Chapter 94 Execution of the Entire Family
Pei Jinnian was covered in blood and his clothes were tattered.
Most importantly, the injuries on his face almost made Pei Qing not recognize him as his grandson!
The emperor couldn't help but frown when he saw Pei Jinnian's disheveled appearance.
This is so tragic!
"Pei Jinnian, what kind of plan is this?"
Pei Jinnian knelt in the main hall, struggling to open his eyes, and said with a forced smile:
"Your Majesty, the floods in Jiangnan are indeed true!"
The disaster victims were displaced, starving corpses littered the fields, and their suffering was indescribable!
Not a single official in the sixteen prefectures south of the Yangtze River provided disaster relief or distributed grain; the officials colluded and shirked responsibility.
The military governor of Jiangnan, Shen Changqing, claimed to be ill and stayed at home. As a result, the officials of the sixteen prefectures disregarded the imperial decree and obeyed only Shen Changqing's orders.
In a fit of rage, I stabbed the governor of Wenzhou to death and forcibly opened the granaries to distribute grain.
As a result, I was hunted down, and almost all of my guards who accompanied me were killed. I myself nearly died on the way back to the capital!
The emperor was furious!
"Such a thing has happened! Indeed, the emperor is far away! Shen Changqing has become a local tyrant in Jiangnan! What a blatant disobedience to the imperial decrees! Is he planning to carve out his own territory and become a hegemon?"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
All the officials immediately knelt down.
The Shen family is incredibly audacious!
If they treat even the people His Majesty sends like this, how rampant will they be in Jiangnan!
Pei Jinnian only understood why His Majesty wanted him to go to Jiangnan when he was in the palace.
If it were any other official, they would either have to inform the Shen family or be tricked into returning to the capital by them.
Only if he goes will the Shen family stop taking him seriously!
Qin Jinzhi was sending him to face setbacks, but she was powerless to do anything about it!
In the eyes of the Shen family, the power His Majesty granted him was nothing more than a means to carry the sedan chair for Qin Jinzhi's husband!
They couldn't even be bothered to fool a greenhorn who had never even entered the imperial court!
Even though Pei Jinnian has the Pei family behind him, the Pei family and the Shen family are no longer on the same level!
"Prime Minister Cui! How could you, as prime minister, have failed in your duty to such an extent!"
Prime Minister Cui's confinement has been lifted, and as soon as he was released, he began to investigate the flood.
This investigation was quite significant. Fortunately, he was released from confinement in advance; otherwise, the Cui family would have been in serious trouble!
"Your Majesty, the matter of the flood was handled by Minister Du during my confinement."
Just as Du Zhong was about to speak, he heard Prime Minister Cui say again, "Although it was not my intention to neglect my duties, I investigated the matter immediately after the ban was lifted. I discovered that the memorials about the flood were intercepted as soon as they entered the capital, and the official who intercepted them was none other than Grand Secretary Li Quan!"
An official behind him immediately crawled out and said, "Your Majesty! I'm innocent! I absolutely did not intercept any memorials!"
The emperor laughed in anger, "Are you saying that Prime Minister Cui is lying?"
Li Quan trembled. This matter was so well hidden. When did Prime Minister Cui begin his investigation?
Prime Minister Cui directly handed over a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, this is a list of all the officials involved in intercepting the memorial, along with their testimonies. All the testimonies point to Lord Li. Please take a look."
Hong Dequan took the memorial and handed it to the emperor.
As expected of the head of all officials, Prime Minister Cui acted swiftly and decisively, and in just a few days he had prepared all the witnesses and evidence without alerting anyone!
A deeper meaning flashed in Du Zhong's eyes; Prime Minister Cui's reaction was surprisingly swift!
What rumors did he hear?
With each testimony the emperor read, his anger grew. He closed the memorial, grabbed the inkstone from the imperial desk, and smashed it directly onto Li Quan's head!
Li Quan was immediately bleeding profusely, but he only dared to beg for mercy, "Your Majesty! I am innocent! I knew nothing!"
The emperor refused to listen to his explanation. "Every testimony here clearly states that it was done under the orders of you, Grand Secretary Li Quan! Li Quan! I think your power is now greater than mine! You even dare to block the memorials on the disaster! Speak! Did you collude with the Shen family to conceal the disaster?"
The Grand Secretary looked at Du Zhong in a panic, for he had done all this under the orders of Minister Du!
Du Zhong didn't even glance at him.
"Your Majesty, I am truly innocent! It was all done by my servants. I would never dare to conceal the extent of the disaster or collude with the Shen family!"
"The evidence is irrefutable, yet you still dare to deny it! So many innocent people have suffered, where is your conscience! Hong Dequan, issue an imperial edict: the floods in Jiangnan are devastating, and Li Quan intercepted the report, knowing the truth but failing to report it. His crime is heinous, his entire family shall be executed!"
Li Quan immediately collapsed to the ground, and his entire family was executed?
His youngest son and daughter are only five years old this year!
He immediately looked at Du Zhong, "Your Majesty! It was all Minister Du who ordered me to do it! He made me do it! He colluded with the Shen family to cover up the disaster! Your Majesty! I was just following orders, please have mercy!"
If he had just been thinking that if he couldn't escape this calamity, he would probably be dead.
If he were to implicate Du Zhong, the entire Li family would likely face retaliation from the Du family, but His Majesty has ordered the execution of the entire Li family!
If not a single member of his Li family survives, what is there left for Du Zhong to hide!
Du Zhong never expected that His Majesty would be so enraged as to order the execution of the entire Li family!
"Your Majesty! Do not listen to his nonsense! I have dedicated my life to the state and the nation of Jin. How could I have committed such a heinous crime! Li Quan, your concealment of the disaster is already a grave offense, and now you dare to implicate me! You are utterly shameless!"
Li Quan was furious. "Du Zhong! You old scoundrel! You ordered me to conceal the disaster, and now that His Majesty knows about it, you want to pin it all on me! Dream on!"
He crawled forward again, "Your Majesty! I have a secret letter from Du Zhong! It proves that he instructed me to intercept the disaster report!"
A dark look flashed in Du Zhong's eyes. Li Quan had actually left behind such important evidence!
"Your Majesty! Do not believe him! He is trying to frame me!"
The emperor's anger intensified as he watched the two men implicate each other. "Then investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Imprison Li Quan in the imperial prison! If he falsely accuses Minister Du, his punishment will be doubled. Prime Minister Cui, this matter is entrusted to you. Minister Du, cooperate with Prime Minister Cui's investigation in the coming days!"
"I obey the decree!"
Du Zhong's eyes held an even deeper meaning: Prime Minister Cui, have you sided with the Emperor?
Could it be that the emperor ordered him to investigate this matter secretly?
Is the lockdown just a smokescreen?
Did the emperor already know?
Otherwise, why would Prime Minister Cui be confined to his residence, with all his positions being temporarily filled by him, and why would he prepare all the evidence as soon as he left the residence?
Is the emperor trying to investigate, or is the Cui family trying to curry favor with His Majesty?
"Hong Dequan, summon the Prince of Zhenbei to the palace. I am sending the Zhenbei Army south to provide disaster relief!"
Pei Jinnian was shocked. It turned out that the Qin family was the ones who could really do this!
He gave the Qin family and His Majesty a legitimate reason to send troops south!
Natural disasters and man-made calamities have caused the Shen family to lose the support of the people.
The Shen family is in deep trouble!
"Pei Jinnian, fearless in the face of death, has rendered meritorious service in investigating the disaster situation. He is hereby appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture to assist in handling disaster relief matters in Jiangnan!"
The Vice Minister of Agriculture, in charge of the national granaries and reserves, is a sixth-rank official.
He actually stepped into the imperial court just like that?
Was this all part of Qin Jinzhi's plan?
Pei Qing gave Pei Jinnian a look.
He immediately said, "Your subject, Pei Jinnian, accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude!"
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