Chapter 992: You Look Very Similar

On the seventh day of the third month of the third year of Hongjing, the Regent of the Western Jin, the Wei King, the Minister of the Southern Military Command, and the Dingxi Military Governor Wei Yuan submitted a memorial, claiming that he had obtained a box of letters from Jin officials colluding with the Zhao Kingdom from a mole within the Zhao Kingdom. The evidence was as solid as a mountain, and those involved should be exterminated by the Tang Law and the Jin Law.

Wei Yuan had already captured and imprisoned all the corrupt officials involved in the eight southern counties, waiting only for trial to be beheaded. However, these offending officials also involved many high-ranking officials in the court, so Wei Yuan submitted a memorial requesting severe punishment for all of them.

Attached to the memorial was a list of offending officials and accomplices, surprisingly numbering over a thousand!

Among them, the Left Prime Minister had the most old acquaintances and students, totaling 87 people, involving 42 people from the Right Prime Minister, and other high-ranking officials in the court, as long as they opposed Wei Yuan, involved at least two or three people, and as many as dozens. Those who had a good relationship with Wei Yuan were not involved at all.

This operation was so blatant and unadorned that it left the entire court stunned.

In the Western Jin Government Hall, the Jin King only summoned less than ten high-ranking officials, and even among the six ministers, only two were on the list. In addition to the official positions, the Xiao Xiao Chu Wang was also present, sitting on the side to listen.

At this moment, in the center of the Government Hall, a video was playing.

In the morning mist, an antique-style residence was still immersed in dreams. This residence had white walls and black tiles, quiet and peaceful. Just at this moment, a large group of soldiers suddenly killed their way out of the morning mist, surrounded the ancient residence in the blink of an eye, and then the thick gate of the residence was directly smashed by the officer with a hammer, and many soldiers like wolves and tigers simply jumped over the high courtyard wall and entered the residence directly.

Inside the residence, the servants and guards who came upon hearing the sound were slashed to death with chaotic knives as long as they dared to say one more word. Because the butler pointed at the officer's nose and scolded, "What kind of thing are you?", his arm was slashed off, and then the soldier pierced his shoulder with a spear, nailing him to the wall.

A moment later, a large number of masters, young masters, concubines, and aunts were dragged out from various courtyards, and the officer held a roster and called names one by one. Those called were dragged to separate prison carts and taken away on the spot.

A middle-aged oily-faced young master just shouted, "Punishment does not apply to officials," and received a fierce whip on his face; an old man with gray hair trembling and calling, "I am a Metropolitan Graduate from the early years of the King," was also kicked to the ground.

Several concubines and wives who were making a scene hadn't howled twice before they were whipped. Fortunately, the Qingming soldiers had strict discipline and knew their limits, not moving their hands or feet, just whipping the fleshy parts. After a few whips, all the women instantly became reasonable and emotionally stable.

Finally, the entire residence was taken away, leaving only a few soldiers to guard it. And these soldiers sealed every room, not moving any property.

The video ended here.

The Left Prime Minister stepped out, knelt on the ground, and said, "Just now, it was Wei Yuan who mobilized the army without authorization to raid the old residence of the Xingrong County Vice Prefect Mu Tianyan! This Wei Yuan is truly bold and lawless! Publicly arresting court officials, this is rebellion! Please, Your Majesty, issue a decree to punish him; the old minister is willing to lead the army personally to suppress him!"

At this time, the Minister of Personnel Xu Gong suddenly said, "Wei Yuan, as the Regent and Minister of the Southern Military Command, can execute officials below the rank of County Governor first and report later if there is solid evidence; only County Governors need to be reported to the court for decision. Now he only captured a Vice Prefect, and there is no overstepping. So what we need to figure out now is whether there is solid evidence."

The Left Prime Minister was taken aback, glanced at Xu Gong, and calculated rapidly in his heart.

The eyes of all the officials fell on the lacquered wooden box placed in the center of the hall. In the box were the letters of Jin officials colluding with the Zhao Kingdom, which Wei Yuan had sent along with the memorial.

At this time, the Nine Gates Commander Lu Zhongzhi stepped out and said, "Not to mention whether these letters are forged, even if one or two of them are true, they need to be carefully investigated and tried by the three judicial offices before they can be imprisoned and convicted. The minister believes..."

Xu Gong sneered and said, "What do you think should be done? Remove Wei Yuan's title of Regent?!"

Lu Zhongzhi's square face gradually turned purple, ignoring Xu Gong's sarcasm, and said to the Jin King, "It should be to remove his title of Regent and take him to the capital for questioning!"

Xu Gong clapped his hands and said, "Commander Lu has great courage! Since Commander Lu has this proposal, whoever proposes it is responsible. Please, Commander Lu, bring your own troops and go catch Wei Yuan back! You are the Nine Gates Commander; I assume Wei Yuan wouldn't dare to cut off your head!"

Lu Zhongzhi could no longer endure it and shouted, "Xu Gong! The King hasn't spoken yet, how is it your turn to talk nonsense here!"

Xu Gong sneered, "Yes, the King hasn't spoken yet, how is it your turn to talk nonsense here! The King is kind and doesn't want to break it, but I am willing to share the worries for the King and make it clear! Don't think that just because there is someone sitting on your head, you are afraid of nothing. If you have the ability, go to Qingming and see if Wei Yuan dares to kill you!"

Lu Zhongzhi sneered, "I really didn't expect that the Xu clan would also become Wei Yuan's running dog!"

"The Xu clan..." Xu Gong's voice dragged on.

Lu Zhongzhi's face changed, and he immediately bowed to the sky, saying righteously, "I spoke without thinking, please forgive me, Immortal!"

He waited for a while, and seeing no movement in the sky, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the Jin King finally spoke, "Wei Yuan's plan this time is huge, his determination is heavy, and he has given me enough benefits. I also know that my living these few more years makes some of you very unhappy. But there is no way; since I am still alive, you have to bear it."

The officials did not dare to speak for a while. At this time, the Jin King seemed to have become the monarch who was deep in thought and decisive in killing when he first ascended the throne. The little Xiao Xiao Chu Wang's back felt cold, and he was soaked in sweat without knowing it.

The Jin King looked around the hall and continued, "What I am curious about is that even the Zhao Li Immortal Ancestor personally took the field to help Wei Yuan arrange this matter throughout the Zhao Kingdom, and Wei Yuan is almost announcing it to the world; this matter concerns his future path. Since you have taken action to block his path, you should know the consequences, so why are you kicking the ball back to me now?"

There were nine high-ranking officials in the hall, and except for three, the rest were choked.

The Left Prime Minister said, "This matter concerns the face of the court and also the face of the King. If Wei Yuan is ignored, I fear it will chill the hearts of the scholars of the world!"

The Jin King suddenly sighed and said, "Hey! Chill the hearts of the scholars of the world... I hear this sentence almost every year, and I didn't expect to hear it again now. I remember when you first said this to me, you were still a small censor, and in the blink of an eye, you are also at the peak of being a minister, sitting on millions of acres of land and houses."

The Left Prime Minister's face remained unchanged and said, "Those are all rumors! If the King doesn't believe it, he can send someone to raid the old minister's house. The old minister is willing to offer everything obtained from the raid to the national treasury."

The Jin King said lightly, "Don't say these pretty words that even ghosts don't believe. I have finally lived a few more years and want to enjoy it well. Time is precious, so I won't talk to you about these things. If you can't say anything useful, go sit on the side. If you don't want to sit, then go out yourself."

The Left Prime Minister was stunned, then silently kowtowed and actually returned to his seat. ===== CHAPTER 993 =====