Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 455 What happened back then

"His Majesty is here!"

"My ministers welcome you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Xing walked out from the back hall amid the respectful welcome of all officials and came to the imperial platform.

"Be flat!"

Zhao Xing looked up and said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Xing took his seat and all the civil and military officials stood up.

The officials of the Censorate were furious about what happened at the palace gate and were about to step forward to make suggestions, but someone was quicker than them.

Zeng Qingxuan stepped out quickly and said, "Your Majesty, I want to impeach Yang Shengkui, the Vice Minister of State Affairs. He conspired to force the emperor to abdicate yesterday. I suspect that the officials who found the murder weapon at the palace gate were all arranged by him."

"Zeng Qingxuan, you are slandering me!"

Yang Shengkui was waiting to see the show, but he didn't expect Zeng Qingxuan to come out and attack him.

"Your Majesty, you can judge whether I have slandered you or not. Your Majesty has not even opened his mouth yet, but Yang Xianggong is eager to refute you. Isn't he a little guilty?"

"you…"

"quiet!"

Zhao Xing said coldly: "How can you make such a loud noise in the court?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" The two men bowed quickly.

Zhao Xing looked at Zeng Qingxuan and said, "You said that Vice Prime Minister Yang was plotting to force the emperor to abdicate. Do you have any evidence?"

"Your Majesty, I have evidence to support what I said!"

Zeng Qingxuan bowed and said, "Yesterday, Yang Xianggong also invited me. I wanted to go to the palace to report it, but I was afraid that Yang Xianggong would send people to monitor me and kill me to silence me. I can only wait until the morning court today to report it."

"Words are not enough, I want real evidence." Zhao Xing said calmly.

"Your Majesty, Yang Xianggong not only invited me, but also many officials in the court, including..."

Zeng Qingxuan read out a lot of names.

As soon as Zeng Qingxuan finished reading, several people whose names he called out immediately stood out with pale faces and confessed their guilt.

When these people came out to identify him, Yang Shengkui's face turned pale and he collapsed to the ground.

He knew he was finished.

He did invite these people to his house yesterday, and this matter will be clear once checked.

With so many people pointing out his faults, it would be useless even if the rest of the people defended him.

"My dear Lord Yang, do you have anything to say?" Zhao Xing looked at Yang Shengkui who was lying limp on the ground and said indifferently.

"I have nothing to say!" Yang Shengkui said with a wry smile, "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext."

"Don't worry, I won't just listen to Lord Zeng's one-sided story on this matter. Come, arrest Lord Yang and the others first, and we'll talk about it after the investigation." Zhao Xing said calmly.

"Yes!"

A team of imperial guards walked in from outside the palace and took away Yang Shengkui and all the officials that Zeng Qingxuan had pointed out before.

As a result, the number of officials in the court was reduced by one third.

Zhao Xing had previously ordered the arrest of more than 30 people, and several more were arrested at the palace gate today.

Although some retired old ministers were present, there were only about a dozen of them.

Now that so many have been captured at once, isn’t that one third less?

For a while, the court was very quiet, and the officials of the Censorate also stopped talking.

It’s not that they are afraid, but although Yang Shengkui did not plead guilty, he did not fiercely protest his innocence.

The situation is unclear now, what should they say?
The rest of the people were partly frightened, and partly because those officials who had protested against the death had been arrested.

Zeng Qingxuan's combination of punches is equivalent to dismantling the stage. How can they perform?
Zhao Xing looked at Zeng Qingxuan deeply. This man was really cruel. He was cruel to both those officials who were about to die for their remonstrance and himself.

Zeng Qingxuan said that he did not dare to enter the palace to report yesterday, but the people present were not fools, and they could naturally see that all this was related to Zeng Qingxuan.

From now on, most officials in the court will keep their distance from Zeng Qingxuan. After all, no one dares to trust someone who stabs them in the back.

Zeng Qingxuan's actions seemed to have offended many people, but it allowed Zhao Xing to use him with confidence.

Because too many people in the court wanted him dead, he could only rely on Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing suspected that this was Zeng Qingxuan's plan. Whether it was true or not, it was no longer important.

"Mr. Zeng has made great contributions in exposing the truth, so he can temporarily serve as the vice-chancellor." Zhao Xing said.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zeng Qingxuan was very excited when he heard this. Wasn't he doing this just to get promoted?

Although it is only a temporary position, isn't it because Yang Shengkui's guilt has not yet been proven?

Seeing that no one had submitted a memorial, Zhao Xing announced the adjournment of the court session.

"I will respectfully send you off to Your Majesty!"

After Zhao Xing left, the officials in the hall looked at Zeng Qingxuan with contempt and anger.

Someone wanted to question Zeng Qingxuan, but was stopped by the people around him.

Zeng Qingxuan was able to report and frame Yang Shengkui. If you say anything now, who knows how Zeng Qingxuan will frame you.

"Everyone, I'm leaving first!"

Zeng Qingxuan smiled slightly and left the hall.

…………

"interesting."

Zhao Xing smiled slightly after reading Zeng Qingxuan's information.

Zeng Qingxuan was just in his early forties and was already the Minister of Rites. Even if he was keen on power, there was no need for him to do so.

After all, at his age, as long as he doesn't make big mistakes and accumulates experience normally, he will have a chance to become prime minister in his fifties.

Zhao Xing asked someone to retrieve Zeng Qingxuan's file, but found no problems.

On the contrary, this person was very honest. He was promoted to the Minister of Rites based on his merits and there was nothing unusual about him.

Zhao Xing really didn't understand why such a person did this, so he asked Yin Hanzhang to investigate in detail.

Due to time constraints, no exact information was found, but Yin Hanzhang did send a message about Zeng Qingxuan's father.

Zeng Qingxuan's father held a high official position and served as a prefect in the northwest when he was alive.

During the Song-Xia War, the capital city where he lived was conquered by the Western Xia. After he escaped, he was demoted and died of depression a few years later.

Being demoted does not mean being exiled, and his descendants will not be prohibited from taking the imperial examinations. It is normal for Zeng Qingxuan to be able to serve as an official in the court.

"Your Majesty, Minister Zeng has arrived." A eunuch reported.

"Let him in." Zhao Xing said.

After a while, Zeng Qingxuan came in and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

"No gift."

Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "Take a look at this."

Zhao Xing gave the file of Zeng Qingxuan's father to Sanshui, and Sanshui delivered it to Zeng Qingxuan.

Zeng Qingxuan's expression did not change when he saw the content above.

"Tell me about it." Zhao Xing said lightly.

Zeng Qingxuan naturally understood what Zhao Xing wanted him to say. He was silent for a while and then said, "Your Majesty, do you know why the Song Dynasty lost the war between Song and Xia?"

"I remember that it was because someone from Western Xia pretended to surrender and obtained intelligence from the Song Dynasty. He knew the marching route and time of the Song Dynasty, and encountered an ambush, which led to a great defeat." Zhao Xing said.

"This is just on the surface. The real reason is entirely because of Mr. Han." Zeng Qingxuan gritted his teeth.

"Oh?"

Zhao Xing frowned slightly. Ancient historical records tended to use the Spring and Autumn style of writing, recording victories in greater detail while defeats were recorded in a very vague manner.

Generally, only the general idea is recorded and the details are not recorded.

Therefore, Zhao Xing was not very clear about what happened back then.

"When Xixia declared independence, it was well prepared. Grand Chancellor Fan advocated a defensive stance, while Grand Chancellor Han advocated an offensive stance. At first, the emperor adopted Grand Chancellor Fan's advice, but later he was persuaded by Grand Chancellor Han to launch an offensive."

Zeng Qingxuan said bitterly: "The front line was defeated, and the soldiers and horses guarding the city were drawn from the rear to rescue, but they encountered an ambush by the Western Xia. My father was the governor of Lingzhou at the time. The city was empty, and the soldiers and horses guarding the city were less than a thousand, facing tens of thousands of Western Xia soldiers and horses.

Lingzhou City was not a strong city and could not be defended at all, so they abandoned the city and fled. "

(End of this chapter)