Changsun Wuji increasingly felt that there was something fishy about this matter. After pondering for a long time and weighing his options, he opened the door and left the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion with steady steps amid the respectful greetings of the Jingzhao Mansion officials.
Since something is fishy, you might as well calm down and wait and see what happens...
*****
On the other side, Ma Zhou was dragged to the palace by Li Yuanjingsheng. After reporting, His Majesty Li Er issued an imperial edict to see him at the Dragon Palace.
At this time, the morning court had not been postponed for a long time, and it was not yet lunch time. His Majesty Li Er took off his dragon robe, took a bath, put on a set of loose casual clothes, and was drinking tea in the Dragon Palace, taking the opportunity to listen to Li Junxian's advice.
"Outside Mingde Gate, are there murderers killing the soldiers guarding the city?"
His Majesty Li Er put down his tea cup and asked with a frown, very annoyed.
As a king, he has been used to fighting on horseback for several years and has seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Naturally, he will not pay attention to the lives and deaths of a few soldiers guarding the city. However, this is tantamount to killing soldiers outside Chang'an City, which has already touched the safety of the empire.
The bottom line is, if everyone is so unscrupulous, he, the emperor, may not be able to sleep well, and his food will not taste good.
"Who did it?"
"I haven't found out yet, but I only know that those soldiers were hunting suspicious people who looked like beggars, and they were killed. Among the dead was a child of the Dugu family. But there is another thing that I feel may be related. Not long ago, Jing Zhao
The government arrested several suspicious people who looked like beggars within a rare period of time..."
"Um?"
His Majesty Li Er raised his eyebrows and looked gloomy.
Is it possible that these beggars who were arrested were the same ones who were chased by the city guards? If this is true, instead of escaping far away after committing the crime, these "beggars" sneaked into Chang'an City, then there must be a master behind them.
.
How arrogant!
What kind of place is Chang'an City without the control of royal laws?
Just as he was about to let Li Junxian continue to track down the person behind the "beggar", the chamberlain came to report that King Li Yuanjing of Jing and Yin Mazhou of Jingzhao had arrived outside the palace. His Majesty Li Er had to suppress his anger and announce their presence.
Not long after, Li Yuanjing and Ma Zhou came in hand in hand. They both bowed to the ground and said, "I have seen your Majesty."
His Majesty Li Er waved his hands and asked: "What are you doing here together?"
Before Ma Zhou could speak, Li Yuanjing had already pushed the golden mountain, and fell to his knees like a jade pillar. He shouted sadly: "I have something to ask of you, and I hope your majesty will grant it, otherwise I will never be able to kneel down!"
His Majesty Li Er was already angry in his heart. Now that he saw Li Yuanjing's behavior, he became even more angry. He just suppressed his anger and said impatiently: "You have to tell me what it is? After all, I won't let me talk about this."
If I give up the throne to you, do I have to give my permission?"
It would be heartbreaking for an emperor to say such words...
Li Yuanjing was startled and said hurriedly: "How dare I have any disobedience? It's just that my brother-in-law was taken away by the Jingzhao Mansion. I hope your Majesty will spare him and issue a decree to release him so that he can reunite with the princess.
Otherwise, my brother will never have peace!"
His Majesty Li Er asked curiously: "What did your brother-in-law do?"
Ma Zhou took a step forward and said: "Today, the minister arrested several unidentified beggars in the West City. Among them was the wife and brother of His Highness King Jing. His Royal Highness King Jing requested the release of the minister. However, it happened that another massacre of soldiers occurred at Chunming Gate.
Therefore, I do not dare to be adept at specializing, so I ask Your Majesty to make a final decision."
Li Yuanjing, who was kneeling on the ground beside him, begged: "Your Majesty, please be more lenient."
This was a huge gamble for him, betting that others would not question the identity of the so-called "brother-in-law". A dignified prince begged for this favor, so who could doubt that the one he arrested was not a "brother-in-law" at all?
This is a helpless move.
He sent He Gan Chengji to the south of the Yangtze River because he was sure that Changsun Wuji would take revenge on Fang Jun, so he used secret spies of the Dong family to cooperate with He Gan Chengji, tightly surrounding the people of the Changsun family, and waiting for opportunities to act.
The main purpose is still to shake the sky!
Li Yuanjing would never dare to covet such prohibited items in normal times, but now that the Changsun family is standing in the way to take advantage of him, as long as He Ganchengji operates properly and seizes the opportunity well, it is very possible to make it happen.
He obtained the Thunderbolt without anyone noticing, adding a huge bargaining chip to his grand plan.
When the news from Jiangnan came back, Li Yuanjing was extremely excited for a time, but he was worried that the fast horses from Jiangnan had already spread the news to Chang'an through the post stations all over the world, but there was no news from Hegan Chengji...
He must not allow He Gan Chengji to fall into the hands of the emperor and expose the conspiracy, otherwise his highness, the prince, would be dead.
In any case, it was just a matter of death. He bet that His Majesty Li Er would not attack his brother again because of the incident of "killing brother and brother". Even if he knew that Li Yuanjing had evil intentions, he would not be willing to bear the crime of murder. Maybe
You can have some scruples because of this and let the arrested "brother-in-law" go...
His Majesty Li Er stared at Li Yuanjing fiercely, wishing to kill this bastard with one knife.
How much evil must be committed behind the scenes to dare to brutally kill the chasing soldiers who are defending the city?
He did not worry about whether the beggar was really Li Yuanjing's brother-in-law. This was not the point. As long as he wanted to find out, everything Li Yuanjing hidden under the water must not be called a secret. The point was that once Li Yuanjing was found to have committed any treacherous behavior,
What should I do?
In the ninth year of Wude, under the Xuanwu sect, he killed his brother and his brother, his hands stained with the blood of his compatriots, and ascended to the throne of the supreme king in the world. In addition to the overwhelming guilt, there were also voices of doubt from everyone in the court.
, which also made him feel tortured.
He can only hold himself to almost harsh standards, be diligent in government affairs, live a simple life, suppress all his desires as a man and a king, and even tolerate Wei Zheng and others day after day, year after year.
A year of criticism and criticism was used to create an extremely powerful empire and manage the image of a great king.
He will use the glorious achievements of "one emperor through the ages" to completely wash away all the flaws and stains on his body.
Now, his goal is almost successful.
The territory of the Tang Dynasty Empire was vast, and it directly matched the Qin and Han Dynasties when they were at their peak. Their military might looked all over the world, sweeping across all the wastelands. Wherever the Tang Dynasty's cavalry went, all the small and small people bowed down and bowed down.
Domestic officials govern the Qingming Dynasty, merchants are prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Most places have reached the state of the ancient prosperous times where "people do not pick up things on the road and do not close their doors at night."
He was unwilling to wield a butcher knife against anyone under his command, especially his own brother.
Because no matter how good the reason is, because Yin Jian of the Xuanwu Sect is placed there, everyone will take it for granted that he must be eliminating dissidents and eradicating any enemies within the royal family that can threaten the throne of the emperor.
Therefore, he prefers to let these people jump out on their own, when the facts are there and the evidence is conclusive, and no one in the world can question his decision.
He is confident enough that when anyone rebels, he can kill them with thunderous force.
He must always stand on the side of justice and will not allow his reputation to be stained by the slightest flaw again...
…
Li Yuanjing was so frightened by His Majesty Li Er's sinister eyes that he felt extremely frightened, but he could only bite the bullet and beg hard.
His Majesty Li Er stared at him for a long time, with all kinds of thoughts flashing through his mind, and then slowly asked: "What on earth did your people do? Tell me frankly, and I promise not to involve you.
Even if you participate in it, your sin will never be punished."
Li Yuanjing knelt there and swore to the sky: "I really don't know anything. I'm just begging your Majesty to spare the life of my wife and brother. I am loyal to Your Majesty and always follow your words. I have never shown any disobedience."
, If Your Majesty doesn’t believe it, I will crash to death in this Dragon Palace to prove my ambition!”
His Majesty Li Er could not wait to draw his knife and chop this scoundrel immediately!
Knowing that he cherished his reputation the most, he wanted to be killed in the Dragon Palace. The outside world found out that apart from slandering himself and forcing his brother to death, how could he have the second excuse?
He took a breath, suppressed his violent anger, nodded slightly, and said: "Brothers and sisters, if I don't even believe you, who can I believe? In this case, I will give you this face, and I will bend the law for personal gain."
Li Yuanjing was overjoyed and said quickly: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"
Ma Zhou said anxiously from the side: "Your Majesty, there is something fishy about this matter..."
Li Yuanjing said angrily: "How brave! Your Majesty is the king of a country and the most respected one in the world. How dare you disobey the imperial edict?"
Ma Zhouli ignored him and just said to His Majesty Li Er: "Your Majesty clearly understands this matter..."
"That's it!"
His Majesty Li Er waved his hands and said in a deep voice: "No matter what hidden secrets there are behind this matter, let's just expose it and act as ordered."
Ma Zhou wanted to say more, but when he saw His Majesty Li Er slowly closing his eyes, he could only sigh helplessly, bowed and said: "I am a humble minister, I obey the order."