Chapter 149

The Zhao Emperor’s fury could not be concealed, especially since he didn't seem to want to conceal it from anyone.

Of course, everyone seemed to understand this anger. He had painstakingly created such a situation in the Northwest, destroying a century-old enemy, establishing a united front against the Jin, and expanding the country's strategic advantages. He even returned from the expedition with two more sons. He should have been enjoying sweet and sour fish and roasting dilong (earth dragon) for the winter, perhaps even having time to tinker with a few more chapters of "Journey to the West: Demon Extermination Records." But suddenly, these Three Great Cases emerged, and anyone would be furious.

But anger was anger; the matters could not be avoided.

After the first snow, the weather grew colder. On the first day of the eleventh month, the court officials gathered in the Wende Hall for a large-scale audience. The Zhao Emperor, not bothering to hide his displeasure, directly mentioned the matter in court:

"The Dali Temple!"

Lu Yi, the Minister of the Dali Temple, immediately stepped forward from the ranks, holding his wooden tablet and bowing his head. "Your subject is here."

"Recently, there has been much discussion in the capital about the Three Great Cases of winter. These three cases should all be primarily tried by the Dali Temple. You are the official in charge. Now that things have come to this, what do you have to say?" Zhao Jiu sat solemnly on the throne, facing the matter seriously.

"Reporting to Your Majesty," Lu Yi replied cautiously. "The beginnings and ends of the three cases are all in order. Yang Zheng killed his concubine and skinned her, which according to the law, warrants execution. Wang Bo (Consort Pan’s cousin) deceived his superiors and concealed information, fraudulently obtaining money, which according to the law, warrants exile. He must also return the defrauded property and pay a fine. Only the Zhang Zongyan case does not involve litigation but concerns military affairs. The Dali Temple has already sent a document to the Privy Council and the Imperial Guard Headquarters, requesting the Western Command and the Imperial Guard to clarify whether the unauthorized dispatch of troops was approved or authorized by a superior, so that we can find the legal basis for the crime…"

This answer was actually quite proper, but unexpectedly, facing this outcome that could obviously be passed on, the Zhao Emperor on high merely frowned slightly, without responding.

In this pause, Ma Shen, the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who had just arrived from the South and had only been in office for ten days, suddenly stepped forward, holding his wooden tablet and speaking with a serious expression:

"Your Majesty, as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, I also have something to say regarding these three cases!"

With Ma Shen's appearance, everyone present felt a jolt. From Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun downwards, including the two newly appointed drafters, almost everyone in the hall instinctively looked over. Even Zhao Jiu seemed serious… Ma Shen had been a senior censor as early as the Jingkang era, known for his integrity. But more importantly, at the crucial moment when Lü Haowen was leading many people to turn to Primal Learning, this man, as a famous scholar of the Way, had actually been in Jingxiang and had adhered to the position of the Learning of the Way. He could be considered one of the few top officials in the court with a background in the Learning of the Way, a standard minority.

In fact, Zhao Jiu had decided to appoint him as Minister of the Ministry of Justice because he valued his clean and strict style, and also to show an unconventional attitude towards employing people. But who would have thought that this appointment would be conveyed not long before the emergence of the politically sensitive Three Great Cases?

His appearance at this moment was likely to be both unflinching and also harboring ulterior motives.

As expected, after the Zhao Emperor nodded slightly, Ma Shen immediately pointed out the key issue: "Reporting to Your Majesty, as I know, each of the three cases actually has some key points that the Dali Temple has neglected to mention… For example, in the case of the pre-sale of national bonds, the perpetrator Wang Bo confessed that he was helping his uncle, Pan Yongsi, the uncle of Consort Pan, and was not acting on his own… In other words, the case itself is simple, but the main culprit is unclear! Whether Pan Yongsi or Wang Bo committed the crime cannot be ignored!"

There was some commotion in the hall. Lu Yi, the Minister of the Dali Temple, lowered his head even further… Everyone knew the difference between the meaning of Consort Pan’s uncle and a distant cousin.

Moreover, Pan Yongsi was not just an in-law. He was also an official of the court and had made great contributions. In the past, he had helped Zhao Gou, who was then the Prince of Kang, to welcome Empress Dowager Yuanyou to Nanjing (Shangqiu), which could be considered a contribution to his enthronement… Although he was later ousted because of his status as an in-law, he was given the title of Gemen Zhihou for his meritorious service, and he often entered and exited the palace.

So it was easy to imagine what kind of disturbance it would cause in public opinion if the perpetrator was determined to be Pan Yongsi instead of Wang Bo.

At that time, to put it bluntly, if the Consort's uncle was so greedy, who knew if the Emperor was pretending in the harem?

Moreover, whether it was issuing national bonds, restarting the Green Sprouts Loan, or the Jiaozi Affairs, these three were inherently integrated and were a package of financial reforms that the court had come up with to raise military funds. In the eyes of the common people, they were all the same thing… And if relatives could make money from this kind of thing, then dare I ask if the increased taxes in the South had really reached the military camps?

In fact, this was the key reason why this case could be juxtaposed with the two cases of the Imperial Guard… This case actually pointed to the Emperor and the Imperial Guard!

Or rather, in the eyes of the truly enlightened, the essence of the Three Great Cases, or the seriousness of these three cases, lay in the Emperor and the Imperial Guard. The Emperor took the Imperial Guard as his foundation, and the Imperial Guard took the Emperor as its core. In between were eight or nine marshals and dozens of commanders, who were connected to each other, eventually forming a whole.

Without the existence of the 200,000-strong army of the Imperial Guard and the direct dependence of the various marshals and commanders, how could the Zhao Emperor be as stable as a mountain, regarding the two former Emperors as mere weeds?

Without the Imperial Guard army taking in the military presence of the Hebei refugees and suppressing the peasant uprisings in the South, where would the foundation for the country's survival come from?

The strong are kings; some things are just that meaning and need not be spelled out.

By the same token, if the Imperial Guard had not repeatedly withstood the northern barbarians and repeatedly counterattacked to recover lost territory, how could the Zhao Emperor have been able to act wilfully, pushing aside one vested interest group after another, abandoning one complex system after another inherited from the Five Dynasties, and forcibly granting land for military settlements in the Central Plains and Guanzhong?

To the point that later, in Shaoxing, he forcibly expelled officials and forcibly promoted Primal Learning in the court?

Even the so-called many confidants and party members of the Emperor in the hall today, if they did not have the backing of the Imperial Guard's repeated military victories, how could they have united around the Zhao Emperor and become his confidants and party members?

"Pan Yongsi." Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned when he heard this. He didn't know if he was thinking about those things, but he immediately called out the name mentioned by Ma Shen from the throne.

"Your subject is here." A person emerged from the ranks of close officials on one side, replying respectfully.

"Did you hear that?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty," Pan Yongsi replied proudly. "I heard that, but the Dali Temple had already sent a document ordering me to defend myself in this matter, and I had already submitted a written defense to the Minister of the Dali Temple, stating that I did not teach my nephew Wang Bo strictly enough, leading him to recklessly accuse innocent people…"

Zhao Jiu remained silent, and Ma Shen was also slightly stunned.

"Your Majesty, although I am suspected, I still want to impeach Ma Shen, the Minister of Justice, for abandoning public duty for private reasons."

In this moment of stunned silence, Pan Yongsi actually launched a counterattack. "Minister Ma is indeed the head of the Ministry of Justice, but he has only been in the capital for ten days and has not even recognized all the officials of the Ministry of Justice. How could he have found the key points of the three cases being tried by the Dali Temple? If the suspects, in order to escape their responsibilities, accuse one person today and another tomorrow, and all are considered key points, wouldn't key points be everywhere? Moreover, the Dali Temple did not bend the law because I have rank; it was a proper document sent to the Hanlin Academy to be handled by the scholar on duty, ordering me to defend myself… Why does Minister Ma have to question me face to face in the Wende Hall? Isn't it because Minister Ma is a famous scholar of the Way and has always disliked my thorough study of Primal Learning and has repeatedly sponsored students of Primal Learning in the Imperial Academy? Therefore, he is creating trouble out of sectarian prejudice?"

Ma Shen listened in a daze. Only now did he glare angrily. "If that's the case, then people from the Learning of the Way can't be important officials of the court? Otherwise, who are we glaring at with sectarian prejudice and abandoning public duty for private reasons?"

"Minister Ma also knows that he is an important official of the court and not a censor anymore?" Pan Yongsi was not afraid at all. "The post of Minister of Justice is so important! One word can cause a family to be destroyed, and no post is more serious than this! But Minister Ma, after only ten days in the capital, without any evidence, is impatient to ruin people's reputations in the Wende Hall, with hidden meanings and even wanting to kill people. Whether it is private or public, people will judge!"

These words actually made some sense, but what kind of person was Ma Shen? How could he be afraid of an in-law? "What absurd words! I am not trying to take your life, but just reminding the Emperor to be careful of the inner workings of this matter. My original intention was to criticize the Minister of the Dali Temple for being negligent. As for you, a mere in-law, do I need to sincerely deal with you? Even His Majesty has never cared about you!"

"Doesn't an in-law's reputation count as a reputation? Isn't an in-law's life a life?!"

Pan Yongsi was still not afraid and even raised his voice. What was interesting was that in the Wende Hall, for some reason, perhaps because of the hesitation about the integrated nature of the Three Great Cases, or perhaps because Pan Yongsi actually made some sense, many important officials actually allowed an in-law to clamor here. "How can such people who regard others as mere weeds hold the important position of Minister of Justice?! Moreover, if the Ministry of Justice has any doubts about the Dali Temple's trial results, it should send a document to the Dali Temple to question them. How can it slander others in the Wende Hall?!"

Ma Shen finally sneered. "I'm afraid that some people are forming a network, colluding with each other, so that the Emperor cannot hear correct opinions… How could I not know that taking over the Ministry of Justice for ten days is too hasty? But if we pass this grand court in the Wende Hall, I'm afraid these three cases will be muddled through. That will be a disservice to the great trust!"

The atmosphere in the hall became even stranger. A few censors who had been ready to act were now resentfully returning to their ranks. As for Pan Yongsi, after thinking about it, he just smiled, then shook his sleeves and stood respectfully, as if he had given in.

"Your Majesty." Seeing this, Ma Shen did not take it to heart, but continued to speak proudly. "I still have key points in two other cases to tell Your Majesty…"

"Speak." Zhao Jiu said without joy or anger.

"Reporting to Your Majesty," Ma Shen took a deep breath and renewed his spirit. "The key points of the other two cases… In the Yang Zheng case, there is also a legal suspicion, which is that many civil and military officials in Guanzhong knew about his killing and skinning of his concubine, especially within the Rear Army of the Imperial Guard. There have been rumors for a long time, but many people knew but did not report it!"

Zhao Jiu's expression did not change, and he nodded slightly. "What else?"

"Also, the Zhang Zongyan case…" Ma Shen became even more serious. "As the Dali Temple said, this matter involves the military, and ordinary criminal laws are difficult to use as evidence. We must first have an explanation from the Right Army of the Imperial Guard. But forgive me for asking Your Majesty, can the dispatch of a division really be concealed from the commander of an army? If Zhang Jun, the commander of the Right Army of the Imperial Guard, replies that he does not know, wouldn't that be considered Zhang Jun's incompetence? If Zhang Jun replies that he mistakenly authorized Zhang Zongyan to make decisions on the spot, would the thousands of soldiers and civilians who died innocently in Shanghe be considered to have died in vain?"

Zhao Jiu remained silent.

"Your Majesty." Ma Shen cupped his hands and said, "I know that I have embarrassed Your Majesty today, but I am not a reckless person like Pan Yongsi said. Otherwise, if I were to discuss matters in the style of the Censorate, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Wu Jie would have been impeached by me one by one today… Since I am the Minister of Justice, today I will only ask Your Majesty in the capacity of the Ministry of Justice to give a definite answer on some legal judgments! After all, the Emperor's words are the law. If Your Majesty does not give a clear statement, the world will always be confused."

"What words?"

"The Imperial Guard has made great contributions, as everyone knows. People like the marshals all boast of their merits in restoring the dynasty and assisting the government, pacifying the country and stabilizing the people, so that they repeatedly have acts that transcend the law and the system…" Ma Shen held his tablet solemnly. "Dare I ask Your Majesty, do you want to give them this authority? Is it that punishment does not apply to commanders, and responsibility is not held against marshals?"

Zhao Jiu remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking. Ma Shen just cupped his hands and bowed, waiting for a reply. Not only that, but none of the other prime ministers and important officials in the hall spoke.

The scene was momentarily frozen.

This scene was inevitably frightening to some people who were standing in the hall for the first time. For example, Mei Li, the newly appointed drafter who considered himself a capable person, was now so confused that his brain was like mush. His intelligence and rationality were of no use, and he was just dazed.

Of course, although everyone was silent, not everyone was as confused as Mei Sheren. For example, the prime ministers and Lin Jingmo, the Minister of Revenue, who was standing next to Ma Shen, had a clear understanding of the situation.

Little Lin Xue Shi realized what was going on from the beginning, so he did not react this time. It was not because he was thinking too slowly to move, but because, like other important officials, he was caught in a dilemma.

As mentioned earlier, the essence of the Three Great Cases was integrated and pointed to the Emperor and the Imperial Guard.

The Yang Zheng case reminded everyone that there were still a large number of old-fashioned military officers in the Imperial Guard army that the Emperor relied on. The average moral quality of those military men was still generally lower than that of the scholar-officials, and even lower than that of ordinary people. It was not something that could be renewed by simply changing the skin of the Imperial Guard.

The pre-sale of national bonds also clearly showed that whether it was new nobles or old nobles, whether it was anyone, in the face of fame and fortune, they would fall if they should fall.

As for the Zhang Zongyan case, it was even more serious than the previous two combined. The previous two could be attributed to individual lack of virtue, but this matter clearly showed that after the Imperial Guard army eliminated the past evils of soldiers not knowing their generals and generals not knowing their soldiers, the most feared thing had finally happened… They could actually act on their own.

Acting on their own was fine, but they actually suffered a great defeat, which also made the world simultaneously doubt the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guard, and the influence of the seemingly grand victory of Western Xia was greatly reduced.

These three cases suddenly piled up together, immediately giving the opposition factions in the South an excuse to attack the rulers! The scholars of the Way had previously requested to open up press freedom, and Ma Shen's almost coercive behavior at this time vaguely echoed this sentiment.

The reason why the ministers in the hall chose to remain silent was also very simple… Although they were the Emperor's party and not the same as Ma Shen and others, they were not the military officers within the Imperial Guard system… They were traditional scholar-officials!

The Imperial Guard and the Emperor were one, and they were also one with the Emperor, but they were not one with the Imperial Guard!

Therefore, when Ma Shen asked this question, even Little Lin Xue Shi, as the Emperor's confidant, couldn't help but want to hear the Emperor's answer.

Of course, these thoughts seemed to turn a hundred times, but it was only a moment.

In the hall, this confrontation lasted only a moment before the Zhao Emperor decisively spoke: "I know what Minister Ma wants to hear, and I know why everyone in the hall is so quiet today. In fact, I have been thinking about this matter for a long time… Moreover, I am a person who is unwilling to hide, and I don't like to hide… If you want to speak, I will let you speak… That is, in my opinion, marshals are on par with prime ministers, commanders are on par with important ministers of the Secretariat-Pavilion, and civil and military affairs are equally important! If the country has never killed a prime minister for a certain crime, it will not kill a marshal for a certain crime; and if an important minister of the Secretariat-Pavilion also kills his concubine and skins her, I will definitely kill him and be done with it."

There was an uproar in the hall, and it took a long time for it to gradually quiet down… This answer was actually expected by many people, but it still made many officials present feel a little sad.

However, after the hall quieted down, before Ma Shen could say anything more, the Zhao Emperor actually continued with a dark face:

"Not only that, but I think that being a person and being an official must have a bottom line. If a prime minister or a marshal also kills his concubine and skins her, I'm afraid I can't stand it either. Then what should I do? For the sake of the country's face, I will probably lure him into the palace, chop him up with my own hands, and sink him in the fish pond as fertilizer! Then I will tell outsiders that a certain prime minister or a certain military commissioner slipped and drowned!"

A faint sound of laughter finally rang out in the hall… Frankly speaking, they all felt that this kind of thing was likely to happen only to military officers. If a scholar-official did this and could still be ranked as a prime minister, then the country would already be in a mess.

"What else?" Zhao Jiu continued to say solemnly. "I still don't want to hide it from you… I am not the kind of person who discards the good bow after the birds are gone. Putting aside the fact that the country is going to fight now, one day it will be peaceful. It is common for one or two marshals with ability and qualifications to become a prime minister, and if any scholar who has passed the imperial examination is good at fighting, it doesn't matter if he becomes the commander of a certain army of the Imperial Guard… Don't be surprised at that time."

The hall was silent again.

"I understand." Seeing that the atmosphere in the hall was becoming more and more solidified, Ma Shen, who was vaguely regretting it, was silent for a moment before still stubbornly cupping his hands and asking, "I have one more question… The Imperial Guard, up and down, forms its own system and protects each other. May I ask Your Majesty, can the laws of the country really restrain military affairs?"

"Of course, they can restrain them." Zhao Jiu seemed to have opened some floodgates and continued to sigh. "But soldiers themselves are special. We cannot use the Criminal Code to restrain military affairs, otherwise, wouldn't killing people on the battlefield also be punishable by death? There must be a complete military law… The Ministry of Justice can work with the Privy Council to formulate a proper military law on this matter, and in the future, the Privy Council and the General Affairs Office of the Imperial Guard will be responsible for the special trials."

"Please tell me clearly, Your Majesty, approximately what matters fall under the Criminal Code and what matters fall under military law?"

"For example, Yang Zheng killing his concubine falls under the Criminal Code, with the Criminal Code as the basis and referring to military law. His superiors and subordinates in the military who knew but did not report it also fall under the Criminal Code. As for Zhang Zongyan's unauthorized military action, it falls under military law. Whether his superiors and subordinates knew about it or participated in it, all will be based on military law and refer to the Criminal Code." Zhao Jiu blurted out, obviously prepared. "Is the Ministry of Justice satisfied?"

"Your Majesty is joking. The formulation of laws and the maintenance of discipline are things that are meant to satisfy the people of the world. What does my satisfaction count for?" Ma Shen was still not afraid. "However, since Your Majesty answers every question, I really have nothing to say."

"You have nothing to say, but I still have something to say." Zhao Jiu took a long breath. "In fact, I have never thought about long-term peace and stability, nor have I ever hoped that everyone would be like Yao and Shun… Human nature is like this. I am not surprised at all that these three cases have happened, but that so many cases have come so quickly and so concentratedly is also my negligence in the first place…"

There was nothing to say about this. Zhao Ding and the other prime ministers finally stepped forward and bowed to ask for forgiveness, and the atmosphere in the hall eased slightly.

But at this moment, the Zhao Emperor suddenly called out another name: "Pan Yongsi!"

"Your subject is here!"

"Your argument with the Minister of Justice just now, just on the basis of reason, was actually on your side, and even if it is really found out that you did this case in the future, I will still say that." Zhao Jiu said with a smile. "We cannot arbitrarily humiliate you just because you are an in-law."

"I am extremely grateful that Your Majesty can be so fair." Pan Yongsi couldn't help but glance triumphantly at Ma Shen.

Although Ma Shen was anxious, he was ultimately helpless, so much so that Li Guang, the Censor-in-Chief, was a little annoyed and prepared to step forward to remonstrate.

But soon, the next sentence from the Zhao Emperor cooled down the hall: "But Pan Yongsi, are you the main culprit in this case after all? In front of everyone, if you confess in public, I can give you a lenient punishment, and even the Ministry of Justice will not be able to make things difficult for you."

Pan Yongsi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head solemnly: "Your Majesty underestimates your subject! If I didn't do it, then I didn't do it!"

Zhao Jiu nodded slightly and then looked at another person: "Dali Temple! Qing Lu!"

"Your subject is here!" Lu Yi, the Minister of the Dali Temple, was startled.

"On the fifteenth of last month, your family ordered three boxes of Song Sao Fish Thick Soup for takeout, but after the takeout was delivered, someone suddenly followed and delivered another box of takeout… Is there such a thing?" Zhao Jiu asked curiously.

Lu Yi was stunned on the spot. After a moment, Pan Yongsi in the distance was the first to kneel directly on the ground, and then he kowtowed repeatedly on the ground.

Then Lu Yi reacted and also knelt directly on the ground, regardless of his status, and then took off his hat and said, "I am guilty! I thought that Your Majesty would lightly forgive this matter for the sake of the Consort's dignity, so I rashly accepted a box of pearls from Pan Sheren…"

"Why should I lightly forgive this matter?" Zhao Jiu was finally completely furious on the throne. "My Imperial Guard, my New Policies, my foundation are all in these things… Even if we are just talking about the matter itself, the national debt is also something that I personally signed and stamped, and it is selling my credibility! As a result, he relied on empty words and vaguely promised shares to collect money for no reason… Tell me, why should I lightly forgive this matter?! I give the Consort face, but who gives me face? Is it Minister Ma, who has forced me with words for most of the day? Did he give me face?!"

Ma Shen, who was about to step forward to praise the Emperor's magnanimity, was immediately anxious and speechless, while the drafters Mei Li and Chao Gongwu were stunned again.

The Zhao Emperor in the throne was too lazy to pay attention and actually got up directly, shook his sleeves and left, leaving only the last sentence: "The case will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice. From tomorrow onwards, I will go to inspect the river defenses and inspect the Imperial Guard troops to prevent problems before they occur… You all take care."

Hu Die Lan