Li Tai frowned and expressed angrily: "Just by resigning and becoming an official, the charges can be wiped out? I am a prince and the legitimate son of Emperor Taizong, how can I endure such humiliation?"
Zhang Liang comforted him: "The current situation is chaotic and public opinion is fierce. I don't know how many people are jumping up and down behind my back to do disobedient things. You are the prince, and your Majesty is a compatriot. You must not act on your own initiative. The overall situation is more important."
"If the overall situation is for me, a dignified prince, to swallow his anger after suffering humiliation, then that's not the overall situation!"
Li Tai made a splash.
The four central ministers each had a headache. They all knew that His Highness was the favorite son of Emperor Taizong at the beginning, so he developed an extremely arrogant and headstrong character. After dormant for these years, everyone seemed to have forgotten that he was a willful person.
"bad boy"……
Xu Jingzong could only persuade in a low voice: "In the current situation, I don't know how many people are looking at His Highness, and they hope that His Highness can do something extraordinary so that they can stir up public opinion, confuse the public, and then criticize Your Majesty... If Your Highness continues to do this
If the quarrel continues, wouldn't it be playing into the hands of those people? I don't know what will happen to Your Majesty when the time comes, but I'm afraid His Majesty will definitely not end well."
Liu, Dai, and Zhang were simply shocked. Can they say this in person?
However, everyone also knew that Xu Jingzong was now willing to be Fang Jun's "stooge", and that the King of Wei and Fang Jun had a close personal relationship. The relationship between the two people was quite intriguing, so they all remained silent.
Li Tai's expression changed. He gritted his teeth at first, then became frustrated and said helplessly: "In that case, then just follow His Majesty's will."
Liu, Dai, and Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Xiangdao poured a pot of tea for Li Tai and said sincerely: "His Royal Highness is a royal nobleman, extremely noble, but he is willing to endure humiliation and compromise for the sake of the overall interests of the empire. This kind of integrity is really admired by me.
After returning to Beijing, I will definitely state this matter in front of His Majesty, so as not to let His Majesty’s integrity go to waste.”
Dai Zhou and Zhang Liang all looked sideways, looking at Liu Xiang quite speechlessly and said: You are the imperial censor, and you are the one who claims to be the most pure person in the world, but you are so flattering in front of the King of Wei? Everyone is acting in accordance with His Majesty's decree, and the King of Wei is following the decree.
But it is what you should do, so how can you claim credit for it?
Liu Xiangdao's expression remained as usual, disapproving.
Li Tai struggled for a while, then gritted his teeth and said: "I am shouldering the arduous task of building the Eastern Capital. The task is long and arduous, but now I am having difficulty because of Pei Huaijie's lack of cooperation. I hope you will handle this matter quickly, otherwise the process will be delayed.
You will definitely be impeached for dereliction of duty!"
…
The four of them had ridden hundreds of miles and were already exhausted. After the banquet and chatting for a while, they each went back to their residences to take a hot bath and rest early.
Xu Jingzong was led by Li Tai out of Shangshanfang surrounded by hundreds of guards. He left Shangshanfang with great momentum and headed east along the street between Shangshanfang and Xiuwenfang, arriving at Nanshi
There was a brothel nearby, where they drank for midnight.
No one knows what was discussed during this period...
*****
Early the next morning, Liu, Dai, and Zhang got up to wash and change clothes. After breakfast, they found that Xu Jingzong was missing, so they asked the serving eunuch: "Why can't you see Xu Shangshu? Are you sick?"
The eunuch respectfully replied: "That's not the case. It's because after everyone had a rest last night, His Highness asked Shangshu Xu to go to Nanshi for a drink. He came back a little late, so he hasn't gotten up yet."
The three of them were silent. Are King Wei and Xu Jingzong really a team?
It seems that Xu Jingzong's mission to come to Luoyang to measure the acres overlapped with that of the King of Wei. The same problem facing both parties was Pei Huaijie, who was elected by the clans of Luoyang, Hedong and Nanyang. If Pei Huaijie could not be moved away, these two
Human tasks cannot be carried out smoothly, and the consequences will naturally be extremely serious.
It's a lot of pressure...
The three of them looked at each other, remained silent, ate their breakfast in a hurry, and then took the accompanying officials and servants out of Shangshanfang, crossed the Tianjin Bridge, and went straight to the Henan government office in the east city.
In the official residence, Pei Huaijie, who stayed here last night, had just finished his breakfast. Hearing that Liu, Dai, and Zhang had arrived, he hurriedly asked people to come in, while he tidied up his clothes and went out to meet them in the main hall.
In the main hall, Pei Huaijie was in the middle, Dai Zhou was on the left, Liu Xiangdao, and Zhang Liang were on the right. The accompanying officials of the "Three Laws Division" stood on both sides, and the officials of the Henan Prefecture were all outside the door. The atmosphere was very solemn.
In name, Dali Temple is the head of the "Three Law Divisions". Dai Zhou coughed lightly and took the lead in speaking: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei impeached Pei Fuyin for 'insulting the prince's concubine'. The public debate was boiling and the public opinion was fierce. His Majesty was furious and ordered us to
Come to Luoyang to thoroughly investigate this matter. Later, we will interrogate all persons related to this case for trial and screening. But before leaving, His Majesty once said that Pei Fuyin is an honorable minister of Zhenguan and the pillar of the country. He has made great achievements in protecting Luoyang over the years.
Outstanding people and hard work must be given sufficient respect, so before that, we would also like to ask Pei Fuyin what his opinion is on this?"
Pei Huaijie was able to go from the last recorder in the "Tiance Mansion" to the high position of "Henan Yin" today. His actual power surpassed many of his colleagues in the "Tiance Mansion" who had been ahead of him. His political wisdom is naturally outstanding. How could he
Don’t you understand the admonishment in Dai Zhou’s words?
However, both in public and private matters, he did not intend to accept His Majesty's "good intentions".
Why?!
He worked conscientiously in the post of Yin in Henan and stayed in Luoyang for more than ten years. However, he was faced with the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, which resulted in a lack of population, a depressed economy, and desolate farmland.
Voluntarily resigning on a ridiculous charge?
Then his reputation in this life will be ruined, and he will have to bear the reputation of "debauchery"!
What's more, he was recommended by the Henan clan and enjoyed the support of the clan, so today he has to fight for the interests of the clan. It is by no means that he can retreat if he wants to.
If the interests of the clan are ignored, backlash will follow, and the consequences will be worse than being convicted by the court...
Taking a deep breath, Pei Huaijie said angrily: "It's clear that I, Pei Huaijie, have been innocent all my life and acted justly. How can I accept such an extremely humiliating frame-up? I have never done such insulting things, and I will never allow anyone to frame me!"
Please strictly enforce the law and screen carefully, and you must give me justice!"
At this moment, just outside the main hall, all his subordinate officials were present. Such a crime was openly announced in public, which made him lose face and feel ashamed and angry.
Although Pei Huaijie was very firm in his refusal to "take it private", Dai Zhou still wanted to fight for it, so he shook his head and sighed: "The law is clear and the law is strict. The imperial court will never frame a frontier official with outstanding merits...
…However, this matter has a great impact and public opinion is bad. If it continues, it will inevitably attract attention from all parties. Even if Pei Fuyin can be cleared by then, it will not be able to calm all public opinions, so why bother?"
Many times, it is not a "not guilty" verdict that proves innocence. Some people say that the court was concerned about the bad influence and calmed the situation. Others say that Pei Huaijie used power for personal gain to destroy evidence, leading to the acquittal...
Right and wrong, black and white, are not so clear-cut.
Pei Huaijie understood this truth, but still shook his head: "Dai Siqing, there is no need to say more. Those who are clean will clean themselves up. Please find out the truth as soon as possible and give me justice."
Dai, Liu, and Zhang looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.
If the exhortation is ineffective, then the only option is to use the real rules.
Continue to put tremendous pressure on Pei Huaijie until he is subdued...
Dai Zhou said: "In that case, let's proceed according to the procedures... We set up a government office in the official residence of the King of Wei, and Dr. Liu will interrogate the relevant personnel, the King of Wei and his concubines, the officials on duty that night, and Pei
Governor Pei, you wonder what Governor Pei’s wishes are?"
Pei Huaijie had a dark face and said displeasedly: "Except for me, everyone belongs to the King of Wei. How can we ensure the fairness of the testimonies of all parties?"
Dai Zhou had given Pei Huaijie enough respect, and now he was displeased when he heard Pei Huaijie's doubts: "The Imperial Censor, the Minister of Punishment, and the Minister of Dali Temple are all here to lead this trial, why does Pei Fuyin still question it?
?You want to teach us how to examine cases?"
It is no exaggeration to say that the three big bosses of the "Three Judicial Division" jointly tried the case, which already represents the highest level of judicial standards. As long as the three of them make a conclusion, it is the truth. Anyone who dares to question is questioning Datang.
of judicial justice.
The results can only be followed and cannot be changed.
Otherwise, the laws of the empire will disappear...
Pei Huaijie had nothing to say.
Dai Zhou's face was solemn, no longer as polite as before: "Dong Yun Guo is responsible for the investigation of all insiders in Shangshanfang and Henan Prefecture, and then summarizes the information from all parties and carefully screens it."
Zhang Liang nodded.
Then, Dai Zhou looked at Pei Huaijie and said slowly: "Please ask Pei Fuyin to send someone with my bureaucratic subordinates to seal the Henan government's account books for the past ten years. Later, we will audit them one by one and check the accounts."
As soon as these words came out, not only did Pei Huaijie suddenly wake up, but the expressions of the Henan officials outside the main hall changed drastically!
Pei Huaijie glared angrily: "What does Dai Siqing mean by this? You are here to hear the case, but you don't know why you need to audit the account books? The account books are the secrets of the Henan government. Without His Majesty's order, no one can act rashly!"
He had been on guard against this trick before and had his account books sorted out to avoid finding any omissions, but he didn't expect Dai Zhou to be so ruthless that he wanted to review nearly ten years of account books all at once... Henan Prefecture has a vast territory, a large population, and an economic
Prosperity, including taxes, population, corvee, and land, there are more than tens of thousands of various account books? Even if he wanted to falsify in advance, he couldn't do it unless they were all destroyed.
Dai Zhou looked coldly and looked directly into Pei Huaijie's angry eyes: "I am ordered to try the case, how to try it, and how to try it. Naturally, I am fully authorized by His Majesty. No one is allowed to disobey, otherwise he will be punished for obstructing justice... Pei Fuyin
The reaction was so intense, could it be that there is something fishy hidden in Henan Mansion’s account books that no one knows about?”
Pei Huaijie's face was gloomy and his heart sank.
Henan Prefecture has tens of millions of people, hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land, and the corresponding accounts are complicated. No matter how honest and fair the officials in Henan Prefecture are, there will inevitably be omissions. What's more, he, the governor, was recommended by the Henan clan and took office during his tenure.
It is also supported by the clan, so it is inevitable to be biased when it comes to the taxes and corvee of the clan.
This is understandable, and it is also an unspoken rule of governments at all levels in various places. After all, in the environment of clan politics, who can stay out of the mud?
However, as long as the court is serious and audits the accounts carefully, it will be a serious crime involving corruption.
It can be seen that His Majesty is extremely determined to force himself to resign and become an official, and he even does not hesitate to impose such "unfounded" charges on himself...