Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

As Emperor Jingsheng's piercing words resounded throughout the hall, their echoes reverberating between the beams and pillars, the entire hall fell silent, as if an invisible hand had pressed down on its throat.

Three breaths later, the rustling sound of court robes scraping against the ground echoed from the gold bricks...

One, two, three, like wheat blown down by the wind, they lay down in rows.

In the blink of an eye, the entire hall was filled with kneeling officials, stretching from the steps to the gate, like a wheat field bent by a storm.

The cabinet ministers kneeling in the front row had stiff backs, their foreheads almost touching gold bricks, and their fingers clenched white in their sleeves.

The officials in the back row dared not even breathe loudly; some of them had dark sweat stains on the back of their court robes.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. As the Grand Secretary, I have acted foolishly and failed to handle matters properly. I was unable to discern the treacherous and the wicked, which has led to this calamity. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Chen Tingjing, in a hoarse voice, was the first to apologize.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers in the back row followed suit, saying:

"I am guilty!"

Emperor Jingsheng sat upright behind his desk, glanced at Chen Tingjing, who was kneeling at the head of the civil officials, his body hunched over and looking somewhat old, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

After a long pause, he said:

"All ministers, rise! Zijie, you may continue!"

As the officials returned to their positions, Jia Jing, his face ashen, stepped forward and continued:

"After searching the Fang residence, several account books and letters were found on Liu Banu's person and in the Fang residence's study."

"Among them, Fang Congzhe exchanged dozens of letters with the Ren family, which clearly mentioned that he received 170,000 taels of silver from Ren Bo'an on three separate occasions to help him enter the cabinet and to make him speak up for Jiangnan in the court."

"The account books of Fang Congzhe's family and the account books of the Ren family in Beijing that were used to pull strings involved the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Office of Transmission, with a total of more than three million taels of silver in bribes."

"This case also involves the collusion between Shenjing Wuxun and the Jiangnan forces, including evidence of crimes such as the Duke of Shanguo's mansion and the Marquis of Pingyuan's mansion illegally possessing military equipment, encroaching on military farms, smuggling to supply the enemy, communicating with foreign officials, and disregarding human life."

"Last night, I ordered the Imperial City Guard to arrest people according to the account books. A total of 137 officials involved in the case were arrested, and their stolen silver and family property were confiscated, amounting to about 12 million taels of silver. Among them, Fang Congzhe's family alone had more than 1 million taels of family property confiscated."

"I have also ordered the Imperial City Guard to send a message by carrier pigeon to the Jiangnan Prefecture overnight to arrest the Ren and Zeng families and other involved personnel and send them to the capital in cages."

Among the civil officials, Xiong Cilu and Kong Ying, among others, all had gloomy faces. The 12 million taels of embezzled silver alone was a crime of corruption that could never be washed away!

Among the military officers, the Prince of Nan'an and others also had ashen faces. To say that Wu Xun had embezzled farmland, engaged in smuggling, and colluded with foreign officials in the court was tantamount to tearing off the fig leaf covering Wu Xun's head. What was he planning to do?

Jia Jing continued:

"I have transcribed all the account books, letters, and confessions of the officials involved into three copies: one for the Grand Secretariat, one for the Ministry of Justice, and one for Your Majesty's perusal."

"For all those involved, who received the bribes from whom at what time, through whom, and what was done, is recorded in the ledgers, testimonies, and correspondence. Every item is verifiable and every matter can be investigated. There is no place that cannot be questioned."

"The evidence is now conclusive. I request that the Imperial City Guard bring the case file into the palace for Your Majesty's review!"

As Emperor Jingsheng nodded, two Imperial City Envoys carried a black lacquered wooden box across the threshold outside the hall. The box was not large, about two feet square.

But the moment the box hit the ground, it made a solid, muffled thud, causing the ground to tremble slightly and the expressions of the officials in the hall to change.

Jia Jing stepped forward, lifted the lid of the box, and found it densely packed with files, letters, and account books. The pages were yellowed, and the ink was of varying ages, but each volume was numbered and sealed with a seal bearing the stamps of the Imperial City Guard and Jia Jing.

The hall was quiet for a moment, with only the edges of the pages rustling softly in the wind.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the grand hall at that time and place, it was more unsettling than any words.

Jia Jing then took out a memorial from his sleeve, held it above his head with both hands, and said in a deep voice:

"I have compiled this case from beginning to end into a book, with an account summary, a letter index, and excerpts of confessions, and compiled it into the 'Memorial on the Assassination Case in the Capital in the Tenth Year of Jingsheng'."

"This case began with the obstruction of the new policies by the gentry of Jiangnan, was triggered by the officials' coup, was completed by the attack and murder of the cabinet minister and the minister himself, and was concluded by the execution of Fang Congzhe, the gentry of Jiangnan, and Wu Xun."

"The causes and consequences have been meticulously analyzed; the witnesses and evidence have been meticulously matched. Your Majesty, please review and make your decision!"

Such a statement, covering the five elements of the investigation—the incident, the investigation process, the people involved, the chain of evidence, and the outcome—completely narrates the case and establishes an ironclad case!

As soon as Jia Jing finished speaking, the civil and military officials in the hall were all in an uproar.

In just one night, a major case that shook the capital was completely investigated and concluded, awaiting only the Emperor's judgment!

Besides being a skilled warrior, Duke Jing was also surprisingly decisive and efficient in handling cases.

Zhang Tingyu's gray eyebrows trembled slightly as he glanced at Jia Jing, whose face remained calm in the hall, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Compared to Jia Jing's handling of affairs, the major case of factionalism he handled last month seemed somewhat indecisive and hesitant!

However, such a simple comparison is not appropriate. After all, he was the only one in the court who dared to directly send troops to raid the Grand Secretary's residence, arrest people, and gather evidence!

Standing near the palace entrance, Jia Zheng could barely see Jia Jing's figure in front of him, but hearing the clear and resounding reports, his heart was filled with a surge of emotion.

This young man, so outstanding and talented, is a rare talent that only appears once every hundred years in our family!

It's a good thing that Wang, that foolish woman in the inner quarters, always thinks about challenging him. If she were to see Jing-ge'er's demeanor and power in the court, she would probably know what utter folly means!

At this time, some civil officials, such as Xiong Cilu, looked solemn. Their thoughts could not be summarized by the words "conclusive evidence and an ironclad case".

Faced with Jia Jing's use of force to suppress civil officials, the arrest of hundreds of officials in one night, and the forced confiscation of the Grand Secretary's mansion, they felt more fear, apprehension, unease, and even hatred.

Military officers investigating civil officials, and doing so so harshly and mercilessly, was something they could not tolerate.

In their view, right and wrong in the court should be decided by the civil officials themselves, and should be resolved in a dignified manner through memorials, censors, court discussions, and joint trials by the three judicial departments.

But Jia Jing used the Imperial City Guard, the Five City Garrison, and his personal guards, employing harsh methods such as breaking down doors in the middle of the night, confiscating property, arresting people, and subjecting them to severe interrogation in the imperial prison.

If we can use these methods to deal with Fang Congzhe and his group today, we can use the same methods to deal with them tomorrow!

Since ancient times, Xing has never been a place for scholar-officials!

This violates the rules of the imperial court!

And how many of them haven't taken other people's money? How many of them are truly clean? If such a thing happens to them in the future, how will they defend themselves?

While the officials were preoccupied with their own thoughts, Emperor Jingsheng was also calmly reviewing the memorials and various pieces of evidence submitted by Jia Jing.

In fact, Xia Shouzhong had already reported the general situation to him, but when Emperor Jingsheng read the detailed record in the memorial again, he was still shocked and incredulous.

Just as the officials were anxiously waiting for Emperor Jingsheng to speak, and some censors and officials were even itching to impeach him.

Emperor Jingsheng placed his hand on the memorial, his knuckles turning white, and let out a few suppressed coughs, which were quickly cut off by his master.

Then Emperor Jingsheng chuckled, a soft laugh that sent chills down one's spine more than a shout. He spoke slowly, devoid of emotion:

"Good! Good! Last year, when Liaodong was in dire need, I set aside my dignity in the palace and summoned all officials to donate funds. In the capital, thousands of people, including imperial relatives, civil and military officials, donated less than 200,000 taels of silver."

"The largest donation of 20,000 taels was actually made by Xia Shouzhong. The eunuchs you usually look down on actually donated more than these sanctimonious officials."

Emperor Jingsheng paused, his eyes flashing with cold light:

"...I remember that Fang Congzhe donated three hundred taels at that time. It was August, and he was wearing a patched, worn-out casual robe under his court robes. He said, 'My family is not well-off, so I can only donate three hundred taels.'"

"He was a high-ranking official, yet he only donated three hundred taels. At the time, I thought that although it wasn't a large donation, at least he was honest and upright, and I even comforted him by saying a few words to him that he shouldn't blame himself."

"Looking back now, my words of comfort seem utterly ridiculous! He was probably laughing at me in his heart at the time, wasn't he?"

"What is there for him to blame himself for? He has over a million taels of silver in his family, why would he blame himself?"

"He's pitying me! He's pitying that my treasury can't even produce a million taels of silver! He's pitying that I, the emperor, am not as well off as a 'poor' minister!"

Emperor Jingsheng suddenly laughed, the sound echoing in the hall like a dull knife scraping against bone:

"When they donated their military funds, they were all the poorest of them all; when their homes were confiscated, they were all the richest of them all. They coveted my money, and I still have to comfort and thank them!"

"This is outrageous!"