In the East Pavilion.

Seeing that Zhao Shouzheng had jumped into the trap and flatly denied his accusation, Dong Chuanze sneered and said, "Then what's your reason? Is it public outrage?"

"Yes, it is public outrage!"

Since there is no script, Mr. Zhao just lets himself go and says whatever he wants!

He responded loudly, and then suddenly fired at Xu Fan who was standing beside him: "Even if this guy hadn't framed my father and me several times, I would have wanted to find an opportunity to beat him up!"

"When I was studying in Nanjing, I heard of the name of the young minister. He was said to be familiar with government affairs and was smart and capable. When Minister Xu was in the government, he would always call on him to make decisions on all the secret reports and replies related to the great plans of the country. In the past year, Minister Xu was in poor health and had many illnesses, so he was in charge of all the national affairs!"

Zhao Shouzheng said, raising his voice, looking at Xu Fan with disdain:

"What was the result? What kind of situation did he make of the Ming Dynasty? The military was in disrepair, the finances were bankrupt, and the court couldn't even pay salaries! He really doesn't have Yan Shifan's ability, but has Yan Shifan's disease!"

Xu Fan was so angry that his nostrils doubled in size. How dare this guy compare me with Yan Shifan, that idiot, and even say that I am not as good as him?!

"Zhao Zhuangyuan, don't make random accusations or personal attacks." Huo Ji reminded in a deep voice: "Just stick to the facts."

"Okay, let's talk about the matter!"

Zhao Shouzheng responded, his tone becoming more and more sad and angry, "Last September, Altan bypassed the Xuanda defense line, broke through Piantou Pass and went south. He slaughtered more than 50,000 soldiers and civilians in Shizhou City and burned houses for three days. Then he went deep into the heart of the Ming Dynasty for a thousand miles and destroyed countless villages and forts!"

"The Liaodong Tuman tribe also invaded Jizhen at the same time, plundering Changli, Funing, Leting, Lulong and other places, all the way to the Luan River. Wherever they went, they killed, looted and burned countless people. Both groups of Tartars were close to Beijing, and the court had to declare martial law in the capital."

"And what about the government troops who were supposed to protect the people and destroy the enemy? They all hid in the fortified city and dared not go out to fight! It would have been fine if the Tartars were in high spirits at first, but then there were consecutive autumn rains, and many Tartars were not used to the climate and water, and a large number of soldiers and horses fell ill. Altan had to order the abandonment of the looted property and people, and when they retreated in a panic, with only a few thousand light cavalry chasing them, the Tartars would have been defeated and suffered heavy losses! However, among the 20,000 cavalry stationed in Datong and Taiyuan, no one dared to attack..."

"Not to mention the Ji-Liao defense line in the north. An army of more than 200,000 soldiers was stationed in a dangerous place, but they were beaten by tens of thousands of barbarians without any chance to fight back. They came and went freely!"

These were all the preparations that Zhao Shouzheng had made for the palace examination, and he spoke of them naturally and confidently!

"Such useless and cowardly soldiers who disregarded the people were not punished after the Tartars retreated. Instead, many of them were rewarded for their 'merit in repelling the enemy'!"

Master Zhao sneered and pointed at Xu Fan, cursing, "Of course, it is understandable that the young minister did this, because he has been keeping the border affairs to himself for many years. In order to avoid being exposed, he dared not let them go to war. He can only brag and whitewash the situation to deceive the emperor and the people!"

This was the complaint of Zhao Hao and his disciples. Master Zhao had listened to it so many times that he took it to heart.

What followed was something he had personally experienced, so he didn't need anyone to teach him at all!

"You want to say that this court is weak and can be bullied? But they are ruthless to those refugees who have fled to Beijing! I heard that in order to let his father spend a comfortable year, the young minister ordered Shuntian Prefecture to expel all the refugees on the streets at the end of December, and they pretended to be out of sight and out of mind! Anyone who still dares to stay will be imprisoned and shackled, and then escorted out of the city by officials!"

"It's the coldest time of the year, hundreds of thousands of refugees are homeless, without food or clothing, and their cries shake the heavens. Young Lord, you've come to the court just to save your dignity, but do you know how many refugees want to eat you alive?"

"What do you know?" Xu Fan's face turned red after being scolded. He thought to himself, it was you who ruined my plan and made me suffer the consequences.

"Okay, if you don't care, we will. The two ladies in the palace, Her Royal Highness the Princess, and the officials and gentry in the capital all donated generously to provide porridge to the people outside the city, and they finally survived the cold winter. They also arranged for them to go to the West Mountain to dig coal for a living. But what about you? You took advantage of the earthquake in the capital and made people spread the news that the earth dragon had turned over? As a result, all the coal mines in the West Mountain stopped production, and countless miners lost their livelihoods!"

"My son Zhao Haocai had no choice but to stand up and refute your evil words with science. He has also proved with irrefutable facts that the earthquake in the capital had nothing to do with the earth dragon turning over. Young Lord, why haven't you fulfilled the bet you made in front of His Majesty?"

"..." Xu Fan's face turned even redder. Asking him to kneel down and apologize to Zhao Hao? It would be better to kill him...

But there is no joking in front of you, many adults present have witnessed it.

"Not only did you break your promise and enrich yourself, you also instructed the censors to attack science and slander my son. You even wanted to behead him! Do you know that because of his scientific predictions, thousands of people in Shaanxi were spared? If you insist on killing one person, the people of Shizhou who died in vain and the thousands of refugees will definitely choose you, the young minister!"

These are the words that Mr. Zhao has been holding in his heart for a long time, and when he speaks them out now, they are naturally expressive and powerful!

"Nonsense! Nothing you said has anything to do with me!" Xu Fan retorted with a dark face, "Show me the evidence if you dare!"

At the palace gate, Pang Shangpeng had just come in after vomiting when he heard the young elder also say the same thing, "Show me the evidence." He couldn't help but feel dizzy. He thought, it's over, it's over, this problem is contagious...

"It is precisely because I can't produce evidence that the Ming Dynasty Law cannot judge you, so I have to do it myself!" Zhao Shouzheng spat at Xu Fan fiercely, "You are a scum who brings harm to the country and the people. I beat you up, but you still have the nerve to cry and complain everywhere. You are really embarrassing for your father!"

"Fuck your uncle!" Xu Fan was completely enraged by Zhao Shouzheng's spit, and pounced on him with red eyes.

"Fuck your uncle!" How could Zhao Shouzheng be afraid of him? He rolled up his sleeves and got ready.

“Quickly pull them apart!” Seeing that the two were about to fight again, the senior officials hurriedly shouted, “Stop, where is this place?!”

"Let's end the fight here. We will be witnesses for both of you!" However, the nobles, who were afraid that the world would not be in chaos, started to make a fuss.

Fortunately, the warriors in front of the palace held Xu Fan back in time, so a second fight was avoided.

~~

However, Zhao Shouzheng's exaggerated accusations had an immediate effect.

At least Dong Chuanze couldn't keep asking about the beating, or it would seem too petty...

Seeing that it was getting late, Huo Ji asked the dozen ministers, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Who among the senior officials was willing to wade into this muddy water? They all shook their heads.

Those imperial censors wanted to make a few excuses for the young minister, but Huo Ji simply chose to ignore them.

"It's getting late, so let's vote." Huo Butang said in a deep voice: "Those who agree to severely punish Zhao Shouzheng vote red, those who think he should be punished leniently vote white, and those who think he should be exempted from punishment vote green."

Then two officials from the Ministry of Justice held the box and walked to the thirty-three officials with voting rights one by one.

These officials have three colors of sticks in their hands: red, green, and white. If a recorded vote is required, they will show the color of the stick and put it into the box.

But unless otherwise specified, they would hide the color they cast with their sleeves.

After all, secret balloting can reduce scruples and truly reflect the voters' thoughts.

Soon, the thirty-three sticks were collected and then checked on site.

Two persons in charge took out the sticks from the box, separated them by color, and then one counted them while the other recorded them.

"Red one, red two, red three... red nine!" Soon, the chief countant loudly reported: "There are nine red sticks in total!"

"White one, white two... seven white sticks in total!"

"Green one, green two, green three..." Although there was no need to count any further, the person in charge of counting still strictly followed the process and said, "There are a total of seventeen green sticks!"

The young minister's face immediately turned greener than the green stick...

ps. The fifth update is here. Sorry, today is the first day for some adjustments. It should be on time later. Also, it's the end of the month, please vote for me~~~