Chapter 30: Be the villain who "offends" for him
On the morning of the day before the joint trial by the three judicial authorities, before the trial had even begun, ministers had already started to stand up and plead for the Pei family.
The leader was Minister Lu, who was related to the Pei family by marriage.
“Your Majesty, Pei Huaijin comes from a family of loyal and virtuous officials. His grandfather, Xie Yun, once served as Grand Tutor, and his father was Minister of Revenue. His family has been loyal to the emperor and served the country for generations. There may have been a misunderstanding in this matter concerning the imperial examination. I humbly request Your Majesty to be lenient in your punishment!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Prime Minister Cui, who had not yet expressed his opinion on the matter, stepped forward to second his opinion: "Your Majesty, although the Pei family has made mistakes, in consideration of their ancestors' merits, we hope Your Majesty will show leniency."
Later, Pei's former students and officials responded one after another.
In an instant, the main hall was filled with kneeling officials, all kowtowing and begging His Majesty to be lenient with the punishment.
Before the case has even been heard, it has already been determined that the incident was committed by the Pei family alone.
Li Yuanzhao stood at the head of the court, coldly observing the scene.
These people were in a hurry. Before the three judicial departments even started the trial and the charges were even decided, they all knelt down before the emperor to beg for mercy. They were afraid that others would not know how united the aristocratic families were.
Historically, those who cheated in the imperial examinations only faced the loss of their official rank and title, but never any threat to their lives.
It was only because the Emperor was furious about the "killing of Zhang Cheng" that he imprisoned the two members of the Pei family and launched a thorough investigation, which is why the investigation was carried out in such a grand manner.
But now these people are jointly writing a letter, seemingly to plead for the Pei family, but in reality, they are offering the emperor a way out.
This matter should be attributed to the Pei family alone; they should be punished and that should be the end of it, without involving any further parties.
Li Yuanzhao's gaze swept over the several highly respected senior officials kneeling in the front row, and he sneered inwardly.
It seems there's a deeper layer to this; it's meant to be seen by her, the presiding judge.
This was a reminder that if she insisted on investigating to the end, she would be making enemies of most of the officials in the court.
The hall was completely silent, everyone awaiting the Emperor's decision, but the Emperor remained silent for a long time.
Li Yuanzhao knew his father, the emperor, best.
When he seized the throne, he relied entirely on the strong support of the powerful families behind him.
Those deeply entrenched forces were both the foundation upon which he ascended to the throne and now a thorn in his side.
Over the years, powerful families have relied on hereditary succession based on merit and alliances through marriage, and their disciples and former officials are spread all over the world, making their power too great to be controlled.
However, if these powerful and deeply rooted families were to be uprooted, it would inevitably have far-reaching consequences, and could even lead to widespread chaos.
As emperor, he could sometimes warn them and sometimes win them over, but he could not openly stand against them.
But the heart of an emperor is most averse to the loss of power.
Which emperor would like his power to be hampered? Would he willingly allow himself to be manipulated by others?
Therefore, her existence is necessary.
A princess who was condemned by the world as "ambitious" and "arrogant" was just the right person to be the villain who "offended people" for him.
The emperor needed her ruthlessness to deter those who coveted power; he also needed her arrogance to bear the infamy that the emperor himself could not personally inflict.
This is the reason why she was able to gain a foothold in the imperial court.
She stepped forward and said, "Father, I have something to say."
The Emperor looked up at her and said, "Speak."
"This matter has not yet gone to trial, and the Pei family's affairs have not yet been investigated. How can you say that they will be treated leniently?"
Li Yuanzhao paused, his tone tinged with sarcasm, "At this critical juncture, why are you ministers so eager to convict the Pei family? Are you perhaps feeling guilty?"
These words struck the hall like a thunderbolt, causing an uproar among the kneeling courtiers.
Minister Lu's face turned ashen, and he suddenly looked up: "Princess, stop making baseless accusations! We only thought of the Pei family's generations of loyalty and virtue, and couldn't bear to see them wronged. How can you say we have a guilty conscience?"
"Can't bear to see him wronged?" Li Yuanzhao's tone suddenly rose. "What wrong? Is it that the Pei family wasn't the only one wronged by the matter of favoritism and corruption, or that the Pei family wasn't responsible for Zhang Cheng's death?"
Minister Lu was speechless when asked the question, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He hadn't expected the princess to be so blunt, revealing all their hidden intentions in a single sentence.
Prime Minister Su frowned and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, please be careful with your words! This matter has not yet been investigated and should not be speculated upon, lest it disrupt the order of the court."
Li Yuanzhao sneered, his gaze falling on Prime Minister Su. "Prime Minister Su, your words are far too harsh. The purpose of the joint trial by the three judicial departments is to find out the truth, yet you gentlemen are pleading for leniency at this time. Are you afraid that the truth will be exposed and too many people will be implicated?"
She turned to the dragon throne and bowed again. "Father, I think... if you gentlemen want to plead for leniency, it would be better to wait until after the joint trial by the three judicial departments. By then, it's not certain who will be pleading for whom."
The hall was completely silent; even the Emperor had never imagined she would be so aggressive.
Li Yuanzhao met the angry or fearful gazes of the court officials, a cold smile playing on his lips.
After a long silence, the Emperor slowly spoke, “Yuan Zhao’s words are reasonable. The three judicial departments shall conduct a joint trial and must thoroughly investigate the truth. No one shall interfere. Anyone who obstructs this will be punished for disobeying an imperial decree.”
On the second day of the joint trial, Li Yuanzhao served as the presiding judge, with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review also serving as judges.
As she expected, Pei Guyan refused to plead guilty.
"Your Highness is wise! Although the letters and gold cakes bear the Pei family's private seal, I can use them, and so can Pei Huaijin, a direct descendant of the Pei family. How can you conclude that I was responsible based solely on these documents?"
Li Yuanzhao: "However, Pei Huaijin stated in court that this matter had nothing to do with him and that he was completely unaware of it."
Pei Guyan never expected that even when he threatened Pei Huaijin's mother's life, he would still refuse to take the blame.
Fortunately, he still had a backup plan.
He took out a stack of papers from his pocket and had the bailiff present them to the three officials on the jury.
“My relationship with this nephew has always been strained, and we have had several disputes in the clan. How could I possibly spend money to buy him an official position? These are all testimonies from members of the clan, which you may verify one by one, sir.”
After reviewing the evidence submitted by Li Yuanzhao, Censor-in-Chief Gan also stated, "Your Highness, it is well known among the powerful families that Lord Pei has a poor relationship with his nephew, and it is indeed impossible for him to spend money to buy an official position for his nephew."
Li Yuanzhao's lips curled slightly as he looked at Pei Guyan with a half-smile: "What if... instead of spending money to buy a high-ranking official position, you spent money to beg for a low-ranking one?"
Lord Gan was taken aback upon hearing this.
This was the first time he had ever heard of someone paying money to be demoted; he couldn't believe Pei Guyan hated his own nephew so much.
Pei Guyan's expression changed, and he immediately retorted loudly, "That Pei Huaijin is upright and aloof. Without the Pei family's support, he won't last long in officialdom. Why would I need to do anything unnecessary?"
Li Yuanzhao picked up a letter and slowly said, "But I just received a letter that was found in Zhang Cheng's residence. It says that if Pei Huaijin is arranged to go to a remote place, there will be a generous reward."
Pei Guyan's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief: "This is impossible, I didn't write that!"
Li Yuanzhao picked up the letter and waved it around. "This is Lord Pei's handwriting. It's written in black and white on white paper. How could it be fake? Lord Gan, please take a look."
She handed the letter to Lord Gan and continued, "Although there is no precedent in the court for spending money to demote relatives, His Majesty hates officials who abuse their power for personal gain. Lord Pei, for his own selfish desires, has obstructed the court from appointing virtuous and capable officials, which is the first crime. Moreover, Lord Pei, you are audacious enough to harm a court official, which is the second crime. If both crimes are punished together, then you are even more unforgivable."
"This is absolutely impossible!" Pei Guyan stared intently at the letter, shouting emotionally, "I never wrote about this in the letter; I had someone else deliver it!"
Li Yuanzhao then smiled slightly, "So, Lord Pei is admitting that he bribed Lord Zhang?"
Pei Guyan was speechless for a moment, his face turning bright red.
Li Yuanzhao pressed further, "Lord Pei spent money, yet Pei Huaijin obtained a high-ranking official position. If I were you, I would indeed be so angry that I would kill Zhang Cheng to vent my anger."
Seeing that things were developing in a worse direction, Pei Guyan hurriedly defended himself: "Your Highness, I did bribe Lord Zhang, but I did not kill him. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Highness."
At this moment, the old and senile Lord Gan slowly finished reading the letter, looked up and asked leisurely, "Your Highness, isn't this a chess manual?"
Li Yuanzhao took the paper back from his hand without changing his expression, and tore it up casually: "Oh, I took the wrong one."
Pei Guyan then realized he had fallen into a trap, and instantly became furious and embarrassed, "You!"
Li Yuanzhao ignored him and turned to instruct the document, "Do you understand? Lord Pei is at odds with his nephew, so he bribed Zhang Cheng to arrange for Pei Huaijin to be transferred to a post outside the capital."
The clerk nodded.
Li Yuanzhao raised an eyebrow slightly: "Give it to him to sign and affix his seal."
Pei Guyan's face was ashen as he stared at the confession, hesitating to put pen to paper.
Li Yuanzhao slowly said, "Lord Pei, have you thought this through? This is just a bribe. You refuse to sign it, do you want to find out more?"
Pei Guyan's hand trembled violently.
Yes, if it were just cheating on the imperial examinations, the worst that could happen would be a demotion.
Moreover, with officials in the court pleading on his behalf, His Majesty will certainly not punish him too severely.
However, if old grievances are brought up again, he will only face the fate of having his family property confiscated and his clan exterminated.
He picked up the pen with trembling hands, signed his name on the confession, and pressed his bright red fingerprint on it.
After watching him sign the document, Li Yuanzhao slowly said, "Now that the imperial examination fraud case is over, let's move on to the next case."
Upon hearing this, Pei Guyan looked up, puzzled, his eyes filled with confusion.
He's already confessed and signed the papers, so what's the next case?
Li Yuanzhao then explained, seemingly considerately, "Oh, Lord Pei, I forgot to tell you, your own nephew has accused you of embezzling salt taxes and selling smuggled salt."
With a "boom," these words struck Pei Guyan like a heavy hammer.
His eyes widened, his pupils contracted in extreme shock, and his lips trembled slightly, yet he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
Pei Huaijin! This Pei Huaijin! Is he trying to destroy the entire Pei family?
After a long silence, he finally remembered to defend himself, "Your Highness...this is a frame-up! I have never done such a thing."
Li Yuanzhao tapped the table lightly and slowly replied, "But what can we do? Pei Huaijin has already submitted to me the evidence of your tampering with the salt tax ledgers. Oh, and there are also the testimonies of the salt merchants from Hedong. You tampered with the salt permits, changing official salt into private salt and taking a 30% cut of the profits. Every single one of these things is irrefutable. You can't deny it with just a 'false accusation'."
Pei Guyan's straight back slumped instantly.
He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, the terror in his eyes gradually replaced by despair.
He knew that selling smuggled salt was a capital offense, let alone embezzling salt taxes. This time, even a god couldn't save him.
The three jurors exchanged shocked glances. When did Pei Huaijin make the accusation? When did His Highness obtain this evidence? How come they knew nothing about it?
Li Yuanzhao's gaze swept over Pei Guyan, whose face had turned ashen, and he said coldly, "Take him away and keep him under strict guard. Once all his crimes have been investigated, he will be punished accordingly!"
The guards stepped forward, lifted the limp Pei Guyan, and dragged him outside.
…………………………………………
The official system will be explained in detail to help everyone understand the plot later.
It draws inspiration from the Tang Dynasty's "Three Departments and Six Ministries System," but it is not entirely the same.
I. The Three Departments: the Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Department of State Affairs
The heads of the three provinces serve as prime ministers.
Su Jingzhi, the Prime Minister of the State, father of Su Qingci, is the head of the Ministry of Personnel, a second-rank official responsible for enforcing government orders and commanding the Six Ministries. (A neutral figure, currently aligned with the Second Prince)
Cui Shiliang, the Prime Minister Cui, was the maternal uncle of the Second Prince and the head of the Secretariat, a third-rank official responsible for reviewing imperial edicts. (Second Prince's faction)
Zheng Wenkai, also known as Zheng Xiang, was the head of the Secretariat, a third-rank official, responsible for drafting imperial edicts. (A neutral figure loyal to the emperor, on good terms with the Grand Tutor, and disliked women interfering in politics.)
II. The Six Ministries: Ministry of Personnel (Minister Zheng, a lackey of Cui), Ministry of Revenue (Minister Xiao, whose daughter is Consort Xiao), Ministry of Rites (Minister Liu, who is related to the Cui family by marriage, the one who was mocked by Li Yuanzhao at the beginning), Ministry of War (Minister Lin, whose son is exceptionally handsome), Ministry of Justice (Minister Lu, who is related to the Pei family by marriage), Ministry of Works (Minister Zhang, who comes from a humble background and is Li Yuanzhao's man).
Each department is headed by one or two ministers (rank 3) and vice ministers (rank 4).
III. Other Institutions
1. Hanlin Academy: Hanlin Academicians, without a fixed rank. In layman's terms, they were the emperor's secretaries, usually 6-10 people, responsible for advising the emperor and writing official documents.
2. Hongwen Academy: Responsible for teaching the children of nobles.
3. Censorate: Responsible for supervising and impeaching officials.
4.Nine Temples:
Taichang Temple, responsible for rites, music, and sacrifices.
Guanglu Temple, Imperial Cuisine
Minister of the Imperial Guard, in charge of the safekeeping of weapons and ceremonial regalia
The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was in charge of imperial family affairs, including compiling the Imperial Genealogy and recording the lineages of the imperial clan.
Taipusi, Horse Administration and Animal Husbandry
Dali Temple, review of death sentences
Honglu Temple, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs
Sinong Temple, Grain Storage and Land Reclamation
Taifu Temple, the treasury cashier
5. Five supervisory bodies (technical management institutions)
The Imperial College (Guozijian) was responsible for the education of six schools.
Shaofujian (Imperial Household Department), Handicrafts
Supervisor of construction projects
Ordnance Bureau, Weapon Manufacturing
Water Conservancy and Water Transport Bureau
IV. Local officials:
The governor was a prefectural-level administrative official, of the third rank, responsible for local military, administration, finance, and justice.
County magistrate, a sixth-rank official.
V. Military Officer System:
1. The Central Imperial Guard system was primarily responsible for the defense of the capital and the security of the palace.
Imperial Guards: guarding the imperial city and palace, with approximately 50,000 men who only obey the emperor's orders.
The Imperial Guards: The emperor's personal bodyguards (high-ranking ceremonial guard), primarily responsible for accompanying the emperor on his daily travels and protecting his safety; they answered only to the emperor. Approximately 10,000 men.
The Imperial Guard (Jinwuwei) was responsible for patrolling the outer perimeter of the Imperial City and maintaining order in the capital. The Emperor appointed Li Yuanzhao to command it, and it comprised approximately 10,000 men.
2. Local armies, border defense forces of various states.
East of the river, to guard against the Turks, 50,000.
Youzhou, for defense against the Tibetans, has a force of 100,000. (In charge of Shen Guojiu)
Jiannan, the southwestern border defense, 30,000 troops.
Lingnan, defended against southern barbarian tribes such as Nanzhao, with a population of 15,000.
Hexi, defending against the Khitan, 73,000.
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