Volume 1 The Swan Goose Chapter 3 The Secret Contest Between the Three Points (2)
While everyone was talking, it was past Mao hour. The officials were divided into two columns: civilian officials entered the city from the left gate, and military officers entered the city from the right gate.
After several crisp blasts of whips, the civil and military officials lined up in two groups on both sides of the royal road, waiting for each other. The censor walked over expressionlessly to roll call, staring at everyone carefully with eyes like an eagle, recording
An official with a bad appearance.
The Bell and Drum Department began to play music. The eunuchs held umbrellas and climbed up the Danqi from the east side and stood on the right side of the throne. The imperial guards and warriors held weapons and equipment and climbed up the Danqi from the west and stood on the left side of the throne.
Sitting on the gold-painted dragon chair is a tall and majestic figure - it is the emperor of the dynasty. Emperor Chongqing is wearing a bright yellow Kesi twelve-chapter robe. He is only forty-five years old, and he is born with dragon eyebrows and phoenixes.
Eyes, the heaven is full, not angry, self-powerful, with the appearance of a king!
The sound of the whip sounded again, and all the officials walked into the royal road under the command of the praise officer and kowtowed to the emperor as expected.
Immediately afterwards, a father-in-law in his fifties, with a big head and a fat body, wearing a dark-colored brocade robe, walked out with small steps, and shouted in a low voice: "If you have something to report, if nothing happens, leave the court!"
Before he finished speaking, he heard a "pop" sound, and a memorial was thrown into the middle of the hall. The whole hall fell silent for an instant!
The person who threw the memorial was none other than Emperor Yu. His sharp eyes swept across the Long Live Hall, and his deep, deep, emotionless voice immediately sounded in the empty hall: "I received a memorial today, saying:
Marquis Pingyang used memorials to seize farmland, bought residual salt to buy subsidies, opened private shops and other means to make huge profits. He acted unscrupulously and took away people's property..."
Having said this, Emperor Yu paused for a moment, and then said: "Dear ladies, please tell me, how should I handle this matter?"
His Highness's courtiers seemed to have known the contents of the memorial. There were disapproving looks on every face, and they were all thinking secretly: Marquis Pingyang is the brother of Concubine Lian, and is a family member of the emperor. Although his son Zhang Heng's official position is not high,
, but he managed the imperial army and had real power. However, Emperor Yu himself had always been unstable, and his thoughts were even more elusive.
If he comes forward to speak for Marquis Pingyang at this time, if the emperor really wants to kill his relatives in a righteous way, then he will be a treacherous minister who does not know what is right and wrong. Not only will the hair on his head be in danger, but his life may be in danger! If he stands up and impeaches Marquis Pingyang with harsh words, everything will happen.
After a few days, the emperor and his family reconciled, and he used his head to force the emperor to kill the family!
After thinking about it, everyone silently reached a consensus although there was no communication - it is safest for outsiders like them to be bystanders to the emperor's family affairs!
But at this moment, a tall figure walked out of the silent crowd and said righteously: "Your Majesty, I believe that Marquis Pingyang and his servants are acting tyrannically, disregarding human life, disregarding the king's laws, and insulting the face of the Tian family.
It is a heinous crime to let the people complain and complain! Your Majesty should severely punish the father and son in order to calm the people's anger!"
After hearing this, everyone took a deep breath, but when they saw clearly that the person standing out was Xia Yunqing, the chief minister who always tolerated disdain, they were not surprised.
The abbot, Liu Bingwen, gritted his teeth and glared at him, secretly hating: This old guy has indeed taken action! Without waiting for others to speak, he stepped out of the row and retorted: "Your Majesty! I believe that this memorial is to supervise the censor.
Deliberately framed, Your Majesty should not only not punish Pingyang Marquis, but also severely punish those who impeached him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Yunqing snorted coldly: "In order to enrich his own pockets, Marquis Pingyang not only forcibly occupied the people's fields, but also sent his men to massacre the entire village! Mr. Liu interceded for a villain who could do such evil things.
, instead of unjustly punishing the censor who justly enforced the law and risked his life to remonstrate, so unclear about right and wrong, confusing right and wrong, aren't you afraid of arousing public indignation!"
"It's full of nonsense!" After hearing this, Liu Bingwen retorted angrily: "Is Xia Shoufu's old eyesight dim? This memorial clearly states that those who beat people are slaves, and those who bully others are clansmen! Then this is what your Majesty deserves to be punished.
We are not Pingyang Hou and his son! Why are you targeting them?"
Xia Yunqing stared at him and asked in a deep voice: "May I ask Liu Shangshu, without the support of Marquis Pingyang, how many of those people who rely on human power would dare to do evil?"
"Your Majesty!" Liu Bingwen knew that he could not defeat him, so he knelt down in front of Emperor Yu with a "pop" and said sadly: "The Marquis of Pingyang is a relative of the emperor! His family has thousands of hectares of fertile land and countless gold and silver, how could he covet that mere thing?"
Why are you risking your life for having a hundred acres of fertile land? I hope Your Majesty will investigate this matter in detail and clear the name of father and son!"
When Xia Yunqing heard this, he immediately looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "Pingyang Marquis committed such a serious crime, and Master Liu is still making excuses. He even knows how much land he occupied and how much silver he embezzled. It seems that Master Liu and Pingyang
We have a lot of friendship with Hou! I just don’t know how much of the wealth Marquis Pingyang snatched from the people would be distributed to Mr. Liu, so that you can fight so hard for him?"
Liu Bingwen was furious, his eyes were as wide as copper bells, and his nose was crooked with anger. He turned his head to look at Wang Su, the Minister of Civil Service, who had remained silent, and kept winking, urging him to stand up and speak for him.
But Wang Su lowered his eyes and turned a blind eye to his look.
The emperor on the dragon throne held his chin up and watched them argue, neither stopping nor expressing his position. His face seemed to be smiling but not smiling, with an unpredictable expression.
Xia Yunqing, the chief assistant, looked at the officials beside him proudly, with a posture of "Whoever dares to stand up to refute, he will be destroyed directly"!
All the officials knew how serious this matter was, and they neither dared to speak up or argue with reason, but could only wait and see quietly.
Unexpectedly, a man suddenly walked out of the queue and said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Everyone looked at Gu Zhili, the humble minister of the Ministry of Justice, who was about fifty years old, with splayed eyebrows, apricot eyes, and a humble attitude in astonishment. They listened to him slowly say: "Wei Chen thinks that no one can make mistakes without being a sage! The Marquis of Pingyang must be an adulterer.
He was instigated and did something wrong in a moment of confusion. He really does not deserve to be severely punished! Wei Chen believes that after finding out the truth, he should be given a lighter sentence!"
Liu Bingwen squinted his eyes as he looked at this. Gu Zhili, the minister of punishment, who he rarely interacted with on weekdays, felt that he not only had some brains, but also had courage, and he couldn't help but feel good about him!
Xia Yunqing immediately pointed the finger at Gu Zhili: "I'm afraid Mr. Gu is old and his ears are not working well! There are so many pieces in this memorial, which one was committed in a moment of confusion?"
Gu Zhili was not annoyed, he just lowered his eyes and frowned and said: "Wei Chen thought that Marquis Pingyang was instigated by others and accidentally occupied other people's fields and accidentally injured people's lives. Why don't we fine him more silver and pay back to the people?"
To express comfort. After all, he is a relative of the emperor and an old man, so there is no need to be too harsh!"
Xia Yunqing suddenly smiled coldly and asked in a sinister manner: "The emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people when he breaks the law! A criminal who committed a heinous crime can be fined with just a few silver taels? Then tomorrow I will order someone to occupy your house and beat you to death.
I will give you some money to appease your relatives. What do you think, Mr. Gu?"
Gu Zhili was left speechless for a moment by the rebuttal, so he had to turn his head to look at the Minister of Rites.
Liu Bingwen understood immediately, glared at Xia Shoufu and shouted angrily: "Sir, Mr. You speak arrogantly and are arrogant, where do you put the majesty of the royal family?"
Immediately, he looked at Emperor Yu and said indignantly: "Your Majesty, Xia Shoufu is targeting Marquis Pingyang every word, and he cannot listen to even a single sentence of his explanation. From what I can see, Xia Shoufu must be resentful towards Marquis Pingyang and his son. It’s been a long time, I’m afraid this memorial was ordered by him!”
Xia Yunqing was not annoyed. He just gave him a look and said sternly: "What about the relatives of the emperor? So many dynasties in history have perished because there were mostly rotten trees like you in the temples as officials, so that the country turned into hills. Ruins, the common people are suffering from misery! Although the emperor is rich in the world, don’t forget: the people are the world! If in the end the people rebel and the emperor has no world, will we still have official positions?"
These words are very resounding. Xia Yunqing has always been known for his toughness. He is best at discussing freely and has no opponent! He always scolds one person or two! He often uses the most civilized way to scold his opponents. It’s bloody bloody!
All the officials present were pale, and even the arrogant and domineering Liu Bingwen was speechless. Emperor Yu had been listening quietly and said nothing. At this time, he actually let out an inaudible sigh and raised his hand. He rubbed his temples.
Eunuch Shuangxi on the side suddenly understood and immediately shouted at the top of his voice: "My lords, please stop arguing! The emperor is here and has made his own decision!"
Eunuch Shuangxi's words were very intimidating, and the Long Live Hall, which was bustling with people and arguing just now, fell silent in an instant. Xia Yunqing and Liu Bingwen also retreated to their seats, waiting for the emperor's decision.
Emperor Yu concentrated his attention for a moment, glanced around, and suddenly asked: "Where is King Yi?"
As soon as he said this, no one answered. Everyone looked around, but no one saw King Yi.
Eunuch Shuangxi bowed his head and reported cautiously: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness King Yi is suffering from wind and evil because he misses the Queen Mother Xiaokang too much. He has sent his subordinate Yan Rong to take leave."
Emperor Yu frowned slightly and said nothing, but he couldn't help but feel pity in his heart: Since the case of Guoqi Batian involved the royal family, he wanted to take the opportunity to let King Yi handle the matter. On the one hand, it could stop everyone from talking, on the other hand, You can also do a little test: if King Yi feels that this matter should be dealt with seriously, he will use this as an example in the future to find his fault and get rid of him; if King Yi speaks out to defend him, he can use this matter to punish him severely and suppress him.
But King Yi is not here today, so he can escape so easily.
"That's it for today! I'm a little tired. My dear friends, please leave first..." Emperor Yu suddenly felt upset, and there was a hint of tiredness in his voice.
Xia Yunqing was startled, knowing that this was Emperor Yu's intention to hide. Just as he was about to stop him at the exit, he heard the officials of Honglu Temple outside the palace finishing their singing and the imperial guard blowing his whip.
In the blink of an eye, Emperor Yu had stood up from the dragon chair, and was accompanied by Eunuch Shuangxi to retreat to the back hall. Other officials in the hall also took the opportunity to leave quickly, for fear of causing another incident to implicate themselves. The head of state, Liu Bingwen, looked smug and walked out arrogantly. Xia Yunqing walked past and couldn't help but let out a proud snort.
Xia Yunqing ignored his arrogance, only sighed heavily and shook his head in disappointment.
Only Man Tingfang, Minister of the Ministry of War, looked around and saw that the people had almost dispersed, so he came over and comforted her warmly: "That's it for today, Mr. Xia! It concerns the royal family, and the emperor is also in trouble. If you are poor now,
If you persist in pursuing him, you will definitely make Long Yan furious. Go back and think of other solutions first. Your Majesty is wise, and you will make a decision on this matter sooner or later!"
Xia Yunqing's eyes were full of pain, and he sighed deeply: "I'm afraid that if this matter is delayed any longer, it will turn into a big thing and a trivial thing like usual!" As he said that, he raised his head and looked at the golden dragon chair, feeling helpless.
He turned around and left.
Everyone in the civil and military dynasties had their own positions and goals, so they thought that Xia Yunqing was so competitive just for fame and fortune. But he was clear in his heart - everything he said and did was for the people, for Beiyu, and for the world! This chapter has been completed!