The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 615 Wei Zheng Investigates a Case
"Uh, Your Majesty, this..." Ma Xuanliang looked embarrassed.

"Well, why are you hesitating? Just say whatever you want to say." Li Shimin became even more angry when he saw this.

Ma Xuanliang knelt on the ground and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I have indeed heard such rumors, but since it involves the prince, I just regarded them as gossip and did not take them to heart, so I dare not report these things that would offend Your Majesty."

Li Shimin immediately stepped forward and kicked Ma Xuanliang to the ground, saying angrily: "What's the point of me raising you? Go and get thirty lashes yourself."

"Yes"

Ma Xuanliang looked aggrieved. He had thought about reporting this to the emperor, but was afraid that the emperor would think he was gossiping and stirring up trouble. So after thinking it over carefully, he decided to wait and see. If the rumors did not die down in a short time, he would mention it to the emperor again. Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu reported it to the emperor.

However, Ma Xuanliang was also relieved in his heart. It seemed that the matter was more serious than he had imagined. Seeing that a storm was coming, it would not be a bad thing to be able to withdraw at this time?

Seeing Ma Xuanliang eat the first wave of melons, the other ministers were all worried. Li Shimin grabbed Cen Wenben who had just entered the room and said with a cold face: "Cen Wenben, do you know?"

"Your Majesty, I have been on duty at the Hongwen Palace recently and have not heard these rumors. I heard about this matter when I just left the palace today, so I came to report to the emperor before returning home. I didn't expect that Lord Xiao and his men got there first."

"Uh"

Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji both secretly cursed the old fox. Even Xiao Yu, who was kneeling, turned around with a bad expression to look at Cen Wenben and snorted.

Li Shimin was so angry that he didn't know where to vent. He walked around the hall for a few times. Before he was about to speak, Cen Wenben saw this and interrupted him: "Your Majesty, although Lord Xiao and the others are telling the truth, this does not mean that it was the King of Shu who spread it. Although the King of Shu is young, he knows the importance of things and will never do such a treasonous thing."

"Your Majesty, the two princes are currently following your orders to repair the Yongtong Canal and dredge the canal. This is related to the military rations of the soldiers on the frontiers and the survival of hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an. Before your Majesty is about to launch a campaign against the Turks, such rumors have spread in Chang'an City."

"I guess that it has always been common to spread rumors to disrupt the morale of the other side before a major war. This incident must have been spread by Jie Li's spies in Chang'an to sow discord between the emperor and his son and create conflicts between the two princes. He deserves death."

"Your Majesty, this shows that Jie Li is wary and worried about us. We must not lose our composure and doubt our own people because of these rumors. Otherwise, wouldn't that be exactly what Jie Li wants?"

Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. To be honest, he was extremely angry when he first heard these rumors, especially the sentence that he was the only man in the Tang Dynasty who had defeated Jie Li. It made him extremely furious. It was simply a slap in his face and touched his sensitive nerves.

The first thing he thought of was that it must be Li Ke himself who spread the news in order to create momentum to pressure the prince, because the cause of this matter started with Li Ke's battle of wits with Jie Li.

But when he heard about those strange visions later, Li Shimin already knew that someone was fanning the flames. Li Ke's situation was very good some time ago, while the crown prince was weak, so he gave the job of circulating money and grain to the crown prince to strengthen his power.

I didn’t expect that within just a few days, such rumors had spread throughout Chang’an City, and they were becoming more and more outrageous.

Zhang Sun Wuji secretly thought it was a pity. He had just kept silent and let Xiao Yu play in order to avoid being distracted and not attract the emperor's attention. But after Cen Wenben came in, he removed the suspicion of the King of Shu in just a few words and also led the suspicion to Turkic.

This is undoubtedly the best way to resolve the current crisis. Changsun Wuji secretly sighed that Cen Wenben was indeed a cunning fox. He did not foolishly attack the prince, but instead diverted the disaster away. He came up with such a strategy in just a moment. It was really brilliant!
At this point, the only way to avoid disaster is to take a step back. Changsun Wuji stepped forward and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I believe that these rumors were not spread by the King of Shu himself to boost his power. What Lord Cen said makes sense. It must have been done by Jie Li, who intended to sow discord and disrupt the internal unity of our Tang Dynasty."

Cen Wenben was certain that someone must be secretly fanning the flames, but he had no choice but to blame the Turks. However, after hearing Zhang Sun Wuji's words, which seemed to agree but actually had ulterior motives, he couldn't help but feel angry.

It was clear that Changsun Wuji was making a veiled accusation. What did he mean by "it was definitely not the King of Shu who spread the news himself to boost his morale?"

But he couldn't refute it, so he had to keep a sullen face.

Cen Wenben knew clearly that this matter was most likely Zhangsun Wuji protecting the crown prince and suppressing the King of Shu, but he could not point it out clearly. He could not talk about things without evidence.

He was also feeling lucky that Changsun Wuji was not smart enough.

If it was just a rumor that the King of Shu was bullying the Crown Prince, then the Emperor would naturally be dissatisfied with him. But too much is as bad as too little. You even swept the Emperor into it, and imposed so many strange visions on it. It was too exaggerated, and the Emperor did not believe it.

Because the King of Shu is not that stupid, isn't this just shooting himself in the foot?

The matter involved a fight between two princes, and at this critical moment when the court was actively preparing for war, Li Shimin did not want to make a big deal of it, but he was dissatisfied with Li Ke in his heart. He was too proud of what he did and did not know how to restrain himself. He wanted to steal the crown prince's limelight everywhere, otherwise he would not be used by others to make such a fuss. In any case, it was just an opportunity to suppress Li Ke and make him take back his cocked tail. Thinking of this, Li Shimin said decisively: "No matter what, this matter cannot be ignored, Changsun Wuji."

"I'm here." Changsun Wuji bowed and accepted the order.

Li Shimin, who was about to speak, suddenly thought that it was not appropriate to hand this matter over to Zhangsun Wuji, so he changed the subject: "Regarding the matter of dredging the canal transportation between the north and the south, the crown prince and Li Ke are both young, and there may be some incompleteness. You should worry more about it and don't let anything go wrong."

"Yes, I obey your order."

Changsun Wuji did not behave at all unusually, as if he had predicted that the emperor would not let him investigate this case.

"Wei Zheng!"

Wei Zheng stepped forward and said, "I am here, your old minister."

"I order you to thoroughly investigate the case of public opinion in the capital and find out who is behind spreading rumors and making trouble. Once you find out, I will never tolerate it." Li Shimin classified this matter as a case and handed it over to Wei Zheng, who was upright and did not favor any of the princes.

"I accept the decree"

Changsun Wuji and Cen Wenben both breathed a sigh of relief at this time. Changsun Wuji had a backup plan and would lead the matter to the Shu King's faction. If he stepped forward himself, it would be inconvenient to handle it. Now that he handed it over to Wei Zheng, he could stay out of it and deal with it calmly.

Cen Benwen was actually glad that the matter did not fall into the hands of Zhangsun Wuji. Wei Zheng's stance had always been impartial and he would definitely not do anything to frame someone. However, when Cen Benwen thought about how Li Ke and Quan Wanji acted sneakily when he went to the Shu Palace to announce the decree a few days ago, he felt a shadow in his heart. Perhaps this matter could really have been done by Li Ge himself.

After Wei Zheng received the imperial edict, he began to investigate the case with great fanfare. For three consecutive days, he arrested many people who spread rumors in Chang'an City, and began to interrogate them in the Wannian County Government under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Yin.

There is a court in front of the county government office and a prison in the back, and the bailiffs inside are all good at interrogation. There is no place more suitable than this.

At this time, Wei Zheng was sitting in the hall, accompanied by the county magistrate. Two rows of yamen runners stood in the hall with sticks in their hands. Kneeling below the hall was a skinny man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks.

An officer stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Sir, this man is called Wang Qi. He is idle and not doing his job. He is a famous broker in the West Market. He makes a living by reselling information and running errands for others. We have traced several clues to this man."

After hearing this, Wei Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, a look of disgust appeared on his face, and he reached out and slammed the gavel. With a "bang", the loud bang of the gavel made everyone in the hall feel a chill in their hearts.

The hall fell silent instantly, and Wei Zheng shouted decisively: "Wang Qi, I have interrogated many people, and they all said that they first heard the words of the King of Shu from you, and you deliberately spread them when there were many people around."

"If you can't justify yourself today, blame me for being rude."

After saying that, several officers brought a pile of torture instruments and threw them in front of Wu Qi. Wang Qi looked at the ropes, splints, bloody wolf-tooth stool, and even the branding iron that was covered with an unknown dark red substance, emitting a fishy smell.

Wang Qi's eyes shrank, his whole body trembled, he kowtowed and begged for mercy, and said quickly: "Sir, I confess, please have someone move these things away, I am afraid just looking at them."

Wei Zheng nodded in satisfaction: "That depends on whether you can tell the truth next. I want to ask you, who asked you to spread rumors maliciously in the market?"

"Sir, I will confess honestly."

Wang Qi agreed and began to tell the truth: "Three days ago, I was wandering around the West Market soliciting business everywhere. That day, someone suddenly found me and asked me to spread the name of His Royal Highness the King of Shu. I thought, is this a good thing?"

"If I were to ruin the prince's reputation, I would never do it, but the fact that the King of Shu outsmarted Jie Li brought glory to our Tang Dynasty. Although I am just an ordinary citizen, I admire such a man and feel honored. In addition..."

Having said that, Wang Qi looked at Wei Zheng timidly.

Wei Zheng glared and roared, "What else can you add? Why don't you confess honestly?"

(End of this chapter)