Prime Minister

Chapter 39039 [The Target of Public Criticism]

The next day, morning.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital were arranged in civil and military ranks.

The Great Yan Dynasty's regular court sessions were divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The morning session allowed officials from all directions to present their cases, while the afternoon session only allowed officials from the Office of Transmission, the Six Ministries, guards, and various government offices to present important military matters. Therefore, the afternoon session was mainly for discussing important military and national affairs.

Today's morning court session was rather unusual.

Firstly, it was because Shen Wang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, led Xue Huai and other key members of the investigation team to the capital to report back.

Secondly, the Crown Prince and several princes were prominently featured.

On the dragon throne, the Emperor of Great Yan had a cold expression, seemingly because the Ministry of Works had made a huge blunder, which made him very depressed.

His deep gaze swept downwards, lingering briefly on the face of Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi, before continuing forward, passing directly past Minister of Works Xue Minglun, and finally settling on the composed Shen Wang.

All the officials bowed respectfully, and after a brief silence, a middle-aged civil official announced loudly, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person was not Shen Wang, the Vice Minister of Rites, as they had expected, but Xue Minglun, the Minister of Works, who was in the eye of the storm.

The emperor remained expressionless and nodded slightly.

Xue Minglun immediately stepped forward and came before the Emperor, bowed respectfully, and then spoke without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, I, Xue Minglun, Minister of Works, kowtow before the palace and respectfully report to Your Majesty. I humbly acknowledge Your Majesty's boundless grace in appointing Shen Wang, Vice Minister of Rites, as Imperial Commissioner to investigate the corruption within the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works. This is Your Majesty's will to rectify the court. However, Shen Wang has taken perverse actions immediately upon receiving the order. He has not only detained the staff of the Water Conservancy Department but has also extended this to the Construction, Forestry, and Land Reclamation Departments, arbitrarily arresting more than a dozen officials suspected of wrongdoing, such as Kong Shao, Qi Huan, and Jia Fan, all of whom are officials of the Ministry of Works."

Because this was an investigation of the department's subordinates, Xue Huai's position today wasn't very far back, but he could only vaguely see his mentor's profile.

Shen Wang had anticipated Xue Minglun's preemptive strike.

It would be strange if Xue Minglun remained silent after arresting more than ten Ministry of Works officials at once; he should have stood up and questioned Shen Wang's decision no matter what.

In the solemn atmosphere, Xue Minglun's powerful voice continued to ring out.

"...An imperial commissioner is entrusted with specific important tasks and must not overstep his authority. He should follow the rules and exercise self-discipline. However, he has abused his power and arrested his subordinates in the Three Departments without any evidence, disregarding the affairs of the Ministry of Works: the construction of palaces and temples is under his jurisdiction, and delays will damage the national image; the manufacture of military equipment by the Department of Forestry and Harnesses may cause border conflicts if disturbed; the management of rents from official lands by the Military Farms will cause unrest among the people if disrupted. Now, Shen Wang has arbitrarily expanded the number of documents, which is like wildfire spreading, causing the Ministry of Works to be paralyzed, the official documents of our department to pile up, and the court to be in uproar. I fear this will lead to wrongful convictions, betray the Emperor's heart, and disrupt the law."

Xue Minglun's statement was clear and straightforward. He did not deny the existence of problems in the Water Conservancy Bureau. After all, Gu Heng was still in the Jing'an Bureau's prison. Now he had even confessed to the bad things he did when he was young. The bunch of idiots in the Water Conservancy Bureau would definitely not escape punishment.

However, this does not mean that Shen Wang can escalate the situation at will. If he is allowed to arrest people indefinitely, how can the Ministry of Works function?
It's impossible to rely solely on one minister and two vice ministers to do the work; that's certainly not the situation the emperor wants to see.

At this moment, Xue Minglun looked indignant and said in a deep voice, "I have been in charge of the Ministry of Works for several years under Your Majesty's grace, and I know that integrity must be upheld. However, I also fear that cruel officials will run rampant, causing good talents to lose heart. I humbly beg Your Majesty to take heed of this and order Shen Wang to return power, release innocent officials, and severely punish those who have overstepped their bounds, so as to set the record straight and secure the country. I am filled with trepidation and await your orders!"

It must be said that his impassioned speech sounded reasonable, and many officials in the hall nodded in agreement.

Shen Wang remained standing calmly, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

The next moment, several officials stepped forward.

Mu Huaixin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, said loudly: "Your humble servant kowtows. Shen Wang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, abused his power as imperial commissioner to arrest innocent and good officials, disrupting the order of public works. I humbly request Your Majesty to hold him accountable."

Sun Lie, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, frowned and said, "I have heard that the Imperial Envoy has wrongly investigated the Ministry of War and made incorrect decisions on military equipment and other matters, which may cause border conflicts. Your Majesty must be worried about this disaster."

Liu Wenqing, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, said respectfully, "Your subject respectfully reports that Imperial Commissioner Shen has fabricated false accusations against the Three Departments, damaging their reputations as easily as weeds. If this continues unchecked, the very foundation of the nation will be in danger."

Jiang Wenzhong, a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue, also reported: "Your Majesty, the investigation into the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works has caused unrest among the Nine Ministers and depleted the national treasury. I request that the case be closed as soon as possible."

Immediately, public sentiment surged.

Xue Huai roughly counted that after Xue Minglun started impeaching Shen Wang, there were actually twelve or thirteen officials from various departments following suit.

They impeached Shen Wang for abusing his power and overstepping his authority, causing chaos in the Ministry of Works, severely impacting its daily operations, and even implicating other ministries.

These officials all exuded righteousness, as if Shen Wang were a petty person who became arrogant after gaining power, while they were loyal men who maintained the stability of the court.

Although there were no ministers or high-ranking officials among them, the sheer size of the group was enough to deter most officials, as few could remain absolutely calm in such a besieged situation.

At this point, Xue Huai finally witnessed the terrifying strength of the Ning Party, and this was not even their full strength.

He looked around and saw that Fang Jiming and the others, who had chatted happily last night and were full of hope for the future, all had solemn expressions.

The saying goes, "Knowing is easy, doing is hard; though I die nine times, I will not regret it; though there are millions of people, I will go." These words are simple to say, but how difficult it is to put them into action. At this moment, Xue Huai couldn't help but recall that grand court session on the first and fifteenth of each month. At that time, he denounced Gu Heng in front of all the officials. Even though he knew that he had gained the advantage of being the one who suddenly attacked, he still felt a little smug when he thought about it afterwards.

Seeing the officials surrounding Shen Wang, he realized that it was just a small scene that day, and he hadn't encountered much resistance at all.

Putting himself in Shen Wang's shoes, Xue Huai couldn't help but feel worried for him.

These officials were indeed impressive, but Xue Huai believed that Shen Wang would not be intimidated. The problem lay in the attitude of the emperor on the dragon throne.

Shen Wang had said long ago that although the emperor had ordered him to investigate the Ministry of Works' Water Conservancy Department, he did not want him to be involved in the entire Ministry of Works.

Now that Xue Minglun has grasped this key point, and other officials have echoed his sentiments, the emperor only needs to take the opportunity to reprimand Shen Wang, take back the power in his hands, and let him continue to focus on investigating the officials of the Water Conservancy Bureau, and the situation will develop as he envisions.

However, this would render all the efforts of the investigation team over the past few days futile.

Xue Minglun raised his head slightly. The emperor's silence today was rather long and somewhat different from what he had expected.

After a long silence, when the hall was completely quiet, the emperor's voice slowly rang out: "Minister Shen, do you wish to defend yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi's gaze darkened, and he immediately lowered his head.

Shen Wang was not surprised at all and stepped out of the class to report.

"I was ordered to investigate the affairs of the Ministry of Works. Now, Minister Xue Minglun has accused me of overstepping my authority. His words are utterly absurd! I used my official seal to expose the malpractices of the four ministries. How can this be considered overstepping my authority?"

His lean face showed no sign of panic. His sharp eyes pierced Mu Huaixin, the Left Vice Minister of Works, who accused him of overstepping his authority and implicating others. He then said, "It is an ancestral system for imperial envoys to act expediently. If the Directorate of Water Conservancy is corrupt, the departments of construction, maintenance, and land reclamation will all be involved. It is like treating an epidemic. If the source is stagnant water, then cleaning all four canals is not a duty."

Mu Huaixin was not without rebuttals, but the emperor's sudden permission for Shen Wang to defend himself made him realize the impending danger, so he could only listen obediently.

Shen Wang then looked at Sun Lie, the Vice Minister of War who had questioned him, and said solemnly, "The crimes of the officials of the four departments of the Ministry of Works are not conjectures but facts. The Construction Department used rotten wood to fill beams, the Forestry Department reduced the number of cannons and walls to paper, and the Land Reclamation Department turned fertile land into wasteland—all of these are recorded in official documents bearing the seal of the Ministry of Works. Vice Minister Sun actually claims to be innocent. Is he truly innocent, or is he also guilty?"

Sun Lie was over fifty years old at the time. Hearing Shen Wang's last words, he almost choked on his breath and his face turned red with anger.

He was just making a reasonable guess. It was outrageous that Shen Wang would actually frame him and a Ministry of Works official in front of the emperor for colluding with each other!
But knowing how sharp Shen Wangyan's words were, he didn't dare to engage in a war of words with him. If he continued arguing, he might get himself into trouble. So he followed Mu Huaixin's example and kept quiet.

Shen Wang did not press the matter further. He stood proudly in the hall and refuted each of the officials who had impeached him. Although each of them only said a few words, the hall was already silent.

This scene stirred up Xue Huai's emotions.

Now he understands the true meaning behind Shen Wang's words: "Go ahead and do it, and I'll be your teacher if the sky falls."

Shen Wang methodically dealt with the baseless impeachments, and finally looked at Xue Minglun, whose brows were furrowed, and said in a deep voice: "Minister Xue said that there was 'unauthorized expansion of documents,' but the crimes of the four departments are all verifiable. To say that there was 'excessive abuse' is actually to condone corrupt officials who have eroded our country! Now the malpractices of the Ministry of Works have spread to the four departments. If I were to be confined to the Ministry of Water Resources, it would be a dereliction of duty and a disservice to His Majesty's grace!"

Before Xue Minglun could speak, he quickly turned to the emperor on the dragon throne, bowed, and said, "If Your Majesty suspects me of making false accusations, you may order the three judicial departments to conduct a joint investigation. If even one injustice is found, I am willing to accept the axe! However, if the crimes are proven, what will become of Minister Xue's 'oversight'?"

"I have heard that it is better to witness the cruelty of an iron official than to pardon the greed of a corrupt official. The people outside the capital are already suffering greatly, and the corruption within the Ministry of Works is becoming increasingly severe. I would rather bear the criticism of overstepping my authority than fail Your Majesty's grace in appointing me!"

Decisive and resolute.

Xue Minglun's lips moved, but he remained silent in the end.

The case itself is not complicated. His biggest advantage is the emperor's attitude. However, the emperor has not shown any obvious bias. Could he really step forward and cover Shen Wang's mouth?
He looked toward the head of the civil officials, but could only see the silent profile of the Grand Secretary.

Just then, the emperor on the dragon throne spoke up: "Minister Shen, you say that the evidence against the four departments of the Ministry of Works is conclusive, then bring it out for all the civil and military officials to see."

"The minister obeys the order."

Shen Wang was not completely relaxed, but calmly said, "Your Majesty, I request permission to have Xue Huai, the clerk of the investigation office, explain the facts of the case."

After a brief silence, the emperor said calmly, "Granted."

A complex emotion welled up in Xue Huai's heart.

He understood why his mentor had made this arrangement. When he left the investigation office early that morning, Shen Wang had said something to him, and every word still echoed in his ears.

He took a deep breath and stopped hesitating.

(End of this chapter)