Watching Li Yifu being escorted out by the imperial guards, many officials in the side hall remained silent, not daring to say a word.
Liu Jie's eyes were like lightning, full of majesty: "At this critical moment, I hope you will set an example. Don't listen to the traitors who confuse right and wrong, call a deer a horse, let alone spread rumors everywhere. This time, we will only pursue the culprits, and those who follow will be ignored. If we let it go again,
If I hear such remarks and spread rumors to cause trouble, I will severely punish you!"
"Here!"
The officials bowed and saluted with extremely respectful expressions.
Liu Ji then snorted coldly, turned around and left with his hands behind his back...
The officials watched him walk out of the main gate, and then they all breathed a sigh of relief. Some people still had lingering fears: "It's really strange. This retired imperial censor doctor is no longer in charge of the censorship station. Logically speaking, he can no longer control us, but why?"
Are you still worried and frightened when facing him?"
Someone sighed: "Although this gentleman sometimes has unclear positions and is wavering, his character and integrity are exemplary. There is absolutely no corruption or dereliction of duty in Qingfeng's sleeves. He has no dirty mind. His natural light, wind and moon are stunning, and he can intimidate people wherever he goes.
The crumbs are small.”
"Fuck you, how did we become such idiots? You have secrets in your heart, don't think so badly of others."
"Mother! How can I hide my secrets in my heart? Tell me clearly, or I will never give up!"
"Shut up, everyone! Since when are you still making noises here? When you say even half a sentence wrongly and your whole family may suffer, you really don't know how to write the word "death"?"
"Silence, silence!"
Now the battle to seize the heir has begun, and it is not yet known who will win and who will lose in the end. Except for the prince or the direct team of the King of Jin, everyone else must remain silent, otherwise no matter who they are partial to, they will wait until another person sits on the throne to start the reckoning.
There is no way to escape punishment...
Everyone shut their mouths and had no intention of talking, and returned to their houses to rest. In less than two hours, the "big burial" would be carried out, and everyone had to be mentally alert to avoid making mistakes.
…
The war outside the Tai Chi Palace was in full swing, and it became intense from the beginning. The two sides fought hard in the narrow area outside the palace, fighting for every inch of land, and resulting in heavy casualties. As more and more troops from both sides entered the city, the war inevitably moved towards the imperial city.
As the war spread, many government buildings that had just been built but were not yet completed were repeatedly fought over by soldiers from both sides and were seriously damaged.
Yuchi Gong, who was in command of the Chunming Gate Tower, sent out all the scouts to closely monitor every move of Donggong Liuli. The battle lasted for nearly an hour, with thousands of casualties on both sides. Apart from sporadic musket fire, Donggong Liuliu
Shui never used the powerful firearms, which finally made Yuchi Gong's hanging heart finally let go.
After the two wars of the Eastern Expedition and the Guanlong Mutiny, the power of firearms has shocked the entire army. Everyone knows that no matter how brave a flesh and blood body is, it is difficult to resist the attack of firearms. Whoever is first to equip firearms and complete the training will be able to crush them.
Overwhelm opponents with the same level of combat power.
Although the Youhou Guards under his command have not been able to obtain the equipment of firearms from the Ministry of War, as long as the Sixth Army of the East Palace is seriously lacking in firearms, they will be able to fight.
At most, they could withdraw from Chang'an and retreat to Tongguan before the main force suffered heavy casualties, rely on the terrain of Tongguan to cut off east-west traffic, wait for support from the powerful clans in Shandong and Jiangnan, and then reorganize the army with sufficient support to fight again.
Guanzhong can only count on support from the Western Regions, but the Anxi Army still has to guard the Western Regions. With a shortage of soldiers and horses and a shortage of food and fodder, how can there be any spare power to support Chang'an?
And as the "posthumous edict" and proclamations spread inside and outside Chang'an City, public opinion will eventually completely turn to the side of the King of Jin. In the end of this battle to seize the direct descendants, the King of Jin will definitely win with more convenient supplies and richer supplies...
…
The time, place, and people are favorable, so how can defeat be justified?
…
Li Chengqian was in the palace listening to the news of the fierce battle outside the palace. Fang Jun, Ma Zhou, and Cui Dunli were standing in front of the map discussing something. Liu Jie stepped inside, startling everyone in the palace and feeling a little surprised.
At first, Liu Ji and Fang Jun were at odds with each other, and he repeatedly instigated the imperial censor to impeach Fang Jun for various illegal things, but in the end nothing could be done about it. Later, he briefly cooperated with Fang Jun, and then parted ways again.
, very much like love...
But from the beginning to the end, Liu Jie was one level away from the East Palace and never supported the prince wholeheartedly.
At present, the battle to seize the heir is intensifying, and it has reached a life-or-death situation. From Liu Jie's position, he should hide aside and not get involved, so why did he come forward on his own initiative?
Liu Ji came forward to see the ceremony, and Li Chengqian looked pleasant. He did not feel at all the fear and urgency of the threat to the throne, and asked with a smile: "The servant is here, just in time to help Gu give advice on tomorrow's funeral. The Duke of Yue is the Minister of the Ministry of Etiquette."
But he doesn't care about the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, Li Huaiyan has too many thoughts on both sides, and only you, the servant, can make me feel at ease."
Liu Jie said: "Your Highness has an order, how dare I disobey you? It's just that I came here to report Li Yifu. This person spread the rebel message in Taiji Palace, causing everyone to panic. His crime is unforgivable. Please forgive me."
Punish severely in accordance with the law to serve as a warning to others.”
There was a lot to say, but the word "rebel" immediately expressed his attitude and position.
Li Chengqian was overjoyed, and he was very happy to recruit Liu Jie. It was an unexpected blessing to get the support of Liu Ji. This one of the prime ministers and assistants among the servants had controlled the Yushitai for many years before, and his influence among the Qing gossip officials was almost as much as the so-called "Liu Jie".
Xiao Yu, the "Qingliu leader", stood up to the challenge and did not fall behind. This was really a rare help.
As for the previous unpleasantness, what does it count?
Liu Ji shook his head and thanked Li Chengqian for his kindness, and said with a straight face: "In case others suspect that I have wronged a good man, I would like to ask Your Highness to personally interrogate Li Yifu to convict him."
After saying that, he waved his hand behind him and asked the guards to bring in Li Yifu who had his hands tightly bound and his mouth blocked.
Just as the imperial guards took off the rag from Li Yifu's mouth, Li Yifu knelt down on the ground with a bang and shouted: "Your Highness, I am wronged!"
Ma Zhou frowned and scolded: "The late emperor's mourning hall is at the side, how is it appropriate to shout and scream like this? If you have something to say, if you dare to make noise again, you will be slapped!"
Li Yifu did not dare to shout anymore, so he could only say aggrievedly: "Previously, a message from the King of Jin was passed into the palace. I don't know who it was. It was inevitable for our officials to discuss it. There was also an edict from the late emperor. Everyone was curious, so they discussed it to distinguish the authenticity. It happened to be
When the servants saw it, they decided that Wei Chen had deliberately spread it to confuse everyone, and wanted to bring Wei Chen to justice... But Wei Chen was really wronged!"
Liu Jie sneered and said: "You dare to say that you have never discussed the petition? I will ask the officials present, if anyone testifies for you, they should clear your name!"
Li Yifu was speechless. Just now, almost everyone was talking about the edict and the memorial. Now that Liu Jie is targeting him, who wouldn't be frightened to death? Now that he is sending people to ask, it is almost certain that everyone will rush to identify him. Li Yifu
It was the one that sparked the discussion first... Since you, Li Yifu, have already fallen into trouble, why bother trying to bite us again?
He had no choice but to say: "The late emperor has died, and your Highness should be the successor. In fact, how can a small traitor rebel against heaven? Therefore, many people who had criticized your Highness before rushed to defect to Your Highness, intending to claim credit and reward, and deliberately spread the propaganda of the King of Jin.
It caused everyone to talk, so we were reported and arrested to please His Highness, and please give His Majesty a clear warning!"
Hey! Liu Ji almost laughed in anger. Instead of admitting his mistake, this guy actually bit him back, saying that he deliberately framed him in order to express his loyalty to the prince. He was really cunning and insidious.
Although I do think so...
He ignored Li Yifu and said to Li Chengqian: "The public sentiment in the palace is currently fierce, and some of them may not have listened to lies and sympathized with the King of Jin. His Highness should use thunderous means to deter him. Otherwise, the public sentiment will spread, the military morale will be unstable, and the consequences will be extremely serious."
Li Yifu was dejected and stopped talking.
He understood that what Liu Ji said was reasonable. At present, the spread of public opinion must be stopped. The best way was to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. It didn't matter whether his "chicken" was wronged or not, as long as he could scare the "monkeys".
The throne is passed down and the country is extended. Before that, what was the mere Li Yi Mansion?
It's a pity that I somehow hated Fang Jun, so that the man watching with a smile on the side had no intention of pulling me back...
Li Chengqian also knew that this was not the time for a fair trial, and the most important thing was to control public opinion. After a brief pause, he slowly said: "Li Yifu's discussion of traitors' accusations is intended to confuse people's hearts and spread public opinion. His heart can be punished, and he will
He will be deprived of his official status and immediately sent to prison. He will not be punished until after the funeral of the late Emperor."
After all, I felt a little softer and couldn't bear to punish him on the spot...
Li Yifu breathed a sigh of relief. He understood that this was the best outcome for the current situation. It would be bad if he continued to quibble and annoy the prince. So he was grateful and burst into tears: "Your Highness is kind, I don't dare to say anything."
As long as you can stay alive, there is still hope of escaping from the prison...
Li Yifu was left to stay, and Liu Jie was invited to take a seat by Li Chengqian. He said sincerely: "After dawn, the funeral will be held. During this period, there are many etiquettes and it is easy to make mistakes. Please ask the attendants to help you to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
This was regarded as officially accepting Liu Ji's surrender.
Liu Jie naturally accepted the order: "Your Highness, don't worry, it is the duty of this humble minister to dare to go through fire and water, and his heart and mind will be ruined?"
Presiding over a "big funeral" naturally cannot be said to be "going through fire and water, heart and soul". This is a clear expression of loyalty to Li Chengqian. I will stand firmly on your side...
Li Chengqian was very happy.
The King of Jin sent the "edict" and the proclamation into the city to arouse public opinion. It was inevitable that some people believed it to be true, especially those self-proclaimed royal officials. Once they believed that what the King of Jin said was the truth, they could not stop them even with swords and axes.
Making trouble on the "big coffin".
With Liu Jie, a civilian leader, under pressure, it would be much safer.
Just wait until dawn, after the "big burial", to determine the names of monarchs and ministers, and to ascend the throne, it will be considered stable...