In the Daming Palace, Emperor Chongping had just stood behind the imperial court and summoned the eunuch to summon Jia Heng to the court.
At this moment, Jia Heng stepped in, bowed, and then heard Emperor Chongping say: "Jia Qing, you have been in a hurry to see me this early in the morning, but what's the urgent matter?"
Emperor Chongping took the tea from Dai Quan and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, after interrogating Liu You, the chief secretary of the Wucheng Army and Horses Division, overnight, I have found out the case of the examination candidate who was beaten and maimed by the Sanhe Gang. However, the matter involves a major matter, and I am scared and don't know how to investigate. Please also ask
Your Majesty, please give me instructions." Jia Heng said, cupping his hands.
When Jia Heng opened his mouth, Emperor Chongping was also surprised because his voice was a little hoarse and he couldn't hide his tiredness.
Emperor Chongping raised his eyes and was startled to see that the young man's eyes were bloodshot, but his eyes were bright and sharp, and his heart was moved.
"So fast? What did Ziyu find out?" Emperor Chongping looked solemn and placed the tea cup on the imperial table aside. His eyes fell on Jia Heng's face that was hesitant to speak, and there was some speculation in his heart.
In fact, last night he had already asked the Jinyiwei Baihu named Zuo Qulang, and he already had some knowledge about the Jianghu gangs in Dongcheng. Among them, the Sanhe Gang, the largest, was the most powerful, with powerful hands and eyes, and had bribed some Jinyiwei colleagues. It seemed that he had also cooperated with Jingzhong
The powerful people are deeply implicated, but Qu Lang doesn't know who they are implicated in and how deeply they are implicated.
He has promoted him to the rank of Jin Yiwei Qianhu to purge the Jin Yiwei who secretly communicated with each other. Today, he was about to order Dai Quan to send someone to secretly investigate the matter. Unexpectedly, the young man in front of him found some clues in a short period of time.
Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, I have found out that Fan Yi was beaten and maimed. It was found out that Liu You, the chief secretary of the Wucheng Army and Horse Department, ordered the Sanhe Gang to do it out of personal enmity. However, the reason why Liu You acted so boldly was that he later
There are others, and last night there were even members of the Sanhe Gang and people from the Wucheng Army and Horses Division, who wanted to kill Liu You to silence him!"
"Attack the government office and kill people and silence them?" Emperor Chongping's face suddenly became gloomy and scary, and he shouted: "How brave!"
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "According to Liu You's confession, the Sanhe Gang was involved in unloading grain and..."
"With what?" Seeing Jia Heng hesitate to speak, Emperor Chongping looked gloomy and said, "I said the day before yesterday that no matter who is involved, they will be investigated to the end and punished severely! Don't have any worries!"
Jia Heng said: "The Sanhe Gang seems to have a close relationship with His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, who is watching the government at the Ministry of Household Affairs. According to Liu You's account, almost 60% of the profits from the Sanhe Gang's industrial shops were sent to the Prince of Qi's palace. I was temporarily
I don’t know whether his words are true or not, so I offer them with my mouth as an offering.”
Emperor Chongping looked livid and said, "Dai Quan, bring me the confession."
Dai Quan took the wooden box containing the confession from Jia Heng, opened it and inspected it, and found that there was nothing unusual. Then he took out a thick stack of books containing the confession and handed it to Emperor Chongping.
Emperor Chongping took the paper containing the confession and started reading it.
The Daming Palace fell into silence for a while, and the golden rays of autumn morning passed through the windows and fell on the curtains, fumed tripods, bookshelves, and vases in the palace.
But the sound of "swishing" turning pages became more and more rapid, like the prelude of a brewing storm.
Not only Liu You's confession, but also the confession of the person who was sent to silence him by the Sanhe Gang.
How could Emperor Chongping's mind not outline the whole situation in his mind?
Liu You colluded with the King of Qi, but when his affair was exposed, the King of Qi sent a member of the Sanhe Gang to the Wucheng Bingma Division to kill him and silence him!
"Rebellion, rebellion!"
Emperor Chongping slammed the confession in his hand to the ground, roared like thunder, and shouted angrily: "At least five or six hundred thousand taels a year? The Sanhe Gang has 20,000 to 30,000 people... What is he going to do?! I'm not dead yet!"
All the maids and eunuchs around him knelt down one after another. Even Dai Quan knelt down with a "pop" and his body trembled.
Jia Heng looked indifferent and cupped his hands and said: "Please calm down, Your Majesty. I think this matter needs to be verified in detail..."
"Check it out in detail? Fifty percent of the chief registrants of the Army and Horses Division know it, and so do hundreds of households in Jinyiwei. I am the only one who doesn't know!"
Even though yesterday I had vaguely guessed that there was a sect and vassal clan from the few words of Qu Lang, a hundred households in Jinyi, and the nobles were concerned about it, but now I see that there are 20,000 to 30,000 people in the Sanhe Gang, making at least 500,000 to 600,000 taels of silver a year.
Emperor Chongping was still aroused by this number, and his heart was filled with anger.
Based on Emperor Chongping's knowledge, he believed that five to six hundred thousand taels of silver was just a lot more!
Now that King Qi has money and people, if he still has the person from Chonghua Palace... what is he going to do?
Emperor Chongping did not dare to think further, and suddenly looked at Dai Quan coldly, almost wanting to devour him, "You are a slave, King Qi has been colluding with the Sanhe Gang for several years, and your inner guard
, do you want to eat dry food?"
The more he talked, the angrier he became. He grabbed the paperweight beside his hand and threw it at Dai Quan.
Hit on the shoulder, Dai Quan groaned, knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and cried in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I really don't know, I don't care about that part of the East City..."
When Jia Heng saw this scene, his heart trembled.
The emperor's wrath was actually somewhat beyond his imagination.
According to the theory of estrangement and indifference, the emperor would at most lose his temper when he found out about it, but this look with his dragon scales removed obviously contained some secrets about the royal family that he didn't know.
Thinking further, the key point becomes vaguely clear.
"This should be the anger of an emperor after he suddenly discovered that he had been deceived, and this should be the anger of... feeling that the imperial power was threatened! It has been almost eight years since the King of Qi sent Wang Hubu to observe the government. Eight years
, Neichang and Jinyiwei seem to have never reported..."
Jia Heng pondered for a moment, then raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to continue investigating this matter?"
For many things, it doesn't matter what you find out, but whether the superiors are willing to investigate. This determination cannot be made.
"Don't worry, you and Xu Lu will investigate thoroughly. The Sanhe Gang must be uprooted. As for the loss of tax money in Dongshi, we must also investigate!" Emperor Chongping's face was gloomy, suppressing the burning anger in his chest.
Some people can’t afford to make any waves!
He has ruled the world for fourteen years and has been in charge for six years. No one can shake his throne according to the people's wishes!
Just as Jia Heng was responding, he saw Emperor Chongping suddenly facing Dai Quan on the side and saying in a deep voice: "You little slave, call King Qi into the palace. I have something to ask him!"
Dai Quan felt frightened and walked away as ordered.
When Jia Heng heard this, his heart sank. No matter what, the King of Qi probably hated him.
But there is nothing you can do about it. If you want to do something, you need to offend someone. If he helps cover it up, once the emperor finds out about it, what he will get is not jealousy, but death.
"It's just that when King Qi enters the palace, he will definitely explain that he needs to be vaccinated in advance." Jia Heng thought about this, hesitated, and said: "Your Majesty, is there a possibility that it is the loading and unloading of grain and water transportation?
, cannot be separated from these people for even a moment, so His Highness King Qi has no choice but to cooperate with them?"
When Emperor Chongping heard this, he snorted coldly and said: "Du Jitong, the Governor of Water Transport, took it upon himself to lead the grain guards to escort the grain. When will these gang members be used? It's just the King of Qi who is audacious and does things without authorization. Ziyu, don't worry.
In this matter, he acted so boldly. If you knew about it in advance and corrected his mistakes, you really had to wait... in broad daylight, when things were being discussed, it would not be so simple."
Jia Heng's expression was silent, and his heart felt somewhat cold.
Is this the difference between inside and outside?
Judging from the emperor's current intentions, it seems that he still has no intention of dethroning King Qi as a commoner, and even has plans to suppress it?
It was clear that Long Yan was furious just now...
"Of course, this is also human nature. As long as you don't commit any heinous crimes, there are still eight arguments to be made. It's the honor of the prince! Moreover, the country is troubled nowadays. Not to mention that the King of Qi has been deposed, but he is colluding with gangs as the prince.
If the affairs of power are revealed to the world, they will have an impact on the emperor's sanctity to some extent." Jia Heng's mind was spinning, and he had somewhat grasped the emperor's psychological bottom line.
The Sanhe Gang must be eliminated, and the King of Qi's affairs must be suppressed.
Jia Heng said: "Your Majesty, I have one more thing that I would like to report to Your Majesty. Now that the Sanhe Clan has a large number of people, I am afraid that the soldiers of the Five Cities' Army and Horse Division will not be able to cope with it. Please mobilize the troops in the capital camp to prepare for the emergency. But
Banditry in Jingping East City!"
The purpose of mobilizing the troops from the Beijing Camp was not only to prevent the Sanhe Gang from taking desperate risks, but also to prepare for the case where the grain could not be unloaded in time, so that the Beijing Camp could temporarily take charge of the matter.
"Which one of the troops in the Beijing camp do you want to mobilize?" Emperor Chongping said with a twinkling look.
Jia Heng understood the idea and said in a deep voice: "I would like to ask Guo Yong to lead the Niu Jizong tribe!"
Emperor Chongping's face paused slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "I will give you the Emperor's Sword, and you can dispatch the soldiers in the capital camp. But don't do it now. In two days, Niu Jizong will be impeached and suspended from office. He will shut himself up and think about his mistakes. Guo Yongying
If there is no master at that time, you can mobilize the troops to the capital to quell the banditry."
Taking advantage of Niu Jizong's inability to manage the army and the fact that King Qi was being used, he wanted to get back the power of a battalion of troops first.
When Jia Heng heard this, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I didn't originally want to mobilize the troops in the capital camp right now. But when a group of scoundrels show their ugliness and their evil is revealed to the world, I will impose the ax on you!"
Emperor Chongping nodded, looking at Jia Heng with a gentler gaze.
Jia Heng thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I will retire first and continue to hear the case together with Mr. Xu."
However, even if the case was tried together with Xu Lu, depending on the emperor's implication, it would not be possible for everyone to know that King Qi was involved in the case.
"It wouldn't work if I didn't come to see the emperor in the first place and let Xu Lu and others charge into the battle... At that time, the emperor was caught off guard, and instead he had a bad feeling towards me. Once he developed a bad feeling, his suspicious temperament would be amplified."
Jia Heng thought about the pros and cons.
This is the tricky part as he said before. The key is not to be close to each other. You can't kill it all at once, you can only chip it away slowly.
For example, just now Emperor Chongping Long Yan was so angry that he wished he could kill the King of Qi alive, but the thunderbolt hung on for a long time without falling, only a thorn buried in his heart.
"So, if you want to bring down King Qi, just relying on this one thing is not enough. You need to look at it again."
However, at this moment, Emperor Chongping heard: "Ziyu, don't leave in a hurry, wait until you see King Qi."
Jia Heng's heart was slightly shaken and he raised his head to look at Emperor Chongping.
Why did the emperor ask him to stay? The hatred of King Lazi?
No, King Qi already had a grudge against him, so there was only one purpose, to show affection and comfort. Even if King Qi wanted to touch him, he had to be careful.
Emperor Chongping said in a cold voice: "You are trying to correct his fault. If he is narrow-minded and harbors resentment, then he will act like a prince! Since he is involved with the Sanhe Gang, he probably knows the inner workings of the Sanhe Gang and is cooperating with him."
I heard Dai Quan report from outside: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Qi is waiting outside."
Emperor Chongping said coldly: "Xuan!"
Not long after, I saw a young man in his mid-twenties, wearing a prince's python robe, fair complexion, and fat body, entering the side hall under the guidance of the inner prisoner.
"I have seen my father, long live my father, long live my father." King Qi paid homage and said loudly.
However, Emperor Chongping did not order King Qi to stand up, and shouted coldly: "Send people into the Five Cities Military and Horse Division to attack and kill the imperial officials, Chen Cheng, who gave you the courage!"
"This...where did the father say this? I don't know this." King Qi heard that Emperor Chongping called him by his name in anger. His expression changed drastically. He raised his head to defend himself and scanned the people beside him with his small eyes.
Jia Heng felt a cold feeling in his heart.
The people sent to the Sanhe Gang to kill them yesterday returned without success. He heard the news early in the morning, and it was Jia Heng who stopped him!
I don’t think so, before I even find this guy to settle the score, this guy is already slandering my father!
Jia Heng was keenly aware of this passing gaze and the malice deep in his gaze. Looking at the fat King Qi, five words flashed through his mind for no reason.
The king of Qi is a common man.
If he confesses obediently as soon as he comes in and asks Emperor Chongping to forgive him, he will be wary of this person.
Emperor Chongping shouted: "Liu You, do you recognize him?"
"My son and I don't know each other," King Qi said urgently.
"You dare to quibble!" Emperor Chongping shouted, throwing the confession in his hand at King Qi's face, and shouted: "Liu You's confession is crystal clear, pretend I don't know it!"
King Qi's expression changed slightly, he took the confession, his chubby face flushed with anxiety, and said: "Father, this is him falsely accusing my son, my son..."
"That's enough!" Emperor Chongping shouted coldly, interrupted King Qi's defense, and sneered: "Collude with gangsters, bribe court officials, and send gangsters to attack government offices. These evil things you have done are more than enough to destroy you alone.
!”
When the King of Qi heard this, he was shocked and lowered his head. Suddenly, it seemed to Jia Heng that the performance was somewhat clumsy, and he cried loudly: "Father, I was confused for a moment. I just arrived at the Ministry of Household Affairs, and all my subordinates were...
I don’t have the manpower to order me. I’m constantly being teased by the civil servants in the Ministry of Household Affairs. I can’t do errands. I’m often laughed at. I’m just a waste waiting to die! I didn’t know much about it until I met the people from the Sanhe Gang.
Enyi, only then did he win over people to work around him. In recent years, they have helped transport grain to the capital, and they have contributed a lot. As for the fact that they beat and maimed the candidates who were taking the exams, they did not know about it! They also sent gangsters to attack the government offices, which is so heartbreaking and crazy.
Even if I borrow a hundred courages from you, I would not dare to do so. There must be some villain who maliciously slanders me, and Liu You is trying to get involved..."
Emperor Chongping suddenly slapped the imperial case and shouted: "I don't want to hear what you are saying. Now the Sanhe Gang is entrenched in Dongcheng, with tens of thousands of people. What are you going to do if you take it for your own use?"
The King of Qi called Qu and said: "Father, where are the thirty or forty thousand people? Father, where can I conjure up thirty or forty thousand people? They are all just struggling to make ends meet, carrying grain on the docks and ferries to eat...
…”
Jia Heng frowned when he saw this scene. It must be said that King Qi was really a bit shameless and generous.
No matter how clumsy the performance is, he is inexplicably confident and wants to hit a high note that will be extinguished all over the world.
"People are ugly and don't know it. What evil has the emperor done to give birth to such a son? No, no..." Jia Heng thought disrespectfully in his heart, but for a moment, his eyes became a little deeper, "Is this just
Is this King Qi's way of protecting himself, pretending to be stupid?" A flash of suspicion flashed through Jia Heng's mind, but after careful consideration, he felt that there were many possibilities.
"Otherwise it can't be explained. Emperor Chongping didn't know until today that King Qi has been hiding in Dongcheng for so long! He looks stupid, but is actually treacherous." Jia Heng looked deeply and thought, "If you are fake but not crazy, you are really the son of the emperor!