Chapter 171 Tang Country Gets Another Sage (Thanks to calvinye96, the leader of Ban Zhuan!)
Along with Cao Shen and Zhou Bo, they were dismissed, and the ministers in the temple were also released.
The emperor made Wang Ling his prime minister and Guan Ying his chief lieutenant.
The ministers were in awe and no longer dared to despise the emperor.
Xuanyi instantly became a celebrity in front of Liu Ying and was deeply loved by Liu Ying. Of course, the emperor also issued an edict to the Tang soldiers, ordering them to return to the country, rewarding the generals, appeasing their soldiers, and officially appointed him.
Li Zuoche was a Taiwei of the Tang Dynasty, and he rewarded the Tang king with beautiful clothes and a hundred Tang Dynasty war horses as a reward for their loyal behavior.
Except for Shen Shiqi, Nei Shi, Tai Pu Cheng and a few others, it can be said that everyone is happy.
Next, when Liu Ying held a court meeting, the ministers no longer dared to talk nonsense about peace in the world. At this time, Liu Ying truly understood how serious the problems in various places were. Several policies he had originally implemented actually had
There are many loopholes, but the ministers don’t mention them.
Liu Ying's first policy was to change the original policy of five times the tax for a fifteen-year-old girl who did not get married, and changed it to a one-to-one policy, which could be superimposed up to five times.
The second policy is to set up a new small organization. This small organization does not have much power. The officials in it are less than a thousand stones, and they receive the salary of ordinary officials. They only obey the emperor's edicts and help the emperor with small things.
This institution is called "Embroidered Clothes Messenger's Mansion".
Apart from these policies, the major affairs in the DPRK are all about prison.
Everyone else can be pardoned for capital crimes, but only Shen Shiqi and the others cannot escape. Liu Ying directly hands them over to Xuanyi for disposal... Well, Xuanyi's disposal is basically a death sentence, unless the emperor speaks,
Otherwise no one can save them.
The others were fine. Shen Shi was an important minister of the late emperor, deeply trusted by the empress dowager, and had many friends in Chang'an.
Therefore, there are many people who want to rescue him.
Among them, the one who works the hardest is Pingyuan Jun Zhu Jian.
Although Zhu Jian has the title Lord Pingyuan, he has lived in Chang'an for a long time and is a very famous person.
When she heard that Zhu Jian came to visit her, Empress Lu was also a little surprised.
Zhu Jian was a native of the Chu State. He once served as the Prime Minister of Huainan Wang Yingbu and brought great rule to the Huainan State, but he left because of his guilt.
Later, Yingbu realized that he really couldn't do it without him, so he sent people to invite him several times to reuse him.
Later, when Yingbu killed the Han envoy and wanted to rebel, Zhu Jian opposed it with all his strength. However, the Huainan Kingdom was full of reckless men and looked down on him as the prime minister. Later, Yingbu was killed, and Emperor Gao because he did not follow Yingbu's plan.
Instead, he was pardoned, given the title Lord Pingyuan, and his family moved to Chang'an.
This man was eloquent and eloquent. At the same time, he was upright and well-known. Whether in strategy or in governing the country, he was worthy of praise. Emperor Gao loved his talent very much.
Empress Lu was still very polite to him. She invited him to sit aside and asked him to bring some food.
Zhu Jian thanked the Queen Mother and then said: "I am here to pay homage to Your Majesty. Since I have not seen the Queen Mother for a long time, I came to pay homage to the Queen Mother first."
"Oh? Have you finally decided to serve the emperor?"
Queen Lu was a little happy, she knew the ability of the person in front of her.
Zhu Jian smiled bitterly and said, "I want to plead for Marquis Piyang."
Empress Lu's face changed greatly and she said: "Marquis Piyang deceived the emperor, which is an unforgivable crime. You are not close to him, why do you do this?"
"I know that Piyang Hou is guilty. However, Piyang Hou followed you when you were in the most critical moment. He took good care of the late emperor's family and did not let them be insulted. In the face of Xiang Ji, he was neither humble nor arrogant. If it were not for him,
For protection, Emperor Gao cannot get together with his family. If he is killed like this, I am afraid that future generations will say that the Queen Mother is ruthless, so I want to persuade the emperor."
"Haha, I know you are an eloquent person, but I won't listen to you. Please leave."
Empress Lu turned around and left, not giving Zhu Jian a chance to continue persuading him.
Zhu Jian was not angry. He just sat in the Jiaofang Hall and ate and drank.
Until a figure appeared next to him, Liu Chang looked at the old man in front of him curiously. He had never seen anyone dare to eat and drink like this in Jiaofang Palace. This is not a restaurant outside the city, this is Jiaofang Palace.
Temple!
"Who are you?!"
Liu Chang asked.
"Zhu Jian pays homage to the King of Tang!"
This man paid a respectful visit to Liu Chang.
"Zhu Jian? Hahaha, I have long admired your name. What is your official position now?"
"I am white."
"White body? Humph!"
Liu Chang raised his head, snorted disdainfully, turned around and entered the inner hall.
Zhu Jian finished the meal in front of him, walked out of Jiaofang Hall and headed to Xuanshi Hall.
But Liu Chang came to Queen Lu and said, "Mom, that man outside is named Zhu Jian! He is very disrespectful to me! Invite him to a bar tonight!"
Queen Lu glared at him and said nothing.
"Hmph, you are sitting in the Jiaofang Hall eating and drinking. When I asked, you said you are a white person. Which white person dares to act so arrogantly here? You are obviously trying to fool everyone!"
"He is right, he is Bai Shen."
"What a white body?? Then how dare he sit here?"
Queen Lu said seriously: "He was originally Yingbu's adviser..."
"Hahaha, Yingbo still has an adviser? Hahaha..." Liu Chang suddenly laughed and said disdainfully: "I thought he was some kind of person. It turned out to be Yingbo's adviser. So this person has nothing to do with him.
What a talent!”
"Chief, whether a counselor has talent depends not on himself, but on who is using him... What talents can a person like Han Xin show under the command of a person like Xiang Ji?"
"Um...then he has talent?"
"Very talented... Your father once said: This man is loyal and good, and has the talent of one of the three great men."
"Three great talents?!"
Liu Chang's eyes lit up, and Queen Lu said disdainfully: "Give up, since Yingbu's death, he has never wanted to be an official again. Your father can't even hire him."
"Okay, mom...I'm going out to play then."
Zhu Jian also received courteous treatment from Liu Ying. Although Liu Ying had changed a lot, she was still very gentle towards others on weekdays. After chatting with Zhu Jian for a while, she asked her why she was here.
"I'm here for the late emperor."
"Oh? Why did you say this, sir?"
Zhu Jian said: "I heard that your majesty wanted to kill Piyanghou. Piyanghou made a big mistake this time and should be severely punished. However, if your majesty kills him like this, it will damage the reputation of the late emperor. In the beginning,
When the emperor was still alive, if ministers made mistakes, the former emperor could pardon them based on their merits, as was the case with Peng Yue, Han Xin, Lu Wan, Zhang Ao and others."
"Even though it was me and I failed to keep the King of Huainan in check, His Majesty also pardoned my crime based on my achievements in governing the place in the past."
"Marquis Piyang once followed the family members of the late emperor and protected them when they were in greatest danger... This credit is certainly not as good as that of Peng Yue, Han Xin and others, but his crimes are also far inferior to those of Peng Yue, Han Xin and others...
.”
Liu Ying's face suddenly looked a little ugly, and she remained silent without speaking.
"Your Majesty, the queen said that she has something important to meet with."
Zhang Piqiang suddenly said.
Liu Ying was stunned, stood up hurriedly, and asked: "What's the matter?"
Zhang Biqiang glanced at Zhu Jian and said nothing. Liu Ying then said helplessly: "Sir, please sit down for a moment. I'll be back soon."
Seeing Liu Ying leaving in a hurry, Zhu Jianchang sighed, stood up, and walked out of the Xuanshi Hall.
After leaving the Xuanshi Palace, Zhang Piqiang hurriedly bowed, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Liu Ying was not stupid either. He helped Zhang Piqiang up and said, "I know what you mean...but...the internal history officer and the imperial servant should indeed be killed, but the judge...you said I would deprive him of his title." , how about being demoted to Chengdan?"
Zhang Piqiang raised his head and said: "His Majesty has the final say in all affairs in the court."
Liu Ying hesitated. He wanted to kill Shen Shiqi, but right, Shen Shiqi was indeed kind to his family in the beginning, and he had done a lot in these years. If he was executed directly... .While Liu Ying hesitated, Zhu Jian had already walked out of the palace.
Zhu Jian raised his head and sighed helplessly.
No matter how eloquent a person is, if he does not have a chance to speak, he cannot act. Who should he go to next?
While Zhu Jian was deep in thought, someone suddenly stood in front of him.
This man looked very young and had a sword on his waist. He asked coldly: "But Mr. Zhu?"
"yes..."
"My king invites you to go to his mansion."
"Why does Prince Tang want to see me?"
"Please come with me."
This man said he was inviting people, but he didn't show any sign of inviting people. He followed Zhu Jian every step of the way, completely forcing him to come to the Tang Prince's residence.
"Hahaha, Father Zhong is here!!"
Liu Chang stretched out his hand and held Zhu Jian's hand tightly, his face very excited.
Zhu Jian said calmly: "In vain, I dare not be the king's father."
"Oh, don't worry about things in the palace. I have heard about Father Zhong's name for a long time and learned about his great talent. So when I heard about Bai Shen, I thought it was someone else with the same name...I asked many times and found out that it was really you. , then I asked Luan Bu to invite you here."
"Please? Before I walked into the mansion, your hand was on the hilt of the sword, and you were looking menacingly."
Liu Chang glared at Luan Bu and said, "I asked you to invite Duke Zhu here, how dare you be rude?!"
Luan Bu also cooperated and quickly apologized.
Liu Chang then asked Zhu Jian to sit next to him and ordered Luan Bu to serve him some meat.
"Your Majesty, I am at home now and don't want to..."
"I invite you to come because I respect Father Zhong, not for anything else!"
As Liu Chang spoke, he pretended to greet Zhu Jian and asked about his family affairs. When he talked about his children, Zhu Jian shook his head and said that they had no talents and were not worth mentioning. .
"You have been staying at home for a long time. Why did you suddenly go to Jiaofang Palace this time?"
"It's to understand and rescue Marquis Piyang."
With Zhu Jian's words, the atmosphere suddenly cooled down.
The smile on Liu Chang's face suddenly disappeared and he remained silent. Luan Bu also placed his hand on the hilt of the sword again.
Zhu Jian was not afraid. Of course he also knew the relationship between Liu Chang and Shen Shiqi. He stood up with a smile and prepared to leave.
Liu Chang asked: "Shen Shi is in trouble. None of his usual friends dare to go to the palace to plead for mercy. I haven't heard that you have any friendship with him. Depending on your talent, you can probably see that Piyang Hou is a good man." Man is destroying himself, why do you want to save him?"
Zhu Jian paused and said, "I know what kind of person Piyang Hou is."
"Once upon a time, my family was very poor... My mother-in-law passed away, and I didn't even have the money to pay for my mother's funeral. I went around to borrow money, but no one lent it to me... Later, the Marquis of Piyang gave me money...
I sent a generous gift worth one hundred gold...so that I could attend my mother's funeral. Many nobles at that time also sent money and goods worth five hundred gold because of the generous gift given by the Marquis of Piyang.
.”
"I have been paying back the money over the years...The money has been paid off, but the kindness has not yet been repaid."
"Oh, I have also heard about this. It is said that upon learning of the death of your mother, Marquis Piyang was very happy. He said that you never interacted with him on weekdays, and now he can give you generous gifts for your mother's funeral... You
I will definitely work tooth and nail for him.”
Zhu Jian smiled and said, "Even if you have ulterior motives, you still helped me. How can I not repay you?"
Liu Chang did not deliberately spread rumors. He knew that when Zhu Jian's mother died, Shen Shiqi's retainers congratulated Shen Shiqi, and Shen Shiqi also felt so...Zhu Jian, like his children, was a
Hard bones.
Historically, Shen Shiqi was arrested by Liu Ying because of the misbehavior of his disciples. It was Zhu Jian who rescued Shen Shiqi.
Later, a certain King Li of Huainan who was unwilling to disclose his life beat Shen Shiqi to death. He heard that there was a man named Zhu Jian who had a good relationship with Shen Shiqi, so he wanted to kill him.
Zhu Jian was about to commit suicide. His children persuaded him not to commit suicide rashly, but Zhu Jian said: After I die alone, the disaster to our family will be gone, and you will not be implicated.
.
When Emperor Wen heard about it, he felt very sad and felt that another great talent had left.
It’s not just Zhu Jian, their whole family is tough.
Zhu Jian's eldest son inherited his father's eloquence, so he went to the Xiongnu as an envoy. However, the Xiongnu Chanyu asked him to treat him as the emperor, and his words contained contempt for the Han Dynasty. His son was furious and turned to the Shanyu.
Yu cursed loudly and did not stop until he was killed.
Seeing Zhu Jian about to leave, Liu Chang suddenly shouted: "Wait a minute!"
Zhu Jian stopped and asked again: "Does the king want to kill me?"
"I won't kill you... let's do this. I will help judge Shi Qi and exempt him from the death penalty. However, you have to assist me and govern the Tang Dynasty... How about it?!"
Zhu Jian was a little surprised. He looked at Liu Chang and said, "Your Majesty, are you willing to help Piyang Hou?"
"Oh, people like Piyanghou are nothing in the eyes of few people, but talents like Zhongfu can manage four counties to prosperity in the Tang Dynasty. Ten Piyanghous are not as good as one Zhu Jian
ah!"
Zhu Jian looked at Liu Chang with a slightly different look. He lived in Chang'an, so of course he knew the character of this Tang king. He had a big grudge against Shen Shiqi, but at this moment, he was actually willing to intercede for Shen Shiqi, just for the sake of it.
Let himself assist him...Zhu Jian could vaguely see the shadow of the late emperor in him.
At the beginning, Yong Chi, a wealthy family in Peixian County, looked down upon Liu Bang very much, and later followed him to fight with Liu Bang. When Liu Bang went out to fight, he directly offered Fengyi to join the Zhou Dynasty of Wei State, which made Liu Bang furious and vowed to kill him!
Later, Yong Chi subordinated himself to the State of Zhao and then surrendered to Liu Bang. Liu Bang always had trouble with him and the two of them hated each other. Later, Liu Bang rewarded the meritorious officials and granted him great titles. He heard that some people were dissatisfied and complained every day, so he asked Zhang Liang for advice.
Zhang Liang said that whoever your Majesty hated the most would be rewarded generously, so that everyone could hope to be rewarded, so Liu Bang made Yongchi the Marquis of Shifang.
This Marquis of Shifang died two years ago and was given the posthumous title of Suhou.
This was the first thing Zhu Jian thought of. He pondered for a moment and said, "Although I want to rescue Shen Shiqi, I cannot let the king bear the name of unfilial piety."
"Please, Your Majesty, please don't interfere in this matter."
"If you hadn't said this, I might have still hesitated. Now that you have said so, I will save the rest of you! You stay!!"
"King!"
"Chen Tao, look at him, I'll go find your Majesty!"
Chen Tao, who was busy not far away, looked at Liu Chang blankly and replied "Wei". Liu Chang took Luan Bu and left. Zhu Jian looked at Liu Chang leaving with some confusion, and then looked at Chen Tao, "
Are you also the benefactor of King Tang?"
Chen Tao shook his head hastily.
"Are you a vassal of the Tang Dynasty?"
Chen Tao shook his head again.
"That is?"
"I don't know either...."
“I don’t know??Then what are you doing here??”
"A carpenter."
...
Luan Bu asked very displeasedly: "Does the king really want to let Shen Shiqi go?"
"Oh, what are you afraid of? Let's demote him to a commoner first. After a while, when Zhu Jian is in the Tang Dynasty, wouldn't it be better to let him get sick and die?"
"But the king promised to help judge Shi Qi."
"Yes, I promised Zhu Jian that I would pardon Shen Shiqi's death penalty, but I didn't promise that he would live a long life, right?"
Luan Bu's eyes widened, and then he nodded, "I understand!"
"I just need such an eloquent person around me. Besides, his ability to govern the country is not bad. Doesn't our Tang country lack such talents?"
The two talked secretly and soon returned to the palace.
When Liu Chang walked into the Xuanshi Hall and saw Liu Ying, Liu Ying hurriedly asked him to sit next to her, and said with some tangle: "Elder brother... I am ready to pardon Shen Shiqi's death penalty and will
He was demoted to Chengdan...what do you think...?"
Liu Chang was stunned for a moment, then shouted: "No way!!"
"Well, eldest brother, privately speaking, he is still very kind to our family..."
"I finally helped my brother to rule the ministers obediently. Will my brother let them go so easily? Our army of the Tang State came all the way, with countless casualties. The Tang State is already poor. This time I mobilized 40 people in the country.
There are tens of thousands of elites, but I don’t know how many people will starve to death next year..."
Liu Ying reacted instantly, "How dare you, Chief Liu, negotiate terms with me?!"
"Hey? Brother, why did you react so quickly this time?"
"Hmph, don't try to fool me, I'm not that stupid emperor anymore!"
Liu Chang grinned and said: "Brother, I just think that these people in prison all have considerable wealth. It is better to confiscate their homes and send their property to the Tang Dynasty. It is better to send their families to the Tang Dynasty as well."
, it’s better to put their..."
"Why don't we tear down their mansion and land and send them to your country, Tang?"
"Second brother~~~"
"Forget it, they brought it upon themselves, so let's do this, confiscate their homes and send their clans to the Tang Dynasty! What about interrogating them?"
"Brother is the Emperor! Does the Emperor have to ask the princes and kings to decide what he wants to do?!"
Liu Ying raised her head, "Okay, I will give Xuanyi an order to pardon Shenshi Qi's death penalty and demote him to Chengdan!"
Liu Chang did not expect that his second brother would already want to pardon Shen Shiqi without even opening his mouth. He would have gained a ministership in vain.
Soon, Liu Chang held Zhu Jian's hand and said earnestly: "I have asked you for help several times, but your Majesty refused. I spoke with reason and emotion. In order to get your help, I begged your Majesty again and again. Your Majesty
Only then did Shen Shiqi’s death penalty be forgiven!”
Zhu Jian knelt down in front of Liu Chang, his head lowered.
"I would like to thank you for your kindness!"
"If there is no retribution, I must die for the king!!"
ps: Thanks to ye96 for being the leader, and thanks to Banzhu for being the leader!
I'm really grateful for everyone's support. I can't repay it in return. I just treat it as a group of talents... Um, can I update it in a few days? I haven't saved the manuscript and I'm too tired to write.