Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 279: One foot higher than the other

Yuan Wenshao walked out of the hall and faintly heard the sound of porcelain falling from the hall.

"Bastard!"

Zhao Zongquan slammed the tea cup off the table, his face ashen.

"The officials calm down."

Manager Shen comforted him: "General Geng is loyal to the government and would not do such a thing. There may be some misunderstanding."

"Ah!"

Zhao Zongquan sneered and said: "Misunderstanding? If there is any truth, Yuan Wenshao would not dare to come to me. Loyalty and greed cannot be confused at all."

It is said that loyal ministers must be honest and traitorous ministers must be greedy.

However, Zhao Zongquan scoffed at this and did not agree with it.

People have selfish motives, and he has no doubts about Geng Jiechuan's loyalty to him, but he is not surprised that he would do such a thing.

Zhao Zongquan was not angry with Geng Jiechuan for being greedy for money. Although Geng Jiechuan was greedy for some money, he did so in a measured manner. He did not deduct the soldiers' rations, but only used old grains instead of new grains.

He was angry that Geng Jiechuan couldn't understand why he did such a thing at such a time and was discovered by others.

Yuan Wenshao noticed it, but it was inevitable that others would not notice it.

"Go, send someone to summon Geng Jiechuan into the palace!" Zhao Zongquan said.

"Yes." Manager Shen quickly ordered someone to summon Geng Jiechuan.

……

Fuyan Palace, back garden

Although it is almost May, the flowers are still in full bloom in the garden.

Because there are people taking care of the garden, the garden is very pleasing to the eye.

There is a large lake in the garden, and a large viewing pavilion is built in the lake.

The Queen Mother was sitting by the pavilion, holding a fish food box in her hand, holding the fish food and scattering it into the lake, causing the fish in the lake to fight for it.

A young eunuch came over. Zhu Neiguan on the side saw it and hurriedly greeted him.

The little eunuch whispered a few words into Zhu Neiguan's ear, and then withdrew.

Zhu Neiguan returned to the Queen Mother and waved to the palace maid and eunuch standing beside her.

The Queen Mother threw a handful of fish food into the water, watched the fish fight for it, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Back to the Queen Mother, I have just received news that General Geng Jiechuan, Bo of Dongyang, has exchanged the new grain for old grain to make a profit. At this time, he was summoned by the officials to reprimand him." Zhu Neiguan said.

"Haha, this man, like this fish, obviously eats a lot, but when he encounters food, he still has to fight for it. Coming from a small place, it is inevitable to be greedy for money when he reaches a high position. Even if he is a small family, he is a little angry. "The Queen Mother said, grabbing a handful of fish food and scattering it.

Hearing this, Zhu Neiguan said: "What the Queen Mother said is true, but this is a good opportunity. Do you want to take advantage of it and do something?"

The Queen Mother clapped her hands and said thoughtfully: "Forget it, it's not a big deal. It's not easy to alert the enemy."

"Old slave, I understand." Zhu Neiguan said.

"By the way, who discovered what happened this time?" the Queen Mother asked.

"It was Marquis Zhongyong who reported it to the officials alone." Zhu Neiguan replied.

"Marquis Zhongyong is a loyal minister, what a pity." The Queen Mother shook her head.

People's greed is infinite. If Yuan Wenshao fails to show up and Geng Jiechuan continues to be greedy, and waits for him to do something even more egregious, Zhao Zongquan will not be able to protect him.

Now the most he can do is to be demoted, which is not worth her taking action.

"Concubine Liu Guifei gave birth to a baby brother a few days ago. Please send more supplements to the Ai family," the Queen Mother said.

"Yes." Zhu Neiguan responded.

……

Yuan Wenshao presented the memorial alone because he wanted to minimize the impact of this incident.

Even if someone finds out later, it can be said that Zhao Zongquan has already been punished.

However, Yuan Wenshao knew very well that Han Zhang could not let him get away with it so easily, and there would definitely be a back-up plan.

When he got home, he asked Zhang An to pay attention to the news outside.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for news to spread in Bianjing about Geng Jiechuan's exchange of old grain for new grain.

When Yuan Wenshao learned about it, he sneered in his heart, knowing that it was Han Zhang's handiwork.

Han Zhang wanted him to report Geng Jiechuan and offend the ministers of Qiandi in Yuzhou as a testimonial.

Yuan Wenshao chose to present the memorial in private, and Han Zhang was definitely dissatisfied with this.

After he reported it, he sent people to spread the news. Regardless of whether he did it or not, Geng Jiechuan would think it was him.

Perhaps the smart ones among those in Yuzhou thought that Yuan Wenshao was not responsible.

But does that matter?

They have a closer relationship with Geng Jiechuan. As long as Geng Jiechuan thinks that Yuan Wenshao did it, he will definitely target Yuan Wenshao.

Those people will definitely side with Geng Jiechuan by then.

Yuan Wenshao had expected this and didn't care.

He is not afraid of Han Zhang doing anything, but he is afraid that Han Zhang will not do anything.

As the old saying goes, if you do too much, you will be wrong; if you do not, it will be good.

It would be most troublesome if Han Zhang kept hiding behind the scenes.

Whenever he does it, it leaves a mark.

As long as Han Zhang is attracted to take action, Zhao Zongquan will also notice it.

……

Rumors were spreading all over Bianjing City, and naturally they could not be hidden from Zhao Zongquan.

Zhao Zongquan was furious when he learned about it, and his first thought was that Yuan Wenshao did it.

But he soon realized that Yuan Wenshao was not that stupid.

Despite this, he still asked people to investigate carefully, but no clues were found.

Of course, no clues related to Yuan Wenshao were found.

Zhao Zongquan had no choice but to ask people to continue to investigate who spread the rumors.

In addition, Zhao Zongquan also sent people to find out who was dealing with Geng Jiechuan.

He had asked Geng Jiechuan before, but Geng Jiechuan told him that a Jiangnan businessman found him, and he agreed because of his greed.

After Zhao Zongquan heard this, he called Geng Jiechuan a fool.

Although there are canals, the cost of transporting grain from Jiangnan to Bianjing is much cheaper than the land route.

However, the gap between old grain and new grain is not very big. If grain is really transported from Jiangnan, there will be no profit after taking into account the cost.

Only an idiot like Geng Jiechuan would believe this.

However, Zhao Zongquan was not in the mood to think about it at this time, because his imperial case was already full of memorials to impeach Geng Jiechuan.

These memorials all requested him to deal with Geng Jiechuan. The most minor ones were to remove his title and official position, and the most serious ones even asked him to assassinate Geng Jiechuan.

Zhao Zongquan was ready to kill Geng Jiechuan at this time, but he understood that this time the civil servants collectively petitioned for impeachment, just like his previous attempt to pursue his biological father as the emperor, it was actually for the same reason.

He originally wanted to pursue his biological father as the emperor because he wanted to force the Queen Mother to return to power.

The impeachment of Geng Jiechuan by the civil servants at this time was a confrontation between him and the civil servants.

He couldn't give in.

Therefore, Geng Jiechuan must keep it no matter what.

However, this matter was not fabricated out of thin air. This is what caused Zhao Zongquan a headache.

Although those memorials did not mention any evidence, Zhao Zongquan did not dare to use this as an argument, just in case someone had evidence.

Fortunately, none of the ministers in the court followed the petition to force the palace, which made Zhao Zongquan heave a sigh of relief. But this is only temporary. Tomorrow is the morning court, so he can't make excuses not to have the morning court.

Even if today is taken away, it will still be useless if the matter is not resolved.

Zhao Zongquan thought for a long time, but couldn't think of any good way, so he summoned Han Zhang into the palace.

What happened with Geng Jiechuan is a fact. If you call others over, they will probably say that they should do it according to the law.

He had Han Zhang's clues in hand, and he consciously controlled Han Zhang very well, so he only passed on Han Zhang.

"I see your Majesty!" Han Zhang saluted.

Zhao Zongquan waved his hand, asked someone to sit down, and sent the waiter away, saying, "You should have heard about Geng Jiechuan's use of old grain for new grain. I want to keep him, is there anything you can do?"

After Han Zhang got the summons, he guessed why Zhao Zongquan was looking for him, and he had already been worried about it.

Hearing this, he hesitated for a long time and said: "Guan family, this matter is now spreading like wildfire. If we don't deal with it, it will be difficult to stop the world from talking about it."

Zhao Zongquan said irritably: "Of course I know what you said, and I didn't say there would be no punishment at all, but seizing the title and stabbing the wife is not enough."

"this…"

Han Zhang frowned in embarrassment and began to think deeply. Zhao Zongquan did not urge him.

"Officials, I have a way to try." Han Zhang said after thinking for a long time.

"What can we do? Come quickly!" Zhao Zongquan said excitedly.

"It's definitely not possible to not punish him. According to the official's wishes, after much deliberation, I have only one option: to punish Uncle Dongyang to supervise the imperial mausoleum." Han Zhang said.

What Han Zhang said about supervising the imperial mausoleum was not to guard the imperial mausoleum, but to supervise the imperial mausoleum that was being built for Zhao Zongquan.

The imperial mausoleum of the ancient emperor was a very huge project, and it was naturally impossible to wait for the emperor to die before building it.

Generally speaking, after the emperor ascended the throne, he would choose a site to signal the people to start construction.

However, Zhao Zongquan came to the throne not long ago, and the treasury has little money, so it is currently just looking for a site and has not yet officially built it.

Participating in the construction of the emperor's mausoleum is considered an honor in serious terms.

But in fact, the benevolent sees benevolence and the wise see wisdom.

This is like being buried for the emperor, it is an honor to say it.

But who really wants to?

This kind of thing sounds glorious to say, but in fact it feels very alienating in my heart.

The most important thing is that building an imperial mausoleum for the emperor is still a very dangerous job.

Whenever something goes wrong, your head will be lost.

After hearing this, Zhao Zongquan thought carefully and finally understood what Han Zhang meant.

Letting Geng Jiechuan supervise the construction of the imperial mausoleum was actually an excuse. It not only punished Geng Jiechuan, but also preserved his title and rank.

Just wait until the wind blows over and find an opportunity to move to another position.

Zhao Zongquan pondered for a while and asked, "Is there no other way?"

If possible, he didn't want to give in at all.

Han Zhang shook his head when he heard this and said, "I really can't think of any other way."

"Okay, please step back." Zhao Zongquan said.

"Yes, I will retire."

Han Zhang left the hall with a smile on his face.

Yuan Wenshao had a plan in mind, and he could guess it.

After all, he told Yuan Wenshao all his 'ideas' two days ago, which was actually a threat.

Yuan Wenshao knew his secret, and if he didn't cooperate with him, there would be a fight to the death between the two.

Yuan Wenshao had no choice but to agree, naturally reluctantly.

Now he is giving advice to the officials because he himself has no intention of doing anything to Geng Jiechuan.

If Geng Jiechuan was deprived of his title, although his hatred for Yuan Wenshao would be even stronger, with his status, he would no longer be able to cause any trouble to Yuan Wenshao.

Now let Geng Jiechuan sit on the bench. With the official's mentality, it won't be long before he is reinstated.

This will not only cultivate Geng Jiechuan's arrogance, but also give Geng Jiechuan the ability to deal with Yuan Wenshao.

Yuan Wenshao was targeted by those in Yuzhou, and finally had no choice but to lean on him.

It is said that the taller the devil, the taller the devil. The two plotted against each other to see who would win in the end.

……

Just as Zhao Zongquan thought, many officials began to report to the court early the next day, demanding severe punishment for Geng Jiechuan.

Zhao Zongquan had no choice but to announce the punishment of Geng Jiechuan in response to the requests of many officials.

With a rod of forty, he was punished to supervise the construction of the imperial mausoleum.

Some officials were still a little dissatisfied with this punishment, but Zhao Zongquan said that if anyone was dissatisfied, he would be asked to supervise the construction of the imperial mausoleum.

This time, no one spoke immediately.

……

Yuan Wenshao returned to the military camp the next day after the memorial. When the imperial edict came to the military camp, he knew the outcome and didn't think much about it.

Zhao Zongquan would not punish Geng Jiechuan severely. He had already expected it.

The imperial decree was spread to the army, and in order to serve as a warning, Zhao Zongquan was executed directly in the army according to Zhao Zongquan's wishes.

Geng Jiechuan was also a man. Although Forty Sticks did not deliberately strike hard, there were so many people in the army watching that it was difficult to hold back.

But when he was beaten, he didn't make any sound, and he gritted his teeth and endured it.

He just kept looking at Yuan Wenshao, full of resentment.

Yuan Wenshao frowned slightly, knowing that the rift between the two was forged.

Although Geng Jiechuan didn't deal with him before, he was more just jealous and wanted to embarrass him.

Now Geng Jiechuan thinks that his current fate is all caused by him, and he hates him completely.

Yuan Wenshao didn't take Geng Jiechuan seriously at all. Geng Jiechuan was simple-minded. If he didn't have the identity of a potential minister, it wouldn't be too easy to deal with him.

On the contrary, people like Han Zhang are a big trouble.

Not long after Geng Jiechuan was taken away, Gu Tingye came to the rear army camp.

Yuan Wenshao ordered people to bring him in and waited in the tent.

Not long after, Gu Tingye walked in with a solemn expression.

"Erlang, you are reckless this time."

"Regarding Geng Jiechuan's matter, I don't think I was wrong." Yuan Wenshao said calmly.

Even if Han Zhang didn't force this matter, he still couldn't pretend he didn't know it after knowing it.

After all, he is the coach of the rear army. If someone else finds out and reports him, he will not be able to escape accountability at that time.

"Then you don't need to report it yourself. You can tell Uncle Shen, or tell King Huan, or even tell me." Gu Tingye said.

"Zhonghuai, you think things are too simple. Tell Uncle Shen, can he expose Geng Jiechuan? As for King Huan, that's even worse. If there is something, don't go to the official family, but tell King Huan first. If it's What will the officials think if they find out?" Yuan Wenshao shook his head.

"What about me? Tell me, I have a good relationship with Lao Geng. If I persuade him to plead guilty in front of officials, he will definitely listen." Gu Tingye said.

"Zhong Huai!"

Yuan Wenshao's tone became a little more serious and he said: "Do you think you are still the same as you were in Yuzhou? People will change."

He felt that Gu Tingye was too naive. Geng Jiechuan didn't think that what he did was a big deal at all. Gu Tingye actually wanted to persuade him to plead guilty.

"Then have you thought about the consequences of doing this?" Gu Tingye said with a solemn expression.

"Zhong Huai, this has already happened. There is no point in talking about it now. I have something to tell you." Yuan Wenshao said.

If Gu Tingye didn't come to him, he would find an opportunity to come to Gu Tingye.

(End of this chapter)