People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 926: According to law, beheaded

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, we look forward to the great dynasty.

At the right time, outside Danfeng Gate.

Li Xuan wore a scarlet official robe and walked side by side with his uncle Ouyang Tong, heading towards the front.

On the right side of Danfeng Gate, several Qianniu guards holding long knives surrounded a middle-aged official who was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed and wearing a light purple official robe, guarding him sternly.

"It's quite sad that the dignified British prince ended up in such an end!"

Ouyang Tong sighed softly, couldn't help shaking his head, took a deep look at Li Jingye, who looked pitiful, turned to Li Xuan and said: "Da Lang, if you want the British public case to go smoothly today, it's quite difficult." It’s difficult!”

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded and said softly: "Although the evidence produced during the joint trial of the three agencies can indirectly prove that Li Jingye is guilty, after all, without his own confession, there is still a chance for him to escape guilt."

Ouyang Tong looked at Li Xuan with a solemn expression and said, "If Li Jingye had already denied it in court today, Dalang, you wouldn't really reveal the matter between the Demon Cult and Prince Yin, would you?"

Li Xuan smiled softly and said: "Uncle, you are worrying too much. Although what happened today is a bit difficult, the difficulty is not how to convict Li Jingye, but how to determine the sentence for Li Jingye."

"Why?" Ouyang Tong didn't understand what Li Xuan meant for a while.

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said: "If there is no evidence in the three-judge trial, then the British Duke is really likely to be unjust, so for the sake of fairness, His Majesty will naturally listen to his explanation.

But the problem is that although the current evidence is indirect, it can eventually determine the facts, and with the in-depth digging of Qian Niuwei and Dali Temple, more and more evidence will be found to prove his guilt. "

After a slight pause, Li Xuan continued: "Let Li Jingye enter the hall, it is inevitable that many officials in the court will excuse him and even try to keep him innocent. But if immediately, Dali Temple and Qianniu Guard will come up with If we have obtained conclusive evidence, then should these people who plead for Li Jingye be punished based on their knowledge?"

"It's just a plea for mercy. How can we talk about punishment?"

"How can those who have liaisons with Tibet, work for Tibet, and conspire to cause chaos and intercede for others not to be guilty?"

Li Xuan raised his head and glanced at the ministers in front of him, shook his head slightly and said: "Your Majesty is such a person, in order to avoid this kind of thing happening, naturally he will not be allowed to enter the palace."

After speaking, Li Xuan turned to look at Li Jingye, who was surrounded by Qianniu Guards.

At this moment, Li Jingye looked up.

At one glance, he saw Li Xuan.

One was the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple and the Prince of Nanchang who slowly walked into the queue of courtiers.

One is the British Duke, the former governor of Meizhou, who is kneeling under the Danfeng Gate, bowing his head and begging for sin.

The two people's eyes collided. Deep in Li Jingye's solemn eyes was endless fighting spirit; deep in Li Xuan's eyes was endless calmness and a trace of compassion.

At this moment, the Danfeng Gate suddenly opened.

A chamberlain stood under the Danfeng Gate and shouted loudly: "The emperor has come to court early, and all the ministers have come to see him!"

Countless voices rang throughout the Daming Palace, echoing high in the sky.

Li Xuan had already withdrew her gaze, and then slowly walked forward with Liu Boying, the minister of Honglu Temple, and Yang Shan, the young minister of Honglu Temple.

After all the officials disappeared under the Danfeng Gate, Li Jingye withdrew his gaze.

He was surrounded by thousands of guards who had just brought him from Dali Temple.

During the joint trial of the three divisions a few days ago, he did not expect that he would accidentally fall into the scheme of the King of Nanchang, and then there would be no chance for him to stand up again.

But today is the last and inevitable chance. As long as the emperor lets him in, he will be confident enough to convince the emperor that he is innocent.

Li Jingye knelt on the ground, straightened his body, lowered his head, and then waited quietly under the Danfeng Gate.

……

"I see your Majesty, long live my emperor!" Dozens of nobles simultaneously bowed their hands to Li Zhi who was sitting on the dragon chair.

The prince stands on the upper right, below the dragon chair and above the three steps.

Going down the steps, one of his younger brothers, Li Xian, King of England, and Li Dan, King of Prime Minister, stood on each step.

The three princes also bowed to the emperor at the same time.

The bead curtain behind him made a slight sound, and Li Zhi knew that Empress Wu was already sitting behind the bead curtain. He smiled slightly, then raised his hand and said, "All the ministers are at peace."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The ministers stood up and then stood solemnly.

Li Zhi looked at the ministers and said gently: "Is there anything to report today?"

"Your Majesty." Li Huaiyan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, walked out to the left, then raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, after discussion with the Ministry of Rites, Zongzheng Temple, Honglu Temple, Guanglu Temple, and the Taixue ministers, it was decided that the emperor will enjoy the Taimiao, and the queen will be three years old. It will be carried out every year, and it will be carried out two years after the killing."

It is also a great sacrifice.

The purpose of offering sacrifices to Zhao and Mu is to offer food to Taizu, and to offer sacrifices to examine and evaluate his superiority and inferiority. This is the meaning of offering sacrifices to ancestors.

The ritual says: Once every three years, there will be a Qi, once every five years, there will be a Yin sacrifice every five years.

It is thought that the funeral of the new king will be held after the funeral, and the funeral will be held next year. After that, the sacrifice will be held five years later.

Previously, although Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong had offered sacrifices, they were mostly invited by the Ministry of Rites, Zongzheng Temple, Honglu Temple, and Guanglu Temple. Now it has been concluded that it will be a permanent system.
"Yes." Li Zhi nodded lightly.

"Your Majesty is wise." The ministers cupped their hands at the same time, with solemn expressions on their faces.

The emperor was already making preparations for the sacrifices to be held after the new king came to the throne, and the ministers suddenly felt a chill in their hearts.

"My dear friends, what else do you want?" Li Zhi spoke again, his eyes falling on Duan Baoxuan.Just when Duan Baoxuan was about to step forward and report the results of the three-division trial, a figure suddenly stood up first, raised his hands and spoke. : "I have a report from Wei Siwen, the supervisory censor!"

All the ministers were slightly startled. The affairs of court meetings have always been in order. Before the court meetings, they have been decided by the palace ministers one after another. There is no room for others to report whatever they want.

Li Xuan stood behind him with a slight sneer on his lips.

Wei Siwen was undoubtedly Li Jingye's man. He had to speak before Duan Baoxuan opened his mouth, otherwise once Li Jingye's matter was settled, there would be nothing left for him.

The imperial censor on one side of the palace was about to step forward when Li Zhi waved his hand slightly and said, "If you have anything to do with Qing Wei, please speak directly."

"Here!" Wei Siwen breathed a sigh of relief. He was most afraid that the emperor wouldn't give him a chance to speak. In that case, it would be really troublesome.

Wei Siwen raised his hands earnestly, and then said: "I am impeaching Di Renjie, the imperial censor. He has the appearance of the real culprit in the Zhaoling fire case, but he covers it in his hands like a canopy. He does not complain or report. Because of the Zhaoling incident, I impeach Di Renjie as my minister." To be unfaithful is to behave badly.”

Suddenly there was a sound of clothes heaving among the ministers. Although the ministers did not speak, they were quite surprised by this matter.

The Zhaoling fire case ended with Quan Shancai being dismissed from office for dereliction of duty, and all other people involved were sentenced to three years of sweeping the tomb in Zhaoling. Why does a real culprit appear now?

Yuan Wanqing, Fan Lubing and others all looked solemn.

They all knew that the culprit of the Zhaoling fire was none other than Liu Yizhi, one of the North Gate scholars.

Now Wei Siwen suddenly comes forward to impeach, which is obviously Li Jingye's strategy to divert trouble from the east.

If he really knew about Liu Yizhi, everything would be in trouble.

Li Zhi waved his hand slightly, and the officials suddenly became quiet: "Di Qing, I want to know, do you really have any clues about the real murderer?"

Di Renjie walked out of the queue, then raised his hands to Li Zhi and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, I do have clues, but the investigation is difficult, there is no real evidence, and there are people who are constantly watching, it is really difficult for me to do this."

Di Renjie lowered his head. He had indeed found something, but without actual evidence, he didn't know what to do. However, there were still people watching for impeachment.

"Since there is no real evidence, let's continue to investigate until we find the real evidence." Li Zhi looked deeply at Wei Siwen and said softly: "Wei Qing, everything should be based on real evidence first. Don't hear some rumors. Just Criticize your colleagues."

"Here!" Wei Siwen cupped his hands and continued: "Your Majesty, I am impeaching Li Xuan, the king of Nanchang County. The King of Nanchang was ordered to supervise the joint trial of the three divisions, but he repeatedly interrupted the trial process and independently advocated and set rules. I am impeaching Li Xuan. The king of Nanchang committed a crime of transgression."

The ministers' eyes flashed slightly, and it turned out that Wei Siwen's impeachment of Di Renjie was just a cover, and his purpose was to target Li Xuan.

Li Zhi turned to look at Li Xuan and asked directly: "King Nanchang, do you plead guilty?"

Li Xuan immediately stood out from the crowd of ministers, then raised his hands and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I can't suppress my emotions during the three-division trial, which has caused influence, and I am guilty."

"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded with satisfaction and said, "Since you are guilty, you will be fined five kilograms of copper."

"I accept the decree!" Li Xuan deeply cupped his hands and then stepped back.

Seeing this scene, Wei Siwen was a little stunned. Why did the King of Nanchang confess his guilt so easily? Shouldn't he have to go through it a few times?

Li Zhi continued to look at Wei Siwen and asked, "Wei Qing, what else do you want?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Siwen quickly collected his emotions, then cupped his hands and said, "I impeach the Governor of Dunhuang, Dugu..."

"Wei Qing, others are responsible for Dunhuang affairs. If other censors fail to do their duty, you can impeach other censors. Don't go beyond the rules." Li Zhi's expression turned slightly cold, and Wei Siwen's heart froze, and he quickly took a step back: " I accept the decree."

"Back off!" Li Zhi waved his hand directly.

"Yes!" Wei Siwen quickly retreated, but his sinister eyes fell on Yuan Wanqing.

Yuan Wanqing immediately understood that Wei Siwen was threatening.

If they don't help Li Jingye today, Wei Siwen will directly impeach them.

When the time comes, everyone will suffer losses and no one will be able to live well.

……

Li Zhi turned to look at Duan Baoxuan and asked in a calm but serious tone: "Duan Qing, how did you decide the British case, Dali Temple, Yushitai, and the Ministry of Punishment?"

The entire Hanyuan Hall was suddenly filled with solemnity. Everyone understood that they were probably about to witness the fall of a major faction in the military.

Duan Bao , the crime of receiving carefully crafted letters from an enemy country, harboring and concealing foreign spies; the crime of forcing witnesses to change their confessions, forging testimonies; the crime of imprisonment..."

Duan Baoxuan named fourteen proven crimes in one breath, all of which had witnesses and material evidence.

Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment and the Yushitai all found the British public guilty.

"In addition, Li Jingye is also suspected of providing secrets of the army's conquest to Tibet and other types of secrets to Tibet. He is suspected of arson, murder, counterfeit currency and other [-] crimes. I submit to His Majesty's Holy Judgment." Duan Baoxuan will hand it over. The memorial was held high.

Countless officials looked at this memorial and their hearts became extremely solemn.

They really didn't expect that Li Jingyeguang had more than a dozen confirmed charges, each of which was a fatal crime.

Not to mention there are more suspected crimes that can be proven only with time and investigation.

Li Xuan watched Wang Fulai come down personally to pick up the memorial, and then carefully handed it to Li Zhi's imperial case, even his breath was completely held.

Even if Duan Baoxuan did not report Li Jingye's suspicion of concealing the crown prince this time, it would still be enough to kill Li Jingye.

Li Zhi looked at the memorial in front of him, looked up at Duan Baoxuan, and asked with a cold face: "How does Dali Temple judge?"

Duan Baoxuan solemnly raised his hands and said, "Report to Your Majesty, according to the law, I should be beheaded."

(End of this chapter)