A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Chapter 277 Seven officials were dismissed in succession, and the entire court was terrified.

Li Huai slammed a list onto the imperial desk, causing the pages to scatter half an inch outwards.

"Your Majesty, seventeen people."

The officials in the imperial court, who had been whispering about the regulations for the imperial examinations, suddenly fell silent.

Wei Zhao looked up and saw that Li Huai's old face was cold and hard, and knew that this was no small matter.

Wei Zhao did not go to receive the list, but only asked one question.

"Is the evidence conclusive?"

Li Huai looked up, his voice harsh.

"The evidence is irrefutable; we can raid their homes and arrest them at any time."

Someone in the hall trembled their fingers, and the jade tablet gently tapped against their sleeve.

Wei Zhao heard it.

well.

It's always easier to find someone who's afraid than someone who's pretending to be dead.

He then picked up the list and slowly flipped through it.

Seventeen names.

There was an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a Principal of the Ministry of Revenue, a Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and two local transport officials who had just been retained from the old Wei dynasty.

Their official positions weren't particularly high, but they all held their posts very well.

The Ministry of Rites could access examination documents, the Ministry of Revenue could access land and grain registers, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices could access the sacrifices and clan affairs of former officials, and the Transport Commissioner could manage grain routes.

If Liu Suan really wants to dismantle the foundation of Xinwu, these people are his fingers.

Wei Zhao turned to the last page, his fingertips pausing.

A brief list of evidence was attached to the list.

He secretly colluded with Liu Ruhui, a former official of Jingzhou.

They distributed drafts of the imperial examination official study materials.

The route for the land survey of military merit fields was leaked.

The deed for transferring hidden land to the old dynasty's powerful clans.

it is good.

very nice.

I was just about to open a door for the world, and you're already busy digging a hole under the threshold.

Wei Zhao closed the list without getting angry.

The less angry he became, the quieter the palace became.

Getting angry at this point won't help.

Anger can only smash a table, not cut off the root of the problem.

What's needed now is to make it clear to the entire court that whoever dares to reach out will lose their hand.

Li Huai waited.

The officials were also waiting.

Just as Wei Zhao was about to speak, someone suddenly stepped forward from the ranks.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Everyone looked up.

Zhang Bingzhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

This man was a rising star promoted through the military merit system. He had made meritorious contributions in Black Wind Ridge in his early years, and later, because he was knowledgeable about the arrangement of military equipment, he was specially transferred to the Ministry of Works by Shang Wanqing.

He still had the rough air of a soldier, and when he stood up, his back was very straight.

Wei Zhao glanced at him.

Zhang Bingzhong's decision to step forward at this time is either foolish or someone has pushed him out to test the waters.

Unfortunately, he was a rising star in the military.

When former officials speak, it is seen as an attempt to protect themselves.

When newly rich military officers speak, they can always put on a facade of "thinking about the political situation."

interesting.

Wei Zhao put the list back on the imperial desk.

"explain."

Zhang Bingzhong cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty, the people on the Prime Minister's list are all officials retained from the old dynasty."

His voice was quite loud, like he was shouting orders in a military camp.

"I am not trying to exonerate them. If there is solid evidence, they should be investigated and punished accordingly; I dare not say more. But isn't it too hasty to arrest seventeen people at once?"

Someone in the hall made a move.

Zhang Bingzhong continued, "The imperial examinations haven't even started yet, and the court is already half empty. Who's going to do the work?"

After he finished speaking, sweat was already beading on his forehead.

But he didn't back down.

Wei Zhao looked at him, but did not immediately condemn him.

That's half true.

What Xinwu lacks most right now is indeed capable people.

It's easy to conquer the world, but difficult to maintain it.

Killing a group of officials is satisfying, but after that, who will go to the nuclear fields?

Who will review the registration?

Who will distribute land to the families of meritorious soldiers?

We can't expect military officers like Liu Jingshuang and Huo Qingluan to sit in the yamen and approve documents.

But the other half sounds awful.

Because he used the argument that "no one is doing the work" to pressure the question of "whether or not to kill."

I'm very familiar with this method.

The old Wei dynasty was just this bad back then.

Traitorous officials cannot be killed, because it would throw the court into chaos.

The powerful families cannot be touched, because it will cause chaos in the region.

The border troops' provisions and pay cannot be investigated, because it would cause chaos in the Ministry of Revenue.

Damn it.

It will rot if it's not investigated.

Before Wei Zhao could speak, Li Huai had already let out a cold laugh.

"Lord Zhang has certainly thought things through for them."

Zhang Bingzhong's face tightened.

"Your Excellency, I am merely stating the facts."

"Let's discuss the matter at hand?"

Li Huai turned around and stared at him with his old eyes.

"Are you afraid that if they get taken down, no one will approve the budget for the Ordnance Supervision Bureau?"

Zhang Bingzhong frowned.

"What does the Prime Minister mean?"

Li Huai took a step forward.

"Or are you afraid that this will lead to the exposure of all your shady dealings?"

These words caused a brief commotion in the hall, which was quickly suppressed.

Zhang Bingzhong's expression changed drastically.

"Li Huai! You're slandering me!"

Li Huai smiled.

His smile was ugly.

"Don't you know whether I'm slandering you or not?"

He pulled another sheet of paper from his sleeve and threw it directly at Zhang Bingzhong's feet.

"The Ministry of Works' Ordnance Bureau scrapped 3,200 crossbows last month, which were recorded as losses. However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard found that only 900 were actually broken. The remaining 2,300 were transferred to your private treasury under the guise of repairs."

Zhang Bingzhong's lips moved slightly.

"That's a spare part, for emergency use in the military..."

"So urgently needed that you have to sell it to a former military leader in Jingzhou?"

Li Huai interrupted him.

Zhang Bingzhong's eyelids twitched violently.

It’s over.

There's no need to ask about that reaction.

As Wei Zhao looked at him, the pity in his heart slowly dissipated.

New military elites.

He crawled out of a pile of dead bodies.

He should know better than anyone how expensive the rules of Xinwu are.

As soon as he took the position of Vice Minister, he learned to reach out for himself.

You really can't judge a person by their background alone.

Old officials can be greedy, and so can new ones.

People who have experienced poverty are not necessarily clean, and people who have achieved great things are not necessarily reliable.

Therefore, systems cannot rely on trust.

It requires a knife.

Zhang Bingzhong knelt down.

"Your Majesty! I am innocent!"

He shouted loudly, his forehead hitting the floor tiles.

"I fought valiantly at Black Wind Ridge, breaking three ribs in the process, and my left leg still aches on rainy days! I was personally promoted by Your Majesty to a military merit, how could I possibly collude with former officials? Those crossbows were merely an accounting error, due to the carelessness of my subordinates. I am willing to conduct a self-examination and rectify the discrepancies!"

Wei Zhao stood up.

At the foot of the jade steps, everyone lowered their heads.

"Zhang Bingzhong".

Zhang Bingzhong looked up, his eyes still holding a glimmer of hope for survival.

Wei Zhao looked at him, his voice low.

"I remember you."

Zhang Bingzhong's throat bobbed.

"That night at Black Wind Ridge, you led thirty men to guard the armory carts in the west of the valley and killed seven Black Mountain soldiers."

Zhang Bingzhong's eyes immediately reddened.

"Your Majesty remembers, even in death..."

"Of course I remember."

Wei Zhao interrupted him.

"That's why I put you in the Ministry of Works and put you in charge of the budget for the Ordnance Bureau. Because I think that people who have survived the battlefield know how deadly a crossbow, a suit of armor, or an arrow can be."

Zhang Bingzhong's face turned pale.

Wei Zhao stared at him.

"But you sold the crossbow."

No one in the hall dared to utter a sound.

Wei Zhao continued speaking, one sentence at a time.

"If those crossbows fall into the hands of the old army leaders, the next ones they might kill are the new soldiers."

"It might be one of your former comrades."

"He could also be a new recruit who has just received his land deed and is preparing to go home to get married."

Zhang Bingzhong's lips trembled.

"Your Majesty, I...I was confused for a moment..."

"I have no shortage of fools."

Wei Zhao raised his hand, and his personal guards immediately entered the hall.

Zhang Bingzhong collapsed to the ground.

Wei Zhao's gaze swept across the entire court.

"My court has no need for clean-handed good-for-nothings."

Some of the old officials were just beginning to breathe a sigh of relief.

The next sentence is coming.

"We don't need people with dirty hands."

The faces of those former officials had completely drained of color.

Cool.

Li Huai had only one word in his mind.

That's exactly what he was waiting for.

Wei Zhao continued, "Investigate the seventeen people on the list."

The guards responded in unison.

"Take what is due, and punish what is due. Those with conclusive evidence will have their homes confiscated and be imprisoned. Those involved in imperial examination documents, military merit land registers, or military supplies and provisions will be retried by the Three Judicial Offices, with the Jinyi Pavilion serving as an observer."

He looked at Zhang Bingzhong.

"Zhang Bingzhong was dismissed from his post and imprisoned in the imperial prison. His military achievements were not erased, nor were his crimes pardoned."

Zhang Bingzhong opened his mouth to shout, but his guards covered his mouth and dragged him out.

The sound of the boot soles scraping against the floor tiles was very harsh.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the court session, the officials left even faster than usual.

No one dared to huddle together and talk.

No one dared to look back at the list on the emperor's desk.

Li Huai, however, stayed.

Only after the palace doors closed did the coldness on the old prime minister's face ease slightly.

"Your Majesty, that was a well-deserved strike today."

Wei Zhao sat back down and rubbed his temples.

"Whether it's good or not depends on whether anyone else reaches out."

"Yes, there will be."

Li Huai answered quickly.