spend time

Chapter 675: Big Rat (Part )

Handle cases impartially.

Minister Dai repeated these four words in his mind over and over again, sighing secretly.

Prime Minister Wang's ambitions were mostly worn down by the continuous setbacks. Now he placed all his hopes on Wang Jin and no longer cared much about the lives of his followers.

Therefore, the actions taken by Her Majesty after ascending the throne were truly brilliant. She used Wang Jin as if she was holding Prime Minister Wang's lifeline.

Minister Yang's voice rang in his ears: "Sir, Minister Wan has confessed everything."

Minister Dai came to his senses and asked Minister Yang to bring the transcript.

That's right, Minister Dai's personal interrogation means he personally sat in the Ministry of Justice. The real judge was Yang Shilang. Yang Shilang was about fifty years old, which was the golden age for a court official. He had both qualifications and abilities, and he had already joined the princess early on. Now that the princess has ascended the throne and become the emperor, Yang Shilang's status has risen, and he has firmly suppressed Zuo Shilang in the Ministry of Justice.

Everyone knew that after Minister Dai retired, Minister Yang would be the next Minister of Justice. Even Minister Dai was now being very polite to Minister Yang.

After examining the case all night, Yang Shilang's eyes were red, but he was in good spirits. He personally brought the case file over and asked Dai Shangshu to take a look.

After reading it, Minister Dai's mouth twitched and he stamped his official seal at the bottom of the file: "Let's go, go to the palace now and present the file to the emperor."

Her Majesty wanted to see the case file at the morning court today, so the Ministry of Justice had to investigate the case overnight. Overnight, the case was thoroughly investigated. This efficiency of handling the case has created a new history for the Ministry of Justice.

Minister Yang responded, personally held the file, and went into the palace with Minister Dai to meet the emperor.

When they arrived at the Golden Palace, the emperor had not arrived yet, but many of his ministers had already arrived.

Doctor Wan was interrogated overnight, and it was not just the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice who were alarmed. The important officials in the court were all more or less related to him.

Apart from anything else, the person who bought the farm from Doctor Wan was a relative of Minister Zhang. This member of the Li family was also "invited" to the Ministry of Justice for a detailed investigation overnight.

Minister Zhang did not sleep well that night and went into the palace early today.

There were also people like Minister Zhou who secretly sent their clansmen to buy the property of Prince Gaoliang's Palace.

The Gaoliang Palace's assets were mostly in the capital, and such high-quality assets were like a large piece of fat meat. Everyone took a bite and shared it, and everyone had a belly full of fat.

Now the emperor was furious and was sharpening his knife at Doctor Wan. They suddenly felt a chill on the back of their necks.

"Minister Dai," Minister Zhang came up to Minister Dai and asked in a low voice, suppressing his anxiety, "How did the trial go? What did Doctor Wan confess?"

Minister Dai glanced at Minister Zhang and said, "It's all in the file."

Minister Zhang was choked. Of course he knew that everything was in the files, but no one dared to touch the files until the emperor came!

Minister Dai did not miss a single word, but in fact, it still revealed some not-so-nice meanings.

Zhang Shangshu also felt uneasy and his palms were slightly sweaty. Then he comforted himself in his heart, saying that it was okay, after all, it was the Li family who bought the farm, and it had little to do with him as the Minister of Personnel.

If the emperor is furious and pursues the matter, then he can push this tribesman out, put him in jail, exile him, or even behead him, but he will not be implicated.

Soon, the ministers who were qualified to attend the small court meeting entered the hall one by one. They whispered in twos and threes until a woman's voice sounded: "The emperor has arrived, and all the ministers are here to see him."

This is another strange thing.

Originally, this job was the responsibility of the palace eunuchs. After the empress ascended the throne, she no longer needed eunuchs, and Chen Sheren accompanied her in and out. So, Chen Sheren took over this job naturally. What else could the ministers do? Just get used to it slowly!
"Your Majesty, long live the emperor!"

Jiang Shaohua sat on the dragon chair and said calmly: "My dear ministers, please stand up."

The ministers thanked him and stood up. When they looked up, they glanced at him out of the corner of their eyes. Then, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

Jiang Shaohua is usually quite gentle, but today his face was cold and it was obvious that he came here with a lot of anger.

"Minister Dai, how did the trial go last night?" Jiang Shaohua asked directly without any nonsense.

Dai Shangshu reported tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I have examined the case thoroughly. Here is the file. I will present it to Your Majesty for your review."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly.

Dai Shangshu stepped forward and respectfully presented the file. Chen Sheren stepped forward, took the file, and presented it to the emperor.

Jiang Shaohua took the file and read it slowly.

The whole hall was silent, with only the sound of files being flipped. All the ministers held their breath.

This case was not complicated at all, and only a few people were involved. The file was only seven or eight pages long, and I finished reading it in a cup of tea.

After reading the files, Jiang Shaohua asked Minister Dai: "According to the criminal law, how should Wan Langzhong be punished?"

All the ministers looked at Minister Dai in unison.

Dai Shangshu is indeed the most senior official in the court with forty years of experience. Being stared at by so many eyes, he responded slowly: "According to the criminal law of Daliang, corruption is a serious crime for officials. If the amount exceeds one thousand taels, they can be sentenced to beheading."

Of course, this criminal law has long been meaningless.

A thousand taels of silver was a shocking and terrifying figure for ordinary people. However, for high-ranking officials in the court, this amount was nothing.

Take the more than 20 important officials standing in the court, for example, which one of them does not have a wealthy family?
Take Wang Yi's huge corruption case last year, for example. The amount of bribes he embezzled was as much as one million taels. Wang Yi was stripped of his post as governor, but he was unharmed and returned to his hometown safely to live a carefree life.

Now, the case of Doctor Wan involves several thousand taels of silver, which is really nothing.

Shao Hua's eyes swept across the disapproving faces of the ministers, and he said calmly: "In the eyes of the ministers, a few thousand taels of silver is nothing."

"Little did they know that this silver could buy enough food for a garrison of 2,000 men for three months."

"Use it to pay the soldiers. It's enough to pay two hundred soldiers for a year."

"Here in the Ministry of Revenue, it's just a share of the profits handled by Doctor Wan. There are probably countless opportunities like this in a year."

"The taxes paid by the people of Daliang did not enrich the treasury, but were swallowed up by these rats. The treasury was empty every year, and military spending was reduced every year. But it fattened some rats."

"Wan Langzhong is the first rat I found. My dear ministers, do you think I should punish him severely to serve as a warning to others, or should I let him go and allow him to breed more rats in the future?"

What a harsh and sharp statement!
Minister Ji was the first to kneel down, shouting in shame: "I failed to discipline my subordinates, and I am incompetent. Your Majesty, please punish me severely!"

Minister Dai knelt down at this time and said, "I am incompetent. As the Minister of Justice, I sit by and watch the court become corrupted without being able to do anything. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"