The two sat down again, Yang Shen looked at the little mute who had found a chair to sit on the side, and stopped talking.

Seeing this, Qin Liu said: "He is my buddy, he has saved my life, and he is trustworthy." If you have anything to say, please speak up with Brother Xiu. ”

"What do you remember?"

"I only remember you and Guangsi, the others, I can't remember much......"

Yang Shen groaned slightly and said, "Do you still remember the 'Ning Yuan Bei Imperial Capital Commander Zhang Tianxiang Killing Liang and Risking Gong Case'?"

Qin Liu shook his head in confusion.

Yang Shen recounted it concisely: "In the first month of the sixteenth year of Hongzhi, the imperial court received a joint report from Zhang Nai, the governor of Liaodong, Yang Yu, the governor of Liaodong, and Zhu Xiu, the eunuch of the supervising army. It is reported that in December last year, a gang of rogues from Tainingwei attacked and robbed the Jurchen tributary mission in Jianzhou. Ning Yuan prepared the imperial capital to command Zhang Tianxiang to lead the crowd to kill 38 thieves and recover all the tribute. ”

Qin Liu listened quietly, she didn't have any impression of these at all.

Two months later, Liaodong supervised the imperial history Wang Xianchen reported to the imperial court that Zhang Tianxiang was "killing good and risking merit". Wang Xianchen said that it was Zhang Tianxiang's family who secretly attacked the Jianzhou Jurchen mission, but Zhang Tianxiang used this as an excuse to attack a Mongolian tribe in Tainingwei, 'killing more than 100 people, old and young'. ”

After receiving the impeachment, Xiaozong immediately appointed Zuo Shaoqing Wu Yiyi of Dali Temple and Yang Yu, the commander of Jinyiwei, to go to Liaodong to investigate the matter. The two men, after five months of investigation, gave another version.

It was true that there were rogues who attacked the Jianzhou Jurchen Mission, but Zhang Tianxiang led the crowd to attack and was defeated by the rogues. Zhang Tianxiang was afraid that the imperial court would condemn him and lose his official position, so at the suggestion of his grandfather Zhang Bin, he attacked and killed a small tribe of Tainingwei, and used these innocent people to report military merits on behalf of the Liukou.

And Zhang Tianxiang's former brother-in-law Yang Mao is Ning Yuan's commander, because he has always been on good terms with Zhang Tianxiang, and he also covets Zhang Tianxiang's position. So Yang Mao and his son revised the matter and told Wang Xianchen the secret.

Wu Yiyi and Yang Yu believe that although Yang Mao and his son have in fact framed Zhang Tianxiang and falsely accused him of sneaking up on the Jianzhou Jurchen Mission, the evidence of Zhang Tianxiang's "killing good and risking merit" is conclusive, so they went to Xiaozong to recommend a verdict:

The first offender, Zhang Bin, was beheaded; accomplice Zhang Tianxiang, hanged; Yang Mao's father and son made false accusations and hanged.

Emperor Xiaozong did not directly approve this recital, but only ordered a cadre of prisoners to be escorted back to Beijing to wait for the fate. The wait was almost a year, during which Zhang Tianxiang died of illness in prison. ”

Qin Liu listened to Yang Shen half-incomprehensibly and said a bunch of okay words, and watched the little mute on the side yawn boredly.

Yang Shen changed his words: "In June of the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, Emperor Xiaozong suddenly summoned Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian and other scholars in the cabinet, saying that Zhang Tianxiang's case was a major case and the trial was unclear, and it still needed to be investigated in detail.

A conflict broke out between the three elders and Emperor Xiaozong, and Emperor Xiaozong, who had always had an excellent temper, became angry, and Xie Qian insisted that it was better to close the case as soon as possible. Liu Jian and Ge Lao and Xi Ni said that the Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were in charge of the case, and if the case was unclear, it would be better for them to continue the trial first. ”

Qin Liu couldn't help but yawn, although this matter had something to do with Liu Xuejiang's grandfather, it had nothing to do with her.

This incident caused a fierce conflict between the emperor and the cabinet. The cabinet did not agree with Emperor Hyojong's intention to retry the case. Emperor Xiaozong was determined to retry the unjust case, saying, 'This is a big prison, even if a thousand people have to come, if they don't understand the matter, who will be willing to die?' In November, the case was tried by Emperor Xiaozong himself at the noon gate, and it was indeed an unjust case. ”

Qin Liu finally nodded: "That's a good point, Emperor Xiaozong is not a mediocre person. ”

Yang Shen smiled: "Do you know, who stabbed this unjust case in front of Emperor Xiaozong?" ”

Qin Liu shook his head.

"It's you, A-Jiang!"

Qin Liu's eyes widened, Ah this!

The memory of this original body is also too unreliable, she doesn't know about this at all!

"What do you mean by that?"

"This matter should be someone who knows that Liu Ge has a reputation for being upright, so he specially submitted a complaint of unjust case to your Liu Mansion, and you got it. But you have great powers, and through Jinyiwei and the prince, you stabbed this matter directly in front of the emperor. ”

Qin Liu was surprised: "Why didn't I report this case directly to my grandfather?" ”

Liu Jian, the grandfather of the original Liu Xuejiang, was the head of the cabinet of the dynasty and the leader of the civil officials, why didn't she give it to her grandfather but to Jinyiwei and the prince? How did she know Jinyiwei and the prince?

Yang Shen glanced at the little mute who was listening carefully, and still said, "You should report it to your grandfather." His old man was not easy to come forward, so he secretly arranged for Jinyiwei and the prince to get the sticker. ”

Qin Liu was even more surprised: "He is the first assistant of the cabinet, why can't he come forward to reiterate the unjust case?" ”

Yang Shen sighed slightly: "Since the change of Tumubao, the civil officials of the imperial court have become bigger and bigger, and a very large force has been formed in the Hongzhi Dynasty. Even if it is the first assistant of the cabinet, it is not easy to fully control this force. But when did the officials protect each other? The black sheep should always be cleaned up, and letting the emperor do this is justified, which is also in line with the golden mean for the civil servants to protect themselves. ”

"What does this have to do with me?"

"This matter started from you, Emperor Xiaozong wanted to reward you, but he couldn't do it, and finally hinted that Liu Ge Lao asked for Yin En for the children and grandchildren of the family. Liu Ge Lao just invited his eldest grandson Liu Chengen to study in the country, and Emperor Xiaozong directly gave him a middle scholar. Brother Chengen, do you remember? It's your cousin. ”

Qin Liu tried his best to think, Liu Chengen, Liu Chengen?

But a picture suddenly flashed in his mind: a young man in his twenties was covered in blood with arrows in his body, and behind him was a sea of fire, and he smiled at her with tears: "Ah Jiang, go quickly, remember to say when you see your grandfather, I, Liu Chengen, have not lost the face of the Liu family!" ”

The young man struck the horses with their eyes tied with cloth, and the horses galloped wildly, leading the carriage all the way forward, and fleeing from the fire with her, the child, and the grandmother in the carriage.

Qin Liu suppressed the trembling of his hands: "My cousin, he's dead?" ”

Yang Shen nodded sadly: "I was in Sichuan at the time, and I didn't know the situation. After returning to Beijing, I learned that in September of the first year of Zhengde, you died of illness, and not long after your grandfather Zhishi; Your uncle Liu Lai, father Liu Dong, and cousin Liu Chengen all died in September of the second year of Zhengde. ”

Qin Liu clenched his fists, but he quickly regained his senses: "What is the connection between this matter and the case of killing good and risking merit?" ”

Yang Shen shook his head with a serious face: "Maybe there is a connection, maybe there is no connection." My father is the prince of the East Palace, and I am also good friends with the prince. But after this incident, my father was suppressed and isolated by the ministers, and even your grandfather did not associate with him...... It's just,"

Yang Shen paused: "The unjust case of the imperial history of the king Xianchen, after being sent back to his hometown, he squandered it and built a 'Humble Administrator's Garden', crowned Su Wu. ”

(End of chapter)