Late at night, Liu Ling lay on his back on the bed with his eyes closed and resting. After he woke up, he learned that Liu Meier was not seriously ill and was even better than him. If they hadn't stopped her, Liu Meier would have crawled.
Look at Liu Ling. Liu Ling laughed sincerely when he heard the news. No matter what his second brother Emperor Xiao said, he felt that it was worth it.
The little girl Minhui was lying next to his bed and had fallen asleep. This little girl was really exhausted these days. When Liu Ling was in a coma, Minhui stayed by his side non-stop, and her delicate and thin body looked...
He is even more haggard, which makes people feel distressed just by looking at him.
Liu Ling moved slightly, but it was uncomfortable to keep in the same position. Because he slept for too long in the past few days, although he was still a little tired, he just couldn't fall asleep.
He gently pulled a piece of clothing over Minhui's body. Looking at this thin but strong little girl, Liu Ling smiled softly. This Minhui was really a lovely little girl.
Liu Ling had been in a coma for several days and his body was extremely stiff. Liu Ling really wanted to stand up and stretch his muscles. Unfortunately, there was always someone watching over him, so he couldn't help himself.
Liu Ling wanted to get out of bed quietly and move around, but he didn't want to wake up Minhui who was sleeping. When he was thinking about how to get around, there was a sudden noise from the bookshelf. Liu Ling glanced at it and then at Minhui.
, Fortunately, this girl was really exhausted and slept soundly.
Zhao Da walked out of the secret passage and fell to his knees with a plop. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Ling pointed at Minhui with his finger. Zhao Da stood up and took out a small bottle from his arms, opened the lid and placed it in front of Minhui's nose.
It shook a bit. Minhui hummed softly, tilted her head, and fell asleep deeper.
Liu Ling got out of bed, supported Minhui on the bed, and then smiled with satisfaction.
"This subordinate is incompetent, please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Da knelt down again and said.
Liu Ling stretched out, waved his hand and said: "It has nothing to do with you, it's just that I'm not careful enough. The two years in the sky prison have reduced my vigilance and reaction ability a lot. I will never do it again."
This happened."
He signaled Zhao Da to get up, and then asked: "How are you doing? Have you recruited him?"
The assassin that day was taken away by officials from Taiyuan Prefecture. However, he was kidnapped by Zhao Da and his men on the way. During this period, he fought with another group of people. The other group of people obviously wanted to kill people and silence them.
But I didn't expect Zhao Da and others to appear so quickly. The two sides fought a fierce battle. In the end, those people were defeated by Zhao Da and others, and ran away after suffering heavy losses.
Zhao Da still knelt down and said, "No, that man is mute!"
"What!"
Liu Ling suddenly turned around and looked at Zhao Da, his expression changed.
"Mute?"
Zhao Da nodded and said: "Well, he is mute, and he can't read, so I didn't find any useful clues. However, I found this from him."
Zhao Da took out a small bag from his arms, handed it to Liu Ling and said.
Liu Ling opened it and took a look, and saw that it was a pill. The pill had not yet been opened, and there was a wax pill sealed on the outside. Liu Ling looked at it and said: "This should be used to make them commit suicide after their actions fail. It seems that these people's
The organization is very tight.”
Zhao Da pointed at the wax pill and said, "My lord, please look carefully. There are marks on this wax pill!"
Liu Ling heard this and took a closer look under the light. Sure enough, there was a mark on the wax pill that was not very obvious. The writing on the mark was very small and not very clear. The words "Made in-house" could be vaguely recognized. Looking at this
Wax pill, Liu Ling pondered for a while and said to himself: "Internal control?"
What is in-house production?
Zhao Dadao: "My subordinates think this is something in the government!"
Liu Ling nodded and said: "It makes sense, but I have never heard that there is such a place for making poisons in the government? As a loyal prince, it seems that I don't understand everything about the Han Dynasty."
Zhao Da Dao: "My subordinates have been investigating for several days, but nothing has been found. There is no such department below the Ministry of War, the Forbidden Army, the Garrison Army, or the Gyeonggi Camp. The medicinal materials used in the army are purchased from various places. In Taiyuan City
There are several large-scale pharmacies that specialize in providing general medicines to the army. But if we are not in the army, I have yet to think of any yamen that has such a department for making poisons."
Liu Ling thought for a while and said: "When the late emperor was still alive, it seems that a department called Longting Guard was set up in the palace. Later, it was disbanded due to some reasons. This Longting Guard only existed for less than a month in total.
It was composed of some dead soldiers who were loyal to the late emperor. These dead soldiers only performed one mission, which was to go to the Liao Kingdom to assassinate the Liao Emperor Yelu Xiongji. After the failure, it is said that these dead soldiers committed suicide by taking poison."
Liu Ling recalled it carefully and said: "I don't know much about this matter. At that time, we were all fighting in the south against the Hou Zhou Dynasty. Go check it out and see if there is any connection."
General Zhao took the wax pill, nodded and said, "I will go check it out immediately. In addition, I have already considered the people from the Criminal Department, and basically the information I have obtained is complete."
After saying that, Zhao Da took out a stack of papers from his arms and said: "On the surface, these people don't seem suspicious. But if you give me some time, I think no matter how well they hide it, their flaws will be exposed."
of."
Liu Ling was still very weak, and his legs were a little sore after standing for a long time. He didn't hold on, and sat down at the desk and said, "It's none of your business to stand up and talk."
He pulled the light closer and said: "If... it is really related to Long Tingwei from the late emperor's time, this matter will be complicated. Because some people from Wang Xiaoniu's criminal department were exposed, and the assassination of Wang Xiaoniu failed, and the dog jumped over the wall in a hurry.
It makes sense to want to kill me. But if it has something to do with Long Tingwei..."
He turned to look at Zhao Da and asked, "What do you think?"
Zhao Da thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty will never have any evil intentions towards the prince."
Liu Ling smiled softly, her smile was very relaxed.
He naturally knew that Emperor Xiao would not kill him. He knew Emperor Xiao very well. The two brothers would never turn against each other. However, decades later, in order to let his descendants do this
If the throne is more stable, I am afraid that Emperor Xiao will have a good talk with Liu Ling. Who knows, he will also play a game of drinking and releasing military power. The new emperor cannot suppress people like Liu Ling no matter what.
However, if it is really involved that Long Tingwei should have been exterminated a few years ago, who is behind it?
Paper had already appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, but the quality of the paper at that time was very rough and basically difficult to use, so people preferred to use bamboo slips. In the first year of Yuanxing of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Longting Marquis Cai Lun improved the papermaking technology, and then paper was widely used.
Emperor He of the Han Dynasty at that time greatly appreciated this and said it was a good thing that would benefit the country and the people for countless years.
The paper in Liu Ling's hand is Caihou paper.
The first page is the information about Sima Lu, the Minister of Punishment, which is very detailed. Liu Ling looked at it carefully and found that this person was very extraordinary.
Sima Lu was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Qianyou's reign. He first served as the headmaster of Honglu Temple and was a minor official from the ninth rank. Later, because of his meritorious service in receiving envoys from the Liao Kingdom, he was promoted to the lower pastoral supervisor of Taipu Temple and was promoted to
He was an official of the sixth rank. Later, because of his meritorious service in exposing the rebellion of General Zhou Shiran, he was transferred from Taipu Temple to the Ministry of Punishment as a Yuanwai Lang. Because he was honest and honest, his heart was as hard as iron, and he handled cases rigorously without losing justice.
Four years later, he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and just one year later, he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
This man is simply a replica of Zhang Tang, a cruel official during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Not only was he rigorous and decisive in handling cases, but he also had the same love for studying various tortures.
However, judging from the files, this man is indeed an upright official. Although his family is not poor, it is not a wealthy family. Since becoming an official, he has never embezzled a penny for his own use. There is also a relative in his hometown.
My uncle is still living in the fields till now, when he is more than 60 years old. His parents died young, and this uncle is one of his few relatives.
At home, Sima Lu never ate extravagantly, with two dishes and one soup for each meal, mostly vegetarian. If he went out for private matters, he never took the Ministry of Punishment's carriage. Except for his wife and brother, no one in the family was an official. It was him.
My wife's brother was not recommended as an official by him. He was a Jinshi in the 16th year of Qianyou's reign. In fact, he was quite knowledgeable.
Liu Ling frowned and turned over Sima Lu's file and started reading the second page. The second page was the resume of Pei Hao, the Minister of Justice. This person's file was relatively plain.
Pei Hao
In the tenth year of Qianyou's reign, he was recommended as an official by Sima Lu. He first served as a minor official under the head of the Criminal Department, and later was promoted to the head of the Criminal Department because he solved the case of Zhou Shiran's remaining crimes. When Liu Ling saw this, he couldn't help but be surprised. This
Pei Hao was recommended by Sima Lu, so wouldn't Pei Hao be Sima Lu's disciple? One of the two people was responsible for exposing Zhou Zhiran's rebellion, and the other was investigating the rebellion of Zhou's envoy and his descendants.
Fate.
In another seven years, Pei Hao accumulated merit and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Justice. It has been more than four years now. During this period, he and Sima Lu turned against each other for unknown reasons, and the two had great conflicts. And Pei Hao because of his daily routine
He was cold and arrogant, and was not good at making friends, so everyone said that he was ungrateful and sorry for Sima Lu. No one knew the specific reasons that caused the master-disciple to turn against each other.
Some people say that it was because Pei Hao embezzled a sum of money from criminals and was discovered by Sima Lu. Then the two had a big quarrel. Because there was no evidence, Sima Lu failed to do anything to Pei Hao in the end. This matter has been rumored for a long time.
, it is impossible to find out whether the specific facts are like this.
Since the seventeenth year of Qianyou's reign, Sima Lu, the Minister of Punishment, and Pei Hao, the Minister of Punishment, had nothing to do except official duties. This was a special case in the officialdom.
It is worth noting that Pei Hao came from a wealthy family and was very particular about clothing, food and ostentation. He was cold and arrogant, but generous. In the Ministry of Punishment, there were several people who were favored by him.
Liu Ling looked at it for a while, then put down the paper and asked Zhao Da: "What do you think of Sima Lu and Pei Hao?"
Zhao Da thought for a while and said: "Sima Lu has a heart of stone. He is not only cruel to the prisoners, but also to himself. Such a person is an extreme person. If you do good, you will benefit one party. If you do evil, you will bring trouble to the court!"
"Pei Hao, although this man is young, his decisiveness and ruthlessness in his actions are even better than Sima Lu. It is difficult to judge the good and evil of this man. However, some people say that the Ministry of Punishment accepts money and uses it to treat ordinary people or the military.
He was the one who came up with this method of replacing the condemned criminals to death!"
Liu Ling nodded, looked at the files of these two people again, and asked in his mind: Is this really the case? (To be continued)
