People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1721: Beheading the Prime Minister and Understanding People's Hearts

In the Taiji Hall, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wei Fangzhi painfully took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over, bowing and saying, "I, the guilty minister, have a list of the Wei family's land properties here. You can compare it with the palace, the Ministry of Revenue, and Yongzhou Prefecture. The difference is obvious at a glance."

The expressions of the ministers suddenly became solemn.

Of the thirty thousand hectares of fertile land of the Wei family, your Cui family has embezzled only 15 percent, which is even more than what the Yongzhou Prefecture took.

Too much!
Li Xuan took it from Wei Fangzhi's hand and handed it upwards.

After Xu Lu took it, he handed it to Zheng.

Zheng waved her hand, and Xu Lu immediately turned around and handed the memorial to Lu Yuanfang and others.

After the prime ministers had read it, they handed it to the Minister of Revenue, Yun Hongyin.

Yun Hongyin read it carefully, and finally bowed solemnly and said, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, most of the records here are the hidden fields of the Wei family, but they are not recorded in the Ministry of Revenue or the palace. Now we just need to go back and check, and we will know clearly whose name it is under."

"No need to investigate." Zheng's cold eyes fell on Cui Zhiwen, and he sneered, "It's common for people to manipulate things, and greed is their instinct."

Li Xuan stepped forward with his hands folded, and said in a deep voice: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, the Wei family is guilty of the previous incident and will be punished according to the law. However, Prime Minister Cui is in charge of the investigation and confiscation of the Wei family. The amount of private embezzlement is huge, which is not something that one person could have done. I request a thorough investigation of the matter.

Those who should belong to the palace should belong to the palace, those who should belong to the Ministry of Revenue should belong to the Ministry of Revenue, and those who should belong to the Wei family should belong to the Wei family."

After hearing Li Xuan's last words, Cui Zhiwen, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly looked up and met the eyes of Wei Fangzhi, who was full of resentment.

The strong, almost insoluble murderous intent rushed directly into the depths of Cui Zhiwen's soul.

In an instant, the figures of countless Wei, Du, and Dou descendants who had been beheaded appeared in his mind.

Cui Zhiwen shuddered suddenly.

Cui Zhiwen suddenly realized that with his current crime, his family would inevitably be confiscated. If the Wei, Du, and Dou families, the aristocratic families in Guanzhong, got involved, then who knows how many of the Cui family's descendants would die.

A strong smell of blood suddenly filled Cui Zhiwen's mind, and he finally understood Li Xuan's cruelty.

It was Li Xuan who suggested that he search the Wei family.

"Accurate!" Zheng's voice entered Cui Zhiwen's mind, and he lowered his head subconsciously.

Li Xuan bowed calmly and said, "Empress Dowager, there is one more thing. After investigation, it was found that Wei Fangzhi knew nothing about the Wei family's affairs, but his clansmen are guilty and should be dismissed from their posts.

Now, Wei Fangzhi has done a great job in reporting Cui. Our dynasty has always rewarded meritorious deeds and punished faults, so I request that he be appointed as the Supervisory Censor and granted a thousand acres of land to support his family."

"I would like to make another request!" Dou Chi, Shaoqing of the Sinong Temple, could not help but stand up.

"I would like to make another request!" Imperial Censor Du Shenyan stood up.

"I would like to make the request!" The Secretary of the Central Secretariat Su Weidao stood up and bowed.

Then, a dozen people stood up here and there, but except Dou Chi, they were basically officials below the fifth rank.

Zheng turned around and glanced at the ministers. Seeing that no one objected, she waved her hand and said, "Let's do this."

"Yes!" All the ministers in the hall bowed their heads at the same time.

Seeing this scene, Li Xuan, who was also bowing her head, couldn't help but change her eyes slightly.

Aristocratic families are one of the most fundamental orders in the world. Li Xuan can suppress an aristocratic family, but if he wants to destroy it completely, he probably doesn't know how many people hate him invisibly.

There are not so many good and evil, right and wrong in the world, but more about closeness and distance.

Now that Li Xuan has given the Wei family the foundation for their revival, their resentment is naturally directed at Cui Zhiwen.

If Li Xuan really wants to take a further step in the future, Wei will not only not stand up to stop her, but will cheer for her instead.

The same goes for the Dou, Du, Su and other families.

There is still a long way to go in the future!

……

"The third crime of Cui is the crime of treason."

As soon as Li Xuan's voice came out, the whole hall fell silent. Everything had finally reached the most critical point.

"I am guilty!" Zheng Xuankai stood out from the crowd of ministers, then knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I was in the palace earlier and heard Cui's words about a corruption case in the imperial examinations. I was deceived by her and led her to the Ganlu Palace, but I never thought that she would blatantly snatch the emperor's golden arrow tiger talisman. I failed to stop her. I am guilty. Please punish me, Queen Mother."

"I am guilty!" Cui Shenji stood up from the back, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "I was originally in Daizhou, and received a letter from Cui, saying that someone was planning to commit treason. I was deceived by them and secretly led my troops to Hejin. I am guilty, please punish me, Queen Mother."

"I am guilty!" Cui Xuanwei stood up from the back and knelt down and kowtowed: "..."

Officials from the Zheng, Cui, and Lu families stood up from the crowd of ministers, knelt down and kowtowed, and all pointed out that they were deceived by Cui Zhiwen and committed serious crimes. While asking the Queen Mother to punish them, they also put the blame on Cui Zhiwen.

Cui Zhiwen's eyes were fixed on Zheng Xuankai. He could understand other people, but what about Zheng Xuankai?
Everything Cui Zhiwen is doing now is, in the end, to ensure that Li Zhongjun can eventually rule the country smoothly and hold power.

Indeed, Cui Zhiwen may be in charge of the government for a while, but how long can he live? He might die before the emperor reaches adulthood.

But Li Xuan, Li Xuan is still young now, even at the end, when the emperor has reached adulthood, he is still strong.

Maybe he would lie in hiding for two years, and wait until the emperor gave birth to a successor, and then he would overthrow and kill the emperor and establish a new emperor.

Such things are everywhere in history books.

Cui Zhiwen subconsciously wanted to speak, but at this moment, he found that his throat suddenly hurt so much that he couldn't make a sound.

At this moment, Li Xuan came from the front and gently patted Cui Zhiwen on the body, then turned to look at Zheng and the ministers and said: "In order to seize power, Cui stole Wei's wealth, fabricated an unjust case in the imperial examination, and finally led troops into the capital, intending to cause chaos in the world. I request that you be charged with high treason."

"I second the motion!" Chief Censor Wang Jishan stood up with a serious expression.

As the Chief Censor, Li Xuan had given him the power to impeach the prime minister when he was in Luoyang, but unfortunately, Cui Zhiwen did it too secretly and he didn't even notice it.

It was not until Cui Zhiwen brazenly mobilized his troops to surround Prince Peng's mansion that he suddenly woke up.

What Cui Zhiwen did was treason. "I second the motion." He Yiqiu and Xiao Siye stood up at the same time.

The Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple all have the same opinion. What do others think?
Are Choi Ji-won really going to be beheaded?

You know, Cui Zhiwen is the prime minister!

Zheng was sitting on the imperial couch. The solemn atmosphere made her dare not speak casually for a moment. She could only look at Lu Yuanfang on the side.

Lu Yuanfang stood up with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice: "Queen Dowager, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, no prime minister has ever been executed. I beg you to..."

"Yes!" Zheng Xuankai suddenly spoke up, interrupting Lu Yuanfang and saying, "The Minister of the Central Secretariat, Pei Yan, was beheaded in Luoyang South Market last year."

As soon as Zheng Xuankai said this, all the prime ministers' eyes fell on him, and then slowly fell on Li Xuan.

Li Xuan bowed slightly and said, "Queen Dowager, the Cui family is plotting treason, and they implicate the Cui family, Zheng family, Lu family, and dozens of other clans. According to Tang law, those who have committed treason should be beheaded regardless of whether they are the leader or the follower. However, it is not good to kill people recklessly when the emperor first ascends the throne."

All the prime ministers' looks suddenly became much gentler.

Li Xuan continued to bow and said, "Therefore, I suggest that the Cui family, Zheng family, Lu family, and dozens of other clans' sons, their fathers and sons, brothers, uncles, brothers' sons, within three clans, all be dismissed from office, their property confiscated, and exiled to the Western Regions. No one will be pardoned until they die."

The words "until death" made everyone shudder.

But everyone understands that this is the bottom line that Li Xuan can accept.

Otherwise, if anyone were to do this, the government affairs would no longer be able to be carried out.

Zheng turned and looked at Lu Yuanfang: "Left Prime Minister."

"That person himself will be exiled to the Western Regions, and his father, son, brothers, uncle, and brother's son will be exiled to Zhenzhou. They will not be pardoned even if they are granted amnesty." Lu Yuanfang looked up at Li Xuan.

"Dismiss him from office and confiscate his property." Li Xuan looked straight at Lu Yuanfang.

He doesn't care whether people die or not, what matters is the land.

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Xuan took a step back and bowed to accept the order.

Whether exiled to the Western Regions or exiled to Zhenzhou, as long as one of these people can come back alive, Li Xuan will be considered the loser.

Moreover, those who were actually let off were all officials in the court. A large number of ordinary people without official positions were also involved in these incidents. These people would not be included in the list of those whose sentences would be reduced. They would be executed in the West Market in the autumn like ordinary prisoners.

……

Zheng sat on the imperial couch. She could feel the invisible confrontation from before, and then said, "Since everything has been decided, then today..."

"Empress Dowager." Xue Shao suddenly stood up and bowed.

Li Xuan and other officials in the court looked at Xue Shao in surprise at the same time. Why was he standing up at this time?

"Empress Dowager." Xue Shao bowed and said, "Cui has been dismissed from his post. The Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Hall is short of people. Also, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has been dismissed. The Ministry of Personnel is short of people. I would like to ask for a replacement."

The eyes of the prime ministers in the court fell slightly on Li Xuan. Li Xuan shook his head slightly, indicating that this matter had nothing to do with him.

He is not that aggressive yet. He almost killed Cui Zhiwen today, and now he is eyeing the prime minister position vacated by Cui Zhiwen.

"And it's not just the Minister of Personnel. There will be a large number of official vacancies later. I request to fill the Ministry of Personnel to avoid chaos in the future." Xue Shao finally came up with a decent reason.

But after he finished speaking, no one responded, not even Li Xuan spoke.

Zheng turned to look at Lu Yuanfang and asked in a low voice, "What does the Left Prime Minister think?"

"What the Prince Consort said does make sense." Lu Yuanfang pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "The imperial examination has just ended. After that, we still have to review the papers, decide on the names, and even assign officials. But the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel cannot do that."

Xue Shao finally breathed a sigh of relief, then returned to the train and stopped talking, looking as if he was only concerned with official business.

Xue Shao knew clearly that if the princess had not asked him to keep an eye on the court today, if someone mentioned the matter of a replacement prime minister, it would be fine; if no one mentioned it, then he would have to step forward. If it were not for the princess, Xue Shao would never have taken the initiative today.

"Then let's discuss the Zhongshu Ling first." Zheng said quickly: "Since Zhongshu Ling is short of people, then we can transfer the Shizhong to take the position. What are his current qualifications?"

"Minister Liu Jingxian is suitable." Lu Yuanfang nodded directly.

"What about the Minister?" Zheng looked at Lu Yuanfang.

Lu Yuanfang pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "I have two candidates, the Imperial Censor and the Minister of Personnel."

"I withdraw." Wang Jishan immediately stood up and withdrew directly. The current political situation suddenly seemed a little wrong, and he didn't want to get involved in this mess.

"Then it must be the Minister of Personnel." Lu Yuanfang looked at Zhang Da'an, nodded and said gently: "Prime Minister Zhang is our senior. It will be good for us to have him in the government hall."

"Yes!" All the prime ministers nodded.

"Okay, it's settled." Zheng nodded and said, "Then who will be the successor to the Minister of Personnel and the Vice Minister of Personnel?"

"Minister of Personnel." Lu Yuanfang looked at the ministers and said, "Minister of Revenue Yun Hongyin was promoted to Minister of Personnel, and Minister of Works Huang Rensu was promoted to Minister of Revenue."

"I withdraw." Huang Rensu stood up and said, "My ability is not bad for the Ministry of Works, but I'm afraid there will be chaos in the Ministry of Revenue."

"Then it must be Pei Judao, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue." Lu Yuanfang looked at Pei Judao and nodded with emotion, "It should be Brother Pei now."

"Then Minister Pei will be promoted to Minister of Revenue." Zheng continued, "What about the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue?"

At this time, Li Xuan stood up and bowed, saying, "Empress Dowager, Left Prime Minister, I recommend Daizhou Governor Cui Shenji as the Minister of Personnel, and I recommend Ministry of Revenue Doctor Cui Xuanwei as the Minister of Revenue."

The ministers looked at Li Xuan in great surprise. Is Li Xuan so frank and selfless?

You know, he just destroyed half of the Cui family!
……

Zhao Xuan, the Minister of Personnel, who was about to step forward, was surprised and quietly retracted his steps.

(End of this chapter)