Chapter 350 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

"Your Majesty, I impeach Shi Xianggong for colluding with Prince Yong to plot a rebellion. Here is the correspondence between Shi Xianggong and Prince Yong, as well as the time and place where they met. Your Majesty, please examine it carefully!"

If I don't kill a chicken to scare the monkeys today, he will not be able to calm down and this matter will not be over.

Lin Hao is such a generous and tolerant person!

And Lin Hao's sudden attack was actually prepared for the fact that Shi Xianggong was in contact with Prince Yong, and he even took out a roll of evidence of his collusion with Prince Yong!

"Hiss~, it seems that this was premeditated!" At this time, the other ministers whispered.

Then everyone suddenly thought that if they continued to oppose Duke Rong, would he suddenly come up with some evidence of collusion with the two kings?

After all, when the two kings were fighting for the position of crown prince, there were many people in the court who had interactions with the two kings. Everyone's hearts trembled when they thought of this!
If Lin Hao uses these things to make an argument, they won’t be able to defend themselves!
However, when they were feeling uneasy, the emperor was in an unusually happy mood. Duke Rong could not help but confront these literati head-on with evidence!
Although he was happy in his heart, the emperor still said solemnly:
"Send it up!"

Then the eunuch beside the emperor came to Lin Hao and presented the file in his hand to the emperor!
Just as the emperor was reading with great interest and was trying to control Mr. Shi, Lin Hao took out another file and said:
"Your Majesty, I would like to impeach the Imperial Censors Yao Yan, Jia Hua, and Wang Yu for staying overnight at Guangyun Terrace and having sex with the official prostitutes there. I request Your Majesty to punish the three for their usurpation of power and dismiss them from their posts as Imperial Censors..."

When the emperor and his ministers saw Lin Hao reporting again, they thought that he was going to bring up the issue of colluding with the two kings to rebel, but they didn't expect that Lin Hao was reporting about staying overnight in a brothel!

The brothel industry was extremely developed in the Song Dynasty, so when officials went to these places, they could find a few prostitutes who "sold their skills but not their bodies" to accompany them for food, drinks, and dancing to entertain them.

But they were absolutely not allowed to meet with him alone, let alone spend the night with him. This was written into the laws of the Song Dynasty, so every official knew it and dared not overstep the boundaries.

Once you overstep the line and have sex with a prostitute, you won’t have to worry if no one gets caught. But once you get caught, the consequences will be extremely severe, and at the very least you’ll lose your job...!

Therefore, the emperor thought that Lin Hao was venting his anger, and could only say helplessly:
"Is there any evidence?"

"Yes, there are witnesses and physical evidence!" Then Lin Hao took out another file and said:
"This file contains the specific time and name of the courtesan who stayed overnight. Your Majesty can check it at any time!"

So the emperor asked the eunuch to bring the files again. The impeachment of Prime Minister Shi had not been resolved yet, and three more people came here and stayed overnight at Guangyuntai, which was an act of usurpation!
However, just after the emperor received the file, Lin Hao took out another file from his sleeve and continued:
"Your Majesty, I would also like to impeach the Imperial Censor Kuang Yan for accepting a bribe of 24,700 strings of cash. He should be punished..."

(︶^︶)
"Your Majesty, I would like to impeach the Censor Kong Hua for accepting a bribe of 12,000 strings of cash. He should be punished..."

Afterwards, Lin Hao impeached again all the ministers who had just impeached him. Lin Hao knew that these people had little to do with the rebellion of the two kings.

As a great and upright person, Lin Hao would of course expose all the ugly things they did in their daily lives that should not be seen in public!

The key is that Lin Hao has evidence in his hands, and the evidence is fatal enough. Compared with the empty words of these censors, Lin Hao has directly proved the fatal flaw!

"Not only is it extremely harmful, it's also extremely insulting!" This is what everyone is thinking at this moment!
Just now, everyone was claiming to be a moral gentleman and belittling Lin Hao's character to the point of being worthless, but now Lin Hao has exposed their true colors!
However, Lin Hao's repeated impeachments made the emperor extremely angry. He believed that the things that Lin Hao impeached were found out through the Imperial City Bureau, but Lin Hao did not report them to him.

What does this mean? It means that the Imperial City Bureau is getting out of his control, and this is what he is most worried about.

At this time, the emperor felt his blood rushing up, accompanied by heavy breathing, which represented the anger in his heart, but he could not act recklessly.

Because there are so many issues he has to consider, and he also has to balance the interests of all parties and keep them within a controllable range.

At this time, the emperor felt that the situation in the court was somewhat out of control.

Then the emperor said tiredly:
"I am a little tired and my energy is limited. Let's discuss this matter tomorrow!"

However, Lin Hao would not just let it go so easily. Making a lot of noise but doing little is not Lin Hao's style. Moreover, Lin Hao also has to dispel the emperor's concerns about him.

Therefore, Lin Hao said loudly like a fool:

"Your Majesty, do you want to protect such an evil official? If Your Majesty acts like this, how will you face your ancestors in the future..."

"Shut up!" the emperor roared angrily at this time.

"I refuse to submit!" Lin Hao said righteously.

"You, you, you are going to piss me off to death!"

"No reward for merit, no punishment for fault, if that's the case then I'd rather not be this official!" As he said that, Lin Hao took off the long-winged hat on his head and put it on the ground!

The civil servants in the court felt that the scene before them was extremely familiar. Wasn't this the tactic they usually used to threaten the emperor?

How can a military hero like you use such a shameless trick? Do you have any shame?
At this time, the emperor angrily questioned Lin Hao:

"Duke Rong, do you want to threaten me too?"

The emperor at this moment no longer looked as sick as before. In fact, after two months of rest, he had already recovered.

Just to reduce some trouble for himself, he always showed weakness to the officials in the court!

Seeing the emperor so angry, the civil officials felt that this was a good opportunity to eliminate Lin Hao, especially Shi Da Xianggong, who immediately stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, I have a report to you. Duke Rong abused his power to frame me for colluding with the two princes in rebellion. I ask Your Majesty to punish Duke Rong for his false accusation. Please punish him severely!
"Your Majesty, Duke Rong does not have the etiquette of a subject. I want to impeach Duke Rong for the crime of disrespect!" Then several civil servants began to impeach Lin Hao!
It was out of control, completely out of control. All the civil servants in the court were attacking and accusing Lin Hao, and Lin Hao fought back without hesitation.

The emperor looked at the chaotic court and felt filled with regret.

If I had known this earlier, I would not have tried to test him. I would have just given the title of prince to Lin Hao. It's not a hereditary title. Now I can't get rid of it.

If I had known this earlier, I would have lived out the last few years of my life in peace and handed over the throne to my son smoothly!

At this time, the emperor gradually regained his senses and understood things. He felt that Lin Hao was just a young man after all, and being crowned king had unparalleled appeal to him.

That's why he acts like a fool, doing things without considering the consequences and rushing around saying whatever he wants.

Instead of being like those old foxes in the court, who say one thing in front of you and another behind your back!
The most important thing is that when he calmed down, he thought of the Duke of England who was leading the army outside, and his fear of the Zhang family arose in his heart again.

If Lin Hao's requirements cannot be met at this time, I am afraid that more complications will arise.

Moreover, Lin Hao had produced solid evidence to impeach Shi Da Xianggong and the imperial censors who took the lead. If he did not handle it properly, he would be criticized for not rewarding merits and not punishing faults, and he would be criticized in the future!

Looking at the excited civil servants, the emperor also thought that they should be suppressed appropriately. After all, they had forced him to choose a crown prince.

This group of scholar-officials had too much power. Not only did they suppress military honors, they even had a tendency to suppress imperial power.

The current situation with wolves in front and tigers behind is the most true portrayal of the emperor's current situation!
Then the emperor thought of his son. He knew the condition of his own body. If he continued like this, he would not be able to accompany the prince to grow up.

After he passes away, will the prince be able to ascend the throne smoothly?

At that time, who can become the prince's assistant? Thinking of this, the emperor looked at the young and inexperienced Lin Hao and those old officials who were indignant, and his mind was wandering to who knows where.

After thinking for a long time, the emperor had already made up his mind. He knew that the most important thing at the moment was to sort out the court. He could not let the situation continue to develop, otherwise it would be the source of chaos!

Then the Emperor spoke:
"Well, the matter of Lord Shi colluding with the two princes to plot treason is still open to discussion. After all, the so-called evidence provided by Duke Rong is strictly speaking ambiguous!"

"I will send someone else to investigate this matter. If Mr. Shi is indeed in collusion with the Second Prince, I will never let him off easily!"

At this point, the emperor stretched out his hand to interrupt Shi Da Xianggong who was about to speak, and then continued:
"If Lord Shi did not participate in the rebellion and was just interacting with the Second Prince normally, I will not let you suffer an unjustifiable injustice!"

Then, Shi Da Xianggong knelt on the ground with tears in his eyes and saluted:

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I have never participated in the rebellion of the Second Prince. This was all done by Duke Rong who framed me. I hope Your Majesty can see clearly!"

"Okay, you don't need to say anything more. I know the right and wrong, your merits and demerits in my heart. Once the investigation is completed, I will clear your name!"

Shi Da Xianggong immediately thanked him and said, "I obey your order!"

Then the emperor said to Lin Hao:
"Duke Rong has made great contributions in saving the emperor this time, and it is only natural that he should be crowned king~!"

Before the emperor could finish his words, a group of civil officials immediately said:

"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"

Before he could finish his words, the emperor interrupted him and said, "How outrageous!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" the ministers said in unison.

At this time the Emperor continued:
"Duke Rong is right. The court must not lose fairness in its work. Those who have made contributions should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished!"

"The crimes of Yao Yan, Jia Hua, Wang Yu, Kuang Yan, and Kong Hua are clear and obvious. They will be handed over to the Dali Temple for punishment according to the law!"

After that, the emperor asked Lin Hao: "Duke Rong, do you have any objection to their treatment?"

Lin Hao bowed his head and said respectfully: "Your Majesty has handled it properly, and I have no objection!"

The emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief and said again:
"Okay! Just now you said you wanted fairness, and you also wanted me to reward the merits and punish the faults!"

"Pardoning you and granting you the title of king is a reward to you. These unruly ministers will also receive the punishment they deserve. This is the fairness you want!"

"However, for your disrespectful behavior just now, I will naturally punish you. I will fine you one year's salary and revoke your position as the Imperial City Envoy. Do you have any complaints?"

He is worthy of being the emperor who has been in office for decades. Faced with such a complicated situation, he can still find a breakthrough and quickly settle the matter, leaving all parties convinced and speechless!

"I am sincerely convinced!" Lin Hao had achieved his goal, so there was naturally no need to continue making trouble. As for who would be in charge of the Imperial City Bureau, that was not up to the emperor!
Seeing Lin Hao's attitude after he was awarded the title of King, the emperor finally put down the heavy stone in his heart. He looked at the official hat on the ground, and then continued to say to Lin Hao:
"Okay! Since you are convinced, why don't you put on your official hat?"

"I obey your order!" Lin Hao said as he put the long-winged hat back on his head!

"Alright, that's enough for today, let's adjourn the court!" With that, the emperor, who was already exhausted, forced himself to leave!

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

······
However, that same night, perhaps because he was frightened by the rebellion of Prince Yan and Prince Yong, or because Lin Hao had sucked his life energy for a month or so, plus he saw the miserable state of Concubine Rong and her daughter, and there was also the court disputes that had left the emperor exhausted today.

All these things combined made it so that this old man in his fifties could no longer bear it. He suddenly fainted after his meal, which immediately scared all the eunuchs and palace maids!

"Your Majesty~, Your Majesty~!"

"Call the imperial physician quickly..."

When the emperor woke up, he realized that his body really could not wait for the prince to grow up.

So he immediately thought of entrusting the prince to someone else, paving a good future for him. After some thought, the emperor said:
"Come here, tell Duke Rong, Grand Chancellor Han Zhang, and Grand Chancellor Fu Bi to enter the palace immediately..."

The emperor ordered Lin Hao and others to come to the palace to entrust their son to the care of him, but on second thought, he became a little uneasy.

Lin Hao and the other two were outsiders after all, and the two ministers, Han Zhang and Fu Bi, were already over 70 years old. How long could they live?
But what about Duke Rong?
He is only in his twenties. After Han Zhang and Fu Bi die of old age, who will be able to check and balance Duke Rong?

Needless to say, the Zhang family is the most powerful family in the military. Moreover, Duke Rong has been crowned king now. It will not be a good thing for him to hold power alone.

It is not a question of whether or not to believe in Duke Rong's loyalty, but people's hearts will change, not to mention that he now clearly feels that compared with the previous Lin Hao, he is somewhat different now!

But the emperor had to make use of the Zhang family. With the Zhang family's current connections, if the Zhang family did not support the new emperor, the new emperor would sooner or later be manipulated into a puppet by civil and military officials.

If we think about how the Zhao family came to the throne, we must make more preparations to prevent individual ministers from usurping power!
So the emperor decided to select someone from the royal family to check and balance Lin Hao to prevent one family from dominating the country.

However, the rebellion by Prince Yan and Prince Yong had just occurred, which reduced the emperor's trust in the Zhao clan to the extreme.

So he was also worried about these relatives. Then he thought of Zhao Zongquan, the backup plan he had prepared many years ago!

(End of this chapter)