"I am guilty!"
The words rolling in Shang Qitai's throat abruptly stuck.
He stared at the crimson back of the person kneeling beside him. Why didn't this old fox play by the rules!
According to Shang Qitai's deduction last night, Xu Youde only had two paths to take today.
Either take out that deadly list of damaged military rations and fight to the death.
Or be stubborn, curse in court, and pester endlessly.
As long as Xu Youde dared to use that list of unknown origin to make a fuss, Shang Qitai could bite back with the charges of forging accounts and framing court officials.
But he actually knelt.
A few censors in the back who were preparing to step forward to second the motion also stopped in their tracks.
Exchanging glances, no one dared to step forward rashly.
The grand hall was dead silent.
On the dragon throne, the emperor leaned forward, his gaze crossing the imperial desk and falling on Xu Youde.
The head of all officials, Xu Jie, still had his eyes half-closed, not even changing his breathing frequency.
Xu Youde lay prostrate on the ground, exuding suppressed anger.
"I have failed in teaching my son!"
"That vile spawn Xu Wuyou has been unruly and ignorant of the big picture since childhood!"
"I thought that by going to experience the waterways, he could restrain his temper a bit."
"Who knew he would actually get worse!"
"Treating the Water Journey Hall as his own backyard, and the dock as a place for him to run wild!"
"For a few cargo ships' collision disputes, he actually dared to make a big fuss at the dock."
"He even disturbed the Water Transport Office!"
"What's more unforgivable is that such a trivial matter in the marketplace actually alarmed the Minister of Revenue, Lord Shang!"
"Making Lord Shang, amidst his busy schedule, have to worry about such an unfilial son."
"I am truly ashamed to face the court, ashamed to face Your Majesty!"
Listening to these words, Shang Qitai clenched his back molars.
What a good retreat to advance.
With just a few words, Xu Youde lightly turned the treasonous crime of controlling water transport and monopolizing money and grain into a cargo ship dispute and a trivial marketplace matter.
He even subtly mocked this dignified second-rank Minister of Revenue for having nothing better to do than to meddle in dockyard hooligan fights.
Shang Qitai stepped half a pace forward, about to speak to firmly nail down the charges again.
But Xu Youde didn't give him any chance to interject.
The old Earl straightened up and kowtowed heavily again.
"Your Majesty!"
"That vile spawn is a commoner who doesn't understand the court's laws."
"Clashing with the water transport officials at the dock has caused tremendous trouble for the court!"
"The Earl of Chengyi's Mansion will never tolerate this!"
"I implore Your Majesty to immediately strip Xu Wuyou of his position as the Hall Master of the Water Journey Hall!"
"Arrest this unfilial son and bring him to the capital, handing him over to the Ministry of Revenue for strict interrogation!"
"To kill or to slice, let Lord Shang decide."
"I have absolutely no complaints!"
As soon as these words came out.
The civil and military officials of the court were all shocked.
Handed over to the Ministry of Revenue for strict investigation?
Shang Qitai's footsteps stopped abruptly, his outstretched hand freezing in mid-air.
This old fox dug a massive pit!
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of the world's money and grain.
When was it the Ministry of Revenue's turn to try a hall master of a waterway gang?
If he accepted this task, the charge of the Ministry of Revenue overstepping its authority to interfere in Jianghu gang disputes would be confirmed.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court would blast Shang Qitai like a sieve tomorrow.
What's more, what kind of person was Xu Wuyou?
He was a famous scoundrel in the capital.
If he really got the person into the Ministry of Revenue's prison, and this kid bit back, saying the Ministry of Revenue extorted a confession by torture, that would really be stirring up a hornet's nest.
If he didn't accept.
Shang Qitai's previous confident words impeaching Xu Wuyou for obstructing water transport would become baseless.
Didn't you say he obstructed water transport?
The person is handed over to you, you investigate.
If you don't dare to investigate, then you are making a false accusation.
On the dragon throne.
The emperor looked at the two people in a stalemate below.
Xu Youde played this Tai Chi push hands to perfection.
Directly stuffing the hot potato into Shang Qitai's arms.
Fine beads of sweat seeped from Shang Qitai's forehead.
His mind worked rapidly, looking for a way to break the situation.
Can't accept.
Absolutely cannot accept!
Shang Qitai was about to speak to excuse himself.
But Xu Youde had already stood up. He turned around, facing Shang Qitai.
"Lord Shang."
"Although my son is unruly, he is not entirely useless."
"He sent back a family letter last night."
Xu Youde took out an unsealed letter from his sleeve.
Held it high.
Shang Qitai stared at the letter, his eyelids twitching wildly, his throat dry.
The account book!
This old fox was finally going to bring out the account book!
Xu Youde didn't open the letter, but raised his volume so that everyone in the grand hall could hear clearly.
"My son mentioned in the letter that the waterways around the capital have been extremely unpeaceful lately."
"Ships transporting military rations to the northern border often sink in the middle of the river for no reason."
"Just last month, more than a dozen grain ships reported water disasters."
"The massive loss of military rations for the northern border is shocking!"
The atmosphere in the grand hall suddenly changed.
What was just a trivial marketplace matter of gang fighting just now, how did it turn into a national matter of military ration loss in the blink of an eye.
Xu Youde pressed on step by step.
"Lord Shang."
"The waterways are unpeaceful, and disputes between merchants and the Water Transport Office are constant."
"If this continues, great chaos will inevitably arise."
"There are even rumors in the streets that the sunken grain ships were not natural disasters, but man-made disasters."
"Saying that someone used the excuse of water disasters to line their own pockets and embezzle military rations!"
"I know deeply that Lord Shang is uncorrupted, and the Ministry of Revenue is upright and honest."
"These rumors are pure nonsense!"
"But stopping the mouths of the people is harder than stopping a river."
"To appease the boatmen of the world."
"To clear the outside world's slander of the Ministry of Revenue's embezzlement."
"And more importantly, so that the hundred thousand soldiers at the northern border won't have to fight on empty stomachs!"
"This matter must be thoroughly investigated!"
Xu Youde suddenly turned around, facing the dragon throne, holding the family letter with both hands.
"I implore Your Majesty!"
"To order the Ministry of Revenue to publicly announce the loss accounts of the northern border's military rations over the years!"
"Hand them over to the Three Judicial Offices and the Grand Secretariat for joint verification!"
"To investigate the whereabouts of every grain of rice to the bottom!"
"To return the Ministry of Revenue's innocence!"
"To give an explanation to the people of the world!"
These few words were deafening.
Loss accounts.
This was the most untouchable dead spot between the water transport and the Ministry of Revenue.
Grain transported on the waterways would have losses due to dampness, rat bites, and sinking ships.
This part of the loss was called loss.
Throughout history, the loss had always been a messy account, and it was also the biggest source of profit distribution for officials at all levels.
The salt merchants in Jiangnan, the water transport gangs, and the prefectures along the way all relied on this loss account to survive.
Xu Youde didn't take out that specific corrupt account book; he directly flipped the table of the entire Ministry of Revenue and water transport.
You want to investigate my son?
Fine, I'll hand my son over to you.
But you have to take off the Ministry of Revenue's underpants and let the whole world see.
Shang Qitai only felt his legs go weak. He looked at Xu Youde, the cold sweat on his back soaking through his inner clothes.
This old fox never intended to use that account book to impeach him.
That account book was just a trigger.
Xu Youde wanted to use the mouths of the civil and military officials of the court to force Shang Qitai to put his own neck under the guillotine.
Publicly announce the loss accounts?
Hand over to the Three Judicial Offices and the Grand Secretariat for joint trial?
As long as that account was opened.
From top to bottom in the Ministry of Revenue, along with the Water Transport Office, heads would roll.
The grand hall was dead silent.
Not a single censor dared to step forward to second the motion.
Not a single official dared to take up this topic.
Xu Jie still had his eyes closed.
On the dragon throne, the emperor's body leaned forward.
He looked at Xu Youde, a flash of admiration in his eyes.
Originally, he had planned to use Xu Youde to destroy their enemies with that ledger.
He never expected Xu Youde to be even more ruthless, directly forcing the Ministry of Revenue to make the fraudulent accounts public.
This move would not only eliminate Shang Qitai, but also completely uproot the entire chain of corruption within the water transport system.
This was the true fatal blow.
