Chapter 1235: The Methods Weren't Wrong; It Was the People Who Erred

Chen Guanlou tried his best to spare time to lecture the four of them. He even organized mock rehearsals!

All so that when they went to court, the four of them could perform beyond their limits and turn the situation around.

The result was...

He really shouldn't have held high expectations for blockheads.

The rough-hewn Wu She faced the elites of the Three Judicial Offices, and after a few questions, he became a roaring emperor, getting excited and going crazy on the spot.

The military advisor Bai Yushu had a 'thoroughly enjoyable' heated debate with the elites of the Three Judicial Offices!

He offended everyone he could, completely disregarding his own life.

Certain people observing at the scene shook their heads greatly; they were indeed idiots. No wonder the Marquis of Pingjiang didn't operate in the Northwest but instead sent them to the capital.

The first court session ended just like that.

The four were escorted back to the Heavenly Prison.

Chen Guanlou had already learned the detailed process of the matter from a familiar Yamen Runner.

After hearing it, he laughed. "Some people want to seek death, and you can't stop them!"

He didn't rush to the prison but instead went to the Ministry of Justice to chat with Sun Daojing.

Sun Daojing was annoyed the moment he saw him. "Why run over here when there's nothing to do? Is there nothing to do in the Heavenly Prison?"

"What could there be to do in the Heavenly Prison? Logistics isn't given to me, and the Grade B prison isn't given to me either. I only manage the Grade A and Grade C prisons; what could I possibly have to do?"

Hearing this tone, full of complaints, Sun Daojing immediately restrained his temper. He was afraid the other party would ask him for authority! He would rather suffer a bit than open that mouth.

"Only managing the Grade C and Grade A prisons is also to lighten your burden. You must understand the deep meaning of the Ministry of Justice's arrangement."

Chen Guanlou immediately rolled his eyes, his expression one of disdain.

"Old Sun, don't cover it up; I know you're annoyed with me. But I think you should change your perspective: me annoying you means I trust you. If you have something, you can entrust it to me with 100% confidence. Just tell me, when have I ever dropped the ball on things you've instructed?"

This was indeed the truth.

This was also the reason he tolerated the other party infinitely.

However, he was still annoyed!

Sun Daojing also couldn't help but complain. "If you made fewer requests and asked for less money, I wouldn't be annoyed with you. What are you here for today?" As long as he didn't ask for money or grain, everything was negotiable.

"Regarding the case of those few blockheads, I just want to ask how you plan to sentence them?"

"You mean Wu She and the other three. How to sentence them specifically is too early to discuss. Today's court session was just going through the motions. There will be subsequent sessions, at least three or five more. If the case isn't tried smoothly, someone from the palace might intervene. Do you think this case is very simple and easy to judge?"

"Isn't it?"

Chen Guanlou was puzzled; was there another twist?

"It's precisely because the case is clear at a glance that it's actually not easy to judge."

"How so? You know I don't understand this aspect; tell me in detail." Chen Guanlou became interested.

Sun Daojing took a sip of tea and asked slowly, "Robbing grain and fodder, both human and material evidence are present; it cannot be denied. However, they robbed grain and fodder for a reason—the local government pushed them too hard, which led to this case. It wasn't like mountain bandits or bullies seeking wealth."

"At today's joint trial, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel all sent people. The person who came from the Ministry of Personnel was Chen Guanfu; although he didn't say anything, someone from the Ministry of War acted as his mouthpiece."

"Wu She and the other three can be severely punished, even beheaded. But the local officials who forced them to rob grain and fodder must also be dealt with equally. If you want to behead, behead them together; there will be no leniency. Otherwise, this case will be taken to the Emperor."

Oh my, he thought of the same thing. To save people, one must drag the local government into the water and muddy the waters. This was the same as his complaining plan; although the methods were different, they led to the same destination.

In this case, the local government shouldn't think about staying out of it. Don't think that just because they caught the main culprit of the grain robbery, they can rest easy.

"But those officials haven't been escorted to the capital. What does the imperial court mean? Are they trying to protect those officials?"

Sun Daojing laughed. "You think of things too simply. If you say that before the court session, there were still people who wanted to protect those local officials, after the court session, they've all given up that thought. The Marquis of Pingjiang letting Wu She and the other three come to the capital to be tried and go to court was likely also with the intention of using the imperial court's hand to deal with those local officials."

"Why have they all given up that thought?" Chen Guanlou, after all, wasn't a proper official; he was only on the edge of the officialdom, and he didn't understand some things in the officialdom.

"What else could it be? Chen Guanfu has already come out, which means the military nobles have already reached a unified stance. The imperial court's face must be considered, and the military nobles' face must also be given. Otherwise, the people from the Ministry of War couldn't have acted as Chen Guanfu's mouthpiece."

Oh my, his knowledge was indeed shallow, and he had once again underestimated the Hou Fu's influence in the imperial court.

The Hou Fu seemed to have no say in the imperial court, with civil officials jumping around every time, impeaching the Marquis of Pingjiang every three days. It turned out they were saving their strength and would only speak out at critical moments. Once they spoke, everyone in the imperial court had to consider them by three points.

Chen Guanlou reflected earnestly. In two lifetimes, besides the Hou Fu, he hadn't properly contacted people from the high class, nor had he been in the middle of it to glimpse the full picture, committing the error of insufficient cognition. He also had a layer of—humph, transmitted from the same ancestor, what's so great about it—filters regarding the Hou Fu.

Subconsciously, he determined the Hou Fu wasn't anything great, not knowing that the Hou Fu's name was very big outside, and anyone in the imperial court had to give them some face.

It was just that the Hou Fu was low-key and no one publicized it. Even the second branch, which used to be aggressive, was suppressed by Chen Guanfu and couldn't move. To the extent that his clan filter was infinitely magnified, ignoring the Hou Fu's awesomeness.

He clicked his tongue and said sincerely, "It was my shallow cognition."

Sun Daojing was very surprised; he didn't expect the little thief to have a day of self-reflection.

"You are surnamed Chen, from the same ancestor as the Hou Fu. How capable the Hou Fu is, can you not be clear?"

"What could I be clear about? Back then, to enter the Heavenly Prison, I almost sold myself. I couldn't even take out ten taels of silver; where would I be clear?"

Chen Guanlou hummed twice, very displeased.

Sun Daojing laughed happily. "You also have such a miserable time; not bad, not bad!"

"Don't just look at my jokes; continue." Chen Guanlou was impatient and urged the other party.

"What else is there to say? The matter is clear; how Wu She and the other three are sentenced isn't important. What's important is how the civil officials and military generals will arm-wrestle. If nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid the Emperor will have to make the decision on this matter."

"This suddenly progressed to civil officials and military generals arm-wrestling; isn't that a bit too fast?"

Sun Daojing gave a cold laugh. "One side is a border-guarding general, the other side is a border local government. Letting the local government be responsible for transporting grain and fodder was originally intended to check and balance each other. Now that a grain robbery case has broken out and has spread throughout the world, the case is not just about robbery. It clearly means the check-and-balance method has gone wrong! Do you understand?"

Chen Guanlou nodded. Understood!

The check and balance wasn't wrong; any emperor would choose to do so.

What was wrong was the people doing the work.

If they didn't drag the people doing the work out to be beheaded, and only cared about beheading the military general, the military nobles would certainly not be convinced and would certainly stir up trouble.

Because of the drought, the local area was not peaceful.

If the flames of rebellion burned too fiercely, the military nobles would still need to come forward to suppress the rebellion.

This moment was the critical moment to test the Emperor's political skills. ===== CHAPTER 1236 =====