In the early morning, the streets of Chang'an became a little deserted after the rain.
The sun broke through the dark clouds and cast a warm ray of light, falling on the faces of the people who were running for life. The bustling East Market was as bustling with people as ever, with cargo ships on the water coming and going. At the door of the shop of the Protector's Mansion, there were many famous people and families.
People came in a hurry, waiting in line and counting how many people were ahead.
Thinking about not being able to buy Zhenguan and getting drunk and being punished, everyone became anxious.
A strong man ran over and saw that there were too many people in the queue. He guessed that he would not be able to get his turn in the queue, so he rushed directly to the front of the queue and shouted loudly: "Shopkeeper, give me a jar."
There was a bit of arrogance, domineering and a sense of superiority in his words.
The people in line were not happy. One of them looked at the other person and said, "Why do you jump in line? The rules here are to line up on a first-come, first-served basis. Go to the back of the line."
"Who are you? If you dare to interfere with the affairs of Prince Wei's palace, you are seeking death." The sturdy man asked disdainfully.
Anyone who can afford Zhenguan drunkenness has a good background. They are either princes or high-ranking officials in the court, but they are far behind compared with the Palace of Wei. Zhenguan has strict laws, and the Palace must follow the rules. It is said that no one should be afraid, but the Duke of Wei
He is an exception. He is so favored that no one dares to offend him easily.
When everyone heard that he was from Prince Wei's palace, they were speechless.
The other party snorted proudly, looked at Mrs. Liu who was busy and shouted: "Hurry up, give me two jars, I won't miss your money. It will delay the important event and demolish your shop."
Mrs. Liu didn't want to cause trouble and bring trouble to the family, but she also didn't want to break the rules set by Qin Huaidao. She quickly weighed in her mind and decided to uphold the rules. Even if she died, she couldn't lose the prestige of the young master. She immediately said: "Trouble.
You go in line."
When the other party heard that he was told to queue up, he yelled, "You're deaf, aren't you? Let me tell you again, I'm from Prince Wei's palace, hurry up and get two days of wine, otherwise you're welcome."
"You can buy wine if you want. Follow the rules of this house and wait in line to buy." Ms. Liu insisted.
People who were queuing up suddenly became bolder when they saw that Liu, a weak woman, was not afraid of power and adhered to the rules. Someone shouted: "That's right, follow the rules and queue up to buy. No one is exempt!"
“Line up to buy!”
“Line up to buy!”
Everyone shouted, and the crowd became excited.
The strong man's expression changed and he shouted: "I won't wait in line today, so hurry up and get the wine."
"The rules set by the Protector of the Country are to line up to buy, first come first served." Ms. Liu insisted.
"I am a member of the Prince of Wei's palace. Even if the Lord Protector sees us, the Prince of Wei, he must bow politely. What's the matter? You are a wine seller and you have so many things to do. It's not like I won't give you money. Hurry up, Prince Wei.
Still waiting to be used." The other party shouted arrogantly, rolling up his sleeves as if he was about to take action.
Mrs. Liu was a little panicked, thinking that the royal family's status was higher than that of the Duke Protector, so she couldn't afford to offend her, but the young master's rules could not be thrown away. She didn't know what to do for a moment. When the strong man saw Mrs. Liu not taking the wine, he was very embarrassed and rushed towards her.
He kicked the stage over and the three altars on it fell to the ground.
There was a "bang" sound.
Three jars of wine exploded on the spot, the wine spilled all over the floor, and a strong aroma of wine overflowed.
Seeing the move, the people in the queue stepped back and pointed, but no one dared to jump out and say anything. Ms. Liu was also frightened and took a few steps back. Her face turned bitter and she didn't know how to solve the problem. The strong man shouted proudly.
: "Hurry up and bring two more jars, or our shop will be destroyed."
The two guards who were transferred to be in charge of security reacted and stood in front of Ms. Liu, about to draw their swords. Ms. Liu quickly shouted: "Don't do anything yet."
The two guards looked at Ms. Liu in confusion. Ms. Liu did not explain. Thinking of Qin Huaidao's instructions, she faced the strong man's arrogant expression and said, "If you want to smash it, just smash it. I will remember you."
The other party was just showing off and showing off. How could he dare to do anything serious? Thinking of the reputation of Lord Protector, his heart trembled, but when he thought of his identity as master, he became more courageous and said impatiently: "It's so troublesome to buy a drink, hurry up.
Bring out the wine, it’s not like I won’t give you money, so hurry up.” “”
Mrs. Liu's temper also rose, and she said coldly: "Either wait in line, or go in and destroy the store."
"you--"
The other party didn't expect Liu to be so tough. He was riding a tiger and couldn't get off. His brows were furrowed and he became worried.
"It's this one. I rushed over and smashed their shop."
Suddenly, an excited voice came.
Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen students wearing Imperial College uniforms rushed over, holding sticks in their hands. The crowd was excited and their eyes were fanatical, as if the defenders were doing a pious event. Everyone at the door quickly dispersed when they saw this posture.
The helpers rushed into the shop and smashed it.
The two guards were about to rush to stop him, but Mrs. Liu quickly shouted: "Don't move. The young master said before he left that no matter who hits him, let him hit him. We will deal with it when the young master comes back. You will only make things worse if you go up."
"Just let them smash it?" a guard said unwillingly.
"Don't worry, the young master will take care of it." Liu said quickly.
The two guards stared at the people in the shop unwillingly, but did not take action again. Instead, they protected Ms. Liu and retreated to the corner to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to come up and hurt others. The strong man was overjoyed when he saw this scene and rushed in while shouting
He said: "Leave some for me, King Wei wants to use it." After saying that, he held a jar in one hand and ran away without giving any money.
Mrs. Liu didn't stop her and silently wrote down all this.
A team of Qianniu Guards came over after hearing the news. When they saw this scene, their expressions changed greatly. They actually smashed the shop of the Duke Protector's Mansion. They were seeking death. But when they saw that the people who did it were Imperial College Health Officers, the most special group, they felt a little more relieved.
Worried, Du Zheng quickly signaled to his men not to move, and he took a few steps forward and asked, "Why are you destroying the shop?"
"Breaking down shops is easy." A man came out and shouted with his hands on his hips: "The world is in short supply of food and the people are starved of food. The dignified Lord Protector of the Country actually uses the food to make wine. This is simply a waste of natural resources, a waste of food, and does not benefit the people."
Life and death are in our sights. We are Imperial College Health Officers. Today we will ask for help from the people. We will destroy this shop to stop the continued brewing, save food, and save the people who are desperate for food."
"That's right, food is so precious, how can it be used to make wine? This is disregarding the life and death of the people in the world, not even the Lord Protector. We, the Imperial Academy students, will plead for the lives of the people today, even if they step on our corpses,
You can't stop our righteous deeds." Another person echoed indignantly.
The team was a little confused and asked: "What is the reason why Duke Protector's brewing is hindering you?"
"Why don't you care about us? There is a constant amount of food in the world, but the number of people is increasing, and there is simply not enough to eat. How many people are starving to death, and the dignified Lord Protector of the country actually uses the food to make wine. This is a huge waste, indifference, cruelty, and...
Regardless of the life and death of the people in the world, if the Duke Protector's government has a lot of food and can sell it to the people to survive, how can it make wine? I and other Imperial College students study for the world and petition for the people, how can we just watch all this happen?"
The person who spoke first shouted loudly, with great emotion.
Captain Zheng saw that these people were crazy, so he quickly gave a few words to the person next to him, who nodded and left in a hurry.
At this time, the people in the shop came out after smashing the wine, with excited faces, as if they had won a battle. One of them shouted: "Let's go, let's go and sue the emperor for wasting food, disregarding the life and death of the people in the world, and praising me as a scholar."
With integrity, we protect the mighty Tang Dynasty."
"Let's go and file a complaint." Many people agreed.
The group of people rushed out of the shop and headed towards the imperial city. The patrol team had no choice but to follow them if they dared to stop them.
Mrs. Liu's face changed drastically when she saw this scene, and she was confused.
The people who bought the wine were not stupid. When they saw how serious the matter was, they all went back to inform the authorities and left quickly.
"Shopkeeper Liu, what should we do?" A waiter in the shop said worriedly.
"Why can't it be messy? Clean it up. If you don't sell wine, you can sell other things. The young master handed over the shop to me. I will never let him close down." Mrs. Liu said stubbornly.
Everyone took action and quietly cleaned up the mess, holding a breath in their hearts.
…
Manna Hall.
Li Er was discussing matters with several close ministers when he suddenly heard the sound of drums. His face changed and he looked towards the door. The ministers also looked outside the door in confusion. Changsun Wuji said: "The sound is very close. Could it be?"
Is someone beating the Dengwen drum?"
It had been many years since the Dengwen Drum was established. Li Er suddenly realized that something had happened and shouted quickly: "Come here, go and see what happened right away?"
"As ordered." Someone outside the door responded.
Everyone stopped discussing and waited patiently.
Not long after, Wang De hurriedly entered the palace and shouted nervously: "Your Majesty, the Imperial College Health Officer sounded the drum and said that he wanted to file a lawsuit against the Protector for wasting food and making wine and ignoring the people of the world.
.”
"Sue who?" Li Er looked at Wang De in disbelief.
Wang De hurriedly said again: "I'm suing the Protector for wasting food and making wine, so that the people in the world can't eat."
At this time, Li Er heard clearly, but still couldn't believe what he heard. He looked at the ministers, and everyone looked at Wang De in disbelief. In order to save food, the Tang Dynasty banned wine brewing, except for those with permission. It was not absolutely
Despite the ban, some people are still doing it, and no one has come to complain, so why are they suddenly suing the Protector?
The people present were all human beings. They immediately smelled the smell of conspiracy and didn't even say a word.
Li Er also smelled the atmosphere of conspiracy and thought that someone was blocking the road construction. I was afraid there might be a connection behind it. His face darkened and he asked: "How do you think this matter should be handled?"
Fang Xuanling was the head of the hundred officials, so naturally he was the first to express his position: "Your Majesty, the Imperial College Supervisor is the future of the imperial court. He has a special status. This matter cannot be dealt with hastily. We must find out the truth and figure it out slowly."
This can be said in one word: procrastination!
They are all experienced old horses, how could they not understand? Changsun Wuji saw Li Er's face turned pale and was obviously dissatisfied with this solution. He had an idea and said: "Your Majesty, why don't you accept the imperial edict and ask for the reason?
It will then be handed over to the three departments for joint review, and the decision will be made after the situation is found out. Firstly, it will stabilize the students, secondly, it will be fair and open and all parties will be convinced, and thirdly, it will also give the Protector an explanation."
"Explanation, what explanation?" Li Jing became angry when he heard it, and cupped his hands towards Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, I think I should accept the imperial decree, but if it is a false accusation, I will deal with it seriously and protect the innocence of the Duke."
"Oh, what do you mean?" Li Er heard something strange behind him and became curious.
Li Jing knew about the brewing business, but didn't want to explain it. He said coldly: "The Imperial College Supervisor is petitioning on the grounds of life and death for the people of the world. It is selfless and reasonable. How can the imperial court make them all feel cold? Why not leave it to me, the Ministry of Punishment, to ensure that it will be dealt with impartially and never
Protect.”
Everyone could see Li Jing's anger, but they were full of curiosity. Once it was handed over to the Ministry of Punishment, there would be no room for maneuver. Is this protecting him? Or was he taking the opportunity to add insult to injury and liquidate Qin Huaidao?
"Gong Wei, do you know what you are talking about?" Fang Xuanling reminded.
"Of course, I must be fair and strict and find out the truth." Li Jing said solemnly.
Li Er saw Li Jing's confidence and anger, and smiled tacitly: "Then leave it to your Criminal Department to handle it. We must enforce the law impartially, deal with it strictly, and do not show favoritism."
"According to the order!" Li Jing solemnly promised and smiled. Since someone wants to jump out and make trouble, Li Jing doesn't mind playing with the other party. It may be difficult to give other reasons. This reason for making wine is too lame and there is no pressure.
At this time, Wang De added: "Your Majesty, according to Qian Niuwei who came to report, people from Prince Wei's palace first went to buy wine and refused to line up. They demanded it forcefully. If they didn't give it, they kicked over the table and smashed the three bottles.
Tan Zhenguan was drunk, and when he was about to take action, the students from the Imperial College rushed over, smashed all the wine in the shop, and then came over to beat the Wendeng drum."
"There are people from Prince Wei's palace who also took action. How is that possible?" Li Er asked in disbelief.
"I don't dare to speak nonsense. The Qianniu Guard who reported it did indeed say so. There were many people watching at the scene, and there were many people who tried their best to buy wine. Fortunately, no one was hurt." Wang De said quickly.
Qian Niuwei would never dare to lie about such a big matter, but Li Er still couldn't believe that someone in that obedient, sensible, benevolent, and intelligent big fat man's house could be so arrogant and dare to touch the upper store of the Protector's house. The big fat man in his memory
Aren't you trying to win over Qin Huaidao?
The ministers also found it unbelievable that the servants of Prince Wei's palace actually smashed the upper store of the Duke Protector's palace. There was no reason. There must be a conspiracy behind this, involving the royal family, so they all remained silent.
The main hall became weird.
After a while, Fang Xuanling secretly gave Li Jing a look. Li Jing nodded knowingly and said loudly: "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else to do, I will deal with the students who have complained outside."
Li Er waved his hand to signal everyone to go out. His mind was filled with the incident of Prince Wei's servants destroying the shop. Perhaps he was in the middle of the situation and couldn't figure out why. After everyone left, he asked, "What is Prince Wei doing?"
"Back to your Majesty, King Wei is studying at his residence and has not been out of his residence recently." Wang De said quickly.
"Has anyone come to the door?" Li Er asked.
"Early in the morning, the great scholar Kong Yingda went to the house and said that it was the King of Wei who asked for advice, and there was no one else."
Li Er became more and more confused. Kong Yingda was a great Confucian, and King Li Tai of Wei was eager to learn. Isn't it strange that he came to ask for advice? How could such a studious person destroy the shop? It must be someone below who is bullying others, and it has nothing to do with King Wei. Thinking of this, Li Er felt much better and said
: "Go and ask King Wei why he destroyed the shop."
"Yes!" Wang De quickly agreed and hurried away.
Li Er put the matter aside for the time being and continued to review the memorial.
Half an hour later Wang De ran back with sweat profusely, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have asked, the King of Wei asked his servants to buy wine to prepare a banquet for the Imperial Academy to offer wine to Kong Yingda. He said that the servants did it privately and were not ordered by him.
He killed the servant with a cane, sent someone to deliver double the compensation, and said that when the Lord Protector comes back, he will personally come to apologize."
"I just told Tai'er that he wouldn't act recklessly. It was indeed a servant who acted recklessly. The handling is quite appropriate. Let's go down." Li Er said with satisfaction. He was very pleased with King Wei's handling and did not think too deeply about it.
Wang De hesitated to speak. Seeing that Li Er had no intention of further investigation, he sighed secretly and bowed out.
…
Prince Wei's Mansion.
After Li Tai sent Wang De away, he returned to the house. His warm smile disappeared in an instant and turned gloomy. A young man in brocade clothes came out of the side room, bowed his hands and said with a smile: "The King of Wei killed three birds with one stone, and eradicated the lurking prince."
The spies around me also showed their benevolence and righteousness, which won the favor of the Holy Lord and took the opportunity to make friends with the Lord Protector."
"I don't dare to talk about making friends. The Lord Protector's temperament is different from ordinary people, and I am not sure about it."
"The King of Wei is joking. Everyone is greedy for money. The Lord Protector has done so many things to earn money, so he is no exception. I, Mrs. Zheng, are willing to donate ten thousand gold to help the King of Wei."
"Hahaha!" King Wei was overjoyed. He held the opponent's arm and said with a smile: "It's worth paying ten thousand gold to befriend the Lord Protector. If it can be done, your Xingyang Zheng family has done me a great favor, and I will never forget it."
The other party waited for these words and bowed again: "It is the Zheng family's blessing to be able to share the worries of the King of Wei. In this case, I will retire first, and I will definitely give you ten thousand gold at nightfall."
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say. Come, take Zheng Lang out of the house through the side door." King Wei bowed his hands and bowed.
Someone came up immediately and led the man in brocade away.
King Wei hurried towards the backyard, came to an attic, opened the door and entered, smiling and saying, "I will be punished by death for keeping Mr. Kong waiting."
The person sitting upright at the top was Kong Yingda, holding a book and reading it with relish. Without raising his head, he said calmly: "It doesn't matter. If you have anything to do with me, tell me."
When King Wei saw the other party being so patronizing, a flash of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he concealed it very well and said with a smile: "Mr. Kong, I heard that Duke Protector once composed a song called "Joining the Army" at a poetry meeting, which is a masterpiece. I don't know.
How does Mr. Kong evaluate it?”
Kong Yingda became angry when he heard this. He put down his book and asked dissatisfiedly: "What does King Wei mean?"
What King Wei wanted was for Kong Yingda to get angry. The smile on his face became even brighter and he said, "Don't worry, Mr. Kong. In my opinion, joining the army is nothing more than this. It's just a childish showoff in front of Mr. Kong, so don't mention it."
"Although Lord Protector is brave, he is just a warrior. How can he be compared with Kong Lao, the great Confucian master of his generation?"
"What exactly do you want to say?" Kong Yingda asked, but his face looked much better.
King Wei continued: "Mr. Kong, Confucianism advocates governing the world with benevolence and teaching all people with etiquette. Then the world will be peaceful, the people will be happy, and Yao and Shun will prosper. I firmly believe in this, and I also ask Mr. Kong to teach me."
First praise Confucianism, and then invite professors. The profound meaning is self-evident.
Kong Yingda was a great Confucian of his generation, and no one could match him in Confucian classics. How could such a person be a fool? Naturally, he was clear about it, but he did not express his position immediately, but looked at the other party calmly.
King Wei knew that he was still not ready, so he bowed solemnly with the disciple ceremony and said: "The student is willing to worship you as your teacher, and I also ask you to take him in and teach you day and night."
The ancients respected their teachers and respected their teachings. Once a teacher, he would always be a father. Kong Yingda's mind was filled with thoughts. He thought that if the King of Wei ascended the imperial throne in the future, and he himself would be the emperor's teacher, then Confucianism would be able to reach a higher level and become something that no one could shake.
The state religion stood up and walked out calmly.
If there is no statement, it is just a statement.
King Wei understood the idea and said excitedly: "This disciple will go to the palace to persuade my father to agree."
Kong Yingda still didn't say a word, but waved his hand.
King Wei was even more ecstatic. He respectfully watched Kong Yingda go away, took a few deep breaths to calm down, and then shouted: "Get ready to drive, I want to enter the palace."
As soon as he reached the door, a carriage hurriedly came over. Two beauties got out of the carriage, it was Yuzhang and Jinyang. Jinyang came down first, rushed to the king of Wei and cursed: "Fat man, your people smashed the protector of the country."
The government’s shop, was this your instigation, right?”
The King of Wei did not dare to be careless with Jinyang. In terms of favor, Jinyang was more favored. He quickly said with a smile: "Royal sister, how could your fourth brother do such a thing? It's because the people below are doing something wrong and they have been killed by your fourth brother."
"
"A servant dares to be so disrespectful to the Lord Protector without the consent of his master? Do you think I'm stupid?"
After saying this, King Wei's face changed drastically, and he suddenly realized that he had miscalculated a little, and that was the people's hearts. His fat eyes narrowed into slits, and he quickly thought of remedial measures.
"Why, did I tell you the truth?" Princess Jinyang continued unceremoniously: "Fat man, don't think that everything will be fine after you deal with the servants. You must bear the consequences for what the people in your house do. I've seen it.
The shop has lost about 10,000 guan. You can take out 100,000 guan and settle the matter. Otherwise, I will go to my father and accuse you of murdering a loyal minister."
The King of Wei didn't care if others complained to him, but Jinyang was different. If he really complained, his apprenticeship with Kong Yingda would most likely be delayed or even ruined. He quickly said: "Sizi, the fourth brother sincerely apologizes, but where is the house?"
Is there so much money to compensate?”
"I don't care, I'll give you five days to prepare, otherwise we won't be finished." Jin Yang got on the carriage angrily, and the convoy turned around and left slowly.
King Wei looked at the leaving convoy and smiled - five days was enough for the operation.
"King Wei..." The guard captain came up to ask for instructions.
"Get in the car and enter the palace!"
The motorcade left slowly and headed straight towards the palace.
On the other side, in the princess carriage, Jin Yang no longer felt angry just now, but fell into deep thought. Yu Zhang couldn't help but ask: "Sister Sizi, what are you thinking about?"
"The fat man's reaction just now was wrong."
"What do you mean?" Yu Zhang asked in surprise.
"I can't tell. Fatty must be hiding something. No, this matter can't wait. We have to go to our father to talk about it. How can a servant dare to provoke the Duke Protector's Mansion? There must be something weird behind it. If there is no problem, Fatty won't
He would be so eager to deal with that servant and die without any evidence. He has a guilty conscience."
"But if we have no evidence and go to Father rashly, Father will only blame us for not caring about the relationship between brothers and sisters. You also know that Father takes family relationships very seriously and does not allow anyone to cause conflicts." Yuzhang said with a bitter smile.
"Yes, we have to find a way." Of course Jin Yang knew Li Er's character and looked distressed.
The carriage became quiet, with only the sound of the wheels squeaking.