People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1720: Dismembering the Family and Taming the Family

Zheng's eyes were filled with tears. She clutched the handkerchief in her hand tightly and looked at Li Xuan pleadingly: "Uncle Wang."

Li Xuan sighed, turned to look at Zheng Xuankai and said, "Although the law is strict, the court also has the 'Eight Discussions' system: discussion of relatives, discussion of old acquaintances, discussion of virtue, discussion of ability, discussion of merit, discussion of nobility, discussion of diligence, and discussion of guests; after all, the Duke of Xingyang is the father of the Queen Mother and the grandfather of the Son of Heaven. Discussion of relatives and discussion of nobility can reduce his punishment by one level."

"Only one wait?" Zheng's face, which had just relaxed a little, suddenly became tense again.

The Tang Dynasty law stipulated that anyone who planned high treason and carried it out would be beheaded regardless of whether they were the leader or the follower; anyone who planned but did not carry it out would be strangled and would be subject to the law for the leader and the follower.

Fathers and sons over the age of sixteen were all hanged, and those under fifteen, as well as mothers, daughters, wives, concubines, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and their subordinates, all their property and lands were confiscated.

The sons of uncles, uncles, and brothers were all exiled three thousand miles.

"As for the Duke of Xingyang, he should be beheaded according to the law, but the sentence should be reduced to hanging." Li Xuan looked up at Zheng and said, "There are 33 sons and daughters of Zheng involved in this matter. They will be dealt with in the same way. Their fathers, sons and brothers will be reduced to hanging; their uncles and brothers' sons will all be exiled 3,000 miles."

"In this case, doesn't that mean the entire Zheng family in Xingyang will be destroyed?" Zheng looked at Li Xuan in disbelief.

"Of course, that's the law, but..." Li Xuan said "but", and Zheng and Zheng Xuankai looked up at Li Xuan at the same time.

"The Duke of Xingyang can be pardoned." Li Xuan said, and Zheng and Zheng Xuankai's eyes widened. Li Xuan took a step forward and said, "Even the thirty-three descendants of the Zheng family involved in this matter can all be pardoned, and can even keep their original positions, and then be demoted one rank every three years until they become white-robed officials, but..."

“King Peng, just say whatever you want to say.” Zheng Xuankai finally reacted. Li Xuan was talking about pardoning the crime, but demoting you by one rank every three years. Even if you are a third-rank official, you will still not have any official position within twenty years.

Especially in the Zheng family nowadays, even officials of the fourth and fifth ranks are rare, and most of them are officials of the sixth and seventh ranks. Within ten years, they will all become white-collar officials.

But in this way, Zheng family of Xingyang will have the opportunity to train new people within ten to twenty years, or even devote all their efforts to training new people.

In this way, no one would think of opposing Li Xuan anymore.

After all, it's just like cutting meat with a blunt knife.

"The entire Zheng family in Xingyang must hand over half of their land, shops, and caravans. Ten percent will belong to the local government, forty percent will go to the Ministry of Revenue, and the rest will go to the palace." Li Xuan turned around and bowed gently to Zheng.

"Return to the palace?" Zheng's eyes lit up.

"Of course they will be returned to the palace." Li Xuan continued to cup his hands and said, "If the Queen Mother wants to give these fields, shops, and caravans to others in the future, it will be appropriate. In addition, other families that have been confiscated, such as the Cui family, can also be dealt with in the same way."

"Cui?" Zheng Xuankai suddenly came to his senses at this moment, raised his head, looked at Li Xuan and said, "Your Majesty, do you want me to identify Prime Minister Cui?"

Cui and Zheng turned against each other.

These four words suddenly appeared in Zheng's mind, but then she completely suppressed them and snorted in her heart.

If Cui hadn't had other intentions this time, everything wouldn't have come to this.

You know, their Zheng family had just married a daughter to King Peng.

Li Xuan bowed slightly and didn't finish his words.

Zheng waved her hand and looked at Zheng Xuankai, saying solemnly, "Father, King Peng's idea is good. If my Zheng family wants to get out of this matter, we need to completely cut ties with Cui. Does father want to unite with Cui in the future? Isn't it bad enough that we were cheated by them this time?"

Zheng Xuankai fell silent for a moment. Thinking back on the whole thing now, in Zheng Xuankai's eyes, Cui Zhiwen's plan was very thorough, and there were even some methods that he was not aware of. However, in the end, it still failed, and failed completely.

Now it seems that all their plans were traps set by others from the very beginning.

"In fact, the reason why I am willing to make concessions is because the Queen Mother supported me at the critical moment. I am deeply grateful." Li Xuan said, bowing solemnly to Zheng.

Zheng nodded with emotion, then looked at Zheng Xuankai and said, "Father, you know nothing about what happened today. You followed Cui the thief to see your daughter in a panic because the scholars blocked the door to petition. Afterwards, father was also deceived by him. He was also the one who stole the emperor's order arrow and tiger seal."

Zheng Xuankai looked at his daughter who was not on his side at all, and finally nodded and said, "Okay!"

When Zheng saw this, she stood up and said, "Let's go to Taiji Palace. The court officials are waiting."

"Yes!" Li Xuan stepped aside and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please!"

"Thank you, Uncle Wang." Zheng nodded with satisfaction and walked towards Taiji Palace.

Li Xuan and Zheng Xuankai followed beside him.

Li Xuan followed behind Zheng with a solemn expression. He slightly changed the way he treated the three families of Cui, Lu and Zheng today.

One reason was that Zheng chose him at the last minute, which made him realize that he could deal with Zheng in a more tactful and thorough way.

Secondly, there were two people from the Cui family who did not get involved in this matter, one was Cui Xuanwei, the doctor of Duzhi, and the other was Cui Shenji.

Especially after Cui Shenji's final rebellion, it was very difficult for him to completely uproot the Cui family in one go.

So he changed his strategy.

Let Zheng Xuankai testify against Cui Zhiwen and put Cui Zhiwen to death.

With this move, it will be difficult for the Cui, Lu and Zheng families to unite again.

Without their mutual cooperation, the threat posed by Cui, Lu and Zheng to him will drop sharply.

In this way, Li Xuan's methods of dealing with the three families of Cui, Lu and Zheng were similar to those used by emperors of past dynasties.

Completely destroy several visible branches, and then lift up the hidden branches.

The aristocratic family is still an aristocratic family, but in the past hundred years or so, it is no longer possible for them to pose a threat to the royal family.

What remains is the game of land and property.

The Zheng family is already a trapped beast in Li Xuan's jar, and as for the Cui family... he wants to completely destroy the Cui family's reputation.

In this way, even if the Cui family has more talented people, it will be difficult for them to rise.

In this way, the noble families who are keeping a close eye on him will not be so opposed.

Zheng Xuankai turned sideways and looked at Li Xuan, who followed Zheng respectfully.

A hint of doubt flashed through Zheng Xuankai's mind.

Prince Peng was so respectful to the Queen Mother. Was it really wrong for the Zheng family to join the Cui family in taking action?

... "Your subjects pay their respects to the Queen Mother. May the Queen Mother be blessed with good health and longevity." All the ministers bowed in unison.

Zheng was sitting on the imperial couch. She waved her hand slightly and said, "Please stand up, everyone. The emperor has already gone to bed. There is no need to let the emperor see what happened today."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

Zheng looked up and looked at Cui Zhiwen who was kneeling on the ground with disgust, then looked at Li Xuan and said, "Lord Peng, many of the ministers in the palace are still confused about what happened today. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed slightly, then looked at Lu Yuanfang.

Lu Yuanfang nodded slightly, and Li Xuan turned to look at the ministers and said, "As you all know, when the emperor ascended the throne, Duke Xu and Duke Bian retired at the same time. At that time, the positions of Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Shangshu You Pushe were both vacant. Someone once recommended Cui Xiang to be Shangshu Zuo Pushe..."

Li Xuan's sneering gaze fell on Cui Zhiwen, and one sentence completely tore open his true thoughts.

Cui Zhiwen wanted to open his mouth to refute, but in the end he couldn't say a word.

He asked himself, if he had been the Shangshu Zuo Pushe at that time, perhaps he would have been more gentle in treating Li Xuan.

After all, he was the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, so he had many methods at his disposal.

But unfortunately, he didn't, which was one of the reasons that forced him to resort to drastic measures.

"So Prime Minister Cui came up with this idea, leaking the exam questions to cause factional strife in the court and eliminate dissidents."

Li Xuan turned to look at Ouyang Tong, and said with a bow, "Minister Ouyang is the chief examiner of the imperial examination. If there is an imperial examination fraud, he will definitely not be able to escape, and it may also implicate Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Cen. Shangshu Ouyang has a son who is taking the imperial examination, so he will inevitably be implicated. Finally, it is me. I am the one who set the questions, and I have a close relationship with Minister Ouyang and Prime Minister Lu, so I will inevitably be implicated..."

By this calculation, five of the nine prime ministers in the Council of State were already involved, which is more than half.

Yao Lingzhang frowned, stood up and bowed to Zheng, then looked at Li Xuan and said, "May I ask Prince Peng, what exactly is going on with this imperial examination fraud? Why was there still someone who stole the imperial examination questions under such heavy guard?"

Li Xuan was the general of the imperial guards. There was something wrong with the imperial examination questions and he had no way to escape.

"Prime Minister Yao is indeed sharp, and his words hit the nail on the head." Li Xuan nodded seriously, then looked outside the door and said, "Someone, bring the things in."

Cui Rong, the director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, walked in from outside with a complicated expression, holding a sandalwood box in his hand.

When passing by Cui Zhiwen, Cui Rong couldn't help but glare at him hatefully.

Today, because of what Cui Zhiwen did, the Qinghe Cui family’s reputation of thousands of years has been ruined.

Li Xuan took the box from Cui Rong, then looked at the ministers and said, "This is the box that contained the examination papers for the ministers that day. After that, Prime Minister Lu delivered it to Your Majesty. After Your Majesty selected it, Minister Ouyang sent it to the examination room. But what if there is a mechanism inside this box?"

"Mechanism!" The ministers' eyes subconsciously fell on the box.

"Hmph!" Li Xuan glanced at Cui Zhiwen, then raised the box high and threw it hard.

With a "bang", the sandalwood box was completely smashed into pieces in the Taiji Hall.

Li Xuan bent down and restored the sandalwood box piece by piece in full view of everyone. In the end, there was an extra bottom plate and several wooden bars with mechanisms on the ground.

"There's actually a real mechanism in here?" Yao Lingzhang looked at the debris on the ground, then looked at Cui Rong in disbelief, and finally looked at Cui Zhiwen. He suddenly stepped forward and punched Cui Zhiwen, and shouted angrily: "Old dog, how dare you bully me like this?"

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, and Li Rong and Li Zhu immediately stepped forward and held Yao Lingzhang, saying at the same time: "Prime Minister Yao, calm down."

"The imperial examination papers were stolen just like that, then what about the other people? How much tricks did this old dog do in the Government Affairs Hall over all these years?" Yao Lingzhang roared with fangs bared. Even though he was held down, he was still furious.

Yao Lingzhang's words made the faces of several prime ministers in the hall suddenly look ugly.

This is especially true for Li Yiyan.

Among all the prime ministers in the court, he has served the longest.

"Let's not talk about the past." Li Xuan waved his hand and continued to look at the ministers and said, "That's it. Prime Minister Cui stole my exam questions from the Political Affairs Hall, copied a copy and sent it back... As for how to make the emperor choose my exam questions, it's actually not difficult. It's nothing more than putting some honey on my exam questions."

Li Xuan looked up at Ouyang Tong, who nodded and said, "There is indeed some sweetness in King Peng's test questions."

The ministers gradually fell silent. Li Xuan now brought out evidence one by one, obviously intending to completely prove Cui Zhiwen's guilt in manipulating the imperial examination fraud case.

"In the end, they were distributed. Prime Minister Cui had 40 copies of the exam questions sold, and received 40,000 strings of cash." Li Xuan pulled out a list from his sleeve, handed it to Cui Zhiwen, and said, "Prime Minister Cui, take a look, are these the people?"

Cui Zhiwen looked up, his face full of surprise.

You know, although the matter of selling the test questions was publicized on the outside, it was extremely strict on the inside. How did Li Xuan know about it?

"Oh, I forgot. These were done by Lu Chen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the housekeeper of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Forget it. The three judicial departments will check and approve it later." Li Xuan looked up.

Xiao Siye, What do you want? and Wang Jishan stood up at the same time and bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan handed the list to Wang Jishan, and then said: "Everyone, Cui's intention is to manipulate the imperial examination and disrupt the world. This crime should be reported to the whole world and let everyone know."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed at the same time. They knew in their hearts that the reputation of the Cui family in the world had been ruined.

"As for the imperial examination, you don't need to worry." Li Xuan looked at Ouyang Tong.

Ouyang Tong stood up and said, "After noticing that there was a leak of the imperial examination papers, I discussed with the Left Prime Minister and randomly picked a new paper from the other ministers. It was Prime Minister Li's paper, so you don't have to worry about any cheating..."

"Nonsense!" Cui Zhiwen suddenly raised his head and interrupted Li Xuan directly: "Those people said that the questions they gave were all correct, otherwise they wouldn't have..."

"Those who bought the test papers naturally did the ones I set." Li Xuan looked at Cui Zhiwen with some pity, and said softly, "Prime Minister Cui may not have noticed that those who bought the test papers were actually in one examination room, while the others were in several other places. Now we just need to treat these people as cheaters and permanently disqualify them from the imperial examination."

Cui Zhiwen stood there in a daze.

……

"Everyone!" Li Xuan stepped forward lightly, looked at the ministers, and said solemnly: "Manipulating the imperial examination and causing chaos in the world is Cui's first crime; the second crime is corruption and dereliction of duty, enriching oneself... Come, bring the former Imperial Censor Wei Xuanzhi into the palace."

After Li Xuan's words, all the ministers subconsciously looked towards the palace entrance, including Cui Zhiwen.

In full view of everyone, Wei Fangzhi disappeared for a long time, then walked into the hall in a green official robe with a pale face.

Standing beside Cui Zhiwen, Wei Fangzhi bowed deeply to Zheng and said in a hoarse voice: "Queen Dowager, I, the guilty minister, report that when the Minister of the Central Secretariat Cui Zhiwen confiscated Wei Qu's property, he secretly embezzled 30,000 hectares of Wei's land."

Cui Zhiwen was immediately stunned. Didn’t the family account book record that only 10,000 hectares were taken?
(End of this chapter)