Liu Jie refused to let go of the killing of prisoners, so Zhou Daowu inevitably felt guilty, frightened and angry.
Li Chengqian was in a bit of a dilemma. Killing prisoners might not be worth mentioning in the past, whether it was a big deal or a small matter. However, the Eastern Expedition's army, with the whole country's efforts, failed to achieve its full success. His father even fell off his horse in the army.
, life or death is unknown, and many people are responsible for this. At this time, finding a scapegoat is naturally a top priority.
The killing of prisoners happened to be exposed, so rumors such as "harming Tianhe" and "God is angry" were rampant. If there were no forces behind it to add fuel to the flames, Li Chengqian categorically did not believe it. These people wanted to push Zhou Daowu out and push everyone out.
The blame was all placed on him, and then he was beaten to death with a stick...
It stands to reason that as a prince, one should just go along with the flow and sit back and watch, because not only the forces in the DPRK and China were responsible for the failure of the Eastern Expedition, but even His Majesty Li Er needed an excuse to get rid of the reputation of "poor command" and "a great success".
Zhou Daowu is really the perfect candidate to dump the blame. Even if His Majesty Li Er is sitting in the Tai Chi Palace at this moment, Zhou Daowu has been taken into custody by the imperial army, and then "Baiqisi" will dig out all his past, and he will do anything illegal.
The above outline is put on line, an ironclad case is made, and the punishment is clarified.
But Li Chengqian is not His Majesty Li Er, and he cannot be so ruthless, so seeing Liu Jie being aggressive at this moment, Xiao Yu is happy to see the result, so he can only ask Fang Jun for help.
He glanced at Fang Jun, who happened to be looking at him as well, and their eyes met.
Fang Jun immediately understood what Li Chengqian meant, coughed dryly, and said slowly: "Liu Shizhong is no longer the censor Zhongcheng, let alone the chief of the Weiwei Temple. I'm afraid it's not your turn to point out whether the military general has made mistakes, right?"
With such a long stretch, do you really think that there is no one in the Tang army?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, both Liu Jie and Zhou Daowu were stunned.
Liu Ji believed that Fang Jun and Zhou Daowu had always had a rift. How could he miss the opportunity to eliminate political opponents? Not only were the political opponents eliminated, but Zhou Daowu's troops could also be integrated into the army, greatly increasing their strength. What's more, he even thought of it.
Once Zhou Daowu was punished by Ming Zhengdian, Princess Linchuan was 90% widowed... Liu Ji was the bad guy and found a scapegoat for all the forces, which also benefited. Fang Junze used all his methods to capture Princess Linchuan. After all,
Her habit of being a "good princess" is known to the world... everyone gets what she wants and has the best of both worlds, so how can she exonerate Zhou Daowu?
It doesn't make sense...
Zhou Daowu burst into tears with gratitude. He had always believed that Fang Jun should be the one to inflict pain on him the most, and it was Fang Jun who held him tightly. However, it turned out that it was Liu Ji who was making trouble at this moment, and it was Fang Jun who came to his rescue...
It seems that I am still shallow and narrow-minded. I judge the heart of a gentleman with a villain's heart. Although Fang Jun is arrogant and domineering, he is a generous person. He can be called repaying evil with kindness. If he can get away with it this time, he will definitely let his family live in Linchuan
Princess...stay away from this guy!
Women are short-sighted. If they are grateful to Fang Jun and Fang Jun takes advantage of him, then she might as well be dead now.
When Liu Ji saw that the prince had no expression, he couldn't help frowning and said in a deep voice: "The Duke of Yue has misunderstood. It is not that I am interfering in military affairs. In fact, the killing of prisoners is of great concern and has far-reaching consequences. I am afraid that in the future, the courtiers will be dissatisfied and the people will boil.
I am a minister of His Highness, and I should help solve your problems for Your Highness. I cannot just sit back and watch hidden dangers arise without doing anything."
He did not say any empty words such as "the national law cannot tolerate it". Everyone knows that killing prisoners is unlucky, but there is no severe punishment for this in the national law and military discipline. Instead, he hinted that Zhou Daowu had committed a crime and decided his fate.
What is more important is the attitude of all the forces in the DPRK and China. If they are not brought to justice, it will bring great trouble to the prince.
Fang Jun could hear Liu Jie's hints and warnings, but he didn't want to get involved. He knocked on the table in front of him and said displeasedly: "Liu Shizhong is the imperial minister and a censor. He should be careful in his words and deeds and follow the rules."
Fadu, the so-called 'killing of prisoners' in your mouth is nothing more than hearsay and falsehood. May I ask if there is any real evidence?"
Liu Jie had a stern face, holding back his anger: "I have no evidence yet, but the groundless rumors may not be unreasonable. As long as the three judicial departments intervene in the case, the authenticity will be obvious. No one can try to cover up the truth with one hand and confuse right and wrong!"
Fang Jun ignored Liu Ji and turned to Li Chengqian and said: "Your Highness clearly knows that the so-called 'killing prisoners' is only spread among towns and cities without evidence. How can you punish a general in the army with rumors and rashly let the three generals be punished?"
The Justice Bureau intervenes? If this example is made, it will definitely lead to the treacherous and sycophantic rule and the abolition of law and order! It is better to order Zhou Daowu to temporarily stay in Chang'an and restrict him from leaving the city, and then order the "Baiqisi" to go to Liaodong to search for evidence of "killing prisoners". If there is no evidence, he will be punished by himself.
Zhou Daowu should be cleared and those who spread rumors should be severely punished. If there is really evidence of 'killing prisoners', he can be arrested and imprisoned on the spot. He will be punished according to the law!"
At present, "Baiqisi" has completely surrendered to the prince under the leadership of Li Junxian. He only needs to order "Baiqisi" to search for evidence of "killing prisoners", and everything will be under the control of the prince. If he wants Zhou Daowu to die, even if he
Without "killing prisoners", you can easily concoct countless evidences and make a solid case; conversely, if you want to keep Zhou Daowu, you can also go to Liaodong along the way to destroy the possible evidence. Liaodong is sparsely populated and has a vast territory, so it is easy to destroy the evidence.
, will not be noticed by outsiders.
The initiative rests in the hands of the prince. The life and death of Zhou Daowu is decided by the prince. Fang Jun himself does not want to get involved. Although the dispute with Zhou Daowu is just a dispute of temper and has not yet reached the point of putting the other party to death, Zhou Daowu has become the target of public criticism this time.
, if he forcefully protects it by himself, he may anger all parties and make the gain outweigh the loss.
However, when he came out with some irresponsible prevarication, everyone present was surprised, except for Xiao Yu, who was still there.
Liu Ping stroked his beard and nodded slightly: If you want to talk about evil, it is Fang Er who is evil. He is simply too pure! By forcefully pushing the Third Judicial Division to intervene, it is possible to collect evidence and make the killing of prisoners a solid case, but it will be difficult to get rid of it.
After all, there are too many beneficiaries of Zhou Daowu's responsibility for the unfavorable Eastern Expedition. Even in the Three Law Divisions, there are many people there. Smart people can see that Zhou Daowu is "taking the blame" for everyone. Even if this case is done
It's clean and true. How many people believe it?
The consequences are too great.
But if according to what Fang Jun said, Zhou Daowu should be placed under house arrest first so that he has no chance to destroy the evidence, and then go straight to Liaodong to collect evidence one by one regardless of whether it exists or not. By then the evidence will be conclusive. Even the prince cannot withstand the criticism from the government and the public, and public opinion is fierce.
This case is extremely ironclad, and Zhou Daowu will never be able to make a comeback.
Gu/span Zhou Daowu glared angrily: I knew this guy was not a good guy! Fortunately, I was grateful just now and thought he was a broad-minded gentleman. What a blind eye!
How is this exonerating me? According to what Liu Jie said, if he was imprisoned without any evidence, there might be some room for improvement, but Fang Jun's actions were clearly to nail the case and prevent me from ever getting over it.
…
So insidious!
The prince did not think so: in this way, the case would be completely in his own hands. If he tightly grasped the handle of Zhou Daowu, he would be able to make him attach himself to the East Palace and not dare to betray him. Otherwise, if he cheated on him, he would be able to make him angry in an instant.
Dang was imprisoned and his reputation was ruined...
You have to be the second-in-command in handling affairs, and you are worthy of being a solitary humerus!
How could Fang Jun know what kind of thoughts this coward had? He simply didn't want to get involved in this matter.
Seeing that Liu Jie did not object again, he looked at Zhou Daowu and asked: "Can't Governor Zhou send back even a single prisoner?"
Zhou Daowu cursed the sinister villain in his heart, but he did not dare to turn his face. After all, there was still some room for change. If he was angered, he advised the prince to search for evidence immediately, and everything would be over.
He could only reply in a muffled voice: "There are still more than 7,000 people left, but many of them are suffering from chilblains and need treatment. They are currently stationed outside Tongguan, waiting for the court to deal with them at any time."
It was said to be seven thousand, but it was definitely not there. He disliked that the prisoners suffered from frostbite and were consuming rice, food and medicine. He killed them one after another, leaving only the strongest ones to bring back and save the rice.
Food and medicine have been sold through special channels, and the money has been pocketed...
Liu Jie clicked his tongue, shook his head and sighed: "Tens of tens of thousands of able-bodied prisoners were killed by the Zhou governor in one winter, and only a few thousand were left. Such cruelty and cruelty is truly rare in ancient and modern times, and it is shocking! Your Highness, I suggest that we activate the Three Laws Division.
Please intervene in this case, otherwise once word spreads, the consequences will be disastrous and may damage His Highness's prestige."
Zhou Daowu had a gloomy face and did not dare to speak. Since the crime he had committed had been completely handed over to the prince, why would he bother to make trouble with Liu Jie, a traitor?
Just think this guy is farting, it smells bad...
Li Chengqian glanced at Xiao Yu, who had been drinking tea silently, and ignored him.
Fang Jun first said to Liu Jie: "Currently, Chang'an is full of wastes both inside and outside. It is the time when Liu Shizhong is working hard to govern and serve the king. Why is he so chattering and unclear? Let the matter be handled by the 'Baiqisi'. You'd better not do anything else."
You have intervened, so as not to be suspected by the outside world that you are trying to interfere in military affairs and cause trouble out of thin air."
Liu Ji snorted and said nothing.
Now Fang Jun is superior to him in terms of power, merit, and status. Even if he is the prime minister of the dynasty, he does not dare to suppress Fang Jun. If he really angers this stick and encourages the military to express dissatisfaction, he will indeed be wrong.
Good to step down.
After slapping Liu Ji, Fang Jun said to Zhou Daowu: "Please also ask Governor Zhou to sign a military order and transfer those prisoners to the supervision of Jingzhao Mansion. Now, in addition to repairing the damage in various parts of the city, Jingzhao Mansion still needs to prevent the people from dredging the river and strengthening the river.
The embankment is short of manpower, so these prisoners should be put to good use to prevent us from doing too much corvee work and affecting people's livelihood."
He used the phrase "make the best use of everything", which shows that he did not regard the Goguryeo captives as human beings. The so-called "people who are not of my race must have different hearts". These barbarians who have never bathed in Chinese culture are rebellious and treacherous in their bones.
They are no different from wild beasts. If they are forcibly naturalized in the Tang Dynasty, they will suffer the consequences.
It's like some places in later generations have repeatedly elevated the status of black brothers for so-called political achievements and granted all kinds of incredible privileges. In fact, these guys have nothing but adding burdens to society, disrupting social order, and corrupting social morals.
Often when we realize this, it is easier to ask God than to send Him away.
There is no need to be too sympathetic to them, they don’t understand this either. What moral etiquette and repayment are worthless to them, as long as they can be used as consumables to create corresponding value...