Chapter 5046 Self-defeating
The raindrops gradually became denser and fell on the glazed tiles on the roof of Wude Hall. After washing away the dust, they gathered into streams, and the rain poured down from the eaves like a curtain of beads.
Li Chengqian stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands, feeling the abundant water vapor blowing into his face. The flowers and trees in the courtyard were lush and prosperous.
Li Ji and Liu Jie bowed and stood behind them. No one spoke in the imperial study. It was silent except for the sound of rain falling from the eaves and the sound of clanking.
After a long while, Li Chengqian turned around and said in a calm tone: "Tell me, what is going on?"
Li Ji remained silent as usual.
Liu Ji hesitated for a moment and then said cautiously: "The cause of this matter was that the Duke of Yue State sought official positions for his relatives, which caused the other Jinshi and students to feel dissatisfied, so they gathered together and went to Chengtian Gate to kowtow at the gate to petition. The Holy Emperor was in court. , will surely be able to see clearly and illuminate thousands of miles, punish the treacherous and sycophantic people, and correct the discipline. ”
Li Chengqian asked curiously: "Just because you have listened to rumors and are dissatisfied, you can gather together to knock on the gate and petition? There are billions of people in this world, and there are countless injustices every day. If anyone is dissatisfied and comes to Chengtianmen to knock on the gate and petition, then Am I going to die from exhaustion?”
"Your Majesty is clear!"
Liu Jie hurriedly explained: "How can anyone go directly to the Chengtian Sect? If I disturb His Majesty, it will be an unforgivable crime! It's just that these students are different after all. They all have noble status and are valued by Your Majesty. In the future, Even the imperial officials should always provide hospitality and comfort. ”
Li Chengqian disagreed: "Now I am just a student in white clothes, and I have not yet become an official, so I can ignore the law like this. If I go to the pavilion to worship the prime minister and be awarded an official title, I am afraid that I will not go to Chengtianmen to petition, but Go straight into my bedroom.”
These words were a bit heart-wrenching, and Liu Jie was sweating a little: "Your Majesty, your saintly wisdom, would never do such a thing!"
Li Chengqian sneered: "Can you guarantee it?"
Without waiting for Liu Ji's reply, he asked again: "What guarantee do you have? Are you using the head on your neck to ensure that my head is safe?"
Liu Jie was sweating coldly. He bowed his arms to the ground and did not dare to say anything.
But in my heart, I can't help but slander me. The majestic king speaks in such a weird way, and he really doesn't have the appearance of a wise king...
When students gather to make trouble and go to the Chengtian Gate to kowtow and petition, the impact on the king's prestige is unparalleled. As long as the king is wise and the court is virtuous, why do the students in white have to go to the stage of knocking on the gate?
But the crux of the matter is that the bigger this trend gets, the more severe the loss of the emperor's prestige, the greater the backlash that Fang Jun, the initiator of this matter, will suffer.
Trading the prestige of a king for the prestige of Fang Jun, and by the way gaining the heartfelt love of new academic scholars and scientific examination students, is not a loss at all.
Therefore, Liu Jie concluded that despite the fierce scolding by His Majesty in front of him, His Majesty's encouragement must be indispensable behind the whole incident.
Even managing it with one hand may not be impossible...
As for Liu Xiangdao?
That's a target...
Liu Ji didn't know how he could say this, but fortunately, footsteps sounded outside the door, and in a moment, Li Junxian, dressed in armor, walked in quickly.
Li Chengqian then moved his eyes away from Liu Ji, took a deep look at Li Ji who said nothing, and asked Li Junxian who walked in: "How is the situation outside Chengtian Gate?"
Li Junxian knelt down on one knee and performed the military salute. After hearing "Ping Shen", he stood up and said respectfully: "The situation is not good. The students are full of resentment and anger, shouting and rushing away from the Saint of Chengtian." , Your Majesty is required to maintain fairness and impartiality in the selection of officials, and... remove the Duke of Yue who abuses power for personal gain and disrupts discipline. ”
"Hmph!"
Li Chengqian snorted angrily: "The Duke of Yue has made great contributions to the country and his merits are shining brightly. How can a few students be impeached and thrown out of office? It makes no sense!"
Liu Ji lowered his head and stared at the shiny gold bricks on the ground. He became more and more certain that this matter was ordered by His Majesty. The purpose was also very simple. It was to severely damage Fang Jun's prestige, even if he would not seriously remove him from office. , should also be classified as a "sycophant".
Your Majesty needs a loyal Fang Jun who can command the armed forces, but he does not need a Fang Jun who can coerce the government and the opposition and influence government affairs.
Liu Ji didn't want to speak, but Li Chengqian had no intention of letting him go: "How does Zhongshu Ling think this matter should be handled?"
Liu Jie had no choice but to say: "Although the Duke of Yue cannot be removed from office because of the impeachment of his students, after all, a storm has arisen at this time. Public opinions are divided and people are angry. If they cannot be properly appeased, it may lead to a catastrophe. These students are all members of the empire." Dongliang, how can you do it because of this matter? Misguided? In my humble opinion, the Yushitai should be ordered to investigate and review this to see if the reason why Zhang Zixuan was recruited by the Ministry of Industry was done by the Duke of Yue. As long as he used intimidation, coercion, bribery and other means, he would be Severe punishment.”
The words were said, but they were not said.
First, he said that Fang Jun could not be thrown out of office because of the impeachment of his students, and he also said that he would be severely punished. The meaning is self-evident: How to deal with it is up to your majesty, I have no objection.
Li Chengqian was obviously very dissatisfied. He glanced at Liu Ji and snorted.
How could the words "examine Fang Jun" come from his mouth? Someone must ask him to go along with the situation, but Liu Ji is naughty and unwilling to offend Fang Jun for nothing, and his opinions are ambiguous.
Then he looked at Li Junxian and asked, "Where is the imperial censor?"
"When General Mo came back to report, there was news that the Yushitai had arrived in full force. I thought the situation would be stabilized immediately."
"Well, Liu Xiangdao is still very capable."
Li Chengqian nodded.
The imperial censor is a very noble official, and has always been regarded as the embodiment of "justice". Liu Xiangdao is old-fashioned and rigorous, and is very popular among scholars. As long as he comes forward in person, those students who are causing trouble will be comforted and the situation will be calmed down. .
Just make a fuss, there is a reason for the Yushitai to intervene in Zhang Zixuan's matter, and a casual review will be enough.
The most important point in this matter is the review of Fang Jun. As long as there is this procedure, it doesn't matter whether the problem can be found or not.
Even if it is really found out that Fang Jun secretly manipulated Zhang Zixuan into the Ministry of Industry, Li Chengqian will have to cover up for Fang Jun...
It's OK to attack Fang Jun's prestige, but not to defeat Fang Jun.
Wang De hurried in from outside the door, his usually calm face showed a rare look of anxiety, he went straight into the imperial study and whispered: "Your Majesty, a student has died outside Chengtian Gate!"
The four people in the imperial study were suddenly shocked. Li Ji, who had always "sit back and watch" and "quietly do nothing", all raised their eyebrows.
Everyone knows that His Majesty attaches great importance to the Jinshi in this subject, thinking that all of them will be trained into emperors. Now someone dares to brazenly kill the "Emperor's disciples" under the Chengtian Sect and outside the Taiji Palace. This is simply a direct crime. Tianyan!
Does anyone want to challenge the imperial power? !
Li Chengqian's face was ashen and he cursed: "Idiot!"
The matter had reached the point where people were killed, and it was obviously out of control. It was obvious who the "idiot" was referring to.
It can only be Liu Xiangdao.
This book was recently updated in ##六@@九@@书@@!! Updated!
Self-defeating...
Li Ji finally spoke: "Your Majesty, take tough measures to stop the chaos in Chengtianmen in time, and then order the three law departments to intervene together to conduct a thorough investigation and find out the murderer!"
He doesn't care whether Liu Xiangdao dies or not. What he cares about is that the imperial power cannot be shaken. This is the foundation of the empire.
Li Chengqian hesitated: "This... it's better to figure it out first. Using the Three Laws Division rashly can easily lead to instability."
Li Ji sighed and said no more.
There are only a few people who dare to kill people outside Chengtian Gate, and there is only one person involved in this matter. The intervention of the Third Law Department would mean that His Majesty would directly break up with the culprit behind the scenes. His Majesty obviously did not want the matter to come to that point.
But the problem is that now that people have been torn apart because of your methods, and the student you value the most was killed in public outside Chengtianmen, yet you still want to back down and tolerate... Where is the slightest sign of decisiveness in killing?
Not even a hair compared to Emperor Taizong.
Li Ji even couldn't help but have a thought in his mind: If King Jin were on the throne, how would he make a decision?
Liu Ji didn't want to get involved in this matter. He wouldn't get any benefits, but would be easily resented by Fang Jun. That stick was reckless and willful, who knows if it would directly hit his door...
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Li Chengqian said to Li Junxian: "Send additional guards to stabilize the situation and let Liu Xiangdao enter the palace to see him."
"Here!"
Li Junxian turned around and walked out of the imperial study.
Li Chengqian was a little frustrated. How did something that he had planned so well end up like this?
*****
Outside Chengtian Gate.
Rainwater gathers into streams on the bluestone pavement and slowly flows to the drainage ditches in low-lying areas. It is drained out of Chang'an City along the entire imperial city's sophisticated drainage system. This city embodies the lifelong learning of Yu Wenkai, a great craftsman of a generation. No matter how heavy the rain is, there is no risk of flooding.
In the square, everyone's eyes were focused on Cai Ben's wife and the government servant Laicao. They felt both regret and excitement.
I thought it was a vicious incident of suppressing student petitions, but in the end it turned into a romantic case?
Throughout the ages, people have always paid close attention to this kind of thing, let alone happening right before our eyes...
Liu Xiangdao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Cai Ben's wife's cry.
It was originally a political incident, and the Yushitai could just follow the trend and launch an investigation into Fang Jun, Zhang Zixuan, and even the Ministry of Industry. But after people died, the nature changed suddenly.
These students were all descendants of aristocratic families, so it was inappropriate for one of them to die rashly, let alone die while knocking on the door of Chengtian Gate?
Maybe there will be a huge storm pitting the family members against the center...
But if it was a "love killing", it would be completely different.
He wished he could have this guy punished right now with the crime of "killing someone and stealing his wife out of jealousy"...
Therefore, this case cannot be heard in public.
"Come here, I will temporarily imprison Cao Cao to Yushitai Prison. Cai Benzhi's body will be transported back together, and he will be ordered to investigate the cause of death."
Then he said warmly to Cai Ben's wife: "Madam, don't be too sad. The deceased is dead. The Yushitai will definitely find out the truth and give you an explanation!" The woman was very knowledgeable and courteous. Although she still cried bitterly, she still followed the arrangement. , followed the soldiers to transport Cai Ben's body to the Yushitai.