Sui Dynasty: I, Yang Guang, am both scrupulous and stable

Chapter 340

In the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment, Su Wei, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, gently held his forehead and waved his hand to indicate to his subordinates to take the people out of the hall.

Li Yuan brought back many people every day these days, and he had to personally interrogate these people. The main ones among these people were the distinguished guests attending the eldest princess's birthday banquet that night. Each of these people was a master who was not easy to offend.

Li Yuan now has the emperor's orders. They dare not resist and can only cooperate with the investigation. However, they all feel uncomfortable being humiliated, and there are many people who hold grudges.

As a smart person like Su Wei, he naturally wanted to remove himself from this matter, but it was also difficult to disobey the emperor's order, so he had to examine them one by one.

"Li Yuan, please stay for a moment." Su Wei finally stopped Li Yuan who had just brought someone back.

"Su Shangshu, do you have any advice?"

Su Wei stood up and walked down, walked to Li Yuan with a smile, and patted his shoulder: "Tang Guogong, you and I have been working together for several days, and we haven't had time to have a good drink. Are you free today? Have a drink.”

Li Yuan couldn't refuse, so the two of them sat down at a small table in the side hall and made two dishes to go with the wine.

"Tang Guogong, sit down."

"Su Shangshu, please go first."

The two sat down, and Li Yuan filled Su Wei's glass with wine. Su Wei was a good drinker. He took a sip first, and then said, "I brought this wine from my hometown, Mr. Tang Guogong. Please try it and see if you can drink it." I’m used to drinking.”

"Good wine." Li Yuan also took a sip.

After the two had a few drinks, Su Wei said to him: "Tang Guogong, in recent days, most of the guests who went to the eldest princess's house that day have been checked, and they have not been asked why. If we continue to investigate further, There are a lot of complaints out there right now, and I’m afraid it’s easy to arouse people’s resentment.”

"Su Shangshu, we were ordered to investigate the case. It is inevitable that we will offend some people. There is nothing we can do about it. The assassination of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is related to the state. Your Majesty and the Empress would rather kill the wrong person than let it go, otherwise From now on, everyone will think that assassinating the prince is child’s play.”

"Of course I don't mean this. I just do things with a degree of relaxation. It doesn't matter if I blindly press on to find out what happened. If it is not found out in the end, then the blame of the Holy Spirit will fall on the two of us. , the grievances of these people must also fall on our heads."

Li Yuan said with a serious face: "Su Shangshu, how can you be timid because of personal honor and disgrace?"

Su Wei looked at the helpless Li Yuan and smiled bitterly. Li Yuan is such a smart person. Could Li Yuan not understand what he mentioned to Li Yuan?
Of course he understands, he understands very well, but he is not afraid because he has Yang Guang's strong support behind him. No matter what happens, Yang Guang will definitely protect him.

As a minister, he had to share his worries with the king, but he also had to consider himself. He didn't want to offend too many people because of this hot potato.

Su Wei continued: "We investigated the concubine of the King of Shu before. It was because of this that I received the news that the King of Shu was furious in the frontline camp. If Yuan Yan hadn't persuaded him, he would have rushed back to the capital to find you. Trouble."

"Su Shangshu, I'm not afraid."

More than not being afraid, I was hoping that he would come. It would be great if he came. Unfortunately, I didn't expect to be persuaded by someone.

Su Wei naturally knew that he was not afraid.

"Tang Guogong, please keep a line in your behavior so that we can meet each other in the future. They are all powerful and famous people in Daxing City. You have offended them so much. It will be so embarrassing for you to bow your head and not look up when we see them in the future."

Li Yuan didn't know it, but he just took Yang Guang's order, and he had no choice but to do this.

"Su Shangshu, the guests who came to the eldest princess's house have been screened now. Next, the refugees captured from the streets and alleys in Daxing City, as well as various gang members, will also have to be screened. These people should not need to be questioned personally by Shangshu. If Shangshu feels that If you’re tired, just ask the people below to do it.”

Su Wei didn't even raise his eyes. The gangs in Daxing City are complex. Any gang that can survive in Daxing City must have dignitaries behind it. Li Yuan wants to take action against these forces now, obviously in the name of investigation. Eliminate dissidents.

"Tang Guogong, after so many days, we still have no clue in the investigation. The investigation of these private gangs may not be of much use."

"Su Shangshu, the helpers in Daxing City know far more than we do. In the past, the investigation of cases was the same. If there were no clues, we would arrest some of them for interrogation. There is no guarantee that there will be news. You should know it."

As the Minister of Punishment, how could he not be clear about this? He did often look for clues from these people, and of course he also looked for scapegoats from these people.

Even the dignitaries themselves have been brought to court for interrogation, so the people below have no need to worry.

Su Wei stretched and said, "After these days of interrogation, I really feel that I am getting older and my energy is not as good as before. I will let the deputy take over for the next interrogation."

"Thank you for your hard work, Su Shangshu."

The two drank a few more drinks, when someone came to the door and announced: "Tang Guogong."

"whats the matter?"

"According to the confession of the head of Haihu Hall, during this period, he helped King Qin Yang Jun to find many teenage girls and send them to his mansion, where he held a large banquet, held a lot of rituals and music, and had a good time and wine every day. "

As soon as these words came out, Su Wei was slightly surprised and continued to eat the food with his head down.

Li Yuan scolded: "What kind of thing is this?! What we want is for you to investigate the case. What's the use of investigating these things."

Ying Yangwei, who was scolded, quickly knelt down and said: "My lord... Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was assassinated. His Majesty ordered that banquets and other events, arrogance, extravagance and lewdness be prohibited in Daxing City. Everyone prayed for His Majesty. Your Majesty, King Qin, openly violated His Majesty's rule." According to the regulations, my subordinates didn’t know what to do, so they came to ask the Duke for instructions.”

Li Yuan also looked troubled and looked at Su Wei: "Su Shangshu, you see His Highness King Qin openly violating His Majesty's regulations, what should we do?"

Su Wei laughed and said: "Tang Guogong, Your Majesty ordered us to only investigate the assassination of His Royal Highness. It is better not to cause other problems."

"Well... Su Shangshu is right, but King Qin's behavior does not respect the prince. He returned to the capital two days after the prince was assassinated, and his current behavior seems to be a celebration."

"Tang Guogong, you are too sensitive."

"Su Shangshu, you should understand clearly."

Su Wei bowed his head and stopped answering. He poured himself a glass of wine and said, "Wine, a glass of dark wine is a glass of wine, and a glass of clear wine is also a glass of wine. Why should we distinguish the dark wine and clear wine so clearly? Just get off it.”

But Li Yuan didn't seem to want to hear him talk about the wine, and instead said: "Su Shangshu, as ministers, we have found out that someone is not abiding by the law and openly defying His Majesty's orders. Do you think we should report it or not?"

An old Jianghu like Su Wei could tell from the very beginning when Ying Yangwei came to report that this matter was directed at him. Li Yuan spent all his energy in acting out this scene just to ask him this question.

"Tang Guogong, whether or not to report it is your business." "Su Shangshu, King Qin openly defied the emperor's orders and indulged in pleasure while the whole city was silent. You just said that this matter has nothing to do with the assassination of His Royal Highness. But it violates His Majesty’s decree, so the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishments, and it is within the scope of your authority and responsibility, Minister.”

Li Yuan took advantage of the situation and pushed the matter to Su Wei.

Su Wei understood what he meant. If Su Wei reported this matter to Su Wei, even if Su Wei was put on stage by him and reported the matter to the emperor, then everyone would think that Su Wei was on Yang Guang's side, and If Li Yuan reported this matter, the emperor would definitely feel that the prince's faction was targeting other princes, but Su Wei would not do so.

And what if Suwei knew about it but didn’t report it?Li Yuanbao might talk about this matter when he reports to the emperor. However, the emperor knew that Su Wei knew about it but did not report it, and helped Qin Wang Yang Jun to conceal the wrongdoing. So he decided that Su Wei was from the Qin Wang's faction. People may even get the emperor's blame.

This is to force Su Wei to choose a side to serve.

Su Wei smiled and said: "You will be feared later, Mr. Tang Guogong."

"Su Shangshu, you are so complimentary."

He knew that Li Yuan would not find ways to do such a thing on his own, and it must be Yang Guang who wanted to win over him.

Having been in the officialdom for so many years, he can handle such a scene, but precisely because he has been in the officialdom for so many years, he knows the importance of taking sides better than anyone else, so now is a good opportunity to take sides.

At this time, Yang Guang took sides, just to do a small favor and show goodwill to win the favor of His Highness the Crown Prince.

The prince, who is capable of both literary and military skills and has a scheming mind, seems to have no reason not to stand.

However, Su Wei did not agree straight away, but looked embarrassed: "Let's report it to the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty Duke has taken the lead in doing things. I, the Minister of Punishment, don't know as much as you, the Duke. I want to come tomorrow. It's better to hand over the coupons early, retire and return home, so as not to block the way of others."

"Why did Su Shangshu say this? You have always been the pillar of the country. Who else can sit in the position of Minister of Punishment except you? Who else can sit in the position of Minister of Justice's right servant besides you?"

"You young talents are all very capable. Even I am involved in this. It's your turn to do it."

Li Yuan immediately promised: "Su Shangshu, please rest assured. If I do too much when I am young, please bear with me, but I respect you very much and will never dare to plot against you."

Others may not believe what you say, but you must say it yourself.

Su Wei picked up the wine glass and took another sip: "The King of Qin's enjoyment violated the regulations. I will report it to His Majesty tomorrow. I just want to verify these things. I am afraid that my old bones will not be able to run away anymore, and I have to ask Duke Tang Guo You can do more for me."

"That's natural. Leave this kind of thing to us juniors."

"The dragon and phoenix among the Dukes of the Tang Dynasty will definitely be the pillars of the country in the future."

"Su Shangshu is so complimentary."

Although people in the officialdom talk a lot of convoluted words, the principle is very simple: mutual benefit leads to coexistence.

……

In the garden of Yang Guang's house, Yang Guang was sitting by the pool, feeding the fish with food in his hand.

The recovery in these days allowed him to leave the room and walk simply, but Mr. Sun still asked him to stand less and lie down more.

Li Yuan came to Yang Guang and reported today's situation.

After hearing this, Yang Guang scattered all the fish food in the lake and said: "Su Wei is a neutral faction. If you can win over him, it will be a good thing to at least make it clear that he is not an enemy. But then you will have to trouble yourself to offend him." My third brother."

"Your Highness, King Qin has a fiery temper. I'm afraid he is not that easy to deal with."

"Of course, if he wasn't hot-tempered, this wouldn't be possible. It would be best to take this opportunity to convict him of some crimes. The main thing is to protect yourself."

"It's Your Highness."

Yang Guang then asked: "Do you have any clues about who the murderer really wants to kill me?"

Li Yuan shook his head: "There are no clues. The identity of the woman is a mystery. She seems to be the kind of killer who has been trained since childhood. No information can be found. It is as if she suddenly jumped out of nowhere. The person behind it is also hiding It was extremely covert and left no clues at all.”

Yang Guang frowned slightly, not being able to find the murderer meant that he would have to continue to be afraid. If he could assassinate once, he might assassinate a second time.

"It's impossible to suddenly appear or disappear suddenly. There must be some clues. The other party knows about the eldest sister's birthday party and arranged for people to go there. Then there must be people among the people invited by the eldest sister. We must have missed something key. information."

Yang Guang thought about it and then asked: "Give me a list of people attending the eldest sister's birthday party."

Li Yuan had already carried this thing on his back and ordered someone to bring it to Yang Guang and said: "Your Highness, there are a total of 87 dignitaries invited by the eldest princess to participate, including 36 with their wives, a total of 123 distinguished guests. Of course, the number of maids and servants they bring varies. Except for personal care, these servants are all arranged in the place where the servants stay, but it is difficult to count the number of people because of this."

Yang Guang nodded and looked through the booklet.

Li Yuan continued: "I made some classifications based on the relationship between these people and His Highness. Among them, there are 16 people who have a good relationship with His Highness, such as Yang Su, Yu Wenshu, and Wang Long. Those who have a bad relationship with His Highness or have conflicts of interest. For example, there are 20 people in total such as the principal concubine of the King of Shu, the principal concubine of the King of Qin, etc. The rest of them have little interaction with His Highness. Your Highness, you can see if I have made any mistakes in classification."

Yang Guang looked at Li Yuan's classification and thought it was very reasonable.

"The hair of these people was collected during the interrogation."

"Collected it, and because Xiao Yuan said blood is better, I took their blood and gave it to Xiao Yuan in the name of asking them to put their bloody fingerprints on the confession."

Yang Guang closed the book and said, "Let Xiao Yuan start with those people who have conflicts of interest with me."

Yang Guang and Li Yuan continued to chat for a few words, and Yuan Tiantian came over and said, "His Royal Highness, Your Highness the King of Shu is at the door asking to see you."

"King of Shu? Xiu'er is back?"

"Yes, His Royal Highness the King of Shu has just returned to the capital. He ran over here without even entering the palace, asking to see His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Oh? What kind of trouble is he trying to make? Li Yuan, go and send the blood and hair to Xiao Yuan first. I'll go meet Xiu'er."

(End of this chapter)