Chapter 382: Still Got Tricked

"Your Majesty, the sewage channel in the north of the city will be completed in the near future, and the one in the south of the city will not be started until the spring." Duan Lun, the Minister of Works, reported on the progress of infrastructure construction in the city.

"Hmm!" His Majesty nodded.

Duan Lun waited for further words, but there was no response for a long time, so he looked up in confusion.

Duan Lun was confused because he clearly saw the emperor moving his mouth but not saying anything, thinking that he was seeing things.

I always feel that the atmosphere in the court today is weird. The emperor rarely speaks much, and he doesn't look angry!

Xu Zhi, the attendant beside the dragon throne, remained expressionless and with his eyes lowered, like a wooden stake.

He glanced at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the steps again, and his mouth seemed to move.

"Crack!" Duan Lun heard a crisp crackling sound, not loud, coming from Fang Xiang in the front row.

Duan Lun returned to his seat in embarrassment, and the court became strangely quiet.

After a while, the emperor glanced at Xu Zhi, signaling him to leave the court quickly and eat another piece of rock candy.

The wooden stake Xu Zhi instantly came to life and shouted, "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court!"

"I have something to report!" Someone stood up in the queue and said loudly.

The emperor took a closer look and saw that the newly appointed Inspector General had replaced Wang Duanfang's position.

This man was promoted from a county magistrate under Gyeonggi Province and rarely spoke on weekdays.

"Speak!" The emperor was curious about what he wanted to say.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Governor of Wuzhou in Lingnan Road has been acting dictatorially and colluding with officials in the prefecture to fabricate his political achievements.

They forced all counties to guarantee the supply of sugarcane to the Wuxian Li people's sugar mills, and only allowed the Wuxian Li people to open sugar mills in all counties, forcing them to buy and sell, disrupting the local market order.

Why not be righteous and upright?

"Oh? How did Censor He know this?" The emperor found it interesting.

"Your Majesty, this is a report from Wang Duanfang, the magistrate of Rong County, Wuzhou!" He Buyi said frankly.

Wang Duanfang is familiar with the duties and procedures of the inspecting censors.

While writing a memorial to the emperor, he also submitted one to the Censorate, worried that his memorial would be discounted in the Secretariat.

He Buyi received an anonymous letter of accusation a few days ago, reporting that the Shao Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture was forming a clique for personal gain and using children studying in Lingnan to look for old friends everywhere in Chang'an City.

I didn’t take it seriously at the time, and I encountered it a few times myself: elementary school students in orange vests looking for people in the neighborhood.

They were all scholars who came here and knew that it was a relationship of refuge.

But when Wang Duanfang's letter of complaint arrived yesterday, he sensed something unusual.

If Wang Duanfang's report is true, then the motives of these children in the city looking for their relatives are questionable.

Maybe it is not simply a search for relatives, but as the report letter said, it is a clique for personal gain!

Wuzhou was firmly controlled by the governor, who used other counties to support Wu County, create a new county-level star, and falsify political achievements.

Su Bucheng came from Wu County, and his daughter also participated in the sugarcane sugar production and enriched herself.

This group of officials took advantage of the remoteness of Lingnan and the inconvenience of verification to collude to deceive the emperor. Their intentions are despicable.

Today, he wants to expose the true forms of these evil spirits and monsters, leaving them with nowhere to hide.

"Wang Duanfang, the magistrate of Rong County?" The emperor stared at He Buyi. "Has Imperial Censor He verified the authenticity of this?"

"Your Majesty! Recently, many children in orange vests have been searching for old friends in Chang'an City. They are all students from Lingnan who are staying with Su Bucheng, the Junior Inspector of Jingzhao Prefecture.

A few days later, most of the children contacted their old friends and moved out of the Su Mansion!" He Buyi said.

"Oh? What does this matter have to do with Wang Duanfang's report on the governor of Wuzhou?" The emperor was very interested.

"Your Majesty, Su Bucheng was convicted and exiled to Lingnan last year. Not long after arriving in Wu County, he began to make great achievements.

I believe this is a deliberate fabrication of political achievements by collusion between Wuzhou and Wuxian." The more He Buyi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

"Why do you think so?" asked the emperor.

He didn't know that there were so many talented people under the Censorate. He could fabricate charges just by assuming things. What a talent!

"Your Majesty, I have verified that Su Bucheng was the former magistrate of Chang'an County. He served for five years. Why didn't he innovate the Jiangdong plow and promote the method of composting the soil to fertilize the fields?

Why did they keep popping up in Wu County? Was it him, or was someone behind the scenes manipulating things? He asked.

"Well, Censor He's words make sense!" The emperor nodded. "Su Qing, do you have anything to say?"

Su Bucheng, who was at the back of the queue, stepped out. He didn't need to go to court, as he was supposed to go to the construction site, but was called just before leaving.

"Your Majesty, Jiangdong Li is my eldest daughter, Su Ying, who overheard someone mentioning farmers in the Jiangnan area using this plant, and I humbly seek your advice.

Before he could communicate with me, his entire family was convicted and exiled to Lingnan.

When we arrived in Wu County, we found the land was barren and wild, so I tried to plow the land with a Jiangdong plow.

As for the method of using compost to fertilize the fields, it was also a method my daughter came up with on the spur of the moment. Since there was no ready-made fertilizer, she had to make a workaround.

In order to change the current situation of extreme poverty in Wu County, the magistrate of Wu County strongly supported and promoted it.

When the governor of Wuzhou learned about this, he personally led a group of officials to Huanggou Village for investigation. After confirming its effectiveness, he reported it to his superiors and promoted it to the entire state.

As for the sugarcane supply to Jinfengzhai, it was because the governor wanted to improve relations with the Li people and gave Jinfengzhai preferential policies, which also made it easier for people in various counties to sell sugarcane.

In return, Jinfengzhai promised to withdraw from the counties after five years and hand over its sugar-making technology.

As for the students who were studying abroad looking for old friends, we never participated from the beginning to the end. We just allowed them to stay for a few days out of friendship.

It is natural for children to feel that it is inconvenient to stay for long and to seek refuge with old friends.

"I am terrified. I don't know why I was accused of forming a clique for personal gain." Su Bucheng replied in a flurry.

"Well, Censor He, do you understand?" the emperor asked He Buyi.

"?" He was surprised. What did His Majesty mean?

"Don't understand?" The emperor glanced at He Buyi and said, "Come, I have a few more memorials here, take a look at them!"

Xu directly passed the memorial to He Buyi.

He Buyi read the memorials of Wang Duanfang, Hu Sansi, Wang Yannian and Su Ying one by one, and broke out in a cold sweat on his back.

So I have no roots or foundation in this court, and I am being used as a pawn? I was too cautious, but I still got caught.

From the memorials of Wang Yannian, Hu Sansi and Su Ying, we learned that Wang Duanfang not only robbed and plundered, but his minions also injured more than a dozen Li people. Wang Duanfang refused to compensate. Isn't this forcing people to rebel?

Then he thought, why did the anonymous report and Wang Duanfang's report fall into his hands by coincidence? Someone must be behind the scenes!

"Wang Duanfang, the magistrate of Rong County, has been plundering, stirring up trouble, and confusing right and wrong. He is attempting to deceive me and destroy the fraternal relationship between the Han and Li peoples. His behavior is vile and he deserves death."

The emperor's expression suddenly changed, and he sternly said, "Your official position will be stripped and you will be exiled to Danzhou. You will never be employed again!"

He Buyi's body stiffened. Wasn't this what Wang Duanfang suggested in his memorial? Wang Duanfang had found a good place for himself!

"Wuzhou County Magistrate Hu Sansi is loyal and commendable. He has diligently governed Wu County and achieved remarkable political achievements. He has been promoted to the rank of Wuzhou Chief Clerk, Sixth Rank!"

The ministers looked up in surprise. Wuzhou was a lower-level state, so shouldn’t the Chief Secretary be a lower-rank sixth-grade official?

However, His Majesty continued, "Wuzhou is the primary grain-producing area in the Lingnan exclusive zone, and has been specially promoted to Zhongzhou.

Wang Yannian, the registrar and military officer of Wuzhou, has been training in the prefecture for nine years and has a righteous character. He has been promoted to the seventh rank inspector and is ready to return to Beijing!

Su Ying, the manager of Lingnan brocade in the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau of the Shaofu, was a man of great talent. He made great efforts to promote agriculture and sericulture in our dynasty and to reclaim wasteland in Lingnan, and his political achievements were outstanding.

I am hereby promoted to the rank of Seventh Rank Patrol Censor, responsible for supervising, hearing, and approving all cases in Rong County!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" all the ministers shouted.

"Dismiss the court!" The emperor said, then stood up and left.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was no less anxious.

The ministers left the court in an orderly manner. Minister Lu quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead. The wind outside was biting cold, but his back was soaked.