webnovelfull Chapter 492
Chapter 492
"Your Majesty, I am already this old, what ambitions could I possibly have? To eliminate dissidents? If I were to eliminate dissidents, all the civil and military officials in the court would be dissidents to me. In the past year or so, I have not formed any factions, nor have I pursued any personal gain. Apart from a few close friends, I have not seen any of the colleagues who have come to visit me."
Yang Yiqing stepped forward.
"On the contrary, it is Grand Secretary Mao Weizhi. I have heard that Yang Fangzhen was promoted by him. The officials I arrested were corrupt, but they also all curried favor with Yang Lian, forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices. Their crimes are unforgivable. However, I am very puzzled. Yang Fangzhen is just a mere Vice Minister of Rites, a third-rank official. Why would these people curry favor with him? Could it be that Yang Fangzhen is backed by our Grand Secretary Mao?"
Yang Yiqing looked at Mao Ji, and although he spoke slowly, every word struck Mao Ji's heart.
"I am also puzzled as to why all the civil and military officials in the court are trying to find connections through Yang Fangzhen, the Vice Minister of Rites, instead of Lord Xia, the Minister of Rites. Do they think that it is better to use Yang Fangzhen's connections than Lord Xia's?"
Yang Shen also stepped forward.
“This Yang Fangzhen is a student of Grand Secretary Mao. He was originally the Vice Minister of Rites in Southern Zhili, but he had not been promoted for many years. With just one word from Grand Secretary Mao, he became the Vice Minister of Rites. Moreover, in recent days, Grand Secretary Mao has been frequently promoting officials in the cabinet. These promoted officials are all among those arrested by the Grand Secretary. I do not believe that these people have no connection with Grand Secretary Mao.”
Cabinet member Jia Yong, who had remained silent and low-key, also stepped forward and began to make sarcastic remarks about Mao and Ji.
These days in the cabinet, Jia Yong had long been disgusted by Mao Ji's lawless behavior, but at the time, the situation was beyond his control, so he could only remain silent.
Jia Yong's sudden remarks caught Mao Ji off guard. Jia Yong had always been a nice guy in the cabinet and had little presence. He never expected that Jia Yong would suddenly stab him in the back at this time, which caught Mao Ji off guard.
"I have heard about Grand Secretary Mao's frequent promotions of officials recently. The frequency of these promotions seems a bit too high, and those he promotes are all people who are close to Yang Fangzhen. I don't believe that Yang Fangzhen did those things without Grand Secretary Mao's authorization. Grand Secretary Mao says that the Grand Secretary wants to have absolute power in the court, but I haven't seen him promote any officials. Which powerful minister who wants absolute power doesn't promote one of his own? But Grand Secretary Mao, what exactly do you want to do by promoting so many people? Could it be that you are the one who truly wants absolute power in the court?"
Zhou Chu remained silent for a long time before stepping forward to speak.
Zhou Chu's words were like a fatal blow, piercing Mao Ji's heart.
Upon hearing this, Jiajing's expression changed in a very cooperative manner, and he looked at Mao Ji.
"Mao Weizhi, I was wondering before that your cabinet had been submitting memorials to me for the past half month, frequently promoting those officials. I originally thought that your cabinet had drafted these proposals, so I didn't think much of it. Could it be that you promoted all of these people?"
Mao Ji's self-control was far inferior to Yang Yiqing's, and the situation he was facing was far more dangerous than Yang Yiqing's. A slight misstep could lead to utter ruin.
Mao Ji glanced at Xia Yan without leaving a trace. Xia Yan was still pretending to be dead with his eyes closed. Mao Ji sighed, somewhat regretting that he hadn't listened to Xia Yan before. He understood that Xia Yan was trying to protect himself at this moment.
Mao Ji then looked at Xie Qian beside him. Xie Qian gave Mao Ji a reassuring look, which made Mao Ji feel somewhat relieved. After all, Xie Qian, the pillar of the cabinet, was on his side, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
“Your Majesty, the list of these officials was given to me by Yang Fangzhen. I have also thoroughly investigated them. These officials all performed very well in their original positions and are all very capable. As for the matter of embezzlement mentioned by the Grand Secretary, I was truly unaware of it. I failed to investigate beforehand, and it was indeed my oversight. I am guilty.”
Mao Ji avoided the important points and focused on the trivial ones.
Mao Ji dared not say how many officials in the country were not corrupt. This was an unspoken rule that could not be brought up openly. If he did not say it, there might still be hope. Once he uttered these words, he would face attacks from the entire court.
Mao Ji could distinguish between what was more important and what was less important.
"As for Lord Zhou's claim that I want to rule the court arbitrarily, that is completely unfounded. I have no grudge against Lord Zhou, so why would he slander me like this?"
When Mao Ji said this, he looked at Zhou Chu with a wronged expression.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Grand Secretary Mao was simply deceived by Yang Fangzhen. Yang Fangzhen is a man of silver tongue, capable of making the dead seem alive. I suppose Grand Secretary Mao did not see the true nature of Yang Fangzhen when he promoted him. As for what Lord Zhou said, I believe it is all pure fabrication."
One of Mao Ji's friends stepped forward to speak on his behalf.
This person was not trying to curry favor with Mao Ji; he simply played chess with Mao Ji regularly, and the two had a good relationship. Seeing Mao Ji being attacked by so many people, he believed he understood Mao Ji's character and thought that Mao Ji couldn't possibly be as bad as Zhou Chu described, so he came out to speak up for Mao Ji.
"Grand Secretary Mao has always been mature and prudent, dedicated to the country and its people. As Yang Fangzhen was his student, it was inevitable that Grand Secretary Mao would be misled by Yang Fangzhen's biased listening."
Another of Mao Ji's friends stood up and spoke up for him.
Even the worst person has a few close friends, let alone Mao Ji, who was always meticulous in his conduct and dealings with others.
Therefore, there are still quite a few people who are willing to stand up and speak for Mao and Ji.
However, the two people who stepped forward clearly lacked political acumen and tact. They might have seen some things, but out of a sense of duty, they felt they should stand up and speak for Mao and Ji, so they did.
All they ask for is a clear and open mind.
However, this is the imperial court, and in the imperial court, one often has to pay a price for seeking one's desires to be fulfilled.
"What you're saying is contradictory. You yourself said that Grand Secretary Mao is mature and prudent, so how could he be deceived by Yang Fangzhen? Moreover, doesn't Grand Secretary Mao know that promoting so many officials in such a short period of time is extremely inappropriate?"
Another official stepped forward to refute this.
"Lu Wanshan, did Yang Fangzhen say anything?"
Jiajing looked at Lu Wanshan and said.
Normally, Lu Wanshan is not required to attend court, but this court assembly is obviously unusual, and naturally, he, as the garrison commander of the Northern Garrison, is indispensable.
“Your Majesty, Yang Fangzhen said that everything he did was for Lord Mao. Although Lord Mao did not say it outright, Yang Fangzhen would bring up these matters in front of him every time, and Lord Mao never objected.”
Lu Wanshan bowed and said.
Upon hearing this, Mao Ji's expression changed again. He hadn't expected his student to betray him so completely.
He looked at Xie Qian as if seeking help.
Xie Qian watched the play for a long time and rested for a while before finally stepping forward.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Grand Secretary Mao is largely to blame. This matter was actually planned by Grand Secretary Mao and Yang Fangzhen together, and I know many details."
Upon hearing Xie Qian's words, Mao Ji suddenly looked at the old man in front of him.
He never imagined that the one who would ultimately betray him the most would be this person.