Chapter 4608 Salt Strategy
Outside the official hall, Zheng Xuanguo, a descendant of the Zheng family in Xingyang, stood solemnly and respectfully, and said with a salute: "I have seen the Duke of Yue."
The children of the aristocratic family have a gentle temperament, good looks, and stand out, somewhat like a jade tree facing the wind.
Fang Jun stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, smiling: "You came so quickly?"
Zheng Xuanguo looked serious: "It is truly an honor for me to serve under the Duke of Yue. I received the summons from the Duke of Yue to meet up in Luoyang. I wish I could have wings and arrive immediately. I don't dare to delay the important affairs of the Duke of Yue." .”
He didn't want to come, but since he had to come, he would come early. Whether he would listen to Fang Jun and target those Hedong families is still debatable, but his attitude must be shown.
Fang Jun looked at him with a smile, and nodded with great satisfaction: "Maybe you got some advice from your father, right? Don't worry, not only will I not make it difficult for you, but I won't let the Xingyang Zheng family suffer. I have never been in the habit of treating my subordinates badly. Do you want to stay in Luoyang City for a few days to make preparations? ”
Zheng Xuanguo shook his head: "No need, from now on, I will obey the orders of the Duke of Yue."
"In that case, let's set off immediately."
"Here!"
Surrounded by dozens of soldiers, the group left Shangshanfangfang Gate and walked straight north to the end of the street. They could see the Tianjin Bridge across Luoshui in the distance, and the majestic Ziwei Palace standing further in the distance. Several naval warships have been parked on Luoshui River, and hundreds of naval soldiers are waiting in formation on the river embankment.
Xi Jun took a step forward and knelt on one knee: "Commander!"
Fang Jun stepped forward to help him up and ordered: "All these soldiers will follow me to Jiechi. You stay in Luoyang and obey King Wei's orders. However, you must do your best to complete your orders! In addition, once the Yellow River is opened to navigation, the naval forces will Up the canal, you will personally lead the team and wait for orders."
"Here!"
Zheng Xuanguo's eyelids twitched at the side, and he felt a little nervous: Why do we still need to mobilize the navy to come?
What is this for?
Today is already Shangyuan, and the weather will get warmer in a few days. The floating ice on the Yellow River will melt quickly. It will take no more than a month for the navy to reach Luoyang from the south of the Yangtze River along the canal...
Fang Jun looked back at the military commander: "Have you packed your luggage?"
"Yes!"
"Without further delay, let's set off now!"
"Here!"
A large group of people left Luoyang City and headed north, crossing the Yellow River from Mengjin and galloping towards Jiechi.
……
Chang'an City.
The "secret message" delivered by the horse quickly arrived in the city and was sent to Taiji Palace. After reading it, Li Chengqian summoned Liu Xiangdao, the imperial censor, into the palace without hesitation to discuss countermeasures.
In the afternoon of the same day, a censor-general wrote a letter to impeach Henan Yin Pei Huaijie for "abusing the Queen," "having no respect for superiors," "licentiousness," "despicable violence," and other crimes. Immediately afterwards, a large number of civil servants followed up, and the impeachment memorial was radical. , lashed out.
The ruling and opposition parties were in an uproar.
As the place where Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty moved the capital, Luoyang's political status has always been extremely high. Moreover, due to the geographical separation between Guan Nei and Guandong, and the superior terrain, Luoyang City's strategic position is comparable to that of Chang'an. At that time, the Tang Dynasty launched troops in Jinyang and swept across Guanzhong. , Longyou, dominating one side. It was only by defeating Wang Shichong who was entrenched in Luoyang that he was able to pacify Jiuzhou and unify the world.
If someone really wants to raise troops in Luoyang, it is very likely to create a situation of separatism between the East and the West. If they want to annihilate them, the price they pay will bring down the entire empire, and once again plunge the world of China into the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty.
For a time, voices advocating for the removal of Pei Huaijie became rampant.
In the Wude Hall, Li Chengqian and several important ministers sat at the table, drinking tea and discussing how to deal with Pei Huaijie.
Xu Jingzong's words were fierce and impassioned: "Such a beast in clothing should be deprived of his official position and title and taken to Chang'an to be interrogated by the three divisions. Once the evidence of his guilt is verified, he will be punished! The King of Wei is the first prince of the empire, with noble blood and respected status. Even he Even his concubines can be insulted, which shows that Pei Huaijie has no respect at all! In addition, how arrogant and domineering the Henan clans who supported and supported him were! If Pei Huaijie was allowed to continue to serve as Henan Yin, not only would the royal family lose face, but it would also be difficult for the King of Wei to successfully build the Eastern Capital. The strategy in the trial area will also fail! If this evil is not eradicated, it will not be tolerated by heaven!”
He is now a staunch "Fang Er faction", hugging Fang Jun's thigh tightly and letting him be driven. When the King of Wei sent someone to send back the secret message to His Majesty, Fang Jun also sent someone to inform him of the matter. At this time, he naturally opened fire with all his strength. Criticize Pei Huaijie.
Moreover, he is about to rush to Luoyang to take charge of the matter of measuring the land. If he can overthrow Pei Huaijie before then and change the power structure of Luoyang and even Henan Prefecture, he will naturally get twice the result with half the effort.
Otherwise, Pei Huaijie is connected with the Henan clan and is as solid as a rock, and it will be difficult for him to open up the situation...
Liu Jie on the side shook his head repeatedly and frowned: "I am just a concubine, and I am still drunk, why do I need to be so aggressive with a feudal official? Luoyang is not anywhere else, but in the world, regardless of its geographical location. Or the strategic position is extraordinary. If Pei Huaijie is dismissed so easily, wouldn't everyone in the world be in danger? It will be too late to regret it when the country is in turmoil and the political situation is unstable!"
The so-called "insulting Wang Ji" is just a one-sided statement. No matter how stupid, arrogant and domineering Pei Huaijie is, how dare he do such a rebellious act? There must be something hidden in it.
Moreover, this kind of thing is difficult to prevent. If a dignified prince goes to the state capital to serve as a stay-at-home officer, it is impossible for the local officials to refuse to receive him. But who can bear it when he is drunk and casually makes such an incident and deposes the local officials?
Li Ji, who had never spoken much, frowned and warned: "Liu Zhongshu's words are wrong. Until now, there is no other way to prove this matter. Your words are disrespectful to King Wei and imply that King Wei designed a frame-up." , extremely inappropriate.”
The situation in Chang'an is extremely tense, with undercurrents raging within the clan, and Wei King Li Tai is the most sensitive node. All attempts to involve him must be extra careful to avoid unexpected consequences.
Liu Jie kept a straight face and did not give in: "Then send someone to investigate! If a prince is entrusted with the territory, he can't be deposed just because of an inexplicable complaint, right? When this trend started, officials criticized each other, and the officialdom What a mess!”
Li Chengqian looked at Liu Xiang and said, "What do you think, Ai Qing?"
Liu Xiangdao hesitated and said: "Ordinarily, this matter should indeed be investigated thoroughly, but because it involves the King of Wei and is far away in Luoyang, the scale is difficult to grasp."
King Wei Li Tai wrote a secret letter to Pei Huaijie, which was indeed suspected of false accusation, but now Li Tai is in Luoyang, which is the foundation of Pei Huaijie's management for many years. If he goes to investigate with great fanfare, he may not be able to arrange various clues for him He was misled, which was extremely detrimental to King Wei.
And King Wei has a special status. If he is misled and finds out something, it will be a big deal...
Li Chengqian asked Li Ji: "What do you think of Duke Ying?"
Li Jidao: "On the one hand, we are the princes of the empire and his majesty's brothers, and on the other hand, we are the meritorious officials of the country and the officials of the frontiers. This matter is not trivial and cannot be ambiguous. In my opinion, we should send someone to investigate thoroughly to find out the truth of the matter and punish those who deserve it." Punishment and punishment should serve as a warning to others.”
Li Chengqian nodded: "I think so too."
He said to Liu Xiangdao: "This matter has been dispatched by the Third Law Division to Luoyang for detailed investigation and evidence collection. However, due to the special identities of both parties, we must proceed with caution. It is better to be slower than to ensure that there is no mistake. Otherwise, I will slander any of the parties. I will only ask you." .”
Liu Xiangdao quickly responded: "I obey the order."
Liu Ji secretly sighed in his heart, Pei Huaijie would definitely not be able to keep his official position as "Henan Yin". The Third Law Division went to Luoyang to investigate and collect evidence, and they were strictly ordered not to be ambiguous. Isn't this just peace of mind? The repeated investigations may not have any impact on the King of Wei, but Pei Huaijie must take the initiative to resign. Otherwise, even if the King of Wei is finally found to be a false accusation, he will inevitably be suspected of relying on his official position to obstruct law enforcement.
However, Pei Huaijie had been in Luoyang for many years, and his interests with the Henan clan were intertwined. Even if he was transferred back to Chang'an, the contact between them would not be completely broken.
As long as he is under his command, he will be even more powerful...
Several ministers resigned and left, and Li Chengqian left Liu Xiangdao behind.
"There is no need to rush to Luoyang this time. You can delay as long as you can. There is no need to go to war with King Wei to sue Pei Huaijie. Wait for the Duke of Yue to call you, and then obey his orders."
Liu Xiangdao was shocked: "Does the Duke of Yue intend to be cruel to Jiechi Salt Affairs?"
The imperial censor was the boss of the imperial supervisory agency, and he was asked to take orders from Fang Jun. The reason was self-explanatory. Naturally, it was to investigate the violations of laws and disciplines by the officials in charge of the salt affairs in Jiechi.
But the interests of the salt affairs are related to the Hedong family, so they can just plan it slowly and leave some room. The Hedong family will also give up some interests to His Majesty, but if they want to take back the entire Jiechi's interests with thunderous means Hubby, how can the Hedong family just give up?
Coupled with the fact that King Wei wanted to overthrow Pei Huaijie, the benchmark that the Henan clans supported together, was this going to disrupt the entire "Land of Three Rivers"?
Li Chengqian said calmly: "You don't need to take care of these things. You only need to obey the orders of the Duke of Yue."
Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the interests of salt and iron were no longer as tightly held in the hands of the previous dynasties. Just as the iron smelting industry was open to the Changsun family and the Fang family, the interests of salt and iron were mostly liberalized to some local wealthy families.
But now, the state is gradually suppressing and weakening the family members. Even though the center does not lack the supplement of salt tax, it must be completely nationalized to cut off the source of the family's continuous wealth.
Liu Xiangdao had a frown on his face and had no choice but to respond: "I obey the order."
I thought that I would have to discuss it later with Zhang Liang, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and Dai Zhou, Minister of Dali Temple, to see how to properly handle the matter.
However, I also remembered that Zhang Liang is about to step down as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and become General Youjin Wuwei. It has not yet been determined who will take over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. I am afraid that Zhang Liang may not be willing to fully cooperate...(End of Chapter)