Lao Zhu remained calm and didn't speak, wanting to wait for Han Du to ask him before he could follow suit.
But Han Du was not stupid. Just seeing that even Lao Zhu didn't speak, he knew that the piece of paper in his hand must be very hot. He didn't have a title now, and he felt guilty, so he certainly didn't want to cause trouble.
Seeing that Han Du didn't take the bait, Lao Zhu immediately slapped the memorial on the imperial case. "You bastard!"
Han Du was so frightened that his shoulders shook, and he raised his head cautiously and glanced at Lao Zhu, "You shouldn't be talking about me, right?"
Lao Zhu's eyes met Han Du's, and his eyes were cold. "If you don't accept this job, I'm talking about you."
Well, Han Du understood what Lao Zhu meant, and knew that he couldn't hide if he wanted to. So he spoke reluctantly and asked: "May I ask, Your Majesty, why the thunder is so angry?"
Seeing that Han Du finally lowered his head and surrendered, Lao Zhu's face finally improved a little. He said in a deep voice: "You can see for yourself."
Han Du slowly took two steps forward and picked up the memorial and opened it doubtfully. Han Du quickly read the memorial, but did not find any problem in it. He couldn't help but look at Lao Zhu in confusion.
.
"Your Majesty, I have read this memorial of the Supervisory Yuan Censor Cen Yong, and I don't think there is anything wrong with it."
In the memorial, Cen Yong mainly wrote about how the things Lao Zhu told him were handled. He did not mention the process, but mainly the results. The result was that after Cen Yong arrived in Liyang in defiance of the emperor's order, the things were handled very smoothly. The main culprit was Liyang.
County magistrate Li Ang took the initiative to surrender and plead guilty to the crime.
At this point, the matter is considered over. Cen Yong also stated in the memorial that after the end of Liyang County is settled, Li Ang will be escorted for trial.
This was the standard procedure for handling cases in the Ming Dynasty, and Han Du really couldn't see anything wrong.
Lao Zhu glanced at him, leaned back, and then said: "About a month ago, Huang Lu, a scholar in Liyang County, rushed to the palace gate with blood letters written by tens of thousands of people in Liyang to complain: Liyang County
He ordered Li Ang and the government officials to convict the rich man of being an adulterer, to expropriate and extort money in Liyang, to commit murder and arson, and to commit all sorts of evil!"
"After I heard about it, I was heartbroken and immediately sent Cen Yong to Liyang to investigate the case thoroughly. But I didn't expect that Cen Yong would give me such an answer."
Being reminded by Lao Zhu, Han Du immediately reacted. Yes, there were obviously two people being sued, so how come only Li Ang ended up pleading guilty and punished?
What about Pan Fu?
Han Du looked down at the memorial in his hand and searched it from beginning to end. In the end, he only saw one sentence, "Pan Fu, the Yamen Chai, acted according to Li Ang's orders, and everything he did was
Li Ang admitted it, so it is not a crime and will not be punished!"
There is actually nothing wrong with this statement. After all, Li Ang is the county magistrate, and Pan Fu is just a government official. How dare he, a government official, disobey the county magistrate's words? As long as Pan Fu obeys orders, even if Li Ang's incident is revealed,
You can't blame him.
There is no problem with this either.
As a result, Han Du looked up at Lao Zhu with even more confusion, not understanding what Lao Zhu wanted to do.
Lao Zhu continued: "I have an impression of Li Ang. I remember that he only went to Liyang to be the county magistrate for less than two years. But the blood letter Huang Lu brought said that Li Ang and Pan Fu had been causing trouble in Liyang for many years. You
Do you think the people are saying that Li Ang has been causing trouble for many years, or that Pan Fu has been causing trouble for many years?"
Needless to say?
Li Ang had only been there for less than two years and had never been in Liyang before. How could he cause trouble? In this case, the person who caused trouble for many years in the blood book must be referring to Pan Fu.
"So, this Li Ang is just a shield used by Pan Fu, and the real main culprit is not Li Ang, but Pan Fu?" Han Du said following his own thoughts.
Lao Zhu sighed. He also had Han Du's thoughts in his heart. "But I don't understand. Logically speaking, it is easy for a county magistrate to control a small yamen servant. How did Li Ang get manipulated by Pan Fu?"
, for someone who has turned away from the guest?"
Han Du lowered his head and pondered. If he planned it well, there wouldn't be many ways. Maybe Li Ang and Pan Fu had known each other for a long time, or maybe after Li Ang arrived in Liyang, he was dragged into the trap by Pan Fu for some unknown reason. This is also true.
It's possible. But Han Du doesn't know what's going on.
In front of Lao Zhu, Han Du couldn't tell his guess in one breath. If his guess was the same as what Lao Zhu thought, then everyone would be happy, but what if what he thought was different from Lao Zhu's?
Looking for trouble?
Lao Zhu raised his eyes slightly, his eyes brightened, and he looked straight outside the hall, as if he was seeing Liyang County. "I always feel that there must be some problem here."
Han Du curled his lips indifferently and respectfully put the memorial back to Lao Zhu. He said: "If the emperor has doubts, why not send someone to investigate again and find out what is going on.
?”
"I think so too." Lao Zhu nodded slightly, with a happy smile on his face.
Such a smile made Han Du's heart jump. He swallowed and asked tentatively.
: "The person the emperor wants to send cannot be a minister, right?"
"You really have the same idea as me." Lao Zhu gave Han Du an encouraging look.
Han Du's face suddenly became depressed. He clearly didn't want to go, but he didn't dare to say it directly in front of Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu glanced at Han Du, and then said: "I am giving you a chance. If you want to restore your title, regardless of how much contribution you have to make, you must have a justifiable reason, right? I promise you.
, as long as you go and investigate Liyang and get to the bottom of it, I will return the title to you."
Okay, what should I do? If Lao Zhu forcefully issued the decree, I would have to go even if I didn’t want to. Now that I can get my title back, it’s not a loss.
Moreover, Han Du also has a small idea. If he gets his title back, then even if the matter is exposed in the future, he will have a bigger buffer. Maybe Lao Zhu will just give his title back to him.
He took it away and no longer punished himself?
"Your Majesty, I obey." Han Du weighed the pros and cons and immediately bowed in obeisance.
"Without further delay, I will give you a decree tomorrow and set off immediately." Lao Zhu felt a little anxious, always feeling that this matter was not simple.
The reason why Lao Zhu insisted on Han Du conducting a thorough investigation was because he felt that people like Cen Yong were inexperienced. He was worried that they would not be able to see through the conspiracy and would not be able to find any problems.
But Han Du is different. Lao Zhu has never seen anyone more cunning than Han Du. Even if those people have unknown methods, it is all wishful thinking to hide it from Han Du.
This is the reason why Lao Zhu insisted on letting Han Du take the bait and had to go to Liyang.
When Han Du returned home, as soon as he walked into the courtyard, An Qing immediately greeted him.
He asked nervously: "What did the emperor say when he called you into the palace?"
Han Du briefly talked about the matter with An Qing, but did not tell her the key content.
An Qing was relieved when he heard that, and a smile appeared on his face again. "I thought you had offended my father, but it turned out to be this. So, you agreed?"
Han Du nodded and said with a wry smile: "Can I not agree? My father said that after I finish this matter, he will return the title to me. Even if I don't want to agree, I have to agree."
"That's great. It's a great joy to be able to regain the title." An Qing suddenly became happy when he heard that Han Du was going to regain the title.
Han Du laughed, it would be a great thing to be able to restore his title.
After all, if they lose their title, others will only call them Prince Consort. But once their title is restored, they must call themselves Marquis.
One is a horse and the other is a man, who is better and worse will be judged.
The next day, Lao Zhu summoned Han Du into the palace and gave him the order to appoint Han Du as the imperial envoy to Liyang to investigate the case thoroughly.
There are strict etiquette rules for imperial envoys to travel. In addition to the accompanying officials, they are also protected by a team of sergeants.
Lao Zhu even directly ordered Shanziying to send a team of fifty people to escort Han Du to Liyang.
Although Han Du is still the commander of Shanzi Camp, Shanzi Camp has now expanded to 15,000 troops. But without Lao Zhu's will, Han Du would not be able to mobilize even a single soldier.
After receiving the order, Xu Chengfei directly selected fifty elite soldiers from Shanzi Camp and prepared to hand them over to Han Du.
Han Du hadn't left the capital yet, so he didn't display the royal envoy's imperial envoy flag. He took a carriage directly to the gate of Shanziying, where Xu Chengfei was already waiting there early.
Although you can also ride a horse, riding a carriage is obviously much easier and more comfortable than riding a horse. Han Du will not short-change himself by rushing on the road in a hurry. Besides, this matter cannot be solved in a hurry.
Han Du still needs to think long and hard about how to start.
Although the carriage was a little slow, it was smoother and could give Han Du enough time to plan. If he were riding a horse, he would have no way to think while sitting on the horse.
Han Du got off the carriage, directly held hands with Xu Chengfei cordially, and patted the back of each other's hands.
"Calm and elegant, you are really becoming more and more like a Confucian general." Han Du greeted with a smile.
Xu Chengfei smiled and let go of Han Du's hand, turned around and pointed at a group of sergeants, "I know you are on your way urgently, so I have already selected the manpower for you. They are all the people who followed you back from the grassland. Everyone is here."
He is as good as ten."
Note that what Xu Chengfei said about one being worth ten is not for ordinary people, but for the Mongolian people.
Han Du looked at everyone's faces, as if he had seen them all before, but he couldn't remember their names. But one thing was certain, they were all elite soldiers under his command.
"Okay, then this time my safety will be left to you."
"Please don't worry, general!" the leading captain shouted back immediately.
When others saw Han Du, smiles appeared on their faces.
Han Du did not enter Shanzi Camp, and Xu Chengfei did not try to persuade him to stay. He just stood at the door and watched Han Du leave.