Chapter 231 Crime
The news that the King of Qin voluntarily accepted punishment spread quickly, and people only then remembered this matter. Many people felt sorry for the King of Qin, wondering why he should be punished after such a great victory.

Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao, who were involved in the matter, immediately went to the palace to plead for the King of Qin.

As for Li Jiancheng, he had naturally met the Assistant Minister of Justice. He was a little surprised after hearing what he heard, but this was a good thing.

"The King of Qin is a man of courtesy and law. I am very pleased. I hereby exempt him from half of the punishment."

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice took his leave in a hurry, fearing that the King of Qin would be beaten more severely due to his slow legs, which would be a serious offense.

After he left, Li Jiancheng looked at Li Wei standing aside. He was already the chief officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in charge of six bureaus: Ye Ting, Gong Wei, Xi Guan, Nei Pu, Nei Fu, and Nei Fang.

Even the emperor had to weigh the pros and cons of appointing and dismissing officials in other government offices in order to maintain stability in the court, but this was not the case with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was his own business whom he promoted and appointed.

"Yesterday, the chief of the Dali Temple, Zhang Sun Wuji, went to the palace to see the King of Qin."

Li Jiancheng nodded when he heard this. He thought that this was Zhangsun Wuji's idea, which made him very satisfied and very appropriate. However, it would be a pity for the King of Qin.

Originally, there was no plan to promote Changsun Wuji in the next few years, but his proactive gesture of goodwill made Li Jiancheng want to promote him.

But I quickly suppressed it and still had to see whether in-laws or future were more important to him, so that I would know how to use it.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Jiyin and the Duke of Xinli request an audience."

Li Jiancheng said, "Tell them that I have exempted the King of Qin from half of his caning. If they are here for this purpose, there is no need to see them. Let them return home to recuperate. Oh, and give two jars of medicinal wine to the two dukes."

"promise."

Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao, who were standing at the palace gate, held two jars of medicinal wine and bowed in the direction of Ganlu Palace to express their gratitude.

Then he handed the medicinal wine to the servant behind him, and said to Qin Shubao: "Your Majesty means that we can't be exempted from punishment. Let's go directly to the Ministry of Justice."

Qin Shubao coughed twice. His face still didn't look very good, but compared to before, there was some color in it, and he had obviously recovered well.

"Okay, I'll bring some secret medicine for my wounds. It's a token of my appreciation."

Although they nearly died because Li Shimin pursued them too deeply, the two generals did not bear a grudge, because the King of Qin always led the troops in the front, and he did not let them fight for the sake of achievements.

At this time, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice rushed back panting. He himself did not run very fast, but he had asked his servant to come back first to inform him.

But why does it seem like there is still movement of an execution?

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice leaned against the wall and walked inside. Seeing another stick coming down, he shouted, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Stop, stop...

Although the Shangshu was present, the executioner did not dare to ignore the Shilang. He raised the stick high but did not rush to bring it down.

How many strokes of the cane are too many? Your Majesty has ordered that half of them be exempted and only fifty strokes of the cane are needed."

The Minister of Punishment said, "Seventy-eight strokes of the cane."

"Ah?" The assistant minister almost vomited blood and hurriedly explained: "I specifically ordered Zhao Da to report to me first, where did this damn beast run off to? I must beat him to death!"

"Master, I am here."

"Well, you..."

Li Shimin, who was lying on the Xingtai, took a few breaths and said, "Alright, I want to beat them all. I am wrong. Your Majesty, please take our brotherhood into consideration, but I cannot use this as an excuse to escape punishment.

After the execution is over, I will explain to His Majesty, you guys continue!"

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice was embarrassed to read the minister's fortune. The minister didn't say much, but just ordered people to continue.

The execution was measured, and the punishment became lighter and lighter. Fifty and one hundred were not much different, so why offend the King of Qin? When it was almost done, Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao arrived, and there was another commotion, but the news soon spread throughout Chang'an, and the King of Qin became famous.

Li Jiancheng was even more satisfied after hearing this. The second son had been sensible and reliable since he was young. He had already been beaten. There was no benefit in getting fifty less, but fifty more would be a great reputation.

Order someone to stop the King of Qin who was about to come and accuse himself of a crime. After all, not accepting the emperor's kindness was also a crime, and neither thunder nor rain could be refused.

...............

Wei Zheng looked at the memorial in his hand in surprise. He had thought that it would take a while to collect all the evidence against the King of Qi, but it turned out that it had already been prepared, with all the witnesses and evidence available.

Wang An, Shao Yin of Bingzhou, said: "Duke Wei, you don't know that the King of Qi is really domineering. Not only the common people, but even the officials of the imperial court have been humiliated by him."

Wei Zheng snorted coldly: "Why didn't Shao Yin impeach him earlier? Why did he have to wait until now?"

Wang An sighed, "Of course I have thought about it, but the King of Qi is of noble status after all, and I am not as loyal and outspoken as Duke Wei. Sigh, I am ashamed."

Wei Zheng ordered his men to put away the petition with the signature on it, but he had no intention of paying any attention to Wang An.

It is true that he is loyal and upright, but he is not a corrupt scholar. Among all the things he has learned in his life, he is best at the art of diplomacy.

They had long noticed that something was wrong with the King of Qi. The local authorities could have submitted an impeachment petition long ago, but they chose to help the King of Qi conceal the matter and dragged the matter on until now.

In the capital, the person who uncovered this matter was actually the prime minister of the time. There was so much conspiracy and intrigue here that there was almost no intention of concealing the slightest bit.

But it was also a fact that the King of Qi was causing trouble for the people, and Wei Zheng had no intention of giving up just because it was a conspiracy.

Shady means are not worthy of being mentioned in public. As long as Your Majesty is upright, any conspiracy or trick is not worth mentioning, and will only bring disaster to yourself.

"Duke Wei, the King of Qi has recently sent people to do a lot of things, and some people may have suffered misfortunes."

Wei Zheng frowned and said, "Shao Yin Wang, I will impeach you to His Majesty."

Wang An bowed in the direction of Chang'an and said, "I have no face to accept the salary from the emperor. I don't need the Duke of Wei to impeach me. I have already submitted a letter of apology to Your Majesty and am waiting for Your Majesty to punish me."

Wei Zheng asked, "What are the names of the men under the King of Qi's command, and where are they now?"

Wang An knew everything and said it all. After he finished speaking, he reminded: "The King of Qi has not left the city yet. Duke Wei should wait a while, so as to avoid a conflict now and affect the mission entrusted by Your Majesty."

Wei Zheng stood up and was about to leave: "Don't bother Wang Shaoyin to worry about it."

Wang An bowed to him and said: "There is one more thing. I know I am guilty, but I failed to persuade the King of Qi, and I failed to report to the court in time. I am willing to accept the punishment.

But the King of Qi is fierce and stubborn, and his family is full of old and young people, so it is not easy to pass on the family lineage. I ask Duke Wei not to tell the King of Qi that I have collected the evidence of his crimes."

A gentleman can be deceived by his own tactics. Wei Zheng was silent for a moment, nodded, and then led his men straight to the Prince of Qi's palace.

After he left, several other officials came forward and said with a smile: "Wei Zheng's reputation is well-deserved."

"This temper is in direct conflict with the King of Qi. I wonder if the King of Qi will kill this man."

"Hmph, that would be great if that were the case. Let's see if Your Majesty can be as ruthless to you as he is to his subjects."

"Hahaha."

…………

(End of this chapter)