Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Zhiqi, the supervisory censor, issued a memorial to impeach Ouyang, the counselor and political advisor, for not repairing the curtains and having an affair with his eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wu. He did not have the character of a minister and was not suitable to be in the government!
To put it bluntly, this old guy Ouyang Xiu is picking up ashes with his daughter-in-law. How can a guy like this, who is worse than a beast, be in power?
The officials sneered at this and spat: "Today's officials are becoming more and more outrageous, and they are using short stories and long stories to make up for it."
The reason why Zhao Zhen thinks this way is because the Song Dynasty stipulated that officials must impeach someone at least once a month, which is called a "monthly lesson". If there is no correction within a hundred days, he will be dismissed, demoted, or fined a "humiliating Taiwanese currency"
', and as long as you dare to play, no matter whether it is true or not, you will be rewarded!
The reason why Jiang Zhiqi dared to criticize the government without restraint was because he would not be held accountable no matter what.
So Zhao Zhen just asked someone to give Jiang Zhiqi a verbal warning, and at the same time ordered the Banking Department to suppress the accusation, hoping that the big issue would be reduced to a trivial matter...
Who would have thought that Jiang Zhiqi would not give up. In order to prove that his impeachment was indeed based on solid evidence, he went to the police and said that I was not the one who spread the rumor. It was my leader Peng Siyong who told me...
After going back and forth like this, the matter quickly spread and became a hot topic of discussion among the government and the public, in restaurants and bars in Bianjing, and after dinner. There is no way, the fastest spreading news in the world is rosy news, not to mention the fact that the prime minister and his daughter-in-law were picking up the ashes.
scandal?
After Ouyang Xiu learned about it, he almost went crazy. He immediately went to court to defend himself and said: "I am a member of the government and was falsely accused in vain. I rely on the imperial court to investigate the truth and make sure the crime is punished." He strongly demanded that the imperial court publically try the case and repay his own crimes.
clean.
Besides him, there were others who couldn't sit still. It was his in-laws, Wu Chong, deputy envoy of the Third Division, who was rumored that his daughter had committed adultery with his father-in-law. Naturally, he wanted to protest in a chapter.
Don't be insulted in vain!'
In that room, Peng Siyong, the imperial censor in the palace, was not an economical lamp. Shangshufu told Jiang Zhiqi that I had indeed told him about this matter. This matter was conclusive and true. Please make sure that the emperor makes a ruling.
impartially!
At first, the officials wanted to deal with it coldly, but now the two sides were quarreling and could no longer suppress it. Zhao Zhen had no choice but to find Tang Jie and ask him to find out what was going on.
Tang Jie knew that although Ouyang Xiu had a romantic nature in his early years, he was still an out-and-out gentleman and would never do such beastly things. Naturally, he was towards Ouyang Xiu and was very angry with his subordinates for their unauthorized actions... Although the censor
The officials in Taiwan all have the right to submit memorials individually, but as a rule, when impeaching a senior official above the fourth rank, they must first communicate with the Prime Minister.
When he returned to Wutai Yamen, he called Peng Yongsi and Jiang Zhiqi to scold him. However, although they kept silent, they insisted that there was real evidence for this matter.
"Jiang Zhiqi said he heard it from you." Tang Jie glared at Peng Siyong and said, "Then where did you hear it?"
"Back to Zhongcheng, I heard it from Xue Zongru, Ouyang Xiu's brother-in-law." Peng Siyong gritted his teeth and said: "My brother-in-law accused my brother-in-law, why didn't he say anything else but private matters? The wind started with Qingping.
It won't happen without a reason!" He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said, "The word "Zui Penglai" that Xue Zongru copied from Ouyang Xiu is an ironclad proof!"
Tang Jie took it over expressionlessly and saw that there was clearly a ** poem on the note:
"Seeing the shameful face, tender face evenly flushed, and a slim waist. The red pill is on the edge of the waist. I was so annoyed that I couldn't teach Yi Guo. I half-hidden my shyness, and in a low voice, I asked if anyone knew. I forced my skirt to be straightened, and I stole the echo.
Eyes, pretending to walk and pretend to sit.
I also asked what if, after the matter was settled, I messed up the Yun servant girl, and my mother guessed it. I will go home, and you have a rest for now. I went to work with my mother, and I have some needlework, but I haven’t collected it yet. But it’s late at night, under the shadow of the flowers in the garden.
, come back again.'
"Zhongcheng Mingjian." Seeing that Tang Jie was silent, Peng Siyong became more energetic and added jealously: "'But at the end of the night, under the shadow of the flowers in the garden, I asked if anyone knows?' Among the women in the Ou family, except for his
Daughter-in-law, who else needs to be sneaky like him?"
"Yes, yes, the 'shameful face, evenly rosy face, and graceful waist' are clearly the portrayal of his eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wu." Jiang Zhiqi supported from the side: "I heard that Mrs. Wu was a famous figure in the capital before she came out of the cabinet.
The beautiful woman... After the matter was settled, Yun Yu was confused. Unexpectedly, my mother did not guess it, but my uncle guessed it!"
"That's nonsense!" Tang Jie slammed the table and said, "The literati wrote the words and made them up. How can they be used as evidence?"
"According to Zhongcheng's standards, we can only catch the adulterer in bed." Peng Siyong curled his lips and said: "This is not the job of our censor..."
"You bastards!" Tang Jie yelled angrily: "Don't think that you can do whatever you want if you have someone's backing. I will not let you succeed!"
The two of them had always acted like a dead pig is not afraid of being scalded by boiling water. After hearing this, they both fell silent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tang Jie acted resolutely and quickly found out the causes and consequences of the case.
The rumor of "picking off ashes" was indeed spread by Xue Liangru, Ouyang Xiu's brother-in-law. Xue Liangru was also a Jinshi, and he was promoted to Jixian School Manager. He was supposed to have a bright future. But this year he went back on his words... He recommended it to the court many years ago
An official was dismissed from office for taking bribes and bending the law.
In the Song Dynasty, even if you were selected as a Jinshi, you had to be recommended by an official before you could enter the officialdom. And according to the rules, if the recommended official broke the law, the recommender would be jointly and severally liable. Although he would not be guilty of the same crime, he would be demoted or even
Removal from office is possible.
Of course, as time goes by, the implementation of this article has become very flexible. This is for sure. Otherwise, if you recommend an official, you will have to take a lifetime risk, which no one can bear. So those who have people in charge, encounter this
In this case, it is usually settled with a symbolic fine. Of course, if there is no one above or even offends others, you can only admit that you are unlucky.
Therefore, Xue Zongru was not worried at that time. There was someone in the court! My brother-in-law was the deputy prime minister, so he didn’t even say a word?
It was indeed a matter of one sentence, but instead of interceding for him, Ouyang Xiu made it very clear and wrote to the court: "You cannot tolerate me just because I am involved in political affairs."
If Ouyang Xiu had not spoken, others would not have embarrassed Xue Zongru for his sake, but now that he had spoken, everyone would be happy to satisfy him...
After Xue Zongru was demoted, he was naturally angry with Ouyang Xiu. Even if you don't want to say anything, you can just shut up, right? Just thinking about being a good minister and good minister, do you still have any humanity?
The more he thought about it, the more resentful he became... Don't you want your name to go down in history? I have to mess it up for you. In order to express the evil in his chest and make Ouyang Xiu lose face, Xue Zongru fabricated this scandal.
Why use scandal? Because as early as the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Ouyang Xiu had been involved in a very public "nephew theft case"... The niece who was raised by Ouyang Xiu, after she got married as an adult, was sentenced to Kaifeng for committing adultery with a domestic slave.
In the prison, during the trial, it was revealed that he had an affair with Ouyang Xiu. The remonstrator Qian Mingyi came to impeach Ouyang Xiu, which caused a sensation in the government and the public.
Although there was no real evidence in the end and the case was settled, Ouyang Xiu was in despair for several years, and it became a romantic lawsuit that he could not escape from throughout his life.
So when Xue Zongru wanted to spread rumors, he immediately thought about the relationship between men and women, and this time he went a step further, switching from niece to daughter-in-law!
However, Xue Zongru only told one person, his friend Liu Jin of the same year. After he calmed down, he felt it was too much, so he didn't tell anyone else.
Speaking of which, that was only a few months ago. Even the people who spread the rumor had almost forgotten about it, but Liu Jin remembered it again and told his fellow countryman Peng Siyong, and it became out of control...
Is this really a mistake? Judging from Tang Jie’s many years of experience, that’s not necessarily the case!
Just like the "nephew theft case", Yang Riyan, then the magistrate of Kaifeng, instigated the jailer to teach the Zhang family to frame the case in revenge for Ouyang Xiu's involvement in his corruption and illegal behavior when he was in Yizhou in his early years. This time, it is the same.
The "eldest daughter-in-law case" may not be a poisonous plan deliberately concocted by villains in the court!
But finding out the truth can't clear Ouyang Xiu's innocence. He already has a "criminal record", and the rumor makers used rumors of the same nature to slander him. That is the most effective and cannot be washed away.
Because others will definitely say, why don’t people spread rumors about others? Why do they spread rumors about you, Ouyang Xiu, over and over again? If a fly doesn’t bite a perfect egg, there is something wrong with your style that’s why you were caught.
Don't let go.
Ouyang Xiu didn't need to hear people talking like this. Just thinking about it made him sick to death, and he couldn't explain it clearly!
Since the incident, Ouyang Xiu's life has been dark and dark. Not to mention that the father-in-law and his daughter-in-law can no longer get along, even the meeting between father and son is very embarrassing. In the past few days, Ouyang Fa has been living in the government office and has not returned home. Mrs. Wu has also returned to her parents' home, and Ouyang Xiu has also
He had no face to go to the palace to discuss politics, took sick leave to stay at home and thanked guests behind closed doors, and just kept writing memorials to the emperor.
He said that Jiang Zhiqi's impeachment of me was something that even an animal would not do. If I did it, His Majesty would chop me into pieces and smash my bones into ashes. This matter must not be vague or confusing.
If it goes like this, the court must investigate thoroughly and either clear my name or kill me!
Immediately afterwards, Shangshu said, in view of the current situation, I request the court to allow me to resign from my post as a political advisor, so that the supervisory authority can conduct a thorough investigation!
Within a month, I wrote nine memorials in a row, completely showing that I would rather die if I don’t come clean!
In that room, Ouyang Xiu's students were furious and wrote letters to support their teacher. Wang Shao also beat Jiang Zhiqi until he was bedridden all winter...
Who is Jiang Zhiqi? An important member of Jiayou Academy!
Not only was he a Jinshi in the second year of Jiayou's reign, he and Ouyang Xiu had a teacher-student relationship. Moreover, it was Ouyang Xiu who recommended Jiang Zhiqi to take the exam. Although he was rejected in the imperial examination, he still passed the exam.
Only then did he become famous and was elected to the Yushitai.
