Chapter 400: Debate in the Palace

Qin Chi sat in the study and issued several orders overnight.

After that, he took a short nap on the couch in the study, then got up, changed into a clean official robe and went to court. He walked steadily, and it was hard to tell that he was a man who had not rested all night.

He got on the carriage under the protection of the guards.

On the way, they saw several sedan chairs being carried towards the palace gate. Not all officials took carriages to attend court. Most chose to take sedan chairs, and their travel posture was far inferior to Qin Chi's. Some officials of low rank and ordinary family background usually walked to the yamen to attend duty.

The Qin family carriage passed them.

Several officials gathered together.

Someone joked, "When it comes to pomp and circumstance, even the princes and nobles cannot compare to our Lord Qin."

"Are you envious?" an official nearby asked with a smile.

The man shook his head quickly, "No, no, no, I'm not envious. I don't think I'm worthy of such a glorious life as Lord Qin."

"Oh, isn't it? If anyone else were to encounter his situation, the grass on his grave would be half a person tall."

Everyone knew that Qin Chi was being targeted, and that he would be assassinated if he made a mistake. This happened every other day, and the civil and military officials had become accustomed to it. The assassins who assassinated Qin Chi were all kinds of people, and if someone else had been assassinated, they would have died countless times.

Qin Chi is still alive and well.

I can only say that this person has a tough life.

Someone suddenly asked, "We haven't heard of Lord Qin being assassinated for several days. Has the assassin given up?"

"The minister is in the palace for a few days to discuss state affairs. Even if the assassin wants to assassinate him in the palace, he doesn't have the ability to do so."

“…”

The state affairs discussed at the court meeting were still about the rebels, mainly discussing which official to send to negotiate.

The situation was deadlocked on this issue, and the atmosphere in the hall was very tense. This was a very dangerous and difficult task, and a successful negotiation would be a great achievement. If you were not careful, you might be used as a threat by the rebels.

Ninety percent of the civil servants in the court did not want to go.

Everyone lowered their heads and tried to reduce their presence as much as possible.

Emperor Mingcheng sat on the dragon throne, staring at the civil and military officials in the court with dignity, "No one has stepped forward and is willing to go to Jianning?"

The hall was deathly silent.

Emperor Mingcheng looked at the three ministers and asked, "What candidates do you three ministers have in mind?"

Li Huarong was about to answer.

Wen Gelao spoke first, "Your Majesty, this opportunity to make merit should be given to young officials. Therefore, I suggest that Lord Qin Qi'an go..."

"You farted!"

Li Huarong interrupted Wen Ge Lao, pointed at him and cursed, "You shameless old man, just because Qin Qi'an rejected your face once, you are so petty that you don't consider the overall situation and make random suggestions? Don't you know that Qin Qi'an is an important official in the court, or don't you know that he will be in charge of the entire Ministry of Works? What are you thinking? I have to doubt whether Wen Ge Lao, who is said to be polite and fair, is just a name."

Each curse is more severe than the last.

Wen Ge Lao was so angry that he pointed at Li Huarong, his lips trembling from time to time, "You, you are slandering me."

"It's better than being a nobody."

Li Huarong sneered in reply.

Immediately, without waiting for Wen Gelao to open his defense, Li Huarong bowed to Emperor Mingcheng and pleaded guilty, saying sincerely: "Your Majesty, please forgive my misbehavior. I was really too angry. After all, Lord Qin is a young minister promoted by Your Majesty, and he is the future pillar of our Great Xia Dynasty. Wen Gelao said that he was giving him a chance to make meritorious deeds, but in fact he was pushing him to his death. Who in the court doesn't know that he is assassinated by unknown forces every few days? We can stand by and watch, but we cannot pretend that the assassination does not exist. It's like this when he is in the capital. If he leaves the capital, can he still survive?"

The question "Can he still live?" stumped Emperor Ming Cheng.

Everyone knows this and it's impossible to survive.

Qin Chi lowered his head and eyelids without saying a word.

In fact, no one suggested who should go.

Because whoever you mention will offend that person.

At this time, the officials with clear minds also knew that Wen Ge Lao was a little biased. According to convention, this kind of thing is similar to disaster relief. Usually, the fifth-rank officials are selected, and the positions are a little important but not very important. At most, the fourth-rank officials are selected. Of course, ambitious officials will probably take the initiative to accept the order and fight for a smooth road.

In any case, no important officials in the court would be allowed to go.

Qin Chi served as the Minister of Works.

It was indeed inappropriate to suggest that he go to Jianning.

Qin Chi wondered in his heart whether Lord Wen had someone behind the scenes instructing him to make such a proposal at the court meeting.

But I didn't expect that Minister Zhang would step forward and volunteer, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go and help you solve your problems."

Someone actually took the initiative to stand up?

Everyone looked at the person who spoke in surprise.

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

When they found out it was Minister Zhang, some people immediately understood.

Minister Zhang was in an awkward situation at court.

When the Jinyiwei investigated the Zhang family, there were always various problems. It's not that no one suspected that the Zhang family was trying to evade the investigation, but after a thorough investigation, no clues related to the Zhang family were found. Now, due to the appearance of rebels in Jianning, the Zhang family case has been temporarily shelved.

Yes, it was just temporarily shelved, not withdrawn, so most of the officials in the court were not surprised when Minister Zhang stepped forward and took the initiative to take charge of the matter.

If Minister Zhang succeeds this time.

Then, the Zhang family's situation will improve.

Qin Chi stood out from the ranks and bowed to Emperor Mingcheng, "I have something to say, please allow me to do so, Your Majesty."

"Okay!" Emperor Mingcheng spoke.

Qin Chi said solemnly, "If I remember correctly, Minister Zhang is still a suspect. Although Your Majesty is merciful and has not ordered him to go home and be confined, if he is allowed to negotiate with the rebels, who can guarantee that he is loyal to Your Majesty and not someone else? Therefore, I oppose Minister Zhang to take on this important task."

"Qin Qian, you are going too far!"

Minister Zhang was so angry that his veins jumped out of his chest. "I, Zhang Zhilu, have been loyal to Your Majesty for decades. How can a yellow-haired boy like you slander me with just a few words? In my opinion, you are the most suspicious! People are trying to kill you every day, but why don't you die?"

"I, Qin Qian'an, live an upright life. I am not ashamed of God and I am not ashamed of people." Qin Chi said with a resounding voice, his eyes clear and sharp, "On the contrary, do you dare to say that you, the Zhang family, are clean?"

“You, you…”

Minister Zhang was so angry that he was speechless for a moment.

Others look at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses.

Pretend not to hear their argument.

Emperor Mingcheng, who was sitting on the dragon throne, did not move. Instead, Jixiang approached Emperor Mingcheng and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered something. I heard from an old man in the palace that when the late emperor was alive, the Zhang family sent a daughter to the Eastern Palace..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingcheng's pupils shrank suddenly, and his eyes shot towards Minister Zhang like a knife, "Come here! Take Minister Zhang to the Ministry of Punishment, and arrest all the members of the Zhang family and throw them into prison."

"No! Your Majesty is innocent!"

Minister Zhang was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed hard to beg for mercy, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you and the heaven and earth can bear witness to that. Please do not let yourself be deceived by treacherous ministers. Qin Qian'an is not a good person... Mmmmm..."

The guards who came forward to drag the man covered Minister Zhang's mouth, and then dragged him out of the hall from the left and right.