The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 224 Audition
Li Longji was very clear about Li Linfu's methods. Most of the people in the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate were Li Linfu's people. If Li Linfu was really given full authority to handle this matter, he might not be able to see the truth. He had to find someone to check and balance him, and it would be best if this person had no power in the capital.

It seems that Li Ying is a good candidate.

Moreover, he could also take this opportunity to test whether Li Heng had any other thoughts.

"Call Prince Shou into the palace." Li Longji followed.

"Yes." Gao Lishi took the order and went to deliver it personally.

Li Linfu's expression changed slightly, and he returned to the hall in deep thought.

After a while, Li Heng arrived, and Li Longji asked Gao Lishi to give Liu Ji's petition and Yang Shenjin's memorial to Li Heng.

After reading it, Li Heng was shocked.

This time, Li Heng's surprise was not pretended, but a real reaction.

Because according to history, the Wei Jian case occurred in the first month of 746, and the Du Youlin case occurred at the end of 746.

But now, it is only July of 745.

The time and order of the two cases were wrong, and Huangfu Weiming, who was involved in the Wei Jian case, was also killed by him.

For a moment, Li Heng had no idea how this butterfly effect developed.

Seeing that Li Heng was shocked and silent, Li Longji thought that Li Heng could not accept such a thing, so he asked gently: "Shibalang, what do you think about this matter?"

Li Heng hurriedly said, "Father, this matter seems to involve my second brother, but I believe that my second brother would never do such a rebellious thing. This matter should be thoroughly investigated to clarify the misunderstanding."

Li Heng did not pretend to be ignorant and deliberately distance himself from Li Heng. Instead, he went straight to the heart of the matter, expressed his trust in Li Heng, and gave suggestions for investigation.

Li Longji nodded and said, "You have handled several major cases in Longyou, Anxi, and Beiting, and you are quite proficient in criminal justice. How about you take full charge of this matter?"

Li Longji looked kind, but Li Heng knew that Li Longji was setting a trap for him.

How could he, a military governor of a vassal state, interfere in the affairs of the capital?

Li Heng said quickly, "I was able to handle the previous cases because of your father's majesty. Your father is wise and enlightened. The Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate are full of talented people. If we hand this matter over to them, they will surely handle it impartially and quickly investigate the case."

Li Longji was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then asked, "Do you have any candidates to recommend?"

"This..." Li Heng shook his head, "I am not familiar with the officials in the capital, so I dare not make a rash recommendation."

Li Longji was very satisfied with Li Heng's "ignorance" and said, "I will arrange for someone else to handle this matter, but there is still some time before the Qianqiu Festival. During this period, you are also in the capital, so you can participate in the trial."

This time, Li Longji used an imperative tone.

Li Ying said: "I will obey your father's order."

……

In Chang'an City, a large group of officers and soldiers were dispatched. Within one day, Wei Jian, Wang Nande, Du Youlin and their families were all arrested and thrown into jail.

The city of Chang'an was in turmoil, but Li Heng was eating calmly on the side of the road in East Market.

Li Ying is trying his best to figure out the whole story.

First is the Wei Jian case.

The time was advanced and Wang Nanyi replaced Huangfu Weiming's role, which shows that although he changed history to a certain extent, the overall trend of history remained unchanged.

Li Heng's power is still growing, and the conflict between imperial power and the crown prince is still difficult to reconcile.

The second is the case of Du Youlin.

After careful consideration, Li Heng felt that this case had no direct impact on him. The only people who were indirectly affected were Jiang Caiping and Empress Zhang.

Historically, Li Heng and Jiang Caiping had few interactions, but because of him, Li Heng wanted to follow suit and fell in love with Jiang Caiping. In order to balance the situation, Li Longji married Empress Zhang to Li Heng in advance. With Empress Zhang's character, if she became a substitute in advance, she would probably cause some trouble.

Finally, Li Longji had already asked the three courts to judge the case, so why did he transfer him to sit in on the trial?

Among the three courts, the Dali Temple was responsible for trying crimes committed by officials, cases punishable by imprisonment in the capital, and difficult cases reported by prefectures and counties. After review, the cases would be sent to the Ministry of Justice for review and then reported to the Secretariat. Major cases and death sentences had to be petitioned to the emperor for approval.

The Ministry of Justice is responsible for reviewing crimes punishable by exile or less as determined by the Dali Temple, as well as crimes sentenced to imprisonment or above by prefectures and counties. Death penalty cases, whether in Beijing or outside, must be reviewed by the Ministry of Justice, and the emperor's approval must be sought before the Dali Temple can review and sentence them.

The Censorate was responsible for supervising the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice.

These three yamen are independent of each other, with clear division of labor and a certain degree of rigor. At the same time, they check and balance each other, thus ensuring judicial fairness to a certain extent.

Therefore, the joint trial of the three courts was already the most fair way of trial at the time, but Li Longji still let him sit in.

So there are only two explanations.

First, Li Longji knew that Li Linfu was too powerful and that the three courts had been basically infiltrated by Li Linfu. Usually, Li Longji turned a blind eye to it in order to be lazy and to let Li Linfu make money for him. But now, the Wei Jian case and the Du Youlin case collided with each other, which was more serious than in history.

Since the matter concerned the dethronement and enthronement of the crown prince, Li Longji was cautious.

Second, Li Longji chose him instead of anyone else, probably with the intention of testing him.

Maybe some of Gao Lishi's men are watching him now.

Thinking of this, Li Heng couldn't help but sigh secretly: "He is indeed a master at playing political games."

Li Heng was sighing when suddenly gongs and drums sounded and a powerful voice came:

"When the Right Prime Minister is about to leave, pedestrians must get out of the way!"

Li Heng turned his head and saw two teams of right guards coming from the west, clearing the way, and then a large sedan chair came into view.

This is the style of Li Linfu's travel.

Zhang Guangsheng, who was standing beside Li Ying, saw this and couldn't help but mutter, "What a grand display!"

Li Ying smiled when he heard this, but did not respond. He just moved his bowl to the side of the road and continued to eat noodles.

But although Li Heng gave way, he still underestimated the extent of Li Linfu's quietness.

A right guard came up on horseback and shouted, "Why don't you retreat to the inner part of the square? Do you intend to assassinate me?"

As he spoke, he raised the whip to hit Li Heng, but when he raised the whip halfway, he saw Li Heng's raised face.

The right guard was startled and quickly dismounted, saying, "I didn't know I was His Royal Highness Prince Shou. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

His action also made Zhang Guangsheng, who was about to take action behind Li Heng, stop in time.

Li Linfu heard some noise in front of him, stuck his head out, saw that it was Li Heng, and happily opened the curtain of the sedan chair.

The slave beside the sedan immediately knelt down, and Li Linfu stepped on the slave's body to get out of the sedan. He came to Li Heng and said with a smile: "Why is His Highness Shou Wang having a meal on the street?"

Li Heng said, "I haven't been to Chang'an for a long time. I'd like to eat some Chang'an snacks and reminisce about the past. Would you like to come with me, Right Prime Minister?"

"Okay." Li Linfu did not refuse, and sat down with Li Heng, and then said: "The trial of Wei Jian and Du Youlin is imminent, Your Highness, are you going to prepare?"

"I'm just here to listen, there's nothing to prepare." Li Ying smiled slightly.

What Li Linfu was afraid of was Li Heng's attitude. If Li Heng did nothing, it would be difficult for him to grasp Li Heng's thoughts.

Li Heng paused, then continued, "All those involved in the case have been sent to the Dali Temple Prison. Now Jingzhao Prefecture and the Dali Temple are searching for relevant evidence. Where is the Right Prime Minister going?"

"Go see the saint." Li Linfu showed a bitter smile, "The Qianqiu Festival is approaching, and there are constant incidents in Jiannan, Hedong, and Hebei. Your Highness doesn't know that my position as the right prime minister is glorious, but it is actually difficult. Look at my hair and beard, they are all white."

(End of this chapter)