"Anyone who is a Confucian can establish himself. It is a clumsy time." [Ji Congshu]
Yang Zhong knew clearly in his heart that no matter whether Xuanfan was plotting behind the scenes or not, as long as he poured this basin of dirty water on Xuanfan, he would not be able to wash himself away, and even Wang Yun, who had tried to protect Xuanfan in the first place, would be punished.
implicated.
Once this happens, Wang Yun's reputation will plummet if he follows the advice, and in serious cases, he will be imprisoned for questioning.
This was a plan to criticize Wang Yun, led by the Hongnong Yang family, following the Guanxi noble clan Ma Rixi.
But for the emperor, now is not the most appropriate time to depose Wang Yun, because he still needs to use Wang Yun to continue to hang Ma Rixi and others.
Only in this way will they wholeheartedly stand by the emperor's side and contribute to the emperor. Until they give up excessive demand for benefits from the emperor and willingly accept the emperor's distribution of court power, Wang Yun will completely lose the value of his existence.
Wang Yun's downfall is the general trend, and what matters now is who can't stand it first, whoever steps forward to overthrow Wang Yun first, will lose the opportunity to take advantage and negotiate terms.
Naturally, the emperor does not need to worry about this problem, because he knows that a big event will happen in a few days, and that is the opportunity that the emperor is waiting for!
At this time, he did not want to follow Yang Zhong's words and blame Xuanfan and Wang Yun.
Liu Ai happened to come with the imperial edict at this time. After Yang Zhong repeated what he had just said to Liu Ai, the emperor said: "Have you ever seen Tian Jing and a man named Qingniujiao in Dong Zhuo's house before?
Close contact?"
"I have been in Dong Zhuo's shogunate for three years and have never heard of such a person." Liu Ai pondered for a while and then carefully considered: "Based on the confession of the thief leader Sun Qing, it is nothing more than Qing Niujiao secretly conspiring with one person to jointly eat the thief.
Niu Fu's remnant soldiers are plotting a rebellion in the busy city. The whereabouts of Qing Niujiao are currently unknown, but based on the defense of Chang'an Pass in the past few days, coupled with his deceitful personality, he must still be lurking in the city at this time, waiting for another opportunity."
"The Qing Niu Jiao mentioned by Sun Qing is indeed an extraordinary person, with a changeable mind and far-sightedness. At this moment, Chang'an is on guard everywhere, and it is extremely difficult to get out of the city." Yang Zhong interjected from the side: "If Qing Niu Jiao is really what the servant said,
"Yan, Shang is still in the city, and I think he should seek temporary shelter in that man's house. After all, the two of them are complicit, and they will never sit idly by and watch Qingniujiao."
"What do you think?" the emperor asked, raising his eyebrows.
"You can ask Sun Qing to describe the shape and form of the green ox horn orally and draw it on a map. First, he can go to the palaces of the imperial ministers who were originally Dong Zhuo's subordinates to investigate one by one. Since they are the remaining members of Dong Zhuo's army, they are the only ones who are qualified to find out about His Majesty's whereabouts. No need to do so.
It will take a long time to find out who is behind the scenes." Yang Zhong seems to be motivated by public motives, but in fact he is still pursuing his own small calculations; "I think that regardless of whether Tingwei Xuanfan has anything to do with this matter, he should go to court to avoid suspicion and should not be involved in this case.
, to show fairness.”
The emperor had already stated in advance that he would not extend the matter to Wang Yun without real evidence, so Yang Zhong mentioned the matter in person and hinted at Xuanfan's suspicion. He was just telling Liu Ai.
Liu Ai has a close relationship with Wang Yun. It would be best if he could get any clues from his mouth for Yang Zhong to use. If not, he could also use Liu Ai's mouth to inform Wang Yun, considering Wang Yun's political quirks and his treatment of Zhang Xi.
As a precedent, Tingwei Xuanfan might be another abandoned son.
Once this matter becomes serious, whether Wang Yun gives up on Xuanfan or tries to protect it, it will cause certain damage to Wang Yun's reputation. By that time, public opinion is fierce, and even if the emperor has no intention of doing so, he cannot take it lightly.
The emperor did not answer, and signaled Liu Ai to say: "Your Majesty, I thought this matter should not be made public. Now Li Jue, Guo Si and others have gathered in Shaanxi County with 40,000 people. They are not people who sit back and wait for death. They are too late to see the court.
The pardon edict has not been issued for a long time, so it is inevitable that he will not take risks and cause disaster. In addition, the generals of Liangzhou in Guanzhong and the rest of Dong Zhuo's troops in the DPRK are unstable due to the recent rumors of "killing all the people in Liangzhou". At this time, another prison will be launched.
Going through the government one by one, doesn't it show that the imperial court does not trust him? If someone else instigates him, there will be chaos in Guanzhong in response to Li Jue, and the imperial court will also be cut off from Liangzhou. This is something that cannot be done."
"You are right." The emperor was silent for a long time, stood up from the couch, put his hands behind his back, walked around, and said slowly: "This matter is of great importance, and it is at an extraordinary time. We cannot make the city full of trouble and people
Everyone knows. So this matter can only be known to the investigators, you and me. If the matter spreads to other people’s ears, don’t blame me for being indifferent."
Yang Zhong and Liu Ai both looked at each other and bowed in admiration.
Compared with Yang Zhong's unwillingness, Liu Ai breathed a sigh of relief. The emperor did not want to pursue the matter further. Although the situation was mostly due to the need to stabilize the situation, it was undeniable that he had great influence on Wang Yun.
With a hint of protection, it seems that Wang Yun still has a certain weight in the emperor's heart, and the struggle between the two may not need to go to the point of life and death.
"Yang Zhong, please take my advice to go to the Tingwei Mansion and inform Xuanfan and Fa Yan." The emperor pointed out and set the tone of the case: "You will report it today and say that these thieves are remnants of the Yellow Turbans."
, colluded with the rebels and bandits, and intended to rob the citizens of Chang'an. They accidentally encountered me incognito and that's why the assassination happened. No one secretly informed me of my whereabouts, and no plan was set in advance. You discussed it privately.
Okay, don’t say the wrong thing.”
If Yang Zhong knows that the matter is settled, and what Liu Ai just said is reasonable, expanding the matter at this time will indeed push the Liangzhou people who are leaning toward the imperial court into Li Jue's camp.
After thinking about it clearly, Yang Zhong hid it in his heart and took it out when the time was right. Then it might be the last straw that broke Wang Yun's mind.
"Since you have been convicted, I will choose a time to execute these thieves. As for the green horns, I will let Jing Zhaoyin and others investigate secretly, so you should keep quiet."
The emperor made a decision and said that the assassination case was caused by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans accidentally. However, he could not give a reasonable explanation as to why the Yellow Turbans did not go to Dongxi City and instead went to Beihuanli to rob the citizens. Everyone in the court
In my heart, I was doubtful about the contents of the memorial jointly signed by Tingwei Xuanfan, Ye Zongpushe Yang Zhong, and Tingwei Zhengfayan.
At this time, according to Wang Yun's personality, when he saw such an ambiguous memorial, he would have to give advice at least, such as scolding Fa Yan, who was in charge of the trial, or even if it was not possible, he would have to use moral principles to persuade the emperor to restrain his whereabouts.
.
However, Wang Yun remained silent. Perhaps it was Liu Ai who came over to have a long talk with him that day, or perhaps it was because of the events in Shaanxi County that made Situ Lu Shangshu anxious and unable to distract himself.