917 Cao Cao and Wang Cang's offensive and defensive alliance
Guo really didn't know that Wang Cang had done so many angry things.
Even the things that Linzi Camp couldn't find out, these guys actually checked the same as the real thing, describing it with a nose and eyes, as if they were there.
Even Wang Cang can know the intimate content of explaining things to his wife in his room when he sleeps at night, not only knowing, but also writing out the specific content of the conversation!
It was as if they were in Wang Can's bedroom at the time watching Wang Cang talk to his wife.
This made Guo suddenly feel that the secret agent of the Linzi camp he had planted in Wang Cang's house was simply a waste, wasting the money he had worked so hard to earn back, and he couldn't even find out this kind of private conversation between husband and wife.
Guo never expected that the professional secret intelligence agency that he had worked hard to temper for more than ten years would be so bad!
Even the intelligence system of the courtiers who came out of nowhere!
Is the Linzi camp too wasteful, or is the intelligence system of the courtiers too advanced and developed?
If Guo didn't know about it, he would have thought that they used something like a bugging.
Their attack on Wang Cang was quite violent, and the content against Zao Yi and Cao Cao was relatively small, and the intensity was not as high as that against Wang Cang.
These two people are in a different situation than Wang Cang.
Cao Cao is a relative, Guo Peng's brother-in-law, rashly fired at Cao Cao, it is very likely to offend the queen, and then offend the emperor, if the emperor is angry about this and advocates the reform of commercial taxes, then they will lose a lot.
Not to mention Cao Cao's status as a relative, Zao Yi is not easy to mess with.
He is the old ministers of the Yuancong of the Eight Classics, and the old ministers of Guo Peng in the Shanggu Taishou period, the roots are Miao Hong, the grace is very within the reach of people, the absolute Guo family officials, have made a lot of political achievements in the past, and have a good interpersonal relationship in the Yuancong Group.
rashly make a move on Zao, even if there are people within the Yuancong Group who are dissatisfied with Zao, but after all, people are not ordinary people, and if they really want to target Zaoyi at will, it will be bad if someone will not be able to look at it and take action to protect Zaoyi, and there will be branches.
So the anti-commercial tax group finally decided to play a side game.
In response to Zao You, they chose to attack Zao You's two cronies under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, saying that these two cronies and subordinates had committed corruption and dereliction of duty, and they needed to be strictly investigated to find out the facts of their crimes.
Against Cao Cao, they were very clever to bypass Cao Cao's family and fire at Cao Hong, and the method was still the same, saying that Cao Hong had encroached on the land of the people of Tuntian.
They all knew that Cao Hong had been pushed to the end by Guo Peng for encroaching on land, although he was promoted back later, but the process was more tortuous, and the blow to the Cao family was not small.
Since it didn't matter if Man Pet attacked Cao Hong before, then now we also attack Cao Hong, it shouldn't matter.
Anyway, Cao Cao and Cao Hong are clansmen, and they are not direct relatives.
If you want to engage Cao Cao, first engage Cao Hong, if something happens to Cao Hong, can Cao Cao stay out of it?
That's a great trick!
Strike from the side, contain the forces of Cao Cao and Zaoyi, and then take the core directly - take Wang Cang.
That's their plan.
Wang Cang is also a member of the Guo family's former officials, and Cai Yong recommended him to Guo Peng, who included him in the shogunate and released him to make him his former official.
But Wang Cang joined late, and without the background of Yuancong Group, Cai Yong is now a mascot and has no power in his own right.
So Wang Cang's ability to get to this point depends on Guo Peng's favor and his mathematical ability.
Guo Peng likes mathematics.
Wang Cang himself belongs to the scholar family, but he mainly relied on Guo Peng's appreciation to be the first assistant of the cabinet, and his popularity as an official is not very good, no one likes him, but many people dislike him.
So if you want to engage him, except for Guo Peng, there is really nothing to worry about.
So, intensify our efforts to kill Wang Cang, and let the emperor see our strength!
That's what they thought.
This is their plan to fight back.
This method is very common, at least in Guo's opinion, because he himself relies on this method to eradicate political opponents, and the effect is very good, and many political opponents have been killed in this way.
And now, these officials have obviously figured out that Guo Peng attaches great importance to corruption and also hates corruption, and uses corruption to crack down on Wang Cang and the other three, which can be regarded as returning the other way to the other.
Guo Peng had already ordered Guo Yi to lead the compilation of the laws of the Wei State under the leadership of Guo Yi, the secretary of the Criminal Department, in which the crime of embezzlement was arranged as a felony.
During the period of Emperor Guangwu of the former Han Dynasty and the period of Emperor Ming of the Ming Dynasty, there was a rule against corruption in the Eastern Han Dynasty, that is, once an official was found to be corrupt, in addition to severe punishment, three generations of his children and grandchildren should be imprisoned.
That is, if one person is corrupt, three generations of children and grandchildren are not allowed to be officials.
This was quite a brutal blow to the scholar family.
This rule was enforced by two generations of emperors before it was abolished by Emperor Zhang of Han, who was a benevolent ruler.
Maybe he thinks this can help him win the hearts and minds of the people?
After Guo learned that there was such a rule in the previous dynasty, he felt very good, so he decided to restore this rule, and when punishing corrupt officials and corrupt officials, this law was re-established, increasing the impact of corruption on the official's family.
As a result, it is visible to the naked eye that the crime of embezzlement has become one of the sins that officials talk about in the Wei Empire.
If one person is corrupt, three generations will not be allowed to be officials, what a terrible situation.
According to Wei law, once someone reported official corruption and dereliction of duty, the imperial court must immediately file a case for investigation.
If the official position is more than 2,000 stones, it needs to be immediately tried by the Criminal Department, the Imperial Historical Observatory, and the three divisions of the Division, and the case needs to be investigated together, and the trial process of the case needs to be reported to the emperor in real time.
The emperor himself needed to know the whole process of this case well.
Finally, the three divisions will then try to determine whether the official is guilty, and if he is guilty, he will be sentenced to three generations of children and grandchildren in prison according to the law.
Of course, the law does not make it clear that the emperor is decisive for the trial.
After all, the law itself is meant to embody the will of the ruling class.
As a player at the top of the ruling class, if Guo cannot directly grasp the trial process, it will be a great insult to the imperial power.
After this law is confirmed, Guo is equivalent to having an extra weapon against officials.
Look at who is unhappy, directly imprison your children and grandchildren for three generations.
As a result, Guo's authority has been greatly enhanced.
There is no provision in the Wei law that once an official is impeached, he must voluntarily suspend himself or the like.
So even if he was impeached very seriously, Wang Cang did not stop working, but went on a show to avenge himself, and then continued to do things, continued to formulate commercial tax bills, and prepared to fight back.
Zao only expressed his grievances for his two subordinates, and then continued to work and prepare for a counterattack.
Cao Hong, who was innocently lying on the gun, learned of this, and was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he hurriedly submitted the table to Guo Peng.
Cao Hong said that he absolutely did not encroach on the land, he has always honestly instructed his family to do business, and has never paid attention to the land, and asked Guo Peng to investigate and return his innocence.
After Cao Cao knew about this, he knew that it was because of his own problems that Cao Hong suffered such a catastrophe, and those officials did not dare to attack him directly, but they pointed the finger at Cao Hong, which made Cao Cao very angry.
While defending Cao Hong, he began to prepare for a counterattack.
When Wang Cang learned of this, he invited Cao Cao to discuss the matter together.
As the first assistant of the former cabinet, the two have more common topics on such matters, Zao is only their supporter, but he is not the maker of the regulations, so if you really want to talk about alliances, Cao Cao and Wang Cang are the real allies.
In the current situation, it is even more necessary for the two to work together to reach an offensive and defensive alliance.
"This matter was instructed by His Majesty to be handled by me, and it is different from before, now His Majesty has free his hands, obviously to complete this matter completely, and I will push it."
Wang Cang looked righteous and awe-inspiring: "For the country, for Your Majesty, Wang will do anything!" ”
Cao Cao nodded in agreement.
After a pause, it seemed that he was not at ease, so Cao Cao opened his mouth to ask Wang Cang.
"Zhong Xuan, do the things they said really have nothing to do with you? It's all fabricated? ”
"It's basically all fabricated, I don't know when I've done something like that, gossip, hearsay, what else can such a despicable person do?"
Wang Cang's face was full of disdain.
Cao Cao pursed his lips.
"But how did I hear that you once recommended a few fellow villagers to Chen Gongtai to be officials in Yongzhou?"
Wang Cang was stunned for a moment.
Mengde ...... Where did you find out? ”
"One of the fellow villagers you recommended had a relationship with the Cao caravan, and once bribed Zilian and tried to let me operate for him through Zilian, but Zilian didn't dare to accept money...... So ......"
Cao Cao looked at Wang Cang with a subtle expression on his face.
Wang Cang blinked, and his righteous and awe-inspiring expression disappeared.
There was a hint of embarrassment.
"The matter...... In addition to Mengde......"
"Don't worry, I've already ordered someone to take care of this matter."
Cao Cao shook his head, and then said: "Zhong Xuan, you must pay special attention to these things, you must not be caught, their family has a big business, it is widely implicated, one family is imprisoned, and there are other branches, your family is different, your family is yours, if you are not careful, Your Majesty will not be able to protect you even if you want to." ”
"That's what Meng De said."
Wang Cang breathed a sigh of relief: "So I didn't take bribes, I returned all the property they gave, this kind of thing is not my intention, because my family is scarce, and I also need help in the court."
They are full of officials, I am alone, two fists are invincible to four hands, if there is no arm to help, how can I fight them? Your Majesty restricts the calling, and I need wings, not out of my own selfishness. ”
Cao Cao nodded.
"This is not Cao's selfishness."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"So, how does Meng De plan to act?"
"They don't want to pay taxes, they don't want us to be better, so why should we stay? I thought that we should give them a little color, there must be someone behind those people, and if we don't give them a little color, they still think we are easy to bully. ”
Cao Cao's face was full of cruelty: "I have ordered people to search for their incriminating evidence, and once there is a result, I can beat them fiercely." ”
"And if not?"
"We do what they do."
Cao Cao said.
Wang Cang felt that it made sense.
"What Meng De said is true, they are unkind, we are unjust, this time, they have to spit out the commercial tax!"
Wang Cang clenched his fists.
Several of the leaders who promoted the commercial tax reform were enraged by this incident and were ready to launch a rather fierce counterattack to defeat the "moths of the state" in one fell swoop.
They went around collecting incriminating evidence, investigating the evidence of these people's crimes, and finding out the news openly and secretly, and soon collected a lot of information.
Cao Cao also received some special information, and it was said that these things were indeed true.
Cao Cao was overjoyed and felt that he had obtained the magic weapon to win.
But Wang Cang had some doubts about this.
"This matter is very involved, if Your Majesty really investigates it...... I'm afraid other people can't get out of the relationship. ”
"This is the best, the more people who are involved, the greater our chances of success, and I grew up with Your Majesty, Your Majesty's temperament, I know best, Zhong Xuan can rest assured."
Cao Cao was very confident and immediately started to operate.
So the matter quickly fermented.
Leaving aside the controversy in Shangshutai for the time being, the Imperial Historical Observatory and the Cabinet were soon involved in it, and only the Staff Desk stayed out of the matter because of its particularity.
The army did not dare to get involved in government affairs, although Cao Hong lay down his gun, but his direct boss Zhao Yun did not say anything, as if this incident had never happened, and the guards carried out daily training tasks and vigilance work.
Guo Peng is very satisfied with Zhao Yun's attitude.
No general is allowed to discuss and get involved in government affairs, which is a red line drawn by Guo Peng for the army and generals.
The existence of the staff station is to undermine this policy.
Therefore, the staff station cannot make any remarks on this matter, unless it involves the staff station and the staff station is held accountable.
At the moment, the staff station and the army are out of the way, and several other major departments are in chaos.
Several departments within Shangshutai are fighting in chaos, and there is no unified voice among the departments, and there are people in each department who have different views on this matter.
Some people support Wang Cang, feeling that Wang Cang has done nothing wrong, that it is a national policy to emphasize agriculture and suppress business, and it is a matter of course to collect taxes on businessmen.
Some people strongly oppose this matter, saying that after the salt and iron official operation, the business will not be good, the commercial tax is already relatively heavy, and the increase in taxes is tantamount to forcing the businessmen to give up business.
Without merchants, would the people in Luoyang City be able to buy so many things?
Some people also questioned whether Wang Cang and others were corrupt, saying that such a thing suddenly happened on the eve of the implementation of the commercial tax bill, isn't it deliberate?
Some people also ridiculed, saying that the so-called person who is dedicated to the country is actually a habitual corrupt offender, which is too ironic.
Proponents of the commercial tax bill clung to the national policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, and used it as a core argument to refute the opposition.
The opposition has bitten the corruption of Wang Cang and others, and must demand that the three divisions be tried, and the trial will come to a conclusion.
The controversy between the DPRK and China has become increasingly fierce.
Actually, for this kind of thing, Guo is very happy.
While watching the performance of two completely different positions, he looked at the investigation report sent by the Linzi camp.
The investigation report shows that Wang Cang did not embezzle public funds, and these embezzlement tables are all fabricated, and a closer examination can find the clues, although it takes time.
But the purpose of those people is obviously to reverse the situation by delaying time, so that the emperor feels that this matter cannot be carried out, the resistance is too great, the scope is too wide, and it will even hurt his own descendants, so he will take the initiative to give up and compromise.
They often did this in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Muddy waters can touch fish.
The core goal is not to prove that Wang Cang has corrupt behavior, but to crack down on Wang Cang through this process, crack down on the power of the imperial court's tax reform, and let the tax reform end without a problem.
In this regard, Guo sneered.
Just a few chess pieces, do you really think I care about them?
However, the report also shows that although Wang Cang did not accept the money sent to him by certain people, it seems that he still reached some agreements and gave them convenience.
Through his identity as a native of Yanzhou, Wang Cang recommended these people to Chen Gong, who was also from Yanzhou, and opened the door for Chen Gong.
Chen Gong was one of the few officials in the DPRK who maintained friendly relations with Wang Cang, and when Chen Gong was in the staff station, he had a lot of contacts with Wang Cang, but he did not hear any news after he was released from Yongzhou.
As a result, I never thought that I would have a connection with Wang Cang here.
Chen Gong agreed to Wang Cang's request, sold a favor, arranged for these people to serve in Yongzhou, and took up some positions around Chen Gong that he could directly arrange.
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