Chapter 2: The Northern Old Man Knows His Ambush VI. Intonation
Because the Chenliu Lidu incident led to an upgrade of the land measurement order, Emperor Jianwu sent officials to conduct a large-scale investigation into the corruption and abuse of power among the 2,000-stone officials in various counties. The results of the investigation were truly shocking. On the first day of November, the first high-ranking figure to surface was Grand Minister of Civil Affairs Ouyang Xu.
Ouyang Xu was born into a noble family. His family had been teaching the Book of Shang for generations. Eight generations had become doctors. Famous scholars were born in each generation and respected by the world. He served as the governor of Runan for nine years, and he personally taught hundreds of students. The envoy found out that Ouyang Xu cheated in measuring the land during his tenure, and the amount of money he embezzled and accepted in bribes was as high as tens of millions. After this was exposed, Ouyang Xu was thrown into prison.
In fact, perhaps Ouyang Xu was not the first person to pervert the law, nor was he the first corrupt official. The reason why he was the first target of the conflict was simply because he held a high rank as one of the Three Dukes. Liu Xiu wanted to use such a typical person as a warning to others.
However, it was not easy to bring Ouyang Xu to justice. The officials in the court silently resisted the emperor's order with a mentality of mourning the loss of the rabbit. More than a thousand apprentices of Ouyang Xu gathered outside the palace and asked the emperor to forgive Ouyang Xu. Some even shaved themselves from head to toe to show their determination.
This situation lasted for several days, and the whole court was in a panic. Although I was ill and lived in seclusion in the palace, I could still feel the tense atmosphere before the storm.
"Please have a look, sir!" Shanan handed over a simple letter in his hand with a serious expression.
"What is this?" Not long after Chen Min went to serve Liu Yang, Shan Nan entered the palace as a concubine and was assigned to the West Palace. The age limit for a concubine is between thirteen and twenty years old, but Shan Nan's age is obviously beyond the recruitment range. This plain-looking woman has a calmness that ordinary people cannot describe. Even her words are very precise and never drag on.
Of course, I would transfer her to my side, not because of her style of doing things, but because she is a trustworthy person. Shanan, whose full name is Yuchi Shanan, is the eldest daughter of Yuchi Jun.
She was a shadow warrior, and even more so a death warrior - six years ago, her husband died in the bloody catastrophe of the Yin family, when she was only seventeen years old. Since then, she has practiced martial arts and studied hard, and in just a few years, she has become one of the very few elite shadow warriors of the Yin family.
She had to conceal her background and lie about her age, so her chances of entering the palace as a concubine were very slim. However, when she was selected, Guo Shengtong had an unstable fetus and needed to stay in bed to protect the fetus. I was also sick, so the task of selecting the concubines fell on Concubine Xu.
"A young man named Li Zhen from Pingyuan County, only seventeen years old, traveled thousands of miles to the capital, intending to submit a petition to the court to exonerate Ouyang Xu."
"Oh?" I took the wooden box. The seal inside the wooden groove was intact. I shook it gently and the box made a rustling sound. "What's written inside?"
Shanan did not answer, but pulled out a copper hairpin from her hair. The wooden box returned to her hand. I stared at her intently, but still could not see her movements. In just two or three seconds, the wooden box broke into three or four pieces, and a piece of wooden tablet was exposed.
I was surprised and delighted: "How did you do it?" The ink was intact, and she was able to disassemble the wooden box without touching the seal.
"I have studied for a year." She always spoke briefly and to the point.
I took the wooden tablet. The official script on it was very neat: "I have seen that my teacher, Grand Chancellor Ouyang Xu, was a Confucian scholar and a doctor of eight generations. He was severely punished for his fault. Ouyang Xu's disciples were young and could not pass on his teachings. After his death, his teachings were forever abandoned. Your Majesty would be criticized for killing talented people, and scholars would lose the benefits of teachers and students. I beg you to kill me in place of Ouyang Xu..."
"He actually wants to sacrifice his own life. He is really a man of integrity." I threw the wooden tablet away and sneered, "Where is this man called Li Zhen now?"
"We are heading to Huojia County in Henei Prefecture."
"Find someone to hold him back and delay his journey to the capital." After thinking for a moment, he added, "This memorial will be delivered to Ouyang Xu's accomplices later."
Shanan was stunned for a moment, but recovered in an instant and responded, "Yes, sir, do you have any other instructions?"
I narrowed my eyes and chuckled, "During this period, I will remain in bed to recuperate. I will not see any outsiders, including the envoys from the Queen. You should find a way to block them for me."
"promise."
"How's things going at Changqiu Palace?"
"Everything has been arranged. It just so happens that the queen is about to give birth, and the palace is recruiting wet nurses to look after her. These people are entering the palace with this slave."
I sneered and said, "This time I really owe Miss Xu a big favor."
Shanan replied expressionlessly: "Yanzhi was originally a servant of the Yin family. Although she became a beauty, her roots are still in Xinye. Her father has passed away, and now her widowed mother and brother have been taken into the Yin family. Her nephew Xuchang has even become the attendant of Master Yin Gong."
I nodded with satisfaction. As expected, he was the head of the Yin family. Yin Shi was flawless in his work and much more thorough than I thought.
The room was quiet, with only the rustling sound of bamboo strips rubbing against each other. I turned over a scroll of bamboo slips and asked, "Is Ouyang Xu's clerk called Chen Yuan?"
"yes."
"He used to be a steward in the mansion of Marquis Gushi?"
"Yes, when Li Tong was the Grand Chancellor..."
"Yeah, nothing happened."
The surroundings returned to silence, and I continued to look through various information. After a long time, I looked up and found that Shanan was no longer in front of me. I closed the book and smiled.
After Li Zhen arrived in Huojia County, Henei Prefecture, he tied himself up and went to the capital, hoping to die in place of Ouyang Xu. However, before his memorial could be delivered to the emperor, Ouyang Xu had died in prison.
Within a year, two Grand Tutors, first Han Xin and then Ouyang Xu, died one after another. This shocked the court and the public, and also made scholars all over the world look at Emperor Jianwu with admiration.
Liu Xiu is definitely not just gentle! If you don't recognize this, then his opponent, no matter who he is, will be defeated.
On the day Ouyang Xu died in prison, a secret letter written by me was delivered out of the palace wall by Shanan, and then presented to Chen Yuan by Yuchi Jun.
The next day, Chen Yuan submitted a petition to appeal for Ouyang She's injustice, with sincere words and tears. Although Liu Xiu did not pardon Ouyang She, he did show mercy and granted him a coffin, a seal, and 3,000 pieces of silk as a gift. Although this result was not satisfactory, it did calm down the anger of Ouyang She's apprentice.
"This strategy of first suppressing and then praising is really good." Yin Xing's face was indifferent. He was still the same as when he was a child. Even if I did a good job, I could not expect to get his praise.
"It's just that your majesty and I each take what we need."
"Although you are in good spirits, your complexion is not very good. You should pay more attention to rest and not work too hard."
I paused, never expecting him to suddenly say such a considerate word. Then I looked at his expression, which was still cold and indifferent. His personality was exactly the same as Shanan's.
I put away the bamboo scroll, found a pillow that King Yi had made when she was practicing needlework in the corner of the bed, and used it to support my arms. I lazily tilted half of my body and stared at him with a smile on my face.
Seeing me staring at him intently, Yin Xing turned his head away in embarrassment and said in a low voice: "Princess Wuyin has a lot of contact with Prince Liang Tong, so you have to be careful."
"Um?"
"If possible, let His Majesty agree to this marriage. Liang Tong is quite prestigious among the officials and scholars in Hexi. If we can marry into the Liang family..."
I interrupted him: "Prince Yi is still young, so let's just let it happen naturally. When she reaches adulthood, it's up to her whether she wants to marry Liang Song or not."
"Children's marriage is a serious matter. How can we just follow their wishes?" Yin Xing raised his voice in dissatisfaction.
I said indifferently, "How did my elder brother treat my marriage back then? Now I am just copying him. Don't I look like him?"
Yin Xing's face changed drastically, he was speechless and choked up, silently lowering his head.
I laughed dryly and tried to smooth things over, "Speaking of marriage, I remembered something. Jun Ling, have you ever seen that Li Zhen?"
"No." Yin Xing looked at me in confusion, and immediately turned his gaze to Shanan.
Shanan replied immediately: "I have never seen him, but my father once described him to me, saying that he was handsome and upright."
"Oh? To be praised so highly by Zishan, it shouldn't be too different."
Yin Xing saw that I was smiling strangely, and couldn't help but ask suspiciously: "What new idea do you have?"
"This man is affectionate and righteous. If he becomes my husband, I believe our marriage will be harmonious." I lowered my eyes and whispered, "Chen Min is not young anymore..."
