There are hundreds of civil and military officials in the Xuanzheng Palace. After listening to Lu Chu's narration of Hao Li Shenfu's confession, the huge palace was silent, and everyone had different expressions and thoughts.
At this moment, Yang Ji, like everyone in the palace, was also quickly analyzing the suddenly changing situation. He didn't play much of a role in this case. If he hadn't been framed by the Li family, he wouldn't have even bothered to pay attention to it. All he had to do was wait for the result; but since the Li family dared to harm him, it was natural that he would be the one to do it. of enemies. And since he and the Yuan family have a common enemy, they naturally become invisible allies. Although he never showed his face, he summarized the results of his and his staff's analysis, the recent anomalies in the Li family's caravan and Hanhai Restaurant, and then had someone write a secret letter to the Yuan family.
The letter said, "Shimin has been waiting for a long time, come to Hanhai Restaurant in Nanshi to fight with me." It not only pointed out the culprit behind the scenes and the reason for the assassination, but also told the assassin's hiding place, asking them to take action as soon as possible, and things would change later. Based on the information he provided, the Yuan family and the Henan government took timely joint actions, and finally the big Eucalyptus was quickly solved.
It's just that the case has progressed to this point, but the "real murderer" Li Shenfu has become unable to collect debts, and he kills "poor people" in anger, which shows the tragic and compassionate color of having the courage to resist the evil forces; and the victims Yuanshou father and son, Not only did the Yuan family behind it become the culprits of their own fault, but more crimes were exposed.
Yang Ji, like most civil and military officials, knew the intentions of the Li family: the Li family clearly believed that their feud with the Yuan family had become public and irresolvable, so they simply gave the abandoned son of Li Shenfu to the Yuan family. All the opponents in the family create opportunities to defeat the enemy, and then work together to take advantage of the general situation to kill the Yuan family, which is in danger.
If the court launched a thorough investigation, the Li family would at most lose two insignificant chess pieces, Li Shenfu and Li Xiaoji, and the achievements they gained with their lives would be that of the entire Yuan family. In the end, Yang Guang lost one of his henchmen, the Yuan family's opponents were able to carve up the vacated profits of the Yuan family, and the Li family's immediate and future crises were resolved. It can be said that everyone was happy.
But for this seemingly wonderful idea, Yang Ji could only say that the Li family thought too much.
First of all, the emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty, famous families, and ordinary people were all afraid that they would one day be assassinated by their enemies, so everyone worked hard to maintain and abide by the rules and order in the circle of survival. The Li family's methods have outraged the public and caused public indignation. If you support the Li family, it will be tantamount to supporting and sympathizing with the murderer, which will bring unpredictable dangers to yourself.
Secondly, the timing of the complaint was wrong. If Li Shenfu had complained a few days ago, the civil and military officials who were not on the same journey as the Yuan family would have happily cooperated. Maybe Yang Guang would have given him an official position as an encouragement. But committing a serious crime, causing public outrage, and then turning back to sue the victim, the nature of the crime has completely changed. Not only does it have no effect, but it makes him appear even more despicable and hateful, and it adds another crime of bullying the emperor.
In the end, the civil and military officials will definitely encircle and suppress the Yuan family based on the information provided by Hui Li Shenfu, but this does not mean that everyone will forgive the worse Li family, just because these are two unrelated things and cannot be confused at all.
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Compared with many outsiders, Yuan Wendu, as the representative of the Yuan family, was both frightened, angry and flustered at this time. In this short period of time, sweat broke out on his back and temples.
The Yuan family has suffered heavy losses and gained notoriety at the hands of Yang Ji over the years. The Yuyang clan of the Yuan family led the theft and sale of grain from charity warehouses in Youzhou, which made the word "Yuan family" synonymous with collaboration with the enemy and the country.
Although the treason of Youzhou Yicanggu and Yuanjia Yuyang clique has come to an end, there are still turbulent aftermath hidden under the calm appearance. For the Yuan family, the two major events of the imperial court's strict annual review of officials and the downsizing of the military government are two big storms that are brewing. If they cannot cope with it, there will be no retreat in the front and a violent storm in the back. They will definitely combine to form a huge force that can destroy the Yuan family. However, during this extremely critical period, the damn "Li Shenfu" sold miserably, and it was revealed that the Yuan family was reselling pig iron and other prohibited items to the Turks. This not only made the Yuan family worse, but also clearly dragged the entire Yuan family to bury him with him.
Yang Guang glanced at Yuan Wendu and said to the ministers: "Lu Qing has finished introducing the situation. If you have any questions, you can ask Lu Qing, Guo Qing, and Zhao Qing. If you have different opinions, you can debate them in court." .”
"Sage, I have something to say!" Dou Wei, the young minister of Honglu Temple, came out, bowed to Yang Guang and said: "Sage, the time when the Yuan family and the Henan Prefecture obtained the witness were several hours apart, but they were not in any order. arrived at the Hanhai Restaurant, and what was even more coincidental was that not long after Li Xiaoji ordered his followers to kill Liu Ji, officials from the Henan Prefecture arrived. It cannot be ruled out that the Yuan family and the Jiangnan Prefecture deliberately set up a trap to lure Li Xiaoji into harming others."
Dou Wei had received a request from his niece and Li Dou yesterday, but now, he could only try his best to distort the matter and try to put all the blame on Li Shenfu and Li Xiaoji, so that Li Yuan could avoid this incident. Pool of muddy water.
When the officials heard this, they couldn't help but look at Lu Chu, Guo Wenyi, and Zhao Changwen who were standing in the court. After careful consideration, they realized that this was most likely a trap set up by them and the Yuan family.
"I have made it clear and clear before that this is a case that the Henan government and the Yuan family jointly cracked. Dou Shaoqing is just messing around!" Lu Chu is not a fool. Who knows that Dou Wei is deliberately trying to sway the wind? Overturn the facts?
He did not dwell on this useless and unconvincing topic with Dou Wei, and directly stated the facts: "Li Xiaoji should not have killed anyone under any circumstances. No one can deny the fact that he committed a murder and obtained the murder certificate. If Dou Shaoqing does not believe it, no one can deny it." But he interrogated the more than 20 witnesses. And even if he killed the witnesses, he still found the assassins and weapons from Hanhai Restaurant. Even Li Shenfu himself confessed. Doesn't this mean that the two of them joined forces to commit crime? As for whether there is a mastermind behind it, further investigation will reveal it.”
Dou Wei had no choice but to retreat. No matter how powerful his trick was, he was still vulnerable in the face of the fait accompli. If he did it knowingly that he couldn't do it, he would only bring humiliation to himself.
"Sage, although this matter has nothing to do with me, as the minister of punishment, I cannot stand by and stay out of the matter." Dugu Shun, the minister of punishment, also received a request for help from his sister yesterday, but his footing is different from Dou Wei. He thinks that the matter has reached this point. We can only try our best to minimize Li Shenfu's guilt so as not to drag Li Yuan into it. At this time, seeing Dou Wei retreating, he walked out.
He then said to Yang Guang: "The veteran believes that Li Shenfu's assassination of Yuan Taifu's father and son was mainly caused by the government's inaction. The officials responsible for investigating the iron ore case must bear at least half of the responsibility. Li Shenfu It is pitiable that we have no choice but to take drastic measures because we have no way to seek help and justice cannot be served."
"Sage, I don't agree with the words of Minister Dugu." Yuan Wendu was about to re-enter the queue when Zhang Jin came out first. He was far more awake than Yuan Wen who was in the game, and he realized deeply that the Li family was fully prepared. No matter how much they argued, they could not hurt Li Yuan in the slightest. In the end, the only ones he won were Li Shenfu and Li Yuan, who were bound to die. Just filial piety. However, the Yuan family has leaks from all sides and cannot withstand investigation. Once the entanglement continues endlessly, the Yuan family will lose not only Yuan Shou and his son, but also the entire Yuan family, so it is better to stop here.
Although Yuan Shou and his son died tragically, after all, people cannot be resurrected. If the unchangeable tragedy can be managed well, they can even gain some life for the Yuan family, which is in danger. Even if the Yuan family suffered losses during the annual review and downsizing of the military government, it would not damage the foundation. It’s not too late to get back this hatred and humiliation once you recover and get through the difficulties.
After he came out of the queue, he first bowed his hand to Yang Guang, then faced Dugu Shun and refuted his fallacy: "Dugu Shilang's argument that he has no way to ask for help will not be quite acceptable if it is applied to ordinary people. But Li Shenfu is Who is it? He is Tang Guogong's cousin, and Tang Guogong used to serve as a young eunuch in the palace. Li Shenfu only needs to ask Tang Guogong to convey a word, and the difficulties he encountered will be immediately spread to the ears of the saints and the three provinces and six tribes. But the two brothers didn't say anything, which means nothing, it means that Li Shenfu is unreasonable and has no confidence."
"As for Li Shenfu's false accusation of pig iron smuggling against Yuan Taifu, it is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make a fool of himself and cannot be taken seriously at all."
Dugu Shun is a shrewd old fox. After listening to Zhang Jin's words, he immediately understood that the other party did not want to make things worse, otherwise he would not have followed his advice and only stared at Li Shenfu.
Thinking of this, he retreated silently.
Zhang Jin accepted the offer and retreated.
When Yang Ji heard this, he secretly said that the masters are competing, and they are really powerful.
The Yuan family is decayed and crumbling, and currently cannot withstand the ravages of strong winds and waves. When they face the killing moves unleashed by the Li family, they have no choice but to avoid taking them. The ultimate move released by the Li family has developed to this point. It is no longer to kill the Yuan family, but to suppress the opponent until they compromise.
However, although the Li family survived today's disaster, Yang Ji believed that the Li family had become a loser.
In the final analysis, the reason why the Li family has been revived in recent years is because Li Yuan kept a low profile and grew up in obscurity in the dark. It is Li Yuan's "loyalty, honesty and reliability" that Yang Guang, the Dugu family and the Dou family like. However, now, although there is no conclusive evidence related to Li Yuan, everyone knows that the man behind the scenes is Li Yuan (Li Dou), the head of the Li family.
Li Dou broke through Li Yuan's decades of hard training, revealing his ferocious and ferocious nature, and successfully won the "look at him differently" from the emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty. Even though he was lucky enough to escape this time because Li Shenfu prevented disasters and eliminated disasters, the emperors and ministers of the Sui Dynasty After seeing through his true colors, I am extremely disgusted and hate him; I will most likely avoid him and be on guard against him in the future.
Once they lose the full support of the Dugu family and the Dou family, the Li family simply cannot bear the subsequent revenge of the Yuan family and the Yuan sect. Even if he dies and annihilates the family, most people will choose to watch indifferently and stand aside. Just because "Li Yuan" who has broken his gong is too evil and has no limits in everyone's eyes, everyone is afraid of being stabbed to death by him in the back.
In fact, this is the fundamental reason why Yang Ji and most of the ministers did not dare to assassinate rashly. The civil and military ministers present, as well as the middle and low-level officials from aristocratic families, all have the power to stab their opponents to death easily. However, although this method can win for a while, the risks and costs exceed The profit is hundreds of times greater. Once someone exposes it, not only will all the hard work and sweat accumulated by the predecessors and yourself be ruined, but you will also lose the future of yourself and your family, or several generations.
This unbearable price has restrained the vast majority of people, so that they would rather spend their time fighting wits and courage within the rules of the game than dare to use this method of assassinating their opponents.
Yang Guang had been deceived by his confidant Li Yuan for a long time. At this moment, he felt extremely uncomfortable, disgusted, and angry. However, although he also believed that Li Yuan was behind the scenes, there was no conclusive evidence and he could not say that Li Yuan was the culprit. This is not convincing enough.
At this time, seeing Xia Shou's silence, he said coldly: "Do you have any other opinions? If so, just say so."
"Sage, I have you!" Yang Ji is a warrior with sharp ears and eyes. He saw that the matter was about to happen and heard the anger in Yang Guang's voice. He answered first without waiting for the ministers who also saw the opportunity and were eager to try to get up.
Ministers: "..."
I mentioned before that when you were framed, what did you do? At this time, a result was reached, but to snatch it away so quickly was really shameless.
Yang Guang didn't care about this, raised his hand and said: "Speak!"
"Here!" Yang Ji came out in response, bowed to Yang Guang, and said solemnly: "Sage, I have experienced hundreds of battles. I have led a lonely army to fight among thousands of armies many times. I am on the battlefield, but I have never I have been afraid. But I am sincerely afraid of the all-pervasive and unpredictable assassins and assassinations, just because I have been assassinated many times. Although I can escape from the tiger's mouth every time, I can't guarantee that I will be so lucky next time. Therefore I deeply hate assassins and assassinations.”
"I had a dispute with Yuan Taifu, but it was just a dispute over political opinions, and there was no personal grudge. I am a person who is used to life and death. I can't say I am sad about his unfortunate death. But for the way of his death, I am as sad as a rabbit or a fox." Feelings. If the court does not impose severe punishment on the murderer, more people will follow suit, and the next person to be assassinated may be a minister or one of the princes here."
After Yang Ji said this, everyone recalled that after he became an official, he was repeatedly assassinated and escaped death many times, so his "appearance and explanation" was naturally sincere and very contagious.
Yang Ji continued: "The foreign tribes in the foreign countries regard our Sui Dynasty as a model. They think that our Sui Dynasty is prosperous and peaceful coexistence; local officials also regard the capital as a holy place. However, when envoys from foreign kings and envoys from all over the country gather in the capital, , the dignified minister of the Taifu Temple was actually assassinated in the capital. Telling this, it really loses the national integrity and undermines the national prestige. The only way is to make up for it and use the method of destruction to let everyone see the Great Sui Dynasty and see the central government's severe punishment of criminals. .”
Yang Guang was good at saving face, and the subjects of the Sui Dynasty were no exception. The monarchs and ministers in the palace had aroused Yang Ji's hatred of the same enemy, and when he exaggerated it again, they all nodded frequently.
When Dugu Shun and Dou Wei heard this, they couldn't help but sigh secretly: It's over, Shu De can't be saved anymore.
"What else?" Seeing that Yang Ji stopped talking, Yang Guang couldn't help but ask.
Yang Ji formally said: "I impeach the Duke of Tang, Dr. Yinqing Guanglu, General Yunhui, Shanghujun and the prefect of Shuofang County, and the general manager Li Yuan. This person is not strict in running the family, so that his brother Li Shenfu assassinated Yuan Tai. At the gate of Yuantai Mansion, Yuan Min and his followers were assassinated at Xinzhong Bridge, so that his brother Li Xiaoji killed Liu Ji in broad daylight and in full view of the public."
He only remembered two actual positions and one title of Li Yuan's official positions. After asking him specifically yesterday, he found out the rank and name of his civil and military casual officials and honors.
"Sage, I second the proposal!" As soon as Yang Ji finished speaking, Gao Jiong stood up and said: "Li Yuan is a man who holds many important positions, but he can't even manage his family. I really don't know what he has the ability to govern the country, the army, and the people. . I also impeach him."
"I second the proposal!"
"The general seconded the proposal!"
"..."
All civil and military officials responded one after another, and the loud sound was deafening and shook the hall.
Yang Guang, who was aloft, looked around and saw that among the hundreds of people in the hall, except for a few people including Dugu Shun and Dou Wei, all the others stood up.
Because Li Yuan had offended the public, Yang Ji's words were very reasonable. At this moment, everyone was on his side regardless of factions, friends or foes, or grudges.
It's hard to offend when people are angry. Once you do, you will die even if you are right.
When the hall calmed down, an angry Yang Guang responded to the ministers and severely punished the Li Yuan family from light to severe:
Li Xiaoji killed a person in public, and he killed an extremely important witness. The evidence was conclusive and the crime was unpardonable. He was beheaded together with the assassin in public; his wife and children were sentenced to exile in Jiaozhi County, Jiaozhou; Return to the country.
His brother Li Shao was dismissed from the post of governor of Changping County, demoted to a commoner, and his family was transferred to Zoke County in Liangzhou.
As the main criminal, Li Shenfu was as evil as a tiger and a wolf, and his crimes were extremely heinous. All members of Li Liang's family were killed; all the family assets and property in his name were taken back to the state. This means that his father Li Liang, brother Li Shentong, as well as his wife, children, old and young, who were related to Li Shenfu, were all killed.
As the head of the Li family, Li Yuan was arrogant and pampered his people, so he had no shirking responsibility. He deprived him of the title of Tang Guogong, the title of Wen Sanguan of Yinqing Guanglu, the title of Wu Sanguan of General Yunhui, and the title of Supreme Protector, and dismissed him as the prefect and general manager of Shuofang County. He was demoted to a commoner, and his wife, Li Dou's wife, was deprived of her royal title. Li Yuan's career and military fields were confiscated, and the Li family was fined 20,000 taels of gold, 50,000 taels of silver, and 500,000 shi of rice.
However, the title of Tang Guogong was inherited from Li Hu, and Li Hu had great achievements. Yang Guang believed that heroes should not be insulted and their achievements could not be denied, so he demoted the title of Tang Guogong to Angu County Duke and changed it to Li Hu. Li Shuliang, the eldest son of the sixth son Li Yi, succeeded him.
This demotion, in a sense, caused the head of the Li family to move to Li Shuliang.
Poor Li Yuanyuan served in Shuofang County, and he was conscientious and devoted to his duties. However, he did not understand anything and did nothing, so he lost an official position inexplicably. He also caused heavy losses to the Li family and was in dire straits. . It's just that husband and wife are one, and there is no distinction between you and me; the big mistake Li Dou made is not much different from him in theory.
Yang Ji was extremely shocked by Yang Guang's severe punishment. He had just thought that Li Yuan would be retaliated by the Yuan family in the future, and he could not bear the Yuan family's attack. In the blink of an eye, retribution came.
In the future, the Yuan family will be able to take revenge with ease.
