paranoianovel Chapter 1674: Impeachment Evidence in Caotang
Chapter 1674: Impeachment Evidence in Caotang
Following the accusation made by the Wang family censor, all the civil and military officials in the hall fell silent.
Everyone's eyes turned to the Wang family's censor.
There was still some confusion in the ministers' eyes. What did they just hear?
It seems like I didn't hear it clearly.
This Censor Wang impeached Prince Ji for allowing his slaves to commit crimes, commit all kinds of crimes, disregard human lives, rob homes, oppress the people, collude with the powerful, bribe local officials, and commit all kinds of evil.
Finally, he also said that killing an official appointed by the imperial court was a sign of treason.
If such a serious crime is confirmed, Prince Ji will have a hard time surviving.
The Wang family wants to kill Prince Ji.
Just as the ministers were stunned, Cui Renzhi, the censor of the Cui family's Censorate, also stood up.
"Your Highness, I also impeach Prince Ji for wantonly amassing wealth, colluding with local authorities to oppress the people, and killing court officials with the intention of treason. Please punish him severely."
"Wow~~"
This time everyone finally heard clearly that what Censor Cui said was exactly the same as what Censor Wang said.
Li Chengqian's expression did not change. They had anticipated this scene a month ago.
He just sighed in his heart, what was supposed to come finally came.
Li Chengqian looked at Wang's Imperial Censor expressionlessly, then looked at Cui Renzhi, and said:
"Censor Wang, Censor Cui, the Censorate is empowered to report whatever happens, but they can't just say anything.
Otherwise, wouldn’t the court be in chaos?
You two are impeaching Prince Ji for such a serious crime, do you have any evidence?"
The Censorate has a bottom line when reporting to the emperor upon hearing any news. Otherwise, they will impeach anyone they dislike, and no one can stand impeachment every day.
By then, the court will no longer be able to discuss state affairs, as it will all be just a verbal battle.
Li Chengqian was just giving a warning. Censor Wang and Cui Renzhi did not show any change in their expressions as a result of Li Chengqian's words. They still looked very calm.
Censor Wang spoke again, took out a memorial and presented it with both hands. Wang Zhong went down, took the memorial and handed it to Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian opened the memorial and read it carefully for a long time, then raised his head and looked at Censor Wang and said:
"Is what you said above true?"
“Your Highness, the Prince Ji’s Mansion opened a workshop in Xizhou and led the local people to grow white caltrops, which was originally a good thing that benefited the country and the people.
But in recent years, the Ji Palace has been wantonly accumulating wealth in Xizhou, colluding with the leaders of the remaining tribes, oppressing the people, and driving the price of cotton to the lowest level.
They also threatened the people not to tell others, otherwise they would retaliate. Over the years, many people wanted to sell the secret to others.
They were all killed by the local leaders, which was simply a disregard for human life.
And those laborers who entered the workshop of Prince Ji's Mansion were treated like slaves, and many of them died from overwork.
The local people can testify to these things, and we also found several people who used to work in the workshop of Prince Ji's mansion and came to Chang'an City.
From what they said, Prince Ji's Mansion treats human life as worthless.
Not only that, the Prince Ji's Mansion also attacked passing merchants, forcing them to buy and sell, and killing them to rob them of their goods.
This is evidenced by the merchants who were once plundered.
There are also rumors that a large number of officials in Xizhou Prefecture were killed, including many tribal leaders, and even the local governor was poisoned and his life or death is unknown now.
These people have one thing in common: they are all insiders who have received money from the Ji Wang Mansion and worked for the Ji Wang Mansion.
I have every reason to suspect that it was Prince Ji's Mansion who wanted to kill people to silence them.
Killing an official of the imperial court is tantamount to treason, and I hope that His Royal Highness will punish him severely."
Censor Wang reported the entire impeachment in one breath, and his purpose was not just to report it to Li Chengqian.
I still want all the civil and military officials in the court to know about this.
As expected, as soon as Censor Wang finished speaking, people in the court began to discuss.
"What? There is such a thing?"
"That shouldn't be the case, right? The Ji Palace is a large and powerful family, they wouldn't do such a heinous thing."
"I don't think Prince Ji would do such a thing. Prince Ji's Mansion is already rich enough to rival a country."
"That's not necessarily true. You can only judge a person by his appearance but not his heart. Ambition will only grow bigger and bigger. What if it is..."
There were different political views in the court. Some people thought this was impossible. After all, Prince Ji was rich and powerful now, so how could he dig his own grave?
Some people think that Prince Ji is used to being arrogant and domineering, so it is not surprising that he would do such a thing.
There were also some people who thought that Prince Ji might be plotting rebellion, but they did not dare to say it out loud.
Everyone was talking and whispering, but Li Chengqian frowned and said nothing.
What he didn't expect was that Censor Wang actually said there was a witness.
It seems that the other party came prepared, otherwise the journey from Chang'an to Xizhou is very long, and it would be impossible for the people to reach Chang'an without a pass.
Someone must have gone to the local area to pick it up.
"Your Highness, the evidence is now clear. I believe that this person must be severely punished. Otherwise, how can we stabilize the government?"
Cui Renzhi spoke.
“Your Highness, if this is true, it will have a huge impact on Xizhou and even the entire Anxi Protectorate.
Most of the people in Anxi are the remnants of Gaochang and Tuyuhun. There have been constant rebellions in the area over the years, and the imperial court has been trying to appease them.
Nowadays, apart from this kind of thing, I believe there will be more people opposing the court, which also gives the rebels a better excuse.
Therefore, I believe that this matter must be severely punished to give justice to the people of Xizhou."
Just then, Zhongshu Sheren Liu Shi stood up. He was the one who agreed to investigate the rumors last time.
"Bullshit, Prince Ji would never do such a thing. As everyone knows, although Prince Ji likes to fool around a bit,
But over the years, there has never been any oppression of the people.
Moreover, His Royal Highness Prince Ji has a large family and enormous wealth. How could he dig his own grave for just a little bit of money from Xizhou?
Your Highness, I do not believe that Prince Ji did this. I think there must be something hidden behind this."
At this moment, Cheng Yaojin stood up and shouted at the top of his voice.
He still agreed that Prince Ji was domineering, malicious, and insidious.
But if you say that Prince Ji has done so many illegal things, he would be the first one to not believe it.
The young prince was extremely intelligent, and he knew what to do and what not to do.
Over the years, these old ministers have been watching Prince Ji grow up.
He also has a good understanding of King Ji.
Especially after hearing from his son that King Ji taught them not to oppress ordinary people, as it was beneath their noble status, and that if they were to oppress others, they should oppress the nobles of the same level as them, or even nobles of a higher rank than them.
It's just for the sense of accomplishment.
In more than ten years, they have never heard of any incident of King Ji oppressing the people.
However, it was common for Prince Ji to oppress nobles, beat officials, and defraud aristocratic families.
That's why Cheng Yaojin would not believe that these things were done by Li Shen.
(I looked up the old site of Chang'an City. According to archaeological discoveries, Chang'an City is more than 13 kilometers from north to south.
It takes two hours to walk normally, no wonder it has housed more than a million people.
There must be some people who say I walk too slowly. Tell me how long it takes you to walk 10 kilometers.