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

Chapter 927: Reduced death by one level, dismissed from office, seizes title, lives three thousand miles away

Sitting on the imperial couch, Li Zhi put one hand on Duan Baoxuan's memorial and breathed heavily.

One after another, the sound of breathing was extremely clear.

Li Zhi raised his head and glanced into the main hall.

The ministers in the palace were extremely quiet at the moment, all bowing their heads solemnly.

Even though he couldn't see it, Li Zhi could feel the surprise and worry in their hearts.

Even Li Xuan is the same.

The emperor's determination may have been too great.

Once Li Jingye's crime is determined, the influence of the entire British public line in the DPRK will be completely purged.

Li Zhi looked outside the main hall. He knew that Li Jingye was outside the Danfeng Gate at this moment, waiting to be summoned.

Waiting for his last chance to turn around.

But at this moment, Li Zhi's interest was waning.

"It's my fault." Li Zhi sighed softly, looked up at a golden carved dragon in the center of the dome above, and sighed softly: "I am sorry for the British Duke. When the British Duke was alive, Li Jingye occasionally jumped. Although he was a qualified minister, why did he become like this a few years after his death?"

Wei Siwen's face darkened. The emperor's words were equivalent to a direct acknowledgment that the British Duke's crime was true.

This completely frustrated Wei Siwen's idea of ​​completely helping Li Jingye to escape guilt.

At this time, Zhongshu Ling Hao Chujun had already stood up, raised his hands to Li Zhi, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Li Jingye has committed a treacherous plot, snooped into the opportunity, pursued personal interests, and ignored the overall situation. It is his nature to do so. Your Majesty’s fault in educating me, everything has nothing to do with Your Majesty.”

"Your Majesty, everything has nothing to do with it. Everything is Li Jingye's fault." All the officials present raised their hands in agreement, with solemn expressions on their faces.

When the emperor says it's his fault, just listen. Don't take it seriously. You can't even let him say it.

Once no one refuted it, the emperor would have to publicly issue an edict of guilt.

This is not a good thing.

Li Zhi nodded slightly, with a slightly relaxed expression, and then looked at the ministers in the palace and asked: "Dear sirs, this case has been reviewed by the three departments. The result is here. If you have any thoughts, you might as well mention it."

"Your Majesty." Du Qiuren took the lead in the matter and stood up, cupping his hands and saying: "I know that the British Duke is guilty, but there may be one or two deviations in such many crimes. I would like to call the British Duke to the palace, maybe we can sort out the deviations. "

The ministers in the palace looked at each other in confusion for a moment. What do you mean by one or two biases? When Li Jingye came to the palace, they would probably deny it completely.

"Your Majesty." Wei Siwen, the supervisory censor, stood up and raised his hands, and said: "Even if the British Duke is guilty, he should explain it to his face and make him convinced. Please summon the British Duke to the palace."

Du Qiuren is Li Jingye's in-law, and if his reputation as a British official remains intact, he will naturally have a solid foundation in the court.

Once Li Jingye is convicted, he will also be implicated.

Wei Siwen is Li Jingye's man, and all the ministers can see this clearly.

Li Jingye has been running the government for many years, so it would be abnormal if he didn't have a few close friends.

But at this time, there are very few people who are really willing to help Li Jingye speak.

The emperor's attitude is clearly visible, and the attitudes of other ministers are also the same.

The most important thing is that there is one person who is not present but who suppresses the ministers and does not dare to act rashly. It is Liu Rengui, the left prime minister.

Although Liu Rengui is not here, Li Xuan is.

Liu Rengui was on the front line of the army, but Li Jingye was secretly supporting the Tubo, causing damage to the Tang soldiers. His attitude was self-evident.

None of the ministers or ministers of the three provinces spoke.

None of the six ministers and ministers spoke.

At this time, a person suddenly stood up.

Wei Hongji, the eunuch of the Young Mansion, stood up, raised his hands to Li Zhi and said: "Your Majesty, although I have not had much contact with the British public, he is a magnanimous man and has a gentle temper. It is hard for me to believe that he did such a thing. Why? Please ask your Majesty to summon the British Duke into the palace and question him face to face, so as to reassure the ministers."

After all, Li Jingye was Li Ji's direct grandson. Although others did not dare to say it outright due to the emperor, it was normal for them to have doubts in their hearts.

Li Xuan was at the back, staring at Wei Hongji with doubtful eyes.

The Shaofu Superintendent usually built palaces in Luoyang. In the past six months, the Northwest War had occurred repeatedly and cost a lot of money. Therefore, the emperor stopped building palaces in Luoyang and he returned to the Shaofu.

Coupled with the mining of salt mines and jade mines in the northwest, the Shaofu Superintendent became busy again.

The most important thing is that Wei Hongji, the young eunuch, is a close confidant of the emperor, and the emperor's attitude towards Li Jingye is clearly visible.

What does it mean for Wei Hongji to stand up now? Is An Qunchen really planning this, or does he have other ideas?
If Li Xuan remembers correctly, this Wei Shaofu's home is in Taipingfang, just opposite Li Jingye's Villa.

The Demon Sect and Prince Yin had also used his family's house in the past, but because he was in Luoyang all year round, no one suspected him.

But now it seems that the relationship between him and Li Jingye is really not shallow.

Li Zhi nodded, then raised his head and asked: "My dear friends, if anyone else wants to plead for Li Jingye, please come forward and say it."

Li Zhi said one sentence, and among the officials present, many who had just taken half a step took their steps back in an instant.

The emperor's attitude was clearly revealed from the words "Li Jingye".

Among all the ministers in the palace, who dares to speak nonsense?

……

Under the Danfeng sect, Li Jingye still bowed his head slightly.

On the city wall, General Cheng Chubi of the Zuo Jinwu Guard was looking at him calmly.

Li Jingye is the direct grandson of Li Ji, and Cheng Chubi is the youngest son of Cheng Yaojin.In the troubled times of the late Sui Dynasty, both Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin came from Wagangzhai, but the relationship between them was not very good.

Back then, Li Ji followed Li Mi and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan replaced Li Mi with Li Ji, so Li Ji became more favored by Li Yuan.

Cheng Yaojin took the last step to join Li Shimin and gained Li Shimin's trust.

Li Ji stayed out of the Xuanwu Gate incident, but Cheng Yaojin became a close confidant of the emperor.

During the Zhenguan Dynasty, Li Ji served as the governor of Bingzhou in the 16th year, but Cheng Yaojin has always been in the center.

Cheng Yaojin of Lingyan Pavilion ranked No. 19, and Li Ji ranked No. 20. The difference is clearly visible.

It was not until the end of Zhenguan that Li Jing gradually withdrew from the court and Li Ji gradually came to power.

Li Zhi came to power, deposed Wang and established Wu, and both of them supported Empress Wu.

Li Ji was valued by the emperor and Empress Wu for his talents, but Cheng Yaojin gradually retired.

But after the two passed away, Cheng Chubi was appointed General Zuo Jinwu Guard, guarding the palace gate day and night, while Li Jingye was now half a prisoner.

Cheng Chuliang, the second son of Cheng Yaojin, was named Princess Li Jing of Qinghe, the daughter of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty as a meritorious official. He was promoted to General Ningyuan and was granted the title of Founding Duke of Dong'e County.

You can tell who is close to the royal family and who is far away from them at a glance.

After Li Jingye returned to Beijing, he never approached Cheng Chubi, or even anyone in the Cheng family. This was because he knew the Cheng family's style very well. Will fully support.

Li Jingye wondered whether Cheng Chubi being here at this time meant that the emperor did not need his opinion, or that he wanted to wait for him to escort him to the palace.

Taking a deep breath, Li Jingye stabilized his mind. As long as he was allowed to go to the temple, he would have absolute means to get himself out of this matter.

It's completely impossible. You have to pay some price after all. As for other crimes, Li Jingye has already found someone to take the blame for him.

Leaning forward slightly, Li Jingye listened carefully, hoping to hear the emperor's edict summoning him to the palace from the Danfeng Gate.

But no, never.

Li Jingye's face gradually became ugly, even scary.

Cheng Chubi kept calmly waiting above.

……

Li Xuan stood in the main hall. He noticed that Wu Chengsi, who originally wanted to follow Wei Hongji, retracted his steps in an instant.

Another related person, Pei Yan, remained motionless.

No more people came forward.

Li Ji's relationship with the court was more than that, but most of the military generals were guarding the outside, and those who had been in the court all year round had already developed a flexible mind.

Seeing only two or three people, Li Zhi nodded, looked at Duan Baoxuan, and said, "Duan Qing, does Dali Temple need Li Jingye to go to the temple to argue?"

"No need." Duan Baoxuan handed over his hand. At this moment, everyone gave up completely.

The faces of Du Qiuren, Wei Hongji, and Wei Siwen became extremely ugly.

After a slight pause, Duan Baoxuan continued: "I have asked the British Duke about various things, but he just said that he did not know, was not clear, and was none of his business. He denied everything personally and knew nothing about it; but I have myself here. His personal letter, as well as his own personal seal, were recognized by dozens of people under the British Duke; several others had seen the arrival of letters from unknown sources, and then the caravan immediately set off, all of which were authorized by the British Duke..."

Duan Baoxuan gave a dozen reasons in general, all of which had a lot of personal and material evidence.

Most of these witnesses are old people from Li Jingye's caravan, and there is also a lot of evidence, many of which are Li Jingye's handwriting.

These things seem very obscure, but once all the connections between them are revealed, what Li Jingye did will be clearly displayed in front of everyone.

These days, Li Jingye no longer needs to go to the palace to prove his crimes.

What Li Jingye needs to go to the palace to confirm are his other unproven crimes.

All the ministers in the palace, except for a few who could no longer turn back, understood almost instantly that the emperor was trying to save face for Li Ji. It was hard to say what would happen if Li Jingye was really called to the palace.

At the very least, Duan Baoxuan would have a difficult time passing this level.

"Alas!" Li Zhi couldn't help but shook his head, and then looked at Duan Baoxuan and continued to ask: "What is the final result of Dali Temple's decision? Don't say that it should be executed according to the law. Li Jingye has made meritorious deeds for many years, not to mention, I want to British public affairs need to be considered.”

There is no doubt that Li Jingye should be beheaded according to the law, but he cannot be beheaded. Even Li Xuan does not have such a sweet dream.

Duan Baoxuan cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Dismissal from office, seizing the title, and traveling three thousand miles."

This was a penalty that was reduced to one level of death, and it was still very heart-wrenching.

"Your Majesty." Pei Yan couldn't help but stand up, cupped his hands and said, "The Ministry of Punishment has different opinions."

Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Pei Yan, and said gently: "Pei Qing, please speak!"

"Li Jingye is guilty, a serious crime, but in the end it did not cause serious consequences. The British government has made great contributions to the government. I ask your majesty to be tolerant." Pei Yan handed over his hand seriously, with a slightly sad look on his face.

Li Zhi's face suddenly became solemn. The battle ahead would still end with Datang's victory. If Li Jingye's treatment was too harsh, it would easily shake the morale of the army.

"Your Majesty!" Wei Siwen, the supervisory censor, stood up again and said with cupped hands: "What Pei Shangshu said is reasonable. Although there are many points in the matter of the British Duke, in the final analysis, the British Duke is just smuggling contraband, and the others are connected with Tubo. In the final analysis, it is a matter of secretly sending information, but the British Lord has not done it because of the temptation of profit. I ask your Majesty to consider it and be tolerant."

"Oh!" Li Zhi's face turned slightly cold.

As soon as Wei Siwen spoke, Li Zhi's expression changed a lot.

Among the ministers, Wu Chengsi sneered secretly: You don’t know what you are, how dare you speak randomly, are you going to die?
But at this time, Wu Chengsi also had something to say, and then took a step to the left.

In an instant, the eyes of all the ministers, including Li Xuan, fell on Wu Chengsi.

(End of this chapter)