Han family achievements

Chapter 563 Something big happened
"The Supreme Court disagrees."

Xu You hadn't spoken yet, but Xi Zhicai spoke up, "Prime Minister, no matter how many military achievements Cao Hong had, he was only a small General of the Central Army. Not to mention that the three-division trial was against the rules and would set a bad precedent. Most importantly, it would tell the world that the court was going to investigate the Grand Marshal. Prime Minister, is the court going to investigate the Grand Marshal?"

"The Shangshutai and the imperial court have absolutely no such intention!"

Xun Yu's face was gloomy, and he righteously denied Xi Zhicai's words. He looked at everyone and said, "The Grand Marshal has made great contributions to the country and is loyal. No one should speculate at will!"

Xi Zhicai said, "Minister Tian is still busy rectifying the canal transport and has no time to spare. This case can only be handled by the Criminal Department."

Xu You looked straight ahead and said calmly, "Cao Hong is under the command of the Military Department. According to the court regulations, he should be dealt with by the Military Department, investigated by the Censorate, or tried by the three courts. The Criminal Department cannot overstep its authority to investigate the case."

"If authorized by the prime minister, the Ministry of Justice can investigate below the rank of Lieutenant General." Xi Zhicai looked at Xu You and said.

Xu You saw that Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu were clearly trying to pin the blame on him, so he said indifferently, "The Criminal Department has evidence that a joint trial by the three courts is necessary."

Xun Yu was very dissatisfied with Xu You. For the first time, he was angry and said in a deep voice, "I will say it again, Grand Marshal, you are honest and upright, and you are not involved in any crime! Minister Xu, if you continue to talk nonsense, I can dismiss you!"

Xu You remained calm, bowed, and said, "I will remember this."

Xi Zhicai looked at Xu You, then turned to Xun Yu, and was secretly worried in his heart.

The "Cao Hong case" must be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise Cao Cao will be implicated sooner or later, and no one will be able to save the situation then!
Tian Feng was still in Pengcheng, but Xu You insisted on not taking him in, leaving it to the Grand Marshal's Office to handle the matter. This inevitably gave rise to the suspicion of 'officials protecting one another'.

Wang Lang stood by and watched in silence, with cold eyes.

The 'Cao Hong case' seemed to have reached a dead end.

At this moment, the clerk on duty came hurriedly, glanced at Wang Lang, raised his hand and said, "Prime Minister, the clerk is looking for Minister Wang urgently."

Wang Lang's face darkened. Last time he was called away in front of the Emperor, and this time he was called away in the Secretariat. He was angry in his heart, but his face remained unchanged. He said, "Prime Minister, the case of Cao Hong has nothing to do with the Ministry of Personnel. If there is a decision, just inform us. If there is an urgent matter in the Ministry of Personnel, can you allow me to go back and deal with it?"

Xun Yu suppressed his anger and said, "Yes."

Wang Lang greeted him, then stood up and left.

Xun Yu watched his back with a thoughtful look, considering whether to use his power as prime minister to force Xu You to take on this "tricky little case".

At this moment, another minor official came in hurriedly and whispered in Xun Yu's ear: "Prime Minister, the Crown Prince has come, and he is wearing formal attire."

Xun Yu's expression changed slightly, and he immediately stood up and walked to the door of the duty room.

Xi Zhicai, Xu You heard it vaguely, then stood up and made a salute gesture.

Soon, Liu Shao, wearing the red crown prince's robe and with a big belly, came up.

Sima Yi stood behind him respectfully, bowing his head, his whole body radiating humility.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is here to see you." Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai and Xu You all saluted.

Liu Shao looked at the three people and blinked. He seemed to want to imitate Liu Bian and put his hands behind his back. He tried and found that he couldn't do it. So he had to say with his big belly: "No need to be polite."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Xun Yu and the other two stood up.

Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, and Xu You were all looking at Liu Shao, curious as to why the Crown Prince suddenly came to the Secretariat and was wearing formal attire.

Liu Shao seemed to be recalling something. He blinked for a long time before looking at Xu You and said, "Mr. Xu, the criminal department is here to investigate the Cao Hong case. Please close it as soon as possible."

The seven-year-old kid still has a baby voice and a chubby face. Not only does he not look majestic at all, but he also looks even cuter.

Xun Yu immediately understood and felt relieved.

Xu You was unable to react, and after a pause, he said, "Your Highness, the Criminal Department is here to investigate Cao Hong, which is against the rules. I have already reported this to the Prime Minister."

Liu Shao looked at Xu You, as if he didn't understand what he said, and turned to look at Sima Yi behind him.

Sima Yi half bowed and whispered behind Liu Shao: "Your Highness is the crown prince, you can order the criminal department, that is, Xu Shangshu, which is in accordance with the regulations of our dynasty."

Liu Shao turned to Xu You again and said, "You, check!"

Xu You was a little overwhelmed and glanced at Xun Yu, wondering if he was the one secretly instigating the prince. Thinking that this was a big handle, he was about to "decline" when he saw Zuo Li outside the door, looking at him expressionlessly.

Xu You was startled and his whole body went cold. He immediately raised his hand and said, "I obey the orders of the Crown Prince!"

"Closing the case within three days cannot help but make mistakes."

Liu Shao finished speaking and said, "I have already informed the Grand Marshal that he will enforce the law impartially and not let anyone off the hook."

Xu You heard it clearly, and understood it in his heart. He lowered his head, sweating profusely, and said, "I obey your command."

After Liu Shao finished speaking, he turned to look at Sima Yi. Sima Yi kept his head level with Liu Shao's and whispered, "Prime Minister, Nanjun Governor Guo Yong is not bad."

Xun Yu also bowed his head, savoring Liu Shao's words, and whispered, "Is your cousin the prefect of Luoyang?"

Liu Shao hummed, and then said: "Zhen Yu from Changshan, Jizhou, is the magistrate of Henan."

Xun Yu agreed and said, "I'll make a note of it."

Liu Shao straightened his back, performed the disciple's salute respectfully, and then took his leave.

Xun Yu respectfully saw Liu Shao off, thinking of Guo Yong and Zhen Yu in his heart.

Guo Yong naturally knew that the prefect of Nanyang County was a well-known official. Although he was not a member of a large aristocratic family in Nanyang County, he had a very good reputation.

That's all.

Why did the palace suddenly promote such an "ordinary person" to the position of prefect of Luoyang?
Xun Yu also knew Zhen Yu, who was a big family in Yuzhou with great influence. Zhen Yu was currently the head of the Zhen family, a young man in his early twenties.

Henan Ling, does this mean you want to train me?

Xi Zhicai stood behind him and had a headache.

As for the governor of Yuzhou and the prefect of Luoyang, the Yingchuan Party, especially Xun You, actually had some ideas and were preparing to nominate them.

Now that Xun Yu had accepted the inexplicable appointment of Guo Yong as the prefect of Luoyang, it was bound to provoke Xun You's anger.

The 'Yingchuan Party' is gradually splitting up internally, with the three ministers of the Shangshutai representing the two forces, while Xi Zhicai, Chen Lin and others are trying their best to avoid being involved.

As a result, three distinct forces had actually formed within the "Yingchuan Party".

There has been an intermittent fight between them.

Xu You, on the other hand, didn't care about these things. He was thinking about how to limit the "Cao Hong case" to "Cao Hong alone".

The difficulty of this case lies here. If one is not careful, Cao Cao will be implicated. If Cao Cao is involved, it will be a shocking case, enough to shake the foundation of the country, and everyone will have to be cautious.

However, the imperial court and the emperor in the palace would never allow Cao Cao to be involved!

Xu You was feeling very upset. He thought that the case could be dismissed, but in the end, it still fell on his head!

There is someone more annoying than him—Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's residence in Luoyang has seen countless visitors in recent times.

The first ones to come were Cao Hong’s family, who cried and complained in the backyard of Cao’s mansion all day long.

Later, members of the Cao and Xiahou clans came to "pay their respects", but in fact they were trying to find out the truth and to find out whether Cao Cao would be convicted.

Cao Cao's advisers, generals, students and former officials kept appearing, and their words and deeds showed their worry and anxiety.

Cao Hong was actually not someone else but a member of the same clan as Cao Cao. He had followed Cao Cao since he was a teenager, fighting in many battles in the south and the north. He was one of Cao Cao's most trusted confidants.

Once he was convicted, Cao Cao would inevitably be implicated, and if Cao Cao was convicted, countless people would be implicated.

At this moment, Cao Cao was in the Grand Marshal's Mansion. After seeing Liu Shao off, his expression did not improve much. He kept flipping through the documents on the small table, but did not sign any of them.

Shen Pei, Sima Lang and others looked at each other as they looked at the documents that had been delivered and received. Shen Pei said nothing and just returned to his seat.

Sima Lang thought about it and decided to go to Cao Cao's duty room.

Cao Cao looked up at him, then came to his senses in an instant and said, "I was distracted. I'll approve it again."

Sima Lang looked back, stepped closer, and asked in confusion: "Lord Cao, His Royal Highness's intention is very clear, why are you still worried?"

Cao Cao looked at the document in his hand and frowned, saying, "Cao Hong has followed me for many years. He has been in jail for me and blocked swords for me. He is my brother in life and death. I cannot sit idly by and watch him go to jail."

Sima Lang was startled, and then shocked, and hurriedly said: "Lord Cao, this case can only be limited to Cao Hong, which is the limit of the court's tolerance. Don't think about it anymore."

Cao Cao picked up the pen, wrote a few words on the document, picked up the next one, and said calmly, "Go."

Sima Lang was hesitant to speak. He held the document and looked at Cao Cao's expression, feeling inexplicably frightened.

If Cao Cao forcibly rescued Cao Hong, not only would the court and the public not agree, but the palace would probably also be angry.

This is going to be a big deal!

(End of this chapter)