The panic among the monarchs, ministers and people in Jiangling City reached its peak at the end of July.
The enemy's traces have appeared in Jingling, and urgent documents from all over the country are flying into Jiangling, first from Xinye, then from Xiangyang County, and then from Jingling.
The most frightening thing is that the land of Jingxiang has just experienced a round of conscription, and the rear is empty, and the monarchs and ministers of Liang are still hesitating whether the newly formed army should go north to rescue Nanyang, or first ensure Xiangyang, or even protect Jiangling.
The war is getting closer and closer to Jiangling.
The people in Jiangling City were panic-stricken, and few people were walking around in the streets. The nobles were preparing private soldiers and hoarding food according to custom, making the situation even more tense.
Seeing rumors spread everywhere, Jiangling City was in a state of panic.
And this was just the beginning. At the end of July, Zhang Zhenzhou and Chai Shao led their troops out of Kuizhou and were defeated by the Tang army. The entire army was almost wiped out. News of the fall of Kuizhou spread to Jiangling.
The monarchs and ministers of the Liang Kingdom felt as if they were mourning for their heirs, and were in despair. Xiao Mian walked around the palace like a trapped animal. Finally, he said, Zhang Zhenzhou mistook me too much, so he killed more than 20 Zhang Zhenzhou's brothers, nephews, and sold all the women in the family.
A slave in the world.
After venting his anger for a while, he asked the officials about his plan in the palace. The officials tied their hands and were speechless.
Xiao Mian couldn't help but cry: "You and others have always been proud of themselves as virtuous people. In the past, they all had wise plans and well-informed plans. They could defeat the enemy in just a moment...
Since I raised my army, I have been following the will of the people, driving Lin Shihong, leveling Zhu Can, and controlling the right side of the Yangtze River. I have never dared to slack off in the slightest, and I have never treated anyone badly. But now when I am in trouble, everyone has tied up their hands, and there is no good plan to give.
I would rather be worthy of it?"
After saying that, I hid my face and cried...
Everyone looked at each other, and most of them were thinking about the heads that had been chopped off before. If those people knew about it underground, they didn't know what they would think after hearing the emperor's cry.
Of course, regardless of whether they felt guilty or not, or what thoughts were running through their hearts, the emperor was crying like this. They couldn't show anything, so they immediately fell to the ground and shed tears with the emperor.
In this desolate and miserable time, it is obvious that there is some signs of depression.
In fact, what frightened the officials of the Liang Kingdom was Xiao Xian's meanness and unkindness. The emperor killed too many people in these days, giving the impression that everyone's life and death depended only on the emperor's thoughts.
In particular, Zhang Zhenzhou had made many meritorious deeds. Now that he died in battle, the emperor didn't feel any regret at all. He raised his hand and ransacked Zhang Zhenzhou's family and exterminated his family. He even sold his female relatives into slavery.
The violence contained in it makes people shudder just thinking about it...
No matter how fiercely you cry while holding a knife dripping with blood, others will not think you are kind-hearted and kind-hearted. Therefore, those who want to speak out remain silent and only act with the emperor.
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There are people crying in Jiangling City, and there are also people crying in the imperial palace in Chang'an City.
The aftermath of the case of Gao Shen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who had an affair with the Turks, sold soldiers and armor, and embezzled money and food from the Ministry of Revenue, was still unsolved. Under the joint trial of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Yushitai, Gao Shen was brought out of the carrot and mud, and Gao Shen was accused of more and more crimes.
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By virtue of his position in the Ministry of Household Affairs and his family background, Gao Shen secretly kept slaves and soldiers, hoarded grain, armored soldiers, and seized land, etc. His incidents were uncovered.
At this time, the direction of the wind has completely changed, and many people are looking forward to settling the case as soon as possible. Because of the years of war, most of Gao Shen's crimes were common actions of nobles.
Over the years, some of the aristocratic families have not stored food and grass or raised soldiers. Now that they have manpower, they naturally need to get some soldiers and armor to hide in the mansion.
As for keeping slaves and concealing the number of people, that can be traced back to a long time ago. Especially when the emperor wanted to collect taxes from the nobles, concealing the number of people was a common response method of the nobles.
And seizing land... actually seems ridiculous to many people. Since the war, ownerless fields are everywhere, and it is basically commonplace for wealthy families to take some of it into their own hands, and it can even be said to be legal.
So it sounds like everything is a serious crime, but in fact it is a common practice of the nobles. If you really want to investigate, you can basically catch all the civil and military officials of the dynasty.
The general meaning is that the world is as dark as crows, who is Gao Shen?
Fortunately, by the end of July, the situation had become extremely clear. Gao Shen probably could not escape the blow. The emperor had no intention of expanding the scope of the attack. Except for Xiao Yu, who was gritting his teeth, other important officials in the court also lacked the will to continue to pursue the case.
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The impression given to people is that this is an internal fight among the clans of Guanxi, a siege of the Gao family in Bohai... Of course, the emperor could not help but take advantage of the situation, and the intention was to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
So everyone felt at ease and just asked Gao Shen to plead guilty and die quickly, so as not to implicate others anymore.
If Gao Shen died suddenly in prison at this time, many people would probably applaud and celebrate, including even Gao's relatives and friends, as well as numerous lackeys.
When the situation reached this point, Li Po was very satisfied. With the good news coming from outside, Li Po was in a good mood and returned to the forbidden garden of the harem, preparing to rest.
After more than two months of worrying about internal and external matters, I don’t know how many brain cells have died. They need to be replenished. Even Yu Chigong is still confronting Zhou Faming in Nanyang, which makes people worry. Otherwise, he would even want to go out to the palace to have fun.
Already.
……………………
Qingning Palace.
Concubine Gao De fell to the ground, twitching from crying.
Gao Shen was her grandfather. Gao Shen was convicted, and many of his nephews served in the Ministry of Household Affairs. They were all unavoidable. The family was also confiscated. Concubine Gao De's position in the palace was in jeopardy.
Now she can still cry to the emperor, not because Li Bi is causing problems for her husband, but because Concubine Gao De has only been promoted to a noble concubine for a few days, and her reputation in the palace is not bad, so there is no need to deal with it urgently.
The most important reason is that Li Bi feels that this can appease the hearts of the Gao family. After all, a family like the Gao family cannot be uprooted due to Gao Shen's crime. In the end, it needs to be tied up, and keeping Concubine Gao De is a good step.
.
The scene was set up in the queen's palace, which actually showed that the couple had discussed it, and now it was just a formality.
The scene in front of him felt like déjà vu. After thinking about it for a moment, Li Po remembered the scene in Yunnei where he grabbed his sister with red eyes and wanted him to chop off her head. He couldn't help but smile in his heart.
He was in a good mood and didn't want to waste any time on this matter.
A girl in her fifteenth or sixteenth year was crying so hard that she looked like she might be beaten at any time. After many days of suffering, she was so haggard that her original color could hardly be seen.
But this did not arouse the emperor's compassion. Gao Huan's family fell to the ground with a crash, not a single brick among them was innocent, and Li Po didn't care at all how many people would be crushed to death.
At this time, he just said lightly: "The affairs of the foreign court have nothing to do with you. When you go back, copy some Buddhist scriptures and don't think wildly."
Then he waved his hand and signaled the palace attendants to help him down.
Concubine Gao De kowtowed repeatedly to thank the emperor for his kindness, and was helped away by the palace servants...
When he turned to face Li Bi, he touched his chin and shook his head pretentiously, sighing, "Gao Shen violated the law and affected the family. He deserves to die."
Li Bi did not expose the murderer's hypocrisy, but said sympathetically: "Most women don't know how men behave outside, but when it comes to committing crimes, they have to shoulder the burden together. It's really pitiful."
The couple looked at each other and laughed at the same time, which seemed awkward.
The two of them are not kind-hearted people, and they know each other well. At this time, there are only two of them here, so who can listen to their pretentious sentiments?
Li Po didn't let the woman's tears affect his good mood. He called someone to get some food and wine, and sat down with his wife to drink.
After having a drink with her husband, Li Bi raised her glass again and said with a smile: "My husband plans the strategy, advances and retreats in a measured way, and is lenient and strict. I would like to offer you a drink."
There was no need to hide anything in front of his wife, Li Po laughed proudly, "A little trick is not worth mentioning, come on, let's win."
After finishing the glass, Li Bi was in a good mood to see her husband so happy. She had been worried a lot these days. She was from a prominent family in Kansai, and she had a deeper understanding of powerful people like the Gao family.
When her husband suddenly attacked Mrs. Gao, she was naturally worried, fearing that it would harm the current situation, and even felt that her husband was too impatient.
Of course, now I feel at peace and have a new understanding of my husband's methods...
"I wonder how your husband will deal with Gao Shen and others?"
Li Po laughed and said, "What? Someone asked you to come here? Don't worry about them. Gao Shenjing will be tried by a judge. The final outcome depends on the verdict of Li Gang and others."
At this point, his smile became somewhat meaningful, "If Gao Shen can still survive, I have nothing to say."
Seeing her husband's hidden power and his well-thought-out appearance, Li Bi, who was admiring her husband and constantly fighting with her husband, suddenly had the idea in her heart that she could not ask for anything more from her husband.
Filling the wine glass for her husband, she said with a smile: "I don't have the time to care about the life and death of outsiders. I just feel that the life and death of Gao Shen and others are already in my husband's hands, so why should I delay it... It's better to end it as soon as possible."
To prevent changes."
Li Po shook his head slightly, "The leader of the Gao clan, a high-ranking official in the imperial court, pursues profit-seeking behavior. He does not hesitate to connect with foreign countries, and even embezzles money and food from the household. His unscrupulousness is really shocking.
We all know what happened in Yun Nei back then... We are so rich and wealthy, but we still do such despicable things. If we can't make the punishment clear and make it known to the world, how can I be willing to do it?
I just want the world to see their faces, and to warn those who come, if they kill me in a hurry, they will think that I am the same as Li Yuan and others, so what is the point of me being the emperor?"
Li Bi nodded repeatedly, her admiration was beyond words, and she raised her glass to pay tribute.
Li Po rarely saw her like this, and he was even more proud, but he was already thinking in his heart, if Li Gang, Yang Gongren and others fell out of control and caused trouble for him, how should he let everyone know and what would be the consequences of supporting each other?