Chapter 46: Riding a Tiger and Being Difficult to Dismount
"If the imperial court deposes an official improperly or a government order is inconvenient, then the right opinions will converge and everyone will be loyal to him. Although the power of thunder cannot be avoided." [Xichou Changshu]
Zhang Xi thought that by inciting his colleagues, he would be able to force the emperor to submit. Unexpectedly, the emperor solved the problem in just a few words and created a huge problem for Wang Yun.
If you want to be the Imperial Master, you have to face the dilemma of shrinking power. If you want to be the Imperial Master, but also want to firmly hold the power, you have to be willing to let the other Imperial Masters such as Ma Rixi and others share the power of assisting the government equally with them.
Just when Zhang Xi was in a dilemma and was trying to think of a way to excuse himself.
Wang Yun came to the rescue at the right time and said: "Your Majesty, I have low talents and poor morals, and it is really difficult for me to be qualified to be the emperor's teacher. Please choose another famous scholar to teach Shenggong. Sun Rui, the minister, has both virtue and talent, is calm and graceful, and I recommend him to you."
The emperor knew that Wang Yun planned to give the position of Imperial Master to the scholar Sun Rui, who was famous but not powerful, so that this important position of Shangshu Ling could be vacated for the Guandong scholars. Naturally, he could not let Wang Yun succeed: "The people you mentioned
There are merits in all of them. The matter is so big that I have to study it carefully and consider it carefully before issuing an edict. After today's court meeting, you can submit a letter to give your opinion, but I will put it aside for the time being and don't mention it again."
A crisis caused by Weiwei Zhang Xi was easily resolved with the cooperation of the emperor, Shi Sunrui and others. The situation was gradually brought under control, and the initiative of the court meeting began to be transferred to the emperor.
Wang Bin stood up at this time and said: "Your Majesty, the minister in charge of the Northern Army, Bin, is dead and has made a speech."
This call of 'Your Majesty', which can only be called by relatives of the emperor or senior ministers, shocked Chun Yujia who was watching. He knew that the emperor was going to fight back!
Wang Bin was the emperor's uncle. When he spoke aloud, the emperor's tone became much gentler. He did not ask Miao Si to inquire on his behalf, but said in person: "There is no harm in talking."
"I would like to impeach the guard Zhang Xi for improper employment and ineffective performance of his duties. The two palace guards and the left and right ministers under him have found nothing since they were ordered to search for thieves in the palace three days ago, which has made the palace uneasy. I would like to ask
The crime of dereliction of duty by the guards at the court meeting."
As soon as this statement came out, public opinion was in an uproar.
A few days ago, a group of newly recruited eunuchs from the private sector in Weiyang Palace broke the rules and stole royal objects. Although they were caught in time by the patrolling guards, one of them escaped and hid in the palace and has not been found.
This kind of news has only been heard by the ministers, but few people know the specific situation. After all, the royal family's face is involved, and the current situation is chaotic, so the Weiwei Mansion does not make too much publicity.
Wang Yun, who thought the emperor would make a big fuss about Cai Yong's case, suddenly became confused because he had heard about the thief in the palace from Zhang Xi, but Zhang Xi only said that everything was safe, so he didn't take it to heart.
, I didn’t expect that Zhang Xi was worried about things getting serious, so he treated him extremely perfunctorily.
At this moment, Wang Bin exposed him in the court, and the courtiers headed by Ma Rixi suddenly became furious.
"There is such a big thing as a thief in the palace. Why didn't you inform Zhongtai and the three palaces?" Yang Zan, the servant of the minister, said righteously: "Your Majesty, please punish the guard for concealing the crime of not avenging it!"
Soon, the new Shaofu Zhang Chang, the Chief Nong Zhou Zhong, the Minister Yang Qi, the Huangmen Minister She Jian and other court officials all accused Wei Wei Zhang Xi of being incompetent.
"Your Majesty, according to what the Lieutenant Commander of the Northern Army said, the thief in the palace has not been caught for three days. It can be seen that the officials in the Weiwei Mansion are useless in their work. They have really failed to fulfill their holy expectations. Please issue an order and discuss it strictly!" said the right person!
It was the servant Zhao Wen. He had been silent before just to wait until now. His words at this time undoubtedly represented the attitude of the former general Zhao Qian.
The insults came one after another like a flood to Zhang Xi.
The emperor coughed slightly from behind the curtain, and Miao Si immediately shouted: "No noise in the court, be quiet!"
After everyone was quiet for a while, the emperor looked at Zhang Xi for a long time with the eyes of a victor, and his voice deliberately remained calm: "Do you want to defend yourself, Wei Wei?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! The reason why I concealed this matter is entirely for the sake of the court's face! Just imagine, if this matter spread to the people, wouldn't it be laughed at by the people? I am sincere to Your Majesty, and I am deeply concerned that I failed to catch the thief in time.
I am so ashamed, and now I have been slandered by others, I really have no face to see Your Majesty!" Zhang Xi cried out in awe, placing his forehead on the back of his folded hands, but did not raise it for a long time.
The emperor seemed to agree with Zhang Xi's reason: "You are right. This matter interferes with the court's reputation and should not be made public. But a thief who has been unable to bring justice to justice for so many days has been hiding in the palace, making it difficult for me to sleep and eat well.
It is also a sin that you cannot shirk."
"Yes..." Zhang Xi was sweating profusely. Knowing that he had made a big mistake, he fell to the ground and said.
At this time, Sili Colonel Huang Wan responded promptly: "The catching of thieves is mainly the responsibility of the guards of the North and South palaces and the left and right princes under the guards. Now that the thieves cannot be caught, they will most likely be held accountable. Although the guards
It’s hard to escape the relationship, but the crime is excusable.”
Huang Wan, courtesy name Ziyan, was born in Anlu, Jiangxia. His ancestors had served in public affairs for generations. When it came to talent and learning, he was smart and eloquent, not inferior to Zhao Qi.
He had outstanding political achievements. When he was the governor of Yuzhou, he once put down thieves. His prestige was better than that of the scholars Sun Rui, Ma Rixi and others. He could be said to be a very important official in the court and a famous official with great reputation among the scholars in Kanto and Kansai.
The Sili Xiaowei, formerly known as Crouching Tiger, supervises all counties under the Sili, including the three officials and below. He is responsible for correcting everything and can participate in the administration of justice. He is known as a majestic position.
Therefore, the emperor did not dare to underestimate Huang Wan's words. In addition, he intended to divide Wang Yun's power and knew that Wang Yun was not a monolithic person, so he took it very seriously: "In Huang Gong's opinion, how should this matter be concluded?"
"I believe that the current imperial edict orders everyone in the Weiwei Mansion to arrest him within a time limit, so as to ensure success."
The emperor was naturally not happy to let Zhang Xi go just like that. What was the purpose of his going through so much trouble to use the topic? Didn't he want to use Zhang Xi to draw out Cai Yong's case? Since Zhang Xi committed deceiving the emperor, he could be forgiven for his dereliction of duty.
, then Cai Yong just sympathized with Dong Zhuo, so why did he die? He kicked the matter to Tingwei: "What did Tingwei think?"
After saying this, the emperor looked at one of the nine ministers. The emperor didn't know what Tingwei looked like, but he knew what clothes Tingwei wore.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, it was customary to use crowns, embroidery and ribbons to distinguish the rank and function of officials. The popular saying is Wen Xuanwu Fei. Most civil servants wear Jinxian crowns and black court uniforms, and their ranks are distinguished by the number of beams on their crowns. Military attachés wear Wu Bian.
crown, and wear scarlet court clothes.
What is more special is that the servants wear Diao Chan crowns, the musicians who ring the bells next to the palace wear Jianhua crowns, the palace doormen and servants wear magpie tail crowns, and the guards wear enemy crowns.
Law enforcement officers responsible for justice and supervision, such as censors and court lieutenants, all wear Haizhi crowns. This crown is also called a legal crown. It is five inches high and looks like a Haechi horn, making it easy to identify.
The name of the Tingwei was Xuanfan. He was originally a low-ranking official in the court, but he was appreciated by Dong Zhuo. He replaced Yuan Shao, who had fled with his seal, and became the Sili school captain. When the capital was moved to Chang'an, under Dong Zhuo's instruction, he wrote a letter
He dismissed Situ Yang Biao and others who opposed the move of the capital because of the disaster. Later, he was appointed Guang Luxun. He worshiped Dong Zhuo as his grand master and was deeply close to him.
When Wang Yun executed Dong, Xuanfan did not know what means he used. Not only did he avoid being implicated, but he was also able to participate in a series of major events such as the case of Dong's execution and the case of Cai Yong.
Yesterday, the servant Zhao Wen was ordered to transfer Cai Yong to the Huangmen North Temple Prison. Xuanfan pretended to be righteous, but in fact, he relied on Wang Yun's power to block the prison door, causing trouble for Zhao Wen and the emperor.
Wu Guang. Faced with the emperor's question at this time, he replied naturally: "Sili's words are very reasonable, and Chen Fan agrees."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Wen answered unceremoniously: "It's ridiculous! The guard's dereliction of duty and negligence are unforgivable. Can it be settled with just a warning? Then Cai Zhonglang only had to sigh after hearing Dong Zhuo's death.
On the basis of party members
The crime must be punished with severe punishment. The severity of the sentence depends entirely on the words of the court official. Where is the Han law? Your Majesty, I want to impeach the court official Xuanfan for shielding party members, using public motives for private purposes, and yesterday obstructing the minister from obeying the imperial edict. There is no purpose.
The crime of the imperial court!"
"That's true. Guard Zhang Xi neglected his duties and neglected his duties. If he only received a light sentence, then why did Cai Zhonglang die? Someone clearly took the opportunity to frame an enemy and avenge a personal grudge." Wang Bin took the opportunity to agree: "I ask your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation.
!”
Seeing that the situation was out of control, the courtiers were eager to try to win a chance for Cai Yong. Wang Yun said urgently: "Cai Yong attached to Dong Zhuo, he has no loyalty, his behavior is treason, and he cannot uphold the law of the country unless it is a serious crime. But the Weiwei is only for a short time.
If he makes a mistake, allowing him to take advantage of his crime and perform meritorious service can truly demonstrate the court's forgiving heart. How can the two be confused?"
Former general Zhao Qian spoke at this time: "When Dong Zhuo was here, who among the ministers in the court could not bear the humiliation and humiliation, and humiliated themselves to emulate the king and be brave and angry. Don't say that Cai Zhonglang was forced by power to bend down and serve Dong. Even you, Situ, didn't do it in the first place.
He was also a guest at Dong Zhuo's house.
Love each other and respect each other? Has Situ ever thought that if he really pursues the case on the grounds of Fu, half of the people in the imperial court today will have to be imprisoned for their crimes. And on the day Dong Zhuo was killed, a pardon edict was sent to the capital, and everyone was pardoned.
Why not pardon Cai Zhonglang?"
"What the former general said is true!" Taiwei Ma Rixi followed up and said: "I think that Wang Situ has selfish motives and violates the national law. Tingwei Xuanfan's punishment has no basis and is arbitrary. We really cannot let him be responsible for this case.
Cai Yong should be temporarily transferred to Beisi Prison, and another minister should be selected to handle the matter."
The situation was fierce, and Wang Yun, who had always been strong, had nothing to say for a while. He was very passive at this time. Even Huang Wan did not support him regarding Cai Yong, let alone other people who wanted to rescue Cai Yong to win.
A famous Kanto scholar.
Just when the emperor and others thought victory was in sight, and were making a concerted effort to rescue Cai Yong and knock down Wang Yun's generals Zhang Xi and Xuan Fan, a military intelligence report suddenly came from outside the palace. Wang Yun saw the opportunity to change the subject.
Let people enter the palace.
Wei Xuqi, the school lieutenant who accompanied Lu Bu to send troops to Hongnong to attack Niu Fu, entered the palace and loudly announced the victory: "General Fenwu defeated Niu Fu and Dong Yue's army in Shaanxi County, as well as his Hu Chi'er and other generals led more than a thousand remaining troops to surrender, and the rest fled.
, and obtained countless gold and treasures, the last general took the two heads to report the victory first, General Fenwu led the troops, and arrived in Chang'an in the afternoon. "
There was silence in the court for a while. Wang Yun suddenly blushed, his chest heaved and heaved, and he looked very excited. The attack on Niu Fu was planned by Wang Yun. Now that he had won the victory, he was greatly emboldened. There was Lu Bu's men and the powerful army of Bingzhou.
, coupled with the record that was enough to establish the situation in Guanzhong, Wang Yun's already loud voice was even more confident at this time.
"General Fenwu has made great achievements, and a generous reward is not enough to comfort the soldiers. Your Majesty, please also ask your ministers to discuss the reward!"