Chapter 4974 Yu never asked
But what if it's a mudflat?
Li Xiaogong's foundation is in the clan, and there are many interests around him. Once the rebellion is widely implicated, even he is not sure whether he can escape. It is better to intervene in it with a selfless appearance and break himself out of this quagmire. He also saved some people who were not deeply involved, leaving some vitality for the clan.
He is responsible for both public and private matters.
He patted Li Xiaoyi on the shoulder, pulled him up, and said with emotion: "The King of Huai'an had the kindness to support and protect me back then. Your brother is facing a disaster today. How can I stand by and watch indifferently? Others dare not say, I will do my best.”
Li Xiaoyi wiped the corners of his eyes and choked: "Thank you, uncle!"
Then he stood up and took his seat again.
Li Yuanjia looked at Liu Ji and asked: "His Majesty ordered that this case be interrogated by Zhongshu Ling, but he does not know how Zhongshu Ling plans to interrogate it, what are the regulations, and what are the bottom lines?"
Although being able to come hand in hand with Li Xiaogong has shown part of Liu Jie's position, he still needs to confirm before he can cooperate.
Liu Jie said: "The clan is the cornerstone of the empire. Even if many people make mistakes, they cannot be generalized. Otherwise, it will only shake the fundamentals and cause pain to relatives and happiness to enemies. Therefore, I plan to only punish the chief culprit and ignore the rest, and interrogate a group of participants as soon as possible." If so, a list will be drawn up and submitted to His Majesty for his decision.”
His Majesty's will still needs to be tested. If His Majesty is determined and serious, then there is nothing he can do. No matter how he offends others, he must act in accordance with His Majesty's will.
Li Yuanjia and Li Xiaogong looked at each other, and the latter nodded and said: "This is the safest way. If His Majesty stops here, everyone will naturally be happy, but if Your Majesty is not satisfied, then we can discuss it again."
How to negotiate?
Naturally, I will continue to add people to the list until His Majesty is satisfied.
Of course, the candidates on the list need to be discussed and decided by the three clan leaders. Liu Jie is only responsible for submitting the list to the top. This is why he took the initiative to find Li Xiaogong - the list was drawn up by you, and no one can blame him afterwards. Liu Jie.
Li Xiaogong said: "In that case, let's imprison a certain number of prisoners in the backyard of Zongzheng Temple without further delay and interrogate them immediately."
"Here!"
……
With Li Xiaogong personally in charge, Liu Jie presiding over the trial, and Li Yuanjia and Li Xiaoyi supervising the trial, the trial went very quickly.
In half a day, dozens of clan members who participated in the mutiny were interrogated one by one, signed and held in custody.
Later, when sorting out the confession, Li Yuanjia discovered a problem.
"How to calculate the Duke of Xi?"
Based on the confessions of almost everyone, there is no doubt that Li Shenfu is the main culprit. Li Daoli and Li Xiaoxie provided advice and help. These three people are all the main conspirators and should be sentenced to death no matter what.
However, before the "Zhaoling Case" broke out, Li Xiaoxie was arrested and detained in Wannian County Prison until now. He did not accompany Li Shenfu to the East Palace to launch a mutiny like Li Daoli...
Li Yuanjia frowned: "The Duke of Xi is indeed the mastermind, but even if he is the mastermind, whether he personally participated in the mutiny should be classified as different crimes, right? If the king of Xiangyi County and the king of Gaoping County are both guilty of death, can the Duke of Xi be reduced to a first-class crime? , leave a life?”
As soon as these words came out, the other three people fell silent.
This principle makes sense. People who did not personally participate in the mutiny cannot be guilty of the same crime as Li Shenfu and Li Daoli who entered the East Palace and Taiji Palace, right?
If so, wouldn't everyone be certain to die?
Li Xiaogong looked at Liu Ji and said in a deep voice: "This matter still needs to be resolved in front of His Majesty by a written order. First, Li Xiaoxie's guilt should be reduced to a lower level, and it is planned to seize the title and imprison him. Let's see what His Majesty has in mind. ”
Liu Jie pondered for a moment and said: "Even if the treason case can be reduced to the first level and exempted from the death penalty, Duke Xun has also participated in the Zhaoling case and is punished for both crimes. I'm afraid he still won't be able to escape with his life."
Li Xiaogong shook his head: "That's not necessarily the case. Although the Zhaoling case made His Majesty angry, in the final analysis, it was not the fault of one person. Many people in the clan and the court were involved in it. The impact was bad but there was no mastermind. It is impossible for Your Majesty to be involved. Kill it.”
In the final analysis, the Zhaoling case is not about someone greedy for money and passing off inferior goods, but a top-down feast. Many people involved in the case either spontaneously, colluded, or tacitly agreed to deal with Zhaoling. There were many people involved in the case, but there was no one in charge, so the Zhaoling case had to be left alone.
You can't kill them all up and down, inside and out, right?
Politics is not a child's play. We must take into account the overall situation and not be happy with grudges.
Li Xiaoyi couldn't bear it anymore, and asked curiously: "The Duke of Xi will not escape because of the Zhaoling case, right?"
The mastermind of a treason case was imprisoned because he was involved in another major case, but he was unable to personally participate in it and thus escaped...
Very ironic.
Li Xiaogong sighed: "The current situation is not a time to judge right from wrong, good and evil. If we can preserve more vitality for the clan, we should go all out."
Good guys, bad guys, guilty or innocent are not the key points that need to be weighed at this time. How to protect more clan members and ensure the stability of Li Tang's country is the top priority.
Li Xiaogong, Li Yuanjia, and Li Xiaoyi looked at each other, and a sense of absurdity arose in their hearts: Logically speaking, it should be His Majesty who is working hard to maintain Li Tang's country. He is the lord of the world and the most respected person in the world, but now It is His Majesty who is so angry that he wants to They wanted to wipe out all the demons and monsters in the clan to quell their hatred, but they didn't care whether the country would be turbulent and Li Tang's rule would perish as a result. Instead, they had to do their best to restore the decline and avoid the disaster of annihilation.
Liu Ji stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I will come to the palace to pay my respects. You are all waiting for my news."
The three clan members stood up together, and even Li Xiaogong bowed and said sincerely: "Zhongshu Ling is the pillar of the empire and your Majesty's humerus. This time the clan has suffered a disaster, and we hope that Zhongshu Ling will fully help us. No matter what the outcome, the clan will Everyone appreciates your kindness.”
Liu Ji suppressed the joy in his heart and said with a sigh of relief: "I am not asking for any extravagant favors. I am actually thinking about the foundation of the empire and do not dare to show favoritism."
It was originally a hard job, and no matter how you did it, you would offend countless people, but after doing it this time, you gained favor from the clan...
After saying that, he led several scribes out of Zongzheng Temple holding dozens of confessions, and took a car to Taiji Palace.
After Liu Ji left, the three of them took their seats again. The clerk put on fresh tea and left the hall.
Li Yuanjia took a sip of tea and said: "Liu Sidao is hypocritical and hypocritical. He may not really be thinking about the clan this time. We cannot trust him completely and should be on guard."
Li Xiaoyi was surprised: "He won't turn around and sell us, right?"
"That's not the case," Li Xiaogong shook his head: "This person is quick-thinking and cherishes his feathers. He is unwilling to offend the clan for this case, so he came to find me to take over the responsibility. In this way, if he is in line with His Majesty's wishes, the credit will naturally be his. Yes, if His Majesty is dissatisfied, the responsibility lies with me, and he will be unscathed no matter what.”
Li Yuanjia sighed and said: "Liu Sidao has outstanding talents, but lacks courage. He is in the position of Zhongshu Ling, but he does not have the heart of the world. He is not only inferior to Fang Du, but also compared to Hedong County Duke, Song Guogong and Shen Guogong. , Yu Guogong and others are also worse. They sit back and watch the military grow stronger but are helpless, which is not the behavior of a famous minister. "
Duke Pei Ji of Hedong County, Duke Xiao Yu of Song Dynasty, Duke Gao Shilian of Shen State, and Wen Yanbo of Yu State were all ministers of the Tang Dynasty. They were all famous ministers with great fame and outstanding achievements. In comparison, Liu Jie was much inferior.
Not to mention compared with "Fang Mou Du Duan"...
Li Xiaogong was also worried: "The military has developed too fast now. Not only has it opened up several protective mansions in Hanhai and Andong, expanding the land for thousands of miles, but it has also brought Suiye City under its jurisdiction in the west, which is almost as big as the mainland." Food countries are bordering each other, and it is even more remarkable above the sea, wherever the sea water reaches. , countries in the East, Southeast, and the West all had ports of the Tang Dynasty. Maritime merchants spread all over the world with naval warships. The huge benefits brought by maritime trade fed back to the navy, which kept building ships and guns all day long. , The power is advancing rapidly...sooner or later, disaster will inevitably occur."
He and Fang Jun jointly run the Jiangnan Shipyard. No one knows better than him how huge the navy is today. Huge warship keels cover the docks, and thousands of craftsmen work hard day after day. Counting warships were launched one after another.
In the long run, no one can estimate the scale to which the navy will develop.
If one day someone tells him that there are Tang navy masters wherever the sun shines, he will believe it...
To limit the expansion of the military, it was no longer possible to rely on civilian officials. Liu Jie was ambitious but not talented, and was manipulated by Fang Jun. He could only sit back and watch the military grow without any means to restrict it.
The only thing that can restrain the military is the clan. However, after the "Zhaoling Case" and "Rebellion Case", it is inevitable that the clan will suffer heavy losses. Even if it rests and recovers, it will take more than ten years. By that time, the military will no longer know how strong it is.
A change of dynasty may only require the military generals to raise their arms...
He sighed and said: "Don't worry about so many things, let's get over the current disaster first."
*****
Wude Hall.
Li Chengqian took the confession submitted by Liu Jie and read it carefully one by one. Then he raised his head and said expressionlessly: "In my opinion, how should I deal with it?"
Liu Ji said cautiously: "Your Majesty has learned clearly that I believe that this case should not be too involved. We should only punish the first culprit and never ask about the others."
"Haha," Li Chengqian sneered, with a fierce look in his eyes: "One or two of them are my uncles and brothers. Not only do they not want to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, but they conspire to rebel and poison me. What did you say to me that I never asked? ”
Liu Jie was frightened, but had no choice but to retreat. He knelt down and bowed his head, saying: "Your Majesty, even if these people deserve to die, they cannot be killed together. Otherwise, the clan will suffer heavy losses. Who will be able to restrain the army when one is declining and the other is increasing?" "Recipe?" Li Chengqian looked ugly and remained silent.