Chapter 169: The People of the Li Family

It's hard to keep any secrets in the Ouchi Guard's Secret Prison. There were people staring at Fang Xie all the time, as if they wanted to record his urine and urine. Surviving in this environment for the first time in his life, Fang Xie is honestly not very sure that he will be able to get out of here.

Changchun Garden

Lotus pond side

After listening to the report on war preparations by the military department, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief after giving serious instructions, and did not summon other important ministers of the imperial court, but sat on the stone bench next to the lotus pond for a long time. The emperor rarely behaved like this, and he always seemed busy. It can be said that Emperor Yang Yi is the most low-key emperor in the history of the Great Sui, but he is also the most diligent emperor.

He was always dealing with state affairs, and he sat motionless for half a day on the earthen kang in the dome. He sleeps a maximum of two hours a day and never wakes up a minute.

Emperors in the past rarely saw all the twists and turns. You must know that the Great Sui is too big, twenty-four worlds, thousands of cities, and every day to Changchun Garden, not a single ox cart can be pulled. Therefore, a long time ago, the emperor of the Great Sui set up the position of Bingbi eunuch, and several of the emperor's most trusted eunuchs were responsible for selecting the performance. They would filter and sort all the pieces and then pick out the most important ones and present them to the Emperor.

Most of the twists and turns that have no substantive meaning are often directly given by the eunuchs of Bingbi instead of the emperor. Such rules have been in place for decades. The power of the eunuchs is so great that even the important ministers of the court are beyond it.

But in the generation of Emperor Yang Yi, he abolished this rule. He is like a machine that never gets tired, and he has no aversion to those trivial and complicated state affairs. Since his accession to the throne, the enormous power of the eunuchs has been gradually weakened. Later, the eunuch Bingbi returned to just a eunuch.

But even though the emperor was admirably diligent, he would still be too busy. So someone has to help him share some of the burden, so the official position of the Yellow Gate Squire is becoming more and more important. Comparatively speaking, the Tianyou Emperor obviously trusted the courtiers more than the eunuchs in the handling of state affairs.

The official position of Huangmen Shilang was set up by him, and there was no such official in the previous Great Sui. The duty of the Yellow Gate Squire is actually to share a part of the things that should have belonged to the eunuchs of Bingbi.

But in other matters, the emperor's trust in the eunuchs did not seem to be low at all. For example, the closest position to follow him at all times is always the eunuch Su Bu who seems to be honest and taciturn.

The emperor was always busy, so it was a novelty for him to sit by the lotus pond in a daze.

People have become accustomed to it, and when they think of the emperor, they can immediately guess that he is dealing with state affairs.

"Su is not afraid...... How many years have you been in the palace? ”

The Emperor was silent for a long time before asking.

Su Buxing, who was standing not far from the emperor with his head bowed, replied: "It's been twenty-six years, and the slave maid entered the palace at the age of fifteen, first as an apprentice in the imperial dining room, and then because he was still clever, he was transferred to work by Wu Xiangsheng, who was still a eunuch in the Zongnei Mansion at that time. I worked in the Zongnei Mansion for more than ten years, and later Wu Xiangsheng was promoted to the eunuch of Bingbi, and I was also transferred to the imperial study. Counting it, I have been in the imperial study for fourteen years. ”

"You've always had a good memory."

The Emperor nodded.

"Wu Xiangsheng was promoted by his father, and at that time, even the second and third rank members of the imperial court had to be stammered...... I have removed most of the powers of the eunuch Bingbi, and I must have been unwilling and angry when I want to come to Wu Xiangsheng. I have never asked, you have been with him for more than twenty years, and no one knows him better than you. I heard...... Before Wu Xiangsheng left Chang'an for the northwest, he looked for you alone? ”

"Yes"

Su Bu bowed his head and said, "I have indeed seen slaves and maids." ”

"What did he say?"

The emperor asked.

Wu said...... When I go to the northwest, most of them will never be able to return. He said that after his death, it should be the slave maid who took over the position of the eunuch of Bingbi. He warned his slaves and maidservants not to be disrespectful to His Majesty. During the reign of the first emperor, the duty of the eunuch was to share the government affairs for the first emperor. His Majesty does not want this, but a eunuch who does his duty. He told the slave to do what a eunuch should do, and not to touch what he could not touch. ”

Hearing this, the emperor was silent for a while and then sighed: "He still has resentment in his heart. ”

Sue was not afraid to speak.

The emperor said, "He guessed wrong. ”

Su was stunned, not knowing what the emperor meant by guessing wrong.

The emperor stood up, looked at the beautiful flowers in the lotus pond and said with some sadness: "I asked him to go to the northwest, not to get rid of him. I knew that if I weakened the authority of the eunuch Bingbi, Wu Beisheng would definitely be dissatisfied and angry. But I knew he was faithful, so I never thought of killing him. Let him go to the northwest, just to purge the army of corruption before the big war. In order to prepare for war against Mengyuan, it is necessary to check what the garrisons of the northwest provinces are like. ”

"He thought I wanted to kill him because he had complained, and he was wrong."

The emperor said: "I have even prepared a home for him, bought a big mansion for him in Jianghuai Road, and specially asked the household department to allocate a sum of silver to purchase land and subordinates. I thought that as soon as he came back from the northwest, I would let him go out of the palace to recuperate, he was already very old...... I have done a lot of things for the emperor, and I have done a lot of work, how could I kill him? ”

The emperor's tone was sad and angry.

He was angry that Wu Xiangsheng didn't understand him.

"Perhaps...... Wu Peisheng said that he would definitely die, not because he felt that His Majesty was going to do something. ”

Su Buxing's face kept changing, and he hesitated for a moment before continuing: "He is under the will of His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the corruption case of the Northwest Army, which will inevitably touch the interests of many people. He said that he had never returned, perhaps fearing that he would find out something that would surely kill him. ”

"Su is not afraid"

The Emperor glanced back at him and said, "It's rare that you would say such a thing today, you have never been involved in state affairs. Even if I ask you, you will find a way to excuse yourself. ”

"The slave doesn't want Your Majesty to be unhappy, and she doesn't want Your Majesty to misunderstand Wu Xiangsheng...... He is a greedy man and a good power, and the eunuch will definitely die if he is contaminated with these two points. But he is loyal enough to your Majesty, and even if he complains, he will not do anything unfavorable to Your Majesty. And it is precisely because the slave knows him that he knows that according to his temperament, he will definitely investigate very deeply and meticulously, and he will find many things that are not visible. ”

The emperor was slightly stunned, and then a hint of fierceness flashed in his eyes.

"Find Hou Wenji...... No, let's bring Luo Weiran here. ”

The emperor instructed: "Let him go and find out who Wu Xiangsheng died in." ”

……

……

Wu was killed by Li Xiaozong.

Where is Lee Hyo-jong?

Still in the Northwest, but has been dismissed. He no longer had the robe of the Great Sui Cong Wupin Tooth General, but he was not imprisoned. It seems that the emperor believed the truth of the war in Fan Gu, which was reported by the Ministry of War, and only made a mistake in concealing the report. Of course, this sin can be big or small. If it is said harshly, it is the crime of deception. The sin of deceitful kings...... It depends on what His Majesty thinks.

Obviously, His Majesty does not want to kill him yet.

So although he fell from a very high position, he did not fall down. Originally, several ministers of the imperial court discussed that they wanted to add another article to the disposal and never hire them. But later, when it was reported to His Majesty for approval, His Majesty crossed out this sentence with a red pen. This is an obvious signal, so many people in the court guessed that this young man named Li Xiaozong must have a chance to make a comeback.

It was only when it became clear that the empire was going to expedition to the northwest that everyone understood why the emperor did not execute Li Xiaozong at that time. Li Xiaozong has been a tooth general in Fangu for several years, and no one knows the situation in the Fangu area better than him. And he is a very scheming person, while sending troops to clear out the robbers and horse thieves around Fan Gu, he has also explored the terrain of Wolf Milk Mountain several times. He knows that if a person wants to succeed, he must prepare a lot of things in advance.

He wasn't sure that the Empire would go to war against Meng Yuan, but he knew from the beginning that he had to prepare for it.

How could His Majesty abandon such a person? Once the war starts, he will soon be reinstated. And after a big war, I can't say that this young man will soar to the sky. Thinking about it further, His Majesty referred to him as Fan Gu's general back then, could it be that he had the intention of using him in the war?

It's not impossible, you must know that although Li Xiaozong couldn't get into the top three when he was in the martial arts academy, he was always the fourth person, and the first three people were all assigned to the Great Sui soldiers, and he was transferred to Fan Gu, isn't it a kind of attention? The three people who were better than him were to get acquainted with the army, in order to bring out an elite army as soon as possible. Li Xiaozong went to familiarize himself with the northwest, and his role should not be underestimated.

was punished by His Majesty at the same time as Li Xiaozong, as well as Li Yuanshan, the general of the Right Xiaowei. This person, who has been sitting in the position of a general for more than ten years, was demoted by three ranks, from a general of the third rank to another general of the fifth grade. But, very unruly, he still commands the right guard.

There are dozens of generals above the fifth rank of the right Xiaowei Zheng, and there are dozens of them.

Therefore, Li Yuanshan is a very embarrassing person, as the commander of the right guard, according to the rules, when he raises the account every day, he first has to salute dozens of people under him. And the most surprising thing is that he actually abides by this rule and does not slack off at all. From the order of demotion to the army, he acted in full accordance with the rules. When it is time to give orders, there is no delay, and when it is time to salute, there is no prevarication.

Of course, such a thing will naturally be told to His Majesty the Emperor who is far away in the imperial capital.

Li Yuanshan was used to living in a big tent and in a barracks. But since he was demoted, whenever the affairs of the army were dealt with, he would ride back to his mansion in the city and live with his wife and children. He no longer enjoyed the special treatment of the general, and even cut off the wine from the Western Regions that was specially supplied to the general.

Of course, such a thing is naturally told to His Majesty the Emperor who is far away in the imperial capital.

Li Yuanshan, who was sitting in the study, wore a cotton cloth instead of a brocade dress, and he always thought that soft cotton cloth was more comfortable to wear. After casually flipping through the imperial palace newspaper a few times, he turned his gaze to the young man who had been standing quietly on the side.

"How many days has King Xujun arrived?"

He asked.

The young man who stood very regularly was Li Xiaozong, he had no official position, but he was appointed by Li Yuanshan as a staff member, which was not in conflict with the will of the imperial court. The staff were his personal advisers, not court officials. Of course, this is also a trick, but who would offend a general who will soon be reinstated because of such a trivial matter?

"It's been ten days."

Lee Hyo-jong replied.

"What's out of the ordinary?"

Li Xiaozong thought for a while and replied: "The day before yesterday, he seemed to have inadvertently asked about Wu Xiangsheng's death. ”

"Just ask."

Li Yuanshan shook his head slightly and said, "Who can prove now that you killed Wu Xiangsheng?" The old eunuch...... Knowing that there were many things he couldn't touch, he still got into it. In the northwest, he was just a passerby, but because of his curiosity, he even left his grave here. King Xujun is smarter than Wu Xiangsheng, and he knows what is the most important thing at this time. ”

"Your Majesty wants to fight Meng Yuan, whoever ruins Your Majesty's grand cause, Your Majesty will not spare anyone."

He looked at Li Xiaozong and said, "You are ready to prepare, maybe it won't be long before your will is reactivated." ”

"Uncle Xie!"

Li Xiaozong bowed deeply and his tone was sincere.

"What you should be thankful for is your fate, if you weren't born in the Li family...... It's already dead. The people of our Li family are not people who can move if they want to. ”

Li Yuanshan smiled faintly, looking so proud.