Chapter 113 Chapter 113
After a moment.
The whole hall was filled with laughter.
The previously stagnant discussion started up again in the hall.
At the same time, everyone's eyes turned to Xie Qingya.
Among them, there were a few gazes that were the most intense.
These gazes were directed towards him first when Xie Qingya first said those words.
Lu Qin.
Qu Boyuan.
The Prime Minister, Sun Hongde.
The Minister of Justice Shen Fu and his eldest son, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple Shen Yu.
At this time, all of them frowned as they looked at Xie Qingya, who was kneeling on the ground, still wearing mourning clothes.
…
"What do you mean by stealing and replacing the military armor? Isn't Quan Fangtong from Jiangning Textile Bureau? Since when did Jiangning Textile Bureau manage the military's needs?"
However, an official who knew Quan Fang explained in a low voice: "Before leaving Beijing, this Lord Quan was a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue."
Quan Fang is a high-profile person.
Many people in the government and the public knew him, and they all knew that he had a good relationship with Cao Da.
Therefore, when people mentioned his previous job in the Ministry of Revenue, many people started talking about it.
"I know about this, too. He did deliver supplies to Jizhou Operations." Others who knew Quan Fangtong also spoke up.
"Come to think of it, he was doing well in the Ministry of Revenue, but he was suddenly transferred out of the capital... I thought it was strange at the time, but it was not a good thing, so I didn't ask. Could it be that he played a role in the defeat in the Battle of Nagano?"
Someone said in horror.
The sound also gets quieter towards the end.
When others heard this, they naturally began to make their own guesses.
Someone frowned and said: "No wonder we lost that year, I thought it was because of King Nangan..." After saying this, he suddenly remembered that King Nangan has been replaced.
Then he changed his words and called out "Old Master Wang".
"The old prince's ability is obvious to all. The army he led has never lost so badly before. But that time, they were almost winning, but in the end they lost, and lost so badly."
"It seems there is something fishy going on here!"
However, some people also said: "Why would Quan Fangtong do such a thing when he had no grudge against the old prince? Moreover, since the Prince of Nan'an knew that there was a fraud, why did he come to tell the truth only now? And he chose to do it when the old prince was dead. Isn't it true that there is no evidence after death?"
Someone nodded.
But some people disagreed: "What you said is unrelated to the case. Isn't Quan Fangtong a very outstanding and handsome man? If it wasn't him who did it, why did the Prince of Nan'an blame him for nothing?"
"Then tell me, why did Quan Fangtong do this?"
There were many different opinions among the audience, and some people even started arguing about it.
Until a voice of "Quiet" came from the front, the originally noisy hall became quiet again.
Liu Xie couldn't hold back any longer.
After calming down, he suppressed his emotions and said to Xie Qingya, "Prince Nan'an should stand up and speak first."
He had always been good friends with his cousin, so naturally he couldn't bear to see someone kneeling like that.
However, after Xie Qingya got up, he knew his limits and did not show too much intimacy with him. Instead, he asked based on what he had said before, "You just said that your armor was secretly replaced during the Battle of Nagano four years ago. Do you have any proof?"
"Since I dare to report this person, I will not make random accusations without any evidence."
When people heard him say this, they couldn't help but prick up their ears, and more and more people looked towards Xie Qingya.
Everyone can't wait to know the truth of that year.
After all, the Battle of Nagano was the first time in nearly ten years that Daxia had suffered such a devastating defeat.
Even though they won the battle, they lost too many people in the battle...
If it weren't for Old Master Wang's good teaching.
I am afraid that after the Battle of Nagano, the Jizhou camp would be in chaos.
Jizhou is the first of the nine states. If it were in chaos, then Great Xia would lose its most important line of defense, and naturally they would not be able to live so comfortably in the past few years.
No one spoke in the hall, everyone was waiting for Xie Qingya to speak.
Xie Qingya did not play tricks or keep people in suspense. Under everyone's gaze, he revealed the truth of that year.
He knew Cao Da's position in the court.
He also knew that many people in the court supported Cao Da and were his people.
Therefore, he did not immediately mention the man in black and Cao Da at this moment, but only told everyone about what Quan Fang had done.
"Four years ago, Quan Fangtong was a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of transporting military supplies."
"He was greedy and deliberately passed off inferior armor as good ones to fill military supplies, which caused our troops to be unable to resist the enemy's weapons when they went to the battlefield, and they eventually died on the battlefield."
As he spoke, he took out a piece of armor wrapped in white cloth from his sleeve and held it high above his head.
"This is a piece of armor that was pulled off the armor worn by a wounded soldier on the battlefield. Your Majesty, you can give it to any general or the Armory Bureau for inspection. They will definitely know the origin of this piece of armor!"
Xie Qingya finished speaking.
Just as Liu Xie was about to ask the young noble to go get the evidence, a cold voice rang out from the palace: "Your Majesty, may I take a look first?"
The person who spoke was Shen Fu.
Although Shen Fu was the Minister of Justice, he was also a military general in his past. When he was young, he followed Xie Junjue to the battlefield, and later served as a vice minister in the Ministry of War.
No one expected him to speak at this time.
Even Xie Qingya didn't expect this.
His eyes involuntarily looked behind him.
Shen Fu, standing on the right side of the first row, was wearing a second-rank bright red official uniform. Although he was nearly fifty years old, he did not look old, and his expression was as solemn and steady as it had been for the past ten years.
He did not look around, but continued to face the emperor who was sitting on the throne, lowering his eyes slightly to show his respect.
Liu Xie would of course not refuse, he couldn't ask for more!
"Of course!"
He spoke to Xie Qingya, "Prince Nan'an, show the things to Lord Shen."
Xie Qingya did not refuse.
He took the initiative to walk up to Shen Fu and handed him the white cloth bag containing the nail plates.
Shen Fu glanced at him.
He still had a serious face. He took the thing without saying anything. He just picked up the nail plate and examined it carefully.
Everyone's eyes also turned to look at Shen Fu.
Shen Fu first held the piece of armor high above his head, then weighed it with his palm, and flicked it lightly to listen to its sound.
After a few moves, he looked back at the emperor on the throne and said, "Your Majesty, there is indeed a problem with this armor piece."
As soon as he opened his mouth, there was an uproar in the hall again.
Liu Xie did not let anyone stop him at this time. Instead, he looked at Shen Fu and asked, "Master Shen, are you serious about what you said?"
Shen Fu did not refuse and said something like asking him to look for other people.
He has always been like this.
Never speak of anything you are not sure of; if you speak of something, it means you are absolutely sure.
He then turned to the emperor and said frankly: "I can conclude that this piece of armor is not for military use."
Without waiting for others to ask, he continued to explain: "Since the time of the previous emperor, our Great Xia has attached great importance to military supplies, especially to the Jizhou Camp and the Liaodong Camp. Every year, what is shipped to these two places is a kind of armor called chain mail. This armor is lighter and easier to use on the battlefield."
"The piece of armor in my hand is lighter in color and lighter in weight than the chainmail. If you look carefully, you can see that the piece of armor in my hand is thinner."
"Therefore, I can conclude that this armor piece is definitely not from the batch that was transported to Jizhou by the court that year."
Shen Fu had been an official for many years and was also the Minister of Justice. He was known for his impartiality and strictness.
In addition, the Shen family and the Nan'an Palace had not had any contact for several years because of the relationship with the Shen family's legitimate daughter, and they had already become enemies in private. Naturally, no one would think that Shen Fu was acting as a false witness for Xie Qingya.
Therefore, at this time, the sound of discussions in the hall was endless.
But since Shen Fu had spoken, the Minister of Revenue Zhou Shanming naturally had to speak as well.
Although he held the title of Minister of Revenue in recent years, he had actually "handed over" the power to Xiao Yuanfu a long time ago.
Normally, whenever the Ministry of Revenue needed to intervene, Xiao Yuanfu would be there.
Xiao Yuanfu is used to being pretentious, and he likes to show up and be complimented. What Zhou Shanming did was naturally what he wanted.
Zhou Shanming is in his fifties this year, seven or eight years older than Shen Fu.
But the two of them don't look like people of the same age.
Shen Fu still looks young, and people would believe him if he said he was in his thirties, but Zhou Shanming looks like a man in his fifties.
With a long beard.
He was not as thin and tall as Shen Fu, but rather a little fat.
He usually pretended to be deaf and dumb and never participated in anything. He would report to work at a certain time and leave at a certain time every day. If there was anything, he would push it to Xiao Yuanfu.
Even in the morning court, he would keep his head down and pretend to sleep, and never say anything on his own initiative.
Not to mention outside, even in the Ministry of Revenue, not many people regarded him as a minister.
But at this moment, he looked clear-headed.
There was no trace of his usual careless and foolish look.
"Your Majesty, although Quan Fangtong is no longer a member of the Ministry of Revenue, since this matter involves the Ministry of Revenue, I have to say something."
"When Jizhou was at war, all the supplies provided by the Ministry of Revenue were recorded in the files. There are witnesses and evidence at every level. The Ministry of Revenue also has records of this matter, and the people in the Armory Bureau can also testify for the Ministry of Revenue."
"Minister Shen said earlier that this armor piece was wrong. As a man, I would not doubt it."
"But no one knows whether this armor piece belongs to the batch from four years ago. If the King of Nan'an relies solely on this piece of armor, it will be difficult to convince the public."
When Qu Boyuan heard this, he was about to frown and speak.
But before he could finish his words, Xie Qingya said, "I have a witness."
As soon as these words came out.
Naturally, there was another round of noise.
However, Liu Xie tried hard to suppress his excitement, clenched his hands and placed them on his knees to control his emotions.
He looked at Xie Qingya and said, "Hurry up and announce it!" This book is exclusively compiled for you by the LK team. Xie Qingya entered the palace today with the token of "As if I were here in person" given by the late emperor.
He took Chen Xing with him all the way and entered the palace without any hindrance.
At this time, Chen Xing was standing outside the hall under Changfeng's protection.
Until this announcement was made, a man who was so thin that he was just skin and bones, wearing an old but neat robe, came in from outside, supported by Changfeng.
A group of people near the palace gate were the first to scream in surprise when they saw him.
Then the officials in the front row frowned and turned their heads to look.
The man walking towards me had gray hair and looked very old.
He also walked with a stagger.
You need someone to support you so that you can walk steadily.
But if you observe carefully, you can still feel that the man is not old yet, at least not at the age that can be called an "old man".
His eyes looked very clear, without any trace of old age.
And from him, one can also sense that he must have been a military commander in the past. Even though he looks like this now, he still retains some of the habits of a military commander.
When he walked, his body was straight and upright, and his face was firm.
can all serve as proof.
The reason why people were shocked was that his face and exposed parts of his body had signs of burns.
Although Xie Qingya has spent a lot of money on treating people in recent years, and the situation is not as horrible as it was three years ago, the traces are still there.
The skin on his face was also wrinkled.
One can imagine what kind of things he had experienced in those days.
As soon as Xie Qingya heard footsteps behind him, he turned around and stepped forward to help the person.
After taking over Changfeng's job, Xie Qingya carefully held Chen Xing's arm.
Chen Xing smiled at him, then patted his arm gently as if to comfort him, indicating that he was fine.
Xie Qingya glanced at him, pursed his lips and said nothing, but supported the man and continued walking forward.
Although he had known about the existence of General Chen from his cousin, Liu Xie couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw his appearance at this moment.
He had never seen anyone with burns.
I didn't expect the burned person to be like this.
That uncle and cousin...
Liu Xie subconsciously looked at his cousin and saw that his cousin had his eyebrows down and his expression could not be seen clearly. He also saw that the man was about to kneel down with him, so Liu Xie hurriedly said to the man, "You, you stand."
But Chen Xing still insisted on kneeling down, a kneeling and kowtow reserved for meeting the emperor.
To show respect.
Liu Xie had no choice but to wait for the people to finish greeting, and then he said to Xie Qingya, "Prince Nan'an, help the man up quickly."
Xie Qingya said nothing.
After Chen Xing kowtowed again, he reached out and helped the man up.
"Prince Nan'an, this is..."
Someone asked Xie Qingya.
But looking at this person's appearance, many people actually have some guesses in their minds.
The old King of Nan'an, his eldest son, and the team of personal soldiers he brought with him were all killed in a fire.
And this person had obviously experienced a fire.
It's just that the identity is difficult to determine.
I don't know who he is.
Just as Xie Qingya was about to reveal the man's identity, Chen Xing grabbed his arm.
Xie Qingya looked over.
Seeing Chen Xing, he shook his head.
Although he didn't know what he was going to do, Xie Qingya chose to remain silent.
Chen Xing turned around and looked at the officials behind him.
His face was so terrifying that many officials could not help but turn their faces away when they were stared at by him.
But there were also some people who did not move away.
Shen Fu was one of them.
He frowned and looked at the man's face, feeling that it looked familiar.
Unexpectedly, I happened to meet Chen Xing's eyes.
Seeing the light immediately lit up in the man's eyes, a picture flashed through Shen Fu's mind, and then he saw the man suddenly walking towards him happily.
When the officials around Shen Fu saw this scene, their faces changed.
Some people frowned and did not retreat, while others took a few steps back.
Many people frowned and looked at the injured man, wondering what he would do.
"Uncle Chen."
Xie Qingya was afraid that someone might fall, so he was about to go over to help him, but he saw Shen Fu reaching out and holding Chen Xing's arm first.
Xie Qingya looked at this scene, then stopped and didn't rush over anymore.
Hand holds man's arm.
Shen Fu couldn't believe what he said. He looked at the man and spoke in shock, "...Chen Xing?"
The words "Is that you?" have not yet been uttered.
Shen Fu saw the man in front of him, holding his arm tightly, and nodded at him desperately.
"you……"
Shen Fu's eyes were blank.
When he spoke again, his voice unconsciously became hoarse.
"How did you become like this?" he said, his arms trembling. He wanted to touch him, but was afraid of hurting him. In the end, he could only look at him with red eyes.
Few people have ever seen this side of him.
It can even be said that no one in the court or the public has ever seen him like this.
Not even his eldest son Shen Yu.
"Master Shen, do you know him?"
The officials nearby watched this scene and couldn't help but ask about Shen Fu.
Shen Fu said nothing.
But his eyes were still fixed on Chen Xing in front of him, unable to believe it.
He has always been taciturn and cold-tempered, and he is not very close to anyone.
This book is compiled exclusively for you by the LK team. But in fact, decades ago, when he was still in the army, he said quite a lot.
He had many friends at that time.
However, his good friends were either old or dead, or they were far away and had not been in touch for a long time, so the relationship faded; and some of them died in the war that year.
Many people thought that he severed his ties with the Nan'an Palace because of his eldest daughter.
However, little did he know that he hated Xie Qingya because of his recklessness and impulsiveness, which caused his best friend and favorite nephew to be unable to return home and be buried in that distant battlefield, and caused his daughter to have to stay in a nunnery for the rest of her life.
He never imagined that the war that year had such internal causes.
He was in great distress.
His eyes seemed to be bloodshot.
"...Yes, I know him." After an unknown amount of time, he finally said this in a hoarse voice, looking at Chen Xing.
He thought Chen Xing would respond and reveal his identity.
I didn't expect Chen Xing to be so slow to speak.
Shen Fu frowned and was about to ask something when he saw Chen Xing pointing at his throat and shaking his head.
Just this one action made Shen Fu's expression change again.
"Your voice..." He looked at the person, trying in vain to widen his eyes.
The hand stretched out towards the person and then hung in mid-air.
Shen Fu looked at the man in front of him who was trying to smile at him, patting his arm, shaking his head, and reassuring himself that everything was fine. Finally, he could no longer control himself.
He withdrew his arm.
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
When he spoke again, his voice was like the coldest wind in Mobei, and his eyes were filled with deep hatred.
"Who, who on earth has harmed you like this!"
He knew that Chen Xing couldn't speak, so he looked directly at Xie Qingya.
Xie Qingya met his eyes and did not look away.
But he didn't say anything.
But soon, he turned around again, facing the emperor on the throne, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this is a soldier from the Jizhou camp, and also my father's personal soldier. His surname is Chen and his name is Xing."
"Back then, he followed my father and brothers to fight the enemy."
"Everyone in the Jizhou Camp and those who were once friends with my father know him! His name is also recorded in the Heroic Spirits of the Battle of Nagano. All of this is on file in the court. Minister Zhou should be able to find the list from that year!"
This time, there was no need for Liu Xie to ask. Zhou Shanming immediately answered and said, "The Ministry of Revenue does have a list from that year. If I remember correctly, there was indeed a captain named Chen Xing who died in the Battle of Changye."
Zhou Shanming did not know Chen Xing.
After he finished speaking, he looked towards Shen Fu and said to Chen Xing, "Is it this general?"
Chen Xing was speechless.
Liu Xie looked at Shen Fu and asked, "Minister Shen, is this person in front of you the Chen Qianzong that Minister Zhou mentioned?"
"yes!"
Shen Fu admitted it without hesitation.
The silent hall was filled with noise once again.
The evidence is solid.
Now, the confusion in the officials' minds disappeared completely, and for a while, many people started talking to each other about the matter.
If this is true.
Then this whole party is simply committing a serious sin!
That means he is dead now. If he is not dead, even Ling Chi will not be able to relieve his hatred!
Many people in the hall had interacted with Quan Fangtong before, and they all knew that Quan Fangtong was greedy by nature.
Among them, there were even quite a few people who, relying on the relationship between Quan Fangtong and Cao Da, gave Quan Fangtong money in private and asked others to speak well of him.
That's why many of them were defending Quan Fangtong just now, fearing that if this was true, they would also be implicated.
But at this moment, the evidence is clear.
Naturally, these people didn't even dare to say a word. They all cowered in order to avoid being noticed and implicated.
However, there were also many people who were not aware of the situation and could not help but wonder, "How could this man have escaped from the Battle of Nagano and left the capital smoothly? Now he can still hold such a good job as Jiangning Textile Factory? Could it be that there is something behind this..."
Before he could finish his words, someone who knew the situation immediately pulled his sleeve down.
How many people who can be officials in this court and enter this palace are brainless? Although I don't know why, I know that there must be someone behind Quan Fangtong.
This person's identity is probably not light.
Those who noticed this situation naturally kept silent and dared not speak nonsense.
I was afraid that I would accidentally bump into someone's hill.
But there are also those who are not afraid.
This book is compiled exclusively for you by the LK team, especially those officials who were military commanders.
Xie Junjue was born in a noble family but had a good temper, and all the generals in the Manchu dynasty had good relations with him.
Even if they don't have much contact with each other on a daily basis, whenever they talk about Xie Junjue, they will praise him highly.
When these soldiers heard the news of Xie Junjue's death, they all shed tears.
I thought it was misfortune.
Who would have thought that someone had tamped with it.
They have all been to the battlefield, and who knows, they may go again in the future.
If this matter is not investigated thoroughly, who knows whether such a thing will happen to them in the future?
At this time, they all said: "Prince Nan'an, since you have come today to report what happened, you must have investigated the matter thoroughly."
"Then tell me everything clearly!"
"Who is behind Quan Fangtong to protect him like this and allow him to be promoted to high positions time and time again?"
Xie Qingya did not hesitate.
In the midst of their voices, he said decisively and bluntly: "Today I will also report Cao Da, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department!"
"After the Battle of Nagano, Quan Fangtong was transferred out of the capital by Cao Da, allowing him to escape his evil deeds and live in Jiangning. In recent years, Quan Fangtong has once again relied on Cao Da's influence to step up to the position of Jiangning Textile Doctor. He has relied on his influence to do whatever he wants and has made countless wealth!"
"I ask Your Majesty to investigate and correct this matter, to give the truth and justice to the soldiers of the Battle of Nagano, and to restore justice to the world!"
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