Luzhou City was like a huge earthquake. In just a few days, the prefect Zhu Shiyong, who was also considered to have a high reputation in Luzhou City, fell from the clouds to hell and became a prisoner in an instant.
Officials in the city, big and small, took turns to be interrogated by Ouyang Xiu. For a time, everyone was in danger, and the whole city was ablaze.
The Luzhou Xiang army was also completely disarmed, and all those involved in the incident, big or small, were imprisoned. The only exception was those who surrendered and followed Su Jin in a bloody battle. They killed more than 40 Xiang soldiers who survived.
Tang Jiyuan, the two vice-presidents of the Chamber of Commerce, and some merchants were all detained, and all their property was sealed. Forbidden soldiers riding tall horses constantly shuttled through the Chamber of Commerce shops at major market entrances, posting seals and sealing up the shops involved.
Ouyang Xiu did have some skills in prisons. Although everything was complicated, he was methodical, picking up prisoners, investigating evidence, and conducting preliminary trials; everything was carried out in an orderly manner.
His efficiency was not low, and the case basically came to an end after two days. Of course, all this had something to do with Zhu Shiyong's willingness to admit crimes almost every time in order to forgive his family, such as the case of Scarface Hei Qi and other bandit chiefs' execution ground swapping cases ten years ago.
He confessed despite insufficient evidence, let alone other cases with solid evidence.
As for the crime of collaborating with bandits, he did not admit it. This was also the case. He had nothing to do with the bandits. He just used the bandits' hands to kill Su Jin. Ouyang Xiu also understood this. From Chen Laogen's narrative, he could
It was learned that Zhu Shiyong did not have anything to do with the bandits, so the crime was changed to the crime of "revenge for private reasons, setting up a trap to frame the imperial officials; damaging important food supplies of the imperial court, disregarding the emperor's favor, and humiliating the official body"; in addition, regarding
Naturally, there is another serious crime waiting for him in the matter of grain affairs, which is the crime of "colluding with businessmen, harming the public and enriching private interests, tampering with the date of grain production, and blatantly sabotaging grain affairs."
Others are minor crimes, and compared with these major crimes, they are simply not worth mentioning.
After the case was completed, Ouyang Xiuhuo wrote a quick report and rushed it to the capital. He also announced the whole story of the case throughout the city to soothe the panic of the people.
Zhu Shiyong had hidden enough secrets in his life, and his reputation among the people was not too bad. When the notice was posted, the whole city was in an uproar. The people never expected that the parents of Luzhou were actually such people; compared to the Chamber of Commerce
The announcement of the crimes of the three people was a different reaction. When Tang Jiyuan and others rose up ten years ago, they ordered Hei Qi and others to do many unreasonable things. At this moment, old hatreds and new hatreds are flooding into their hearts, and the people of Luzhou are all celebrating.
.[.
On the evening of the tenth day of the first lunar month, Ouyang Xiu and Su Jin held a banquet at Hefeng Tower to entertain the Imperial Guards who came as guests. The ten soldiers were originally ordered to cut off the transportation of grain between states, but they unintentionally followed Ouyang Xiu to accomplish this great feat.
Everyone was in a very happy mood, and they drank until the middle of the night.
After seeing off the heads of the Imperial Guards, Ouyang Xiu's interest did not diminish. He took Su Jin to another table on the third floor of Hefeng Building, and drank and chatted with Su Jin.
"Special Envoy Su, what do you think of the events of the past few months?" Ouyang Xiu's face was slightly red and he smelled of alcohol, but it was obvious that he was extremely sober in his heart.
Su Jin took a piece of foie gras and stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it slowly, swallowed it slowly, and said with a smile: "For me personally, it's like being in a dream."
Ouyang Xiu smiled and said: "You are not the only one who feels this way. I also find it incredible. The imperial decree will come tomorrow. I guess it will require me to wait for the escorted prisoners to return to Beijing. You and I will both go to Beijing to report on our duties."
Su Jin nodded and said: "That's for sure. To be honest with you, I'm always a little uneasy. We've had shocking cases in Yangzhou and Luzhou one after another. Where do you think this report will be?"
What kind of atmosphere does it take place in?”
Ouyang Xiu raised his glass to Su Jin, drank it himself, and said with a smile: "Special Envoy Su is really different from others. If others have made such great contributions, they may not be able to return to the capital to receive rewards, but you have."
It’s really weird to worry.”
Su Jin rolled his eyes and said: "My lord, can I tell lies in front of you? Some things require your strong support. Although the credit this time is not small, the mistakes are equally big. I only hope that the merits and demerits are balanced.
It’s only Amitabha who can avoid punishment. As for being rewarded, I don’t have any extravagant hopes.”
Ouyang Xiu nodded and said: "This statement comes from your sincerity. To tell you the truth, you are worried in your heart, and I am equally uneasy in my heart. You and I are all in the same pot, and it doesn't matter who makes a mistake. We will never do that again.
I won’t mention it anymore, you haven’t done it, I haven’t seen it, it just disappears.”
Su Jin smiled and said, "I'm just afraid that the matter won't be settled."
Ouyang Xiudao: "What should be settled will naturally be settled, and what should not be settled can't be settled even if you want to. Although the Holy Sage governs the country kindly and pursues the policy of governing by doing nothing, he keeps all the big and small matters in his heart. If he wants to hide it from the people of the two houses, how can he do it?"
It's possible, but I don't think it's possible to hide it from him."
Su Jin was surprised and said: "Wouldn't that be bad?"
Ouyang Xiu laughed and said: "The Holy Will is unpredictable, but there is no need to worry so much. Although I, Ouyang Xiu, dare not say that I can guess it clearly, I can guess it 70% to 80% of the time. Since I was in Yangzhou, the emperor promised me to wait for execution.
When Yangzhou was imprisoned, the emperor's attitude was already clear, but you are not good at guessing what it means."
Su Jin said doubtfully: "If this is really the case, why did you send Zhang Mei, the deputy commander of the front army, to stop it?"
Ouyang Xiu smiled and said: "This is the brilliance of the Emperor. At that time, even if you did not propose immediate execution, I would quickly arrange the execution of the prisoner, because there was only two days in between, and the Emperor specially left it for us at that time
Yes, if our hands and feet are slower, this opportunity will slip away; so there are fast hands and slow hands, and what we are playing is to see who has the faster hands."
Su Jin felt an indescribable feeling in her heart. It turned out that there were so many twists and turns here. Today, Ouyang Xiu had confessed his true feelings to him. That day, he was eager to cook the insider in Yangzhou, and Ouyang Xiu also pretended to say
It's too hasty, it's here
When Zhang Mei yelled at the execution ground to save the person, Ouyang Xiu deliberately held the command arrow to prevent him from throwing it down. After a long time, he was trying to make a move on his own, and Ouyang Xiu was sure that he would make a move. This old fox saw through him.
, you are just kidding yourself.
Thinking of this, Su Jin felt angry for a while. He thought that he had experienced and practiced well enough, but unexpectedly, he was caught in Ouyang Xiu's calculations.
And the emperor is even more unfathomable. Every move has a profound meaning. If Ouyang Xiu hadn't analyzed it, he would have been completely blind and couldn't understand anything. No wonder people say that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. People like Ouyang Xiu, Yan Shu, and Lu Yijian can
To gain a foothold in the court, just the ability to establish a true and false promoter and relationship with Zhao Zhen was already beyond his reach.
Ouyang Xiu didn't pay attention to Su Jin's solemn expression, and said to himself: "This time there are serious cases involving officials on Huainan Road, this is a good thing, and it is indeed a bad thing; this Zhu Shiyong was recommended by Lu Yijian, and he is with Shouzhou
Like Lu Zhuanshi Wang Qinian, he belongs to the Lu Party. This time we have touched the nerves of Prime Minister Lu. How he will react is unknown; of course, on the surface, he will definitely praise him greatly."
Su Jin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. We've done everything, so there's no point in being afraid."
Ouyang Xiu said with a smile: "Actually, this is not the main thing. The most important thing about this matter is the emperor's reaction. The emperor must be unhappy."
Su Jin understood a little and said softly: "Is it because the officials are responsible for the corruption and the emperor feels embarrassed?"
Ouyang Xiudao: "You have just started. Sometimes the dignity of the royal family is more important than the case. Why can Zhao Zongdan, the king of Teng, not die? It's not that the emperor cannot kill him, nor does he dare not kill him. It's just about the dignity of the royal family. The emperor is good at everything.
, it’s just too face-saving; so I have to remind you, after returning to Beijing this time, you must not be arrogant, keep low-key and low-key, especially in front of the emperor, don’t get carried away. "
Su Jin cupped his hands and said, "I have learned my lesson. Mr. Ouyang is sincere to me. His words of wisdom and advice are all good and I will keep them in my heart."
Ouyang Xiu waved his hand and said with a smile: "This is obvious. You are the most courageous and smartest person I have ever met. I, Ouyang Xiu, am not a scumbag as the outside world says. To me,
In the Great Song Dynasty, the country and the country still come first. If there is no skin left, Mao will be attached to Yan, Prime Minister Lu, Master Sansi, Master Fan, Master Han and other ministers in the DPRK and China all understand this truth. Although they secretly have different cliques,
There are conflicts with each other, but when it comes to matters related to the national system, we must work together; it is a pity that there are always some people who do not understand this truth and blindly pursue personal interests regardless of the national system."
Su Jin's eyes brightened, and suddenly he seemed to understand a little bit about the thoughts of these important ministers. Ouyang Xiu seemed to be chatting, but he gave Su Jin some political enlightenment. This was something Ouyang Xiu did not expect.
.
Su Jin suddenly boldly said: "These two major cases of official administration may give rise to some thoughts in the emperor's mind, or they may affect the direction of the imperial policy. It is unknown."
Ouyang Xiu asked doubtfully: "How do you say this?"
Su Jin smiled and said: "I'm just making random guesses. I heard that Song Qi had written a letter about redundant fees in the early years. The emperor has not made up his mind for so many years. This matter may prompt the emperor to have some ideas, or restart the reform of the official administration and fee system.
It is unknown whether this theory will have a long-lasting impact on the Song Dynasty."
Ouyang Xiu was surprised and said: "Are you talking about the New Deal?"
Su Jin didn't answer in silence, thinking in his mind. He thought that in a few years, the Song Dynasty would be spearheaded by Fan Zhongyan and others to carry out the reform movement. What role did he play in this? These two major official cases
It was earth-shattering. It had never happened since the founding of the Song Dynasty. Perhaps it was his unintentional act that contributed to the implementation of the New Deal in the future. However, he was a person who traveled through time a thousand years later, but had an impact on history. Isn't this?
A confusing account?
Su Jin didn't say anything, and Ouyang Xiu didn't ask. The two of them changed glasses and drank several more glasses of wine, and finally they both passed out drunk in Hefeng Tower.
The waxing moon shines faintly on the peaceful Luzhou City, casting a faint glow; although the night wind is cold, it is no longer bone-chilling, and the sound of knocking can be heard in the distance, and the sleepless people
I counted the sounds silently, but it was already the fourth watch.
(At the end of the third volume, please read the next volume: Xiaoxiao is full of wind and rain in the capital) dd