Judge of the Lamp

Chapter 267 High official, are you convicted?

Song Shengzhen, the governor of Tuanzhou, stood on the tower in the barracks, looking at the border of Yongzhou not far away.

Yesterday, he received news from the capital that the memorial to his impeachment for collaborating with the enemy and plotting rebellion flew like snowflakes.

He can't justify himself, his army is on the border of Yongzhou, which has almost become the ironclad evidence of his treason.

But this is the emperor's order. If he does not send troops to Yongzhou, the emperor will punish him for corruption.

Whether it was corruption or treason, Song Shengzhen could not bear the crimes.

But now, all the memorials are in the hands of the emperor. Once the emperor approves, Song Shengzhen's head is bound to fall, and it may be difficult for the Song family to survive.

A horse came slowly from a distance, and the soldiers in front of the battalion were waiting with their bows drawn.

It is Ji Qi, general of the Western Domain.

What is he here for?

Didn't he defect to the prince?Come to be a lobbyist for the prince?
It is also appropriate for him to be a lobbyist. Ji Qi and Song Shengzhen are old friends, and they are usually called brothers.

Ji Qi came to the camp and said that he was not hostile.

Song Shengzhen ordered to open the camp gate and let Ji Qi enter the camp.

When the two met, they first recounted their old relationship, ate, drank, chattered, and talked for an hour before Ji Qi brought the topic back to the topic: "Brother, you brought troops to use Yongzhou, is it really to beat the crown prince?"

Song Shengzhen smiled wryly: "How did you say that? It's not that I want to beat the prince, it's the orders of the high officials."

Ji Qi smiled and said, "The matter of my father and son, brother, do you think it should be involved?"

Song Shengzhen picked up the wine glass and took a sip by himself: "Brother, do I have a choice in this matter? Could it be possible to make me fall out with the big officials?"

Ji Qi put down his wine glass and said: "The crown prince beat Tunu, and you have beaten Tunu all your life. Don't tell me you want to help Tunu beat the prince?"

Song Sheng slapped the wine glass to the ground: "Brother, what you said is really annoying! I, Song, dare not say that I am a good official, but we are the seeds of Daxuan!

I have been in Tuanzhou for more than ten years, and this life has been entrusted at the gate of hell for the sake of being a slave. I have walked through the gate of hell a few times, and you know in your heart that when you say this, who do you think I am? "

Ji Qi sneered and said: "Who can I treat you as? Let me ask who the men in Daxuan regard you as? The crown prince killed the enemy in front of the battle, and you stabbed the knife in the back. Brother, I want to speak for you Good words, I can’t even open my mouth.”

Song Shengzhen squinted his eyes and said: "Since you can't open your mouth, why are you still talking about it? Since you look down on me, why are you still looking for me?"

"Brother Song, I came to you to tell you something. Brother, I brought an army of [-] to Yongzhou just to stop you."

Song Shengzhen smiled wryly and said, "Is this here for the break-up wine? Brother, on the battlefield, we each have our own masters. This is involuntary. It has nothing to do with our friendship, right?"

Ji Qi looked serious: "Brother, do you really recognize me as a brother?"

"Admit it! Even if it's the day when you die on the battlefield, I will recognize you as a brother!"

Ji Qi looked at the sergeant in the army tent: "Since you recognize my brother, can you let him say something from your heart?"

Song Shengzhen waved his hand, and all the sergeants left the tent.

Ji Qi lowered his voice and said: "Yongzhou was ruined by Tunu once, and our own people can't ruin it again. I killed Tunu and Yaozu on the battlefield, but I never did anything to my own people.

Brother, I know that you have difficulties. Since you have come to Yongzhou, you just pretend to stay here, and I also pretend to stay here with you. We will not hurt soldiers, horses, or peace. We will wait for the future The high officials and the crown prince have a duel, let's do it again, what do you think? "

Song Shengzhen thought for a long time, picked up a wine glass again, filled it up and said, "With your words, the stone in my heart will be put down, brother, and we will make a deal."

That afternoon, the two of you had a drink and I had a drink until late at night.

Ji Qi has a fourth-grade cultivation, so he is naturally good at drinking, but he is still a little worse than Song Shengzhen. Around Haishi, Ji Qi was very drunk, and Song Shengzhen helped him onto the couch and let him rest in the big tent.

Sitting by the fire, Song Shengzhen drank two more glasses, took out a dagger from his arms, and turned to look at Ji Qi.

It's not easy to kill a fourth-rank cultivator, but Song Shengzhen himself has a sixth-rank cultivator. As long as the knife is fast and accurate enough, it's not that difficult to kill the drunken Ji Qi.

"Brother, I am a warrior. It is really not easy for a warrior to become a prefect. You understand the difficulties!" Song Shengzhen sat beside Ji Qi, muttering,
"In the past few years in Tuanzhou, my hands are not clean, and I have been greedy a lot, but I have never counseled Tunu, and our Daxuan's knees have never been soft with me. The land of Tuanzhou is in my hands. never lost
Brother, I'm not that shameless person, but I really have no way out this time, you came to my camp, if I let you go back, the officials will definitely not forgive me, I..."

Song Shengzhen raised the dagger and pointed it at Ji Qi's neck.

Murderous aura filled the air, Song Shengzhen used the skill of fangs, and raised the dagger high.

After a while, the dagger was put down.

Song Shengzhen lowered his head and wiped away his tears.

"Brother, I'm so stupid. You said that both of us practice martial arts. You said that it would be great if we could switch. I'm going to fight. I want to fight with the prince too, and I don't want to." Be a dog for Tunu!

Brother, you have a good sleep!Wake up, let's talk about the future things tomorrow! "

Song Shengzhen walked out of the big tent and went outside to blow the cold wind.

Ji Qi opened his eyes, glanced outside the tent, and put away a dagger in his cuff.

……

After wandering around the camp for a long time, Song Shengzhen found a piece of bluestone in the granary and sat down.

There was an old soldier in the granary who was picking up the grain, he didn't seem to see the magistrate, he just kept his head down and worked.

Song Shengzhen ignored him, sat for a while, and was about to get up when he suddenly felt someone strangled his neck behind him.

Song Shengzhen touched his neck, there was no rope tied at all.

This is skill!
There was a sentry tower not far away, and he wanted to shout, but suddenly he felt the "tie rope" tighten, and his whole breath was interrupted.

"Don't make a sound, don't make a sound," an old voice appeared behind, "If you want to live, just follow me."

On a snowy night, Song Shengzhen led an old soldier out of the barracks, and the sergeant at the gate didn't dare to ask him.

He saw that Song Shengzhen's expression was a little weird, his face was reddish with purple, but other than that, there was no other abnormality.

After walking more than ten miles, in a pine forest, the old man let go of Song Shengzhen's neck.

"Song Shengzhen, do you really want to collude with the enemy?"

Song Shengzhen looked back at Liang Jixiong, he had never been an official in the capital, and he only met Elder Canglong once on the day of the selection, and that was decades ago.

But looking at the unique majesty of the old man, thinking about the old man's cultivation, thinking about the skill of strangling his neck just now, and thinking about the vague memory of decades ago, Song Shengzhen took a few steps back one after another: "The humble Song Shengzhen , Greetings to Elder Shengwei!"

"Prefect Song, this old man can't bear it. We are already sworn enemies of the two armies. Why do you still salute me?"

Song Shengzhen shook his head again and again and said, "Elder, I am wronged by the humble position, and the humble position has difficulties!"

Liang Jixiong said: "You are lucky. If you had moved General Ji Qi, you would have died long ago. If you have any difficulties, let me talk to someone else. I'm not in the mood to argue with you."

Liang Jixiong walked aside, Xu Zhiqiong walked over from behind, and said with a smile: "Prefect Song, if you have any grievances, just tell me."

Song Shengzhen looked at Liang Jixiong, he didn't know Xu Zhiqiong.

Liang Jixiong yelled: "If you want to survive, you should speak louder!"

Song Shengzhen hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth: "Song brought troops to Yongzhou because of His Majesty's will."

"Where is the edict?"

"There is no imperial decree, only a verbal order from the chief of ceremonies."

"Is there a soldier talisman?"

Song Sheng shook his head.

Xu Zhiqiong said with a smile: "One without a will, and two without a soldier's talisman, sending troops without permission, is it still treason?"

Song Shengzhen said: "When the Li Supervisor sent the oral order, my subordinates were there to testify."

"Testimony? If you really want to investigate your crime of treason, can your subordinates speak up?"

Song Shengzhen bowed his head and said: "Since Song is a minister, he should obey the orders of the Holy Majesty."

"Ridiculous!" Xu Zhiqiong had already expected this remark, "The supervisor of ceremonies will call any eunuch here, and if he says a word, he can make you do what he says. If he calls another eunuch tomorrow, he will let you take Tuanzhou to seek refuge. Tunu, can you listen to him too?"

Song Shengzhen turned to look at Liang Jixiong and said, "Humble job, it's really helpless!"

Liang Jixiong ignored him, and Xu Zhiqiong said: "Prefect Song, I know you have difficulties. Some people have corrupted you and violated the law. The cabinet has already convicted you, and the bill has been sent to the high officials.

In order to protect yourself, you can only listen to the orders of the high officials, but if you really send troops to attack Yongzhou, not only will you be guilty of corruption, but you will also be convicted of treason! "

Song Shengzhen said: "Since the Holy Majesty has issued an oral order, there must be a way to protect me."

"What are you doing to preserve you?" Xu Zhiqiong said with a smile, "When the war is over, the high official's family just needs a scapegoat to kill your whole family for the crime of collaborating with the enemy and conspiring against the enemy, and then accuse you of infamy. Wouldn't everyone be happy? ?”

Song Shengzhen looked at Liang Jixiong, gritted his silver teeth and said, "Song has absolutely no intention of plotting against you! Elder Shengwei, please be a witness for your humble position!"

Liang Jixiong sighed: "How to witness? Let's see you lead troops to attack Yongzhou. What testimony can I give you?"

"There is no way out for a humble job!"

Xu Zhiqiong said: "There is a way, don't you just want a witness? You can prove your innocence for the crime of collaborating with the enemy and conspiracy."

Song Shengzhen asked in surprise, "How can I prove myself?"

Xu Zhiqiong asked back, "What are you doing in Yongzhou with your troops?"

"I'm offering..."

Xu Zhiqiong interrupted Song Shengzhen: "Think about it carefully!"

Song Shengzhen hesitated for a moment, and understood Xu Zhiqiong's meaning: "The crime of treason can be proved by oneself, but what about the crime of embezzlement? The Holy One has already proved the crime, so naturally he will not forgive me!"

Xu Zhiqiong said with a smile: "The high officials will not forgive you, but someone will forgive you. Let's see how you go this way?"

……

At dawn the next day, Ji Qi sobered up and bid farewell to Song Shengzhen.

General Song Shengzhen handed over the roster to Ji Qi.

Ji Qi was stunned and said, "What do you mean by that?"

Song Shengzhen said: "Brother, I led the army to Yongzhou to support the crown prince and fight against Tunu. The situation in Tuanzhou is serious now. Song does not dare to leave his post without authorization, so I can only entrust [-] soldiers to you."

Ji Qi was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "With such a move, who dares to say that you are collaborating with the enemy and plotting rebellion?"

……

Three days later, the capital received news that Tuan Xun and the two prefectures each supported [-] elite soldiers to help the prince fight against Tunu.

The two states sent troops to help in the war, and the crime of collaborating with the enemy and conspiring against them was self-defeating.

The officials in Beijing all praised the prefects of the two prefectures for their deep understanding of righteousness, and the censors withdrew the memorials they had submitted before, and even the matter of corruption was no longer mentioned.

Emperor Zhaoxing was so angry that he immediately fell ill and lay down on the couch. He ordered Chen Shuncai to approve the redemption immediately, and dismissed the prefects of Tuan Xun and the two prefectures for investigation for the crime of embezzlement!

Chen Shuncai had just returned to the Supervisor of Rituals to approve the redemption, and was about to issue the imperial edict when he was called back by Emperor Zhaoxing.

Emperor Zhaoxing took the edict, read it once, and immediately tore it to pieces.

Chen Shun was puzzled.

Emperor Zhaoxing was lying on the couch, and suddenly laughed loudly: "I almost fell into the trap, what a traitor, I almost fell into the trap of the traitor!"

"Your Majesty, the servants are dull, what kind of trick did they fall into?"

Emperor Zhaoxing said: "If you are the prefect of Tuanxun and Liangzhou, if I want to punish you, what should you do?"

Chen Shuncai thought for a long time, and his face was stunned: "Could it be that..."

Emperor Zhaoxing nodded: "The persecution is too severe, but these two people want to defect to the prince. The four states in the north almost all belong to the prince!"

(End of this chapter)