As sunlight spilled into the Imperial Palace, the ministers still thought this was merely an ordinary court audience, unaware that Liu Heng was preparing a surprise for everyone.
Luo Jing naturally had to attend court.
After Liu Heng entered the hall, the audience proceeded through its formalities. Once these were finished, Liu Heng asked, "Do any of my ministers have a memorial to present?"
Presenting memorials at a Grand Court Audience was essentially a formality. Matters were generally not brought here for actual discussion; the occasion was usually used to test the waters.
But today was different. A minor official in charge of money and grain, whom Jia Yi had arranged beforehand, rose from the back and walked into the center of the hall. "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present."
The ministers all turned to look. Many of them did not even recognize the man and had no idea what someone so insignificant could have to report to the emperor. The clever ones had already begun calculating whose pawn he was.
Liu Heng asked with a smile, "What is it, Minister?"
"Your Majesty, I offer this remonstrance.
"In earlier years, because All Under Heaven needed vast quantities of coins, and because counterfeit currency ran rampant beyond the Court's ability to stop it, Empress Gao permitted private coinage. But after these years, with countless copper coins circulating throughout the country, I believe the harm of this policy has already outweighed its benefits.
"The authority to mint coins concerns the Court's fundamental security. It should be reclaimed by the Court as soon as possible, with private minting prohibited and all coinage placed under the Court's unified control."
As soon as these words were spoken, many people looked straight at Liu Heng, seated above them.
Could this be someone the emperor