However, when Zhao Ding led a few people to sit in a circle under the awning in his backyard and carefully explained the matter, several senior officials were stunned again.
After being stunned, there was a long silence - everyone couldn't help but look at the expression of the person involved, Hu Yin.
Unexpectedly, although Hu Mingzhong was obviously angry at first, for some reason he soon calmed down and just sat there motionless and silent.
After a long while, seeing that Hu Yin had no intention of speaking, everyone turned their eyes away from him and thought for a while. It was Yan Xiaozhong, the prefect of Kaifeng, who broke the silence first: "So, the emperor has made up his mind to kill, and there is no way to reverse the situation?"
"Yes." Liu Ji, who was theoretically in the same party as Yan Xiaozhong, frowned and emphasized. "But if there is a possibility, we all tried to persuade him to stop in Yanfu Palace today, but it was impossible to persuade him... And if it really came to the point of issuing an imperial decree to kill him, even though Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan tried hard to persuade him, I'm afraid they would still execute him immediately."
"Does that mean we should follow the emperor's wishes and find a proper way to kill this man?" Minister of Rites Zhai Ruwen interrupted.
"That's exactly what I mean." Zhao Ding also nodded.
"Can you find a way to kill him secretly?" Zhai Ruwen asked. "Go and tell this guy the government's decision, so he won't be implicated..."
"No!" Before Zhai Ruwen could finish, Yan Xiaozhong interrupted him again. "In my opinion, we should not only not hide the execution, but also make it clear. It would be best if we can make this person's crime known to the world, so that everyone in the world knows why he died... This is the government's original intention!"
"That's right." Zhao Ding sighed. "When I think about it carefully now, since this person is bound to die, if he can't be killed as a warning to others, his death will be in vain... To be honest, I feel that it is better to let this person be killed by the government than to kill him secretly or put the blame on other crimes!"
"If that's the case, then there's no solution to this matter?" Zhai Ruwen frowned slightly. "Are you really going to sit back and watch the government kill a senior official of the Secret Council? You have to know that Gou Long's actions are shameful, but also very cunning... Let's not talk about the Quanzhou Fan Temple. Even if he tried to impeach Minister Hu, at most he could be said to be morally corrupt and a mean person, but he couldn't be said to have violated the law."
"So, we still have to think of a way to trap him, and it would be best if we could take the opportunity to expose him..." Liu Ji emphasized his superior's request again.
"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but it is not up to Prime Minister Zhao and Prime Minister Liu to figure out how to deal with the emperor." But at this moment, the Minister of Personnel, Chen Gongfu, who had been silent, took the initiative to speak, and his words were shocking. "As the governors of the capital, you two ministers should not be troubled by the death of a villain... The emperor was angry, and he was furious. Are you two ministers also angry to that extent?"
"What does Minister Chen mean by this?" Prime Ministers Zhao and Liu were both moved, but after looking at each other, Zhao Ding took the initiative to ask.
Even Hu Yin, who was equally silent, was staring at Chen Gongfu together with Yan Xiaozhong and Zhai Ruwen.
"What I mean is that Zhang Xianggong is more anxious about the matter of Gou Longruyuan!" Chen Gongfu was calm and serious. "This person is Zhang Xianggong's fellow villager, and he was recommended by Zhang Xianggong to join the ranks of the secret cabinet. So how to deal with Gou Longruyuan and how to make him expose his faults should be something Zhang Xianggong should think about... Moreover, in my opinion, Zhang Xianggong has people like Minister Lin and Minister Lu who are so introverted and scheming. If there is a way, it will definitely not escape their control. Why should the two ministers worry about it?"
Everyone looked at each other, unable to refute, and then they relaxed a little.
Zhao Ding thought for a moment and felt that Chen Gongfu had more intentions, so he immediately asked back: "Then may I ask Minister Chen, the emperor is so angry after all, and puts pressure on us. What should we two, the two ministers of the province, do at this time?"
"Of course, it is to relieve the emperor's worries from the root." Chen Gongfu remained calm. "My two ministers, is the emperor's anger only directed at Gou Longruyuan? Isn't he worried that the villain will plot and destroy the overall situation from the inside? If so, why don't you abandon Gou Longruyuan and take a high-level view, so that the emperor can put his mind at ease from the root and promote the Northern Expedition?"
The people around him were all thinking about something, and Zhao Ding felt that the other party's thoughts were consistent with his own, so he asked seriously again and again: "Minister Chen, do you have a good plan?"
"I dare not say it is a good strategy, it is just a copycat..." Chen Gongfu answered frankly. "There are two methods. One is aimed at officials in the court, and it is based on the financial strategy of Minister Lin of the Ministry of Revenue and the recently promoted large table method. The other one is aimed at the morale of the people in the south, but it is a commonplace... In fact, if we don't do some things ourselves, I'm afraid the government will have to use other people to do it."
Several people around, including Hu Yin, all raised their eyebrows, and finally couldn't help but look at this Minister Chen together.
"You four called your friends last night, but have you come up with a solution?"
The next morning, Emperor Zhao summoned the four ministers again at Shiting. As soon as they met, he questioned them directly, and it seemed that he was still angry.
The four ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, but allowed the Prime Minister Zhang Jun and Zhang Deyuan to step forward and bow to each other in front of the stone pavilion: "Reporting to the emperor, regarding the matter of Gou Longruyuan, the Minister of Personnel Lu has come up with an idea for me, which may work!"
"Tell me."
Zhao Jiu spoke bluntly.
"Although the case of the Fujian scholar impeaching Minister Hu has been settled, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Gou Longruyuan, once said in the Wende Hall that there might be something fishy behind this matter. Maybe there is a villain like Wang Ciweng who is secretly doing something illegal, openly impeaching Minister Hu and secretly alienating the royal family... I think, since he is so enthusiastic, why not transfer him to the position of Dali Temple Minister, let him personally try the case and make sure to find the villain behind it?" Zhang Jun's forehead was slightly sweaty, but his words were smooth, as if he had been prepared. "If he finds it, then naturally someone is responsible for alienating the royal family and accusing the emperor. If he can't find it, then naturally Gou Longruyuan is accusing innocent people!"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
