"Lu Xiang, did you ask, or did I ask?" Zhao Yu saw that everyone had arrived, pushed the watch aside and asked Lu Xiufu with a smile.

"Your Majesty, please!" Lu Xiufu said.

"Good!" Zhao Yu didn't excuse himself and got up and left his seat, "Zhou Xiang, you are the perpetrator, step forward and answer." ”

"Do the Holy Commandment!" Zhou Xiang saw that the little emperor was present, and his courage immediately increased, he knew that he would not let himself take the blame, so he also changed his obscene appearance in the past, and stepped forward to give a salute.

"I ask you, why did you have a conflict with the Zuo Division of Shangshu Province that day? We must tell the truth, and there must be no concealment and false words, otherwise there will be no forgiveness! Zhao Hao said sharply.

"My subordinates understand!" Zhou Xiang said again, "Your Majesty is about to get married, and his subordinates have been ordered to renovate the halls of the East Palace. Now that the project has just begun, Shangshu Province sent someone to order the work to be stopped, saying that the project did not match the report. The subordinates objected on the spot, but they did not explain, but only asked to stop the project to be investigated! ”

"At the time of the start of construction, His Majesty repeatedly told him that the wedding date was approaching, and the project must be hurried, and the major event must not be delayed. I also thought that His Majesty's wedding was a major event of the state, so how could I delay it. After the work was stopped, they went to Shangshu Province several times to ask for the reason, but they repeatedly refused to tell the reason, and their subordinates called for the work to stop the work in time and told His Majesty. And this morning, when his subordinates led the craftsmen into the palace to start work, Li Kuan, the Zuo Shilang of Shangshu Province, suddenly led the crowd to prevent him from entering the palace. The subordinates said that there has been a decree from His Majesty to speed up the work, if you have any questions, you can go to the front of the emperor to ask, if there is a royal decree, I should stop the work. Zhou Xiang breathed a sigh of relief.

"His subordinates spoke to him, but his words were very tough and rude, not only insulting his subordinates, but also slapping each other with his palms, and ordering his subordinates to arrest craftsmen and take them to Shangshu Province for questioning." Zhou Xiang's eloquence was already good, and he was even more eloquent when he said it, "His subordinates have been pitifully taken under His Majesty's command since the plague ship, and they have gone through several times to reorganize the army, keeping in mind the iron law of His Majesty, which is a royal decree of mutual respect. Among them was the 'respect for the class', but he despised his humble duties and disobeyed His Majesty's dictation, and at this moment the situation was urgent, seeing that the craftsmen were innocently arrested, he stepped forward to reason with him. ”

At that time, his subordinates were in a hurry, and then asked him to go to the imperial front to inquire, at this time there may be something inappropriate in his words, but his subordinates promised that there would be no abusive words. Li Langzhong said that he listened to the order of Shangshu Province and had nothing to do with the imperial front. At the same time, he asked the officials of Shangshu Province to beat his subordinates, and the craftsmen couldn't see it, so they stepped forward to stop them, and they actually made people beat them with weapons, causing more than 20 people to be injured by Europe, and in desperation, the craftsmen fought back and clashed with them. It's all incompetent, please punish Your Majesty! ”

"Which one is Li Langzhong from Shangshu Province?" Zhou Xiang said that, Zhao Yu waved his hand to let him step aside, and asked loudly. He knew that Zhou Xiang had been instructed in advance, and if he was prepared, he would naturally not leave the opponent's pigtails to grab, and the situation should be good.

"Your Majesty, the humble position is Li Kuan, a member of the left division of Shangshu Province!" As soon as the words fell, a person in a green official uniform came out of the crowd, stepped forward and said in a trembling voice.

"What Zhou Xiang said just now, do you have any objections?" Zhao Yu looked people up and down, only to see that his official uniform was full of stains, and he could see obvious footprints on it, and his face was even more blue and purple, swollen like a pig's head, and he was obviously beaten lightly. But at this moment, he could only hold back a smile and ask in a deep voice.

"Gift...... Your Majesty! What Zhou Xiang said is generally ...... It's generally good, but the lowly duty was indeed ordered to stop it, but the craftsmen actually ignored the orders of the capital, and they also connived at the craftsmen under his command to beat the lowly position, injured more than ten officials who went with him, and asked His Majesty to be the master of the lowly position! Li Kuan replied.

"Generally good, but there are differences, you can talk about it!" Zhao Hao frowned and asked unhappily.

"Li Langzhong, don't be nervous, you have to truthfully explain the situation at that time, so that Your Majesty can make decisions for you!" Lu Xiufu repeated it again beside him.

But he secretly said in his heart that it was not good, he knew that the outer man was just a sixth-grade or seventh-grade official, and he didn't even have the power to listen to the government in the upper court, and he could see the emperor from afar at a glance, even if he was a saint, and now he was nervous in the face of His Majesty's questioning, and his whole body trembled, and his words were not good, which made people listen to it as if they were empty-hearted. And Zhou Xiang is an old man with the little emperor, and he has to be serious, and his face is as simple as drinking cold water, and at least half of the people in the palace are familiar with each other, so he will naturally not be nervous, so he can talk without being humble or arrogant, but it has already made people believe it.

In addition, what made Lu Xiufu uneasy was that this matter involved Shangshu Province, but as the chief official, he didn't know about it until he reached the palace. And the little emperor didn't know the situation, so he naturally blamed himself for secretly stumbling on him. What's even more troublesome is that this matter seems simple, but it actually involves a lot, not only delaying the construction period, triggering a dispute over the ownership of the inner court and the outer court, but even triggering a discussion about whether His Majesty can be pro-government. And then the monarch and the minister are suspicious, once it is not handled well, the first person to bear the brunt is himself.

"Yes, be honest." Li Kuan gave Lu Xiufu a deep salute, and then said, "Your Majesty, the lowly post received news today, saying that the general was a prisoner and did not stop work pending investigation in accordance with the order of Shangshu Province, and the lowly post has the responsibility of inspection, so he led his subordinate officials and others to stop it. Director Zhou claimed that it was His Majesty's dictation and asked us to go to the palace to inquire, but how could a lowly person dare to go to the palace with a slight word, and he could only stop him. As a result, he was beaten by all the craftsmen, and he was injured a lot, but the guards on duty not only did not stop him, but instead helped the craftsmen as supervisors to beat up the lowly and others and then detain them, and asked His Majesty to make the decision for the lowly duty, otherwise who would dare to enforce the law impartially in the future! ”

"Well, there's something else to say!" Zhao Yu listened and asked again, he shook his head and said that there was no more, and he said, "As you said, Zhou Xiang did tell you that I was not allowed to stop work, right?" ”

"Your Majesty, Supervisor Zhou did say it!" Li Kuan nodded.

"Zhou Xiang also asked you to go to the imperial court for verification?" Zhao Hao asked again.

"Yes!"

"Since Zhou Xiang has already told you, you know that people don't dare to overstep the ranks, why don't you return to Shangguan and let him play?" Zhao Hao asked again.

"This ...... The lowly post also sent someone back to the high office, but the situation was urgent, so I wanted to stop it first and then ask. Li Kuan hesitated.

"Okay, I'll check this later." The corners of Zhao Hao's mouth twitched for a moment, and he didn't ask any more, and said, "Do you know Zhou Xiang's identity?" ”

"Your Majesty, I know that he is the master of the temple and the supervisor of the temple, and is also in charge of the ordnance workshop, the shipyard, the Lin'an Metropolitan Workshop and the Ouchi Craftsman Workshop." Li Kuan replied.

"Do you know what kind of official it is?" Zhao Yu nodded and asked.

"Your Majesty, the temple supervisor should be an official from the sixth grade!" Li Kuan bowed and replied.

"I tell you, Zhou Xiang has the founder of Huaiyang, and he is the captain of the light car, how many products are there?" Zhao Hao said with a smile.

"Its ...... It should be four products! Li Kuan came down after hearing the sweat, he never thought that Zhou Xiang was actually a knight.

"Hmph, Zhou Xiang has followed Yu Zhen since he got on the plague ship, and he has the right to be a counselor in the Shuaifu, and he can go to the palace to participate in the court meeting and discuss the government in Qiongzhou. You are a foreigner who dares to speak disrespectfully to him in public, causing people to beat him, only offending Shangguan, beating you is already light, and you dare to shout grievances in front of me! Zhao Yu sneered.

"I don't know what to do, it's really damned, but it's also my duty!" Not long after Li Kuan entered the court, how did he know how deep the water in the court was, but he didn't expect a temple supervisor to have such a high title, but now it is difficult to ride a tiger, so he simply admitted his mistake and gambled.

Seeing Li Kuan like this, not only Zhao Yu smiled, but even the ministers in the palace also snickered. This Zhou Xiang is an old man who followed the little emperor, and he has suffered together, experienced life and death, even if he has no merit, there is hard work, and he has the ability to supervise, the warships and weapons in the army are from the craftsmen under his leadership, and he has never missed things, and has always been relied on by His Majesty.

At present, not to mention that the generals in the army have a lot of respect for Zhou Xiang, even when the court is in charge, he has to let him have a few points, and it is better to find trouble with him than to find death. In addition, he is very good at being a man, not only coaxing the little emperor to be happy, but even the officials in the court and the central government know his feelings and will not embarrass him. Now don't say that people are reasonable, even if they beat him for no reason, no one will delve into his mistakes, and this time Li Kuan is definitely kicked to the iron plate, but he is still hard-mouthed, can it not make people laugh at his naivety?

"Let's make a note of this, you also called the Imperial Protector to favor the craftsman as a prisoner, and now I have summoned them to the palace, you two sides confront each other!" Zhao Yu looked at Li Kuanyan and said.

"The deputy commander of the last general's imperial guard brigade ***, see Your Majesty!" Zhao Yu said, and the *** who was waiting in front of the hall stepped forward and saluted.

"It's the afternoon of today, but you're on duty?" Zhao Yu nodded, asking him to be rude.

"Your Majesty, the East Gate is on duty at the East Gate at noon today." Back to the Tao.

"Li Langzhong, the person you are participating, but Deputy Commander Hu?" Zhao Yu asked.

"It was he who ordered the guards to beat us up and detain us when there was a conflict between the Zuo Si and the craftsmen and craftsmen." Li Kuan glanced up and down and replied.

"In that case, can Deputy Commander Hu admit his participation?" Zhao Yu turned to *** and asked again.

"Back to Your Majesty, the last general will not admit it, and I am willing to confront him!" He said calmly.

"Accurate!" Zhao Yu said.

"Li Langzhong, let me ask you, when you led the crowd to stop the craftsman from being a prisoner, did I send troops to intervene?" After receiving permission, he turned to Li Kuan and asked.

"No, just a warning not to make noise in front of the palace gate!" Li Kuan replied.

"Let me ask you again, when you and Zhou Sijian were separated, did I help him?" Asked again.

"No, just send someone to remind you not to raise your voice, so as not to startle the holy driver!" Li Kuan shook his head and replied.

"Okay, when you reprimanded and insulted Zhou Temple's supervisor, did I help you?" He stepped forward and asked.

"I didn't ...... No, Vice President Hu didn't say a word! Li Kuan took a step back and said.

"Deputy Dutong Hu, pay attention to your behavior, don't make mistakes, lest you fall into the hands of others, and add another crime of intimidation to you!" Seeing this, Ni Liang reprimanded.

"Yes, the Admiral is wrong!" After hearing this, he immediately returned to his original position in accordance with the order, and turned around and saluted, "Li Langzhong, I am a reckless man in the army, please forgive me for being rude!" ”

"It's okay, it's okay!" Li Kuan hurriedly replied.

"Thank you, Li Langzhong." Xie then asked, "Li Langzhong, the two of you have a discordant speech and a conflict, have I interfered?" ”

"No, just send troops to guard in front of the palace gate, and tell them not to cross the cordon!" Li Kuan shook his head again.

"In that case, why do you say that I am helping the craftsman to be the supervising craftsman?" Xiaoxiao asked.

"Hu Deputy Du was indeed at odds with each other before he was unified, but after that, he ordered the Shangshu Provincial officials to be captured and given heavy hands, but he just let go of the craftsmen who were the craftsmen and did not capture them as well. Isn't that partiality? Li Kuan seemed to be justified at this time, and asked in a loud voice as if he was afraid that others would not be able to hear him.

"Oh, and that kind of thing? How can Hu Deputy Dutong tell the difference? Zhao Yu dug his ears with his fingers, looked at *** and asked.

"Your Majesty, the last general thinks he has done nothing wrong, please defend yourself!" After saluting the little emperor, he asked in a deep voice, "Li Langzhong asked well, the imperial guards have the responsibility of guarding the palace, and there is already a law that stipulates that no one is allowed to enter and leave the palace without permission, and no one is allowed to approach the palace with weapons without the holy order. Li Langzhong wouldn't know, right? ”

"I know this, I don't need to be reminded!" Li Kuan replied.

"It's good to know, at that time, the officials of Shangshu Province and the craftsmen of the craftsmen fought each other, and the craftsmen were bare-handed, and the officials were armed with sticks, swords and chains. They were defeated and fled to the palace gate. The servants then pursued, and despite the warnings of the guards, they crossed the cordon with their weapons, and I could only order you to be taken down, but they refused to obey the control, and they could only do it by force, and two strikes would inevitably cause damage. Li Langzhong, is what I said wrong? *** pointed at Li Kuan and asked.

"Yes...... There is a mistake, those craftsmen also broke through the cordon and approached the palace gate, why didn't they take them, but only for Shangshu Province! Li Kuan's face changed suddenly when he heard this, why did he ignore this matter at that time, even if he broke into the palace with an arm, no one would cry out for you if he was killed on the spot, but the matter had come to this point, he could only pull them and survive in death.

"I see!" Hearing this, he smiled and said, "The craftsmen who enter and leave the inner hall all have waist cards issued by the introspection, as long as they don't do anything illegal, why should I stop it?" If Li Langzhong also has a waist card for entering and leaving the palace, I am willing to apologize for the military law. ”

"This ......" Li Kuan was completely dumbfounded, where did he go to steal the waist card in the palace, and he was speechless in a cold sweat.

"Ministers, what objections do you have?" Zhao Yu got up and asked the ministers in the palace. But seeing that the hall was silent, it was clear who was right and who was arguing just now, and who was going to look for it was uncomfortable.

"Empress Dowager, although Shangshu Province has acted in this matter, it is difficult to hide Your Majesty's mistake of abusing the country!" At this time, a man suddenly came out of the line and saluted him......