Li Jiangyao got off his horse and exchanged greetings with the courtiers. He is funny and has no airs. He doesn't work very hard, and he blends in with everyone, and the laughter keeps coming.
At this moment, a clear copper bell sounded from the Suzaku Gate, and then, the corner gate next to it was slowly opened by the imperial guards.
Dong Tianxing quickly reminded Li Jiangyao that it was time to go in.
Civil and military officials filed in through the corner gate, then stood on the royal road of the imperial city, lining up in order of rank.
Seeing that everyone was ready, the chamberlain on duty waved his hand and led the way, leading the ministers through the imperial city and into the palace city.
Hundreds of officials, with purple robes in front, red robes in the middle, and green robes following, walked up the imperial steps to the Tai Chi Hall.
Li Jiangyao didn't need to think too much. He just followed the military attache who was walking in front and stood on the left side of the hall. According to his official rank, there are seven or eight people in front of him, but they are already relatively close to the throne.
There were more than a hundred courtiers standing in the hall, as well as dozens of imperial guards and chamberlains. The two hundred or so people were completely silent, not even a single person coughing.
After a while, the bronze bell rang in the palace, and amid the singing of the chamberlain, Li Bing, dressed in imperial regalia, slowly walked out from behind the throne screen.
All the ministers bowed down and worshiped at the same time, shouting "long live the mountain".
Li Bing sat firmly on the throne, first subconsciously glanced at the generals, and then said loudly: "My dear friends, what are the reports from the government officials today?"
Following the words, several ministers stood up and talked about the government affairs issues in their charge. Disaster relief in Hebei, bandit suppression in Jiaodong, taxation within the customs, and pensions in the Huaihe River were all related to the governance of the Holy Tang Dynasty and were quite complicated.
Li Bing listened carefully, asking questions from time to time, mediating the differences among the ministers, and finally coming up with an idea. After several rounds of tossing, it was almost dawn outside.
Li Jiangyao stood with his legs numb. He was secretly complaining that this morning was really boring, when he suddenly heard Li Bing ask: "Where is the general of the Phoenix Army?"
Li Jiangyao was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that this was calling him. He quickly imitated the behavior of the ministers just now, walked out of the courtroom, raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Li Jiangyao, is here."
Li Bing looked at the young general in front of him quietly, with mixed feelings in his heart. He waited for a moment before saying, "Li Aiqing, you must have had a hard journey back from the front line."
This is the second time Li Jiangyao meets Li Bing. Last time, the emperor was still the prince, and he had been in a coma without saying a word. Seeing each other again at this time, I felt quite sad.
He said loudly: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the road was easy and not too hard. I came to the imperial capital this time because I heard from Murong Qianqiu that Xu Youchang and Murong Xue were seriously injured and in danger, so I came here to visit them."
Li Bing nodded slightly and said: "On the day of the princess's wedding, assassins attacked. Xu Youchang and Murong Xue risked their lives to protect her. Unfortunately, they were injured. They are all recuperating in the palace and are being cared for by the imperial doctor. After a few days, the situation stabilizes, and you can I can see them.”
At this point, Li Bing paused for a moment and then asked: "Li Aiqing, what do you think of the assassination?"
"Your Majesty, I have no opinion at the moment," Li Jiangyao said calmly: "In the absence of necessary investigation and evidence, I cannot speculate or make baseless opinions."
Tian Mu, who was standing opposite, sneered and said in a sinister tone: "Is General Li too modest? With the capabilities of your intelligence department, will you be missing investigation evidence?"
Li Jiangyao was a little surprised: "When Your Majesty is talking to me, can others interrupt at will? This is my first time to participate in the morning court, and I don't know the rules very well. Please don't bully me."
Hearing this, the civil and military officials burst into laughter, and Tian Mu, who was ridiculed by Li Jiangyao in public, couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed. According to court regulations, ministers cannot interrupt at will without the emperor's approval.
As a censor, he knew the law and broke it.
Li Bing frowned and glanced at the waiter next to him. The waiter quickly shouted loudly: "Be quiet——"
When everyone became quiet again, Li Bing said in a deep voice: "Li Aiqing, when the assassin committed the attack, he once threatened that he was Ashina's support, but I remember that the battle report memorial you wrote said that the Turkic Khan had been defeated and committed suicide. Well, what on earth is going on?"
"Your Majesty, among the guests at the attack site, has anyone seen the Turkic Khan Ashina Zhijin?" Li Jiangyao asked calmly.
Li Bing was stunned: "It seems... not. Moreover, the poisonous soldier's face is distorted and cannot be recognized."
Li Jiangyao smiled faintly: "Since it is impossible to identify and none of the guests have seen the real A Shi Na Zhijin, then why does Your Majesty conclude that the other person must be it?"
Li Bing was immediately speechless by the question, and had no choice but to kick the ball to Tian Mu: "You are investigating the case, please explain it."
Tian Mu thought: I can't explain it either.
However, since the emperor had spoken, he had to react, so he turned to Li Jiangyao and said: "General Li, your battle report last time said that Ashina self-immolated, except for a broken saber, there was no other proof. , it would be too hasty, how could the assassin's words not make the court suspicious?"
Li Jiangyao looked at him and replied in a sincere tone: "I was born in the martial arts hall of the imperial capital, and later worked in the Zhenjiang Protectorate. Both my teachers and my superiors have told me one thing: report the battle truthfully. So what does it mean to be truthful? Just say what you see. We are soldiers, and in a fierce war environment, we cannot investigate everything in detail like the Three Laws Division and have tangible evidence for everything."
These words were reasonable and reasonable, and many courtiers nodded slightly.
The truth is obvious. Our troops are fighting bravely on the front line to kill the enemy, but they still have to collect evidence for you. Isn't this forcing someone to do something difficult? Besides, defeating the Turks and regaining the imperial capital was Li Jiangyao's top priority. As for whether the Turkic Khan Ashina Zhijin died or ran away, this is not the responsibility of the Suppressing Xinjiang Army at all.
Tian Mu was speechless for a moment and had no choice but to look at Wei Zixuan for help.
Wei Zixuan rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "General Li, since you have pushed everything away, let me ask you, is it your duty as a soldier to negotiate peace before the battle and release enemy chiefs privately?"
Li Jiangyao guessed that the other party was Shangshu Zuopu Shewei Zixuan, the leader of the gang of bad guys and traitorous officials, so he said coldly: "I don't know what you are talking about."
"It's no good to pretend to be confused." Wei Zixuan pressed forward step by step: "First you had a secret conversation with the second Turkic prince Tanli, and then let him go, along with the Turkic princess Hesijia, the consort Yun Qianxue, and tens of thousands of Golden Wolf troops; and later you and Isn't it true that Ashina held a secret conversation and eventually disappeared?"
Li Jiangyao laughed loudly when he heard this and looked at Wei Zixuan like a fool: "You must be Mr. Wei, right? May I ask Prime Minister Wei, where did you hear these rumors?"
Wei Zixuan glared: "This is an iron-clad fact, do you dare to deny it? If Tanli had not surrendered to you, how could Lanzhou be recovered? Ashina Zhijin asked you to meet you out of the city. Everyone in the imperial capital knows that. How can I deny it?"
Li Jiangyao said calmly: "It is true that Tanli surrendered to me, but I did not let him go. Instead, I kindly asked him to go to the emperor to ask for His Majesty's forgiveness. However, Tanli was afraid of being punished by his father. Then he sneaked away with his sister and brother-in-law. As for Ash's weight, I didn't go to see him at all. If you don't believe me, just ask someone."
These words immediately stunned Wei Zixuan on the spot.
At this time, he finally understood that Li Jiangyao was different from any military general he had ever seen before: this guy didn't play by the rules at all, he told lies without changing his face, and his heart didn't even beat!
What's even more troublesome is that even though Wei Zixuan knew that Li Jiangyao was lying, he didn't have any solid evidence to refute it.
Li Jiangyao was indeed determined to fight with these idiots to the end, just as Wei Zixuan thought. He is not Shen Lie, nor Xu Youchang, nor Murong Xue. He has only one thought in his heart:
Why do you talk about so many rules and morals when dealing with bad people? Just be more shameless than them.
Seeing that the other party was slightly speechless, Li Jiangyao continued to mock: "I'm just curious. Is it interesting that you adults are doubting this and that all day long? You can't guard against assassins, you can't catch the real murderer, and you can't drive away the Turks. , the rebels cannot be wiped out, what is the use of the emperor raising you? Prime Minister Wei, as a Zuopushe, you are in charge of the three departments of Lihuli. I just want to ask a casual question on behalf of the soldiers on the front line. When will the two months' military pay be paid? No one has money to drink and find girls!"
As soon as these words came out, the court burst into laughter again, especially when the military attache came to the court. Many generals followed Li Jiangyao in making noises, which made Wei Zixuan extremely embarrassed.
The foreman of the chamberlain quickly shouted for silence again, and at the same time reminded: "This is the holy place of the court, General Yunhui, please respect yourself!"
Li Jiangyao smiled nonchalantly and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I don't know if it was my misunderstanding. Today, when the poisonous soldier assassins were mentioned, Prime Minister Wei and others intentionally or unintentionally blamed me. It's Ashina again. Zhi Jin is not dead, and it was me who had an affair with a high-ranking Turkic official without authorization. These are just baseless speculations. I feel extremely aggrieved, and I ask Your Majesty to make the decision for me!"
Li Bing never expected that Li Jiangyao would be so straightforward. Not only did he make the purpose of questioning Wei Zixuan and others clear in public, but he also shamelessly allowed himself to make the decision for him.
For a moment, Li Bing, as an emperor, didn't know what to do.
In front of all the civil and military officials, if you don't speak for Li Jiangyao, Wei Zixuan and others really have no ironclad evidence to prove that Li Jiangyao is lying; if you speak for Li Jiangyao, how can you deal with him next?
Wei Zixuan saw the emperor's dilemma, and quickly spoke up to relieve Li Bing: "Your Majesty, I was indeed imprecise, which led to General Li's misunderstanding. However, I and Mr. Tian had no intention of trying to trouble General Li. Please give your Majesty a clear warning."
