The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 18 The Number One Fool in the Ming Dynasty, Fu Youde!

As soon as Tu Jie said this, the expressions of all the civil and military officials in the court immediately became strange.

Impeachment by the Censorate is nothing in itself.

Reporting matters based on hearsay was the duty of these censors.

But impeachment should be selective, shouldn't it?
You are impeaching Liu Bowen, the highest-ranking official in the Censorate.

And you, Tu Jie, are a Palace Attendant Censor of the Censorate. This is an impeachment of your superior without any attempt to conceal it. This is absolutely a taboo in officialdom!

There's no need to guess; anyone who's spent some time in officialdom would understand what Tu Jie's true intentions were: to kill Liu Bowen and then become the Imperial Censor himself.

As for who this guy has sided with, even a blind man could tell!

Elder Li Shan remained calm and composed, as if he had no concern whatsoever about the matter.

On the contrary, Hu Weiyong took a deep look at Liu Bowen in front of him.

This Earl of Chengyi has always been a major thorn in the side of the master and his apprentice!
Generals like Lan Yu grinned as they looked at the ranks of civil officials. Instead of reacting, they were pleased with the outcome.

After the founding of the country, Liu Bowen proposed the establishment of military guard laws, which naturally displeased these Huaixi military generals.

Even when Lan Yu and his group later became involved with Hu Weiyong, it was ultimately because they had Liu Bowen as a 'common enemy' at the very beginning.

"Since you want to impeach me, then speak up."

On the high platform, a sharp glint flashed in Zhu Xiong Ying's eyes, and then he spoke calmly.

If he can't even see such obvious infighting in the court, then he shouldn't be a member of the Zhu family anymore.

However, his focus was not on Tu Jie, but on Liu Bowen.

The Earl of Chengyi's expression changed first, then he frowned, and finally let out a long breath.

How could the whole story be kept from him?
"Your Highness, I wish to impeach Liu Bowen for three crimes!"

"Firstly, Yang Xian deceived His Highness yesterday and has already been punished. However, considering his background, he was a student of Censor-in-Chief Liu, which is a crime of inadequate teaching."

Tu Jie spoke loudly, pausing noticeably when he uttered the first crime.

The meaning is quite clear: coercion!
Since Your Highness the Crown Prince has already punished Yang Xian yesterday, thus defining the nature of this matter, shouldn't you also pursue the matter of that teacher?

Then, Tu Jie slowly spoke up: "Secondly, the Censorate has a duty to report on Yang Xian's actions if they are heard of them. Yangzhou and Yingtian are not far apart, yet the Censor-in-Chief failed to receive any news of it. This is a crime of oversight!"

To say that this is a crime is a bit far-fetched.

The many censors of the Censorate all showed expressions of anger.

According to Tu Jie, they were even implicated!

If the Censor-in-Chief failed to investigate, does that mean the entire Censorate is aware of everything?

Some of the more hot-tempered censors have even started rolling up their sleeves.

If I don't give you a good dressing down, you probably won't know which type of official is the most powerful in the Ming Dynasty court.

However, Tu Jie completely ignored the reactions of his 'colleagues' and continued speaking in a deep voice:
"Thirdly, the Censorate is the eyes and mouthpiece of our Great Ming Dynasty. However, Liu Bowen, as the Vice Censor-in-Chief, acts arbitrarily within the Censorate, fostering factions. Many censors within the Censorate obey his orders, and whether or not to impeach someone is entirely up to Liu Bowen!"

"These three crimes are presented here, hoping Your Highness the Crown Prince will make a wise judgment!"

Tu Jie's clear voice resounded throughout the entire Fengtian Hall.

The censor who was originally ready to stand up and deal with Tu Jie suddenly fell silent!
This final crime is clearly a veiled attack on the mind and a veiled threat!

They cannot step forward now, otherwise they will confirm Liu Bowen's crime of "ruling the party on his own".

But
If I don't speak up, wouldn't that just let Tu Jie open and close his mouth, causing this Imperial Censor, who has followed Emperor Hongwu in his campaigns and offered many strategies, to be directly 'dismissed'? "Bullshit!"

"With Liu Bowen's sickly and feeble appearance, how could he act arbitrarily and nurture factions?"

"I don't know about the first two crimes you committed, but if Liu Bowen could really make the final judgment, I wouldn't look down on him so much!"

However, at that moment, a voice rang out.

Marquis Fu Youde of Yingchuan picked his nose and spoke with a disdainful expression.

He disliked Liu Bowen, but Tu Jie said that Liu Bowen, with his pathetic appearance, could still act arbitrarily. Isn't that praising him?
Then Fu Youde couldn't stand it.

"Lord Yingchuan, you..."

In short, Tu Jie, who was originally full of enthusiasm and burning with fighting spirit, was choked speechless!
You can say whatever you want in court, but how can you curse like that directly?
"What? When I was ruling the army, you, Tu Jie, were still being forced to pay taxes by Yuan soldiers at knifepoint in Jiangxi!"

"What's wrong?"

"Gestures?"

Fu Youde waved his arm, grinned, and even prepared to step forward.

He showed Tu Jie absolutely no respect.

Moreover, Fu Youde wasn't just making empty threats. He'd fought in the Fengtian Hall before. At worst, he'd be demoted from Marquis to Earl. Did his brothers look down on him just because his rank was reduced by one level?

Seeing Fu Youde's state, Xu Da was furious. He reached out with one hand and pulled the fool back to his seat.

With that tug, Fu Youde remembered Brother Xu's warning from last night and bowed his head repeatedly.

"Haha! Marquis of Yingchuan, you'd better be careful with court etiquette, or when the Emperor returns, he'll issue another ban on alcohol for you."

On the high platform, Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, a look of shock flashed in Xu Da's eyes!
His Highness the Crown Prince has such formidable methods!
Fu Youde's actions just now disrupted the court; he should be dragged out and given a beating in court, which would be in accordance with propriety.

However, Zhu Xiong Ying's casual remark did indeed gloss over the matter.

Finally, the mention of the 'prohibition order' was a warning to Fu Youde when the banner of Emperor Hongwu was raised.

Such skillful court tactics, how could a ten-year-old child be so adept at them?

Upon hearing the 'alcohol ban', Fu Youde shuddered!
Last time he went to the Censorate after drinking and beat someone up, the Emperor banned him from drinking for a month, making his life worse than death.

If His Majesty finds out that he was talking nonsense in the court while His Highness the Crown Prince was overseeing the country, wouldn't he be banned from drinking for a year?

No no no!

"Your Highness, I...I won't say anything more!"

Fu Youde quickly spoke up, as honest as a rabbit.

However, this rabbit was black and fierce, and weighed over 300 pounds.

"Your Highness, it is more important to deal with important matters."

"The Censorate is a crucial structure for our Great Ming Dynasty and should not be underestimated."

Just then, a light, airy voice came from behind.

Li Shanchang spoke in a very calm manner, but he directly brought the matter back to Liu Bowen.

This time, he's going to send Liu Bowen packing his bags and heading back to Qingtian!
Zhu Xiong Ying raised an eyebrow, then looked at Liu Bowen with a calm expression and said:
"Censor-in-Chief, do you have anything to say?"

(End of this chapter)