Chapter 060 Water Dragon Song (V)
The sky was overcast and foggy. Dong Yao lay in the mud, holding the thing wrapped in blue cloth tightly in his arms. He glared at the young man wearing a veil and holding a sword, "Do you think I will believe you with just a few words?"
"Dong Yao, what's the name of the beggar you're traveling with?"
Beneath the veil, the voice was calm.
"What beggar? I don't know."
"But I know that he is Qian Weiyin, who abandoned his post and disappeared in Fengzhou," Xu Hexue approached him. Through the veil of the veil, he could see some clues from the man's face. "It seems that he did hide his identity from you."
"You are just a scholar, yet you dare to go to Daizhou to check the grain budget from 16 years ago. I have to say that you are indeed as courageous as your father Lu Heng."
When Dong Yao heard him mention his father, he suddenly raised his eyes and asked, "Who are you? How do you know my father?"
"Like your father, I am also an old man from Princess Wenduan's mansion."
Xu Hexue spoke calmly.
"Don't think I will believe you just because you say that," Dong Yao turned his face away, "Princess Wenduan has passed away for thirteen years. How would I know how many old people are still in the Princess' Mansion?"
"Have you ever thought about why you were the only one who returned to Beijing safely when none of the people who followed you to Daizhou survived?" Xu Hexue didn't care whether he believed it or not. "Qian Weiyin was smart and cunning, otherwise he wouldn't be alive until now, and you are a rookie, he didn't tell you the truth but still managed to trick you into going with him. Why do you think the people behind the grain bill would be so stupid as Qian Weiyin to do something stupid with you?"
Dong Yao was startled, and then he remembered that although he had encountered many pursuits in Daizhou, upon closer thought, he had not suffered any injuries, and even the journey back to Beijing was smooth.
He thought he was hiding well, but the man in front of him told him that the beggar from Daizhou who wanted to go to the capital with him to file a complaint was actually Qian Weiyin, an escaped official from Fengzhou.
Dong Yao's face turned red and white, he was full of doubts, but he heard the man in front of him said: "You don't need to tell me, I also know who asked you to go to Daizhou to investigate this old case, but have you ever thought about whether you returned to Beijing safely because of your good fortune, or someone deliberately let you go and used you to lure out the person above you."
Dong Yao felt a chill down his spine. "Are you saying that the things I brought back from Daizhou will harm him?"
Ren Jun is dead. This period of time is enough for those people to deal with whether the contents of the confession are true or false. It may even turn black into white. The so-called evidence is probably false.
Otherwise, those people would never let him bring it back to Yunjing.
"But Qian Weiyin!"
The more Dong Yao thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. "He is such a meticulous person. What if he finds out something from me? If he goes looking for..."
He didn't utter the words "Mr. Zhang".
"Your evidence is a dead person's false evidence, but Qian Weiyin's evidence is his own, he is real."
When Xu Hexue found Dong Yao but had not seen Qian Weiyin, he guessed Qian Weiyin's plan. However, when he rushed to Zhang's house, it was too late. Zhang Jing had already entered the palace and most likely brought Qian Weiyin with him.
"As long as it is true, the government cannot attack him or sentence him to death."
Jiang Xianming was a loyal minister, and Xu Hexue's teacher Zhang Jing was also a loyal minister, but Jiang Xianming was a loyal minister to the government, while Zhang Jing was a loyal minister to the people.
If Jiang Xianming brought up the grain bill again, even if he had the ironclad evidence of Qian Weiyin, he would probably not have a good ending. But Zhang Jing was different. He had many disciples and his reputation remained high despite being in exile for fourteen years. Emperor Zhengyuan invited him back to promote the new policy with Meng Yunxian, and this was the time to use him.
Emperor Zhengyuan could easily kill a close minister, but he would not easily kill Zhang Jing.
"That's why you stopped me..."
Dong Yao figured everything out. He raised his head as if muttering to himself, only to see that the man's originally clean and tidy clothes were soaked in blood without him noticing.
"Go find Mr. Meng right away,"
Xu Hexue could hardly stand, with bright red blood dripping down his wrist bones. He managed to steady his voice, "Ask him... to persuade Mr. Zhang not to hurt himself and stay out of the wind and dew."
…
The door of Chongming Palace blocked out all light. At this time, Princess Jia Li Xizhen was no longer in the palace. Only Prince Jia and his teacher Zhang Jing were left.
"Your Highness is leaving?"
Zhang Jing sat on a folding-back chair and saw the boxes and cages placed in a mess behind the curtain.
"yes."
Ever since Prince Jia received his teacher's letter in Tongzhou, he has been looking forward to seeing his teacher again. But now, sitting next to his teacher, he doesn't know what to say.
"Your Highness must be wondering why I sent you a letter but haven't seen you for a long time," Zhang Jing held the tea bowl in his hand and blew away the hot mist, "Is that so?"
Prince Jia nodded, "Teacher, I came back to see you."
"I know,"
Zhang Jing took a sip of tea and said, "It is precisely because I knew that I delayed coming to see you until today. The time is just right. If it was one day later, you would have left Beijing."
"Teacher, why?"
Prince Jia didn't understand.
"The official has no children so far. Now that he thinks of you, you should know what he is thinking."
"It is precisely because he knows this that Yong Geng is unwilling."
"You don't want to." Zhang Jing put the tea bowl on the table. He looked up at the student he hadn't seen for more than ten years. "Why? Because you are afraid of this imperial city that once locked you up, or because the government hates you and you are afraid of the government? Your fear makes power worthless to you."
"When my father died, I was still young. The government and the court officials were playing games with each other, and I was the chess piece that was manipulated by them. I was given the title of Prince Jia without knowing why, and I have never had a good day in this palace."
Prince Jia's throat was dry. "I know there are many people in this world who are obsessed with power, but I grew up in the highest and coldest place in the world. I have seen its true face. I don't want to be manipulated by it, nor do I want to use it to manipulate others."
"Your Highness, have you forgotten that you are a member of the royal family, not an ordinary citizen?" Zhang Jing said in a cold voice, "Power sometimes also comes with responsibility. If you take it, you will shoulder the responsibility that you should shoulder."
"teacher……"
Prince Jia opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Zhang Jing, "I want to ask your Highness, over the years, have you ever doubted the person who made you bang your head outside the Qinghe Hall to plead for him?"
Prince Jia's whole body was stiff, and all the memories of the past came flooding back, like a hand tightly grasping his heart.
Prince Jia's silence made Zhang Jing understand. He was silent for a long time before he spoke, "I remember that he was sent to me by Princess Wenduan to be my student when he came to Beijing at the age of seven. At that time, Your Highness knew him and became friends. Later, when you were conferred the title of Prince Jia and entered the palace, he knew that you were studying in Zhaowen Hall in the palace and were often bullied by other royal children, so he asked Princess Wenduan to help him enter the palace and study with you in Zhaowen Hall for a year."
"Later, he brought you to my home to see me and asked me to accept you as my student. That's how the teacher-student relationship between you and me came about."
Prince Jia's breathing became tight, "Teacher, please stop talking..."
"This year is already a new year, and it has been sixteen years since he pleaded guilty and died," Zhang Jing did not stop, "Your Highness, have you ever paid tribute to him, even once?"
Prince Jia immediately thought of Que County, which was the farthest place he and Xu Hexue had ever been to when they were twelve years old. There was a Big Bell Temple in Que County, and they had rung the big bell in that temple.
He enjoyed himself by making friends and having fun.
In the year Xu Hexue died, he went to the Big Bell Temple again and brought a winter coat. His wife embroidered words on the coat for him.
"No."
Prince Jia’s voice was dry.
"Why? Because even you don't know whether you should believe him or not. In your heart, you want to believe him, but the evidence is overwhelming, and you don't know what to do," Zhang Jing asked in a deep voice, "So you don't dare to hold a memorial service, right?"
"Teacher, do you dare?"
Prince Jia trembled.
"Like you, I am also afraid that he will appear in my dreams and come to me and tell me that my best student has done something wrong."
The military report from Yongzhou was too important, and the testimonies given by Jiang Xianming and other officials who returned from Yongzhou after being interrogated were flawless. Zhang Jing wanted to investigate, but had no idea where to start.
After that, he was exiled for fourteen years, and he was in poverty and had no energy to take care of anything else.
"I didn't pay tribute to him. Over the past decade or so, he never appeared in my dreams. It seems that he hasn't appeared in your dreams either..."
Zhang Jing's voice was almost trembling, "But Your Highness, do you know? For so many years, we have been ruthless to a person who has been wrongly accused."
"What?"
Prince Jia immediately stood up and held the teacher's hand tightly. "Teacher, what did you say? What do you know?"
"You must have heard of the name Du Cong when you came to Beijing."
Zhang Jing looked at him. "Before he changed his name to Du Cong, he was called Du Sancai. He was a military officer who was ordered to transport grain from Daizhou to Yongzhou. The grain cart he transported to Yongzhou was actually empty. But for more than ten years, not only did no one mention this, but he was also promoted from a local military officer to a fifth-rank civil official. Your Highness, how do you think he did it?"
He took out the letter in his arms that he had read and crumpled countless times and handed it to Prince Jia. "This letter is from Yongzhou. It also mentioned that General Yujie led the army to fight against the Danqiu Hu people, but the food and grass in the rear were delayed. Although the Jing'an Army had to endure hunger at the beginning, General Xu Hexue used war to support the war, and used the food of the Hu soldiers to support his own soldiers, which made the Jing'an Army strong and powerful."
"Qingya Prefecture has fallen under the rule of the Hu people since Xu Hexue's father died in battle. This letter says that the Hu general Meng Tuo threatened the lives of the entire Xu family in Qingya Prefecture, saying that if Xu Hexue surrendered to Danqiu, he would grant him Qingya Prefecture and the other ten prefectures, but if Xu Hexue did not surrender to Danqiu, he would kill the entire Xu family and destroy the Xu family tomb."
"Xu Hexue used a fuss and ordered his troops to split into three groups. He led 30,000 Jing'an troops to Mushen Mountain to lure Mengtuo into the trap, while the other two groups of troops came from Nianchi and Longyan to support and besiege Mengtuo and attack the royal court."
"Why don't the other two armies go?"
Prince Jia looked at the handwriting on the letter and felt his eyes were pierced with pain. His eyes were wet. "If the letter is true, why don't they go?"
"Because the other two armies never received this order."
The Jing'an Army was almost wiped out. It was unknown whether anyone had delivered the message or the message had been intercepted. The only thing Zhang Jing could check was the generals of the other two armies.
But they had indeed never received this military order from General Xu Hexue.
Without any support from either side, the Jing'an Army, which had been unstoppable, became an isolated force and was trapped in Mushen Mountain.
"If that's the case, if that's the case," Prince Jia clutched the letter tightly. He raised his head, tears pressing down his eyelids. "Teacher, he, he..."
He was choking with sobs.
"I was the one who arrested Du Cong. His last words confirmed this letter."
After reading the letter from Yongzhou at the wonton stall that day, Zhang Jing immediately ordered the old eunuch Liu Jiarong, who was good at martial arts, to rush to Du's house. There, they happened to run into Du Cong who had escaped in the middle of the night.
Zhang Jing once took a look at the letter that Xu Hexue sent back to Prince Jia from the border. The fourteen-year-old boy mentioned a studious military officer in the letter. Zhang Jing remembered the man's name, Du Sancai.
Du Cong did not confess much to him, because he always cared about his wife and godfather, and was unwilling to reveal who the person was who helped him escape the death penalty and be promoted to a Beijing official.
"It wasn't Jiang Xianming who skinned your students. It was you, Prime Minister Meng, and people like me who were willing to accept a civil servant whose rank was much lower than mine as their godfather. It was the royal family that could never be satisfied! Even the government!"
"But it's not the Danqiu Hu people."
That night, perhaps reminded by Zhang Jing, Du Cong remembered the days when he asked the young scholar to teach him to read and write in the Huning Army. He said these words while crying and laughing, and then he hit his head and died in front of Zhang Jing.
"I know that Your Highness really wants to believe him in your heart, so you can't face him and can't stand here, but do you really want to leave?"
Zhang Jing looked at Prince Jia in front of him with his knees bent, almost kneeling on the ground. He did not hear Prince Jia's answer, and did not intend to wait any longer. He stood up, took back the letter in Prince Jia's hand, and walked towards the palace door.
"teacher!"
Prince Jia couldn't hold back his panic, "Where are you going?"
The sunlight was cut into scattered shadows by the red lattice windows and fell on Zhang Jing's shoulders. Prince Jia could only see his somewhat hunched back. He heard the teacher say, "Yonggeng, today, I finally dare to pay tribute to him."
What is memorial service?
What is memorial service?
Prince Jia couldn't shout out, his face wet with tears. He watched the palace door open and the teacher's figure gradually blurred in the sunlight.
He saw the outline of Zhaowen Hall in the distance.
"Zhao Yonggeng, did the Queen forget to give you food today? Why are you staring at my grapes like a puppy? Hahahahaha..."
"I thought you were so glorious in the palace, how come you are like this!"
The eleven-year-old Zhao Yi was surrounded by several royal family members under the eaves of Zhaowen Hall. They pushed and shoved him and threw grapes at him, forcing him to pick them up.
He was angry and anxious, but could only squeeze out tears.
The tree in Zhaowen Hall was very big, and its thick shade almost covered a small piece of sky. Several stones bounced out from the tree and hit the royal family members in front of Zhao Yi, causing them to cover their foreheads and scream.
He turned around and saw a boy about his age in the shade, wearing a light blue round-necked robe and playing with a few stones in his hands.
He almost thought he was seeing things: "Why are you here?"
"Come and study."
The young man leaning against the tree trunk raised his chin and said, "Zhao Yonggeng, either I come down and beat you up, or you beat them up and I come down to help you. Choose one."
Zhao Yi remembered that he chose the latter that day.
When Princess Jia Li Xizhen entered the room, she saw her husband slumped on the ground. She walked over silently, squatted in front of him, and hugged him.
"Xizhen, if I hadn't been attacked that year, maybe I would have burned that winter clothing for him," Prince Jia hugged her tightly and burst into tears, "Why didn't I dare to do it later? Why didn't I dare to do it..."
As time passed, the winter clothes disappeared.
That person has been dead for sixteen years.
Zhang Jing left Chongming Hall and headed towards the Government Affairs Hall. Just as he entered the palace alley, he saw Meng Yunxian running from the other end. He had never seen Meng Yunxian so panicked. Zhang Jing, leaning on a crutch, stopped and waited for him to approach.
"Zhang Chongzhi! Is Du Cong in your hands?"
It was only now, after meeting Dong Yao, that Meng Yunxian suddenly realized how much he had neglected. As soon as he saw Zhang Jing, he questioned him harshly.
"He is dead."
Zhang Jing answered calmly.
Meng Yunxian hated this look of his the most. His chest rose and fell. "You deliberately made me think that you wanted to rectify the administration of officials, but you were not investigating the officials, but the Daizhou grain draft!"
Zhang Jing rarely saw him so angry. He did not respond, but just stuffed the letter into Meng Yunxian's hand and said, "Meng Zhuo, I will see the emperor soon, so I'll give this to you for safekeeping."
Meng Yunxian unfolded the letter and took a look. His face changed drastically and his lips trembled. "Chongzhi, yes..."
"It's true. Du Cong said it himself. This person is the one who helped him escape the death penalty."
"Have you shown it to His Royal Highness Prince Jia?"
It took Meng Yunxian a long time to find his voice again.
"Since I was the one who sent the letter to invite him back to Beijing, I naturally cannot let him leave."
"King Kejia..."
Even Meng Yunxian was unable to make Prince Jia change his mind, so this letter would probably make Prince Jia even more frightened.
Zhang Jing shook his head. "Xu Hexue is different to him. Besides..."
He did not continue, but looked up at Meng Yunxian, "Meng Zhuo, I have thought about this many times. Even when I was on the road of exile, I was still thinking, if I had not listened to your advice and insisted on keeping him, would he have lived well, like He Tong and His Royal Highness Prince Jia? I also wonder, if he had lived from a teenager to now, what would he be like..."
"Du Cong said that it was not only Jiang Xianming who cut him, but also you and me," Zhang Jing's eyes were full of tears, "These words are like knives cutting my heart..."
How could these words not stab Meng Yunxian's heart? He was almost shocked all over, and then he remembered that when he and Zhang Jing wanted to increase the power of military officers due to the urgency of the war, officials in the court headed by Wu Dai slandered them to the emperor, saying that what they did was intended to benefit General Yujie Xu Hexue for personal gain.
"Chongzhi..." Meng Yunxian's throat tightened. Just as he was about to say something else, he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw that it was Liang Shenfu, the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was leading several eunuchs. He immediately stuffed the letter into his lapel and whispered to Zhang Jing, "Now that Qian Weiyin is here, it's not . But Chongzhi, listen to my advice. Don't bring the grain bill to the government. Don't anger the government, and don't mention this letter for the time being. Now that we have such a clue, I'll wait for you to come back and we'll discuss it together. Only by finding out the mastermind behind the incident that year can we have a chance to make it public."
"Don't worry, I won't make any mistakes today."
Zhang Jing nodded, "After we meet the emperor, we will go to East Street to get a haircut."
Then he walked around him and went towards Liang Shenfu and others.
"Mr. Zhang, the emperor invites you to the Qinghe Palace."
Liang Shenfu was panting.
"Let's go now."
Zhang Jing said.
Knowing that Zhang Jing had difficulty walking, Liang Shenfu personally helped Zhang Jing to the Qinghe Hall. Zhang Jing did not see Qian Weiyin in the hall. According to Liang Shenfu, the emperor had already met Qian Weiyin.
"Your servant Zhang Jing pays respect to the emperor."
Zhang Jing bowed.
Emperor Zhengyuan sat behind the curtain, his voice was unremarkable, "Liang Shenfu, give Zhang Qing a seat."
Liang Shenfu responded and immediately ordered the eunuch to bring a chair and place it behind Zhang Jing.
"You are the one who found Qian Weiyin."
Emperor Zhengyuan spoke only after Zhang Jing sat down.
Zhang Jing bowed his head and said, "Officials, if we don't get rid of the pests, it will be of no benefit to the country."
"What Mr. Zhang said is correct. I read a memorial today, saying that Mr. Zhang has thousands of acres of fertile land in his hometown, Zezhou. But I don't know how Mr. Zhang, who has just returned to the court, can have such a family fortune to support the entire family."
The voice was neither fast nor slow, but it was powerful.
Zhang Jing's face was calm, as if he had already guessed something. He stood up calmly and knelt down, "Your Majesty, I really do not have this family business. If there are any people in my clan who have committed crimes, I beg Your Majesty to punish them severely."
"Zhang Qing, why do you need to do this?"
Emperor Zhengyuan laughed, "I still have new policies to rely on you. Qian Weiyin is a convicted official, and it is unknown whether what he said is true or false. Don't you think so?"
"Every word Qian Weiyin said is true. Your palace in Daizhou was built with the money they earned from reselling government grain, and you have never been to that palace."
The smile in Emperor Zhengyuan's eyes disappeared, "Zhang Jing."
Zhang Jing heard the sound of an inkstone falling to the ground, and then a hand opened the curtain. Emperor Zhengyuan walked up to him and said angrily, "Are you blaming me?"
"I dare not. I am just telling the truth. Whether it is Fengshan or building a Taoist palace, everything the emperor does is a waste of money and labor. The emperor has been in office for 20 years, and countless Taoist palaces have been built in various places. The emperor is in Yunjing, how many times have you really seen them? If you really go and see them, you will know what it means for the people to suffer every day!"
"Have you ever seen floating corpses and starving people? Have you ever heard that your people are living under your rule, and countless people are still unable to withstand hunger and cold, and have to gnaw on tree bark and eat Guanyin soil? Do you know what Guanyin soil is? Do you also know that they are waiting for you, the king and father, to save their lives!"
Zhang Jing leaned over and kowtowed.
Liang Shenfu and the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall were all trembling. Their knees went weak and they knelt down, sweating profusely from fear.
Emperor Zhengyuan felt a stab in his heart and staggered back two steps. Liang Shenfu hurriedly stood up to help him, but Emperor Zhengyuan shook him off and pointed at Zhang Jing who was kneeling there: "I think you... have no respect for your emperor and father!"
Zhang Jing looked up, his bent back no longer able to straighten due to the years of exile:
"Whether the king or father uses thunder or rain, I, as a subject, should accept it! However, as a subject, although I am not afraid of death, I also hope that the king I am loyal to can let me die a worthy death!"
