"The person in front of me is named Li Mingmu and was born in Mayi?"
"yes!"
"Can you plead guilty to the crime you committed?"
"recognize."
…
After some approvals, Sun Fujia raised his head and glanced at the sky. It was past noon and there was no news from the palace. No matter how much he wanted to delay, he couldn't. He sighed and said: "County Lord, I have offended you.
If something like this happens, the police must be allowed to..."
"Okay," Li Mu understood what Sun Fuga meant. He wanted to 'examine himself'. Sun Fuga smiled apologetically and asked the officer to come over and take a look at Li Mu. Every prisoner will have a record when he is imprisoned.
For example, if you have a round face and a square face, you are tall and have long arms, you will have a record of where you have moles on your body and whether there is anything special about you. Li Mu also has it, and the officers use this to verify their identity.
Li Mu stretched out his arms and cooperated with the officer's inspection. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a masked person in the crowd. He could tell at a glance that this person must be Dugu Jiu. He looked around and saw that among the crowd around him,
There were many people wearing similar masks, and he became anxious. As expected, Dugujiu gathered people from all walks of life and planned to rob the execution ground.
Li Mu wanted to tell Dugu Jiu to leave with a wink, but when Dugu Jiu saw him looking over, he turned his head away and disappeared from Li Mu's sight.
"Okay, you guys are still done!" Li Mu impatiently pushed away the guard, reached out to take the knife from the executioner's hand, and wanted to stop Dugu Jiu. All he could do was to kill himself before Dugu Jiu made a move.
Lose!
When Sun Fujia saw Li Mu grabbing the knife, he was so frightened that he thought Li Mu was going to hurt someone, so he hurriedly shouted: "Come quickly!"
When Bai Qiaoqiao saw Li Mu grabbing the knife in his hand, his vision went dark and he fainted.
Jin Chen didn't fare much better. After catching Bai Qiaoqiao, his legs became weak and he collapsed to the ground.
Among the onlookers, some turned their heads unbearably, while others opened their eyes wide, wanting to see Li Mu's blood splattered five steps away, as if they could only feel relieved if they saw him die with their own eyes.
Dugujiu caught sight of it from the corner of his eye when he turned around, and immediately shouted out, unsheathed his sword and went to stop him, shouting: "Brother! Don't--"
In the midst of this chaos——
"Save someone under the knife!" Eunuch Gao's high-pitched voice came through the air with his inner breath. The blade in Li Mu's hand had already cut his skin. Hearing the sound of "leave someone under the knife", he quickly let go and the knife fell to the ground.
on the ground.
The crowd was too dense for Eunuch Gao's horse to get through. At this time, he didn't care whether he had exposed his kung fu. He clicked on the horse's back and jumped up. He used light kung fu to cross the wall and landed in front of the guillotine, raising his hands high.
He saw the death-free card and the imperial edict inside, and shouted: "The imperial edict has arrived!"
When the spectators heard the three words of the imperial edict, they all knelt down. The first ones to kneel down were all members of the wealthy family who looked unwilling, and the common people knelt down after seeing them kneeling.
Everyone knows the imperial edict, but the common people have no idea where they have seen the imperial edict and what the rules are for receiving it.
"In the third year of Wude, Dugu Huaien and Liu Wuzhou conspired to rebel. The Tang Dynasty had only been established for three years and was in danger of overthrowing. Fortunately, Tang Jian, the Duke of Ju, endured the humiliation and heavy burden to expose injustice and save the country from danger. The Emperor's grace allowed him to escape
If you die once, you will be given an iron coupon as proof."
"Now the Duke of Luoyang County, Li Mu, has committed a capital crime, and the Duke of Ju, Tang Jian, is willing to use the iron ticket to avoid death. I inherit the great treasure from the Supreme Emperor, and I will fulfill the promise of the Supreme Emperor. This is filial piety, and it is also a matter of faith. However,
The death penalty can be exempted, but pardon is still not allowed. Li Mu will be deprived of his title of Duke of Luoyang County and the position of Minister-in-Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He will be demoted to the position of Magistrate of Luoyang County. He will take office three days later without any mistake."
After Eunuch Gao finished reading the imperial edict, he handed it to Li Mu with a smile and said, "Congratulations to Mr. Li, are you scared?"
Li Mu raised his hand to rub the blood on his neck, smiled, and said, "Thank you for your grace."
Eunuch Gao shook his head and said: "It is not convenient for us to say this. It is better for the county magistrate to tell His Majesty himself. Your Majesty has a decree and invites the county magistrate to come to the palace to see you."
Li Mu looked at Eunuch Gao and said, "Why don't you see me?"
"County Lord, what do you think?" Eunuch Gao's tone was teasing, as if he was saying, you are already the 'County Lord', so what right do you have to be picky?
Li Mu nodded and said: "Okay, see you. Can you send someone to take my wife home first? No, send her to my mother's place. I will go to see my mother later."
"It's easy to say, these are all trivial matters."
Eunuch Gao agreed, and a young eunuch came over and helped Bai Qiaoqiao and Jin Chen into the car. When Eunuch Gao saw Jin Chen, he frowned slightly and said, "Girl, you can take a trip too."
Li Mu stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "Eunuch Gao, is this unnecessary?"
"Li Mu, there are some things that we should explain clearly to His Majesty."
Li Mu heard the change of address and didn't say anything. He glanced at Jin Chen and looked at her crying face, which looked exactly like his own. He reached out to hold her hand and said, "Don't be afraid, let's go together.
"
…
Time goes back a few minutes ago.
Tang Jian was kneeling on the ground, begging for bones. Li Shimin looked at him with all sorts of unpleasant feelings in his heart.
Tang Jian is a very special person among the civil and military officials. His family's family is not inferior to the current royal family Li family. Tang Jian is the grandson of Zuopu She Tang Yong, the minister of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the governor of Rongzhou in the Sui Dynasty.
The son of Jian, his father Tang Jian had a good relationship with Li Yuan. When Li Yuan launched an army in Taiyuan, Tang Jian and his son participated in the planning. According to legend, Li Yuan was undecided at that time. It was Tang Jian who went to meet Li Yuan and said that he 'looked like Sun Jiao Long Ting'.
', in line with the destiny of an emperor, he is exactly the person destined by destiny. If he does not stand up and save the people of Li from the fire and water, the people will be doomed.
It was this move that made Li Yuan make up his mind and lead to the future of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang family has been in business for several generations and has a deep foundation of power. When Li Yuan first started his army, he got a lot of help from the Tang family. Li Shimin knew this very well.
When the country was first founded, Liu Wuzhou and others rebelled, and it was Tang Jian who reported it, so that the Tang Dynasty could survive. But up to this point, Tang Jian had done all the credit for Li Yuan, and Li Shimin really regarded Tang Jian as one of his own.
Because of what happens next.
Liu Wuzhou was defeated and fled to the Turks, leaving behind a lot of weapons and armor prepared for the rebellion. At that time, the battle for the throne between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng had begun to take shape. Logically speaking, this batch of weapons and armor should be dedicated to the Prince's Palace.
However, Tang Jian chose to seal it up and leave it to Tiance Mansion for acceptance. Li Shimin obtained this batch of weapons and armor, which played a decisive role in establishing his own power in the future.
During the Xuanwumen Incident, Tang Jian stood clearly on Li Shimin's side. After Li Shimin came to the throne, he greatly reused Tang Jian and supported him to become the only "neutral" force in the court, enjoying a special status. Tang Jian also used his own actions
In return for Li Shimin's attack on the Turks, Tang Jian served as an envoy to the Turks and dealt with the Turks' camps, narrowly escaping death.
Looking at the path Tang Jian has traveled, it can be said that Li Shimin cannot find fault with Tang Jian. Li Shimin once felt that Tang Jian was one of the people he felt most at ease with in the court, but now because of Li Mu's incident, Tang Jian
Jian also stood up and took out the most precious card to avoid death for the Tang family. Coupled with the previous incident of Changsun Wuji, Li Shimin suddenly felt that there was no one in the world that he could fully trust.
No matter how trustworthy a person is, he will do things he never expected.
Li Shimin thought for a while, and the time was delayed a little. Empress Changsun was worried that she had missed the time, so she asked Eunuch Gao to remind Li Shimin. Li Shimin just woke up from a dream, hurriedly responded to the matter, and asked Eunuch Gao to pass the order.
After Eunuch Gao left, Li Shimin sent Tang Jian home and told him that he wanted to become an official. He didn't agree or disagree. After he left, he discussed it with Empress Changsun.
Li Shimin expressed his thoughts. Empress Changsun had a close connection with him and could understand what Li Shimin's concerns were. After his most assured ministers repeatedly did things he did not expect, Li Shimin's trust in people had dropped to the freezing point.
This is true for Changsun Wuji and Tang Jian, as well as for everyone.
He was not at ease with the two of them, and he was even more uneasy with Li Mu. It was true that Li Shimin thought so, so he had to take precautions.
"What does Your Majesty want to do?"
"I cannot give Li Mu the opportunity to form a clique."
"Is that why Your Majesty placed Li Mu in Luoyang?" Empress Changsun suddenly frowned and said, "But something is wrong, Your Majesty, didn't you say that the foundation of the power of the Success Hall is in Luoyang? Isn't Your Majesty afraid -"
"This is what I think. If we think about this matter according to the Queen's thinking, Li Mu must not be from Jisi Hall and has nothing to do with Li Jiancheng. This is the best. With Li Mu suppressing him in Luoyang, it will also make Jisi Hall fearful.
If Li Mu is a member of Jisi Hall, he will definitely reveal his flaws, and I will be able to catch them all in one fell swoop. In addition, I have a deeper meaning in letting Li Mu go to Luoyang."
"What's the meaning?"
"Luoyang City, in every aspect, is more suitable to be the capital than Chang'an. My father once considered moving the capital, but I stopped him and it didn't happen! But now my mind has changed. I didn't move the capital at that time because of the Turks
People. Now that the great Turkic troubles have been eliminated, moving the capital to Luoyang will bring many benefits. The simplest grain road is much smoother. The grain transport ships do not have to pass through Sanmenxia, saving a lot of manpower and material resources. If Li Mu can manage Luoyang well, maybe I can also
If you can get some credit from him, move the capital to Luoyang as soon as possible, after all, that is the hinterland of the Central Plains."
Empress Changsun smiled and said: "Now I think of Li Mu's kindness again. I don't know if he is still willing to serve you after this incident."
"I don't know either -" Li Shimin sighed and said, "I also know that I have wronged him, but I... maybe, this is the helplessness of being an emperor."
Empress Changsun exposed it mercilessly: "I'm just being petty and still refuse to admit it - whatever, if your Majesty doesn't make sense, I can just help you to persuade me."
"Thank you very much, Queen."
"But Your Majesty," Empress Changsun asked again: "Let Li Mu go to Luoyang, what will happen in Chang'an? As far as I know, there are still many projects in Chang'an that have not been completed, and all the large and small affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have not yet been completed.
We need his control."
"I have considered this, and I have my own arrangements." Li Shimin smiled, seeming to have a plan in mind.
Empress Changsun asked again: "Does your Majesty have other plans for Tang Jian?"
"I haven't made up my mind yet. Let me think about it again. I really don't want to be too harsh to the Tang family."
When Queen Changsun heard this, she stopped asking any more questions. What Li Shimin meant by saying this was that he had a mean thought.
After a moment of silence, Li Shimin sighed and said, "I have no choice but to do this!"
"Your Majesty, just think about it."
"Yeah." Li Shimin nodded.
…
Tai Chi Palace.
In the past, when he came to Tai Chi Palace, Li Mu felt relaxed and at ease, as if he were returning to his own home. Even when he and Li Shimin were alone, Li Mu would pick up the pastries on Li Shimin's table and eat them without any restraint.
But this time, Li Mu strictly abided by the rules and did not go beyond them. Eunuch Gao looked on and cursed in his heart. He dared to say that this boy was lying when he said that he could not learn the rules. Take a look at these rules. He is better than those in the palace.
A grandma who has been working for ten years still has to regulate herself. If she can't learn it, she can't learn it well!
"My lord, please come in?"
"Thank you, Eunuch." Li Mu thanked him and stepped into the Tai Chi Palace. As soon as he entered the door, he prostrated himself on the ground and shouted thanking your majesty for your kindness.
When Li Shimin saw him like this, although he knew that Li Mu had done it on purpose and was prepared in his heart, he still felt uncomfortable. But he opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Li Shimin raised his hand, and Eunuch Gao came over and helped Li Mu up.
, a young eunuch brought over a chair, and Li Mu sat down tremblingly, only daring to sit a little closer.
"Li Mu, I said, I didn't want to kill you."
"I understand that your Majesty just wants to take back the death-free card in the hands of Duke Ju." Li Mu replied with a smile, but the meaning of his words was to remind Li Shimin that the reason why he is still alive is because Tang Jian saved him from death.
The cards were drawn. He received the favor from Tang Jian, not from Li Shimin.
Li Shimin looked at Li Mu and gritted his teeth in anger. After a while, he said: "Okay, I won't tell you this. Let's get down to business. Do you know why I asked you to go to Luoyang City?"
"I was about to tell your Majesty about this." Li Mu stood up, bowed down, and said, "I am willing to give up all my family property in exchange for Your Majesty allowing me to serve."
Li Shimin frowned: "What did you say?"
"I said that I am willing to sacrifice everything. I only ask that your majesty allow me to return to my hometown in Dingxiang to farm and live out my remaining days."
Li Shimin said angrily: "Li Mu, you know that it is impossible for me to let you become an official! You are not me, and you have not looked at the problem from my perspective. If you were me, maybe you would have done more than me! In any case, I didn't
Kill you! Moreover, I will also severely punish the person who made trouble for you this time. What else do you want, let me issue an edict to apologize to you? "
Li Shimin glared at Li Mu and said, "Or do you think you don't feel sorry for me at all?"