"This has also divided the burden of the minister!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I will not hide it from your highness. After I returned to Chang'an, I was already exhausted mentally and physically after carrying such a heavy burden. However, I was able to support myself with the trust of your highness and your two majesties. That’s all. Now that Wu Sansi is here to share the burden, if there is one more person to discuss things with, how can I be unhappy?”
Li Hong looked at Wang Wenzuo carefully, and then he breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the other person was not a yin and yang maniac: "It's great if you can think so, Sanlang. I was originally worried that you would be angry because of this matter and have resentment towards my mother-in-law!"
"How is that possible?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Your Majesty's intention to return to Chang'an this time is your Majesty's intention. Besides, Your Highness is the Queen's biological child, and mother and son are one, so how can I have any resentment towards Her Majesty the Queen? "
Hearing what Wang Wenzuo said, Li Hong nodded happily: "Sanlang is really public-minded. If all the ministers in the court are like you, then the country will be fine. But don't worry, Wu Sansi, even if he becomes the Zuo of the East Palace, Wei Lie is just your deputy and is subordinate to you. I will issue an edict tomorrow to add the crown prince guest to your official position and judge all matters concerning the guards of the East Palace!"
"Thank you, Your Highness, but I have little moral character and am not a literary person. I'm afraid being a guest of the crown prince is not enough, right?" Wang Wenzuo declined hastily.
"It doesn't matter!" Li Hong waved his hand: "It doesn't mean that older people have high moral standards. Although Sanlang is not a scholar, he often gave advice and advice when he traveled with me. Why can't he be a guest? If I appoint you as an official, you will let the people of the world You know, who is the person whom I have entrusted my heart to!" It is said that in the political discourse system of ancient China, the status of guests is higher than that of servants. For example, after the Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, the descendants of the merchants of the Song Dynasty were made Dukes, and they were treated as guests without courtesy. Treat each other as subjects; after Cao Wei usurped the Han Dynasty, he treated Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty as Shanyang Gong and treated him as a guest. Shanyang Gong could use the Emperor's chariot in his fiefdom.
The prince's guest is one of the official systems of the East Palace. As the crown prince of the country, the prince chooses ministers with outstanding virtues to accompany his guests, travel, regulate and advise his attendants. Generally, he chooses ministers who are older, prestigious and virtuous. The allusion comes from Shangshan in the early Western Han Dynasty. Si Hao (Dong Yuan Gong, Qili Ji, Xia Huang Gong and Mr. Jiao Li), apart from the honorary titles of Crown Prince, Grand Tutor and Young Fu, are already the pinnacle of the system of subordinate officials of the East Palace. It turns out that Wang Wenzuo only had power in the East Palace, not a high position. There were many subordinate officials in the East Palace who had higher official positions than him, but the prince directly added him as a guest of the prince and judged the affairs of the guards of the East Palace. It was clear that he wanted to suppress Wu Sansi. , telling everyone that Wang Wenzuo is the person he believes in, the real person in charge of the East Palace Army.
Back at his residence, Wang Wenzuo told his subordinates what had just happened. Cui Hongdu sighed: "This matter can be regarded as a blessing in disguise, but the queen's move is really sinister. She used Wu Sansi to divide Sanlang's military power. It really hit the target." Hit our vital points!"
"Vital?" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "Hongdu, you are wrong. The queen was ill and had to seek medical treatment."
"You seek medical treatment in a hurry?" Cui Hongdu was stunned when he heard this: "Why do you say that? By the way, do you think Wu Sansi is an incompetent person and can't defeat you?"
"It's true that he can't beat me, but it has nothing to do with talent!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "Even if the queen brings Han Xin, Bai Qi, and Duke Wei to the East Palace, they are no match for me!"
"Why do you say that?" Cui Hongdu asked.
"It's very simple. The soldiers in the East Palace only want the prince to ascend the throne as the emperor as soon as possible. I hope so too, so I can give orders and prohibitions. But if the prince ascends the throne to become the emperor, the queen will have no choice but to become the empress dowager. This dynasty will have no choice but to become the empress dowager. Unlike the Empress Dowager of the Han Dynasty who has great power, how can she be willing to do so? So the people she sends can only do everything possible to oppose the prince's early enthronement as emperor. Even if such a person is capable, how can he be my opponent in the East Palace? "
"That's right!" Cui Hongdu raised his hand and said with a smile: "No wonder Sanlang, you don't care at all. The queen sent her nephew to share your power. It's really because she was sick and rushed to the doctor! Then what can the queen do if she wants to win?"
"It's very simple, depose the prince, or kill me!" Wang Wenzuo said: "The prince is our foundation. If we depose the prince, we will have no foundation in Chang'an City. The only way out is to escape as soon as possible; kill me, and the prince will be If you cut off an arm, the rest will be easy to handle."
"It turns out that's the case. No wonder you sent Qimei away. It turns out that-"
"That's right, after what happened last time, I sent my wife away and moved into the East Palace by myself. I didn't leave the palace easily, just to prevent the queen from getting desperate and killing me physically! As for the prince, as long as the saint is still alive It's okay, so you don't have to worry about deposing the prince!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Right now, the queen is using Zhou Xing to kill dissidents, just to establish her own power in the court as much as possible, but the queen does not have enough talents to fill the vacancies. , so her top priority now is not to deal with me, but to continue on the path He Lan Minzhi followed and continue to cultivate books and talents through the path of Hongwen Hall. In the final analysis, politics is about who can occupy more positions. It’s no use just knowing how to pull radishes, you have to know how to grow radishes, otherwise you will end up making wedding dresses for others after all your hard work! The Queen already has a weak family, so she brought the few available people to compete with me for the military power of the East Palace. It’s really a bad move!”
"So, what is our top priority now?"
"First, ensure the safety of the prince!" Wang Wenzuo said: "I am personally responsible for the arrangement of the prince's guards and ceremonial guards; second, we must always keep abreast of the news in the palace, especially the saint's physical condition. As long as the saint's body is not healthy, If something goes wrong, the Queen will be unable to move the North Gate Imperial Army and the South Ya Imperial Army. Without soldiers at hand, she will not be able to do big things. In the end, it’s me. Don’t let the Queen chop off my head. As long as you ensure these three points, the final winner will be It must be the prince!”
"Yes, if the prince wins, we can't lose!" Cui Hongdu said the last words that Wang Wenzuo didn't say.
"Just understand!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "There is one more thing. You and Ijilianbode must know how to advance and retreat. You must understand that the ten leaders of the East Palace are all thinking about the power of Conglong. Don't fight with them. They grab the credit. To put it bluntly, as long as I'm here, you guys will definitely be indispensable in the end. The opportunity to make contributions must be given to others!"
"Yes, I understand!" Cui Hongdu said with a smile. He has followed Wang Wenzuo for many years, and he knows very well that although this man appears to be very generous, employs people in an eclectic way, and is meritocratic, in fact he misses the old feelings very much, like himself and Shen Fanseng, He Bayong, Yuan Aoli, Zhang Junyan, and Gu Cihang, all the old brothers who came to Baekje together at the beginning, as long as they were passable, they either ruled a place and built a mansion, or they had a lot of land and houses, and their families were wealthy. Countless benefits. Although newcomers such as Kuroto Tsuneyuki, Ijiren Hokuto, Fujiwara Fubi, and Cao Wenzong have repeatedly made great achievements and have extraordinary talents, their power status within the group is actually lower than that of the old brothers. So Wang Wenzuo reassured them, and he really felt reassured.
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Department of punishment, prison.
"Tell me! Mr. Hao, what did Lu Zhaolin discuss when he first met you! Also, who are your other accomplices?" The firelight shone on Zhou Xing's face, giving this face that was originally quite elegant. He cast a ferocious tone: "Don't think you can get away with it. Others have also been arrested. It's useless if you don't admit it!"
"Since you have already arrested everyone else, why do you care whether Hao will be recruited or not?" Hao Chujun sneered: "A cruel official like you who plays with the law, do you think you can deceive Hao?"
"Liar?" Zhou Xing sneered: "Shilang Hao, the Queen has made a decree that anyone involved will be charged with treason. You should know what this means, right? If you think I am lying, that's a big mistake. Okay, I’ll let you go back to the cell now, and I won’t come to you again in the future!”
"Wait, rebellion is a crime?" Hao Chujun was worried this time: "Zhou Xing, don't talk nonsense. I just met Lu Zhaolin once and talked about poetry and science selection. What does this have to do with rebellion?"
"Lu Zhaolin is a key figure in the great treason case. When you met with him, you only talked about poems and scientific selections. Who would believe it?" Zhou Xing sneered: "You should know the story of this dynasty's great rebellion. There is no need to tell you what the consequences of your sin will be. Even the three tribes will be implicated, so you have to think clearly!"
When Hao Chujun heard this, he was speechless. Even if a high-ranking official like him breaks the law, there are various leniency and pardons, except for the crime of treason. If you are involved in such a case, the emperor will not reason with you, not to mention him, even if it is him Blood relatives and flesh and blood are also a dead end. As long as Zhou Xing puts his name in the list, his three clans will be completely destroyed.
"Tell me! When Lu Zhaolin was talking to you that day, did he mention Wang Wenzuo? I remember that he came from Chengdu. Wang Wenzuo also served as an official in Chengdu before coming to Chang'an. They must have known each other before, right?" Zhou Xing's voice It has become gentler, but the ending still has a cold aftertaste, just like the snake message spit out by a poisonous snake.
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Daming Palace.
"Your Majesty the Queen, these are the confessions I have obtained from the prisoners these days!" Zhou Xing kowtowed and presented a stack of confessions in his hand.
"Yes!" The queen took the confession from the palace maid with satisfaction and looked at Zhou Xing: "Zhou Qing has lost weight. Have you been working hard these days?"
Hearing the Queen's greetings, Zhou Xing was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "I have obeyed His Majesty's orders, so I naturally do my best to carry out my errands. I have been in the Yamen these days, for fear of delaying the official business and allowing the traitor to escape the punishment of the court. As for my own fatness, it is Didn’t think too much!”
"Well, that's well said!" The queen nodded with satisfaction: "There is really no minister like Zhou Qing who can be as fat as Zhou Qing in spite of his thin appearance. It's a pity that Zhou Qing has just been promoted to the position of Minister. It doesn't matter. In one month, I will promote you to the position of Minister of Justice!"
Zhou Xing felt as if there was a thunder in his ears and felt dizzy. He had to throw himself to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "I thank Your Majesty the Queen for your great kindness!"
As the queen spoke, she read through the confessions. She was satisfied to see that Wang Wenzuo was mentioned in these confessions. From these confessions, it was clear that there was a conspiracy network with Wang Wenzuo as the core, and its purpose was to kill He Lan Minzhi. , and then abolished the queen, forced the emperor to abdicate, ascended the throne with the prince, and ruled the world with him as a puppet. Judging from the handwriting on the confession and the bloody fingerprints on the paper, Zhou Xing's method of obtaining these confessions was not very clean. But the queen didn't care. She lured her with high-ranking officials and generous salaries, but what she originally wanted was not an honest gentleman or a man of integrity. Although people like Zhou Xing behaved despicably, they were indeed useful, and it wouldn't be a pity to throw them away after using them. Thinking of this, she looked at Zhou Xing who was kneeling on the ground, and sneered in her heart: "One minister of the Ministry of Justice can handle it, and Zhou Xing's appetite is not big!"
"Qing Zhou!" The queen put the confession aside: "The confession here is not detailed enough. You also know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince trusts Wang Wenzuo very much. If there is not enough strong evidence, there is nothing he can do. And if he knows Even if you are doing this, I won’t just sit back and ignore it, do you understand?”
"Your Majesty, please rest assured!" Zhou Xing hurriedly kowtowed: "I will definitely make this case a solid case and leave everyone speechless!"
"Very good!" The queen nodded with satisfaction and patted her palms lightly: "Come here, bring a jar of buttermilk that I ate yesterday and give it to Zhou Qing. He has worked hard on the case and needs to recuperate! "
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Queen!" Zhou Xing kowtowed twice, then raised his head and said loudly, with tears on his face.
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Changshoufang, Ling Jiyou's residence.
Bang bang bang!
Hearing the knock on the door, Wang Bo dropped the book in his hand and asked loudly: "Who is it?"
"It's me!" The voice of his friend came from outside. Wang Erectile Dysfunction stood up and opened the door. Seeing his friend's face pale and pale, as if he had lost most of his life, he joked: "Brother Ling, today is an hour later than yesterday. , are you staying in the Ministry of Justice and working overtime again? If you continue like this, you will go to see your ancestors before you get promoted! "
"Bah!" Ling Jiyou spat: "Brother Zian, just laugh at me! When you are selected and become an official, you will know what it will be like if you meet a boss like Zhou Xing!"
"If I really meet this kind of boss, I won't resign?" Wang Bo poured water for his friend and said with a smile: "What? Did he come up with a new case?"
"It's still the same one as before!" Ling Jiyou sat down on the bed and sighed as he took off his shoes: "But there are a lot more people in custody, the cells are full, and the cells in Chang'an County and Wannian County have been recruited. Used. Tortured day and night, transcribing confessions. You also know that the prisoners in the Ministry of Punishment are all heartless people, but even these people can't stand it any longer, but Zhou Xing can still do it all day and all night. He really has a heart of stone. I looked down on him at first, but now I admire him a little. Really, he is a bad guy, maybe he is so bad, he is so bad, it is really rare for him to have no human touch at all. !" (End of this chapter)
