PFC Chapter 155 The Days I Argued in the Court (1)
Chapter 155 The Days I Argued in the Court (1)
"In the 18th year of Jianwu, the former Minister of Revenue Guo Huai and Vice Minister Jiang Ming were ordered to measure the land across the country and re-establish the Fish Scale Atlas..."
Gu Jingzhi suddenly took out a booklet from his sleeve.
"Former Vice Minister Jiang Ming, while surveying farmland in Jiangnan, discovered that officials and aristocratic families were colluding to conceal the land and population throughout the region. However, just as the truth of the case was coming to light, Jiang Ming was framed, resulting in..."
"What nonsense!"
Before Gu Jingzhi could finish his words, Song Pu shouted, "Guo Huai and Jiang Ming, under the guise of compiling the Fish Scale Atlas, engaged in corruption and bribery... and even forced many civilians to death. The evidence is all there, and these two will be punished according to the law!"
"You are actually confusing the public and confusing right and wrong in this court today. What is your intention?"
Song Pu pointed at Gu Jingzhi righteously, his eyes filled with anger and a hint of imperceptible panic.
Gu Jingzhi said disdainfully, "Why are you asking me this, Mr. Prime Minister? Well, I have to ask... I haven't even finished what I'm saying yet, why is the Prime Minister so flustered?"
"presumptuous!"
Song Pu flatly denied it, saying, "This court is where all officials discuss state affairs. How can you bring two convicted criminals to the court to discuss them? Isn't this a waste of your Majesty and the officials' time?"
"Ah……"
Gu Jingzhi sneered, then turned around and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know whether the case from two years ago was a wrongful conviction or not, but every single incident recorded in this booklet is truly horrifying!"
"The case details, as well as the testimony and confessions... I've read them, and they don't seem fabricated!"
"How can we trust the words of a mere criminal official?"
"In my Great Xia, there doesn't seem to be any law that states that a guilty person cannot prove his innocence, right?"
"But he framed me!"
"They say that if there's any doubt, there must be an investigation. But they haven't even investigated. How can there be a frame-up?"
"Their crimes have long been determined..."
"According to what the Prime Minister meant, if the Dali Temple investigates a case and finds any doubts, we shouldn't investigate further once the person has been convicted, right?"
Gu Jingzhi said with a smile: "This is easy to do. Let the Japanese officials accuse the Song family's descendants of any crime. What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"You are presumptuous!"
"This is what the Prime Minister taught me!"
"you……"
"That's enough! What do you think this place is?"
Emperor Xia slammed his hand heavily on the dragon throne and looked at Song Pu and Gu Jingzhi with a gloomy face, his expression extremely dissatisfied.
He glanced at Song Pu coldly and said, "I am also very curious. When the Dali Temple reviewed past cases and found some unreasonable points, why can't they re-examine them?"
"Your Majesty, minister..."
Song Pu's face changed.
Emperor Xia waved his hand, silencing him. He then looked at Gu Jingzhi coldly and scolded him, "Just investigate the case. Why are you arguing about useless things? Is the court a place for you to quarrel?"
"I know that I am guilty, please punish me!"
"Humph! A six-month salary deduction..."
Emperor Xia said lightly.
Gu Jing was startled and said subconsciously: "Your Majesty, I was fined half a year's salary last time, and now another half a year has passed. I have been an official in the court for less than a year!"
Gu Jingzhi was a little depressed.
After working for more than half a year, it would have been fine if I hadn't received any salary, but now that I've calculated, I find that I owe the court several months' salary.
"Pfft!"
As soon as Gu Jingzhi said this, some people in the court could no longer hold back.
The corner of Emperor Xia's mouth twitched, and he waved his hand unhappily and said, "If you bargain again, I will punish you for a year!"
Having said that, he was not as angry as before. Apparently, Gu Jingzhi's joke... did have some effect.
Emperor Xia glanced at the booklet in his hand and said, "Tell me, what is this?"
"Your Majesty, this is a booklet left behind by the former Minister of Revenue during his thorough investigation of land in Jiangnan. It records evidence of the crimes committed by Jiangnan's aristocratic families, including the seizure of land and the plundering of the people's property... It also contains witness testimonies and other important clues!"
"what?"
When the civil and military officials in the court heard this, they were immediately shocked.
Evidence of the guilt of the entire Jiangnan family?
Is this wrong?
Weren't Guo Huai and Jiang Ming exiled before because of crimes such as forcing the Jiangnan families to hand over their property and accepting bribes?
How come a piece of evidence of the Jiangnan family's guilt suddenly appeared?
The expressions of the officials in the court varied. Some neutral officials looked at the booklet in Gu Jingzhi's hand with astonishment, while those officials who were on good terms with Guo Huai and Jiang Ming...
These people looked gloomy.
There were also officials from aristocratic families who looked at the booklet anxiously.
This was their masterpiece from two years ago, and now it was found by Gu Jingzhi, and the key point was that he also found important evidence pointing to the aristocratic family.
Is he trying to overturn the verdict?
After handing the booklet to the eunuch, Gu Jingzhi said, "Your Majesty, measuring the land area of the country is an important government matter for the court to implement national policy."
"Although Guo and Jiang were convicted, after I obtained this booklet, I, with the conviction that any suspicion must be investigated, retrieved their files. I believe there are many suspicious points in the case."
"Especially considering the booklet Jiang Ming left behind, the doubts in it do match the clues in the booklet, so..."
"Do you want to overturn the verdict on these two people?" Emperor Xia asked without comment.
Gu Jingzhi said, "Your Majesty, this is just one of the reasons! As the saying goes, a single glimpse reveals the whole picture. I initially thought it was simple: Gu Heng's family dared to commit such a crime. There are countless dignitaries and officials in the world. What if there are still such parasites in the country?"
"Therefore, I had someone retrieve the records of land-related cases from previous years. Unexpectedly, I found a clue in the cases of Guo and Jiang!"
"Well!"
Emperor Xia nodded slightly. Although there was no expression on his face, he was extremely satisfied in his heart.
Gu Jingzhi really lived up to his expectations. As soon as the truth of Gu Heng's case came to light, he turned his attention to all the noble families in the world!
"Then what do you want to do?"
"Your Majesty, regardless of whether what's written in this booklet is true or false, the measurement of the land across the land was originally ordered by Your Majesty two years ago, but was later suspended due to the case of Guo and Jiang!"
"I think we can use this as an opportunity to continue our investigation, especially in Jiangnan! We must get to the bottom of this!"
"Your Majesty, I object!"
Suddenly, a man jumped out and said, "If you start a war against the whole world based on a piece of 'evidence' that is hard to verify... and whose authenticity is unclear or slanderous, I think this is inappropriate!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! If there is a major uproar at court, local officials will inevitably be terrified!"
"Your Majesty, I second the motion! This matter is of grave importance, and it involves a case from two years ago. It's far too difficult to investigate!"
"Ah……"
Gu Jingzhi sneered and said disdainfully, "According to what this lord means, if it's difficult to investigate, then we can just not investigate. Does that also mean that if there's an invasion by a foreign enemy, we can just not fight if it's difficult to fight?"