The Town Hall was dead silent. The ministers who were close to Zhangsun Wuji could hear his heavy breathing.
Li Shiming looked at Kong Yan, a few dark lines appearing on his forehead.
He knew that Kong Yan had beaten Zhangsun Chong and the others into a pulp, but he did not believe that his brother-in-law would kill Kong Yan because of this.
After all, his brother-in-law had reminded him that the key to the war against the Turks was Kong Yan's silver.
Zhangsun Wuji's brows revealed a violent aura and a rare killing intent. He knew that he was overly favored and that his status as a consort was sensitive. Therefore, he had always been calm and rarely fought with others for benefits.
However, this did not mean that he had no temper, nor did it mean that he was a kind person.
At this moment, he had every reason to kill!
Murderous intent!
This was what the officials felt from the back of their grandson.
The country uncle's anger was also shocking!
He coughed lightly and smiled brightly. He walked to Zhangsun Wuji and ignored his angry glare. He revealed a playful look and said leisurely,""Why do you say that? I only mentioned the Zhangsun Clan, not the Imperial Uncle's Residence.”
"..."
Zhangsun Wuji's expression froze, and his body could not help but tremble.
His face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Cough, cough, cough…" The rest of the ministers started coughing violently, and their faces turned red.
Li Shi Min also revealed a pained expression.
There were indeed several families with the surname Zhangsun in Chang 'an City, but they were of the same race but not of the same family.
"Your Majesty, it's a small matter that Uncle wants to…oh no, the Zhangsun Clan wants to kill me. Let's first listen to Lord Liu Yi's story about the disaster relief funds.”Kong Yan turned around and looked at Li Shimin, smiling faintly.
Li
Shiming snorted and looked at Liu Yi who was kneeling on the ground. He said coldly,""Tell me."
Liu Yi's face was pale and his body was trembling. His lips moved a few times but he didn't say anything.
"Leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist!”Kong Yan said calmly.
"When I was in front of the Fragrant Brothel, I saw two victims who complained…"
"State Duke Xue sent someone to find me…
""…"
After saying that, Liu Yi's eyes were lifeless and his body went limp. He knew that he was finished.
"Xue Guogong, Zhangsun Shunde."
The ministers were shocked, and Zhangsun Wuji's expression changed.
Xue Guogong, the uncle of Zhangsun Shunde, Zhangsun Wuji and Empress Zhangsun, was the founding father of the Tang Dynasty. After Jinyang raised an army, he was worshiped as the commander of the army. He pacified Huoyi, broke Linfeng, captured the famous general Qu Tutong, pacified Shan County, and repeatedly made military achievements.
Tang Gaozu Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, worshiped as Zuo Xiaowei General, granted Xue Guogong.
Later, he took part in the Xuanwu Gate and Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, granting him 1,200 households.
At this point, Zhangsun Shunde's glory had reached its peak. Li Shimin was extremely fond of him and even allowed him to stay overnight in the Ministry of Central Affairs!
However, after that, the scandal of Zhangsun Shunde's corruption and bribery was exposed. Li Shimin thought about it again and again. He regretted his contribution and did not have the heart to punish him. Instead, he gave him dozens of silk in public in the palace to stimulate his regret.
However, following Li Xiaochang's rebellion, Zhangsun Shunde was implicated because of his relationship with Li Xiaochang and was stripped of his original official position by Li Shimin.
Now I've been doing it at home
After hearing this, Li Shi Min was furious and his face turned dark.
He could forgive Zhangsun Shunde Mo for his greed for the treasures in the palace. He could forgive him for being too close to the traitor Li Xiaochang for the sake of Guanyin's maid. However,
as an emperor, he could not tolerate the fact that he embezzled the disaster relief funds and fed the victims as animals. He might even kill countless victims.
"This matter will be handed over to the Supreme Court for a thorough investigation!”Li Shiming said coldly,"If the situation is true
…"”
"Your Majesty is wise," the ministers shouted.”
"..."
Kong Yan's face was filled with ridicule. After confirming that the mastermind was Zhangsun Shunde, he specially investigated Zhangsun Shunde's situation.
He didn't think that Li Shimin would be as decisive as he was now when he executed Zhangsun Shunde.
Zhangsun Shunde had contributed greatly to the Tang Empire and had even participated in the coup of Xuanwu Sect. Empress Zhangsun's pillow talk alone would probably change Li Shimin's attitude in just one night.
Furthermore, Zhangsun Shunde was not the only person from the Zhangsun Clan involved in this case.
Liu Yi, the censor who had tried to impeach Kong Yan and kill his entire family, was dragged out of the hall by two guards on duty. His career as a censor had come to an end.
No one pitied him, and he was not the only one.
However, it was obvious that Li Shi Min would not continue to arrest the officials in the court. After all, this was also a loss of face for him.
Kong Yan was disappointed. He still had a long list of names. Although most of them were local officials, there were still some who were on the list in the Town Hall.
This inexplicable mention of the disaster relief corruption case caused the atmosphere in the entire hall to fall into a low-pressure state.
After all, the Duke of the Zhangsun Clan was involved. This could be considered a shocking case.
The ministers were all very observant and could tell that Li Shiming was in a state of extreme anger. Therefore, after Liu Yi was dragged away, the hall fell into silence.
In the silence, many people started to size up Kong Yan, who was dressed in a red robe.
He was supposed to be the subject of all the officials 'impeachment, but for some baffling reason, he became a Duke. This made many people feel a little strange.
"This kid is a little evil." Li Jing complained in his heart. He remembered clearly that Kong Yan had said that he would use another method to make the officials forget about being hung up and beaten up yesterday at the Yin and Yang Palace.
Now, it seemed that some of the ministers did not dare to mention it.
Kong Yingda kept wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. He was really worried about Kong Yan just now.
Even now, he felt bitter in his heart. How could the Zhangsun Clan be so easy to deal with?
Most of the officials in the hall understood that as long as Empress Zhangsun was the empress, the Zhangsun Clan would be difficult to exterminate.
Usually, to participate in a major matter like rebellion was definitely to offend the emperor's reverse scale. However, Zhangsun Shunde was only idle at home and could still cause trouble now.
"Ha ~"
Suddenly, an untimely yawn rang out, pulling Li Shimin's attention back from his anger.
Kong Yan's face was still drowsy and his lethargy made Li Shimin's face darken again.
"Oh right, this subject remembers that Your Majesty called this subject to the palace to ask about the strategy to enrich the people and strengthen the country. Now that this matter has happened, Your Majesty should not be in the mood to listen. Why don't this subject return first?”
Kong Yan yawned again, his eyes misty and his voice lazy.
Some of the censors behind the hall couldn't hold it in anymore.
Kong Yan was too arrogant!
All the officials are standing, what right does a mediocre halberd bearer like you have to not stand?
However, perhaps it was because of Liu Yi's previous mistakes, or perhaps it was because they had ulterior motives, their expressions were ugly. After thinking for a long time, no one stood up.
Li Shi Min's eyes twitched, his face darkened, and he gritted his teeth.
Looking at the court officials, Li Shimin was slightly dissatisfied when he realized that no one had jumped out to attack Kong Yan.
He glanced coldly at Kong Yan and then at his brother-in-law, Zhangsun Wuji.
Zhangsun Wuji sighed inwardly. Something had just happened to his uncle, and it was really inconvenient for him to speak at this time. However, it was obvious that Li Shi Min had absolute trust in him, which made him feel extremely complicated.
"Just now, you tied His Majesty with Liu Bang, the Han Gaozu, as the third in history. What do you mean?”Zhangsun Wuji said slowly.
"That's right. How can Liu Bang be compared to His Majesty?”A censor behind them muttered.
Kong Yan once again gathered the gazes of everyone in the hall.
"A righteous ruler cannot control evil ministers. A righteous minister serving an evil monarch cannot be governed properly. As long as the monarch and his subjects meet and share the same fish and water, the sea can be stable.”
Kong Yan said slowly,"In the past, Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was just a farmer. With a three-foot sword to pacify the world, and then the scale is grand and far-reaching, and the descendants are celebrated. This is probably due to the appointment of virtuous ministers.”
"What does Imperial Uncle Zhangsun think of Your Majesty compared to Liu Bang?”
.......................
[PS: The protagonist's summary of Liu Bang is actually Li Shimin's evaluation of Liu Bang in history ~]
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。