This teahouse may not look like much from the outside, but it’s something special inside.
The new Councilor and Political Officer Cai Quezheng was sitting on the main seat, pouring tea for the new Censor Zhongcheng Li Ding who was sitting next to him.
Li Ding respectfully took the tea cup from Cai Que and expressed his gratitude.
Then Cai Que poured tea for Cai Jing on the other side.
The three of them chatted for a while, and then several officials arrived one after another, including Shu Yu, He Zhengchen, Huang Yan, Liu Zuo, and Huang Haoqian.
After everyone took their seats, they all congratulated Cai Que one after another. Cai Que gave a rare smile and responded with tea instead of wine.
Cai Que was newly elected to participate in politics, and some people below suggested that he should make a big show of it, but Cai Que refused on the grounds of being "prudent", and just drank tea with his confidants as congratulations.
Cai Jing sat down and left. Li Ding said dissatisfiedly: "Yuan Chang didn't take my husband seriously. He only drank a cup of tea and left. Yuan Du didn't even come."
Cai Quedao: "Although our two families have a kinship, it is not easy for Yuan Chang to come here, and it is not surprising for Yuan Du."
Li Dingze said: "Yuan Du had already taken refuge with Prime Minister Zhang. This time, Prime Minister Zhang benefited the most. Yuan Houzhi, his political enemy for many years, was dismissed as prime minister, and Taixue was under his control again. He also appointed Su Song, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi.
, Yang Shi and other academic officials."
Cai Que said: "Don't look at the surface. This time, Du Zhang Sanduo attributed the great victory in Lanzhou, which made the officials trust him even more. They felt that they could destroy Xia according to his wishes and no longer used Yuan Jiang to contain him.
.”
"That's it." Li Ding suddenly realized.
Li Dingdao: "There is a difficult matter now. What should Su Zizhan do? I heard that Zhang Fangping went to Shuxiang for help this time."
Cai Que shook his head when he heard this and said: "Zhang Fangping? An official who has never participated in politics, what is there to worry about?"
Li Ding said: "That's right."
"Besides Zhang Fangping, who else is going to be a doctor?"
Li Dingdao: "Don't dare to say anything."
Cai Que said: "It's very good. It's better if no one talks. The reason why Su Zizhan is dealt with is because of his high reputation. Let's see who dares to compete with the court in the future. There must be more implication in this case, otherwise the officials will not like it.
.”
Li Ding composed himself and said, "How many?"
Cai Que ordered some tea with his finger and wrote the word "Luo" on the table.
Li Ding knew full well that Cai indeed told him that there were still old parties in Luoyang and wanted to use Su Shi's case to attack them.
Li Dingdao: "Not only the old party, but I know that the only people in Beijing who had contacts with Su Shi were the prince-in-law Wang Shen and the Zhizhigao Li Qingchen. They often exchanged poems and poems."
Cai Quedao: "Su Shi is so close to the emperor's relatives. This is the only crime that can be charged. Let Shu Yu try it slowly!"
Li Dingdao: "An Tao from the Criminal Tribunal talked with Shu Quan, and Su Shi was sentenced to two years for slandering the imperial court."
Generally, the trial court is responsible for reviewing cases. However, as the preliminary trial department, the Yushitai often communicates with the department reviewing the case first.
Cai Que shook his head and said, "It's too light."
Li Ding said: "Since a two-year apprenticeship is too young, adding the crime of reprimanding Cheng Yu is one of the ten evils and can be punished by death."
Cai Que nodded slowly.
After a pause, Li Ding sighed and said, "But having said that, Su Zizhan is really a genius."
Cai Que asked: "How to say?"
Li Dingdao: "In the past thirty years, I have taken Su Shi's manuscripts and checked them word for word. I have asked and answered questions from him. Su Shi has not made any mistakes or omissions. He is truly a genius in the world."
"It's such a pity to kill him. I can't bear it."
After listening to Li Ding's words, Cai Que was silent for a long time.
"It would be a pity to kill such a talented person. But the holy will cannot be violated. You and I must act considerately." Cai Que gave Li Ding the final answer.
…
"Prime Minister, Cai Que, Li Ding is going to put his brother to death!" Su Che said to Zhang Yue with tears in his eyes.
Zhang Yue helped Su Che up and thought to himself, "Don't blame Cai Que and Li Ding. The one who really wants to put Su Shi to death is the emperor."
Su Zhe sat down and said: "Prime Minister, there are so many officials who have spoken out about the new law, why do you blame my brother alone?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your brother's name is the highest, so he is the highest."
"I've read the files and figured out a way. If you want to save your brother, you must go to Emperor Shu, and you must confirm one thing. The first thing is to admit that you are indeed guilty of writing poems to slander the New Deal, but...but you have to add this sentence, these
This was all when Duke Shu Guo was appointed prime minister, and after His Majesty took charge, your brother no longer dared to say another word."
Su Che's eyes lit up after hearing this and he said, "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true."
Zhang Yue said: "Slandering the New Deal and blaming the public are two different things. If they are combined into one, Zizhan will be finished. You go to court first, and I will think of other ways."
Su Zhe was extremely grateful after hearing this. He suddenly remembered the fortune teller's prediction back then. As expected, Zhang Yue was a noble person for him and his brother.
Su Che left gratefully.
As someone who had a deep understanding of the official family, it was impossible for Zhang Yue to personally rescue Su Shi, but he thought of other ways.
After Su Che left, Zhang Yue immediately wrote a letter and ordered it to be sent to Cao Yi's house. At this time, he took some risks to save Su Shi.
…
At this moment in the palace, Queen Mother Cao's breath was very weak, and the official sitting next to Queen Mother Cao looked worried.
The official recalled that if Empress Dowager Cao had not liked him, it was doubtful whether his father would have been able to secure the throne. Now that Empress Dowager Cao was seriously ill, he couldn't help but feel sad.
"The official family..."
"The Empress Dowager, my sons and ministers are here."
The officials couldn't help but shed tears.
Empress Dowager Cao said: "Don't cry if you are an official, I know your filial piety."
The official said: "I want to grant amnesty to the whole world and pray for the Empress Dowager."
Empress Dowager Cao forced a smile and said: "Guan family, I heard something. Do you want to kill Su Shi?"
Upon hearing this, the official immediately denied it and said: "Empress Dowager, there is no such thing. Su Shi has indeed gone to the Yushitai for something. When the case is cleared up, the court will give him a fair judgment."
Empress Dowager Cao asked: "Do the officials think Su Shi is really harboring evil intentions?"
The officials were silent.
Empress Dowager Cao said: "It is a tradition for officials to write poems to comment on current affairs, which dates back to the time of the Book of Songs. Your Majesty should change it if you have it, and encourage it if you don't."
"I remember the last imperial examination held in Renmiao. When I entered Zhangyue, Su Shi and I were ranked third, saying that we had found two prime ministers for our descendants. You value Zhang Yue so much, why can't you spare Su Shi's life."
"The officials should think carefully about the purpose of Renmiao. You said you wanted to grant a general amnesty to the whole world and pray for me. I think pardoning Su Shi is enough."
The officials were speechless after hearing this.
Empress Dowager Cao finally said weakly: "Don't kill great talents. Killing great talents will be unlucky for the country."
When the officials walked back to the back of the palace, they received a report from Shi De and Wang Anshi came to express his regards.
When the officials heard that it was Wang Anshi's letter, they couldn't help but miss this veteran minister very much.
The list contained common greetings from emperors and ministers, but one of them said that Su Shi was a Jinshi at the age of nineteen, and at the age of twenty-three he should speak out and give advice. Emperor Renzong got Su Shi and regarded him as a treasure of his generation.
Being placed in prison, I fear that future generations will say that Your Majesty listens to slander and hates criticism.
Is there any reason in the world to kill talented people in times of prosperity?
Seeing what Wang Anshi said, the officials did not expect that Wang Anshi actually asked him to protect Su Shi.
The officials couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, Wang Anshi is really a gentleman.
