As expected.
When Zhao Gan, sitting in the Golden Palace, heard Sun Heling recite this poem in front of all the officials, his face, already clouded by excessive indulgence, became even more gloomy.
Zhao Gan asked in an icy tone, "Minister Sun, what is the meaning of your actions?"
Sun Heling said, "Your Majesty, this poem is a record of what I saw and heard along the way in the northwest of the dynasty on my journey to and from the Prince of Jin's residence in Longcheng to deliver the imperial decree!"
"snort!"
Zhao Gan snorted coldly, recalling the poem Sun Heling had just recited, and picked out a few key words, asking questions in court:
"Minister Sun, I just vaguely heard you mention a few key words. First, 'old men pay debts and children sell grain.' But as far as I know, the taxes of the Great Xin Dynasty are not heavy, are they?"
"Moreover, since I ascended the throne, my first imperial edict was to reduce the taxes of the people. Compared with the time when the late emperor was in power, the taxes of the people in this dynasty have already been reduced by more than 20%. How could the situation described by Minister Sun have occurred?"
"Secondly, who knows that the herdsmen are unwilling to report the disaster? Minister Sun, are you secretly wondering which local officials have failed to report the disaster to the court?"
As he spoke, Zhao Gan stared intently at Prime Minister Qin Ruhui and continued:
“Every morning at court, the first thing I do is to check on the basic situation in various places. The report that Prime Minister Qin submitted to me all said that the Great Xin region was peaceful and prosperous, with favorable weather and abundant harvests, a once-in-a-century year. Merchants from all over the world came and went to trade, and taxes have doubled!”
At this point, Zhao Gan abruptly changed his tone, his voice suddenly becoming sharp, and he roared, "Minister Sun, according to you, it is Prime Minister Qin Ruhui who is deceiving me?"
"Your Majesty, I am innocent!"
Inside the main hall, Prime Minister Qin Ruhui was so frightened by Zhao Gan's outburst that he almost lost his mind. He dared not put the charge of deceiving the emperor on his head.
Qin Ruhui immediately knelt down and explained, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to commit such an act of deceiving the emperor. The memorials I submit to Your Majesty are all sent to the capital by local administrative officials every day with the utmost urgency. The Prime Minister's Office and the Six Ministries have them on file."
"Even if I had a hundred lives, I would never dare to deceive His Majesty during this prosperous Jian'an era!"
Seeing Prime Minister Qin Ruhui kneeling in the main hall, Zhao Gan immediately waved his hand, signaling him to rise: "Qin Aiqing, rise and speak!"
Zhao Gan still trusted the former Crown Prince's faction quite a bit.
The reason for saying this was simply to embarrass Sun Heling in front of the entire court.
To be honest, Zhao Gan also had some reservations about Sun Heling, the third-ranked scholar in the previous dynasty's imperial examination.
However, the late Emperor Zhao Mang had warned Zhao Gan that Sun Heling was a rare and exceptional talent, with a distinctive personality and unparalleled loyalty. He would be a remedy for Zhao Gan's fever in the future, allowing him to calm down and think things through when his mind was in a heated state.
Therefore, during the several purges of former officials and remnants of the previous dynasty after Zhao Gan ascended the throne, he spared only Sun Heling, the former third-ranked scholar.
But now, in front of the entire court, Sun Heling is criticizing Zhao Gan's proud Jian'an era.
When it was all just a mirage, a castle in the air built on countless lies by court officials deceiving their superiors, Zhao Gan could no longer hold back and retorted to Sun Heling.
However, when faced with Zhao Gan's rebuke and Prime Minister Qin Ruhui's emotional performance, Sun Heling remained righteous and awe-inspiring, determined to uphold his lifelong belief in the official principle of "dying in battle for the military and remonstrating for the civil service."
Sun Heling faced Zhao Gan directly in the Golden Palace and replied, word by word, "Your Majesty, I am not very clear about the situation in other parts of the Great Xin Dynasty, but I have personally witnessed the situation in the Northwest, and there is absolutely no falsehood in it!"
"Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has undertaken numerous projects, including the construction of the Grand Canal, the voyages to Southeast Asia, the opening of the Silk Road, and the building of the imperial mausoleum. Which of these projects was not a massive undertaking that drained the people's resources and caused immense hardship?"
"At present, war has broken out in the northwest region of the dynasty, and the people are suffering. I humbly advise Your Majesty to put aside your ambition and desire for glory, let the people rest and recuperate, and bestow grace upon the world!"
After saying this, Sun Heling immediately kowtowed to Zhao Gan and continued loudly:
"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you rescind the imperial edict that changed the title of Prince of Jin's heir, Chen Huai'an, to Prince of Beihai, and in accordance with the court's etiquette, allow the heir, Chen Huai'an, to inherit the title of Prince of Jin, so as to demonstrate the Emperor's boundless grace!"
brush!
Upon hearing Sun Heling's words, the entire court in the Golden Palace was beyond shocked; their gazes toward Sun Heling turned cold and complex.
Prime Minister Qin Ruhui's eyes seemed to be spitting fire at any moment!
"How dare you!"
In the imperial court, Zhao Gan roared in anger.
Below the main hall, all the civil and military officials knelt in worship.
Zhao Gan angrily said, "Sun Heling, do you know what you're saying?"
Sun Heling raised his head, his gaze fixed firmly on the throne room, and said, "Your Majesty, of course I know!"
"Your Majesty, didn't you just ask me about the progress of Prince Jin's heir, Chen Huai'an, raising an army in Longcheng to oppose the court?"
"Your Majesty, I will now present a memorial to Your Majesty!"
As he spoke, Sun Heling took out the "Proclamation to Pacify the Rebellion and Punish the Traitors" that Chen Huai'an had given him before his departure from the sleeve of his official robe, held it above his head with both hands, and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the 'Proclamation to Pacify the Rebellion and Punish the Rebels' personally written by Chen Huai'an, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin. Please take a look!"
"What?"
In the Golden Palace, Zhao Gan almost laughed in anger, and asked incredulously, "Sun Heling, what did you say? That good-for-nothing Chen Huai'an actually raised the banner of 'Fengtian Jingnan' in Longcheng and even published some kind of bullshit manifesto, is that right?"
"Guards, bring this to me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, a eunuch hurriedly walked up to Sun Heling, took the "Proclamation to Pacify the Rebellion and Punish the Traitors" written by Chen Huai'an from his hand, and then hurriedly returned to the Golden Palace.
Zhao Gan didn't sit idly by either, and ordered Sun Heling, "Continue!"
There was no turning back once the arrow was released, so Sun Heling went all out and recounted everything he had seen and heard in Longcheng, saying:
"Your Majesty, since Prince Chen Huai'an raised his army in Longcheng, he has annihilated the 100,000-strong Yunhui Army led by General Wu Qingyun of the Northwest in a single battle beneath the walls of Longcheng!"
"Then, when faced with the Turkic envoy's wolfish ambition to split our great new dynasty, he brandished his sword in the main hall and angrily beheaded the Turkic envoy, declaring war on the Turks!"
"On the contrary, Wu Qingyun, the General Commander of the Northwest of the Dynasty, secretly colluded with the Khan of the enemy state, Timur, inviting trouble into the country and causing chaos on the Northwest border..."
......
Sun Heling's words resounded like thunder in the Golden Palace.
The entire court of civil and military officials had already knelt down with their heads down, wishing they could bury their heads in their waistbands, and had no courage to raise their heads at all.
In the Golden Palace, the Second Emperor Zhao Gan's face was ashen, his anger rising to the top of his head.
As he listened to Sun Heling's account, he looked at the "Proclamation to Pacify the Rebellion and Punish the Rebels" written by Chen Huai'an in his hand.
Until, Thunder roared in fury.
In the imperial court, the emperor's wrath was a thunderous roar: "Chen Huai'an is plotting a rebellion!"
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