It was very quiet in front of the Gate of Heaven Influence.
All the officials knelt on the ground with their heads lowered and did not say a word. Some of them who felt guilty directly prostrated themselves on the ground.
Li Shi Min sat on the sofa and swept his gaze across the court.
He had always thought that he was destined to become the Emperor of the Tang Empire, and that the officials gathered around him were all loyal.
Those who weren't loyal to him but were loyal to the Retired Emperor had already been moved away from the center of power by him through various means, such as Pei Ji.
The change of imperial power was accompanied by the division of interests.
After the incident at the Black Tortoise Sect, many people had risen to fame. They had gone from being the officials of King Qin's Mansion to the officials of the Great Tang.
But today, he understood that loyalty to him did not necessarily mean loyalty to the Great Tang.
Even their loyalty to him might be questioned.
Before this, he had thought of reorganizing the government. However, it had been less than three years since the coup of the Xuanwu Sect. Now, those who held key positions in the Great Tang were either surnamed Li or from the King Qin Residence.
He had already killed two brothers and more than ten nephews. It was not appropriate to kill his own brothers now unless the other party did not know what was good for them and wanted to rebel, such as Changle Prince Li Youliang or Yi 'an County Prince Li Xiaochang.
As for the old ministers from King Qin's Mansion, he couldn't bear it. After all, they were truly loyal to him.
For example, Wang Zheng. If Kong Yan wanted to kill Wang Zheng, he would have stepped out immediately.
But now, he realized that the corruption in the imperial court was much more serious than he had imagined.
If everyone was like Wang Zheng, cheating honest people of their money, then he wouldn't be in such a hurry.
They even dared to swallow the disaster relief funds. What else did these people not dare to do?
This was especially so now that the Great Tang had produced a richest man!
It was Kong Yan who made Li Shimin determined to rectify the government!
What was corruption?
Silver!
Kong Yan was the richest man in the world!
"Kill them!" After a long time, Li Shi Min spat out a word without any warmth.
The hearts of the officials kneeling on the ground trembled, and even their breathing seemed to stop. At that moment, even Du Ruhui's state of mind was greatly affected.
He could hear Li Shi Min's killing intent!
He clearly remembered that the last time Li Shimin had such a strong killing intent was before the Black Tortoise Sect incident. Under Fang Xuanling and his persuasion, Li Shimin had made up his mind to kill Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji!
Fang Xuanling also felt Li Shiming's killing intent. He immediately looked at Du Ruhui, who was beside him, and found that Du Ruhui was also looking at him.
The two of them looked at each other inquisitively.
Kong Yan?
Civil administration?
They were people who truly understood Li Shiming, and they knew what he was thinking.
Zhangsun Wuji lowered his head and did not speak. His hands were hidden in his sleeves and were trembling.
He could feel Li Shi Min's killing intent, and at the same time, he could feel a trace of indifference.
He knew that some people in the Zhangsun Clan were going to be in trouble!
Most of the officials were shocked by this shout.
Even the usually carefree general was now breathing slowly and carefully, not daring to breathe heavily, as if he was afraid of being noticed by Li Shiming.
The ones who were the most frightened were the ten corrupt officials who had participated in the disaster relief fund corruption case.
Even though they knew that they were doomed this time, they still fell into endless despair when they heard the word 'kill' with their own ears.
Zhu Sanlang lowered his head and trembled slightly. His eyes stared at the ground, flashing with ruthlessness.
"If it's against Young Master, I'll send Young Master away even if I have to die!”At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind.
Kong Yan was expressionless as he quietly watched the officials in front of him.
"What are you waiting for?" Li Shi Min said calmly.
Kong Yan stood up and looked down at the officials. He said lightly,""Zhao Tingkuan from the Ministry of Revenue, Yu Congwen from the Imperial Censorate, Changsun Man from the Ministry of Justice…Eighteen people embezzled the disaster relief funds. The amount is huge, and the evidence is conclusive.”
After saying that, Kong Yan looked at Zhu Sanlang and ordered,"Execution!"
Zhu Sanlang suppressed the trembling in his voice."Yes, sir!"
Afterward, Zhu Sanlang led a team of black-clothed secret guards to search the officials.
"Your Majesty, didn't you say that you would put him in prison first? I don't want to die now!" The official who had taken in three concubines earlier revealed a terrified expression. After being caught by the black-robed secret guard, he immediately began to cry.
"Your Majesty, for the Empress 'sake, please spare this subject this time? "I won't do it again. I won't be an official in the future. Your Majesty, please let me off this time…" An official surnamed Zhangsun cried loudly. He had completely lost his previous prestige.
“……”
Most of the corrupt criminals who were caught did not resist in consideration of their families, even though their faces were ashen and their bodies were trembling.
Everyone watched as these eighteen comrades were taken away by Zhu Sanlang and the others, their faces turning pale.
The sadness of the fox grieving for the death of the rabbit was born in her heart.
"Are there any survivors in the disaster relief case?”Li Shi Min asked calmly.
Kong Yan took out a scroll from the table and said,""There are thirty-six people in Chang 'an who will participate, but they are not qualified to attend the morning court. In addition, there are 367 local officials in the list…"
"Hand it over to the Supreme Court for review. After there are no mistakes, we will punish them severely!”Li Shi Min closed his eyes.
"Your Majesty is wise." Kong Yan cupped his hands and bowed.
"Your Majesty is wise!" The other ministers also called out respectfully.
The atmosphere was heavy, and the voices of the officials present also carried a sense of oppression.
"State Duke Xue's murder case, trial!" Li Shi Min said expressionlessly.
Kong Yan raised his eyebrows and took out a scroll from the lowest spot on the table. He handed it to Li Shiming and said with a playful look,"The details of this case are all in this book. Your Majesty, please take a look personally before deciding whether to open the trial or not.”
Li Shiming frowned and looked at Kong Yan discontentedly, asking coldly,""Since you've already found out, why didn't you report it before?”
Kong Yan rubbed his nose and chuckled,""I was afraid that Your Majesty would condone the murderer, so I wanted to act first and report later. I didn't expect Your Majesty to unleash his dragon might just now, making me feel extremely ashamed. I actually thought that Your Majesty would let go of the members of the Zhangsun family because of Empress Zhangsun…"
Li Shi Min suddenly had a bad premonition. After reading the scroll in his hand, his face darkened.
"The contents on this…are all true?”Li Shi Min asked coldly.
"This is what this subject has found, but why did he kill State Duke Xue, and why did he frame this subject, this subject still does not understand these two points.”
Kong Yan's expression was a little strange. With Liu Yi and the six prison guards 'identification, he still couldn't believe how easy it was to find the murderer.
The identity of the mastermind was even more unexpected. Or rather, it was a person he could not imagine at all. A person who should not have appeared in Chang 'an.
"You caught him?" Li Shi Min asked with a frown.
"My men haven't sent any news yet." Kong Yan shook his head.”
"How could it be him? Is there a conflict between the two of you?" Li Shi Min asked, his heart filled with confusion.
"Your Majesty, do you think it's possible?" Kong Yan smiled bitterly. Furthermore, the person he killed was Xue Guogong's grandson, Shunde.”
Li Shiming was silent. He glanced at Zhangsun Wuji and closed the scroll. He handed it to Wang De and said slowly,"Ancestors, take a look."
Wang De handed the scroll to Zhangsun Wuji.
After Zhangsun Wuji opened it, his pupils constricted.
"How could it be him?" Zhangsun Wuji exclaimed.
"It's indeed difficult to understand. They were born from the same roots, so why should we be in such a hurry to kill each other?”Kong Yan's lips curled into a playful smile as he said," But thinking about it carefully, it's not strange. Didn't he join forces with others to rebel against His Majesty?”
" He has been exiled to Muzhou," Zhangsun Wuji said coldly." Why would he appear in Chang 'an?"”
"How can you not know what kind of power your Zhangsun Clan has?" Kong Yan smiled faintly. Although he was exiled, there was one identity that could not be changed!”
"His surname is Zhangsun. Like you, he's from the Great Tang…"
"Shut up, don't say it!" Li Shi Min's face was ashen as he interrupted Kong Yan.
The rest of the ministers were confused and confused.
"Then I won't say anything." Kong Yan shrugged.”
"You have nothing to do here." Li Shi Min said with a dark face.
"Then…now that both cases have been investigated, I wonder if Your Majesty can return my treasury.”Kong Yan asked faintly before he left.
Li Shiming's eyelids twitched, and he said with a fake smile,""Zhen wants to personally investigate the murder of State Duke Xue. After confirming that it has nothing to do with you, we'll talk about the treasury!”
“……”
This book comes from:m.funovel.com。