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Someone wants to rebel? !
After hearing this sentence, all the Xingzhou officials and gentry in the government office sank in their hearts and changed their expressions.
In fact, after a morning of buffering, some Xingzhou officials and gentry had somewhat recovered their senses at this time.
Before that, because of the tense situation, Li He's support, Zhao Junchen's show of weakness, the impact of a whole golden mountain, and Zhao Junchen's pressure at the last moment, all of them were deceived to a certain extent. He was so smart that he actually sold grain to Zhao Junchen at a sky-high price of five taels of silver.
However, as more and more gold ingots were piled up in front of them, some Xingzhou gentry gradually realized one thing after the initial period of excitement.
He actually cheated Zhao Junchen out of his money!
Zhao Junchen is the elder of the cabinet, the most powerful official in the court after Zhou Shangjing, and the hereditary new uncle...
A famous official who has made great achievements and left his name in history! A treacherous minister with numerous cronies and unscrupulous tactics!
Such a big shot was actually treated as a scapegoat who took advantage of him? !
Do you have this qualification?
Who gave me this confidence?
Do you have the ability to withstand Zhao Junchen's revenge?
Can the "Zhou Party" definitely protect themselves?
When they thought of this, many Jin gentry couldn't help but feel horrified.
The gold ingots and bricks in front of them are piling up more and more, and they are still so bright and charming, but some gentry gradually begin to feel that... gold is hot to the touch!
There was a lot of gold and it was very heavy. It weighed heavily on their hearts and made it difficult for them to breathe.
They even wanted to give up the gold for a time, but they were really reluctant to do so.
And just when they were struggling in their hearts, they suddenly heard the word "rebellion".
Some gentry with keen minds and stronger sense of crisis immediately trembled after hearing these two words, and had a bad premonition in their hearts.
Just like Li He, they didn't expect that Zhao Junchen's revenge would be so fast!
For example, Li Ci.
"Just don't be me... Just don't be me... As long as you don't bear the brunt, there is still room for maneuver!"
Li Ci secretly prayed in his heart.
But the next moment, Zhao Junchen's eyes had already turned to him.
Noticing Zhao Junchen's gaze, Li Ci immediately felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!
*
After examining Li Ci for a moment, Zhao Junchen once again turned his attention to Lu Wensheng, the magistrate of Xingzhou, and said slowly: "Someone reported that there are a large number of prohibited weapons stored in the Li family's ancestral home! After a search, it has been confirmed that the matter is true, in total We found more than 30 firearms of various types, more than 40 long and short bows and crossbows, nearly 200 swords, guns and weapons, and nine sets of armor and stomach... It can be said that the evidence is conclusive!"
At this point, Zhao Junchen's expression became more solemn: "The Taizu of our dynasty once stipulated that private possession of more than three sets of armors and stomachs among the people is considered to be treason! Nurhaci used thirteen sets of armors to rebel! The Li family had nine sets of armors. Do you want to imitate Nurhaci back then? Not to mention all types of firearms and crossbows! Our court strictly prohibited the private possession of bows and crossbows. After the emperor ascended the throne, the prohibition on the possession of firearms and the prohibition on the possession of armored stomachs were regarded as the same crime. And the Li family actually hid so many firearms and crossbows, which is definitely a serious crime of treason!"
After hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the government office changed drastically!
If what Zhao Junchen said is true, it is definitely a serious crime of treason!
Li Ci immediately rushed to the government office, knelt down in front of Li He with a bang, and begged loudly: "Mr. Li Ge! You must make decisions for the people! The people swear to God that they will never dare to rebel!" There is absolutely no way to hide such a large number of stomachs and firearms privately! This matter is because someone deliberately retaliated and framed the common people!"
After saying that, Li Ci kowtowed to Li He, hoping that Li He could support him!
However, Li He was very sharp and immediately discovered the flaw in Li Ci's words.
Li Ci said that he would never dare to rebel, and Li He was willing to believe it. However, when Li Ci was in a panic, he said that he "didn't have such a large number of stomachs and firearms secretly"!
In other words, this sentence means - Li Ci indeed hid a small amount of firearms and armor!
If this is the case, even if Li He has not yet reached a deal with Zhao Junchen and can still intervene in the Xingzhou situation, he will never help him, otherwise he will also bear the responsibility!
Therefore, Li He did not respond to Li Ci's cry at all, as if he was deaf and blind.
In fact, when Xu Qingyan sent people to raid the Li family's ancestral home, he originally wanted to frame the Li family. Unexpectedly, he actually found many weapons in the Li family's ancestral home, including half a set of armored stomachs, two pairs of helmets, and a A firearm and three crossbows!
This kind of thing is not particularly unexpected. As the world gradually becomes chaotic, local wealthy families like the Li family will definitely be prepared.
Especially when facing rioters, firearms are absolutely useful. One shot can often scare away a group of rioters.
In fact, the Li family is relatively cautious. They don't have many prohibited weapons and armor in their possession. They can easily eliminate evidence. Even if they are caught, they have a good chance of getting away with it.
But after Xu Qingyan and Tao Xiong carefully inspected these prohibited weapons and armors, they were even more shocked to discover that these weapons and armors were all from the Forbidden Army!
In fact, this kind of thing is not particularly surprising. The Forbidden Army has been completely corrupted, and it is normal for a small number of weapons to be scattered among the people.
But after discovering this situation, Xu Qingyan and Tao Xiong became even more courageous. They immediately asked the Forbidden Army soldiers who were accompanying them to collect eight and a half sets of armor to add to the Li family's inventory, and also dropped more bows and firearms. .
At first, Xu Qingyan just wanted to throw some of the firearms and crossbows into the Li family cellar to trap them, because the styles of bows, crossbows and firearms in the Ming Dynasty were so complex that as long as certain traces of the marks were erased, the source would never be found again.
But the armor stomach is completely different, and it is easy to find out the general origin, so Xu Qingyan did not originally intend to "give away" the armor stomach to the Li family for free.
But since the Li family already possesses Forbidden Army weapons and armored stomachs, it means that the Li family has relevant purchasing channels and can secretly purchase more armored stomachs at any time. Therefore, Xu Qingyan became more and more unscrupulous and immediately gave Li Jiakang a gift. .
For Zhao Junchen, it was a complete surprise, because this situation meant that the Li family no longer had any chance of a comeback!
In Zhao Junchen's eyes, Li Ci, the head of the Li family, was already a dead person, so he completely ignored Li Ci's crying and begging to Li He. He just continued to stare at Lu Wensheng and said, "Lu Zhizhou, this incident happened in Under your rule, you should be the one to personally judge! Now, it’s up to you to judge!”
Compared with Li Ci's decisive cry of injustice, Lu Wensheng's reaction was half a beat slower. He subconsciously wanted to take sides and protected him, and couldn't help but question: "Impossible! There is no way that the Li family could commit the crime of treason! What happened? Who reported the Li family’s private possession of prohibited armor? And who searched the Li family’s ancestral home? Since it happened in Xingzhou, why didn’t I know the news from the beginning to the end? I’ve never received a similar report?”
Zhao Junchen suddenly laughed and said: "So, before Lu Zhizhou even tried the case, he had already decided that the Li family would not commit the crime of treason and wanted to protect them? No wonder no one dared to report the Li family's crimes to the Xingzhou government office ,I see!"
Then, Zhao Junchen turned to look at Li He and asked: "It seems that our Lu Zhizhou has a close relationship with the Li family! So... should we change another official to hear this case? Well, such a big deal The heavy weight is enough to shock the whole party, so it might be more appropriate to hand it over to the Governor of Zhili for judgment! Or... give this piece to the East and West No. 2 Factory and Jinyiwei?"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Lu Wensheng immediately trembled, and finally understood the seriousness of this matter belatedly.
Even if it is just a suspicion now, as long as it is related to the word "treason", I can only investigate and deal with it strictly, and I absolutely should not show any tendency to appease!
If you still speak for the Li family at this time, you simply think you have a long life!
Especially when Zhao Junchen mentioned the East-West Second Factory and Jinyiwei, everyone turned pale with fright!
Just like good citizens need to respect the law, but gangsters can be unscrupulous, different people follow completely different logics.
Zhao Junchen is a minister of the court and needs to rely on the Jin gentry to do things for him. He also needs to worry about the backlash and hostility of the Jin gentry class. However, the factory guards don't care about this kind of thing at all. Once they come forward, all the people in Xingzhou will be affected. All forces on all sides are facing a catastrophe!
Therefore, Lu Wensheng quickly changed his words and said: "Zhao Gechen Mingjian! Your Majesty has absolutely no intention of showing favoritism! It has nothing to do with the Li family! Please do not contact the East and West Second Factory and Jinyiwei! Your Majesty will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. !There will never be any appeasement!”
Later, Li He also slowly said: "Zhao Gechen, although you and I have different positions, we are all civil servants of the foreign court, and in many cases our interests are consistent. It is better not to leave this matter to the inner court, otherwise we foreigners The court officials are not good-looking."
Although he had promised not to interfere in the situation in Xingzhou, Lu Wensheng had already joined the "Zhou Party" after all, so he still needed some protection.
Zhao Junchen was also willing to sell it to Li He to save face. In fact, he now wanted to force Lu Wensheng, a member of the "Zhou Party", to personally take action and kill all the Jin gentry in Xingzhou!
Therefore, Zhao Junchen also nodded in agreement: "In that case, let Lu Zhizhou be responsible for judging this case!"
After hearing this, Lu Wensheng was obviously worried that Zhao Junchen would suddenly go back on his word, so he immediately got up and called out to the Xingzhou government officials to prepare for the trial.
Under the command of Lu Wensheng, the government officials quickly emptied the main hall of Xingzhou Prefecture and moved dozens of boxes of Zhao Junchen's gold to the vestibule outside the main hall. They also moved several tables and placed them on the left and right sides. , and then invited Zhao Junchen, Li He, and Zhang Su to sit down, preparing for these three big shots to observe the entire trial process.
While Lu Wensheng was busy preparing, Zhao Junchen sat aside and kept making various suggestions, which seemed to be full of good intentions, but in fact were yin and yang.
"Please also pay attention to Lu Zhizhou. Although we must not tolerate any rebellious ministers and traitors, we must not wrongly accuse any loyal subjects! The head of the Li family is willing to sell grain to this pavilion at the price of five taels of silver and one stone of rice today to help This pavilion has successfully stabilized the public opinion in Xingzhou City, which is also a credit to the imperial court, so don’t accuse him unjustly!"
"However... the recent performances of the Li family are indeed suspicious. Just like today's situation, the Li family delayed until the last moment before reluctantly agreeing to sell food. It seems that they deliberately wanted to provoke A civil riot has shaken the stability of the government and opposition! Therefore, during the trial, Magistrate Lu also needs to investigate whether the civil riot some time ago has anything to do with the Li family!"
When talking about the latter part, a gentle smile appeared on Zhao Junchen's expression, and he turned to look at the Xingzhou Jin gentry who were standing not far away and watching nervously. It can be said that he was full of goodwill.
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"As for the gentlemen, as long as you have a clear conscience and have nothing to do with the Li family's suspicion of treason, you don't need to pay attention to this incident. The vestibule outside the main hall is still at your disposal. You can continue to settle accounts and earn the subsidy provided by this pavilion for you. Just get the gold! This kind of opportunity to make a fortune is not common. You must seize the opportunity! Don't be half-hearted and make miscalculations! Selling food to the people is your business, so you can't delay it casually!"
However, after hearing what Zhao Junchen said, the Jin gentry present became more and more frightened, and felt that the gold they had earned became even hotter.
At the same time, Li He finally understood Zhao Junchen's overall plan, and immediately shook his head slowly and whispered softly.
"Oh, young man, he is rough and impatient."
Obviously, the so-called hiding of soldiers and armor, deliberate conspiracy, and even using these crimes to kill the Li family were not Zhao Junchen's main intentions, they were just done casually.
These crimes were just an introduction, allowing Zhao Junchen to take the opportunity to force the Xingzhou government to thoroughly investigate the real cause of the civil unrest within the territory.
When the civil unrest broke out in Xingzhou, the Li family must have been hiding behind the scenes to add fuel to the flames. As long as the government conducts a thorough investigation of this matter, it is easy to find out the truth, so Zhao Junchen can put all the blame for the civil unrest in Xingzhou The Jin gentry put a final conclusion on this civil unrest, which completely eliminated the relationship between the New Agricultural Reform Policy and the civil unrest in Xingzhou. It can be said to be a great victory.
This kind of calculation can be regarded as interconnected, but in Li He's opinion, it is still a bit too hasty.
Zhao Junchen was sitting next to Li He, so he roughly heard the content of Li He's words that he muttered softly.
Zhao Junchen actually fully agreed with Li He's evaluation. If this plan were to slow down the pace a little and extend the time a little, it would definitely be more effective.
However, due to various variables in the situation between the government and the opposition, Zhao Junchen had to return to the capital as soon as possible to take charge of the situation. Moreover, Zhao Junchen also urgently wanted to hug his daughter, whom he had not yet seen, in person, so he could only be "rough and anxious".
However, Zhao Junchen did not explain to Li Heduo. He just turned his head and leaned down, lowering his voice and said: "Senior Li made me laugh, but all the actions of this junior are actually for your 'Zhou Party' consideration. As long as you are involved in rebellion, If it is related to the crime, Senior Li will have a legitimate reason to stop intervening in the situation in Xingzhou. No one can say that you, the 'Zhou Party', have given up and betrayed the Xingzhou Jin gentry, so letting the Li family be convicted of this crime, for you It’s beneficial to both sides, don’t you think?”
Of course Li He knew this, and shook his head again: "Zhao Gechen is really full of tricks and clever methods! When you first arrived in Xingzhou, you were still isolated and helpless, but now you are able to help the clouds. For the rain...you did win this round in Xingzhou."
"You have the right to be a junior. Senior, you are praising this junior... It's really too much!"
While responding, a trace of thoughtfulness flashed across Zhao Junchen's expression.
Zhao Junchen suddenly discovered that both Li He and Song Qili often used similar words - "I'll give this round to you", "You won this round", "It doesn't matter if I let Zhao Junchen hold on to this round." "...
In fact, this kind of thinking is very arrogant. I think that I don’t have to worry about the gains and losses of one round. Even if I don’t take advantage of today’s round, I can still lay the groundwork for the next round. Sooner or later, I can even make a profit. win back.
But this kind of thinking is obviously unique to Zhou Shangjing's style. It can only be said that the imprint of Zhou Shangjing on "Zhou Party" is so deep that everyone in "Zhou Party" takes Zhou Shangjing's style of work for granted, even if Li He is no exception.
However, after "Zhou Party" loses Zhou Shangjing in the future, will it still have the ability to compete with others in a round? And is it possible not to care about the gains and losses of one moment and one game? After encountering a temporary setback, will it be a failure or a comeback in the next game?
Zhao Junchen was deeply skeptical.
Whether it is Song Qiwen or Li He, they are both skilled in methods and profound in mind, and each has his or her own strengths and obvious advantages.
But they are not Zhou Shangjing after all!
*
While Zhao Junchen and Li He were whispering softly, Lu Wensheng finally arranged the lobby of the Xingzhou government office and began to try Li Ci's crime of treason.
As a result, a very funny scene occurred in the Xingzhou Mansion Office.
In the main hall, the atmosphere can be described as solemn. Under the looks of Zhao Junchen, Li He, Zhang Su and others, a major case related to rebellion is about to begin.
Outside the main hall and in the vestibule, the sound of banging beads could still be heard. Various gentry families, including the Li family, continued to earn large sums of gold from Zhao Junchen.
But when the Xingzhou gentry saw more and more gold in front of them, they became more and more nervous. They were afraid that it would be their turn to be the next unlucky guy. They turned their heads and stretched their necks to pay close attention to the interrogation in the main hall. Eucalyptus progress.
Under such circumstances, as Lu Wensheng hesitantly took pictures of the scene, two rows of government officials shouted the word "mighty" in unison, and the Li family's conspiracy trial finally began.
"Where is Li Ci!"
"The common people are wronged! The common people are wronged!"
Li Ci was a member of the Jin gentry. He had obtained imperial honors and had various privileges. Originally, even when facing various accusations, as long as the crime could not be implemented, he did not have to kneel in court.
But at this moment, after hearing Lu Wensheng's shout, Li Ci did not dare to show any arrogance, and immediately knelt down to the ground again, shouting that he was wronged.
In some respects, Li Ci can be considered a talent, especially in terms of courage. He insists that he has absolutely not committed a crime, and he can still respond to interrogations with a clear mind and reason. In short, he is absolutely unwilling to admit guilt.
At the same time, Lu Wensheng was hesitant and did not say harsh words or make harsh moves, which gave Li Ci more room for quibbles.
Seeing that this interrogation was about to turn into a personal performance show for Li Ci to prove his innocence, but the situation could not be advanced for a long time, Zhao Junchen, who was watching, finally couldn't stand it any longer, and became angry again.
"Humans, their whole body is soft, only their mouth is hard! No prisoner will die until he reaches the Yellow River, so normal interrogation alone will never reveal the truth! According to my opinion, torture is still necessary !”
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