Chapter 132 Immediate Execution
The atmosphere in the hall was extremely tense. Just when Emperor Defeng's patience was about to run out, Fang Chengchuan finally stepped out tremblingly and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty! I knew my brother was raising assassins, but I did nothing to stop him. Now my brother is in prison and will be executed in the autumn. I did not properly deal with those assassins, but simply sent them away at random. I did not expect that they had hands and feet, but would not do a good job and instead take the wrong path and engage in such crimes as burning, killing and looting. I was negligent and deserve death!"
After saying that, he kowtowed heavily. The loud sound of "dong dong dong" echoed in the hall. Soon, his forehead was covered with blood.
Emperor Defeng looked at him sharply, "So, you are completely unaware of this matter?"
Fang Chengchuan's face was filled with regret. "I really didn't know anything about this before. I deserve to die!"
"The person who sneaked into the Dali Temple last night has nothing to do with you?"
Fang Chengchuan insisted, "This humble official has nothing to do with it. If I knew they were going to do something so outrageous, I would definitely stop them."
Emperor Defeng sneered, "If that's the case, how can you be sure that those people at the Dali Temple are the same group of assassins that Fang Chengqi raised?"
Fang Chengchuan's voice trembled, "I cannot be sure, but it is a fact that I concealed the fact that my brother raised assassins. I have been worried and uneasy, and now I dare not take any more chances. If those people are indeed my brother's assassins, I will die and bear the blame. If not, I am willing to accept the punishment!"
Although these words were sincere, they put all the responsibility on Fang Chengqi's head and cleared himself of all responsibility, making it impossible to find any fault at all.
The only mistake is the responsibility of negligence.
Fu Zicheng frowned secretly, "Master Fang, that's not what the man in black said last night."
Fang Chengchuan said righteously, "I am willing to confront him face to face, and if necessary, I am also willing to confront my brother face to face! The emperor is very discerning and will certainly not wrongly accuse any innocent person."
The two sides argued back and forth for several rounds, and Fang Chengchuan insisted that he was ignorant of the matter, and the situation was temporarily deadlocked.
At this time, a man stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report, and it is also related to Lord Fang."
This man's name was Sheng Ronghuan. He and Fang Chengchuan were both officials of the Taichang Temple. The two did not have much contact with each other on a daily basis. His appearance at this time made Fang Chengchuan inexplicably uneasy.
Sheng Ronghuan spoke loudly, "I would like to report Lord Fang Chengchuan for abusing his position to falsify the accounts when purchasing sacrificial offerings, passing inferior goods off as good ones, pocketing the profits for himself! Such behavior not only violates the laws of the court, but is also a great disrespect to the late emperors and nobles. Your Majesty, please punish him severely!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Chengchuan's face changed drastically.
"You, you are slandering me!"
Sheng Ronghuan ignored Fang Chengchuan and directly took out a booklet. "This is the evidence compiled by this humble servant. Every year's accounts and regulations are recorded clearly. Please review it, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Fang Chengchuan's face turned even paler and he was completely thrown into disarray.
He might have had some room for excuses regarding the previous incident involving the assassins, but the current incident caught him off guard and he had no idea how to defend himself.
Sacrifice is a major event that concerns the fate of a country. Once this crime is proven, he will definitely be sentenced to death!
The other party also has a so-called account book in his hand!
He can't stand being investigated!
The rest of the people in the Taichang Temple also changed their expressions to varying degrees.
If you really count them, few of them are truly clean.
Emperor Defeng's face was gloomy as he took the account book and looked through it.
The more he looked, the uglier his expression became, and the air pressure around him became more depressing.
He swung the inkstone at hand and threw it at Fang Chengchuan, "How unreasonable! What else do you have to say?"
Fang Chengchuan didn't dare to hide. His shoulder was numb from being hit and his body was shaking even more.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I am innocent!"
Sheng Ronghuan said loudly, "Your Majesty, I guarantee with my life that everything written in that account book is true. If you compare the purchase accounts of those years one by one, you will know that I have not falsified a single word."
Emperor Defeng frowned and said, "Come here, bring the account books!"
Soon, the account books for those years were moved into the main hall, and several officials from the Ministry of Revenue were assigned to check the accounts. They were all experienced in checking accounts, and they quickly found the corresponding accounts.
Just as Sheng Ronghuan said, those accounts seemed to be fine, but in fact there was a lot of problems.
In just one sacrifice, he could make thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of money.
Fang Chengchuan's face was pale as a ghost, and he collapsed completely to the ground.
Emperor Defeng was furious. "What a daring dog! You even dared to lay hands on the sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. You are truly so bold!"
Fu Zicheng spoke at the right time, "Your Majesty, raising assassins is a very expensive undertaking. The Fang family is able to maintain such a group of well-trained assassins, which shows that they are quite wealthy. Where did all this money come from? I'm afraid it's a question mark."
He brought the topic back to those assassins, and Emperor Defeng became even more furious.
He thought again of the map with the gold mine marked on it.
That was found on the bodies of the Fang family's assassins. Does that mean that the Fang family had already known about the gold mine in Linghou Village and just concealed it on purpose?
Once suspicion arose, it could no longer be suppressed, and the Fang family was charged with another crime.
Emperor Defeng said coldly, "Fang Chengchuan has abused his position to commit corruption. He is so audacious that he is unworthy of being a minister! He has also privately raised assassins, violating the imperial order. If he is not severely punished, it will be inadequate to reassure the people and maintain order. I hereby decree that the brothers Fang Chengqi and Fang Chengchuan be executed immediately!"
Fang Chengchuan's heart finally died, and a foul stench came from under him.
Most criminals were executed after the autumn, but only the most heinous crimes were executed immediately! The Fang brothers had touched the emperor's reverse scale.
He was quickly dragged away by the palace servants.
At the end of the row of officials, one person raised his eyes and looked in the direction where he was being dragged away, with a sneer on his lips.
After dealing with this matter, Emperor Defeng looked unhappy and wanted to leave the court immediately.
Another respected old minister stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I believe this incident serves as a wake-up call for a thorough investigation of the accounts of the Imperial Household Department and the government."
As soon as this proposal was put forward, it received immediate responses from everyone.
Everyone in the Taichang Temple's expressions changed, and the Minister of Taichang Temple felt even more uneasy.
With the example of Fang Chengchuan, this thorough investigation will certainly not be easy to fool. He has been in office for so many years, how could he have a clean bottom?
Emperor Defeng approved it and handed the audit over to the Ministry of Revenue.
"We must conduct a thorough investigation. If I learn that anyone dares to tamper with this secretly, Fang Chengchuan's fate will serve as an example!"
The knocking made everyone's heart tremble, and they became extremely cautious about the matter.
After today, there will be a major reshuffle in the political landscape.
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