As expected by Lao Zhu, none of the civil servants dared to come and make noise in front of him. But just because civil servants are not noisy doesn't mean they will stop. Especially after the civil servants worked hard and finally found out that serving as governor would receive a reward, they regretted it.
No one who knows it regrets their decision.
But now the deal is done, and all the governors in Nanyang have taken up their posts. No matter how unwilling they are, they can only wait until the next governor is re-appointed before they have a chance.
Some of the older civil servants don't know if they can survive until the next term when the governor is re-appointed. Even if he can become the governor, he doesn't know how long he can stay there.
In early April, some people in the capital were implicated and were about to be sent to Nanyang. One of them is Ding Bin, a relative of Li Shanchang.
Ding Bin wanted to escape the blame, so he naturally turned to Li Shanchang.
Li Shanchang did not refuse because he was a relative, so he nodded and agreed to find a way to exempt him from the ban. The next day, Li Shanchang went to the palace to see the emperor.
After the ceremony, the emperor asked Li Shanchang about his purpose. Li Shanchang told the story about Ding Bin and asked the emperor to be kind and spare Ding Bin.
The reason why Li Shanchang told the emperor so directly was because he felt that his hard work had made great achievements, and when the country was founded, the emperor compared him to Xiao He. Li Shanchang himself thinks so, and as his power grows higher, his daily behavior becomes more and more arrogant.
There is a saying that goes well, what you think is only what you think. The reality is often far different from what we take for granted.
Li Shanchang thought that he had outstanding achievements and the emperor should remember his merits. But in the eyes of the emperor, Li Shanchang was kind and gentle on the outside, but jealous and harsh on the inside. Of course, these are not the main point. The main point is that Li Shanchang has a strong desire for power. Lao Zhu was already annoyed with him and sent him back to his hometown while he was sick.
However, Li Shanchang was restless when he returned to his hometown. Not long after, he wrote a letter saying that he had recovered from his illness and directly stated that he wanted to continue to be an official. Lao Zhu was forced to have no choice but to let him re-enter the court as an official.
Li Shanchang had to retire as an official, but even so he supported his disciple Hu Weiyong to rise to power.
Lao Zhu was naturally on guard against such a power-hungry person.
Now that Li Shanchang is interceding for Ding Bin, Lao Zhu's long-standing grievances suddenly erupted. Not only did he not go as far as Li Shanchang, but he also directly ordered Li Bing to be severely punished.
The wind rises at the end of Qingping.
Not long after this incident, someone wrote a letter to impeach Li Shanchang. It is said that he was very resentful towards the emperor because of Li Bing's incident, and he once acted disrespectfully at a banquet at home. Of course, what happened was described vividly, but whether it was really the case, I am afraid that even Li Shanchang himself did not know.
After all, if a person is drunk, how can he remember what he said?
But it doesn't matter whether Li Shanchang remembers it or not. The key is that someone can help him remember it. It doesn't even matter whether someone remembers it or not. The most important thing is whether Lao Zhu thinks it is true.
After Li Shanchang was impeached, Lao Zhu asked him to explain himself.
Li Shanchang received the order and quickly submitted a petition to defend himself.
But it was already too late. From the moment the emperor asked him to submit a self-defense, the officials knew very clearly the emperor's attitude towards Li Shanchang.
So, a few days later, Ding Bin worked at Hu Weiyong's house, and he confessed about Li Cunyi's past interactions with Hu Weiyong.
Lao Zhu was furious when he heard this and immediately ordered the arrest of Li Cunyi and his son.
In the prison, Li Cunyi and his son were hung on a wooden frame, with blood marks on their gray prison clothes.
Jiang Wei looked at Li Cunyi and his son with excitement, as if he was not looking at two prisoners at all, but seeing his own future golden avenue and shortcut to success.
Jiang Wei sluggishly stood up from his chair with a sigh, walked to Li Cunyi, and said with a smile: "Li Sicheng, why are you doing this? We are ministers in the same palace, and Jiang doesn't want this. You'd better recruit Come on, as long as you bring out the collusion between Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong, I promise that you will not suffer any physical pain again."
Li Cunyi shook his head, as if he heard Jiang Yu's voice, raised his eyelids with difficulty, and said painfully: "I don't know what you are talking about."
Jiang Wei laughed and sighed: "Actually, even if you don't say anything, we still know. Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong have a close relationship. How could he not know about Hu Weiyong's rebellion?"
Li Cunyi's expression became excited when he heard this. Regardless of the pain on his body, he struggled all over, causing the chains on his body to rattle: "Nonsense, my brother and Hu Weiyong are relatives, and it is normal for them to have contact. Hu Weiyong was When I was arrested, even the emperor didn’t hold my brother accountable for this. Who do you think you are and dare to disobey the emperor’s will?”
Jiang Wei's expression did not change at all, he was still smiling. He looked closer and stared into Li Cunyi's eyes and said: "Of course Jiang is nothing. At most, we are just a dog of the emperor. Whoever the emperor wants us to bite, We’ll bite whoever you want. You’re so smart, you even know the emperor’s thoughts. What do you think we’ve brought you here for?”
Jiang Wei raised his eyebrows and gestured to Li Cunyi a few times.
Li Cunyi froze when he heard this, his eyes widened and he was speechless.
Jiang Wei saw the change in Li Cunyi's expression, and the smile on his face gradually turned into a sneer. He straightened his body and looked at Li Cunyi condescendingly. He sighed and said: "The mouth is on your face. If you don't tell me, there is nothing we can do against you." . But if you don’t say anything, you have to ask them if they agree.”
Pointing at the various torture instruments in the room, Jiang Wei turned to his subordinates and ordered: "To torture him, we want to see whether it is the torture instruments in the room that are tougher or his mouth."
"yes!"
After finishing his instructions, Jiang Wei returned to the chair and sat down, picked up the teacup, and drank tea with his head down. In front of him, several subordinates surrounded Li Cunyi. Not long after, Li Cunyi's shrill screams rang in Jiang Wei's ears.
...
As night falls, Qianqing Palace is also brightly lit.
Lao Zhu was looking down at the memorial in his hand, his brows could not help but he had not started writing yet.
Jiang Wei walked in with a stack of confessions with an excited look on his face, "Your Majesty, Jiang Wei, pay homage to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."
Only then did Lao Zhu raise his head and put down Zhu Pi. At a glance, he saw a stack of papers in Jiang Wei's hand and asked in a deep voice, "Did Li Cunyi confess?"
Jiang Wei quickly raised his head and said with a happy face: "Go back to the emperor, I'm ready."
"Get up. Tell me what's going on." Lao Zhu leaned back on the chair.
"Yes." Jiang Wei quickly stood up from the ground, bowed and said, "According to Li Cunyi's confession, when Hu Weiyong attempted to rebel, he sent Li Cunyi to secretly persuade Li Shanchang."
When Lao Zhu heard this, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he said to himself in a cold voice: "He has never reported this to me."
Seeing Jiang Yu temporarily stopped because of his words, he did not dare to continue. Lao Zhu's face darkened and he said, "Go on, what was Li Shanchang's reaction when he found out about this?"
"Yes." Jiang Wei nodded again, "According to Li Cunyi's own words, after he informed Li Shanchang of Hu Weiyong's intentions, Li Shanchang was very surprised, but in the end he only said to him, 'What do you mean by saying that? You must do it. Be careful, otherwise all nine tribes will be destroyed, and nothing will happen."
"Okay, it's better to be cautious, and it's better to let it go..." Lao Zhu's eyes showed a fierce look, and Jiang Yu couldn't lift his head under the pressure of the huge momentum, and there was cold sweat on his forehead and face.
"Then what?" Lao Zhu asked again.
Jiang Wei quickly continued, "After Li Cunyi failed to persuade Li Shanchang, according to Li Cunyi's confession, Hu Weiyong sent Li Shanchang's old friend Yang Wenyu to persuade him again, and promised that after Li Shanchang's success, he would be granted the title of "the land of Huaixi". king."
"He agreed?" Lao Zhu's voice was clear and calm, but the chill he gave Jiang Wei was even worse than before.
"According to Li Cunyi's confession, Li Shanchang was horrified at the time and still did not agree. But from what Li Cunyi saw at the time, he could see that Li Shanchang was quite moved."
"Quite excited?" Lao Zhu asked lightly, but the killing intent in his eyes skyrocketed.
Jiang Wei nodded and said that was the case.
"According to Li Cunyi's confession, he couldn't persuade Li Shanchang twice in a row, so Hu Weiyong later came to persuade Li Shanchang in person, but Li Shanchang still didn't agree. After a while, Hu Weiyong sent Li Cunyi to persuade him again. Li Shanchang still didn't agree, but This time, he sighed and said that he was already old and that after his death, Hu Weiyong would be left to take care of himself."
"Bastard!" Lao Zhu was furious. He suddenly waved his hand and swept the memorial and teacup to the ground. The memorial was scattered everywhere, and the teacup was smashed to pieces.
Taking this opportunity, Jiang Wei said solemnly: "Your Majesty, although Li Shanchang is a relative of the Emperor, he clearly knew that there was a treasonous conspiracy but did not expose it. Instead, he lingered and watched, with two ends in mind. Such a treasonous act, I sincerely ask the Emperor to The purpose is to capture Li Shanchang as a warning to others!"
Lao Zhu stood behind the imperial case, looking at Jiang Gu who was kneeling on the ground, and remained silent for a while without saying anything.
Just when Jiang Gu was getting more and more trembling, with beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, he finally heard two cold words from the emperor.
"Back off."
"Your Majesty, please leave." Jiang Wei did not dare to speak to one more person. After standing up, he did not even dare to look at the emperor. He bowed and retreated until he reached the entrance of the palace, then turned and left.
Jiang Wei, who had just walked out of the palace, exhaled suddenly and felt that his whole back was soaked with cold sweat. At the same time, I deeply hated myself for being so eager for success that the emperor had a grudge against me.
...
As the turmoil gradually began to rise, the extremely prominent Han Dynasty Duke's Mansion also began to sway. However, the people in the Han*guo government were not aware of all this.
However, in the court hall, wind and rain began to gather.
One morning in the morning, a censor impeached Li Shanchang, claiming that while he was returning to Haozhou to recuperate, Li Shanchang wantonly occupied people's land and caused the people to become homeless. Another censor impeached Li Shanchang for nepotism, and he was related to Hu Weiyong by his son and daughter. He knew about Hu Weiyong's rebellion and did not report it...
All of a sudden, censors rushed to impeach Li Shanchang. The powerful Duke of Korea in the past suddenly turned into a lost dog that everyone wanted to beat.
Faced with the turbulent impeachment from the ministers and the demands for Li Shanchang to be prosecuted and severely interrogated. Lao Zhu also had to make concessions and ordered Li Shanchang to be imprisoned and tried by the Ministry of Punishment, the Supervisory Office, and the Dali Temple.
The dignified founding hero of the Republic of Korea, Duke Li Shanchang, fell like this?
When the news reached the people, everyone looked shocked, no matter the official name. This news was completely beyond everyone's expectation.
Not only that, not long after Li Shanchang was imprisoned. Someone reported Li Shanchang and said: "Lan Yu, Duke of Liang, led his army out of the fortress and when they arrived at Yuerhai, they captured Hu Weiyong's affair with the desert envoy Feng Ji, but Li Shanchang hid and did not report it."
Moreover, even Li Shanchang's servants Lu Zhongqian and others reported that Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong exchanged bribes and gifts, often talked behind closed doors in the mansion, and prohibited anyone from approaching.
...
Han Du looked at the dizzying changes in the court in front of him and was stunned in shock. It stands to reason that Li Shanchang and I are not familiar with each other, and we have no contact with each other. Han Du should stand by and watch the fire from the other side.
But for some reason, Han Du always felt that it was not that simple.
When Han Du was confused, Tang He sent someone to ask Han Du to come over.
Han Du came to Tang He's house, walked into the house, and saw Tang He lying on the bed with a cloth on his forehead. Suddenly he was shocked and turned pale. He stepped forward in three steps and asked with concern: "Master, what's going on?"
Tang He shook his head, seemed to be in good spirits and said with a smile: "It's nothing. As people get older, they always have a lot of problems, it's nothing serious."
"You are so sick, why is it okay? Have you seen the doctor?" Han Du asked nervously. If Tang He hasn't seen the doctor yet, then Han Du will have the doctor come in and see him no matter what. look.
Tang He felt warm in his heart when he saw Han Du getting nervous. He turned over in good spirits, nodded and said, "The imperial doctor has already come to see you. Just let me rest more."
Han Du couldn't help but nod after hearing this. Since the imperial doctors said there was nothing wrong, Han Du didn't say anything more.
He glanced back at the room and asked doubtfully: "My father-in-law is sick, why is there no one around to take care of him?"
Tang He sighed slightly and explained: "I drove them out. I have something to say to you alone."
"What's wrong? Master." Han Du was a little surprised as to what Tang He wanted to say to him.
Tang He did not answer Han Du in a hurry. Instead, he asked, "It's been very lively in the court these days. What do you think?"
Han Du frowned, and suddenly understood what Tang He meant, and asked awkwardly: "What do you want to say, the Duke of Han* was imprisoned?"
Tang He nodded and stared at Han Du closely.
Han Du pondered for a while, sighed and said: "I have no contact with the Duke of Han*, so I don't know much about him. And I also heard that his collusion with Hu Weiyong came to light. Duke I know that Hu Weiyong was executed before I became an official, so I don’t know much about these things."
"It's best not to know. I'm telling you, you must not get involved in this matter." Tang He nodded with satisfaction and told Han Du.
Han Du was stunned for a moment, then asked with a smile: "I have only met Duke Han* a few times, how could I get involved in his affairs? Lord, what are you worried about?"
"It's best not to get involved." Tang He glanced at Han Du, and then lowered his voice and said, "Li Shanchang is jealous and arrogant. You see, he was granted the title of Duke before me, but I never did. Been close to him. To tell you the truth, this matter is not as simple as it seems."
In the past few days, Han Du has also noticed that this matter is complicated and confusing, which completely makes Han Du unable to see clearly. It was a time when there were many doubts. Now that I heard Tang He say this, it was obvious that Tang He knew the inside story.
So, Han Du immediately asked curiously: "What is going on? Master, can you tell me?"
Tang He nodded solemnly and said solemnly: "I can tell you, but you don't think you can tell the third person."
"Don't worry, kid!" Han Du solemnly nodded and agreed.
Tang He let out a long sigh, as if he was lost in memories, and said after a moment: "Li Shanchang is not only Hu Weiyong's teacher, but they are also his sons and daughters. Do you think Li Shanchang knew about Hu Weiyong's rebellion?"
The two of them were master and apprentice, as well as sons and daughters. If Li Shanchang knew nothing about what Hu Weiyong did, I'm afraid no one would believe it.
"But when Hu Weiyong was beheaded, why did Li Shanchang stand alone? Could it be that the emperor didn't know?" Han Du was a little confused.
Tang He chuckled, blinked slowly, and said leisurely: "There may be things in this world that can be hidden from the emperor, but I have never seen it in so many years. The secret actions of Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong were noticed by the emperor. It’s clear, how could you not know?”
Han Du became even more puzzled after hearing this, and quickly asked: "Since the emperor knows it, and he didn't pursue Li Shanchang's crimes at the beginning, why is he imprisoned now that he is exposed?"
Tang He said with a serious look: "The emperor didn't pursue his crimes at first because of Li Shanchang's hard work and the fact that he was a relative of the emperor and the country. Now he wants to investigate it again, because he didn't know how to restrain himself. When he was in power, He likes to monopolize power. Even if he retires and returns to his hometown, he still likes to interfere in government affairs through his disciples and old officials. You see, Li Shanchang is definitely not the only one who is unlucky this time. I am afraid that all of his Huaixi group will run away. Don’t fall off.”
"Huaixi group?" Han Du suddenly heard an unfamiliar word and asked curiously.
Tang He nodded and patiently explained to Han Du: "Li Shanchang was born in Huaixi. You should have heard of the honorable name of Huaixi."
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