amaotonovel Chapter 863 Accepting Bribes
Chapter 863 Accepting Bribes
Thinking of Lin Ping's identity, Fan Li became even more flustered.
He did indeed commit a treasonous act, and it was related to Lin Ping.
Seeing that things were about to be exposed, Fan Li simply stubbornly refused to admit it, since he had done it perfectly and left no evidence.
"Does Your Majesty still remember the great battle between the Empire and the Wu Kingdom a few months ago?" Lin Ping asked slowly.
The emperor nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"On that day, General Bai led an army of 300,000 to attack the Wu Kingdom. As the Grand General of the Wu Kingdom, I only had 100,000 men, with less than 30,000 elite troops. We were no match for them."
"Just as General Bai thought, as long as he can conquer Xuzhou, he can conquer Yingtianfu all the way. At this critical moment, I have made a bold decision: to use myself as bait to capture Bai Tiantian alive."
Lin Ping described the situation in detail, including Bai Tiantian's thoughts.
Hearing this, Bai Tiantian gritted her teeth in anger; he had completely fallen into Lin Ping's trap.
If he had known earlier that Lin Ping was the Grand General of the Wu Kingdom, why would he have spared his life out of love for talent?
"This cannot be entirely blamed on General Bai. After all, I appeared as a captain and deliberately provoked the hostility of the Wu Kingdom. There was a possibility that I would be recruited by the enemy. That's why General Bai underestimated the enemy and fell into the trap," Lin Ping said vividly.
This series of schemes terrified everyone present.
Compared to Lin Ping's cunning and treachery, their petty official flattery is utterly insignificant.
"Your intelligence and talent are indeed superior to those of the Great General," the Emperor praised lavishly.
With just one sentence, he outshone Bai Tiantian? This is enough to prove Lin Ping's status in the Emperor's heart.
"That's not the case." Lin Ping shook his head and said, "General Bai is well-trained. Even if he were captured alive, his generals would have led their troops to break through the gates of Xuzhou. As for why they failed, Your Majesty probably knows the answer." Lin Ping paused deliberately, giving the emperor ample time to think.
"Fan Qing did indeed make a mistake in judgment, but I also made a mistake in decision-making," the Emperor said calmly, actually reminding Lin Ping to stop while he was at it.
The reason the empire withdrew its troops was because the court issued an order.
Although the matter was proposed by Fan Li, the final decision-maker was still the emperor.
He didn't want to bring up old matters, as they concerned not only the dignity of the royal family but also his relationship with Bai Tiantian.
After all, he was worried that Bai Tiantian's military achievements were too high, which is why he hastily withdrew his troops.
Lin Ping wasn't stupid; he wouldn't discuss scandals within the royal family. His only goal was to completely bring down Fan Li.
"What if Lord Fan was bribed by the Wu Kingdom?" Lin Ping said firmly, "To be precise, Lord Fan was bribed by the common people, which is why he suggested that General Bai withdraw his troops."
No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. If Fan Li simply made a wrong judgment, he could indeed be forgiven. However, if he suggested withdrawing his troops because he was bribed by the Wu Kingdom, then it would truly be a crime of treason.
"Nonsense, slander..." Fan Li's face was covered in sweat, and he could no longer suppress his inner panic.
The emperor glanced sideways at Fan Li, then turned to Lin Ping: "Words are no proof. Do you have any evidence?"
The fact that the emperor could say such a thing fully demonstrates his suspicion of Fan Li.
"The evidence is the ten thousand taels of gold hidden in the Fan residence!" Lin Ping continued.
Ten thousand taels of gold?
Everyone gasped. This was no small sum of money; Fan Li couldn't earn that much in a hundred years with his salary alone.
But as the Grand Secretary, it was inevitable that he would accept bribes. Even without Wu Guo's bribe, the government would still have that money.
Of course, apart from the bribe from Wu Guo, the rest were all small, loose change, most of which had already been exchanged for silver notes. In other words, apart from this gold, the Fan family didn't really have much gold or silver jewelry.
This gold was hidden in an extremely secret place, and it was certain that it would not be discovered by anyone.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to investigate thoroughly and clear my name!" Fan Li said, looking aggrieved.
The emperor knew that Fan Li was a cunning old fox, and that this matter would not be easy to investigate. Once they could not find any evidence, Lin Ping would be accused of defamation, and the spark that was about to ignite the entire forest would be nipped in the bud.
"Lin Ping, you should think this through before you speak. How could Minister Fan possibly betray the country?" The emperor raised his voice, giving Lin Ping a chance to return.
"If you want to search, you must move the third box from the last row in the Fan family's storeroom, then pry open the empty floorboards to enter the secret passage. There you will find the ten thousand taels of gold!" Lin Ping said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
Fan Li panicked completely and almost fell to the ground.
He never dreamed that Lin Ping would know about the secret passage in the warehouse.
This was a secret known only to him and the butler, and Fan Li strongly suspected that the butler had betrayed him.
It's just finding some things, why would Lin Ping go to such lengths to bribe the steward of the Fan family?
Why not just open the X-ray machine and search the Fan family's storeroom? What difference does it make whether it's hidden underground or left out on the street? What difference does it make whether it's dressed or not?
Lin Ping's X-rays aren't just for doing bad things; sometimes they can be used for good.
The emperor immediately gained confidence and said sternly, "Men, search the Fan residence according to Lin Ping's method. Don't miss any corner."
When the dozens of guards left, Fan Li was completely terrified.
Not only him, but all the civil and military officials in the court were in danger. They had also embezzled money, and a lot of silver was still unprocessed. They were really afraid that Lin Ping would eliminate them all at once.
Many people were thinking of leaving court early and then exchanging all the silver in the treasury for banknotes.
The waiting process was agonizing, and Fan Li looked ten years older.
What was bound to happen eventually did happen. Half an hour later, dozens of guards carried boxes of gold directly into the main hall.
"Your Majesty, there is indeed ten thousand taels of gold in Lord Fan's treasury," the leading guard reported truthfully.
"You, Fan Li! I have always treated you well, yet you have colluded with an enemy state!" The emperor was furious and slammed his hand on the dragon throne.
"They were once enemy countries, but are now allies!" Lin Ping promptly corrected.
The king, in his fury, almost burst out laughing at Lin Ping's words.
Fan Li prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing and saying, "Your subject is guilty..."
“I should not have used my power to solicit bribes from the four major families.”
Just when the emperor thought Pham Le would admit to treason, he first admitted to the crime of embezzlement.
Although the crime of embezzlement is serious, it cannot be compared with treason, which does not even warrant demotion or dismissal.
"Did you embezzle this from the four great families?" The emperor clearly didn't believe his nonsense, because the amounts matched too well.
Fan Li saw through the emperor's thoughts and hurriedly explained, "Since Lin Ping was able to discover the secret passage of my treasury, he must also know how much gold is stored inside, which is why he deliberately mentioned a figure of ten thousand taels. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can summon the four great families for questioning."