Chapter 18 Confrontation in Court
After Di Renjie and Zhao Ji revealed their identities in the court, Fang Qian hurriedly arranged a governor's mansion in the city for Di Renjie and his party to rest.

Zhao moved Di Renjie and others' luggage out of the inn and properly placed them in the mansion.

He checked the governor's mansion as usual, then walked into the room and reported to Di Renjie: "Sir, there are spies outside."

"As expected." Di Renjie twirled his beard, thoughtfully.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Hu Jinghui: "See, this is why I had to go on a secret visit before. If I had found Fang Qian right away, I would have been watched and wouldn't have found anything."

Hu Jinghui had an expression of admiration on his face, and he cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency is very thoughtful and far-sighted. I am ashamed to be inferior to you."

Zhao Ji originally thought that Hu Jinghui was just flattering Di Renjie, so he smiled and said nothing.

Unexpectedly, Hu Jinghui didn't know what was wrong with him. He said nice things, but he also teased Di Renjie: "It's just that I don't understand. We are here to investigate the murder of the envoys. What's the point of investigating these civilian cases?"

Di Renjie's face fell when he heard this, and he shook his head and said, "Since ancient times, saints and wise men have always put the people first when they ruled the country. When the people are in trouble, officials turn a blind eye, or even intensify their exploitation like Fang Qian, and use torture to stop the people from speaking out. This is a sign of chaos in the world."

"As an official, the first thing to do is to relieve the suffering of the people. The invasion of the Turks is just a minor problem. It is corrupt officials like Fang Qian who are the real trouble."

"In other words, if the Turks attack, Youzhou will be the front line. Do you expect people like Fang Qian to resist the foreign enemies?"

Di Renjie spoke more and more sternly. Hu Jinghui couldn't help sweating and lowered his head.

Zhao Ji was happy to see Di Renjie scolding Hu Jinghui, and he also said, "Your Excellency is right. When I rescued the elders of Daliushu Village on a rainy night last time, I also felt that the Youzhou soldiers were undisciplined and neglected to practice, so they were not fit for use."

When Di Renjie heard Zhao Ji mention the villagers, he immediately asked him, "How are the people on the execution platform?"

"Don't worry, sir. The people are all at the residence of Youzhou Chief Secretary Qiao Tai, recuperating well." Zhao Ji replied, "But..." He hesitated for a moment, as if he found it difficult to speak.

"Just what?" Di Renjie asked.

Zhao then told him the whole story, including killing the captain, hanging him on the execution platform, and abducting all the soldiers.

Di Renjie didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said helplessly: "The situation is urgent, and it's not your fault. It's just that your method was a little... impulsive."

After all, Di Renjie was not a pedantic person, so he let Zhao Ji go without pursuing the matter at all.

Finally, Di Renjie arranged the next task: "Tomorrow Jinghui will go to inform Yuanfang to return to the city, and Chengyuan will go to Qiaotai to pick up the people on the execution platform. We will first give Fang Qian a warning."
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The next morning, when the civil and military officials of Youzhou heard that the imperial envoy had arrived, they all went to the lobby of the governor's mansion to pay their respects.

Di Renjie, wearing a classic silver-green official robe, sat on Fang Qian's governor's throne, while Zhao Ji stood behind Di Renjie with a sword in hand.

Fang Qian, Wu Yizhi and Qiao Tai sat in the first and second seats on the left and right sides respectively. The three of them seemed to be sitting calmly waiting for Di Renjie to speak, but in fact they all had their own thoughts.

Di Renjie slammed the gavel in his hand and asked loudly, "Where is Youzhou Governor Fang Qian?"

"I'm here!" Fang Qian hurried out.

"Do you know about the rebellion of the villagers in Daliushu Village?" Di Renjie asked in a bad tone.

"My Lord, the villagers of Daliushu Village have always been cunning and treacherous, and they refused to obey the king. When the Turks broke into the city, they led the enemy soldiers and slaughtered the people of our Great Zhou. When the government troops recaptured Youzhou, these unruly people held a grudge and gathered together to rebel..."

"Shut up!" Di Renjie shouted angrily, interrupting Fang Qian's excuses.

"It was you who condoned corrupt officials, embezzled the compensation money, and seized the people's land, making their lives miserable."

"The people came to the city to file a complaint, but instead of redressing their grievances, you tore up the complaint papers, arrested the people and threw them into jail, wanting to execute them. This is what sparked the uprising."

"Now that you have met me, you are still making sweet speeches and using all kinds of sophistry! Don't you know that the laws of this country are strict?"

Di Renjie cursed Fang Qian loudly, causing all the civil and military officials in the hall to look at him in awe.

Fang Qian, however, acted as if he had suffered a great injustice. He suddenly fell to his knees and shouted, "Sir, I am wronged."

Wu Yizhi, who was sitting nearby, was prepared and jumped out to support him, saying, "Sir, please allow me to report that the relief money issued by the court was all sent to the counties by the governor's office, and then the county magistrates were responsible for distributing it. The state did not withhold a single cent. The seizure of people's land and the tearing up of the petition are completely false. This... this is all a story that I don't know where to start."

Fang Qian also took the opportunity to exaggerate the situation, saying with great sorrow: "Yes, sir, I have always served the people wholeheartedly, how could I end up like this? Someone must have maliciously slandered me, I hope you can see through this."

The two of them sang in unison and performed flawlessly, and it was obvious that the speech had been rehearsed in advance.

Zhao Ji watched coldly, knowing that the two had been prepared and might not reveal any flaws today. Di Renjie sneered, "Oh? So, I have wrongly blamed you?"

"Your Excellency has just arrived, and perhaps you have listened to the slander of some villains. I have always been conscientious in my duties and pleaded for the people. Have I ever done anything wrong?"

Fang Qian turned his head and glanced at the chief secretary Qiao Tai, as if to say that the villain was him. But Qiao Tai remained calm and ignored him.

Di Renjie was so angry when he heard Fang Qian's shameless remarks that he slammed the gavel and said sternly:

"Humph! I personally visited Daliushu Village, and everything I saw and heard was ironclad evidence of your oppression of the people and your exploitation of the people! You're still speaking so arrogantly, saying you're doing your duty and pleading for the people. Do you know that there is even a word called shame in this world?"

After hearing this, Fang Qian was immediately thrown into disarray. He had not expected that Di Renjie had secretly gone to the Daliushu to investigate.

His face changed, and he said with a specious argument: "Your Excellency is good at making up charges, but your words are not enough to prove anything. I wonder where the evidence is?"

Di Renjie was waiting for this sentence. He sneered and said, "Do you think I don't have evidence? Zhao Ji, bring the witness up!"

Zhao Ji then brought the old man Wu Laoer, who was arranged in the side hall, to the court. He was the old man who was begging for water on the execution platform.

Fang Qian and Wu Yizhi were surprised to see that there was a real witness in court. They really didn't expect that the missing prisoner from the execution platform would fall into the hands of the imperial envoy.

Zhao Ji looked at the panicked expressions of the two and smiled with a hint of amusement. This time Hu Jinghui was not here, so there was probably no one to cover up for the two.

Sure enough, Wu Lao Er did not hesitate at all and revealed the crimes of Fang Qian and others.

Di Renjie seemed to be confident of victory: "Why, the witness is here, what else do you have to say?"

Fang Qian stuttered, unable to speak: "This...this..."

But Wu Yizhi spoke up again: "Sir, this man is a rebel. He was caught by the government and is holding a grudge, making random accusations. I'm afraid his words are not credible."

Fang Qian heaved a long sigh and said in a louder voice, "What Sima Wu said is correct. Your Excellency must have been deceived by the rioters, which is why you misunderstood me."

This was not the end. Wu Yizhi gave a look and more than half of the civil and military officials in Youzhou pleaded for Fang Qian.

These people all said in unison, saying things like "Lord Fang is a good official who serves the people" and "The Imperial Envoy is wise," and so on. Only a few people, including Qiao Tai, remained silent.

Zhao Ji looked at the scene in front of him, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself: "This Wu Yizhi is quite interesting. Compared with Fang Qian, he seems much smarter."

This was also somewhat beyond Di Renjie's expectations, and he was a little embarrassed for a moment. He had to wave his hand and have someone take Wu Laoer away to take good care of him.

Di Renjie had thought that Fang Qian would have accomplices, but he never expected that his influence in Youzhou was so great and that so many officials were in cahoots with him.

However, Di Renjie did not intend to defeat Fang Qian in one go. He changed his mind and smiled again. The situation in Youzhou was unexpected, which showed that he had come to the right place.

Zhao Ji stepped forward and whispered in Di Renjie's ear, "Sir, do you want Qiao Tai and the others to come out and talk?"

It turned out that Zhao Ji and Qiao Tai contacted many officials who were dissatisfied with Fang Qian and prepared a lot of negative information about Fang Qian.

However, Di Renjie had other plans and shook his head slightly to refuse.

He turned around and smiled at Fang Qian, without even a hint of embarrassment: "Ah, it seems that I have indeed misunderstood Lord Fang. I hope Lord Fang will forgive me."

Fang Qian himself did not expect Di Renjie to change his expression so quickly, but he just let it go: "My Lord, I have said it before, it's good enough that the misunderstanding is resolved."

At this time, Hu Jinghui came out from the back hall and reported: "Sir, Yuan Fang is back, and the imperial guards are here too."

Fang Qian hurriedly said, "I have already made arrangements. The headquarters of the Grand Commander will be located in Wu Garden in Youzhou City."

Di Renjie still smiled and said, "Okay, the governor is thoughtful."

"How dare I? It's all my job." Fang Qian bowed and bent down, being very humble.

The two of them exchanged pleasantries, as if none of the previous unpleasantness had happened, but Di Renjie already had deeper plans in mind.

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(End of this chapter)