Emperor Mu Wu's brows gradually furrowed, and it took him a while to remember the name.
"I have some impression of this person. Not long ago, didn't he single-handedly repel the enemy and make great military achievements? Why are you reporting him in the blink of an eye?"
Miao Sheng presented the memorial with both hands.
"Your Majesty, I was deceived by him before, thinking he was a rare military talent, protecting the peace of the border. I didn't expect... he was so bold! This memorial records in detail the dozens of battles he participated in during his four years as Deputy Adjutant General of Jingyuan! Among them, he lied about military intelligence nine times and claimed military merits 17 times! His crimes are too numerous to list, and he deserves to be executed!"
Emperor Mu Wu's face darkened.
As the Minister of War, Miao Sheng dared to openly impeach in the court. He must have obtained the key evidence!
What he said... is probably almost right!
"Bring it up."
Eunuch Li responded immediately and hurriedly handed over the memorial in small steps.
"Your Majesty, please read it."
Emperor Mu Wu's gaze was as substantial as a substance, sweeping across the faces of the people below with an invisible sense of oppression.
The noisy sounds gradually died down, leaving only a suffocating silence.
The entire hall was extremely quiet; for a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Emperor Mu Wu flipping through memorials.
Emperor Mu Wu read through the lines one by one, and the more he read, the uglier his expression became.
Bang--!
He slapped the armrest suddenly, "How outrageous!"
Crash——
All the ministers in the palace knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, calm down!"
Fan Chengzhuo supported himself on the ground with his hands, and felt a chill spreading throughout his body from the cold ground.
His heart was beating uncontrollably and cold sweat was breaking out on his forehead.
What on earth was written in that memorial that made His Majesty so angry! ?
Miao Sheng's move came too fast and too suddenly! He was completely unprepared! He hadn't even heard any rumors before!
Now——what should I do!?
As the Prime Minister, Chen Songshi was the first to raise his head and said, "Your Majesty, your health is the most important thing. Being angry can harm your health!"
Emperor Muwu's face turned pale.
"Miao Sheng! Is everything in this memorial true?!"
Miao Sheng had a calm expression, and it was obvious that he had expected that Emperor Mu Wu would have this reaction after seeing the memorial.
"Every word I say is true. I would never dare to deceive Your Majesty in the slightest!"
"Good, good! What a great Zheng Baosu!"
Emperor Mu Wu was so angry that he laughed.
"Thanks to my previous commendations, I thought he was brave and good at fighting! I never expected that he is a liar and audacious idiot!"
These words are extremely serious.
Chen Songshi's gaze lingered on the memorial for a moment. "Your Majesty, Zheng Baosu had always performed well in the army. How come..."
"Miao Sheng!"
Emperor Mu Wu was furious.
"You say it!"
Miao Sheng responded and began to enumerate Zheng Baosu's four major crimes.
"The first crime! Lying about military intelligence! According to investigations, after Zheng Baosu was transferred to the northern border for garrison, he repeatedly lied about military intelligence during his tenure. He lied about the enemy's harassment of more than a hundred people, but reported it to be several thousand. He also embezzled all the food and military pay that was allocated to him, a huge amount of 100,000 taels of silver!"
"The second crime! Falsely claiming military merit! Everyone should know that in border battles, the enemy's left ears are always cut off for statistics. Zheng Baosu has no great ability, but he wanted to gain merit and reward, so he ordered his soldiers to cut off the left ears of refugees to make up the numbers! False military merit! This behavior is extremely evil and cruel. Zheng Baosu's name has long become a nightmare for countless people in the northern border! If it weren't for me sending people to investigate secretly this time, I'm afraid this news would have been kept secret by him!"
Many people gasped, with horror in their eyes.
——How could Zheng Baosu be so cruel!
"The third crime! Corruption and dereliction of duty! Zheng Baosu accepted bribes privately and sold official positions. He targeted and even transferred away soldiers who were good at fighting and killing just because they were unwilling to flatter him. On the contrary, many people who tried their best to please him took up important positions! The cities he guarded seemed to have frequent victories on the surface, but in fact, the people were displaced, robbed, and killed!"
Miao Sheng took a deep breath.
"He has absolute power over his territory. Whenever he encounters a strong enemy, he flees in panic, leaving his men and civilians to be bullied. After the enemies have swept through the city, robbed and killed everyone, and left at ease, he will return with his cronies, cut off the ears of the soldiers and civilians, and lie that he has won a victory and received a reward!"
"And if he encountered a small, scattered group, he would gather a large force and go out of the city to fight. People who didn't know would really think that he had fought a great battle! In the end, he would naturally report all of this, exaggerate his own achievements, and pretend to be a brave warrior."
Many people looked at each other in bewilderment.
If that’s the case, then Zheng Baosu really cannot escape the death penalty!
"When I learned of his behavior, I was filled with grief and indignation, so I secretly sent people to investigate and find evidence. I didn't expect to find something even more shocking!"
Miao Sheng clenched his fists, obviously trying to suppress the anger surging in his heart.
"The fourth crime! Colluding with foreign enemies! I discovered that Zheng Baosu was secretly reselling the army's weapons and supplies! Many of the weapons and supplies that he lied about in reporting military intelligence were secretly sold to Master Wa, and all the huge wealth he obtained went into his own pocket!"
No one in the entire hall spoke a word, and even breathing stopped.
Everyone knows how serious this last charge is!
Fan Chengzhuo, who was kneeling at the end, subconsciously wanted to raise his head. He didn't know how much effort he had to use to restrain his impulse. He pressed his hands tightly on the ground, and his knuckles turned white.
But in fact, his heart was already in a mess.
Miao Sheng actually found out so much! ?
Then, then——
Chen Songshi looked solemn and said, "Lord Miao, this is a serious matter and we should not speak carelessly. Since you said that Zheng Baosu secretly resold the army's weapons, do you have any evidence?"
"Of course there is."
Miao Sheng snorted coldly.
"Even if he tried his best to cover it up, he couldn't completely erase those traces! Your Majesty, I just received a war report a few days ago, saying that on the northern frontier, some soldiers encountered a group of Wa Zhenren, and they were using our bows and crossbows! Moreover, those things were not captured by them in the war, because they were all in a complete and regular style, and they were obviously new at first glance!"
"After some questioning, those Wa Zhenren admitted that those bows and crossbows were issued by their superiors! In other words... they had obtained those things a long time ago, and in large quantities!"
Miao Sheng's brows were furrowed into the shape of a "川" character, and his tone was cold and solemn.
"Those Wa Zhenren are good at riding and shooting, and they are strong and sturdy. When the two armies fought, we relied on these weapons to defeat them. Now, if they fight, what chance do we have of winning? By then, I'm afraid we will all be trampled into mud by the Wa Zhen's iron hooves!"
"For the four major crimes, Zheng Baosu cannot even atonce for even one of them even if he dies a thousand times!" (End of this chapter)
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