Seeing that Li Jian seemed to be going on a long speech, Xiao Lingyu also spoke directly:
"So in your opinion, Mr. Li, how should we deal with Ye Fu?"
Facing the gazes of Xiao Lingyu and Zhu Xiaowen, Li Jian thought for a moment and suggested in a deep voice:
"I suggest that Ye Fu be removed from the post of General of the 14th Division and demoted to... Sentinel Commander!"
After speaking, Li Jian, the Minister of Punishment, also observed the expressions of his two colleagues on the side. He originally wanted to demote Ye Fu to the rank of commander and give him minor punishments and severe punishments, but looking at the expressions of Xiao Lingyu and Zhu Xiaowen, he finally Or he was changed to a sentinel commander who is one level lower than the commander!
Although Zhu Xiaowen remained expressionless after hearing the advice given by Li Jian, Xiao Lingyu, the censor of Zuodu, snorted coldly and said to Li Jian:
"Master Li, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, but I think I need to remind you that Ye Fu, whether he is suspected of rebellion or corruption and bending the law, is an unforgivable death penalty. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, his family will be confiscated and his clan will be exterminated!"
"Remembering him in his last moments, he suddenly realized that he had gone astray and found his way back. Killing him alone without implicating his family is already an act of mercy outside the law!"
"Master Li, how about you not only not kill him, but also let him continue to be an official?"
"If it is handled in this way, wouldn't the law become a decoration? Do people in the world still know what reverence is? The price for committing rebellion is so low, will there be lawless people imitating it in the future?"
Although Zhu Xiaowen, the minister of Dali Temple, did not agree with what Xiao Lingyu said, he also looked at Li Jian at this time. Apparently he agreed with Xiao Lingyu's view and felt that Li Jian's guilt for Ye Fu was too low and he was very dissatisfied. suitable··························
Facing Xiao Lingyu's sharp question, Li Jian, who knew he was in the wrong, also dodges his eyes a little. After thinking about it for a moment, he continued:
"The commander-in-chief often said that this specific issue must be analyzed in detail. People like Ye Baode, Huang Can, Yang Guoxu and others are the principal criminals and are unforgivable, but Ye Fu is just an accomplice. Even he is unwilling in his heart. It's just that he has something to do with it. It was in the hands of Ye Baode and others, so he was forced to do so by Ye Baode in desperation!"
After Li Jian finished speaking, he paused. Seeing that Xiao Lingyu was about to fire again, he changed his tone and continued:
"Although Ye Fu made a big mistake this time, he has always been a rising star in the army, and he made outstanding achievements in the war with the Kipchaks!"
"This time the commander handed Ye Fu over to us for trial. I think we should not only judge Ye Fu for his mistakes, but also the person Ye Fu!"
Listening to the fact that Li Jian seemed to be determined to excuse Ye Fu, Xiao Lingyu said coldly without any scruples:
"I heard that Ye Fu got a lot of dirty money from Defengxing Company. Could it be that he paid homage to you, Li Shangshu, in order to survive?"
When these words came out, Li Jian was stunned for a moment, then immediately slapped the table and said angrily:
"Master Xiao, I'm just discussing the matter. Don't spit on me with your blood!"
Xiao Lingyu said calmly after hearing this:
"Li Shangshu, you know clearly whether I am spitting blood or not. If not, why are you shielding Ye Fu so much?"
"I························"
Hearing Xiao Lingyu slandering him like this, Li Jian immediately wanted to retaliate. However, Zhu Xiaowen on the side saw that the two people were talking more and more, and immediately smoothed things over before Li Jian could say anything:
"Both of you are the pillars of the imperial court! They are all doing it for the imperial court. Don't do this! Don't do this!"
Li Jian calmed down a little after hearing this, and stopped saying what he wanted to say just now. He looked at the steady Xiao Lingyu and then snorted coldly and left.
Seeing this, Zhu Xiaowen frowned and said to Xiao Lingyu beside him:
"Master Xiao, what you just said was a little too much!"
Xiao Lingyu sighed and said:
"Master Zhu, Li Jian seems to be a loyal guy, but in fact he has a cruel heart!"
Hearing what Xiao Lingyu said, Zhu Xiaowen couldn't help but be shocked and was about to say something.
Even when he saw Xiao Lingyu, he stood up and said goodbye.
Seeing that the two of them had left, Zhu Xiaowen, who stayed where he was, couldn't help but shake his head.
In the evening, Zhu Xiaowen also came to Cui Mansion in the name of paying New Year greetings to his teacher Cui Shao. After having a meal with the Cui family, Zhu Xiaowen also entered Cui Shao's study.
Because he was in front of his old mentor who had single-handedly promoted him, Zhu Xiaowen drank some tea to wake up and asked directly without hiding anything:
"Teacher, have you heard anything about Ye Baode's rebellion before?"
Faced with Zhu Xiaowen’s question, Cui Shao shook his head and said:
"I've heard some things about De Fengxing that you're going to say, but I didn't expect Ye Baode to be so courageous and cause such a big trouble... ········》
"Speaking of which, I originally thought he was just a small businessman, but now it seems I really underestimated him!"
Hearing what Cui Shao said, Zhu Xiaowen asked with some confusion:
"Teacher, you actually know about De Fengxing, then why don't you report it to the commander-in-chief?"
Faced with this question, Cui Shao was silent for a moment and then said quietly:
"The most important thing for a minister is to do one's duty well, and I am the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, not the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, and I am not the Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate!"
Hearing this answer, Zhu Xiaowen couldn't help but tremble in his heart, and immediately he became more clearly aware of the teacher's rather delicate situation in the current Yijing court.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Xiaowen told Cui Shao about the punishment discussion he, Xiao Lingyu and Li Jian had today.
After listening to Zhu Xiaowen's story, Cui Shao thought for a while and asked calmly:
"Xiaowen, what do you think about this matter?"
Zhu Xiaowen said without thinking:
"Teacher, I think Li Shangshu's reputation for integrity has always been well-known in the court. The reason why he shields Ye Fu in this way is definitely not for money!"
"In my opinion, the reason why he is like this is probably because he is trying to figure out the commander's thoughts. Li Shangshu feels that the commander not only doesn't want to kill Ye Fu, he even wants to continue using Ye Fu!"
After speaking, Zhu Xiaowen also looked at Cui Shao. This idea was what he figured out after pondering it all afternoon. He felt that this was the only way to explain why Li Jianhui wanted to keep Ye Fu so much... ················
The reason why Li Jian was able to quickly rise to the top in the Fengwu Army, apart from his own talents and moral character, is that in the past series of internal struggles within the Fengwu Army, Li Jian basically stayed out of the fight, watching the fire from the other side, and just followed suit. Follow Ye Mingsheng’s footsteps!
And what he did was naturally appreciated by Ye Mingsheng, making him the youngest six ministers in the Yijing court!
Based on this, Zhu Xiaowen felt that Li Jian probably thought that the commander-in-chief wanted to let Ye Fu go, but he couldn't take the initiative to speak out, so he handed it over to the joint review of the three divisions. Thinking of the three divisions' joint review, he decided to let Ye Fu go. , and then the commander can follow the trend and turn big things into trivial matters!
This can also explain why Xiao Lingyu said that Li Jian seemed to be loyal and good, but in fact he had a terrible heart!
After all, Li Jian's move was, at best, a sign of understanding one's intentions, but at worst, it was just that he was infatuated and had lost his duty as a courtier!
Facing the disciple's inquiry, Cui Shao did not answer directly but asked:
"Xiaowen, let me ask you this! Who do you think is more guilty in this matter, Ye Tie or Ye Fu?"
Cui Shao's question made Zhu Xiaowen fall into deep thought. After thinking for half a cup of tea, he slowly said:
"Teacher, I think that although General Ye Tie did not participate in Ye Baode's rebellion and did not obtain any benefits from De Fengxing Company, I still feel that his guilt is greater than that of Ye Fu... ················》
"Why?"
"The reason is very simple! He is the commander-in-chief of Yi Jing, commanding all the soldiers and horses of Yi Jing. It can be said that the commander-in-chief has put his wealth and
His life was put in his hands, but he didn't know about such a big thing, not to mention that his deputy Huang Can was one of the masterminds! "
"This is a huge dereliction of duty! I think it is not an exaggeration to kill Ye Tie based on this alone!"
Feeling the decisiveness in his disciple's words, Cui Shao also watched him preach seriously:
"So how did the commander deal with Ye Tie?"
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Xiaowen was stunned on the spot. After a moment, he said with a vague understanding:
"The commander asked him to go home to reflect and wait for processing!"
"So Xiaowen, do you understand the commander's attitude towards Ye Fu?"
Zhu Xiaowen took a deep breath after hearing this, then nodded heavily and said:
"Teacher, I understand, the commander-in-chief does not want to protect Ye Fu!"
After hearing the answer given by his disciple, Cui Shao shook his head again and said:
"Xiaowen, you still don't understand!"
After hearing the words, Zhu Xiaowen suddenly showed a puzzled look on his face and said:
"Teacher, isn't Ye Tie the only one the commander really wants to protect?"
"If the commander wants to keep Ye Fu, he can naturally do what he did to Ye Tie and let Ye Fu go home to reflect and wait for processing... ····》
Cui Shao heard the words and guided again:
"Do Ye Tie and Ye Fu have the same status in the military?"
"Of course it's different! Although Ye Fu is a rising star that the commander-in-chief admires very much, Ye Tie is the commander-in-chief's most trusted general and a veteran in the army! Although they are both generals in name, their status in the army is different. It’s still huge!”
After hearing this answer, Cui Shaocai gave a meaningful sermon:
"Precisely because they have different statuses, the same treatment to Ye Tie cannot be applied to Ye Fu. It is okay for Ye Fu to go to the joint trial of the three departments, but Ye Tie must not go to the joint trial of the three departments!"
Although Cui Shao's words were short, the amount of information contained in his words was very large, which made Zhu Xiaowen a little stunned.
While Zhu Xiaowen was digesting this information, Cui Shao said with some emotion:
"Li Jian was able to rise to power so quickly. He is indeed a smart man who knows how to figure out the commander's thoughts!"
"Xiao Lingyu is right. Li Jian's move is indeed out of his heart. Xiaowen, do you think he really wants to help Ye Fu?"
Zhu Xiaowen was once again confused by these words. He thought carefully about his somewhat uncertain sermon for a while:
"Teacher, doesn't he want to help Ye Fu?"
Cui Shao smiled and shook his head when he heard this and said:
"Li Jian never really thought about helping Ye Fu. If he really wanted to help Ye Fu reduce his guilt, he would not have suggested that Ye Fu be demoted to the post of captain... ···········》
"Li Jian is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. He is very aware of Ye Fu's guilt. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is not an exaggeration to blame the Yi tribe. Just as Xiao Lingyu said that only holding Ye Fu accountable for his crimes and not implicating his family is already an act of extrajudicial mercy!"
"So if Li Jian really wanted to protect Ye Fu, he would not suggest that Ye Fu be demoted to the post of captain, but would directly suggest that Ye Fu be demoted to a commoner!"
After hearing Cui Shao's sharp analysis, Zhu Xiaowen suddenly realized and blurted out:
"Teacher, what you mean is that when Li Jian proposed to demote Ye Fu to the post of captain, he knew that Mr. Xiao and I would object, so when he made this suggestion, he didn't want to pull Ye Fu away at all. He just wanted to I want to show off to the handsome man!"
Seeing that Zhu Xiaowen had reacted, Cui Shaocai nodded slightly and said:
"Although Li Jian is young, he is very scheming. He knows very well that if he really pulls Ye Fu this time, it will definitely cause some criticism in the court, and these criticisms will definitely affect his future prospects! "
"So he wants the commander to be kind to him, but he doesn't want to bear the criticism. What he thinks is beautiful! He takes advantage of everything, and then he is not prepared to pay anything... ·············》
Zhu Xiaowen heard this
He felt a chill in his back. He could only see that Li Jian was trying to figure out what he meant. He didn't expect that there were so many twists and turns behind Li Jian!
At this moment Cui Shao asked with great interest:
"Xiaowen, now that you understand it, what are you going to do? You are the Minister of Dali Temple, and you need to make your own voice heard on this issue!"
Zhu Xiaowen pondered for a while, raised his head and said to Cui Shao:
"Teacher, tomorrow I will write to the commander-in-chief to dismiss Ye Fu from his post, confiscate his family, demote him to a commoner, and serve three years of hard labor!"
After hearing this answer, Cui Shao stroked his beard and said with satisfaction:
"Children can be taught!"
"You want to take advantage but don't want to pay anything. How can there be such a good thing in this world? If you want to take advantage of anything, you often end up not getting any advantage!"
When Zhu Xiaowen heard this, he also preached humbly:
"Thank you, my mentor, for the tip! Otherwise Xiaowen would still be kept in the dark!"
When he said this, the gratitude in Zhu Xiaowen's expression could be said to be beyond words. He knew very well that Li Jian didn't understand this truth, it was just that his personal situation was different!
Although Li Jian got the benefits of being neutral because he remained neutral, it also meant that he had no one to help him in the court, so he had to carefully consider the consequences of the criticism caused by keeping Ye Fu!
And he, Zhu Xiaowen, is Cui Shao’s student, so with Cui Shao’s presence, the influence of some criticisms can be minimized...
(Remember to bookmark it for next time reading!)
