I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Chapter 397 Huo Dang seeks to survive and bites Huo Xian; the leader of the corrupt Han Dynasty is none other than Huo Guang! (Please subscribe)

After a while, in the main hall of Jinwu, different characters stood in different positions.

Prime Minister Wei took his seat at the head of the table, and the rest of the officials took their places, all glaring with anger and dignity.

Downstairs, kneeling on the left and right, one foot apart, were Taichang Lecheng and Da Si Changyuan Yannian.

In a corner not far behind the two men, there were many instruments of torture that made people tremble when they saw them.

At this time, although they were kneeling in the hall at the same time, Le Cheng and Tian Yannian had different expressions and thoughts.

Chenggong has been detained in prison for a full month.

Although he has not suffered from torture in the past month, the imperial prison is not as comfortable as the back house of Taichang Temple.

Insects, rats, and fleas are a common occurrence.

There were more than thirty relatives of Lecheng and his family members, all of whom were imprisoned in the imperial prison.

No matter men, women, old or young, they are all like fish on a chopping board and are under the butcher's knife.

Le Cheng feels frightened just thinking about this situation.

With external and internal troubles, how can success be comfortable?
So in just one month, Lecheng has been tortured to the point of becoming as thin as a stick.

The originally shiny and black beard and hair were now gray and as unruly as weeds.

A pair of red eyes looked around and wandered around in fear from time to time, as if they were in great fright all the time.

At a quick glance like this, there is no trace of Le Cheng's majestic appearance as the head of the Nine Qings.

They are no different from the ordinary beggars you see on the roadside.

This is the terrible thing about prison.

Not only the torture tools in the strange shop, but also the sense of precarious fear - the emperor's edict may fall from the sky at any time and kill the criminals.

Therefore, anyone who can stay in prison and not go crazy, and can still take on big responsibilities after being released from prison, is a great person.

In the past, Zhou Bo was imprisoned by Emperor Xiaowen for being suspected of treason. Even if he returned to the court later, it would be difficult for him to do so.

His success at this time was naturally not as good as Zhou Bo's, but after being imprisoned for so long, he was already an outstanding figure without losing his composure in court.

When he was first thrown into prison, Le Chenggong was extremely resentful for betraying his own happiness and wanted to cut him into pieces immediately.

On that day, although the emperor had taken charge of the government, Huo Guang was still the great general and chief minister.

So Successfully thought that his "lord" would definitely find a way to save him from trouble.

But what he didn't expect was that Chenggong never waited for Huo Guang's help in prison: he gradually felt that something was wrong...

No matter how scared and uneasy he was, there was always a trace of happiness in Cheng Cheng's heart. He firmly believed that Huo Guang would not abandon him.

After all, success is the backbone of the Huo Party, saving Le means saving the Huo Party, and saving the Huo Party means saving the Huo family.

The luck and hope of success lasted until more than ten days ago, but finally it was completely shattered.

Because he suddenly found that the prison was becoming more and more lively day by day: more and more people were being thrown into the prison.

Through the cracks in the door and window lattice of the cell, Chenggong saw many familiar faces.

Without exception, they were all Huo Dang from the court and the army, and many of them were people who had eaten cakes with Le Cheng in the main hall of the General's Mansion.

The originally empty and deserted imperial prison became more and more crowded and noisy.

From morning to night, Leicheng can always hear miserable wailing and screaming.

Although Cheng Chenggong, who was behind bars, had no chance to talk to them, his sense of smell was so keen that he soon realized that the situation in Chang'an City had changed.

And it is a very unfavorable change for the Huo Party.

Ever since I figured this out, my fear and anxiety about success have grown day by day.

He tried to please the prison edict Chen Xiu more than once, trying to find out some information, and he also took the initiative to plead guilty in court many times.

But never got any response.

It is even more terrifying to admit your guilt but not be able to do so.

So, after sustaining success for a long time, my spirit became worse and worse day by day, and I was on the verge of collapse.

In addition to eating, drinking, and defecating every day, he would sit silently facing a wall of the cell, muttering: I don't know whether he was praying to the Emperor of Heaven or asking for protection from his ancestors.

Always remember, there will be reverberations.

Before he completely collapsed into a lunatic, he learned that he was going to be tried in court, which made him nervous and excited.

At this moment, the embarrassed Le Cheng was kneeling in the hall. Although he lowered his head, he kept looking around with his eyes, unlike ordinary people.

As for Tian Yannian, who had been loosened on the other side, he had not suffered in prison and his face was much rosy.

However, this does not mean that Tian Yannian should be calmer and calmer. After all, he has completely seen the turmoil in Chang'an City in the past ten days.

Naturally, he knew that Huo Guang and the Huo family had reached the last moment.

In addition to panic, Tian Yannian was more annoyed - he did not expect that the emperor's thunderous methods would cause such a big disturbance in just ten days.

So much so that before he could make a decision, he was brought to this court for trial.

……

Prime Minister Wei, the Censor, was sitting on the couch in the hall. He looked at Huo Guang's right-hand man with a half-smile, and sneered in his heart.

He was not in a hurry to ask questions, but let the two of them think about it first.

To conquer an enemy without a fight, it depends on the other party's own random thoughts.

Seeing that Tian Yannian and Lecheng were getting more and more restless while kneeling, Prime Minister Wei finally decided to start.

Among the three major cases of rebellion, regicide, and corruption, the corruption case in his own hands is naturally the least important.

Since it doesn't matter, it is even more important to fight quickly so that the emperor can see what he is capable of.

The emperor gave him three days, but Wei Xiang planned to use only one.

Finally, Prime Minister Wei calmly picked up the gavel on the case.

I don’t know how many years this small gavel has been used, it has been polished until it is dark and shiny, and the corners are also very sharp, emitting a black light that symbolizes power.

Maybe this thing is an ancient relic from the Qin Dynasty?

The corner of Wei Xiang's mouth twitched and he smiled, then he suddenly raised the gavel and slapped it hard on the case.

There was a "pop" sound. Although it was not too loud, it had a special magic power that cheered up all the officials in the hall.

Lecheng and Tian Yannian were even more shocked, their expressions of panic became heavier, and they knelt straighter.

"I don't want to make excuses with you two. I brought you two here today. Naturally, I want to investigate the corruption of you and others."

"This is an edict issued by the county magistrate himself. Are you two willing to recruit it truthfully?" Prime Minister Wei only said in general that he wanted to investigate corruption, but did not immediately connect the matter with Huo Guang.

"The guilty officer is willing to recruit truthfully. He dare not deceive the county magistrate. He dare not deceive the county magistrate!" Le Chenggong, who had been waiting for this moment for a long time, was very excited and quickly knocked his head on the ground. "I am willing to recruit truthfully, and I will never hide anything!" Tian Yannian was afraid of falling behind, so he immediately kowtowed several times and assured Prime Minister Wei.

"That's the best! Then let Le Chenggong answer first! Zhijinwu Anle was the first to accuse you of being greedy for ink. Are you willing to plead guilty and confess?" Wei Xiang asked straight to the point.

"The guilty officer is willing to plead guilty and confess!" Le Chenggong said hurriedly, without any resistance or sophistry, and even a little bit to please.

From the day Cheng Cheng was imprisoned, Prime Minister Wei followed the emperor's edict and carefully sorted out the fields, real estate, money, grain and all kinds of floating wealth in the name of Cheng Cheng and his family members.

There is already a clear number of the size of his family.

Prime Minister Wei originally thought that he would have to quibble a lot if he succeeded, but he didn't expect to do it so quickly, which saved him the process of questioning.

"Let's take a look, are all the property, land and houses listed in this book belong to your family?" As Prime Minister Wei said, an official placed a book in front of Le Cheng.

Le Cheng picked it up and looked at the light carefully for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Shangguan clearly understands everything, and the things listed are all the concubines of the guilty officials."

"Do you have anything to hide?"

"The guilty minister dare not hide anything!"

"Then just draw the pledge!" Wei Xiang smiled contemptuously.

Le Cheng obediently signed his name on the last page of the book. The subordinate officer took the book back and presented it to Prime Minister Wei. After reading it, Prime Minister Wei finally nodded with satisfaction.

"All the families have a total of 600 million yuan, but the rewards and salaries you have received over the years only add up to 200 million yuan. Adding in the 100 million yuan left by your ancestors, there is an extra 300 million yuan."

"Where did this extra 300 million money come from? Get it quickly!" Wei Xiang gradually entered the topic.

After listening to the question, Li Chenggong raised his eyes and secretly glanced at Tian Yannian beside him, seeming to have some hesitation and hesitation.

Once you open your mouth, there is no turning back.

"Bold success! Look at what he did. Could it be that he wanted to collude with him to confess, but he failed. He must be recruited quickly, otherwise he will be severely punished immediately!" Wei Xiang slammed the gavel tree and yelled.

"Yes, yes, yes... The guilty party realized that he was wrong, and he immediately recruited him. This, this extra 300 million yuan is..."

Before the panic-stricken Success could finish these words, Tian Yannian suddenly took two steps forward and shouted out first: "Wei Gong, those millions of dollars were given to him by the lower officials!"

Tian Yannian snatched Le Cheng's words, which made Le Cheng's already haggard expression even more ugly, and his eyes looking at Tian Yannian were full of resentment.

This is not a grab for words, it's simply a grab for success's way of survival.

As for Tian Yannian, of course he was a little proud. He should have taken over as Taichang that day, but he was successfully intercepted by Hu. The two even fought under the North Tower because of this.

If he could successfully forget about it, Tian Yannian would still remember it in his heart.

Of course, Prime Minister Wei understood clearly that Tian Yannian wanted to take credit!
Wei Xiang smiled, this was a good sign, let's see who confesses faster.

"Tian Yannian, do you know the whole story?"

"The officer knows!"

"Okay, then it's up to you. If you can accuse yourself of crimes and accuse others of crimes, your sentence can be reduced as appropriate!"

"No!" The dark and thin Tian Yannian's eyes immediately lit up, and Cheng Cheng, who was a step too late, could only blame himself for being too hesitant.

After Prime Minister Wei asked the secretary in charge of writing the love letter to prepare the records, he motioned to Tian Yannian to continue.

Tian Yannian did not hesitate and immediately told the whole story.

"There is a brother-in-law in the sinner's family, named Dongmen Ba."

"The business of transporting people by carriage and horse, there are more than 3000 carriages..."

"Every year, the money and grain sent to Chang'an from various counties in Guandong must be transported by his carriages and horses once they enter the territory of Guanzhong."

"If you don't use his carriages and horses for transportation, then whether you go to the city or the Yamen, or go to the warehouse under Da Sinong for delivery, you will be in trouble."

"Because the price is not too high, over time all the counties in Guandong are willing to leave this matter to my brother-in-law."

"After one year, the income is quite high!"

……

Humans are such strange animals. Sometimes they will use all means to save their own lives.

This is consistent with the Confucian concept of "there are differences in love"
Love yourself first, then your relatives, then your teachers, relatives and friends, your hometown neighbors, and finally everyone in the Han Dynasty.

Now, in order to save his own life, Tian Yannian threw away his wife's brother and his wife's family without any hesitation or guilt.

Survive, there is no shame in it!
In fact, throughout Chang'an City, there are many people with the surname Tian.

Tian Yannian, Tian Guangshun, and Tian Qianqiu are all prominent figures in the Tian surname.

Although they do not belong to the same family, they are all descendants of the Qi royal family who were forcibly moved to Chang'an from the land of Qilu.

Tian Yannian's background was not high. He started as a small subordinate officer in General Huo Guang's palace, and successively served as General Commander Shi and Hedong Governor, and was promoted to the rank of chief agricultural officer.

And his wife's family was even more humble. It was only through the help and communication of Tian Yannian after he became an official that he gradually became a well-known wealthy family in Chang'an.

Now, in order to save his own life, Tian Yannian threw them out as his surrender, which was only natural.

"What is the business name of Dongmen Ba?" Wei Xiang asked knowingly.

"Dongmen Ma." Tian Yannian replied impatiently.

In the Han Empire, business names were often formed by the surname of the owner and the business he did. Sometimes they would also take an auspicious word as the name.

Just now, when Wei Xiang heard that Tian Yannian's brother-in-law was called Dongmen Ba, he immediately guessed that this company was the famous Dongmen Horse - the most famous carriage and horse transport company in Chang'an and even Sanfu.

"Jian Kou!" Wei Xiang shouted.

"Wei!" Jian Kou, who only had one eye, came to the hall from both sides.

Jian Kou made great contributions when Anle annihilated the "rebellious bandit" Su Chang, so Anle naturally brought him from Zuo Fengyi to Zhijinwu.

Also brought along were the three hundred Mingguang soldiers: of course, this matter was approved by the emperor.

When he was in the Changyi Kingdom, Jian Kou served as the subordinate of An Le, who was the Prime Minister of Changyi at that time, and was responsible for arresting thieves and thieves for An Le.

Now, Jian Kou's official position is Changyi Lang Sima of Bi Qianshi - responsible for training Changyi Lang.

However, these Richang Yilang still did not have new regular soldiers, so they did not need training, so they stayed under Anle to concurrently serve as the subordinates of the sect, and continued to lead the Mingguang soldiers.

Anle thought that the emperor assigned Jian Kou to him as a sign of trust and reliance on him, but he never thought that it was also a kind of surveillance on him.

Today, Anle lent Zhijinwu's main hall to Prime Minister Wei, and also left Jian Kou and Mingguang soldiers to be used by Prime Minister Wei. It cannot be said that he is not doing his best.

"Immediately order a hundred bright soldiers, surround Dongmen Ba's house, and then escort the suspect Dongmen Ba and his account books to the main hall."

"Wei!" Jian Kou, who was always silent, immediately took the order and left.

Prime Minister Wei looked at Tian Yannian again, and then asked: "How much money can Dongmen Ba make in a year from the carriage and horse transport business?"

"About 4000 million yuan." Tian Yannian wiped the sweat from his forehead and said this astonishing number with some hesitation.

4000 million yuan is more than the entire year's taxes for a large county with [-] households!This windfall alone is equivalent to a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!
It's shocking!

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(End of this chapter)