"Your Majesty..." Wang Xian smiled bitterly in his heart. If he asked this question, I dare to say "No," it would be the crime of deceiving the emperor. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "I dare to swear that every sentence I wrote is true and there is no deception."
.”
"Really..." Zhu Di's eyes were a little wandering, but his voice became colder.
"It's absolutely true." Wang Xian raised his heart and said with his head held high: "Young minister is careless and has little talent and learning. He was wrongly loved by your majesty and entrusted with important responsibilities. All he can do is mess up his heart and mind. No matter how hard he hesitates, how can he deceive your majesty?"
"Have you deceived too much?" Zhu Di was suddenly furious, raising his eyebrows and saying: "I ask you, how did Zhang Chun die?" He took a step forward, his voice was like the dark wind blowing from the Nine Nether Hell, making him
Wang Xian's whole body became cold again. Once the eyes of this emperor who killed millions of people darkened, his whole body seemed to be filled with a red and bloody aura. An ordinary person would be frightened to death. A bold person like Wang Xian would almost pee his pants in fear.
.
In the shadow of a famous tree, a butcher like Zhu Di who kills without batting an eye could push him out and chop him up and feed him to dogs after a disagreement. It is as simple as drinking water. What's more, the things Wang Xian did in Shanxi are more serious.
Isn't this just deceiving the superiors and concealing the truth from the inferiors, and colluding with both internal and external parties?
But fear is fear, and this level can still be passed. Wang Xian bit his lip, sobered up and said, "I have already reported it. Based on the suicide note he left and the on-site inspection, I believe he committed suicide."
"Why did he commit suicide?" Zhu Di asked coldly.
"He colluded with thieves, embezzled military rations, and caused the army to run out of food. This is a crime that cannot be punished, and he knows that he cannot escape the blame.
"You didn't even interrogate him, but you knew he was guilty?"
"Corruption is rampant in Shanxi's officialdom. He, the chief minister, cannot escape the blame for his crimes. He may have known that even if he didn't take action, his life would be over, so he thought of committing suicide."
"Can you completely rule out the possibility of killing him?" Zhu Di asked coldly.
"I can't, but the government envoy's office and the palace are heavily guarded. I don't think there is any kind of clever assassin who can kill him in the study without leaving any traces." Wang Xian made up his mind and pretended to be confused until the end.
.
"Arbitrary" Yongle snorted, and after a while he said coldly: "You never thought that someone forced Zhang Chun to death?"
"I've thought about it," Wang Xian said without hesitation and answered honestly.
"Who have you thought about?" Zhu Di said with twinkling eyes.
"I have thought about the King of Jin, the King of Han, the King of Zhao, the Governor of Ji, and even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..." Wang Xian loudly announced a long list of names and mentioned the people who had the ability to defeat Zhang Chun, but in the end he didn't mention them.
"Why not pursue it further?" Seeing that he was trying to be cunning, Yongle Zhu Di's tone became stern.
"I don't dare." Wang Xian knocked his head again and said loudly: "I can't do anything."
Such a frank answer made Zhu Di hesitate. Because Wang Xian's words were irreproachable, who could ask a small military attache to do things beyond his ability?
"What a powerless person. You are not yet twenty years old, so you are saying such arrogant words, which is really disappointing." Zhu Di said expressionlessly: "I originally wanted to use your youthful vigor to break through those...
You disgusting monster, but you ended up with such a gourd case."
"Young minister, I am careless in my duties. I have little talent and little virtue, and I have betrayed the holy hope." Wang Xian hurriedly kowtowed to plead guilty and said: "I have committed the crime of negligence, and please be punished by the emperor."
"It is also a serious crime to make an oversight and harm the country." Zhu Di said sternly: "You can't get over it with just two strikes.
Wang Xian kowtowed deeply, feeling the coldness in his heart, secretly thinking that he would just go home and farm...
"Are you wronged?" Seeing that he was scared, Zhu Di walked up to him, with a playful tone in his voice.
"Wei Chen dare not."
"If you dare not, then you are still aggrieved. But it is right. You saved your grandson, solved major cases, and went to Guangling. All of them are great achievements. If it had been someone else, you would have been made a count long ago." Zhu Di said: "
But now you are a fourth-grade governor, and you have to be questioned by me, so of course you will feel particularly aggrieved."
"Thunder, rain, and dew are all your kindness." Wang Xian suddenly raised his head and said loudly: "The emperor has his own reasons for how to deal with minor ministers, and all ministers are happy to accept it."
"This sounds like a human saying..." Zhu Di's stern face actually broke out into a smile. He finally walked away from Wang Xian's eyes and looked at the portrait of a true martial artist on the wall who was riding a turtle and holding a snake. Wang Xian stole a glance.
Looking at it, I found that the Emperor Zhenwu in the portrait was also a black-faced man... He looked exactly like Emperor Yongle. I couldn't help but be surprised. I thought, who is this sycophant? He is so shameless. If I look closely, I see the bottom left of the portrait.
On the corner, it clearly says, 'Disciple Sun Biyun Jinglu's portrait of Emperor Zhenwu.
jj｀Biyun, aren't they Xianyun and Grandpa Lingxiao? Wang Xian suddenly realized that no wonder the old Taoist priest became prosperous and became the first engineering contractor in the Ming Dynasty. It turned out that he had such god-level flattery skills.
"What are you looking at?" Zhu Di turned his head and saw Wang Xian looking at the painting. He couldn't help but frown slightly. Even Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu were in front of him, and they didn't dare to breathe, but this kid dared to look around.
"I am looking at the portrait of Emperor Zhenwu. I have often heard people say that my emperor is the reincarnation of Emperor Zhenwu. It is true when I see him today." Seeing that he should be fine. Wang Xian gradually overcame the fear when he first saw the emperor and recovered.
reached normal levels.
"Hmph, you know nothing." Zhu Di was quite pleased, but he snorted coldly: "Do you know why I don't reward you for your merits?"
"I don't know." Wang Xian shook his head and said blankly.
"Should I say you are smart or confused?" Zhu Di asked, "How do you feel about your trip to Shanxi?
"My biggest feeling is that it is difficult to be a human being and even more difficult to be an official. My moral conduct is far from enough," Wang Xian said loudly.
"It's difficult to be a human being, but difficult to be a minister? In fact, it's not difficult at all. It's difficult not to be a villain, but also to be a good official and a loyal minister." Uncharacteristically, Zhu Di talked to him confidantly and said: "The prince has been kind to you, too.
Sun and you have a brotherly relationship. When they are in trouble, you are not willing to betray your gratitude and work for them. This is not to be a villain. I understand you." As he said this, his face sank and his voice was cold.
Said: "But don't forget, you are an official in my Ming Dynasty, not the prince's official, nor the grandson's official in my court. As long as I am a loyal minister, I don't want those who take the emperor's salary but are loyal to others."
"The second minister"
Zhu Di was not bluffing Wang Xian, but he was really angry. Because he believed that Wang Xian was loyal to the prince, not to him as the emperor. Thinking of a minister who received his own salary but was loyal to others, Zhu Di became angry.
Extremely angry. The better Wang Xian performed, the angrier he became. This is why he kept suppressing Wang Xian.
Emperor Yongle's voice echoed in the hall, causing Wang Xian's eardrums to buzz. Wang Xian was so shocked that his face turned pale. He had just praised the emperor for playing hard to get, and Zhu Di immediately gave him a lesson. If he had continued to be high-pressure just now, he would have
He could still withstand it, but Zhu Di deliberately let him see hope, thinking that he would be able to pass the test, but suddenly came out with a trump card, which caught Wang Xian off guard, and made him burst into tears, and his defense completely collapsed.
Taking advantage of the victory, the emperor pursued the attack, his anger sank in his Dantian, and his voice was like a bell: "I ask you for the last time, who else is behind Zhang Chun?"
Wang Xian suddenly raised his head and replied passionately: "Your Majesty, I am sincerely submitting this memorial with all my heart!"
Zhu Di stared at him closely and uttered one word: "Say!"
"Your Majesty is right. The prince has shown me the kindness of knowing me, and my grandson has a brotherly relationship with me. I am just a common man, but to receive such kindness from your two highnesses, I will naturally be devastated and have nothing to repay." Wang Xian said with an excited expression.
"Okay, he can be considered a good man." Zhu Di nodded and praised expressionlessly.
"But before I met my grandson, I was already a minister of the Ming Dynasty. I grew up in front of the eight-character wall in front of the county government office, listening to the magistrate preaching the principles of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. My father often reminded me to be loyal to the emperor and his ministers.
The only king is the emperor," Wang Xian said with tears streaming down his face.
"When our lips touch, you can say whatever you want." Zhu Di said coldly: "Do you think I am a child who can be coaxed around?"
"I am definitely not deceiving the emperor. I have evidence," Wang Xian said loudly.
"What evidence?" Zhu Di was stunned.
"I ask your Majesty to forgive me for being rude." Wang Xian said.
"Okay." Zhu Di nodded. He didn't know there was evidence for this thing yet, so he was really curious.
Wang Xian took off his belt and went to unbutton his official robe. The palace ladies turned their heads away in shame, and the eunuchs also secretly snickered. Could it be that this boy wanted to perform a naked dance for the emperor to show his loyalty?
In the emperor's surprised gaze, Wang Xian showed his strong upper body, then turned around, and saw two words as big as a fist tattooed on his back - Jun,
When the emperor saw it, his eyes widened at first, and then he couldn't help laughing, and cursed: "Put on your clothes quickly, who tattooed you? It's crooked and ugly."
"My father doesn't study much, but his loyalty is not far behind others." Wang Xian hurriedly put on his official uniform again and said seriously. But he secretly sighed and said, "As expected, ginger is still too old. Last night, my father wanted to tattoo himself. I
I was still reluctant, but I didn’t expect it to be used the next day. I really can’t accept it... But you know that you have presbyopia and you still show off. Can you go to the street and hire a master to make it more beautiful?
As soon as Wang Xian said this, the image of an old man who had not read much but was loyal suddenly appeared in front of Zhu Di. Although this did not mean anything, it greatly changed the emperor's impression of Wang Xian... After all, this
It was still an age of blood theory. People believed that dragons gave birth to dragons, phoenixes gave birth to phoenixes, and the sons of mice could dig holes.
"Didn't you disappoint your father?" Zhu Di looked at Wang Xian playfully.
"No matter how stupid I am, I know that the prince's and grandson's kindness to me is private. Allegiance to the emperor is public. When I say it is difficult to be a human being, it is difficult to be an official. In fact, I am saying that it is really difficult to distinguish between public and private. But how can I dare to abolish public service for private reasons?
?" Wang Xian was very excited when he saw that his father's trick worked.
"You said you have never abandoned public service for personal reasons?" Zhu Di suddenly said displeased: "Weren't the things you did in Shanxi just to protect the prince?"