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Chapter 462: Counterattack (Part )

There were six censors in the Daliang court. The unlucky censor who was promoted to the governor of Pingzhou was killed by bandits on the way. Among the remaining five censors, Jiang was the youngest and most aggressive.

Censor Jiang has always been a sharp weapon under Prime Minister Wang, and today, he is finally put to use.

Jiao's assistant knew what was going on, so he responded respectfully and went back to make the arrangements.

At the grand court meeting a few days later, Censor Jiang submitted a memorial impeaching Minister Zheng of the Ministry of War, shocking the court and the public.

In his memorial, Censor Jiang made sharp remarks, angrily accusing Duke Anguo of abusing his power in the Ministry of War, saying that each level of military officer position had a specific and clear price tag. It was common for low-ranking military officers to spend a lot of money to buy an official position. A "price list" was also attached to the memorial.

Before the memorial was finished being read, the Duke of Anguo's expression changed suddenly.

The only people who knew about this price list were the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and two doctors of the Ministry of War. The three of them were his most trusted subordinates. Who betrayed him?
The answer was soon revealed. The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War calmly stepped forward and impeached his superior, Minister Zheng.

Duke Anguo looked at Minister Hong, whom he had promoted, in disbelief, as if someone had stabbed him in the chest.

Minister Hong spoke with a righteous and open face, "…Your Majesty, Minister Zheng has been very kind to me. However, I am a minister of Daliang, and I am loyal to Your Majesty, not the Zheng family. In the past few years, Minister Zheng has been buying people's hearts and minds in the Ministry of War, manipulating power, and even putting a price on military officers' positions. Military officers who have real military merits are not promoted. Instead, those villains who flatter and fawn on others are promoted."

"I have seen all these dirty deeds, and I am extremely angry."

"Among the six ministries, the Ministry of War is in charge of military power. Its power is so great that it can almost rival that of the Prime Minister. The Emperor trusts Minister Zheng so much, but Minister Zheng privately does all kinds of despicable things and treats the Emperor as nothing. I am deeply saddened for the Emperor."

"Today, I will step forward and tell you everything I know. I beg the emperor to eliminate the corrupt officials for Daliang and restore the integrity of the Ministry of War."

As soon as Minister Hong finished speaking, two more officials from the Ministry of War stood up and loudly impeached him.

None of this mattered. The moment Minister Hong stepped forward, Duke Anguo had already lost.

He had been the military secretary for several years, and had worked hard to cultivate and promote his trusted subordinates, but they turned against him... Or, from the beginning, Minister Hong was actually a pawn planted by Prime Minister Wang in the Ministry of War. Over the years, he had no idea and had always regarded Minister Hong as his confidant. This was simply the biggest joke.

Duke Anguo looked pale and knelt down tremblingly.

Emperor Taihe, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had been exhausted these days because of the conflict between Empress Dowager Zheng and Empress Dowager Li. At today's grand court meeting, he saw such a "wonderful" impeachment again. His face was as cold as ice, and he stared at the face of Duke Anguo with a cold look: "Are what Minister Zheng, Censor Jiang and Minister Hong said true?"

of course it's true.

The Empress Dowager was a woman after all, and usually stayed in the harem. The Duke of Anguo had to do all the things like forming cliques and winning over court officials. He got less than 50% of the money from the Ministry of War, and most of it was used to win over court officials...

The evidence is irrefutable and there is no way to deny it.

Under the angry gaze of Emperor Taihe, Duke Anguo trembled and was about to confess his guilt. Suddenly, a figure flashed from the side of the emperor and knelt down quickly: "Your Majesty, calm down and listen to me."

When the young man's familiar voice came into his ears, the shocked and panicked Duke Anguo suddenly woke up.

This young man was none other than Zheng Chen, the secretary of the Central Secretariat. Zheng Chen had expected Prime Minister Wang to fight back, but he had not expected the counterattack to come so quickly and so viciously.

The Zheng family attacked Wang Yi, but at least they didn't touch Prime Minister Wang. But Prime Minister Wang's move was as shocking as a bolt from the blue. First it was Jingyang Palace, then it dragged Queen Mother Li into the water, and now it directly produced ironclad evidence to impeach Duke Anguo himself. One move after another, each move was fatal!

There is no time to think too much right now. The most important thing is to win the current game first.

"My father is loyal to the emperor and would never do such things behind his back." Zheng Chen raised his head and said forcefully, "Someone must have deliberately slandered my father."

Duke Anguo reacted at this time, and showed a look of deep sorrow: "I failed to manage the Ministry of War, and such a shocking thing happened in the Ministry of War. I knew nothing about it and was kept in the dark. As a minister, I am so incompetent. I am ashamed of the emperor's trust."

The evidence is conclusive and there is no way to deny it, so the only thing he can do is find a scapegoat to take the blame.

The Duke of Anguo did not hesitate and immediately turned the tables on Minister Hong, saying, "I have great trust in Minister Hong, and I have entrusted many matters of the Ministry of War to Minister Hong. Minister Hong has been selling official positions and making money in private under my name. This is all my fault for not supervising and managing my subordinates well enough."

Minister Hong sneered and responded, "Minister Zheng is fooling the emperor like a child. The Ministry of War is buying and selling positions. How can a mere minister like me have such great ability? The entire court is here, and everyone has sharp eyes. Minister Zheng doesn't think he can get away with a few sophistry!"

Censor Jiang also sneered: "Now that things have come to this, Minister Zheng should plead guilty earlier and ask the emperor to be lenient with him! It's ridiculous that you still want to quibble and throw dirty water on Minister Hong."

Before Duke Anguo could speak, Zheng Chen opened his mouth to fight back: "It seems that the contents of Censor Jiang's memorial came from Minister Hong. I wonder when Censor Jiang and Minister Hong became 'close friends'! Or maybe someone else is behind this, intending to use this matter to discredit the Duke Anguo's Mansion."

"There must be something fishy about this matter. Your Majesty, please investigate!"

Duke Anguo also became excited and shouted: "I am loyal to Your Majesty, please understand!"

Who is loyal and who is treacherous?

Who is behind the scenes?

Who is disrupting the court, and who wants to plunge him, the emperor, into a quagmire?
Emperor Taihe, with a sullen face, looked at the righteous faces of his ministers in front of him, and suddenly felt an indescribable nausea.

Emperor Taihe suddenly stood up, waved his sleeves and left without saying a word.

All the ministers were shocked by the emperor's actions.

Censor Jiang and Minister Hong were also shocked and looked at each other quickly. What should they do now?
The knife has been stabbed, and the Prime Minister has been given an explanation.

Isn't it? It's hard for the emperor to accept such a big thing. When he calms down, he will punish the Duke of Anguo severely.

Zheng Chen reached out to help Duke Anguo. Duke Anguo grabbed his son's arm and when he stood up he found that his legs were sore and he had no strength at all.

"I will accompany my father to the Zhaohe Palace to apologize to the emperor." Zheng Chen whispered.

The exhausted Duke Anguo nodded.