Court meeting.
Emperor Chengping came over yawning and said weakly, "If you have something to say, please speak up. If not, please dismiss the court."
"I have a report."
Yu Youning, the Imperial Censor, stepped forward and said, "I wish to report the Qingzhou Prefect, the Xuanwu General, and the Imperial Censor Zhao Lin."
Emperor Chengping had been drowsy, but he suddenly perked up: "You want to report Zhao Lin? What's the matter?"
The ministers on both sides also looked at Yu Youning.
Zhao Lin hasn't done anything recently, so how could he have offended him?
Yu Youning said, "Zhao Lin spent a lot of money to buy 20,000 war horses at the Ganxi Horse Farm."
"Twenty thousand war horses?"
Emperor Chengping was shocked: "How much silver will that cost?"
Yu Youning was speechless and said, "Your Majesty, this is not about money."
"Oh, yes, it's not about the money. You continue." Emperor Chengping said.
Yu Youning said, "Zhao Lin is just a prefect, lucky enough to be granted command of the Qingzhou Army by His Majesty. The Qingzhou Army only has 30,000 men, yet he actually wants 20,000 horses. What does he want?"
Emperor Chengping disagreed, saying, "Is that even a question? Of course we need to raise cavalry. Zhao Lin is truly remarkable. Despite the enormous cost of raising cavalry, he refused to ask the court for a single penny. You should all learn from him."
This Majesty...
Yu Youning felt a toothache, and with a steely heart, he said, "Your Majesty, I am impeaching Zhao Lin. He is planning a rebellion."
Emperor Chengping was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Zhao Lin is going to rebel?"
"Yes," Yu Youning said loudly, "The Qingzhou army is just a small army. They don't need to fight on the battlefield. Why would they need so many cavalry? Therefore, I believe he is planning a rebellion. Your Majesty, please send someone to capture Zhao Lin immediately."
Emperor Chengping laughed. "He's organizing cavalry and he's going to rebel? That doesn't make sense. Don't you agree?"
"His Majesty."
Fu Chengwang stepped forward and said, "I want to impeach the censor Yu Youning."
Emperor Chengping became interested and asked, "What do you want to impeach Yu Aiqing for?"
Fu Chengwang said, "He is a traitor."
Yu Youning almost jumped up: "Master Fu, don't say anything careless."
Emperor Chengping was surprised and asked, "Is there any evidence?"
"Yes," Fu Chengwang said, "Zhao Lin quelled the rebellion, eliminated banditry, and provided green seedling loans to help the people overcome difficulties. He is a role model for officials. If everyone follows his example, our Great Qi will have clean officials and happy people. Yu Youning actually wants to investigate Zhao Lin. What else could this be but treason? I suspect he has defected to the Northern Di. He should be arrested and tortured. I'm not afraid he won't tell the truth."
Well, even the usually serious Minister Fu is telling lies with his eyes open.
It seems that Yu Youning was angry.
Fu Chengwang was really angry.
Right now, Zhao Lin is handling the Qingmiao loan matter, which is a major event that concerns millions or even more people across the country.
If one thing goes wrong, many people will suffer.
At this critical moment, Yu Youning actually proposed to escort Zhao Lin to Beijing for investigation, simply because Zhao Lin bought some horses.
What's wrong with buying a few horses? What's wrong?
Buying a few horses is considered a rebellion?
Fu Chengwang was very angry.
No matter what the reason, Yu Youning's suggestion now is considered treason by Fu Chengwang.
Yu Youning said angrily: "Master Fu, I said Zhao Lin was a traitor, bah, there is evidence of rebellion."
Fu Chengwang snorted coldly: "Even if you say that His Majesty is rebelling, you can find dozens of evidences."
"you?"
Yu Youning had not expected Fu Chengwang to be so stubborn, and angrily said, "Your Majesty, I want to report Minister Fu for failing to distinguish between public and private matters, bending the law for personal gain, and shielding relatives and friends. He is unfit to be an official."
Emperor Chengping watched the excitement and said, "Minister Fu, do you admit it?"
Fu Chengwang said, "How can we take the words of a traitor seriously?"
Yu Youning was so angry that he jumped up and down: "Fu Chengwang, you are going too far. Zhao Lin bought so many horses, if not to rebel, what else could it be for?"
Fu Chengwang asked, "You are accusing others of treason, if not for treason, then what else could it be?"
There's no way to say that.
No one knew that Fu Chengwang would one day be so dishonest.
Shao Yutang stepped forward and said, "Minister Fu, even if you cheat, it won't change the fact that Zhao Lin's private horse trading is illegal."
Fu Chengwang really couldn't refute this.
Because he didn't know whether Zhao Lin had obtained the Ministry of War's consent.
Xiao Weilun stepped forward and said, "Master Shao, don't speak without evidence. The Ministry of War has issued a decree allowing Zhao Lin to buy horses."
Shao Yutang snorted coldly, "Buy the horse first, and then fill in the paperwork. Is that even possible?"
Xiao Weilun smiled and said, "Anyway, we have the document, right?"
Another scoundrel.
Shao Yutang was also annoyed: "You are saying this in front of His Majesty, it is simply lawless."
Xiao Weilun quickly bowed to Emperor Chengping and said, "This minister is disrespectful. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Emperor Chengping waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's just a little flaw in the process, it's not a big deal."
Xiao Weilun said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding."
The people of Prince Yu’s party were so angry that their noses were crooked.
Emperor Chengping favors Zhao Lin so much that he naturally doesn't care about these things.
Isn’t what Xiao Weilun said nonsense?
Yu Youning said, "Your Majesty, even if Zhao Lin has no intention of rebelling, his Qingzhou army only has 30,000 men. Why would he need so many horses? Other armies are short of horses, so they can be distributed to other armies."
These words were so blunt that Emperor Chengping frowned upon hearing them.
"absurd!"
This time it was Li Xingye who stood up and angrily shouted, "Zhao Lin bought the horse with his own money. Why should he give it to someone else? Yu Youning, His Majesty appointed you as the Imperial Censor to inspect the officials and rectify any shortcomings, not to seek personal gain."
Yu Youning angrily said, "I'm seeking personal gain for myself? I want his horse?"
Li Xingye snorted coldly, "I don't want to waste my time on you. Your motive is obvious to any fool. You're just jealous of Zhao Lin's horses. You want to take them without paying a penny. It's not that simple. Your Majesty, since Yu Youning and the others want them, why not let Zhao Lin allocate some, but they must pay the market price."
Emperor Chengping nodded and said, "That's the truth."
Yu Youning snorted coldly, "I was just about to ask Master Li, do you know how much silver it costs to buy these horses?"
Li Xingye said, "I don't know."
Yu Youning said, "A total of 420,000 taels. May I ask, Master Li, Zhao Lin is only the prefect of Qingzhou, where did he get so much silver?"
Emperor Chengping's eyes widened: "So much silver?"
Yu Youning knew that Emperor Chengping was greedy for money, so he quickly said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed so much."
Emperor Chengping looked at Li Xingye and asked, "Where did Zhao Lin get so much money?"
Li Xingye said, "You'll have to ask the Marquis of Zhenbei's Mansion, or you can ask His Royal Highness Prince Yu."
The prince's party, the eunuch party and other ministers all looked at Prince Yu with gloating eyes.
Zhao Jingzhou was leading troops outside, and no one from the Zhenbei Marquisate came to court, so he could only ask Prince Yu.
Prince Yu felt as if he had eaten a fly, feeling very nauseous, but he had to answer: "Last time, Zhao Chenhan led the troops to suppress the rebellion, but was ambushed by mistake. I had no choice but to ask Zhao Lin to send troops to rescue us. The silver is a thank you gift."
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