Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 19 Standing and Framing

"This matter is extremely serious and cannot be joked about."

In the Taiji Hall of the Taiji Palace, all officials are displayed.

On the dragon couch, the emperor had an extremely ugly expression on his face.

Today is June 15th. According to the usual practice, the first and fifteenth day of each month are the first day of the lunar month and the fifteenth day of the lunar month. Apart from the grand court meeting on New Year's Day, the most grand court meeting is the one on the fifteenth day of the lunar month.

The New Year's Day court meeting was similar to the Spring Festival Gala and did not discuss any matters, so the Wangri Court Meeting was essentially the highest-level political meeting in the Tang Empire.

Today's grand meeting has only one purpose:
How to reward the Tang army soldiers who destroyed Gaochang and opened the trade route, as well as their supreme commander -

Duke of Chen, General of the Right Guard, Minister of Personnel, and Commander-in-Chief of the Jiaohe Road Army, Hou Junji.

It was obviously a good day to open champagne, but the short-sighted Fang Qiao Xuanling jumped out and impeached Hou Junji for corruption.

It’s like when a baby is just born, you suddenly tell him that he will die sooner or later.

The truth is the truth, and it really deserves a beating.

"Minister Fang, you said that Hou Junji privately embezzled Gaochang's national treasures and looted Gaochang's people's wealth. Do you have any evidence?"

Li Shimin's tone was low.

Calling him "Minister Fang" instead of the more intimate "Mr. Xuanling" shows that he was quite dissatisfied with Fang Xuanling.

It's okay to be dissatisfied.

This time, he specially summoned all the officials in Beijing to hold a warm-up mobilization meeting for General Hou's triumphant return to the capital. In fact, it was a demonstration against the civil service group.

Look at how wise and brave I am, and how I won a great victory against all odds. You bunch of scholars are completely useless, and if we just listen to you in everything, the Tang Dynasty will be doomed.

Even that old troll Wei Zheng has shut up, so why are you, Fang Xuanling, getting excited instead?
"Spreading rumors and slander is a serious crime." Changsun Wuji spoke without losing any opportunity.

"Spreading rumors in public in front of you is a serious crime; slandering the soldiers who fought hard to expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty is a serious crime. Minister Fang, be careful with your words."

After being beaten up by Li Shimin and his son Li Ming, this head of civil servants has become His Majesty's number one bootlicker.

Moreover, Hou Junji and Changsun Wuji had a good personal relationship, and Changsun Wuji had also served as the Minister of Personnel. The two bigwigs of the Organization Department had a lot in common.

In addition, Hou Junji's son-in-law worked in the Eastern Palace, making him a natural candidate for the Prince's Party.

Since you, Fang Xuanling, attack my political allies, then I will attack you.

"Minister Fang has the guts to say this in front of all the civil and military officials in the court. He must have his reasons," Xiao Yu said in a sarcastic tone.

He didn't know what was going on, but if someone attacked the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, he, the Shangshu You Pushe, must help.

"Maybe Minister Fang received the marching account book in advance, or he heard about the military secrets from the people in the streets that even the high-ranking officials and soldiers on the front line didn't know."

The sarcasm made all the officials present couldn't help laughing.

Fang Xuanling bowed to his old subordinate and old rival:
"As Mr. Xiao said, I have indeed found some interesting things in the market."

As he spoke, he pulled out a bronze object from his arms.

"Lord?"

Xiao Yu didn't know what he was up to.

"This is?!"

The eyes of Minister of Rites Li Daozon suddenly became sharp.

"Isn't this the ritual vessel used by the Gaochang chieftain for sacrifice?"

The ruler of Gaochang State, Qu, was a Han Chinese, so the sacrificial items were similar to those in the Central Plains.

Li Daozon is a general of the Li family. He once led his troops to conquer the Western Regions. He has a correct attitude, is knowledgeable, and professional. When he appraises treasures, everyone has to trust him.

But a bigger mystery also arises——

Such a heavyweight ritual vessel could only be passed on if a country was destroyed.

Gaochang had just been conquered and General Hou had not yet returned to Chang'an. How did the national treasure end up in the hands of Minister Fang?

Could it be that at least one of them could fly?
Fang Xuanling said loudly:

"Have you ever been to the East Market or the West Market to take a look?"

The whole room was silent.

Human resources were cheap in the Tang Dynasty, and even a ninth-rank official had all the necessary servants and menial labor.

What’s more, there are officials who are qualified to appear before the emperor.

How could they lower themselves to mingle with peddlers and hawkers?
Such awkward silence made Fang Xuanling involuntarily think of a little bully.

He closed his eyes and continued calmly:

"Now the palace artifacts of Gaochang are circulating throughout Chang'an, and these precious spoils should have been confiscated into the national treasury." "Why is this so? Do you have any idea?"

There were people in the army reselling drugs, and it was an organized reselling... The officials in the court were not stupid, and they began to rethink Fang Xuanling's accusation.

"This is not evidence." Li Shimin said coldly.

"Admittedly, this is at most a doubt, and it cannot directly prove that our military discipline has been corrupted." Fang Xuanling nodded, "But after the capture of Gaochang City, the number of requests for food and fodder from the front line to the rear has dropped significantly.

"Soldiers always need food. I can't think of any other explanation except that the soldiers need food from the enemy."

The so-called "depending on the enemy for food" means, to put it bluntly, allowing the soldiers to rob food.

Nomadic tribes like the Xiongnu and the Turks could rob and run, but the Tang army could not.

Because the Tang Dynasty wanted to manage and govern Gaochang Kingdom for a long time.

The people have lost their hearts and minds by taking away their grain. The whole place is full of lindens. What kind of governance is this?

"On the eighth day of the twelfth month, the Ministry of Civil Affairs collected 200,000 hu of grain and conscripted 120,000 civilians to store them in Yizhou. However, a month later..."

Fang Xuanling took the trouble to list all the tricks hidden in the detailed logistics accounts.

The civil servants listened very attentively, and gradually realized the unreasonableness of it, and their faces became solemn.

Because governing Gaochang was the responsibility of civil officials.

You, Old Hou, were forced to install it, and now the mess is in our hands. Who wants to take the blame?

Li Shimin's eyes were cold throughout the whole process.

Your Majesty really knows everything... Fang Xuanling sighed silently and concluded:
"I know all of the above, and I dare not fail to report it to Your Majesty. I only hope that Your Majesty will make your decision."

This is the situation. You can decide what to do next.

Wei Zheng almost immediately gave advice:

"A country cannot survive without laws. Lord Changsun presided over the compilation of the Zhenguan Code, and Your Majesty has ordered its implementation. How can you break the law knowing it?"

With two heavyweights coming out, all the civil officials immediately agreed:
Investigate, investigate in detail, no matter what position you take, you must first find out the actual situation.

If General Hou is not guilty, he can be cleared of all charges through investigation.

If guilty, then punish!
"This..." Changsun Wuji was powerless to oppose all the ministers and looked back at the palace.

Li Shimin's face was hidden in the shadows, and he issued the decree without any hesitation:

"Order the Imperial Censor Wei Ting, the Supreme Court Justice Sun Fujia, and the Minister of Justice Liu Decheng to conduct a joint trial."

…………

"Our army won! Our army won!"

After the market opened early in the morning, triumphalist advisers rushed around in the West Market of Chang'an to tell each other the news.

The news that the Tang army had conquered Gaochang Kingdom spread immediately throughout the streets and countless merchants celebrated as if a long drought had finally brought rain.

Unlike the common people who earned 300 wen a month, the smooth operation of the Silk Road really affected the wealthy merchants who earned 300 guan a year and rode BMWs.

The group of Hu merchants turned into spiritual Tang people. They hugged each other and cried with excitement. They were more excited than the real Tang people.

No matter how dear your father and mother are, they are not as dear as the Kaiyuan Tong Bao (Kaiyuan Tong Bao was used during the Wude period and has nothing to do with the Kaiyuan era).

In a corner that had been ignored before, Li Ming's shop suddenly became bustling with people.

Because the porridge stall took root in the open space in front of the store, many refugees gathered there every day, so merchants and customers generally walked around it.

Unexpectedly, business exploded overnight.

Merchants who were looking for goods, especially those who had no bullets left, heard from somewhere that 50,000 pieces of silk were still stored here, and they rushed in frantically to buy them.

The refugees were so frightened by the sight of them starving to death if they were late that they quickly made room for the starving ghosts.

"One hundred coins! One hundred coins a horse. I'll take care of it all!"

"I'll give you one hundred and fifty!"

The price shot up like a rocket to two hundred wen.

The merchants felt that driving up the prices was not enough, so they started snatching the goods directly.

After a whirlwind of looting, the entire store was looted, leaving Li Ming sitting on the pile of money in a daze.

After deducting the cost from the 50,000 pieces of cloth, the total profit was more than 13,800 strings of cash.

Before he even had the chance to utter a word, he suddenly became a wealthy first-generation rich man.

(End of this chapter)