A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 24 White Blade
"Go back."

Liu Che looked at Zhang Tang, signaling him to return to the court ranks.

But with blades already drawn, there was no room for retreat unless it was a fight to the death. Zhang Tang remained motionless, bowed again, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have another matter to report."

"Who?"

"Vice Minister Zhou Yangyou".

Hear the words.

Zhou Yang trembled. Being a cruel official, he suppressed his fear and stood in the center of the hall.

Liu Che did not give him a chance to speak, but said to Zhang Tang: "Zhang Tang, Zhou Yangyou is a rough man who has always been impulsive and does not know etiquette, but he is not a bad person. He values ​​loyalty and is kind. He is related to the rebel king, which is not a crime. I am also related to the rebel king."

Zhou Yangyou's father, Zhao Jian, later adopted Zhou Yang as his surname. He was the nephew of King Li of Huainan. In other words, the rebel king Liu An and Zhao Jian were cousins, and naturally, they were also Zhou Yangyou's uncles. Even if there were inappropriate correspondence between the uncle and nephew, it wouldn't be enough to kill him.

It should be stated beforehand that Liu Che's protectiveness towards his own children is obvious to everyone.

“Your Majesty, I am not a cruel official and will not implicate others at will. My accusation against Zhou Yangyou was entirely out of public interest.”

The dukes, marquises, and members of the royal family were filled with awe. It must be said, this is what it means to be a ruler and his subjects—their shamelessness is exactly the same.

Everyone in Chang'an knew that Zhang Tang did not handle cases based on facts, but only on evidence and logic, and then tried to implicate the masses, implementing a cruel and ruthless political system.

The most memorable case was the witchcraft case of the deposed Empress Chen Ajiao. Faced with the daughter of the Emperor and his own cousin, even the Emperor was willing to show leniency. What did Zhang Tang, who was in charge of the case, do? He strongly advised against the deposition of the Empress and did everything he could to implicate other people involved in the case, causing a great deal of panic and fear in Chang'an. Dozens of powerful families were destroyed and their members died as a result.

In this era where there is debate about whether human nature is inherently good or inherently evil, Zhang Tang is considered by countless people to be an "innately evil person."

You're not a cruel official? Then who is?

If you don't practice guilt by association, who will?

Zhang Tang paid no heed to the contempt of the officials of the two dynasties and continued, "Your Majesty, and all the ministers, recently the Court of Justice has received a series of complaints from the people of Hedong against the Zhou family for their tyranny and oppression of the villagers."

"What? What did they say?" Liu Che had no choice but to ask.

"Your Majesty, the people of Hedong hate the Zhou family to the bone. Your Majesty, esteemed ministers, marquises, and members of the imperial clan, have you heard any of these folk songs?"

"When the Yellow River is clear, Zhouyang is at peace; when the Yellow River is muddy… Your Majesty, I did not sing well, but this folk song is permeated with blood and tears!"

"You're talking about his family, not Zhou Yangyou himself, but the family members."

"Yes! Although they are his clansmen, whose power do they rely on? Without Zhou Yangyou's backing, would his clansmen dare to do that?"

Zhang Tang asked the question, but without giving anyone a chance to answer, he said directly: "Furthermore, in recent years, the Court of Justice has been receiving complaints from the people of the counties and prefectures where Zhou Yangyou has served as a magistrate, accusing Zhou Yangyou of wrongdoing."

At this point, Zhang Tang presented the petition and distributed it to officials in the central and outer courts. Faint watermarks could be seen on the blood-written petitions. Some officials familiar with criminal law immediately realized that they were the tears of the common people and couldn't help but gasp.

Even more ruthless than a petition written in blood is a petition written in blood and tears.

"Your Majesty, Zhou Yangyou thinks he has a powerful clan background and looks down on everyone in the world, including the laws of the court. He dares to bail out someone who has repeatedly committed offenses against the law. Instead of repenting, the person he bailed out has become more and more arrogant with the help of Zhou Yangyou."

Zhang Tang pointed to the sky and stomped his feet on the ground, almost going mad as he said, “Your Majesty, when Zhou Yangyou first entered officialdom, he only owned 712 mu of land. But now, the private land under Zhou Yangyou’s name has reached 10,000 hectares. How much is the salary of our dynasty? Where did these lands come from?”

"Isn't it all because of accepting bribes, relying on Zhou Yang's family and servants, bullying others, seizing their land, and raping their wives and daughters..."

"Nonsense! Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Zhou Yang blurted out in a panic, denying it.

"Zhang Tang, do you have any evidence?" Liu Che's voice turned cold.

"Your Majesty, here is the solid evidence." Zhang Tang presented a list of Zhou Yangyou and some of the Zhou family's assets, as well as evidence of their dirty dealings with others.

"Forgery!"

Zhou Yang didn't even dare to look, and knelt down on the ground, urgently saying, "Your Majesty, it's a forgery!"

"Be bold!"

Zhang Tang's momentum rose again, and he said sternly, "You really don't know how to repent even when you're about to die. Very well, I'll read it to you. In the second year of Yuanshuo, you were the governor of Hanoi County. You heard that the powerful Xue family in the county had a luminous pearl worth ten thousand gold pieces. You deliberately had someone frame you, killed the Xue family members, seized nine beautiful women from the Xue family, obtained the pearl, five thousand acres of fertile land, and forty fine horses..."

“Fourteen horses,” Zhou Yang retorted.

Forty horses.

Fourteen horses.

Forty horses.

Fourteen horses.

Forty horses.

"enough!"

Liu Che couldn't listen any longer. Fourteen horses meant death, and forty horses meant death too. Looking at the evidence of the numerous crimes committed against the counties, he hesitated.

At this point, officials from both dynasties realized that it was no wonder Zhang Tang had first accused the Zhou Yang family of being tyrannical and oppressive to the people, and that he had gathered so much evidence because he wanted to wipe out Zhou Yangyou and the Zhou Yang family in one fell swoop!
Zhang Tang, you still say you don't practice guilt by association?
It's better to offend a gentleman than a petty person. Zhou Yangyou was petty enough that even Ji An and Sima An dared not easily get involved with him. Zhang Tang, who was able to get rid of a petty person, was the pettiest of petty people.

Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin silently crossed Zhang Tang's name off the list of people they hated.

They have a large and prosperous family, but they can't withstand the meddling of such petty people.

Zhou Yang repeatedly kowtowed, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I have indeed been improper. I acquired some land and houses, accumulated some wealth, and indulged in playing with dogs, horses, women, and pleasures. But Your Majesty, you know that I am utterly loyal. Those pearls and those beauties were offered to..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Che roared in the hall, "Shut up!"

For some reason, the officials from both dynasties all showed knowing expressions, looking down as if they hadn't heard anything.

Liu Che hated this straightforward, incapable man with his mind at the extreme. "Where are the palace guards?"

"exist."

"Throw them into the Court of Justice prison, and together with the entire Zhou Yang clan, behead them and display their heads to the public."

"Here."

Zhou Yangyou, who was being dragged away, wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was knocked unconscious by a quick-thinking palace guard.

Liu Che remained silent, and the hall was filled with silence.

Another capable but cruel official has fallen in China and North Korea.

The nobles, marquises, and members of the royal family who were originally distressed by the profits from salt and iron suddenly felt less distressed.

Ok?
Why hasn't Zhang Tang stepped down yet?
As if they had thought of something, some of the courtiers blushed.

(End of this chapter)