Shi Zhengxiu then looked at him in confusion, and listened to Su Zongshan continue to say: "This matter is actually the intention of the prince. Although the imperial court had reached an agreement with Lian Chongwen before, it set the compensation conditions too low, fearing that The other country is not very satisfied and there is another dispute. Therefore, I want to make some moves to show our country's attitude against the New Deal. But the position of Fengxiang cannot be moved for the time being, so I can only bully people like you and falsely accuse you. The same party who instigated the New Deal. I am also a little resentful, but after all, it is the order of the prince to supervise the country, how dare I disobey it?"
As he said that, he picked up the memorial from the table: "Look, this is the article they asked me to impeach you for. I just brought it to Prime Minister Liu this morning to read it. He nodded and said this is the article. Hand over the title. But this junior is soft-hearted, so he hid it here specially, waiting for you to take a look."
"The Prime Minister also agreed?" Shi Zhengxiu became even more frightened.
Su Zongshan sighed: "These are all helpless things. Don't blame Prime Minister Liu. He is not an unfeeling person, but he is hurting the prince's feelings. In addition, the world is unfair and the villain has gained power. Many things have already happened." He couldn't help it. Yan Wen was the most trusted by the Prime Minister back then, so didn't he end up being dumped in the wilderness?"
After hearing this, Shi Zhengxiu felt that the road ahead was gloomy and irremediable, so he lowered his head, sobbed and cried bitterly, pinching the root of his nose and refusing to let go.
"I have been involved in politics for a long time, and I am half dead in the humble position. I am about to retire, but I never thought of encountering such a disaster! Please help me come up with an idea so that I can spend my old age peacefully and not harm my children and grandchildren. ..." He nodded his head heavily on the table three times and begged.
Su Zongshan looked at him with sympathy, frowned and thought: 'I'm just trying to deal with Lian Chongwen, why bother to kill him? ’ Then he patted his shoulder lightly and said, “Sir, don’t be sad. In fact, I have another plan that can solve the crisis. But...”
"Speak as soon as possible!" Shi Zhengxiu urged hurriedly as he didn't even want to know the reason for this 'nothing'.
"I have heard that many people in Si Tiantai have been ordered by the Prime Minister to report auspiciousness to him in order to safeguard the New Deal. If this happens, why not resort to the law and frame the blame on your deputy? But this plan is too sinister. That’s why it was never mentioned.”
"There is no other way. I just want to save my family..." Shi Zhengxiu wiped away his tears and stopped crying immediately, "The only thing to blame is the unfairness of the court. I simply acted like a bad person, so I'm not afraid that I will be punished for it. I don’t want my children and grandchildren to suffer disaster along with me, a dying person!”
Su Zongshan changed his mind temporarily, so he suppressed the impeachment memorial and secretly sent his confidants to spread rumors that Shi Zhengxiu was trying to curry favor with the Niu family and was deceiving the emperor under the pretense of auspicious astronomical phenomena. There is evidence to check. Because he had won over a large number of people by relying on his credentials, and his party members gradually became more numerous, he had a large number of people and spread the rumor quickly.
The ministers originally only relied on the secret letter as a basis, but today they heard the conclusive news. They were even more delighted. They identified Su Zongshan as Niu Yuan's confidant and asked Liu Zhennian to thoroughly investigate Si Tianjian.
When Liu Zhennian saw their memorial, he was dubious and didn't even know how the wind started. He had no choice but to order Si Jin Shi Xiu Shen to lead troops to search and end the matter as soon as possible.
The Imperial Guards broke into Si Tian Prison without even saying hello. This group of people shouted loudly that they wanted to arrest the evil party, which shocked many officials. Only Shi Zhengxiu was not surprised. He bowed and allowed them to go into the cabinet to search for documents.
It turned out that Shi Zhengxiu and Su Zongshan had negotiated and deliberately burned all the writings he had written on the sky, so that the officers and soldiers could not find any trace of him. Instead, they found many auspicious images made up by the young eunuch for Niu Yuan. It is a metaphor for virtuous ministers taking power, eradicating the old and replacing the new, etc. The time also coincides with Niu Yuan's actions. Seeing that the opportunity had come, Shi Zhengxiu said: "I am old, and I usually entrust the young eunuch to do fortune telling. I didn't expect that he would use public affairs for personal gain and form cliques with others!"
The subordinates were so frightened that they flew away when they heard the supervisor's stern tone. They were afraid that they would also be involved, so they distanced themselves from each other and added insult to injury. It was difficult for the young prisoner to tell anyone, so he was arrested by the imperial army and taken to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for interrogation. After a lot of torture, he wrote a confession in full about the "truth". After being detained, he was stripped of his official position and sent to prison.
After the crowd of officers and soldiers left, all the documents and papers scattered on the ground were sorted out, and the bookstore was locked. Si Tianjian returned to his former peace. Shi Zhengxiu finally felt relaxed, but he was always worried, fearing that he would be tainted with the troubles of the previous court again, so he prepared three hundred taels of silver, and after thanking his benefactor for saving his life, he put his official career on the agenda again. .
At this time, Su Zongshan found out the news that the young prisoner was imprisoned, and felt at ease. He conveyed the matter to the envoy Lian Chongwen and asked him about the date of departure, which meant: "Don't worry, it's time for you to go." '. Of course the incorruptible ambassador understood that he had lost his use value and became a feared and hated broom star here. He was so proud that even though he failed to complete his mission during his mission, he still disgusted these officials. So, with a snicker, he packed his luggage and walked out of the inn.
Su Zongshan sent away the Westerners, and then turned around to deal with his own people. When he saw Shi Zhengxiu bringing money to thank him, he was overjoyed and invited him to sit down. However, when he heard that Shi Zhengxiu insisted on hanging up his seal and leaving, he looked sad again and persuaded him slowly. He must not resign. Prime Minister Liu still needs the support of several meritorious veterans, and his words are emotional and extremely sincere.
Seeing that Su Zongshan treated him sincerely, Shi Zhengxiu even talked about it in detail for half an hour, which made him feel grateful, so he abandoned his original idea and reluctantly stayed in the court.
He thought that his stay was no different from usual, and he was still in front of his uncontroversial Si Tianjian. But as time went by, he discovered that his identity had undergone some subtle changes and became weird.
Ever since he was left behind that day, Su Zongshan had spoken to him many times and given him many instructions. For example, he was encouraged to do important things such as signing signatures and writing memorials. Just sign it, that's an order from Zhongshu Sheng, who dares to disobey it? Shi Zhengxiu was afraid of writing a letter to speak out, but strangely, not only was his letter not criticized, but he often received support from a large number of people, as if he had become a big shot overnight.
The more memorials he wrote, and the more instructions Su Zongshan gave him, it was only later that he realized that his view of the gentle Su Zongshan had greatly changed.
