Cases are heard one by one.
The case was originally very messy and complicated, and seemed extremely difficult to others, but in Han Yu's hands, it was handled very quickly.
After Yao Zongwen pleaded guilty, the rest of the matter was very simple.
The earliest case, involving Liu Guojin's bribery, was quickly resolved. Yao Zongwen, Feng Sanyuan, and others were charged with accepting bribes and framing Xiong Tingbi. The case was finally concluded.
Han Yu said directly: "This case is just like that, it is sealed."
"Now we will begin the trial of the case of court ministers colluding with border general Li Ruzhen." Han Yu slammed the gavel expressionlessly and said in a cold voice.
The person brought up this time was Liu Guojin.
Glancing at the dejected Liu Guojin, Han Yu's face was serious and his voice was cold as he asked, "Do you have anything else to say about the bribery case? If so, say it now. If not, sign the confession and show it to him."
Upon hearing this, the clerk who was recording the process quickly stood up, walked over and handed the document in his hand to Liu Guojin.
No one present spoke, including Wei Zhongxian, and there was silence.
It wasn't that they didn't want to talk, but they had nothing to say. Through the case just now, Han Yu had demonstrated his ability and selfless approach.
The people present couldn't find any fault and could only watch quietly.
Liu Guojin took the document, glanced at it, and nodded slightly, "I don't disagree with anything."
The content of this document is not long and not complicated. It only describes the process of Liu Guojin's bribery, the location and amount of money, and why he gave the money. There is nothing more to say about these things.
Han Yu nodded and continued to ask, "Why did you bribe them? Why did you ask them to impeach Xiong Tingbi?"
As soon as this question came up, everyone instantly perked up, because this was the key to the case.
The previous dishes were just appetizers, or cold dishes at a banquet. Now the hot dishes have just been served.
Upon hearing Han Yu's question, Liu Guojin's face turned pale.
At this moment, Liu Guojin knew that he had to explain clearly; if he didn't, he would become the mastermind of this case.
He bribed the imperial censor with silver to make him frame Xiong Tingbi. Xiong Tingbi was a high-ranking official sent by the imperial court to Liaodong, and he could not bear the blame himself; if he did, he would probably be beheaded.
Liu Guojin sighed softly and said with a dejected look, "I was instructed by Li Ruzhen to do this. We have all been from Liaodong over the years, and I have accepted a lot of money from Li Ruzhen, so he asked me to do this, and I had to do it."
Nodding gently, Han Yu continued, "How much silver did Li Ruzhen give you? Where did he give it to you? When did he give it to you? Tell me everything."
Han Yu turned to look at the clerk who was writing furiously and ordered, "Write this down."
Liu Guojin had no choice but to tell the whole story of how he took bribes one by one.
After Liu Guojin finished speaking, Han Yu asked with a cold face, "Do you have anything else to say?"
"Yes," Liu Guojin nodded, as if he had made up his mind, and said resolutely: "I originally disagreed with this matter. After all, Xiong Tingbi is a minister sent by the court, and this approach may not succeed. If something goes wrong, we may be retaliated against."
"But Li Ruzhen told me that as long as I contacted someone, they would support me and things would be easy to accomplish. And just as Li Ruzhen expected, things went very smoothly. I also asked Li Ruzhen who was working with me, and he said it was someone from the Imperial Censorate. I tried to ask further, but he stopped talking."
Han Yu nodded, then instructed the clerk, "Have him sign it."
The same process as last time was repeated, and Liu Guojin was also taken away.
Han Yu glanced at Liu Guojin's confession document and the bright red handprint, nodded, and said, "Alright, file it."
After taking the items away, Han Yu continued, "File all the case files and bring Li Ruzhen up."
This set of operations made Wei Zhongxian, who was standing aside, look very emotional.
Han Yu is worthy of being the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. He is very skilled in interrogation skills and understanding of human nature.
In fact, Han Yu was not good at understanding human nature, but he was good at understanding the minds of officials. His questions often went straight to the point, and what he said was irrefutable.
It wasn't long before Li Ruzhen was brought up.
Han Yu continued the interrogation.
Li Ruzhen confessed to his crimes.
He was the first to confess his guilt because he knew he had no chance of escaping. He was not arrested for these things, but for his military failure in Liaodong.
Li Ruzhen was very aware of his situation. Even if he did not deny the bribery case, the unresolved cases in Liaodong could cost him his life.
He saw very clearly that if he actively cooperated with the case here, he might have a chance to survive.
Therefore, Li Ruzhen had cooperated with Wei Zhongxian before this, mainly because Wei Zhongxian promised him that he could plead for him with the emperor and find a way to save his life.
At this point, Li Ruzhen had no choice, so he decisively chose to tell the whole story of how he colluded with officials in the court and how he embezzled military pay in Liaodong every year.
In particular, the 1 million taels allocated when the previous emperor ascended the throne became a feast for countless people.
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