spend time

All the ministers were secretly shocked, and some of them could no longer hold back and wanted to kneel down and apologize.

On second thought, since there was a corruption case in the Ministry of Revenue, it was natural for Minister Ji to report the crime, and it was also reasonable for Minister Dai to plead guilty. As for the rampant greed in the court and the corruption of officials, this should be the fault of the Minister of Personnel...

Then, all the ministers turned around and looked at Minister Zhang.

That's right, Minister Zhang should be blamed. The promotion of important officials above the third rank was all appointed by the emperor. The appointment of officials below the third rank was all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel. The offender now was a fourth-rank doctor from the Ministry of Revenue. If the matter is investigated, won't the Ministry of Personnel bear some responsibility?

More importantly, the one who bought the farm at a low price was none other than Zhang Shangshu's clansman. Everyone could guess what was going on without having to think too much!

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the pressure was overwhelming. Under tremendous pressure, Minister Zhang bowed his hands and pleaded guilty: "Wan Langzhong committed a serious crime of corruption, please punish him severely!"

Jiang Shaohua pulled the corners of his mouth, his eyes were devoid of smiles, and he looked at Zhang Shangshu with an especially cold gaze: "Since Zhang Shangshu also agrees with severe punishment, then I will kill one person today to warn the rest, in addition to this big rat in the court, to kill the evil winds in the court."

"Minister Wang, you come and draft the decree. Doctor Wan has neglected his duties and embezzled thousands of taels of silver. According to Daliang law, Doctor Wan will be beheaded in public, all his property will be confiscated, and his family will be exiled to Lingnan."

Wang Jin accepted the order solemnly.

Looking at the ministers again, their faces were all pale.

During the three years of Emperor Taihe's reign, the most severe punishment he ever dealt with was Wang Yi, who was stripped of his official position and demoted back to his hometown. The previous Emperor Taikang also dealt with his ministers during his reign, mostly by exile or imprisonment.

The Empress Zhaoping was much more ruthless. If she didn't take action, it was fine. But if she did, she would behead people and confiscate their property.

However, under such circumstances, no one dared to intercede for Doctor Wan. Otherwise, wouldn't he be the "rat in the court" as the emperor called him?
Not only can he not plead for mercy, he also has to express his support immediately and sever all ties with Doctor Wan.

Minister Zhou and the others spoke one by one, expressing passionately that Doctor Wan was guilty of a heinous crime and should be killed. At the same time, they were quickly thinking about what to do with the farms and shops that their people had bought from Doctor Wan.

Jiang Shaohua did not overlook this, and asked Zhang Shangshu first: "The one who bought this farm at a low price was a member of Zhang Shangshu's clan. I wonder if Zhang Shangshu knows about this?"

Minister Zhang fully demonstrated the superb acting skills of a high-ranking official in the court. He was shocked at first, and then became furious: "I really don't know. I didn't discipline my clansmen strictly, and this happened. Please, Your Majesty, order me to be severely punished!"

This spark must not splash onto me.

Jiang Shaohua's eyes flashed with ridicule, and he said calmly: "It turns out that Minister Zhang didn't know what the clan members did. The Ministry of Personnel is busy with official business, and Minister Zhang is busy with official duties and has no time to discipline the clan members. It is indeed not entirely Minister Zhang's fault."

Finally, Zhang Shangshu could no longer stand and knelt down: "I am incompetent, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Shaohua's voice was filled with emotion. "I said in the Golden Palace that day that I would observe mourning for my cousin for three years. There will be no major changes in the court within three years. Minister Zhang is an important official in the court, the Minister of Personnel. I will not vent my anger on Minister Zhang because of the mistakes made by the Zhang family. Minister Zhang, don't panic, stand up!"

Minister Zhang didn't dare to stand up and continued to kneel down to plead guilty.

"However, this Zhang clan member must be severely punished." Jiang Shaohua said coldly: "Minister Dai, this person bribed court officials with a large sum of money. How should he be punished according to the criminal law?"

Dai Shangshu replied: "He can be sentenced to death by hanging or exile."

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "Then hang him! Execute him on the same day as Doctor Wan! In addition, all your property will be confiscated."

Even the fourth-rank doctor Wan was beheaded, and a member of the Zhang family who had no official position was hanged. What really frightened the ministers was the confiscation of property.

All the ministers were high-ranking officials in the court, and they were not allowed to own too much property in public. Therefore, they would secretly let their trusted clansmen buy land and shops. In fact, they would put a lot of assets in the name of their clansmen. Just like this unfortunate Zhang clansman, he usually worked for Minister Zhang in private, and most of the family's assets also belonged to Minister Zhang...

Once the property is confiscated, the one who will suffer the most will be Shangshu Zhang himself.

However, such a tacit secret could never be brought to the court. Her Majesty punished him according to the laws of Daliang, which was upright and fair, and there was no room for criticism.

To deal with Doctor Wan, an imperial edict was needed. A minor character like the Zhang clan was not even worthy of an imperial edict. Jiang Shaohua directly ordered Minister Dai to deal with it, and then said to Minister Ji: "The matter of confiscating the property of the Wan family and the Zhang clan will be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue."

"After the search is complete, Minister Ji can present two copies of the catalogue to me for review."

Minister Ji bowed and accepted the order.

Jiang Shaohua added calmly, "Also, when Doctor Wan was executed, all the people in the Ministry of Revenue went to the execution ground to watch. When you are on duty and handling large sums of money in the future, think about Doctor Wan's fate."

……

The imperial edict of Her Majesty the Empress arrived at the Ministry of Justice prison that same day.

Doctor Wan, who was still waiting for Prime Minister Wang or Minister Zhang to rescue him, was stunned. He rushed to the edge of the cell and screamed at the top of his lungs: "Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"I still have many things to confess. I beg Your Majesty to give me a chance and spare my life."

The jailer who was guarding the cell thought he was too noisy and stuffed a piece of smelly rag into his mouth: "Shut your mouth! The imperial edict has arrived. The execution will be carried out in two days. Don't be an official in your next life. People like you are not worthy of being an official at all."

Wan Langzhong kept humming and banging his head against the fence frantically.

The jailer ignored him. That night, Doctor Wan hit his head and it was bleeding profusely, and he passed out.

However, no one came to rescue him.

Prime Minister Wang remained silent.

Minister Zhang was so exhausted that he didn't care about Doctor Wan's life or death.

Two days later, Doctor Wan was dragged to the execution ground, and the people who came to watch the excitement crowded in three layers inside and outside.

More than 40 officials from the Ministry of Revenue came to the execution ground in an orderly manner in compliance with the emperor's order to watch the execution. Some other officials also came to the execution ground out of courage.

Dai Shangshu, who was in charge of supervising the execution today, stood up and read out loudly the crime committed by Wan Langzhong. The people were shocked to hear that Wan Langzhong had embezzled several thousand taels of silver.

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were watching the execution were thinking silently in their hearts, how could it be a mere few thousand taels of silver and lead to beheading?
At three quarters past noon, the sun is at its hottest.

The executioner raised the sharp tiger-head knife and chopped it down neatly. In the spurting blood, Wan Langzhong's head fell off and rolled a few steps.

All the officials in the Ministry of Revenue trembled fiercely in their hearts. At this moment, it was as if they were slashed by a knife. (End of this chapter)