However, these cannot be reasons for Qin Hui to violate the laws of the court. No matter how many merits and contributions the family has made in the past, they cannot offset the mistakes made today.
Chu Fan said, "I know that the Qin family has made many contributions to the State of Wei in the past, but our royal family has never treated the Qin family unfairly. The Qin family has held high positions and enjoyed wealth and glory for generations. But now, because of momentary resentment and selfish desires, you have done something unforgivable. How dare you now talk about your family's past contributions to the State of Wei in front of me?
Qin Hui, please consider carefully what significant contributions you have made to the State of Wei over the years. My father promoted you to Prime Minister of Wei, but how have you repaid his kindness? When I, in a desperate attempt to save my life, appointed Mu Yunfeng to lead the army against the Xiongnu, what were you doing? You submitted a memorial asking me to revoke Mu Yunfeng's military power, telling me that the Xiongnu were too powerful and that Wei should not go to war with them. Instead, the best policy was to negotiate peace with them.
I know that many people were not optimistic about the war with the Huns at the beginning. Many people even chose to protect themselves after seeing my determination to fight the Huns to the end. Many people even left the court and stayed away from the State of Wei.
Isn't this the result of your inaction as Prime Minister? And when I took over Wei, how many officials in the court and at the local level were truly loyal to me? How many hadn't engaged in corruption and bribery?
When I first took over the State of Wei, in order to maintain the stability of the government and to prevent you, the families that have always followed our royal family, from feeling disheartened, I only confiscated ten years of your salary and did not impose a more severe punishment on you.
But you, Qin Hui, are still threatening me with the contributions that the Qin family once made to the State of Wei. Haven't you ever reflected on whether what you have done over the years is worthy of the State of Wei and the trust that my father has placed in you?
I want to ask you one last question. Is the Wei Kingdom actually Chu or Qin?
After Chu Fan finished his last sentence, all the ministers in the court held their breath, and the entire hall was silent. They knew that after His Majesty asked this question, Qin Hui was destined to be severely punished. Therefore, even those ministers with close ties to the Qin family lowered their heads and dared not speak for fear of getting into trouble.
Qin Hui's face was pale, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He knew he was doomed. His Majesty abhorred corruption and bribery, and what he had done was more than just corruption. This time, he was also implicated in the implementation of His Majesty's new policy. To ensure the smooth implementation of the new education reform policy, His Majesty was bound to punish him severely.
Qin Hui now knew he was doomed. He only wanted His Majesty to ensure the continuation of his bloodline. He was willing to accept any punishment as long as His Majesty could allow one of his sons to survive. To get His Majesty to agree to this condition, he had to cooperate with His Majesty in carrying out today's ritual of killing the monkey and offering the chicken. Only then would everyone in Wei see His Majesty's determination to implement the new education policy, and only then would everyone know that anyone who dared to falsify the new education policy would be severely punished.
Qin Hui replied respectfully, "Of course the Wei Kingdom's surname is Chu, Your Majesty!"
Chu Fan said seriously, "Since you still know that I am the master of Wei, then you should understand that what I have given you is yours, and what I have not given you, you cannot ask for without authorization. It is my decision to distribute power and wealth to whom, and it is not something that you, the ministers, can arbitrarily usurp.
Since you want more power and wealth so badly, why don't you rebel? If you succeed, you will get everything you want. The reason you dare not rebel is because you know in your hearts that my army is powerful enough to crush you, and I hold the power to destroy your family.
So you only dare to play tricks behind my back and use your power to seek personal gain. I will never tolerate such behavior."
Hearing Qin Hui and Chu Fan's words asking them to rebel, all the court ministers were shocked. If His Majesty defined what Qin Hui did as rebellion, then at least three of Qin Hui's clans would be implicated and executed, and they might also be implicated. After all, no one could guarantee that they had no contact with Qin Hui.
The ministers in the court immediately knelt down, trembling, and shouted, "Your Majesty, please calm down. We are loyal to Your Majesty and to the State of Wei, and we have no second thoughts!"
Chu Fan looked at the ministers, whose faces had turned pale with fear at his words, and sighed, "All of you, please stand up. I do not doubt your loyalty. What I said just now was just to make you understand one thing: if you want to gain power and wealth, you must either make greater contributions to the State of Wei, or rebel and become emperor yourself. Secretly abusing your power for personal gain will not only fail to gain much wealth, but will also make you live in fear every day. This is completely not worth the loss."
All the ministers replied respectfully, "We will faithfully follow your Majesty's instructions and will make even greater contributions to the country in the future. We will never again commit any dishonest acts."
After he finished speaking, all the court ministers stood up. As for what His Majesty said about gaining greater power and wealth through rebellion, that was just His Majesty's words to torture himself and others. If anyone really did that, he would probably die.
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