On the second day after Ding Residence was ransacked, the main entrance of the palace in the capital was surrounded by people from various families.
Other than some family heads, most of the people who came here were the elderly and children of the family. They put down their bedding on the spot and claimed that if the Empress Dowager and the king could not stop the crackdown and reform, they would stay here forever and never leave.
If there were a few hundred people, the guards in the capital could easily deal with them. However, there were more than ten thousand people here.
More than half of them were old, weak, women, and children. They were either not afraid of death or did not know what death was.
In the face of these people, all the officials and soldiers were helpless. Even those who participated in the emergency court could only quietly enter through the side door.
In the throne room, the Empress Dowager and the king sat on the dragon throne behind the curtain. Hundreds of officials were present. Fang Yun still looked sick as he sat in Wu Hou's carriage, sitting at the head of the hundreds of officials.
Everyone was silent for a long time before the Empress Dowager slowly said, "A country's palace is surrounded by the people. It's not a solution for a long time. My beloved ministers have to come up with an explanation."
Fang Yundao said, "Those who dare to surround the palace might be spies from the demon world, Gyeongo, or evil tyrants. They definitely can't be ordinary people."
"It doesn't matter who they are. The key is how to solve it," the Empress Dowager said.
At this time, Sheng Boyuan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, said, "This matter started because of Fang Xusheng's reform. I'll have to trouble Fang Xusheng to solve it."
Fang Yun said in surprise, "The country has laws and regulations. It should be dealt with as it should be. Does this kind of matter need the Prime Minister to solve it personally?"
Sheng Boyuan changed the topic and said, "Since the Prime Minister is unwilling to deal with it, this matter should be handled by the Capital Governor."
Fang Yundao said, "They come from all over the country. Even the Capital Governor can't solve it. I think it's better for the relevant departments to set up a temporary department to deal with the matters of the families. I think we need a strong law enforcement agency. We need the Ministry of Justice. We also need to strictly abide by the law. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court are indispensable. Since it happened in the capital, the Capital Governor naturally has to participate. This matter will be handled by the temporary department. It won't be difficult to solve it by strictly following the law. "
Sheng Boyuan smiled and said, "Fang Xusheng, you're wrong. Those people besieging the Imperial Palace. According to the law, they should all be imprisoned, but who would dare to do that? If something happens, who will bear the responsibility? "
Fang Yun asked, "Oh? According to Minister Sheng's words, without any evidence, anyone could come to the palace to disturb the order of the country and interfere with the law of the imperial court. The Imperial Court and the Punishment Hall are working together to crack down on the enemy. This is a major event that benefits both the country and the people. Almost all of the common people support this. Why are there so few people who have come out to obstruct this? Minister Sheng, as the head of a department, isn't someone who will meddle in this matter? "
Sheng Boyuan said angrily, "You're blaming Old Man for the trouble you caused?"
"The reform is the Cabinet's business, and the crackdown is carried out by the Punishment Hall. What do you mean by me causing trouble? According to Minister Sheng's words, he was preparing to hand over all the power in Jingguo to the Prime Minister. This Prime Minister is very pleased. "Fang Yun retorted bluntly.
Sheng Boyuan snorted coldly. "Don't drag the entire cabinet down with you. At least, as a cabinet member, I don't agree with your reform and crackdown."
"Oh? Minister Sheng, do you mean to oppose the decree that the cabinet has already decided? "Fang Yun asked back.
Sheng Boyuan was so angry that his face turned red. The cabinet members could oppose specific matters, but they absolutely could not oppose the cabinet. Otherwise, the consequences would be very serious.
"Don't try to trick Old Man with words. Although the Old Man opposes the reform, since the cabinet has decided on the policy, it naturally has to be implemented."
"Since it has to be implemented, and you're complaining in the Imperial Court, since when is it so easy to be the Minister of Rites?"
"You …"
Fang Yun smiled freely and said, "Minister Sheng, don't be angry. I'm just learning from you to argue. You've seen the result. It's useless. However, I found that whether it's Minister Sheng or some other officials, they don't care about the lives of the common people at all! "
At the end of his words, Fang Yun's face darkened, and he coldly glanced at the officials.
Everyone immediately realized what Fang Yun was going to say.
Fang Yun continued, "I was so busy yesterday. I thought that today's Imperial Court was going to discuss the chaos in the manor. Some people are good. They don't care about hundreds of lives, but they're busy framing others. They make me disappointed!"
The Left Assistant Minister of the Overwatch Council, Wu Hanjiang, stepped forward and said, "I have something to report."
After the restructuring of the various departments in Jingguo, the names of the officials in the Overwatch Council were all unified. The Imperial Censor of the Overwatch Council was changed to Minister, the Left and Right Imperial Censors were changed to Left and Right Assistant Ministers, and the heads of the departments were changed to Si Zheng. However, they could still be called Imperial Censors.
Fang Yun looked at Wu Hanjiang with a faint smile. This was a hardcore royalist, the loyal dog of the late Emperor. If it weren't for his lack of experience and the fact that he was suppressed by the major forces, he would have taken over the power of the Overwatch Council long ago and turned the entire Overwatch Council into the sword of the royal family.
"What does Imperial Censor Wu have to report?" The Empress Dowager's voice came from behind the curtain.
"I report that Fang Yun's reform was excessive and self-centered. He brought disaster to hundreds of officials and finally caused chaos in the Ding manor. Hundreds of people died in the Ding manor and tens of thousands of houses were destroyed because of Fang Yun's chaos in the court. I believe that the Left Prime Minister Fang Yun, as the head of the hundreds of officials, cannot escape the blame for the chaos in the Ding manor. Therefore, I believe that Fang Yun is no longer suitable to be the Left Prime Minister. He should be removed from his position and handed over to the Supreme Court to be judged by the law of the land. "
"I second that!" Another Imperial Censor stepped forward.
"I second that!" An official from the Ministry of Appointments stepped forward.
Following that, one official after another stepped forward, holding memorials to impeach Fang Yun.
The atmosphere in the Throne Room was particularly solemn.
After a long time, the Empress Dowager said, "Naturally, someone has to bear the blame for the chaos in the Ding manor. However, the reform was a collective decision of the Cabinet. It seems that Fang Yun alone should not be blamed."
Sheng Boyuan stepped forward and said, "The Cabinet's collective decision made a mistake, so the Cabinet must admit its mistake. However, apart from admitting its mistake, Fang Yun, as the head of the Cabinet, should also bear more responsibility."
"Minister Yang, what do you think?" The Empress Dowager looked at Assistant Minister Yang Xuwen.
Assistant Minister Yang Xuwen coughed lightly and said, "The reform was agreed upon by the Cabinet. If there were omissions, Fang Xusheng alone should not be blamed. However, since there was something wrong, someone naturally has to bear the responsibility."
"What do you think, Right Prime Minister?" The Empress Dowager asked Cao Dean.
Cao Dean said in a clear voice, "If there is to be punishment, all the ministers, senators, and scholars in the Cabinet should be punished. According to the rules of the past, the monarch should also issue an edict to punish himself. However, His Majesty is still young and should be discussed. "
The people who had participated in the impeachment of Fang Yun earlier glared angrily at Cao Dean. Sheng Boyuan was also so angry that his eyes opened wide.
Not only was Cao Dean protecting Fang Yun, he was even hinting that if Fang Yun had to bear the blame, the Empress Dowager could not stay out of it. If the monarch did not issue an edict to punish himself, then it could only be the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was silent for a long time. She then looked at Fang Yundao and asked, "Minister Fang, do you have anything to say?"
"Yes, and a lot of them." Fang Yun swept his gaze over the officials who had impeached him. "It seems that my previous disappointment was very effective, and it was not deep enough. The chaos in the Ding manor started because the officials of the Ding manor suddenly resigned. There were so many of you, yet none of you stood out to fairly judge them. Instead, you all agreed to force me to leave. Imperial Censor Wu, let me ask you, if this matter is not my fault, is it your major dereliction of duty as the Left Assistant Minister of the Overwatch Council? "
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