vstars Chapter 337: Left hand in, right hand out, good trick!
Chapter 337: Left hand in, right hand out, good trick!
"What? Chu Ning killed half of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue?"
Inside the Yingwu Hall.
The emperor, who was having lunch with the Minister of Revenue Chen Guowei, was stunned.
I deliberately kept Chen Guowei to have dinner because I wanted Chen Guowei to see the result with his own eyes and put an end to the matter once and for all.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ming brought back such a result.
Chen Guowei was also stunned at this moment.
Chu Ning arrested many officials, at least more than thirty of them, and if he killed half of them, there would be at least a dozen of them.
Each of these people has a powerful force behind them. If they are to be blamed, I, as the Minister of Revenue, will be to blame.
The more he thought about it, the more frightened and angry Chen Guowei became. He suddenly stood up, rushed to Zhao Ming, stared at him and asked:
"Is this serious?"
"Yes... I saw it with my own eyes. The prison of the Ministry of Justice was littered with corpses." Zhao Ming's face was pale and he was still frightened.
Thinking of the corpse I saw in the Ministry of Justice’s prison just now, I felt a sense of nausea.
But in front of the emperor, he didn't dare to be rude. He could only suppress the urge to vomit and briefly recounted everything that had just happened.
Finally, Zhao Ming added: "His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu and Lord Ling are waiting outside the palace."
The emperor's eyes turned cold and he angrily threw the bowl and chopsticks in his hands to the ground.
The broken bowl broke into countless pieces, just like the emperor's broken heart at this moment.
"Call that rebellious son in!" the emperor roared with all his strength.
"Xuan, Your Highness the King of Chu, Lord Ling is here to see you!"
Amid Zhao Ming's shrill voice, Chu Ning and Ling Haoran entered the hall one after the other.
"Greetings to Father (Your Majesty)!"
"You...do you still have me, your father, and your majesty, in your eyes?"
The emperor rushed to Chu Ning in anger, pointed at his nose and cursed: "Tell me, why did you kill the Ministry of Revenue officials?
Don’t you know that the Ministry of Revenue is the foundation of our Great Chu? Once something happens to the Ministry of Revenue, the foundation of the Great Chu will be shaken!"
It was the first time that Ling Haoran saw the emperor so angry. He was so scared that he lowered his head and dared not speak.
Anyway, the King of Chu has already said that he will take responsibility if anything goes wrong, so there is no need for me to step forward at this time.
What's more, seeing that His Majesty has already pointed the finger at the King of Chu, perhaps I will be fine.
While thinking, Chu Ning looked surprised: "Father, didn't you promise to let me investigate the Ministry of Revenue?"
The emperor's mouth twitched, he glanced at Chen Guowei, and cursed Chu Ning in his heart for being ungrateful.
At this time, you still want to drag me into this in front of Chen Guowei?
"Humph, I only asked you to investigate the Ministry of Revenue, not to kill anyone!"
The emperor's face darkened. "Besides, I have already sent Zhao Ming to pass on the order for you to release the arrested officials. Why did you still kill people?"
Chen Guowei also seized the opportunity at this moment, staring at Chu Ning, his eyes red as he angrily shouted: "Your Highness Prince Chu, are you trying to take advantage of this opportunity to take revenge?
You can't kill the officials of the Ministry of Revenue just because I reported you to the court. If you continue like this, who will dare to work for the court in the future?"
As he spoke, Chen Guowei knelt down before the emperor and cried out in tears: "Your Majesty, please give justice to the deceased officials of the Ministry of Revenue. Otherwise, who will dare to serve in the court in the future!"
This pitiful appearance is so heartbreaking that it makes anyone who hears it sad and anyone who sees it cry.
This guy really has the potential to be a movie emperor.
Chu Ning sneered in his heart, but on the surface he looked contemptuous: "Master Chen, you don't have to pretend to be sympathetic. I have already obtained evidence of your corruption and misappropriation of treasury silver!"
After saying that, Chu Ning took out a stack of confessions from his sleeve and handed them to the emperor: "Father, please take a look at it yourself."
Chen Guowei's face changed drastically, and he shouted quickly: "Your Majesty, this must be a confession obtained by the King of Chu under torture. It cannot be believed!"
Ling Haoran, who had been afraid to speak, said, "Sir Chen, these confessions were written willingly by officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and these people are now in prison. If you suspect they were tortured, you can go and check if they have any injuries!"
Chen Guowei was stunned.
It turned out that they came prepared. There must have been some spineless people who wrote down the confession, and those who were unwilling to write were killed by Chu Ning.
This is trouble!
Just as Chen Guowei's eyes were rolling around, the emperor snorted coldly, but still reached out to take the confession.
Although he was dissatisfied with Chu Ning's unauthorized killing of the Ministry of Revenue official today, he had not yet thought of a solution. He decided to read the confession first to buy time.
However, the first confession made the emperor's face change drastically, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.
He quickly switched to the second confession, and the emperor's face looked extremely gloomy and ugly.
When he saw the third confession, a murderous look appeared on the emperor's face.
"Okay, okay, the Ministry of Revenue can save tens of millions of taels of silver every year, but this money is always spent for various reasons, and every time it is handled personally by Lord Chen, the Minister of Revenue!"
The emperor became angrier as he spoke. He turned around and stared at Chen Guowei, who was kneeling on the ground, and suddenly threw the confession in his hand at him.
"Look for yourself, what else do you have to say?"
Tens of millions of taels every year. Over the years, more than one billion taels of silver from the imperial court disappeared just like that.
No wonder the imperial court has no money every year. It turns out it’s because of these termites.
At this moment, Chen Guowei was sweating profusely and quickly picked up the confession on the ground to check it.
With just one glance, Chen Guowei felt his eyes go dark, his hands and feet become cold, and he thought to himself that it was all over.
Many of these confessions came from trusted people, and with their accusations, it would be difficult to escape the crime.
No, I absolutely cannot give up like this. Once I lose, my life will be gone!
"Your Majesty, I can explain!"
Chen Guowei quickly said: "This money is used every year to prepare for spring plowing, disaster relief, and to help the people buy food."
"is it?"
Chu Ning sneered: "But as far as I know, the money was embezzled by you alone and distributed to the wealthy families to maintain the relationship between you.
Although the wealthy and powerful families would donate some money to the court every year, compared with this money, the money they donated was insignificant.
Your left hand in, right hand out method is really clever."
Chu Ning turned to look at the emperor and said in a deep voice, "Father, I think such a corrupt person is not qualified to be the Minister of Revenue. Please arrest him immediately."
Chen Guowei's heart sank, and he quickly cried out, "Your Majesty, I did this to deal with the aristocratic families. If I don't give them enough benefits, how could they donate silver and food?"
The emperor was furious when he heard this: "You used my money to deal with them, and then asked them to donate my money to me, and you still want me to be grateful to them?
Are you a subject of a noble family or a subject of mine?"
The furious emperor immediately ordered: "Come here, arrest Chen Guowei and investigate all other officials of the Ministry of Revenue!"
This time, the emperor was determined to clean up the Ministry of Revenue!
In Kyoto City, the storm is brewing again, and a bloody battle is about to begin.