Du Qi's gaze swept past Mo Feng and the others as he said, "Mo Feng, Lan Changhe has already entered the palace. Right now, he's in front of you and you're confronting him in court. Speak your mind and I will personally decide this matter. "
Mo Feng praised, "Your Majesty is wise." Then, he turned to look at Lan Changhe. With a sharp gaze, he asked in a domineering manner, "Provincial Governor Lan, you didn't distinguish between right and wrong. You arrested the shopkeepers of our shops and sealed all of our shops. You even framed us with crimes and took all of our grain seeds for yourself. Do you admit to this matter? "
Mo Feng's words made it seem like Lan Changhe was a criminal and he was interrogating Lan Changhe. This was deliberately created by Mo Feng to make Lan Changhe admit his guilt in front of Du Qi.
In the end, he had achieved his goal of convicting Lan Changhe.
Lan Changhe's expression was indifferent as he said slowly, "Mo Feng, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I didn't want to take your grain seeds for myself. It's because you've raised the price of the grain seeds, causing the commoners to be unable to afford them. "
"I can't ignore such a high price. Yet, you refused to repent. That's why I've arrested all the shopkeepers and sealed all of your shops. "
"There's a reason for my actions."
At this point, Lan Changhe turned to look at Du Qi and said, "Your Majesty, please judge clearly."
Du Qi nodded but didn't express his opinion.
Mo Feng sneered and said in a deep voice, "Provincial Governor Lan, you've been staying in the Provincial Governor's Office all day. I'm afraid you don't understand the specific market situation. Our grain seeds are mainly bought from other places. Due to the rising flames of war everywhere, the price of grain seeds naturally rose. "
"At this point, we can't do anything about it."
"Even the cost has increased. If we don't raise the price, we'll suffer losses. Our price is based on the price outside, so we can't be blamed for the increase in price in Chang 'an. "
"Your Majesty, please judge clearly on this point."
Mo Feng shifted his gaze from Du Qi to Lan Changhe again and said, "Your Majesty, we can't possibly sell it at a low price without caring about our losses after buying it at a high price, right? We don't have to make money, but we can't lose money. Because we raised the price, you wanted to arrest people and close down the shop, but you didn't investigate the truth. "
"Provincial Governor Lan, such a one-size-fits-all method is absolutely not allowed. If the entire Jingzhou follows this arrangement, I'm afraid countless merchants will go bankrupt. "
At this point, Mo Feng imitated Lan Changhe and turned to look at Du Qi. "Your Majesty, please uphold justice for us."
Du Qi nodded slightly and said, "Lan Changhe, do you have anything to say?"
At this moment, Mo Feng was staring at Lan Changhe with a smug look on his face. As long as Lan Changhe was unable to defend himself and condemn him, then they would have won this battle. Once they won, not only would Lan Changhe be punished, but it would also be logical for them to raise the price of the seeds. After all, even the Emperor had approved of it. What was the point of the commoners getting involved? They just had to follow the orders.
Even if you don't buy grain seeds, there will always be others who will buy grain seeds. This was Mo Feng's inner thought.
Lan Changhe noticed Mo Feng's expression and sneered inwardly.
He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
He had been waiting for Mo Feng to speak.
Lan Changhe had a smile on his face as he said unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, regarding the merchants led by Mo Feng, they said that their grain seeds were bought back at a high price. I would like to ask, when did they buy them back? "
Mo Feng said, "You just bought it recently?"
"Yes, yes, just recently."
One by one, the merchants chimed in. To them, this wasn't a big deal. As long as this result was confirmed, Lan Changhe would be finished. Moreover, in everyone's eyes, Lan Changhe was stubbornly resisting and making a final struggle. It wasn't a counterattack.
Lan Changhe said overbearingly, "How long ago was it recently?"
Mo Feng said, "Within the past three days."
Lan Changhe looked at the other merchants and asked, "Are all of you the same as Mo Feng? Did you all just buy the seeds from outside the past three days?"
Everyone nodded.
However, these people suddenly had a bad premonition. The reason was simple. Lan Changhe was too calm. Lan Changhe's calmness gave others a bad premonition. It was as if Lan Changhe was plotting something.
Lan Changhe sneered and said, "According to my investigation, the caravans of your various clans have not gone out at all in the past three days. Even before that, when Li Daozong was in Chang 'an, Chang' an was sealed. It was even more impossible for you to go out.
"Even before that, the people of Chang 'an were in a state of panic. Everyone was protecting themselves. All the merchants had shrunk their scale and were even cautious when doing business. They had never sent anyone out to buy grain.
"Because of the smoke of war everywhere and the frequent chaos of war, once someone was sent out to buy grain, the grain might have been stolen before it even reached Chang 'an. It might even be confiscated by the authorities."
Lan Changhe said, "Therefore, you, Mo Feng, and the others are fabricating. This is a lie to deceive His Majesty. "
Mo Feng's expression changed slightly.
How could Lan Changhe have such a clear grasp of the information? The expressions of the others also changed.
Du Qi nodded slightly. As expected, Lan Changhe had come prepared. He had already set up the stage and allowed Lan Changhe to perform. Under this premise, if Lan Changhe could not catch all the illegal merchants in Chang 'an in one fell swoop, it would be too disappointing. Du Qi could only say that he was satisfied with Lan Changhe's performance. It was not amazing for the time being.
At this moment, Lan Changhe turned to look at Du Qi and said directly, "Your Majesty, with Mo Feng as the leader, all of them have lied to Your Majesty. They have committed the crime of deceiving Your Majesty. I implore Your Majesty to punish them and kill them. The crime of deceiving Your Majesty should be executed. "
Whoosh!
Mo Feng and the others' expressions changed.
Du Qi had a look of approval on his face. This was an entry point. Using the fact that Mo Feng and the others had lied, he would give the other party a fatal blow and make them panic.
Du Qi said, "Mo Feng, what do you all say?"
Mo Feng was originally kneeling on the ground. At this moment, when he heard Du Qi's words and looked at Lan Changhe, he knew that he had been careless. He did not expect Lan Changhe to be so familiar with their situation. In particular, they had lied and committed the crime of deceiving Your Majesty. This was a serious crime.
Mo Feng panicked and hurriedly kowtowed. He said directly, "Your Majesty, this commoner has sinned. This commoner has lied. However, the cost of our grain seeds is indeed high! "
The others spoke one after another.
They all agreed with Mo Feng.
Du Qi looked angry. He said in a deep voice, "I trusted you, but you lied to me. Not only that, you even intended to use me to deal with Lan Changhe. You all deserve to die. Today, I'll fulfill your wish. Men, drag everyone out and flog them to death outside the palace. "
This sentence was deliberately used to pressure them.
Sure enough, as soon as Du Qi spoke, all the merchants panicked. In the face of death, there was great fear. No one could ignore life and death. Therefore, as soon as Du Qi spoke, the merchants who had once been led by Mo Feng began to shirk responsibility without exception. They all said that Mo Feng had ordered them to do it and that they had been bewitched by him.
Not only that, but the matter of price gouging was also exposed. They all said that it was instigated by Mo Feng.
Mo Feng knelt on the ground, trembling in anger.
A group of trash. After being threatened a little, they all admitted defeat. Under such circumstances, he did not even have the chance to struggle. He could only kneel on the ground and kowtow. "Your Majesty, this commoner has sinned. I implore Your Majesty to give this commoner a chance and spare this commoner this once on account of my contributions to Xia Xia. "
In desperation, Mo Feng could only use his trump card. He said that he had made a meritorious service and hoped that Du Qi would spare him.
Even if the meritorious service canceled out their friendship, he would accept it.
At least he could live.
The others spoke one after another. They did not care about anything else and only hoped that Du Qi would spare them.
"Your Majesty, this subject has a memorial."
At this moment, Lan Changhe took out a memorial from his sleeve and held it in his hand. "This subject discovered that Mo Feng and the other merchants have violated the law and inflated prices. There are a total of 38 cases of crimes, including 19 cases of murder. Your Majesty, please take a look."
When Mo Feng and the others heard this, their expressions changed.
How could this be?
Why did it suddenly become Lan Changhe listing out their crimes? It was as if he wanted to sentence them to death.
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