Chapter 448 "Sexual Bribery" That Shocked the Government and Opposition (5k)
Is the palace competition over?
Yuan Li was stunned for a moment, looked up at the high sun, and was not surprised: "What was the result?"
"The royal ministers won." The censor He seemed quite excited and eager to share the news he had found out with others.
Win? Actually won? Yuan Li was also stunned for a moment. He was particularly surprised because Xue Shence had made a firm decision that he would lose: "Oh? Please tell me carefully."
The censor immediately danced and embellished the story of how Zhao Duan defeated Xiao Ran with a peach tree branch, which attracted many officials in the Metropolitan Procuratorate to watch and marvel.
"As expected of Zhao Shaobao."
"Hmph, even a mere charlatan dares to act wild in the capital. He deserves to lose his face and go back."
The officials discussed one after another, Although this matter seems to have nothing to do with the court, it does involve face. The palace is victorious and all officials are honored.
Is it him again... Yuan Li was slightly distracted. The hand hidden in his sleeve clenched the letter hard, as if he had an idea.
"Let's go to the palace, just in time to congratulate His Majesty." Yuan Li said calmly.
Censor Chen Hong gave a wry smile, thinking that if we go there, it will undoubtedly put a damper on His Majesty's good mood.
……
In the Imperial Garden.
The large group of palace maidens scattered behind, and in front of the sight of the eunuchs and palace maids, were the empress and Zhao Shaobao walking almost side by side.
In spring, the imperial garden is already green, with trees sprouting and flowers vying for the lead.
Zhao Duan was a little behind, glancing at Xu Zhenguan's delicate and sacred profile from the corner of his eye.
"Peach Blossom Sword, you learned well." The empress in white didn't look at him, she just walked gracefully, and her dress, which was almost like a skirt, almost dragged on the ground.
The hem of the robe reaches to the floor, sweeping the green grass as she walks.
In order to attend today's competition, she changed into slightly more formal clothes.
"I was lucky enough to win, thanks to your majesty's teaching of swordsmanship." Zhao Duan said sincerely.
Xu Zhenguan let out a "ha", turned his head slightly, and looked at him with a half-smile:
"When I learned the Peach Blossom Sword, I was far behind you."
Ah, this... I can't tell you how you want me to pick it up, because this set of swordsmanship has similar connotations to the "Open Heaven" swordsmanship taught by your ancestors. It seems to be the same set, so I can learn it with half the effort, right?
Zhao Duan smiled dryly:
"Just as Tang Zong was willing to fight to the death for the honor and disgrace of the royal family, I also try my best to protect the face of our royal family."
Who calls you "our royal family"? Xu Zhenguan pretended to be angry and was too lazy to correct him for taking advantage of him in private words from time to time.
"I have instructed the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the ceremony of going south." She said suddenly.
The topic changed abruptly, Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and then said sadly:
"When?"
Xu Zhenguan said as he walked:
"Female Zen is a big event. During the New Year, I will order Si Tianjian to observe the astrology and set a good time, probably this summer."
Summer... isn't it? I traveled through time last year When... Zhao Duan thought for a while and said:
"Since your Majesty is determined, I will do my best to help you."
Xu Zhenguan bit his plump lips, his eyes strange. Look at him:
"I thought you would dissuade me."
Zhao Duan shook his head seriously and said:
"The eight kings are watching eagerly, and the East and West Buddhism are not stopping, and they have caught up with Wu Xian Kui to fight... Can your Majesty exhaust It is the blessing of the world to have crossed the threshold of true heaven and human beings early. The selfishness of my ministers is insignificant in comparison."
Xu Zhenguan stared at him quietly, Zhao Duan said calmly. She looked at each other.
The fairy-like consciousness of the human emperor enveloped the entire garden, and she could even hear the rhythm of the heartbeat of the person in front of her.
"What you said is actually true." Xu Zhenguan looked complicated.
Zhao Duan said with an open-minded smile:
"Does your Majesty think that I really only think about dual cultivation and ignore the country and the country?"
At this moment, outsiders called him "treacherous minister" "Zhao Duan, who is known to have always been glib and impure in front of the empress, has a calm and pure look in his eyes.
Xu Zhenguan bit her lip gently with her teeth, a touch of tenderness and apology appeared in her eyes.
Well, although it was strange, she actually felt a little guilty at the moment, as if it was her own fault for not cultivating with the person in front of her...
Like a bad woman, always tied up in front of the innocent male. He was hanging on to a carrot, and he was struggling hard. When he saw that he was about to eat it, he took the carrot away again.
"Your Majesty, you are going to Luoshan to confer Zen? I remember that this mountain is being built as a realm." Zhao Duan frowned and mentioned the key question:
"Can't we change it to another one? ?”
Except for Lingnan, Jiancheng Road is the farthest place from the capital in the southeastern territory.
It was also within Prince Jing's sphere of influence. The Empress wanted to go there to hold a ceremony to enshrine her. It was conceivable that it would not go smoothly.
Xu Zhenguan smiled helplessly, with a hint of endearment in his eyes, as if Zhao Duan had asked an innocent question:
"Do you think Feng Chan just randomly found a famous mountain? But? The reason for me to become a Zen monk is to use the Dragon Qi of the Nine-Five Lord to break through the barrier between heaven and man. Luoshan is the best choice.
I know what you are thinking, it doesn’t matter. I ascend Ji has been here for three years, and even after leaving Beijing, his cultivation will not change much. My uncle...hehe, even if he doesn't want to, there is nothing he can do about it
It's just a matter of using it. I tried to obstruct the ceremony through extravagant means, but it’s no big deal. I will send people south to build the road in advance to make preparations. Then, after settling the affairs in Beijing, I will go south and arrive at Luoshan in person. "
Well, is this the self-confidence of heavenly beings? Zhao Duan listened to her clear arrangements and knew that the empress' decision could no longer be changed.
"I dare to ask, what are your Majesty's chances of winning the promotion of Feng Chan?" He hesitated and asked this question that was beyond the rules.
Xu Zhenguan said calmly: "Between six and seven."
Fortunately... it sounds quite likely... Zhao Duan breathed a sigh of relief, but he thought again, the Eight Kings and even Yu Will all the cultivation forces in the country really stay safe and not destroy them?
But then I thought about it, from Zhenbao’s perspective, there really weren’t many choices.
People cannot completely choose their own lives. The higher they stand, the more they cannot help themselves.
In the garden, the two stood quietly, speechless to each other for a moment.
"Okay, let's not talk about this," Xu Zhenguan smiled sweetly:
"Without you today, the royal family would really lose face. I ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare delicacies and leave them at noon. Let’s eat in the palace. "
No, what I want to eat is not rice... Zhao Duan thought weakly, and was about to nod in agreement. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a little eunuch walking hurriedly at the end of the stone road in the distance. With small steps, he ran towards me holding a fly whisk.
Seeing His Majesty with him, he hurriedly stopped and shouted from a distance:
"Your Majesty, Mr. Yuan has something to ask for!"
Is Yuan Li here? Asking for a meeting at this time? Zhao Duan was surprised.
Could it be that he came to congratulate him after he learned that the royal family had won? Well... It is still possible if he is a lower-level official, but with the position of "Qingliu Party Leader", he will not be so flattering...
For Yuan Li to call it an "important matter", it must be quite a lot... Lots of thoughts Ups and downs, Zhao Duan cupped his hands and said:
"Mr. Yuan must have something serious to do. Your Majesty, please go and see him. I will go and see you by myself."
Xu Zhenguan said lightly: "Come with me to see Mr. Yuan."
...
Royal study room.
When Zhao Duan returned with the empress, not long after he sat down, footsteps were heard in the corridor outside. Yuan Li, who was wearing a cyan double-breasted censor's official uniform that was different from Fei Pao, stood at the door. , said respectfully:
"I take the liberty of disturbing Your Majesty."
Behind him, Chen Hong, an old acquaintance and censor, said nothing and bent at ninety degrees.
"Come in, I'll give you a seat."
The empress sat behind a table covered with bright yellow silk, with a gentle smile. Someone from the palace immediately offered her a seat, and Zhao Duan stood beside her beside.
“Thank you for the grace.”
Yuan Li sat down, and Chen Hong stood respectfully behind. Da Qingyi looked up and saw Zhao Duan smiling at him, and he couldn't help but nodded and said:
"Before I entered the palace, I learned that Zhao Shaobao tried to defeat the reckless Qingshan man. Congratulations.”
"You are so polite, Mr. Yuan." Zhao Duan smiled, "It is a small victory, but I bother you to congratulate Mr. Yuan."
Xu Zhenguan went straight to the point with a smile:
"Mr. Yuan suddenly entered the palace. It must not be for congratulations.”
Yuan Li's face became a little more serious and he said: "I do have something to report, your Majesty, please take a look at it!"
He took the document from his sleeves and presented it with both hands. Zhao Duan glanced at it, and the DNA moved. , walked over to take it very familiarly, and presented it to Zhenbao.
Well, when I was a cow and horse in my previous life, similar behavior became almost instinctive.
You are quite considerate... Xu Zhen glanced at him, opened the document with slender fingers, and only glanced twice. Her sunny face suddenly sank, anger surged, and her eyebrows raised. Like an iron hook, he then raised his eyes and stared at Yuan Li:
“Is this happening?!”
Yuan Li was not surprised by the anger of the empress, and shouted loudly: "It is indeed true!" "Bang!" The good mood is gone!
Seeing Zhao Duan's confusion, she suppressed the urge to get angry and said to him:
"You should also take a look."
What's going on, such a big reaction, Kuishui will be angry after a while... Zhao Duan muttered inwardly, picked up the document and started reading, and soon his face darkened.
It is not so much a document as an impeachment memorial. The person being impeached is a noble man from the capital, the Marquis of Liu'an.
Yes, a Marquis!
Zhao Duan was not familiar with this marquis, but he had met him twice. This man was originally a descendant of a noble family, and because of his marriage to the royal family, he was relatively close to the royal family in the noble circle. He did not participate in the Xuanmen coup. Later, the empress ascended the throne, and the Marquis of Liu'an was considered at peace.
When the New Deal was promulgated last year, Lu'an Hou began to operate frequently, trying to find a job in a new yamen in the capital that presided over the New Deal, namely: the "New Deal Department".
After the investigation, the empress believed that although the Marquis of Lu'an was not outstanding in ability and was rather mediocre, he was still reliable.
In addition, the New Administration Secretary also needed to give the nobles some soup, so he was allowed to serve as an errand there, and indeed nothing went wrong.
At the beginning of the year, due to the rectification of officialdom in Yu State, a large number of redundant officials were abolished, and new local officials needed to be appointed to promote the New Deal. Therefore, the Marquis of Liu'an, who has been responsible for this part of the work in recent months, has been unable to do so. No, he was suddenly impeached.
Crime: Accepting bribes and selling out your official position!
Translated into human terms, it means that the Marquis of Liu'an took advantage of his position to receive local benefits and turned the appointment and dismissal of new officials into a business.
Zhao Duan was not surprised when he saw this. When he saw the area involved in selling his official position, he understood the truth of the empress' anger:
Chengdao!
“I want to hear the details.” Xu Zhenguan stared at Yuan Li with lightning-like eyes.
Censor Chen Hong, who was standing behind Yuan Li, stepped out and saluted respectfully:
“Your Majesty, this impeachment is a secret report of the censor who patrolled the Huai River and was delivered to my hands. Later, because he felt that the matter was serious, he verified it first and found that there were doubts before submitting it to Mr. Yuan. ”
Chen Hong first explained the reason before telling the details of the process:
"After the year, due to the delay in appointing and dismissing local officials in Jiancheng Road, His Majesty sent the Marquis of Liu'an south to inspect the place in Jiancheng Road. When the Marquis of An passed through the Huai River, he was received by a local official of the fifth rank, and he invited Miss Xichun, a famous Qinhuai prostitute, to accompany him.
The Marquis of Liu'an fell in love with the prostitute at first sight, and it is said that he was attracted by the prostitute in the local area. I miss you for a few days, Then he continued to go south to perform official duties. "
"Almost at the same time, the girl Xichun was suddenly redeemed by a local wealthy businessman named Yang and married back home... But more than a month later, this Xichun girl. The girl changed her name He changed his surname and appeared in the private residence of the Marquis of Liu'an... and the candidate for the new prefect of Jiandao was also selected as the fifth-rank official..."
Good guy, good guy... Zhao Duan The people nearby were amazed.
Why don't you understand that this is a typical "sexual bribery"?
The laws of the State of Yu stipulate that officials are not allowed to redeem or sell prostitutes or actors, but there is no restriction on others giving them away. Therefore, the practice of "emptying pockets" has emerged among the people.
That is: when an official falls in love with a girl, a merchant will often redeem her body and then give it to the official privately.
This is a typical operation.
Zhao Duan was even sure that being able to operate at the level of a prefect was definitely not enough for an oiran, and he must have given a large sum of money to the Marquis of Liu'an.
And the high probability is an astronomical sum.
How can a fifth-grade local official afford so much money? Zhao Duan thought for a moment and came up with the answer:
The Huaishui nobles!
"...Your Majesty," Yuan Li spoke slowly, with a solemn expression:
"If this matter is true, with that fifth-grade official status, I will definitely not be able to sell it to the Marquis of Liu'an. I doubt it. There is secret support from certain clans in Huaishuidao.
As we all know, the wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River are extremely resistant to the New Deal. If they can use money to pave the way, buy and sell official positions, and support some officials to hold important positions... this is extremely possible. And if you want to solve this kind of thing, you only need a sharp knife. "
Xu Zhenguan's face was as cold as frost and he said calmly: "Here comes someone. "
A female officer walked in immediately outside the door.
The empress said without emotion:
"Instruct the governor of the Yamen, Gong Ma Yan, to immediately arrest the Marquis of Liu'an and other related officials. I will interrogate you under the supervision of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. I will give you one day. I want to know the result at this time tomorrow. ”
Yuan Li stood up and responded at the same time as the female official: "I obey the order!"
Then, the three of them walked out of the imperial study room in a vigorous manner. As you can imagine, there was another bloody storm later.
When it comes to such important matters as New Deal officials, the empress will definitely catch the typical examples, investigate them thoroughly, and scare the monkeys... How courageous are you? She is so daring that she dares to accept any bribe... Zhao Du An shook his head, showing no sympathy for such a stupid person.
"Did you see it? They have already started to take action." Xu Zhenguan said suddenly.
Zhao Duan said with relief: "This matter has not yet been clarified. Just relying on one patrol censor may not..."
Xu Zhenguan sighed, she suddenly turned her head, shook her head bitterly and said:
"You don't have to comfort me. In fact, it's not the key to how much the Marquis of Liu'an collected, or whether he collected it, is it?"< br>
Zhao Duan was silent, he revealed the truth calmly:
< br>"Those local nobles may not really expect this method to work, at least, they may not expect it to work. However, as long as one case occurs, Your Majesty will lose trust in those local officials."
< br>Xu Zhenguan sighed softly, and she said angrily:
"Why don't I believe it? But the discovery of one example often means that there are still many examples hidden under the water. What's more, even the officials who took office are clean.
After they take office, they will sit down In that position, how many of them can withstand the corruption of those local wealthy families who have given them gold, silver, women, and fields... using both soft and hard methods?
Any reform is bound to be accompanied by such stubborn diseases, especially since the Huai River and Jiancheng Road are adjacent to each other, and many wealthy families are in the same spirit.
And behind the construction of the road, and with the support of Prince Jing, the wealthy families in those places will only be unscrupulous.
"Your Majesty, treating the symptoms rather than the root cause will never work." Zhao Duan suddenly said.
Xu Zhen glanced at him: "What do you want to say?"
Zhao Duan sighed softly and said:
"Yuan Gong has almost nodded just now. Clearly, he also knew that where local clans were entrenched, the newly appointed local officials Alone and alone, the Marquis of Liu'an is one, but he is by no means the only one.
He can only hand over a sharp knife that is sharp enough to knock the group of clans apart. There is not much difference between humans and dogs. It’s a wild beast. Only when you hit it hard will the dog have a good memory.”
Xu Zhenguan was silent.
Zhao Duan volunteered: "Your Majesty, I would like to go and make this sharp knife."
Xu Zhenguan did not nod, but stared at him with a pair of beautiful eyes:
< br>"there It's Jiancheng Road, and it's Prince Jing's territory. He assassinated you last time. Aren't you afraid?"
Zhao Duan smiled slyly: "Could it be that your Majesty has forgotten that Prince Jing still has my informants? ?”
Princess Jing? Lu Yaner? That descendant of Pei Niannu?
Xu Zhenguan suddenly remembered this, and her eyes lit up. Zhao Duan told her last time about how he conquered Lu Yan'er and developed the princess into a spy.
Zhao Duan talked eloquently:
“Prince Jing’s heritage lies in his territory and his control of all forces in Jiancheng Road. He may also have private armies and masters... But if There may not be many people who are strong in spiritual practice, and Lu Yaner is with them I can always rely on Princess Lu to obtain information. Of course, I will not joke with my own life, and I don’t think that a high-level divine seal is enough to break into Longtan.”
Xu Zhenguan seemed to have guessed something: “You mean. …”
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Didn't your Majesty tell me that you will arrive at Luoshan in the summer to enshrine Zen? Someone needs to build the road in advance and prepare it near Luoshan? I thought, let's do the two things together It's done, I can use my identity as the White Horse Supervisor to prepare for His Majesty's enshrinement, and go south along the canal to build the road.
While preparing for the enshrinement, As long as I bring enough experts with me to beat the troublemaking gang, and His Majesty is behind me, we will arrive later... Unless Prince Jing rebels immediately, what else can he do besides spitting on me?"
< br>Xu Zhenguan stared at him seriously:
"Have you really decided? You...have done too many things for me, there is no need..."
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, may you have forgotten that you once told me that once a martial artist hides in the safety of the capital, he will never be promoted. The only way for a martial artist is to hone his skills. Only one can be brave and diligent, and I also want to enter the worldly realm as soon as possible, if..."
He paused, He said with an unusually serious expression:
"If your Majesty succeeds in conferring Zen status and is promoted to heaven, the country of Yu will definitely be stable. This is the best."
After a pause, he said: "If... Your Majesty If you fail to achieve your wish, if I can advance to the human realm, I can also use my dragon soul to help you reach heaven again.”
The implication:
You use Feng Chan to rush in first. If you can't rush up, we will practice together again, fighting once.
Add a double insurance to promotion.
The empress's fair cheeks suddenly turned red, and she spat:
"You are talking nonsense, get out, I will summon the important ministers to discuss the matter."
No... I'm talking to you about something serious, why are you blushing... Besides, you agreed to let me stay for dinner? Zhao Duan opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but a jade hand pressed lightly on his chest.
Zhao Duan stepped back lightly, flying out of the imperial study room as lightly as fallen leaves. Standing in the garden, he helplessly saw the double carved doors of the study room closing.
Oh no...
Zhao Duan sighed softly, turned his head and glared at the many palace ladies in the surrounding corridor who were secretly staring at him with strange eyes:
"What are you looking at? I've never seen flirting!"
All the maids lowered their heads, their shoulders shook, and it was very hard to suppress their laughter.
Zhao Duan sighed, walked out of the palace, and went straight to the martial arts hall. Since he was going south to become a Zen monk, he had to take Lao Hai with him.
Martial Arts Hall.
Song Jinxi stood at the door. When he saw him coming, his eyes lit up: "Zhao Shaobao, those people from Qingshan are leaving."
......
Typos help to catch bugs
(End of this chapter)