Now someone is taking advantage of Dang Renhong's return to Beijing to report on his duties to impeach him, and the evidence is messy and insufficient. It is obviously a hasty move.
There is no point in asking who submitted this evidence, because there must be someone behind it.
The key to the problem is: Emperor Taizong knew that he was corrupt and committed evil crimes but did not pursue them. Is it possible that he still wants His Majesty to overturn Emperor Taizong's will and bring Dang Renhong to justice?
If that is the case, it means that His Majesty has corrected Emperor Taizong's governance. This is a huge event, and it is very likely to cause shock and instability in the government and the public...
Of course, maybe this is the real intention of the person behind it?
The water became muddy and some fish ran away.
Dai Zhou thought for a long time and slowly exhaled: "Put these things in order. I will take them into the palace later and present them to Your Majesty."
No matter who is behind the scenes, he doesn't have to pay attention to it. He has been the minister of Dali Temple for half his life. He only knows how to enforce the law impartially and ignore the disputes in the court. As long as the evidence of Dang Renhong's crime is conclusive, he will act in accordance with the law.
This is the foundation of his life and the way he conducts himself in the world.
……
Li Chengqian read the documents one by one and was silent for a long time. Then he sighed and said, "Aiqing has given me a difficult problem."
Dai Zhou said respectfully: "Your Majesty does not need to make a decision on this matter. The reason why I brought these documents into the palace is just to let Your Majesty know about this matter, so that if someone messes around, he can respond promptly and correctly."
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Although he is not a critic like Wei Zheng, and he does not intend to make a so-called "strength order", the most basic principles cannot be blasphemed. Dang Renhong is guilty and the crime is extremely heinous. This is absolutely true, so what happens next? It was Dali Temple that promoted the trial, and it would not change because of Li Chengqian's opinion.
In his case, the emperor could not influence judicial decisions, not even Emperor Taizong, let alone Li Chengqian?
Li Chengqian was speechless for a moment. How come there were so many tough ministers in the court, and they didn't give him any dignity as the emperor?
Liu Xiangdao said the same, and so did Dai Zhou.
I really don’t know whether to laugh or be angry...
After thinking about it, he hesitated and said: "Dang Renhong... is different from others after all. When Emperor Taizong was there, he was grateful for his loyalty and pardoned his crimes several times. Now that Emperor Taizong is not around, I pardoned him not long after he ascended the throne." If the guilty minister punishes me, do you know what people in the world will say about me?”
There was Feng Deyi before, and now Dang Renhong. Once these two people are guilty, the impact on Emperor Taizong's reputation is secondary. The most serious thing is that he, the emperor, will inevitably bear the name of "rebellious", and his "disloyalty and unfilial piety" will cause trouble in the world. There was a lot of discussion.
Although he was under a lot of pressure because of Emperor Taizong's brilliance, martial arts and long-lasting achievements, he did not want to bear the reputation of being "unfaithful and unfilial". First, Feng Deyi, who was recognized as a hero by Emperor Taizong during the Zhenguan Dynasty, was found out, and then Emperor Taizong He was convicted of the hero Dang Renhong who he tried so hard to protect. In the eyes of others, he was planning to completely deny Emperor Taizong's achievements...
Dai Zhou was unmoved: "The evidence of Dang Renhong's crime is conclusive, and the personal and material evidence are complete."
Li Chengqian had two big heads and a headache. Now he finally realized how Emperor Taizong felt when he wanted to crush Wei Zheng to ashes but could do nothing about it.
The empire needs such dissatisfied ministers who stick to their principles. Otherwise, if everyone in the court is slanderous and flattering, and those who act according to the wind, the government will be corrupted and the society will be turbulent. And if there are too many such dissatisfied ministers, it will also seriously damage the emperor's authority.
I can’t hit him, I can’t scold him, so what can I do?
But Dang Renhong had to protect him.
Who is Dang Renhong? He was a member of Feng Yi from Tongzhou, a brave general in the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Gaozu took two thousand soldiers and horses to defect when he started his army, and made great contributions to the founding of the Tang Dynasty. He had been fighting with Emperor Taizong for a long time, and his eldest son died in the battle of Xue Ju. At that time, he was ambushed by mistake. Dang Renhong lay on his son's body, licked the blood from his face with his tongue, turned around, mounted his horse, and went to kill him again.
In the fifth year of Wude, Emperor Taizong led his army to fight Wang Shichong under the city of Luoyang. Dang Renhong's second son was pierced by a spear in the chest and was dying. Dang Renhong carried him to Emperor Taizong without saying a word, but turned around with red eyes to continue. rush ahead.
Later, Dang Renhong served as the governor of Nanning Prefecture, the governor of Rong Prefecture, the military commander of Douzhou Daozhou, and the governor of Guangzhou. During this period, he was corrupt and guilty. The censor impeached him several times, but he was pardoned by Emperor Taizong. , Emperor Taizong once said to people, such a loyal minister who ruined his family and the country, although his sins were serious, how could he bear to be punished?
A founding hero who was pardoned many times by Emperor Taizong was convicted and even possibly sentenced to death in the hands of Li Chengqian. How does this make the world think of Li Chengqian?
Helplessly asked: "If it is a crime, what punishment should be given?"
Dai Zhou shook his head and said: "The current evidence was revealed by someone. Although most of it was initially verified to be true by Dali Temple, it is inevitable that there are elements of false accusations and slander. It is necessary to cooperate with Dang Renhong's confession after interrogation." The final verdict. Therefore, I dare not speak falsely."
He knew His Majesty's thoughts, and he was thinking of asking for a lighter sentence no matter what crime he was convicted of, so he didn't reveal anything about it.
In his opinion, the emperor cannot abolish the public service for private reasons, or make no distinction between public and private affairs. If he can change the law casually, it is his dereliction of duty as the minister of Dali Temple.
Li Chengqian could only say: "The trial must be clear, and all evidence must be strictly verified. There must be no ambiguity. Otherwise, it will chill the hearts of the heroes and cause turmoil in the society."
Dai Zhou nodded and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. This is a serious matter. How dare I be negligent? If there is any inaccuracy, please punish me."
"Okay, you go back to Haosheng to verify the evidence for now."
Li Chengqian rubbed his head, feeling his temples twitching and having a splitting headache.
Dai Zhou asked: "That minister will immediately bring Dang Renhong to trial."
"Go, go."
Li Chengqian waved his hand, one or two, no one was worried, they all gave him problems. Fortunately, Wei Zheng was dead. I really don’t know how Emperor Taizong dealt with these ministers in the past. No wonder Emperor Taizong kept coming from time to time in the late years of Zhenguan. I have a splitting headache, probably because I am so angry with these gangsters...
Dai Zhou resigned.
The chamberlain on the side saw His Majesty rubbing his temples and looking a little in pain. He hurriedly stepped forward and asked softly: "Your Majesty is not feeling well? Do you want to call the imperial doctor?"
Li Chengqian waved his hand and said: "No, I haven't had enough sleep these days. Just take a rest. Go to Xuanwu Gate to see if Duke Yue is there. If he is, call him into the palace. I have something to discuss."
"Here."
The chamberlain quickly retreated and sent someone to Xuanwu Gate to see if Fang Jun was training troops there.
Li Chengqian calmed down for a while, and the headache symptoms were greatly reduced. Then he took a long breath, stood up and paced back and forth in the imperial study, thinking about how to deal with it. First, Feng Deyi, and then Dang Renhong, for these two He doesn't have much personal feelings, so he only needs to be punished according to the law, but the current situation is that once these two people are convicted, it will not only affect Emperor Taizong's reputation, but also make him, the new emperor, criticized.
Weighing the pros and cons, it’s really hard to choose.
The little joy he had felt when Yushitai insisted on impeaching Feng Deyi has now disappeared, and is replaced only by dismay.
It’s not easy to be an emperor...
After a while, Fang Jun came quickly, saluted and asked: "Your Majesty is calling urgently, what is the important matter?"
Li Chengqian invited Fang Jun to his seat, asked the waiter to serve tea, and then told the story of Dang Renhong's corruption. At the end, he sighed: "When Emperor Taizong was alive, he tried to protect Dang Renhong several times. Now that Emperor Taizong has passed away, I am the emperor." However, I have to bring Dang Renhong to justice. I am so ashamed of Emperor Taizong! What can Erlang do about this matter?"
Among the various evidences brought by Dai Zhou, corruption is only part of the charge. In fact, the amount of corruption must be several times that shown by the evidence. But if this is the only one, it doesn't matter. Order him to return the stolen money and then punish him harshly. A fine will reduce the guilt.
However, there are also those who privately monopolize many industries. They first force merchants to go bankrupt with low prices, and then raise prices to make huge profits. They even organize young men to smash the market and bully merchants. They have lost countless lives. Some even went so far as to fight against Gaozhou. The repeated conflicts between the general manager Feng An led to turmoil and instability in the Lingnan area. These are all serious crimes of beheading.
Fang Jun thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is afraid that there is nothing you can do about Dang Renhong's matter."
Although Li Chengqian knew that it would be difficult to handle, when he heard that Fang Jun was so sure, he frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Erlang?"
Fang Jun came in a hurry and was a little thirsty. He took a sip of tea and analyzed: "Your Majesty clearly knows that Dang Renhong has been corrupting and wielding power for more than a day. The mountains in Guangzhou are high and the emperor is far away. It is impossible for ordinary people to understand the details. And this incident suddenly broke out without any warning before, so it was obviously someone who did it deliberately.”
Li Chengqian nodded: "I think so too."
Fang Jun continued: "The New Year is approaching, and all government offices in the imperial court are collecting government affairs, striving to complete the government affairs accumulated in the past year before the new year. This is also one of the evaluation indicators of each government office. If too many government affairs have not yet been completed, If it can be completed in time, it will inevitably affect the performance of the department chief, so generally speaking, he will basically not accept it at this time. Major and important cases, especially corruption cases like this, can be dealt with after the opening of the government office after the year... However, someone has all the witnesses and material evidence in the Dang Renhong case, leaving no excuse to put the attack on Dali Temple on hold until after the year. , must want to handle this case with great fanfare and make everyone aware of it.”
Li Chengqian was a little confused: "Why is this?"
Fang Jun smiled and said: "It's very simple. Some people want to confuse and divert attention."
This method was commonly used by all countries in later generations. Once some scandal broke out and was difficult to resolve, they would immediately create another incident to attract public attention to calm public opinion, and then deal with it in a low-key manner. This is the most basic public relations method. It is not very clever, but it has been tried and tested. He continued: "Since he wants to divert attention, it must be an extremely serious matter at the moment that affects his interests. So what are the serious matters at the moment? I thought about it, but it was just Feng Deyi. Just one thing.”