On the 16th day of the first lunar month of the 16th year of Zhenguan, there was no snow, it was overcast, the weather was very cold, and the wind was strong, which made the various flags on the walls of the palace rattle. It was an early morning day again, and all the courtiers arrived before dawn. In the court room, the important ministers did not gather in small circles to chat as usual. Without him, everyone was well-informed. They had long known that there would be a fierce confrontation in the court meeting today. However, everyone was just watching the excitement, waiting to see how the officials from the prince's line and the King of Wu's line would make a fuss. As for the middle-level officials, although they were not aware of it, it was obvious that the important ministers were silent. There was a strange sound in the room, but they didn't dare to say anything. They just carefully speculated on what might happen. There was an eerie silence in the room.
Li Zhen didn't bother to pay much attention to what others thought. First of all, he rarely talked with the courtiers on weekdays. Secondly, last night, he had a fierce battle, then the third son came to visit, and then he talked with the two great counselors. I didn't sleep a wink all night while discussing the matter. Although my body was strong and strong, I was already exhausted by now. I didn't have time to care about what others were thinking. I just hid in the corner and closed my eyes. , it was a pleasure to have some leisure time, but it was a pity that not long after I had rested, I heard the high-pitched voice of the eunuch Gao Yao: "The Holy One has decreed that there will be no court today. The courtiers of the third rank and above and all the princes in Beijing will go to the Ganlu Hall together." Discuss the matter, please do this!"
Uh-huh, the old man is planning to keep his family's ugliness out of the public eye, haha, that's interesting! Li Zhen's heart moved. She was about to open her eyes and get up to go to the Manlu Palace, but she saw King Wu walking in front of him. He didn't say anything, but just used his strength. He blinked once, then turned around and left. Li Zhen was secretly amused by the sight, but she was too lazy to pay attention to so many things. She smiled lightly, stood up, and followed Zi Chongchen to the Manlu Hall.
In the Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin was sitting on a high throne, with a pale face and dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he had not slept all night. When he saw the ministers entering the hall, he did not react at all, even though the important ministers shouted long live. The voice was loud, and Li Shimin's expression was not visible. He just kept the important ministers kneeling. On the other hand, the prince Li Chengqian, who had already been sitting in his seat, had a solemn expression, but there was a proud light flashing in his eyes. After a long time, Li Shimin, who didn't know what he was thinking, suddenly seemed to have woken up. He waved his hand like he was shooing away flies and said uneasily: "No need, no need."
"I am waiting to thank the Lord for your kindness." The important ministers who had been kneeling for a long time hurriedly thanked them, but despite the tiredness in their voices, they were not as loud as the shouts of "Long Live" in front of them, and they sounded a bit like a mouse. Similar, but Mr. Li was obviously not in the mood to care about this trivial matter. He glanced at the important ministers, waved his hand and said: "Gao Yao, Xuan!"
Gao Yao, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly came out from behind Li Shimin, bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Then he took out a folder from his big sleeve and announced loudly: "After investigation by the Secretary, it is now The situation is as follows: Nianzhuang case..."
The important ministers present had already heard about what Gao Yao read out from different channels. Although they didn't know the mystery, they could all make a vague guess. Everyone tacitly understood it, and when Gao Yao finished announcing the details, everyone remained silent, and no one was willing to speak out. Without him, such a major conspiracy case involves the descendants of the Tian family, so why not Before knowing what the old man meant, no one dared to speak up. It was just a matter of provocation. How could someone who could get into this official position without being an incredibly smart person make such low-level mistakes? The hall was extremely quiet. You can hear a pin drop.
"Let's talk about it. What's the problem here? Huh?" Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Shimin said with a cold face. It's a pity that after waiting for a long time, no one dared to come out and talk about this matter.
, it was such a quiet scene. Obviously, the old man’s thoughts couldn’t be hidden from the big guys. If it were normal,
The guys didn’t want to talk about it, so the old man basically gave it up. But now, the old man really couldn’t decide what to do about this matter. How could he let the ministers just stay silent like this? He called out names with a dark face.
Come: "Qiao Song (Fang Xuanling's nickname), as you are the prime minister, you should talk about it first."
Fang Xuanling had long expected that Li Shimin would call him, and he already had a plan in mind. He stood up calmly and said: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is quite suspicious. The King of Shu is in Qizhou."
(near today's Shaanxi) is not far from here, but there is really no need to take such a big risk to take out so many weapons from the arsenal. Little did we know that this matter could be hidden for a while, but not for a lifetime. Every time
On the first day of the year, there will always be a day when the secret is exposed. Secondly, I think those letters are generally about daily household matters, which seem to have nothing to do with the arsenal, and the signing dates are all old, so they may not be reliable.
Forget it; thirdly, the King of Shu likes to go hunting and may damage other people's green crops, but it is not enough to say that the King of Shu gathers people to plot evil. This is the foolish opinion of an old minister. I hope your Majesty will think again."
"Oh? So, Qiao Song thought that Li Min was wronged?" Li Shimin asked with a hint of a sinister smile on his lips.
How could Fang Xuanling not know that these princes were making such a big fuss? What she said in front of her was just to speculate that the old man would have a close relationship with each other, so she did not delve deeper into the matter. Of course, the reason why Fang Xuanling was like this
It's very simple to put it bluntly - Li Shimin used to be a very tolerant person, and rarely dealt harshly to his sons, but he was as lazy as the prince.
I have never seen Li Shimin commit sexual intercourse, but seeing that Li Shimin looked wrong at this time, he dared to insist on his opinion. He hurriedly bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, I dare not say that the King of Shu was definitely wronged, but there may be something else involved.
Forget it, I would like to ask Your Majesty to bow down and rule the matter. None of the veterans have any objections." Fang Xuanling's voice became quieter and quieter, and in the end, he simply let the old man decide the matter himself.
Seeing that Fang Xuanling was in trouble, everyone did not dare to speak. However, the old man was not polite. He glanced at the important ministers and called them by name again: "Wuji, what do you mean?"
Changsun Wuji was punished by Li Zhen yesterday, and he is still sulking. Besides, he rarely speaks in court meetings, let alone disobeys Li Shimin. See you now.
Asking about his own head, he hurriedly came out and said: "Your Majesty, I may think that there is no reason for the rumor to be groundless. It would be better to investigate again. I hope your Majesty will learn from it."
As soon as Changsun Wuji said these words, it set a tone for all the ministers, that is, if you want to investigate, you can go and investigate. If you don't want to, it's up to you. Anyway, it's the Tian family's business, and the Tian family will make the decision.
Okay, okay, it’s okay this time, there’s no need
As the old man went to roll call one by one, more than twenty officials of third rank or above came out in a smooth line. What they said was almost a replica of Changsun Wuji's words. At most, the sentences were slightly different. The old man heard that
He frowned.
Seeing that the situation was becoming extremely unfavorable, King Wu Li Ke was very anxious, but he really didn't have the courage to interrupt the important ministers. At this time, seeing the old man's brows furrowed, he couldn't stand still. To be honest, of course he knew
He said that the so-called arsenal case was just bullshit created by the prince. Unfortunately, Li Ke could not produce relevant evidence, but Li Zhen, who could produce evidence, pretended to be deaf and dumb. Li Ke used several
secondary eye
All the gods were ignored by Li Zhen. There was no choice but to do so. Li Ke had to wait until all the courtiers had agreed, and then he stood up and said: "I would like to inform my father, I think what you all said is reasonable, but I
Chen Yi
There are still many doubts about this matter, but it cannot be proved that the sixth brother has been involved. After all, the key criminal, the arsenal chief Wang Ji, has not been arrested. Everything is just a hypothesis and there is no confirmed evidence. I hope my father will investigate.
"
As soon as Li Ke finished speaking, supporters immediately stood up. Seeing the pale Wei Zheng hunched over, he walked out with a trembling voice and said: "Your Majesty, I think what His Highness King Wu said is reasonable, and this matter can still be done."
It is appropriate to conduct a detailed investigation, and you cannot incriminate others with one-sided remarks. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
Wei Zheng has always been an upright person, and has never learned to act based on looks. As long as he thinks it is right, he dares to speak out. Having been ill for many days, he is really powerless and has no regard for the case of the arsenal.
Yes, but most likely they will listen.
From the words of the courtiers, Wei Zheng saw some clues and decided that there must be something fishy in this matter. Therefore, he stood up to support the King of Wu without hesitation. Of course, Wei Zheng was the only one in the whole court who had such courage, and everyone else could do it.
Pretending to be confused and pretending to understand.
Wei Zheng's words obviously still have some weight. Although the old man looked disapproving, he did not reprimand Wei Zheng, but he did not pay attention to Wei Zheng's advice. He stared at King Wu Li Ke with a cold light and said: "Don't you want evidence?
"I can give it to you, hey, open your eyes and take a good look." The old man raised his hand, picked up a booklet from the table, and threw it to King Wu Li Ke.
The book is not thick, only about twenty pages, and the content is not rich. It is basically just a running account of some affairs. It writes about some of the evil things of Li Min, the king of Shu, and even Li Min.
I said something ironic one day
Listed out one by one, the most terrible one is that Li Min, the king of Shu, used Tian Lie to train his troops privately. The number of private soldiers reached more than 5,000, which was more than four times the legal limit. Most of the weapons used were all.
It is the standard weapon of the imperial court.
Li Ke quickly went through the details, and his face turned pale. Without him, Li Ke knew exactly where those standard weapons came from - the standard weapons were indeed used exclusively by the imperial court, but they were not
It came from the arsenal, but
The three brothers secretly came out of various weapons workshops, but the problem was how to say this. Seeing that the situation was completely ruined, Li Ke did not dare to hold on any longer, and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed:
"My son is ignorant, I hope my father will forgive me."
The King of Wu relented, but Mr. Wei Zheng still refused. He took the book, looked at it carefully, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, there is still something fishy here, regardless of where the King of Shu's weapons come from.
Yes, the arsenal is inventoried every year, so the amount this time has been reduced. Now isn’t it said that it has been found? If so, Shu
The king's weapons may not have come from the arsenal. It is extremely inappropriate to accuse the king of Shu of the arsenal case. Furthermore, those seized letters may not necessarily be the handwriting of the king of Shu, even if they are the handwriting of the king of Shu.
It’s not necessarily the case of the arsenal that we’re talking about. I think it’s better to be cautious than to declare the King of Shu to the dynasty and distinguish right from wrong face to face.”
What the old man Wei Zheng said was reasonable. Although the important ministers did not dare to agree with him, most of their faces showed that it was what happened. Even the old man's face showed a trace of doubt, but at this moment
,Houjunjique Station
He came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think that what Mr. Wei said is reasonable, but in my opinion, the inventory of the arsenal is an inventory, but the accounts can be falsified. His Highness the King of Yue must know this best. Why don't you ask His Highness the King of Yue?
"
Damn it, you damn old monkey, I didn’t expose your kid’s behind-the-scenes deeds, but you gave me eye drops. Damn it, you pissed me off, and we both lost, and I also exposed you and the boss.
Damn, what a bastard! Li Zhen was enjoying watching the excitement, but she didn’t expect
Being handed over by Hou Junji to general an army, she was immediately disgusted. To be honest, it was not that Li Zhen was soft-hearted and did not dare to go against the prince and Hou Junji, but that the time was not ripe. For no other reason, Li Zhen had just entered the court.
As an official, he has no power at all in the court and is still in his infancy. If the prince falls at this time,
, it can only be a waste of advantage to Wei Wang Li Tai. With Li Tai's current power, if he enters the East Palace, it will be difficult to drive him down. It is better to let idiots like Li Chengqian occupy it first, as long as he has the power in his hand.
If there is evidence, it will not be easy to drive him out of office in the future. See you now
Jun Jipan bit him on the head. Although Li Zhen was very angry, fortunately the city was so deep that he didn't do anything about it. He pretended not to hear and stood aside without saying a word. Unfortunately, the old man had no intention of letting it go.
But when he heard the old man cough, he looked at Li Zhen and said, "Zhen'er, what do you have to say?"
What? What nonsense! Li Zhen really didn’t want to wade into this muddy water, but the old man had already spoken, and it would be impossible not to reply. So in desperation, he had no choice but to stand up and say: "I would like to inform my father, Mr. Hou.
It is certainly true that falsification of accounts is
It is feasible, but it is impossible to have too many flowers. In one year, although the number is not small, it cannot reach one hundred and eighty. Unless the person in charge does not change, if the person changes, you only need to check the accounts carefully.
You can always find something strange in it.”
Li Zhen talked about the matter completely, only talking about the accounts, not involving the case of the missing arsenal, nor whether Lao Liu was involved in the case. Although he said a lot, it was all nonsense, and of course it was all the truth. It is natural that the old man would be dissatisfied.
, but Li Zhen was so good at talking nonsense, so the old man was helpless and sullen.
He glanced at Li Zhen and was about to continue asking when he saw Wei Wang Li Tai standing up and saying: "Father, I think that the eighth brother's words are very kind. If the eighth brother had not been careful, this major case of the arsenal would not have been revealed.
I think that over the years, a lot of weapons have been lost in the arsenal, and those in charge of the arsenal are certainly to blame, so we should investigate further."
Although Li Tai's words were vague, everyone was a discerning person. As soon as they heard it, they knew that the target of Li Tai's words was directed at the prince. Without him, most of the candidates for the arsenal were recommended by the prince, and some were recommended by the prince.
Of course, Junji's old subordinates all understood and understood, and they were not stupid enough to point it out. They all kept silent, and several more rows of "Clay Bodhisattvas" immediately filled the hall.
Damn it, the fourth son really knows how to use every opportunity. Damn it, now I am joining forces with him to fight against the boss. He is so depressed! Li Zhen was taken advantage of by Li Tai for no reason. She is really a bit unlucky.
I am happy, but I also understand that this is not the time to speak, otherwise the more I talk, the more confused I will become. In the end, there will be no good fruit to eat, so I will just play a "puppet show".
Li Zhen didn't speak, but Li Ke, who saw a chance to muddy the waters, stood up and said, "Father, I think what the fourth and eighth brothers said are reasonable. Since this matter needs to be investigated,
Then we should carry out a thorough investigation and not allow the treacherous villain to act arrogantly."
Seeing that the third son and his gang were going to be in bad luck, Prince Li Chengqian was originally in a very happy mood, but he didn't expect that Cheng Yaojin came out halfway and actually dragged him into the water. He was so angry that he suddenly
All crooked
He stood up, bowed to Li Shimin and said: "Father, I think what we are discussing today is the sixth brother's case, and other matters can be discussed later to avoid the risk of indiscriminate priorities.
I hope my father will make a clear decision."
What the prince said was actually reasonable, but the fourth child wanted to kill the third child and then drag the prince into trouble, so he naturally refused to let it go and said unceremoniously: "Father, my son
I believe that the two cases are one and the same, so they should be considered together. How can we strictly distinguish the priorities? I have limited experience, so I hope that my father will make a final decision."
The third child saw an opportunity to catch the prince, as if grasping a life-saving straw, and then Li Tai said: "Father, what the fourth brother said is true, go to father and find out clearly."
When the prince saw that he was alone under attack, how could he obey? He pointed at the two brothers and said: "How reckless, you are really messing around!"
The third and fourth children were not willing to follow the prince's example. They sneered and sarcastically made the whole hall suddenly lively.
Yes, the old man did not hold a court meeting because he was worried that these princes had many wings and once they started fighting, it would be over. But he didn’t expect that they would still start a fight now, so he suddenly became angry and said coldly.
Looking at the three sons who were not giving in to each other, their faces were as dark as the bottom of a pot, and they waved their hands and said: "Shut up!"
After the old man became angry, everyone became more honest, but they all turned into "mud Buddhas" who remained silent. Seeing that this stalemate was not going to work anymore, the old man thought for a while and suddenly said
"It is announced that Li Min, the king of Shu, will come to the court to see him, and Li Zhen, the king of Yue, will serve as the envoy." As soon as he finished speaking, he tossed his sleeves, ignored the reactions of the important ministers, and turned back to the back hall.
What? Damn it, why did you blame me again? Old man, you are going too far! Li Zhen did not expect that this bad job would fall on her. When she heard this, she was dumbfounded and even angry.