Volume 1 The Wind Rises Chapter 33 Preemptive Strike
Shi Shouxin followed Yin Yide's advice and immediately found his so-called friend in the Ministry of Revenue.
Just as Yin Yide said, the other party was timid and cowardly.
In today's world, military generals are very powerful. Shi Shouxin, Li Jixun , Zhao Kuangyin and others are the generals closest to Guo Rong. After threatening these military masters from all sides, they really deleted the household registration files of Xue Hu and his party in the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The Ministry of Household Affairs no longer had the file records of Xue Hu and others, so they immediately became illegal residents who could not be traced.
Shi Shouxin then fabricated a slave contract for the group of people, and Xue Hu and others became illegal slaves adopted secretly by Wang Jixun.
Such unregistered domestic slaves were extremely common even in prosperous times, let alone in troubled times.
After all the operations were completed, Shi Shouxin was in a good mood. He had already begun to imagine the scene of pointing at Luo Youdu's nose and scolding him in front of Guo Rong tomorrow. He said loudly: "I have a few jars of Zhongshan wine that have been treasured for many years in my house. Let's have a good drink together and meet the emperor tomorrow to seek justice for Wang Jixun."
Li Jixun, Wang Shenqi and Han Chongyun followed suit.
Only the brothers Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Kuangyi began to have doubts in their hearts.
Compared to mere warriors, the Zhao brothers were more politically savvy, especially Zhao Kuangyi who was the most thoughtful.
Walking at the end, Zhao Kuangyin pulled his younger brother and asked in a low voice: "Is this Yin Yide reliable?"
Zhao Kuangyi was inexplicably frightened, and it was obvious that he had some suspicions: "Brother, do you think there is something fishy going on?"
Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said, "I don't know, I just feel that everything is going too smoothly."
Zhao Kuangyi suppressed his uneasiness and said, "I don't know much about Yin Yide, but I know that he and Luo Youdu have a grudge and don't get along."
It is true that under Zhao Kuangyin's persuasion, Zhao Kuangyi did not intend to provoke a potential stock like Luo Youdu, which would only create a big enemy for himself. However, Zhao Kuangyi was far from being as magnanimous as his brother Zhao Kuangyin. Luo Youdu kicked him in public and embarrassed him in front of others. This resentment could not be dissipated. He was not satisfied and angry, like a thorn in his throat.
I usually pay special attention to Luo Youdu.
Zhao Kuangyi had no intention of taking the initiative to provoke, but when there was an opportunity for everyone to push the wall down, it was normal for him to quietly exert his strength.
Zhao Kuangyin thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, let's not worry about it. Even if it's a trap, we two brothers can't retreat. Let's step on it together."
Loyalty may not be worth much, but in this situation, violating loyalty will not be tolerated by the Military Honor Group.
Everyone seemed to be confident of victory, so they drank to celebrate and agreed to attack Luo Youdu, a low-ranking official of the seventh rank who was ignorant of the immensity of the world, together tomorrow.
There was a court meeting the next day.
Shi Shouxin is still the vanguard.
"Your Majesty! I accuse Luo Youdu, the assistant general of Kaifeng Prefecture, of abusing his power! As far as I know, the servant of General Wang Jixun, the Right Guard, escaped, and the steward of the prefecture sent servants to pursue him, all the way to the south of Kaifeng. Because of the poor discipline, the servants acted too rudely. During the search, they clashed with the disaster victims who were accommodated there, and injured many people. Upon hearing the news, Wang Jixun was furious. The people are the foundation of the world, and the servants actually relied on his power to hurt the disaster victims? Wang Jixun was a rough man, and in a rage, he killed all the servants. But Luo Youdu, the assistant general of the prefecture, arrested Wang Jixun in the street and imprisoned him without any reason. It is really hateful."
Shi Shouxin said these words after Yin Yide taught him to understand the situation. He took the evasion of the main issue to the extreme and described the cause and effect clearly, including the escape of the servant, the violation of the law by the servant who chased and injured civilians, and Wang Jixun standing up for the people.
Without discussing the details, what Shi Shouxin said makes complete sense.
"Your Majesty, Wang Jixun is extremely brave and has made great contributions to the country. Now he is being insulted like this. I, an old minister, cannot bear to see this. Please, Your Majesty, give justice to General Wang Jixun."
Li Jixun stood up indignantly.
Zhao Kuangyin, Wang Shenqi, Han Chongyun and other generals in the court all stepped forward to seek justice for Wang Jixun.
It is unrealistic to say that the military is a monolithic entity.
But when facing external forces, their attitudes are the same.
Today, Wang Jixun was imprisoned in Kaifeng Prefecture. If this trend is not suppressed, there is no guarantee that the same thing will not happen to me one day.
When Guo Rong first heard Shi Shouxin's accusation and saw many generals of the court stand up to denounce Luo Youdu, he couldn't help but frown.
In many cases in history, it seems that the emperor was stupid and fooled by his subjects, but in fact this statement is not fair.
The more well-known this matter is, the less likely the emperor is to know about it.
The emperor's position was too high, and he was completely detached from society. All his information came from the ministers in the court and the attendants around him.
As long as the ministers don't say anything and the attendants don't talk about it, the emperor is no different from a deaf person.
Take Wang Jixun's case, according to the normal process, after Luo Youdu has examined the case and made a verdict, he will hand over the case file to the Ministry of Justice for review, and then the Ministry of Justice will hand it over to the prime minister for review, and finally to Guo Rong for a final decision.
Following this process, Guo Rong was the last to learn about the situation, which was known to all civil and military officials in the court.
But if the prime minister thought the matter was unimportant, or had ulterior motives, he would simply choose not to report it and make his own decision. Guo Rong might not know about this matter until his death.
This is also the limitation of the emperor.
Guo Rong did not blindly believe Shi Shouxin's one-sided words. He looked at the civil officials and asked, "Lord Fan, Lord Wang, and the Ministry of Justice, what do you have to say about this?"
Fan Zhi hurriedly said, "I, this old minister, have not received any news."
Wang Pu also looked confused.
The Minister of Justice was even more terrified and said, "I don't know either!"
Wang Pu said, "How about this? Summon the military officer of the Law Department to the palace and ask him and we will know the answer."
Guo Rong nodded and said, "Alright, let's stop here today, everyone please leave..."
Seeing that Guo Rong did not want to resolve the matter in the court, a hint of unknown regret flashed in the eyes of Fan Zhi and Wang Pu.
After Guo Rong retired from the court, he asked someone to call Shi Shouxin, Li Jixun, and Zhao Kuangyin to the Yanhe Hall, and at the same time he asked someone to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to call Luo Youdu.
When Luo Youdu stepped into the Yanhe Hall again, Guo Rong was not in the hall. There were only three people inside. He recognized Zhao Kuangyin, but not the other two.
Seeing Luo Youdu enter, Shi Shouxin snorted coldly and looked up at the sky.
Li Jixun also looked dismissive.
Zhao Kuangyin just nodded slightly to show his attitude.
Guo Rong also came out from the inner hall at the back shortly after Luo Youdu arrived. He obviously didn't want to face Shi Shouxin, Li Jixun, and Zhao Kuangyin, who were wearing the same pants, alone, lest it affect his judgment.
The four of them saluted.
Guo Rong did not show a stern expression, but leaned back in his chair casually and asked, "Mr. Luo, I have sued you for abusing your power and imprisoning a meritorious official who has made great contributions to the country in public. Is this true?"
Luo Youdu replied: "If your majesty is referring to Wang Jixun, it is true. He slaughtered Xue Hu, Peng Yang, Yu Xing and other meritorious men in public, and his crime is extremely heinous..."
"Nonsense!" Before Luo Youdu could finish his words, Shi Shouxin couldn't wait to stand up.
