Zhao Pu walked quickly under the corridor of the palace with hurried steps. Zhao Pu's old legs had not been so flexible in recent years, and his strength was well controlled. The sound of stepping was very small, and he did not stop until he reached the side of the palace door.
After taking a few deep breaths to calm down his rapid breathing, and adjusting his clothes a little, Zhao Puchong followed Yan Tuo who was beside him and said: "Your Majesty, Zhao Pu wants to see you!"
"My lord, please wait a moment!" Yan Tuo bowed and entered the palace first.
There are really not many people in the world who can control Yantuo. Among the officials, Zhao Pu is one of them. On normal days, he might be able to pay attention to his tone, but now it is an emergency, so naturally he cannot be polite.
Not long after, Yantuo came out again. The officials summoned him and asked Mr. Zhao to enter the palace quickly. Zhao Pu did not dare to neglect, and subconsciously adjusted his appearance before taking a steady step.
Zhao Pu was very familiar with the Chui Gong Hall and could even find the exact location with his eyes closed. However, when he came in this time, Zhao Pu paid more attention to the familiar hall and quickly and silently observed the people in the hall, especially when he saw When Wang Yuchen spoke, the old man frowned.
"I see you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Pu came forward and bowed.
His cold eyes wandered over Zhao Pu, Emperor Liu stretched out his hand and said with a straight face: "Give me a seat!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
However, as soon as he was seated, Emperor Liu asked coldly: "Qing Zhao, I heard Wang Yucheng say that he sent several memorials to the court to eliminate the shortcomings of Chen Helong's governance. Is this possible?"
"Back to Your Majesty, I have checked it out and it is indeed true!" Zhao Pu said calmly.
"Then why haven't I seen even one of them? Is there any secret in this? Is anyone trying to deceive me?" Emperor Liu said coldly, his eyes as if he wanted to eat people.
"Back to Your Majesty!" Zhao Pu stood up and spoke at the same speed: "Wang Yucheng's memorial was submitted to the Political Affairs Hall, but after reading it, it was refuted by the senior ministers!"
"Oh?" Emperor Liu raised his eyebrows, and there was obviously a deeper meaning in his eyes: "So it was Zhao Qing who intercepted it?"
"Your Majesty!" Seeing that the old emperor was about to be filled with suspicion, Zhao Pu's tone finally became a little more anxious, and he cupped his hands and said: "The veteran thought that Wang Yucheng's original performance was biased and exaggerated. The campaign is at a critical moment. The imperial court and the northwest Daozhou should work together to avoid unnecessary influence and unrest in people's hearts. Therefore, the veteran made his own decision and pressed the memorial."
After hearing Zhao Pu's explanation, Emperor Liu's expression became a little warmer, but his brows furrowed even more tightly, feeling that something was wrong.
After thinking for a while, he said: "The circumstances mentioned by Wang Yucheng are serious. Even if Zhao Qing has doubts, he should send someone to inspect and verify it! Why didn't he ask about the obituary? If what he said is true and the situation is even more serious, then how can it be Aren't you just watching the fire from the other side and watching the suffering of the people?"
"This is indeed the veteran's negligence!" Zhao Pu quickly admitted his mistake: "The veteran has been focusing on the overall situation of national tax reform before, so he has neglected other matters."
Having said this, Zhao Pu took out three memorials from his sleeves and held them respectfully in his hand: "Your Majesty, this is what Wang Yucheng originally played. Please check it out!"
Upon seeing this, Emperor Liu waved his hand gently, and Yantuo immediately went down and presented the memorial. Emperor Liu was still full of energy in every move, and he quickly started to read through it. For a while, the only sound in the entire palace was the sound of Emperor Liu turning the pages. Looking at the contents of the memorial, Emperor Liu frowned so much that he almost twisted his eyebrows.
What is said in the memorial is similar in connotation to Wang Yuchen's memorial in Shicai Palace, but there are some differences in the end. The expressions are only concise and concise, lacking details, so they appear to lack support and are more like the wild imagination of an official.
In the memorial, Wang Yucheng emphasized to the court the disadvantages of the Western Expedition, calling for an end to the war, a cessation of martial arts, and the cultivation of literature to relieve the people's plight and restore people's livelihood. In addition to complaining about the grievances of the people, the core was to oppose the Western Expedition, hoping that Emperor Liu could Change your course, stop being so fond of great achievements, and be obsessed with merit and defeat your abilities.
Considering the situation of the Western Expedition and the atmosphere of the court at that time, the key was his status as an emperor. When such a memorial was presented, Emperor Liu would probably have no other reaction besides being furious. As for Wang Yucheng, it didn’t matter whether the goal could be achieved or not. His head may not even be saved. In the past two years, the old emperor has suffered various blows, and his heart has become increasingly arrogant. It is difficult for him to hear some unpleasant truths.
Even now, it is still like this. The reason for the different reactions is just because Wang Yucheng gave a memorial to the court and gave many details. More importantly, the two examples he gave deeply hurt the old emperor. .
Obviously, in the heart of the old emperor, because of the Western Expedition, Helong suffered a lot of troubles and the people were miserable. This is not an incomprehensible thing. Anyone who wants to achieve great things can do it without sacrifice and paying the price. For the sake of unification and the Northern Expedition, The people in Han Dynasty also suffered a lot, but didn't they all get through it in the end?
In contrast, those greedy and arrogant officials and lazy and indulgent officials made trouble among them, misinterpreted the emperor's intentions, interpreted the court policies according to their own convenience, and persecuted the people. This was the land of fish and meat. This was what really made Emperor Liu angry.
Emperor Liu's anger and panic were also due to the fact that he saw some situations that he did not want to see from Wang Yucheng's performance, and saw the bloody facts behind the glamorous "Kaibao Prosperity". Tear it open and expose it to Emperor Liu.
The palace was extremely quiet until Emperor Liu put down the memorial and pondered endlessly. His eyes wandered over Wang Yucheng and Zhao Pu. It was extremely complicated. After pondering for a moment, he said to Wang Yucheng: "I thought Wang Yucheng had changed, but it seems that I was still mistaken. The wind and sand in the northwest, I have not been able to wear away your will and character! I am afraid you are the only one Wang Yucheng who dares to point out the mistakes in my decision-making and the shortcomings of my governance in this way!"
"I'm just a person who is loyal to the emperor because he eats the emperor's salary!" Wang Yucheng responded with a calm expression.
"Are you really not afraid of death?" Emperor Liu's eyes were deep and his voice was even deeper.
The threat of death still lingered on Wang Yuchen. He pondered for a moment and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I am afraid! However, when I saw that there were babies abandoned by the people in Huangshui River, Shanzhou ditches, and in the fields, I was no longer afraid. "
"Haha!" Emperor Liu laughed again, but this laughter was a bit sad, with tears streaming down his face. He pointed at Wang Yucheng with trembling fingers: "You are trying to kill me with your words!"
"I don't dare!" Wang Yuchen's expression became calmer: "If your arrogance to the envoy can touch your majesty and warn the court, I will be satisfied!"
Hearing this, Emperor Liu was silent for a moment, and then looked at Zhao Pu. The old man was waiting respectfully, without any panic at all.
Emperor Liu originally planned to blame Zhao Pu for the interception of Wang Yuchen's memorial, not necessarily Zhao Pu, but he always wanted to vent. However, when Zhao Pu simply admitted it, he suddenly realized something. As the Prime Minister of Zhengshitang, he had criticized the memorial.
Quan, the memorials that could be submitted to Emperor Liu for review had to go through one or even several rounds of selection.
In the past, when Emperor Liu was diligent in his work, he would check it regularly, but now there are thousands of reports and regulations from various ministries, supervisors, prefectures and counties every day. Even if Emperor Liu is allowed to read them, he will only read them
Don't come.
Zhao Pu suppressed Wang Yuchen's memorial and did not report it, which made sense from the perspective of the imperial system. More importantly, Emperor Liu remembered something, because Wang Yuchen repeatedly made some remarks that were not in line with the Sacred Heart. Out of boredom, Emperor Liu took it back
Without his right to secretly report, Wang Yucheng had to go through regular procedures if he wanted to report to Emperor Liu.
Since then, the fact that Wang Yucheng's music was able to be submitted to Zhao Pu and the prince already depended on his reputation. To the extent that knowing his nature, it was an unexpected thing for him to be able to work in Longyou.
Thinking of this, Emperor Liu asked Wang Yucheng in a sad tone: "I am calling you back to Beijing this time. I intend to use you again."