"Why does Erlang look so bad? Is he feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"
During dinner, Runniang, who was still attentive, found that Wu Huaiyu's face was not very good-looking, and he did not have the usual laughter with his wives, concubines, and children.
"No, it's pretty good."
Fan Xuanfu also noticed something was wrong with her husband at this time, "Alang came to the palace today to meet the Holy Spirit, was he punished by His Majesty?"
"without."
"I was just thinking about an unfinished business and was distracted for a moment." Huaiyu smiled.
After dinner, Wu Huaiyu went out and went to the Duke of Qi's mansion in Tongfang.
Qin Qiong has obviously also learned about Lu Zushang's murder.
The two men sat in the study, each holding a cup of tea and saying nothing.
What happened today had a big impact on Huaiyu.
I have truly seen the majesty of the emperor in the era of imperial power. It is really the anger of the emperor who decides life and death with a single word. He is the son of Fan Yanglu, the prince of the county, the governor, the wife's brother is also the emperor's confidant at the center of the school inspection, and the clan brother-in-law is the prime minister of the dynasty.
In the end, he was still directly killed by the emperor.
None of them have been reviewed by the three departments.
It was not submitted to Dali Temple for review, and it was thrown out of the temple and chopped off without going through any judicial procedures at all. There is really no room for redemption.
Now that I think about it, Yuchi Laohei really danced on the verge of death at the New Year's Eve banquet.
"Everyone in Chang'an should know it by now, right?"
"definitely."
Qin Qiong took a sip of tea and said, "I guess many people are writing memorials at the moment."
It must be a memorial to admonish or even criticize the emperor.
"Maybe the five surnames from Guandong and the six surnames from Guanzhong are trembling," Huaiyu chuckled.
Li Shimin's move today can be said to be the first of its kind, and he was very shocked.
And he killed not only a governor, but most importantly, the Lu family of Fan Yang. The last prophecy case involved so many people, including Jingzhao Wei, Du Guandong and Cui Zheng, but in the end the emperor only killed Chai Lun and Du Jingai, not
The explicit killing was to let them commit suicide without mentioning it clearly, so as to save face. Zheng Shanguo, Zheng Yuanxuan and others only had their titles seized and demoted to the provincial governor.
This time it was a hornet's nest.
These are all acceptable, but being pushed out of the palace gate and beheaded without trial is not the same as Yang Guang?
What about the dignity of the five surnames and the seven families?
"This matter is all Lu Zushang's own seeking death. The emperor gave him several chances, but it happened that Yu Chigong made such a serious fuss on New Year's Eve. These two things came together, and the emperor was angry. No one else can blame him for the separation of Lu Zushang's body.
." Wu Huaiyu sighed.
Qin Qiong was not in good spirits. "Qu Tutong, the governor of Luozhou, is over 70 years old and in very poor health. This time he came to Beijing for a meeting and suddenly fell seriously ill. He probably won't be able to return to Luoyang. I want to go to Luoyang to replace him."
"
"My foster father is now the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the Director-General of the East Palace Army and Horses. How long have you been serving as the Prime Minister? Why do you want to retire?"
Qin Qiong did intend to retire. As the prime minister, he rarely spoke in the political hall. He was also a little impatient with the paperwork for the affairs of the Ministry of War, and mostly left it to the two ministers of the Ministry of War.
"The Minister of War is a civil servant, and he should be a civil servant. I am not afraid to charge into battle, but it is really a headache for me to deal with those clerks all day long, and the quarrels and quarrels between the ministers in the political hall are also very annoying.
Impatient, I’m still not suitable in the center.”
Qin Qiong became prime minister, not because of his greatness, but because of the emperor's needs.
The emperor deliberately suppressed the old ministers of military ethics, and out of the need for a balance between civil and military affairs, he wanted to arrange for Qian Di's trusted generals to enter the political hall. This was also a reward for all military generals. If a general becomes a prime minister, the general's merit will be high, and his future limit will be very high.
, you can enter the Political Hall to pay homage to the Prime Minister.
With the unification of the world, it is the general trend for Yanwu to cultivate texts, but this change will indeed make the generals unsatisfied, so it is also necessary to leave positions for generals in the political affairs hall.
In fact, there were not many generals under Li Shimin who could directly worship the prime minister. He originally made great contributions when Yuchi Gong's palace changed, but this guy couldn't be helped to come to power. Hou Junji's qualifications were too low.
Qu Tutong, who had been running Luoyang for Li Shimin, had good qualifications, but he was too old, over seventy years old.
Li Ji, Li Jing, Chai Shao and Li Xiaogong, who were capable and qualified, were not Li Shimin's confidants, and his eldest grandson, Shunde and Liu Hongji, were direct descendants of the Supreme Emperor.
In the end, letting Qin Qiong serve as the Minister of War and worship the Prime Minister became one of the few choices. His worship as the Prime Minister could also be accepted by the emperor's direct line and other factions.
If it were someone like Yu Chigong, Hou Junji, or Zhou Shaofan, how many of them would be able to accept it?
The emperor appreciated and trusted Zhou Shaofan very much, but his qualifications and prestige were insufficient, so he could only be the eunuch of the palace, inspecting the central affairs of the school. He also needed to accumulate qualifications. Hou Junji could only be the right-guard general, and he was not qualified to be the minister of the Ministry of War.
.
But Qin Qiong always wants to retreat.
"My adoptive father has always been loyal and prudent. He is not as arrogant and domineering as Bhikkhu Xingze, Yuchi Gong, and Lu Zushang. Your Majesty has always appreciated my adoptive father. I don't need to worry much about my adoptive father."
"I know that Your Majesty appreciates me, but my ability is indeed not enough to serve as prime minister, and I am not suitable for this position. Moreover, I am still not in good health. After returning to the court, I got up early to go to court, busy with official duties, and even...
All kinds of entertainment have made my health a lot worse now." Qin Qiong was very determined to give up.
"Father, you know that His Majesty's appointment of you as Prime Minister is the result of careful consideration. However, you have to resign not long after becoming Prime Minister. This will make His Majesty very embarrassed."
Qin Qiong was stunned, he had not thought of this.
"Erlang, to be honest, I am now in the center and have aroused the dissatisfaction of many people. There are constant accusations against me for being incompetent in my duties. I don't want to make it too ugly in the end."
"Actually, as long as the adoptive father is in the center and can resolutely support His Majesty's ideas and maintain His Majesty's authority, then it will be good enough."
Doesn’t that make him a nodding prime minister?
Qin Qiong looked at this young adopted son. Although he was young, he was much more enlightened than himself in some aspects. He couldn't help but think of his own son. If he were still alive, he would be so tall and heroic.
"My foster father can rest assured and serve as prime minister in the central government. In two years, when the conditions are ripe, my foster father can take command and command the troops to wipe out the Turks. It won't be too late to retire after his success."
······
Morning morning the next day.
Inside the palace gate waiting room, the atmosphere was very solemn early in the morning.
Wei Zheng didn't care that his nose was still healed, so he specially ended his vacation and came to court. In the waiting room, he told other prime ministers that the emperor was wrong to kill Lu Zushang, citing scriptures.
Wang Gui also agreed with him.
Fang Xuanling and Zhou Shaofan had dull expressions and remained silent. They were both relatives of Lu Zushang. Fang Xuanling's wife was a cousin of Lu Zushang, while Zhou Shaofan's biological sister was married to Lu Zushang.
A cousin-in-law of Lu Zushang, and an elder brother-in-law of Lu Zushang.
Lu Zushang was beheaded like this, and they were also shocked.
To put it lightly, one of his relatives was killed, but to put it more seriously, the emperor did not give them any face at all. Does it mean that the emperor also had problems with them?
When Wu Huaiyu came in, they all gathered around.
"Mr. Yi Guo, I heard that you were in the palace yesterday. What happened? Why did your Majesty kill Lu Zushang like this?" Wei Zheng asked directly and loudly, even with a hint of questioning, obviously accusing him of not doing his best at that time.
As a qualified minister, I even doubted whether he was causing trouble inside.
After all, everyone knows that Wu Huaiyu used to command the six sects. Is there something hidden in this matter that everyone doesn't know about?
Xiao Yu, the imperial censor, also came around and said, "How can such a big matter be handled so hastily?"
Of course Wu Huaiyu also knew that Li Shimin's handling of this matter was flawed. It was not that Lu Zushang should not be killed, but that even if he had to be convicted, it should be done according to the procedures. After all, Lu Zushang had made contributions to the Tang Dynasty and was a senior official.
, and his sin will not lead to death.
But Li Shimin is not a saint.
He has only reigned for more than a year, and the thirty-year-old emperor has already performed well enough. He occasionally makes willful or mistakes, which is also very authentic.
"Lu Zushang is all responsible for this incident." Wu Huaiyu said very rudely. He did not hide anything and simply recounted the facts.
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but remain silent.
Lu Zushang, this is indeed too much. You first accepted the order and agreed to go to Jiaozhou, and then refused because you were sick. The emperor sent Wu Huaiyu to diagnose and treat you to confirm that you were not sick. But you still said you were sick, and even waited for the emperor to summon you in person.
Resist the will.
He even said that the miasma in Lingnan was so severe that he had to drink. He couldn't drink, so he couldn't come back. What kind of excuse was this? Didn't Qiu He, Gao Shilian, and Zhou Shaofan all go to Jiaozhi in their early years?
Who drinks every day to save his life?
Wu Huaiyu explained to him that it didn't happen. You didn't go into the jungle. You stayed in Jiaozhou City. How could it be so dangerous?
But he refused to listen. Even when he was pushed out of the palace to be executed, he did not bow his head to the emperor. Even if he had bowed his head and admitted his mistake, the emperor would probably still spare his life.ωωw..net
Unless you feel that no one dares to kill you, you are not seeking death.
Even Zhou Shaofan had nothing to say.
The palace door opens, enter the palace and go to court.
As soon as the court meeting began, Wei Zheng went out to ask for the performance.
Although Lu Zushang was seeking death, the emperor could not just kill people like this.
However, Wei Zheng was very smart and did not accuse the emperor directly. Instead, he told the emperor a story.
"Your Majesty, during the Northern Qi Dynasty, Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang ordered Wei Kai, the governor of Qing Dynasty, to go to Guangzhou to take office. Wei Kai refused to accept the order. Emperor Wenxuan then scolded him. However, Wei Kai said, I came back from the Liang Dynasty as an envoy with no merits or demerits.
, His Majesty instead asked me to serve as an official in a small state like Guangzhou. Naturally, I was unwilling to take up the post.
After hearing what he said, Emperor Wenxuan stopped blaming Wei Kai and agreed not to let him go to Guangzhou to take up his post.
Although Lu Zushang had previously received the order to go to Jiaozhou to serve as the governor, he was later afraid of the remoteness and hardship of Jiaozhi and regretted not going. Although this was wrong, it was only a small mistake and not a serious crime of beheading.
But just because he refused to go to Jiaozhou to be the governor, His Majesty directly pushed him out of the palace and beheaded him, and also ordered to deprive him of all his official titles, remove his citizenship and become a commoner, and even deprive him of the favor of his wife and children. This is wrong."
In front of so many courtiers, the emperor was told this by Prime Minister Wei Zheng, but Li Shimin did not get angry.
Maybe he regretted it after yesterday.
Or maybe the emperor had heard the news and knew that this incident had caused dissatisfaction among many people, especially the Kanto gentry, so he did not take any firm stance today.
He stood up.
To soften the rigidity.
Use retreat to advance.
"The words of Prime Minister Wei are very reasonable. Although Lu Zushang did not keep his promise and repeatedly resisted the decree, I killed him because of this. It was indeed too rough. In this regard, I am not as good as Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty Gao Yang."
"Zhongshu ordered Wen Yanbo to draw up a decree to restore Lu Zushang's official titles during his lifetime, posthumously conferring him the title of Governor of Youzhou and Duke of Guangguo. He ordered his eldest son to still attack the Duke of Yiyang County and confer the imperial title on Lu Zushang's widow, Mrs. Guangguo."
The emperor also decreed that Lu Zushang would be buried with money from his internal funds, and his other sons would study in the museum.
The emperor admitted his mistake and restored his official status, and the matter was over.
Of course, the one who suffers the most is Lu Zushang. People cannot be resurrected after death.
"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Wu Huaiyu. As a minister of the imperial court, he also serves as the censor of the censor, but he failed to fulfill his duties as a minister in the palace yesterday. He allowed this wrong thing to happen, and he should be punished.
The crime of dereliction of duty.”
The person who stood up to impeach Wu Huaiyu was Wei Ting, the minister of Huangmen, who was also the clan uncle of Wei Guifei's sisters. This guy was Jiancheng's confidant back then, but he was also a good friend of Du Yan. There were even rumors that Du Yan was almost killed when Wang Shichong was defeated in Luoyang.
Later, he ran away and became a hermit for the second time.
Of course, he was still hiding. He even contacted Wei Ting on the mountain and wanted to enter the Jiancheng East Palace. When Fang Xuanling found out about this, he ignored the grievances between Du Ruhui and Du Yan and asked Li Shimin to quickly bring Du Yan to the Prince of Qin's Mansion.
, that guy is too good at conspiracy and tricks. If he goes to the East Palace, the Prince of Qin's Palace will be in trouble.
Later, Du Yan arrived at the Prince of Qin's Mansion, but it is said that he kept in contact with Wei Ting secretly and used Wei Ting to set up two boats.
At that time, the Wei family was also treading water. Wei Ting was a confidant in Jiancheng East Palace, but the Wei family sent the eldest son Wei Gui and Wei Nizi, the two widows, to the Qin Palace to be Li Shimin's concubines. The Jiancheng Shimin brothers would not care about them in the future.
Whoever wins the world will always have wealth and honor in the Wei family.
Nowadays, Wei Ting is doing well as an official. Not to mention the newly promoted Huangmen Minister, his daughter was also chosen by Li Shimin to be his concubine to the fifth son of King Yan, Li You.
It is said that they are all relatives of the emperor. Huaiyu even has a son who is engaged to Wei Guifei. Wei Ting is also a relative of him, but this guy still attacks Huaiyu.
It seems that Webster has a better relationship with King Cui Lu Zheng and other wealthy families.
The emperor glanced at Wei Ting.
Then he returned to the throne and sat down.
"Yesterday in the palace, Duke Yiguo gave his loyal advice and advised me not to kill him, but to let him be handed over to the officials. Unfortunately, I was so angry that I didn't listen. Now I regret not listening to Duke Yi's advice."
"Gong Yiguo gave me a pair of silver vases, a hundred pieces of silk, and two pieces of mink fur."
Wei Ting stood in the hall, a little dazed.
He impeached Wu Huaiyu for dereliction of duty, but the emperor said that Wu Huaiyu was loyal and dared to remonstrate, and he directly rewarded him.
"Shilang Wei, why don't you go back to work? Next time we impeach you, let's make it clear first. You are not the imperial censor, so why do you want to catch the wind and start something?"
Wei Ting retreated angrily.
"Your Majesty, the people in the library of your Majesty are here to please report."
"Accurate performance."
Ma Zhou did not come out to help his brother-in-law Wu Huaiyu fight against Wei Ting. He just believed that the court should learn a lesson from this incident involving Lu Zushang.
"The dead cannot be resurrected, and repentance is useless. I request that if the death penalty is imposed, even if the execution is ordered at that time, three echoes should be made. That is, three petitions must be made to the emperor's consent before the execution can be executed. And the three echoes should preferably be two days before the execution and one day
One repeat for each, and a third repeat on the day of execution."
Wei Zheng also stood up to support him, believing that governing the country with harsh punishments was unkind and that the country should be governed with mercy and benevolent government implemented.
"I support the proposal of Ma Zhongshusheren. The national criminal law should be lenient, simple, careful in punishment and careful in killing, and abolish some cruel corporal punishments. Ritual punishments should be supplemented, and clear punishments should assist rituals. Ritual and law should be unified, and laws should be made according to rituals.
.”
Li Shimin's attitude is particularly good today.
He also said loudly, "In ancient times, to break a prison sentence, one must interrogate the officials of three locust trees and nine thorns. Today, three officials and nine ministers are their duties."
From now on, all capital crimes shall be decided by Zhongshu, the fifth rank or above of the sect, and the Shangshu."
"Furthermore, after the death sentence is pronounced and before execution, the execution must be repeated three times."
"Those who commit public crimes or private crimes above the third rank will not be pursued."
Originally, many officials were preparing to engage in a verbal battle with the emperor today, but unexpectedly, the emperor's attitude turned out to be such that they had nothing to say.
Many people even prepared drafts and prepared to impeach Wu Huaiyu today, but who knew that Wu Huaiyu was actually rewarded.
