nashuaworldcup Chapter 178 I beg you to... depose the Prime Minister!
Chapter 178 I beg you to... depose the Prime Minister!
After hearing this, Song Pu suddenly felt a little flustered.
It can be said that he was the one who single-handedly led the case of Guo and Jiang, and it was concluded by the former Minister of Justice Li Chun and the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple Wu Benzhen... who was also Gu Jingzhi's immediate superior.
It was a frame-up in the first place. If Gu Jingzhi could confirm the Jiangnan incident, then the charges against Guo and Jiang would naturally be invalid.
However, he had no reason to stop him, as Gu Jingzhi was doing things too steadily.
Soon, several guards came into the hall carrying a pile of files, and one of them was holding a huge scroll.
"Your Majesty, this box contains the evidence we found in Jiangnan, along with the witnesses' testimony. Please review it!"
The box was opened, and a thick stack of files appeared in front of the officials.
When Emperor Xia saw such a thick stack of documents, he immediately frowned and asked, "The Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate?"
"???"
The censors in the Metropolitan Censorate looked at each other...
Who is His Majesty calling?
"Stop looking! All the censors of the Censorate, please take a look for me!"
"..."
Such is the feeling!
The censors of the Censorate came out one after another, and a team of palace eunuchs also carried a few desks into the hall. The people from the Censorate started working directly on the spot.
Civil and military officials looked at these imperial censors with curiosity.
……
About half an hour later, the censors of the Censorate put all the files in order. The Left Censor-in-Chief Tian Jingwen stood up and walked silently to the middle of the hall.
"Tian Qing, are you looking carefully?"
"His Majesty……"
Tian Jingwen's face flushed red. After a while, he suddenly said angrily, "The Jiangnan family and even the local officials in Jiangnan deserve to die..."
"Wow..."
The entire court was in an uproar.
As an imperial censor, Tian Jingwen naturally did not have a good temper, but he always sought truth from facts. Although he had submitted countless impeachment memorials, he never lightly decided on anyone's life or death.
Today, he only said, "The entire Jiangnan family and officials deserve to die..."
What kind of crime did Jiangnan commit?
"Your Majesty, the Jiangnan noble families are using illegal means to force purchases and sales, colluding with officials and businessmen to seize the people's land, and even directly silencing or injuring people."
"Our Great Xia has been established for twenty years, yet in the prosperous Jiangnan region, people are still starving to death!"
"From the testimonies and petitions, I've discovered a pattern: whenever there's a disaster, it's an opportunity for aristocratic families and local officials to seize the people's land!"
"The land south of the Yangtze River suffers from floods every year, and the fertile farmland is occupied..."
As Tian Jingwen spoke, he could not help but say in grief and anger: "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to severely punish the Jiangnan family!"
"Yes, severe punishment! Must be severe punishment!"
"Your Majesty, if what is written in these files is true, it is indeed somewhat horrifying."
"His Majesty……"
None of the censors in the Censorate would miss this opportunity, especially those local officials and aristocratic families whose names were recorded, who were their targets.
Watching the censors coming out one by one, Song Pu said bluntly, "My fellow censors, everything you've listed is just what's written in the files. How can you say that everything is true?"
"Does this need to be proven? It's clearly written in the case file. This..."
"In the end, it's just what's written in the case file. If..." Song Pu didn't give the censor a chance to speak and interrupted him directly.
Seeing this, Gu Jingzhi interrupted and asked, "Does Prime Minister Song want human or physical evidence?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, he attracted the attention of the entire court. He smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, I have already sent all the people who provided testimony and evidence in this case to the capital. There are more than fifty of them in total."
What the hell!
When the others heard this, they were speechless. Gu Jingzhi really didn't give anyone a chance to survive.
Every time Song Pu said something, he had an answer waiting for him.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia was also slightly shocked and asked, "Where are those people now?"
"I was previously lodged at a manor outside the city, but now I have been escorted into the city by the Imperial Guard. If Your Majesty and the others have any questions, please feel free to ask them later!"
"Also, the person who went to Jiangnan to investigate brought back something. I would like to invite Your Majesty and the other gentlemen to take a look at it. Please see how miserable the people of Jiangnan are, and see how dire this place is!"
As he spoke, he gestured to the guards, and the two guards immediately opened the long scroll!
As the scroll was opened bit by bit, names and bloody handprints jumped into the eyes of the officials.
"hiss……"
Everyone gasped.
"This this……"
All the officials pointed at the files in silence.
Book of Nations...
Twenty years after the founding of Daxia, this is the first time I've seen the Book of All Peoples...
Ten thousand names and handprints—how shocking is that? However, this first letter to all peoples wasn't a eulogy, but a petition...
Emperor Xia stepped down from the Danbi directly and walked over with a "thump thump" sound.
His eyes were filled with shock, and his old hands trembled as he touched the names and handprints on the Book of Nations.
"The Book of All Nations..."
"The Book of All Nations..."
"If the people weren't suffering unspeakably, how could such a heavy book for all people appear in this world? I have spent my entire life in the military, conquering this vast territory, just to give my people a world where they can have enough food and clothing!"
"But now, among you civil and military officials, who can tell me what this Book of All Peoples is all about?"
"Your Majesty! The ruler is like a boat, and the people are like water. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it..."
Although he had already read the letter once, Gu Jingzhi was still deeply shocked. He said, "Your Majesty, the people's affairs are not trivial. The people's demands are simple: to have enough food and warm clothes... But to them, this is a huge matter!"
"If even this cannot be satisfied, how can the people support the king and our Great Xia?"
"Great Xia's taxes are collected from the people, and the millions of soldiers guarding the border are all sons of the people! Your Majesty, I am terrified. If the people lose even justice, how will these people who pay taxes to Great Xia year after year, and the soldiers who guard the border, feel?"
"Your Majesty, your humble servant, Gu Jingzhi, Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, begs you to obey the will of Heaven and the people and issue an order to severely punish the officials and families of Jiangnan. Those who have committed crimes or omissions must be punished without leniency!"
"Also, if Jiangnan is still like this, what about other places? I believe that not only should a strict investigation be conducted in Jiangnan, but a thorough investigation should be conducted nationwide!"
"This will eliminate all criminals in the world, restore justice to the people, and restore a peaceful and harmonious world to Daxia!"
"It should be so! Your Majesty, if this matter is not thoroughly investigated, there will be no justice in this world. Under the reign of our Great Xia Saint, such filthy things should not exist. I beg you on behalf of all the people to order a thorough investigation!"
"I second the proposal. It is not too late to remove the poison now. Your Majesty, please issue an order..."
"Your Majesty..."
Xia Di's lips trembled...