A cold smile flickered across Liang Shicheng's lips as he heard the Emperor's words.
His information within the city of Bianliang was extremely well-informed. He was certainly aware of the recent actions of Li Yan.
He had initially wondered why the Zhe family, who never suffered losses, had suddenly become as timid as an abused young wife, allowing themselves to be bullied.
After more than a dozen of their shops were smashed, they hadn't uttered a single word.
Now, everything was clear.
Even he couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for Li Yan. Who could this old rascal have provoked if not Han Mo...
"Your subject has committed a crime..."
Taking a deep breath, Cai Jing stepped forward, cupped his hands towards the Emperor, and immediately began to plead guilty.
"Your subject has committed a crime!"
Regardless of anything else, since Cai Jing had taken the initiative to confess, the remaining ministers naturally followed suit.
"Whether you have committed a crime or not, you know in your hearts. I will say this only: this wealth is the court's life-saving money. Anyone who dares to tamper with it will not be forgiven by me!"
Zhao Ji had been driven to near madness by money recently. Now that he finally had a way to alleviate the urgent situation, he naturally had to issue a stern warning to these people.
"Yes!"
No matter what Cai Jing truly thought, he had to admit that Han Mo's actions this time had indeed helped him out a little.
Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for him to stabilize his position as Prime Minister.
After all, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't conjure money out of thin air!
"Alright, do any of you have any other matters to discuss? If not, then we shall conclude."
Looking at the ministers, who were all nodding in agreement, Zhao Ji felt an inexplicable sense of disgust.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject has a memorial to present!"
Just as he was about to dismiss the court, Fan Zhengguo suddenly spoke again.
"Does Minister Fan have anything else to say?"
Seeing that it was Fan Zhengguo, Zhao Ji's expression softened considerably.
After all, he was very satisfied with Fan Zhengguo, the Vice Minister of Revenue. He never interfered in courtly struggles when things were peaceful, and when he did speak up, his words were always substantial.
To put it plainly, this was an honest official who focused on his work and stayed out of messy affairs.
What emperor wouldn't like such a minister?
Especially after the matter of allocating funds for Genyue last time, the Emperor's impression of him had greatly improved.
"Your subject impeaches Li Yan, the eunuch of the Imperial Inner Court! Li Yan, relying on Your Majesty's trust, acts tyrannically and wickedly within Bianliang, oppressing the good and virtuous. We implore Your Majesty to investigate!"
As Fan Zhengguo spoke, he presented another memorial.
Upon hearing Fan Zhengguo's words, Zhao Ji's face immediately turned a little awkward.
If it were someone else, he might have already banished them. However, when it came to Fan Zhengguo, he truly felt a pang of doubt.
"Your Majesty, Minister Fan never concerns himself with such trivial matters. Since he has spoken, Your Majesty might as well take a look!"
After giving Fan Zhengguo a deep look, Liang Shicheng also stepped forward.
Catching Liang Shicheng's glance, the Emperor immediately felt a sense of unease.
"Present it!"
After another glance at Liang Shicheng, Zhao Ji still spoke.
"Yes!"
With Liang Shicheng making his move, the eunuch beside him quickly stepped forward to take the memorial presented by Fan Zhengguo.
Impeachment memorials were not particularly interesting to read. They invariably revolved around the same few accusations. Before Fan Zhengguo, countless people had already impeached Li Yan.
Moreover, the charges seemed to remain the same. Just as he was about to brush the matter aside, he suddenly saw the confessions and testimonies tucked within Fan Zhengguo's memorial.
Especially the large characters "Zhe Wan Chun" at the end of the testimony made Zhao Ji's expression turn grim.
Han Mo had just presented him with six million strings of copper coins, and in the future, he would be sending tens of millions of strings annually.
At this moment, Zhe Kè Cún was leading the army in Hedong, fighting the Liao Kingdom for the court.
Yet, at this critical juncture, Li Yan, this scoundrel, dared to lay hands on the Zhe family's assets. This truly made Zhao Ji unable to tolerate it...
"Dong—dong—dong—"
Just as the Emperor was about to speak, a dull drumming sound suddenly echoed from outside the gate.
Upon hearing the drum sound, Liang Shicheng's lips twitched. Without even thinking, he knew that this must be another trap prepared by Han Mo.
Li Yan was doomed!
In an instant, he realized this.
"Send someone to see who is beating the Dengwen Drum!"
After a brief moment of confusion, Zhao Ji directly commanded.
"Yes!"
Seeing the faint smile on Liang Shicheng's lips, Cai Jing suddenly had a premonition. It seemed someone was about to play some tricks.
However, he never had a good impression of Li Yan anyway.
Furthermore, the subordinates under Li Yan were indeed a bit too arrogant. Seeing that he was about to face misfortune, Cai Jing was naturally happy to see it happen.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the one beating the Dengwen Drum is Chen Dong, a student of the Imperial Academy!"
"A student from the Imperial Academy is beating the Dengwen Drum? Whom is he accusing?"
Hearing the eunuch's words, Zhao Ji furrowed his brow and asked again.
"To Your Majesty, he is not seeking redress for himself. He says he is seeking redress for five thousand six hundred and thirty-five households of commoners outside Bianliang!"
Upon hearing the eunuch's words, Liang Shicheng almost burst out laughing.
This Han Mo fellow was truly cunning!
Clearly, he himself wanted to deal with Li Yan, yet he brought up a student from the Imperial Academy at this moment...
However, he had to admit that Han Mo's methods were indeed very effective.
Since this student named Chen Dong could state
such precise numbers, he likely held some real evidence in his hands.
Li Yan's actions in the northwest over the years were one thing, but what he had done near Bianliang, Liang Shicheng was very aware of.
First, he forged land deeds, then falsely accused people's land as public land, and then forcibly collected all overdue taxes from the founding of the dynasty until the present.
Which commoner could withstand such practices?
With this back and forth, even selling their children was not enough to satisfy their greed.
Only after being squeezed dry of every last copper coin might they barely be able to hold onto their lives.
Such a clumsy tactic, and he had been playing it out near Bianliang for almost five years!