Chapter 615 The Death of Wu Yan!
Before Wu Yanzhi could react, he was pinned down and tied up by a group of soldiers.
A soldier carrying a portrait walked up to Wu Yanzhi and, while comparing the portrait, said, "It's him, Wu Yanzhi, a wanted criminal of the imperial court. He has been captured and brought to justice. The imperial court has ordered that anyone who resists will be killed without exception!"
Wu Yanzhi was startled awake in an instant.
He was the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not a wanted criminal.
Who are you?
"I am Wu Yanzhi, the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If you know what's good for you, leave immediately. I will spare you for your sake... Ouch..."
Before Wu Yanzhi could finish speaking, he punched someone.
"If you utter another word, don't blame the officer for his ruthless knife."
"take away!"
Outrageous! These rogues and bandits are simply outrageous, daring to impersonate officials of the imperial court.
With a knife to his neck, Wu Yanzhi dared not make any unnecessary movements, thinking that the imperial court would surely send troops to rescue him.
Even if he were taken into a bandit's den, His Majesty would send someone to rescue him.
He was a highly capable minister who made great contributions to the court and was a trusted advisor to His Majesty.
These people are incredibly audacious; they actually kidnapped him.
Don't they know that His Majesty has recently been not only concerned about the Northwest, but also keen on suppressing bandits?
These people are really heading down a dead end; they're blind to reality.
Wu Yanzhi cursed under his breath, but when he arrived at the local government office, he was dumbfounded.
What happened?
Isn't it a bandit's den?
Why is it a government office?
"Reporting to Your Excellency, we have apprehended Wu Yanzhi, a wanted criminal of the Imperial Court."
"Put him in jail, and I will write a letter to the capital immediately."
Wu Yanzhi's heart sank; he suddenly had a bad feeling.
"I am..."
"Gag him and drag him away."
The adults sitting in the hall, without saying a word, impatiently chased them away.
Before Wu Yanzhi could finish speaking, his mouth was gagged, and he was thrown into the cell with punches and kicks.
Six days later, the capital responded, ordering the execution on the spot.
Wu Yanzhi endured immense suffering for the past six days. Whenever he cried out for justice, he was sure to be beaten and kicked.
He dared not shout, and he did not want to die.
Unfortunately, despite trying every possible method, no one paid any attention to him.
Until the day before his execution, the prison sent him his last meal.
"Eat up, so you can die a full-bodied ghost on your journey tomorrow."
Two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, plus two steamed buns. Compared to the previous six days of eating only cornbread every day, it was a world of difference.
My bad feeling grew stronger.
"I am Wu Yanzhi, the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I wish to see His Majesty!"
"I have something very important to tell His Majesty, and it is a matter of utmost secrecy. If His Majesty finds out, he will surely reward me handsomely!"
The jailer walked away without looking back, and when he reached the corner, he gave the jailer a few words of advice.
"The higher-ups said not to believe anything he says. Don't let your sweet talk fool you two."
"Tomorrow is the day of execution, and the higher-ups will come down to examine the body in person."
"Yes, we understand."
...
It's over, it's really over!
Wu Yanzhi slid to the ground, his face filled with sorrow, crying and laughing at the same time, his voice growing louder and louder.
"Shen Lanxi, you liar, you've fooled everyone in the world..."
"Shen Lanxi, you will die a horrible death..."
…
"Let me out, Your Majesty! I was wrong. I truly have something important to say, something concerning the late Emperor."
"Your Majesty, I am willing to offer up all my family's wealth, only asking that you spare my life and that of my family."
"Your Majesty, I am willing to die. Please spare my family!"
"Please, Your Majesty..."
No matter how much Wu Yanzhi cursed and pleaded, no one answered.
The following day, on the execution platform, the heads of two high-ranking officials who had been powerful for nearly thirty years fell to the ground.
After carefully examining Wu Yanzhi's body, the people from the capital left with it.
News of Wu Yanzhi's death soon reached the capital.
"Wu Yanzhi colluded with the barbarian tribes in the northwest, attempting to betray the defense map of our Great Zhou."
"Good riddance, a truly satisfying death."
"Wu Yanzhi's death is like ridding our Great Zhou of a scourge."
"From this perspective, it is already a sign of His Majesty's mercy that the entire Wu family was not executed."
"A person like that shouldn't have any descendants."
...
After reading the report from the Northwest, Shen Lanxi ordered it to be sealed away.
“Wu Yanzhi had been harboring evil intentions for a long time, and this trip to the Northwest allowed him to expose his true colors beforehand.”
"Your Majesty is wise. No matter what happens when we encounter Your Majesty, we can always turn misfortune into good fortune."
Shen Lanxi smiled and said, "My ministers, there is no need to comfort me. I still have many oversights. In the future, I ask all officials to supervise each other and work together as ruler and subject."
Liu Yan replied: "Your Majesty, Wei Jie, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was implicated because of the women in his inner quarters. Even if he is guilty, it is a crime of negligence. I agree with Your Majesty's decision to give him a small punishment as a warning and to let him off this time. With Wei Jie's caution, he will surely take this as a lesson in the future."
"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you forgive Lord Wei this time. Lord Wei is honest, upright, and incorruptible. The Ministry of Justice has thoroughly investigated the matter and found that the whole thing was caused by Lady Wei's family."
"Madam Wei is simple-minded, and the mistakes she made were due to being deceived by her family."
“Your Majesty, Lord Wei has divorced his wife and voluntarily handed over the embezzled money and confiscated all his property. I have carefully calculated that Lord Wei has never accepted a single penny from anyone over the years. His house and residence are all rented out. Apart from the embezzled money that his wife was deceived into accepting, Lord Wei’s savings are only seventy-eight taels of silver.”
"Your Majesty, Lord Wei is an upright and honest official, a rare and excellent one!"
A look of emotion slowly appeared on Shen Lanxi's face.
"In fact, I have already investigated and found that Wei Jie is indeed an honest and upright official. Unfortunately, even an honest official cannot settle family disputes, and he was implicated by his wife."
Many officials sighed.
Shen Lanxi sighed and said, "When we revised the marriage law before, most of the adjustments were made to the concubine tax. Just now, I had a flash of inspiration and decided to revise the marriage law again."
The officials were stunned. Weren't they pleading for Wei Jie?
Why are we talking about amending the law again?
"If you encounter a wicked wife, you can divorce her; if you encounter a wicked husband, you can divorce him. If you encounter a vicious person, there is no divorce."
"Furthermore, the wicked should repay the victims for the damage to their reputation and property. If they have no property to repay, they should go mining."
“Xishan and Yanhu are full of coal and salt mines, so let the evildoers mine to pay off their debts.”
“In cases like Wei Jie’s, even if she is confused and easily deceived, it is not a reason to absolve her of responsibility.”
"Ministry of Justice, what do you think?"
The officials from the Ministry of Justice began to discuss the proposed solutions, one after another.
"If someone stabs another person with a knife and claims it wasn't intentional, even if it's proven that it wasn't intentional, accidental injury is still injury. I suggest that Lady Chen be exiled to Xishan for fifteen years."
"What Lord Liu said makes sense, but we can't just target Chen. Chen was not the mastermind. It's reasonable for her to be exiled to Xishan for fifteen years. The real mastermind behind the evil is her family."
"I suggest that the official system be strictly enforced, and that the case of Lord Wei should serve as a warning to all officials. Furthermore, the bribery of Lady Chen's family has reached the level of execution. My suggestion is that the entire family be executed, and that all family members of officials in the court witness the execution."
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