The imperial court actually has rules and regulations for handling impeachment. It doesn't mean that once you impeach someone, it is confirmed to be true.

Since censors are allowed to report things based on hearsay, they naturally have to allow others to refute them.

The usual procedure is that when someone submits a letter of impeachment, the person being impeached must stay at home and write a letter of self-defense, waiting for His Majesty's decision.

If there is no problem, then this matter will naturally pass; if His Majesty wants to deal with you, then he will send someone to investigate the case.

This is aimed at central officials.

If a local official was impeached, the court would send people to investigate.

Once verified, then it should be dealt with accordingly; if it is not verified, then there are no other facts.

Zhu Youxiao naturally knew about this process, and now it depended on what Zhao Nanxing would do.

If Zhao Nanxing could explain himself clearly in the hall today and get Zhu Youxiao's approval, then naturally nothing would happen to him.

If that doesn't work, then Zhao Nanxing will need to go back and wait for the investigation. There might be further impeachment cases against him, and he'll need to submit an explanation.

At this time, Zhao Nanxing had already stood up and did not look at other people.

He knew very well in his heart that this was actually a party struggle.

Someone had his eyes on his position, and the one behind this was Liu Yijing.

The several things that were used to impeach me are not easy to explain, but I still need to say what needs to be said.

Zhao Nanxing said, "Your Majesty, we founded Donglin Academy to spread the teachings of the sages. As for collusion and forming cliques for personal gain, we weren't officials at the court at the time, so how could we have formed cliques for personal gain? As for the claim that criticizing current affairs is slandering the court and defaming the emperor, that's out of the question."

"Our deepest patriotism and loyalty to Your Majesty are witnessed by heaven and earth, and the sun and moon can testify to that! How could we ever harbor such base thoughts? We never forget the teachings of the sages, and we only spread their teachings. Where did this heresy come from?"

Zhu Youxiao just looked at Zhao Nanxing quietly.

It’s not that Zhao Nanxing’s rebuttal was not powerful, but that there was no way to refute this kind of question.

Because no matter what you say, the key is not what you say or what you do, but who the emperor believes.

If the emperor believes that you are not forming a clique for personal gain and that you are not doing these things, then everything will be easy.

These statements are just superficial efforts, but in fact they have already been done later.

The Donglin Party is actually very helpless. They have lost the trust of His Majesty.

Zhao Nanxing knew in his heart that what he said now was actually of no use, because the emperor no longer believed in these people.

Liu Yijing was also very clear about this, so they attacked without restraint. Things had already been done behind the scenes, and when they were brought to the surface, they were basically sure of success.

Of course, it wouldn't work just by talking, so they made up a charge later: the Ministry of Works embezzled money.

Zhao Nanxing felt very innocent. Was this his fault? This didn't just happen after he arrived at the Ministry of Industry!

Everyone in the court knew this. Even if someone was responsible, it should be the Minister of Works, not him, Zhao Nanxing!

But people just linked these two things together. They were obviously not related, but after being linked together, the relationship became serious, and it also involved the Liaodong case.

Who doesn't know how sensitive this case is? Once you're involved, it's hard to get out!

Zhao Nanxing could only bite the bullet and explain, slowly speaking, "As for the case of embezzlement of silver by the Ministry of Works, I am not very clear about this matter. I have only been at the Ministry of Works for a short time, so I am not very familiar with these matters. However, I believe that if such a thing really happened, it must be severely punished. I implore Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly and show no leniency to anyone involved."

This is Zhao Nanxing’s statement, and it is also the attitude he should have.

He did not force himself to defend himself, in fact, it was also out of consideration for His Majesty's attitude.

Sometimes the more you try to explain, the less people believe you.

The problem isn't the case itself, but the underlying issues. If the underlying issues aren't resolved, simply dwelling on the case won't be very meaningful and will only lead to significant losses.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhao Nanxing, nodded gently, and said, "I still trust you, my dear. The Ministry of Works should be in charge of that department. Since you believe this matter should be investigated, and investigated thoroughly, then I will hand it over to you. Please investigate the Ministry of Works from top to bottom. I hope you can find a result."

As soon as Zhu Youxiao said this, the hall suddenly became quiet.

Although this seemed to be Zhu Youxiao's trust in Zhao Nanxing, not only did he not pursue the previous matters, he also handed the investigation over to Zhao Nanxing.

But the people present were no fools; they were all seasoned officials, so they certainly knew what this meant. This precisely showed that His Majesty was suspicious of Zhao Nanxing!

If His Majesty truly trusts you, he will let you go home and wait, and then let others investigate to prove your innocence.

Now that His Majesty asks you to investigate it yourself, you need to prove your innocence yourself, which is much more difficult.

If your findings don't satisfy His Majesty, then your career as an official is almost over. Furthermore, there are people watching you and looking for trouble, making things even more difficult.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!