At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Regarding Cao Cao, they cleverly bypassed Cao Cao's family and opened fire on Cao Hong in the same way, saying that Cao Hong had invaded and occupied the land of the villagers.

They all knew that Cao Hong was beaten to the end by Guo Peng for encroaching on the land. Although he was promoted back later, the process was more tortuous, and the blow to the Cao family was not small.

Since it didn't matter if Man Chong attacked Cao Hong before, it shouldn't matter if we attack Cao Hong now.

Anyway, Cao Cao and Cao Hong are also clan members, not immediate relatives.

If you want to engage Cao Cao, you must first engage Cao Hong. If something happened to Cao Hong, how could Cao Cao stay out of it?

What a trick!

Attack from the side to contain the forces of Cao Cao and Zaoyi, and then go straight to the core - take down Wang Can.

This is their plan.

Wang Can can also be regarded as a member of the old official of the Guo family, and was recommended by Cai Yong to Guo Peng. After Guo Peng brought him into the shogunate, he was released and made him his old official.

But Wang Can joined later, without the background of Yuancong Group, Cai Yong is now just a mascot and has no power in himself.

Therefore, Wang Can's ability to come to the present is all due to Guo Peng's favor and his mathematical ability.

Guo Peng likes mathematics.

Wang Can himself was born in a noble family, but he became the chief assistant of the cabinet mainly because of Guo Peng's appreciation, and his popularity as an official was not very good. Few people liked him, but many people hated him.

So if you want to mess with him, apart from Guo Peng, there is really nothing to worry about.

So, step up our efforts, kill Wang Can, and let the emperor see our strength!

They think so.

This is their counter plan.

This method is very common at least in Guo's opinion, because he himself used this method to eradicate political opponents, and the effect was very good. Many political opponents were killed by this method.

But now, these officials have obviously figured out that Guo Peng attaches great importance to corruption and hates it very much. Using the crime of corruption to attack Wang Can and the other three can be regarded as repaying the other's body in the same way.

Guo Peng had already ordered Guo Yi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments, to lead the compilation of the laws of the State of Wei, among which the crime of corruption was treated as a felony.

During the period of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Ming of the former Han Dynasty, there was a rule against corruption in the Eastern Han Dynasty, that is, once officials were found to be corrupt, in addition to severe punishment, their descendants would be imprisoned for three generations.

That is to say, if one person corrupts, three generations of descendants will not be able to be officials.

This is quite a cruel blow to the scholar family.

After this rule was enforced for two generations of emperors, it was abolished by Emperor Hanzhang, who was lenient in government.

Maybe he thinks this can help him win the hearts of the people?

After someone Guo learned that there was such a rule in the previous dynasty, he felt very good, so he decided to restore this rule. When punishing corrupt officials, he re-established this law and increased the impact of corruption crimes on official families.

So it is visible to the naked eye that the crime of corruption has become one of the crimes that officials talk about in the Wei Empire.

It is a terrible situation that one person is corrupt and cannot be an official for three generations.

According to Wei's law, once someone reports officials' corruption and dereliction of duty, the court must immediately file a case for investigation.

Officials whose positions are above [-] shi need to be interrogated immediately by the Ministry of Punishment, Yushitai, and Sili Xiaowei to investigate the case together, and the trial process of the case needs to be reported to the emperor in real time.

The emperor himself needs to know the whole process of this case well.

Finally, the three divisions will try to determine whether the official is guilty. If he is guilty, his descendants will be imprisoned for three generations according to the law and cannot be an official.

Of course, the law does not make it clear that the emperor has decisive significance for the trial.

After all, the law itself is to reflect the will of the ruling class.

Guo, as the top player of the ruling class, if he cannot directly grasp the trial process, it will be a great insult to the imperial power.

After this law is finalized, Mr. Guo has an extra weapon against officials.

See who is unhappy, and directly imprison your descendants for three generations.

So Guo's authority has been greatly improved.

There is no provision in the Wei Law that once an official is impeached, he must voluntarily suspend his post.

So even if he was impeached very seriously, Wang Can did not stop working, but made a memorial for himself, and then continued to work, continued to formulate commercial and tax bills, and prepared to fight back.

Zaoyi went to the table to express his grievances for his two subordinates, and then continued to work, preparing for a counterattack.

Cao Hong, who was innocently lying on the gun, learned of this, his face turned pale with fright, and he quickly reported to Guo Peng.

Cao Hong said that he never embezzled the land. He has been telling his family to do business honestly, and has never paid attention to the land. He also asked Guo Peng to investigate clearly and return his innocence.

After Cao Cao knew this, he knew that it was because of his own problems that Cao Hong suffered such a catastrophe. The officials did not dare to attack him directly, but pointed their finger at Cao Hong, which made Cao Cao very angry.

While defending Cao Hong on the table, he began to prepare for a counterattack.

When Wang Can learned of this, he invited Cao Cao to discuss the matter together.

As the former chief ministers of the cabinet, the two have common topics on such matters. Zaozhi is their supporter, but he is not the maker of laws and regulations. Therefore, if we really want to talk about an alliance, Cao Cao and Wang Can are the real alliance.

In the current situation, it is even more necessary for the two to work together to form an offensive and defensive alliance.

"Your Majesty ordered me to handle this matter. Unlike before, His Majesty is free to do it now. It is obvious that he wants to complete this matter thoroughly. I just push it forward."

Wang Can had an awe-inspiring look: "For the country and for His Majesty, Wang will do anything at all!"

Cao Cao nodded in agreement.

After pausing for a while, it seemed that he was worried, so Cao Cao asked Wang Can.

"Zhongxuan, do the things they said really have nothing to do with you? Are they all fabricated?"

"It's basically fabricated. I don't know when I did such a thing. Rumors and hearsay. What else can such despicable people do?"

Wang Can was full of disdain.

Cao Cao pursed his lips.

"But how did I hear that you once recommended to Chen Gongtai a few fellow villagers to serve as officials in Yongzhou?"

Wang Can was taken aback for a moment.

"Meng De...where did you know that?"

"One of the fellow villagers you recommended has a relationship with the Cao's caravan. He once bribed Zilian and tried to get me to work for him through Zilian. Zilian didn't dare to accept money...so..."

Cao Cao looked at Wang Can with a delicate expression on his face.

Wang Can blinked, and the awe-inspiring expression just now disappeared.

There was a touch of embarrassment.

"This matter...except for Mengde..."

"Don't worry, I've ordered someone to deal with this matter properly."

Cao Cao shook his head, and then said: "Zhongxuan, you must pay special attention to these matters, and you must not be caught by others. Their family has a big business and is involved in a lot. One family is imprisoned, and there are other branches. Your family is different, you are the only one in your family, if you are a little careless, His Majesty will not be able to protect you even if he wants to."

"Mundy said so."

Wang Can breathed a sigh of relief: "So I never took bribes, and I returned all the property they gave. This kind of thing is not my intention, because my family is small, and I need help in the court.

They are full of officials, and I am alone and alone. If I don't have arms, how can I fight against them?Your Majesty restricts summons, and I need wings, this is not out of my own selfishness. "

Cao Cao nodded.

"This is not Cao's selfishness."

The two smiled at each other.

"So, how does Mengde plan to act?"

"They don't want to pay taxes and don't want us to have a better life, so why should we hold back? I think we should give them a little color. There must be someone behind those people. If we don't give them a little color, they think we are easy to bully. "

Cao Cao's face was full of viciousness: "I have ordered people to search everywhere for their criminal evidence. Once there is any result, I can take part in them and beat them hard."

"If not?"

"What they do, we do."

Cao Cao said so.

Wang Can thought it made sense.

"What Meng De said is true. They are not kind, and we are not righteous. This time, they have to spit out the business tax!"

Wang Can clenched his fists tightly.

Several leaders who promoted commercial tax reform were enraged by this incident, and were preparing to launch a rather fierce counterattack to defeat the group of "state moths" in one fell swoop.

They collected criminal evidence everywhere, investigated the criminal evidence of these people, inquired about the news openly and secretly, and quickly collected a lot of information.

Cao Cao also got some special information, which is said to be true.

Cao Cao was overjoyed and felt that he had obtained the magic weapon for victory.

But Wang Can had some doubts about it.

"This matter is very involved. If His Majesty really pursues it... I am afraid that other people will also be involved."

"This is the best way. The more people involved, the greater our chances of success. Moreover, I grew up with His Majesty. I understand His Majesty's temperament best. Zhongxuan, don't worry."

Cao Cao was very confident and started to operate immediately.

So this matter quickly fermented.

Leaving aside the debate in Shangshutai, Yushitai and the cabinet were quickly involved, and only the staff desk was kept out of it because of its special nature.

The army did not dare to get involved in government affairs. Although Cao Hong was lying on the ground, Zhao Yun, his immediate superior, did not say anything. It seemed that this incident had never happened, and the guards carried out daily training tasks and security work.

Guo Peng is very satisfied with Zhao Yun's attitude.

No general is allowed to speak out and discuss getting involved in government affairs. This is a red line that Guo Peng has drawn for the army and generals.

The existence of the staff desk is to cover this policy.

Therefore, the staff station cannot make any remarks on this matter, unless the staff station is involved, and the staff station can only speak when it is held accountable.

Right now, the staff desk and the army stay out of the matter, while the other major departments are in a mess.

Several departments within Shangshutai were in chaos, and there was no unified caliber among the various departments. In each department, there were people who held different views on this matter.

Some people supported Wang Can, and felt that Wang Can did nothing wrong. Emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business was originally a national policy, and collecting taxes on businessmen was a matter of course.

Some people strongly objected to this, saying that after the official operation of Yantie Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., the business would not be easy to do, and the business tax was already relatively heavy. Increasing the tax would be tantamount to forcing merchants to give up their business.

Without merchants, would people in Luoyang be able to buy so many things?

Some people also questioned whether Wang Can and others were involved in corruption, saying that such a thing suddenly happened on the eve of the implementation of the commercial tax bill. Wasn't it deliberate?

There are also people who ridicule, saying that the so-called people who are dedicated to the country are actually a habitual criminal of corruption, which is too ironic.

Those who support the commercial tax bill hold fast to the national policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, and use this as the core argument to refute the opposition.

The opposition insisted on the corruption of Wang Can and others, and they must demand a joint trial by the three divisions to find out the truth.

The dispute between North Korea and China has intensified.

In fact, Guo is very happy about this kind of thing.

While looking at the performances of the two completely different positions, he looked at the investigation report sent by the Linzi camp.

The investigation report showed that Wang Can did not embezzle public funds. These records of embezzlement of public funds were all fabricated, and the clues could be found after careful investigation, although it would take time.

But the purpose of those people is obviously to reverse the situation by delaying the time, so that the emperor feels that this matter cannot be carried out, the resistance is too great, the scope of involvement is too wide, and it will even hurt his direct line, so he voluntarily gives up and makes a compromise .

They often did this in the Eastern Han court.

You can fish in muddy water.

The core goal is not to prove that Wang Can has committed corruption, but to attack Wang Can through this process, to attack the court's tax reform forces, and to let the tax reform come to an end without a problem.

Someone Guo scoffed at this.

Just a few pawns, do you really think I care about them?

However, the report also showed that although Wang Can did not accept money from some people, he seemed to have reached some agreements and gave them convenience.

Through his identity as a native of Yanzhou, Wang Can recommended these people to Chen Gong, who was also from Yanzhou, and Chen Gong opened the door for convenience.

Chen Gong was one of the few officials in the court who maintained a friendly relationship with Wang Can. When Chen Gong was in the staff office, he had a lot of contacts with Wang Can. After he was released to the governor of Yongzhou, he heard nothing.

In the end, I never thought that I would have a connection with Wang Can here.

Chen Gong agreed to Wang Can's request, sold a favor, arranged for these people to work in Yongzhou, and took up some positions around Chen Gong that he could directly arrange.