I am a commoner, but I will lead the empress to unify the world

Upon hearing this, Duke Liang's face changed drastically. After thinking for a moment, he shouted loudly,

“Even if the first half of what you said is true, the story of the Duke of Ying plotting rebellion was fabricated by you.

How could he possibly steal the imperial robe and the imperial seal? How could he possibly plot a rebellion? He brought no troops, only his servants, and was simply going to your security camp to retrieve his son.

His son was arrested, and as a father, he was anxious to save his son. What crime has that committed?"

At this time, a man stood up behind Prince Gong and spoke for Shen Changgong.

"Duke Liang, what you said is wrong. If you have any grievances, you can report it to His Majesty, or report it to the Supreme Court, or ask the Three Dukes to make a decision.

No matter what the reason, you can't lead thousands of people and march on the streets of the capital with sharp blades in hand.

This time he is going to the security army camp, so who knows if he will turn around and head towards the palace and bring his troops in?

Even in ordinary counties, groups of armed people of this size are not allowed, not to mention that this is the capital, right under the feet of the emperor.

You are publicly seceding for Britain, which means you are disregarding His Majesty's safety. I think you have rebellious intentions too!"

"Duke Dingguo, please stop slandering me!"

Duke Liang was furious.

Shen Changgong knew that the people from Prince Gong's group, seeing that the people from Prince Rong's group were arrested, came to take advantage of the situation and attack their political enemies.

Just as he and the empress had discussed, they would appease some and suppress others first.

The group that was to be appeased was the weaker Prince Gong group, and the group that was to be suppressed was the stronger Prince Rong group.

Shen Changgong snorted coldly,

"Yes or no, you can tell at a glance."

"Your Majesty, I have brought you evidence of the Duke of Ying's treason and other crimes, as well as his confession. Please review it!"

Shen Changgong opened the box and Gongsun Wan'er walked forward.

"This is the imperial seal and the dragon robe. I think everyone has seen them. They were found in a secret room in the Duke of Ying's mansion. The palace guards and the public security force are witnesses."

Shen Changgong handed the jade seal and dragon robe to Gongsun Wan'er, who showed them in front of the ministers.

When these two things came out, all the ministers gasped and started talking about it.

"Your Majesty, this is a list of the treasures I seized from the Duke of Ying's residence. The total value of gold and silver is over 1.6 million taels, and the jewelry and valuables are estimated to be worth around hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

There are also 800,000 acres of land deeds and tens of thousands of acres of house deeds in the city. These are the fields and properties owned by the British public across the country.

Your Majesty, please review it."

These lists were delivered to the Empress's desk.

Yan Fuyao looked at the densely packed numbers, flew into a rage, and slammed the table hard.

"Outrageous! Really outrageous!"

"My Great Yan has thirty counties, and the average annual tax revenue per county is less than 100,000 taels. He is a Duke, and his annual salary is only 1,000 taels of silver.

Who can tell me where these more than one million taels of silver, countless jewels and valuables, and land as large as a county came from?

Who can tell me?"

All the ministers were silent. Everyone knew how it happened, but no one dared to speak out.

Shen Changgong clasped his hands and said,

"Your Majesty, I can explain this to you. The source of this wealth is the blood, tears, and lives of countless people.

The Duke of England has confessed everything, one by one.

A total of hundreds of cases of corruption and thousands of forced transactions were committed, directly killing thousands of people and indirectly killing countless lives, with a conservative estimate of tens of thousands.

In his home, I rescued hundreds of maids and concubines who were forcibly bought or abducted by him and his sons. These women were all forced into this situation.

The Empress looked sad and said slowly,

"The Duke of Ying is a military title. His ancestors made great contributions in resisting foreign enemies.

Why do they resist foreign enemies? Isn’t it to protect the people of Dayan?

How is it that after several generations, the people who once held weapons to protect the people turned their weapons against the people and hurt them?

So many women, so many lives, how many families have been torn apart and destroyed.

I... am deeply distressed."

"Your Majesty, my condolences!"

The ministers looked at the empress's grief-stricken face and knelt down and shouted.

"I won't mourn! I want to mourn for those who harmed the people, took bribes, perverted the law, and disregarded human life!"

Prime Minister Wang Anqing stood up, clasped his hands and said,

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Ying recklessly disregarded human life, amassed wealth, maintained private soldiers, stole the imperial seal and robe, and intended to rebel. Now we have witnesses, material evidence, and confessions, and the evidence is irrefutable.

Your Majesty, please decide how to deal with the Duke of England and his family."

The empress closed her eyes in pain and said,

"I didn't know people well enough, I misused treacherous officials, and harmed the people."

If the emperor insults his minister, he must die. Even if the emperor says he is wrong, the minister must lose his head.

Taiwei Gao Qiu quickly stepped forward and said,

"Your Majesty, this is not your fault. The Duke of England is a hereditary title, and it was earned because of his ancestors' meritorious service.

His ancestors were indeed good people, but they couldn't stop their descendants from squandering money. He is not an official elected by you, so you don't have to blame yourself.

All the mistakes are the fault of the Duke of England alone, and he only needs to be punished."

The empress opened her eyes, filled with sadness and loss, and was almost in tears.

Shen Changgong admired His Majesty's excellent acting skills in his heart. I guess she must be very happy at this moment?

"Grand Censor, according to the laws of Great Yan, how should the Duke of Ying be punished?"

Among the three officials, the prime minister was responsible for government affairs, the general was in charge of military affairs and military power, and the chief censor was in charge of maps, books, and memorials, as well as supervising all officials.

Imperial Censor Wang Zhe stood up and said seriously,

"Your Majesty, in accordance with the laws of Great Yan, murder is punishable by death, corruption exceeding 100 taels leads to the removal of one's official position and exile, and corruption exceeding 1,000 taels leads to death.

Those who plot rebellion will have their entire clan exterminated; those who engage in armed rebellion will have their entire clan exterminated; the mastermind will be executed by lingchi (slicing of flesh and blood).”

The Queen sighed and said,

"Considering the merits of the British ancestors, it is better to give them a lighter punishment.

The Duke of Ying was stripped of his title, and there was no need for lingchi (slicing and slicing). Beheading was enough. All male descendants were beheaded, and the female relatives and three generations of men and women were exiled to the border as slaves and were never allowed to return to civilian status.

All property will be confiscated and put into the national treasury."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers thanked him.

Shen Changgong stood up and said,

"Your Majesty, I have found many letters between the Duke of England and other officials and nobles in his residence. They are still under investigation. There must be accomplices in this matter. He could not have done this alone.

I beg Your Majesty to allow those who are to be exiled to slavery to go first, and those who are to be beheaded to wait for some time. Once I have completed the interrogation and found out who the accomplices were, it will not be too late to execute them."

"Alright, you will be fully responsible for this matter, and the Supreme Court will assist in the operation."

"Your Majesty, the maids and concubines they abducted are also victims. I implore you to give those women some compensation and let them go home.

In addition, those who were previously killed by the Duke of England can also use a portion of the confiscated property as compensation."