Chapter 99 Disloyalty and Injustice
Prime Minister Cui couldn't help but twitch his lips as he looked at Wei Cha, who was already in full force as soon as he returned to court.
When His Majesty ascended the throne, he had just stepped into the court.
So I was fortunate enough to meet this extraordinary person.
He still vividly remembered Wei Cha's outburst at His Majesty.
But more than twenty years have passed, and Wei Cha is still the same.
The officials were all dissatisfied with Wei Cha, whom they were meeting for the first time.
What's going on?
Just as everyone was still puzzled, they saw Wei Cha throw the memorial on the ground and roll up his sleeves.
Prime Minister Cui's forehead twitched; this feeling seemed strangely familiar.
Wei Cha calmly turned around and said, "A bunch of good-for-nothings!"
Prime Minister Cui closed his eyes. Oh, as always, he was about to start cursing.
"You bunch of good-for-nothings eat the emperor's food and bear the emperor's worries, but you only eat and do nothing!"
His Majesty and Empress were assassinated in Cangmang Mountain, yet not a single official in the entire court noticed!
If it weren't for the Zhenbei Army passing through, this Jin Kingdom would have long been a city without a master!
Are you all blind? There are over a thousand bandits outside the city.
Or are you all in cahoots with those bandits?
The officials immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, you have been wronged!"
Everything else is negotiable, but the matter of the bandits has directly reached His Majesty's ears.
For a moment, no one could refute it.
One of the officials said, "This gentleman is utterly spouting nonsense!"
Wei Cha immediately walked up to him and shouted, "You son of a bitch! You dare say you haven't heard of the bandits outside the city!"
The official's face flushed red. "You're spouting nonsense and are incredibly vulgar. This is the main hall; you cannot be so disrespectful!"
"Bullshit! I'm asking you if you've ever heard of bandits, why are you spouting this nonsense!"
"Even if I've heard of it, so what? I don't command the Imperial Guards, so what can I do?"
"Can't you even submit a memorial to the emperor? What, your hands are so sore you can't even hold a pen anymore!"
The official was furious, his face turning red with anger, but he couldn't refute it. He hadn't submitted a memorial, but none of the officials in the entire court had! Why had he bothered with such a trivial matter?
Wei Cha spat directly in his face, "Pah! You filthy, rotten thing, you don't deserve to be an official! Look at your pathetic appearance, if those bandits came in front of you, they'd probably piss and shit all over the place!"
"vulgar!"
"You son of a bitch, why don't you go talk to those bandits and spout your vulgar nonsense!"
Prime Minister Cui was somewhat troubled; how could Wei Cha remain like this even in his old age?
Du Zhong stepped forward and said, "Old Wei, it's been a long time. Don't be so angry."
Wei Cha turned around and saw Du Zhong, and immediately snorted coldly, "How come you're still alive?"
Du Zhong choked so badly he almost couldn't breathe.
The trigger for Wei Cha's resignation was Du Zhong's request for the emperor to bring his daughter into the palace.
The Du family was the first aristocratic family to support His Majesty at the time, and this demand was an exchange that everyone was aware of.
However, at that time, the Empress's old injury relapsed, and she was on the verge of death. But the Emperor had just ascended the throne and the court was in turmoil, so he had no choice but to agree to Du Zhong's request.
When Wei Cha saw Du Zhong approaching, he immediately said:
"Minister Du! As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in charge of important affairs in the capital, how come you know nothing about the bandits?"
If your eyesight is failing, you should quickly make way for younger generations; those in high positions who don't do real work should step up.
If you're worried about losing your official position and not having enough money for retirement, I'll petition His Majesty right now to grant you retirement funds.
Hurry home and take care of your grandson!
Du Zhong shouted angrily, "Wei Cha! Don't push your luck!"
Wei Cha's presence here must be at His Majesty's behest.
But Wei Cha's temper is even worse than before!
Upon hearing this, Wei Cha immediately sneered.
"You can't compare to him. While other people's wives are seriously ill and bedridden, you rush to send your daughter away as a concubine."
Forget about the Du family, or any other prestigious or influential family.
Pah! You're the most shameless one!
If I were you, I'd hang myself from one of my pants pockets; otherwise, I'd have lived in vain!
Du Zhong clutched his chest, feeling breathless; for many years, no one had dared to speak to him like that.
"Your Majesty! Wei Cha is a mad dog! He slanders the entire court without any investigation!"
Just as the emperor was about to speak, Wei Cha said, "What, you can't win an argument, so you resort to complaining? Why don't you go home and complain to your mother! Ah, your mother is dead, so if you want to complain, you can only go and die."
Du Zhong was so angry that he staggered, and the official next to him quickly helped him up.
Wei Cha stood directly in the middle of the hall and said, "Today, I will ask all the officials in the court! What is the true meaning of being an official!"
Centralization of power? Embezzlement? Hedonism?
Have you ever done anything for the people?
Even under the emperor's nose, bandits roam freely. In those unknown places, what kind of life do the people live?
You parasites! Vampires of the Great Jin! How dare you hold office!
Your Majesty and the Empress were assassinated because of your dereliction of duty. This is disloyalty, and failing to report it is injustice!
Disloyal and unjust, worse than pigs and dogs!
Wei Cha looked directly at the emperor and said, "I request that all officials of the third rank and above be demoted one rank and have their salary reduced by one year! Those of the third rank and below be demoted three ranks and have their salary reduced by half a year, as a warning to others!"
Before the emperor could speak, Prime Minister Cui said, "Lord Wei is right! I second that!"
Upon hearing Prime Minister Cui's words, none of the officials dared to utter another word.
The emperor was finally able to interject, "I am very pleased with what Minister Wei has said, and I will follow Minister Wei's suggestion."
Wei Cha walked to the pile of memorials on the ground and put the top one aside.
Then, he picked up the second memorial.
"Now that this matter has been concluded, I would like to discuss the second matter."
The officials in the court simply couldn't believe it!
They were immediately subjected to a severe scolding, demoted, and had their salaries reduced.
Without exception, all the officials in the court considered this matter to be only the first thing they had to do!
Is this another time they're going to yell at that unlucky guy?
Wei Cha looked around. "Who is the Minister of Revenue?"
Zheng Wenbo was heartbroken; he was the unlucky fellow.
He had never met Wei Cha, but he had heard of his deeds.
He was able to resign from his post unscathed after insulting His Majesty.
This person's position in His Majesty's heart is clear.
The fact that I am standing in the imperial court now must be at His Majesty's behest.
I wonder what this Lord Wei called him.
Wei Cha walked over to Zheng Wenbo's side.
"Since the founding of the nation, Your Majesty has witnessed the people suffering from the war and has reduced taxes to alleviate their plight, which has led to the depletion of the national treasury."
However, as far as I know, many prefectures and counties still have heavy taxes, and not a single tael of this money goes into the national treasury.
Minister Zheng, aren't you afraid that if you spend so much outrageous money, your son will be born without an anus?
Zheng Wenbo immediately said, "Your Majesty! I have been diligently managing the Ministry of Revenue all these years and have never embezzled a single coin. I do not know why there are still prefectures and counties that are collecting taxes. It must be that the officials below are deceiving their superiors. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!"
He was prepared, but not ready. How could someone be so vulgar?
Wei Cha asked, "I put a fox in the chicken coop, and the next day all the chickens were gone. The fox said it didn't know why the chickens were gone. Minister Zheng, did you have a febrile disease when you were a child that you couldn't cure?"
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