Now, someone is trying to impeach Dang Renhong while he is back in Beijing to report on his duties, and the evidence is messy and insufficient. It is obviously done in a hurry.
There is no point in asking who submitted this evidence, because there must be someone behind it.
The crux of the problem is: Emperor Taizong knew that he was corrupt and committed evil crimes but did not pursue them. Is it possible that he still wants His Majesty to overturn Emperor Taizong's will and bring Dang Renhong to justice?
If that is true, it means that His Majesty has corrected Emperor Taizong's governance. This is a huge event, and it is very likely to cause shock to the government and the public, and the situation will be unstable...
Of course, maybe this is the real intention of the person behind it?
The water became muddy and some fish ran away.
Dai Zhou thought for a long time and slowly exhaled: "Put these things in order. I will take them into the palace later and present them to Your Majesty."
No matter who is behind the scenes, he doesn't have to pay attention to it. He has been the minister of Dali Temple for half his life. He only knows how to enforce the law impartially and ignores the disputes in the court. As long as the evidence of Dang Renhong's crime is conclusive, he will act in accordance with the law.
This is the foundation of his life and the way he conducts himself in the world.
…
Li Chengqian read the documents one by one and was silent for a long time. Then he sighed and said, "Ai Qing has given me a difficult problem."
Dai Zhou respectfully said: "Your Majesty does not need to make a decision on this matter. The reason why I brought these documents into the palace is just to let Your Majesty know about this matter, so that if someone messes around, he can respond promptly and correctly."
Although he is not a critic like Wei Zheng, nor does he intend to make a so-called "strong order", but the most basic principles cannot be blasphemed. Dang Renhong is guilty, and the crime is extremely heinous. This is absolutely true, so what happens next
It was Dali Temple that promoted the trial, and it would not change because of Li Chengqian's opinions.
In his case, the emperor could not influence judicial decisions, not even Emperor Taizong, let alone Li Chengqian?
Li Chengqian was speechless for a moment. How come there were so many tough ministers in the court, and they didn't give him any dignity as the emperor?
Liu Xiangdao said the same, and so did Dai Zhou.
I really don’t know whether to laugh or be angry...
After thinking about it, he hesitated and said: "Dang Renhong... is different from others after all. When Emperor Taizong was there, he was grateful for his loyalty and pardoned his crimes several times. Now that Emperor Taizong is not here, I pardoned him not long after he ascended the throne."
If the guilty minister punishes me, do you know how the people of the world will talk about me?"
There was Feng Deyi in the past, and now Dang Renhong. Once these two people discuss crimes, the impact on Emperor Taizong's reputation is secondary. The most serious thing is that he, the emperor, will inevitably bear the name of "rebellious", and his "disloyalty and unfilial piety" will cause trouble in the world.
There was a lot of discussion.
Although he was under great pressure because of Emperor Taizong's wise and mighty achievements, he did not want to bear the reputation of being "unfaithful and unfilial". First, Feng Deyi, who was recognized as a hero by Emperor Taizong during the Zhenguan Dynasty, was found out, and then Emperor Taizong
He was convicted of the hero Dang Renhong who he tried so hard to protect. In the eyes of others, he was planning to completely deny Emperor Taizong's achievements...
Dai Zhou was unmoved: "The evidence of Dang Renhong's crime is conclusive, and the witnesses and material evidence are complete."
Li Chengqian had two big heads and a headache. Now he finally realized how Emperor Taizong felt when he wanted to crush Wei Zheng to ashes but could do nothing about it.
The empire needs such dissatisfied ministers who stick to their principles. Otherwise, if everyone in the court is slanderous and flattering, and those who follow the wind will be ruined, the country will be in turmoil. And if there are too many such dissatisfied ministers, it will also seriously damage the emperor's authority.
You can’t hit me, you can’t scold me, so what can you do?
But he had to protect Dang Renhong.
Who is Dang Renhong? He is a member of Feng Yi from Tongzhou, a brave general in the Sui Dynasty. When Emperor Gaozu started his army, he took two thousand soldiers and horses to defect and made great contributions to the founding of the Tang Dynasty. He fought with Emperor Taizong for a long time.
The eldest son died in the battle of Xue Ju. At that time, he was ambushed by mistake. Xue Ju's arrows were the first to penetrate Dang Renhong's eldest son. There were more than a dozen arrow shafts covering his body. Dang Renhong lay on his son's body and used his tongue to
He licked the blood from his son's face, turned around, mounted his horse, and went to kill him again.
In the fifth year of Wude, at the gate of Luoyang City, Emperor Taizong led his army to fight Wang Shichong. Dang Renhong's second son was pierced in the chest with a spear and was dying. Dang Renhong carried him to Emperor Taizong without saying a word, but turned around with red eyes to continue.
rush ahead.
Later, Dang Renhong served as the governor of Nanning Prefecture, the governor of Rong Prefecture, the military commander of Douzhou Daozhou, and the governor of Guangzhou. During this period, he was corrupt and guilty of serious crimes. The censor impeached him several times, but he was pardoned by Emperor Taizong.
, Emperor Taizong once said to people, such a loyal minister who ruined his family and the country, although his sins were serious, how could he bear to be punished?
A founding hero who was pardoned many times by Emperor Taizong was convicted and even possibly sentenced to death in the hands of Li Chengqian. How does this make the world think of Li Chengqian?
He asked helplessly: "If it is a crime, what punishment should be given?"
Dai Zhou shook his head and said: "The current evidence was revealed by someone. Although most of it was initially verified to be true by Dali Temple, it is inevitable that there are elements of false accusations and slander. It needs to be interrogated and cooperated with Dang Renhong's confession.
The verdict will be final. Therefore, I dare not speak falsely."
He knew His Majesty's thoughts, and he was thinking of asking for a lighter sentence for Dang Renhong no matter what crime he was convicted of, so he did not reveal any of it.
In his opinion, the emperor cannot abolish the public affairs for private reasons. There is no distinction between public and private affairs. If he can change the law casually, it is his dereliction of duty as the minister of Dali Temple.
Li Chengqian could only say: "The trial must be clear, and all evidence must be strictly verified. There must be no ambiguity. Otherwise, it will chill the hearts of the heroes and cause turmoil in the society."
Dai Zhou nodded and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. This is a serious matter. How dare I be negligent? If there is any inaccuracy, please punish me."
"Okay, you go back to Haosheng to verify the evidence for now."
Li Chengqian rubbed his head, feeling his temples twitching and having a splitting headache.
Dai Zhou asked: "Then I will put Dang Renhong on trial immediately."
"go Go."
Li Chengqian waved his hand, one or two, no one was worried, they all gave him problems. Fortunately, Wei Zheng was dead. I really don’t know how Emperor Taizong dealt with these ministers in the past. No wonder Emperor Taizong kept coming from time to time in the late years of Zhenguan.
I have a splitting headache, probably because I am so angry at this gang of bullies...
Dai Zhou resigned.
The chamberlain on the side saw His Majesty rubbing his temples and looking a little in pain. He hurriedly stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty is not feeling well? Do you want to call the imperial doctor?"
Li Chengqian waved his hand and said: "No, I haven't had enough sleep these days. Just take a rest. Go to Xuanwu Gate to see if Duke Yue is there. If he is, call him into the palace. I have something to discuss."
"Here."
The chamberlain quickly retreated and sent someone to Xuanwu Gate to see if Fang Jun was training troops there.
Li Chengqian calmed down for a while, and the headache symptoms were greatly reduced. Then he took a long breath, stood up and paced back and forth in the imperial study, thinking about how to deal with it. First, Feng Deyi, and then Dang Renhong, for these two
He doesn't have much personal feelings, so he only needs to be punished according to the law, but the current situation is that once these two people are convicted, it will not only affect Emperor Taizong's reputation, but also make him, the new emperor, criticized.
Weighing the pros and cons, it’s really hard to choose.
The small joy when Yushitai insisted on impeaching Feng Deyi has now disappeared, and is replaced only by dismay.
It’s not easy to be an emperor…
After a long while, Fang Jun came quickly, saluted and asked: "Your Majesty has called me urgently, what is the important matter?"
Li Chengqian invited Fang Jun to his seat, asked the waiter to serve him tea, and then told him about Dang Renhong's corruption. At the end, he sighed: "When Emperor Taizong was here, he tried to protect Dang Renhong several times. Now that Emperor Taizong has passed away, I am the emperor." Although I am in power, I have to bring Dang Renhong to justice. I am ashamed of myself to Emperor Taizong! Is there anything Erlang can do about this matter?"
Among the various evidences brought by Dai Zhou, corruption is only part of the charge. In fact, the amount of corruption must be several times that shown by the evidence. But if this is the only one, it doesn't matter. Order him to return the stolen money, and then punish him ruthlessly. A fine will reduce the guilt.
However, there are also those who privately monopolize many industries, first forcing merchants to go bankrupt with low prices, and then raising prices to make huge profits. They even organize young men to smash the market, bully merchants, and cost countless lives. What's more, some even colluded with Gaozhou The repeated conflicts between the general manager Feng An led to turmoil in the Lingnan area and unstable public sentiment. These are all serious crimes of beheading.
Fang Jun thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is afraid that there is nothing you can do about Dang Renhong's matter."
Although Li Chengqian knew it would be difficult to handle, when he heard Fang Jun's affirmation, he frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Erlang?"
Fang Jun arrived eagerly and was a little thirsty. He took a sip of tea and analyzed: "Your Majesty clearly knows that Dang Renhong has been corrupting and wielding power for more than a day. The mountains in Guangzhou are high and the emperor is far away. It is impossible for ordinary people to understand the details. And this incident suddenly broke out without any warning before, so it was obviously someone who did it deliberately."
Li Chengqian nodded: "I think so too."
Fang Jun continued: "The New Year is approaching, and all government offices in the imperial court are gathering government affairs, striving to complete the government affairs accumulated in the past year before the end of the year. This is also one of the evaluation indicators for each government office. If too many government affairs have not yet been completed, If it can be completed in time, it will inevitably affect the performance of the ministers, so generally speaking, major cases will not be accepted at this time. Important cases, especially corruption cases, can wait until the opening of the office after the year to deal with them... However, some people "With all the witnesses and material evidence in the Dang Renhong case in hand, there is no excuse to put the attack on Dali Temple on hold until after the year. He must have wanted to handle the case with great fanfare and make everyone aware of it."
Li Chengqian was a little confused: "Why is this?"
Fang Jun smiled and said: "It's very simple. Someone wants to confuse the audience and divert attention."
This method was commonly used by all countries in later generations. Once some scandal broke out and was difficult to resolve, they would immediately create another incident to attract public attention to calm public opinion, and then deal with it in a low-key manner. This is the most basic public relations method, not very clever. But it always works.
He continued: "Since he wants to divert attention, it must be an extremely serious matter at the moment that affects his interests. So what are the serious matters at the moment? I thought about it, but it was just Feng Deyi. Just one thing."