The best idlers of the Tang Dynasty

After returning from the Flying Tiger Army, Taizong was overjoyed. Not only did he get a strong army, but also after listening to Du Rui's analysis, the time for the Northern Expedition was indeed ripe. Actions are also in his calculations.

It's just that, Taizong couldn't help feeling that Du Rui was too scary, and he was undoubtedly comparable to Zhuge Liang in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".Li Chengqian was friendly with Du Rui again, and he almost obeyed Du Rui's words. If Li Chengqian sat in his position in the future, who else in the court could suppress Du Rui.

It's not that Taizong never thought of demoting Du Rui, but after all, talents are rare. Most of the officials in the court are already old, and there are not many officials left for Li Chengqian. If Du Rui can use it well, it may not be Can't be Li Chengqian's right-hand man.

"I hope you can be a Zhuge Wuhou who will devote himself to death and die. Don't be Sima Yi who bullies the Lord!"

Taizong was still worried about how to deal with Du Rui, but he didn't prevent the trouble from happening again. A letter was transferred to Cen Wenwen through someone. After reading it, Cen Wenwen couldn't help being surprised. The above is a memorial, which was written by the late Xiangyang Biejia Wanhui to Emperor Taizong.

Wan Hui had escorted grain and grass to Beijing when the water transport on the Weihe River was blocked, but fell into the water on the way and died in the line of duty. To reward him, Emperor Taizong asked him to build a martyr's shrine in his hometown to worship.

Cen Wenwen took the memorial and said to himself: "Hasn't Wan Hui been dead for a while? The martyr's shrine in his hometown has been built, why is his memorial popping up again now? It's really enough Strange."

Li Ke, the king of Shu who was in Cen Wenwen's mansion, also read the memorial and said with great joy: "It doesn't matter how he got here, this is Hou Junji's major crime. He married his daughter to the east, so he is my king's great enemy. , and present it to see how the father will deal with it! If Hou Junji can be eradicated by this matter, it will be regarded as a great help from the east."

Cen Wenwen knew that Emperor Taizong was preparing for the Northern Expedition, so he really didn't want to cause trouble again at this time, so he said: "Your Highness, I feel that we should first find out the origin of this letter. Now the situation in the court is changing, and no one knows which cloud will come. If it rains, if we act rashly, we are afraid that we will fall into other people's tricks! Moreover, the Holy Majesty is currently focusing on the Northern Expedition, and if something like this happens at this time, I am afraid that the court will be in chaos again!"

Li Ke didn't listen, and gritted his teeth and said, "It doesn't matter if he wrote it by a dead or living person, and don't care whether he has such a thing or not. Let the father and emperor talk about it first. Don't the old officials at Yushitai often say that in the officialdom The sharpest weapons are the memorials and informant letters, which can kill people invisible. Hou Junji has led soldiers for so many years, how can he not get his shoes wet when he often walks by the river? As long as the investigation is carried out in one go, what other crimes will be found if the guarantee is not complete!"

Cen Wenwen still had some concerns and said: "The old minister is worried, what should I do if it is someone else's plan at this time, don't go to the East Palace for help, and cause trouble for the upper body instead!"

Li Keyan said: "Sir, just be careful. What kind of strategy can there be? The East Palace is either some useless rotten scholars or flattering villains. It would be strange if they could come up with a strategy to harm others! Sir, don't More words, this king will take care of it himself!"

Cen Wenwen frowned and said: "The old minister is not worried about those officials of the East Palace, but the young man named Du Rui. Terrible, the terrible thing is this young man!"

But Li Ke didn't care, and said: "Mr. is exaggerating. He's just a young man. What's so scary? This king doesn't appear. This king, a son of the royal family, can't beat a boy in common clothes!"

Seeing that Cen Wenwen couldn't persuade him, he had no choice but to agree. It would not be difficult to hand over this bizarre letter of complaint from the dead to the living to Emperor Taizong. Just let Quan Wanji handle it. What he did was to report to the emperor. Therefore, this memorial was submitted to Taizong's case through Yushitai without any trouble.

Because it was sent by Yushitai, according to the usual practice, he couldn't ignore it, so he had to call Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Cen Wenwen and others to discuss.Just when Zhang Xuansu came to report the preparations for the prince's marriage, Taizong asked him to participate in the discussion.Firstly, the Grand Tutor's rank is not low, and secondly, Changsun Wuji is preparing food and grass at this time, and he is not here for the Northern Expedition. Many things that should have been said by Changsun Wuji on behalf of Hou Junji, Zhang Xuansu can stand up and say.This is the so-called emperor's mentality. If it is inconvenient for you to say something, you can find a suitable mouth to say it for yourself.

After everyone came, Taizong passed the memorial to everyone for circulation, and then asked everyone what they think of this matter.

Zhang Xuansu immediately stood up and said: "I think this must be Jieli's plan to alienate people. Everyone knows the integrity of Hou Junji! In the ninth year of Wude, he led his troops to fight Jieli in Gaoling and beheaded all of them. There are few people, Jieli has hatred in his heart, so he resorted to this poisonous trick with only one purpose, to drive a wedge between the emperor and his ministers, in order to get revenge."

When Cen Wenwen heard the words, he pretended to be ignorant, and pretended to be annoyed and foolish, and said: "Yes, Taifu Zhang is right. Wan Hui's spiritual seat has entered the Martyr's Temple. How can this dead man still speak?"

Wei Zheng took a look at Zhang Xuansu. He and Zhang Xuansu had always been at odds, and they seemed a bit incompatible.Although Wei Zheng has always been a loyal person, when he saw Zhang Xuansu, the person who taught Prince Yin badly, he confronted him everywhere. Back then, he also washed the horses in Prince Yin Li Chengqian's palace, and Prince Yin's downfall has always been his fault. The knot in my heart, so although Zhang Xuansu is now an official in the same dynasty, the two always disagree, and this time is no exception. He took over Cen Wenwen's words and said: "Of course dead people can't speak, let alone Lie! Your majesty, judging from the handwriting and seal of the letter, this memorial was indeed written by Wan Hui, and it should be his last pen. From this point of view, even Wan Hui's cause of death is doubtful."

Zhang Xuansu was very dissatisfied with Wei Zheng's challenge, and he retorted: "Master Wei, Hou Junji is a person who has made great contributions to the imperial court. With such a piece of paper, we will investigate him, which will make the meritorious officials feel chilling."

Cen Wenwen said nonchalantly from the side: "Lord Wei, because of the rift between the courtiers, it is not unheard of for the courtiers to fabricate crimes and falsely accuse others. Hou Junji is a person who has made great contributions. The problem is okay, if nothing can be found, how can I explain to the court?"

This remark made Wei Zheng angry, and he poked his neck and said loudly: "The life of a fifth-rank official, plus a lot of treasure, if such a case is not investigated, how will the court explain to the world?"

Taizong frowned when he saw that Wei Zheng had lost his temper again. He had already seen that these people had different thoughts, so he turned his attention to Fang Xuanling. Fang Xuanling was good at planning, and more importantly, he His temper is softer than anyone else, and he can dissolve even the most difficult mud.

Thinking of this, Taizong asked Fang Xuanling: "Xuanling, why are you silent? You are a right servant. You should talk about such a big matter." glance.

From Taizong's eyes, Fang Xuanling seemed to have seen something, and he said: "What Zhang Taifu said is not unreasonable, and a hero like Hou Junji should not be impeached easily. And Mr. Wei is also out of a public heart, After all, the case seems to be very important, and if we find out, Hou Junji can be cleared. What I mean is that it must be investigated and must be investigated."

Wei Zheng said: "What do you call it? If you check it, you can check it. If you don't check it, you don't check it. If you don't check it, what is it?"

Fang Xuanling glanced at Wei Zheng and said, "Secret investigation!"

Wei Zheng was choked when he heard this, and he also knew that Fang Xuanling's method was the best one.

Taizong also secretly admired Fang Xuanling's quick wit, and immediately made a decision: "Okay, let's do a secret investigation!"

When Cen Wenwen went to court and returned to the mansion, Li Ke was already waiting for him. As soon as the two met, Li Ke couldn't wait to ask the outcome of the matter. When Cen Wenwen told the emperor's decision, Li Ke asked in puzzlement: "What does this secret investigation mean?"

Cen Wenwen sneered and said: "Huh, that's just a trick to cover people's eyes. Think about it, whoever will be sent to investigate when these two words are used, whether or not, and what is found, only the emperor himself knows." The result is bound to be that big things are turned into small things, small things are turned into small things, and finally nothing is done. Alas! In the final analysis, it is still wise! "

Li Ke took a deep breath and sighed: "This Fang Xuanling is really scheming, this trick he made seems to be impartial, but in fact it is completely for Hou Junji, and people can't tell it! As a result, Hou Junji was at large, and there were three people inside and outside the palace, mother, son, nephew and uncle, plus Hou Junji was in charge of the military power, and Fang Xuanling only cared about being in power and protecting himself. What kind of court is this court? No, I can't let them succeed, this king will send someone to Xiangyang secretly to investigate, with so many treasures, I don't believe that Hou Junji can do it seamlessly without leaving any clues."

Cen Wenwen hastily stopped him and said: "No! Jingxiang is full of Hou Junji's old department, and Wan Hui, a powerful man, has gone and never returned. What can His Highness's people find out?"

Li Ke asked: "What is the best strategy, sir?"

Cen Wenwen said: "Looking at the current situation, we can only follow suit."

Li Ke asked with a puzzled face: "Why follow the meadow and touch the vine?"

Cen Wenwen said: "One million taels of silver, such a big melon is not easy to hide. As long as we find out where the one million taels of stolen money went, who is corrupting the law, won't this vine become clear?"