The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

"Excellent! This young man speaks very well! That's exactly right!"

Li Xiang's powerful words drew thunderous applause from the people.

"That's absolutely right! We pay taxes to support scholars, not so they can just rote memorize and recite textbooks!"

"They look down on us ordinary folks when they're in a high position, but when it comes to cases, they're helpless. What kind of person is this to be an official!"

"Exactly! They go to take the imperial examinations just to control us common people. They can't even solve a simple case, so what kind of control are they?"

"Your salary and emoluments are the people's blood and sweat. The common people are easy to oppress, but Heaven is hard to deceive..." Beside Li Xiang, Sun Fujia repeated these words in a low voice, his eyes growing brighter with each recitation.

He turned his head to look at Li Xiang, his face showing undisguised surprise: at first, he had only thought that this young imperial grandson was just indignant about his father's fate and was a filial and impulsive young man.

Unexpectedly, following "Ode to Righteousness," he uttered such resounding words.

As the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he had tried countless difficult cases, but he still felt that investigating this corruption case at the Imperial Academy was extremely difficult.

His intention was to help the imperial grandson cause trouble once, which would at least deter the aristocratic families for a while, allowing more students from poor families to gain admission to the imperial academy for a period of time, which would be considered a victory.

Even so, he was already prepared to offend the gentry and be sent away from Chang'an.

As for successfully uncovering the corruption, he hadn't even considered it. After all, squeezing out places for students from poor families must have been a tacit understanding between the aristocratic families and the officials in charge of studies and teaching. Since it was a tacit understanding, there would be no trace left behind.

There is no trace of it.

But he never expected that this grandson of the emperor would find such a unique perspective to prove that the students recommended by the Imperial Academy did not have enough talent!

Yes, regardless of what classic texts or subjects they studied, since the Imperial Academy recommended these students to participate in the imperial examinations, these students were essentially candidates for official positions.

As a prospective official, how can one merely talk about scriptures and ignore worldly affairs? If one doesn't even understand the fundamental principles of being an official, how can one be considered talented and learned?

The Imperial Academy, which should have been cultivating talent for the country and occupied the vast majority of the imperial examination slots, instead recommended a group of students who lacked ability and did not know how to be officials.

His Majesty will be furious! Even if it's a minor offense, it will still be considered a dereliction of duty!

In this way, the aristocratic families will surely restrain themselves, and the chances of rising from humble backgrounds will become increasingly slim. Over time, as there are more officials from humble backgrounds in the court, it will be able to restrain the powerful aristocratic families to some extent.

By then, the administration of my Great Tang Dynasty will also be...

Sun Fujia became more and more excited as he thought about it, and he couldn't help but steal a glance at Li Xiang again.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince has such a prodigy...

"...Who says we can't be officials? It's just that, it's just that..." Zheng Jingzhi's forehead was covered in sweat. Looking at the people's passionate response to Li Xiang's words, he felt increasingly flustered.

"This case is so bizarre, you never see anything like it! It's utterly disgraceful!"

"That's not quite right." At this moment, Sun Fujia straightened up, put his hands behind his back, and said:

"I have served as an official for over thirty years, and have been in charge of criminal cases at the Dali Temple for several years. Such strange and unusual cases are not uncommon among the people."

"Since the founding of our Great Tang Dynasty, the archives of our Dali Temple alone contain no fewer than a hundred such strange folk cases. Not to mention those difficult cases that could not be reported to Chang'an and were hidden in the prefectures and counties."

"The question posed by the imperial grandson today may seem like a joke, but it is actually quite relevant to the practicalities of official life and has considerable value."

Once he spoke, Zheng Jingzhi and the others were speechless: everyone knew that Sun Fujia was a seasoned criminal in Chang'an.

In the fifth year of the Zhenguan era, due to the wrongful conviction of Zhang Yungu, His Majesty issued an edict to promulgate the system of reviewing death sentences. All the difficult and complicated cases in the Tang Dynasty had to be regularly sent to Chang'an for review, and the first person to handle them was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Since Sun Fujia said so, then it must be so. No one can object to it.

Li Xiang glanced at Sun Fujia with some surprise, not expecting that this person would suddenly speak up to help at this moment.

He didn't think much of it, simply assuming Sun Fujia was acting out of a sense of justice. He continued to look at Zheng Jingzhi with a half-smile, saying, "Brother Zheng, do you have any other doubts? Please answer."

"How should this case be judged?"

Zheng Jingzhi's face was congested. Just mentioning such a sordid and bizarre case would damage the Zheng family's image.

But now, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he had no words to defend himself.

If you don't say it, it's tantamount to admitting you lack the talent to be an official...

Not only must a verdict be handed down, but the verdict must be convincing to the public…

"This person originally intended to commit adultery with a woman, but misjudged the situation and failed to do so. He should be sentenced for trespassing on someone else's property and given a lenient sentence."

"On the other hand, the other person had already retreated and was about to leave, but instead took the initiative to assault and humiliate him. According to the provisions of the Miscellaneous Laws of the Great Tang Dynasty on adultery between free men, he should be sentenced to imprisonment."

Zheng Jingzhi pondered for a long time before speaking slowly.

His words were well thought out. According to the Tang law, those who commit adultery with women should be hanged. However, His Majesty is cautious about the death penalty and cannot impose such a severe punishment.

He felt his verdict was most convincing, and with a sigh of relief, his tone softened. Looking at Li Xiang, Sun Fujia, and the whispering crowd of impoverished students and commoners before him, he asked, "Is this judgment fair?"

"But I have a question to ask," Li Xiang said, still wearing his harmless smile.

"According to the Tang Dynasty law, anyone who commits adultery with a woman shall be hanged. Since that man intended to commit adultery with a woman, his evil intentions are already evident. Why is he sentenced so lightly?"

Sure enough, this scoundrel set a trap here! Zheng Jingzhi thought to himself, feeling quite pleased with his foresight.

He calmly replied, "Confucius said, 'Listen to their words and observe their actions.' This person only harbors evil intentions but has no concrete evidence. How can we easily convict him based on something that hasn't even happened?"

"Excellent! Jingzhi is truly virtuous!" Kong Yingda quickly stroked his beard in praise, and breathed a sigh of relief. The Zheng family had a long tradition of scholarship, and although Zheng Jingzhi was the main examinee of the classics, he also had some knowledge of criminal law.

This explanation not only aligns with the Tang Dynasty's benevolent and compassionate approach to governance, but also cites the words of the sages as evidence, making it both reasonable and logical, and leaving no room for error.

Even the clamoring crowds quieted down considerably at this point.

Seeing the situation reversed, the Imperial College actually turned the tide, and the young men from prominent families were all delighted.

"Without concrete evidence, it's inappropriate to punish them. Haha, hahahahaha."

As Li Xiang muttered to himself, to everyone's surprise, the smile on his face grew even wider, and he even raised his hand and clapped loudly.

This action startled Zheng Jingzhi, Kong Yingda, and the others, leaving them completely astonished.

Even Sun Fujia, Song Shenzhi, and the others standing to the side looked at Li Xiang with surprise and doubt, their hearts filled with confusion.

Zheng Jingzhi answered correctly, which was supposed to be a bad thing that suppressed Li Xiang's arrogance. However, instead of being annoyed, the boy clapped his hands in praise and laughed loudly, which was really hard to understand.

"Excellent, absolutely excellent! Brother Zheng's insights are exactly what I've been thinking!"

Li Xiang smiled broadly, his tone exceptionally sincere, "Yes! Since there is no concrete evidence, how can we falsely accuse someone?"

His tone suddenly shifted, and he looked at the crowd, speaking clearly, word by word:

"It seems you all believe that the Emperor's judgment accusing my father of treason is completely unfounded!"

These words landed with a bang, and the surrounding air instantly froze.

Everyone in the room froze in place, their expressions changing drastically.

Outside the vast gates of the Imperial College, an absolute silence fell instantly, and the entire audience was utterly astonished!