Great Han Empire

Chapter 215
Zhang Wen looked at the four of them and said with a smile: "The matter hasn't reached that point yet, don't scare yourself with alarmist words. We rarely see such reckless and arrogant people as Li Zhonglang, so whether it's a traitor in the court He, or we, were a little caught off guard. In fact, Li Zhonglang is young, inexperienced, has no plans, is very impulsive, and his subordinates are also a group of mindless savages, so it is easy to deal with."

Zhang Wen pointed at Sangyang and said, "Boxin always stares at Li Zhonglang's 5000 troops. He always thinks of Li Zhonglang's impressive achievements, but ignores our own strength. Where does Li Zhonglang have 5 troops now? The Northern Army will soon be ordered to withdraw to Huaili, and the command will be handed over from General Zhou to Master Zhen. Only General Dong is the most powerful army in Xiliang. He and Li Zhonglang are confronting each other in Lueyang. They have already turned against Li Zhonglang. The problem of teaming up. Although Xu Rong and Qu Yi are behind Li Zhonglang, their strength is weak, and they have no fatal friendship with Li Zhonglang. The Taiwei Mansion can transfer their troops away when the time is right. Therefore, Li Zhonglang only has [-] soldiers at most , plus the wounded soldiers in the Huaili camp, there are only [-] people. We have at least [-] people at our disposal, stronger than Li Zhonglang. Although he holds a military talisman, as long as the emperor decrees, we can completely dispose of them. He died."

Zhang Wen immediately looked at Gai Xun and said with a smile: "Brother Yuangu seems to be over-concerned. Li Zhonglang arrested some county officials in the early stage. Although they are inextricably linked with us, how much valuable information can they provide?" Evidence? What's more, these people are really outrageous, especially people like Cheng Qiu, who are both greedy and vicious. It should be cleaned up, otherwise there will be accidents in the future."

"Li Hong's arrest of an official with two thousand stones is self-destruction. First of all, he violated the laws of the Han Dynasty, and this alone can punish his nine clans. The second is how long His Majesty can persist under the siege of our overwhelming memorials and persuasion. Your Majesty sees that the entire government and the opposition are opposing Li Zhonglang. It is not clear who is right and who is wrong. As long as Your Majesty lets go, Li Zhonglang will die. Even if he rebels in Xiliang, we don’t care about our business. Whoever has the ability will go to Xiliang to deal with."

"Let's take a step back and say, even if Li Zhonglang arrested a few prefects, so what? Could he kill all the officials in the entire Xiliang, the entire Guanzhong, and the entire Dahan Kingdom? To be honest, he just arrested a few The eunuch is useless, just relying on his group of people, it will never be possible to find out all the problems. Even if the emperor supports him, we support him, and even if I lend him all the people in the Taiwei's mansion, he will It’s impossible to find out in three to five years.”

"The people who are involved with these prefects range from princes and nobles to the old masters of the family. The relationship is intricate and the matter is intricate. How can he figure it out? I am afraid that even if the emperor comes in person, it will be nothing in the end?"

"It's a pity that Li Zhonglang doesn't understand official affairs. He thought that with His Majesty as his backer, he could do whatever he wanted. In fact, this is the most wrong and ignorant idea." He sighed regretfully , Said, "This time is our best chance to bring down the traitor. Such a good chance, what a pity. Young man, too young."

Zhang Wen shook his head again and again, and then said: "Things in Xiliang are changing rapidly, and things in the court are even more unpredictable. This kind of thing will change after a long time. Now that Li Zhonglang has arrested Meng Tuo, the traitors are more unpredictable than us. More anxious, especially Zhang Rang. So, let's stay calm, stay calm, and do what we should do."

Gai Xun smiled all over his face, and cupped his hands in praise: "Lord Taiwei is just like Lord Taiwei. He is always shocked and far-sighted. I am far behind."

Sangyang, Tao Qian, and Sun Jian were all moved at the same time, showing great admiration.

Zhang Wen smiled lightly and said: "Li Zhonglang is like a praying mantis now, his arms are used as ruts in anger, and he doesn't know that he is incompetent. He is self-defeating and self-defeating. I just want to help him, but there is nothing I can do." .”

"My lord, now..." Sang Yang stood up and asked with a bow.

Zhang Wen waved his hand, signaling him to sit down.

"Send a letter to His Majesty, report the current situation in Xiliang, talk about Li Zhonglang's actions, and then impeach him."

"In addition, write a letter to His Majesty, saying that considering the lack of military resources in the army and the lack of successors, it is better to take the initiative to appease the rebels, so as to end the Xiliang rebellion as soon as possible. I recommend Li Zhonglang to go to Jincheng County to appease the rebels."

"Isn't this killing someone with a borrowed knife?" Tao Qian stood up excitedly and said, "My lord..."

Zhang Wen waved at him and interrupted him.

"In this way, although the purpose of borrowing a knife to kill people is too obvious, it has several benefits, and it is also good for Li Zhonglang. Anyway, he is a rare talent in my court. I don't want him to die early before he has contributed to the country. Dead. Sit down first and listen to me slowly."

"I want to know the intention of the emperor. We all know the character and personality of the emperor. Why did he suddenly make such a move? Is it for money or for another purpose? If your majesty is purely for money, then it will be easy, Xi What Liang Su is greedy for is that it doesn't pose a huge threat to us. Perhaps, we can make good use of the situation and crack down on traitors."

"With the excuse of pacifying Xiliang as soon as possible, we can write a high-sounding letter to persuade His Majesty to send Li Zhonglang to Jincheng as soon as possible. I am afraid that His Majesty will have to agree to this reason. As long as Li Zhonglang leaves this place of right and wrong for a while, we can calmly deal with Xiliang's anti-corruption What should be killed, what should be released, the case should be closed quickly, and this trouble will be completely ended."

"For Li Zhonglang, this is also the last chance to save himself. With his ability and our understanding of Mr. Lao Bian and Mr. Wen Yue, recruiting is absolutely not a problem. If Li Zhonglang successfully completes this matter, it is equivalent to establishing another In this way, the suppression of the rebellion in Xiliang was over, and the anti-corruption in Xiliang was also over. He deserves credit. In this way, he can happily bring the army back to Jizhou and go to Lulongsai to garrison the border. Everyone can be happy. "

Zhang Wen looked at Tao Qian and said with a smile, "Gongzu, this is not considered to be a murder with a borrowed knife."

Tao Qian smiled coldly and said, "My lord has said so much, Li Zhonglang has died so many times."

The smile on Zhang Wen's face slowly disappeared. He looked at Tao Qian sternly, and said, "I have done my best and made the biggest concession. Life and death are up to fate, wealth and honor are in the sky, and I can't blame anyone."

Qu Yi arrested five ex-prefects from Xiliang counties in Chang'an, and Chang'an ordered Yang Dang to arrest one of them, who was a relative of Yang Dang.

Yang Dang is the son of Xia Yun, the minister of the Central Committee, of course he is a fake son, because his father is a celebrity around the emperor, so Yang Dang is extraordinarily greedy and unscrupulous, and he is a big bully in Chang'an.He pointed to Qu Yi and said, "I don't care if you arrest others, but not my family members. If you want to arrest them, you can, bring the imperial decree, otherwise, I will break your legs."

Qu Yi was furious, and shouted tall: "The lower officials are ordered to arrest the court's serious criminals, who dares to stop them?"

Yang Dang laughed angrily, and scolded: "Bastard, aren't you the empress of Ju Tan who even my ancestors don't want? What kind of thing do you think you are, daring to play prestige in front of me."

Ju Tan was the Minister of the previous dynasty, who took refuge in Xiping, Liangzhou.In order to avoid disaster, his son Ju Mian changed Ju's surname to Qu, and his descendants took "Qu" as their surname, with a history of more than 300 years.Yang Dang's scolding was a bit too much.

Qu Yi was furious immediately, and shouted loudly: "Brothers, kill me!"

Yang Dang was used to being domineering, so he didn't know the consequences of annoying these frontier soldiers.As a result, the two sides fought violently, and the more than 200 people brought by Yang Dang were all killed by these wolf-like frontier cavalry in a blink of an eye.Qu Yi was so aggressive that he even killed the prefect surnamed Yang and his whole family. In the last fire, even the house was burned down.

Qu Yi still couldn't let go of his hatred, and broke Yang Dang's two legs again.Yang Dang was pampered and spoiled since he was a child, how could he have suffered such pain, howling like a pig butcher, begging for mercy repeatedly.

Qu Yi's subordinate Tongzi and the others saw that Qu Yi made things out of control, so they hurried forward to persuade him.

Qu Yi was so angry that he couldn't listen at all.He whipped Yang Dang several times, then stomped on his face and shouted loudly, "This kind of person must be a corrupt official. Skin me and squeeze out all his money."

Yang Dang was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder were torn apart, he kept shouting: "Don't hit me, don't hit me anymore, I'll do it, I'll do it..."

After Yuan Pang received the news, everyone went crazy.

He took a few hundred horses and ran to the mansion of the prefect surnamed Yang.The eunuch's house had been burned to the ground, and there were dead bodies everywhere.An officer came to report that Qu Yi had brought people to kill Yang Dang's house in Chang'an.

Yuan Pang was so angry that he cursed: "Barbarians, they are all barbarians. If there is any law in the eyes of these people, they should all be killed." He immediately led people to Yang Dang's mansion.

Yuan Pang rushed into Yang Dang's house in a rage, but he saw money and treasures piled up like a hill in the courtyard, a total of 7000 to [-] million yuan, and silk, which filled a whole room.Yuan Pang couldn't find a reason to get angry.He stared fiercely at Qu Yi who was kneeling on the ground, not knowing what to scold for a long time.

Yuan Pang pointed to Yang Dang who was hanging upside down from the big tree in the courtyard and screamed, and asked, "Do you know who he is?"

Qu Yi smiled and said, "Corrupt officials."

"Bah!" Yuan Pang cursed: "You people are lawless and domineering, and you are still shouting here when you are dying."

"My lord, who is he?" Zhizi asked cautiously, "Did we get into trouble?"

"It's not just causing trouble, you are about to die without a place to bury. He is the son of Xia Yun, the regular servant of the Central Committee, you know? His father is one of the ten permanent servants of the court."

Qu Yi sneered, looking very disdainful.Several of his subordinates looked ugly.

"A bunch of idiots." Yuan Pang angrily dropped a word, turned around and left.

"My lord..." Tongzi looked at Qu Yi and shouted timidly, "We..."

"What are you afraid of?" Qu Yi roared arrogantly, "Isn't it just losing his head? What's so scary." He pointed at Yang Dang and shouted, "If you don't kill this kind of person, who will you kill? Tell me, who will you kill?" ?”

"What kind of life did we live at the border, what kind of life did the people of Xiliang live, ah, look at them again, they have money, women, houses, everything, where did this come from? , This is all drinking our blood, eating our flesh, stealing, robbing. They are fine, but we will die without a place to die. Is there justice in this world?"

"People in northern Xinjiang dare to brandish knives to kill corruption in our western Xinjiang. Don't we people in western Xinjiang have the guts?"

Tongzi said helplessly: "My lord is right. If it doesn't work, we'll go to the old side."

Li Hong received the imperial decree, and His Majesty agreed that he would be fully responsible for Xiliang's anti-corruption affairs.

Zhou Shen also received the imperial edict and returned to Beijing to recuperate.Zhou Shen moved very quickly, and immediately set off with his own soldiers.Li Hong led the generals and sent them out for more than ten miles.Zhou Shen was very worried about Li Hong's future, and repeatedly warned him to be cautious.

Although Qu Yi's trip to Chang'an caused huge disturbances, he achieved amazing results.They got a very complete and detailed evidence of corruption, and the mastermind behind it was Xia Yun, one of the ten permanent attendants.Yang Dang was afraid of death, so he said everything.In order to sort out Yang Dang's confession, Zuo Yan and several subordinates stayed up all night.

While Li Hong reported the relevant situation to Taiwei's Mansion, he ordered Xian Yuyin, Wen Chou and Yan Wuwei to go to Beijing secretly with the second batch of money and evidence.

Ma Teng's resignation was rejected.Because of his meritorious service in pacifying Anding County, he was temporarily appointed as the southern captain of Liangzhou border by Taiwei Master Zhang Wen. The official appointment can be issued after the emperor's approval.Ma Teng then led the army to Lintao in Longxi County, the governor's office in the south, to guard the border.Li Xiangru, the prefect of Longxi County, and a group of county officials were going back to Didao, the seat of Longxi County, and they happened to be with Ma Teng, so Taiwei Zhang Wen arranged for Ma Teng to escort them along the way.

Once Ma Teng left, Dong Zhuo and Li Hong had no reason to confront each other.Taiwei Master Zhang Wen immediately ordered Dong Zhuo to lead his troops back to Huaili Camp to stand by.More than 1 people of the Northern Army were led by Sun Jian who went to convey the order and withdrew to Huaili at the same time.Li Hong's army was ordered to station in Zixiu Mountain Camp.The wounded battalion originally stationed in Huaili rushed to Zixiu Mountain to join Li Hong's army.The prison camp was also moved to Zixiu Mountain, guarded by Li Hong's Jizhou Army.Xu Rong's army belonged to Liangzhou Governor's Mansion, and because the war was not completely over, it was temporarily under the control of Li Hong.Qu Yi is the western captain of Liangzhou. His army was originally stationed in Longqi (read qi) City, a frontier city in Huangzhong, Jincheng County, in the west of Liangzhou. Now it is occupied by rebels. Hong temperance.Hua Xiong is the soldier of Jincheng County, and the major general under his command is Wei. The Jincheng County Mansion has not yet been established, so he has to hang around behind Li Hong.

This is Zhang Wen's special arrangement.If Li Hong and Xiliang's army were to rebel, it would be in Liangzhou, and Chang'an would not be endangered for the time being.

Zhou Wang was ordered to meet him.

The emperor just came down from the court, very preoccupied and very tired.

"Li Zhonglang is arresting more and more people in Xiliang. All the ministers in the court accused him one after another, and the words of impeachment were piled up like a hill." The emperor said worriedly, "Although I am silent, but Looking at this posture, if I don't give any advice, it seems that someone is going to remonstrate with death." He frowned, his nose and eyes were squeezed together, and said with a sad face, "I can't resist it soon."

Zhou Wang looked up at him carefully, and said softly, "Your Majesty, Li Zhonglang sent another batch of things."

"Oh." The emperor nodded calmly, as if he knew it was a long time ago, and asked casually, "When did you send it?"

Zhou Wang glanced at him quietly, and replied: "The day before yesterday. Your Majesty has been here for the past two days..."

"I know." The emperor said with a faint smile on his face, "I have been a little busy these two days."

Zhou Wang handed over a brocade box.After the emperor opened it, he looked at it carefully, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "This Li Zhonglang is not bad. He can fight to defend the territory for me, and he can also earn money to increase my income. Not bad, not bad, he is better-behaved and sensible than that Huangfusong." too much."

"Congratulations to Your Majesty for obtaining a good general and virtuous minister." Zhou Wang hurriedly took the opportunity to flatter him.

The emperor carefully put away the brocade box and said, "Send someone to tell Li Zhonglang that the money, silk and silk will be collected except for a part of the military funds. When the Northern Army withdraws to Luoyang, they will be brought together I."

"Also..." the emperor looked at Zhou Wang and said, "Those ministers are so noisy, I can't hide and go to court, you can find a way for me."

Zhou Wang laughed and said, "Li Zhonglang should send someone to bring over some evidence. His Majesty has the evidence, so he can shut their mouths."

The emperor shook his head bitterly.

"The ministers all use the laws of the ancestors and the country's society to talk about things. I can't say anything about them."

"Your Majesty, how much money has Your Majesty given to Xiliang in the past few decades? Which minister has earned money for His Majesty from Xiliang? Isn't it clear at a glance who is loyal to His Majesty and who is loyal to the Han Dynasty? These people lie His Majesty’s money, stealing His Majesty’s money, and finally saying that His Majesty’s fault, never taking His Majesty’s…”

The emperor stared with small eyes, which startled Zhou Wang, and immediately swallowed the rest of the words.

"Li Zhonglang helped His Majesty rectify officials in Xiliang, killed corrupt officials, and greatly won the hearts of the people for His Majesty. The people all said that His Majesty is good. Now, His Majesty has not only recovered the money stolen by others, but also asked Li Zhonglang to kill those who stole it. Your Majesty's money is a villain, and because of this, he has won the hearts of the people of the world, where can I find such a good thing?"

"The ministers in the court are all His Majesty's subjects. If His Majesty wants them to die, they cannot live. If His Majesty wants them to live, they cannot die. Why does Your Majesty care about their faces? This world belongs to His Majesty."

Zhou Shen looked at the brocade box in the emperor's hand, and said with a smile, "If your majesty transfers Li Zhonglang away from Xiliang, not only will your majesty not be able to receive the money, but I'm afraid they will have to move the money from Wanjintang."

"Yes." The Son of Heaven patted the table lightly, and said, "Yes, Aiqing is right. There are many people who want to be officials. I will tell them tomorrow, and those who don't want to be officials will go away immediately. In this way, I can immediately Sell ​​another batch of official positions and earn some money to spend. Good idea."

As soon as Zhou Wang left, Taichang Liu Yan and Shangshu Liu Yu came by order.

Liu Yan, courtesy name Junlang, was born in Jingling, Jiangxia, and is a descendant of King Lu Gong.He is over 50 years old, tall and strong, with a long face and long beard, elegant temperament, very well maintained, rosy face, and no wrinkles on his face.

Because they are all important ministers of the clan, the emperor specially gave them seats.

"You have all seen what happened in the court today. None of the ministers was filled with righteous indignation. They wished to cook Li Zhonglang and eat them. Isn't it just arresting a governor? Is it as serious as they say? My country will be lost because of this. Is this too exaggerated?" The Son of Heaven said blankly, "I am very worried and would like to ask your opinions. I see that the two love ministers have been silent in the court, and they must have different opinions. You Tell me?"

"Your Majesty, the day before yesterday, I submitted Li Zhonglang's secret memorial. The former governor of Liangzhou, Meng Tuo, embezzled and accepted bribes, stole state treasury, intercepted military funds and other illegal evidence is very clear. Especially those few letters of Lord Marquis, what evidence is there? They all work. They are too courageous, what is the difference between this and stealing money from Wanjintang in front of His Majesty?"

"Above the court, whether it's a few Marquis, Situ, Lord Yushi, or other ministers, although they quote scriptures and make rhetoric, their reasons are very far-fetched. In fact, no matter who it is, as long as He stole money from the treasury, took bribes, and used his power for personal gain. Anyone can arrest him and kill him according to the Han law. There are so many reasons to exonerate him. Now that they say this, this corrupt person seems to be justified. It is for the long-term stability of the Han Dynasty, but the people who suppress corruption are ignoring it, and it is a disaster for the country and the people. This is all a mess..."

Liu Yu was so angry that he shook his head again and again, and sighed: "It's all private words. How many people in this court are sincerely for His Majesty, for my country and society."

Liu Yan went on to say: "Although Li Zhonglang did many things that did not comply with the laws of our dynasty, the corruption of Xiliang's officials and the prevalence of corruption have reached a shocking level. There is no Li Zhonglang who is so clear, ignorant of world affairs, and simple-minded. , Bloody and cruel people can't govern at all. If you want to eradicate corruption in Xiliang and get back all the money from corrupt officials in Xiliang, he is the only one who is the most suitable. Your Majesty doesn't need to worry too much, you should still support Li Zhonglang."

The emperor thought about it, and asked Liu Yu: "He used to be your subordinate. Do you think he is loyal to me?"

Liu Yu got up and knelt down and said: "Li Zhonglang's brain is broken. Apart from being able to fight, he is lucky. He is an idiot. He is loyal to His Majesty and to me. He has no second thoughts. I can guarantee it with my own head." .”

The emperor hurriedly helped him up, patted his head and said, "If brother Bo'an loses his head, who will I ask for work. You and Jun Lang have said that, so I can rest assured."

"Should His Majesty take some of the advice from the ministers of the DPRK to appease everyone's emotions?" Liu Yan said in a low voice.

The emperor waved his hand and said with a sneer: "I have only heard that you can't break your trust with the people, but I haven't heard that you can't break your trust with the officials. If they are unhappy, they don't have to go to the court. Bo'an, you go and tell the officials. Tomorrow In the court, those who have a book to play, those who have advice and advice, pay three thousand yuan first. If you don’t pay, whoever wants to speak, you have to hit fifty big boards first, and then talk after the beating is over."

(End of this chapter)