Chapter 169: The Li family members

It is very difficult to keep a secret in the secret prison of the Great Inspectorate. Some people are staring at Fang Jie all the time, as if they want to record even his urine and defecation. It is the first time in his life that he has survived in such an environment. To be honest, Fang Jie is not sure that he can get out of here.

Changchun Garden

By the pond

After hearing the report of the Minister of War, Mou Liangbi of the Ministry of War, he calmly gave instructions, and then he took a breath. He did not summon other important officials of the court, but sat on the stone bench next to the lotus pond and spoke for a while. The emperor rarely showed such a thing, and he always seemed very busy. It can be said that Emperor Tianyou Yang Yi was the most low-key emperor in the history of the Sui Dynasty, but also the most diligent emperor.

He was always dealing with state affairs, sitting on the earthen kang in the dome for half a day without moving. He slept for up to two hours a day and would never delay getting up for a minute.

In the past, emperors rarely read all the memorials. You should know that the Great Sui Dynasty was too big, with twenty-four worlds and thousands of cities. A ox cart was not sure to be handed over to Changchun Garden every day. So a long time ago, the emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty set up the position of eunuch Bingbi, and several eunuchs who the emperor trusted the most were responsible for selecting memorials. They would filter and classify all memorials, and then select the important ones to present to the emperor.

Most memorials that have no substantive meaning are often given instructions by eunuch Bingbi directly instead of the emperor. Such rules have been formed for decades. eunuch Bingbi is so powerful that even the important officials of the court are not as good as those of the court.

But when Emperor Tianyou Yang Yi was born, he abolished this rule. He was like a machine that would never be tired, without any disgust for those trivial and complicated state affairs. Since he ascended the throne, the great power of the eunuch Bingbi was gradually weakened. Later, eunuch Bingbi returned to being just a eunuch.

But even though the emperor was so diligent, he was still too busy. So someone had to help him share some of it, so the position of Huangmen Assistant Minister became more and more important. Relatively speaking, Emperor Tianyou obviously trusted court officials rather than eunuchs in handling state affairs.

The position of Huangmen Assistant Minister was set up by him. There was no such official in the Sui Dynasty before. The responsibility of Huangmen Assistant Minister was actually to share some of the things that should have been done by eunuch Bingbi.

But in other matters, the emperor's trust in the eunuch seems to be not low at all. For example, the one who always follows him in the nearest position is always the eunuch Su Buwei, who looks honest and taciturn.

The emperor is always busy, so it is a very strange thing for him to sit by the lotus pond and stare blankly.

People are already used to it, and when they think of the emperor, they can immediately guess that he is dealing with state affairs.

"Su Buwei...How many years have you been in the palace?"

The emperor asked after being silent for a long time.

Su Buwei, who stood not far away from the emperor, replied: "For twenty-six years, I have been in the palace at the age of fifteen. I first worked as an apprentice in the imperial kitchen. Later, because I was still smart, I was transferred to him by Wu Peisheng, who was also the eunuch of the sect's office at the time. I worked in the sect's office for more than ten years, and later Wu Peisheng was promoted to eunuch Bingbi, and I also transferred to the imperial study room. In short, I have been in the imperial study room for fourteen years."

"You have always had a good memory."

The emperor nodded.

"Wu Paisheng was promoted by his father. At that time, even the second and third rank officials of the imperial court had to curry favor with him... I cut off most of the powers of the eunuch Bingbi. I think Wu Paisheng must be very unwilling and angry. I have never asked, you have been with him for more than 20 years, and no one knows him better than you. I heard... Wu Paisheng had found you alone before leaving Chang'an for the northwest?"

"yes"

Su Buwei bowed his head and said, "I have indeed seen a servant."

"What did he say?"

The emperor asked.

"Wu Peisheng said... He went to the northwest this time, and most of the time he went there, he would not be able to return it. He said that after he died, he should be the servant who took over the position of eunuch Bingbi. He warned me that he should never be disrespectful to Your Majesty. When the late emperor was in power, the eunuch Bingbi was to share the government affairs for the late emperor. What your Majesty wanted was not this, but a eunuch who was merely divided. He told me to do what a eunuch should do well and not touch things that he could not touch."

Hearing this sentence, the emperor was silent for a while and sighed: "He still has resentment in his heart."

Su Buwei said nothing.

The emperor said, "He guessed wrong."

Su Buwei was stunned, not knowing what the emperor said and guessed wrongly.

The emperor stood up and looked at the beautiful flowers in the lotus pond and said sadly: "I asked him to go to the northwest, not to get rid of him. I knew that I would weaken the power of the eunuch Bingbi, and Wu Paisheng would definitely be dissatisfied and angry. But I knew that he was a loyal person, so I never thought of killing him. I asked him to go to the northwest, just to clear the corruption in the army before the war. It was to prepare for the war against the Mongolian Yuan, and to check what the garrisons in the northwest were like."

"He thought I wanted to kill him because he had complained, and he was wrong."

The emperor said: "I have even prepared a home for him, bought a large mansion for him on Jianghuai Road, and specially asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate a sum of money to purchase land and servants. I thought that when he came back from the northwest, he would let him out of the palace to celebrate his old age. He was already very old... He had done a lot of things for the Emperor and made great contributions. How could I kill him?"

The emperor's tone was sad and a little angry.

He was angry that Wu Paisheng didn't understand him.

"Maybe... Wu Peisheng said that he would die without a doubt, not because he felt what His Majesty was going to do."

Su Buwei's face kept changing. After hesitating for a moment, he continued to say: "He thoroughly investigated the corruption case of the Northwest military under His Majesty's order, which will inevitably touch the interests of many people. He said that he had gone but never returned, and perhaps he was worried that he would find something that would inevitably lead to his death."

"Su Buwei"

The emperor looked back at him and said, "It's rare that you would say such things today. You never participated in state affairs. Even if I ask you, you will find a way to refuse."

"I don't want to make Your Majesty unhappy, nor do I want your Majesty to misunderstand Wu Paisheng... He is a greedy person and a good person with good power. If the eunuch is involved in these two points, he will definitely die. But he is loyal to you, and even if he has any complaints, he will not do anything that is unfavorable to you. And because I know him, I know that with his personality, he will definitely investigate it very deeply and meticulously, and he will find many shameful things."

The emperor was slightly stunned, and then a trace of sharpness flashed through his eyes.

"Come Hou Wenji... No, let's find Luo Weiran."

The emperor ordered: "Let him check who did Wu Paisheng die at the hands of."

...

...

Wu Peisheng was killed by Li Xiaozong.

Where is Li Xiaozong?

He was still in the northwest, but had been dismissed. He no longer had the battle robe of a fifth-rank general of the Great Sui Dynasty, but he was not imprisoned. It seemed that the emperor believed the truth about Fan Gu's war reported by the Ministry of War, and only dealt with his fault of concealing the report. Of course, this kind of crime can be big or small. If it is said to be more severe, it is the crime of deceiving the king. The crime of deceiving the king... Whatever the crime is convicted depends on how His Majesty thinks.

Obviously, His Majesty doesn't want to kill him yet.

So although he fell from a very high position, he did not fall and could not recover. Originally, several ministers of the court discussed that they wanted to add another one to never hire him. But later when he reported to His Majesty for approval, His Majesty crossed out this sentence with a red pen. This was a very obvious signal, so many people in the court guessed that this young man named Li Xiaozong would definitely have a chance to make a comeback.

When the war in the empire was about to expedition to the northwest gradually became clear, everyone understood why the emperor did not execute Li Xiaozong at that time. Li Xiaozong had been a general in Fan Gu for several years, and no one knew the situation in Fan Gu's area better than him. He was also a very scheming person. While sending troops to eliminate the robbers and horse thieves around Fan Gu, he also investigated the terrain of Langru Mountain several times. He knew very well that if a person wanted to succeed, he had to prepare many things in advance.

He was not sure that the Empire would go to war against the Mongols, but he knew from the very beginning that he had to be prepared for this.

How could Your Majesty abandon such a person? Once the war begins, he will be revived soon. After a war, he may not have said that this young man will soar into the limits. Thinking about it further, His Majesty said that he was the defender of Fan Gu, so he had to use his mind in the war?

This is not impossible. You should know that although Li Xiaozong could not get into the third place when he was performing in the Martial Arts Academy, he was always ranked fourth. The first three were all assigned to the Great Sui warriors. He was transferred to Fan Gu. Isn’t it a kind of attention? The three better people were familiar with the army, in order to bring out an elite warrior as soon as possible. Li Xiaozong was familiar with the Northwest, and his role should not be underestimated.

The one who was punished by His Majesty at the same time as Li Xiaozong was also Li Yuanshan, the general of the Right Guard. This person who had been in the position of the General for more than ten years was demoted to a third-level general, from a third-level general to a fifth-level general. However, what was very unruly was that he still commanded the Right Guard.

There are dozens of generals above the fifth rank of the Right Guard.

So Li Yuanshan is a very embarrassing person. As the commander of the Right Guard, according to the rules, he would first salute dozens of people under his subordinates when he was promoted every day. What was most surprising was that he actually adhered to this rule and did not slacken at all. From the order of demotion to the army, he acted completely according to the rules. He would not drag on the mud when he should give orders, and he would never shirk responsibility when he should give salutes.

Of course, people will naturally tell His Majesty, who is far away in the imperial capital.

Li Yuanshan was used to living in a large tent and in a military camp. But since he was demoted, whenever the military matter was handled, he would ride back to his mansion in the city and live with his wife and children. He no longer enjoyed the special treatment of the general, and even cut off the Western Regions wine specially provided to the general.

Of course, some people naturally told this about His Majesty, who is far away in the imperial capital.

Li Yuanshan, who was sitting in the study, wore a cotton cloth instead of a brocade clothes. He always thought that soft cotton cloth was more comfortable to wear. After casually looking at the imperial court newspaper, he turned his attention to the young man who had been standing quietly aside.

"How many days has Prince Xu arrived?"

He asked.

The young man standing very well was Li Xiaozong. He had no official position, but was appointed as an aide by Li Yuanshan. This is a matter that is not contrary to the imperial decree. The aide is his personal consultant, not an official of the imperial court. Of course, this is also a handle, but who would offend a general who would soon be restored to his post because of such a trivial matter?

"It's been ten days."

Li Xiaozong answered.

"What unusual moves?"

Li Xiaozong thought for a while and replied: "The day before yesterday, he seemed to have inadvertently asked about Wu Paisheng's death."

"Just ask."

Li Yuanshan shook his head slightly and said, "Who can prove that you killed Wu Paisheng? That old eunuch... even though he knew there were many things that he could not touch, he still came in. In the northwest, he was just a passerby, but because of his curiosity, he even left the grave here. Prince Xu was smarter than Wu Paisheng. He knew what the most important thing is now."

"Your Majesty wants to fight the Mongolian Yuan. Whoever destroys His Majesty's great cause will not spare anyone."

He looked at Li Xiaozong and said, "You are ready. Maybe it won't take long to reactivate your will."

"Uncle Xie!"

Li Xiaozong bowed deeply and said sincerely.

"What you should thank for is your destiny. If you were not born in the Li family... you would have died long ago. Our Li family members are not allowed to move as long as you want."
Chapter completed!