Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Wenxiang and Zaiyuan recounted everything they had seen and heard word for word, along with the testimonies of a number of witnesses.

Wen Xiang said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it is true that Liu Ye, the general of Baoding Town, destroyed the county government office. He also burned down Hejiabao. Of course, no one was injured. He only burned down the He family's manor. The fact that He Baogui abused his power to bully others has been investigated. He Baogui relied on the power of his brother-in-law Luo Tinghe to bully the people in the village and bully men and women. A few days ago, he coveted the beauty of Zhu E, the sister of Zhu Hai, and robbed her by force, resulting in one death and three serious injuries to a family. The family house was burned down. The prince and I saw it with our own eyes. It is exactly the same. The locals even said that Hejiabao was a They claimed that the entire Tong County belonged to their He family. From the time Luo Tinghe took office as Tong County Chief until now, in just five years, the He family's land holdings had skyrocketed from 1,000 mu to 100,000 mu. This was just the land in Tong County. In the neighboring Sanhe area, a large amount of land had also been occupied by the He family. It was estimated that there were at least 130,000 mu of land. The entire Tong County only had 500,000 mu of land, and after excluding the imperial farm, there were only over 300,000 mu. They had already occupied more than one-third of the private land in Tong County. It was no lie to say that the entire Tong County belonged to the He family!

In five years, the land in his hands soared from one thousand acres to one hundred thousand acres. At such a speed, if there was no trick, I am afraid that Xianfeng would not believe it even if he was beaten to death. What's more, the imperial farm was only more than one hundred thousand acres. The He family's land was actually more than the imperial farm. How could this be possible?

Xianfeng looked at Weiren and Kuangyuan below, and they were both dumbfounded. One hundred thousand acres of land! Not to mention the He family, even the first-rank officials in the court didn't have that much land! This was too ridiculous!

Xianfeng asked calmly, "Tell me, how should this case be handled?"

Now Woren and Kuang Yuan were too embarrassed to speak because of their previous mistakes. Their faces turned red and they could only stand aside.

Grand Secretary Ruilin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that He Baogui has exploited the people of his village and driven them to death. His crimes are unforgivable and he must be executed as a warning to others. As for Luo Tinghe, he also failed to supervise him properly. However, Luo Tinghe was simply negligent and was unaware of He Baogui's false orders and his use of power to bully others. Moreover, his father, Luo Bingzhang, is currently supervising the war in Hunan, suppressing the Taiping bandits. At this time..."

Ruilin and Luo Bingzhang have always been good friends. Ya did not want Luo Bingzhang and his son to be too involved in this matter, so he reminded the emperor to consider the overall situation and give priority to the war in the south.

Xianfeng snorted coldly and said, "Luo Bingzhang is not strict in governing his subordinates and managing his family. He must be getting old and confused now. Forget it, considering his hard work for the court, I will not investigate this matter further. I will remove him from his post as magistrate of Luoting Hetong County and demote him to the position of chief clerk of the Imperial Household Department! I will also fine him one year's salary! I will issue an imperial decree to reprimand Luo Bingzhang and tell him to focus on suppressing bandits in Hunan and live up to my expectations. As for the military governor of Sichuan, let's put it aside for now and choose someone else. As for He Baogui, he will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for punishment according to the law, and all the He family's land will be confiscated."

Xianfeng dealt with the Luotinghe incident without giving others a chance to speak. After all, Luo Bingzhang still had to be protected. He was a senior official in a major southern city and an important backbone of the Hunan faction. If he was dealt with harshly, it would probably cause dissatisfaction among others.

However, after the matter here was dealt with, Liu Ye absolutely could not let it go. Even if Xianfeng wanted to let it go, it would be impossible. First of all, Zaiyuan would not agree. In the Firearm Camp, Zaiyuan had disgraced himself.

Zai Yuan shouted, "Your Majesty, I request that Liu Ye, the commander-in-chief of Baoding Town, be severely punished! He vandalized the county government office, assaulted imperial officials, and disrespected the imperial envoy, disregarding the imperial authority. How could such a man be in charge of such an important town as the Firearms Camp? I request that Liu Ye be dismissed and investigated!"

Weiren also stood up and shouted, "Your Majesty, Liu Ye has disregarded the imperial authority and has no regard for the law. If we don't punish him severely, we will not be able to restore order to the court!"

Senggelinqin, standing by, was practically fuming. "Fuck you, you bastards!" he exclaimed. "When we were dealing with Luo Tinghe, why didn't you say that lax enforcement wouldn't be enough to rectify the court's discipline? Is Luo Bingzhang a hard sell, and you're just going to let me be? Liu Ye, that's my most capable general! Without him, how can I stand up to the foreigners in the future?"

Senggelinqin shouted, "Your Majesty, although Liu Ye's behavior was inappropriate, it was all for a reason. I think it is enough to issue an imperial edict to reprimand him. After all, he has just entered the court and does not know much about the rules. If we suppress him too much, I am afraid it will hurt his ambition!"

Woren retorted, "Prince Monk, is Liu Ye's behavior merely inappropriate? Disrespecting imperial authority is a crime worthy of a U-turn! The Firearms Battalion is the court's most important fighting force, yet he used it as a murder weapon, besieging the county government office, attacking the imperial envoy, and assaulting the official. Such crimes can't be excused by the word 'inappropriate'? Your Majesty, I believe Liu Ye should be dismissed from all his posts, sent home to reflect on his actions, and the Firearms Battalion returned to the Infantry Commander's Office. Please appoint a capable commander to enforce military discipline!"

Senggelinqin immediately became anxious and dismissed him from all his posts, saying, "Woren, aren't you too vicious?"

Senggelinqin angrily said, "Woren, please stop seeking revenge. Liu Ye is a rare talent in recent years. How can you dismiss him just because of your words?"

Kuang Yuan gently pushed Senggelinqin back: "Monk Prince, you entered the capital without permission, and the Emperor hasn't dealt with you yet. How dare you roar in the court? You should wait for the Emperor's grace later."

Senggelinqin's face flushed crimson. Sushun stepped forward and said, "Prince Monk, please be patient. Liu Ye has gone too far. The Tong County case showed that Liu Ye still lacks experience and is not capable of handling matters on his own. The Firearms Battalion is of paramount importance, a crucial barrier to the capital. It is inappropriate to leave it in his hands. Of course, there are reasons for this. The Emperor is so gracious and will not be overly harsh..."

Sushun's meaning was very clear. Tell the Firearms Battalion to hand over to the Infantry Department and let me take care of it. As for Liu Ye, as long as we don't do anything too serious, it's fine. The emperor likes him very much and will definitely not punish him too harshly.

Sure enough, Sushun's meaning was expressed, and Xianfeng's expression eased.

Xianfeng coughed and said, "Since that's the case, I dismiss Liu Ye from his post as Commander of the Firearms Battalion and his title of Admiral. He will be temporarily stationed in Baoding, commanding the Baoding Garrison. He will be fined one year's salary. Senggelinqin, for entering the capital without imperial order, will also be fined one year's salary and ordered to return to Tianjin immediately to deploy defenses! Well, Sushun, since the Firearms Battalion has been handed over to your Infantry Yamen, please recommend a qualified person to lead it for me."

"twitter!"

Sushun was overjoyed when he heard this. The Firearm Battalion, which he had coveted for so long, was finally in his hands!