pappabearbooks Chapter 352 Zong Yu launches another attack!
Chapter 352 Zong Yu launches another attack!
Zong Yu unfolded the bamboo slips, his voice echoing in the hall: "Firstly, I impeach Zhang Fan for his brutal actions in Jiangnan, which resulted in excessive killings. When Zhang Fan went to Jiangnan, he directly mobilized soldiers to execute local powerful families without going through the local government's trial process."
The Xiang family was highly respected in the area, but Zhang Fan relentlessly pressured them with ruthless methods, leading to the Xiang family's uprising.
Jiangnan, a land of waterways, is now filled with fear and unease due to Zhang Fan's actions. As an official of the imperial court, he should be pacifying the people, but Zhang Fan has resorted to force, an act that will bring chaos to the nation!
Zong Yu paused after saying this.
Several imperial censors behind him immediately stepped forward and echoed in unison, "We second that request! Zhang Fan's actions in Jiangnan violated the laws of the Great Qin Dynasty and caused local unrest. We beseech Your Majesty to punish him severely!"
Zhang Fan stood there, listening to the accusations.
He didn't argue, nor did he even glance at Zong Yu. He simply swayed slightly and adjusted his standing posture.
Zong, seeing that Zhang Fan remained silent, assumed he had nothing to say and became even more confident, continuing to read the contents of the bamboo slip: "Secondly, I impeach Zhang Fan for privately intercepting embezzled funds and embezzling huge sums of money!"
Fang Zhengge, an official from Jiangnan, has been executed for embezzlement and corruption.
According to our examination of the accounts of the goods transported from Jiangnan back to Xianyang, there are significant discrepancies in the figures.
Fang Zhengge had been entrenched in Jiangnan for many years, amassing countless riches.
However, the amount of money deposited into the treasury was several hundred thousand strings of cash less!
Rumors have spread that Zhang Fan embezzled this huge sum of money while inventorying the assets. The laws of Qin are strict; embezzling state funds is a capital offense. Zhang Fan has enriched himself and disregarded the law; he deserves to be executed!
Several more civil officials stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, hundreds of thousands of strings of cash is no small sum. The national treasury desperately needs the money, yet Zhang Fan has embezzled it. We beseech Your Majesty to order a thorough investigation of Zhang Fan's residence and the recovery of the ill-gotten gains!"
Faced with these harsh accusations, Zhang Fan raised his hand, covered his mouth, and let out a long yawn.
He stayed up half the night at the Gewu Institute overseeing the production of machine tool molds, and now he looks exhausted.
He looked at the indignant civil officials, his eyes showing no fear, only helplessness.
Ying Zheng sat on the dragon throne, his gaze shifting between Zong Yu and Zhang Fan.
Ying Zheng knew perfectly well where Fang Zhengge's money had gone.
Although it was Zhang Fan who embezzled!
But it did indeed become the start-up capital for the construction of the Geological Museum!
But Ying Zheng did not explain; he wanted to see what topic Zong Yu and the others were going to bring up.
Zong Yu put away the bamboo slips, raised his head, looked directly at Ying Zheng above, and his tone became solemn: "Your Majesty, we impeach Zhang Fan not only because of the crimes he committed before, but also because he misled Your Majesty and attempted to push the Great Qin into the flames of war!"
We have heard that Your Majesty intends to adopt Zhang Fan's suggestion to wage war against the Xiongnu in the north. This is absolutely unacceptable!
Zong Yu turned around and pointed in the direction outside the hall: "Zhang Fan did indeed bring a crop called potatoes. We acknowledge that this crop has an extremely high yield!"
However, potato cultivation is currently extremely limited. Due to a shortage of seeds, potatoes are only being grown in experimental fields near Gyeonggi Province and have not been widely promoted throughout the country!
The current harvest is only enough to preserve seeds for next season; it's far from sufficient to supply hundreds of thousands of troops with food. How can we fight without food?
Among the ranks of military officers, Wang Ben frowned and clenched his fists.
He looked at Zong Yu, anger flashing in his eyes, but he remained silent because His Majesty had not yet expressed his opinion.
Zong Yu turned back and continued to advise Ying Zheng: "Your Majesty, the Xiongnu in the north have 300,000 light cavalry. Nomads grow up on horseback from childhood, and their marching speed is extremely fast. The Qin army is mostly infantry, wearing heavy armor!"
On the plains, infantry might be able to win in a direct confrontation, but on the vast grasslands, once the Xiongnu adopted guerrilla tactics, they would fight and run, and our army simply couldn't catch them!
If they can't catch up, they can't annihilate the enemy. Once the battle becomes a stalemate, and the army remains on the grasslands, the daily consumption of provisions will be an incalculable and enormous figure.
An old minister stepped out of the queue and added in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, transporting one shi of grain from Xianyang to the northern border consumes more than half of the laborers and livestock responsible for the transport along the way."
By the time the food was transported to the front lines, very little grain would be left!
To sustain an army of 300,000, the imperial court would have to conscript over a million laborers to transport grain. This would bring Qin's agriculture to a complete standstill. Qin's national strength simply couldn't support such a war!
Zong Yu took a step forward, knelt down, prostrated himself with his hands on the ground, and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty! Great Qin cannot afford to fight this war! For the sake of the people and the foundation of Great Qin, I propose that we change our strategy."
We can send envoys to the north to discuss a marriage alliance with the Xiongnu Chanyu!
They selected a woman from the royal family to marry the Chanyu, and at the same time, they bestowed upon them annual tribute of silk, cloth, and grain. These valuables were used to secure peace on the border!
This way, we can preserve the strength of the Qin Dynasty, avoid casualties among our soldiers, and secure peace—this is the best strategy!
As Zong Yu knelt, a large number of civil officials behind him followed suit, shouting in unison, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! Dismiss Zhang Fan, make peace with the Xiongnu, and preserve the Great Qin!"
The shouts of the civil officials echoed throughout the main hall.
Upon hearing these words, Fusu, who was standing at the front, immediately darkened his expression.
Selecting women from the royal family for marriage alliances?
Wasn't that his sister who was sent to the grasslands?
Fu Su felt a surge of anger and immediately took a step forward, preparing to speak out against Zong Yu.
But just as he was about to speak, Zhang Fan, who was standing to the side, reached out and grabbed his sleeve, shaking his head slightly to signal him not to speak.
On the military side, several hot-tempered generals were red with anger and were about to step forward to refute these remarks when they saw Ying Zheng above them slightly raise his hand, signaling them to be quiet.
Ying Zheng sat high on the dragon throne, looking down at the kneeling civil officials below.
When you hear phrases like "marriage alliance and tribute" or "buying peace," you feel...
The hall suddenly felt cold!
The courtiers knelt on the ground, but received no response from Ying Zheng for a long time.
They secretly looked up and saw that Zhang Fan was not only not afraid of being impeached, but was yawning and stretching to the side.
Zong Yu felt a surge of anger. He believed that Zhang Fan was so guilty that he had nothing left to say and could only use such rude behavior to cover up his fear.
"Zhang Fan!"
Zong Yu stood up, pointed at Zhang Fan and loudly rebuked him, "You behaved so improperly in the court. What do you have to say in the face of impeachment from the officials?"
For your own power, you disregard the strength of the Qin Dynasty and insist on provoking war. You are going to destroy the Qin Dynasty!
Several officials also stood up and pressed on, saying, "Zhang Fan, you cannot refute the fact that the national treasury is empty, nor can you solve the problem of transporting grain."
"You are a sinner of the Great Qin! Your Majesty, I beg you to immediately issue an edict to arrest Zhang Fan and bring him to justice!"