EBE Chapter 462 Hou Xun Dismissed from Office
Chapter 462 Hou Xun Dismissed from Office
Chapter 462 Hou Xun Dismissed from Office
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Old Wen, I really am not colluding with the enemy and betraying the country! You have to think of it this way: right now, our Great Ming is reorganizing its army and preparing to pacify Liaodong. But we are not ready yet. As you know, I destroyed all of the Tartars' grain. This autumn, there will definitely be no harvest."
Wen Tiren nodded.
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Before autumn, the Tartars will definitely attack the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty is not prepared. Wouldn't we just be attacked for nothing?"
"Hehe!" Wen Tiren laughed and scolded, "Boxin, stop joking. This matter concerns the fate of the nation; how can it be treated so lightly?"
Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, "I'm not joking, I'm serious. I'm doing this for the Ming Dynasty. If the Tartars can buy grain, and with the morale of our Ming soldiers so high, the Tartars certainly won't take the initiative to attack the Ming Dynasty."
Wen Tiren thought about it and realized that what Wang Wenzhou said was not entirely unreasonable.
"Old Wen, do you really think I'm doing this for the money?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
Wen Tiren nodded. Wang Wenzhou was indeed very good at making money. If Wang Wenzhou wanted to make money, he had many ways. There was absolutely no need for him to risk his life by engaging in the smuggling of grain.
"Are you really doing this for the Ming Dynasty?" Wen Tiren countered.
"Old Wen, I am a first-class nobleman of the Ming Dynasty. Would I betray the Ming Dynasty? To betray the Ming Dynasty is to betray myself!" Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile.
“Alright, I’ll help you with this!” Wen Tiren said.
Wang Wenzhou patted Wen Tiren on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Old Wen is a true friend. You're much better than that little she-wolf in your family!"
At this moment, Li Mu finished his inspection, cupped his hands in greeting, and reported, "Your Majesty, I can confirm that the dog's belly is full of pork, and there is no human flesh inside."
"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "Lord Hou, Lord Qian, did you hear me clearly?"
"Ah!" Qian Qianyi and the others could hardly believe their ears. How could this be? They had fallen for Wang Wenzhou's trick again!
Wang Wenzhou cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said righteously, "Your Majesty, I hereby impeach Hou Xun. This traitor has been causing chaos with his troops, and his crimes deserve to be punished!"
"Your Majesty!" Hou Xun immediately knelt down, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, but he didn't know what to say.
"Your Majesty, Lord Hou is grieving the loss of his son, and although he may have made a minor mistake, it is understandable!" Qian Qianyi defended Hou Xun.
Wang Wenzhou cursed and said, "It's a minor mistake! You wait! Brother Zhu, I'll be right back."
"Huh?" Zhu Youjian was very puzzled. What was Wang Wenzhou up to now?
A moment later, Wang Wenzhou returned, followed by Little Monster 001 and a guard carrying a stretcher. Jiang Xuyang, his body wrapped in bandages, lay on the stretcher.
Wang Wenzhou said, "Put the stretcher down, be gentle."
"Yes!" Little Monster 001 carefully placed the stretcher on the ground.
Wang Wenzhou pointed at Jiang Xuyang and said with a sob in his voice, "Your Majesty, look! My son has been beaten so badly that he can't even walk. Although Xiao Yangyang is not my biological son, his father saved my life, and I have always treated him as my own son."
As Wang Wenzhou spoke, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
Zhu Youjian was both amused and exasperated. "Boxin, are you forcing me to kill Hou Xun?"
Wang Wenzhou wiped away his tears and sobbed, "Lord Hou is heartbroken at the loss of his son, but that was an accident. Yet he led men to commit violence and beat my son like this. I beg Your Majesty to help this humble subject!"
After Wang Wenzhou finished speaking, he knelt down on the ground and secretly made a finger gesture towards Wen Tiren, "Old Wen, you go first, it's your turn!"
Wen Tiren nodded and said righteously, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Lord Hou's actions are truly inappropriate. Even if Lord Wang murdered his son, the matter should be handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for trial. Lord Hou, as an official of the court, has shown contempt for the laws of the court; his crime deserves death!"
Qian Qianyi and the others' expressions changed. "You old fox, you actually teamed up with that mad dog Wang Wenzhou to bite people indiscriminately!"
Qian Qianyi quickly said, "Grand Secretary Wen, you are too kind. Lord Hou and Wang Wenzhou only had a minor conflict. It's like two ordinary families having a quarrel and fighting. How can we just kill them? Your Majesty, in my opinion, Lord Hou did indeed do something wrong. I request Your Majesty to punish him by deducting his salary and to compensate Lord Wang for his losses."
"Fuck your mother!" Wang Wenzhou stood up, pointed at Qian Qianyi, and cursed, "You surnamed Qian, what do you mean? Oh! According to you, as long as you pay money, you can beat someone up, and that counts as murder? I'll beat you up first, and then pay you money, would you be willing?"
Zheng Sanjun quickly said, "Lord Wang, we are all colleagues, let's keep the peace!"
"Don't talk like that, it's easy for you to say that!" Wang Wenzhou said angrily. "Now you're telling me we're all colleagues and I should prioritize harmony? What were you all doing just now? Not only did you frame me, you also killed my son!"
"Pfft..." Everyone was both amused and exasperated. Wang Wenzhou, that mad dog, kept claiming that the dog was his son.
Wang Wenzhou pointed at Hou Xun and cursed, "He not only almost killed my son, but also led an attack on my Zhongyi Duke's mansion. If it weren't for the fierce resistance of my servants, you would be seeing my corpse now! Your Majesty, if Hou Xun's crimes don't warrant execution, what if he leads his men to attack the palace one day?"
Zhu Youjian frowned deeply. Did Hou Xun know that he was at Wang Wenzhou's residence at the time? If he really knew, Hou Xun deserved to be torn to pieces. But judging from Hou Xun's expression, he probably really didn't know.
"Your Majesty, this old minister is guilty!" Hou Xun hurriedly said, "This old minister is old and begs Your Majesty to grant me permission to retire and return to my hometown, considering my diligent and loyal service to the country."
"Oh my! Hou Xun, you're really shameless!" Wang Wenzhou cursed. "So, according to you, you've committed a capital crime, but you can get away with it by resigning? How about I kill you first, and then I'll resign?"
"Wang Wenzhou, stop this nonsense!" Zhu Youjian thought for a moment and then said, "Wang Chengen drafted an edict stating that Hou Xun, the Minister of Revenue, is heartbroken over the loss of his son and is too grief-stricken to handle official duties. I hereby grant him permission to retire and return to his hometown."
"Huh?" Qian Qianyi and the others were all dumbfounded. Zhu Youjian, what the hell do you mean?!
In the imperial court, there was an unspoken rule: when a minister retired to his hometown, the emperor would always try to persuade him to stay. Generally, the minister would have to ask to resign several times before the emperor would reluctantly agree.
Qian Qianyi broke out in a cold sweat. This was bad! It seemed that Wang Wenzhou's actions were tacitly approved by Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian wanted to weaken the Donglin Party's influence!
Given the current situation, Hou Xun was already guilty, and his resignation was immediately granted by the Emperor. Even if Qian Qianyi and others wanted to object, they had no reason to do so. They could only watch helplessly as Hou Xun was dismissed.
Zhu Youjian said, "My dear ministers, I am tired. If there is nothing else, you may all go back. Wang Wenzhou, you stay."
"This old minister takes his leave!" Wen Tiren left satisfied.
Qian Qianyi and his men were dejected and left in defeat.
After everyone left, Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Brother Zhu is really generous. Those Donglin Party bastards who occupy positions without doing their jobs should have been removed from the ranks long ago. Their presence in office is nothing short of a disgrace to the imperial court!"
"Sigh..." Zhu Youjian sighed softly and said, "After you go back, return Hou Fangjiang's body to Hou Xun."
“Brother Zhu, do you think I’m that kind of person? I really didn’t dig up the grave!” Wang Wenzhou said seriously.
Zhu Youjian said irritably, "I know you too well! You dare to dig up graves? You must have ordered someone to do it! Hou Xun is so old, and he has served the court. We can't go too far!"
"Alright, I'll listen to you!" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile.
"Jiang Xuyang, stop pretending. I'll take you to see Meichu," Zhu Youjian said with a smile.
"Great, great!" Jiang Xuyang exclaimed happily as soon as he heard this, and quickly got up.
Wang Wenzhou was very pleased. Although he hadn't managed to kill Hou Xun, driving him out of the court was a victory in itself. Zhu Youjian was also very pleased. The Donglin Party was powerful, and he had long wanted to cultivate a force to counterbalance it. However, Wen Tiren was utterly incompetent, and Wang Wenzhou's appearance was a perfect replacement for Wen Tiren.