Inside the Gate of Heaven Influence, on the left side of the gate, Li Shi Min's face was ashen.
Beside him, Wang De lowered his head and smiled bitterly in his heart.
They had been eavesdropping here for a while.
"Hehe…so what if I did?”Li Shi Min sneered in a low voice.
Wang De secretly sighed, not daring to show the slightest expression on his face.
He found that since Kong Yan came to Chang 'an, His Majesty had become more difficult to serve.
Combined with what Kong Yan had just said, he vaguely concluded the reason. Poor!
Using this word to describe the Emperor of the Great Tang was obviously absurd. Some people might even think that he was a frog in a well.
However, Wang De had been serving Li Shi Min for many years, so he knew him better than most people.
Was His Majesty really poor?
Compared to people other than Kong Yan, he was definitely not poor!
However, compared to Kong Yan, His Majesty had lost completely.
The national treasury might not be able to afford the disaster relief funds even if they tightened their belts, but Kong Yan casually threw 500 taels over.
On the Empress 'birthday, His Majesty had forgotten to give her a gift. Kong Yan had casually given her a huge solid golden phoenix.
The houses of the civil and military officials were burned down, leaving only ruins behind. Kong Yan's Falling Goose Pavilion was burned down, and a huge treasury stood out!
The treasury that Kong Yan didn't care about was forcefully taken away by His Majesty.
Furthermore, the Imperial Jade Seal that His Majesty had sent out countless people to search for was exactly what he wanted, and there was not even the slightest clue.
Kong Yan casually revealed the whereabouts of the Imperial Jade Seal and did not even take it seriously.
There was no harm without comparison. His Majesty was a man of great talent and great strategy. He had led men to conquer more than half of the Great Tang, and now he was the Great Tang's supreme ruler. He should have been the most powerful and wealthiest person in the world.
But now, he was indeed the most powerful person, but if one were to talk about the richest, there would be a question mark.
Wang De vaguely understood that the conflict between His Majesty and Kong Yan was probably because His Majesty was too poor in front of Kong Yan!
No king could tolerate such a thing.
"Sigh." Recalling the words Kong Yan had said to him with the fish-shaped jade pendant in his hand, Wang De couldn't help but sigh.
He knew that one of them was the most powerful and the other was the richest. Two tigers could not live on the same mountain. There would definitely be a real conflict between the two of them in the future!
At that time, he would have to make a choice.
Li Shi Min's face was still livid, and his mouth would occasionally reveal a creepy smile. He didn't realize that he had been labeled as poor by his eunuch.
Outside the Sky Bearing Gate, a large number of black-robed figures appeared. They were neatly arranged and their footsteps were the same. They were tall, short, fat, thin, male, female, old, and young!
"Cough cough cough…F * ck, isn't that my chef?”Cheng Yaojin stared at a fat woman in black and couldn't help but curse.
"That seems to be my third accountant?”Hou Junji frowned as he saw a few familiar faces.
"F * ck, why is the servant girl of my residence here?”
"F * ck, isn't that my son's errand boy?”
"That's not right. This woman looks so familiar. She seems to be my twenty-sixth concubine?”
"Why is Uncle Qin here? Shouldn't he be feeding my horse at this hour…"
“……”
The officials stared at the new group of men in black and were in an uproar.
The 1,000 men in black who had just entered the hall lined up neatly around the officials. They tried their best to maintain their tense expressions, wanting to give off a cold and indifferent feeling.
Unfortunately, their eyes flickered when they faced their masters. They did not dare to look at anyone.
Kong Yan rubbed his nose and smiled,""I forgot to tell you that these 1,000 people were all invited from your mansion.”
Kong Yan was very sincere in helping the rich and powerful in the city to build houses. Not only did he give the workers five times the price, but he also used the best wood and stone materials to build the houses.
Not only that, when he saw that some of the servants in the various manors were not living well, Kong Yan sent people to send warmth in time.
The 1,000 people in front of him could only be considered a small miniature.
The ministers all had ugly expressions on their faces, as if they were all reminded of the last time they had been beaten up.
"You bribed them?" Xiao Yu's face was livid as he stared straight at Kong Yan.
Kong Yan smiled faintly." Lord Xiao, you've used the wrong word. It's not bribing, it's hiring!"”
"What exactly do you want to do?" Li Jing asked with narrowed eyes.”
Kong Yan looked at the sky, sat up straight, and said,""Investigate the case!"
Zhu Sanlang raised the imperial edict and said in a clear voice,"With the imperial edict, it's as if His Majesty has come personally!"
"His Majesty has ordered my young master to try the murder of State Duke Xue. Please cooperate!”
"The trial will begin now. Use the torture tools first!"
As soon as Zhu Sanlang finished speaking, a group of men in black walked to the empty space in front of Kong Yan and placed the instruments of torture.
These instruments of torture were all carried out from the torture chamber of the Supreme Court.
"What is this kid trying to do?" Cheng Yaojin could not help but mutter.
"You'll know later." Qin Qiong replied with a thoughtful look in her eyes.
“……”
Everyone had their own thoughts, but no one spoke rashly at this time.
However, some of the censors had long been angered by Kong Yan's arrogant attitude. They had already made up their minds to give him a good beating in the morning court.
Bang!
Kong Yan held the gavel and slammed it on the table in front of him.
The entire square fell silent.
" Duke Xue's eldest grandson, Shunde, had a glorious life. After the uprising in Jinyang, he was appointed as the commander of the army. He conquered Huoyi and Linfen. He even captured the famous general Qu Tutong alive and pacified Shan County. After the Retired Emperor succeeded to the throne, he was appointed as the Great General of the Left Xiao Wei and was conferred the title of Duke Xue…"
Kong Yan's voice was clear as he recounted Zhangsun Shunde's achievements in his life, omitting all the blemishes.
"Of course, there is a thief who dares to poison State Duke Xue to death!”
"His Majesty has ordered me to investigate this case thoroughly. Not only must I find the murderer, but I must also find the person behind the scenes!”
"It is indeed a little absurd for me to stop all my colleagues today. However, in order to find the murderer, I know that I can't do it, so I still did it!”
"If I offend you in any way, please forgive me!”
After Kong Yan finished speaking, the officials in the square began to whisper to each other.
"How do you want to interrogate him?" A general asked loudly.
"His Majesty ordered me to examine this case together with the Supreme Court, so he naturally used the Supreme Court's method of handling cases.”Kong Yan said matter-of-factly.
"The Supreme Court's method of handling cases?" Some people were confused.
Li Shi Min, who was hiding behind the Gate of Heaven Influence, asked in confusion,"How does the Supreme Court usually handle cases?”
Wang De vaguely guessed the method Kong Yan was talking about and said in a low voice,"This old servant doesn't know, but I heard that the people of the Falling Goose Pavilion were all tortured last night.”
Li Shi Min was stunned. His eyes widened and his face twitched." He…he's not thinking of…"”
Wang De lowered his head and said nothing. Based on his understanding of Kong Yan, what he was about to do next would be even more treacherous.
"Investigate, the Deputy Official of the Supreme Court, the Crown Prince's left concubine son, Dai Zhou, did not come out on the night of the murder of Duke Xue's Zhangsun Shunde, and did not fulfill the duties of the Deputy Official!”
"It is reported that Lord Dai has a good reputation as an official and doesn't seem like someone who shirks responsibility. However, ever since State Duke Xue was murdered, Lord Dai had never asked for any information regarding the murder of State Duke Xue.”
"This official suspects that Lord Dai might have a ghost in his heart…"
Before Kong Yan could finish, an exasperated voice sounded,""Bullshit!"
A middle-aged official walked out with a livid face. He glared at Kong Yan and scolded,""I haven't even looked for you, but you came to me first!”
"Let me ask you, what did you do last night?”
"You are Dai Zhou?" Kong Yan asked calmly.
There were two officials in the Supreme Court. One was Hu Yan, who had been beaten up last night and could not take care of himself. The other was Dai Zhou, who was in front of him.
"You haven't even seen this official's appearance, and you suspect that there's something up my sleeve?”Dai Zhou's face was gloomy.
Kong Yan looked at him and asked lightly,"Let me ask you, on the night State Duke Xue was killed, why did you close your door and not open it?"”
"I fell asleep!" Dai Zhou sneered.
"You fell asleep…Could it be that all the servants in your residence are asleep as well?”Kong Yan said coldly," On the night of the case, Lord Hu Yan sent someone to inform all the ministers in the court. The other ministers 'residences were all knocked on, but only yours couldn't open the door?”
"What does this prove?" Dai Zhou frowned. That night, he had deliberately shut himself in.
If Xue Guogong's grandson, Shun De, died in Xue Guogong's mansion, Dai Zhou naturally could not turn a blind eye.
However, the current situation was that State Duke Xue had died in the Supreme Court's prison, which was under the jurisdiction of another official of the Supreme Court, Hu Yan.
He and Hu Yan were both officials of the Supreme Court, but they had always been on good terms on the surface. What right did he have to bear the responsibility together with Hu Yan when such a thing happened?
Of course, there was a more important point. He was the one investigating the disaster relief fund corruption case. Once he was involved in the murder of Duke Xue, it was very likely that it was because he was investigating the disaster relief fund corruption case that he indirectly killed Zhangsun Shunde.
Once this situation occurred, if he continued to investigate the disaster relief fund corruption case and found out that the person behind it was really Zhangsun Shunde, he might leave the impression that he killed State Duke Xue and even slandered him.
If he found out that the mastermind had nothing to do with Zhangsun Shunde, some people might think that he had done something wrong and wanted to compensate Zhangsun Shunde!
At that time, he would really be inhumane.
Therefore, the best thing he could do was to close his doors and not participate in the murder of State Duke Xue. He would do his best to reduce his presence!
This way, when the disaster relief fund corruption case was solved, no one would link Zhangsun Shunde's death to him, regardless of whether it had anything to do with him or not.
Only by closing his doors could he investigate the disaster relief fund corruption case!
Many of the officials present understood this. After all, the one who had died was a Duke of the Zhangsun Clan!
Once Empress Zhangsun in the palace complained, his good days would probably come to an end.
In fact, Kong Yan also understood that Dai Zhou had enough reason to shut himself in the night before.
If you are not in your position, you will not be able to govern.
This was completely understandable. After all, not many people wanted to participate in the Zhangsun Clan's funeral.
Unfortunately, what Kong Yan wanted to do today was to find the culprit behind Zhangsun Shunde's murder, but in fact, he wanted to punish and kill the corrupt officials!
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