Li Hanru decided to take the blame himself. Shen Min had the same idea. He was also involved in this matter... Instead of the whole army being killed, he would take the initiative to take responsibility to save the emperor's face and Ning Chen. Daxuan... really needs Ning Chen. Li Hanru and Shen Min stood up at the same time. They looked at each other subconsciously, and were both slightly startled, but the next second they understood each other's thoughts. Li Hanru signaled Shen Min with his eyes that he would take the blame. In this matter, only one person needs to be sacrificed. But Fan Taihe was obviously well prepared this time, and he was well prepared. Without waiting for Li Hanru to speak, Fan Taihe said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, in addition to this, I have another matter to report!"
"When the Marquis killed his way through the Beidu Royal Court and captured the Zuo Ting King alive, the supplies seized were far more than what was returned to the national treasury." "The Marquis selfishly withheld half of those supplies and asked Feng Qizhen, the silver-clad official of the Supervisory Department, to take them to the black market and exchange them for silver notes... making a fortune of 700,000 taels." "The black market boss who exchanged the silver notes has been detained by someone and can confront the Marquis at any time." The eyes of the ministers immediately focused on Ning Chen. Ning Chen's eyes narrowed. He didn't expect Fan Taihe to find out about this matter? Today's hurdle is difficult! The matter of colluding to cheat the ministers of their money involved Emperor Xuan, Li Hanru, and Shen Min. The private withholding of supplies and exchanging for 700,000 taels of silver involved a wider range of things. If we continue to dig deeper, all those who took the silver will be implicated... Pan Yucheng, Qi Yuanzhong, Yuan Long, and the thousand soldiers who followed him through life and death. Fan Taihe can no longer talk about this matter. He can't explain the letters he exchanged with the fourth prince of Nanyue. Fan Taihe caught the black market boss who exchanged silver with Feng Qizhen. This one person is enough to convict him. Your Majesty's dignity and face must be maintained. Li Hanru and Shen Min must be protected. Pan Yucheng, Qi Yuanzhong, Yuan Long and others must not be dug out... Otherwise, his deployment for so long will be in vain. Ning Chen narrowed his eyes and looked at Fan Taihe, and said lightly: "Master Fan is indeed powerful... That's right, the compensation donated by the masters was embezzled by me." "And I withheld half of the supplies brought back from the Beidu Royal Court." Emperor Xuan's face changed slightly. The whole court was in an uproar!
Next, it was time for those censors to perform. As the Imperial Censor, Fan Taihe was the leader of the censors. For a moment, the censors jumped out one after another, attacking Ning Chen and asking Emperor Xuan to punish him severely. Li Hanru and Shen Min clenched their fists. They knew that Ning Chen admitted that he was protecting them. Emperor Xuan frowned. He also knew that Ning Chen was protecting his face and dignity. Eunuch Quan looked worried. Looking at the censors who were jumping up and down, he said sternly: "Be quiet. How can you shout in front of the emperor?" The court suddenly became quiet. Emperor Xuan glanced at the civil and military officials and said in a cold voice: "I asked Ning Chen to keep the one million taels of compensation temporarily, and there is no talk of embezzlement." "Because I think that ceding land and paying compensation is not a long-term solution... Ning Chen is right. Ceding land and paying compensation, and making compromises, can only exchange for temporary stability." "If you want long-term peace and stability, you must let the Nanyue Kingdom see the sharpness of our soldiers." The ministers looked at each other, but soon realized that His Majesty was clearly defending Ning Chen. Fan Taihe leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, even if it is your Majesty's intention not to cede land and pay compensation, it is a fact that Lord Ning colluded with South Vietnam, as evidenced by the secret letter." "Also, he privately withheld supplies, enriched himself, and deceived the emperor. Please punish him severely!" A censor stood up and shouted, "Lord Ning is lawless. Please punish him severely to correct the law and set things right." "Your Majesty, please punish Lord Ning severely..." "Your Majesty, please punish..." One by one, the censors stood up and demanded that Ning Chen be severely punished. Li Hanru was so angry that he said sternly: "Even if Lord Ning made a mistake, you can't attack him... The northern expedition to Tuola Kingdom, the capture of Yuzhou, the recovery of the border, and the promotion of peace talks with Wu Kingdom... Each of these things has contributed to the country and benefited the people. You..." "Merits are merits, faults are faults, and merits and faults cannot be offset." Fan Taihe interrupted Li Hanru, "Your Majesty has rewarded Lord Ning for his merits. But Lord Ning's faults cannot be treated as nothing just because he has made merits." "If merits and faults are not distinguished, in the long run, will everyone be able to rely on their own merits to deceive superiors and subordinates, enrich themselves, and deceive the emperor?" "If so, where is the majesty of Your Majesty? Wouldn't my Great Xuan Laws become a decoration?" Fan Taihe's words gave the censors confidence. They immediately attacked him in groups, enumerating Ning Chen's faults... What's more, they even brought up the old account of beheading the uncle of the king. Emperor Xuan's face was as gloomy as water, and his face was ashen... He was thinking, how to save Ning Chen? If one or two people attacked Ning Chen, it would be easy to deal with... But now most of the people in the court are attacking Ning Chen, and we can't kill all of them, right? This matter is not easy to deal with. His eyes fell on Ning Chen, "Ning Chen, do you know your crime?" "Your Majesty, I know your crime!"
Emperor Xuan said lightly: "Ning Chen, you embezzled money, which is really abominable... The second-rank general is demoted to the third rank and fined one year's salary." Ning Chen knelt down, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I accept the crime!" The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. That's it? This is not painful, and you call it severe punishment? Do you think we are fools? Fan Taihe leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Ning has committed serious crimes, and such a punishment is too light!" Emperor Xuan asked coldly, "Then how do you think he should be punished?" Fan Taihe said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Lord Ning has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, embezzled money, and deceived the emperor... Each of these is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine clans." "I know that Your Majesty favors Lord Ning, but the law is unforgiving. I beg Your Majesty... to grant Lord Ning the death penalty, behead him and show him the law." Those censors and officials who were cheated of money by Ning Chen all echoed and requested the execution of Ning Chen. Emperor Xuan's heart suddenly sank, and his face turned pale. Li Hanru and others were so anxious that sweat broke out on their foreheads. Li Zhixing stepped out of the line and said loudly: "The Marquis is of noble status and has made great military achievements... If he is beheaded and displayed to the public, wouldn't it chill the hearts of the border soldiers?" Fan Taihe immediately launched a counterattack and said in a deep voice: "I don't understand what you said, Lord Li... The border soldiers are the soldiers of Daxuan, the soldiers of your majesty, not the private soldiers of the Marquis." "The laws of Daxuan are issued by Emperor Taizu. Those who have made contributions should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished. Merits and mistakes cannot be offset... Lord Li, are you going to challenge the laws set by Emperor Taizu?" It seems that Fan Taihe has decided to eat Ning Chen today, and even brought up Emperor Taizu. Li Zhixing's face was gloomy, and he didn't know how to refute for a while? Fan Tai fell to his knees with a plop, "Your Majesty, as the Imperial Censor, I have the responsibility to supervise all officials and protect the laws of Daxuan... Please, Your Majesty, sentence Ning Chen to death to correct the law."