Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 568: Upright Power
Yan Quanming left for a while and returned to Chang'an City, and noticed a change.

The Jinguan Gate in the west city is often visited by merchants and their wheels have pressed two deep depressions into the road of the gate. The road is so deep that the bluestone in the middle can be scraped against the wheel beams. In the past two years, the government has been short of money, so the solution was to lay a few earthen bricks in the depressions. On rainy days, the road would still accumulate water and become muddy. Now it is different. The road has been repaired and paved with neat, thick boulders.

It can be seen that the court has become slightly richer since the confiscation of temple property. In such a short period of time, the confiscated money can be used to manage people's livelihood, which also shows that the rectification of officialdom is effective and the efficiency of officials has been greatly improved.

In the evening, Yan Quanming went to pay a visit to Yan Zhenqing first.

The Yan family was a Confucian family that valued etiquette. Yan Zhenqing treated his nephew very strictly. As soon as they met, he criticized Yan Quanming for several inappropriate things he did. He didn't know that the original fate of the family's separation and death had been changed. He was merciless when it was necessary to discipline him severely, and he was not reluctant to scold or beat him.

Finally, Yan Zhenqing said, "Although the case in Huxian County is small, His Highness is very concerned about it. Now that you are back, go and report it tomorrow morning."

"My nephew saw an express train of 800 miles on the road, and guessed that there would be a war in the west." Yan Quanming said, "At this time, Your Highness, do you still care about this small case?"

"No matter how big or small the affairs of state are, the big picture can be seen from the details." Yan Zhenqing said, "Yuan Zai wanted to use this case to deal with Cui Youfu, so Your Highness asked you to verify it carefully. Now that the war has begun, has the rift between the two men disappeared?"

"Yes, nephew understands." Yan Quanming stood up and prepared to leave. After thinking for a while, he said, "From what I saw during my inspection this time, the country is stable and peaceful. I know that Your Highness is governing well, and uncle can rest assured."

He had also inspected the country as an imperial censor, redressed wrongful convictions, and appeased the people. Yan Quanming probably took him as an example, so he made this statement.

Yan Zhenqing had read too many official documents recently, which had damaged his eyesight. He bent down very low, with half of his face hidden in the dark, and did not react much when he heard the words.

"That's good."

The next day, after the court meeting, Xue Bai indeed met Yan Quanming first.

When asked about the case in Huxian County first, Yan Quanming hesitated and answered after careful consideration.

"Zheng Zhizhai can be considered a good official, and Feng Xiaogou did have some eccentricities in his behavior, but in Ge San's case, Zheng Zhizhai wronged Feng Xiaogou."

Xue Bai sensed his hesitation and said calmly: "Just tell me the facts. I will make my own judgment on other matters."

"Yes, the murderers of Ge San, a resident of Huxian County, were probably two soldiers. They passed through Huxian County on official business on the 30th day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of Tianbao. Feng Xiaogou arranged a place for them to stay. On the first day of the first month, they were collecting grain in the city and happened to meet Ge San's daughter. They then broke into her home, committed a serious crime, and then fled. Feng Xiaogou was also present. As the commander of Huxian County's criminal catching department, he should have arrested the murderer, or at least identified the murderer. However, he concealed the crime of the two soldiers and told his subordinates, 'If the bandits come, we can use Ge San's family as military rations. What's the harm in killing them?'"

Xue Bai asked: "Make sure you are telling the truth."

"It's not that no one witnessed the crime, but they were forced to not tell the truth due to the tyranny. I went incognito to investigate and talked with many of Ge San's neighbors. I not only asked about the specific characteristics of the murderer, but also drew a portrait."

As Yan Quanming spoke, he took out the evidence, confessions, and a portrait he had drawn that he had collected.

Xue Bai originally thought that it would be just a few strokes like those on a warrant for arrest, but he didn't expect that Yan Quanming was very good at painting and painted a very realistic portrait.

“Although I have never seen them, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, I drew a few pictures to confirm with them, revised them repeatedly, and said that they are 80% similar.”

The painting shows two men walking side by side, without armor, but with thick fur coats wrapped around their military robes, wearing deerskin boots, and carrying bows and swords. Both of them have obvious pigeon toes and bow legs. One of them has a scar on the right side of his face, from his right eyebrow to his cheek, and the other is hunchbacked with a fierce look in his eyes.

These temperaments and characteristics are vividly displayed on the paper, and Xue Bai couldn't help but praise: "It's a good painting."

Yan Quanming said: "There are still traces of knife cuts on the wall of Ge San's house. I have tried it. Feng Xiaogou's sword can't cut into the yellow mud wall. Only the long-handled saber in the painting can. Judging from the bloody footprints left on the ground, the murderer's boots are more than eight inches long, while Feng Xiaogou's feet are only seven inches. In addition, these are the two arrowheads that the murderer left in Ge San's house..."

Arrowheads were made of iron and were often recycled after a battle. Sometimes the arrow shafts broke, and soldiers counting the battlefield would cut off the arrowheads and put them in their bags. It was common for soldiers who were ordered to search for supplies to pick up some arrowheads on the road and put them in their bags.

Xue Bai took the arrow and took a look at it. He saw the small words "Zhen Er" engraved on it and said nothing.

He carefully checked the physical evidence and confession that Yan Quanming brought back, and asked, "Did Zheng Zhizhai not find out about these?"

"Zheng Zhizhai wanted to punish Feng Xiaogou, most likely because of the feud between him and the county lieutenant Xun Peng. Xun Peng was a member of the imperial examination system. He was over 60 years old and had not been promoted for many years. He worked very hard to confiscate the Buddhist temples this time. He not only forced the monks in the county to return to secular life, but also recovered the taxes they had owed for many years and forced them to work to repair the canals in Hu County. Many monks had been living a life of luxury for many years and could not bear this kind of heavy work, so they died of overwork. Under such circumstances, Zheng Zhizhai heard about Feng Xiaogou's old case and immediately sent people to arrest him. Unexpectedly, someone was killed, so he directly made the case an ironclad case."

Xue Bai said: "You mean, Zheng Zhizhai knows that this case was not committed by Feng Xiaogou?"

"He denied it. Only he knows whether he knew or not."

"Since Feng Xiaogou is said to be a bad official, Zheng Zhizhai failed to find other evidence to punish him?"

Yan Quanming said: "Although Feng Xiaogou behaves arrogantly, he mostly follows Xun Peng's orders. There is not much that can be done against him."

"So, he died unjustly?"

"Yes."

Xue Bai didn't ask any more questions and just thought about the matter.

Yan Quanming said: "Your Highness is concerned about this case because of the overall interests of the court. I think it is appropriate to maintain the original verdict in this case."

"It seems that you know who those two soldiers belong to?"

"I don't know."

Yan Quanming said he didn't know, but Xue Bai ordered people to investigate and soon found out who the two murderers were under.

The arrow came from the Zhenwu Army, which belonged to the Shuofang Army. The 13th year of Tianbao was when Xue Bai and Li Heng were fighting. The Zhenwu Army did not participate in the war. It only sent people through Guanzhong when exchanging letters with Fengxiang.

After checking the records at that time according to the time, it was finally found that they were most likely soldiers under the command of Guo Xi, the son of Guo Ziyi.

Xue Bai's purpose of investigating this case was to intimidate Yuan Zai and Cui Youfu. He wanted to let them know that there were eyes watching their every action, and he couldn't hide it. However, he was inevitably embarrassed to find out such a result.

The war is imminent, and picking on Guo Xi's faults at this time may not have the effect of deterring people, but may instead provoke unrest.

What Yan Quanming said made sense. If the original verdict was upheld, Feng Xiaogou would be dead, and as long as Yuan Zai was given another warning, no one would speak up for him. This would be the safest outcome for the situation.

That night, Xue Bai asked Yan Yan a question, saying that if he was also wrongly killed, would Yan Yan run to redress his injustice?

Yan Yan thought about it and said, "It depends on the situation."

"Oh?"

"If you die unjustly, I will fight for you and die with no regrets; but since I am pregnant with your child, I must first raise the child to adulthood. Seeking justice is a very dangerous thing."

Xue Bai looked at the family file again. It didn't say how many children Feng Xiaogou had, but he fell into deep thought.

~~
The next day, Xue Bai summoned Yuan Zai and Cui Youfu to the Xuanzheng Hall.

He placed the evidence Yan Quanming had obtained directly in front of the two of them and said, "You have both spoken righteously in front of me. Now, what do you think?"

After saying this, Xue Bai buried himself in other matters and ignored the two people for the time being.

Cui Youfu disdained Yuan Zai and did not want to stand too close to him. He stepped forward, took the scroll, took a look at it, and his expression gradually changed.

He and Xue Bai were appointed officials at the same time, and he was actually somewhat dissatisfied with Xue Bai. When the two of them served as county lieutenants in Luoyang, he began to compare them, thinking that if it weren't for Xue Bai's background, his achievements would definitely not be as high as his.

But he was the prince and grandson of the emperor, there was nothing he could do about it. Cui Youfu also acknowledged it, but he couldn't help but feel that he should be the candidate for prime minister.

Cui Youfu trusted Zheng Zhizhai very much in the case of Huxian County, and trusted his own judgment even more, and wanted to teach Yuan Zai and Xue Bai, who had promoted Yuan Zai, a lesson. However, he did not expect that the result would be so unexpected.

Yuan Zai was even more shocked and even a little frightened.

He had long heard that Xun Peng, the county lieutenant of Huxian County, had accused Zheng Zhizhai and wanted to re-examine Feng Xiaogou's case in order to dismiss Zheng Zhizhai from office, so he sent people to Huxian County to order Xun Peng to make a fuss.

In other words, he had been planning this matter for some time, but Xin had just arrived in Chang'an to file a complaint, and as soon as the matter started, Xue Bai revealed the truth.

What does this mean? His every move was under Xue Bai's control, and nothing in his mind could be hidden from Xue Bai.

If he had acted impartially and without any selfish motives, it would have been fine. But in this matter, he did make a big mistake - he took action against Zheng Zhizhai without carefully investigating the truth. Now, the truth is that Guo Xi's soldiers killed people.

The defense of the northwest border now depends on Guo Ziyi. The case he advocates for retrial is directly aimed at Guo. I am afraid that it will be regarded as disrupting the overall situation and make His Highness unhappy.

Yuan Zai didn't think that Xue Bai wanted to find Guo Xi's people to punish at this time.

The Xuan Zheng Hall was quiet for a long time, with only the sound of Xue Bai occasionally flipping through documents. The two people who were looking at the files were also very silent, reading them very seriously, over and over again.

Finally, Yuan Zai looked at Cui Youfu and signaled with his eyes that he wanted to shake hands with him and make peace. He had already admitted defeat and wanted to withdraw his opinion of retrial of Feng Xiaogou's case and uphold Zheng Zhizhai's original verdict.

Cui Youfu was very cold and kept silent.

Xue Bai remained silent until Yuan Zai spoke first.

"I was not thorough in my actions. Although I saw that there was something wrong with this case, I should have found out the truth before reporting it. Now that Tubo has invaded our borders, the court should focus on the war. It is probably not appropriate to question the general on the battlefield."

After saying this, he leaned forward to apologize, leaving the chance to speak to Cui Youfu.

Cui Youfu could say that Zheng Zhizhai was actually very observant and had already found out the truth, but considering the war in the northwest, he did not blame Guo Xi, but brought the accomplices to justice first. He was a capable minister.

In this way, the matter could end honorably. Yuan Zai admitted defeat, Cui Youfu won a game, and the prince established his prestige.

However, Cui Youfu actually pleaded guilty first.

"I am the Chief Censor and I have committed a crime of negligence. Your Highness, please punish me."

Xue Bai said: "The Censorate has tried thousands of cases in just a few months. It is not reasonable for me to employ people who do more and make more mistakes. The documents submitted by Zheng Zhizhai do not reveal any clues. However, you should think about how to prevent unjust and wrong cases."

"I will keep it in mind."

"What do you think we should do with this case?"

Cui Youfu's eyes showed determination, and he said, "I request that you send the Censor to inspect Guo Xi's army and find the real murderer to show that the court has strict laws. Zheng Zhizhai, the magistrate of Hu County, was not rigorous in handling the case and wrongly killed Feng Xiaogou. He should be dismissed from office."

Yuan Zai was surprised and rolled his eyes, analyzing why Cui Youfu said that.

He could understand the gecko cutting off its tail, but he could not understand why Cui Youfu sacrificed a trusted official and lost his prestige in order to confront Guo Ziyi's son head-on, which would harm others and not benefit himself.

Thinking in this way, Cui Youfu's words were meant to be sarcastic, forcing him to admit defeat. "No!" Yuan Zai then said, "Guo Xi has made contributions to the country, and at that time, the war was still going on and human lives were worthless. How can you blame him for the mistakes of two soldiers after the situation has changed? People in the world will only think that Your Highness is settling scores after the event, which is absolutely not allowed... Your Highness, I think Zheng Zhizhai made the right decision."

"This is the law of the Tang Dynasty and the majesty of the imperial court!"

Cui Youfu suddenly raised his voice and said, "No matter how many people died in the war, one hundred thousand or one million, anyone who violates military law and kills one person is guilty. All cases submitted to the Censorate will be dealt with impartially regardless of whose soldier or son the offender is. The court's laws do not need to consider anyone's face. If you take the initiative to protect him now, everyone in the local army will follow suit in the future, which will be the root cause of the country's chaos!"

Yuan Zai narrowed his eyes and became more wary of Cui Youfu's conspiracy.

"it is good."

Xue Bai praised him and said, "Let's do as Minister Cui wishes."

"Here."

Yuan Zai was stunned at this moment and realized that they were serious.

Just looking at this incident, he succeeded in dismissing Zheng Zhizhai and seemed to have won over Cui Youfu. But he felt that he had lost this time, and lost miserably.

~~
After leaving Danfeng Gate, the towering Daming Palace gradually faded away. Yuan Zai and Cui Youfu rarely walked side by side, and exchanged a few words.

"To seek fame and reputation."

Yuan Zai sneered and said, "Cui Zhongcheng is sabotaging the war in the northwest for his own fame. Can you afford the consequences?"

Cui Youfu said: "This is character, and mean people naturally won't understand it."

"I was discussing state affairs with you, and you insulted me. Is this the character of your noble families?"

"A gentleman is open and honest, while a villain is always worried." Cui Youfu said, "I have made long-term plans for the stability of the country. You cannot understand what I have done, but it is not your fault. A frog in a well jumps on the well stem when it comes out, and rests on a cliff with broken bricks when it enters. How can it know the vastness of the East China Sea?"

Yuan Zai sneered and said, "The state affairs have been defeated by you who have annexed the land. How can you think long-term? I have done practical work for the country and my contributions will last for thousands of years. How can you, the children who are protected by your ancestors, compare with me?"

The two men had different ideas and could not work together. The more they talked, the less polite they became. They simply snorted and turned away.

~~
Bingzhou.

The dog days are still here, and the sun is shining brightly, shining on the loess. The dust raised on the official road seems to bring with it the oppressive heat.

The wheat on both sides of the road was about to mature, and soldiers with bare upper bodies could be seen everywhere rushing to harvest the wheat. This was the result of Guo Ziyi's implementation of military settlements while stationed in the western frontier.

The Tubo army is approaching, and tension is everywhere.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from afar, and more than a dozen knights ran past with laughter. At the same time, there were screams and cries.

Some soldiers who were harvesting wheat looked up and saw some women lying across the horses of the knights, or bags of dry food hanging on their backs.

"Eating dog intestines, they are so carefree, leaving me here to harvest wheat."

"Whose soldiers are those? Since Marshal Guo came, no one in the army has dared to break the rules for a long time."

"Marshal Guo is kind to his soldiers, but some people are ungrateful and tarnish his reputation. I used to serve under Marshal Li, and Marshal Li was strict in his military discipline."

As the soldiers talked, they lowered their heads and continued to work.

After a while, several people came on horseback to the side of the road. Leading them was a square-faced man in his thirties, who looked quite majestic.

This person was the Supervisory Censor sent by the Censorate, named Han Huang.

Han Huang was the son of a prime minister. His father was Han Xiu, the prime minister during the Kaiyuan period.

He entered the officialdom through family connections, was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, made friends with all celebrities, and because of his good reputation and high talent, although he had to observe mourning for six or seven years after his parents passed away, he was soon promoted to Censor-in-Chief.

When they came to Bingzhou to investigate the case, everyone was afraid of offending Guo Ziyi, but Han Huang took the initiative to ask for the mission, and when he met Xue Bai, he said, "I want to preserve Mr. Guo's reputation, so why should I be afraid of offending him?"

It can be seen that he is very clear about the need to strike a good balance in doing this job.

After hurrying all the way, he finally arrived at Guo Ziyi's camp before dark.

The guards in the army checked his official token, slowly opened the gate, and shouted sternly: "Dismount!"

Han Huang did not dare to neglect it, so he dismounted, led his horse and walked away, saying, "Please ask the sergeant to take me to see Marshal Guo."

"Please go ahead. Please don't think we are rude, censor. It is strictly forbidden to let the horses run without reason in the camp today."

Han Huang asked, "To ride a horse in the camp, a military order is required. Why is it strictly prohibited today? Isn't it strictly prohibited at other times?"

The reason why he asked this was that his mission here was to punish the soldiers in the army, so he wanted to test Guo Ziyi's attitude towards military law.

He had also heard that many generals who had served in both Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi's armies often complained about Li Guangbi's strict military discipline, which gave the impression that Guo Ziyi's military discipline was relatively loose. But this was a comparison, and he had to see for himself what the truth was.

The soldier didn't want to say it at first, but Han Huang was really good at asking questions, so he spoke after a few words.

"For such a large military camp, it would have been fine to ride a horse, but General Yang killed someone on horseback yesterday."

"Oh? Who is this General Yang?"

"General Yang is the son of the Marshal's wife's wet nurse. He grew up with the young masters."

"So how did this happen later?"

"It wasn't a big deal at first, but General Bai happened to see it, so he sentenced General Yang to military punishment and beat him to death with clubs."

Han Huang did not ask which General Bai it was, because he knew that General Bai Xiaode, who had followed Li Guangbi to defend Heyang, was also in Bingzhou.

He asked, “What happened next?”

"The young men of Marshal Guo's family learned about this and came to the Marshal's tent today to cry and complain, saying that General Bai was arrogant and had executed the general without authorization, and they wanted the Marshal to punish him."

Han Huang looked thoughtful, and planned to use this incident to test Guo Ziyi's attitude, so as to measure the difficulty of this mission.

The camp was very large and after walking for a long time, he arrived at the big tent and met Guo Ziyi.

There was a large sand table on the ground, and Guo Ziyi was squatting there, looking at it, holding a handful of tea leaves in his hand, chewing them from time to time. He ate a lot of meat, so he chewed tea leaves to relieve the greasiness and refresh himself.

"I am Han Huang, the Censor-in-Chief, meeting Marshal Guo."

"I know you." Guo Ziyi said, "Your father is Wei Zheng, the retired emperor."

Han Xiu was a man of upright character, who often gave direct criticism on the gains and losses of current politics. During the Kaiyuan period, whenever Li Longji feasted excessively, he would ask his attendants, "Does Han Xiu know?" As soon as he finished speaking, a letter of advice and remonstrance would arrive.

At that time, people asked Li Longji why he didn't expel Han Xiu from the court. Li Longji knew how to say, "Although I am poor, the world is rich. Han Xiu expounds on the way of governance and speaks frankly. I use him for the sake of the country." Then he dismissed Han Xiu from his position as prime minister a few years later.

At this time, Han Huang followed up on this and said, "Now I am in Lord Guo's army, and I also want to speak out and advise Lord Guo."

"Hahaha." Guo Ziyi laughed and stroked his beard, saying, "Okay, okay, what our army lacks is someone who speaks his mind."

Since they were talking about this, Han Huang mentioned the incident he had just heard about General Yang riding his horse and injuring someone.

When talking about this, Guo Ziyi became angry and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. I have already scolded those useless people away."

"I heard that General Yang has been on the battlefield for a long time and sacrificed a lot in his battles for the country. It is understandable that you gentlemen feel sorry for him."

Guo Ziyi waved his hands and sighed, "My sons are all fools. Bai Xiaode is decisive in killing people, but they don't know how to appreciate him. Instead, they feel sorry for the fact that their mother and son have been spoiled by women in the inner chambers!"

Han Huang was relieved to see that Guo Ziyi was truly saddened, knowing that half of the task was already accomplished. However, he still did not immediately reveal the entire case.

In his opinion, Guo Ziyi's military discipline was indeed not strict enough. If it were Li Guangbi, he would not only scold his sons but also beat them severely.

The son of a prime minister's style of doing things is to act cautiously. He plans to find the murderer involved in the case first and then talk about it. After all, the person may not be Guo Xi's subordinate.

After leaving the tent and walking for a distance, Han Huang suddenly heard the neighing of a horse.

But there were more than ten riders riding horses in the camp, galloping towards them, passing by them and almost hitting him.

Han Huang quickly took a few steps back, turned his head and stared at the figures passing by.

"Han Yushi, don't look at them. They dare to ride today. They must have received military orders... These gentlemen are angry with the marshal."

"it is good."

Han Huang was about to look away when he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

In the light of the setting sun, he stared closely at a knight.

The man had a scar on his face, running from his right eyebrow to his cheek. He was laughing wildly and chatting with his hunchbacked comrade beside him.

"Are these General Guo Xi's subordinates?" Han Huang asked.

"How did the censor know?"

Han Huang did not expect such a coincidence that he would meet the person he wanted to punish as soon as he arrived at the military camp where tens of thousands of people were stationed, and he hesitated.

This is not a difficult task, but the difficult part is to do it beautifully and to convince everyone.

He recalled Guo Ziyi's attitude, hesitated for a while, and finally asked: "Excuse me, where is General Bai's camp?"

(End of this chapter)