Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 457 Crime
Lou Shide's suggestion was obviously recognized by Li Zhi.

Li Zhi's status was too high, and he did not understand the relationship between the Xuanbao Office and the Dibao. In his perception, these things did not exist. He only thought that the court's decrees were issued to various places through local government offices.

They don’t know that local governments are only responsible for announcing decrees related to them, and matters unrelated to them are not included.

The newspaper office, on the other hand, would summarize all matters of importance in the government and then communicate them to every place where there was a newspaper office through its own internal channels.

As long as you are in the newspaper office, you can learn about the major and minor events that have happened in the Tang Dynasty in recent years.

Of course there is a prerequisite, this news is for you to see.

Li Zhi was so smart that he immediately understood the twists and turns behind it. How could such matters be controlled by the gentry and powerful families?
After a few days of discussing the model of the Hanging Newspaper Office, the Shangzouyuan was established, and then the Dibao was changed to Shangzouyuan Zhuang...

Li Zhi's reaction was within Chen Qingsi's expectations. As long as Li Zhi knew what was in the newspaper office, it would be impossible for him to do nothing without asking.

Not to mention that they could make some extra money by selling "Shangzouyuanzhuang", even if they set up another agency, the court would have to keep it under control even if it did not cost them anything.

This is a question of the right to speak...

However, Chen Qingsi was a little powerless to complain about Li Zhi's naming skills.

This memorial court is just passable, but its reports are not as good as those in the imperial court.

It had only been a day or two since Lou Shide took up his post in Beijing when he caused such a big fuss and immediately became the center of public opinion.

Wei's residence in the south of Chang'an City.

The ancient and heavy mansion was brightly lit.

Li Chongde and Wei Xi drank and chatted happily, talking about the current political situation.

Lou Shide is naturally the best topic.

Li Chongde said indignantly: "Brother Mengcheng, where did Lou Shide come from? I heard that he was transferred from the south and took up the post not long ago, and he dared to be so arrogant. Is he going to make trouble?"

Wei Xi filled his glass with wine, drank it all in one gulp, and chuckled, "We have known each other for many years. If you have anything to say, just say it directly. We are all fish in the same pond, so there is nothing that cannot be said."

Li Chongde immediately smiled and said, "That's right. Alas, it's all the fault of those stubborn old men. They wanted to see how your Wei family would react, so they sent me here to get the news."

The Jingzhao Wei family was not as popular as the five Guandong families, but because they were based in Chang'an and neighbors with the royal family, they had a close relationship with the royal family since the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and many of their noble ladies married into the royal family. Because of their close relationship, the people in the city said, "Wei and Du in the south of the city are five feet away from the sky."

We are talking about the Wei and Du families in the south of the city, which are only five feet away from the Tian family.

In the city of Chang'an, the Wei family is the one with the most say.

For this reason, the newspaper office in Chang'an was opened by the Wei family.

With the help of this newspaper, the Wei family got to know many talented people who came to Beijing to report on their work. They either made friends with them and supported each other, or directly married noble ladies from the family to them to become the sons-in-law of the Wei family.

The Xuanbao Office was of great significance to the Wei family. Now Lou Shide's impeachment letter had exposed the inside story of the official newspaper, forcing the court to set up a new Shangzouyuan to deal with it.

Although the imperial court did not explicitly ban newspapers, the main selling point of newspapers was the court's current political trends. Now that the court was personally responsible for them, the current political trends were obviously faster and more accurate, and best represented the court's intentions.

No matter how fast the internal channels of the wealthy families were, they could not match the speed of the imperial court delivering official documents through the post stations.

Without the same authenticity and speed, the newspaper office has completely lost its competitiveness and naturally has no need to exist.

The reform of the Memorial Court this time did not only hurt the Wei family. Many newspaper offices across the country were divided up by local wealthy families or aristocratic families. Most of them were affected and lost a place to discover and accept talents.

It’s just that the Wei family was the first to be hit…

Everyone is watching how the Wei family responds.

Wei Xi is a descendant of Wei Xiaokuan, Duke of Yun and Grand Tutor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He is a direct descendant of the Wei family and an elite trained by the family. Since his good friend came to his house today, he had already guessed his purpose.

"Don't think too much. My family supports all of your majesty's policies. The ancestor has decided to shut down the newspaper office in Chang'an City, reorganize it, and open a bookstore."

Li Chongde didn't expect the Wei family to be so clean and tidy. "Is it really that easy?"

Wei Xi said, "What else can we do? After all, the arm cannot twist the thigh. What's the point of struggling when we know the outcome?"

There was also a hint of helplessness in his words.

The Wei family is indeed superior in front of others, but compared with Emperor Li Zhi, they are no different from ordinary people.

Li Chongde thought about it and it made sense. When facing a tough emperor, their style has always been to retreat again and again and place their hopes on the future, rather than stubbornly choosing to confront the royal family head-on.

"This matter cannot be reversed and cannot be forced. Have you investigated Lou Shide? Does he have any background? We must not set this precedent. If this trend is allowed to develop, it will not be good for us!"

Others may not be unaware of the hidden dangers of hanging newspapers, but too many interests are involved.

The wealthy and powerful families did not dare to confront the royal family head-on, but they could work together to suppress and isolate a certain official.

Once they take action, they usually target not one person, but an entire clan.

It will not only affect one person's career, but also the future of the entire family.

In this era of strong clannish thinking, this is very fatal.

Wei Xi said: "The original warriors from Zhengzhou..."

Li Chongde thought: "They are just local commoners, the easiest to deal with."

"In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Lou Shide passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi..."

Li Chongde thought again: "The number one scholar in the Zhenguan era is nothing."

The concept of the top scholar before Chen Qingsi implemented the imperial examination reform was different from that after it.

Instead, it proves that Lou Shide did not have deep connections. If he really had connections, who would have taken the imperial examinations in that era?

"I have been the commander of Jiang for ten years. I was promoted two months ago and came to Beijing to take up the post."

Li Chongde had a dead look on his face and said with a smile: "So he is just a show-off..."

In his eyes, people like Lou Shide, who had no status or background, worked hard in one place for ten years and finally made his way forward based on his seniority, and then once he gained power, he felt that he could turn the tide in the government, relying on his passion and recklessness, were just ignorant young people who were just trying to attract attention.

It's the easiest to deal with this kind of person...

Wei Xi did not finish his words, and added: "He has a close relationship with Minister Chen."

Li Chongde immediately responded: "No wonder you are so confident!"

Then he stopped talking and his attitude changed completely.

Wei Xi smiled when he saw this, and wanted to make a joke with his friend, but before he could say anything, he laughed at himself. What right did he have to make fun of others?
Chen Qingsi is now at the peak of his power, and even a prime minister like Xu Jingzong is unwilling to be his enemy.

Who dares to touch the people he is protecting?

If the ancestor of their Wei family did not want to take action against Lou Shide, he would not have investigated all of his deeds so thoroughly. If he really dared to show his sword, there would not be no news until now.

Wei Xi said: "Nothing can be done, and people cannot be moved, just accept your fate!" Li Chongde shook his head helplessly and sighed: "It is really a troubled time..."

After Emperor Taizong Li Shimin passed away, Li Zhi came, Li Yifu died, and there was an even more powerful Chen Qingsi...

Where do all these terrible people come from in this poor family?

Thinking of Li Yifu for no apparent reason, Li Chongde suddenly shuddered. Even though he knew that Li Yifu was dead, he still couldn't help but feel scared when he thought of him.

I don't know when it will start...

Li Chongde chatted with Wei Xi for a long time, then said goodbye and left.

Li Chongde drank a lot of wine and was a little drunk, but he still told the Li family's manager in Chang'an the news he had found out.

If it was as he imagined, when he found out that Chen Qingsi was standing behind Lou Shide, there would be no further follow-up.

He returned to his home, washed off the alcohol on his body with the help of his maid, and went to his study alone to read quietly.

Reviewing the past to learn new things, even they need to persist in reading to maintain their cultural level and maintain their competitiveness.

When he arrived at the desk, he couldn't help but frown: there was a folded book on his desk.

Li Chongde did not like others disturbing him while he was reading, nor did he like outsiders entering his study. Except when he needed to dry books, he allowed servants to enter the study to help. At other times, he would rather take care of it himself than let outsiders touch his books.

Now there is an extra folded book on the desk for no apparent reason. Who is this stupid servant who brought this upon himself?

A murderous look appeared in Li Chongde's eyes. He picked up the folded book and opened it to take a closer look.

In an instant, his face turned pale and his body shook like a sieve.

This book is full of his crimes...

If this letter is seen by someone with ulterior motives, it would not only lead to the loss of office, but also the loss of life.

"Who?"

"who is it?"
-
The Chen family residence.

Chen Qingsi was chatting with Zhang Jianzhi.

The main reason for calling Zhang Jianzhi here was to ask about the situation of the Wu family.

After the Fengshan ceremony, he was busy preparing for the strategic layout with Tubo and Daqin. He did not pay attention to the Wu family for a while, nor did he hear any gossip about the Wu family. During that period of time, the Wu family disappeared directly from his memory.

It was not until that day when he saw Empress Wu reviewing memorials that Chen Qingsi remembered the existence of the Wu family.

The Wu family's low-key attitude was somewhat abnormal. Chen Qingsi did not dare to be careless and called Zhang Jianzhi to ask about the situation.

Zhang Jianzhi's position had nothing to do with the Wu family, but he worked in the Dali Temple and had a certain understanding of various cases within the capital.

Especially since the Wu family had a huge social status, once they caused trouble, ordinary government offices would not dare to ask too many questions, and most of them would push the case to the Dali Temple for handling.

Whenever the Wu family caused trouble, the case would most likely be transferred to the Dali Temple, unless it was a trivial conflict.

Zhang Jianzhi was one of the few people who knew that Chen Qingsi opposed Empress Wu's involvement in politics, and he would also keep an eye on the movements of the Wu family.

However, after the Fengshan ceremony, Zhang Jianzhi did not receive any news that the Wu family was bullying others by abusing their power.

"Except for Wu Min, everyone else in the Wu family seems to have kept a low profile because of Wu Shun's mistress incident and the rumors of Empress Wu's enthronement."

Wu Minzhi is still as high-profile as ever, but his high profile comes from his youthful vigor and frivolity. This is a problem of work style. If he occasionally conflicts with others, it is just the nonsense between people of the same level and he does not bully others by taking advantage of his power.

"If you can keep a low profile, that's a good thing..."

Chen Qingsi knew in his heart that he was just daydreaming, but he had no idea what to do at the moment and could only think this way.

Chen Qingsi asked about Lou Shide's situation again.

Zhang Jianzhi said: "Doctor Lou has been integrated into our Qingliu School and has been recognized by most people. I have also had contacts with Doctor Lou. Doctor Lou is calm and steady, and handles things in a proper way. I admire him very much."

Chen Qingsi felt relieved.

Gold is gold after all. As long as you give it a chance and wipe off the dust on it, it will surely shine.

This is the situation with Lou Shide now. He became famous in Chang'an because he boldly revealed the inside story of the newspaper office.

When a person becomes famous, he is bound to be questioned by others.

Relying on his own talent and ability, Lou Shide convinced those who doubted him and gained his recognition.

Chen Qingsi thought to himself: According to this trend, it won’t be long before Brother Zong Ren can go to the Western Regions with a legitimate reason.

At this moment, news came from outside that Zhou Kui had returned.

Chen Qingsi's face lit up with joy, as he needed Zhou Kui to investigate the Wu family's recent unusual movements.

Zhang Jianzhi observed the man's expression and left in time.

Chen Qingsi didn't bother to be polite with him and just waved his hand. Their relationship was so ordinary that there was no need for any extra courtesy.

"Master Lang!"

Zhou Kui came from Suzhou, looking dusty and a little tired.

Chen Qingsi said "thank you for your hard work" and handed him the tea he had just made for him: "Sit down and take a sip of tea. This is osmanthus tea from Qingxi County. It tastes like your hometown."

Zhou Kui took it with both hands, sniffed the sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance, took a sip carefully, and indeed smelled a little bit of the taste of his hometown.

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Zhou Kui said excitedly, "Master, it's done."

Chen Qingsi couldn't help but smile as he said, "Tell me slowly!"

Zhou Kui said, "As the master expected, since Lord Li was suspected of being close to the master, he has been flattered by many people. Lord Li flatly denied his relationship with the master, but he himself still enjoyed that feeling. He would show off in the streets almost every day, hanging out with celebrities from all over the country who came to visit him after hearing the news."

"This good life did not make Lord Li feel comfortable for too long. Seeing that the master had no real intention to help Lord Li, he remained a bachelor. Many people began to believe what Lord Li said, and they stopped associating with him."

"Later, the Zhang family made some moves, and Lord Li became a lonely man again. This time, the humiliation was even more difficult to endure than before."

Chen Qingsi smiled and said, "He was originally a nobleman who enjoyed wealth and splendor. But one day he was trampled into the mud and became decadent and downtrodden. He regained the feeling of the past and looked back at the mud behind him. How many people are willing to go down?"

Zhou Kui said, "Mr. Li was already somewhat shaken, but then there came news that Zhang Ling was secretly kidnapped. I think it was the Red Lady who came back and learned that her father was humiliated, so she did something. Mr. Li guessed that it was the Red Lady who did it, and he was very happy. He said it himself, the girl really has feelings for him, and I can't break them up."

Hearing this, Chen Qingsi laughed out loud.

Zhou Kui continued, "I don't know what happened next. Lady Red is very skilled in martial arts, and I was afraid of being exposed, so I didn't dare to follow too closely. But Lady Red has already come to Chang'an, so I traveled day and night to report in advance."

(End of this chapter)