Liu Chen glanced at the two of them and said coldly,""This Zhang has committed a heinous crime of seizing the land of the commoners.”
Abandoning the city was the death penalty!
After hearing this punishment, Zhang was stunned for a moment. Then, he shouted in disbelief,
"Your Highness, there is no such heavy punishment in the Great Han Dynasty's laws. I only embezzled 20 Mu of land, so I can pay double the fine!”
State Minister Yuan Fu was even more stunned. He had a bad premonition and hurriedly said,"Your Highness, this punishment is not in accordance with the law. I'm afraid it will attract criticism. The officials in the court may impeach Your Highness!”
"This king is the King of Changshan. This is the Changshan Kingdom. Here, this king is the heavens, the law, and the judge!”Liu Chen said coldly in disdain.
If it was in the past, Liu Chen would not have dared to be so brazen.
After all, after the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, the Han Dynasty's central power had been consolidated and strengthened. Later on, there was also the Decree of Grace to weaken the power of the vassal states.
Even Yuan Fu, the Prime Minister, was appointed by the Central Court.
However, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the generals of the imperial court had been demoted, and the local warlords had become independent and monopolized power.
Right now, in the center of Luoyang's court, the conflict between the imperial relatives and eunuchs was getting more and more intense. In the future, there would be a tragedy like Dong Zhuo's arrival in the capital. It could be said to be a chaotic scene.
Would Liu Chen still care about the impeachment of the court officials? What a joke!
"Take him down and cut him down as a warning!”Liu Chen coldly and mercilessly said.
"Yes."
Zhao Yun and the rest of the soldiers followed Liu Chen's lead and naturally carried out his orders without hesitation.
That despotic Zhang was directly dragged away."Your Highness! Please spare me, Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Seeing that Liu Chen was indifferent, Zhang was dragged out of the door. He howled,"Your Highness! I'll tell you! I'll tell you! I do have some money dealings with Yuan Guoxiang!”
"Slander! This thief is detestable! Immediately drag him down and execute him!" Yuan Fu jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and roared furiously.
Although Yuan Fu was the Minister of State, he could not command Zhao Yun and the other soldiers. Liu Chen said coldly,""Bring him up!"
Zhang, who had been dragged far away, was dragged back to the lobby again.
This scene made the commoners click their tongues in wonder. As expected, they would only tell the truth when they were about to die.
Guo Jia, Qiushou, and Tian Feng, the three wise men, had their thoughts run like lightning at that moment. They finally understood Liu Chen's countermeasure and method of making trouble!
"What a good plan!"
Guo Jia chuckled and thought,
"As expected, the city was broken from the inside. I thought that I would only need to drink three cups of wine as a punishment to resolve it. Who would have thought that the Chang Shan King would directly confiscate his family and behead him?
As the saying went, a fellow Daoist would die, but a poor Daoist would not. Since he was about to die, he naturally had to tell everything he knew.”
Although Qiushou and Tian Feng didn't gloat as much as Guo Jia, their thoughts weren't much different.
State Minister Yuan Fu's face instantly turned ashen. He thought about it and felt that he did not leave any evidence behind, so he calmed down a little.
However, looking at Zhang's eyes, he simply wanted to swallow him alive.
After Zhang was dragged up, his body trembled and he directly knelt down with his head lowered. He did not dare to look at Yuan Fu's expression and directly told him everything in detail.
The matter was very simple. He had failed in the transaction and bribed Yuan Fu to seize the old farmer's land.
This was not the first time they had done something like this. In fact, many of the powerful and aristocratic families in the Chang Shan Kingdom had experienced this before.
"…This time, Prime Minister Yuan accepted 20,000 yuan from this commoner, so he agreed to this matter.”
"20,000 yuan is more than enough to buy 20 mu of land. Why do you have to add more to it?”Liu Chen asked in confusion.
"Your Highness, Changshan's grain production has tripled this year, and the price of land has soared. Local household registration was already priceless!
"This commoner was only blinded by greed for a moment and caused such a disaster. Your Highness, please spare my life!”Zhang kowtowed and begged for mercy.
Liu Chen didn't think that he would be indirectly involved in this matter. Because of his vigorous development, the grain harvest increased, and the price of land rose, causing the thieves to take risks.
Liu Chen's thoughts were like lightning. He looked at State Minister Yuan Fu and asked coldly,""Minister, do you have anything to say?"
"There is no need for this subordinate to defend himself. Even if the thief slandered me, I believe that Your Highness will return this subordinate's innocence! After all, everything had to be based on evidence!”
Yuan Fu said indignantly. He was planning to hold on and not say anything. Anyway, there was no evidence, and Liu Chen could not do anything to him.
Liu Chen looked at Zhang and asked,"Do you have any evidence?" If not, slandering the Prime Minister would be a crime that would result in the death of nine generations!”
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Zhang nodded like a chick pecking at rice. This caused Yuan Fu's heart to thump as he had a bad feeling.
"I personally sent the 20,000 to the Prime Minister's residence. I, I sent someone to keep an eye on him. The Prime Minister hasn't moved yet, so he should still be in the residence.”
"What a joke!" Yuan Fu said disdainfully,
"I'm the Prime Minister of the country. My salary is two thousand koku. What's so strange about having ten thousand yuan at home? Using this as evidence?
Your Highness, this thief slandered the officials of the Changshan Kingdom. Please seek justice for me! I request that this thief be beheaded as a warning to others!”
Zhang raised his head and looked at Yuan Fu. He said with a reckless look,"This commoner once made a mark on the 20,000 coins. Your Highness will know once you send someone to investigate! Also, I know exactly where the Minister transferred the money from last time…"
This dog-eat-dog conversation widened the eyes of the surrounding commoners. After hearing Zhang's words, an uproar erupted.
Yuan Fu's face instantly turned pale. No matter how much he thought about it, he never expected Zhang to actually have a trump card up his sleeve!
"You left a mark?" "What mark?" Liu Chen asked in surprise.”
Zhang said in detail.
He personally ordered people to leave an "X" on most of the five baht coins, and also sent people to keep an eye on them for a long time to discover the secret treasure location of the Prime Minister.
He knew that there was no such thing as an impenetrable wall in this world, so he had prepared early for this day.
"Zilong, search the Prime Minister's Mansion and send someone to the treasure location!”
"Yes, sir!"
Zhao Yun quickly led the soldiers and left. The commoners all looked up in anticipation. At the same time, he pointed at Yuan Fu.
They did not have a good impression of this corrupt Minister. In the eyes of the commoners, officials who did not make decisions for the people were corrupt officials.
Zhao Yun returned very quickly, carrying thirteen large boxes.
"Your Highness, it is exactly as I said.”
Zhao Yun cupped her hands and said," We also found other treasures in the Prime Minister's Residence and other places. With the Prime Minister's salary, it seems to be a little excessive."”
"Open it and take a look." Liu Chen waved his hand and said.
When the box was opened, the gold, silver, and jewelry almost blinded everyone's eyes. There was also a box specially used to store the title deed.
"The Prime Minister's salary of 2000 koku can actually produce money to this extent. Why don't you teach this king how to manage his finances!”
Liu Chen said with a cold smile. Yuan Fu looked like he had lost his parents. He did not even have the strength to refute and quibble.
Liu Chen immediately flipped through the gold and silver treasures. At this moment, he saw an account book. He picked it up and flipped through it. His eyes focused.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。