"I asked Cao Aiqing to send someone to investigate that matter. How is the investigation going now?"
At the court meeting, Zhao Ji asked about the previous conflict between the prodigal prime minister Li Bangyan and the imperial student...
The supervisory censor Cao Fu came out of class and played back:
"My minister, Cao Fu, reported to the officials that after a fight broke out between Li Shangshu and the imperial student who petitioned for remonstrance, the officials ordered Li Shangshu to shut up and think about his mistakes.
Cao Fu, the minister, received a secret order from the official family and sent several of his subordinates to monitor whether Li Shangshu could rest at home and reflect on his mistakes.
However, when the official imperial commander personally went to the southeast to quell the Fangla bandit rebellion, Li Shangshu often left the government to visit the ministers of the DPRK..."
"Humph!" Zhao Ji snorted deliberately, pretending to be angry.
In fact, he was not angry at all, and was even a little happy. It was a shame to catch the ministers in the Song Dynasty who would belittle the Jin army and surrender in the future!
After all, as a time traveler, Zhao Ji originally knew that Li Bangyan, known as the Lang Prime Minister, was historically a beggar and capitulator against the Jin. In the first year of Jingkang, the Jin army went south, and Song Huizong gave the Zen throne to Song Qinzong, appointing Li
Kunihiko became the envoy of Ryūtoku Palace and moved to the position of Dazai.
When the Jin army approached the capital, Li Bangyan firmly advocated ceding territory for peace, deposing Li Gang, and establishing military power. When a thunderbolt gunner on the Tokyo wall fired at the Jin army below the city, Li Bangyan actually believed that this move was to undermine the peace negotiations between the Song and Jin Dynasties.
As part of the plan, the gunner who dared to fire at the Jin army in the city was tragically convicted and immediately executed...
There were many reasons for the Jingkang Disaster. The fact that he could destroy the Great Wall against the Jin Dynasty so quickly (removing Li Gang and Zhong Shidao from military power) must be said to be a very important reason. Li Bangyan's crime must never be pardoned.
However, when Zhao Ji thought about this, he also knew that this was just because he knew this period of history.
Now, I simply cannot use the "Jingkang Disaster" as an issue that has not yet occurred, let alone sentence Li Bangyan to death.
Well, I just took advantage of Cao Fu's accusation that Li Bangyan violated the sacred order to deal with the capitulationists who would harm the Song Dynasty in the future and beg for peace with the Jin army!
Zhao Ji pretended to be furious and asked:
"Cao Aiqing, please tell me in public at the court meeting that Li Bangyan, who defied my will, did not stay at home to recuperate, and stayed behind closed doors to think about his mistakes. However, while I was leaving the capital to conquer Fangla in person, which ministers did he secretly visit in the capital?"
All the officials at the court were shocked...
Especially those ministers who had a private meeting with Li Bangyan after Zhao Guan's family left Beijing were even more frightened, with cold sweat on their foreheads. They thought in their hearts that if this troublesome supervisory censor Cao Fu was really exposed, they should
How to quibble...
Cao Fu, who is upright by nature, was a little repelled by this task when he received the secret request from Zhao Guan's family. After all, sending his subordinates to follow and monitor Li Bangyan, the right minister of the dynasty, would always make Cao Fu feel disgraceful.
This is not the behavior of an honorable man.
However, Zhao Ji at the time made a secret request to him and said that this was to prevent the danger of cliques in the Song Dynasty, so Cao Fu agreed.
At this time, Cao Fu obeyed the order, took out the memorial from his arms and prepared to secretly submit it to Zhao Guan's family, and read out:
"On the third day after the official expedition, the spies sent by Cao Fu saw Li Shangshu driving out of the mansion and first went to the gate of Dazaifu..."
Cao Fu read this, but before he finished reading, all the ministers secretly looked at Dazai Yu Shen, especially those who had a good personal relationship with Li Bangyan, as if they had taken a dose of medicine. They secretly thought,
The seventy-year-old prime minister Yu Shen was buried in bed, so the Zhao family could not delve into the matter.
However, at this moment, Yu Shen had a calm expression on his face. He stroked the gray beard on his chest with his right hand, squinted his eyes slightly, curved the corners of his mouth, and the wrinkles on his face deepened a lot with his smile.
Cao Fu continued reading:
"However, when Li Shangshu paid a visit to Dazai Yu, the concierge who came out reported that Dazai was ill, and Li Shangshu was turned away from the gate of Dazai Mansion!"
After hearing this, those ministers who wanted to use Yu Shen as a cushion to have their responsibilities reduced suddenly felt cold.
The ministers who were not involved in this matter all admired Yu Shen in their hearts. He was so wily and resourceful!
Cao Fu said: "Shang Shu Youcheng Li Bangyan did not pay homage to Dazai Yu, so he angrily boarded the sedan chair and went to the Duke of Yan's Mansion..."
The ministers turned their attention to Zheng Juzhong, Duke of Yan, who was in charge of the Privy Council.
At this time, Zheng Juzhong held his head high and proud...
Cao Fu continued: "However, Duke Yan did not allow Li Shangshu to come to the palace to meet..."
Zhao Ji nodded and said: "Cao Aiqing, tell me directly which ministers Li Shangshu has successfully met with."
"Your Majesty, Cao Fu, obeys the decree."
"While the official imperial commander was personally marching to the southeast, Li Bangyan, the minister's right prime minister, disobeyed the edict that ordered him to shut himself up and reflect on his mistakes.
Within a few days, he left the house privately and had private meetings:
Bai Shizhong, the assistant minister of Zhongshu,
Zhao Ye, Minister of the Ministry of Justice,
Wang Xiaodi, Minister of Civil Affairs,
Cai Mao, the governor of Kaifeng,
Tang Ke, the Minister of Household Affairs,
Li Chu from Zhongshushe."
Zhao Ji was furious and asked: "Are the words of the six beloved ministers, Cao Yushi, true?"
"Bang bang bang..." The kowtows continued.
Bai Shizhong, Zhao Ye, Wang Xiaodi, Cai Mao, Tang Ke, and Li Chu left their duties and knelt in the main hall. After kowtowing, they all explained that they saw the dignified Minister You Cheng coming to visit, how could they dare not welcome him into the mansion?
What’s the reason?!
"Haha..." Zhao Ji sneered and looked at the six people with hatred.
Among these six people, with the exception of Li Chu, the member of Zhongshushe, who had the smallest official position, the other five ministers, even in the modern society before Zhao Ji traveled through time, were all ministerial or deputy ministerial level officials.
.
The minister of a certain ministry is equivalent to the minister in later generations, and the minister is equivalent to the deputy minister in later generations.
Moreover, there were too many ministries in later generations, but there were not so many ministries in ancient times. In a sense, the scope of authority of a certain department in ancient times was larger and broader than that of later generations.
The history major, who happened to be particularly fond of Zhao Ji, a traveler in the history of the two Song Dynasties, looked at these six ministers who were usually on good terms with the prodigal prime minister Li Bangyan.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! He has long known in his heart that these six people have big problems in history.
Zhao Ji suppressed his anger and asked: "Mr. Bai, what did Shang Shu Youcheng talk about in secret when he came to your house?"
Bai Shizhong, the assistant minister of Zhongshu, knelt in the main hall and shivered. However, he knew from listening to the memorial of Cao Fu, the censor, that the unlucky Li Bangyan was being followed by servants sent by Cao Fu.
Therefore, Bai Shizhong stabilized his mind and thought to himself: The spies sent by Cao Fu were just following Li Bangyan's car. When they saw Li Bangyan entering my house, how could they know what Li Shangshu had secretly discussed with me?
The nervous expression on Bai Shizhong's face calmed down slightly. He knelt in the hall and echoed:
"I am Bai Shizhong, and I am returning to the official's house. Li Shangshu is feeling depressed in the Shangshu Mansion because his injury has improved, so he comes to the minister's house to drink tea and play chess with me."
Zhao Ji asked coldly: "Servant Bai, is that all?"
Bai Shizhong hesitated for a moment, but how dare he echo Li Bangyan's treasonous complaints about the unfair treatment of officials, and did not punish the imperial students who beat him, Li Bangyan, but instead made him, Li Bangyan, suspend his duties and go home to reflect.
, what about talking to the officials, civil and military officials?
Bai Shizhong thought to himself: How could outsiders know about the secret conversations I had with Li Bangyan in his own house? What's more, how could the Zhao Guan family, who had just returned to Beijing in triumph from Fangla yesterday, know the details?
Therefore, Bai Shizhong responded: "How dare I deceive the emperor, my minister Shizhong? I just drank tea and played chess with Li Shangshu. That's all!"
With a "pop" sound, Zhao Ji patted the dragon case and said:
"Shilang Bai, you are so courageous! In this hall, Shilang Bai keeps saying, 'I don't dare to deceive you,' but in fact, you are deceiving me."
Bai Shizhong turned pale with fright. He had never seen Zhao Guan's family become so angry with him.
All the ministers were also shocked.
Zhao Ji asked the supervisory censor Cao Fu:
"Cao Aiqing, do you know why Li Bangyan, the right prime minister of the Shang Shu, paid a visit to Shilang Bai and had a secret discussion?!"
After Cao Fu kowtowed, he replied awkwardly:
"I don't know, I am Cao Fu. It's just because the little official who followed Li Shangshu in his car could not enter Shilang Bai's house. Therefore, I don't know what Li Shangshu and Shilang Bai were talking about."
Bai Shizhong, who was so frightened that he was sweating profusely, sighed deeply.
He was glad in his heart that it was just as I expected, the Zhao Guan family just deceived me!
Above the court, several other ministers who had met and talked secretly with Li Bangyan also breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.
Suddenly, Zhao Ji said:
"But I know what the secret discussion between Bai Shilang and Li Shangshu is about! Xuanhuang City Secretary's secret agent has entered the palace!"