Chapter 20: Overbearing
Minister Fang was stunned for a long while, and was speechless and had no answer.
The imperial tutor openly opposed the new emperor's tribute to the Northern Rong and sought peace, and also strongly advocated that the court send troops to expel the Northern Rong troops entrenched in the north.
This move completely disregarded the new emperor's reputation and caused the small court, which had an unstable foundation, to lose the opportunity to reconcile with the Northern Rong.
Being in the bitterly cold frontier, Envoy Fang was already walking on thin ice, so how could he dare to associate with the exiled imperial teacher?
"This...this..." His previous authority and arrogance were gone. "How dare I disobey the emperor's order?"
Su Shengsheng had expected that he would refuse.
She originally wanted to push the officials in front of the people and force them to submit, but she didn't expect that something unexpected would happen halfway, and the plan could not keep up with the changes. Now she can only use the name of King Xuanming to put pressure on them.
"Grandfather simply disagrees with the court's political views; there's no personal grudge. If Envoy Fang could show sympathy for the Emperor's advanced age, he would be following the Emperor and demonstrating his benevolence, wouldn't he?"
Su Shengsheng's words were tactful and left room for maneuver.
She did not threaten him directly, but if Fang Sishi broke his promise this time, she would make him feel the pain of losing the support of the people.
Mu Ze interjected, "Wasn't that notice posted by Lord Fang himself? How long has it been since then? If the court doesn't keep its promise, I'm afraid it will be hard for the people to trust it in the future."
Su Shengsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this.
Although my grandfather was taken care of by King Xuanming, the military and political affairs were separated and belonged to different departments.
The fief of this King Xuanming is in Chiyan City. Although he has a barracks stationed at Tianqian Pass, he is also the commander of thirteen passes.
But this copper mine belonged to the royal family, and even though he held two positions, he had no right to interfere.
If she hadn't had a grudge with the mine supervisor, she wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to find the mine's immediate superior.
The Supervisor was in charge of smelting production, but the mining plan was under the charge of the Mint, which also assigned officials to enter the copper mines for supervision.
Although the supervisors had the power to recruit and manage criminals, the power of assignment was actually in the hands of the Mint.
Just like the relationship between a head office and a branch office, special funds are allocated from the top to the local area.
Su Shengsheng took advantage of the time difference because he calculated that the people above him were still unaware of the feud between them and the prison officer.
Although Fang Si's people are not smart, they are not ignorant either.
Just as he was about to play it safe, he saw Xie Xuan turning around.
"It's too early to discuss rewards now." His eyebrows were as dark as ink, making his eyes look as dark as the night sky. "Envoy Fang, do you admit your guilt?"
Fang Sishi's expression changed instantly, and he said in panic, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness? I am truly terrified."
Su Shengsheng's expression also changed slightly, and she looked up.
"Counterfeit currency was mixed in with the military call. I have reported this to the Emperor and set a trap here, waiting for anyone who wants to contact me to fall into it."
Xie Xuan said this, and glared at Fang Sishi, whose face had turned pale and sweat was dripping. "Now that the criminal has been silenced, you have ruined my plan. How will I explain this to the Emperor?"
Envoy Fang's face turned pale. "I really don't know!"
"Hmph!" Mu Ze said coldly, "Master Fang, are you trying to pin the blame of negligence on the prince?"
"I have absolutely no such intention, but I really didn't know that counterfeit currency was mixed in with the military signal..." Fang Sishi broke out in a cold sweat.
"The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of distributing military accusations. It's only natural that you, the Mint, don't know about it."
Xie Xuan's tone slowed down slightly, but then he changed the subject, "It's just that you have ruined the plan of the king and the Ministry of Revenue to encircle the enemy. This will make it even more difficult to capture the culprit."
Envoy Fang knelt down with a plop, "Your humble servant acknowledges his guilt."
After hearing this, Su Shengsheng vaguely understood the intention of the man who had helped her grandfather.
"Although you are guilty of negligence, you don't have to bear all the responsibility." Xie Xuan's voice was cold and gloomy, which made Fang Sishi even more frightened.
He hesitated to speak, his neck stiff and his face full of bitterness.
"This matter is due to poor coordination, so Envoy Fang doesn't need to blame himself too much." Xie Xuan said coldly, "But he should make amends."
As if granted amnesty, Envoy Fang quickly expressed his position, "But please allow Your Majesty to give your orders."
Although he was not in charge of military affairs, he, as the chief of the Mint, was unaware of the presence of counterfeit currency in the military expenditure, which was a negligence.
This is no small matter.
If a large number of soldiers got fake horns, it would cause a mutiny in the army, and Xie Xuan was a vassal king...
By then, the local area will be in turmoil, and Xie Xuan has already reported the matter to the emperor. Then, the responsibility will probably have to be borne by him as the chief official.
"I will hold off on reporting this matter until the culprit is apprehended."
Envoy Fang was terrified, but upon hearing Xie Xuan's words, his cold sweat stopped. "I will obey your orders, Your Highness."
Xie Xuan nodded calmly and tossed the letter onto the bookshelf. "We should block the news immediately and prevent it from leaking."
Envoy Fang nodded vigorously, "I understand, I understand."
"But..." Xie Xuan paused and looked at Su Shengsheng, who had been staring at him. "This incident caused by Lord Fang..."
When Fang Sishi thought about making such a commotion, he couldn't help but feel bitter, "What should I do?"
"It's not that it can't be remedied." Xie Xuan said calmly, "With the lessons learned from this incident, we must understand that the people are also part of this."
Fang Si's thoughts were in a mess, "This..."
"Lord Fang has captured two of the main culprits alive. We should inform the people of the border town and celebrate with them."
Xie Xuan walked out of the secret room and glanced at Su Shengsheng who was listening attentively.
"Ah? This..."
Mu Ze understood it in an instant, but saw that the envoy Fang was still confused and couldn't wait to remind him.
"Your Highness wants you to settle this matter immediately to appease the people, confuse the public, and then use your long-term strategy to catch a bigger fish."
"But..." Fang Sishi was in a dilemma, his face turned as red as pig liver.
On one hand, there is the power of the new emperor. He had just issued an order to exile the imperial teacher, but he granted him a pardon. Isn't this a slap in the face of the emperor?
On the one hand, there is the crime of negligence in letting the culprit go, which may also cause a stir in the local area.
He couldn't bear either of these consequences.
"Your Majesty, if this isn't a special pardon... it's because I made a mistake in the wording of this official's notice." Envoy Fang lowered his shoulders, a look of deep sorrow. "Since this official made this mistake, I can only voluntarily remove my official uniform."
Are you going to take off your official robes now?
Upon hearing this, the scholars dared not breathe.
I just feel an undercurrent surging, and I don’t know where it will flow to.
It turns out that she was naive...
Su Shengsheng, who had wanted to take advantage of the loophole in the list, felt a chill in his heart when he heard this.
Even if she brought the official before the people, given his cowardly character, he would only choose to embarrass himself and deny his debt.
But the opportunity was too great to miss. She took a deep breath and said, "Letting the principal offender go, I, a humble woman, also have an unshirkable responsibility. I only ask for half a sliver of mercy."
It's like a pie falling from the sky, but it turns out to be a trap.
Fang Sishi, who wanted to make up for his mistakes without any merit, became annoyed and said, "Why don't you tell me about it?"
Still half of grace? Now even he himself can't save himself.
"The weather in the border town is unpredictable. My grandfather is old and can't stand the wind and snow, so he has fallen ill..."
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