Yang Qi, the general of the prince's guard, suddenly walked out of the court, bowed to the Tang Emperor Li Shimin and said, "The minister seconded the invitation of Lord Cui, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites." ”

Li Shimin looked at Yang Qi in a little surprise and said, "You? Do you know that you also killed your own brother Yang He, and killed the old master Li Yi, according to Cui Gan, you are also a bad person and a corrupt person. If I agree to the invitation of Cui Gan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, you will also be morally condemned, as Wanfu is referring to. ”

Yang Qi said with tears in his eyes: "Although the minister killed his own brother, it was forced by the situation and forced by Li Yi. At that time, it was the minister's brother who begged the minister to kill him, so that he could protect the minister and launch a mutiny. Although Li Yi is tyrannical, Chen and his brother are generals he personally raised after all. All the minister's actions are with a clear conscience, but in the face of morality, the minister is still wrong, the minister killed the minister's own brother, and also killed the old master. Since it is wrong, the minister accepts the moral condemnation, and what Wanfu points out, it is also right. The minister doesn't want to hide it, all things can be seen and commented on by the world. On the merits, the minister believes that the whole world will give the minister a fair evaluation. Morality is the foundation of maintaining the country, a policy has a good side and a bad side, but as long as the policy is beneficial to the vast majority of people, it is a good policy. As Lord Cui said, Your Majesty can't abolish righteousness because of small profits, what the minister does but ask for a clear conscience, even if the morality judges the minister guilty, the minister also admits it. However, the ministers can't allow it, and they will never allow it, in order to take care of the ministers and other ministers who kill their relatives and the face of the old master, and let morality lose its effect, and let a villain like Wang Junkuo who sells his lord for glory and perfidious gets away with it. ”

Cui Gan bowed to Yang Qi and said, "General Yang is righteous." I'm not targeting people like General Yang. Although General Yang killed his brother and his old master, General Yang has always lived in deep self-blame, and I think that if he could, General Yang would definitely be willing to die for his brother. And Wang Junkuo is different, he killed his father-in-law and old master, he was not ashamed at all, but thought that it was an important means for him to be promoted to the rank of knight, such a villain, how can I tolerate it? ”

After listening to Cui Gan's words, Li Shimin's face turned red, and he said that the Son of Heaven is a model for the whole world, but his own behavior, killing his brother, imprisoning his father, and slaughtering his nephew also played a very bad leading role, although it was all forced by Emperor Taishang, Jiancheng, and Yuanji, but morally he was also condemned. Fortunately, like Yang Qi and them, they are all living in deep pain and suffering, and they did not become a villain like Wang Junkuo, so they were not ashamed, but secretly rejoiced. There are many people like themselves in the Tang Dynasty, they have all killed their relatives, the old master, although they are all the same as themselves and Yang Qi, forced by the situation, but after all, they have played a very bad leading role, which will attract hundreds of officials and people to follow suit. Cui Gan is right, there is only interests, and there is no courtesy, righteousness and shame, etiquette is lost, morality is declining, and the world is declining, this is the biggest crisis in Datang, rebuilding the state of etiquette, this is the most urgent thing for me in Datang.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin ordered: "Promote the Ministry of Rites, the head of the six departments, and Cui Gan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is responsible for the construction of morality in my Tang Dynasty, rewarding the good and punishing the evil." After the promotion of officials after Xuanling, the left servant of the Shangshu and the Shangshu Fang of the Ministry of Officials were promoted, and their moral investigation must be listed as the first item, and officials who are unfilial, disloyal, unjust, and unkind will be directly eliminated and shall not be appointed. Ling Shangshu's right servant shot, the criminal department Shangshu Du Ruhui, Dali Siqing Dai Xuan later judged the case, there are loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness and virtue of the prisoner, can be lenient, or even directly pardoned, for the disloyalty, filial piety, unkindness and injustice and other evil deeds of the prisoner, the sentencing is allowed to be severe, doubled, until beheaded, in order to set an example. ”

After that, Li Shimin stood up and said: "I hope that Zhongqing and I will work together to build our Tang Dynasty moral system, so that morally, people who have disloyalty, filial piety, benevolence and injustice will have nowhere to settle down in my Tang Dynasty and reproduce the demeanor of a great country in my country of etiquette." ”

In the evening, Zhongshu made Zheng Renji's mansion brightly lit.

In Zheng Renji's study, Zheng Renji sat on a paulownia high-backed chair behind the desk, while Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing stood opposite Zheng Renji.

Zheng Renji looked at Cui Gan, then at Lu Chengqing, and said with emotion: "You are the leader of my Shandong Hao family, and you are also the next head of my Shandong Hao family, and you are the hope of my Shandong Hao family." Today, Cui Xian's nephew is performing well, and he has the demeanor of the Ministry of Rites of the Great Country, although Lu Xian's nephew has no chance to perform, but Lu Xian's nephew's ability, I still believe it. You are all talented and talented people who can enter the prime minister in the future, but when I think of the Guanlong nobles, the chief is the eldest grandson Wuji, and the chief of the southern clan is Cen Wenwen, these two geniuses who are as wise as foxes and like demons, the old man can't help but feel bottomless. Now that Pei Lian, the old head of the Guanlong aristocracy, was killed by the eldest grandson Wuji, and Feng Deyi, the head of the southern clan, has also paid tribute, Zheng Jibo and I will not leave the court again, I am afraid it is not appropriate, we are all promoted by King Xicheng, after all, we are not his confidants Li Shimin. On the surface, we are in a high position, but every morning, we feel extremely embarrassed when we see Li Shimin, and Li Shimin feels very obstructive when he sees us. We're going to quit too. In the future, my Shandong Hao clan will be yours, and you will also participate in the control of the Tang Dynasty. Tomorrow, Zheng Jibo and I will write to you. Tonight, you will accompany me to visit a man, and I hope he will do more to you. ”

After that, Zheng Renji slowly stood up, walked out of the study, and walked outside the door of the mansion, followed by Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing.

A carriage stopped in front of Zheng Renji's mansion, and Zheng Renji, Cui Gan, and Lu Chengqing boarded the carriage one after another. Zheng Renji spoke: "The mansion of the left servant of Shangshu and Xuanling of the Ministry of Shangshu. ”

The carriage walked along, and after a while, it stopped in front of Fang Xuanling's mansion.

Knowing that Zheng Renji, the head of the wealthy family in Shandong and the Zhongshu order, Fang Xuanling did not dare to slack off, and took square steps to welcome him out.

In the hall, after some chat, Zheng Renji expressed his concerns to Fang Xuanling, he and the crown prince Zheng Jibo are about to write to the official, Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing are jointly in charge of the Shandong Hao family, facing the two new directors of the eldest grandson Wuji and Cen Wenwen, Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing are probably not opponents when they join forces, I hope that Fang Xuanling can see that they are all from the Shandong Hao family, and appropriately help Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing.

Fang Xuanling immediately agreed, saying that he would take care of Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing.

Zheng Renji was full of joy, and bowed down with Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing to thank Fang Xuanling.

After that, Zheng Renji said to Fang Xuanling with a little embarrassment: "Lord Wei Zhengwei, when you return to the court, you are also ranked as Zaifu." It stands to reason that he is also the son-in-law of my wealthy family in Shandong, and I also want to ask him to take care of Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing, but Wei Zheng Wei's temper? ”

Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lord Zheng, Wei Zheng has me to talk about it, and he will also pay Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing." ”

Zheng Renji hurriedly bowed to Fang Xuanling and thanked him: "Then it will be troublesome to Lord Fang." ”

Soon Zheng Renji, Cui Gan, and Lu Chengqing got up to say goodbye and left Fang Xuanling's mansion.

In Fang Xuanling's study.

Fang Xuanling's son, Fang Yiai, asked Fang Xuanling, "Father, why did you agree to Zheng Renji's request so easily?" He also promised to tell Wei Zheng and Lord Wei for him. ”

Fang Xuanling said slowly: "The Shandong Hao family is the second largest political force in the world, and their protégés and former officials are all over the world, and now, although their new directors Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing are a little worse than the eldest grandson Wuji and Cen Wenwen, they are strong after all. For the sake of the stability of the world and the stability of the court, his father promised Zheng Renji to pay Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing, and his father believed that Wei Zheng would do the same. Datang can't be chaotic anymore, Datang needs stability. ”