Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 174 Fang Xuanling: Is this what it feels like to win without doing anything?
After realizing that Sun Simiao might be silenced, Li Ming immediately rushed out of the Lizheng Hall and ran towards -

It was not the West Market where Sun Simiao might be, but he went to the Shangshu Province under the supervision of Fang Xuanling to ask for people.

After being nearly killed by an assassin offline, he no longer had any thoughts of committing suicide.

As a result, as soon as he left the Lizheng Hall, he found that he was "followed" by a large group of fully armed imperial guards in helmets and armor.

Although he said he was tracking, the other party did not hide his intentions at all, nor did he have any intention of interfering with Li Ming's actions.

They guarded him proudly and followed him wherever he went.

It was like a circle of external humanoid armor spread over an area of ​​several feet.

It is really safe and really cool.

Li Ming looked at these humorous bodyguards assigned to him by his father.

The bodyguard looked at him.

Li Ming asked, are you infantrymen?

The bodyguard said, we have horses.

Li Ming asked, can I ride your horse?

The bodyguard agreed.

Then, Li Ming rushed all the way from Taiji Palace to Taikang Pharmacy in Xishi at the fastest speed.

"I didn't expect that I would be one step late..."

Looking at the body of the old man lying peacefully at the door of the drugstore, Li Ming gritted his teeth.

There is no doubt that this unlucky old man is probably Sun Simiao.

This also indirectly proves that my reasoning is correct.

Sun Simiao is the key to the Jiucheng Palace incident.

The mastermind behind the assassination and the Jiucheng Palace incident is the same force, which has been secretly trying to prevent him from finding out the truth about Jiucheng Palace!

The Chang'an citizens who were watching were all worldly-wise.

Seeing a child leading a large group of soldiers rushing over, they immediately wisely retreated to both sides and continued to watch the fun from a distance.

As long as these soldiers don't rush towards Xuanwu Gate, everyone can still do what they are supposed to do.

Next to the old man's body, there was a middle-aged man standing guard without retreating. He looked like the owner of Taikang Pharmacy, and his expression was panicked and confused.

"Who is he?" Li Ming pointed at the old man and asked condescendingly.

The shopkeeper answered in a daze:
"My dear young master, it's Dr. Sun... Dr. Sun."

"Sun Simiao?"

"Yes."

"How could this be?"

The shopkeeper immediately became anxious and stammered:

"I...I don't know either. Everything was fine before, but suddenly..."

Did Lao Sun also have a sudden heart attack?
Li Ming jumped off his horse, walked to the side of Sun Simiao's body, and began to examine it.

The shopkeeper opened his mouth but swallowed his words.

Logically speaking, this is an act of destroying evidence, and the scene should be sealed off, waiting for the bad guys from the Chang'an County Government to come and investigate.

Of course, the Tang Dynasty is a society ruled by law. If you have any opinions, you can go to those soldiers to appeal.

"Hmm..." Li Ming looked left and right, and the more he looked, the more he felt that there was something wrong with this "corpse".

There was no sense of breathing, heartbeat or pulse, and Old Sun's face was as pale as a dead ghost.

But the body was not cold yet, there was no rigor mortis or anything like that, and there were no livor mortis spots, but there were quite a few age spots.

Of course, Li Ming is not a forensic doctor with a family background like Di Renjie, so I don’t know if this is normal.

But Sun Simiao looked peaceful, with his hands stretched out naturally, and he did not hold his chest in pain before he died.

So it's probably not a heart attack.

But he died suddenly.

For example, the extremely poisonous seraphite?

Li Ming checked carefully and finally found a scratch on Sun Simiao's arm, with some skin broken and bleeding.

There were some sticky black droplets on it.

It was somewhat similar to the poison of the arrow that almost hit him and Yuchi Xunyu this morning.

"Did Doctor Sun encounter any strange things or meet any strange people before he died?" Li Ming asked.

The shopkeeper was daydreaming and was startled when he was suddenly called.

Looking at the kind-looking soldiers around him, he had no thought of "I have the right to remain silent" and said without reservation:

"No...no. But now that you mention it, it seems..."

"Like what?"

"A passerby accidentally poked Dr. Sun with an umbrella. I was wondering why that person was carrying an umbrella since it wasn't raining today."

Li Ming's eyelids twitched.

I know. I know how the assassin killed Sun Simiao.

Use an umbrella, dip the tip of the umbrella in poison, and kill the target with the poison!
This also proves Li Ming's inference that the mastermind behind the assassination in the morning was hasty.

If that happened, the other party would pretend to accidentally poke him with the tip of the umbrella, and the poison would be applied to his wound without anyone noticing.

I will probably end up like Sun Simiao, dead on the street for no apparent reason!

Thinking of this, Li Ming couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

In addition, it was already May and it was a little hot in the morning. A drop of sweat dripped down and landed on Sun Simiao's eyelids.

The "corpse's" eyelids moved instinctively.

Well, corpses still have instincts...

Li Ming was slightly startled and moved to open Lao Sun's eyelids.

The pupils are dilated, and it looks quite real.

Li Ming just kept pulling Lao Sun's eyelids.

As time went on, the eyes of the "corpse" gradually filled with tears, but he held on with all his might, stubbornly trying not to let the tears flow.

Li Ming still didn't stop.

Sun Simiao finally couldn't help it. He slowly turned his eyes to Li Ming and glared at the naughty kid.

Li Ming immediately closed his eyes and sighed loudly with sincerity and regret:

"I have heard for a long time that Dr. Sun is a skilled doctor, and I have always wanted to meet him. I never thought that we would never be destined to meet.

"We cannot meet in this life, but I want to see him off after his death and personally carry his coffin."

After sighing loudly, he left, leaving the stunned shopkeeper and the crowd of onlookers behind.

On the way back to the palace, he couldn't help laughing.

He has seen many people escaping from urine and cancer, but escaping from death is something that only Dr. Sun can do.

Sun Simiao was obviously "faking his death", or in other words, he was "playing dead" very professionally.

He probably knew that he was being targeted, so he simply played along and faked his death to completely get rid of the mastermind behind the scenes.

After all, no matter how cautious the invisible hands are, they would not suspect a dead person of leaking secrets.

In order to prevent the other party from planting spies in the crowd, Li Ming accompanied him to finish the play and loudly agreed on the next meeting time -

The day of the funeral.

"I don't know if that old sly guy will accept the challenge...

"Ah, why are all the old men in this story old silver coins?"

Li Ming thought of the expressionless old man at home.

…………

"Oh, why are all the kids these days so troublesome?"

It was still dark and Fang Xuanling couldn't sleep, so he sat up from the bed.

Elderly people have trouble sleeping, especially those living in old houses.

The flood disaster in the south was already a headache for him, and a letter from his youngest son Fang Yize made him even more upset.

“Father, His Royal Highness the Jiedushi plans to establish an audit office in Liaodong, which will be managed by me.

"When the time comes, the accounts of various departments and state-owned trading companies in Liaodong will be managed by me!

"By the way, father, what is auditing?"

"You are so happy being an official in Liaodong that you don't even want to leave your home."

Fang Xuanling cursed at the letter, lit a lamp at the table, and drafted a charter for the Audit Office that was under construction.

Needless to say, this was another matter that "that" prince asked him for a favor through Fang Yize.

As a veteran who is well versed in the art of slacking off, Fang Xuanling would also shirk responsibility and prevaricate about some of Li Ming's unreasonable requests.

After all, working two jobs is a bit inappropriate for a person of his age.

“But if this job falls on Fang Yize, I, an old father, will not be able to escape.

"His Highness is really... Alas, he is the most troublesome one."

Fang Xuanling was complaining while writing at his desk, but a smile suddenly appeared on his cold face.

I don’t know how long it took, but the east was already bright.

Fang Xuanling's wonderful day ended with breakfast.

As soon as he sat down, he heard the eldest son Fang Yizheng and the second son Fang Yiai quarreling outside the hall.

They have been arguing from the beginning of the book to more than a hundred chapters. No one else can compare to them.

But when it came to dinner time, the family suddenly fell silent and just focused on eating.

Fang Xuanling finished his porridge with a frosty face, then stood up and left.

As soon as I stepped out of the door, the second son Fang Yiai caught up with me:
"Why doesn't father want me to inherit the Fang family? Is it because I'm not the eldest son?"

Fang Xuanling looked at the second brother expressionlessly and said calmly:
"The heir to the Fang family does not have to be the eldest son, but he must be virtuous."

"I will take what I want on my own, without my father's judgment or charity!"

Fang Yiai left angrily.

The eldest brother Fang Yizhi followed him out and whispered to Fang Xuanling:
"Father, if Erlang must inherit the title of Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor, then give it to him."

Fang Xuanling looked at the boss's cowardly look, still expressionless:
“That title is an honor bestowed by the court, and whoever inherits the title will inherit the Fang family.

"If you want to give in, I have no objection as your father."

"That won't work. You can give Yiai false reputation, but real benefits are definitely not feasible!" Fang Yizheng also left angrily.

Then, the sound of quarreling could be heard faintly from the courtyard.

Alas... Fang Xuanling's face showed a rare lonely expression.

The prime minister of the Tang Dynasty became an ordinary, frail old man.

The Fang family is doomed to a disaster in the future as he has no talent or virtue but is still in a high position.

"Fortunately, His Highness Li Ming has kept a wisp of incense for the Fang family..."

When he thought of Fang Yize working hard in Liaodong, Fang Xuanling's face couldn't help but relax and he went out to attend court.

Today is the grand court meeting.

Before going to court, all officials lined up in the courtyard in front of the Taiji Hall. Many of them were still sleepy and were resting with their eyes closed.

The imperial court has been very busy recently, fighting corruption and promoting integrity.

Because of the heavy rains in the south, famine was visibly imminent.

In order to prevent officials from making huge profits by taking advantage of disaster relief, Li Shimin took several months' advance preparation to rectify the administration of officials and severely punish corruption.

In this way, after a few months, when a famine really occurs, the residual power of the anti-corruption campaign can make these beasts in human form behave themselves and stop competing with the victims for food.

Fang Xuanling stood at his position and saw his old rival Xiao Yu looking at him with a smirk on his face.

"Is there any good news?" Fang Xuanling smiled.

"It's a bad thing." Xiao Yu exaggeratedly showed an angry expression:

"I have received reports that someone is holding a high position but is accepting bribes.

"This evil official betrays the emperor and the people. I will definitely impeach him later."

Fang Xuanling smiled slightly:
"Minister Xiao is so hateful of evil?"

Xiao Yu ignored the thorn in his old rival's words and smiled back:
"Of course. That evil official relied on his father's influence to be so tyrannical.

"If the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked. I will impeach both the father and the son.

"Recently, the court is rectifying the administration of officials and severely punishing corruption, but this father and son still disregard the laws of the emperor and father, relying on the trust of Your Majesty to commit crimes.

"If His Majesty knew, he would probably be furious."

Fang Xuanling knew that this fellow had other intentions, and said calmly:
"Minister Xiao, please make your words clearer. Who do you want to impeach?"

Xiao Yu smiled mysteriously:
"You'll know when I submit my report. However, since we are both colleagues in the Ministry of Chancellery, I can reveal a few things to Lord Fang."

He whispered in Fang Xuanling's ear:

"Grand Minister of the Imperial Household, Fang Yiai."

As expected. You old man want to bring me down through my son? You are just dreaming.

Every move of his old rival was within his expectations, so Fang Xuanling just smiled faintly.

Xiao Yu looked at Lao Fang's indifferent expression, and the corners of his mouth curled up:
"The Minister of the Imperial Household committed a crime in defiance of the law, and yet Lord Fang remained indifferent to it?"

Fang Xuanling did not look away:
"It's not too late to speak until the evidence is solid. Don't you know that His Majesty has been cracking down on false accusations and slander recently?"

Xiao Yu's smile deepened:
"Don't worry, sir. The evidence is very solid. The briber was given in the wine shop yesterday. Today, the briber can be identified in court. The gold and silver handed over are all engraved with marks. There are witnesses and evidence."

Fang Xuanling turned his head and looked at him:

"You set up a fishing game?"

Xiao Yu shrugged innocently:

"A blacksmith must be strong himself. If the Minister of the Imperial Household cannot control his hands, it is his own problem.

"Or is it a family education issue?
"A glimpse of the whole picture reveals the whole picture. The entire family of Fang Yiai, the Minister of the Imperial Household, should be thoroughly investigated."

With your level of cultivation, you still want to set up a trap to raid my house? ... Fang Xuanling was too lazy to pay attention to him.

Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat, and I remembered what Fang Yiai said before I left:

What he wants, he takes...

"Is this how this guy got it?! He didn't even know he was set up!"

Fang Xuanling suddenly realized that his son, who had made him so worried, had really taken the bait!
It just so happens that right now, His Majesty has just announced a strict investigation into corruption!

This is the first major case that may affect the prime minister, and it is compounded by the recent dispute over the crown prince.

If the ministers take advantage of the situation, Your Majesty will not be able to stop them!
Fang Yiai was tricked once or twice and accepted some gifts, but that was still a small matter.

But if political opponents take advantage of this issue and investigate the Fang family fifteen years ago...

He has become the second or third in command. Who can guarantee that he can withstand investigation?
As this matter concerned his own son and family, Fang Xuanling was rarely able to control his expression in front of his political enemies, and his face turned slightly pale.

Unexpectedly, after being smart all his life, he was dragged down by his own unfilial son!
These kids are such a worry!
"Prime Minister Fang, just wait and see." Xiao Yu did not hide his sarcasm.

Seeing his old rival with expressionless face showing such a panic expression for the first time, Xiao Yu felt that his ticket was worth it.

It doesn't matter if we tell Fang Xuanling in advance. In the face of overwhelming evidence, I don't think he will be able to overturn the verdict.

Because this bribery case was a setup, every possible excuse the other party might make was taken into consideration, and the chain of evidence was flawless.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the "severe crackdown", they targeted Fang Yiai's weak spot and severely attacked Fang Xuanling.

It's probably not realistic to completely defeat him with just one blow.

But it will undoubtedly inflict heavy damage on him, and even pull him down from his position as Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and get rid of me...

"Xiao Yu is a good hammer."

Not far away from Fang and Xiao, Changsun Wuji was watching with a cold gaze.

As an old minister during the reign of the retired emperor, Xiao Yu did not want to get involved in the fight for the crown prince among the next generation.

But he is a very pure person and will support anyone who opposes Fang Xuanling.

So Changsun Wuji approached him and targeted Fang Xuanling's weak spot - the unfilial son Fang Yiai - and together they set up a bribery scheme.

The process went extremely smoothly.

Fang Yiai, who was greedy and extremely foolish, actually accepted the bribe openly in the tavern where there were many people and eyes, and swallowed the bait whole.

During this special time of severe crackdown, it was like a cannonball given to Zhangsun Wuji and Prince of Jin Li Zhi to attack Li Ming and his followers.

Li Ming's grace is growing day by day, especially yesterday at the small court meeting in Liangyi Hall, the panic shown by His Majesty on his behalf sounded a wake-up call to Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji and other ministers didn't know what happened to Li Ming yesterday.

But they all agreed that it was time to reduce Li Ming's power.

Changsun Wuji did not expect to use this opportunity to inflict heavy damage on Li Ming's chief secretary Fang Xuanling.

After all, this tumbler of the Zhenguan dynasty had many followers and means.

But it would undoubtedly cause a lot of trouble to Fang Xuanling, thus preventing him from interfering with Changsun Wuji's real purpose -

Supervise dam construction and canal dredging.

This civil engineering project, which involved a lot of hard work, was originally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works, and belonged to Xue Wanche, Li Ming's confidant.

However, the impending harvest disaster in the south has made Your Majesty extremely concerned about water transport and dikes.

If His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin can take charge of this matter and achieve real results, it will undoubtedly prove his ability to Your Majesty and the people of the world.

One built a dike, the other was corrupt. Comparing the two, one would undoubtedly lift up the King of Jin and suppress Li Ming.

This requires the intervention of the Minister of Works Xue Wanche.

Changsun Wuji had already prepared a memorial to impeach Xue Wanche.

This brother who can do nothing except fighting is full of loopholes. From "the prince consort cannot hold an actual position" to "lack of ability", everything can be criticized.

As for his ally Xiao Yu, his task was to use the issue of his son's corruption to restrain Fang Xuanling, the most powerful of the Fourteen Parties.

Among the remaining fourteen party main forces, Hou Junji himself is a big embezzler and even more unclean, while Cui Renshi and Yang Shidao are both weak persimmons.

But Xue Wanche himself was dumb and stupid, so he had to give in.

"Your Highness the Prince of Jin can shine by stepping on the head of His Highness the Jiedushi, which is inseparable from Mr. Fang's good eldest son Fang Yiai.

"You have to thank him."

Changsun Wuji withdrew his gaze and waited confidently for the court session.

At the eunuch's command, all the ministers filed in.

Your Majesty sat on the Gaoju dragon couch with full majesty.

Recently, he has been strictly following Li Ming's doctor's advice of "eat less and exercise more".

Although my stomach always feels hungry, my mouth is even more greedy.

But my body feels visibly better, my headache is gone, and I feel full of energy.

However, today the Emperor looked particularly serious and seemed to be in a bad mood.

Fang Xuanling's mood also became heavy.

His Majesty is a rather emotional person. If you bump into him when he is in a bad mood, I am afraid he will not just laugh it off...

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Xiao Yu naturally saw this perfect opportunity to complain, and he couldn't wait to report it right after the incident started.

"Minister Xiao, wait a minute." Li Shimin interrupted the impeachment of the loyal minister impatiently, and looked at the ministers sitting in the seats seriously, saying word by word:
"Everyone, just yesterday, in Chang'an, Tang Dynasty, an assassination case occurred that made me deeply saddened."

Assassination?

The ministers were shocked and whispered to each other.

Several important officials who attended the small-scale court meeting yesterday immediately associated this incident with Li Ming.

"Li Ming was assassinated?"

A surge of excitement surged in Changsun Wuji's heart, but it was quickly replaced by regret.

Damn, the assassin was incompetent and let the guy escape unscathed!

"My youngest son, the governor of Liaodong, was chased by assassins and barely escaped..."

Li Shimin was an open-minded person. He omitted key information and gave a general account of the case.

After saying this, he observed the reactions of the ministers.

All the ministers were outraged and said they would investigate the murderer thoroughly, as they could not see anything unusual.

"It is really audacious to do such a lawless thing in the heart of the capital."

Li Shimin's voice was not loud, but his tone was extremely firm.

"The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice must take the lead in this investigation."

Dali Temple Minister Sun Fujia and Ministry of Justice Minister Liu Dequan immediately stepped forward to express their loyalty:
"I will never give up even if I die!"

This statement is not an exaggeration. If these two departments work together like 007, it can really cause someone to die suddenly.

"In addition, I would like to appoint a chief investigator to coordinate the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice and be fully responsible for the investigation and trial of this case."

Li Shimin said slowly.

The expressions of the ministers immediately became subtle.

Cross-departmental coordination has always been a difficult task, and it is indeed necessary to set up a chief investigator outside the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple.

But which of the powerful animals sitting in the court can't smell the far-reaching impact of this move?
They immediately realized that the authority of this "chief investigator" would definitely not be limited to this assassination case alone.

Because the assassination of the prince was a serious matter.

Especially a prince who is competing for the throne.

The forces behind this must be complicated and intricate. If we dig deeper into this case, it might even shake the foundation of the country.

It will definitely overshadow corruption and become the number one issue in the court for quite some time.

In other words, the chief investigator actually holds the initiative in the court's agenda.

This is no ordinary authority!
Apart from anything else, during the period of investigation, no minister would be so blind as to cause trouble for the chief investigator.

Otherwise, once the golden mouth opens, you can go to the Dali Temple prison to have tea and assist in the investigation.

All the ministers held their breath, waiting to see who would be the winner.

This may even affect the situation among the four sons competing for the throne.

Whichever prince's followers can win the courtesan will undoubtedly have a huge advantage.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but lick his lips.

Whether in terms of position or relationship with the royal family, it is more appropriate for him to be the chief investigator.

Because he is the Grand Chancellor, second only to the emperor, and is also Li Ming's uncle in theory.

Although he was not in the same faction as Li Ming, the Prince of Jin, whom he assisted, had no grudge against Li Ming.

In other words, he is more "objective".

And once his eldest grandson gets hold of the powerful weapon "Zhucha"...

Then he would have real power over the government and the country!

Things like building dikes and dredging canals are just trivial matters not worth mentioning!

He can take the opportunity to suppress other competitors and send the King of Jin, who is easy to manipulate, to the dragon bed in one step!

Among all the ambitious ministers, Sun Fujia and Liu Dequan were the most nervous.

Their troubles are pure.

It doesn't matter if you are ignorant, but you should be afraid of being half-baked.

If they ever get a leader who likes to give orders and let experts take charge, they will be in trouble.

Li Shimin pointed at Fang Xuanling in the front row without hesitation:

"Mr. Xuanling, you will be the chief investigator of this case."

In the court, there was a sound of heavy breathing.

Except for the Fourteen Parties, other ministers had objections to this.

Even Fang Xuanling himself opened his eyes wide in slight surprise.

Because Fang Xuanling doesn’t know how to investigate cases!
This major is totally unsuitable!
And Fang Xuanling’s power... No, the task is already very heavy.

Give him the responsibility of investigating.

Wouldn't that mean he would have to shoulder the entire court?
Is this being a prime minister or a chancellor?

Changsun Wuji opened his mouth slightly and looked a little confused.

No, Your Majesty... Am I a relative by marriage or is Fang Xuanling a relative by marriage?

The position of chief investigator can be given to anyone, but not to him!
Who doesn't know that his father is Li Ming's father-in-law?

How is this different from letting the victim investigate on their own?
Isn't this equivalent to...

"Isn't it the equivalent of...giving Li Ming a big gift?"

Changsun Wuji suddenly looked up and secretly glanced at His Majesty.

Yes, that's right...

Your Majesty is openly and honestly strengthening Li Ming's power!
What kind of magic potion did that little succubus give Your Majesty? !
"Heh... I actually accepted that kid's affection..."

Fang Xuanling regained his composure from his surprise and couldn't help laughing.

The smile was full of relief.

"I can be considered to have enjoyed the blessing of the next generation..."

The ministers' confusion only lasted for a short time.

The emperor's choice preference is already very obvious and needs no further explanation.

The court soon resumed normal operations.

On the dragon couch, Li Shimin turned to Xiao Yu:

"Minister Xiao, what did you just say?"

"I……"

Xiao Yu was covered in cold sweat and was speechless for a moment. He subconsciously turned his head to look around.

Fang Xuanling was looking at him kindly.

(End of this chapter)