It was raining heavily, and the lights in the Dragon Palace were brightly lit.
His Majesty Li Er was dressed in regular clothes and stood in front of the open window with his hands behind his hands. He let the rain occasionally hit him by the wind and wet his robes. He just looked at the rain curtains infatuatedly, and his heroic and square face was full of expressions.
Tired, sad, and unconcealed anger!
Behind him, Li Junxian stood with his hands tied up, swallowing his saliva and not daring to express his anger.
He didn't know whether his arrogant assertion would be understood and approved by the emperor, but as a minister he had to do so. Otherwise, if Wang Jingqi was allowed to be tortured and everything made public, his majesty would be in a dilemma...
After a long time, His Majesty Li Er took a long breath, turned around, walked slowly behind the desk, sat on a chair, and stared at the memorial spread out on the desk.
"Wang Jingqi committed suicide out of fear of crime... haha."
His Majesty Li Er raised a sarcastic smile on his lips, but his eyes showed endless loneliness and sorrow.
As an emperor, how could he not see the hidden truth in this?
Wang Jingqi had to "commit suicide", otherwise the entire Taiyuan Wang family would be accused of "collaborating with the enemy and treason." Even if His Majesty Li Er was afraid, he might not be able to annihilate the three clans according to the crime of treason. Just because of this reputation,
This is what the Wang family of Taiyuan cannot bear.
If the Hairao clan, which has been inherited for hundreds of years, is burdened with such a crime, it will be like falling into dust from a high distance and suffering the most painful blow. The Tang Dynasty will definitely face blows from both the government and the public, and will be hated and abandoned by the people of the country, and will never be seen again.
I want to regain my strength.
However, if it was just to protect the foundation and future of the Wang family, how could Li Junxian allow him to "commit suicide"?
Since Li Junxian can make Wang Jingqi commit suicide in front of him, there must be a reason why he has to do so. Li Junxian doesn't care whether the Wang family in Taiyuan will bear the name of treason. There is only one reason that makes him so bold...
…
His Majesty Li Er raised his eyes, looked at Li Junxian, and said calmly: "This matter has been done well, let's stop here."
He agreed with Li Junxian's judgment that this matter could not be pursued any further, otherwise if the person behind the Wang family was discovered... he would not know how he would deal with it.
"Here."
"Although Wang Jingqi did not know about it in advance and was deceived by others, the fact of treason has been realized. His children will be sent to Qiongzhou and will not be allowed to return to Beijing for life. As for the Yuan family in Youzhou..." His Majesty Li Er's eyes flashed with sternness and he said with hatred.
: "They are lawless and have liaisons with foreign countries. They are a group of rebellious ministers and traitors, and everyone will find them and punish them! Immediately, an order was issued to the governor of Youzhou, ordering him to kill the whole family of the Yuan family in Youzhou, and wipe out the three clans!"
"Here!"
"Go for it!"
Watching Li Junxian's back disappear at the entrance of the hall, His Majesty Li Er was still sitting in the same place, motionless for a long time like a stone sculpture.
Compared to anger, I feel more disappointment and pain...
How could he not see the purpose of selling grain to the Goguryeo people?
The emperor's personal expedition will inevitably leave the prince to supervise the country. Once the Dongzheng army is held back by Goguryeo, which has ample food and grass, a protracted war is inevitable. By then, the empty Chang'an will be under the control of the Guanlong Group, and any changes are possible.
possible……
When he thought of this, His Majesty Li Er couldn't help but feel severe pain in his heart.
He didn't want to maliciously speculate on the son he raised with his own hands, but other than that, he really couldn't think of a reason to sell grain to Goguryeo.
Or maybe...it's just the actions of those around the son?
The rain was pouring outside the window, and His Majesty Li Er was filled with pain. Even though he had always been decisive in killing, he had to fall into entanglement and hesitation at this moment, not knowing how to deal with it...
Looking in the direction of Mount Jiuwei, not even a single outline could be seen in the dark night, but His Majesty Li Er seemed to see the beautiful voice and smile of his wife in front of his eyes. He couldn't help but murmur to himself: "Guanyin maid, how many children have you given birth to to me?"
My dear son...what do you want me to do?"
…
*****
"The water has receded! The water has receded!"
Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, and then there were thunderous cheers on the embankment!
Fang Jun was discussing with Cheng Yaojin the details of how the soldiers would take turns to rescue the people in batches. Hearing this, his spirits perked up. He looked up and saw Dou Zhili and Lin Ruofu trotting over.
"Has the water receded?" Fang Jun asked.
"Back off! Back off!" Lin Ruofu pointed to her feet: "Master Fang, look at it, the water has receded!"
Although the soldiers and civilians led the troops to block the gaps one after another, the swollen river water had already overflowed the embankment, and people were running in the mud in the shallow water. It is still muddy underfoot, but the shallow water that has overflowed the embankment
The river water has disappeared.
Fang Jun kept talking to Cheng Yaojin, but he didn't pay attention to this...
Now that the water level has dropped, it means that the peak of the flood has passed. Although it is unknown whether there will be another peak in the future, at least the levee is safe for now.
Fang Jun is still not optimistic: "Don't be careless. Take advantage of the water level to drop now and quickly lead people to inspect the embankment. If there are dangerous places, find them early and remedy them as soon as possible. The danger is not far away yet. The morale of the military must not be slack, otherwise if another wave of floods comes,
, that would be a big deal!"
Dou Zhili and Lin Ruofu's hearts tightened, knowing that their tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed because of the drop in water level. However, they did not realize that the danger was far from receding. They quickly responded with serious expressions and loudly called for manpower to patrol the embankment.
Cheng Yaojin admired Fang Jun's rigorous style and nodded in praise: "Be prepared for danger in times of peace. Erlang does have the style of a general."
Unexpectedly, Fang Jun had just told Dou Zhili and others with a worried look on his face not to be careless. Now when everyone had gone away, he suddenly beamed with joy and almost danced. He said with great joy: "It's pity, Jingyang is saved, you and me."
I have also received the credit! Hahaha, I can not only save the people of Jingyang from hanging upside down, but also gain merit and overcome the crisis. Is there anything more joyful than this?"
Cheng Yaojin had a dark look on his face and said helplessly: "You... you really do one thing in front of others and another in hindsight!"
Fang Jun shook his head repeatedly and denied: "What you said is wrong. What do you mean by doing one thing in front of another and doing another thing in the back? I am sounding the alarm to them to be determined. This is just like marching to fight, failing to penetrate the tiger's den to capture and kill them.
Before the enemy leader, who dares to say that victory is certain? The biggest danger is lurking in negligence, which often leads to the failure of a good situation due to a moment of slackness."
Cheng Yaojin thought about it and realized that this was true...
He looked at Fang Jun with admiration in his eyes and said: "The people under my command must always be vigilant and not lose the good situation by overturning the ship. But as commanders, we must have a clear vision of the battle situation and have full control of the situation...
…Very good. I used to think that you were just lucky to lead the troops to victory, but now it seems that you are not without merit."
It was not easy to get this old goblin to say words of approval. Fang Jun looked proud: "That's right, we are a man who wants to be the chief priest of the naval academy. How can we not know the art of war and tactics?"
Speaking of the Naval Academy, Cheng Yaojin hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Don't cause trouble and trouble these days. Just focus on building your academy to avoid being involved in some inexplicable things."
Fang Jun's heart skipped a beat.
"You mean...the Yicang matter?"
Cheng Yaojin talked about everything in front of him and did not shy away from anything. He nodded and said: "Your relationship with the family is very poor, so it is normal that no news has reached your ears. As far as I know, there are people in Guanzhong."
Things went wrong in many charity warehouses, and countless families were involved in this matter..."
Fang Jun was stunned: "Is it possible that the grain in the charity warehouse has not been eaten by these silverfish?"
No wonder Wei Yifang has been reluctant to open the warehouse to store grain. It turns out that there is no food to store...
Cheng Yaojin shook his head: "It's not that serious. Although the children of the aristocratic family are lawless, they are all arrogant and will not covet the food from Mo Yicang. However, although greedy is not serious, they can earn money by reselling it and then make the original sum.
To make up for it...this is extremely possible."
Fang Jun was speechless.
What's the difference?
It's nothing more than relying on the power of aristocratic families to infringe on national interests...
Cheng Yaojin was still interested, patted Fang Jun on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "And this matter is not as simple as reselling food. Not only the Wei family, the initiator of this matter is the Wang family, but also Guanzhong, Hedong
There are countless charity warehouses in other places, and it is impossible to settle the situation just by relying on these two families, so there must be someone with greater background behind them..."
Is the Wang family more powerful than the Wei family?
Fang Jun's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Cheng Yaojin, who nodded slowly: "As long as you know what's going on, even if His Majesty finds out about this matter, he will only suppress it."
Fang Jun understood.
Apart from His Highness, there is no other big shot who can command the Wang family.
Although His Majesty cherishes him very much, can he really hold it down with so many righteous warehouses and so many aristocratic families involved? What is particularly important is that since such aristocratic families are involved, the amount of food involved must be quite a lot.
, where does so much food go...
I'm afraid His Majesty Li Er is already furious and upset at this moment, right?
On the surface, it seems that what is being resold is grain, but in fact, who can say for sure whether it is related to the competition for reserves?
Fang Jun didn't know that these grains were equated with collaboration with the enemy and treason, but he was quite gloating in his heart - his son was too capable and would always cause trouble for me...