Impeach
In the tenth year of Taichu, in addition to the enthronement of the Crown Princess, there was another major event.
That day was the beginning of spring in the tenth year of Taichu, and the chill had not yet dissipated.
Nong Zishi returned from court.
Days of government consultations, coupled with the secret struggles with Shen Qingyan's faction over many new policies, have made this nearly fifty-year-old deputy prime minister feel exhausted.
The sedan stopped in front of the mansion gate. Just as he was about to step inside, a figure crouched beside a stone lion caught his attention.
She was an old woman, dressed in rags, with a weather-beaten face. Her eyes were staring blankly ahead, and she was blind.
She heard footsteps and stretched out her hand tremblingly: "Your Excellency... is it the Minister of Agriculture? Mr. Nongzishi, the Minister of Agriculture?"
Nong Zishi stopped and was surprised.
"It is me. Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The old woman, upon hearing this, felt as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw. She fell to the ground and burst into tears, "Minister Nong! Minister Nong, please help me! I am Chen from Mingzhou. I once had the honor of collecting the remains of Princess Zhaoyang..."
The words "Princess Zhaoyang" made his expression change suddenly. He took a step forward and said in a serious tone, "Stand up and tell me slowly. What happened?"
Chen burst into tears and told the whole story in a halting manner.
When Ning Lingyi and Princess Zhaoyang and her two sisters fled the palace, Zhaoyang sailed alone in a boat to divert the pursuers and eventually jumped into the river and died.
And Chen was the boat woman who collected Zhaoyang's body.
Ning Lingyi was grateful for her kindness and rewarded her with silver. Chen then took her daughter Chen Shengnan to Mingzhou and used the money to buy a small shop to make a living by doing needlework and sundry goods.
Although they are not rich, the mother and daughter depend on each other and live a stable life.
With Ning Lingyi's ascension to the throne, Mingzhou, known as the "Dragon's Rise," prospers, and their business picks up. When their daughter Shengnan grows up, she marries an honest and dutiful man, and the three of them live diligently, feeling hopeful about their future.
The changes began a few years ago.
Since when, the street where they lived began to levy a commercial tax. This tax was not paid to the government, but was given to the family of a wealthy man named Zhao.
The neighbors complained privately, but no one dared to speak out, because Mr. Zhao was a sworn brother of General Niu Zhuang, the Earl of Weiyuan in the capital. He had connections in Mingzhou and even the prefect had to give him some respect.
At first, the tax was bearable, and the Chen family, thinking that it would be a way to avoid disaster, paid it with resignation. But year after year, the tax became heavier and heavier, and the number of items increased.
Some people were dissatisfied and went to argue. The Zhao family brought up Niu Zhuang's name and said that the purpose of collecting this tax was to "support the families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country" and that it was an act of accumulating virtue and doing good deeds. Anyone who dared not pay would be sorry for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the front line.
With the burden of supporting the soldiers slapped on them, who dared to say anything? The shop's profits were being exploited at every level, and life became increasingly difficult.
If they close the business, they will lose their livelihood; if they keep it open, it will be almost a waste of time. The Chen family is struggling to survive in this frustration and helplessness.
The real disaster occurred on a dark and windy night.
A illegitimate son from a distant place who came to the Zhao family for refuge helped Mr. Zhao to manage these affairs. When he saw Chen Shengnan was a new wife with quite a pretty appearance, he became evil-minded and wanted to break into her house late at night to commit indecent acts.
Chen Shengnan refused to comply, and her usually taciturn husband, in desperation, grabbed the door bolt and beat the villain until his head was bleeding, and then drove him out.
Everyone thought the matter was over, but the next night, a group of thugs broke into the house, dragged Chen Shengnan's husband out without saying a word, and drowned him in the icy river.
The illegitimate son of the Zhao family then broke in and raped Chen Shengnan in front of his blind mother. Chen Shengnan was a man of strong character. He was so sad and angry after suffering such a great humiliation that he shouted that he would go to the capital to file a complaint, and he did not believe that there was no law in this world.
Upon hearing this, the villain became extremely ferocious and stabbed Chen Shengnan in the heart with a knife.
Overnight, the family was broken up.
Seeing that Chen was blind and old, the group thought she would not live long, so they left, leaving behind a mess and corpses.
Chen cried for an unknown amount of time. When her tears dried up, she fumbled around and buried her daughter and son-in-law.
She refused to accept it. Wasn't it a peaceful and prosperous age now? How could her daughter and son-in-law have died like this? She was unwilling to accept it.
A blind old woman begged along the way and traveled a thousand miles from Mingzhou to the capital, which took her half a year.
Along the way, she went to the Mingzhou government office and the counties along the way. She was either driven away by government officials or given excuses in official jargon.
Until a kind-hearted person secretly reminded her: "Old woman, your case is too complicated. Ordinary government offices dare not take it. If you really want to redress your grievances, go to the Minister of Agriculture, Shi Nong. He may dare to take charge."
So, she came. She waited outside the Nong Mansion every day, enduring cold stares and scolding, until today, when she finally arrived at Nongzi Stone.
"Lord, the Minister of Agriculture..." Chen kowtowed heavily. "I do not seek my life, I only seek justice! Please tell me, does your Majesty's promise that the world belongs to all still hold true? Is this world still your Majesty's?"
After hearing this, Nong Zishi's blood almost rushed back to his body. He had been an official for decades and had seen corruption and injustice, but he had never heard of such heinous atrocities!
How dare they exploit the people, kill husbands, and rape other people's wives and daughters under the pretext of providing relief to the soldiers!
"Lawless! Absolutely lawless!" Nong Zishi's hair and beard stood up as he helped Chen to her feet. "Old lady, get up! I, Nong Zishi, will take charge of this case! Not to mention involving a noble, even if it involves a prince, I will bring him down!"
He wanted to take Chen to the palace to meet the emperor immediately, but when he looked up, the palace gate had already been locked and it was dark.
He suppressed his boiling emotions and solemnly instructed the housekeeper, "Invite this old man into the mansion and take good care of him. Do not neglect him in the slightest! Tomorrow morning, I will personally knock on the palace gate!"
That night, the study in the Nong Mansion was brightly lit.
He knew that this was not just a simple murder case.
Behind this is the reckless behavior of the emerging noble group and the tolerance of local officials for evil. An unprecedented storm will surely be set off in the court tomorrow.
And he, Nong Zishi, is willing to be the first one to sound the alarm.
He dares to take care of things that others dare not do!
He wanted to see what these nobles dared to do!
The next day, the court session.
In the Golden Palace, all officials stood in awe. Nong Zishi then strode out, holding a tablet in his hand. "Your Highness, I, Nong Zishi, impeach Weiyuan Earl Niu Zhuang!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the hall was shocked.
Niu Zhuang raised his head, looking confused.
Nong Zishi didn't look at anyone, but stared straight at Ning Lingyi who was sitting on the throne. He told her everything Chen had said yesterday, that Zhao Yuanwai of Mingzhou had relied on his powerful nephew to exploit merchants, force people to death, and rape and kill women. He repeated it word for word.
Finally, he said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to severely punish Niu Zhuang, to uphold the law of the land, and to thank the world!"
Niu Zhuang was so angry that his face turned red. He no longer cared about the court ceremony and jumped out, pointing at Nong Zishi and cursing, "Nong Huzi! You are slandering me! I have been in the capital all these years. My parents, wife and children are all here. Why would I go to Mingzhou to make money?"
As soon as he took the lead, the military honor column immediately exploded.
"Minister Nong! Where did you hear these rumors? Could it be that someone is deliberately framing us, the heroes?"
"Master Niu is a man of integrity, how could he do such a thing?"
"Without any evidence, just based on the words of a blind woman, you want to kill the noble lord of the country? Minister Nong, are you being too frivolous?"
Among the civil servants, an official from Shen Qingyan's faction also spoke out. His tone seemed fair, but in fact, he was stabbing: "The Minister of Agriculture is concerned about the country and the people, and his heart is commendable. To impeach a noble, you need both witnesses and evidence. Relying on only one side of the story will not convince the public, and it will also hurt the hearts of the meritorious officials."
Wang Mengzi frowned. Although he felt that Nong Zishi would not act without a purpose, he did not believe that Niu Zhuang would deliberately condone the crime.
He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, what the Minister of Agriculture said is shocking, but Niu Zhuang has been in the capital for a long time and may not be aware of the affairs in Mingzhou. I believe that the most urgent task is to find out the truth rather than hastily convict."
On the throne, Ning Lingyi listened to the quarrel below and finally said, "Enough."
The hall suddenly became quiet.
"The people's grievances have been heard, how can we not investigate?"
Her eyes fell on Nong Zishi, "Nong Xiang."
"I am here."
"I order you to take full responsibility for a thorough investigation of this case. All witnesses, physical evidence, and related parties, no matter who they may be involved, may be brought to the attention of the court for questioning. We must ensure that the truth is revealed and that no one is wronged or let off."
"Your Majesty, I obey your order!" Nong Zishi kowtowed heavily.
"Withdraw from the court."
*
After the court was dismissed, Wang Mengzi, Wang Dayong and other military heroes surrounded Niu Zhuang, all with unhappy expressions.
"Niuzi, you better think about it carefully. What's going on with Mr. Zhao?" Wang Dayong said anxiously.
Niu Zhuang scratched his head, thinking hard. "It seems that when I returned to Mingzhou, I became sworn brothers with a businessman. Over the years, he has indeed sent letters and gifts to the capital every year. In the letters, he talked about the customs of Mingzhou, asked about my parents' well-being, and said he would definitely check on the families of my fallen brothers to see if they were having any difficulties... The gifts were not expensive, just some local specialties. I think this man is quite sentimental..."
"Where is the letter and gift list?" Wang Mengzi asked in a deep voice.
"They are all kept at home."
The group immediately went to Niu Zhuang's house and dug out the letters and gift lists that had been stored for many years.
As Niu Zhuang said, the letters were mostly family greetings, and also meant to share the worries of the uncle and comfort the loyal and brave, with sincere words; the gift list was indeed composed of some not-so-expensive Mingzhou specialties.
"He looks like a man who is grateful for the favors he has received." Someone muttered.
Wang Mengzi held the pile of letters and pondered for a long time, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter: "That's not right."
He looked at everyone. "If he was truly just out of old friendship and wanted to help the village, why would he have caused such incidents as forcing people to death and forcing them to pay excessive taxes? Although Nong Zishi is against us, he is definitely not someone who fabricates things out of thin air. I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."
He paused and made a decision: "Well, let's go find the Minister of Agriculture, set up a banquet, and ask him face to face. If it's really Mr. Zhao's fault, we will never cover it up! But we can't let Niu Zhuang take the blame for nothing!"
So Wang Mengzi wrote a letter himself, sincerely inviting Nong Zishi to his house for a chat, but the letter fell on deaf ears.
Nong Zishi simply refused to meet him.
After being rejected twice in a row, Wang Mengzi became angry.
"What a shameless farmer! He's so shameless! Let's go and invite him in person!"
At that moment, several burly men including Wang Mengzi, Niu Zhuang, and Wang Dayong rushed directly to the road that Nong Zishi had to take to return home. When they saw the sedan chair coming, they went forward without saying a word and "carried" the sedan chair and the people to a private room in a nearby restaurant where they often gathered.
Nong Zishi was "invited" out of the sedan chair by them. He was so angry that his face turned blue and his beard stood up straight. "Wang Mengzi, Niu Zhuang! How dare you, such a scoundrel, be so rude! You kidnapped the current Prime Minister. Do you want to rebel?!"
"Minister Nong, please calm down, calm down!" Wang Mengzi suppressed his anger and personally poured a glass of wine for Nong Zishi.
"We have absolutely no intention of offending you! This matter concerns Niu Zhuang's innocence, and even more so, the reputation of our warriors, so we have to get to the bottom of it. What exactly happened in Mingzhou? If it was really that bastard Zhao who committed the evil, we will be the first to not let him go! We only ask for the Minister of Agriculture's clarification."
Nong Zishi snorted coldly, not even looking at the wine glass. "Explicit? Witnesses and evidence are already being collected! If Mr. Zhao hadn't relied on Niu Zhuang's influence, how could he dare to act so recklessly in Mingzhou? He writes letters and gifts every year, always claiming to be providing relief to Niu Zhuang's soldiers. Niu Zhuang accepted them, which means he tacitly agreed! He condones his fellow villagers, brings disaster to the local area, and forces innocent people to death. He deserves death!"
Niu Zhuang said anxiously: "Minister Nong! I really didn't know, I just thought he was nostalgic..."
"I don't know?" Nong Zishi interrupted him abruptly, his eyes full of sarcasm. "Master Niu, can your simple ignorance offset the lives of the Chen couple? Can it offset the hard-earned money that the Mingzhou merchants were exploited for? Let me ask you, if the eunuchs around Your Majesty used Your Majesty's name to bully men and women, can Your Majesty just say you didn't know and get away with it?"
"As you enjoy the splendor of this title, you also have the responsibility to discipline your fellow villagers and clear up local troubles! Failure to strictly control your subordinates and allowing them to commit evil and violence is a grave sin! This matter, I will investigate thoroughly, and there will be no compromise."
After saying that, Nong Zishi stood up, pushed open the door, and left without looking back.
Only Wang Mengzi, Niu Zhuang and others were left in the private room. They looked at each other with extremely ugly expressions. Wang Mengzi sat down, picked up the glass of wine that Nong Zishi had not drunk, drank it all in one gulp, and a heavy look flashed in his eyes.
He knew that Nong Zishi was really angry this time.
I'm afraid this matter cannot be resolved peacefully.
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