"Brother Hu deserves to be the king's confidant. Anhai, remember. Speak politely, whether he appreciates it or not. This king is to test whether he is really rebellious. Shangguan Beitang glanced at the visitor and smiled.

An Hai took the order and left.

In the evening, An Hai returned to his life. Shangguan Beitang asked, "What about things?" "He took it." "What did you say?" "He said that he wrote down the prince's affection, and he will not embarrass the prince." Anhai.

Shangguan Beitang nodded, thinking to himself, it seems that this Huang Hai is not a ruthless person. And he asked, "Oh?" So he's going down the mountain? "Nope." An Hai replied.

"This man is strange, why didn't he go down the mountain even if he received the love of this king!" Shangguan Beitang was puzzled and muttered. Then he instructed Lu Yuan and Wu Tong: "Pay close attention to the mountain, and report to this king immediately if there is any situation." "Yes." Lu Yuan and Wu Tong took the order and left.

After waiting all night, Shangguan Beitang could not wait for the news of the Yellow Sea descending the mountain. So he gathered 3,000 troops from the north to attack Donggang Mountain.

It was strange that there were no ambushes or sentry in the mountains. The army did not hurt a single soldier and arrived at Dazhai on the top of the mountain. Shangguan Beitang ordered: "Anhai, bring three hundred soldiers into the village to check." ”

Not long after, An Hai came out with people again. It's just that he also brought back two more people this time, one dead and one alive. The soldier carried the body of one person to Shangguan Beitang. An Hai reported: "Lord Wang, there is no one in the stockade, Huang Hai killed himself last night." Only this child was with him. ”

As he spoke, he brought a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy forward. Shangguan Beitang looked at him and asked, "Who are you from the Yellow Sea?" "I'm his godson. You are the King of the North Circle? The kid stared at the King of the North without fear and said.

"Exactly." "My godfather has something to tell me to bring to you." "What?" "My godfather said that King Beixuan and Lord Zheng are both good officials, and he will not embarrass you. He had dismissed all his brothers on the mountain last night and told them to go home and be good citizens. The kid said methodically.

"The godfather also said that this jasper is his Huang family's thing, so let it accompany him into the ground, so that he can give an explanation to his ancestors. He said that the prince was kind-hearted and could understand the sufferings of the people, and he would definitely be a pillar of the country in the future. Although he was forced by others, he was also a murderer and a man who plundered money, and his crimes were unforgivable. But he didn't want others to judge him, so he solved it himself, and hoped that the prince would not blame. ”

Shangguan Beitang sighed after hearing this, and was silent for a long time before saying, "That's it!" Then he said to the boy, "Go find a good place to bury your godfather!" Tomorrow morning, the Beixuan Army will leave Dongchuan and return to Beijing, if you want to stay in Dongchuan, stay there, if you don't want to stay, you can come to our army as a small soldier. ”

Shangguan Beitang's army retreated, and left Dongchuan the next day

。 It's just that what he doesn't know is what kind of situation he will face when he returns to the capital.

In the early dynasty, Shangguan Beitang explained to the emperor all the circumstances of going to Dongchuan. But he also had a fierce competition with the protégés of the imperial master.

Master Fu lost his son-in-law, and his mood was naturally very sad. But he won't bear the brunt of blaming the King of the North Spin. His thoughts and appeals were answered by his protégés.

Liu Lan, a member of the household department, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the king of Beixuan went to Dongchuan to suppress the bandits this time, but he returned to the dynasty without suppressing the bandits, I am afraid that there is something hidden!" Could it be that the king of Beixuan colluded with the bandits, and as soon as he went to the bandits, he abandoned evil and turned to good. ”

The squire of the Criminal Department also stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Lord Liu is reasonable, and the King of Beixuan is really strange to suppress the bandits this time. I hope that Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly. "The minister seconded the proposal." "The ministers seconded the proposal." Several more officials stepped forward.

Dugu Yanxiang opened his mouth and asked, "What does Master Fu think of this matter?" "The old minister thinks that the king of Beixuan has a reason for doing this. The old minister has no opinion, everything is up to His Majesty to decide. Master Fu put on a fair and fair attitude.

Dugu Yanxiang sat on the dragon chair and looked at Master Fu and thought to himself: Okay, you old fox, you say that you have no opinion, but look at these officials who stand up, which one is not your disciple.

He looked at Shangguan Beitang again and asked, "King Beixuan, do you have something to say?" Shangguan Beitang stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the bandits in Dongchuan are forced by the local government to exploit the people and abuse their power, and the people are desperate to go up the mountain to become bandits. Moreover, after the minister investigated the corruption case of Qian Wanqing, many people went down the mountain to change their minds and become new people. The leader of the bandits also knew that he was wrong and killed himself. The minister thinks that the law does not hold the public accountable, and that others should no longer be held accountable. ”

"What the king of the north means is that as long as someone repents, we should let him go. As long as so many people in the prison of the Criminal Department admit their mistakes, the official should let them go. The squire of the criminal department argued again.

"Lord Xue said this, and the officials did not dare to agree." A handsome young man stepped forward and said. Shangguan Beitang looked at him and felt angry, but he didn't know why this person wanted to speak for him.

The young man bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the law committed by everyone is different, and that some people have made minor mistakes, so give them the opportunity to teach and correct them." Some people are heinous and deserve punishment. It's not that as Lord Xue said, as long as you admit your mistakes, you can let them go.

The minister thought that what the king of Beixuan did should be dealt with at his discretion, and Qian Wanqing was corrupt and bent the law to ignore the people in the water and fire, but the people are also human beings, and they also have to eat, if the life is stable, who is willing to go up the mountain to be a bandit, and do some burning, killing and looting, this is really forced by life, and it cannot be generalized with Lord Xue's words. ”

Dugu Yanxiang looked at Fu Taishi's party, these people were clearly avoiding the important and focusing on the Beixuan Wang's suppression of bandits, so that I could ignore Qian Wanqing's corruption case. Master Fu, Master Fu, you are too underestimated to look down on me, do you still think that I am the child who just took over the government three years ago?

After listening to the people in the main hall arguing for a while, he said, "Okay, the matter of the King of the North is also handled at his discretion. The root of all evil is still on Qian Wanqing. Master Fu, don't you know that Qian Wanqing has been corrupt for many years? ”

"I don't know." Master Fu flatly denied it. "I don't know!" Dugu Yan Xiang was so angry that he couldn't speak, and after a while, he shouted again: "This is the account book of Qian Wanqing who bribed the officials of the capital found out by the King of Beixuan, as far as this account book is concerned, the amount of wealth he has accumulated over the years is comparable to that of the national treasury, you can see for yourself!" This is your good son-in-law. Dugu Yanxiang threw a ledger in front of Master Fu.

Master Fu and the others couldn't help but shudder. They would never have imagined that Qian Wanqing still had the habit of keeping accounts. He remembered every money he had in his hand.

"The old minister is wronged!" Master Fu still knelt on the ground and said. "Wronged? Why don't I think that after I have read this account book, you are the most cashier, and you, the good protégé of Master Fu, none of them can escape. Dugu Yanxiang pointed to a few people who stood up. This time, for Fu Taishi's party, he had to move.

As a result, other officials of the DPRK and China also saw the situation clearly. On weekdays, people who don't like the Taishi and the party, who are suppressed by the Taishi and the party, who really think about the country in their hearts, and who want to win the emperor's favor, all come forward and step on their feet, accusing the Taishi and the party of being arrogant, controlling the government, forming a party for personal gain, and bending the law for bribes.

This is exactly what Dugu Yanxiang wants, he just wants to push the big tree of Master Fu. This old guy relied on himself to be a veteran of the Three Dynasties, and he controlled the government many times and was disrespectful to me. Now, he has committed the case of forming a party for personal gain, corruption and accepting bribes. The amount of money involved is not small, and I can't help you.

"Someone came and put Fu Rong, Liu Lan, Xue Zijun and others into prison. Liao Jianzhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department. Dugu Yanxiang commanded. The minister is here. "You will thoroughly investigate the bribery case of Taishi Fu and his party, and I will see the results within ten days." "Yes." "Retreat." "Long live my emperor, long live, long live." The officials bowed down.

Shangguan Beitang walked out of the Jinluan Hall and caught up with the young official in the hall who was talking to him, and said, "Your Excellency, please stay." "The lower officials see the prince." The young officer bowed. "No need to be polite." Shangguan Beitang waved his hand, "I don't know if the lord is an official who was transferred recently?" ”

"The lower official is" The young official was about to speak, but a voice interjected: "He is not newly transferred, he is Xiao Yiqing, the new champion appointed by the emperor and the current waiter of the Ministry of Rites, Lord Xiao." ”

The two turned their heads and saw that the person who came was Jiang Zikai, who had just attacked the title of Marquis of Chengwu. "Brother Zikai, long time no see." Shangguan Beitang said. "Cheng Wuhou." Xiao Yiqing saluted.

Jiang Zikai returned the salute and said, "Cousin Bei, I was just about to look for you, Lord Xiao." Shangguan Beitang looked at Xiao Yiqing and said: "In the days when this king has been away from Beijing, there has been such a young and talented champion, Xiao Wang has thanked Lord for speaking bluntly today!" ”

"The prince has won the award, and the lower officials just admonished him according to the truth, and he didn't dare to accept such a big gift from the prince." Xiao Yiqing hurriedly returned the gift.

"Okay, okay, you two don't come to me. Cousin North, I'm still looking for you! Jiang Zikai interjected again.

"What's the matter with Brother Zikai?" Shangguan Beitang asked. "In the afternoon, I made an appointment with a few friends in Beijing to listen to Yuxuan and drink tea, and invited the prince to enjoy the light when he arrived!" Jiang Zikai invited.

"Brother Zikai's gracious Xiao Wang is naturally coming, hey, I see that Lord Xiao is also a temperamental, why don't you go together?" Shangguan Beitang asked Xiao Yiqing again.

Jiang Zikai also said: "Yes, yes, I am also very close to Lord Xiao, I don't know if I can appreciate it?" ”

Xiao Yiqing was naturally very happy when King Beixuan and Cheng Wuhou were warm, and hurriedly said: "Thanks to the love of the prince and the marquis, the lower officials are naturally coming." The three of them looked at each other and smiled.

At this time, Ning Chun'an, the eunuch beside the emperor, came over and called Shangguan Beitang and said, "Lord, Your Majesty has summoned you." Shangguan Beitang had no choice but to leave first.

When leaving, Jiang Zikai did not forget to remind Shangguan Beitang: "When you come, you must bring Yuzhu girl, her cooking skills are a must." ”

"No, my Yuzhu is not specially made for you." Shangguan Beitang joked. "Look at you, you're so stingy, it's just a girl, so it's decided, remember to bring it!" Jiang Zikai said.

"Who said that Yuzhu is a girl, she is my young lady from the Beixuan Palace, how can she come to cook tea for you laypeople." Shangguan Beitang still refuses to give in. "Good, good. I am a layman, but a layman also wants to become an immortal, so I am tired of the king of Beixuan, please ask your jade bamboo fairy to come to spend time with me, a layman. Jiang Zikai saluted.

"Well, that's pretty much it, I'll have to ask my fairy what he means."