Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 656: The Clown in a Dragon Robe

The construction of Bianliang City is expected to take five years, and the project will be divided into three steps.

The first step was to build the imperial palace within a year, with a length and width of about two miles. Everything the emperor needed for daily life, including the main hall for court meetings, side halls and sleeping quarters, had to be completed.

The second step was to build the inner palace within three years of the start of construction, with a length of about four miles and a width of about three miles. The six ministries, the Council of State, the Privy Council, the Imperial College and other institutions should all be complete.

The third step was to complete the outer city wall within five years of the start of construction. Its specifications were nine miles long and nine miles wide, with nine city gates and six water gates, and three rivers flowing into the city.

There are no markets in the city, and the people can freely enter and exit any area between the inner palace and the outer city.

Now, the first step has been completed on time.

In addition, Emperor Li Lin, Crown Prince Li Wei, and all of Li Lin's descendants have already moved into the palace.

Although the palace was hanging alone outside Kaifeng City, which looked a bit abrupt and uncoordinated, Li Lin finally got the grandeur he wanted.

However, the troubles Li Lin faced were not just the narrowness of the palace.

Early in the morning of that day, in front of the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace, Prime Minister and Minister of Personnel Yan Zhuang, Vice Minister of Justice Pei Min, Military Envoy of the Tax Police Corps Cui Qianyou and others, along with a group of runners and soldiers of the Tax Police Corps, lined up outside the palace gate.

There is a big drum near Donghua Gate, which is said to be used to appeal for justice. In theory, any injustice can be reported to the heavens by beating the drum, but the person beating the drum may have to pay a price.

Of course, this was caused by Fang Zhongyong, and Li Lin naturally didn't want to listen to complaints from those "victims".

In front of the drum for appealing for justice, Chenliu Prince Li Qi looked at Yan Zhuang with embarrassment, looking at a loss as to what to do.

He actually didn't want to delve into the assassination, because whether Li Lin admitted it or not, it would not change anything for Li Qi.

It's just that he wanted to let the matter go, but Yan Zhuang didn't want to do that.

In other words, Fang Zhongyong, who was behind Yan Zhuang, did not want this matter to pass by in a muddled way.

"Your Highness, what are you waiting for?"

Yan Zhuang asked softly.

"Ugh!"

Li Qi sighed and started to play the drum.

Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom!
The drums began to beat more and more.

At the canal ferry not far from the palace, a large number of passersby gradually gathered to watch the excitement. They were very interested in this, but they were also worried about getting too close and being affected.

I could only watch from afar, but I refused to leave.

"Minister Yan, is everything really okay?"

Li Qi handed the drum stick to his follower and whispered to Yan Zhuang beside him.

He really didn't want to cause trouble, but even though he didn't want to cause trouble, he couldn't avoid it.

At this time, the Donghua Gate slowly opened. Gao Shang, with bloodstains on his head tied with sackcloth, walked to the grievance drum with two eunuchs, expressionless, and nodded to Yan Zhuang.

He asked softly, "Minister Yan came to the palace early in the morning to beat the drum. What's the matter?"

"Haha, it's not me who's knocking, it's the Prince of Chenliu."

Yan Zhuang said to Gao Shang with a forced smile, pointing at Chenliu Prince Li Qi who was beside him.

"Then, may I ask, Your Highness, what injustice do you have to beat the drum for?"

Before Li Qi could speak, Yan Zhuang stepped forward with a smile, took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Gao Shang.

"Yesterday, an assassin tried to assassinate the Prince of Chenliu in public but failed and was seriously injured. Fortunately, the man was rescued and he insisted that the emperor sent him to assassinate him.

I find it unbelievable. The Emperor and the Prince of Chenliu have a deep brotherly love, so how could they do such a cruel thing?
The Prince of Chenliu never believed it, but the assassin was very confident and described it in great detail.

Therefore, I dare to ask Your Majesty to take a look at the prisoner's crimes and confessions.

There are witnesses and evidence.”

Yan Zhuang had a mysterious smile on his face, and he looked very confident.

Gao Shang shook his head and said, "Minister Yan is just making up stories. The assassin was clearly killed on the spot, so how could he come back to life as a witness? As for the physical evidence, it's even more outrageous, so let's not talk about it."

He is not a three-year-old child. Some people who were present at the time saw with their own eyes that the assassin was thrown away and even his intestines were picked out. How could he be saved?

Yan Zhuang's words were nothing but nonsense and deliberate "frame-up".

"You are a eunuch, so don't interfere in other people's affairs. The assassin is imprisoned in the prison in Kaifeng County. The emperor can visit him whenever he wants.

Just pass the message on!"

Yan Zhuang snorted coldly and had no interest in arguing with Gao Shang at all.

Gao Shang took the indictment and saw that the assassin stated who ordered him and who was behind it. Anyway, he insisted that it was the Emperor Li Lin who ordered it.

As for those "middlemen", I believe they have been controlled by Yan Zhuang now.

Gao Shang soon understood everything.

It doesn’t matter whether Li Lin admits it or not, and it doesn’t matter whether the assassin is dead or not.

Because, in this game, Yan Zhuang, or Fang Qing behind Yan Zhuang, is both the referee and the athlete, and even the venue belongs to him.

The assassin is dead, can't we just change the "assassin"? Anyway, whoever the court says is the assassin is the assassin.

Yan Zhuang himself is "Xiang Zhuang dancing with sword, aiming at Pei Gong".

And Li Lin is that "Gong Gong of Pei".

"I will report to the emperor first."

Gao Shang put the evidence against him close to his chest.

He just turned around and heard Yan Zhuang reminding him from behind:
"Marshal Fang placed the Prince of Chenliu in Chenliu with great good intentions. He hoped that the Prince of Chenliu and the emperor could be brothers, united and harmonious, and set an example for the people of the world.

If Marshal Fang knew that the emperor treated his brother like this, he would probably be sad and regretful.

Naturally, he would not do anything to the emperor, but he would definitely not be lenient towards the villains around the emperor, those bad guys who bewitched and instigated the emperor to do evil.

I hope that Eunuch Gao will report carefully and not miss any details."

At this moment, Gao Shang, who heard these words, felt as if a python had strangled his neck but had not yet tightened its grip.

I have goose bumps all over my body.

Gao Shang turned around, nodded to Yan Zhuang, said nothing, and turned to go to the Central Purple Palace.

After he entered, he did not close the door. Yan Zhuang ordered Cui Qianyou to take over the defense of Donghua Gate and wait for Li Lin's reply.

Li Qi, who had been standing there stupidly, not knowing what to say, stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Minister Yan, can I go back to Chenliu County?"

"That's natural."

Yan Zhuang nodded slightly and said.

Then he leaned close to Li Qi's ear and continued in a low voice: "Marshal Fang will do justice for your Highness. In this world, even the emperor can be replaced, but justice cannot be replaced. If the emperor does not give justice to your Highness, then the Marshal will do it for you."

This...does it need to be such a big deal?

Li Qi was shocked and felt a bit unsure of what to do. He had no choice but to change the subject. The other party praised Chong Yong and then found an excuse to leave.

……

The Purple Palace of the Bianzhou Imperial Palace.

Li Lin sat on the dragon throne, read the so-called "charges" sent by Gao Shang again and again, and sighed helplessly.

"Is Fang Qing trying to force me to death?"

He asked a little tiredly, having long forgotten the unpleasantness between him and Gao Shang last night.

"Your Majesty, in the eyes of outsiders, you have enough reasons to kill Fang Qing, Li Baochen, and even me.

But you can’t kill Li Qi.”

Gao Shang explained with a bitter face.

He did not give the specific reason because it was too obvious. If Li Lin could not even understand this, he might as well just hang himself. "So what should I do now?"

Li Lin asked with a sigh.

This kind of thing is a handle, and it is hard to say how Fang Qing will operate it. But for Li Lin himself, it is definitely not a good thing!
"Your Majesty, if you want to resolve Fang Qing's attack, there is a way to cut off the source of the problem."

Gao Shang said slowly.

"Ah? What is it? Tell me now!"

Li Lin quickly stood up and reached out to grab Gao Shang's arms, but he only grabbed one arm, and the other side was empty with only the sleeve.

Ok?
Li Lin seemed to understand something.

Gao Shang smiled and said:
"The assassin who assassinated Li Qi, as well as the people in charge of dispatching him, all acted on orders from the palace. This is certain.

However, that was not your Majesty's idea. I wanted to take revenge on Fang Qing for having his left arm cut off, and I wanted to put the blame on him.

Let me ask you, it was Fang Qing who captured Huainan, it was Fang Qing who sent Li Qi back to Bianzhou, and it was Fang Qing who assassinated Li Qi. How would people in the world view this matter?
Therefore, all of this was my idea, and Your Majesty was kept in the dark by me and had no idea about it.

That's all. "

So that’s it!
As Li Lin listened, he felt convinced.

Yes, wouldn’t it be fine if we just put all the blame on Gao Shang?

Even if Fang Qing prepared more "evidence", even if it was an ironclad case, as long as Gao Shang stood up and said that he was taking revenge on his own, wouldn't that be the end of it?
All political conspiracies will be resolved as a result.

"Would this be too cruel for you?"

Li Lin asked somewhat embarrassedly.

Even though he had already decided on this path in his heart, he was too embarrassed to say "You die for me".

"Your Majesty has been very kind to me, and I should die for you."

Gao Shang said calmly.

"Let me think about it again."

Li Lin sat down slowly and said with a long sigh.

"Your Majesty, Yan Zhuang is still waiting outside. If it's a little later, I can't guarantee that he won't do anything wrong.

For example, they would rush into the palace under the pretext of a search and plant some so-called evidence of a crime inside the palace to frame someone.

Your Majesty, please make a quick decision."

Gao Shang seemed to think that these things had nothing to do with him, and he openly gave Li Lin advice.

"Then you go first. I will find a way to get you out of prison."

Li Lin seemed to have made up his mind and said without changing his expression.

Since a person has decided to be shameless, he can do even the most shameless things with peace of mind and without any guilt.

"I will leave the palace and accept my punishment."

Gao Shang knelt on the ground and bowed to Li Lin. Then he stood up, straightened his back and walked out of the Purple Palace.

Li Lin sat on the dragon throne, staring at Gao Shang's departing back in a daze.

For a moment, he even felt that Gao Shang was the emperor, and he was just a clown in a dragon robe.

I guess everyone will think he is a coward in the future.

"Ugh!"

Li Lin let out a long sigh and collapsed on the dragon throne, motionless, like a tiger with all its bones and flesh taken away.

Only a piece of skin is left.

……

In front of the Donghua Gate of the Bianzhou Imperial Palace, Gao Shang straightened his back, without any followers around him, and walked out of the palace alone.

Yan Zhuang looked at him with curiosity, his eyes full of teasing.

Tian Khan alone exhausted all the heroic spirit of the Li family.

As a result, his descendants all became wimps living under the wings of others.

It can be said that each generation is worse than the previous one.

"Why are you alone? Where is the Emperor?"

Yan Zhuang looked Gao Shang up and down and asked with a mocking look on his face.

"The assassination of Chenliu Prince Li Qi was only because Fang Qing cut off my left arm that year. In revenge, I sent someone to assassinate Chenliu Prince in an attempt to put the blame on Fang Qing.

This matter has nothing to do with the emperor. The emperor did nothing wrong, he was just deceived by a traitor like me.

Now that the facts have been ascertained, please ask Minister Yan to send me to the Dali Temple."

Gao Shang showed no fear, his eyes met Yan Zhuang's with great momentum.

If a person is not afraid of death, then there are not many things that can scare him.

Yan Zhuang also had to admit that since Gao Shang stood up and took on everything, they really couldn't do anything to Li Lin.

This outcome is depressing, but not surprising.

"Oh? You are a eunuch, but you think a lot. You even dare to send assassins to assassinate the Prince of Chenliu.

I really don’t know whether to say you are bold or you don’t know your own limitations.”

Yan Zhuang sneered and said that Cui Qianyou had already sent a sharp soldier from the tax police corps to control Gao Shang's only arm.

"I have already pleaded guilty, what else do you want?"

Facing Yan Zhuang's sarcasm, Gao Shang was not at all intimidated and did not take it seriously at all.

"Minister Yan, why don't we first arrest the man and bring him back to the Dali Temple, and then interrogate him slowly.

After all, Marshal Fang has not returned to Bianzhou yet, so we should keep a low profile."

Cui Qianyou came over and whispered.

He didn't want to risk his future on such a meaningless thing.

It is understandable that he cooperated with Yan Zhuang to prevent assassins and came to gain political bargaining chips for Fang Qing.

But it would be unreasonable to continue doing unnecessary things and causing trouble for Li Lin when Gao Shang had already pleaded guilty.

"Right."

Yan Zhuang sighed softly, knowing that this was the way it would be today.

"Take him to the Dali Temple and have someone watch over him all the time. Don't let him commit suicide."

Yan Zhuang instructed Cui Qianyou.

"Haha, Minister Yan, you can rest assured that I will never commit suicide."

Gao Shang sneered, with an elusive weirdness in his smile.

Does this person have other purposes?

A strange thought flashed through Yan Zhuang's mind.

But I can't think about it at this moment.

He whispered a few words in Cui Qianyou's ear, then turned and left. Cui Qianyou and the soldiers of the tax police regiment who were accompanying him also slowly retreated and left the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace.

As the palace gates closed, the imperial palace fell into a deep sleep like a tired beast.

(End of this chapter)