The south of the Yangtze River was becoming more and more chaotic, and the court in Chang'an was also in chaos.
The overwhelming number of impeachment memorials came very suddenly, as if the courtiers had discussed it and all rushed to Shangshu Province overnight.
When Right Minister Xu Jingzong saw the pile of memorials, most of which were for impeaching Li Qinzai, Xu Jingzong was so anxious that his face broke out in sweat.
Xu Jingzong is already old, and he has planned to retire from office next year. This year will be his last duty as prime minister.
While waiting for a safe return without wind or waves, who would have thought that such a big thing would suddenly happen.
Looking at the towering memorial memorial, Xu Jingzong was so angry that he wanted to scold his mother.
Why don't you mess with me? Why don't you just calm down for a while? I'm waiting to retire and return home.
I don’t know who Li Qinzai dug up the ancestral graves in Jiangnan, which caused such great public outrage. Basically, the courtiers who participated in the impeachment of him were officials from the capital. In other words, Li Qinzai brought all the fire to Chang’an. It can be seen that there are people in Jiangnan.
Burn more.
What's even more terrible is that these impeachment memorials also include the heads of many aristocratic families.
The heads of aristocratic families rarely submit memorials to the emperor. Their existence is almost detached from this world. Most of the heads of the family only have a relatively powerful false title, such as a certain doctor or a certain general. Usually, they are not
Those who will participate in government affairs will do so unless it is related to the interests of aristocratic families.
This time, all the heads of the aristocratic families seemed to have woken up from their coffins, and they actually criticized Li Qinzai in unison for the same thing and the same person. This thing in itself was very unusual.
To provoke so many aristocratic families to join in a crusade, Li Qinzai not only dug up other people's ancestral graves in Jiangnan, but also raised a mass grave?
There were too many memorials and the weight was too heavy. As the right minister of the imperial court, Xu Jingzong felt that he could not bear them, so he had to send the memorials to Li Zhi's desk.
I am an old man who wants to sue. The most important thing in this period is to be safe. How can I be safe? I don’t want to cause trouble, but I am also afraid of trouble. I’ll kick it to others if I have trouble, and just lie down and pretend to be dead.
As a result, Li Zhi's desk accumulated countless memorials overnight. When he woke up early in the morning, Li Zhi's face turned green.
The contents of the memorial are all about attacking Li Qinzai for disregarding human life and committing lawlessness, but Li Zhi knew the inside story.
He knew that the courtiers were ostensibly impeaching Li Qinzai for his atrocities, but in fact it was a large-scale counterattack by aristocratic families and landowners.
It doesn't matter if he kills someone, but Li Qinzai has touched their interests, so he must be killed.
Li Zhi frowned and sat motionless at the table.
He remained in this position for so long that his legs were numb.
There was a moderate massage on the back of his neck. Li Zhi turned his head and saw Empress Wu massaging his shoulders and neck.
The couple looked at each other without saying a word, but they understood everything.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this. We discussed this with Your Majesty before Jingchu left the capital. Isn't this situation within our expectations?" Empress Wu advised softly.
Li Zhi sighed and smiled bitterly: "I just didn't expect that the aristocratic family's counterattack would be so fierce. It really exceeded my expectations."
Empress Wu chuckled and said: "Jing Chu moved the land of the famous family, and the noble families in the world smelled the different smell of the court, how could they not fight back with all their might? After all, the noble families are afraid that it will be their turn next."
Li Zhi thought for a long time and said slowly: "What does the queen think?"
Empress Wu lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice: "You cannot intervene in the affairs of the harem. I can only take care of the affairs of the palace for Your Majesty."
Li Zhi twitched the corner of his mouth: "There are only you and me in the palace, who are you pretending to show? But it doesn't matter."
Empress Wu arched her eyebrows slightly, pretending to hesitate for a moment, and then said carefully: "I don't have much experience, but I also know that all government laws and regulations should not be abandoned halfway. If Your Majesty can't stand the pressure of the family, and recalls Jing Chu at this time, I'm afraid that from now on, I will
, no one will regulate the land annexation in the world anymore.”
"Jing Chu is working hard to support the chaos in Jiangnan, and he needs your Majesty's backup to help him solve his worries. If your Majesty recalls Jing Chu at this time, wouldn't it be a stab in his back?"
Li Zhi looked struggling.
To be honest, in the face of such a situation of mass attack, even if you are the emperor, Li Zhi is a little unable to bear it.
The number of people who participated in the impeachment of Li Qinzai was too heavy, including Guanlong clan, Shandong wealthy families, Jiangnan famous families, and countless courtiers and scholars from aristocratic families. These people came to impeach Li Qinzai with the same voice, and they had no idea what a huge influence they had on Li Zhi.
pressure.
Several times today, Li Zhi had the idea of giving up and recalling Li Qinzai to Chang'an, never to mention it again.
So what about land annexation? Anyway, the Tang Dynasty will not be in chaos in my lifetime. Isn't it reasonable for successive emperors to leave this extremely troublesome problem to Prince Li Xian and ask him to solve it after he ascends the throne in the future?
But then I thought about it, Li Xian is also my biological son, and I really have no shame in cheating my own son like this.
If the problem is passed on to the next generation, it will only become more serious and out of control.
Things in the world are so tangled. It is too difficult to give up and continue.
Li Zhi smiled bitterly, took a memorandum from the desk, patted it and said: "Jingchu was supporting the chaos in Jiangnan, so I am also supporting the chaos. The situation I face is much more difficult than Jingchu...
"
"The person who wrote these memorials is not a meritorious figure in the Tang Dynasty or a minister of the dynasty. Take a look at this memorial. It was submitted by Yu Chang, the Duke of Yongxing County and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. He is a member of the Yu clan in Kuaiji. His father is Yu Shinan.
One of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion."
"Yu Chang's official position is not high, but his weight is not small. After all, he is the descendant of the hero of Lingyan Pavilion, and he is the county prince. How can I ignore the memorial he handed over? A person of Yu Chang's weight is
, the table in front of me is full of them."
Li Zhi sighed: "Jingchu broke the news in Jiangnan. I don't know what his situation is now. But I am living in fear in Chang'an. It's too difficult!"
Empress Wu showed a look of determination. At this moment, she finally showed her ruthlessness and determination.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Jingchu will properly resolve the chaos in Jiangnan. As long as the prominent families in Jiangnan are solved, the court will have a template from now on, and the issue of land annexation in the world can be dealt with as usual. Now is the critical moment, I
I think your Majesty must never give up halfway."
"When the soup is boiling, Your Majesty must not withdraw salary. Otherwise, if the Tang Dynasty is passed on for a few more generations, the land problem will be out of control. At that time, the world will hardly be able to recruit soldiers. There will be no talk of conquering the world, and there will be no talk of a 'sea of stars'"
?”
Li Zhi lowered his head and remained silent.
Who doesn’t understand the truth? But actually doing it is extremely difficult.
After a long time, Li Zhi suddenly raised his head and gritted his teeth.
"If things have reached this point, they really shouldn't be abolished. They must be carried out to the end!"
Empress Wu's eyes suddenly showed joy, she knew that her man had finally made up his mind.
Then Li Zhi looked out of the hall with firm eyes and shouted: "Wang Changfu!"
Personal chamberlain Wang Changfu hurriedly entered the palace.
Li Zhi coldly lowered his face and said calmly: "Instructions have been sent to the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of Punishment to investigate people in the court who are related to the Zhu family in Wu County. Once the officials respond, they will be exempted from trial."
"Let the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple determine their personality first. The Zhu family of Wu County has been practicing lawlessness and has been entrenched in the south of the Yangtze River for many years. His disobedience is clear. We order the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to investigate strictly!"
"The emperor's imperial mission, Li Qinzai, to investigate the Zhu family in Wu County, was correct and meritorious!"