Chapter 296 An Zisheng's Memorial
Capital city!
As the day dawned, all the officials lined up and filed in.
However, when many officials saw the person standing at the front position, they had expressions of surprise on their faces.
Prime Minister An actually came.
Some time ago, Prime Minister An asked for leave from the court due to illness, and the emperor agreed.
It's been less than seven days and Prime Minister An's illness is already cured?
In fact, all the officials knew that Prime Minister An was not sick. The reason he took sick leave and rested at home was because there were too many memorials impeaching Prime Minister An in the court. In order to prove his innocence, Prime Minister An chose to leave the court.
Now that Prime Minister An has returned, many officials have realized that today's court meeting might not be simple.
A quarter of an hour later, at the eunuch's loud shout, the palace gate opened and all officials entered the court.
In the main hall, the current emperor, Emperor Shang Yuan, was sitting on the dragon throne. When he saw An Zisheng, he was stunned for a moment, then a relieved smile appeared on his face.
When all the officials present saw Emperor Shang Yuan's expression, they all sighed in their hearts that the emperor really trusted the prime minister. Based on this point alone, Prime Minister An's position would never be shaken.
"An Xiang, are you feeling better?"
Emperor Shang Yuan took the initiative to ask, and all the officials were speechless, especially those who wanted to overthrow An Zisheng, who felt bitter in their hearts.
Even if they really succeed in bringing down Prime Minister An, given the emperor's favor towards him, I'm afraid he will rise again in a few years.
"Your Majesty, I am not fully recovered yet and should have continued to recuperate at home, but I received a piece of news the day before yesterday. I was heartbroken but had no choice but to report it to Your Majesty."
"Prime Minister An has a complaint to file, but you can go ahead and tell him." Emperor Shang Yuan said with a smile.
An Zisheng nodded and walked out of the queue. All the officials present focused their attention on him.
"Before I followed Your Majesty to start the rebellion, I was hunted by the soldiers of the previous dynasty. Fortunately, I met a kind-hearted person who took me in and saved my life. Over the years, I have been in contact with this lifesaver. I dare not hide it from Your Majesty. This kind-hearted person is the owner of the Dahan Commercial Bank."
An inexplicable look flashed across Emperor Shang Yuan's eyes while he was sitting on the dragon throne, while the officials below the stage were talking among themselves.
Dahan Trading Company!
The officials present were no strangers to this trading company. It was one of the four largest trading companies in the world. Even in the capital, there was a store of Dahan Trading Company. Moreover, many of the ceramic and crystal utensils sold by Dahan Trading Company were collected by these officials.
Unexpectedly, the owner of Dahan Trading Company actually knew Prime Minister An and saved his life. How could Dahan Trading Company develop so fast?
"Although the owner of the Dahan Commercial Bank is my benefactor, I am valued by the emperor and have been appointed as the prime minister. I dare not abuse my power for personal gain. I have never sought any personal gain for the Dahan Commercial Bank, nor have I accepted any money or property from the commercial bank. I am not afraid of the emperor sending someone to investigate."
"Why do you need to say this, Prime Minister An? I naturally trust Prime Minister An." Emperor Shang Yuan's words made many officials who wanted to use this to attack An Zisheng give up silently.
Yes, Prime Minister An said it himself, and the emperor also said it, which means that no one can use this matter to make trouble in the future.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty."
An Zisheng expressed his gratitude, and then said solemnly: "The owner of Dahan Trading Company wrote me a letter yesterday. He mentioned in the letter that someone wanted to seize his trading company, and the person who seized it was a powerful person. He was just an ordinary businessman, so he had no choice but to write to me for help."
"How dare you! I have said that officials should not compete with the people for profits. Prime Minister An, tell me directly, who is that so-called powerful person?"
Emperor Shang Yuan was furious. An Zisheng lowered his eyes and said, "The person who wants to occupy the Han Merchants Company is Zhenwei Marquis Jiang Beiyu."
Wow!
Emperor Shang Yuan's face darkened, and all the officials were in an uproar.
What is the identity of Marquis Zhenwei? He is the consort of Princess Changning, the most beloved by the current emperor, the emperor's son-in-law, and also a disciple of Zhenwu Palace.
You know, whether in this dynasty, the previous dynasty, or even earlier dynasties, princesses rarely married warriors, because if the royal family and warriors were combined, they would easily be rejected and feared by the martial arts circle.
Throughout the world, the court governs all the people, except warriors and practitioners.
Warriors have their own sects and territorial divisions, and the court is not allowed to interfere. If a royal family member marries into a martial arts sect, it will inevitably cause fear and dissatisfaction among other martial arts sects.
In order to maintain his rule and preserve world peace, all officials would advise the emperor. For Princess Changning, the emperor would rather be feared by other martial arts sects and recruit Jiang Beiyu as his son-in-law and conferred him the title of Marquis Zhenwei, which was enough to show the emperor's love for Princess Changning.
However, the officials did not strongly oppose it. Besides the fact that the emperor really loved Princess Changning, another reason was that Jiang Beiyu was Princess Changning's savior.
The woman gave herself to her savior, this is a beautiful story in itself, so we officials naturally cannot object too much. Moreover, this reason can also prevent other martial arts sects from being too averse to the court.
If Prime Minister An is the emperor's most trusted minister, then Princess Changning is the emperor's most beloved child.
The officials couldn't understand why Prime Minister An brought this matter to the court. This would make it difficult for the emperor to get off his horse.
As the minister most favored by the Emperor, shouldn't Prime Minister An report this matter to the Emperor in private ?
After the uproar, the hall began to become silent, and everyone's eyes moved strangely between the emperor and An Zisheng.
"Your Majesty, I should have reported this to Your Majesty in private. After all, the status of the Marquis of Zhenwei is different. However, because of the difference in the status of the Marquis of Zhenwei, I dare not tell Your Majesty in private, and can only speak out in front of all the officials in the court." An Zisheng paused: "Because I am afraid that the martial arts sects in the world will misunderstand Your Majesty."
Did the martial arts sects in the world misunderstand His Majesty?
We officials are confused. What does Prime Minister An mean by this?
"Minister An, please speak frankly." Emperor Shang Yuan said with a sullen face.
"Marquis Zhenwei was plotting to seize the Han Trading Company in collusion with the Qingzhou Zhenwu Temple. The owner of the Han Trading Company went to Qingzhou to discuss the matter with Marquis Zhenwei. On the way, he was not only chased by the cavalry under Marquis Zhenwei, but also by disciples of the Zhenwu Temple."
An Zisheng spoke each word clearly, but the expressions of all the officials changed instantly.
"Marquis Zhenwei is colluding with Zhenwu Palace?"
"Marquis Zhenwei is originally a disciple of Zhenwu Palace, so it is possible that he is colluding with Zhenwu Palace."
"How dare Marquis Zhenwei do this?"
"How dare Zhenwu Palace?"
All the officials were furious. If the emperor loved Princess Changning and chose Jiang Beiyu as her consort, they could barely accept it. But they could not accept that Jiang Beiyu was colluding with Zhenwu Palace.
Compared to this incident, Jiang Beiyu's attempt to seize the Dahan Trading Company was nothing, because those present had done this kind of thing many times.
The collusion between the royal family and martial arts sects has been a taboo throughout the dynasties.
This will shake the foundation of the country.
The prince consort also represents the royal family.
This taboo is the result of hundreds and thousands of years of experience and lessons. There are many martial arts sects in the world, but even when dynasties change and there are many rebellious armies, the various martial arts sects will not intervene. At least they will not express their support for anyone openly, and at most they will send a few disciples into the army.
There was once a dynasty that conquered the world with the full support of a martial arts sect. In order to repay the sect, the emperor who conquered the world also named the sect the number one martial arts sect.
It is conceivable that this move caused dissatisfaction among many martial arts sects. Moreover, since the court has named a sect as the number one in the world, it must be given corresponding territories, and these territories can only be taken from other martial arts sects.
Therefore, this move of the emperor aroused dissatisfaction among other martial arts sects. These martial arts sects opposed the emperor one after another. In less than three years, the newly established dynasty collapsed again.
From then on, uprisings in various dynasties would not have too deep connections with martial arts sects, and the royal family would not marry into martial arts sects, in order to reassure the various martial arts sects.
All the officials finally understood why Prime Minister An spoke out this matter in front of the court.
This was because the collusion between Marquis Zhenwei and the Zhenwu Palace could not be concealed. Once it was known by other martial arts sects, it would arouse their suspicion, which would be detrimental to the stability of the world.
Prime Minister An brought the matter up at the court meeting, and the emperor handled it impartially. These martial arts sects would then not doubt the emperor's thoughts.
"Prime Minister An, do you have any evidence?" Emperor Shang Yuan looked at An Zisheng and asked.
"Yes, the owner of Dahan Trading Company luckily survived the hunt, and he found the correspondence between the Marquis of Zhenwei and the Zhenwu Palace in the Marquis' Mansion. In addition, when the Marquis and the Zhenwu Palace were hunting down the owner of Dahan Trading Company, people from other trading companies were present and can testify."
An Zisheng answered very quickly, but the expressions of the officials present looked a little strange when they heard his answer.
Fortunately survived.
The letters were found from the Marquis's Mansion.
I'm afraid it's not as simple as just surviving by luck.
They went straight to the hometown of Marquis Zhenwei in Qingzhou and ransacked it.
Prime Minister An is being too modest.
"Since we have the evidence, the case will be handed over to you, Minister An. No matter who is involved, they will all be dealt with according to the laws of Da Shang."
"I accept your order."
An Zisheng nodded, and then continued: "Your Majesty, I just forgot to report that Jiang Beiyu knew that he had committed a serious crime, so he set fire to himself in his mansion, and the entire Zhenwei Marquis Mansion was burned to ashes."
Emperor Shang Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "What about Changning?"
"I don't know for sure. The fire was too big, but I think the officials in Qingzhou will report the situation to the court soon."
Emperor Shang Yuan stared at An Zisheng for a while, while An Zisheng lowered his head with a guilty expression.
"Give me Qingzhou's memorials as soon as possible. I'm tired."
Emperor Shang Yuan stood up, and all the officials immediately made gestures to see him off respectfully . However, just as Emperor Shang Yuan turned around, An Zisheng's voice was heard again.
"Your Majesty, how should we deal with the Zhenwu Palace?"
"Minister An, what do you think we should do?" Emperor Shang Yuan asked without turning around.
"According to my suggestion, in order to make all the major martial arts sects believe that Jiang Beiyu's collusion with Zhenwu Palace was Jiang Beiyu's personal behavior, please ask Your Majesty to issue an edict to announce it to all martial arts sects in the world, and at the same time ask Zhenwu Palace to give an explanation. Only in this way will all martial arts sects believe that the royal family and Zhenwu Palace really have no connection."
Emperor Shang Yuan had his back to his ministers, so no one could see his expression clearly. But after a few breaths, Emperor Shang Yuan spoke: "As Prime Minister An said."
"Farewell, His Majesty!"
Looking at Emperor Shang Yuan's departing back, a complex expression flashed across An Zisheng's lowered face.
There were some things he originally didn't believe, but what Master Lin said in the letter, coupled with the actions and expressions of the Emperor that he saw at this moment, made him believe what Master Lin said.
Because they have been emperor and subject for so many years, he knows the emperor too well. Even if the emperor does not show anything on the surface, some small actions reveal that the emperor is filled with anger at the moment.
Your Majesty, what you want is no longer peace and prosperity for the country and the people.
