Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 188 Boldness borders on evil
At noon, Zhang Yue and his grandson were finally able to leave the palace, accompanied by Gao Lishi, who was on his way to the outer court to convey the emperor's decree.

"This young man remains calm in the face of danger and is able to argue his case with reason. He is truly courageous and unyielding!"

After leaving the hall, Gao Lishi pointed at Zhang Dai and praised him repeatedly.

Although he hadn't uttered a word in the hall, he had witnessed Zhang Dai's sharp and accurate rebuttal to the Wang family father and son. Even Wang Maozhong was thrown into disarray by the questioning and didn't know how to respond. Naturally, he was overjoyed.

Compared to Yang Sixu, who had military merits and many military men around him who were loyal to him, Gao Lishi was still in a relatively weak position when facing Wang Maozhong.

Although he served as an inner official and spent far more time meeting and accompanying the emperor than Wang Maozhong, Wang Maozhong's role was largely irreplaceable, thus securing his position and power.

Gao Lishi could not openly involve officials from outside the court in the competition between the two sides, so he had a lack of means to counter it. Therefore, when he learned about the flying money incident last year, he wanted to win over Zhang Dai to help him deal with Wang Maozhong.

Zhang Yue knew that the boy's accusations against Wang Shouzhen in the palace were completely fabricated. Now, hearing Gao Lishi praise him, he glared at the boy and said in a deep voice, "Lord Bohai, please do not make such unfounded praises. This boy, relying on his quick wit, has never known how to restrain himself and has caused a lot of trouble, even disturbing the emperor's ears. You must discipline him strictly after you return. He is not allowed to leave the house until he has completed his studies!"

Unlike this kid's audacity, even though Zhang Shuo had experienced many ups and downs in his life, his legs felt weak when he thought about the kid's lies in the hall just now, and how he had to testify against him.

It's not that Zhang claims to be innocent and has never done anything to deceive the saints; the key point is that this kid is only so young, yet his ideas and audacity have already become outrageous!

To be honest, if this kid wasn't the grandson he truly favored, Zhang Shuo would probably have to advise the emperor to quickly kill him, otherwise the one who would bring chaos to the world next year would probably be this very source of trouble!
However, he could only keep these thoughts and emotions to himself now. When he heard Gao Lishi praising him again, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, afraid that the boy might be encouraged to cause more trouble.

Gao Lishi, of course, could not understand Zhang Shuo's anxious and shocked feelings, and upon hearing this, he laughed and said, "The Yan family's discipline is too strict and harsh. This child is extraordinary and more talented than others, so he should not be disciplined in the usual way."

While taking the imperial examinations is certainly a desirable path, given this child's family background, there's no need to confine him to that route. In my opinion, working in the north might not be so bad.

"Now, the North Gate is mostly controlled by slave officials, lacking the upright conduct of sons of high-ranking officials. If a young man like you were to advance, with your talent and ability, coupled with the encouragement of relatives and friends, you could easily rise to prominence, wearing scarlet robes and changing to purple!"

At this point, Gao Lishi became even more eager to try, and the more he thought about it, the more promising it seemed. He even looked at Zhang Dai with a smile and asked, "Have you thought about it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai shook his head repeatedly. He knew that Wang Maozhong's recommendation of him to the Northern Court was definitely not well-intentioned. To put it nicely, it was an exchange of hostages with Zhang Shuo; to put it bluntly, it was a plan to use his official position to destroy him, since his son was also ruined.

He had witnessed firsthand the extent of Wang Maozhong's vengefulness. He had only stood on the sidelines, not directly involved in the conflict, yet he had still suffered such entanglement and retaliation. If he were to actually join the Northern Court and be instigated by the eunuchs to directly participate in the internal strife, it would undoubtedly be courting death.

"I am grateful for the Duke of Bohai's kind offer, but I am young and lazy. If I fail to perform my duties as a guard, I will be held accountable. I will rely on my family's scholarship to try my luck in the imperial examinations and follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather. I dare not hope for anything else."

He knew that even if Gao Lishi spoke sweetly, he was only using him as a tool at this moment, and naturally, he wasn't interested in the prospects Gao Lishi painted for him. Even if you're still favored and powerful now, you don't have penises. I have my grandfather's successful experience, and I'm not going to listen to your nonsense.

Zhang Dai wasn't actually afraid of danger; the problem was that joining the Northern Army offered no significant benefits. Even if he rose to the top and replaced Wang Maozhong, he would only be another security captain.

The Northern Court's power was very limited. Even when it was completely controlled by eunuchs in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, it was merely a small game of maneuvering within the residences of the Sixteen Princes, lacking any real control over the overall situation. Those who truly controlled the big picture were Grand Tutor Dong and Erzhu Tianzhu!
Zhang Yue didn't want to continue the topic, and worried that Wang Maozhong would keep pestering him, so he whispered to Gao Lishi, "This time, Wang Maozhong admitted that he had made a mistake in handling internal affairs. This matter should be thoroughly investigated, and the Duke of Bohai should also make some plans!"

Wang Maozhong now holds the official positions of Palace Supervisor, Inner and Outer Stables Commissioner, and Chief of the Imperial Stables, in charge of the horse administration of the empire. The Inner and Outer Front Rescue Commissioner is in charge of the imperial horses and the horse administration of the Northern Army.

During the Wu Zhou period, in order to strengthen the military power of the Northern Army, Wu Zetian set up six separate stables in the tent to raise and train warhorses for use by the Imperial Guards such as the Feathered Forest Army and the Thousand Cavalry, thus avoiding the need for the Taipu Office to dispatch horses.

During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, the military strength of the Northern Army was further expanded, and it was divided into six idle stables inside the main palace and four idle stables outside the main palace, for the use of the emperor's carriage and royal entourage and the Northern Army. The fine horses that Consort Wu Hui and Gao Lishi had previously given to Zhang Dai all came from these idle stables.

Wang Maozhong's son was too incompetent and couldn't withstand the intimidation. He directly revealed that he had privately used the imperial horses in the inner stables, causing injuries and damages, and then had it covered up without reporting it to the authorities. Perhaps in his eyes, it was just a matter of damaging a few imperial horses, insignificant compared to the thousands of horses kept in the inner and outer stables. Or perhaps he had other, more serious matters on his mind, and after weighing the options, he chose to admit to a less serious offense.

However, this incident exposed the flaws and loopholes in the management of the inner stables, and it was even brought up directly in front of the emperor. It will likely be thoroughly investigated and rectified next.

Some things are insignificant until they are weighed, but once they are weighed, there must be an explanation and a proper account. For example, for Consort Wu Hui and others, it was just an imperial horse; they could have given it away casually without anyone making a fuss about it.

The matter itself is not important, but its nature is egregious, especially since it involves embezzlement. If the sage could simply laugh it off, then he could empty out all the spare stables, both inside and out, and he would have to rent a donkey from the market every time he went out!
The Northern Court system was relatively closed off, so it was impossible to let the censors of the outer court get involved in investigating such matters, nor could Wang Maozhong investigate himself, and the emperor could not go to the stables to smell and count the horse manure himself. Therefore, the only option was to appoint a eunuch or other trusted confidant to be in charge of the matter.

So how much they can take from Wang Maozhong next depends on the appetite, courage, and ability of Gao Lishi and his eunuchs. In short, the more ruthless their methods, the less Wang Maozhong will be interested in doing anything else.

When it came to matters of personal importance, Gao Lishi no longer had the leisure to devise ways to trip up Zhang Dai, but instead began to discuss things quietly with Zhang Shuo. Although there were differences between internal and external personnel matters, the principles of power struggles were still the same, and Zhang Shuo's suggestions were very enlightening for him.

When they arrived outside the imperial court, they were surprised to be told that the morning court session was still ongoing.

This kind of court assembly, in which the emperor himself does not attend and is only presided over by the prime minister, is essentially a gathering of the heads of various departments at the prime minister's call to give a simple report and issue orders on various matters. No specific matters are discussed, so the process is very quick, lasting at most an hour or so, after which the participating officials return to their respective departments to carry out the specific tasks.

However, from the time Zhang Shuo and his party arrived in the capital to attend the court meeting, to the time Zhang Shuo was taken away alone, a whole morning had passed, yet the meeting was still not over, which inevitably made people wonder how the meeting was being held.

Gao Lishi subconsciously looked at Zhang Shuo with a questioning look in his eyes, clearly suspecting that Zhang Shuo's henchmen might be disrupting the meeting.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Shuo shook his head. Before being summoned by the emperor, he had specifically instructed Zhang Jiuling to act according to the circumstances. Zhang Jiuling was far more astute than his sons and naturally would not allow his accomplices to run rampant or let the situation spiral out of control.

In fact, it wasn't just those outside the court who were confused; even those who attended the meeting this morning were somewhat bewildered. With lunchtime approaching, the court was still embroiled in a heated argument between the two sides: the Imperial Censor Cui Yinfu and the Minister of Justice Lu Congyuan.

At the start of the morning court session, Lu Congyuan was already in a bad mood. Upon entering the hall and not finding Prime Minister Yuan Qianyao there, he immediately launched into a tirade: "Is this a place of leisure? Prime Minister Yuan has received this favor and leads all the officials. How can he not be seen when there is a matter to be addressed!"

Although Lu Congyuan was criticizing Yuan Qianyao, he felt a little uncomfortable being ignored while sitting there as a grown man. As the deputy head of the Secretariat, Prime Minister Du Xian immediately said, "The Secretariat naturally has officials here. If Minister Lu has any matters to report, please do so!"

Lu Congyuan was naturally furious when he heard this. His seniority was far greater than that of the two prime ministers in the hall. He had served as the Vice Minister of the Secretariat for many years. If Zhang Shuo had not kicked him out of the Secretariat and exiled him to Luoyang to retire, he would have been a promising candidate for prime minister.

"What do I wish to report, sir? Last night, they entered the office and took away the case files. What should be done with them today? Does sir have a decision?"

He was already furious with Yuan Qianyao for dragging him into this mess, so he loudly proclaimed the matter in front of all the officials: "Wang Shouzhen, the son of the Palace Attendant Wang Huo, broke into the neighborhood and set fire to Huiwen's residence and garden, and ordered his servants to loot Yan Gong's villa. Such atrocities are shocking to all who hear them. Where will the Prime Minister and the others judge this?"

Some people knew about this matter, while others did not. After hearing Lu Congyuan's account, the court immediately began to discuss it.

Du Xian frowned and remained silent. He naturally also advocated for severe punishment, but he was already very uneasy about his slip of the tongue in front of the emperor last night. If he were to be accused of inciting his colleagues today, he would probably be setting a new record for speed.

He remained silent, while Li Yuanhong spoke up, saying, "This matter is currently under civil litigation and being adjudicated by the Henan Prefecture. Since no conclusion has been reached and a report submitted, what judgment does the Secretariat-Chancellery need to make? Minister Lu's questioning of this matter is impolite!"

"If the criminal justice system is not resolved, where is the judicial system? Wang Shouzhen is not a commoner; even if the case is not settled, he can still be impeached!"

Lu Congyuan, having been dragged into this mess, naturally couldn't just stay put; he immediately tried to pull the Censorate into it as well.

Li Yuanhong was waiting for this very sentence, and upon hearing it, he immediately replied: "The Secretariat and the Chancellery have not yet submitted the memorial to the Censorate, so it is difficult to comment on this matter."

(End of this chapter)