Before the end of the year, before the king of Jinling entered Beijing, there was exciting good news from Xiangfan County: the Wudoumi Sect was exterminated, the sect advocate Fang Ping and the left protector Zhang Fangliang were captured alive, the right protector Zhang Fangju was killed, and in addition to killing and escaping, more than 20,000 sect members were captured. What made Wei Qi even happier was that Mao Xiang did not die, and was also captured with Zhang Fangping's brothers.

Emperor Jing'an was very happy after receiving the good news, and convened Da Jiuqing in the Tiren Hall to discuss the aftermath, and Wei Qi listened to the government as usual. The Shangshu of the Ministry of War first informed everyone of the report of Xiangfan County's Shouhu Yanyi, which described in detail the process of Xue Ding's white-clothed entry into the mountain, the surprise attack on the White Ape Peak, and the destruction of the Wudoumi Sect's main altar.

After the report of the military department was completed, Emperor Jing'an said with emotion: "The imperial court mobilized more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the three counties of Xiangfan, Jiujiang and Changsha, spent countless grains and grass, lasted a year, and finally calmed down the rebellion of the Wudoumi Sect. In accordance with Hu Yanyi's report and guarantee, the political affairs hall drafted an opinion on the reward level of meritorious personnel, and released it after approval. ”

Lu Yichu bowed down and agreed, raised his body and said: "Your Majesty, the head of Huyan Yibao is Xue Ding, he is now the left commander of Xiangfan County, how to reward the emperor to decide." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "I remember Xue Ding, after he was a hero, he worked in the army west of the river for ten years, and he had countless achievements, he should be Xue Jiabi's nephew." ”

Xue Jiabi bowed out of class and said: "Yes, he is the only son of his brother, and he has a younger sister who grew up in the minister's mansion since she was a child. ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "The material is rare, the previous victory of Zhangshuping is brave, and this time the white-clothed mountain is wisdom." Let him go to Beijing with Hu Yanyi and Zhou Mi, and I want to see him. ”

Lu Yichu said: "How to deal with the troublemakers of the Five Doumi Sect? ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "The first few were escorted to Beijing for trial, and the rest of the people, all the men were killed, and the women and young children were not official slaves." ”

Zuo Zhenkun took the lead out of the class and bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, there are more than 20,000 people, there is no shortage of homeless people who were originally in the mountains and civilians who were coerced by the Five Dou Mi Sect. ”

Shangshu of the Criminal Department said: "The Wudoumi Sect has been operating in Wan'an Mountain for several years, these people should be hardcore disciples, and living out is also a source of chaos. ”

Emperor Jing'an nodded and said: "Governing the troubled times with heavy regulations, even if they are homeless, the imperial court has repeatedly ordered them to return to their hometowns, and they have to be involved in the rebellion there, and it is not unjust to kill them." ”

Zuo Zhenkun seemed to be fighting, but he heard Lu Yichu cough lightly, so he stopped saying nothing and silently returned to the queue.

Lu Yichu said: "The first three people of the Wudoumi Sect, the sect advocate Fang Ping, the left protector Zhang Fangliang, and the Heavenly Master Mao Xiang, after being escorted into Beijing, it is recommended that the Criminal Department, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Dali Temple will be tried, and the punishment will be clarified after the guilt is clarified. ”

Xue Jiabi bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the former minister's student, Lu Bangjie, the governor of Xiangyang Mansion, once wrote to him, stating that he was Mao Xiang's brother-in-law, Mao Xiang was innocently coerced, and actually had nothing to do with the Five Dou Rice Sect, and the investigation of Xiangfan County also confirmed this. Therefore, the handling of the presumptuous should be distinguished from Zhang Fangping, and it should not be treated as a rebellion. ”

The Criminal Department Shangshu said: "Regardless of whether Mao Xiang was originally related to the Wudou Rice Sect or not, he was robbed by the Wudou Rice Sect from the Inspection Division, and then entered Wan'an Mountain to become the Heavenly Master of the Wudou Rice Sect, which is an undeniable fact. A person with merit and fame is guilty of rebellion and rebellion, and he should raze the three clans, not to mention that he is also Xie Yuan of the Xiangfan County Township Test, which is even more criminal. ”

Xue Jiabi said: "Rebellion and rebellion are the first intention, and then there is action, and the rebellion is purely coerced, neither intentional, nor actual evidence of participation in the rebellion." ”

Shangshu of the Criminal Department said: "Our Zuo Shilang of the Criminal Department has a thorough report, Mao Xiang once helped the Wudou Mi Sect write a letter, in a vain attempt to negotiate with the imperial court, this is not actual evidence?" ”

Xue Jiabi was stunned and speechless for a while.

Emperor Jing'an looked at Wei Qi and asked, "Qi'er, you and Mao Xiang have known each other since childhood, went to Xiangyang Township to test together, and were arrested together, do you have anything to say?" ”

Wei Qi listened to the government with the court, and in accordance with the instructions of Zuo Zhenkun and Xue Jiabi, he strictly adhered to the principle of "only listening, not speaking, and answering all questions". When he heard the criminal department Shangshu talk about the great crime of Mao Xiang just now, he was very excited, and he tried his best to restrain himself so that he did not defend Mao Xiang.

Hearing Emperor Jing'an's question, he calmed down his emotions first, and then spoke: "Uncle Huang, my nephew can prove that Mao Xiang has no connection with the Five Dou Mi Sect. After we were detained by the Xiangfan County Criminal Division, we didn't know why we were detained, and the investigation in Xiangfan County should be able to confirm this. As for the fact that Mao Xiang was later abducted into Wan'an Mountain, he couldn't help himself. Neither he nor I could have had any intention of rebelling. ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "As the Criminal Department said just now, Mao Xiang did write a letter for the Wudou Mi Sect. ”

Wei Qidao: "My nephew thinks that the first thing to do is whether he is forced to write the letter, then the purpose of the letter, and finally the content of the letter, so that he can understand the qualitative matter." ”

Lu Yichu said: "Prince Ming, this is a correct theory, a cadre and other people and evidence are about to enter Beijing, and they should be able to be tried." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "Then wait until the trial is over, and then let's talk about the situation." ”

Subsequently, the Ministry of Household proposed pacification and recovery measures after the war, and the issue of tax reduction and exemption in the three counties of Xiangfan, Jiujiang and Changsha. ”

Hubu Shangshu bowed down and said: "What the emperor said is that the exiles need land and silver to appease them, and now the finances are very difficult, and it is impossible to recruit and resettle the displaced people on a large scale for the time being, so they can only be slowly plotted." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "The rebellion of the Five Doumi Sect has just been put down, have you slackened?" Nowadays, there is a flood of displaced people, especially in Jiangnan, these people are moving around, and if they are not settled, they will be the next Wudoumi Sect at any time. ”

Lu Yichu said: "It's the dereliction of duty of the ministers. However, the problem of displaced people is a freezing cold of three feet, and it is difficult for the household department to come up with a feasible plan. The minister suggested that each county and the six ministries brainstorm and propose a solution, and after the government hall summarized and discussed, they came up with a feasible policy and asked the emperor to decide. ”

Emperor Jing'an said lightly: "I have to do it first." Then he got up and left.

After the ministers bowed, they also got up and walked out of the temple. Zuo Zhenkun and Xue Jiabi were waiting for Wei Qi outside the palace gate, and after Wei Qi saw the two of them, he said, "Two masters, I want to ask the emperor to see the emperor alone, and ask the emperor to pardon the 20,000 ordinary sect members. ”

Xue Jiabi immediately said: "By all means, please remember that Your Highness is only listening to politics at present, and it is not appropriate for you to express your political opinions at will, let alone raise objections to the decisions that the emperor has made." ”

Zuo Zhenkun was silent for a moment and then said; "Lord Xue is right, not to mention whether he can save those 20,000 sect members, if His Highness takes the liberty of admonishing him, it is a big taboo."

Wei Qixin exhaled unwillingly and said, "After all, it's 20,000 people." ”

Zuo Zhenkun said: "The emperor's consideration is not unreasonable, after all, it is the crime of rebellion, if it is screened, it is inevitable that the original culprit will slip through the net, and it is better to kill by mistake than let go, it is also a perfect strategy." ”

Wei Qidao: "No matter what, I must be saved." Let's not say that the Mao family is kind to me, Mao Xiang is innocently implicated, just say that Mao Xiang is a rare talent, for the sake of the future of Dasui, I must also keep him. Do you remember what I said about my friend who proposed 'Junfu'? It's just a presumption. ”

Xue and Zuo's eyes lit up, and they said in unison: "It's him!" ”

The two glanced at each other again, and Xue Jiabi spoke first: "Originally, I only came forward to intercede because Xue Ding and Lu helped Jie to rescue me, and I believed that he was innocent. His Royal Highness said this, Mao Xiang is indeed a great talent, not just a Xie Yuan. ”

Zuo Zhenkun said: "With such insight, it is not only an ordinary talent, but even more rare is that he has just reached the age of a weak crown, and he is compatible with His Royal Highness, this person will definitely be the pillar of my great follow." Your Highness, this is not the place to speak, we will go to your house, and you will tell us in detail about the presumption, and we will carefully discuss how to save him. ”

After saying that, the three of them set off together and walked out.

That night, Diao Qiming, a member of the Criminal Department, came to the Shangshu Mansion of the Criminal Department to ask for a meeting. Originally, Shangshu of the Criminal Department also knew that he had only been promoted to the Criminal Department after following the path of Ji Zhenyi, and he didn't think much of this Diao Qiming. But after Diao Qiming arrived at the Criminal Department, he came to the door twice in three days to give gifts, and he was also respectful to himself, so he gradually had a good face.

A few days ago, Diao Qiming was impeached, not only punished the three Hanlin who were to be punished, but even Prince Ming's reputation was damaged, and he suffered a dumb loss.

After Diao Qiming arrived at the living room of Shangshu Mansion and sat down, Shangshu of the Criminal Department asked, "What does Master Diao have to say?" ”

Diao Qiming said respectfully: "Today I heard that the rebellion of the Wudoumi Sect was put down, and the first evil was about to enter Beijing to be tried, but there were people in the court who took the injustice of the Heavenly Master in a vain attempt to exonerate the guilt, and the lower officials came for this. ”

The Shangshu of the Criminal Department said strangely: "Does this matter have anything to do with Master Diao?" ”

Diao Qiming said: "It has nothing to do with the lower officials, but the matter involves the prestige of the Criminal Department. ”

The criminal department Shangshu said: "How do you say it? ”

Diao Qiming said: "The case of Mao Xiang has always been investigated by the Criminal Department, and Lord Zhou of Zuo Shilang has been to Xiangfan for more than a year to investigate and deal with this matter, and it has been reported that Mao Xiang is indeed the Heavenly Master of the Five Doumi Sect. Now, at the time of trial and conviction, if we are exonerated of the crime of impersonation because of personal feelings, wouldn't it be a slap in the face of our criminal department? ”

The criminal department Shangshu said: "Prince Ming and Mao Xiang have an old relationship, everyone knows it, but that was before Mao Xiang became the Heavenly Master of the Five Dou Rice Sect, and Prince Ming did not take the initiative to excuse Mao Xiang, it was the emperor who asked, and the prince said what he said." As for Master Xue of the Ministry of Rites, he himself mentioned that his student was Mao Xiang's brother-in-law, so open and honest, it was not easy to speculate on him with personal feelings. ”

Diao Qiming said: "The three law divisions will be tried, and Lord Zuo of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Lord Xue are both the masters of Prince Ming, and they will definitely help Mao Xiang to exonerate him because of personal feelings." Dali Temple is hindered by the face of Prince Ming and Lord Zuo, and does not dare to speak out, if the criminal department cannot try it impartially, it is very likely that he will be exempted. ”

The Shangshu of the Criminal Department was noncommittal, looked at Diao Qiming and asked: "Lord Diao is so concerned about the life and death of Mao Xiang, just for the prestige of the Criminal Department?" ”

Diao Qiming said: "My lord Mingjian, the lower officials are first of all for the prestige of the Criminal Department, as well as the law of Dasui; Secondly, there are also people who ask the lower officials to speak to the adults. ”

The criminal department Shangshu said: "What person, what kind of words? ”

Diao Qiming said: "It's from Jiangnan, here's a letter, please take a look." ”

Shangshu of the Criminal Department took the letter, the letter was not sealed, he opened it and saw that there was only a silver ticket inside, he glanced at it and found that it was 50,000 taels, and his heart suddenly beat wildly.

He pretended to be calm, stuffed the silver ticket back into the envelope, put it in his hand, and said, "What do you mean?" ”

Diao Qiming said: "The people of Jiangnan have an enmity with Mao Xiang, and I hope that he deserves his crimes and dies under the laws of the country." As for who it is, I don't think adults are interested in knowing. The adults only need to judge impartially and deal with the impersonation in accordance with the laws of the country. ”

Shangshu of the Criminal Department said: "After all, it is the trial of the three divisions, and in the end, it is the emperor who makes the decision, I am not sure." ”

Diao Qiming said: "The people in Jiangnan said that as long as the adults do their best, he will be able to see it." ”

Shangshu of the Criminal Department said: "I have the same opinion as Lord Zhou of Zuo Shilang, and we will try our best to deal with it impartially, and you can rest assured that the people in Jiangnan can rest assured." ”。

Diao Qiming got up and said, "Then the official will leave,"

The Shangshu of the Criminal Department got up to send him off, and made an exception to send it outside the second gate, Diao Qiming thanked him again and again, and then he bowed his waist and turned around and returned to the living room. He took out the silver ticket and looked at it carefully for a long time, it was indeed the largest silver ticket in the capital, and then he sat back on the chair with satisfaction, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.