Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 82 The Beginning of the Witchcraft Disaster

The incident of Gongsun Jingsheng and Princess Yangshi cursing the emperor had a huge impact and involved many people, and Wei Qing's eldest son was also sentenced to death.

At least hundreds of people were implicated, and it happened that a considerable number of them were disciples of the Wei family. What this meant was self-evident. Some even believed that the witchcraft incident was just a cover-up and that it was actually directed and acted out by His Majesty himself.

But Xu Ye didn't think so. He didn't think that this was the work of His Majesty, because the Wei family had not been a force to be reckoned with since the death of Wei Qing, and it would be impossible for them to restrain Liu Ju in the future. Moreover, the current crown prince was personally taught by Xu Zhou and Xu Nan, and he was not a soft persimmon that could be easily bullied.

The only person with great power was the general Huo Qubing. After that, he conquered several countries and once again led his troops deep into the northern desert, making great military achievements. Although his power was not as great as that of Wei Qing in the past, it was also quite terrifying.

Among the military forces in the court, only General Xu Nan, who commanded the Northern Expedition Army, could contend with some of the rivals. Other upstarts such as Zhao Po Nu and Li Guangli were not even worth mentioning.

Previously, Li Guangli led an army of 100,000 and was surrounded by the Huns, suffering heavy casualties. If Huo Qubing had not returned to support him in time, he might have surrendered long ago.

This battle also made Liu Che completely lose his patience with Li Guangli. His position as general of the guards became meaningless, and all power was in the hands of the Langzhongling.

Prime Minister's House.

"Prime Minister Xu, I'm afraid something big is going to happen again this time." The Grand Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang had a heavy face. He felt that Zhu Anshi's report on Gongsun He was premeditated, and this was just the beginning.

"This is obvious. We must prepare. I think this is aimed at the prince." Dong Zhongshu, who served as the chief secretary of the prime minister, also had a melancholy face.
At this time, almost all the ministers close to Xu Ye gathered together. Liu Che had already known about it through spies, but he didn't want to care.

Xu Ye smiled and said, "What else can I prepare? Can a minister influence the monarch? My brother has already retired to the second line and no longer cares about government affairs. No one in the world can shake your majesty's decision."

Liu Che has always been an autocratic person, especially after Xu Gong's death, he almost took his tyranny to the extreme. Then Xu Zhou resigned and he no longer had any consideration for him.

Xu Ye is indeed a senior official whom the emperor values, but that's all. He has not shaken the emperor's ability. Although his reputation in the Imperial Academy is very high, it is nothing compared to Xu Zhou.

"Then we can't just sit there and wait for death. Witchcraft is rampant in the harem now. If someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of it, it might shake the foundation of the country." Imperial Coachman Shangguan Jie shook his head.

In fact, it was obvious who was behind this. It was the Left General Liu Quti. After stepping down from the position of Prime Minister, he was still ready to make moves. Xu Ye did not dare to move, so he had to start with Gongsun He.

Although Gongsun He was the prime minister, his position was quite unstable. It could be said that whether he could keep his position depended on the emperor's will.

All of these pointed to Liu Quti, because he was the ultimate beneficiary. Emperor Liu Che once again promoted him to the position of right prime minister, giving him control of the military power over the northern and southern armies.

Xu Ye was silent. He didn't know what to do now. After all, there was no substantial evidence. He could only speculate that Liu Quti intended to replace the crown prince. But there was no news on how to do it or when to do it.

Even the Left Prime Minister cannot easily put the Right Prime Minister into jail, unless your name is Xu Gong, otherwise they are just colleagues.

At this moment, the servant trotted in and bowed, "Prime Minister, the Imperial Censor Doctor Zhang is waiting in the hall."

Zhang Tang?

There was a hint of confusion in Xu Ye's eyes. He had never been very familiar with the French Party leader, the Emperor's White Knife. After all, the two were naturally hostile.

Liu Che's original intention of using Zhang Tang, a cruel official, was to control court officials. This kind of positioning meant that he could only be a lone minister. In fact, there were many people within the Legalist Party who opposed him, and the real core was still the criminal law supervision officials.

Zhang Tang didn't give Xu Ye much face and had been impeaching him without reservation. The only people he didn't dare to touch were Xu Gong and Xu Zhou. He would impeach the others first.

"What is this guy doing here? Did he get an order from His Majesty?" Shangguan Jie felt very uneasy. He didn't want to be targeted by this group of mad dogs, otherwise he would at least be in trouble.

Xu Ye shook his head: "Your Majesty would not let a senior official come to run errands. It is most likely a eunuch in the palace." "And given Zhang Tang's aversion to suspicion, he would not come into contact with other ministers when handling government affairs. This time he should just be representing himself."

After hearing this analysis, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Tang, the Imperial Censor, was different. He had been in this position for decades and was deeply entrenched. He could even topple the Prime Minister.

"Please come in." After thinking for a moment, Xu Ye decided to meet this important official. Judging from his character, something big must be happening.

After a while, an old man with gray hair and a majestic look came to the study under the guidance of a servant.

"Prime Minister Xu, I'm honored." Zhang Tang lowered his attitude very low, not for any other reason, but simply for the sake of Xu Gong and Xu Zhou, the two guides.

All the scholars in the world must kowtow to these two people, otherwise Confucianism and jurisprudence would not have reached their current prosperity.

"Doctor Zhang, there is no need to be so polite." Xu Ye was a little flattered. After all, this guy's attitude in the court was generally not very good.

Either he is being impeached or on the way to impeachment.

"Please take a seat."

"Thank you, Prime Minister Xu." Zhang Tang nodded and found a place to sit down.

Xu Ye asked about the main business: "I wonder what you are doing this time, Doctor Zhang. You never come to visit me for no reason."

"Haha... Prime Minister Xu knows me very well." Zhang Tang's serious face finally showed some changes, and he continued:
"You should know that your majesty was ill. Jiang Chong suggested that it was caused by witchcraft, and your majesty immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the evil spirit."

"Do you know what happened that made me come to you regardless of the consequences?"

Xu Ye's expression froze. It must be something that shook the foundation of the country, that is, the Crown Prince. It was impossible for anything else to make a high-ranking official like one of the Three Dukes lose his composure like this.

"Is it the prince?"

"That's right." Zhang Tang confirmed: "Jiang Chong found a large number of witchcraft puppets in the Crown Prince's Palace. His Majesty is very angry and is planning to punish the Crown Prince."

"Jiang Chong and Liu Quti control the palace, so there is no need for me to say more about what will happen."

"Prime Minister Xu, take care of yourself." After saying that, Zhang Tang left.

Xu Ye nodded stiffly. He understood the seriousness of the matter, which meant that there was an information cocoon between His Majesty and the Prince!
Given the prince's tough character, he would most likely start a rebellion when he could no longer tolerate it and rebel against Emperor Liu Che. That would be like an old man eating arsenic and seeking death.

The rebellion will not succeed and the prince will surely die. At that time, all Xu's efforts will be in vain.

Both the prince supported by Liu Quti and the other princes will become variables.

"Huh." Xu Ye sighed and then said, "Prepare the horses and go to the General of Cavalry's residence."

(End of this chapter)