Chapter 472: Killing the Chicken to Frighten the Monkey
Zhao Yi broke into the government office with great fanfare and arrested several court officials. His actions were so swift and sudden that no one could react.
Especially the Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel, who were still out of the picture.
It wasn't until he was thrown into prison that he realized what had happened.
They were third-rank officials of the imperial court. Even if they committed a crime, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate would intervene in the investigation, or the Emperor of Northern Qi would specially appoint an imperial envoy to supervise the case.
In this way, it is impossible for them not to hear the news.
It was clear that Zhao Yi acted first and reported later.
"I, an old minister, have performed my duties conscientiously and devotedly, never bending the law for personal gain. Yet, you have brought people to jail us. Do you think there is still law?"
"I am an official appointed by the imperial court. Even if I have made any mistakes, it is Your Majesty and the Three Judicial Departments that will handle the case. You have neither reported to the Three Judicial Departments nor received Your Majesty's approval, yet you have arrested us without permission. This is a crime of usurpation!"
"Your Majesty, we want to see your Majesty to seek justice."
The Vice Minister of Justice and the Vice Minister of Personnel cried out their grievances.
The censor standing by heard the two gentlemen crying out for justice, but Zhao Yi remained indifferent, as if he had made up his mind to punish them.
He said angrily, "Although you are the heir to the throne of Northern Qi, your mother's family is from the royal family of Great Zhou. You grew up in Great Zhou and your heart is with Great Zhou."
"His Majesty highly values you and has delegated power to you. Yet, you betrayed His Majesty's trust, abused your authority, and arrested us, the most important officials in the court. Are you planning to have your own people take our place?"
"In this way, the Great Zhou can seize our Northern Qi without a single soldier. You truly have evil ambitions!"
"I only realized today that a seventh-rank official can be considered an important official of the imperial court." Zhao Yi sneered, "The imperial court sent you to inspect Yongqing County. You've already discovered Feng Zhihuan's actions, but instead of reporting them to the court, you secretly colluded with them."
The censor flatly denied it and turned the tables, saying, "You are slandering me... uh..."
A long sword was placed across the Censor's neck, and with a strong swipe, blood spurted out.
With a "swish", the guard sheathed his sword and stood behind Zhao Yi.
The Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel turned pale as they watched the Censor being killed.
This is killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
"I am investigating the case in accordance with the order of His Majesty. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot." Zhao Yi took out a token.
After seeing the token clearly, they dared not say a word, fearing that they would suffer the same fate as the Censor.
Zhao Yi frightened them and ordered the guards to keep a strict watch and not allow anyone to visit.
Zhao Yi did not try to suppress what happened in the prison, but after a while, the news spread throughout Kyoto.
For a time, everyone felt insecure.
Among them is the Minister of Personnel.
When he learned that Zhao Yi had arrested several court ministers and killed the Censor in public, he knew that this matter was not simple.
Such an arrogant behavior clearly shows that he has something to rely on.
Could it be that... Zhao Yi is acting on the emperor's orders?
The Minister of Personnel looked up at the sky. The sky, which had been clear before, was now covered with large dark clouds, blocking out the sunlight.
This day, changed.
The Minister of Personnel's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down at this moment.
He waited until the duty was over at 5 p.m., then hurried back home and went straight to the main courtyard.
The old lady calculated the time when the Minister of Personnel would return home and ordered the maid to serve dinner.
The Minister of Personnel dismissed his attendants and said solemnly, "You should have heard about what happened in Kyoto today, right?"
Without waiting for the old lady to speak, the Minister of Personnel continued his inner speculation: "It turns out that the court was divided into two factions, one supporting the King of Qi and the other supporting the Xian King. After the King of Qi fell, the officials who supported him, led by the Marquis of Shou'an, switched their support to the King of Guangling. Only a small number defected to the Xian King."
"Our Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice are members of the Xianwang Party. The Prince of Guangling ostensibly took action against the Vice Ministers of Personnel and Justice after uncovering evidence of their crimes. But in reality, he wants to purge the Xianwang's right-hand men."
"If you say so, then Prince Guangling will make a big move." The old lady's face was full of worry, worried that this fire would burn them. "I just got a blood ganoderma. Princess Guangling has been ill for some time. How about I take the blood ganoderma and visit Princess Guangling tomorrow?"
The Minister of Personnel saw through the old lady's thoughts. She was using the excuse of visiting the sick to test the attitude of Princess Guangling, or she was making preparations for both situations and planned to surrender to Prince Guangling.
Thinking of this, the Minister of Personnel suddenly realized that what Prince Guangling did today might have another intention - to force the officials who supported the wise prince to turn against him?
The next moment, the Minister of Personnel rejected this idea.
No matter how incompetent the wise king was or how big a mistake he made, the Emperor of Northern Qi would unconditionally protect him and appoint him as the crown prince simply because of his pure bloodline.
No matter how much Prince Guangling did, it would not be of much use.
Unless Prince Guangling commits treason and seeks to usurp the throne.
"Perhaps we're overthinking it, or perhaps Prince Guangling has something on them, prompting His Majesty to order him to bring the culprits to justice." The Minister of Personnel said calmly, "Your Majesty wants to support the virtuous prince. How could he allow Prince Guangling to suppress his power? If Prince Guangling wants to use this opportunity to cut off the virtuous prince's right-hand men, Your Majesty will not sit idly by."
Although he said so, the Minister of Personnel left some room for maneuver: "I will go to the Xianwang Mansion tonight. We can discuss other matters after I come back."
The old lady nodded slightly: "This is a serious matter, we should be cautious."
The Minister of Personnel had something on his mind, so he ate a few mouthfuls of food in a hurry and then took a sedan chair to go to Prince Xian's palace.
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