PFC Chapter 177 Gu Jingzhi’s methods!
Chapter 177 Gu Jingzhi’s methods!
Has the matter in Jiangnan been settled?
How come we don't know?
Someone immediately erupted in anger: "What nonsense! You, Gu Jingzhi, haven't even set foot outside the capital, yet you dare to boast that the Jiangnan issue has been resolved?"
"You are deceiving the emperor, a blatant crime of deceiving the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, I beg you to order the execution of this lunatic who deceives the emperor!"
Damn it!
I just said one word and you bastards are so impatient to chop me up?
He immediately scolded, "Sir, do you think I, Gu Jingzhi, am as foolish as you? I knew I was deceiving the emperor, yet I came to the court to seek death?"
"..."
The faces of the ministers who impeached Gu Jingzhi turned dark.
We were just going through the motions and appearing in front of His Majesty the Emperor, so why are you making personal attacks on us?
Gu Jingzhi was too lazy to pay attention to them. Instead, he said directly to Emperor Xia: "Your Majesty, after the Gu Heng case broke out, I obtained evidence left by the former Minister of Revenue, Jiang Ming, and sent people to Jiangnan to investigate. Now the truth has been revealed..."
"what?"
When Song Pu and other officials from aristocratic families heard this, they felt as if the souls of the dead were haunting them.
Fuck the horse...
They spared no effort to plot against Gu Jingzhi, wasn't it just to slow him down or even trample him to death in a ditch?
How come this guy sent someone to investigate this matter more than two months ago without making any noise?
I ride a horse...
Then wouldn’t the Chen family’s sacrifice be in vain?
An official immediately shouted: "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Is this impossible? Does this require your approval?"
"Although your permission is not required, your Majesty has not issued any order for this matter. How can you investigate officials without authorization?"
"Who said His Majesty didn't approve it?"
Gu Jingzhi said with a smile, "I am the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple and have the power to review all cases. More than two months ago, I simply felt that there was something fishy about the case of the former Minister of Revenue, so I sent someone to Jiangnan!"
"Isn't this the power and responsibility that Your Majesty has bestowed upon me as the Dali Temple?"
What the hell...
It seems to make sense.
Previously, because Emperor Xia had issued an imperial decree to review the case, they felt that this matter would only be effective if the emperor ordered it, but it seems...
This is the responsibility of the Dali Temple!
They had a clear understanding of the case. Overturning the verdict was one thing, but the focus was on investigating and punishing land annexation throughout the country. Guo and Jiang were implicated in the case.
If we want to investigate land annexation, we do need an imperial edict from Emperor Xia, but what about Guo and Jiang?
The Dali Temple has the responsibility to review closed cases, although no one would bother to review a case that has already been concluded but no one has protested its injustice.
But the Dali Temple does have this power!
Therefore, even without the imperial edict from Emperor Xia, Gu Jingzhi could have reviewed it.
However, many people knew that the case two years ago was their masterpiece. If they wanted to overturn the verdicts on Guo and Jiang, they had to overturn some of the previous conclusions.
The case of land annexation was a natural outcome.
In other words, Gu Jingzhi had already started this case two months ago, before Emperor Xia issued the imperial edict. By the time Emperor Xia issued the order for a thorough investigation, the case had basically been concluded.
Song Pu turned around and looked at Gu Jingzhi deeply, feeling a little frightened.
This kid's methods are becoming more and more mature, and more and more frightening.
If you don't take action, it's fine. But if you do, it will cost someone's life.
It seems that he can no longer stay in this court. In less than a year since he entered the court, he has reduced the power of the aristocratic families in the court by half. If he continues to do so, I am afraid that it will not be long before he, the prime minister, will be dismissed.
Whether I can retire safely by then is probably a question.
However, let's first see how he goes with the investigation.
Song Pu made up his mind not to argue with Gu Jingzhi this time.
Emperor Xia was also puzzled after hearing this. Gu Jingzhi secretly investigated the affairs in Jiangnan without informing him either. Could it be that he couldn't even trust him?
Or……
He glanced at Tianshu, and at this moment, many thoughts emerged in Emperor Xia's mind.
However, there was no conclusion at the moment. He thought for a moment and said, "Gu Qing, since you said the case has been investigated, then tell us the whole story again!"
"His Majesty!"
Gu Jingzhi bowed and said, "Since I took office at the Dali Temple, I've been looking for case files from the past ten years to familiarize myself with its operations as quickly as possible. While reviewing them, I discovered many suspicious points in the case from two years ago... involving the former Minister of Revenue Guo Huai and the former Vice Minister Jiang Ming!"
"Considering the wide range of implications of the case, or perhaps there are some omissions, I haven't stated it clearly. I originally planned to report it to Your Majesty after finding some solid evidence!"
"Later, I happened to get a booklet left by the former Minister of Revenue from a descendant of the Jiang family. Considering that this case involves the entire Jiangnan officialdom, I sent people to investigate!"
"After more than two months, the case was finally solved. Although some cases were not thoroughly investigated, the case files written by former Minister Jiang Ming have confirmed that all the cases, except for those who died or moved away for various reasons in the past two years..."
"The case of former Minister of Revenue Guo Huai and Vice Minister Jiang Ming is completely fabricated. This was a frame-up that resulted in the deaths of the Guo and Jiang families. This is an unjust case fabricated by treacherous officials in the court!"
"What? It's a wrongful conviction?"
"Who on earth is so bold? This concerns the innocence and lives of hundreds of people..."
"Great, great! This official has always found it hard to believe that Guo and Jiang could be such evildoers. Now the truth is finally out..."
"..."
As soon as Gu Jingzhi finished speaking, the court was in an uproar and the entire hall was in an uproar.
The newly appointed Minister of Justice stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Gu's words are so convincing. This case is most likely a huge injustice!"
"This case concerns the innocence and lives of the Guo and Jiang families. I implore Your Majesty to order a retrial of this case, redress the injustice done, and make the treacherous officials pay the price!"
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal..."
"I also second the proposal..."
"minister……"
In an instant, half of the court joined in the motion, demanding that Guo and Jiang be rehabilitated.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia stood up.
"Gentlemen, let Gu Shaoqing explain the entire case first before we decide on overturning the verdict!"
As early as when Guo and Jiang were dismissed from office and exiled, Emperor Xia suddenly woke up and realized that he had been deceived by the aristocratic family, but at that time both of them died on the way.
And at that time, the case had already been established.
It would be unrealistic to overturn the verdict immediately after the imperial decree was issued. After all, the aristocratic families were already on guard at that time, and it would be unrealistic to find evidence to overturn the verdict.
This has been delayed for two years.
If it weren't for Gu Jingzhi's proposal to undermine the foundation of the aristocratic family, he would never have thought of using Jiang Taoer to open this case.
When Gu Jingzhi heard what Emperor Xia said, he immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought all the files related to this case. Please allow me to submit them!"
"allow……"