Seeing the wry smile on Chang Sheng's face, several generals felt bitter. Chang Sheng was frighteningly thin at this time. Although they didn't know how Chang Sheng survived, they knew that his situation must have been extremely bad during this period. They had just returned to Chang'an and met Li Bao again. They forced the palace with Li Maozhen and did not bother to recuperate. They went into battle with injuries after recovering their strength. They couldn't bear to tell Changsheng this series of bad news, but everything that happened during this period was all bad. No matter how many people searched, they couldn't think of anything. Good news comes to widen the heart of Changsheng.
At this time, the garrison had the absolute upper hand, and the leading general had no choice but to urge Changsheng to return to the city to rest early, leaving the war here to them.
Chang Sheng did not refuse. He simply explained a few words and then rode back. The reason why he was eager to return to the city was not to rest, but to know what else happened during this period. After all, these generals only care about war and people's livelihood matters. They know very little.
On the way back, Changsheng felt a strong sense of powerlessness. The secondary reason was weak energy and physical weakness. The main reason was that this series of bad news made him extremely depressed and anxious. He not only knew people's livelihood but also knew military affairs. He knew how much wealth the Tang Dynasty had. Tang was already in a state of turmoil and found it difficult to survive. If he continued to suffer such a toss, he really didn't know how to save it.
Previously, Li Maozhen's army besieged the city, which frightened the people in the city. They were afraid that they would suffer disaster after the war started. They never thought that after returning from Changsheng, they would immediately lead the garrison to counterattack and repel the rebels. The people were grateful. After Changsheng entered the city, he was warmly welcomed by the people in the city. Wherever he went, people knelt down to show their respect.
Changsheng was originally in a very low mood, but when he saw the people kneeling down, he felt emotional again. With his purple energy cultivation, it is actually easy to be alone in troubled times, but the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. How much responsibility does it have? To not do something if you have the ability to do it is tantamount to escaping. Even if the Tang Dynasty is full of holes at this time, you have to work hard to plug the leaks and fill in the gaps. How much can you make up? How many are blocked?
It was early morning. When Changsheng entered the city, the detectives of the Yulin Army and the Third Division of Law had already begun arresting people everywhere. There were quite a few officials involved in forcing the palace. These people not only had family members but also party members. Forced the palace was tantamount to conspiracy. , this is a serious crime to punish the Nine Clans, and many people will be implicated in it.
The emperor sent a chamberlain to wait for Changsheng outside the palace gate. Not only did he send the chamberlain, but he also brought out his own horse. Changsheng naturally would not ride the emperor's horse, but chose to walk into the palace. In fact, the emperor had already He was given the privilege of riding a horse in the imperial city and carrying a sword to the palace, but he never used it.
When Changsheng arrived at the Daming Palace, he found that all the officials involved in forcing the palace had been arrested, and they were kneeling in the square in front of the palace. There were more than fifty people in total, most of whom were civil servants and only a dozen military generals.
Changsheng used to be in charge of the Yushitai, and he knew the situation of the civil and military officials very well. He also knew who was who. Looking at it, they were basically Qingliu Party members of Qian Zhonglin. After Qian Zhonglin was assassinated, they were afraid He was liquidated, so he took a desperate risk and chose to support Li Bao.
The door of the main hall was closed at this time. Eunuch Zhou had been waiting outside the hall. When he saw Changsheng arriving, he hurriedly walked down the steps and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has been waiting for you."
"Where's Li Bao?" Changsheng asked casually.
"I'm pretending to be crazy and acting stupid inside," Eunuch Zhou said in a low voice. "Lest I could be severely punished, I used the excuse that I had been subjected to the enchantment spell of a traitor, and I acted like I was just waking up from a dream."
Chang Sheng frowned slightly when he heard this and said nothing more.
After Changsheng walked up the steps, the guards outside the palace pushed open the heavy palace door. At this time, other officials from the morning court were in the palace. Changsheng stepped forward quickly, bowed deeply to the emperor and saluted, "I am a humble minister, Li Changsheng, and I bow to the emperor. "
Changsheng has the privilege of not kneeling when he sees you, so he doesn't need to kneel down, but he still needs to have the proper etiquette. Kowling means kneeling down when he sees you, but he doesn't have to actually kneel down.
"My dear, please excuse me and get up quickly." The emperor could not hide the excitement in his heart. "I was shocked to hear that my beloved had dedicated his life to serving the country and passed away in Silla. I was heartbroken, as if I had lost a limb. Fortunately, God blessed the Tang Dynasty. It is indeed the great fortune of the Tang Dynasty, the great fortune of the country, and the great fortune of the poor people that my dear friend survived the disaster and returned safely."
Since today was called Daqi, there were many officials attending the morning court. Forty or fifty were arrested. There were still sixty or seventy people in the hall. There were so many people and it was difficult to talk privately from here. So Changsheng said seriously, "Please ask me." My emperor is so blessed that my humble ministers can survive the catastrophe and continue to be loyal, which makes the emperor worried, makes his colleagues concerned, and humble ministers feel guilty and frightened."
"Aiqing's words are serious, you came just in time," the emperor pointed at Li Bao, who was standing aside in fear, "I have heard that Aiqing is proficient in the art of Qihuang. King Ji only said that he was plotted by a traitor and fell into the evil of Weisheng. Technique, everything I did before was really out of control and I couldn’t help myself. Please ask Aiqing for a diagnosis and examination.”
After the emperor finished speaking, Li Bao and all the officials in the palace looked at Changsheng nervously.
Changsheng is so smart. He knows why the emperor did this. The emperor definitely didn't want to kill Li Bao, but Li Bao did have a treasonous act. If Li Bao is pardoned, he is afraid that the world will follow suit, and that all officials will be dissatisfied and ask him to take action. The inspection was actually to use his hands to save Li Bao's life.
Knowing the emperor's intention, Chang Sheng did not hesitate, handed over his hand, and then walked towards Li Bao.
Li Bao was frightened out of his mind at this time. He had a grudge against Chang Sheng. He had chased Chang Sheng for several streets with a knife before, and he had also shown favor to Zhang Mo. Now his life and death depended only on the thought of Chang Sheng. He saw Chang Sheng charging at him. When he came, he was so frightened that he was shaking like chaff.
Changsheng walked up to Li Bao and reached out to hold his pulse. After a moment, he let go and turned around, facing the emperor, "Your Majesty, what King Ji said is true. His pulse does have the appearance of being tired of winning, and the traitor's methods are very cruel." It is so poisonous that King Ji not only suffered damage to his internal organs, but his three souls and seven souls were also poisoned, and he will not recover unless he rests for several years."
Hearing Chang Sheng's words, everyone in the palace suddenly realized, and the emperor looked happy. There was a reason why he liked Chang Sheng. Chang Sheng was not only loyal and capable, but he could also understand the holy will and know what he was thinking. He really didn't want to kill Li Bao. Brotherly love is part of the story, and the main reason is the fear of confirming the truth. You must know that although Emperor Taizong initiated the Zhenguan rule, he could not escape the brutal murderous tactics and forced his father's eternal criticism. He did not want to follow in Taizong's footsteps, and he did not want to let Li Bao go. , and Changsheng's words gave him a reasonable excuse to imprison Li Bao, and then he followed the trend and ordered the imperial guards to "escort" Li Bao to the West Palace to "recuperate".
In front of all the civil and military officials, Changsheng could not speak freely to the emperor, and the emperor was very hesitant about what he said, so Changsheng asked the emperor to rest in the back hall first, and then report to the emperor after the matter was over.
After the emperor left, a group of officials immediately came forward to greet Chang Sheng. Chang Sheng knew what they wanted to hear most, so he encouraged them with a few words of comfort. He only said that the strong wind knows the strong grass, and the chaos in the country shows the loyal ministers. Previously, the rebels forced everyone in the palace to loyally protect the country. , all loyal ministers and virtuous people.
In fact, what Changsheng said was not entirely true, because even those people who stayed in the palace were not all loyal ministers. When a group of rebellious ministers besieged the emperor, many people did not come out to defend the emperor, and they were just outsiders.
But there is no way. As the saying goes, if the water is clear, there will be no fish, and if the people are careful, there will be no disciples. Sometimes we really can't be too serious. Even though there are more than 70 million people in the Tang Dynasty, not everyone can do it. Of course, if we kill all these wallflowers, there will be no people working in the three provinces and six departments.
After dismissing all the officials, Changsheng left a few close friends to go to the side hall to talk. Although he offended many officials, he also had relatively good relationships with them. The main purpose of going to the side hall was to reminisce about old times and tell everyone what happened to him before.
After reminiscing about the past, Changsheng sent everyone away except for Wu Yusheng. The reason why he kept Wu Yusheng was not because he single-handedly promoted this person, but because he was the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and what he cared about most at the moment was people's livelihood.
During this period, Wu Yusheng became much haggard. Wu Yusheng also knew why Changsheng kept him. Before Changsheng could speak, Wu Yusheng sighed.
"Stop sighing, tell me all the bad news..."
