Qi Ning's eyes were sharp. Before he could speak, he heard a voice saying: "Master Da Xi's words are wrong!"
Everyone followed the sound and saw that the speaker was none other than Wei Yujiang, who had just been promoted by Qining to the post of Chief Judge of the Autumn Trial Division. Wei Yujiang looked solemn as he stepped forward and said, "Master Daxi, the imperial court has six yamen, and each department coordinates with each other. , but each has his own responsibility. Now it is the internal affairs of the Ministry of Punishment. According to the laws of the imperial court, if an official of each of the six ministries violates the criminal law, the chief officer of each department will request the emperor for punishment, and other ministries are not allowed to interfere beyond their authority. "
When Wei Yujiang said these words, many people changed their expressions slightly, thinking that this person named Wei is really bold. These words clearly show his responsibility. Da Xichong should not let the Duke of Zhen get involved in the Ministry of Punishment. He would be offended all of a sudden. Da Xichong and Zhen Guogong.
Da Xichong is the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, a high-ranking official, and Wei Yujiang's superior. The Duke of Zhen Guo is the chief assistant of the dynasty. Wei Yujiang is now the judge of the Autumn Trial Division. It is really easy for these two to get rid of Wei Yujiang. .
Sure enough, Da Xichong's face darkened and he said coldly: "Wei Yujiang, is there no place for you to talk here? Get out of here!"
"A humble position... I just speak in accordance with the laws of the imperial court." Wei Yujiang said respectfully: "Sir Da Xi, if the minister wants to remove an official, he should report it to the emperor, and there is no need to consult with the Duke of Zhenguo."
"Wei, you are so brave." The officials who were kneeling behind Da Xichong were frightened when they heard that Qining wanted to remove them from their posts. When Da Xichong came forward to speak for them, they all became energetic. , and his confidence grew. A fat official raised his finger and pointed at Wei Yujiang and shouted: "The Duke of Zhen Guo is the minister of the late emperor Tuogu, and the chief minister of the dynasty. How dare you blaspheme the Duke of Zhen Guo and the co-council of Zhen Guo here?" Why can't Duke Zhen Guo interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice when the Emperor handles them?"
As soon as this person spoke, the others became even more arrogant. Someone followed closely and said: "Wei Yujiang, you have just been promoted and you are showing off your power here. Hey, you are indeed a villain."
"Why, are you in a hurry to make meritorious service?" Another person sneered: "Officials of all sizes from the Ministry of Justice and Yamen are here. What qualifications do you have to speak here, you are such a piece of shit?"
For a time, everyone pointed the finger at Wei Yujiang, and their words became increasingly unpleasant.
Qi Ning looked on coldly and did not speak immediately. He knew very well that these people were just criticizing Sang and Huai, and they were clearly pointing at Wei Yujiang, but the real target was himself. And the confidence of this group seemed to come from Da Xichong actually comes from Ma Lan, who works at Zhenguo Company.
There is no doubt that Da Xichong has obviously taken refuge under Sima Lan. After the incident in the imperial mausoleum, Sima Lan immediately gathered Da Xichong and became the power of the Sima family. Naturally, he was preparing to use this as a breakthrough to allow the power of the Sima family to quickly penetrate into In the yamen of the Daoxing Department.
Although Qian Raoshun secretly had an affair with the Sima family before the Imperial Tomb Incident, the Ministry of Punishment was still within the sphere of influence of the King of Huainan at that time. Although the Sima family bribed Qian Raoshun, they never really got involved. After the collapse of King Huainan in the Yamen of the Punishment Department, it was certainly impossible for the Sima family to miss the opportunity to infiltrate the Punishment Department.
Qi Ning knew very well that in the yamen of the Ministry of Justice, a force headed by Da Xichong had become the lackeys of the Sima family. Today, these people brought Sima Lan out just to make Qining fear the Sima family. He dares to act rashly, and if he cannot handle it well today and cannot establish absolute authority in the Ministry of Punishment, then it will not be easy for him to control the Ministry of Punishment in the future.
Qi Ning remained silent. Those officials really thought that they had carried out the Sima family to calm Qi Ning, and their voices were even louder. Some people even shouted insults at Wei Yujiang. Wei Yujiang's face was stern, but he still stood upright.
Da Xichong raised a hand, and the crowd's voices calmed down. Da Xichong's eyes were filled with pride, and he said loudly: "Master Marquis, if you dismiss these officials hastily, the Ministry of Punishment will not be able to carry out its duties normally, and even the King of Huainan will be ordered to If this case cannot be investigated thoroughly, then when the court investigates, who is responsible for us or the Marquis? I ask the Marquis to think again."
Qi Ning smiled slightly and said: "The Duke of Zhen Guo is the chief assistant and assists in the administration of the government. If the imperial court has a decree and the Ministry of Punishment is required to handle errands, of course the Ministry of Punishment should discuss state affairs with Duke Zhen Guo."
Wei Yujiang's face darkened slightly, even Chu Mingwei frowned slightly, but Da Xichong smiled and said, "It's admirable that the Marquis is able to follow the good deeds."
Other officials also thought that Qi Ning's words were a compromise with the power of the Sima family, and they had different ideas. Some people thought that this was a matter of course. The Sima family was so powerful that the Jinyi Qi family naturally did not dare to really fight with the Sima family to the end, otherwise they would just be Some people were also disappointed with the next King of Huainan, thinking secretly that they thought that the Marquis of Jinyi was really vigorous and resolute, but who knew that when Da Xichong carried the Sima family out, the young Marquis instantly softened.
Even more people were confused, secretly thinking that during the incident in the imperial mausoleum, Jin Yihou was in tit-for-tat confrontation with the Sima family. On the day of the emperor's wedding, the Sima family lost all face because of Jin Yihou. In a tit-for-tat situation between the two families, why did the young marquis fall in line when Da Xichong mentioned the Sima family today? I'm afraid there is something fishy in it.
"Wei Yujiang, please tell me that the Ministry of Punishment is on an errand. Can the other five yamen interfere?" Qining turned to Wei Yujiang, who looked solemn.
Wei Yujiang said respectfully: "Reporting to the Lord of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Punishment has its own charter. Not to mention the other five yamen, no yamen have the right to interfere with the errands of the Ministry of Punishment."
"Then can the chief assistant interfere?" Qining asked directly.
Wei Yujiang said: "The chief assistant can assist the emperor in formulating national policies. If there are state affairs involving the Ministry of Punishment, the imperial court will issue a decree and order the Ministry of Punishment to handle it. However, the specific implementation of the matter will be carried out by the chief officer of the Ministry of Punishment."
"That is to say, the chief officer of the Criminal Department can go to the chief assistant to discuss it, or he can act on his own. Is this true?"
Wei Yujiang said sternly: "That's right. Since Emperor Taizong, the imperial court's decrees have been issued to various yamen, and each yamen has performed its duties and handled the affairs assigned by the court. Except for the emperor, no one can do anything above the six yamen. Instruct."
Qi Ning thought to himself that if someone other than the emperor could really point fingers at the six yamen, the first person who would be intolerable would be the emperor himself. He smiled and said, "When you say this, I will understand." Looking at Da Xichong, He said: "Master Da Xi, you are the left minister of the Ministry of Justice, but it turns out that for so many years, you have not been able to understand what the yamen of the Ministry of Justice should do. I am really curious about why you sit in this position."
Da Xichong's face turned cold, and Qi Ning continued: "The chief assistant assists the emperor in formulating national policies, and then the emperor issues decrees, but he does not directly command the six ministries. Today, in accordance with the laws of the Ministry of Punishment, I will remove officials who leave their posts without permission. , you asked me to go to the chief minister to discuss it, but you don’t know where you put the Duke of Zhen. Do you think that the Duke of Zhen wants to interfere with the six ministries and take over the power?" His last sentence, his voice was extremely cold and stern.
Da Xichong's face changed slightly, and he suddenly realized that he might have made a big mistake.
He carried out Sima Lan because Sima Lan was too powerful in the court and wanted to use Sima Lan's power to fight against Qi Ning. However, he realized at this time that if Sima Lan could really interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Justice at will, he would indeed be able to do so. It is ultra vires and taboo.
If the chief minister can interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Justice without authorization, he can also interfere in the affairs of the other six ministries without authorization. Once he has such power, he is undoubtedly equivalent to the emperor.
Although Sima Lan is extremely powerful, the Sima family certainly does not want to hear anyone say that the Sima family is a powerful official. There are some things that can be done, but they must not be revealed.
Qi Ning's understatement made Da Xichong realize that something was wrong with the situation, and the officials who had just shouted were not fools. At this time, they also realized the seriousness of the problem. They suddenly stopped and lowered their heads one by one, sweating on their foreheads. Even his breathing became lighter.
"Da Xichong, if you say "Zhen Guo Gong" on the left and "Zhen Guo Gong" on the right, if he knows that you are here under his banner, I don't know what he will think." Qining sighed and said: "Today I clicked and asked everyone to be present. Of course I want to get to know everyone, but the most important thing is to try a case with everyone."
Everyone was stunned, not knowing what kind of medicine Qining was selling in the gourd, and Da Xichong also looked confused.
Qi Ning bent over and took out a thick file from under the table, put it on the table, patted it gently, and said: "This case is really important. Originally, I wanted to interrogate it privately, but the identity of the person involved was too high." It's sensitive. If we can't hear it clearly in front of everyone, I'm afraid some people will say that my trial is unfair. So today all the officials from the Criminal Department Yamen are here. If you think there are problems with my trial, you can raise it in public. You must do it. Be impartial and impartial.”
All the officials looked at each other in confusion, but some people were beginning to feel uneasy.
Qi Ning just took out a file from under the table and threw it to Chu Mingwei for review. It turned out that it was about the case of a horse trampling on a pregnant woman. Cao Sen was involved in it and was even scared to death in front of everyone.
Now the young Marquis has taken out another file, and it is much thicker than Cao Sen's file. The case is obviously bigger and there is more evidence, but I don't know who will be in trouble next
Some people are even thinking that the young Marquis has taken up the new official position. It seems that he has made sufficient preparations, but the young Marquis is really good at collecting so much evidence.
"Many people in the Criminal Department should be aware of this case." Qi Ning said while looking through the files: "Two years ago, a shocking case occurred in Nanling. Meng Chu, the captain of Pingyang Prefecture in Nanping, killed people and took credit, and was later sentenced to death. , If I am not mistaken, Meng Chu was escorted to Beijing, handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for interrogation, signed and held, and then sentenced to death." He glanced at Chu Mingwei and said, "Master Chu, you should remember this, right?"
Qi Ning's voice was calm and calm, but Da Xi's eyes twitched rapidly several times, and a strange color flashed in his eyes.