Chapter 64

"Finally, it has come..."

Upon hearing the third charge of impeachment by Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, Zhao Junchen secretly let out a long breath.

This was a deliberate flaw Zhao Junchen had left, and he had truly been worried that Zhu Heyu might not have noticed it.

This charge, with all the facts present, left no room for Zhao Junchen to argue.

However, Zhao Junchen was also well aware that using this charge to impeach him, while leaving no room for argument and with solid evidence, was the least confident of the first two charges by Crown Prince Zhu Heyu!

There was no other reason. Charges like "corruption and malfeasance," "embezzlement and bribery," and "abuse of power" had been used by Crown Prince Zhu Heyu to impeach Zhao Junchen no less than ten times in recent years. Each time, he could find plenty of evidence, and each time, Zhao Junchen could not refute it. But every time, Zhao Junchen ultimately came out unscathed.

This was because, whenever such a time came, Emperor Deqing would step in to protect Zhao Junchen, even personally cleaning up the mess for him.

This time, Zhao Junchen deliberately left such a flaw for this very reason! Otherwise, the auction of the soap supply was entirely arranged by Zhao Junchen. As long as Zhao Junchen made some moves, how could Zhu Heyu have caught him off guard?

As Emperor Deqing, who ruled over all officials, could not possibly be unaware of Zhao Junchen's corruption. However, Emperor Deqing also knew that in every dynasty, it was impossible for all officials to be clean. The existence of corrupt officials was inevitable. For Emperor Deqing, allowing Zhao Junchen to be corrupt within limits was, in a sense, a form of indirect reward and favor.

This kind of thing was actually quite common. In ancient times, in various dynasties, whether it was the construction of a project or the confiscation of a minister's property, emperors would often send their trusted favorites to take charge. Why? Because there was profit to be made! In the eyes of the emperors, all the wealth in the world was their own. As long as the favorites did things to their liking, rewarding them was nothing to be said about.

Therefore, whenever Crown Prince Zhu Heyu impeached Zhao Junchen with such charges, Emperor Deqing would always help Zhao Junchen, leaving Zhu Heyu helpless.

There was also a reason why Zhao Junchen deliberately left such a flaw.

To emperors, corrupt officials were often easier to control than clean and capable officials. This was because the ambitions of corrupt officials were limited to money and silver, and they needed the emperor's favor to stand in the court. However, the ambitions and ambitions of clean and capable officials were unpredictable.

Since Zhao Junchen returned to the capital, he had made a large sum of money for the court through the soap, and expanded his power and formed a faction, opposing the cabinet minister Wen Guanliang without falling behind. Although these actions were within Emperor Deqing's tolerance, they were still too sharp. Zhao Junchen did not dare to think or understand what Emperor Deqing might think.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen deliberately left such a flaw, allowing the Crown Prince's party to see it, putting himself in an unfavorable position, and seeking help from Emperor Deqing again.

The reason for doing so was, first, to show Emperor Deqing his ambitions, proving that he was still a corrupt official, just greedy for money, to make Emperor Deqing feel at ease; second, to收敛锋芒, show his incompetence, and make Emperor Deqing feel that although Zhao Junchen seemed to have improved in recent days, he was still nothing without Emperor Deqing's support.

After the previous confrontation, if Emperor Deqing were to save Zhao Junchen again, the officials would not dare to be petty towards him. Instead, they would recognize Emperor Deqing's favor towards Zhao Junchen even more.

...

Therefore, upon hearing the third charge of impeachment by Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, Zhao Junchen's "face changed dramatically," his knees bent slightly, as if he wanted to kneel and plead for forgiveness but hesitated.

At the same time, Zhao Junchen used his most pitiful expression, cautiously raising his head to look at Emperor Deqing on the dais, his eyes full of pleading.

This expression, Zhao Junchen had practiced in front of a mirror for a long time before the court session.

"Your Majesty... this subject... this subject is being wronged... this subject..."

Stammering for a long time, Zhao Junchen still could not find a way to refute, no longer the eloquent man he once was, just looking pitifully at Emperor Deqing.

Sure enough, seeing Zhao Junchen's expression, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu snorted, his face becoming even more unpleasant. The other ministers in the court remained calm, neither worried nor gloating. They had seen this scene many times and believed that Zhao Junchen would still come out unscathed this time.

Only the Chief Cabinet Minister Zhou Shangjing looked at Zhao Junchen with a smile that was not quite a smile, full of meaning.

On the other side, Emperor Deqing looked at Zhao Junchen on the dais, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face, as if he was frustrated that Zhao Junchen always left himself open to attack.

However, despite his helplessness, Emperor Deqing would still protect Zhao Junchen this time. The soap business was originally a contribution from Zhao Junchen to Emperor Deqing. In Emperor Deqing's view, it was only natural for Zhao Junchen to seek some benefits for himself, a human nature.

Therefore, Emperor Deqing frowned, coughed lightly, as if pondering a solution, and after a moment, slowly said, "This is not Zhao Junchen's fault. The method of making soap was voluntarily contributed by Zhao Junchen to the court. He has the court's interests at heart, and I cannot let loyal ministers feel disheartened. Therefore, to reward Zhao Junchen, I had given an oral decree that although the soap is managed and produced by the inner treasury, Zhao Junchen can annually obtain a batch of soap at cost price from the inner treasury with priority."

As he spoke, Emperor Deqing turned to look at the eunuch Zhang De by his side and asked, "What? My oral decree was not announced to the ministers?"

Zhang De, experienced and shrewd, knew what to do at this moment and quickly said, "Your Majesty, this old servant remembers the decree. It seems that the eunuch responsible for recording the decree on that day made a mistake and did not announce it to the outer court. This old servant will investigate it thoroughly!"

Hearing Zhang De's words, Emperor Deqing nodded in satisfaction, turned back, and glared at Zhao Junchen, who only looked respectfully fearful.

On the other side, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, perhaps already accustomed to this, did not get angry again. His gaze turned icy cold, and he said expressionlessly, "If so, then this subject has made a mistake today. Please, Father, punish me."

Emperor Deqing waved his hand and said, "Enough, the mistake was made by a small eunuch in the Office of Ceremonial, not by you."

As he spoke, Emperor Deqing looked at Zhao Junchen again and continued, "However, since everything has been explained, let's settle this matter. Zhao Junchen has shown excellent financial management, increasing the country's revenue by nearly a million taels of silver in less than a month. He has won the bet and deserves a reward. From today, he is promoted to Minister of Revenue."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

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ps: This is the fifth update today, with a total of over 13,000 words. The debt from Qixi has been paid off. Starting from tomorrow, I will enter a burst period, with three to five updates per day. Can everyone give more recommendation votes to give me more motivation? (#^_^#)

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