengzu asked softly.
Li An, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, who was in the crowd, felt a thump in his heart. He hurriedly stepped out of the ranks of officials and knelt on the ground: "The prince was kidnapped from the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice is most responsible. Please ask the emperor to punish him."
Lin Shangli, the Duke of Dongchangchang, stood behind Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, his lips tightly closed and there was no expression on his face.
Yesterday, the emperor asked me to take Ziyi back to the emperor. What are you planning to sing today?
"Li An, I heard that you and Xiao Chen secretly handed over the crown prince? It stands to reason that the defense of Dongchang is stronger than the prison of the Ministry of Justice, so why did you secretly transfer the crown prince?" Ming Chengzu said.
"Back to the Emperor, the secret force we are facing is very powerful. The Emperor should also have received a report from Jinyiwei. When this force attacked Dongchang Prison, in less than half an hour, it killed Jinyiwei Liu outside Dongchang Prison.
More than a hundred famous captains, Xiao Chen, fought against each other and did not take any advantage."
"The other party has made Dongchang Prison their number one target, and Your Majesty is not in the capital. After some discussion with Xiao Chen, Wei Chen came up with the idea of secretly transferring the prince to the Ministry of Punishment. Who knew that this group of forces is extremely powerful, and who knows where to start from?
Where did I get the news that the prince was hiding in the Ministry of Justice, so I killed the soldiers on duty in the jail of the Ministry of Justice and kidnapped the prince."
"I failed to protect the prince. I am guilty. I beg the emperor to punish me." Li An put his body on the ground respectfully.
Ming Chengzu no longer paid attention to Li An, but looked at Xiao Chen.
"Xiao Chen, in my impression, you should be the number one person handling cases in Dongchang. At the same time, you should also be the number one person in martial arts in Dongchang. Did you really lose in a fight with the other party?"
"Back to the emperor, I am no match for this subordinate." Xiao Chen raised his head and said seriously.
Ming Chengzu smiled faintly, raised his hands, and shook them slightly. He waved his right hand gently from left to right, and his eyes scanned the faces of the officials and said: "When will the capital city defended by hundreds of thousands of troops come out?"
A rebel force with such skill? They can take action in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. All the Imperial Guards in the capital are dispatched, and even after digging three feet into the ground, they can't find any traces. Where are they hiding? Are they hiding in a place where even the Imperial Guards can't move?"
Ming Chengzu's words gradually became majestic, and his eyes were like sharp blades, scanning the faces of the officials one by one.
All the officials in the hall also secretly became nervous.
Just now, everyone was watching the emperor's accountability to the East Factory and the Criminal Department, and everyone was still watching the fun.
But now, the emperor is holding all officials in the DPRK accountable.
You allowed such a powerful rebel force to hide in the capital, and you really found nothing? The Imperial Army searched the entire city and found nothing. Which of you are hiding these rebel forces under your protection?
"Your Majesty," Xiao Chen said slowly, "The various deeds of the other party show that this is a powerful and premeditated rebel force. There are two secret bases outside the capital that were discovered and destroyed by subordinates. And
They should also have their own secret base in the capital. Hiding in the base, or transferring the prince through their secret methods, the imperial army will naturally not be able to search."
Listening to Xiao Chen's defense for himself, the officials couldn't help but glance at Xiao Chen from the corner of their eyes.
It is said that Dongchang, like Jinyiwei, is unreasonable and unforgiving, eager to drag down all officials in the DPRK and central government to build his own merits.
But the words of the purple-robed captain were fair in every word.
Could it be that my previous impression of Dongchang and himself was wrong?
"Wildfire can start a prairie fire. Under my nose, this force has grown to such an extent. It seems that the investigation intensity in our capital needs to be strengthened." Looking at the officials, Ming Chengzu shook his head gently.
, "Xiao Chen, the person you are fighting with can really break through Dongchang's defense line and even be defeated by you?"
"If it were a real fight to the death, I might not lose to the opponent. But considering the safety of the prince and the safety of the capital, I can only defend and cannot attack with all my strength, so I lost to the opponent."
"Victory and defeat are common things in the military. I suffered a lot of defeats back then, and I was in dangerous situations many times. As long as we focus on the overall situation, temporary setbacks are nothing. On the contrary, they can make us realize our own shortcomings and plan accordingly.
A better way to deal with it." As if he was a different person, Ming Chengzu actually comforted Xiao Chen again.
"My subordinates understand their responsibilities. When working in Dongchang, they cannot show off their courage. In critical moments, protecting the court and protecting the emperor's safety is the top priority. Realizing his own shortcomings, my subordinates had no choice but to ask the emperor for help.
Grant Dongchang the right to use firearms, and use my Ming Dynasty's powerful firearms to deal with those gangsters who are up to no good." Xiao Chen said with a serious look.
Looking at Xiao Chen, Ming Chengzu nodded, with a smile on his face.
Putting his left elbow on the desk, he leaned forward and looked at the officials in the hall.
"After I gave Dongchang the right to use firearms, some people were dissatisfied with it. Shangzhezi asked me to take back Dongchang's firearms. The reason sounded high-sounding, but for a while there was no refutation. They said that the lethality of firearms is too high, and the killing range is too long.
It is far away and is not suitable for use by the guards in the palace. What are you afraid of, that Dongchang's firearms will be aimed at me?"
"Let's not talk about the people in Dongchang. They are all carefully selected and are the people I trust most. If they are not allowed to become stronger, according to the current concealment level of this force, if they suddenly appear in front of me
, what should I ask Dongchang to do against them? Fight them hand to hand with both hands, or simply carry your own head and give it away to others?"
"No one may object to Dongchang's use of firearms."
Looking at the officials, Ming Chengzu said coldly.
