Liu Jin's mind was racing, and he immediately realized that Zhang Yanling's words had other meanings.
In this situation, there is no need for him to say these false words to defend the emperor. Tonight's meeting is to discuss the criticism of Liu Jin and others and the Zhang brothers. Zhang Yanling should say something specific.
Countermeasures and measures are.
The other people are not as sensitive as Liu Jin. Ma Yongcheng frowned and said: "Master Zhang, how are we going to deal with them? This is what we want to know, not to listen to what you say. Now we are being attacked by others, saying
Before you say anything, you have to deal with the criticism against us first."
Gao Feng also said in a deep voice: "That's right. Now people are accusing your brother Zhanghou of stealing the Zhou family's property. This is all true. Do you, Zhanghou, want to tell them that you did this for
Defending the emperor? Isn’t that a joke?”
Liu Jin said: "You two, stop talking nonsense and listen to Mr. Hou. Mr. Hou, our family thinks that Mr. Hou has other deep meanings. Mr. Hou, in this situation, it is better not to play riddles with us."
If the Marquis has any idea, just say it directly, we people may not be able to turn our heads around."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said: "Sure enough, Eunuch Liu is still admirable. Well, I won't beat around the bush. Everyone, we are in an extremely passive situation regarding this matter. Li Mengyang's memorial is well prepared and collected.
It has given us so many handles, which is a great disadvantage to us.
I think these things are irrefutable. Anyway, apart from criticizing the former slave Luo Cao raised by my brother Shouning Hou for becoming a bandit, there are several things about my Zhang family that do not accuse us unjustly. I
I think the things about the father-in-laws in the memorial should not be fabricated."
Liu Jin smacked his lips and said, "I'll tell you the truth, it's true."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's it. So, let's talk about the facts. There is no possibility of refutation. Because the things are true. I think these are facts that have been collected and confirmed by the outer court a long time ago, so they dare to release them.
If you want to confess yourself, make excuses, or deny it, I'm afraid they will immediately
More evidence will be produced in a moment to completely establish the whole matter. At that time, we have shot ourselves in the foot and have no room for resistance. In the eyes of others, we are just lying.
, refused to admit guilt and denied the sophistry. After this, there is no way to turn around. Do you understand?"
Liu Jin frowned and said: "Master Hou means..."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Eunuch Liu, dear father-in-laws, my idea is to take a step back and the world will be brighter. Since there is no excuse, why not just admit it."
"What? Admitted it?"
"Are you crazy? If you admit it, won't you have to plead guilty and be punished?"
"It's really unreliable. What kind of bullshit idea is this?"
Ma Yongcheng, Gao Feng and others all said in shock.
Liu Jin didn't say anything, frowned and shouted: "Shut up, everyone, why are you making such a fuss? The Marquis has his own reasons for saying that. You didn't listen to the Marquis' explanation, so why are you making such a fuss?"
Ma Yongcheng and others immediately shut up.
Zhang Yanling nodded slightly. It seemed that Liu Jin was indeed the leader of these people. The attitude of Ma Yongcheng and others showed this.
"Eunuch Liu, if you admit to asking for bribes and making things difficult, what do you think the emperor will do to you? Will he lose his head?" Zhang Yanling asked.
Liu Jin said: "How to punish depends on the emperor's attitude. If the outer court requires severe punishment, we are afraid that the end will be terrible. You also know that the emperor is young and is quite afraid of the ministers in the outer court. Maybe in order to calm down this situation
There’s no telling whether things will go according to their wishes.”
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said: "Eunuch Liu, I think you have not finished what you said. I think the emperor's attitude towards the officials in the outer court cannot be described as just fear. It should be said that he is both fearful and annoyed, respected and disgusted. It is a contradiction.
Zhongcai. Although the emperor is young, he is extremely smart. This point
Eunuch Liu should know better than me. I don’t think the emperor will punish you severely. After all, you haven’t done anything harmful to the country or the country. To put it bluntly, it’s nothing more than seeking money for convenience. If you say that because of such a little thing, you will be punished.
I don’t believe it if I take your lives. This is not a capital crime.”
Liu Jin chuckled and said: "Master Marquis, but what good will this do to us? Even if we admit it, we will inevitably be punished. Maybe we can save our lives, but isn't it just like the civil servants got their way? Then we are still here tonight
Is there any need to discuss?"
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said with a smile: "Eunuch Liu, there is a huge difference between taking the initiative to admit and make amends, and being forced to confess by others using evidence. Taking the initiative means recognizing your mistakes and correcting them, while being forced to admit is stubborn denial, and you are giving others the benefit of the doubt."
There is a huge difference in feeling. Especially in
If the emperor takes the initiative to admit it and return the stolen money, he will not blame you too much in the emperor's mind. The punishment will be lighter. And the most important thing is that the purpose of doing this is to reduce the punishment.
Counterattack is what is called retreating to advance."
"To advance in order to retreat? Haha. It sounds better. To retreat is to retreat, but our family still doesn't know how to advance." Liu Jin seemed to have lost patience. After talking for a long time, Zhang Yanling still couldn't come up with a way to deal with it.
, but he first proposed the method of giving in. This made Liu Jin quite disappointed.
"Eunuch Liu, do you know why I said before that this matter is not about you and me, but about resisting the control of the outer court for the emperor? This is called occupying the highest moral point. Do you understand? Let's talk about this matter.
These are all trivial matters, not involving such unforgivable things as treachery, great evil, disloyalty and unfilial piety.
Therefore, if we admit it, we will only receive a small punishment. But our counterattack cannot be entangled in this kind of thing. We must fight back from the moral high ground. They spank us on the butt, and we spank their heads.
"Let's see who can't stand it first, understand?" Zhang Yanling laughed.
Liu Jin and others looked at Zhang Yanling in confusion, wondering what he meant. Suddenly, Liu Jin slapped his thigh and shouted: "We understand, this is what the Marquis meant. Wonderful, wonderful."
Ma Yongcheng, Gao Feng and others said in astonishment: "Eunuch Liu, what do you mean? We are all confused. What kind of clever strategy is this?"
Liu Jin chuckled and said, "Master Hou, didn't you make it very clear? Fight back from the moral high ground. If they spank us, we will spank them on the head."
Ma Yongcheng stared at Liu Jin with bulging eyes and said: "What method of attack? Eunuch Liu, this is the time, don't whet your appetite."
Liu Jin said in a deep voice: "I think Mr. Zhang meant to use this incident to put a big hat on the outer court. For example, we can plead guilty, but we have to ask Li Mengyang how he knew how to do it.
How could he, a small head of the Household Department, know these things in the Qing Palace in such detail? He even told us clearly about our conversation at that time. What does that mean?"
"What?" Gao Fengqiuju and others stretched their necks and asked, staring.
"That's very stupid. That means they have eyes and ears around the emperor, and there are people they bribed in the Qianqing Palace. Even if it's not someone placed by the outer court, then... someone in the inner court colludes with the outer court. We can't report ourselves. Right? Then who is it?" Liu Jin said in a deep voice.
"Wang Yue...Fan Heng and the others." Ma Yongcheng whispered.
Liu Jin nodded and laughed sharply: "Old Ma, you are really smart."
Qiu Ju stared at his triangular eyes and said suddenly: "That means that someone colluded inside and outside, leaked information from the inner court, and revealed all the things in the Qianqing Palace. It is very possible that even the emperor was under surveillance. The outer court has nothing to do with it, they are under surveillance What is the purpose of monitoring the emperor's every move and everyone in the Qianqing Palace? This is a treasonous act. Compared with what we have done, this matter is much bigger."
Ma Yongcheng nodded like he was pecking rice, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, no matter what, this matter must be explained. After the emperor learned about this, he must have been extremely angry and asked the bastards in the outer court to explain clearly. What could they do? Explanation? This matter was most likely revealed to the outer court by Wang Yue and his gang of old guys. Could it be that they confessed to Wang Yue, Fan Heng and the others? Hey, hey, by then, let’s see how they end up?”
The excited father-in-laws kept talking to each other. Once they understood the ingenuity of this matter, they understood it completely.
Liu Jin stood up, pulled Zhang Yanling to the side, cupped her hands and laughed softly: "Master Hou, our family really admires you. You have the moral high ground, hehe, thank you for thinking about it. To put it bluntly, Master Hou's tricks It is because I have figured out the emperor's thoughts about the outer court. Although the emperor is young, he is a man of his own opinions. How can he be manipulated by others? The emperor will definitely do the opposite. On the contrary, we are fine. Some people are going to be unlucky. Mr. Zhang, you are really calculating."
Zhang Yanling waved her hands and said: "Eunuch Liu, I am not as complicated as you think. I just think that the outer court is so overbearing. As long as their purpose is revealed, the emperor will be disgusted. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he may be able to tolerate it. Everything, but he will never tolerate anyone manipulating him or interfering with his imperial power. Although the emperor is young, he is not an ignorant person. The outer court committed a big taboo, and they brought it to the door themselves. "
Liu Jin chuckled and said: "Anyway, our family has learned a lesson. Hehe, if you touch the emperor's evil scale, no one will get a good harvest. I finally figured it out. Hehehe. Mr. Hou, our family wants to call you sir. Yes. Taught me this skill."
Zhang Yanling waved her hands to deny, thinking in her mind: Could it be that she really awakened Liu Jin and taught him how to use the emperor's taboos as weapons to achieve his goals? If so, wouldn't he have opened Pandora's box? In the future, Liu Jin will gain power. Could it be that he taught him it himself? That is really a confusing account.
Liu Jin pondered for a moment and said: "Master Zhang, the charges against your brother Shouning Hou in the outer court are extremely serious. To suggest that Shouning Hou is involved in bandits is a serious accusation. Do you also want to admit it?"
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Can they arrest Li Heizi to confront him? This matter is obviously slander, don't worry. We just need to remember that admitting an insignificant crime will only hurt the skin but not the bones. Keep an eye on Li Mengyang's flaws and attack fiercely. , we must take off their clothes in the court so that they cannot see anyone. In the end, let’s see who is the unlucky one?”
Liu Jin nodded and sneered: "Yes, this time, teach those bastards how to be powerful."