Two groups of people, the Censor and the Wude Division, went to Juancheng, Puzhou to investigate. However, troubles gradually arose in Tokyo due to this incident. Officials in the court mostly discussed this issue in groups, mainly focusing on two places, the Chongzheng Hall and the Guo Mansion.
The discussion became even more intense when Guo Rong returned to Tokyo three days later. Guo Rong was returned in a car in prison uniform and shackles. When he arrived in Tokyo, he did not receive an audience from the emperor. He just sent him to prison directly, saying that he would proceed with the investigation after the results of the investigation were clear.
As a result, some bold rumors began to appear in the court, saying that the Guo family was about to collapse. Among the founding fathers, only Guo Wei was left as an auxiliary minister appointed by Emperor Gaozu. The fact that Guo Wei has been ill at home for more than a month and Guo Rong's murder has occurred further supports this speculation.
If something like this happened in the past, Liu Chengyou would definitely stop it severely. But this time, they did not express their attitude on this matter. They just allowed the discussion to develop, and the emperor's ambiguous attitude made the courtiers even more worried.
During this period of time, while Liu Chengyou was waiting for the results of Juancheng's investigation, he also secretly observed Guo Wei's response.
What surprised him but also expected him was that Guo Wei was very calm. As soon as he learned the news, he "dragged his sick body" into the palace and apologized to Liu Chengyou, asking Liu Chengyou to just deal with it in accordance with national laws.
Then he returned home, closed his doors, and declined visitors. Sensing the turbulent public sentiment in the court, many old officials of the Guo family couldn't help but come to visit him, but they were all rejected by Guo Wei and no one was seen.
Guo Wei's performance made Liu Chengyou a little confused about his thoughts, but he had to admire his cautious approach so that no one could catch the slightest clue. Liu Chengyou even thought about giving Guo Rong a death sentence to see how Guo Wei would react... Of course, it was just an idea, and Liu Chengyou couldn't bear to part with it.
On the other hand, Li Ye, the imperial uncle's Xuanhui envoy, jumped up and down during this turmoil without any discernment. He gathered a group of courtiers and told Liu Chengyou that Guo Rong must be punished severely, as if he wanted to put him to death.
Liu Chengyou was actually very dissatisfied with this, because Li Ye made him feel a sense of oppression, although the sense of oppression was not strong and could not even affect him at all. However, Liu Chengyou was a little unhappy. Why did Li Ye dare to do this? It was simply because of his status. Where did his confidence come from? It came from the Queen Mother in the harem.
As for why Li Ye was so active in this matter, Wude Si's detective gave Liu Chengyou an explanation.
First, Li Ye did have contacts with Zhang Jianxiong, the slain Puzhou governor. Li Ye was the envoy to declare the emblem, and one of his responsibilities was to inspect the tribute of famous objects from inside and outside. As early as the beginning of the second year of Qianyou, when Zhang Jianxiong paid tribute to Tokyo, the two parties got in touch. We kept in constant contact and exchanged gifts during every year and festival.
Secondly, Li Ye targeted the Guo family in this way because he had an old grudge with Guo Wei. When Guo Wei was in charge of the Privy Council, Li Ye once approached Guo Wei for an official position for his subordinates, but Guo Wei rejected him. Later, an officer who was friends with Li Ye broke the law, and Li Ye approached Guo Wei to intercede, but Guo Wei still failed to give him face. Because of these two incidents, Li Ye deeply hated Guo Wei. Now that his son Guo Rong had committed a crime, how could he not seize the opportunity.
Third, it is rumored that Li Ye recently hosted a banquet at his house, and while he was drinking heavily, he talked to his left and right guests. He has great ambitions, but cannot stretch them. There are many people in the court who disrespect or even despise others. This time he will take the opportunity to rectify the Guo family and let the courtiers see the majesty of his uncle Li Guo.
Receiving such a report relieved some of Liu Chengyou's doubts, but his senses about this uncle were even worse.
Compared with his uncles Li Hongxin and Li Hongyin, Li Ye may have stronger personal abilities, but sometimes his talents do not match his ambitions and he likes to interfere randomly and show his presence, which often leads to worse results. Li Ye, on the other hand, seems to be a pretentious person with a heart higher than the sky.
Ten days later, Zhao Li and Wang Jingchong returned from Puzhou, brought back their investigation results, and returned to Chongzheng.
"Your Majesty, your ministers are in Puzhou and are questioning the relevant officials, officers, soldiers, and people. The results of Guo Shijun's killing of the assassin Zhang Jianxiong have been concluded. All witnesses and testimonies are available!" Zhao Li handed over a case file and said Li Ze narrated:
"On the second day of February, Guo Shijun led his troops to inspect the spring plowing matters in Fan County, Puzhou. They found that the people were unsettled, but the government did nothing, and instead advocated miscellaneous donations. Guo Shijun was angry and rushed to the state to govern Juancheng. Under Juancheng's rule, everything was as good as Fan County. Some people blocked the road and complained, saying that Zhang Jianxiong, the governor, had occupied land and persecuted innocent people. The state government questioned him, but Zhang Jianxiong was very negligent. Later, there was a conflict in the government hall, and Zhang Jianxiong actually used state soldiers to resist. Guo Shijun ordered his arrest with anger. In the fierce fight, Zhang Jianxiong died!"
Zhao Li briefly introduced the situation, but from his verbal description, we can feel a certain bias, and he vaguely meant to excuse Guo Rong. Liu Chengyou couldn't help but glance at Zhao Li. This man came into Liu Chengyou's field of vision precisely because he was upright, did not avoid the powerful, and spoke out when he gave advice. Within three years, he had been promoted several times to the important position of Yushi Zhongcheng.
But this time, Liu Chengyou didn't know whether he was worried about the Guo family or whether he was biased because he suspected that it catered to his emperor's wishes.
While Liu Chengyou was reviewing the case file, Zhao Li took out another copy and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, after investigation, there are also violations of national laws committed by Zhang Jianxiong, the governor of Puzhou, during his tenure. First, he ignored the authority of the imperial court. Since your Majesty succeeded to the throne, , none of the new policies promulgated have been implemented in place. Your Majesty’s policies to benefit the people, the tax reductions, and taxes have all enriched yourself and gone into your own pockets.”
"Secondly, in the name of paying taxes and taxes to the imperial court, they are arbitrarily apportioned under the rule and plundering the people. They set up private checkpoints to extort money from the people, industry and merchants."
"Third, accepting bribes and covering up illegal activities has made villains rampant in Puzhou."
"Fourth, they indulged relatives and servants, occupied land, roamed the countryside, and sent jackals to intercept those who complained."
"Fifth, they do not comply with the "Penal Regulations" and are imprisoned for every marriage incident, and torture is indiscriminately carried out."
"..."
"In this way, the numerous crimes and bad governance are too numerous to describe. Please draw your Majesty's advice!" Zhao Li said.
After hearing the report, Liu Chengyou digested it for a while and said: "From what Zhao Qing said, Zhang Jianxiong is the person who should be killed?"
Zhao Li paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "If you act like this, you will never be able to atone for your sins even if you die!"
When the emperor's eyes fell on him, Wang Jingchong also moved, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, according to my observation, for the sake of governance, there has long been discord between Guo Rong and Zhang Jianxiong. Guo Rong is in trouble. Prefecture, in three years the government of Chanzhou was harmonized and all industries were revived, while Puzhou was under the rule of the Zhenning Army and became its own entity. When Zhang Jianxiong was in office, he always ignored Guo Rong's government. The accumulation of conflicts between the two parties did not occur in a day. Gong, this outbreak happened just at the right time!"
"Zhao Zhongcheng reported that Zhang Jianxiong committed crimes when he was in office in Puzhou. From what I found during the investigation, there are almost no omissions!"
After listening to Wang Jingchong's report, Liu Chengyou pondered and remained silent for a while. His head was still buried in two case files.
After a long time, Liu Chengyou raised his head and asked the two of them: "How far is it from Puzhou to Tokyo?"
Upon hearing this, both King Zhao and King Zhao were stunned, not knowing where to go. It was Zhao Li who replied: "Your Majesty, Puzhou Prefecture's administrative capital is less than three hundred miles away from Tokyo."
"A mere three hundred miles away, you can shut me up to this extent?" Liu Chengyou suddenly became angry, threw the two case files on the imperial case, and said coldly: "Then Zhang Jianxiong was practicing his evil policies in Puzhou, corrupting Why have I never heard of the reputation of the imperial court? Where is the imperial censor in Henan? Where is the military detective in Kinki? Hmm?"
"The territory of the Han Dynasty is more than a thousand miles away. What is the situation beyond that thousand miles away? I really feel chills running down my spine right now!" Liu Chengyou's voice was not high-pitched, but it echoed in the Chongzheng Palace, making people feel the anger in it. , dangerous and terrifying.
Zhao Li and Wang Jingchong almost unanimously knelt down on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please punish me for failing to supervise me well!"
