Chapter 240: Prince Pressure
Chapter 240: Prince Pressure
Yang Guang frowned and asked, "What happened?"
"I heard from Minister Wang that there seemed to be a homicide in a dispute over a store in the city. Sanlang killed one person and seriously injured four others."
Before Zhang Chou Taiyi had finished speaking, Yang Guang slammed the table and said in shock and anger: "This little beast has been causing trouble for me all day long. It's only been a few days and he's already causing trouble again, making me feel uneasy!"
Zhang Chou Taiyi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, calm down. Things are not that simple. The other party is the Yun family. It is not necessarily Sanlang's fault."
Yang Guang was even more annoyed. Regardless of right or wrong, once the Yun family was involved, the prince would be involved. How could the prince let it go? He immediately ordered, "Go and find Minister Wang of the Ministry of Justice!"
Yang Guang paced back and forth in the room. This time, his going to the expedition completely overshadowed the crown prince. The crown prince would certainly try every means to get him. Now that his son had killed someone, the crown prince had the evidence. Murder was a serious crime, with the punishment being exile at the lightest and execution at the worst. This little beast was really looking for trouble!
Soon, Wang Chuo, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, hurried over, bowed and said, "I am honored to see Your Highness!"
"Minister Wang, what case involves my son?"
Wang Chao took out an application for arrest, put it on the table and said, "This is an application sent by Jingzhao Prefecture to arrest Xiao Xia. Because Xiao Xia is a county lord and holds an official position, he must be detained after approval by the Ministry of Justice. The application was sent the day before yesterday. I sent someone to investigate and found that the application did not state the facts clearly, so I rejected the application early yesterday morning. Unexpectedly, the prince sent someone to send the application back yesterday afternoon, requesting the Ministry of Justice to approve the detention first to prevent the prisoner from escaping."
Yang Guang also slowly calmed down and asked, "What's going on?"
"Reporting to the prince, the Yun family's Shangqing Commercial Firm took a fancy to a cloth shop in Metropolitan City and wanted to occupy the shop. They asked the city government to cancel the lease and drive the original owner away. The owner was unwilling to accept this and put up a transfer sign. Xiao Xia happened to see the transfer and negotiated with the owner. He spent 6,000 strings of cash to buy the shop, including the goods and a one-year lease.
Shangqing Commercial Bank was not happy when they heard the news. They paid money to find the notorious Baotai Martial Arts School, which then smashed the store and beat people. Xiao Xia rushed to protect the store when he heard the news, and clashed with the warriors of Baotai Martial Arts School, resulting in one death and four injuries.
I think there are still many facts that have not been sorted out, such as the circumstances under which Xiao Xia killed the other party. If he killed the other party when his own life was threatened, it would be excusable. "
Yang Guang nodded, "Then is the prince's request for detention reasonable?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the request for detention is unreasonable. Although detention is not arrest, it is based on the premise that the person has been convicted. It is only because of his identity that he cannot be put in prison for the time being. Therefore, the Ministry of Justice's refusal to approve detention means that there is a difference of opinion on whether to convict."
Zhang Chou Taiyi also said: "The prince is obviously Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword, aiming at Pei Gong. He is pointing his sword at the prince and using this case to offset the prince's contribution to the Western Expedition. Once the third prince is detained, he will be convicted. No matter how serious the crime is, it will inevitably affect the prince. The prince must not be vague on this matter!"
At this moment, someone outside the door hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
..........
Yang Guang was shocked. This was the first time the prince came to the Prince of Jin's Mansion, so Yang Guang hurried out to greet him.
Crown Prince Yang Yong's carriage was parked in front of the gate of Prince Jin's Mansion, and was closely guarded by hundreds of guards in front and behind.
Yang Guang walked down the steps quickly and said with a smile: "Which fragrant wind brought my brother here?"
The car window opened, revealing Yang Yong's slightly pale face. He said indifferently, "I think my second brother should know about Xiao Qilang's crime!"
Yang Guang nodded, "I just heard about it, but the details are still unclear."
Yang Yong sighed and said, "The royal family can kill people at will without any punishment. How will the people of Chang'an view the royal family? If a prince breaks the law, he will be punished the same as the common people. This is completely empty talk. Especially since my second brother is in charge of the law, you are partial to me and bend the law to protect your own murderous son. How will the court officials view you? How will you, the head of the law of the Great Sui Dynasty, explain to the world?"
Yang Guang shook his head and said, "Brother, you don't have to put this big hat on me. If my son committed a crime and killed someone, I would not forgive him, but it is still under investigation. It would be too hasty to draw conclusions before the matter is fully investigated." "I agree with your point of view. We must investigate this case thoroughly, but the investigation will not be a matter of one or two days. Can we detain the criminal first? Second brother, I have already taken a step back. If you continue to cover up, then I can only ask my father to preside over justice."
Yang Guang said coldly: "Brother, he is my son, please don't use the word prisoner, it sounds harsh to me!"
Yang Yong nodded, "Okay! Since you are still stubborn, let's just wait and see!"
Yang Yong rolled up the window with a "whoosh!", and the carriage started, returning to the East Palace under the strict protection of the guards.
Although Yang Guang resisted the pressure from his brother Yang Yong, he was also very anxious in his heart. If Jingzhao Prefecture really wanted to forcibly detain Xiao Xia, the Ministry of Justice would have no way to do anything.
It can be seen that the prince has been well prepared and should have obtained all the evidence, but on my side, I have not started anything yet and am obviously in a passive position.
"Where's Yang Zhao? Let him come see me!"
Soon, Yang Zhao walked into his father's official room, bowed and said, "Please give me your orders, father!"
"Did you know about your brother's murder in Metropolis City?"
"I heard about it. I also asked my third brother about the situation. He said he had already dealt with it and told me not to worry!"
"deal with?"
Yang Guang frowned. Now that he had handled it, the prince was still using this matter to put pressure on him?
"Go and get your third brother to see me immediately!"
Yang Zhao left in a hurry, and Zhang Chou Taiyi comforted Yang Guang again, saying, "Minister Wang has always been known for his fairness and strictness. He did not approve the application for detention, not because the Third Young Master is the prince's son, but because he really thinks that the matter has not been sorted out and it is too early to convict. I also think there is something hidden, otherwise they would have arrested people long ago, and would not have honestly applied to the Ministry of Justice. They would definitely execute first and report later, so the prince should not be anxious. Once the matter is clarified, we will have a countermeasure."
Yang Guang nodded. He could only wait patiently for his son to arrive.
Half an hour later, Yang Zhao and his brother Xiao Xia came to their father's office.
Xiao Xia bowed and said, "Greetings, father!"
Yang Guang nodded and said, "Your contribution in this Western Expedition ranks second, second only to Shi Wansui. It is mainly because of the defense of Zhangye that you got extra points. This is the result of everyone's unanimous evaluation, which is rare. According to convention, you will be promoted. Your father would like to congratulate you in advance."
"Thank you for your approval, father!"
Yang Guang said again: "I heard about a major case that you killed someone in Metropolitan City. Even the Crown Prince came to pressure me to detain you. I didn't agree. I want to know what happened. You should tell me the truth honestly."
(End of this chapter)