Late at night on the tenth day of the first month of April, a fast horse galloped to Chang'an, and after entering the city, it went straight to Li Linfu's mansion. Half an hour later, several horses in Xiangguo's mansion ran out and disappeared into the dark long street. After more than half an hour, several horsemen came in batches and entered the brightly lit Li Linfu mansion.

Above the middle hall of Xiangguo's mansion, Li Linfu was sitting precariously, with a letter on the table in front of him, and he was frowning and pondering. There was a sound of footsteps at the door, and Yang Shenjin, Wang Jie, Luo Xixiao and others rushed in, all of whom had just received Li Linfu's summons, and their faces were still tired from sleep.

"Xiangguo, but there's news?" Wang Ji asked with a hurry, Yang Shen looked at him with disdain, and was very disgusted by Wang Jie's impatient style. On the contrary, Luo Xixiao came in silently like a shadow, standing quietly in the shadows on the side, without any superfluous words or movements.

"Sit down and talk, serve tea." Li Linfu raised his eyes and glanced at them, nodded slightly.

The servants brought hot tea and placed it in front of each of them, and then they retreated, and the last two who walked out turned back and gently closed the door of the atrium. In the shadows of the trees around the central hall, the guards and masters of the Xiangguo Mansion closely monitored any movement within a radius of twenty steps around the central hall, as if they were facing a great enemy.

"Look at Giwin's letter." Li Linfu pointed to the letter on the case. Yang Shenjin just got up half of his body, but the fat and round Wang Ji was extremely agile, got up and grabbed the letter in front of Yang Shenjin and grabbed the letter in his hand, and read the letter without saying it.

Yang Shenjin's face was gloomy, and he glared at Wang Ji fiercely, so he could only turn around and sit down first.

Wang Ji read the letter quickly, with a smile on his face, and when he finished reading the letter, he suddenly laughed, patted his thigh and said: "Okay, Jiwen really has a way of doing things, so we can do it tomorrow morning." ”

Li Linfu stroked his beard silently, pointed at Yang Shenjin and said, "Give the letter to Shen Jinxi, and they will discuss it after reading it." ”

Yang Shen snatched the letter from Wang Jie's hand unhappily, read it quietly and handed it to Luo Xizao, who also read it quickly, and respectfully folded it and stuffed it into an envelope in front of Li Linfu.

"Got it all?" Li Linfu spoke lightly, and without waiting for the three of them to answer, he reached out and picked up the envelope and lit it on the candle flame, took it in his hand and turned it, looking at the letter that was burned and only a penny left, and threw it in the copper basin next to the desk.

"Xiangguo, what are you waiting for? Liu Ji is willing to be a witness, so we can do it. Wang Ji said.

Yang Shenjin frowned and looked at Wang Jie, and arched his hand towards Li Linfu and said, "Xiangguo, has Liu Ji's whistleblower letter been sent?" Otherwise, what to say? ”

Li Linfu smiled, took out a package from under the case and spread it out on the table. Excerpts. Li Linfu took out the excerpt and raised it and said: "The excerpt written by Liu Ji to the political hall is here, and I only need to read a few sentences of the excerpt, you listen." ”

The crowd listened attentively.

Li Linfu read: "...... I hesitated for a long time, and finally felt that loyalty and filial piety are difficult to achieve, as a minister of the Tang Dynasty, loyalty is the foundation of a minister, and everything else needs to be put aside, so I follow the righteous and righteous actions of the virtuous ministers. The minister reported that his grandfather Du Youlin had behaved inappropriately, and as a subordinate official of the East Palace, he did not fulfill the responsibility of praising the good doctor, and secretly stirred up trouble every day. The minister listened to his remarks several times, called the picture of the diagram, crossed the East Palace, reprimanded the public opinion, and spoke disrespectfully, which was contrary to the ethics of the ministers. The minister couldn't bear to see this person making waves in the East Palace, so he reported Du Youlin to the political hall, hoping that the imperial court would find out the matter and find out Du Youlin's intentions, so as not to let the prince be swayed by the villain's remarks and damage the foundation of my Tang Dynasty. In view of the minister's repeated hesitation, his loyalty was not strong, and he failed the favor of the court, he asked for his guilt. ”

Wang Ji laughed and said: "The son-in-law bites the father-in-law, and the show is about to begin." ”

Yang Shenjin said calmly: "Are those the account books of Beihai County?" Ji Wen's letter said that the deficit of public money in the account books has been investigated, and Li Yong's crime of embezzlement of public money has been confirmed, so should Li Yong's matter be dealt with together? ”

Wang Ji said: "Then you still need to say? I knew that this old boy had a problem, and the dog couldn't change his eating, and he had embezzled public money when he was in charge of Chenzhou. If Kong Zhang hadn't risked his life to write a book, saying that His Majesty would spare his life, he would have moved his head at the beginning. How many bad things has he said about us behind his back over the years? Finally, it's in our hands again. It's okay now, starting with him, none of Li Shizhi's gang want to live. ”

Li Linfu frowned and said softly: "This matter can't be rushed, it can only be regarded as a victory at present." Tomorrow morning, we will only play this fold, and His Majesty will definitely let people investigate this matter, and the process of investigation is the most important thing, and we must collect all the favorable evidence, and we must not let them have a chance to fight back. If nothing else, the Criminal Department and the Imperial Historical Observatory will jointly investigate and deal with it, then in fact, they are all our people, and it is not a difficult matter, just pay attention to the details, and do not give them a chance to quibble. ”

Yang Shenjin said: "Xiangguo, I suggest that we first concentrate on investigating Du Youlin's case, Li Yong must be panicked now, and if the evidence is conclusive, it is not a problem to bring down Li Yong." It's rare how to burn this fire on the prince. Liu Ji's excerpt is aimed at Du Youlin and reflects the crown prince, but Du Youlin can take the responsibility on his own head, or simply deny it, and the evidence in this regard is not enough to make Du Youlin confess. ”

Li Linfu said: "What do you think? ”

Yang Shenjin said: "If I come to handle the case, I will ask Li Yong to testify against Liu Ji in this letter for self-protection." Aren't Du Youlin and Li Yong having a good personal relationship? If Li Yong came out to testify that Du Youlin had indeed talked to him about the affairs of the government and politics, and indeed made a lot of nonsense, the weight of this witness was enough to make Du Youlin unable to shirk the blame. After that, it is logical to burn the fire on the prince's head, and even if we don't burn this fire, His Majesty will think that behind all this is the prince's connivance. ”

Wang Ji shouted: "Yang Shenjin, you can grab errands, why should you go for this matter?" Can't I do it? Besides, what's your idea? How could Li Yong be willing to come out and testify? That old thing stinks very hard, and if he doesn't want to shake it out, how will this matter end? ”

Yang Shenjin sneered: "It's better for you Wang Yushi to stay in the capital, and I'll do this for me." As for your statement that Li Yong may not agree to testify, I don't think so. Li Yong himself is difficult to protect, and he will definitely seize the opportunity given him. Even if he doesn't want to testify, I have a way to solve it, I don't have the ability to do this, wouldn't I be a fool of myself. ”

Wang Qi chirped: "If you have a way, I can't help it?" Don't think I don't know, you just want to take the credit. No, if you go, I will also go, I also have a way, it may not be better than you, my Wang Jie's means Xiangguo knows. ”

Yang Shen said angrily: "It's unreasonable, how can there be a reason for you and me to go together?" ”

Wang Ji said: "Why not, you represent your criminal department, and I represent Yushitai, can't you?" ”

Yang Shenjin said: "It will be difficult for you and me to go together, you sing against me every day, how can things be harmonious." ”

"It's you who treat me every day with a nose that is not a nose and a face that is not a face, and you still talk about me." Wang Ji stood up and pointed at Yang Shen and said angrily.

Li Linfu's face became more and more ugly, and he kicked the copper basin suddenly, and when the sound was piercing, Yang Shenjin and Wang Ji were shocked to find that Xiangguo was still in front of them, but they stopped talking in panic.

"It's hard to live in a single trough and two donkeys, you two are really disappointing, do you still have a body to speak of? Things haven't been done yet, so what credit will come to fight. If you send someone tomorrow, you won't be able to go, Luo Xixiao can go, but you are not allowed to go. ”

The two did not dare to argue and hung their heads speechlessly. Luo Xixiao said softly: "The two of you still have to think about the plan, and there must be steps in the things of tomorrow, as for who will handle this case, it is not the point." At a critical time, I may be unhappy internally. This is not a trivial matter, this is a major event for Xiangguo, and it is also a major event for us. ”

Li Linfu said: "Listen to Luo Xizao's words, this is the person who does things, say less and do more, the benefits are everyone's." If you can't do it this time, it will definitely cause a counterattack, and don't blame the old man for not protecting you when the time comes. ”

The two knew that they were impulsive and confessed their mistakes. At that moment, several people discussed in secret until the sound of the morning drum sounded.

In the morning mist, Chang'an City is quiet and solemn, as in the past. In front of the Daming Palace, hundreds of officials from the previous dynasty gathered from all over the world, greeted each other, and came into the palace with a smile. No one knew that this seemingly ordinary day would be very unusual, and the Tang Dynasty, which had been calm for nearly a month, finally ushered in the first huge waves.