Great Han Empire

Chapter 963 Chapter [-]
Da Honglu Yuan Yao expressed the gratitude of Ying and Ru scholars to the general.

This time, if the general had not voluntarily relinquished the position of Sima, the eldest princess and the court would not have agreed to the general's trial of the case.The general gave up the official position of Da Sima. In a sense, it is equivalent to handing over part of the military power to the eldest princess and the court, satisfying their wishes.

In order to ease the fierce conflicts in the court and ensure the stability of the foundation of ZTE's great cause, the general decided to exchange the power in his hands for the protection of Ying and Ru scholars. The ministers of the DPRK and China were impressed by it.

Yuan Yao said a lot of grateful words, Li Hong laughed it off, and said with great concern that the most troublesome part of this case is that there is no evidence to prove that Xun Yu met with Xin Ping and others just to reminisce. It is very easy for Xin Ping, Xin Ping and others to deliberately assassinate the emperor. They just make up a few evidences and force them to draw a pledge.

Of course Yuan Yao knows that as long as any case is involved in treason, even if it is false or wronged, it will become true under the deliberate promotion of various forces. This is the best opportunity to attack dissidents, and the undead cannot solve it at all. question.Generally speaking, even if the officials who preside over such cases want to find out the facts, facing the pressure of the emperor and various powers, facing their own lives and future, they can only go against their conscience in the end. People's interests are greater, and everyone will weigh the pros and cons.

Now the general is facing such a difficult situation. Although he won the presiding judge at all costs, he wants to reverse the case, save the lives of Xun Yu, Xin Ping and others, and protect the power of Ying and Ru scholars. , is very difficult.

Yuan Yao didn't speak, he listened quietly.Since the general made an appointment to meet him, he must have a solution.

"We don't have real and detailed evidence to prove that this case is an unjust case, so even if I try my best to delay the trial, the final outcome will still be the same." Li Hong shook his head and said in a low voice, "This is also what the eldest princess and the court promised me. The reason why they agreed with me to preside over this case is that they know that I cannot find any evidence and cannot clear the charges for Xun Yu, Xin Ping and others."

"Right now, the only advantage I have is time, and I have plenty of time to find evidence."

Yuan Yao felt that Li Hong's words were ridiculous.Xun Yu, Xin Ping and others have special identities, and they have the possibility of rebellion. Even if they get together, even if they don't say a word, it can be inferred that they have a plot to assassinate the emperor.It is impossible to find evidence for this.

The frustrated expression on Yuan Yao's face fell into Li Hong's eyes.Li Hong shook his head regretfully, "Your father was ready to kill me before I met you, and our friendship started from that moment. Compared with your father, there is a world of difference between you and your father." Don't. Sometimes, I often think, are you the son of Brother Gao (Yuan Shu)?"

Yuan Yao's heart trembled, his expression was terrified, he lowered his head and dared not speak.

"This is an unjust case, and someone deliberately set up a trap. On the surface, it seems that this is to deal with you, but in fact..." Li Hong dragged his voice and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, who set this up?" trap."

"I think it's Master Li Wei." Yuan Yao said bluntly.

"Does everyone in the court think so?"

Yuan Yao nodded without hesitation, with an angry look on his face.

"This trap is so powerful. First hit Ying and Ru scholars, make Master Li Wei the target of public criticism, and then unite with everyone to besiege Master Li Wei. When Master Li Wei falls, I'm probably not far from death. "Li Hong said with a smile, "It's a good plan, such a powerful series of tricks. In order to kill me, you actually put all your energy into it, and set up such a clever plan, which deceived everyone in the court."

Yuan Yao was dizzy, and suddenly thought of something, his face changed suddenly.

Today's crisis in the court was first provoked by Lord Cai Yong. He first attacked Xu Shao, then Yang Biao, and then Li Wei.At this moment, the Qingyan scholars headed by Cai Yong are fighting alone against the Guanluo scholars headed by Yang Biao, the Yingru scholars headed by Xu Shao and Xun You, and the Northern Xinjiang scholars headed by Li Wei. The pattern of great power.

With one against three, the prime minister is obviously not an opponent, and Li Wei will not be so confused that in such a situation where he has an obvious advantage, he will deliberately provoke conflicts between himself and Guan Luo and Yingru scholars, and self-destruct his position .In other words, this incident was not done by Li Wei, but was carefully planned by the prime minister and the Qingyan scholars, with the purpose of destroying the alliance between the northern Xinjiang scholars and Guan Luo and Yingru scholars, and then using the conspiracy to rebel , First destroy the Yingru scholars with lightning speed, stir up the hatred of Guan Luo and Yingru scholars against Li Wei and other northern Xinjiang scholars, and then unite with Guan Luo and Yingru scholars to besiege Li Wei.As Li Hong said just now, Li Wei fell, and the power of the northern Xinjiang faction was greatly reduced, and Li Hong's life in the court would be very difficult in the future.

On that day, Yang Biao told himself that the Prime Minister is the teacher of the eldest princess, and many of the ministers who borrowed from Qingyan are from the eldest princess. The power of people provoked internal fighting in the court, weakened the power of all parties in the court, and then attacked the strength of Li Hong and Li Wei, and firmly controlled the power in his own hands.There are two generals Lu Bu and Zhao Yun behind the prime minister and the Qingyan scholars. Even if Li Hong falls, the army can still be controlled, but if Li Wei falls, the Jinyang Wang family and the Jizhou Cui family can still be among the northern Xinjiang scholars. Winning over, this is probably also an important reason why the eldest princess chose the prime minister and Qingyan scholars as her own strength to attack opponents and control power.

If the eldest princess is behind the crisis in the court today, the situation will be completely different.

Yuan Yao shivered several times, and the cold sweat came out "shua".

"Now, do you understand?" Li Hong asked calmly with a face as still as water.

Yuan Yao nodded.

"They were about to succeed, but I took a step back and seized the time to reverse the situation." Li Hong waved his hand, "I can only help you so much, and you have to solve the rest by yourself."

=

Yuan Yao walked out of the General's Mansion in a dizzy state.

Looking at Yuan Yao's panicked back, a sneer appeared on the corner of Li Hong's mouth, and he turned and walked towards the study.

"You didn't frighten Mr. Yuan, did you?" Xian Yufu asked with a smile when he saw Li Hong walking in.

"If we want to help Zhong Yuan (Li Wei) enter the prime minister's mansion, we must first eliminate the contradictions between Zhong Yuan, Guan Luo, and Yingru scholars." Li Hong said, "If they don't join forces and can't work together, then If you can’t hit Qingyan scholars, you can’t force the Prime Minister to take the blame and resign. As I said, you need to do something against your conscience when you have to.”

"What if Zhong Yuan sees through our intentions, suppresses his urges, stops being prime minister for the time being, and continues to maintain the current situation?" Xian Yufu asked worriedly, "I've been thinking about this just now. Zhong Yuan is very smart. He must consider the changes in the court structure after he became the prime minister. If the development of the situation is not good for him, he may not drive the prime minister and all the ministers who are qualified to be the prime minister as we expected. Out of court."

"The initiative in the court is now in my hands. If I want him to be the prime minister, he has to be the prime minister. He can't even run away." Li Hong laughed.

Xian Yufu looked at Li Hong, and sighed softly, "I hope we can control the situation, otherwise there is a high possibility of chaos in the court. Nothing will happen to you, Prime Minister, right?"

"No." Li Hong sat on the table and said easily, "I hold the lives of Ying and Ru scholars in my hands. If they lose control, I will raise the knife to scare them."

The two smiled at each other.

=

That night, Yuan Yao found an excuse to invite Guanglu doctor Zhong Yao, Taichang Cheng Yuan Huan, and Da Sima's governor Shi Chenwei to the mansion.

Yuan Yao told the three of them what the General said today, and asked about countermeasures.

"Wen Xin, you have always been by Master Xu Rong's side, have you ever heard anything from him?"

Chen Wei shook his head, "You don't know, and I don't know. Generally, only ministers and ministers know about such things, and they don't talk casually, let alone discuss with our subordinates. I think what the general said It contains mystery, you can’t believe it all, but you can’t believe it either.”

"The general's intention is very obvious. We want us to join forces with Lord Li Wei to deal with the prime minister and hit Qingyan borrowed heavily." Yuan Huan said. There is only one way to accuse Xin Ping, Xun Chen and others, and that is to punish them if they know about it, create another unjust case, and push the crime of murdering the emperor to other people."

There was a dead silence in the room.Yuan Yao and Chen Wei looked at Yuan Huan in horror.Zhong Yao was thoughtful, but remained silent.

"You mean...Prime Minister?" Although Yuan Yao also had this idea, when he heard this sentence from Yuan Huan, he still felt extremely terrified and uneasy.

"Why does Li Wei help us? Could it be that the prime minister did this to deliberately frame Li Wei?" Chen Wei hesitated for a long time, then shook his head, "This must have been done by Li Wei, it can't be wrong. Think about it, Jing Zhao When Yin Yupeng was arrested, the general and the prime minister were in Liyang. No one knew that the emperor and princess had accepted the general's suggestion to postpone the construction of Sanyong indefinitely. At that time, all parties in the court were preparing for the Mingtang system at the beginning of the year. At that time, it was a dispute between schools of Confucianism."

"Wen Xin is right." Zhong Yao said, "In the beginning, the Prime Minister dealt with Tai Fu Yang Biao, Tai Chang Xu Shao and Da Si Nong Li Wei purely for the sake of Sanyong. Among them, the scholars in Beijiang, Qingyan, Guanluo, and Yingru had not yet had power struggles. After the emperor decreed to postpone the construction of Sanyong, the battle in the court suddenly changed direction and became The struggle for power among scholars everywhere. The general is misleading us, he wants to overthrow the prime minister."

If the prime minister falls, there are many ministers who have the opportunity to take the position of prime minister.The first is Liu He, the minister of the imperial family, followed by Yang Biao and Yang Qi brothers among the Guanluo scholars, Xun You and Xu Shao among the Yingru scholars, Zhang Miao and Kong Rong among the Qingyan scholars, and on the contrary, the northern Xinjiang scholars. Among the people, there is none, but the problem now is that Yingru scholars and Guan Luo scholars want to reverse the case for Xin Ping and others, and they want to join forces to deal with Qingyan scholars, that is to say, Zhang Miao and Kong Rong have It may be the same as the four ministers Yang Biao, Yang Qi, Xun You, and Xu Shao, because someone in the family violated the law and was implicated, and lost the opportunity to compete for the position of prime minister.

Then, the only one who has the strength to take the position of prime minister is Liu He, the censor doctor.

"If Mr. Liu He cannot be the prime minister due to various reasons, then..." Yuan Huan's gaze swept across the faces of Zhong Yao, Yuan Yao, and Chen Wei, "That is Da Siong Li Wei .”

The four were shocked.

"In this way, the general's words may be true." Zhong Yao pointed to Yuan Huan and Chen Wei and said, "The three of us have been in northern Xinjiang for so many years, and we know the eldest princess very well. Starting from the formulation and implementation of the New Deal The eldest princess used different forces to seize and control power at different times. In just a few years, the imperial court revised the official system three times in a row, and each time the official system was revised, she regained part of the power. The revision of the official system last year even directly led to North Korea. The division of the border system shows the method of the eldest princess."

"If the reason for the outbreak of the court crisis is the same as the general's speculation, then the dispute between Sanyong and Confucianism may be deliberately created by the princess. When all parties in the court fight, she will use the stability of the court as an example With an excuse, the decree was to postpone the construction of Sanyong, and the direction of the court battle immediately turned into a power struggle among scholars."

"Now the general is forced to hand over part of his military power due to the situation, and the position of the prime minister is also in jeopardy. If Li Wei is allowed to take over the prime minister's mansion, the internal and external courts will be under her control. Even the general will find it difficult to fight with her." Confront head-on. In this way, it will be as difficult for the little emperor to take power in the future."

"Isn't Li Wei a generation of power ministers?" Yuan Yao shook his head in disbelief, "Is the prime minister framed us, or Li Wei framed us?"

"It's not important anymore." Yuan Huan smiled wryly, "Whether it's the prime minister or Li Wei, without the support of the general, you can still gain a foothold in the court, but without the support of the eldest princess, that is a dead end. Sanyong The dispute is the prime minister's worst mistake, which directly caused the eldest princess to give up her support for him, and instead supported Li Wei, intending to let him enter the prime minister's mansion. Although Li Wei has a lot of power, he is the eldest princess Yes, especially after he lost the support of the general, he has to rely on the eldest princess. Li Wei obeys the eldest princess, and the eldest princess relies on him to control the internal and external dynasties. As time goes by, the eldest princess's The authority is getting stronger and stronger, in the future..."

"In the future, the history of Empress Lu's administration may reappear in the court." Chen Wei muttered in a low voice.

=

The four discussed it all night, but they couldn't think of any way to prevent the development of this situation.At present, Yingru scholars want to protect themselves and rescue Xin Ping, Xun Chen and others. At the same time, the Central Plains urgently needs stability and rescue Xun Yu. Therefore, it is imperative to make peace with Li Wei and join forces to fight against the prime minister and Qingyan forces. .

However, they came up with a long-term and effective way to curb the eldest princess's control of power, that is, to resolutely support the general, try to separate and split the relationship between the eldest princess and Li Wei, and try their best to maintain the check and balance of power in the court.

The general is trying his best to support the little emperor and lay the foundation for the little emperor to rule in the future. At this moment, he must stand with the Guanluo people, firmly stand by the general, and cooperate with the warriors of northern Xinjiang.Force is the last weapon to solve the court's problems. If something like "Empress Lu meddles in politics" occurs in the court, and it has endangered the safety of the country, the general may take action.After all, he had brought an army of [-] to the south to threaten Luoyang, and he dared to do anything.Although the eldest princess is very powerful, her biggest weakness is that she has not been able to control the army so far.

Li Wei became the prime minister, with great power, and at the same time controlling the internal and external courts, it is inevitable that the eldest princess will not be afraid. At this time, as long as he seizes the opportunity, try to stir up conflicts between the two sides, drive the two sides to turn against each other, and eventually At that time, Li Wei was dead.From this point of view, we can now support Li Wei vigorously until he is sent to Luan Grave.

After dawn, the four of them broke up in a hurry, each doing their own things.

Yuan Huan went to visit Xu Shao on the pretext of reporting government affairs to Xu Shao.Chen Wei went to Xunyou's mansion to negotiate with the Taiwei on the pretext of having something to do in Da Sima's mansion.

Yuan Yao rushed to Taifu's residence in a hurry, reported the details to Yang Biao, and asked for help.

On the other hand, Zhong Yao went to meet Li Wei, the chief minister, and the two sides had a pleasant conversation.When Zhong Yao said goodbye and left, Li Wei said with a smile, I heard that Master Xi Ji is a dutiful son, and the 28th of the twelfth lunar month is his mother’s birthday. Every year on this day, he will stay at home with his mother, even if he is studying thousands of miles away. Sometimes, he is also rain or shine, it has been like this for decades, it is not easy.

On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Taichang Cheng Yuan Huan paid a visit to Zhishu Yushi Xili, and sent a heavy gift to celebrate his mother's birthday.Xi Xi is a low-key person, except for a few ministers such as Li Wei, Cui Yan, and Zhao Song, no one knows that today is his mother's birthday.Xi Xi was very moved.The next day, Xi Xi paid homage and gave Yuan Huan a "small gift" as a thank you.

=

That night, Yuan Huan sent someone to present this "small gift" to Yuan Yao.Yuan Yao donated it to the general overnight.

After the general read it, he was furious and went up against the case, "How can the big man not perish if he has such an official who harms the country and the people?"

The master Bo Jiangji was summoned overnight.

This is an impeachment memorial written by the county magistrate of Chenliu Jiyang to the court, and the target of the impeachment is Zhang Chao, the prefect of Chenliu.The memorial said that during the Luoyang War, Zhang Chao took advantage of the opportunity of hoarding military supplies in the county, together with his three brothers, embezzled military supplies to engage in illegal activities such as buying and selling land, and made huge profits from it.The county magistrate also suspected that Zhang Chao and his brothers used some merchants to communicate secretly with the rebels to sell prohibited materials such as food and arms.

This impeachment memorial was sent to Chang'an last year. At that time, the imperial court was moving and it was chaotic. Then this memorial disappeared inexplicably.It is said that the county magistrate was assassinated at the beginning of this year, and more than a dozen subordinates of the county magistrate also died one after another.After hearing the news, Ding Li, who was the governor of Yanzhou at the time, went to Jiyang County in person and heard some rumors, so he wrote to Chen Hao and asked him to investigate carefully at Yushitai.Chen Hao didn't find out, so he told Xi Xi.Xi Ji had read this memorial and handed it to Liu He himself, so he immediately remembered it, but this matter involved Liu He and Zhang Miao. So the matter was over.

The memorial now placed on Li Hong's case table was written by Xi Xi based on his own memory.He has a great memory, and it came in handy this time.

"Rush to Yanzhou immediately, and conduct a secret investigation with Master Zhang Liao." Li Hong said angrily, "This matter may involve the generals in the army. You have to be careful not to leak the secret."

Jiang Ji bowed to accept the order.

"I'll give you one month. Within one month, you must investigate the problem thoroughly." Li Hong wrote him a warrant, "If there is an emergency and you need to use the army, you use this warrant to punish the prisoners in Xingyang." General Lei Zhong dispatched troops."

Jiang Ji left Chang'an overnight and hurried to Yanzhou.

=

The new year is here.

On the first day of the first lunar month, ministers gathered in Liyang Palace to participate in the New Year Ceremony.

The emperor decreed to change the year name to "Yuanping" and amnesty the world.

=

The first year of Yuanping in the Han Dynasty (203 AD), the first month.

=

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, all officials gathered in Yueyang Palace to participate in the first court meeting of the new year.

Dahongyu Yuan Yao, Guanglu doctor Zhong Yao, and Shang Shuling Cui Yan jointly signed the petition, requesting revision of "Tian Lv".

Three days later, the petition was dismissed.

On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Prime Minister Cai Yong, Yushi doctor Liu He, Ting Wei Zhang Miao, and eunuch Kong Rong jointly signed a petition, demanding that the former governor of Yanzhou Ding Li, the former minister of Ganling Kingdom Xu Hun, and the former governor of Jiyin County Zhu Yu be sent to the court as soon as possible. Take him to the capital for trial so that the case can be concluded as soon as possible.

Emperor Zhao Zhun.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, the eldest princess summoned General Li Hong and urged him to conclude the case of assassinating the emperor as soon as possible.Li Hong was helpless, and returned to Chang'an City to perfunctory.

On the 24th of the first lunar month, the lord Bo Jiangji wrote back to Li Hong, saying that Zhang Chao, the prefect of Chenliu County, was too powerful and the investigation was seriously hindered. He asked the general to try to transfer Zhang Chao away from Chenliu County.

=

On the first day of February, Grand Sima Xu Rong, Guang Luxun Zhang Yan who acted as Taiwei, General Li Hong, and Zuo Cheqi General Xian Yufu jointly played the Son of Heaven. Considering that Yingchuan County was under attack from both sides of Jingzhou and Yuzhou Therefore, it is not easy to prevent the enemy from separating the military and the government. It is suggested that General Xiaoqi Wang Dang supervise the Yingchuan military administration and recall Han Ming, the prefect of Yingchuan County.

Prime Minister Cai Yong and other ministers took a negative attitude towards this proposal.

The eldest princess discussed with the ministers of Phoenix Pond.Chen Qun, supervisor of Zhongshu, said that it is better to recall Han Ming, because it is said that Han Ming and Wang Dang and others do not get along well, and it is easy to make mistakes.He suggested that Zhang Chao, the prefect of Chenliu County, be assigned to Yingchuan, and that Zhang Liao, the governor of Yanzhou, be temporarily in charge of the prefect of Chenliu County.If the rebels attack Yingchuan this year, let Wang be the general and the prefect, and then let Master Zhang Chao return to Chenliu County, so that neither will be offended.

The eldest princess issued an order to recall Han Ming, the prefect of Yingchuan County, and let Zhang Chaoyue be the prefect of Yingchuan County. The prefect of Chenliu County was temporarily held by Zhang Liao.

=

On the eighth day of February, the eldest princess once again issued an edict to urge the general.If the case cannot be concluded for a long time, I will personally preside over the trial.

The general was in a hurry, and urged Jiang Ji to secretly arrest Zhang Chao's three brothers, search their houses, and first obtain evidence of embezzlement and perverting the law.If something goes wrong, I am responsible.

=

On the [-]th day of February, Prime Minister Cai Yong and other ministers jointly impeached the general, thinking that he deliberately delayed the trial time and was suspected of protecting the criminals, so he begged the eldest princess to preside over the trial in person.

On February [-], the eldest princess came to Chang'an City in person.

=

(End of this chapter)