"Your Majesty, we haven't seen such a quarrel like this morning for a long time. We said that we will continue to discuss this matter tomorrow. Otherwise, you can issue an edict to reject this discussion and put things to rest." Tang Taicheng advised.
"They all want to make the matter bigger. Do you think my decree can calm things down?" Jiang Cong asked.
"That He Qizhou is the same, who do you think you are?" Tang Taicheng said angrily.
"This Zhezi was given together with Xie Enzhe. That kid is a smart man. He thought that I didn't dare to punish him immediately, so he just came out like this. Hehe, he didn't even look at who I was, even if he immediately chopped off his head.
, and how many people dare to say that I have betrayed you!"
"Your Majesty, calm down and be careful."
"Sigh, others may have ulterior motives for raising this issue, but there is no benefit to him raising it. It is indeed out of sincerity. Taicheng, are the people in the world really so miserable?" Jiang Cong felt inexplicably sad.
"As long as this victory is won, all problems will be solved." Tang Taicheng said with relief.
…
Prince Ning's Mansion, Zishi
"Go to bed early." Li Ruogu personally brought the midnight snack, while He Qizhou was still staring at the note copied by Wan Zhiyuan.
"Well, let me think about it alone. Brother Ruogu, let's go and rest first." He Qizhou had to rush to the Ministry of Punishment early tomorrow morning to hand in the second memorial. Due to the access control, he stayed overnight with Li Ruogu, who was also in the inner city.
"Okay, if you need anything, just talk to the guard on duty."
"Oh, thank you."
The secret files excerpted by Wan Zhiyuan were sent over quietly at night. The secret files of the two cases were found. He Qizhou read them carefully over and over again, trying to figure out the clues. In addition to proposing
Question after question, but still no conclusion can be reached for the time being.
Regarding the case of Wang Zhiyi, his father, brother and other relatives, a total of seven members of his family in Jizhong, were all killed by bandits who came to rob them. The three houses were also burned to the ground. After investigation, it was determined that it was the remnants of the Yan Gang, and the local armed forces
The Inspector captured two suspects, who were later executed as the real murderers. The reason why they were included in the secret files was because they were preparing to wipe out the Yan Gang at that time, and during the arrest process, the names of the agents of the Inspector Wu who were lurking in the Yan Gang appeared.
The reason why the Jiangling Prefecture murder case was classified as a secret file is even more far-fetched. It was simply because local officials were involved and they were afraid that it would be offensive to public morals.
The story of the case is: Not long after Ye Chang, whose ancestral home was in Jiangjun County, moved to Jiangling Fucheng with his wife and two concubines, his concubine had an affair with the local tongpeng, who was later discovered by Ye Chang. In desperation, the concubine killed all five members of the family.
Killing, not even sparing two children.
Because there was a lot of commotion, a neighbor found Tongpuan standing next to the deceased with a bloody knife from outside the wall. All other evidence also showed that Tongpang was responsible for the incident. In the end, Tongpang was sentenced to death. The strange thing is that the Tongpang was executed.
He only admitted to the crime of adultery, but did not confess to the crime of murder until his death.
The biggest gain He Qizhou got was: Ye Chang's parents were Ye Dacheng and his wife, who happened to be Ye Xu's adoptive parents. There was just one question that couldn't be avoided. All the files said that the Ye family in Jiangjun County was quite poor, and they still went there after losing all their land.
After becoming a tenant farmer, why was Ye Chang able to buy a mansion in Jiangling Mansion after his parents died? He even married two concubines?
Ye Chang is two years younger than Ye Xu, and the two obviously know each other. Why is it that Ye Chang is never among the family members Ye Xu confessed to?
Whose family did Ye Dacheng belong to as a tenant? None of the files in the archives mentioned that the Yang family was the largest landowner in Jiangjun County at that time. Could it be that he was a tenant of the Yang family? Was it really his adoptive father who recommended Ye Xu to study at the Huashan School?
Also, Wang Zhiyi's situation is very similar. How could a poor family live in a big house all of a sudden? Obviously, they couldn't buy such a big house with just 600 taels from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War. How did they become so rich?
Basically, it is certain that both families have been silenced. In other words, the people related to Wang Zhiyi and Ye Xu have been silenced! This also shows that their testimony is likely to be problematic!
But Wang Zhiyi and Liu Bozhou have the same caliber, so why does Liu Bozhou rise so high? Is it really because of his father's protection? The question is where to find evidence?
Thinking of this, He Qizhou hurriedly wrote a letter. Firstly, he wanted to ask about Hou's family, and secondly, he wanted to ask about the details of the Ye family and the circumstances of the case. Then he added a note, which of course was not an apology, but
It shows that the reduction of the prince's privileges is entirely his own intention and has nothing to do with Xu Qinghan!
After almost staying up all night, He Qizhou rushed to the Ministry of Justice early, handed in the memorial, and asked someone to hand over a letter from home. Next, he wanted to find an opportunity to visit his fellow villager, the Censor of Zuodu!
The next day, the court discussion on the reduction of vassalage became more intense, mostly with verbal and written criticism. Because Zhang Zhiyuan said that this reduction was similar to the national politics proposed by His Royal Highness, many people pointed their finger at the prince's faction; while Xu Qinghan
He did not change his original intention and tried his best to defend He Qizhou, but he was still the target of attacks. This made Zhang Zhiyuan shake his head repeatedly.
After half a day's discussion, there was no result. After discussion by Chen Yu, King Cheng and others, the chief official of the clan will be invited to attend the court meeting tomorrow.
On the third day, the court meeting continued. The three chief officials of the Zongren Department: Zongren Ling and his left and right Zongzheng were all present. The three were all hereditary princes of the first rank. In terms of seniority, the eighty-year-old Zongren Ling or Jiang Zongzheng were all present.
Cong's uncle. Although the three of them did not interfere much in political affairs, when they heard that the vassal was to be reduced, they were all furious. It is easy to imagine what they said.
He Qizhou's second memorial added fuel to the fire, and calls for severe punishment of the culprit suddenly became rampant!
The Chen family, who controlled half of the court, and the Xiao family, made speeches one after another, and memorials of impeachment and conviction flew to the cabinet like snowflakes.
Qingliu, headed by Xu Qinghan, began to launch a strong counterattack after two days of preparation, citing extensive evidence and enumerating the disadvantages of the proliferation of princes.
Seeing that the time was ripe, the prince's line also began to join the war group and expressed their support for Qingliu. However, they felt that He Qizhou's memorial was too radical and should not be implemented immediately.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate rarely spoke out. Although it showed a neutral attitude, it did not strongly oppose the memorial. It was obviously favoring the prince's line.
The Zhang family, represented by Zhang Zhiren, was basically silent. Although Zhang Zhiren supported this proposal, this spat would also cause many disadvantages to the Zhang family. Other senior officials in the family were also dissatisfied, so they did not join the fray.
On the third day, the court meeting still came to nothing. The "helpless" prince Jiang Shan had no choice but to ask his father to personally intervene and preside over the court meeting.
There was a mountain of memorials on the desk of the chief of the imperial study. Jiang Cong casually glanced at two books and stopped looking at them. He said: "Jiang Shan is here to blame again. He clearly wants to do something, but he doesn't dare to decide."
Tang Taicheng said: "The same goes for the cabinet. There are so many folds and you don't have a single opinion. You have to approve them personally. So why do you need them?"
Jiang Cong said: "Since they want to fight, fine, let's fight. I'll go and see what other tricks they can come up with tomorrow morning."
…
Imperial City, Zuodu Yushifu, Weishi
"Sir, Master He has been waiting for you for more than half an hour," the steward said.
"Oh, is it in the study? I'll go there right away." Liu Jin'an, who had just retired from the court, said.
The butler asked: "Don't you want to eat before you go?"
Liu Jinan asked: "Has He Qizhou eaten?"
The housekeeper said: "He said he came over after lunch as promised."
Liu Jinan walked quickly to the study and said, "Then I'll eat later."
"Master Liu, you are here." He Qizhou stood up to greet him.
Liu Jinan smiled and said: "My dear nephew, you don't have to be polite. Yesterday there were indeed too many things. Today I went to court early and left late today, which kept you waiting for a long time."
He Qizhou hurriedly said: "This official is taking the liberty."
Liu Jinan said in a harmonious voice: "My dear nephew, you don't have to be polite. I was promoted by the general, and I have a friendship with you, so just be casual here. Tell me, what do you want from me? Is it about this or that memorial?
?”
"Oh, then I'll call you Uncle Liu. I really want to tell you that the leak was really my fault and has nothing to do with anyone else. If there is any cause and effect, my nephew is willing to take full responsibility for it." He Qizhou said.
"You really have the same temper as the general. Alas, his thoughts were not much different from yours back then. It's a pity that our emperor is a benevolent and filial man, but he just doesn't want to change the ancestral law. It doesn't matter if you mention it now. Times have changed and we have to change it.
Changed. Not only must the shortcomings be seen in everything, but more importantly, someone must boldly speak out. No matter whether it is right or wrong, the channel of speech must not be blocked. This is what I said in the court today."
He Qizhou bowed and said, "Thank you, Uncle Liu, for speaking up."
"You, you really shouldn't come here at this time and let others have something to say. Fortunately, your rank is still low, at least there is no suspicion of collusion in private." Liu Jin'an said. It is taboo in officialdom for officials to walk around each other in private.
He Qizhou said: "Uncle Liu, when I come here this time, I have some questions I want to ask you."
"Oh? What about your adoptive father?" Liu Jinan asked.
"Well, I would like to ask about the investigation results of the Xifengkou reconnaissance error case back then." He Qizhou said.
Liu Jinan's expression changed, and after being silent for a while, he said, "The general's life changed because of that incident. Did you see something in the Privy Council?"
He Qizhou didn't want to hide it, so he said: "When I was delivering files for someone, I happened to see that you were one of the officials in charge of the Privy Council. Is Ye Xu still alive?"
"That's right. Speaking of which, in fact, this case is not over yet. Lord Zhang of the Privy Council has been paying attention to the case. He even came to interrogate Ye Xu two years ago. If you have read the files of the Privy Council, I don't have anything more to say.
Yes, there is the most detailed investigation process there." Liu Jin'an said.
"Then what's the result? Is it true that the three scouts lied about the military situation?" He Qizhou asked.
"It seems that Mr. Zhang really appreciates you!" After He Qizhou said this, Liu Jinan knew that the other party had read the complete file and said: "The three detectives in the relay are most likely to lie, but who is behind them?
, or in other words, who is behind the real liar has never been found, so the case has not been truly closed until now.”
"Can I see Ye Xu?" He Qizhou suddenly asked.
"This... I'm afraid this won't work," Liu Jin'an said.