Zhu Youxiao watched all this with an expressionless face.
He had anticipated this scene a long time ago. Rather than saying that the civil officials were targeting Wei Zhongxian, it would be more accurate to say that they were using this incident to target himself. This was their counterattack against themselves as the emperor.
When I was doing those things, I had already thought about this day, so I didn't care much about it.
"My dear Han, what do you think?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Han Yu and asked with an expressionless face.
Han Yu felt bitter.
He knew that if his answer did not satisfy His Majesty, he would not be able to stay in office for long. However, if he said that Wei Zhongxian would not be punished, he would not be able to stand firm in the officialdom.
As a cabinet minister, it is important to have someone supporting you. If no one supports you, you will not be able to continue to hold this position.
With a sigh of relief, Han Yu said, "Your Majesty, I believe Wei Zhongxian is indeed at fault in this matter. Merits must be rewarded, and faults must be punished. Therefore, I believe Wei Zhongxian should be severely punished."
Zhu Youxiao nodded, then turned to look at Liu Yijing and asked, "What do you think, Liu Aiqing?"
"Your Majesty, I think Wei Zhongxian should also be severely punished." Liu Yijing also spoke.
At this point, this view must stand firm, and no one dares to go beyond the line, so everyone's attitude is also consistent.
Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Your Excellencies are right. This is indeed the way to proceed. I hereby declare that Wei Zhongxian, for neglecting his duties, shall be punished with forty strokes of the cane and fined six months' salary."
At this moment, Wei Zhongxian was kneeling outside.
The imperial edict was quickly announced, and Wei Zhongxian was dragged away to be beaten with a stick in the court.
Wei Zhongxian naturally knew the people who carried out the beatings in court, and the person in charge of supervising the execution was Chen Hong.
Arriving at the place of execution, Wei Zhongxian lay down on it with an expressionless face and said, "Come on."
Chen Hong stood there, with his hands in his pockets and his feet turned outward.
The executioner naturally understood what was going on and felt relieved, so soon the crackling sound began to be heard.
When the stick hit him, Wei Zhongxian pulled it back, but he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out.
He was hunched over, his face flushed red, and his blood vessels were bulging.
Although the beating was light, after forty blows, Wei Zhongxian could not walk.
The young eunuch next to him hurried over to support him.
Chen Hong also came over at this time, stretched out his hand to help Wei Zhongxian up, and said, "Eunuch Wei, everyone in the hall is saying that you will be severely punished. His Majesty did not ask anyone and gave you such a punishment. In the final analysis, those people still want us to die. Eunuch Wei, please be more careful in the future."
Looking up at Chen Hong, Wei Zhongxian nodded and said slowly, "I will remember your kindness today."
After saying this, Wei Zhongxian did not look back and let others help him to apply medicine, but he could not hide the anger in his eyes.
Wei Zhongxian understood Chen Hong's words, which was to tell him that although we are arguing, we are not without sense of right and wrong in major issues and will not kick you when you are down. You should be more careful in the future. If something really happens, we will not stand idly by.
Wei Zhongxian said that he would remember this favor, which meant to tell Chen Hong that he understood what he said and would pay attention to it in the future.
The two people reached an agreement very tacitly, which was a gain.
After watching Wei Zhongxian leave, Chen Hong turned and walked into the hall.
He knew that the matter was not over yet and that the beating from Wei Zhongxian would not be in vain.
At this moment, no one in the hall mentioned Wei Zhongxian anymore, which clearly showed that they approved of Zhu Youxiao's approach. After all, Zhu Youxiao's charge against Wei Zhongxian was dereliction of duty, not murder of a minister.
For the crime of dereliction of duty, forty strokes of the cane are already a severe punishment; as for pursuing other charges, that is impossible, as His Majesty will not agree, and the civil officials know it very well.
However, they knew in their hearts that everyone's acceptance of the punishment was actually a statement of attitude.
They did this just to show off to the outsiders, not because they really wanted to punish Wei Zhongxian. Maybe they really wanted to kill Wei Zhongxian in their hearts, but at this moment they could only express their position in this way because this was what His Majesty wanted.
Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied with the performance of these people. This proved that what he had done during this period was useful, and these people no longer dared to confront him head-on.
However, Wei Zhongxian was beaten, and the matter still had to be dealt with.
Zhu Youxiao swept his eyes over everyone's faces and said, "Although Zou Yuanbiao is dead, the case still needs to be handled. Han Aiqing has already reviewed the case. You, the ministers, can take a look at it and then discuss how to handle it."
After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, he nodded to Chen Hong who came in.
Chen Hong quickly handed the case file to everyone and asked them to look through it.
The first person to look at was naturally Liu Yijing.
After a quick look, Liu Yijing probably understood that all the charges were true: forming a clique for personal gain, colluding with border generals, accepting bribes, and framing court ministers. All of these were there.
Liu Yijing subconsciously glanced at Han Yu. He didn't expect Han Yu to do things so ruthlessly.
Liu Yijing passed the file calmly, then he stood there quietly without saying a word.
In fact, this matter has little to do with Liu Yijing. The current result is actually what he is happy to see, but he is still a little cautious, and this caution is directed at Han Yu.
Everyone quickly finished reading the file, their expressions varying, but they all knew the outcome. The charges had been proven, with witnesses and evidence in hand. All that remained was sentencing.
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