Little Detective of the Tang Dynasty: What to do if you are beheaded at the beginning?

Li Zhi woke up.

Chou Mo woke up the next day.

He rubbed his head, still feeling dizzy.

Wu Meiniang was lying beside his bed, and suddenly felt something moving. She raised her head and saw him sitting up.

"Your Majesty."

Li Zhi looked down and saw Wu Meiniang with tears in her eyes, pale lips, messy hair, and a very depressed state.

He was touched.

"Zitong, how long have I been lying there?"

"Almost a day, Your Majesty." Wu Meiniang's worry was evident.

Li Zhi smiled, rubbed her head and said, "I just felt dizzy suddenly, it's okay."

"Your Majesty, you must take care of your body in the future, don't be so tired."

"Okay, I promise you."

After that, Li Zhi drank some porridge prepared by the imperial chef, and fell asleep again.

The next day, civil and military officials came to the Zhenguan Hall as usual. When they found that Li Zhi was sitting on the dragon throne in high spirits, they were all stunned.

Everyone bowed and said, "Your Majesty, be well."

"Where is Song Zhen? Why didn't he come?"

Li Ji, the Duke of Ying, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Jiaofang Envoy is not a member of the cabinet."

In short, he was not worthy of attending court.

To be honest, Song Zhen didn't want to attend court. What's the good of attending court? He had to get up at three in the morning and then stand in the Zhenguan Hall before five.

Now he got up slowly after five to go to work, how comfortable it was.

Li Zhi was silent for a moment, and then said, "Let him attend court in the future. After all, he is a minister of the Ministry of Justice, although he is a censor."

Xue Zhengqing smiled secretly with his head down. He knew Song Zhen. This guy was the kind of person who would do whatever he wanted on weekdays.

Of course, once there was something to do, Song Zhen was more active than anyone else.

Song Zhen had just gotten up, and then he was notified to go to the Zhenguan Hall to attend the court. He was stunned.

No way? I just have an empty position, what am I going to do?

When he arrived and was told that he would have to attend the court every day in the future, he collapsed and almost cried.

Song Zhen looked at Li Zhi with a face full of resentment.

Li Zhi saw his expression and laughed in his heart, and felt more and more that his decision was right.

He coughed twice, put on a majestic face and said: "Jiaofangshi, do you have any opinions?"

Song Zhen replied listlessly: "I dare not. It's just that the minister is not awake yet."

"In that case, then you stand."

"?"

The Tang Dynasty sat in court. Due to the prevalence of Buddhism and Taoism, both religions practiced sitting, and advocated that sitting quietly can maintain health and prolong life, so the emperor arranged a small bench for each official.

It was different in the Song Dynasty. In order to highlight the status of imperial power, Zhu Xi proposed the "Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues", thinking that how could the monarch and his subjects be on an equal footing? What kind of etiquette is this? So, starting from the Song Dynasty, they could only stand.

After the Ming Dynasty, the imperial power was more centralized. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered all officials to kneel down at the beginning and then stand up to speak.

It was even worse in the Qing Dynasty. The morning court was basically held on knees throughout the whole process.

Song Zhen was arranged to sit behind Xue Zhengqing, the Minister of the Dali Temple, and stand guard. He held the jade tablet in both hands and bowed his head.

Li Zhi called him, but there was no response. He was slightly stunned. Wouldn't this kid sleep in the morning court?

"Shouzheng, I'm calling you." Xue Zhengqing turned around and patted him.

Song Zhen suddenly woke up: "Your Majesty, what do you want?"

Li Zhi was so angry that he laughed. You are the first person who dared to doze off at my court meeting.

But he didn't mind. He first asked the Minister of Revenue: "Yesterday, the Ministry of Revenue went to Li Yifu's house to count. How much is the value?"

Lu Chengqing stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, after the Ministry of Revenue counted and verified, gold, silver and jewelry worth 23.61 million guan were found in Li Yifu's house."

Everyone was shocked when this was said.

Wow, it turns out that being a Zhongshu Ling can make so much money?

They still remember that someone sneered at Song Zhen yesterday, saying that it would take at least a thousand years for the prime minister to earn as much money as you.

Damn, it's so embarrassing, a thousand years? No, no, three years is enough.

Moreover, Song Zhen composed more than 30 songs and earned 30,000 guan in half a year.

Compared with Li Yifu, it's less.

Li Zhi looked unhappy. He turned his head and looked at Xue Zhengqing: "Where is the Dali Temple?"

"Your Majesty, I interrogated him yesterday, but the Minister of the Central Secretariat did not tell the truth."

"Use torture." Li Zhi angrily slammed the dragon chair, "I don't believe that I can't pry open his stinky mouth!"

"Yes." Before Xue Zhengqing sat down, he glanced at Song Zhen, and the meaning in his eyes was very clear, big brother, I'm afraid, please go with me.

Song Zhen just rolled his eyes at him, looking for trouble for me again, right?

Unexpectedly, Li Zhi suddenly asked Song Zhen: "Shouzheng, what do you think about this case?"

Song ZhenStunned, what do I think? Doesn't it depend on your mood whether to kill or not?

He knew that Li Zhi wanted to ask him how to deal with Li Yifu, but he thought that Li Yifu was Wu Meiniang's confidant, so he avoided the main point and answered the question from another perspective.

"Your Majesty, I can't understand why Li Yifu can cover the sky with one hand and arrange the position at will? Logically speaking, his scope of responsibility is not here."

Lai Ji, who was sitting in the front row, trembled. It's bad, what's coming is still coming.

Li Zhi looked at him angrily and shouted loudly: "Lai Ji, come and explain what's going on?"

Arranging official affairs is the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, which is why the Ministry of Personnel was the head of the six ministries in ancient times.

Because the power is too great, it can dominate a person's career life and death.

Although the Minister of Rites is nominally the highest in status, in terms of power, the Ministry of Rites is not even comparable to the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Works.

Lai Ji knelt down in fear, shaking and choking, "Your Majesty, I don't know."

Song Zhen sneered, "Oh, how could you not know?"

Then he bowed, "Your Majesty, I think that we should root out the grass! In order to punish such illegal activities of selling official titles, we should make drastic reforms."

Li Zhi was stunned. Change? How to change?

In order to ease the burden of the saint, generally speaking, officials below the fifth rank are appointed by the Ministry of Personnel, and rarely bother the higher authorities.

There are more than a hundred officials appointed every year? Could it be that they are all thrown to the saint for review? Wouldn't this tire Li Zhi to death?

Song Zhen smiled slightly, and he proposed a new concept.

"Your Majesty, I suggest that we implement regional autonomy."

"Regional autonomy?"

"That's right. For example, the prefect of each county can be elected by local people."

After hearing this, another Zhongshu Ling Xu Jingzong's face changed drastically. He was afraid that Your Majesty would agree, so he interrupted Song Zhen in a hurry.

"Your Majesty, this move is absolutely not allowed. The allocation of each official reflects the emperor's great grace. Moreover, if they are nominated by the people, they may be self-reliant."

"Oh, the emperor's great grace? Is the grace of the Ministry of Personnel greater?"

Xu Jingzong turned around and scolded: "Song Zhen, don't talk nonsense in the hall!"

"May I ask you, how are the official positions of the Jinshi who are named in the gold list every year arranged? Who arranges them?"

Song Zhen did not flinch. He left his seat and walked in front of Xu Jingzong.

"Except for the top three champions, the second place, and the third place, who are personally appointed by Your Majesty, then what about the other more than 30 Jinshi?"

......