To the point where officials were later forcibly expelled from Shaoxing and the original school of thought was forcibly promoted in the court?

Even the so-called confidants and party members of the emperor in the hall today, if it were not for the repeated military victories of the imperial camp as a foundation, how could they unite around Emperor Zhao and become his confidants and party members?

"Pan Yongsi." Zhao Jiu was slightly startled when he heard this. He didn't know if he thought of those things, but he immediately called out the name mentioned by Ma Shen in the throne.

"I'm here." A man stepped out from the line of close ministers on one side and faced the emperor respectfully.

"Did you hear that?"

"Reporting to the emperor." Pan Yongsi said proudly. "I heard it, but the Dali Temple has already sent a letter to me to defend myself. I have also handed over a self-defense letter to the Dali Temple, stating that I did not teach my nephew strictly, so that he could attack innocent people..."

Zhao Jiu remained silent, and Ma Shen was also slightly stunned.

"Your Majesty, although I am under suspicion, I still want to impeach the Minister of Justice Ma Shen for sacrificing public office for personal gain."

During this moment of shock, Pan Yongsi actually turned back and attacked. "Ma Shangshu is the head of the Ministry of Justice, but he has only been in Beijing for ten days. He has not even recognized all the officials in the Ministry of Justice. How can he find the key points of the three cases presided over by the Dali Temple? If the suspect wants to escape the crime, he will accuse one person today and another tomorrow. If they are all key points, then wouldn't they be everywhere? Moreover, the Dali Temple did not pervert the law because of my rank. Instead, they sent a letter to the Hanlin Academy of Scholars through the hands of the duty scholar, asking me to defend myself... Why did they ask Ma Shangshu to question me in person in the Wende Hall? Isn't it because Ma Shangshu is a famous Taoist scholar who has always disliked my deep study of the original school and has repeatedly sponsored the students of the Imperial College of the Central Plains? So he created trouble because of his sectarian prejudice?"

Ma Shen listened in a daze, then glared: "If this is the case, people with a Taoist background cannot be important officials in the court? Otherwise, staring at anyone is just a matter of factionalism, and all of them are putting personal interests above public interest."

"Ma Shangshu also knows that he is an important official of the court, not an imperial censor?" Pan Yongsi was not afraid at all. "How important is the position of the Minister of Justice? There is no greater position than this one, which can ruin a family with just one word! And Ma Shangshu has been in Beijing for ten days, and he can't wait to destroy someone's reputation in the Wende Hall without any evidence. He is full of innuendos and wants to kill someone. Whether it is private or public, people will judge for themselves!"

This actually made some sense, but Ma Shen was such a person, how could he be afraid of a relative by marriage? "How ridiculous is this? I am not trying to kill you, I am just reminding you to be careful about the details of this matter. My original intention was to criticize the Dali Temple Minister for his carelessness. As for a mere relative by marriage like you, do I need to deal with you sincerely? Even His Majesty, when has he ever cared about you?!"

"Is the reputation of a maternal relative no longer a reputation? Is the life of a maternal relative no longer a life?!"

Pan Yongsi was still not afraid, and even raised his voice. What was interesting was that in the Wende Hall, for some reason, perhaps because they were hesitant about the unity of the three major cases, or perhaps because Pan Yongsi actually had some truth in what he said, many important officials actually allowed a relative to shout here. "How can such a person who treats others as grass be in charge of the important task of the Ministry of Justice?! Moreover, if the Ministry of Justice has any doubts about the results of the trial in the Dali Temple, it should have sent a letter to the Dali Temple to question it. Why would it want to slander others in the Wende Hall?!"

Ma Shen finally sneered: "I'm afraid that some people have formed a network and colluded with each other, preventing the government from hearing the truth... I know that taking over the Ministry of Justice for ten days is too hasty, but if I miss this Wende Hall meeting, these three cases may be messed up, and then I will fail to live up to the trust!"

The atmosphere in the hall became increasingly weird. The few imperial censors who were ready to take action now returned in anger. As for Pan Yongsi, after thinking for a moment, he just smiled, then waved his sleeves and stood solemnly, as if he was cowering.

"Your Majesty." Ma Shen didn't care and continued to answer proudly. "I have two more key points of the case to tell you..."

"Tell me." Zhao Jiu was neither happy nor angry.

"Reporting to the emperor." Ma Shen took a deep breath and regained his spirit. "The key points of the other two cases... For example, in the Yang Zheng case, there is also a legal suspicion, which is that many people in Guanxi, both civil and military, knew about his killing of his concubine and skinning her alive, especially in the imperial camp. The rumor has long been spread, but many people did not report it!"

Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly: "Anything else?"

"There is also the Zhang Zongyan case..." Ma Shen became more serious. "As the Dali Temple said, this matter involves the military, and it is difficult to use ordinary criminal law as evidence. We must first ask the Imperial Camp Right Army to give an explanation. But forgive me for asking the emperor, can the dispatch of a division really be hidden from the commander of the army? If the commander of the Imperial Camp Right Army, Zhang Jun, replied that he did not know, does it mean that Zhang Jun is incompetent? If Zhang Jun replied that he mistakenly gave Zhang Zongyan the power to make decisions on the spot, would the thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians who died in Shanghe this time be considered to have died in vain?"

Zhao Jiu remained silent.

"Your Majesty," Ma Shen said with a bow. "I know I have embarrassed you today, but I am not the person Pan Yongsi said I was. If I were to use the style of censorship to discuss matters, I would have impeached Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Wu Jie one by one... Since I am the Minister of Justice, today I would like to ask you to give me a definite answer on some legal judgments! After all, the emperor makes his own decisions, and if your majesty does not give clear provisions on some matters, the people of the world will always be confused."

"What language?"

"The achievements of the Imperial Camp are well known to everyone. The generals and ministers all boast of their merits in assisting the restoration of the country and quelling rebellions, so much so that they often act above the law and the system..." Ma Shen raised his tablet in a serious tone. "May I ask the emperor whether we should give them this authority, whether we should not impose punishment on the generals and blame on the generals?"

Zhao Jiu remained silent, no one knew what he was thinking, while Ma Shen just bowed his hands and waited for a reply. Not only that, none of the other ministers in the palace spoke.

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