Why did the emperor rebel?

The memorial was handed up, and after a while, Zhu Qiyu finished reading it, pondered for a while, and then said.

"Before Jin Shangshu came, I and several gentlemen in the cabinet were also discussing this matter..."

While speaking, Zhu Qiyu looked at Zhang Min who was at the side, so the latter quickly spoke and said.

"That's right, I'm asking to see His Majesty because of Chen Shangshu's matter. This morning, the cabinet received a memorial from the official department to Zhong Zhoujian..."

Afterwards, Zhang Min briefly recounted the content of the memorial. After listening to it, Jin Lian's expression also changed, his brows were slightly frowned, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu asked.

"This matter started from the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and now the evidence provided by Wang Xuan is also kept in the Ministry of Criminal Justice. In Jin Shangshu's opinion, how should this case be handled?"

This question is not easy to answer, but since Jin Lian came, he naturally made a plan, hesitated for a moment, and he spoke.

"Returning to Your Majesty, Wang Xuan's confession is very detailed. Moreover, according to the investigation of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, there are indeed some officials who have bribed officials in Beijing and their families. Evidence, of course, cannot be ignored."

"According to the clues investigated by the Ministry of Criminal Justice and Wang Xuan's confession, he himself is one of the people who accepted bribes. In addition, the case has already been rumored. If it is not dealt with, it may cause the court to discuss it."

"Therefore, I would like to ask your Majesty to issue an order to temporarily imprison Wang Xuan in the mansion. The things he confessed, including Chen Ying, the son of Chen Xun, will be summoned by the Criminal Ministry for questioning and to investigate the case in detail."

As the minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, it should be said that there is no one who has more clues in this case than Jin Lian in the current court.

According to the current situation he knows, this Wang Xuan himself is not clean. He has a deep relationship with another local official, Ji Tong. However, most of the bribes were sent to the capital to be used as bribes.

The person who helped Ji Tong bribe in Beijing was Wang Xuan. In fact, even if Wang Xuan didn't come by himself, Jin Lian would submit an imperial edict to take him into custody for interrogation in at most three to five days.

However, what I didn't expect was that this Wang Xuan actually made such a move first.

When he heard the ins and outs of the incident, Jin Lian had already confirmed that there must be a connection between Wang Xuan's report to the Ministry of Punishment and Zhou Jian's impeachment of Chen Xun.

Otherwise, Zhou Jianyuan was in the capital, how could he know about the Ji'an mansion, either Wang Xuan told Zhou Jian about it in advance, or they had discussed it in secret.

Nowadays, it is difficult for Jin Lian to judge which kind of situation it is, but his intuition from years of being an official tells him that the latter is more likely.

Of the two of them, one went to the Ministry of Criminal Justice to sue, and the other went to court, their purpose was nothing more than to make things worse.

This is also the reason why Jin Lian entered the palace in a hurry. Wang Xuan went to the Ministry of Criminal Justice to report with such a great fanfare. Many people saw and heard it. This matter will soon spread in the court. According to the memorandum, the eyes of the government and the public will be fixed on the Ministry of punishment.

If, at this time, the Ministry of Criminal Justice does nothing, then the subsequent cases will not go on trial. After all, no one has any contacts behind them. Today, the Ministry of Criminal Justice is sitting idly by because Chen Xun is involved. Then tomorrow the other How can the Ministry of Punishment be so stern and impartial?

So, no matter what, the most important thing now is to make an appearance, at least on the surface, so as not to be true.

This point, not only Jin Lian, but also other people present were well aware of it. After all, Wang Xuan made such a fuss, and the matter was not a big deal.

"If that's the case, then according to Qing's wishes, order Jin Yiwei to confine Wang Xuan in the mansion and suspend his duties pending investigation. The case will still be handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for trial. Anyone involved in the case, below the third grade, can be summoned by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, so as to find out quickly. case."

When the matter developed to this point, Zhu Qiyu didn't hesitate too much, and ordered directly.

Looking at this decree alone, it is straightforward, and it looks like it has made up its mind to investigate strictly.

"The minister leads the order."

Jin Lian bowed his hands to accept the order, but as soon as he finished speaking, a servant from the outside came in to report.

"Report to Your Majesty, Chen Xunfeng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, intends to summon you outside the palace."

After the voice fell, all the ministers in the palace looked a little embarrassed.

Just now, when Chen Xun was called over, there was still some room for change, but once Jin Lian came over like this, the matter could not be settled.

But the decree has been handed down, Chen Xun people have all gone outside the hall, it is impossible to let them go back for no reason...

"Let Chen Shangshu come in."

Unsurprisingly, the Son of Heaven pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.

So, soon Chen Xun's figure appeared in the hall.

Seeing Chen Xun finish the ceremony, Zhu Qiyu hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"Chen Shangshu was called here today because there is a case involving Chen Shangshu, so I want to ask him face to face."

The emperor's tone was quite gentle, and there was no surprise or panic on Chen Xun's face, he just bowed calmly.

"Your Majesty is terrified, please make it clear."

So, Zhu Qiyu ordered someone to hand over the memorandum just sent up by the cabinet and the Ministry of punishment to Chen Xun, said.

"This is the memorial submitted by the cabinet and the Ministry of Punishment one after another. Some officials impeached Chen Shangshu, saying that you allowed your son Chen Ying to accept bribes, bend the law for personal gain and other crimes. Because the matter involved is complicated, I have just issued an order to order the Ministry of Punishment to have full authority to try it." In this case, all officials below the third rank are allowed to be arraigned."

"Since Chen Shangshu is here, I would like to ask in person whether what is said in these two memorials is true?"

When he said this, the emperor's tone became slightly serious, which made the atmosphere in the hall tense a lot.

However, Chen Xun still looked calm, handed the two memorials back to the servant, and said.

"Your Majesty, it is clear that what is mentioned in this memorandum is mostly about the dog son Chen Ying. He studied in the clan school of the minister's family in his early years, and came to the capital five years ago to catch up for the exam."

"At that time, just as the Supreme Emperor was preparing for his own conquest, there was a civil disaster. The minister was in the cabinet and slept late at night. It was late at night when he returned home. After the war stopped for a while, the minister was ordered to be transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and rushed to Baimakou to build a canal. , I have not returned for more than a year, and I have no time to ask about the affairs of the family in the capital."

"Therefore, I dare not vouch for the authenticity of this memorandum, but please rest assured, Your Majesty, if the dog really does something wrong, I will definitely hand him over to the imperial court and deal with it fairly. There will never be any favoritism in the slightest."

These words, Chen Xun said very sincerely, but those present, who are not foxes, can naturally hear what is meant by these words.

In the final analysis, what he said was actually saying that he didn't know anything about what his son was doing, and it had nothing to do with him.

In addition, another intention is to show merit to the emperor and tell how much he has worked so hard that he doesn't even have time to discipline his son.

However, at the same time, Chen Xun's remarks also revealed another important message.

That is, the content of impeachment in these two memorials is very likely to be groundless!
This reasoning is not difficult, because Chen Xun's remarks are nothing but nonsense. The ministers present are not important court officials who are busy with official duties, and who have no incompetent sons in their families.

What is the virtue of my son, can I not know?
Perhaps for them, it is true that they are usually busy, so they don't have time to care who their son hangs out with outside, but it is definitely not clear about such a big matter.

Among other things, wouldn't Chen Xun himself know how much income Chen's mansion makes every year?

What does he eat and use on a daily basis, how much money does it cost, and whether he can support it based on the income he knows, he will not know?

If it is said that his own income is not enough to support the huge expenses of his whole family, where did the extra money come from? He would not ask a question?
If you ask, do the people below dare to deceive you?

Even if his son doesn't tell him the truth, don't forget, whether it's giving money or other things, people will only look at the face of him, the minister of the Ministry of Industry and the important minister of Qiqing, not his only one. The son of scholar fame.

Everyone hangs out in the officialdom, and no one knows the twists and turns.

Just talking about gift giving does not mean that if you are in a high position, someone will rush to give gifts. The most important thing about gift giving is to let the recipient know that he has received the gift.

To put it bluntly, gift-giving is either to maintain the relationship, or it is to ask someone to do things. Moreover, maintaining the relationship, in the final analysis, is also to be able to do things at critical times, so in the final analysis, there is actually no difference.

That being the case, if the person receiving the gift doesn't even know that he has received the gift, what should we do and how can we maintain the relationship?

Therefore, even if Chen Xun's son accepted the gift under his banner, the gift givers would change their ways and let Chen Xun know about it.

Taking a step back, even if this group of people is far away, and they are so stupid that they can't even write a letter of euphemism, but in the end, gifts are for asking for help.

This is something that only Chen Xun can do. Therefore, if you want to know whether his son is bluffing under the guise of his name, or whether it is really Chen Xun who is behind the scenes, it is actually not difficult, as long as...

"This case is being heard by the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Jin Shangshu, what do you think?"

Regarding Chen Xun's statement, Zhu Qiyu did not comment, but turned to Jin Lian and asked.

Seeing this situation, Jin Lian hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, according to Wang Xuan's confession, this matter is not only related to Chen Ying, but also related to Chen Shangshu. Therefore, I would like to ask for an order to ask Chen Shangshu a few words, and please Your Majesty's permission."

Underneath Chen Xun's complexion was as usual, but Zhu Qiyu's expression was normal, he nodded and said.

"That's it!"

So Jin Lian turned around, came to Chen Xun, and asked.

"Chen Shangshu, according to what Wang Xuan said, Lu Dingzhong, the prefect of Ji'an, was the magistrate of Taihe County before. In order to make progress, he bribed you with a total of 12 taels of silver in the 14th and 8000th years of Zhengtong respectively. The old house in Taihe County, is there such a thing?"

"No……"

Facing such an accusation, Chen Xun simply shook his head and said.

"I do know about Lu Dingzhong, but he never bribed me. I don't know if there is evidence for what Jin Shangshu said?"

This denial was not unexpected, Jin Lian pondered for a moment, then said.

"This Lu Dingzhong was the same year as Wang Xuan who had just surrendered to the Ministry of Criminal Justice. They often exchanged letters. When Wang Xuan surrendered, he provided the correspondence between him and Lu Dingzhong. The letter mentioned that he and your son Chen Ying are good friends. Ying was short of money, so Lu Dingzhong often "helped" Chen Ying, and the contents of many letters added up to more than 8000 taels of silver."

"One of the letters mentioned that he has made an agreement with Chen Ying that he will tell you about this after Chen Ying arrives in Beijing. Doesn't Chen Shangshu know about this?"

Although this was not clearly stated, in fact, there was no way to say it clearly, because what Jin Lian said was the evidence he had in hand, and it was actually impossible to state this kind of correspondence, so Jin Lian could only speak according to the content of the letter. explain.

However, it is not clear that it is actually the same thing. As Chen Xun's eldest son, how could he be short of money, and Lu Dingzhong, as the parent officer of a county, why is he hanging out with Chen Ying, a scholar? He also spent money to help him, which cost seven to eight thousand taels.

It became clear that Chen Ying was borrowing money from Chen Ying to send money to Chen Xun, and the last letter, saying that Chen Ying would tell Chen Xun about the matter, actually meant that Chen Ying would let Chen Xun do things for him.

So, now that things are up to now, it's not that Jin Lian insists on making a big fuss, but that the evidence is here, so I have to ask.

However, even in the face of such evidence, Chen Xun still shook his head and said.

"I don't know, Quanzi never mentioned this to me..."

Seeing this situation, Jin Lian was silent for a moment, then asked again.

"However, according to what Wang Xuan said, shortly after Chen Ying arrived in the capital, Chen Shangshu recommended Lu Dingzhong as the prefect of Ji'an. Is this true?"

This time, Chen Xun didn't deny it, because he couldn't deny it, and the memorials he submitted are probably still kept in the Secretary of General Administration.

but……

"It is true that Lu Dingzhong was recommended by me, but it has nothing to do with the bribery incident Jin Shangshu mentioned just now."

"At that time, the war was just over, and His Majesty issued an order to the ministers in the court to recommend talents. I followed His Majesty's order and recommended many people, and Lu Dingzhong was just one of them."

"Besides, I didn't recommend him to be the prefect of Ji'an, but I recommended him to go to Beijing to be the censor. As for his promotion to the prefect, it is the intention of the officials and has nothing to do with me..."

It's so clean...

All the ministers below grinned, feeling speechless for a while, sure enough, after being in the officialdom for a long time, they can speak lies confidently without changing their faces.

Facing Chen Xun's defense, Jin Lian thought for a moment and said.

"Chen Shangshu, with all due respect, what you said just now is just one-sided words, but what Wang Xuan said, there are correspondences as evidence, so if you want to prove your innocence, you may have to produce evidence to prove what you said It's true..."