The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 155 A Hidden Arrow Is Hard To Defend Against
Xingzhou, located in the southwest of the Great Song Dynasty, borders Pugan.
During the morning court session, Censor Fang Weitong listed seven charges against Liu Ji, the governor of Xingzhou, with a forceful and shocking delivery. Immediately, Zhao Fu ordered a thorough investigation into the matter and dispatched officials to Xingzhou to arrest Liu Ji.
For a moment, the entire court fell silent, and no one dared to speak.
Only after the morning court session ended and the officials dispersed did they dare to discuss what had just happened. Li Yude, the Left Vice Minister of Works, walked alongside Tang Shen but did not mention the events in Zichen Hall. Instead, he said, "I heard that a few days ago, Tang daren summoned Ji Mengwen back to Shengjing?"
"That is correct."
Li Yude smiled, "As fellow officials of the Ministry of Works, if there is anything Tang daren needs assistance with, please feel free to ask."
Tang Shen saluted, "Thank you, Li daren."
"You are too kind, Tang daren."
After the morning court session, in Qinzheng Hall, Yu Chaosheng, the Minister of Justice, pondered for a long time before knocking on his teacher's door.
Xu Bi softly said, "Come in," and Yu Chaosheng entered the room. He bowed deeply and said, "Your student pays his respects to Sir."
Xu Bi gestured for him to sit and personally poured him a cup of tea. Yu Chaosheng immediately accepted the teacup with both hands, feeling both honored and apprehensive.
Xu Bi smiled gently, "Are you worried about Liu Ji's situation?"
Yu Chaosheng replied, "Of course, I cannot hide anything from you. Over a decade ago, when I was posted outside the capital, I served in Xingzhou for a year and had some interactions with Liu Ji. Xingzhou is located in the Southwest, bordering Pugan to the south. Earlier in Zichen Hall, Fang Weitong accused Liu Ji of corruption and bribery. I fear these accusations are true. In border regions between two countries, there are too many opportunities for profit."
"Then why are you concerned about him?"
Yu Chaosheng fell silent for a moment before saying, "I am wondering why Liu Ji, after serving as the governor of Xingzhou for so many years, was suddenly impeached with a single memorial?"
Xu Bi said, "There are no coincidences in this world. Your concern is not unfounded. Then think about it—who stands to benefit from removing Liu Ji?"
After a long pause, Yu Chaosheng exclaimed in realization, "Their target is Xingzhou?"
Xu Bi nodded, "Exactly. In the Northwest, there is the Youzhou Silver Pull Division; in the Northeast, the Shengjing Silver Pull Division; and in the Southeast, the Jiangnan Silver Pull Division. And in the Southwest? Xingzhou is an unavoidable key point!"
Yu Chaosheng suddenly understood, feeling as if the clouds had parted to reveal the clear sky. "Your student thanks Sir for your guidance."
The teacher and student drank tea together for a while longer, and then Xu Bi asked, "Are you certain that you have no connection to Liu Ji?"
Yu Chaosheng replied, "Of course not. When I served in Xingzhou, Liu Ji was only a minor sixth-rank official. I remember his name because I happened to meet him a few times at banquets. His unusual appearance left an impression on me. How could I be connected to him?"
Xu Bi smiled leisurely, "Then you can simply observe from the sidelines and let them do as they please."
Not only Yu Chaosheng but many officials in the court were puzzled. Why had Liu Ji, who had been far from the emperor's reach in Xingzhou for over a decade, suddenly been impeached and charged with serious crimes?
What was the reason behind this?
Most people could not guess who Liu Ji had offended to end up in such a situation.
A very few high-ranking officials turned their attention to the Xu and Wang factions. Without a doubt, it was the work of one of these two factions, but who had done it and why remained a mystery.
Two months later, in the eighth month of the thirty-fifth year of Kaiping, the Imperial Guards escorted Liu Ji from Xingzhou back to Shengjing.
Liu Ji had been a fat man, standing less than five feet tall but as wide as three people. Yu Chaosheng remembered him precisely because of his astonishing obesity—he looked more like a wealthy merchant than a scholar. However, over the past two months, Liu Ji had been unable to sleep or eat, and he had lost over forty pounds. His eyes were sunken, making him look like a wandering refugee, lost and destitute.
Upon arriving in Shengjing, he was immediately imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review's dungeon.
Soon after, the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was ordered to investigate the case. Since the case involved a large amount of money, Zhao Fu, who had ruled for many years, did not expect his officials to be entirely incorruptible and poor. However, Liu Ji's actions had crossed a line. Zhao Fu ordered a thorough investigation, and the officials of the Court of Judicial Review dared not delay. Within a month, Liu Ji had been tortured into confessing, and the case was resolved.
In the tenth month, Liu Ji was imprisoned in the dungeon, his family's property was confiscated, and his children and relatives were reduced to slavery.
However, half a month later, another official from the Censorate submitted a memorial to the emperor, impeaching another person.
This person was named Sun Shangde, who currently served as a dispatcher in the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau. The censor accused him of bribing Liu Ji, who was then the Vice Governor of Xingzhou, in the eighth month of the nineteenth year of Kaiping. The two had colluded to embezzle funds from the Xingzhou treasury, leading to a severe drought the following year. With no grain reserves in the treasury, over a hundred thousand people died in three regions of Xingzhou.
When this memorial was presented, the entire court was shocked.
In Zichen Hall, Left Prime Minister Xu Bi tightly gripped his jade tablet, his cloudy, aged eyes flickering uncertainly. He slowly raised his head and looked at Right Prime Minister Wang Quan, who stood to his right, as if trying to discern the thoughts behind Wang Quan's calm expression. Zhao Fu was also stunned.
The drought in Xingzhou was no small matter.
In the twentieth year of Kaiping, Zhao Fu had been obsessed with cultivating immortality and was building the Immortal Ascension Platform. Suddenly, the Southwest experienced three months without rain, causing severe droughts in Xingzhou, Cangzhou, and Mengzhou. At the time, Zhao Fu had been terrified, and rumors spread both in the court and among the people that his extravagant construction of the Immortal Ascension Platform, which had drained the people's resources, had provoked divine retribution.
To address this, Zhao Fu had even gone to the Altar of Heaven to pray for a month, fasting and seeking heaven's protection.
Natural disasters inevitably caused deaths, but the question was how many. That year, the drought in the three regions of Xingzhou had killed over a hundred thousand people. Zhao Fu had thought the death toll was too high, but given the severity of the drought, he had dismissed the matter after removing the officials involved. But now, someone was claiming that before the drought, the Xingzhou treasury had already been empty!
Zhao Fu's heart was in turmoil, but at the same time, he looked down in a daze at the officials standing in Zichen Hall, beneath him.
After a long while, Zhao Fu picked up the impeachment memorial and slammed it onto the ground.
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! I want to see how many corrupt officials are still running amok in my court!"
In the winter of the thirty-fifth year of Kaiping, Zhao Fu did not suffer from headaches again. He was full of energy, but the entire court was as silent as a cicada in cold weather.
In the first month of the following year, Sun Shangde was imprisoned in the Court of Judicial Review's dungeon, and his case was postponed for further investigation.
In the Left Prime Minister's residence, Xu Bi stood in his study. Behind him, an incense burner emitted wisps of white smoke, while outside the window, snow fell like goose feathers in the north. The core members of the Xu faction were all gathered in the room.
Xu Bi silently gazed out the window, while the officials in the room all lowered their heads, unsure of what to say.
After a long while, Xu Bi said, "Using Liu Ji as a starting point, they implicated Sun Shangde, and then all the officials of Xingzhou from the nineteenth year of Kaiping. This move was far-sighted and meticulously planned. I am in awe and admit defeat. At this point, Xian Zhi, do you understand why all of this happened?"
Yu Chaosheng's face flushed red. He stood up and said, "When the drought struck Xingzhou, I had already been transferred away to Jinling. But in the nineteenth year of Kaiping, I was still in Xingzhou. However, I truly had no idea that the officials of Xingzhou had colluded to embezzle funds from the treasury! All these twists and turns—it turns out everything was aimed at me! It's easy to dodge an open attack, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. This time, I, Yu Xianzhi, was too careless!"