Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 85 Impeachment
In the Governor's Palace Hall, Liu Xiangke was wearing a green Xiezhi official robe, standing straight, and his cold voice slowly echoed in the hall.
Zhu Lang finally felt relieved when he heard Liu Xiangke's words. He had finally forced Qu Shisi to take action.
Zhu Lang looked at Liu Xiangke, who was looking serious, and then at Qu Shisi, who was expressionless. A hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. Qu Shisi was indeed experienced and could use the previous lecture to immediately attract Liu Xiangke, who had a grudge against Wang Kun.

If it were someone else, they might have thought of leaving themselves a way out, but Liu Xiangke and Wang Kun had a long-standing grudge. If Liu Xiangke was encouraged to take action, Wang Kun would definitely not hold back.

Zhu Lang just thought about it and quickly suppressed the thought in his mind.

He glanced at Wang Kun, whose expression changed slightly and who was about to speak out. But before Wang Kun could step out, His Royal Highness the Regent suddenly stood up from his throne, his face filled with anger, and suddenly spoke:

"Impeachment, impeachment, all they do is impeachment"

"Now that the Eastern Tartars are coming aggressively, you ministers are not thinking of ways to resist the enemy, but are still making false accusations here. Do you think that because you have the right to report rumors, I will not dare to punish you?"

The roar of His Royal Highness the Regent resounded throughout the hall, but Liu Xiangke below remained expressionless. He bowed first, then spoke in a loud voice:

"I impeached Wang Kun not out of hearsay. Wang Huacheng, the provincial governor of Guangdong Province, took advantage of Your Highness' succession to bribe Wang Kun with a large sum of money in an attempt to obtain a promotion."

"Wang Kun used the power of the Imperial Household Department to secretly change the imperial edicts and promoted Wang Huacheng several times. In just half a month, Wang Huacheng, a mere seventh-rank Guangdong Provincial Inspector, was suddenly promoted to the right vice minister of the Ministry of War."

"I have investigated this matter from many sources, and the various links are listed in the memorial. The evidence is irrefutable that Wang Kun sold official positions and titles."

Wang Huacheng bowed his head, took out a memorial from his sleeve, and held it in front of him.
"impossible"

"A third-rank official in the Ministry of War, such a person would be promoted and rewarded. How could I not know?"

The Regent was stunned, with an expression of disbelief on his face, and he couldn't help muttering to himself:

However, the prince's mumbling was a little loud. Almost all the officials in the front row heard it.

When the ministers in front heard His Highness' words, their expressions suddenly changed. According to what His Highness said, His Highness seemed to have never heard of Wang Huacheng's promotion to the Minister of War.

In other words, His Highness seemed to be completely unaware of this previous controversial move.

Some people have questioned whether Wang Huacheng's rapid promotion was against common practice.
However, the post of Guangdong Provincial Inspector is indeed extremely special. It is both a light and heavy position. In addition, the court is based in Guangdong Province. Although his promotion to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War violates the rules, it can be barely justified.
They had previously submitted a petition to the court to question the matter, but the court had not responded. The Grand Secretary Ding Kuichu, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, had not made any comment on the promotion, so everyone thought that His Highness had tacitly agreed to the matter.

So everyone stopped arguing. After all, Ding Kuichu, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, had no objection. How could you external officials have such long-term control?

But now it seems that the memorial they submitted to the court received no response. It was not that His Highness acquiesced to the matter, but that His Highness did not even know about it!
Your Highness doesn't even know, how can you respond?

The fact that their memorials to the court were not responded to also had an explanation. It must have been Wang Kun who suppressed their memorials in the Imperial Household Department.
Wang Kun even dared to hide the fact that he was promoted to a minister from His Highness, so what does it matter if he suppressed a few memorials?

The officials in the front row were thinking quickly, while Liu Xiangke below continued to speak.

"The official document of Wang Huacheng's promotion has been publicized in the six ministries. The facts are all there. Wang Kun deceived Your Highness and robbed the palace of power. I ask Your Highness to execute this thief to clarify the laws and disciplines of the country."

Liu Xiangke looked at the shocked Regent, but a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

The eunuch who sold him the information was indeed not lying. Except for the one submitted by the elder, all the other memorials from the various departments of the Silijian were handled by Wang Kun in private and were not sent to the palace at all.
This traitor deserves his death. Today is the day Wang Kun dies.
The Regent on the steps seemed to have finally reacted and stared fiercely at the red-robed eunuch below.

"Wang Kun, what do you want to say?"

Wang Kun heard the angry shout from His Royal Highness the Regent, his face was filled with panic, his heart trembled, and he knelt down in front of the steps.
"Your Highness, I am innocent."

"This Liu Xiangke and I have always had a grudge. After knowing that I was dismissed from the imperial lecture, he bore a grudge against me even more."

"Wang Huacheng was originally the governor of Guangdong Province. When Ding Gelao led his troops to suppress the rebellion, he maintained peace and order in Guangdong Province and ensured that the troops and food were not in short supply. He had made great contributions to the court."

"The court was in turmoil before, so there had been no rewards. This time, they were all given titles, which was a normal promotion and transfer. But Liu Xiangke made false accusations. It was clearly Liu Xiangke who was looking for revenge."

Wang Kun's face was filled with grief and anger, but his mind was racing. He glanced at Qu Shisi and the others in the front row who were silent, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He then turned sideways and pointed at Liu Xiangke below.
"Your Highness is the orthodox of the country. I have always advocated moving west to protect the foundation of the country."

"Liu Xiangke has long been deeply connected with Qu Shisi and others. This matter has been publicized in the court for a long time. Why didn't he say it earlier or later, but chose to say it now?"

"It is clear that Liu Xiangke and others wanted to obstruct Your Highness's westward migration and wanted to defend Guangdong Province at the expense of Your Highness's safety. This is why they falsely accused me, an old minister."

"This kind of person completely disregards the fundamental interests of the country and attempts to gain a reputation for being loyal and upright by sacrificing the safety of the court. Your Highness, please understand this clearly."

When the ministers heard what Wang Kun said, their faces changed slightly. They felt that what Wang Kun said actually made some sense.
Everyone in the court knew that Wang Kun and Ding Kuichu were in league with each other. Yesterday, Ding Kuichu and Qu Shisi almost quarreled with each other. If they really wanted to refute the idea of ​​moving the capital, Qu Shisi and others might really do such a thing.
The officials who can still stand in the palace are all veteran officials, and they are not unfamiliar with these methods.
When the ministers thought of this, they couldn't help but look at Qu Shisi in front of them.

But when Qu Shisi heard Wang Kun's accusation, his face remained calm. He glanced coldly at Wang Kun who was kneeling on the steps in front of him and spoke in a cold voice:

"When a cornered dog jumps over the wall, it makes people laugh"

Qu Shisi didn't even leave for the morning class. He just snorted coldly and turned his eyes away, no longer looking at Wang Kun on the ground.

The ministers were also slightly surprised to see Qu Shisi's reaction.
The Regent looked at Qu Shisi, who was expressionless, and praised him in his heart. This old Qu was indeed a governor. His thoughts were exposed in public, but he was able to show nothing. His acting skills were really superb.
The Regent was secretly praising him in his heart, but he did not notice that Qu Shisi, Lu Daqi and others suddenly made a gesture to the bottom.

The imperial censor, who had been unable to bear it any longer, saw the signal from above and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I, Liu Ding, the Censor of the Supervisory Office, impeach the Imperial Household Department Supervisor Wang Kun for selling official positions and abusing his power. He also violated the rules and promoted a Langzhong of the Ministry of Works. The evidence is solid and the reasons are listed in the memorial. I request Your Highness to execute this traitor."

"I, Li Qi, the Censor of the Supervisory Office, impeach Wang Kun, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, for selling official positions and titles, abusing his power, and illegally promoting a member of the Ministry of Personnel. The evidence is solid, and the reasons for my report are listed in the memorial. I request that Your Highness execute this traitor to the country."

"I, the Censor of the Supervisory Office..."

In just a short moment, seven or eight imperial censors came out one after another and listed a list of more than a dozen officials.

All of these officials, from the seventh-rank Jieshizhong to the third-rank Shilang, were promoted by Wang Kun without authorization. Moreover, these people were almost all over the court, including the six ministries, the Honglu Temple, and the Dali Temple. Almost none of them were spared.
The officials below listened to the evidence and their expressions suddenly changed. A trace of fear appeared on their faces. Some officials who were named looked pale and trembling.
"Your Highness..."

Wang Kun's face turned pale instantly, and he was about to speak with a trembling voice, but before he could finish, a cold shout came from above.

"Bring it up"

The ministers secretly looked at His Highness the Regent above, and saw that the anger on His Highness the Regent's face suddenly disappeared, and he became calm, as if he was completely unmoved.

The officials had been calm when they saw His Highness' rage, but now they felt nervous when they saw His Highness's expressionless face.

They knew that His Highness might have already had murderous intentions in his heart, and that a bloody storm was about to break out in the court.
Wang Kun listened to the cold words in his ears, and the panic on his face finally could not be endured any longer, and he could not help but beg

"Your Highness, this old minister..."

"I said, present it."

But this time, before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by His Highness above.
His Highness the Regent glanced at Wang Kun below, and then looked away with a cold expression.
Wang Kun looked at the young man in the bright yellow dragon robe above him, and he felt that the golden dragon on the five-dragon robe suddenly came alive, baring its fangs and claws and pouncing towards him.
It was not until this moment that he suddenly realized that the person in front of him was the regent, the emperor, the emperor who could decide the life and death of all people in the world with a single word.

Wang Kun slammed his head heavily onto the ground with a thud, and reddish bloodstains spread along the black stone bricks.

But at this time, everyone in the hall had a solemn look on their faces, bowed their heads, and there was not a single sound in the huge hall.

There was no sound in the hall. It was so quiet that it was frightening. Only the sound of Li Guoyong stepping down the stairs echoed quietly in the hall.
ta ta ta

The footsteps were very light, but at this moment, every footstep seemed to be stepping on everyone's heart, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The footsteps turned around, and suddenly there was the sound of flipping through memorials from above.

All the ministers bowed their heads, no one dared to look up. After a while, the sound of flipping pages on the steps suddenly stopped, and then there was a startled sound.

Wow

A dozen memorials suddenly flew down from the stairs and landed at the feet of the ministers. A drop of cold sweat suddenly flowed down the faces of the ministers.

Everyone had a solemn look on their faces, their eyes fixed on the ground in front of them. Even though the memorials were right at their feet, no one dared to look at the words on the memorials.

The ministers were tense, and sure enough, a cold voice came from above.
"The Eastern Tartars are rampant, and I am concentrating on military affairs. You claim to be proficient in state affairs, so I entrusted state affairs to you. This is how you manage state affairs for me."

"Minister, doctor, chief, all right, from top to bottom, you have sold out all the officials in the six ministries, what do you think the court of my Ming Dynasty is, is it just a business run by your family?"

The originally cold voice above finally lost control and turned into an angry shout.
"Your Highness, I am innocent, I..."

Wang Kun wailed and banged his head on the ground, and the bright red blood soon soaked the stone slabs.

"enough"

"Where are the Royal Guards?"

An angry shout interrupted Wang Kun's plea for mercy.
"I am here"

Ma Jixiang and Li Chengzhi suddenly stepped out of the line. Li Chengzhi was slightly stunned, glanced at Ma Jixiang beside him, and then quietly returned to the train.
The Regent above did not care about the two people below at this time, but spoke in a cold voice

"Search Wang Kun's mansion for me."

His Highness the Regent had a cold expression on his face, but after he finished speaking, he walked down the jade steps and stood in front of Wang Kun.

"Eunuch Wang, I will call you Eunuch Wang again."

"Before I ascended the throne, you added one thousand taels of silver to the palace. After I ascended the throne, you also added another two thousand taels of silver to the palace. This silver helped the palace to meet its urgent needs. I am very grateful to you."

When Qu Shisi and the others heard what His Royal Highness the Regent said, their faces changed slightly, but Wang Kun, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and looked up at the young man in front of him.

"I am not a person who does not cherish old friendships. If the silver seized during this confiscation is less than thirty thousand taels, I will spare your life."

"If the silver seized is more than thirty thousand taels, then you deserve to die, and I cannot protect you. By then, the laws and disciplines of the country will be in place, and you can do whatever you want. I will be powerless to do anything."

"Someone, take Wang Kun away!"

After His Royal Highness the Regent finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the throne.
The guards in the palace suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Wang Kun's hands, and dragged him out of the palace.
"Your Highness, I, an old minister, have come from Fujian to Guangdong to support Your Highness. I have done a great service, a great service."

"Your Highness, please spare my life, please spare my life..."

Wang Kun could no longer conceal the panic on his face, and he struggled continuously, but he was still tightly grabbed by the two brocade-clad guards and dragged out of the palace. Only wailing continued to echo in the palace.

"Retreat from the DPRK"

A cold shout came from above, and then footsteps turned to the back of the hall.
The ministers bowed their heads and stood for a long while before someone dared to look up. By this time, the throne was empty.

Only then did everyone let out a long sigh and stand up.

A cold wind blew through the hall, and the ministers suddenly felt a chill. They then realized that their backs had been soaked with sweat without knowing when.

(End of this chapter)