Xiao Yan was taken down to take a bath in the large bathtub used by the emperor, Xiao Yan looked at the simple wooden barrel and couldn't believe it.

"You eunuchs are too careless to serve the emperor, even if it's one a day, you can't fool the emperor with this old thing!"

"Lord Xiao, this barrel emperor has been using it for five years, if the objects in the palace were changed every day, this inner treasury would have been empty a long time ago!"

Xiao Yan didn't believe it, maybe the emperor deliberately put it out to confuse him, the ancestors of the Xiao family said that the bathtub used by Emperor Wu was made of ancient pine wood, in order to smell the aroma of the pine wood being poured out by hot water.

And the story of Emperor Wu and the family fighting for wealth is even more well-known, and the palace is crying poor, who is it to deceive?

"Father-in-law Zhao, I understand what the emperor means, to be frugal, but this is too much, the emperor's bathtub will be used for five years? Even ordinary people don't use a bathtub for five years! I estimate that the regular clothes given by the emperor have been worn for several years, and maybe there will be patches! ”

Zhao Agui was a little surprised, "How does Lord Xiao know that the emperor's regular clothes are only changed once every three years!" It's only eight sets a year! ”

"The emperor is the lord of Zhongxing, and naturally he wants to leave a good name to the world, thrifty and benevolent, diligent and loving the people! Naturally, there are some things that we have to see! ”

"Lord Xiao still doesn't believe that the emperor has come over like this all these years?"

"Xiao is already thrifty enough among the officials of Daliang, but he is not like the emperor, his clothes are patched and the bath is used for five years. The emperor is rich all over the world, and it is not an exaggeration to have a bath every day. This frugality is too much to be believed. ”

Zhao Agui smiled, "Lord Xiao is a famous family, so naturally he doesn't believe it, but the emperor has been a vegetarian for several years, and you can know this!" If you have been vegetarian for a long time, you can smell this smell! ”

"I believe in this matter, the emperor received me, and I did smell that the emperor has been a vegetarian for at least five years, there is no doubt about this! It's really hard to be the emperor and do this! We are ashamed to be courtiers, ashamed to the extreme! ”

"Lord Xiao, it's not too early, it's time to go to court early, today's court meeting may be very long, Your Majesty ordered you to boil red dates and corn porridge, you can eat more!"

"The emperor's grace, the ministers are grateful!"

Wearing the emperor's patch clothes, Xiao Yan felt weird, wearing this to the court, those civil and military ministers would definitely be shocked when they saw it.

Although it is a regular uniform, it is also embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, and he is a criminal minister who was escorted into Beijing wearing this, how will others feel.

Xiao Yan felt that the emperor did this for another purpose, not just to let him see how frugal the emperor was.

"Dawn is the answer! In the early dynasties, Xuan Wenwu was in Beijing and above the four officials entered the Chongde Palace! ”

The officials kneeling outside the Chongde Hall continued to kneel, most of these were fourth-grade and fifth-grade officials, and officials of the third rank and above would not come to do this kind of thing similar to shrewd scolding the street.

It was still King Xiao Xian who led the ministers of civil and military affairs to enter the Chongde Hall in an orderly manner from the passages on both sides.

Everyone paused as they entered the hall, for there was a man kneeling in the center of the hall wearing a patched dragon robe.

Wang Fu is a spirit, could it be that Xiao Yan was bold enough to rebel and was arrested? Thinking about it for a while, this is unlikely, and it seems that today's court will have a good show.

When Xiao Xian saw Xiao Yan's appearance, he wanted to step forward and ask a few words, but when he saw the emperor on the throne staring at him, he had no choice but to give up.

The civil and military officials all looked at Xiao Yan and whispered, and the emperor simply closed his eyes and let them discuss for a while.

Xiao Yan knelt on the ground and sweat kept coming out of his back, and at this moment he understood that the emperor's other intention was to divert everyone's attention first, and the person who would have spoken to Xiao Yan had to mumble now, in case Xiao Yan was really a rebellion, wouldn't it be to ask him for death if he interceded.

Moreover, the emperor deliberately kept silent, just to let the ministers guess on their own, and the more complicated the guess, the more unfavorable it was for Xiao Yan.

After about a stick of incense, the emperor beckoned to Zhao Qian, and Zhao Qian shouted to the ministers, "Imperial meeting!" Kneel! ”

In the routine kneeling and shouting long live, the emperor got up, "Everyone, what happened in Bianzhou, I think everyone knows, today's court meeting is to discuss the matter of the Bianzhou transit envoy Yamen greedy for grain and rice from the treasury!" ”

The emperor directly qualitatively transferred the grain and rice of the Yamen treasury, and everyone was taken aback, it seems that the emperor is determined to control the matter of the Cao River transfer.

Xiao Yan naturally bore the brunt of the blame and shouted, "The minister is wronged!" Bianzhou transshipment wronged the Yamen! I beg Your Majesty to investigate! ”

The others stopped talking, because they didn't know why this Xiao Yan was wearing a dragon robe.

The emperor's tone was very slow: "Xiao Yan, as a transit envoy, although you are not greedy for ink, but you connived at your subordinates to be greedy for ink, grain and rice, and it is shoddy, your sin lies in dereliction of duty!" By the way, you also used the stored grain in the granary to give alms to the people, and used the country's grain to please the people, you won the reputation of the Bodhisattva, but the court really suffered. And some bad debts have been counted by you in the charity and disaster relief, which is really a good calculation! ”

"Your Majesty, the purpose of giving alms to disaster relief is to gather people's hearts, in order to prevent the displaced people from making trouble and rebelling! For the sake of the world! It is true that the transfer makes the little officials occasionally greedy for a little grain and rice for their livelihood, but the Cao River transshipment of Daliang for hundreds of years has been like this, which is a common practice, and it is not greedy for ink! They are also there to provide for their families! ”

The emperor turned his head and asked Zhao Qian, "I heard that you are also a scholar, and at today's court meeting, I will make an exception and let you come and discuss with them!" ”

Zhao Qian immediately knelt down, "The ancestral system of the Great Liang, eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics!" Slave Wan

Don't dare to die! ”

"Look at you like that! What is the ancestral system of the Great Liang? If I hadn't been surnamed Liu, this country name would have been called Daliang a long time ago! I personally defeated the country, I am the ancestor! What an ancestral system, it's time to change it! From today onwards, the eunuchs will be allowed to read and write, and assist the Chinese and military ministers of the Shu and Dynasty in handling political affairs! ”

The ministers of civil and military affairs looked at each other, this emperor directly even abolished the ancestral system, and wanted to reuse eunuchs, which was okay.

"Your Majesty, you are a descendant of the Great Liang Taizu, you can't abolish the ancestral system! The Great Qin and Han Dynasty were all eunuchs who took power and lost the country, and they can't let eunuchs interfere in politics! ”

"The ministers implore the emperor to take back his order!"

"The ministers implore Your Majesty to abide by the ancestral system and respect the heavens and ancestors!"

The emperor pulled up Zhao Qian and looked at everyone coldly, "If you want to follow the Great Liang Taizu, I can fulfill you and go to guard the tomb of the Taizu!" Zhao Qian, today I have crowned you as the writer of the Chongde Palace, and you can discuss politics in the Chongde Palace, remember, it is about politics! You ministers of civil and military affairs have also remembered that Zhao Qian is talking about politics, not politics! ”

The ministers were still kneeling on the ground repeating those words, as if they were all trying to put pressure on the emperor.

The emperor beckoned, "Come on, put those who don't listen to the advice out first!" Let's move on! ”

Zhao Agui came in with more than a dozen guards and took out all the people who were still kneeling on the ground and shouting.

The emperor looked at the ministers again, swept his gaze, and then said to Zhao Qian

"Zhao Qian, you and Xiao Yan will argue about this greedy ink and supporting a family first! I can't tell the difference! ”

Zhao Qian had the emperor's support, so he straightened his back and walked down to stand beside Xiao Yan, "Lord Xiao, this matter of supporting a family is probably very different from greedy for ink and rice. I came from a humble family, and I have seen many poor people who disdain to steal and plunder, and would rather suffer than earn a decent living. I have seen people who go down to the pond naked to dig lotus roots on snowy days, people who burn lime under the scorching sun on dog days, people who are not afraid of death to catch poisonous snakes and beasts, and people who carry hundreds of catties of charcoal on their backs and walk hundreds of miles to the capital to sell them. These people are called breadwinners, if Lord Xiao insists on linking greedy ink with supporting his family, it will be an insult to them! ”

Xiao Yan looked at this gentle eunuch on weekdays, and was a little annoyed in his heart, "Disrespectful and disrespectful, it turns out that Gonggong Zhao doesn't even do a man in order to support his family, what a noble and bright festival this is!" The future is bound to be a good story! ”

This is Zhao Qian's sore spot, he couldn't survive at the beginning, so he had to enter the palace and cut into the palace to be a eunuch, this Xiao Yan was too poisonous, and directly poked Zhao Qian's sore spot.

Zhao Qian gave Xiao Yan a smile: "What Lord Xiao said is the truth, I voluntarily entered the palace because I disdained stealing, this is the truth!" I don't know if what Master Xiao said about supporting his family is to move a bag of rice from the grain depot today, and steal hundreds of money from the account room tomorrow! This kind of raising a family, Dali Temple and Jingzhao Mansion should know more, well, if this is also called raising a family, then I'm afraid that Zhengqing of Dali Temple and Fu Yin of Jingzhao Mansion have been wrongly judged! ”

The emperor looked at Shao Hongyan, the Zhengqing of Dali Temple, "Shao Hongyan, you can tell me, what Zhao Qian said is not right!" And Jing Zhao Yin Liu Qing, you can also talk about it! ”

Shao Hongyan was very embarrassed, of course what Zhao Qian said was right, otherwise he would have released all the arrested people, but if he supported Zhao Qian so much, he would inevitably offend the Xiao family and many ministers.

Jing Zhao Yin Liu Qing is a member of the Yuanzhi clan, so he naturally has to speak to the emperor, and he can't care about offending others at this moment.

Shao Hongyan arched his hands, "Back to Your Majesty, what Lord Zhao said about supporting his family is naturally right, and Lord Zhao is also familiar with the criminal law, and he also understands the matter of committing adultery and committing crimes." I'm afraid that Lord Xiao has neglected something, or he hasn't investigated in detail! I don't think Lord Xiao's original intention should be to shield the people who steal and steal ink! ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Lord Zhao Qian is right, and I have also heard of the common practice that Lord Xiao said, maybe Lord Xiao was born rich and noble, and it doesn't matter if he loses a hundred catties of rice and hundreds of dollars, but that is theft and greed for ink. If the capital is also connived like this, I am afraid that bandits will run rampant! ”

Liu Qing's words are also very sharp, without the emperor's promotion, he may still be herding sheep in the mountains of his hometown, these families have always looked down on him, and today is just the opportunity to scold these people.

And the ministers naturally won't let Liu Qing go at this moment

"Jing Zhaoyin, do you know that when the water is clear, there are no fish! Do you know how hard the errand of Caohe transshipment is, day and night, how can it be compared with ordinary people! Ordinary people steal hundreds of pounds of rice and hundreds of dollars, which is naturally theft, but the transfer makes a big difference in the yamen! You haven't been a transshipment envoy, so you don't know the rules! The people in the yamen should not be too shabby when dealing with grain merchants, and it is naturally a big expense to receive officials in the capital. All this money is paid by the officials in the yamen out of their own pockets, and it is reasonable for them to subsidize the subsidy! The first to refute Liu Qing was the imperial historian Wen Yanru

Liu Qing was also straightforward, and immediately ridiculed him, "I don't know how much money Lord Wen has received from the transfer envoy Yamen, so hard!" By the way, you are so familiar with this matter, I remember that you have never been to the Yamen of the transshipment envoy, and you have never been to Bianzhou, how do you know the details of this? ”

"I have never killed a pig and have eaten pork, isn't this the case with all the yamen in this place? You have to be greedy for ink and steal one bite at a time, and you will put people to death! I really want to think of a killing list day and night! ”

Liu Qing wanted to continue to respond, but Zhao Qian pulled his clothes and stood over, "Lord Wen, the laws of the imperial court can only be maintained by the obedience of the subjects, if even Lord Wen, who is the imperial doctor, thinks that evil can be done, then how should this country be governed?" The transfer made the yamen move the grain and rice back to their own homes, and the princes in the court also brought the things in the yamen home, so what kind of system did it become? ”

Chen Yu saw that Wen Yanru couldn't take advantage of it, so he beckoned Wen Yanru to stop, "What Lord Zhao said makes sense, but since it is said that the way to govern the country, you can't just rely on the law!" The law, reason, and feelings complement each other, so that the world can be cured! If you only talk about the law, you will repeat the mistakes of the Qin Dynasty under the strict punishment and strict law, sometimes you have to be reasonable, and sometimes you have to pay attention to a love word. Take the matter discussed earlier as an example, the transfer of the officials of the yamen to take rice home from the grain depot is not in accordance with the law and reason, but it is reasonable! Lord Xiao Yan sympathizes with his subordinates, so naturally he turns a blind eye! There are so many things in the land that it is not easy to do, and if everything is done according to the law, no one will want to work! ”

"Shang Shu Ling is so insightful! It's just that if the salaries of the officials are low, they can go to the court to increase their salaries! Why do you secretly take the grain and rice from the national grain depot to give favors? Could it be that Your Majesty and your lordships will not approve it? Or is it that the salary is not low, so it can't be played? Even if it is intercession, it has to be the grace of the saints, the grace of the court, when will it be the turn of the transshipment envoy to embezzle the grain and rice from the grain depot to give grace? ”

Zhao Qian's questioning, Chen Yu was a little overwhelmed, "Please pay attention to your attitude!" ”

The emperor patted the throne and stood up, "Today's discussion of politics is a matter of facts, you still have this attitude in front of me, Zhao Qian is in the same hall as you, can't you ask questions to you?" ”

"What Zhao Qian said is reasonable, and it is also in line with the law, so if you are short of words, you will jump off the wall in a hurry? How can the state's money be given favors at will? Even if I want to send it, I will send it! When will it be the turn of a transshipment to call the shots? ”

Xiao Xian finally couldn't help it, and if he didn't speak, the rest of the people would be suppressed by the emperor's momentum.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Lord Zhao said is right, it's just that Xiao Yan was confused for a while, but Xiao Yan is not a person who bends the law for bribes, he embezzled grain and rice just to do bad things with good intentions and live up to the grace of God! Please spare his life! ”

The emperor pointed at Xiao Yan, "My dragon robe has been given to him as a favor, when has Prime Minister Xiao Cheng seen anyone wearing a dragon robe to the execution ground?" ”

Xiao Xian's face changed greatly when he heard this, "The minister is panicked, and I ask the emperor to take back the dragon robe!" This dragon robe is not for courtiers to wear! Xiao Yan, you are confused, take it off quickly! ”

"My words don't count? You don't approve of the favor I personally sent, do you have to send it out by your hands? ”

"Don't dare! The ministers are panicked, and ask Your Majesty to take back the dragon robe! ”

Xiao Xian was worried that once this dragon robe was brought home by Xiao Yan, someone would come to search for the crown armor in a few months, and when the time came, he would be charged with rebellion, and even the entire Xiao family would be implicated.

The emperor played a hooligan, but he was a real hooligan, and he didn't know anything about morality.

Wang Fu has not spoken, as if he is an outsider, in his opinion, this is the emperor beating the Xiao family, and it has nothing to do with his Wang family.

Yuan Xiuwen's attitude was also very subtle, neither towards the Xiao family, nor did he come out to help Zhao Qian say a word.

Dasi Nong Deng Hua looked at the dragon robe on Xiao Yan's body at this time, "Your Majesty, what we are discussing today is the matter of the Cao River transshipment, this dragon robe is given to Lord Xiao, it is a gift from Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Xiao Yan should not refuse, but he should not wear it, he should take it home and offer it, and always think about the emperor's grace!" ”

Xiao Xian and Xiao Yan were almost about to cry, but this Deng Hua came to solve the siege at a critical moment.

However, Deng Hua's words changed, "The mistake Xiao Yan made was enough to be executed, and the emperor gave him a dragon robe, just remembering his original kindness, and giving it to him with a dragon robe, so that his descendants would not be implicated!" If Xiao Yan doesn't die, then the law of the country will be gone, and this gift of dragon robe will become a joke! ”

This is the fatal blow, Xiao Yan has long known that if he wears this dragon robe, he will wait for death, but he didn't expect that it was not to falsely accuse him of rebellion, but to kill him with legal reason, and threaten him with his descendants and grandchildren.

"Thank you, Lord Longen, the minister's sin, the minister confesses!"

Xiao Yan's thank you was extremely sincere, and Xiao Xian couldn't say anything more, he couldn't save Xiao Yan's life at this time.

However, if Xiao Yan wants to die, then Gu Xining can't live either.

Xiao Xian also knelt down to thank the Xiao family on behalf of the Xiao family, "On behalf of the Xiao family, thank Your Majesty for your grace!" The guilty should be punished, and the law of the country should be corrected. The minister learned that Gu Xining, the murderer who killed hundreds of guards and officials in Bianzhou, is still at large, and if he is not killed, I am afraid that all the yamen in the local area will be panicked! Their guilt should be dealt with by national law, not slaughtered by Jin Liangwei! ”

"The ministers also ask to kill Gu Xining and punish the murderer!"

"I implore Your Majesty to kill Gu Xining for the sake of the hearts of the people in the world and for the sake of the common people!"

"Gu Xining, in the name of His Majesty, led people to kill innocents indiscriminately in Bianzhou, if they are not punished, the ministers are worried that the majesty of the national law will be gone!"

Zhao Qian and Zhao Agui looked at the emperor, hoping that the emperor could resist it, otherwise if they killed Gu Xining today, it would be them tomorrow.

"Gu Xining? Who is Gu Xining? I've never hired this man! Where did you find out? ”

The emperor openly played a scoundrel, Xiao Xian and the others were dumbfounded, and then remembered that Jin Liangwei's roster did not exist in the imperial court, and the names were all reported by Jin Liangwei's people themselves.

Gu Xining, he called himself Gu Xining, and he didn't see many people, and Xiao Yan and Wen Qian had seen it in this court.

"The minister knows this man! This man starved me for three days and killed more than 300 of my men! If Your Majesty doesn't kill this person, you won't be blind to death! Xiao Yan knew that he could not escape death, so he simply ignored the scene.

A voice outside the hall shouted, "Minister, Gu Xining, ask to see!" ”

Everyone looked outside the hall, this Gu Xining actually dared to come, this was really unexpected.