Lao Zhu remained calm and didn't speak, wanting to wait for Han Du to ask him before he could follow the trend.
But Han Du was not stupid. Just seeing that even Lao Zhu didn't speak, he knew that the paper in his hand must be very hot. I don't have a title now, and I feel guilty, so of course I don't want to cause trouble.
Seeing that Han Du didn't take the bait, Lao Zhu immediately slapped the memorial on the imperial case with his palm. "Bastard thing!"
Han Du was so frightened that his shoulders shook, and he raised his head cautiously and glanced at Lao Zhu, "You shouldn't be talking about me, right?"
Lao Zhu's eyes met Han Du's, his eyes cold. "If you don't take this job, I'm talking about you."
Okay... Han Du understood what Lao Zhu meant and knew that he couldn't hide if he wanted to. Then he spoke reluctantly and asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, what is the cause of Thunder's anger?"
Seeing that Han Du finally bowed his head and relented, Lao Zhu's face finally looked better. He said in a deep voice: "See for yourself."
Han Du slowly took two steps forward, picked up the folding book and opened it doubtfully. Han Du quickly read the memorial at a glance, but did not find any problem in it. He couldn't help but look at Lao Zhu in confusion.
"Your Majesty, I have read this memorial from the Supervisory Yuan Censor Cen Yong and I don't think there is anything wrong with it."
In the memorial, Cen Yong mainly wrote about how he handled the tasks assigned to him by Lao Zhu. He did not mention the process, but mainly the results. As a result, after Cen Yong arrived in Liyang despite the emperor's orders, the matter was handled very smoothly. The principal culprit, Li Ang, the magistrate of Liyang County, took the initiative to surrender and plead guilty to the law.
Now that things have reached this point, it is considered over. Cen Yong also stated in the memorial that after the head and tail of Liyang County are dealt with, he will escort Li Ang for trial.
This was the standard procedure for handling cases in the Ming Dynasty, and Han Du really couldn't see anything wrong.
Lao Zhu glanced at him, leaned back, and then said: "About a month ago, Huang Lu, a scholar from Liyang County, rushed to the palace gate with blood letters written by tens of thousands of people in Liyang to complain: Liyang County Order Li Ang and the government officials to convict the rich man of being a treacherous traitor, and to expropriate, murder, and set fire in Liyang, and commit all kinds of evil!"
"After I heard about it, I was heartbroken and immediately sent Cen Yong to Liyang for Qinchao to thoroughly investigate the case. But I didn't expect that Cen Yong would give me such an answer."
Being reminded by Lao Zhu, Han Du immediately reacted. Yes, it was obvious that there were two people being sued, but in the end, only Li Ang pleaded guilty and was punished?
And where is Pan Fu?
Han Du looked down at the memorial in his hand and searched it from beginning to end, only to find one sentence, "Pan Fu, the Yamen Chai, acted according to Li Ang's order, and Li Ang acknowledged everything he did, so it is not a crime. No punishment!”
There is actually nothing wrong with this statement. After all, Li Ang is the county magistrate, and Pan Fu is just a government official. The county magistrate has spoken, how dare he, a government official, disobey? As long as Pan Fu obeys orders, he cannot be blamed even if Li Ang's incident happened now.
There's nothing wrong with that either.
As a result, Han Du looked up at Lao Zhu with even more confusion, not understanding what Lao Zhu wanted to do.
Lao Zhu continued: "I have an impression of Li Ang. I remember that he only went to Liyang to be the county magistrate for less than two years. But the blood letter Huang Lu brought said that Li Ang and Pan Fu had been causing trouble in Liyang for many years. You Do you think people are saying that Li Ang has caused trouble for many years, or Pan Fu has caused trouble for many years?" Is this really necessary?
Li Ang has only been there for less than two years and was never in Liyang before. How could he cause trouble? In this case, the "many years of trouble" mentioned in the blood book must be referring to Pan Fu.
"So, this Li Ang is just a shield used by Pan Fu, and the real main culprit is not Li Ang, but Pan Fu?" Han Du said following his own thoughts.
Lao Zhu sighed, he also had Han Du's thoughts in his heart. "But I don't understand. Logically speaking, it is very easy for a county magistrate to control a small government official. How did Li Ang become the guest of the master by Pan Fu?"
Han Du lowered his head and pondered. If he planned it properly, there wouldn't be many ways. Maybe Li Ang and Pan Fu had known each other for a long time, or it was possible that after Li Ang arrived in Liyang, he was dragged into the trap by Pan Fu for some unknown reason. This is also possible. But Han Du didn't know what was going on.
In front of Lao Zhu, Han Du couldn't speak out his guess. If your guess is the same as what Lao Zhu thinks, then everyone will be happy, but what if your guess is different from Lao Zhu's, wouldn't you be asking for trouble?
Lao Zhu raised his eyes slightly, his eyes brightened, and he looked straight outside the hall, as if he was seeing Liyang County. "I always feel that there must be some problem here."
Han Du curled his lips indifferently and respectfully put the memorial back to Lao Zhu. He said: "If the emperor has doubts, why not send someone to investigate again and find out what is going on?"
"I think so too." Lao Zhu nodded slightly, with a happy smile on his face.
Such a smile made Han Du's heart jump. He swallowed his saliva and asked tentatively: "The person the emperor wants to send will not be a minister, right?"
"You really think of the same thing as me." Lao Zhu gave Han Du an encouraging look.
Han Du's face suddenly became frustrated. He clearly didn't want to go, but he didn't dare to say it directly in front of Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu glanced at Han Du, and then said: "I am giving you a chance. If you want to restore your title, regardless of how much contribution you have to make, you must have a justified reason, right? I promise you. , as long as you go and get to the bottom of Liyang, I will return the title to you."
Well, why should we do something? If Lao Zhu forced the order, he would have to go even if he didn't want to. Now that I can get my title back, it's not a loss.
Moreover, Han Du also had a small idea, if he could get his title back. From now on, even if the incident is revealed, I will have a greater buffer. Maybe Lao Zhu would just take his title away again instead of punishing himself?
"Your Majesty, I obey the order." Han Du weighed the pros and cons and immediately bowed in obeisance.
"Without further delay, I will give you a decree tomorrow and set off immediately." Lao Zhu was anxious in his heart, always feeling that this matter was not simple.
The reason why Lao Zhu insisted on Han Du conducting a thorough investigation was because he felt that people like Cen Yong were inexperienced. They are worried that they will not be able to see through the treacherous plot, resulting in no problems being discovered.
But Han Du is different. Lao Zhu has never seen anyone more cunning than Han Du. Even if those people have unknown methods, it is all wishful thinking to hide it from Han Du.
This was the reason why Lao Zhu had to go to Liyang because he wanted Han Du to take the bait.
...Han Du returned home and as soon as he walked into the yard, An Qing immediately greeted him.
He asked nervously: "What did your father say when he summoned you to the palace?"
Han Du briefly told An Qing about the matter, but did not tell her the key content.
An Qing was relieved when he heard it, and a smile appeared on his face again. "I thought you had offended my father, but it turned out to be this. Then, did you agree?"
Han Du nodded and said with a wry smile: "Can I not agree? My father said that after I finish this matter, he will return the title to me. Even if I don't want to agree, I have to agree."
"That's great. Being able to regain the title is a great joy no matter how you look at it." An Qing suddenly became happy when he heard that Han Du was going to restore the title.
Han Du laughed. It would be a great thing to be able to restore his title. After all, if he loses his title, others will only call him Prince Consort. Once their title is restored, they must call themselves Marquis.
One is a horse, the other is a man, who is better and worse will be judged.
The next day, Lao Zhu summoned Han Du into the palace and gave him the order to appoint Han Du as the imperial envoy to Liyang to investigate the case thoroughly.
There are strict etiquette rules for imperial envoys to travel. In addition to the accompanying officials, there was also a team of sergeants for protection.
Lao Zhu even directly ordered Shanziying to send a team of fifty people to escort Han Du to Liyang.
Although Han Du is still the commander of Shanzi Camp, Shanzi Camp has now expanded to 15,000 troops. But without Lao Zhu's will, Han Du would not be able to mobilize any of his soldiers.
After receiving the order, Xu Chengfei directly selected fifty elite soldiers from Shanzi Camp and prepared to teach Han Du.
Before Han Du left the capital, he did not display the imperial envoy's royal order flag. Taking the carriage directly to the gate of Shanziying, Xu Chengfei was already waiting there early.
Although you can also ride a horse, it is obviously much easier and more comfortable than riding a carriage. Han Du would not owe himself a favor just because he was in a hurry. Besides, this matter is not something that can be solved quickly. Han Du still needs to think long and hard about how to start.
Although the carriage was moving a little slowly, it was smoother and could give Han Du enough time to plan. If it were to start a horse, there would be no way to think while sitting on the horse.
Han Du got off the carriage, directly held hands with Xu Chengfei cordially, and patted the back of each other's hands.
"Calm and elegant, you are really becoming more and more like a Confucian general." Han Du greeted with a smile.
Xu Chengfei smiled and let go of Han Du's hand, turned around and pointed at a group of sergeants, "I know you are on your way urgently, so I have already selected the manpower for you. They are all the people who followed you back from the grassland. He is as good as ten."
Note that when Xu Chengfei said that one is worth ten, it was not for ordinary people, but for the Mongolian people.
Han Du looked at everyone's faces, as if he had seen them all before, but he couldn't remember their names. But one thing is certain, they are all elite soldiers under their command.
"Okay, then I will teach you about my safety this time."
"General, don't worry!" the leading captain shouted back immediately.
When others saw Han Du, smiles appeared on their faces.
Han Du did not enter Shanzi Camp, and Xu Chengfei did not persuade him to stay. He just stood at the door and watched Han Du leave.
