Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Chapter 753 Means!

After persuading the prince, He Peng began to contact court officials the next day.

At the same time, the Eastern Palace also sent out invitations to all officials from the Censorate.

In the morning, at 3:30 pm.

Officials from the Censorate who received the invitation arrived at the Eastern Palace one after another.

Inside the hall, tables and chairs were set up, and fine wine and delicious food were served. The aroma of the food filled the entire hall.

A dozen officials from the Imperial Censorate stood in the hall and bowed to the crown prince on the main seat: "Greetings, Your Highness!"

The prince laughed loudly and gestured with his hand: "My Lords, please do not be polite. Please sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the hospitality." Everyone took their seats.

The person in the first seat was an old man wearing a red official uniform, with a thin face and a three-goat beard.

This man has eyes like an eagle, prominent cheekbones, and a resolute face. At first glance, he looks like someone who is not easy to mess with.

This person is none other than Wei Xun, the Imperial Censor of the Third Rank!

Although the princes in the court were fighting for power, the people in the Censorate always remained neutral and would not favor anyone.

No matter which prince's subordinates committed a crime, the officials of the Censorate would impeach them.

And all this was entirely because of Wei Xun, a man who was not only upright but also stubborn and unmoved by power.

This also led to the fact that almost all officials in the entire Censorate, headed by Wei Xun, were old stubborn.

They are merciless and will not care about anyone's face. They will impeach anyone as long as they find evidence of someone wrong.

Originally, they would not easily accept any invitation to a banquet from any prince, and would even refuse an invitation from the crown prince.

But this time, Wei Xun accepted the invitation for the first time, so they had no choice but to come along.

The prince looked at everyone present and laughed loudly, "Someone, let the kabuki come up."

"No need!"

Wei Xun looked indifferent and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, you know my character. If it weren't for the mention of Zhao's spoils of war in your invitation, I would never have attended this banquet."

"I'm already old, so you don't need to bother with Kabuki to perform a dance. Just speak your mind!"

The prince was not angry at such directness, but laughed out loud: "Lord Wei is still the same as always, he likes to get straight to the point."

With a wave of his hand, the eunuchs and maids of the Eastern Palace retreated one after another, leaving only the crown prince and officials from the Censorate in the palace.

Seeing that there were no outsiders, the prince straightened his face and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, the destruction of Zhao State this time is undoubtedly a great thing for our dynasty!"

"However, after Han Xing and Di Wenyao captured the Zhao royal palace, they actually took all the property of the Zhao royal family for themselves!"

"How can we easily forgive them for such a heinous crime?"

"When the emperor learned about this, he was furious and issued an imperial decree to retrieve the two men to explain the matter. But the facts are clear: they did not hand over the spoils!"

"No matter how they explain it, this kind of thing of beheading first and reporting later is against the laws of our dynasty. As officials of the Censorate, you are responsible for supervising all officials. I believe you will not stand idly by, right?"

As soon as this was said, an official immediately said angrily: "I have heard about this matter a long time ago. The generals and officials on the front line are too arrogant!"

Someone took the lead, and someone else immediately agreed: "Yes, this is indeed against the rules. If everyone follows them, what is the point of the court?"

"Although the court's finances have been stable in the past two years, the people below are not handing over the spoils of war. How do others see this?"

"We must not start this, otherwise others will follow their example and by then, the country will no longer be a country."

"Humph, such a serious crime, our Censorate will certainly not take it lightly."

The officials from the Censorate became angrier as they spoke, and some even blushed with excitement.

The scene became noisy for a while.

When the prince saw this, instead of stopping it, he showed an amusement look.

This is the effect he wants!

As long as we mobilize these people's emotions, they will find evidence of Han Xing and Di Wenyao's crimes and impeach them themselves!

As long as the Censorate takes the lead in impeachment and all the officials follow suit, even the emperor will not be able to protect these two people, let alone Chu Ning!

In the midst of excitement, Wei Xun raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Shut up, everyone!"

Everyone's expression changed slightly and they all quieted down.

Wei Xun slowly stood up, stared at the prince, and asked in a cold voice: "The prince asked us to come here for the spoils of war, which is understandable."

"But I want to ask you, Prince, is this action for your own selfish reasons or for the sake of the court?"

Everyone knew that Han Xing and Di Wenyao were the King of Chu's men. The prince's eagerness to impeach these two people would inevitably make Wei Xun think that this was a factional dispute.

The Censorate supervises all officials and has never been involved in party struggles. If they agree to the prince's request today, they will fall into the prince's trap.

Having served in the court for decades, how could Wei Xun not know the importance of this matter?

The prince raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and a strange look flashed across his face.

If it was out of selfish motives, Wei Xun would definitely not believe it.

But if you say that he is wholeheartedly devoted to the court, Wei Xun will definitely not believe it.

No matter how you answer, it’s wrong!

After hesitating for a moment, the prince said in a deep voice: "Master Wei, this question really stumped me!"

"To be honest, I don't want the King of Chu to become too powerful, nor do I want to see the people on the front line doing whatever they want by relying on someone's support."

"Impeaching Han Xing and Di Wenyao is both for personal gain and for the good of the court!"

It's impossible to fool someone like Wei Xun.

He could only speak half-truthfully to fool around.

This answer was somewhat beyond Wei Xun's expectations. A hint of doubt flashed across his eagle-like eyes, and for a moment he could not tell whether what the prince said was true or false.

However, due to his duty to his position and his own personality, he still bowed and said:

"Your Highness, please remember what I just said. The Censorate will impeach Han Xing and Di Wenyao, but this matter has nothing to do with the Crown Prince's banquet for us today!"

"Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hadn't hosted the banquet today, we would have been prepared to impeach these two people."

"However, this matter is of great importance. I do not want to be involved in party disputes, so I will not bring it up to His Royal Highness the King of Chu. I hope Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince will forgive me!"

After saying this, Wei Xun bowed and turned to leave.

Seeing this, other officials stood up and shouted in unison: "I'm leaving!"

The prince did not try to persuade them to stay. He looked at the officials' departing backs with an amusement on his face.

Even if the matter did not escalate to Chu Ning, as long as Han Xing and Di Wenyao were captured, Chu Ning would be left alone.

The Bingzhou army was leaderless, Chu Ning was stripped of his position as general, and with the impeachment of all officials, Chu Ning was bound to fall!

Once Chu Ning falls, Bingzhou's industries and Zhao's land will all fall into his hands!

The more he thought about it, the more excited the prince couldn't help but laugh: "Chu Ning, Chu Ning, you spent two years planning in vain, and in the end, everything belongs to me!"

"Hmph, when you fall, I will humiliate you severely!"

"And Shen Wanying, humph, just wait, I will press you down hard in front of Chu Ning!"

The prince was very excited when he thought of Shen Wanying's exquisite and perfect face.

"Someone, go inform the concubine that I will go to her place to rest tonight!"

Since he couldn't get Shen Wanying, he could only take his anger out on the women around him.

The news that the Crown Prince was hosting a banquet for the Censorate also reached Chu Ning's ears!