I watched as a few drops of cold sweat trickled down Tang Xiangguo's wrinkled forehead.
/p
When the officials in the tent saw the reversal of events in this rebellion case, most of them chose to be stunned in place and did not speak. Now that the wind had settled, they all stood out with righteous indignation to beat the drowning dog. They all seconded the motion to hand over the key evidence, the arrows, to the Ministry of Works for identification.
/p
Tang Xiangguo's head had already flooded the embankment.
/p
The Emperor, who had been watching the show, finally spoke, "Prime Minister, the evidence must be true. If the Prime Minister doesn't have any ulterior motives, just hand over the arrow to Official Hu for identification."
/p
Tang Xiangguo suddenly raised his head. He didn't hide the killing intent in his eyes. I was shocked. I held Prince Yue's hand tightly and whispered, "He's not going to assassinate the Emperor, is he?" Protecting the Emperor seemed to be a great achievement.
/p
Turning my head, I saw the Prince of Yue staring at our crossed hands. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he seemed to be in a good mood. "He won't. He's just a weak scholar. I don't think he can even pull out a dagger, let alone try to kill someone."
/p
That made sense. I turned my attention back to the center of the tent.
/p
Prince Yue's hand tightened and trembled with satisfaction.
/p
Tang Xiangguo knelt down and kowtowed twice. He said in a sorrowful voice, "I only want to share the country's worries. I don't know why the ministers are forcing me to resign."
/p
The Minister of Works, Official Hu, took a step forward and answered, "Prime Minister, you're wrong. You said that the arrows that Prince Yue handed over to the Ministry of Works might be imitations. Although I believe in the quality of the Ministry of Works' craftsmen and can guarantee that the weapons in the Ministry of Works' warehouse are all authentic, the Emperor should understand your guess."
/p
"Then you can go and check. Why do you have to involve me?"
/p
Official Hu laughed loudly, a hint of disdain in his eyes. "You can suspect that the arrows that the Prince of Yue handed over were fakes, but the Prince of Yue can also suspect that the evidence that he handed over was a fraud. If they only examined the Prince of Yue's arrows and found that they were fakes, then it's fine. The crime will be handed over to the Imperial Censorate, the Office of Transmission, and the Supreme Court to await trial. However, if the arrows that the Prince of Yue handed over were genuine and the number matched the Ministry of Works' records, then the arrows that you handed over …" He cleverly didn't finish his sentence.
/p
The Emperor also spoke: "If the Prince of Yue's arrow is found to be fake, then there is no need to hand him over to the Supreme Court. He will be stripped of his title and thrown into prison for treason."
/p
Prince Yue magnanimously replied with a 'yes' and kowtowed heavily.
/p
I could only follow suit and kowtow.
/p
The Emperor spoke again, "This matter involves a lot of people. It involves the Prince and the Prime Minister. We don't want to drag this out for too long. Beloved Official Hu, where is the craftsman who can identify the authenticity of Prince Yue's arrows?"
/p
Official Hu shook his beard and walked into the hall to answer the Emperor, "Your Majesty is very kind. This person's surname is Zhou Huang. Your Majesty has ordered him to accompany you. He is currently in the hunting grounds. "
/p
I looked at Tang Xiangguo pitifully. Bringing along an assistant minister of the Ministry of Works on a sentry mission. If he wasn't a descendant of the Imperial Censorate, I'm afraid he would have already prepared a secret mission and had ulterior motives.
/p
"Good, good, good!" The Emperor said the word 'good' three times in a row. His dragon face was full of joy. He pointed at Official Hu and ordered, "Beloved Official Hu, go personally and bring this Zhou Huang into Zhen's palace. Have him directly examine the arrow in front of all the civil and military officials."
/p
"Your Majesty, the arrows that Prince Yue handed over are still in the Ministry of Works' warehouse."
/p
The Emperor waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. Let's examine the arrows in Tang Xiangguo's hands first."
/p
As soon as the Emperor gave the imperial edict, Hu Shangshu walked out of the tent feeling pleased with himself. He even summoned a few guards to accompany him. After a short while, he brought a dark-skinned and strong man wearing an official's robe into the tent. The man cupped his hands and bowed his head. He saluted the Emperor and said, "This humble subject, Zhou Huang, pays respect to Your Majesty."
/p
I carefully looked at the man. His eyes were full of spirit and the muscles on his face were moving. It seemed that he wasn't being controlled. The Emperor was also very powerful. He directly asked the two powerful people who could control people to leave first. No one in the tent dared to do anything in front of the Emperor's face.
/p
The crowd of First and Second Rank officials held their breaths and stared solemnly at the Fifth Rank minor official, Zhou Huang, who was examining the arrows.
/p
Zhou Huang took the arrow that Tang Xiangguo used as evidence. As soon as he held it in his hand, he frowned. After carefully touching both sides of the arrow, he sighed. Minister Hu coughed softly and asked his subordinates, "How is it?"
/p
"Replying to Your Majesty, Minister Hu, this arrow is not made by the Ministry of Works."
/p
Tang Xiangguo angrily said, "Nonsense! Your Majesty, this kind of person should be immediately suspended from his position and detained in prison. He must not be allowed to talk nonsense in the Imperial Court!"
/p
Minister Hu was also angry, "Minister, be careful with your words! My Ministry of Works has always appointed people based on their merits. It's not worthwhile to use this kind of dirty word to cover my Ministry of Works! "
/p
"He can't distinguish right from wrong, how can he be called a virtuous person!"
/p
Official Hu sneered, "Prime Minister, your words are quite interesting. Zhou Huang is the official assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, Yu Hengqing, and Minister of War. He was born in the imperial examinations, so he must have real ability and hard work to be able to sit in his current position. Could it be that Prime Minister feels that you, a first-rank cabinet scholar and Minister of War, have said and done things that are the righteousness of the heavens and cannot tolerate a fifth-rank assistant minister's participation?"
/p
Only the officials are allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps. This is probably what it means.
/p
Tang Xiangguo was blocked and couldn't say a word, but his political awareness was high. He turned his head and aimed his fire at the Emperor. With tears in his eyes, his old body trembling, he said sadly, "I don't know how I offended Minister Hu. He actually confused the Emperor's ears and inverted black and white to such an extent!"
/p
Tang Xiangguo just wept in grief. Hu Shangshu directly kowtowed three times without saying a word. When he raised his head, his forehead was already bruised. However, he still put on an upright and fearless attitude and said to the Emperor: "Wei chen was wronged. What wei chen said was to investigate the case and clear the country. I hope the Emperor will be able to judge clearly."
/p
The control was returned to the Emperor. He probably already had an idea in his heart, but he put on a magnanimous attitude and said, "After all, this is a big matter and involves too many people. It's good for Tang Xiangguo to be cautious. Assistant Minister Zhou, why don't you explain the situation in front of all the officials? How did you determine that the arrow made by Minister Guo is an imitation?"
/p
Zhou Huang accepted the order and said yes. He held up the broken arrow and said, "First, the material is different. The weapons and arrows made by the Ministry of Works for the King of Yue are all made of Bai Ning ore, but this arrow is made of white iron. The color of these two ores are similar, and the mining location is also close. Both are rare ores of the country, and they were also used as raw materials for weapons and armor. The only difference is the hardness. Bai Ning ore's hardness and toughness are both high-grade, and it's the best choice for military crafting. However, the toughness of white iron is a bit worse. "
/p
Tang Xiangguo's lips trembled, and Minister Hu raised his head.
/p
Zhou Huang continued, "The second is a secret made by the Ministry of Works (harmony?) Somewhere. Because the arrows made by the King of Yue are special, our ministry also used a special process to engrave symbols on the arrow feather to distinguish the authenticity. However, this arrow feather doesn't have any symbol of the Ministry of Works, so it can be seen that it's an imitation. "
/p
Minister Hu immediately followed up with a sentence, "The Emperor can judge clearly."
/p
A group of officials knelt down together. "The Emperor can judge clearly."
/p
This is going to be a conviction. I'm very excited.
/p
Although Tang Xiangguo didn't have a big brain, he was always quick-witted in an emergency, not to mention when the Gui clan's life was at stake. He said, "Your Majesty, this official was deliberately deceived by a traitor. I got forged evidence and wronged Prince Yue. This official is guilty!"
/p
The Emperor asked, "Who deceived you?"
/p
Tang Xiangguo's head was about to hit the ground. "This official doesn't know."
/p
The Emperor said, "Good, you don't know. Then I'll tell you. There are three hundred and sixty industries in the world, but the imperial court only controls five: salt, water transportation, border trade, shipping, and mining. "
/p
When the last word came out, Tang Xiangguo's bent body stiffened.
/p
The Emperor continued, "Whether it's the Bai Ning mine or the white iron mine, it's something that can only be mined with the approval of the imperial court. This was exposed for no reason, and it also let the traitor use this mine to make fake evidence to slander the important officials in the imperial court. You, Tang Xiangguo, claim to be wronged. My face is completely lost! "
/p
Tang Xiangguo whispered yes.
/p
The Emperor said, "Bad, bad for me. How can the ore that is strictly controlled by the imperial court be reduced to making weapons outside?! You bunch of officials, what kind of job do you have?! "
/p
All the officials shouted in unison, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"
/p
The Emperor was really angry this time. After scolding, he leaned on the dragon chair and gasped for breath. The Empress hurriedly went to serve him virtuously.
/p
The Emperor glanced at the officials who were hanging their heads in silence. The more he looked, the angrier he became. He said angrily, "Am I dead?! Each and every one of you is showing such an unlucky appearance! Hu Xianming, the mine is right under your nose. You will investigate this matter clearly for me. Prince Yue, you are a capable person. You will investigate this matter. "
/p
A chief judge who can do the actual work, plus a jury judge who can suppress the status of this team, this team configuration is about right.
/p
Hu Daren said, "This official accepts the order."
/p
Prince Yue also respectfully replied that he accepted the order, but then added, "But when this official heard Tang Xiangguo's evasive confession, I can't help but feel puzzled. Prime Minister, this rebellion case, you took the wrong path and led all the officials astray. Such a big crime, can it be overturned by saying that you were deceived?"
/p
The good show of settling accounts after autumn has begun. My husband and my cheap father are fighting in the imperial court.
/p
A strange scene suddenly appeared.
/p
Suddenly, a loud shout came from the Empress's tent. It was a sharp sound that pierced through the air. The people who heard it felt their scalps go numb. But I was even worse. I was directly hit by the sound. My body was already injured, so I suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
/p
Prince Yue hurriedly bent down to support me. He pressed his palm on my back, and my body immediately felt much better.
/p
"Can you still bear it?"
/p
I grabbed his arm and he held it. "I can bear it."
/p
Prince Yue looked at the Empress's tent in surprise. His aura suddenly became violent. He looked at the Emperor with eyes full of anger. At first, the Emperor was also surprised by the strange sound. When he recovered, he suddenly sneered and said loudly, "Prince Yue, what crime do you still want to accuse Tang Xiangguo of!"
/p
Prince Yue stood up straight and walked to the center of the tent. He knelt down on one knee and said clearly, "This official son wants to report that Tang Xiangguo colluded with non-human traitors and tried to use secret techniques to invade the country!"
/p
Non-human, secret techniques, and rebellion. If one was found guilty of any one of these three crimes, it was a crime that was enough to wipe out nine generations! Now, all these crimes were pinned on Tang Xiangguo's head.
/p
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
