"If you order someone to banish you and then do it inappropriately, the person who banishes you will not do anything wrong. If you want to order someone to punish you, you must first be lenient." [Book of Han Dynasty, Chapter 5 of Emperor Jing]
At sunset, Chang'an's palaces, official residences, and ordinary people's residences are all covered in a brilliant sunset.
Since Dong Zhuo moved westward, apart from the addition of an additional supreme leader and a group of ministers, Chang'an has not added any other buildings, nor has it brought the prosperity that it should have after becoming a national capital.
Several repeated Qiang and Hu rebellions turned the hinterland of the empire such as Chang'an and Sanfu into a war-torn border. In the setting sun, the dilapidated and old palaces, wide and deserted streets, and neatly scattered residences looked very desolate and empty.
When the summer heat subsided and the evening breeze cooled slightly, Tingwei Zhengfayan sat under the verandah to enjoy the cool air.
He is a junior official, but recently he has been deeply involved in the vortex of the political struggle and has been unable to extricate himself.
Yesterday, he was still a little-known Ting Wei Zuo Jian, but for some reason, he immediately replaced Zhong Yao, the Huangmen servant who also served as Ting Wei Zheng.
of trial.
Everyone in the court knew that Tingwei Xuanfan had repeatedly violated the holy will, and the emperor was extremely unhappy. However, Wang Yun was the guarantee and could not remove him for the time being.
His sudden rise in the Tingwei Mansion was undoubtedly a deliberate arrangement by the emperor in order to weaken Xuanfan's power. Fa Yan was both frightened and uneasy.
Wang Yun dared to do what others couldn't do and resolutely killed Dong. Fa Yan admired him very much. Cai Yong had both political integrity and talent, and was an outstanding scholar. His fate also made Fa Yan extremely regretful. This made Fa Yan feel embarrassed and didn't know what to do.
What to do.
"Eh..." He looked at the red sun floating above the city wall in the distance and sighed leisurely.
"What is Aweng worried about?" his son Fazheng asked as he walked to the corridor.
Fa Yan smiled bitterly and said: "I'm just not talented, but I didn't expect to be favored by the emperor and given an important task. I really don't know how to repay him."
"What's the difficulty? Just handle it impartially." Fazheng replied without hesitation.
"Doing things impartially? It's easier said than done." Fa Yan was afraid that he would not understand the key points, so he took the initiative to explain: "Your Majesty appointed me as Ting Wei Zheng, and asked me to try the cases of Cai Zhonglang and Zhang Weiwei together with Xuan Ting Wei and Zhao Shizhong. If
Adhering to the national law, he failed to detect the thief and failed to arrest him afterwards. He is deemed to be incompetent for his job and should be dismissed from his post, starting from the officer down. In addition, this matter involves His Majesty, Zhang Xi will be punished with an additional penalty."
Fazheng knew that his father studied the law carefully, so he kept nodding and said: "What about Cai Zhonglang?"
"At the beginning, General Liang Ji was domineering, and all the three princes in the court followed him. Later, the Liang family was executed. Taiwei Hu Guang, Situ Hanyan, Sikong Sunlang and other princes all punished Fu for his crimes." Fa Yan sighed:
"It's just that at that time, the Liang family was tyrannical in the court, held great power, and killed the filial emperor, just like Dong Zhuo. Hu Gong and others were forced by power and had no way to defend themselves. How could they stand in the court without committing themselves to Fu? If they didn't stand in the court,
How can we protect the country from this?"
"This sounds very similar to Prince Situ and Duke Sun, the minister," said Fazheng.
Fa Yan glanced at his son and said slowly: "It's just that they didn't dare to resist like Wang Situ, and even killed the traitorous ministers. This is why Nai Weng and I admire Situ."
"Then, after Emperor Xiaohuan killed the Liang family, how did he deal with Hu Gong and others who attached themselves to the Liang family out of temporary expediency?" Fa Zheng added: "Logically, Cai Zhonglang should be like Hu Gong and others.
, punished with the same crime, right?”
"They were sentenced to the crime of being a party member, deprived of their rank and salary, reduced to one level of death penalty, and exempted from becoming common people."
Fa Zheng said: "This is a precedent to follow. It is a judgment according to the law, and there is a precedent from Hu Gong and others. If Aweng is judged like this, no one can say anything."
Unexpectedly, Fa Yan shook his head and said: "It's as easy as you said. Precedent is precedent, but now the situation is very different! In Wang Situ's eyes, Cai Zhonglang must die, and he has revealed his murderous intentions for him more than once. If I
How can we satisfy Situ by mitigating Cai Zhonglang's crime? His Majesty, Taiwei Ma Gong and others all want to pardon Cai Zhonglang, and there have been many debates about this in the court. Nai Weng, I was promoted to Tingweizheng this time, and it seemed that I was going to
There is an unrelated person between Xuan Tingwei and Zhao Shizhong. In fact, my every move is watched by countless people. It can be said that I am in a quagmire and it is difficult to move."
Fa Zheng didn't understand that his father didn't want to offend either side, but he also didn't want to get into trouble. He was smart and astute, and through his daily chats with Fa Yan, he had a deep understanding of the political situation.
At this time, as the son of a man, he could not express his thoughts directly, so he could only say tactfully: "Excuse me, Aweng, what is the outcome of the case of Wei Wei and Cai Zhonglang? Is fighting for these things beneficial to farming and war? Is it beneficial?
To revive the Han Dynasty?"
These words were beyond Fa Yan's expectation, and he was a little annoyed: "Statement of the law can restrain people's hearts and stabilize the country. Officials know the law, so they can discuss matters in their posts, shepherd and guard the people, and generals know the law, so they can make soldiers obey their orders. What is that?
Useless?"
Fa Zheng sighed: "But since Emperor Xiaohe, eunuchs and relatives have come to power one after another. The noble ministers are obsessed with fame and fortune, either criticizing the eunuchs or flattering their relatives. How many of them really care about current affairs? Now the imperial court is weak and the common people are homeless.
, the war in Guandong continues. At this time, if we do not clarify the law and revitalize the rules and disciplines, it will not take a few years, and I am afraid that the country will not be safe."
Fortunately, the servants on the left and right had already retreated. Fa Yan looked around first, feeling a little calmer, and then shouted: "Shuzi! You dare to talk about state affairs after only a few days of reading. You are going to bring disaster to my family."
?”
Fazheng knelt down and said hurriedly: "Ah Weng! Now there is no way out in front of you. It is absolutely impossible to turn around in Cai Zhonglang's case without offending others. Or we must obey Situ and sentence Cai Zhonglang."
Either die, or obey Zhao Shizhong and follow the precedent of Hu Gong and others, reduce the death penalty to one level, and avoid being a commoner."
"In my son's opinion, Wang Situ enforces the law with personal grudges and cannot listen to the good advice of others. He has disobeyed His Majesty several times and will be defeated in a matter of days! Since Aweng was promoted by Your Majesty, why not repay His Majesty's service and save Cai Zhonglang?" Fa Zheng said.
Fa Yan was speechless and continued: "As long as Aweng is willing, then among the three chief officials responsible for the interrogation this time, Zhao Shizhong and Aweng are both inclined to clemency. No matter how strong Tingwei is, he will never be willing to take the risk."
Bu Lei. This neither loses the original intention of Aweng Mingfa nor the emperor's heart. It is a good idea that kills two birds with one stone."
Fa Yan always knew that his son was very smart, but he still didn't expect that he could think so far-sighted. While he was ashamed, he was also secretly proud of himself. But in front of his son, he still had to show a calm and calm look: "You
There is some truth in what he said, but we, the Fufeng Legalists, are no better than the Yang family of Hongnong or the Yuan family of Runan. The rise and fall of our family depends on us, so we have to be extremely cautious in everything we do."
"Son, please obey the teachings." Fazheng bowed his hands to express his acceptance.
Fa Yan nodded and stood up again: "You are reading at home. I will go to your Uncle Lu to discuss it. He has been serving at the Shangshutai all year round, so we can get some news from him."
As soon as he made up his mind, Cangtou came to tell him that Lu Chong, the minister Zuocheng, was visiting. Fayan was overjoyed and hurriedly went to meet him. Lu Chong was originally the minister of 200 shi, and the emperor ordered to take back the right to approve memorials. In order to
To ensure that the memorial can be delivered according to the rules, in addition to letting his cousin Wang Duan serve as the commander of the carriage to collect memorials at Beigong Gate, he also asked Sun Rui, the Shangshu Lingshi, to recommend one of his own to serve as Shangshu Zuocheng.
Sun Rui, a scholar who had always admired Lu Chong's talent, got the opportunity and made Lu Chong the minister Zuocheng, in charge of the official affairs and civil affairs, the history of Zou Bo, and the general code of Taichung.