A group of officials from the Ministry of Officials ran to Fang Xuanling's mansion, and as soon as they entered on the front foot, Li Yuanji got the news.

However, Li Yuanji did not send anyone to inquire, but in the same way, the news was still transmitted back intact.

"Your Majesty, most of the people who went to the banquet this time were low-level officials, and the leaders were two foreigners, and the specific people were ......," Song Zhong said.

"No need...... Li Yuanji waved his hand, interrupting Song Zhong's words.

Although he didn't send someone to inquire, he couldn't stand the fact that there were many internal responses in each yamen, and every move of any yamen couldn't escape his eyes.

As for the specific personnel, Li Yuanji didn't care.

After all, in a humane society, no one can say that it is not allowed to have a meal with his old superiors, even if he is the emperor.

"These people are all good people, and all of them are smart!" Li Yuanji said with a slight smile.

And Xiao Yu's face on the side was not very good, although the news that came back was not bad, but the purpose of these people to find Fang Xuanling was to count their own, hoping to make Fang Xuanling put pressure on him, so that he could change some practices.

As an upright and upright person, they don't care when they go to Fang Xuanling, but if they find him and say that they are not, then they can't tolerate it.

At this moment, Xiao Yu's inner thoughts were almost all written on his face, and he was secretly planning to ask Song Zhong for a detailed list later, and he must punish these people who have other ideas.

"Xiao Xiang doesn't have to care, these are just pawns, there is nothing to deal with them, but it shows that Xiao Xiang is incompatible." Li Yuanji saw Xiao Yu's thoughts and reminded him unhurriedly.

When he said earlier, he didn't mean these people who went to find Fang Xuanling, but those who hid behind the scenes and watched.

To put it bluntly, most of these people who have surfaced are people who are in charge, and they have a low status and are not so detailed in their considerations.

And the really dangerous, people with ideas, at this time, stay behind the scenes and wait for news.

As for the rebellion or something, it's not that Li Yuanji is not worried, but there is no need to worry at all, the current system, the current society, even if a prince rebels, it is impossible to succeed.

Do you really think that benevolent government is used to buy people's hearts in this era, or take it to waste?

"Okay, you can do what you need to do next, and you don't have to care about anyone's thoughts." Li Yuanji continued to instruct Xiao Yu.

"No!" Xiao Yu, who originally planned to settle accounts after the autumn, could only give up this idea at this time.

The emperor has spoken, what else can he do?

"It seems that this Fang Xuanling is really learning Cheng Zhijie...... "After Xiao Yu left, Li Yuanji muttered in a low voice alone.

Immediately, he shook his head a little helplessly and a little disappointed.

What the courtiers want to do, they can't influence themselves, let alone their true thoughts.

Over the years, Datang has developed rapidly, and if it is done well, it is still very possible for Fang Xuanling to become a prime minister through the ages.

Although the people are very appreciative of themselves as the emperor, and their reverence is also very strong, they also respect Fang Xuanling, the head of the cabinet.

Perhaps it is precisely because of these reasons that Fang Xuanling, who is a smart one, chose to use this decision to protect himself.

Yes, Mingzhe protects himself, this is Li Yuanji's opinion on Fang Xuanling's decision.

In terms of relationship, Hou Junji and Fang Xuanling can only be regarded as colleagues at most, a little deeper than the nodding friendship, and they can't ruin their future for Hou Junji's sake.

But as Fang Xuanling, the head of the cabinet, became more and more prestigious among the people, some issues naturally came to the point where he had to think about it.

From Fang Xuanling's point of view, there is no problem in doing this, he has lost some power, and may even lose the position of the head of the cabinet, but in the same way, he is as safe as Cheng Zhijie, and the power in his hands is much greater than Cheng Zhijie, and some unfinished ideas can still be completed.

and don't have to be a living dead like Cheng Zhijie, although he is chic, but after a long time, it is inevitable that some people will have some ideas.

Of course, consider it from the position of the emperor.

Fang Xuanling's approach is in his own interests, an emperor needs a group of capable ministers, not a peer, because the threat is too great.

You can't have the heart to hurt others, and you can't have the heart to defend people.

A person who has self-knowledge and knows how to hand over his authority to the emperor is undoubtedly the smartest person and the one who can start and finish well.

Originally, Li Yuanji only thought that there was only one Cheng Zhijie in this Tang Dynasty, but he didn't expect that now there is another Fang Xuanling.

Although he impulsively removed Fang Xuanling's position as the secretary of the ministry, Li Yuanji did not feel a trace of regret, and even appreciated Fang Xuanling a little more.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Xingcheng, the secretary of the Criminal Department, asks to see you!" The chamberlain outside the door came to report, interrupting Li Yuanji's thoughts.

"Xuan!" Li Yuanji nodded.

Soon, Zhang Xingcheng, who was dressed in an official uniform, came to the main hall with a few notebooks in his hand, and after a pilgrimage as usual, he talked about the purpose of this visit.

"Your Majesty, this is the latest list of death row inmates, please take a look at it." Zhang Xingcheng held up several notebooks in his hand.

Song Zhong walked down with a very good eye, picked up a few notebooks, and then put them on the side of the desk, took out the top one, and spread it in front of Li Yuanji.

The roster of prisoners on death row is actually no different from the history books, and the first page is still the list, which is not much different from other lists.

First, the time and stages are indicated, which are divided into one, two, three and three stages, each stage has a few, or dozens of different names, followed by a specific number of pages.

Although Li Shimin was overthrown, some good policies during the Li Shimin period continued after Li Yuanji came to power.

Although some have not yet been officially released, Li Yuanji has also promulgated them in advance.

It's like this death row inmate's audit.

In the past, the review of death row prisoners was strict, and there were a lot of things to do with the emperor, so most of them just glanced at it in a hurry, and then wrote a quasi-word, and the next thing waiting for was the autumn queen.

Before that, the emperor would not ask anything about death row prisoners, first, because he did not have time, and second, he did not want to ask.

Now it is divided into three stages, and every death row prisoner must go through these three stages.

Of course, the process of the three stages is actually exactly the same, and the purpose is to prevent wrongful killing.

First, the yamen will interrogate and dispose of it, and then submit it to the Criminal Department for review, and after the Criminal Department has passed the review, it will officially enter the first stage and report to the emperor.

If the emperor feels that this person should not be killed, then the case will be sent back and re-tried by the yamen concerned, and at this point, the result of the submission will definitely not be the death penalty.

If the emperor felt that the person should be killed, he would sign an order, but the order would not be carried out immediately.

The Ministry of Criminal Justice will organize it and put the corresponding list into the second stage, that is, three months later, the list will be brought to the cabinet meeting for discussion.

And if the second stage is also passed, the order will still not be executed immediately, and it will also be sorted out and adjusted to the third stage, and the time will also be three months later, and it will still be reviewed in front of the emperor, if the emperor also passes the review this time, then there will be no fourth review.

It is proposed in winter, reviewed in spring and summer, and then asked in the autumn three months later.

Why does a death row inmate wait a year before he is beheaded?

One is afraid of killing by mistake, and the other is afraid that the emperor will be too arbitrary, and he will regret it in the future, after three stages, a one-year buffer, even if the emperor is impulsive, he will not lose anything, and there is still a chance to save. At the same time, death row inmates can also file an appeal within this time period to clear their name.

A general glance at the directory shows that there are more than 100 people in the three batches, which is more than several times larger than last year, and a group of death row prisoners just a few months ago were beheaded, and the number is only just 30.

The number of death row inmates in the first stage was the largest, accounting for more than 50, and Li Yuanji was shocked by this.

However, a closer look revealed that there were more than 30 people charged with the same crime, but the interrogation records were slightly different.

There are more than 30 death row inmates on the same charge, and the case is still related, no matter when it is placed, this is definitely a shocking case, but before that, Li Yuanji didn't hear any news, and couldn't help frowning and asking: "Can these more than 30 people be interrogated clearly?" ”

The things brought by the Criminal Department will definitely not go wrong, but the more than 30 charges of robbery and murder are still a bit appalling.

"Back to Your Majesty, this case has been tried clearly, these people are unusually bold, focusing on some small rich families, and after the crime is successful, they will stay shortly after, and they will flee directly to other states and counties, and they are at least one state apart, and the methods of committing crimes are extremely sophisticated, and extremely cunning, at the same time, in order to prevent some members from wanting to quit, they use tough means to require each member to kill at least one person with their own hands, so as to ensure the safety of their gang......" Zhang Xingcheng said the whole process again.

Wandering crimes, no matter how big or small the case is, they flee immediately after success, and all the victims die and are buried, so many cases, until they are caught, the local government still does not know, let alone pursue or something.

And these victims are all small rich families, these people like the wind and snow or something, it is not impossible to wander out, no matter how anxious the family is, they can only wait, and they can't see anyone dead or dead, there is only one case in various places, and it is difficult for the government to file a case for investigation.

"And how was it caught? But there are still cases to be hidden? Li Yuanji couldn't help but be a little curious, how did he capture all the more than 30 people with such a sophisticated method and almost no tail?

It's not that I look down on those fast catches, but the current conditions, if you want to arrest these people, it's simply a fantasy.

Zhang Xingcheng's face was a little embarrassed, as if he felt that his face was gloomy, but he had to say: "This group of people is committing a crime in Chuzhou, and they happened to be discovered by a scout who trained in the nearby reconnaissance and stalking subject, and then summoned other soldiers nearby, so they were all killed, but when they arrived, the victim had already been killed, and they were burying the body......"