Chapter 139: The Case of the Provincial Governor's Corruption (5)

Du He took Li Chengqian's handwritten order and left Chang'an with Wang Yi, heading straight for Cangzhou. In order to prevent the Cangzhou Governor from taking any desperate measures, Li Chengqian also asked the Ministry of War to issue Du He a military order to prevent any accidents.

The two of them rode at full speed, and after a few days, they finally arrived in Cangzhou.

The Cangzhou Governor's Office.

Upon learning that the imperial envoy Du He had arrived, Xi Bian led the officials of the office to welcome the imperial envoy at the gate.

A group of fully armed soldiers surrounded the Governor's office, and everyone was in a panic! Only Xi Bian frowned.

He was a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years. He had seen all kinds of scenes, so why would he panic because of such a small battle?

"Why are you panicking! You useless things, look at what you look like now!" Xi Bian raised his eyebrows and shouted angrily.

The palace soldiers made way for Du He and Wang Yi to walk in. Xi Bian recognized the Censor next to Du He at a glance.

Xi Bian never regretted accepting bribes. He had no hobbies except greed. Even if he was given another chance, he would accept the offerings from his subordinates without hesitation.

He just regretted not killing the Censor earlier, otherwise he would not have ended up like this.

Xi Bian stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am Xi Bian, the governor of Cangzhou, and I am honored to see the angel."

"Governor Xi, I came to Cangzhou on the order of the crown prince. I think you should know why." Du He looked at Xi Bian and said.

"Of course I know it in my heart!" Xi Bian did not defend himself. The fact that the Censor was able to come back with him showed that he had already handed over the evidence to the court.

There was no need for Xi Bian to struggle in vain. After all, it was useless for him to deny the ironclad evidence. It was better to be straightforward.

"The Order of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty: Xi Bian, the Governor of Cangzhou, and Li Taibian, the Magistrate of Changlu County, accepted bribes and disregarded the law of the country. Their crimes are unforgivable! They are specially escorted back to the capital for trial."

Du He read the order of the Crown Prince issued by Li Chengqian, and unfolded the order for Xi Bian, the Governor of Cangzhou, and the officials of Cangzhou to check.

When people saw the date of issue of the order and the double dragon symbol representing the prince of the state, they confirmed that the order was correct.

The palace soldiers took Xi Bian under custody, and a team of palace soldiers rushed into the governor's mansion to search and confiscate everything related to Xi Bian's corruption.

On the same day, Du He escorted Xi Bian, the governor of Cangzhou, and Li Taibian, the magistrate of Changlu County, back to Chang'an.

After working day and night, they returned to the capital Chang'an within a few days.

Xi Bian and others who were escorted to Beijing were locked up in the prison of the Dali Temple. Li Chengqian asked Di Renjie, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, to interrogate Xi Bian and others.

Du He went to the East Palace to report to the crown prince Li Chengqian.

Although the evidence of Xi Bian and others' corruption crimes is conclusive, the legal procedures must still be followed, and they must be given a chance to plead guilty.

The trial of such a case is simple and boring, so there is no need to waste time describing it one by one, just skipping the process.

"Sir! Di Renjie, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple, is asking for an audience outside the palace!" Wang Quan reported to Li Chengqian.

"Well! Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will come! Invite him in." Li Chengqian said.

He had just been talking to Du He about Di Renjie when Di Renjie came.

"Yes!" Wang Quan retreated and called Di Renjie, who was outside the palace, in.

"Your servant Di Renjie is here to see the prince!" Di Renjie saluted Li Chengqian.

"Sir Di! I was just about to mention you to Du He, but you're here! How's Xi Bian's case going?" Li Chengqian said.

"The evidence is solid, Xi Bian confessed without regret! He has explained all the money he has embezzled over the years. This is Xi Bian's confession and the account of the money he has embezzled. Please take a look

, Your Highness." Di Renjie said, handing the confession to Li Chengqian. "I didn't expect that Xi Bian had embezzled so much property in just a few years as a governor. It's really outrageous." The more Li Chengqian looked at it, the uglier his face became.

Fortunately, it was discovered in time, otherwise, how much more property would Xi Bian embezzle, and how many people would be treated unfairly because of Xi Bian's embezzlement and bribery.

Corrupt officials like Xi Bian are really abominable. How many people have been wrongly accused because of their behavior? It is really not enough to kill them to appease the anger of the people.

"Your Highness! How should Xi Bian be dealt with?" Di Renjie asked.

"Since it has been confirmed that Xi Bian and others are corrupt and pervert the law, they will naturally be executed according to the law." Li Chengqian said.

What else can be said about this? They must be killed.

"In this case, I will transfer this matter to the Ministry of Justice and wait for the Ministry of Justice to issue a document before executing them." Di Renjie said.

Although the Dali Temple has the right to try cases and detain prisoners, it does not have the right to directly sentence prisoners to death.

The Dali Temple must write a document and hand it over to the Ministry of Justice together with the verdict of this case and the confession.

After the Ministry of Justice has reviewed it, it can approve the sentence of execution of the prisoner. Finally, it must be submitted to the three ministries for review, and finally reported to the emperor for approval. In particular, if an official is sentenced to death, it must be reported to the emperor.

If there is no such sentence, no one has the right to execute the prisoner. There are still many procedures to execute Xi Bian.

"Then you submit this case to the Ministry of Justice first. As for Xi Bian, I have decided to wait until the envoys from all over the country come to Chang'an before executing him." Li Chengqian said.

"Your Highness means that those envoys from all over the country can also see the scene of execution?" Du He asked.

"That's right! That's exactly what I meant. There are too many corrupt officials in this world, and no one can guarantee that there won't be people like Xi Bian among these court envoys."

"The reason why we waited until all the court envoys arrived in Chang'an before executing Xi Bian and others is so that these people can see the scene of Xi Bian's execution."

"Although it may not be possible to eliminate all corrupt officials, at least we can use the lives of Xi Bian and others to warn others that Xi Bian is a role model for those who dare to engage in corruption and bribery."

"Although it is impossible to eliminate human greed, it can have a deterrent effect, so that they can be cautious and dare not engage in corruption and bribery blatantly." Li Chengqian said.

His idea was simple, that is, to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, by killing Xi Bian, to warn other local officials to respect themselves, so as not to end up like Xi Bian.

"I know what to do! I'll take my leave!" Di Renjie withdrew, and immediately transferred the case of Xi Bian and others to the Ministry of Justice for review.

After a series of procedures, the judgment of the three courts was placed in front of Li Chengqian.

With Li Chengqian's approval, Xi Bian was sentenced to death. After all the envoys arrived, Li Chengqian called them to the execution ground to watch Xi Bian's execution.

This was a warning to them not to end up like Xi Bian, with no one to collect his body, and to take it as a warning.