Chapter 818: Alone Minister
Originally, the case would have ended here, but Yin Shang was not an ordinary person. He had a classmate named Qiao Zhi who was studying at Taixue, and he was a clansman of the then Lieutenant Qiao Xuan.
When Yin Shang's clan members visited Yin Shang, they took the opportunity to bribe the jailer of the government office and take paper and pen into the prison.
Then in the prison temple, Yin Shang wrote a report in tears, explaining clearly the fact that the township president Liu Yuan was tortured to extract a confession, and then asked the tribesmen to go to his classmate Qiao Zhi with the petition.
He knew that Qiao Zhi would be able to save him.
The reason why Yin Shang had such an idea was that Qiao Zhi had an important connection, that is, Cai Yong, who is now King Zhang's father-in-law and a disciple of the eldest wife, was the one who first became famous when Qiao Xuan's official car was brought into the house.
Therefore, according to the tradition of the Han family, Cai Yongke is Qiao Xuan's disciple and should have the obligation to help the Qiao clan.
Although the big man is gone now, and the eldest wife seems not to talk about these things anymore, with this relationship, it is still no problem to help Qiao Zhi submit a petition to King Zhang.
But in fact, before Qiao Zhi found Cai Yong, she found another relationship, that is Guo Tu.
Guo Tu and Na Yin Shang were really classmates, and because the location of Yin Jiabi happened to be on a passage from Yingchuan to Kyoto, the two families had a relationship.
So Qiao Zhi initially approached Guo Tu and tried to get him to rescue Yin Shang.
After Guo Tu learned about the situation, he didn't take it seriously. He just thought it was a rough man who had committed an unjust case. With his identity, he could save Yin Shang with just a letter, so he agreed.
But when he went to Dali Temple later to learn about the situation, he saw that the case documents sent from Gong County were covered with the seals of Gong County and Captain Sili, and after learning the detailed story, he remained silent. .
Because Guo Tu discovered that those who endorsed the case were all old men in the military. So if Guo Tu tries to overturn the verdict, he will definitely offend these old men in the military.
This was completely contrary to Guo Tu's style of avoiding making enemies, so he had no choice but to abandon his classmates.
Over there, Qiao Zhi had actually been waiting for news from Guo Tu, but there was no news for a long time, and subsequent visits were turned away. Only then did Qiao Zhi realize that something had changed.
In this way, he used his last connection, which was Cai Yong.
In fact, Qiao Zhi knew better than those outsiders that the relationship between the clan uncles Qiao Xuan and Cai Yong was not that strong back then. Qiao Xuan preferred to be a female, while Cai Yong was high-spirited when he first entered the officialdom. Coupled with his strong nature, he offended a lot of people. people.
At that time, Qiao Xuan had no intention of protecting Cai Yong. Later, he fell all the way and almost died on the way to Shuofang.
So what kind of grace is mentioned? In fact, it is just like that.
Qiao Zhi understood that this kind of relationship is about using it once or less, but when he was entrusted by others, he must be loyal to others, so he finally gritted his teeth and went to Cai Yong.
Sure enough, Cai Yong was still the same Cai Yong. He didn't care whether he offended the military veterans or not, and he never thought about whether this was contrary to the main policy of the Taishan Army. After all, suppressing the aristocratic family was the political correctness of the eldest son.
When the old man got serious, he only had eyes for the matter itself, and everything related was irrelevant.
So, a few days ago, at the morning meeting with his disciples, he directly told Zhang Chong about the incident and said this:
"My eldest wife raised the army to clean up the injustice and injustice in the world. In the past, the leaders of Guizhou and the disciples suffered injustice, and we had to stand up for them. But now, the descendant of the former aristocratic family has been reduced to a farmer. He has been unfair. Do we still want to stand up for him? ”
At the end, Cai Yong asked Zhang Chong this sentence:
"The King once told me that I should never forget my original intention, but I don't know if the King's original intention is still there today."
The expressions of all the ministers who were present at that time changed.
This Cai Yong is indeed Cai Yong. Not long after he came from Yecheng to perform his duties, he scolded the king like this.
Zhang Chong was confused by his father-in-law's criticism. After reading the case summary handed over by Cai Yong, Zhang Chong did not make a statement on the spot. Instead, he asked Dali Temple Prime Minister Gaosheng to hand over the book files about the case. After sending it to his desk, he finally said this to Cai Yong:
"I never overturn old cases when doing things. As long as they are tried without incident, they have passed the test. Since Yin Shang has passed the test, he is the people under my rule. I will uphold justice for all my people. .”
What Cai Yong wanted was this sentence. He still had great trust in his son-in-law's moral character, so he bowed to him, said "The king is wise" and then retired.
Originally, this matter had almost been forgotten by the ministers. After all, there are too many things to face now, including Cao Cao in the east, Guanxi in the west, the remnants of the Yuan family in the south, and even the corresponding disaster relief matters. It involves most of the energy of Xingying.
But at this juncture, Zhang Chong suddenly made a new appointment. Tian Feng concurrently served as Sili Xiaowei as a subordinate, and took charge of Zhao Huo's case.
In terms of political acumen, Guo Tu can be said to be at the forefront of these people.
As soon as the appointment came out, Guo Tu noticed something was wrong.
Who is Tian Feng? He and Ju Shou are considered representatives of the Hebei faction. Now he not only retains his qualifications as a disciple, but also serves as the most powerful position in the Gyeonggi region, Sili Xiaowei.
And with such an important status, he had to handle Zhao Huo's case.
What signal does this indicate? Is this because the king is planning to use Hebei to send these people to clean up the old brothers in the army?
However, Guo Tu then thought again, the king should not be so unwise. How can a good bow be hidden before all the birds are gone? Now that the world has not been conquered, the king will not clean up the old brothers.
So what does the king plan to do?
Guo Tu couldn't figure it out, but it didn't stop him from being jealous of Tian Feng.
Although Tian Feng was a disciple before, he was the last among many disciples and did not have any specific rights and responsibilities. Therefore, his political ranking was higher than that of Guo Tu at that time, but not by much.
But now Tian Feng is serving as a subordinate and also serving as the Sili Xiaowei. He has begun to have his own powers and responsibilities. It can be said that he has become a prominent figure in the court.
And more importantly, this promotion reflects the king's cultivation of this person.
In fact, Guo Tu could also guess the reason why Tian Feng was favored.
Even if he didn't deal with it, Guo Tu still had to admit that among the many ministers in Hebei, only Tian Feng had the character and ability that the king needed.
He is strong and decisive, able to do things, dares to do things, and is never afraid of offending others. Although he comes from the Hebei school, he just wants to be a lonely minister.
Guo Tu still remembers one thing. It was last month, and it was still due to the drought in Gyeonggi. At that time, the old ministers in Kyoto had not yet joined forces to cause trouble.
At a political affairs hall meeting attended by his disciples and ministers, Zhuge Gui, who had just been transferred from Yecheng at that time, said:
"With such a natural disaster, did we do something wrong that would make Huang Tian punish us like this?"
Even if there was no such thing as the old ministers making trouble, Zhang Chong's face was hesitant when he heard this sentence, but he didn't blame Zhuge Gui for the sake of being an old minister.
Because people like Zhuge Gui were born as Confucians of the Han Dynasty, how can you criticize these instructions that have been engraved into their souls?
But at this moment, Tian Feng suddenly spoke up. What did he say?
"I know what's going on. This drought is caused by my eldest wife's unfair justice."
At that time, Zhang Chong asked Tian Feng why he said this.
But Tian Feng didn't respond at that time. He had to ask the king to call all the camp officials of the third rank and above before he would say anything.
Who is Zhang Chong? He has never been afraid of others explaining things clearly. The more clearly things are explained, the clearer they become. So Zhang Chong really called all the senior officials into the political hall.
After all these people arrived, Tian Feng opened his mouth and told an old case that happened in Yecheng.
It turns out that when Zhang Chong just went south to Kyoto, a small case occurred in Yecheng. Jushou's younger brother Juzong injured a merchant because of riding a horse.
Just such a thing, according to the laws of the country at that time, any official who broke the law, no matter how big or small, would be deprived of his position.
But at that time, Juzong was only sentenced to three lashes and compensated the merchant for a certain amount of losses. Then the case was closed and he still kept his position.
Tian Feng talked about such a case in public, which can be said to have greatly humiliated Duman, who was in charge of the work in Yecheng, because this case was the one that Duman was sentenced to.
And not only did he offend Duman, he also offended his fellow disciple Jushou to death. After all, it was his younger brother Jushou who was raised in public.
But offending Jushou is actually more serious than offending Duman.
Why?
It's not that Duman's power and position are inferior to that of Jushu, but because in the eyes of most people, you, Tian Feng, and Jushu belong to the same faction, both from Hebei.
Now, if you poke Jushou's roots in public, you are going to sever yourself from the Hebei sect.
If this matter were exchanged between Tian Feng and Jushu, it would not be that serious.
Although Tian Feng usually likes to wear fancy clothes, entertain guests, and drink a lot of wine, Ju Shou is simple and low-key, but in fact the two people have completely opposite identities and backgrounds.
Tian Feng, who likes luxury, comes from a poor family, while Ju Shuo, who has always been poor, comes from a wealthy family in Hebei and has a network of people that has been managed for generations.
If Jushu wanted to renounce the Hebei sect, considering his social connections, it would actually be nothing.
But Tian Feng is different.
His ancestors came from a poor family, and they were the kind of poor students who would travel hundreds of miles to study just to understand a word.
It can be said that Tian Feng did not have any complicated political background or social relations when he was in power. The only person who could become his network was his identity as the Hebei faction.
The Hebei faction has always been the largest local faction of the Taishan Army.
In fact, this is also caused by reality.
At that time, the Taishan Army moved to Hebei. The Hebei Yellow Turbans that had previously been entrenched in central and southern Jizhou had been defeated. After the Taishan Army arrived, they had no support at all.
Therefore, in order to gain a foothold in Jizhou, Zhang Chong promoted a large number of military and civil servants from Jizhou at that time. Even Hebei generals and staff who were captured by the Han army were reused.
Both Tian Feng and Jushou were promoted under this background.
Tian Feng became a disciple before Ju Shue, not because he was much more capable than Jushu, but because Jushu had offended the soldiers badly in the battle of Xiangguo, while Tian Feng surrendered voluntarily and his hands were not stained with blood.
Since then, Tian Feng and Ju Shou have been the faces of the Hebei School.
But what is Tian Feng doing now? He is severing his relationship with the people in Hebei and becoming an independent minister.
The case reported by Tian Feng also has a deeper meaning, that is, why did Juzong hit a passerby at that time?
At that time, Juzong, as a staff member of Zhang Chong's younger brother Zhang Shao, was actually handling an urgent matter for Zhang Shao.
At that time, Zhang Shao was still fighting abroad with Zhang Chong, leaving behind his new wife and newborn son at home. But at that time, Zhang Shao's youngest son happened to be ill, and the doctors in the house were at a loss what to do.
Therefore, as Zhang Shao's subordinate, Juzong galloped to the palace to ask the imperial physician for treatment.
It was under this background that Ju Zong bumped into someone.
What if Duman, who was always strict, would let Juzong go like this?
But now Tian Feng has exposed this matter, and it can be said that he has completely become enemies with Zhang Shao.
Although the king has not yet proclaimed himself emperor, everyone with a discerning eye knows that as long as the king proclaims himself emperor, as the king's only younger brother, Zhang Shao will definitely be crowned king.
But now, Tian Feng has offended Zhang Shao, Duman, and Jushou in this way. It can be said that he has completely cut off his escape route. He really plans to become Zhang Chong's lone minister.
It can be said that Tian Feng really does not recognize his relatives.
Guo Tu also understood this, so he was just jealous but did not dare to learn.
A smart person like Guo Tu understands that if he wants to get along in the officialdom, he must build his own network of relationships. But like Tian Feng, who kicked away his only network of relationships, Guo Tu’s courage is so great. Pictures can't do it.
In Guo Tu's view, Tian Feng can gain the king's trust because of this lone minister now, but he will definitely be abandoned because of his lone minister in the future.
Guo Tu knows very well what politics is all about.
So, Guo Tu just watched quietly, watching Tian Feng become a sword for the king, and then looking for his own opportunity.
Over there, Tian Feng didn't know that Guo Tu had already approved his fate in his heart. The first thing he did when he took office as Sili Colonel was to drive straight to Gong County with his team and staff.
As soon as he arrived at the place, he began to thoroughly investigate Zhao Mo's case.
This case is actually not complicated, because the key evidence, that is, what the poison was and the source of the poison, was revealed upon interrogation to have been added by the village officials themselves.
The doctors who came down from the camp personally dissected Zhao Mo's intestines and stomach and found that it was not caused by aconitum. Then they repeatedly asked Zhao about Zhao Mo's condition at that time.
When he learned that Zhao Mo had eaten raw chicken, he developed nausea, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting that night, and he didn't die until the next day.
At that time, after combining these conditions, these doctors came to the following conclusion:
That is, Zhao Mo died from eating raw chicken. It was originally just a case of food poisoning, but because Zhao Mo had been tired all year round and was weak a few days ago, it was a time of vulnerability, so he could not survive it and died like this.
The final conclusion was unbelievable. Zhao Mo's mother could not accept this fact, but in the end Tian Feng settled the case according to this statement.
Among them, Ms. Zhao caused her husband's death due to unintentional negligence. Because she was ordered by Zhao Mo's mother to buy the chickens on credit, Ms. Zhao is not guilty.
Yin Shang, who had nothing to do with the case but was just implicated, was found not guilty and was immediately released and sent home.
In this way, within a few days, the poisoning and murder case that caused a commotion in the camp came to an end.
But the old brothers of Taishan Army are not satisfied with this result.
This dissatisfaction reached its peak especially when Liu Yuan's immediate boss Le Jin was ordered to reflect by the Ministry of Menxia.