Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 209 Credit Bankruptcy
Wei Qing was a man of rules and prudence, and he always followed the code of conduct between the monarch and his subjects. When he met Wei Zifu or Liu Ju, he would first pay his respects. It goes without saying that when he met the emperor, he would do so even more.

Seeing her brother looking a little old, Wei Zifu felt unhappy, but there was nothing she could do about it, as this was how life was like for a military family.

They looked mighty and powerful when they were young, but once they got old, they were plagued by diseases. Or even if they were young and strong, they might die at any time, either from illness or death in battle.

Wei Zifu asked, "Did Shan'er tell you?"

Wei Qing replied, "I have said that in my opinion, the Crown Prince should impeach him."

Huo Xian immediately interrupted and said, "I think so too. It would be best if the prince impeached him. Then I will join in the impeachment."

Wei Qing looked at Huo Shan with a smile. This nephew liked to "follow the wind". But he didn't think there was anything wrong with this. The elders all liked Huo Shan, and a big part of the reason was that this child was good at playing tricks.

It's not that he's deliberately showing off. Lively and naughty children are liked by others. Even though Huo Xian is now in his early twenties and has children, he is still a child in the eyes of the elders.

Huo Xian said with great joy, "Aunt, I think His Majesty did this for my uncle's sake. Uncle Gongsun is also the cousin of the Crown Prince's uncle. My uncle went to impeach him, which shows that he is selfless!"

Huo Xian continued to express his own views, "Besides, the fact that my cousin impeached him also shows that he has no selfish thoughts in his mind. Other crown princes only care about the power of their in-laws, but my cousin puts the Han Dynasty first!"

Wei Zifu smiled and nodded, thinking it made a lot of sense. "Xian'er, since you thought of this, why didn't you say it earlier?"

Huo Xian was thick-skinned, so he said, "For such a big matter, we should think it through carefully. After all, he is one of the Nine Ministers, and he is in charge of horse affairs. I am scared when I think about it now. My cousin Gongsun is the Grand Coachman, and I, the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry, have to give way. This is definitely not a good thing!"

To increase his persuasiveness, Huo Xian said, "The Prime Minister is the head of all officials, and Uncle Gongsun is in charge of the cavalry of the world. Even if I don't have a seal, other people don't know. They only know that I am in charge of the cavalry of the world. This is definitely not good!"

Liu Ju couldn't listen any more, "Xian'er, it was clearly your uncle who saw through the reason, how come that became your opinion?"

Huo Xian became even more shameless. "My uncle has made great contributions, so he doesn't need these. I haven't made enough contributions, and I act rashly. When I go to court again, I will follow my cousin to impeach him. In private, my cousin must protect my face, so that people don't think I only know how to fight."

Seeing Huo Xian being so shameless, Liu Ju was speechless for a moment and really didn't know what to say.

Wei Qing smiled and said, "Xian'er, it's not a bad thing that you only know how to fight. But you shouldn't always stay in bed these two years. You should go to court. It's also a good thing to listen more often."

Huo Xian couldn't get up early, and everyone close to him knew it. They had advised and scolded him, but he still did what he wanted, and the habit he had developed over twenty years couldn't be changed in a short time.

While he was talking, the palace maid came to report, "Your Highness, the Prime Minister and the Imperial Household are outside the palace asking to see you?"

Wei Zifu spoke up, "Let the Prime Minister come in, and the Imperial Household Officials let him kneel outside."

This may seem to be a rather impolite thing, but after all, the relationship between the ruler and his subjects today still has some "relative respect", unlike the Ming and Qing dynasties when the ruler and his subjects almost became master and servant.

It’s just that no one has any objection. Now the emperor and his subjects are in a relatively equal position, but that’s only relatively speaking. The emperor is still the emperor after all.

What's more, Wei Zifu is not only a lord, but also an elder of Gongsun Jingsheng.

Gongsun He bowed politely after entering the palace, and then asked, "I wonder if Your Highness has summoned you. Is there something important going on?"

Wei Zifu looked at Gongsun He and said, "Brother-in-law, do you know about the matter between Shan'er and Tao Hou?"

Gongsun He nodded immediately, then became puzzled, "Of course I know this, and I also heard that Shan'er went to see Marquis Tao yesterday. But I don't know why, I heard that Shan'er only took Marquis Tao's servants away."

Wei Zifu stared at Gongsun He and said directly, "It was Gongsun Jingsheng who secretly sold the imperial grassland to Tao Hou, which led to a conflict with Shan'er's troops. Brother-in-law, do you know about this?"

Gongsun He could no longer sit still and asked in shock, "This, this? How dare he do this!"

Seeing Gongsun He's expression, everyone understood that he had really been kept in the dark and was truly unaware of the matter.

But thinking about Gongsun He's character, he really wouldn't dare to do such a thing. Although Gongsun He was born into a famous family and had been a veteran in the battlefield, he was never very courageous.

Huo Xian also took the initiative to speak, "This is what Liu Ziwei said himself. Today, he naturally dare not hide it from me, nor dare to blame my cousin. This matter is serious, so I can't make it public."

Gongsun He was furious. He did not expect his son to be so bold and presumptuous.

Selling the imperial pasture privately is a serious crime in itself!

What's more, Huo Xian was actually implicated in this matter. This is truly an unforgivable crime!

Wei Zifu sighed and said, "If it wasn't for Shan'er coming back and telling us, we would have been kept in the dark. Now that His Majesty knows about it, Jingsheng was really foolish in this matter!"

Gongsun He was a little shaky for a moment. Gongsun Jingsheng had done such a big mistake which was unforgivable. Now even the emperor knew about it, there was no room for maneuver.

Then Gongsun He said dejectedly, "If this beast had made things clear from the beginning, things wouldn't have come to this!"

In fact, everyone’s opinions are similar. If Gongsun Jingsheng had made things clear in time when the incident first occurred, things would not have turned out like this.

Unfortunately, he was too smart and shrewd, and always wanted to suppress the conflict. After making a mistake, he kept using one mistake to cover up the previous one.

One wrong step led to many wrong steps. If Huo Shan had not come back, Gongsun Jingsheng might have really fooled him into thinking this was the case.

Liu Ju spoke up at this time, "Prime Minister, I will definitely impeach my cousin when I go to court tomorrow. As for his crime, we should find a way to determine it and then fine him to atone for his sin."

Gongsun He smiled bitterly and said, "This is the only way. Even a capital crime can be redeemed by a fine. Although his crime is not small, it is not a capital crime. Fine him."

This does seem to be the best approach. Don't expect anything lucky at this time, but think about settling the matter with the least loss.

Dismissal from office is inevitable, but it is not a capital crime. After paying a fine, there is no need to worry about being exiled or sent to guard the border, etc., just losing his official position. This is not a big deal. Even if he is no longer a minister, Gongsun He is still rich and noble. After all, he is the son of the prime minister. In the future, he can also inherit Gongsun He's title.

Even after this matter is over, if there is a suitable opportunity, he can still be reinstated and serve as an official in the court.

This was very normal in the Han Dynasty. Many officials were dismissed from office after committing crimes and then reinstated. Gongsun He himself was familiar with this matter, as he had been stripped of his title before.

Wei Qing suddenly said, "Prime Minister, why don't we take this opportunity to submit a petition for demotion?"

Gongsun He's eyes lit up, and he immediately said excitedly, "Okay, I am guilty of not teaching my son well, I will apologize!"

The prime minister, the head of all officials, had no appeal to Gongsun He. The current prime minister was very different from the prime minister at the beginning of the founding of the country and no longer had any real power.

What's more, even though he came from a prominent family, Gongsun He had mostly made achievements on the battlefield, and he didn't think he had much ability to deal with matters in the court.

If the emperor had not forced him to do so, Gongsun He would never accept the position of prime minister. Thinking about the fate of the previous prime ministers, he was already terrified, fearing that he would also die inexplicably in the position of prime minister.

Seeing Gongsun He's excitement, Huo Xian was speechless. The prime minister, the head of all officials and one of the three highest officials, now seemed like a hot potato, and Gongsun He didn't want it at all.

Huo Xian poured cold water on him and said, "It is certain that my cousin will be dismissed from his post as the Imperial Horse Master. It will be difficult for the Prime Minister to resign. Your Majesty is using him well, who can be better than the Prime Minister?"

Gongsun He, who was originally very excited, immediately lost his enthusiasm upon hearing this. Now, thinking about it carefully, it seems that it is really impossible for him to be dismissed from office because of this.

In the final analysis, Liu Che felt that although Prime Minister Gongsun He had average abilities, he was very obedient. This was the prime minister he liked, and ability and other things were not that important.

Wei Qing said, "No matter what, the Prime Minister should submit his resignation. It would be unreasonable for the Prime Minister not to apologize for what Jingsheng did."

Wei Zifu and Liu Ju also nodded. Gongsun Jingsheng was able to become the Grand Coachman because of Wei Zifu and Gongsun He. Everyone knew this.

Now that Gongsun Jingsheng has committed a crime, Gongsun He will definitely be the first to be implicated, and then Wei Zifu will also have to follow suit to apologize.

The reason was not only that Gongsun He did not teach his son well, but also that Wei Zifu failed to manage her family. They all wanted to express their attitude. This was the attitude that a subject should have. If they made a mistake, they had to admit it, otherwise the emperor would be angry.

Gongsun He looked at Huo Xian and asked, "How are you going to deal with this matter this time?"

Huo Xian said, "How should we deal with this? When I go to your house in the future, I will be visiting my aunt. I definitely can't go hunting with my cousin like I used to."

Hearing what Huo Xian said, Gongsun He could only sigh. When Huo Xian had just left the palace, he had been in frequent contact with Gongsun Jingsheng, but this kind of relationship could only stop there and could not continue in the future.

Whether it was for Huo Xian's face or Gongsun Jingsheng's face, the two of them would keep their distance from each other from now on. It was just such a simple relationship.

If Wei Ru was still alive, Huo Xian and Gongsun Jingsheng would still be relatives, but they would not visit each other much. Once Wei Ru was gone, it was basically equivalent to "breaking off the relationship" with the Gongsun family.

When thinking about this, Gongsun He couldn't help but get angry. The son he raised was really useless!
He was originally quite complacent, thinking that although Gongsun Jingsheng was not as good as Huo Qubing, he was better than Wei Kang and others.

But now, this son has little ability and does not follow the rules. Not only is he almost destroying the wealth of the Gongsun family, but he has also almost completely severed his relationship with Huo Shan.

Others could only sigh as well. It was not that Huo Xian was heartless, but he had no choice now and could only do this.

Since Gongsun Jingsheng did not regard Huo Shan as a relative or junior, Huo Shan naturally could not try to please him too much at this time, otherwise it would be too embarrassing for this Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry.

You still need to have a little bit of integrity. It's impossible to be particularly "humble" in many things.

Obviously, everyone can fully understand some of Huo Xian's decisions, and these so-called cuts are also very necessary.

Wei Zifu looked at the palace maid and said, "Go and call the imperial servant in."

Gongsun Jingsheng entered the hall with a confused look on his face. In fact, he was trembling in his heart. When he was kneeling outside the hall, he kept reflecting on some things, wondering if what he had done had been exposed.

Wei Zifu stared at Gongsun Jingsheng with a sharp gaze and said, "I'll give you one more chance. Think it over before you speak. What on earth have you done these days?"

Gongsun Jingsheng's legs were almost weak. Everyone's eyes were on him. Except for Huo Xian who seemed very calm, everyone else's eyes were full of scrutiny and disappointment.

After thinking for a while, Gongsun Jingsheng knelt down and said, "Your Highness, I am guilty! I sold the imperial grassland privately, which caused a conflict between Marquis Guanjun and Marquis Tao!"

After saying this, Gongsun Jingsheng became even more frightened, but without all the cursing and cursing, the Pepper Room Palace seemed very peaceful, and everything seemed a little abnormal.

Glancing around cautiously, Gongsun Jingsheng felt disheartened because everyone seemed very calm about the news.

This only means that everyone has known about this matter for a long time. The things he had previously kept secret have now been completely exposed, and everyone now knows about this matter.

Gongsun Jingsheng could only kneel more properly now. There was really no room for maneuver in this matter. He could only wait for the elders to make a decision.

Wei Zifu sighed and said, "Think about it again, otherwise if something else happens in the court, we will not be able to protect you!"

Gongsun He yelled, "You rebellious son, you must not hide anything anymore. But there is something else!"

In Wei Huo's opinion, Gongsun Jingsheng's credibility has been completely ruined. Even Huo Shan wanted to cheat him. This only shows that some people are hopelessly unreliable.

Gongsun Jingsheng must be trembling with fear. He feels that he has done quite a lot of things. Although he has made some big mistakes, he has made quite a few small mistakes!

(End of this chapter)