Facing Lou Niu's question, Li Hao smiled and said, "What are you talking about, Mr. Lou? I just can't bear that Mr. Lou will go astray, so I just want to persuade Mr. Lou to take the initiative to surrender to His Highness the Crown Prince.
After all, it has not caused any bad impact. I think His Royal Highness and His Majesty will forgive me a little, so that I will not end up dead. "
"Oh, then it seems I should thank General Yuan for his kindness." Lou Niu said.
"No, after all, I am a minister in the East Palace with Grand Tutor Lou, so I should help you think more carefully. I don't deserve this word of thanks.
And it’s not just me. As the eldest brother, Mr. Lou has to think carefully about the second Mr. Lou, right? "
After listening to Li Hao's words, Lou Niu's eyes changed slightly when he looked at Li Hao, and he understood Li Hao's intention of calling him here today.
But this is what he wants to do. After all, he did this in Tongniu County. Although he wanted to stand out with his merits, he also wanted to get rid of the situation where the second house was controlled by the big house.
Now that he has failed, as long as he can drag Taifu Lou into the water, the second room will be freed from the restraint, but this matter cannot involve Lou Yao.
Therefore, Lou Niu said: "I can do what General Yuan wants, but my second brother doesn't know about this matter. Can this matter not involve him?"
Smart people are really easy to deal with and can make sense with just a few words, but some things are not suitable to be said thoroughly: "Young Master Lou is joking, I don't need you to do anything. Mr. Lou, don't think too much.
As for the second son-in-law, he is now General He's son-in-law. I will send a message to him in advance. I think he will not see his son-in-law in trouble.
There are too many to arrange, but it shouldn't be difficult to find a way to get him to serve in a local area to avoid the spotlight. "
Seeing that Li Hao had agreed, Lou Niu said nothing more and directly agreed: "Okay, when the prince arrives, I will take the initiative to go and apologize."
"Young Master Lou knows your mistakes and can correct them. This is a good thing. Then I won't keep you here." Li Hao said.
After hearing this, Lou Niu stood up and said goodbye. However, after leaving the yard, he couldn't help but look back for a long time, feeling infinite loneliness in his heart.
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Your Excellency, I am so insistent because there were some hidden secrets in Ma Rong's capture of the Bronze Bull, which need to be handled by you personally.
As for security, please rest assured, Your Highness, the soldiers and horses under my command have taken over the city defense matters. The soldiers and horses originally led by Ma Rong have also been moved outside the city. The army will be stationed directly beside them. There will be no What happened. "
When the prince heard that there was no problem with the security arrangements, he didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, he asked, "As for the Tongniu incident, I have read the memorial written by Nalou Niu. It said that Ma Rong was able to enter the city because of the Tongniu. The county magistrate Yan Zhong and the guard Zuo Cheng surrendered to the enemy with two thousand fine coppers, allowing him to use Yan Zhong's seal to deceive the city's trust and successfully enter the city.
Then Lou Niu entered the city alone and persuaded Ma Rong to surrender, so there is something wrong with the secret you mentioned. "
Li Hao replied: "There is indeed a problem here. I would like to ask Your Highness to call two people in, and then let them tell you the whole story."
The prince naturally did not refuse Li Hao's request. After all, he was indeed curious about the truth of the matter.
So Li Hao called Cheng Shi and Yan Zhong over and asked them to tell the prince what they had experienced personally.
The prince was a little surprised when he saw the two of them, but after hearing what they said, he was even more stunned.
After waiting for a while, he asked: "What you said today is completely opposite to what Lou Niu said. I can't believe you just based on what you said. I wonder if you have any evidence to prove what you said." it is true."
This really stumped them, because now besides being able to produce the two thousand fine coppers, and being intercepted and killed, they proved that they had not surrendered to the enemy.
They really couldn't produce any other evidence that could prove Lou Niu was the real culprit behind the scenes.
But they didn't, and Li Hao had it. Li Hao immediately asked Yan Zhong and Cheng Shi to go out, and then said to the prince: "I have specific evidence, which is about Lou Niu contacting Ma Rong and guiding Yan Zhong to take the initiative." Go out of the city and get the letter."
After saying that, someone brought the box containing the letters and handed them to the prince to check them one by one.
The prince had trust in Li Hao, and he didn't think that Li Hao would forge evidence, so after reading a few letters, he immediately said angrily: "Lou Niu is really brave. As a son of a noble family, it's fine if he doesn't want to serve the country. , actually framed the imperial officials, and colluded with the traitors to benefit themselves, it is really a heinous crime."
The prince was filled with righteous indignation, but Lai She on the side was in a more stable mood and said to Li Hao: "Since you already have the evidence in your hands, just take down the cow downstairs and give the real information to your majesty. Why should the prince handle it."
After hearing this, the prince calmed down and asked: "Yes, Lou Niu is a scribe. It shouldn't be difficult for Ziyang to capture him. Why do you need to come here alone?"
At this point, he got to the point and quickly replied: "It would be easy for me to take down Lou Niu. However, during the process of investigating this matter, I found out that he suffered tragic consequences after seeing Tongniu County being captured by bandits. Xiang also had a heart of repentance in his heart, so he wanted to give him a chance to confess.
Moreover, Lou Niu did such a bold and reckless thing. In addition to his ambition, he also had a last resort reason. I think it is best for His Highness to hear it in person. "
The prince heard this and said curiously: "If there is anything you need me to know, you can just say no. Why bother to keep it secret?"
Li Hao replied: "The prince will know by then. Some things may be more intuitive if he personally listens to the person involved. If he does not surrender to the prince, I will do it for him then."
Hearing this, the prince shook his head slightly, but still chose to follow Li Hao's arrangement.
After entering the city later, Lou Niu was busy because he was responsible for the specific reception. He only stayed at the prince's place for a while and then left.
This also made the prince feel that he would not surrender voluntarily, so he asked: "Looking at him like this, he doesn't look like he is confessing his crime. Could it be that you have misjudged the person."
Li Hao was still confident in his judgment and immediately replied: "Why don't you wait any longer? I have confidence in my vision. Let's see if he will come in the evening. If he doesn't come, I will arrest him."
"Okay, let's look at you then
How is your vision? "The prince smiled when he heard this.
In the end, Li Hao was right. That night, Lou Niu went to the prince alone to plead guilty, explaining everything he had done, and sincerely stating how uneasy he felt after doing it, and how he felt ashamed of the court. .
That tone really sounded like that, and the prince couldn't help but sigh with emotion after listening to it: "You are also a child of a noble family. Seeing that your plans for the bronze bull are intertwined, and you can calculate the changes in people's hearts vividly. If you have such talent, how can you learn? If you follow the right path, you can't become the pillar of the country, so why do you do such a treasonous thing?"
Yuan Shen replied: "Yes, as a child of a noble family, I should have become an official, report to the country, and live in peace and quiet. It's a pity that I am conceited and have learned a lot, but in the end I have no way to get ahead. Otherwise, why would I do such a despicable act?" .”
The prince did not agree with this and replied: "You are the son of the Lou family, and your uncle is the prince's tutor. Why can't you get ahead?"
When Lou Niu heard this, he laughed sadly and said, "The situation I am in now is not exactly what my uncle wanted to prevent.
I guess the prince also saw the document recommending me to become an official. Why was it unsuccessful in the end? I think my uncle must have played a big role in it, right? "
When the prince heard this, he also remembered this matter and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
So Lou Niu started to pursue the victory: "Sure enough, my guess was right. My uncle seems to be loyal, but no one in my family knows his little tricks.
There really is no outstanding person in the next generation of the Lou family. It’s ridiculous to think about who my uncle has recommended in recent years. "
After sneering twice, Lou Niu said: "Forget it, I know that what I did violated the law, and I don't want to talk about other people's conduct. I leave everything to your Highness."
Lou Niu's words came at the right time. After all, sometimes words are vague to show their authenticity.
The prince really wanted to get to the bottom of it at this time, but after thinking about it, he still endured it and said: "I will report this matter to my father and let him handle it, but because of your initiative to surrender, I will intercede for you on my behalf."
After saying that, people took Lou Niu down and imprisoned him in a cell for the time being, waiting for his fate.
As soon as they left, only the prince, Lai She and Li Hao were left in the field. It was convenient to talk. Dang even asked Li Hao: "The hidden secret you mentioned before should refer to the matter about Taifu Lou." So, is there something wrong with the person Lou Niu mentioned just now who was recommended by Grand Tutor Lou?"
Regarding this matter, Li Hao asked Lou Niu to jump out, but he didn't want to directly come out and be tough. After all, as long as he left the field to express his position, it would easily create an immediate stereotype in the prince's mind and lose his independence.
Therefore, facing these words, Li Hao did not directly say anything wrong with Taifu Lou, but wanted to guide the prince to take the initiative to investigate on his own.
"I don't have much contact with Taifu Lou, and I don't know much about recommending talents. If Your Highness really wants to know the whole story, you might as well send someone to investigate.
Anyway, the life experiences of people who have become officials are recorded, so it should not be difficult to check. Of course, in order to prevent Taifu Lou from misunderstanding, it is best to check secretly.
In addition, in order to verify the authenticity of what Lou Niu just said, it is best to check the situation of those people who were blocked by Taifu Lou from entering the officialdom. "
The prince replied: "Okay, then let someone check and see if Lou Niu lied."
Seeing that the prince agreed, Li Hao almost achieved what he wanted to achieve this time, because what Taifu Lou had done in recent years really could not withstand investigation.
Jealousy of the virtuous, jealous of the capable, and suppression of the poor are all a sure thing. It can be said that if it weren't for the prince's face and to ensure that his status was not shaken, Emperor Wen would have wanted to deal with Taifu Lou.
Now that the third prince's affiliated forces have suffered a major blow due to Tian Shuo's incident, the prince's position has become more and more stable. At this time, the prince's attitude has relaxed again. I think Emperor Wen will seize the opportunity to avoid letting Taifu Lou continue to cause trouble. East Palace.
After this incident, Lou Niu was imprisoned, and Yan Zhong and Cheng Shi's grievances were cleared, so Yan Zhong was asked to take over the affairs of Tongniu County.
And Li Hao began to prepare
In order to support Ling Buyi, after the new batch of grain and grass arrived, Li Hao took advantage of the situation and sent reinforcements to the front line, leaving them to Ling Buyi and Cui You for deployment.
Since there was nothing particularly urgent this time, the overall strategy was to encircle the city without attacking it, so as to avoid unnecessary losses caused by attacking the city.
Anyway, there is not much food and grass in the city. As long as the supply of food and grass in the city is cut off, the defenders in the city will either surrender voluntarily or go out of the city to fight to the death. Either way, the losses will be smaller than forcibly attacking the city.
As a result, there was basically no high-intensity fighting on the front line, and Li Hao was free in Tongniu County.
So Li Hao went to the prison and met with Lou Niu. When Lou Niu saw Li Hao coming, he asked directly: "General Yuan is here to see me off?"
After hearing this, Li Hao was stunned for a moment and said with a smile: "Master Lou, you think too much. Why should I let you die? What good will your death do to me?"
Lou Niu replied: "Since you want to use my hand to trip up my uncle, I'm afraid the few words I said are not enough, but if you add my death penalty, this amount will be huge." It’s different, after all, people’s words are good even when they are about to die.”
