Li Zhaode's dignified and cold voice resounded in the Political Affairs Hall: "At the beginning of the month, the court had just ordered that the people are forbidden from keeping brocade. Those who disobey will be killed without mercy! You, Hou Sizhi, have committed such a great crime … "
Li Zhaode could not retreat and could not retreat. He was the spiritual leader of the civil officials who fought against the cruel officials. When things came to a head, he could only advance. Moreover, the government order forbidding the people from keeping brocade also came from him. This was an important way for him to ease the economy. If he let Hou Sizhi go today, this government order would only exist in name.
Brocade was a hard currency and a commodity in itself. If it was not strictly restricted by the law, the situation of deflation could not be alleviated. In ancient times, there were no paper money in use. Deflation occurred far more frequently than inflation. The overall damage caused by deflation was more serious than inflation. If it was not controlled, he, as the "chief executive", would bear the greatest responsibility.
Therefore, even though Li Zhaode knew that he was being used by Yang Fan, he could only let Yang Fan lead him by the nose. A Prime Minister being schemed against by a young man made Li Zhaode very angry. This anger could not be directed at Yang Fan, so he could only vent his anger on Hou Sizhi.
"Hou Sizhi, as an Imperial Censor, you have violated the law. Now that you have fallen into my hands, there is no reason for me to let you off lightly. Someone come! Drag him away and beat him to death with a cane outside the Meridian Gate so that the officials can warn him! "
Everyone in the hall was shocked. The Minister of Revenue could not help but advise: "Prime Minister Li, Hou Sizhi is an official of the court. Even though he has broken the law, he should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice. Only with the decree of the Saint can he be executed. Now …"
Li Zhaode was filled with anger. Hearing his advice, he could not help but say: "How dare I not serve the country with the Saint's favor? This person's actions cannot be redeemed even if he dies a hundred times. He should be executed at the Meridian Gate as an example. Even if I report it to the Saint first, Hou Sizhi will not be able to escape death. As long as Zhao De is wholeheartedly working for the country, the Saint will not refuse any requests. What harm is there in reporting first and then later?
Now that the country's situation was on the brink of crisis, there was no time to delay in saving the country. How could they cause the country to collapse and go out of control because of a single Imperial Censor? Hou Sizhi is no more than a fifth-rank official in the Imperial Censorate, but he can beat any official below fifth-rank to death in court. Zhaode is the current Prime Minister, can't he beat a little Imperial Censor to death? "
The Minister of Revenue, Works, and Army, three Ministries of War, saw his stubbornness and stubbornness, his words were unreasonable; their hearts shivered and they did not dare to say anything more. Li Zhaode slammed his desk and shouted, "Warriors, seize Hou Sizhi and bring him to the Meridian Gate to be beaten to death!"
Hou Sizhi was stunned. When Zhou Xing was in the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice had such a domineering style. When Lai Junchen was in the Censorate, the Censorate had such a style. When Qiu Shenji went to the local government, Qiu Shenji had such a style. But he never thought that Li Zhaode would have such a style in the Political Affairs Hall today.
It wasn't until two warriors came forward and grabbed his arms that Hou Sizhi came to his senses. He shouted in horror, "Li Zhaode, how dare you! I, Hou Sizhi, am still an official of the imperial court. Do you dare to act first and report later? Are you breaking the law? "
Li Zhaode waved his hand with a vicious look and said, "Drag him out and beat him to death!"
The warriors in front of the hall were only following orders. They did not care if it was legal or not. They just dragged him away. The warriors in the palace were all well-versed in martial arts. They tossed the stone chains that weighed sixty to seventy pounds as if they were toys. In the past, Hou Sizhi could be considered as a fierce ruffian who killed from the beginning of the alley to the end of the alley with a watermelon knife. But now, with his arms grabbed by two warriors, he did not even have the chance to struggle.
Hou Sizhi screamed, "I, the Censorate, can beat officials below the fifth rank. That is the law of the imperial court. What right do you, the Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Hall, have to beat me to death! Li Zhaode, you act arbitrarily and cover the sky with one hand. You will not have a good death … "His cursing gradually faded away. In the end, he was dragged out.
The three ministers felt like they were sitting on pins and needles. They quickly got up and bowed to Li Zhaode, saying, "Prime Minister Li worries about the whole world. I am too short-sighted to only focus on my own Yamen. I will go back now and follow Prime Minister Li's instructions to open up more resources and save more resources. We must ensure that the Western Punitive Expedition Army does not have to worry about the rear. I will take my leave now!"
Li Zhaode didn't expect that killing Hou Sizhi would have such an effect. He became even more arrogant. He coldly snorted and said, "I still have official business to attend to. I can't send you off."
The three ministers nodded and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister Li, please wait!"
After the three ministers left, Li Zhaode kicked Chu Kuangge and Tang Zong out of the Political Affairs Hall, leaving only Yang Fan. His face darkened and he said coldly, "Yang Langzhong, you are really cunning!"
Yang Fan pretended to be surprised and said, "Why do you say that, Prime Minister Li?"
Li Zhaode sneered and glared at him, but did not speak.
Yang Fan pretended to be enlightened again and said, "Oh! Does Prime Minister Li want me to hand Hou Sizhi over to you? Prime Minister Li, you have wronged me. I wish I could wipe out these ruthless officials from the court. But my words do not carry much weight. Most of the time, I do not have the strength to do so.
Today, Hou Sizhi is guilty of hiding brocades and should be executed. Prime Minister Li decisively executed Hou Sizhi with the court's decree. Even the Saints could not say anything. But if he did not use such a ruthless method and instead followed the normal procedure, it was hard to guarantee that the Censorate would not think of a way to save him. If the Saints took pity on him, the Censorate would be able to keep his life.
To kill Hou Sizhi, who else but Prime Minister Li can do it? Out of the three Prime Ministers in the court, two were exiled and one was demoted. In exchange, Wang Hongyi was sent to prison. Moreover, he did not commit a capital offense. The officials could not help but feel depressed. If Prime Minister Li killed Hou Sizhi, the officials would be able to hold their heads high. "
These words made Li Zhaode feel comfortable. Even though he knew that Li Zhaode could not escape the suspicion that he was using him, but since things had come to this, he could not shed all pretense of cordiality. He could only coldly snort and say, "In the future, do not try to scheme in front of me. Otherwise, do not think that with Princess Taiping looking after you, I cannot do anything to you!"
Yang Fan quickly bowed and said, "I do not dare!"
Li Zhaode flicked his sleeve and said, "Step down!"
Yang Fan said, "Yes! Today, Hou Sizhi was killed in front of the Meridian Gate. We still need to guard against the cornered Censorate. Prime Minister Li must be extra careful. "
Li Zhaode coldly said, "What a joke. This old man has been an official my whole life. When I was struggling in the bureaucracy, you were not even born. Do I not need a little kid like you to remind me?"
"Yes, yes, yes. It is good that Prime Minister Li has his own ideas!"
Yang Fan had achieved his goal and did not feel offended by Li Zhaode's cold attitude. In terms of official position, the two of them were worlds apart. In terms of age, Li Zhaode was too young to be his grandfather. So what if he let him throw a tantrum?
Yang Fan smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "I will take my leave!"
Yang Fan took three steps back and turned to walk out. Li Zhaode stared at his back and scolded, "This kid is so cunning!"
…
Hou Sizhi's body was dragged back to the Censorate. A rotten corpse, blood stained the clothes. It was a horrible sight.
Hou Sizhi had to blame Tang Taizong, Li Shimin, for suffering such a heavy punishment.
In the past, there were not so many rules for caning. Because of this, criminals who should not have been executed often died because of improper caning. During the reign of Tang Taizong, Li Shimin once saw a 'Mingtang Acupuncture Chart' in the Imperial Hospital. He knew that there were many important acupuncture points on the chest and back, but there were few on the buttocks. He decided that caning would only be carried out on the fifteenth day of the eighth month.
Therefore, the caning started with Li Shimin.
Caning the buttocks was meant to punish someone without killing them. But Li Zhaode's punishment was to caning Hou Sizhi to death. How much effort would it take to beat someone to death by caning?
As a result, Hou Sizhi's corpse was beaten so badly that it was unrecognizable. This was only because the guard who used the cane was too tired from the beating and wanted to take advantage of the situation. He moved the cane up a little and smacked Hou Sizhi's waist, smashing his kidneys into mush. That was how he ended his life.
Now, only Hou Sizhi's head and tail are intact. His entire waist and buttocks have become a pile of rotten meat. The Imperial Censors surrounding his body could not help but grieve for the death of a rabbit. Even though they were ruthless and merciless, they could not help but shed tears at this moment.
Ever since the birth of Yang Fan, the censors of the Zhou Dynasty had many 'firsts'. This was the first time someone walked out of the censor's office unharmed. This was the first time someone rushed into the censor's office to arrest someone. This was the first time someone from the censor's office was tortured to death. The more the censors thought about it, the angrier they became. Wei Suizhong shouted, "Let's go! Let's find Vice Chancellor Wan. We will seek justice for Censor Hou! "
Only then did the censors realize that Wan Guojun was not present. They were even angrier. Wei Suizhong led a group of people to Wan Guojun's office.
"Bang!"
Wei Suizhong kicked the door open and shouted in a stern voice, "Wan Zhongcheng! Our Censorate has been bullied and humiliated, our colleagues want you to uphold justice for us … "
"Shut up!"
Wan Guojun's shrill roar came from the room. He was not someone who easily lost his temper. Once he did, everyone jumped in fright. Their desire to denounce Wan Guojun weakened by thirty percent.
Wan Guojun stood in the shadows. His skinny body emitted a strong aura, "Wei Suizhong, Huang Jingrong, Wu Rang, Zhao Jiulong, and Liu Guangye, stay. The rest, get out!"
At this moment, Wan Guojun was overflowing with a domineering aura, vaguely having the demeanor of a Tathagata minister. Everyone was forced by his power and actually retreated, leaving only the people he called out in the room.
Wan Guojun sneered, "Shout! What are you shouting for? No matter how loud you shout, will you be able to avoid our crisis? Will you be able to defeat our enemies? They can't wait for us to make a move. They have no brains and are all useless! If this goes on, Hou Sizhi will be dead today. Tomorrow, it will be you, you, and you! "
"And … me!"
Wan Guojun pointed to his nose with a trembling finger. His expression was ferocious.
Wei Suizhong sneered, "Then what is Vice Chancellor Wan's opinion? Do you want us to continue to endure? We want to endure and be a coward, but they won't let us! "
Wan Guojun slowly sat back in his chair, shrinking his body as if he was too cold. He quietly said, "Endure. Of course, there is no need to endure. However, it is even more foolish to go against the entire court. Didn't you see that Li Zhaode can no longer hold back and is going into battle? "
His eyes were bleak, like two will-o '-the-wisps on a grave. He said, "If we want to win, we can only rely on the Emperor! If we want the Emperor to feel that we are indispensable, then we must make the Emperor feel that the world is not stable. When the cunning rabbit is dead, the hound will be cooked! Hmph, what if the cunning rabbit is not dead? "
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