Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 577 The Emperor’s New Clothes

Fang Chongyong had no interest in the bridal chamber pranks. He returned to the yamen alone to read letters, and read until late at night.

When Fang Zhongyong led his troops to attack Hebei, the court in Chang'an actually sent several waves of people to deliver letters. Some came on behalf of Brother Ji to "admit their mistakes", and some came on behalf of Li Heng to win over the emperor. The only difference was that the time of signing the letters was different.

Now when I pick up these letters again, the times have changed and they are no longer relevant. The promises made in the letters are like carving a boat to find a sword. It is a joke to mention them again, and it makes people laugh and cry.

Fang Zhongyong rubbed his sore eyes, and then he saw from the corner of his eye that Da Zhenhui was still sorting books and letters by the bookshelf and categorizing them.

Books from the Tang Dynasty were all scroll books. For people who were not familiar with them, it was difficult to know the content of each specific scroll without unfolding it, so organizing books on a daily basis was also a hassle.

Similar things in the government office are done by special clerks. However, Fang Zhongyong has many secrets here, so it is inconvenient to let others do it.

Looking at Da Zhenhui's slender back, Fang Zhongyong did not feel any desire in his heart. Instead, he felt that the other party... looked like a librarian!

"Come and rest for a while."

Fang Zhongyong waved to Da Zhenhui and said.

Da Zhenhui, who was organizing books, stopped, turned around, walked over and sat opposite Fang Zhongyong.

Normally this young lady is very taciturn and doesn't like to talk, but when she sees things like book copywriting, she becomes obviously excited.

“There are two ways of governing a country: moral governance and legal governance. Moral governance is to persuade people to be good and abide by the rules in order to achieve long-term peace and stability; legal governance is to restrain people with laws and punish those who violate the rules.

If you were an emperor, which one would you choose? "

Fang Chongyong asked while casually flipping through the book, simply wanting to see what Da Zhenhui would say.

"It's obviously rule by virtue. Rule by law is not very useful."

Da Zhenhui blurted out the answer almost without thinking.

This answer surprised Fang Zhongyong. He asked with interest, "Why do you think so?"

“Even if there are laws, there is often a lack of people to enforce them. People who enforce the law may also break the law, and to supervise them, more people are needed to enforce the law.

This cycle is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and wastes money and grain in vain. It is a pity that the government collects taxes and wastes them in this way. Won't the people's lives become more difficult because of this?

It is better to rule by virtue, because the rule of law is too slow to take effect and too costly.”

Da Zhenhui spoke slowly, but his logic was clear and his insights were extraordinary. He immediately grasped the essence of local governance by the Tang Dynasty government.

Many times, reality is completely contrary to intuition.

Although Fang Chongyong had watched many TV dramas about solving cases in ancient times in his previous life, in reality, those cases were all very "lucky". In other words, the level of technology at that time was extremely limited, there was no DNA testing and no cameras, so it was very difficult to solve the case.

To solve an ordinary case, a lot of manpower and material resources are needed, and all of these come from government taxes.

In other words, how could the officials of the prefecture and county yamen have so much free time to deal with these things on weekdays? This is only about criminal law. There are many other government affairs that need to be handled by people, such as collecting taxes and conscripting corvée labor.

If everything is to be "governed by law", then even if the number of existing officials is increased tenfold it would not be enough.

The ancients emphasized that there was nothing that could be done about "virtue". The formulation, promulgation, implementation, and verification of "laws" were all beyond our ability, and they just looked good.

It is quite impressive that Da Zhenhui can see this.

"You should marry into a wealthy family and become the principal wife. You will definitely be able to manage the household well. It is really unfair for you to follow me as a concubine.

If you are willing, I will take you as my sister and find you a good family in the future."

Fang Chongyong suddenly felt compassion and didn't want this young lady Da Zhenhui to waste her youth on him.

"Ah Lang, you are good to me, do other families also treat me well?
Although I am young, I will not be a servile person. "

Da Zhenhui glared at Fang Zhongyong with some resentment, lowered her head and spoke softly.

"Hahahaha, okay, okay."

Fang Zhongyong burst into laughter, hugged Da Zhenhui in his arms, and kissed her lips desperately. Da Zhenhui's mind was blank, she forgot everything, her body was uncontrollably responding to him, her heart was about to jump out of her body.

After a while, there was a knock on the study door.

Da Zhenhui, who was half naked, put on her clothes in a hurry like a frightened rabbit and hid behind the screen.

"come in."

Fang Zhongyong coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment. It was really unpleasant to be interrupted when doing something good.

"Jie Shuai..."

Guan Chongsi strode in and saw that Fang Chongyong didn't look well, so he swallowed back what he was about to say.

"Why are you in such a hurry? He Lao Hu has taken a fancy to Lady Yu Wen, so I am just going along with it. Do you also have a crush on this young lady?
Will it be difficult for me to arrange a good marriage for you in the future?"

Fang Zhongyong questioned unhappily.

"No, General Jie, Prince Yong has come to the outskirts of Kaifeng in a rage. I told them to wait outside the city because of the curfew and I came to report this to you, General Jie."

Guan Chongsi saluted Fang Chongyong with his fists clasped.

Is Prince Yong such a coward?

The situation was unexpected, and Fang Chongyong immediately became interested.

Since someone is offering to hit me, I have no choice but to teach him a lesson reluctantly.

According to Fang Chongyong's original idea, this bride-stealing was just a warning to Li Lin, to make him realize his puppet status and just be a mascot.

In fact, there was no plan to publicize the bride kidnapping.

I didn't expect Li Lin would actually come to fight for it.

Haha, the more you fight, the more you will be slapped in the face. More and more people will see that Li Lin, the "quasi-emperor" who is about to ascend the throne, can't even protect his own daughter-in-law!

Who would be willing to follow such a person sincerely?

People's hearts fade away little by little.

"Now the Hebei bandit army is eyeing us covetously. Who knows whether the one outside the city is the real Prince Yong or a bandit pretending to be Prince Yong?

Let them wait outside the city and we can talk about everything after daybreak."

Fang Zhongyong said nonchalantly.

"Understood! I will go and inspect the tower now."

Guan Chongsi breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Fang Chongyong would let Li Lin into the city, but he didn't expect that his own commander would be so arrogant.

But then again, if he wasn't domineering, he wouldn't be Fang Chongyong.

A strong army is one that has the courage to fear nothing, and will definitely dare to draw the sword when facing a strong enemy.

What a shitty puppet emperor, he really thinks he is the number one person!

Thinking of this, Guan Chongsi finally stopped worrying about being held accountable later. He turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

After he left, Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh.

Originally, the atmosphere was very good, and we could have taken advantage of the situation to take Da Zhenhui into the room. Now the atmosphere is gone, and there is no point in continuing the process, so we can only wait until later.

Da Zhenhui walked out from behind the screen, lowered her head and did not dare to look at Fang Zhongyong, with a blush on her face.

"Tell me, am I doing something wrong by helping He Lao Hu to rob his bride?"

Fang Zhongyong asked Da Zhenhui to sit opposite him and asked in a low voice.

"General Jie, when General Guan went to snatch the person, why didn't that Yuwen lady commit suicide? Why didn't her husband draw his sword?"

Da Zhenhui did not answer Fang Zhongyong's question, but instead raised two very sharp questions.

Protecting love and dignity requires a price!

Fang Zhongyong immediately understood and realized that he had been asking unnecessary questions.

The world is full of power and no reason. The weak are helpless and at the mercy of others.

But since you are weak, why don't you even have the heart to perish together with your enemies?

If Yuwen had refused to obey when Guan Chongsi was trying to snatch the bride, and Li Lin's second son Li Zhan had fought to the death... would the situation have come to this?

Most likely not. Fang Zhong was brave enough to take action against Li Lin's childless daughter-in-law, but he would definitely not do anything to his second son.

Otherwise, the show of commanding the princes by the emperor will not be able to continue.

After all, Marshal Fang Jie is not Dong Zhuo!

Although Dazhenhui's appearance was not as good as the other girls of Anaye, she was beautiful and intelligent, and had a very clear mind.

If the weak do not fight, they will be manipulated by the strong. The principles of the world are in the hands of the strong.

Because those who liked to argue with them were mostly hacked to death!

In other words, if Li Lin was really powerful, not only would Fang Chongyong be unable to do anything to him, but he would also have to guard against his own wives and concubines being touched by Li Lin!
This is a very simple truth.

Whoever is strong is right, whoever is weak should die!
Under the power of the powerful, everything depends on who holds the sharper knife, and there is no right or wrong. Fang Zhongyong protects his subordinates and seeks benefits for his subordinates. Is he wrong?
He's not wrong.

Because everyone sees that he is a righteous commander, more people will join him and more people will sing his praises.

This is the logic of the strong.

"Your father is so stupid. He gave me such a good girl for free. I got such a great bargain."

Fang Chongyong said with emotion.

"Alang, I hope you don't look down on me." Da Zhenhui muttered softly, feeling a little uneasy.

The Bohai Kingdom also believed that "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent." That is to say, even if a woman has talent, she should not show it casually, but should be more reserved.

If Fang Zhongyong hadn't asked, Da Zhenhui wouldn't have said so much. This matter may seem insignificant, but in fact, mutual trust has been established between the two of them, and they no longer regard each other as "outsiders".

"Go to bed early. There will be a good show tomorrow. You can hide behind the screen and watch it."

Fang Zhongyong said pointedly.

……

Whoa whoa!
The rooster crows and the world becomes bright!

At daybreak, the gates of Kaifeng City were opened on all four sides, a full hour earlier than those of Chang'an.

Porters carrying shoulder poles, wealthy merchants with bulging bellies, and police officers in official uniforms were all traveling between the city gates. The canal ferry was instantly bustling again, with shouts and yells coming one after another.

It must be said that Kaifeng County, with the benefit of the canal, is really a good place to do business and is very prosperous.

This small county town is completely unable to adapt to the increasingly huge commercial needs, and reconstruction and expansion are imperative.

However, these vibrant scenes of everything competing for life were so disgusting in the eyes of Prince Yong Li Lin!

He preferred the grandeur and majesty of Chang'an City. The royal family sat on sedan chairs when they went out on the streets, and the officials and servants in the palace guarded them on all sides holding signs. Many passers-by avoided them and dared not look directly at them.

That's the way he should behave!
"Can we finally enter the city?"

Yong Wang Li Lin, with dark circles under his eyes, stared at the direction of the city gate and asked Gao Shang who was beside him.

"Your Highness, I still suggest that you don't enter the city."

Gao Shang bowed to Li Lin.

"I just don't believe that Fang Qing dares to do anything to me! Let's go!"

Li Lin flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and headed for the Kaifeng city gate. Gao Shang sighed helplessly behind him, and looked at Li Yan, who looked pale, not knowing what to say.

Not to mention Li Lin, Li Huan is also a waste. He didn't stand up when he should, and now he is unwilling to stop when he should.

"Have you not heard that if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences?

Disaster is not far away! "

Gao Shang shook his head, sighed and whispered that the stupidity of Li Lin and his son was really beyond his expectations.

The group arrived at the lobby of the Bianzhou government office in a threatening manner and saw Fang Chongyong yawning and looking at the account book.

As soon as they met, Li Lin mocked him in a sarcastic tone, "General Fang Jie is so arrogant. Last night, I arrived outside Kaifeng City, but the soldiers guarding the city refused to let me in. What's the logic behind this?"

"Isn't Your Highness in Chenliu? Why is he in Kaifeng?"

Fang Chongyong pretended to be dumb and clueless. If Li Lin hadn't known this guy was cunning, he would have been fooled.

"Okay, let's not talk about this for now."

Li Lin took a deep breath, looked at Fang Zhongyong and said, "Your subordinate Guan Chongsi has taken my daughter-in-law Yuwen away. Please return her to me."

“Your Highness, Yuwen has been abused for a long time. It was only because she asked to leave that General Guan took her away.

Moreover, although General Guan was in the army, he was a gentleman and did not do anything to Yuwen.

It just so happens that Yuwen wrote a letter of divorce. Li Huan, please take a look and see if there is any problem with it.

If it's ok, please sign your name and the matter will be over."

Fang Chongyong picked up the divorce letter in his hand and waved it in front of Li Lin.

Damn! It was exactly as Gao Shang expected! Li Lin was so angry that he was about to speak.

However, Gao Shang spoke before Li Lin could speak.

"General Fang Jie, words are not enough, just ask General Guan and Yuwen to come here for a confrontation."

He looked into Fang Chongyong's eyes, showing no sign of weakness.

"That's fine, let's confront each other then."

Fang Zhongyong whispered to Yan Zhuang, who was serving beside him, "Go call He Lao Hu and Yu Wenshi, and call Guan Chongsi as well, and we will settle this in the lobby of the government office."

"Your Highness, are you satisfied with this?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile on his face.

"Hmph, that's great."

Li Lin did not notice Gao Shang's worried look, and seemed to still feel that he had a sure win.

Soon, He Changqi, his newlywed wife Yuwen Jie, and Guan Chongsi who was patrolling the streets were all called over by Yan Zhuang.

The expressions of the three people are different.

He Changqi was complacent and fearless.

Yu Wenjie lowered her head with shame on her face, holding He Changqi's arm and refusing to let go.

Guan Chongsi had a playful smile on his face, ready to watch the show.

"Yuwen, I want to ask you, has Li Yan been abusing you for so long that you can no longer live?

I will only ask you once, think it through before you speak.

You just need to say yes or no, I am not interested in your family affairs!"

Fang Zhongyong stared at Yu Wen and asked.

"Yes!"

Yuwen Jie shouted loudly, then hid behind He Changqi, fearing that Li Lin and his son would pounce on her and hack her to death.

"Your Highness, you heard it just now, right? You also see the current situation, right?
Yuwen's new husband was not General Guan, nor was it Mr. Fang, but General He.

It's also true that she doesn't want to live with Li Huan, right?"

Fang Zhongyong asked with a helpless smile.

"Bitch! I'll kill you!"

Li Huan was so angry that he drew his sword and rushed towards Yuwen Jie. In a flash, He Changqi grabbed Li Huan's arm and swung it hard as if using the force of Li Huan!
This is a common trick used in fighting on the battlefield.

Unexpectedly, Li Huan's body flew backwards uncontrollably and hit the pillar in the lobby directly. The back of his head hit the pillar first, and then he fell to the ground unconscious.

Gao Shang's face turned pale, and he quickly stepped forward and placed his finger on Li Huan's nose, only to feel that the other party was barely breathing and seemed to be dying.

(End of this chapter)