The secret letter written by Emperor Jin to Xu Zongwen was delivered to Qiantang two days later. On this day, Xu Zongwen ordered the governor of Wu County, Gu Yuezhi, to be sent to the capital. Gu Kaizhi, the son of Gu Yuezhi, who had received the news in advance, rushed to Qiantang County Yamen and took the Gu family with him. People from the clan surrounded the government office to a tight end...
"What are you doing? What are you doing? Who are you? Besieging the government office in broad daylight. Do you want to rebel?" Zhang San rushed out from the Qiantang County government office with fifty wolf guards, and immediately got together with Gu's people There was a confrontation.
Gu Kaizhi was not young either. He was nearly forty years old. He had a long beard, wore a light blue robe, and held a sharp sword wrapped in a deerskin spruce sheath. He stood in front and blocked the prison car escorting Gu Yuezhi. : "My father is still the prefect of Wu County, an official of the imperial court, and has not been dismissed. Why should the serving officials be stripped of their official uniforms and sent to Jiankang as commoners as criminals?"
"Son, this involves too much. If you don't know, don't get involved in this mess! Go back to Wu County quickly! Son, just listen to your father..." When Gu Yuezhi saw his son and others rushing away aggressively, When he arrived, he immediately sat up from the prison car!
Zhang San glanced sideways at Gu Yuezhi, turned around and walked down the steps, telling Gu Kaizhi the truth: "So you are the great painter the general said, the son of Gu Yuezhi! As expected, you are elegant and elegant. It seems that you are not only good at calligraphy and painting, but also good at speaking. The skill is so impressive! I, Zhang San, have seen a lot today."
"Don't dare, dare I ask you who you are?" Gu Kaizhi asked people to disperse and make way for Zhang San.
Zhang San came closer and asked the wolf guards to put away their swords and bowed their swords towards Gu Kaizhi: "My name is Zhang San, and I am the commander of Xu Shijun's guards. Mr. Gu, just call me Zhang San."
Gu Kaizhi saw that although Zhang San was not good at words, he did not have the worldly spirit of a wild man in the mountains. Instead, he exuded some murderous aura. He suddenly thought of Xu Zongwen's origin, and soon found out the details, and identified Zhang San and his men. Most of them were soldiers who followed Xu Zongwen in the Northern Expedition.
"It turns out to be Commander Zhang. I would like to ask Commander Zhang to introduce Mr. Xu on Gu's behalf. My father must have a grievance. He is definitely not the kind of corrupt official who takes bribes and breaks embankments to harm the people!" Gu Kaizhi also raised his hand and had a very serious attitude towards Zhang San. Respectfully, I did not look down on Zhang San at all because he was a rough martial artist. Instead, I negotiated with him in a reasonable and well-founded manner.
Zhang San didn’t know much about Gu Yuezhi’s case, but the impact of Qian Tang’s destruction of embankments and flooding of fields was not insignificant. The livelihoods of tens of thousands of people were affected, and nearly ten thousand people died in the flood!
However, since Xu Zongwen personally interrogated Gu Yuezhi and ordered Jiankang to be escorted, he must have substantial evidence, and Zhang San really couldn't say much.
"Master Gu, please wait a moment. I will ask the envoy for instructions first. Do you think this is okay?" Zhang San could only tell Xu Zongwen the truth here and then wait for the order.
When Gu Kaizhi heard that he had a chance to see Xu Zongwen, he immediately asked Zhang San to ask for instructions.
Soon, Xu Zongwen came out in person.
"Are you Gu Kaizhi, the sage of painting?" Xu Zongwen walked up to Gu Kaizhi step by step with a smile on his lips.
Gu Kaizhi is proficient in painting, and his calligraphy and painting are also quite famous in Jiangzuo. Hearing Xu Zongwen mention his name, he felt confident!
Gu Kaizhi saluted repeatedly: "Gu Kaizhi has seen the envoy!"
Xu Zongwen looked at the polite Gu Kaizhi and asked, "I heard that you are going to plead your grievances on behalf of my father. If you have any grievances, please tell me directly here to the governor!"
"Your Majesty, my father serves as the prefect of Wu County. Although Qiantang County is subordinate to Wu County and is nominally under my father's jurisdiction, this does not prove that the crimes of Qiantang Order Ding Tai and County Lieutenant Zhu Zhen in destroying embankments and flooding fields were due to my father's instructions. There must be someone behind this, please let me know clearly and clear my father's name!" As he said this, Gu Kaizhi's waist had already bent deeply.
Xu Zongwen glanced at Gu Yuezhi from a distance. Gu Yuezhi lowered his head silently as soon as they looked at each other. Xu Zongwen turned his head and replied to Gu Yuezhi: "Mr. Gu doesn't know something. The case file of this case The governor had already reported Jiankang, and His Majesty ordered that the case be handed over to Yushitai, Tingwei and Yezhetai for joint trial. A group of criminals related to the case must be escorted to Beijing. Now even the governor has no right to intervene. "
"What? The case has been handed over to the Tribunal of Justice for trial!" Gu Kaizhi was like a thunderbolt, and he was stunned: "So you can't decide whether my father will stay or leave?"
Xu Zongwen nodded helplessly: "That's right."
"Young Master, Young Master!" Gu Kaiyi sat down on the ground, and several servants of the Gu family with good eyesight immediately stepped forward to help the lost Young Master up.
Gu Kaizhi's trip was in vain, and Xu Zongwen ordered Zhang Si to escort Gu Yuezhi, Ding Tai and other Wu County criminals to Beijing.
Xu Zongwen has already read Emperor Jin's secret letter. Behind the case of Qian Tang's destruction of embankments and flooded fields, in addition to the Wujun gentry and Sima Daozi, several big clans among the gentry who moved south were also involved. He knew all of this. However, he did not choose to expose all this. Instead, he followed the wishes of Emperor Jin and blamed everything on the Gu family of Wu County, making Gu family the scapegoat.
Xu Zongwen knows that he is still very weak now, and his influence cannot be compared to the top noble families such as the Xie family of Chenjun, the Wang family of Langya, and the Longkanghuan family! Now, it is far from time to completely break with the noble clan. Only when his power and military strength reach a certain level one day can he prick open the biggest abscess and tumor of the gentry in the Jin Dynasty!
Guo Shang saw Xu Zongwen's thoughtful look and walked up to him: "General, are you thinking about the problems of the nobles?"
Xu Zongwen responded casually: "Yes! This case is so important, but His Majesty puts the interests of the nobles first in everything. The thousands of people who died in the disaster are nothing in their eyes! When I think of this , I feel really uncomfortable!"
"The gentry is like a long-rooted tree, deeply rooted inside and outside the court. Not to mention the marriages between the gentry, they are connected with the royal family at the top and intertwined with the local states and counties at the bottom. Their influence is deep and their influence is far-reaching. It's so simple on the surface! I don't know how many late emperors in the past wanted to solve the problem of the gentry's monopoly, but they either became the puppets of the gentry or turned into ghosts." Although Guo Shang's ancestor was the ghost Guo Fengxiao, but their team The Guo family was not considered a noble family, and the blood relationship with the Guo family in Yingchuan had long been sparse, so Guo Shang did not have a good impression of the noble family.
Xu Zongwen understood that freezing three feet did not last in a day. In the Jin Dynasty, the gentry and the imperial power complemented each other and were indispensable. Once one of the forces was damaged, the other party would lose its constraints and checks and balances!
"Forget it, people who have no long-term worries must have immediate worries. It is better to consider how to understand Qian Tang's case first, and then think about other things." Xu Zongwen began to deal with the funeral affairs of destroying embankments and flooding fields, because he knew that it would not be long before he could return to Jian Tang. Kang's transfer order will come down!
