Chapter 1174: borrow a knife to kill

Chapter 1174: borrow a knife to kill

  Chapter 1174 Borrowing a knife to kill someone

  After the prime ministers came out of the East Palace, all of them had dignified faces.

  Because the problems mentioned by the prince just now do exist, but even prime ministers like them don’t think it’s easy to solve these problems.

  It involves too much.

  After Changsun Wuji returned to Zhongshu Province, he immediately called Chu Suiliang, Zhongshu's servant, and Zhongshu Sheren Laiji, and several others.

   "What do you mean by Prince Jian Guo's words?"

Laiji is Qin Lang's righteous brother, he passed the imperial examination and became an official. Returning to the court to be a member of Zhongshushe, he has outstanding talents and has a strong backing like Qin Lang.

  Although Qin Lang is not around now, Changsun Wuji completely regards Lai Ji as his own.

  Lai Jidao, "I think the drunkard's intention is not to drink. His Highness suddenly pointed out the issue of household registration management and population loss on the basis of the issue of immigration in Liaodong. I think it is not about the emigration to Liaodong itself, but should point to other things."

   What else is it, Changsun Wuji is very clever and understands.

  The others, of course, are those aristocrats, relatives, wealthy and powerful merchants who are shedding their population, and even specifically refer to those who have established businesses, mines and other industries overseas.

   "The crown prince said that gold panning and mining are planted everywhere. This reminds me of a rumor I have heard recently. Have you heard the legend of Treasure Island?" Changsun Wuji asked.

  Lai Ji and Chu Suiliang both nodded.

  Luoyang is also full of legends about Treasure Island getting rich overnight. I heard that many people in Luoyang rushed to Lingnan to go to the sea to pan for gold, dreaming of getting rich overnight.

   "The Taibao insisted on resigning from office, saying that he would return to the fief to accompany the princess and Xiushi to write books, but why did he go to the South China Sea to pan for gold and mines, and still make such a big fuss?" The eldest grandson frowned.

  Qin Lang is his son and daughter's in-laws. His two daughters married into the Qin family, one married to Qin Lang as his concubine, and the other to Qi Duke Qin Xun as his wife, so the relationship between the eldest grandson and the Qin family is prosperous.

   "Could it be that the crown prince has any opinion on Qin Taibao?"

   "It's unlikely that he went after Wei Gong. After all, Wei Gong is not in the court. Now he only holds the title of Governor of Zhennan, and he doesn't care about court affairs." Chu Suiliang was puzzled.

   "But the prince will not suddenly mention this matter for no reason?"

  The eldest grandson is very confused. The prince Chengqian has become more and more calm in the past few years. Sometimes the eldest grandson Wuji feels that he can't see through him. He is no longer the reckless prince he was a few years ago, so he will never act recklessly.

   "Perhaps the prince just mentioned the matter of emigrating to Liaodong, and mentioned this by the way?"

   "Impossible." Changsun Wuji and Lai Ji said in unison.

   "Forget it, if you don't understand it, let's put it aside for now. Let's discuss the matter of Liu Ji that you mentioned earlier about Dengshan. If you don't make a move, it's enough. Once you make a move, you must see success."

   Laiji hesitated, "Since Mr. Chu has evidence of Liu Jie's crime, then the impeachment should be based on the facts. Right and wrong can be decided by a sage."

  The eldest grandson shook his head, "You are still too young. If you don't take action, you will be fine. If you do, you must put it to death. If you don't die after beating a snake, you will have endless troubles. This must be kept in mind."

He wanted to take this opportunity to completely overthrow Liu Ji to the ground, and it would be best if he could be executed. In this way, it would be possible to cut off the possibility of Liu Ji becoming a servant. Of course, the most important thing is that Liu Ji originally supported the king of Wei. , and he was once recommended by Wei Zheng, and had a good relationship with Fang Xuanling.

   Now that he is back in court, Liu He and Fang Xuanling have obviously formed an alliance. For the eldest grandson Wuji who is bent on overthrowing Fang Xuanling, Liu He cannot stay.

  Fang Xuanling acted impeccably, very prudently, and couldn't find any loopholes, but since Liu Jie showed a flaw, of course he couldn't let it go.

  After some final discussions, it was decided that Chu Suiliang, who had won the trust of the emperor, would go to the emperor and inform him of the crime of letting him go.

  Shangyang Palace.

   Li Shimin returned to Shangyang Palace from the outskirts, and Chu Suiliang came to see him.

  Chu Suiliang first presented an authentic Wang Xizhi to the emperor to make the emperor happy. Li Shimin admired Wang Xizhi the most and was his super fan. As long as it was an authentic Wang Xizhi, he wanted to collect it.

   Taking advantage of the emperor's happiness, Chu Suiliang began to falsely accuse Liu Ji.

  He said that when the emperor personally conquered Liaodong, his back had gangrene when he was in class, and he was temporarily stationed in Tianjin. Liu Jie was ordered by the prince to go to see the emperor first, and then told the ministers that the sage was suffering from carbuncle and was seriously ill, but there was no need to worry. The prince of the country, it is enough to kill those ministers who have two hearts.

  As soon as these words came out, Li Shimin's face changed immediately.

  Why? Because who are Huo Guang and Yi Yin? They are the most famous power ministers in history.

  One more thing, he was seriously ill at the time, Liu Ji visited him first and then reported back to the crown prince and the left-behind ministers, but he didn't worry about his dragon body, but said such a thing, what is the meaning of this?

   Did you say there is no need to worry? Is this wishing that he would die sooner?

  Furthermore, Liu Ji is just the servant of the Huangmen. Although he is also an important member of the left-behind ministers, there is still a prime minister like Ma Zhou among the left-behind ministers.

  The emperor thought of the conversation he had had with Liu Ji before he left for the expedition.

At that time, before Li Shimin left, he specially summoned Gao Shilian, Ma Zhou, Liu Ji and others who stayed behind to assist the crown prince. When he saw Liu Ji, he told him, saying that I am now leading an expedition, and you must assist the crown prince well. The safety of the country depends on you. on some of you.

   As a result, Liu Ji's answer at the time was, Your Majesty need not worry, the minister is guilty, and I should punish him immediately.

  Anyway, what that means is that the emperor, you can go to Liaodong to fight Goguryeo without worry. I will assist the prince to stay behind. If someone in the court dares to make trouble, I will not be polite.

  The original intention was to reassure the emperor. After all, Yang Guang personally conquered Goguryeo in the previous dynasty. As a result, Yang Xuangan, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, rebelled in the rear, resulting in the failure of the Liao campaign. If someone dares to make trouble in the court, he will help the emperor destroy him immediately.

Li Shimin felt uncomfortable hearing these words, because Liu Ji was not the left-behind prime minister. Among the left-behind ministers were the servant Ma Zhou, Wei Zheng who knew the door, and Gao Shilian, the right servant. If there is anything to do in the rear, it should be these few people who make the decision, and Liu Jie will be responsible for assisting.

Li Shimin specially summoned him because Liu Jie had been a minister of the Shangshu Youcheng before and showed strong administrative ability. When he was a censor, he was upright and upright. point.

  Who knew that he would say such a thing? At that time, Li Shimin also specially warned him that if the king does not keep secrets, he will lose his ministers, and if his ministers do not keep secrets, he will lose his dignity. You have an open and upright temperament, so you should act with caution.

   Originally, it was fine to warn about this matter, but now Chu Suiliang brought up such a matter again.

  It was said that Liu Ji went to visit him on behalf of the crown prince, but when he came back, he told the ministers what he said, and Li Shimin believed it immediately, because Liu Ji once said in front of him that whoever dares to mess up, I will punish him immediately. But now Chu Suiliang said that he said that if the emperor is gone, there is no need to worry. At that time, he will assist the prince to succeed like Huo Guang and Yi Yin, and whoever dares not follow will kill him directly.

   These two words before and after are indeed Liu Ji's style.

The most terrible thing is that Chu Suiliang did not hint to the emperor again, saying that Wei Zheng, Li Daliang, Chen Shuda and many other prime ministers and elders died of illness, and the emperor suddenly became seriously ill. The right servant said that Gao Shilian was in Luoyang, and the left servant said that Fang Xuanling was still in Chang'an , people in the court panicked, but Liu Ji said such things openly, and even sent someone to contact Fang Xuanling in Chang'an in private...

  So who are Huo Guang and Yi Yin?

   Liu Ji and Fang Xuanling.

   More importantly, if the emperor really dies in Tianjin, will Liu Ji help the crown prince succeed Qian to the throne? Or do you want to help Wei Wangtai, whom he supported before, succeed to the throne?

  Huo Guang was a power official in the Western Han Dynasty. At the beginning, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed him as the assistant minister of Gu Ming. Huo Guang and three other ministers assisted Emperor Han Zhao to succeed to the throne. Later, he squeezed out and suppressed the other three assistant ministers. After the death of Emperor Zhaodi of the Han Dynasty, he had no sons. Huo Guang welcomed Liu He, the grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, as the emperor. After only 27 days, he was deposed again, and Liu Bing, the great-grandson of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, succeeded him as Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

  Liu Ji said to imitate Yi Yin and Huo Guang, and then Huo Guang embraced Liu He and then deposed Liu He. In the eyes of Li Shimin, this is definitely not a good thing.

  Chu Suiliang also said that when Liu Ji came back and saw the prince and Ma Zhou, he said that the disease was in such a state, and Sheng Gong was worried, saying that the emperor was seriously ill and very dangerous.

  Then he turned his head and said to other ministers that there is nothing to worry about in the court, as long as he follows the stories of Yi Yin and Huo Guang, assists the young prince, and kills ministers who have two hearts.

Li Shimin used to relegate Liu Ji because he supported the king of Wei, but later he was called back to the court and given an important position. After the feudal clan, forget about the past.

  But who knows that such a thing happened now, Li Shimin couldn't help but become suspicious.

   Liu Ji's rude words are just a trivial matter, the most important thing is whether he really has Huo Guang's heart to abolish the establishment as Chu Suiliang hinted?

  Things like this are by no means trivial, and there is no room for carelessness.

  On the same day, Li Shimin immediately summoned Ma Zhou to see him, and personally asked what Liu Ji had said to him and the crown prince when he came back.

  Then the emperor asked again, did Liu Ji tell other ministers that there was nothing to worry about in the court, and that he only needed to follow the stories of Huo Guang and Yi Yin, assist the prince, and kill the two-hearted ministers?

  Ma Zhou truthfully said that he had never heard this with his own ears.

  Then Han Yuan, the new minister of the Ministry of War, came out to testify, saying that he had personally heard what Liu Xi said at the time, and at the same time he also heard Liu Xi from Zhongshushe and several others.

  The emperor summoned all of them, and several people confirmed it.

   Li Shimin's face turned purple, and he summoned Xu Luoren.

   "You immediately go to the mansion of Huangmen servant Liu Ji, arrest him and send him to Baiqisi Prison, give him poisoned wine and order him to commit suicide!"

   "Go!"

  Li Shimin didn't want to keep this person any longer. Since several ministers have confirmed Chu Suiliang's words, it fully proves Liu's crime of rebellion.

Xu Luoren is the emperor's confidant, he was in command of Baiqisi, and immediately rushed to Liu Ji's mansion when he got the order, took Liu Ji away from the study room without knowing it, dragged him to the prison set up by Baiqisi, and directly gave him a pot Poisoned wine.

   Liu Ji was dumbfounded.

   "Mr. Xu, please bring a pen and paper. I want to give a performance to the saint."

  Xu Luoren just shook his head, "Mr. Liu, please hurry up and get on the road. The longer this matter drags on, the worse it will be for your family."

  The implication is that if Liu Ji drinks poisoned wine now, then Liu Ji's family will not be held accountable too much.

  Liu Ji couldn't figure it out, but Xu Luoren just urged him to commit suicide.

   "You have to let me know!"

Xu Luoren waved back to the left and right, and said slowly to him, "The crown prince sent Liu Gong to meet the saint. The situation of the saint's dragon body is a secret of the court. You should keep it a secret and only tell the crown prince and the prime minister who stayed behind, but you spread it everywhere, saying that the saint bowed to him." Critical illness, don’t you have ulterior motives, not to mention that you still want to be Yiyin Huoguang, who gave you the power? Not to mention, you have done even more excessive things.”

"I·······"

   "Okay, I won't listen, and I won't reveal a word after I hear it, and I won't give you any pen and paper. You can drink it quickly, don't make it ugly in the end."

  Xu Luoren pointed to the sword in his hand, which was a precious sword bestowed by the emperor.

  If Liu Ji refuses to commit suicide by drinking poisonous wine, then Xu Luoren will use this imperial sword to chop off Liu Ji's head.

   "This glass of poisoned wine is the greatest kindness a saint has shown you, and he will keep the whole body for you!"

  Liu He looked at Xu Luoren for a long time, sighed, picked up the wine glass with slightly trembling hands, and finally raised his head abruptly, pouring down the poisonous wine.

   After a while, Liu Ji fell to the ground and died, bleeding from his orifices.

  Xu Luoren looked at the Huangmen servant who was one step away from being the prime minister, and could only shake his head.

   "The sage reminded you to be cautious in your words and deeds, but you don't cherish it yourself."

  After waiting for a while and confirming that Liu Ji was dead, Xu Luoren called someone to gather Liu Ji's body, and then went back to answer his orders.

  The emperor listened to the reply with no expression on his face, and just hummed.

   "How will the Liu family deal with it?"

  Li Shimin was silent for a while, and finally said, "All brothers, brothers, nephews and nephews of Liu Ji will be expelled from their nationality and become citizens, and they will live in Lingnan forever."

  In the end, the emperor showed some affection, and only ordered Liu Ji to commit suicide, without implicating the Liu family too much. His family moved to live in Lingnan, which was considered a special kindness.

   "Cui Dunli was promoted to Zhongshu Minister, Tong Zhongshu's third grade, Chu Suiliang was transferred to Huangmen's servant, Zhang Liang moved to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Sikong Fang Xuanling added Prince Taifu, and transferred to Zhimen to save trouble."

   "Ma Zhouzhuan Zhongshuling, Changsun Wuji checked the Zhongshuling and Shangshu Zuopushe."

   "Li Jijia Prince Zhan Shi, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Tong Zhongshu are the third rank."

  After being silent for a day, the emperor summoned the prince to discuss matters with his important ministers, and then made a series of personnel adjustments.

  Huangmen servant Liu Jici committed suicide. The sudden death shocked all the officials, but the emperor didn't explain too much, only saying that he conspired against him.

   Then the left servant sent Fang Xuanling to Menxia Province, but he was not Ren Shizhong, but passed with the title of Zhimenxia Province.

  Zhongshuling Changsun Wuji became the school inspecting Zhongshuling and Zuopushe, Gao Shilian was the right servantshe remained unchanged, and no longer concurrently served as Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

  Servant Zhongma Zhouzhuan became Zhongshu Ling and Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

   Chu Suiliang, the servant of Zhongshu, became the servant of Huangmen.

  Shangshu Cui Dunli was promoted to the Minister of Zhongshu, and Li Ji became the Minister of the Ministry of War for Prince Zhan Shijia.

  The prime minister's team was greatly adjusted, with Ma Zhou as the official secretary and became the new head of the hundred officials. The nephews, Changsun Wuji and Gao Shilian, were divided into left and right servants.

   Cui Dunli, Chu Suiliang, and Li Ji were all prime ministers of the Zhengshitang.

  The new Zhengshitang prime minister team has seven members.

  After the servants read out the imperial edict, all the ministers were in a cloud of confusion. Fang Xuanling's eldest grandson Wuji and others looked calm, but they also had their own thoughts.

  The emperor killed Liu Ji first, and then made a big adjustment to the prime minister's team. Naturally, there was a deep meaning in it.

  Fang Xuanling was horrified, he was the first to receive the decree, Changsun Wuji was very surprised, since he killed Liu Ji and beat Fang Xuanling, why was he also implicated and lost his position as Zhongshuling?

  (end of this chapter)