Chastity Layman

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

Because the problems mentioned by the prince just now do exist, but even prime ministers like them don't think it is 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, all of whom were the eldest Sun Wuji's own people in Zhongshu Province.

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

Laiji is Qin Lang's righteous brother, he passed the imperial examination and became an official. He was the number one scholar in the imperial examination, served as the secretary of the provincial school, and also served as the cardinal of the Zhengshitang. Later, he followed Qin Lang to the south and stayed in Tonghai for several years. 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, nobles, nobles, rich and powerful merchants who are expelling 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.

Laiji and Chu Suiliang nodded.

There are also rumors in Luoyang that Treasure Island got rich overnight. I heard that many people in Luoyang rushed to Lingnan to go out to sea for gold, dreaming of getting rich overnight.

"The Taibao firmly resigned and said 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 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 Qin Lang as his concubine, and the other married Qin Xun, Duke of Qi, so the relationship between the eldest grandson and the Qin family was 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, and 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 puzzled, the prince Chengqian has become more and more calm in the past few years, and 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.

"Maybe 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 down for now. Dengshan, the Liu Ji matter you mentioned earlier, let's discuss it again. If you don't make a move, it's fine. Once you make a move, you must see success."

Lai Ji hesitated, "Since Mr. Chu has evidence of Liu Ji's crime, impeachment should be done according to the facts. A sage can decide what is right and what is wrong."

The eldest grandson shook his head, "You are still too young, if you don't take action, you will be fine, but if you do, you must be put 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 returning to the court, Liu Ji and Fang Xuanling have obviously formed an alliance, which is impossible for Liu Ji to stay for the eldest grandson Wuji who wants to overthrow Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling acted impeccably, very prudently, and couldn't find any loopholes, but since Liu Ji showed a loophole, 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 meet 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 got gangrene when he was a teacher, 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 expression changed immediately.

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

Another one, he was seriously ill with gangrene 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?

And you said don't worry? Is this wishing that he would die sooner?

Furthermore, Liu Jie is only 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 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 that your majesty need not worry, the minister is guilty, and I should punish him immediately.

Anyway, what that means is that your majesty, feel free to go to Liaodong to fight Goguryeo. I will assist the prince to stay behind. If anyone in the court dares to mess up, 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, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, rebelled in the rear, which led to 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 a generous and upright temperament, so you should act cautiously.

Originally, it was fine to have been warned 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 prince before, but when he came back and told the ministers what he said, Li Shimin immediately believed it, 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 died in Tianjin, would Liu Ji help the prince to 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 powerful official in the Western Han Dynasty. At the beginning, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed him as Gu Ming's assistant minister. Huo Guang and three other ministers assisted Emperor Han Zhao to succeed to the throne. Later, he pushed 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 Jie said earlier that he should follow Yi Yin and Huo Guang, and then Huo Guang embraced Liu He and deposed Liu He later. In Li Shimin's eyes, this was 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 so serious that 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 would have thought that Li Shimin couldn't help becoming suspicious when something like this happened now.

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

Such things 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 prince after he came back.

Then the emperor asked again, did Liu Jie 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 ministers with two hearts?

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

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

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

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

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

"Go!"

Li Shimin didn't want to keep this person any longer. Since several ministers confirmed Chu Suiliang's words, it fully proved Liu Jie'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 the 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.

"Let me die to understand!"

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 to it, and I won't reveal a word after I hear it, and I won't give you any paper and pen. You can drink it quickly, and 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 refused to commit suicide by drinking poisoned wine, then Xu Luoren would use this imperial sword to chop off Liu Ji's head.

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

Liu Ji looked at Xu Luoren for a long time, then heaved a long sigh, picked up the wine glass with slightly trembling hands, finally raised his head abruptly, and poured down the poisonous wine.

After a while, Liu Ji fell to the ground and died, bleeding from his seven 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, after confirming that Liu Ji was dead, Xu Luoren called someone to gather up Liu Ji's body, and then went back to kill himself.

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 as 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 the Minister of Zhongshu, and he was promoted to the third grade under Tong Zhongshu's sect. Chu Suiliang was transferred to the servant of Huangmen, Zhang Liang was transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Sikong Fang Xuanling was added to the Prince Taifu. He was transferred to the magistrate to save trouble."

"Ma Zhouzhuan Zhongshu Ling, Changsun Wuji checked the school Zhongshu Ling and Shangshu Zuo Pushe."

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

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

Liu Jici, the servant of Huangmen, committed suicide. The sudden death shocked all the officials, but the emperor didn't explain too much, only saying that he was plotting rebellion.

Then the left servant sent Fang Xuanling to Menxia Province, but not Ren Shizhong, but with the title of knowing Menxia Province.

Sun Wuji, the eldest son of Zhongshuling, became the inspector of Zhongshuling and Zuopushe, while Gao Shilian was the right servant, 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 Minister of Zhongshu, and Li Ji was promoted to 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, becoming the new head of the hundred officials, and the nephews, grandson Wuji and Gao Shilian, as the left and right servants.

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

The new prime minister's team of Zhengshitang has seven members.

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

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

Fang Xuanling was terrified, 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?