Chapter 171: Confrontation in the Imperial Court

The crowd was stunned by Zhu Gaoxu's retort.

Everyone felt as if they had lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet.

While the others were silenced, Zhu Gaoxu took the opportunity to say to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Grandfather Emperor, your grandson believes that regardless of whether this Li Hao is an accomplice of Hu Weiyong, the fact that he framed me is certain. Your grandson believes this trend must not be allowed to grow; Li Hao should be taken into custody and interrogated thoroughly."

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu said this, he immediately met with opposition from many officials.

No one was a fool.

If Li Hao were truly taken into custody, even if he had no connection to Hu Weiyong, they could manufacture one.

Once inside the prison, with torture applied, it would no longer matter what could or could not be said.

Once inside, one would have to say whatever the other party wanted to hear.

If one refused to speak, after suffering through the ordeal, one would eventually speak.

Therefore, these civil officials certainly could not stand by and watch Li Hao be taken away.

"Emperor, this official believes that although there were improprieties, it is likely not enough to warrant such a crime; I suggest Your Majesty impose only a minor punishment."

"That is correct, Emperor; this official also believes that although Magistrate Li was improper, it does not reach the level of imprisonment."

Watching this scene of officials shielding one another, Zhu Gaoxu sneered and said, "Do you all not think this is going too far?"

"Grandfather Emperor has his own judgment on all matters; is it your place to investigate anything?"

"Could it be that you even want to tell Grandfather Emperor how to do his job?"

The civil officials were also inwardly furious upon hearing these words from Zhu Gaoxu.

They knew that with Zhu Gaoxu stirring up trouble here, Li Hao would certainly not fare well.

Just as they were thinking of speaking up to put Zhu Gaoxu in his place, Xu Da, standing at the head of the military officials, cast an imperceptible glance behind him.

Many military officials had been keeping a close watch on Xu Da's movements.

Seeing this, a military official immediately stood out and said in a booming voice, "That's right, the Nanyang Commandery Prince is correct. His Majesty is wise and has his own judgment on this matter; where is it your place to teach His Majesty how to do his job?"

As soon as the words fell, several other military officials stepped out to echo him.

Only then did the civil officials remember.

Zhu Gaoxu also had backing.

It must have been Xu Da behind Zhu Gaoxu who made a move.

Thinking about it, it made sense; with their side being so aggressive, it was only natural that Xu Da could not stand by and watch.

They were used to bullying officials from the North, and if things had gone as usual, the next step would have been to call for an execution.

By that time, they would have started pinning all sorts of labels and groundless charges on him.

And Xu Da clearly understood the tactics of these civil officials.

He had stepped in at the critical moment to help Zhu Gaoxu out of the predicament.

At this moment, some civil officials were already arguing with the military officials.

But the true leaders of the civil officials, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, exchanged glances and shook their heads.

They had known beforehand that Li Hao was going to make things difficult for Zhu Gaoxu.

Although one or two of them felt it was somewhat improper, they had not spoken up to stop it.

Most of them had expressed their support.

After all, if they had succeeded in driving Zhu Di and his son out of Jingcheng, their future plans would certainly have proceeded much more smoothly.

With Zhu Di and his son in Jingcheng now, their plans could not be put into motion at all.

They were extremely obstructive.

As long as those two could be pushed away, the benefits would be self-evident.

But they had not expected Li Hao to be so incompetent, coupled with Zhu Yuanzhang's protection and the support of military officials like Xu Da behind Zhu Gaoxu.

At this moment, they understood that they were unlikely to be able to push Zhu Di and his son away in the short term.

And as for Li Hao, there was nothing to be done.

Winners are kings and losers are villains; the more prominent the noble family, the more readily they discard someone once the gains and losses are determined.

If they were to insist on protecting Li Hao now, the price to pay would certainly be high.

Since that was the case, they could only wrong him for a while.

At worst, they could compensate the Li family later.

Thinking this, a civil official standing at the front shook his head.

Immediately, all the civil officials stopped arguing with the military officials.

And the military officials took the opportunity to once again bring Li Hao's crimes to the forefront, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's decision.

From beginning to end, Zhu Yuanzhang had only helped Zhu Gaoxu clear his own name first.

Afterward, he had simply watched the show.

Seeing the military and civil officials at odds was a situation Zhu Yuanzhang was very willing to see.

Seeing that the show was over, Zhu Yuanzhang even felt a bit unsatisfied.

However, he also knew it was about time.

Seeing that everyone had stopped talking, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Then as the little monkey said, first take Li Hao to the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison and interrogate him clearly."

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's final verdict on him, Li Hao collapsed completely to the ground.

As a member of a noble family, he understood his situation perfectly.

He had been completely abandoned by the backing he relied upon.

With a miserable laugh, despite all the unwillingness in his heart, Li Hao did not say another word.

The outcome was already sealed; Li Hao knew that no matter how much he said, he could not change it.

Subsequently, two Embroidered Uniform Guards entered the hall and, in front of everyone, dragged Li Hao out like a stray dog.

From this point on, Zhu Gaoxu's first clash with the civil officials resulted in a minor victory by a slim margin.

Following this, everyone quieted down.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang announced the end of the morning court session.

As Zhu Yuanzhang's voice fell, Zhu Di walked to his son's side, and the father and son walked out of the hall together.

From the moment Li Hao listed the three great crimes of Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di had not said a single word.

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